Effects of fluoxetine on mast cell morphology and protease-1 expression in gastric antrum in a rat model of depression

AIM: To investigate the effects of fluoxetine on depression-induced changes of mast cell morphology and protease-1 (rMCP-1) expression in rats. METHODS: A Sprague-Dawley rat model of chronic stress-induced depression was established. Fifty experimental rats were randomly divided into the following groups: normal control group, fluoxetine + normal control group, depressed model group, saline + depressed model group, and fluoxetine + depressed model group. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) immunofluorecence and RT-PCR techniques were used to investigate rMCP-1 expression in gastric antrum. Mast cell morphology was observed under transmission electron microscopy. ANOVA was used for statistical analysis among groups.RESULTS: Morphologic observation indicated that depression induced mast cell proliferation, activation, and granule hyperplasia. Compared with the normal control group, the average immunofluorescence intensity of gastric antrum rMCP-1 significantly increased in depressed model group (37.4 ± 7.7 vs 24.5 ± 5.6, P < 0.01) or saline + depressed model group (39.9 ± 5.0 vs 24.5 ± 5.6, P < 0.01), while there was no significant difference between fluoxetine + normal control group (23.1 ± 3.4) or fluoxetine + depressed model group (26.1 ± 3.6) and normal control group.The average level of rMCP-1mRNA of gastric antrum significantly increased in depressed model group (0.759 ± 0.357 vs 0.476 ± 0.029, P < 0.01) or saline + depressed model group (0.781 ± 0.451 vs 0.476 ± 0.029, P < 0.01 ), while no significant difference was found between fluoxetine + normal control group (0.460 ± 0.027) or fluoxetine + depressed model group (0.488 ± 0.030) and normal control group. Fluoxetine showed partial inhibitive effects on mast cell ultrastructural alterations and de-regulated rMCP-1 expression in gastric antrum of the depressed rat model.CONCLUSION: Chronic stress can induce mast cell proliferation, activation, and granule hyperplasia in gastric antrum. Fluoxetine counteracts such changes in the depressed rat model.

Possible mechanism for the regulation of glucose on proliferation, inhibition and apoptosis of colon cancer cells induced by sodium butyrate

AIM： To study the effect of glucose on sodium butyrate- induced proliferation inhibition and apoptosis in HT-29 cell line, and explored its possible mechanisms. METHODS： HT-29 cells were grown in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, and were allowed to adhere for 24 h, and then replaced with experimental medium. Cell survival rates were detected by MTr assay. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL assay. Glucose transport protein 1 （GLUT1） and monocarboxylate transporter 1 （MCT1） mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR. RESULTS： Low concentration of glucose induced apoptosis and regulated proliferation in HT-29 cell line, and glucose can obviously inhibit the effect of proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induced by sodium butyrate. Glucose also down-regulated the expression of MCT1mRNA （0.28 ± 0.07 vs 0.19± 0.10, P 〈 0.05）, and decreased the expression of GLUTlmRNA slightly （0.18 ± 0.04 vs 0.13 ± 0.03, P 〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Glucose can regulate the effect of proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induced by sodium butyrate and this influence may be associated with the intracellular concentration of glucose and sodium butyrate.

Change of Disease Spectrum Characteristics of Psychiatric Inpatients Before and After Lockdown Lifted During the COVID-19 Pandemic—Wuhan City,Hubei Province,China,2021

Summary What is already known about this topic?The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic poses a significant threat to mental health globally and may change the proportion of hospitalized patients.What is added by this report?This report analyzed and compared the disease characteristics of psychiatric inpatients one year before and after Wuhan lifted lockdown during COVID-19.About 50%of the inpatients were diagnosed with bipolar disorder;females and adolescents had a higher prevalence of mental disorders.What are the implications for public health practice?More attention should be paid to the mental health of children,adolescents,and females.

Abnormal Degree Centrality of Bilateral Putamen and Left Superior Frontal Gyrus in Schizophrenia with Auditory Hallucinations： A Resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Background： Dysconnectivity hypothesis of schizophrenia has been increasingly emphasized. Recent researches showed that this dysconnectivity might be related to occurrence of auditory hallucination （AH）. However, there is still no consistent conclusion. This study aimed to explore intrinsic dysconnectivity pattern of whole-brain functional networks at voxel level in schizophrenic with AH. Methods： Auditory hallucinated patients group （n = 42 APG）, no hallucinated patients group （n = 42 NPG） and normal controls （n = 84 NCs） were analyzed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The functional connectivity metrics index （degree centrality [DC]） across the entire brain networks was calculated and evaluated among three groups. Results： DC decreased in the bilateral putamen and increased in the left superior frontal gyrus in all the patients. However, in APG. the changes of DC were more obvious compared with NPG. Symptomology scores were negatively correlated with the DC of bilateral putamen in all patients. AH score of APG positively correlated with the DC in left superior frontal gyrus but negatively correlated with the DC in bilateral putamen. Conclusion： Our findings corroborated that schizophrenia was characterized by functional dysconnectivity, and the abnormal DC in bilateral putamen and left superior frontal gyrus might be crucial in the occurrence of AH.

Plasma Nesfatin-1 concentration and its correlation with HPA axis in depression model rats

Objective To explore plasma Nesfatin-1 concentration and its correlation with hypothalamic pituitary adrenal(HPA) axis in depression model rats. Methods Twelve SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group(NCG) and depression model group(DMG). DMG received 5 consecutive weeks of 7 different chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS). The behavior of rats was evaluated by an open field test,sucrose preference test,and forced swimming test(FST). The concentration of plasma corticosterone and Nesfatin-1 were measured with an enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay(ELISA). Results Compared with NCG,DMG had a lower weight gain,lower index of sucrose preference and spent longer time being immobile in FST while all of these differences were statistically significant(P<0.05). The plasma concentrations of corticosterone and Nesfatin-1 were significantly higher in DMG than in theN CG(P<0.05). The plasma concentration of Nesfatin-1in DMG was positively correlated with the plasma corticosterone concentration. Conclusion CUMS could induce depression-like behavior in rats and increase the plasma concentration of Nesfatin-1 and corticosterone,while the HPA axis hyperactivity induced by CUMS may be associated with the increased concentration of Nesfatin-1.