Oxygenation,inflammatory response and lung injury during one lung ventilation in rabbits using inspired oxygen fraction of 0.6 vs.1.0

Maintaining adequate oxygenation during one-lung ventilation（OLV） requires high inspired oxygen fraction（FiO_2）.However,high FiO_2 also causes inflammatory response and lung injury.Therefore,it remains a great interest to clinicians and scientists to optimize the care of patients undergoing OLV.The aim of this study was to determine and compare oxygenation,inflammatory response and lung injury during OLV in rabbits using FiO_2 of 0.6 vs.1.0.After 30 minutes of two-lung ventilation（TLV） as baseline,30 rabbits were randomly assigned to three groups receiving mechanical ventilation for 3 hours：the sham group,receiving TLV with 0.6 FiO_2;the 1.0 FiO_2 group,receiving OLV with 1.0 FiO_2;the 0.6 FiO_2 group,receiving OLV with 0.6 FiO_2.Pulse oximetry was continuously monitored and arterial blood gas analysis was intermittently conducted.Histopathologic study of lung tissues was performed and inflammatory cytokines and the mRNA and protein of nuclear factor kappa B（NF-κB） p65 were determined.Three of the 10 rabbits in the 0.6 FiO_2 group suffered hypoxemia,defined by pulse oximetric saturation（SpO_2） less than 90%.Partial pressure of oxygen（PaO_2）,acute lung injury（ALI） score,myeloperoxidase（MPO）,tumor necrosis factor-a（TNF-α）,interleukin-6（IL-6）,mRNA and protein of NF-kB p65 were lower in the 0.6 FiO_2group than in the 1.0 FiO_2 group.In conclusion,during OLV,if FiO_2 of 0.6 can be tolerated,lung injury associated with high FiO_2 can be minimized.Further study is needed to validate this finding in human subjects.

Psorinum 6× triggers apoptosis signals in human lung cancer cells

OBJECTIVE： To provide in vitro evidence of Psorinum treatment against cancer cells in a controlled study. METHODS： Effects of homeopathic Psorinum 6× on cell viability were initially determined in several cancer cell lines, including A549, Hep G2 and MCF-7, using 3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, and an ethanol 6× control. The cell line that exhibited highest inhibition was selected and used in the following experiments. A range of Psorinum 6× doses was used to explore treatment effects on cell cycle arrest, cell death（apoptosis）, generation of reactive oxygen species（ROS） and change in mitochondrial membrane potential（MMP） using fl ow cytometry and fl uorescence microscopy, respectively. Expression of several signal proteins related to apoptosis and cell survival were quantified with Western blotting and confocal microscopy. Further, circular dichroism（CD） spectroscopy was used to determine possible drug-DNA interactions, as well as the induction of conformational changes. RESULTS： Treatment of cancer cell lines with Psorinum showed greater anticancer effects in A549 cells than in others. In A549 cells Psorinum treatment inhibited cell proliferation at 24 h after treatment, and arrested cell cycle at sub-G1 stage. It also induced ROS generation, MMP depolarization, morphological changes and DNA damage, as well as externalization of phosphatidyl serine. Further, increases in p53 expression, Bax expression, cytochrome c release, along with reduction of Bcl-2 level and caspase-3 activation were observed after Psorinum 6× treatment, which eventually drove A549 cells towards the mitochondria-mediated caspase-3-dependent pathway. CD spectroscopy revealed direct interaction of Psorinum with DNA, using calf thymus-DNA as target.CONCLUSION： Psorinum 6× triggered apoptosis in A549 cells via both up- and down-regulations of relevant signal proteins, including p53, caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2.