Expression and significance of angiostatin, vascular endothelial growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in brain tissue of diabetic rats with ischemia reperfusion

Objective: To discuss the expression and significance of angiostatin, vascular endothelial growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in the brain tissue of diabetic rats with ischemia reperfusion. Methods: A total of 60 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the normal group, sham group, diabetic cerebral infarction group and single cerebral infarction group according to the random number table, with 15 rats in each group. The high sucrose diet and intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin were performed for the modeling of diabetic rats, while the thread-occlusion method was employed to build the model of cerebral ischemia reperfusion. The immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the expression of angiostatin, vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9) in the brain tissue. Results: The expression of angiostatin after the reperfusion in the brain tissue of rats in the single cerebral infarction group and diabetic cerebral infarction group was increased 6 h after the reperfusion, reached to the peak on 1 d and then decreased gradually. The expression of angiostatin in the diabetic cerebral infarction group 6 h, 1 d, 3 d and 7 d after the reperfusion was significantly higher than that in the single cerebral infarction group(P<0.05). VEGF began to be increased 1 h after the reperfusion in the single cerebral infarction group and diabetic cerebral infarction group, reached to the peak at 6 h and then decreased gradually. The expression of VEGF in the diabetic cerebral infarction group at each time point after the reperfusion was significantly lower than that in the single cerebral infarction group(P<0.05). MMP-9 began to be be increased 1 h after the reperfusion in the single cerebral infarction group and diabetic cerebral infarction group, reached to the peak on 1 d and then decreased gradually. The expression of MMP-9 in the diabetic cerebral infarction group at each time point after the reperfusion was significantly higher than that in the single cerebral infarction group(P<0.05). Conclusions: The high glucose environment in which the diabetic cerebral infarction is occurred is to induce the formation of MMP-9 at first and then activate and increase the expression of angiostatin. Afterwards, the expression of VEGF is inhibited, resulting in the poor angiogenesis after cerebral infarction, which thus makes the injury of brain tissue after cerebral infarction even worse than the non-diabetes mellitus.

Intestinal microbiota participates in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease progression by affecting intestinal homeostasis

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is a chronic liver disease with a pathogenesis that has not been fully elucidated.With the development of the theory of the gut-liver axis and the deepening of related research,the role of the intestinal tract in the pathogenesis of NAFLD has been investigated more.Intestinal microbiota,intestinal metabolites,and intestinal epithelial and immunebased barriers constitute the intestinal environment,which uses crosstalk to maintain the homeostasis of the intestinal environment.This paper reviews the progress in the study of intestinal microbiota,intestinal environment,and NAFLD and suggests that repair of intestinal functional balance may be a new idea for early prevention and intervention of NAFLD.

High plastic Zr–Cu–Fe–Al–Nb bulk metallic glasses for biomedical applications

Four Zr–Cu–Fe–Al-based bulk metallic glasses(BMGs) with Zr contents greater than 65at% and minor additions of Nb were designed and prepared. The glass forming abilities, thermal stabilities, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance properties of the prepared BMGs were investigated. These BMGs exhibit moderate glass forming abilities along with superior fracture and yield strengths compared to previously reported Zr–Cu–Fe–Al BMGs. Specifically, the addition of Nb into this quaternary system remarkably increases the plastic strain to 27.5%, which is related to the high Poisson's ratio and low Young's and shear moduli. The Nb-bearing BMGs also exhibit a lower corrosion current density by about one order of magnitude and a wider passive region than 316 L steel in phosphate buffer solution(PBS, pH 7.4). The combination of the optimized composition with high deformation ability, low Young's modulus, and excellent corrosion resistance properties indicates that this kind of BMG is promising for biomedical applications.

Primary duodenal tuberculosis misdiagnosed as tumor by imaging examination:A case report

BACKGROUND Primary duodenal tuberculosis is very rare.Due to a lack of specificity for its presenting symptoms,it is easily misdiagnosed clinically.Review of the few case reports and literature on the topic will help to improve the overall understanding of this disease and aid in differential diagnosis to improve patient outcome.CASE SUMMARY A 71-year-old man with a 30-plus year history of bronchiectasis and bronchitis presented to the Gastroenterology Department of our hospital complaining of intermittent upper abdominal pain.Initial imaging examination revealed a duodenal space-occupying lesion;subsequent upper abdominal contrastenhanced computed tomography indicated duodenal malignant tumor.Physical and laboratory examinations showed no obvious abnormalities.In order to confirm further the diagnosis,electronic endoscopy was performed and tissue biopsies were taken.Duodenal histopathology showed granuloma and necrosis.In-depth tuberculosis-related examination did not rule out tuberculosis,so we initiated treatment with anti-tuberculosis drugs.At 6 mo after the antituberculosis drug course,there were no signs of new development of primary lesions by upper abdominal computed tomography,and no complications had manifested.CONCLUSION This case emphasizes the importance of differential diagnosis for gastrointestinal diseases.Duodenal tuberculosis requires a systematic examination and physician awareness.

Serum metabolic profiling of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome

Objective:The clinical symptoms of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome(IBS-D)can be effectively improved by traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)treatment,based on the usage of specific therapies for different TCM syndromes.However,in the stage of diagnosis,the standard criteria for the classification of TCM syndrome were still deficient.Through serum metabolic profiling,this study aimed to explore potential biomarkers in IBS-D patients with different TCM syndromes,which can assist in diagnosis of the disease.Methods:Serum samples were collected from healthy controls(30 cases),IBS-D patients with LiverStagnation and Spleen-Deficiency syndrome(LSSD,30 cases),Yang Deficiency of Spleen and Kidney syndrome(YDSK,11 cases)and Damp Abundance due to Spleen-Deficiency syndrome(DASD,22 cases).Serum metabolic profiling was conducted by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.The potential biomarkers were screened by orthogonal partial least square-discriminate analysis,while metabolic pathways undergoing alterations were identified by pathway enrichment analysis in Metabo Analyst 4.0.Results:Overall,34 potential biomarkers were identified in LSSD group,36 in YDSK group and 31 in DASD group.And the 13 metabolites shared by three groups were determined as the potential biomarkers of IBS-D.Glycerophospholipid metabolism was disturbed significantly in IBS-D patients,which may play a role in IBS-D through inflammation.What’s more,three TCM syndromes have the specific potential biomarkers in glycerophospholipid metabolism.Conclusion:The serum metabolomics revealed that different TCM syndrome types in IBS-D may have different metabolic patterns during disease progression and glycerophospholipid metabolism was one of the pathways,whose metabolism was disturbed differently among three TCM syndromes in IBS-D.Therefore,the specific potential biomarkers in glycerophospholipid metabolism of three TCM syndromes in IBS-D can serve as the objective indicators,which can facilitate the TCM-syndrome objective classification of IBS-D.

Extracellular vesicles in neurodegenerative diseases: Insights and new perspectives

Extracellular vesicles(EVs)are vesicle-like substances released by eukaryotic cells.Based on their origin and size,EVs are mainly divided into exosomes,microvesicles and apoptotic bodies,and they are secreted by eukaryotic cells under physiological and pathological conditions.EVs are enriched with nucleic acids,proteins and other factors.EVs can regulate the function of adjacent and distant cells,and they are even involved in the pathogenesis of diseases.They contain proteins associated with the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases(NDs),such as the a-synuclein(a-syn)and tau proteins,which suggest potential roles for EVs as biomarkers and carriers of drugs and other therapeutic molecules that can cross the bloodebrain barrier to treat NDs.In this review,we summarized the function of EVs in the pathogenesis of different NDs and related advances in EVs as diagnostic biomarkers and treatments for diseases.