Life sciences
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To investigate the effects of diets on factors and markers of inflammation and fibrosis in unobstructed and obstructed bladders of male Wistar rats. ⋯ Feeding on a high fat diet results in increased activity of factors and mediators of inflammation and fibrosis in both unobstructed and obstructed rat bladders. This might increase predisposition to or further worsen symptoms in BOO.
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Colorectal cancer (CRC) accounts for over 600,000 deaths annually worldwide. Euxanthone is a flavonoid compound extracted from Polygala caudata, with documented anti-neoplastic actions. The current study aimed to determine the therapeutic potential of euxanthone in CRC. ⋯ Euxanthone exerts anti-cancer effects in vitro and in vivo in CRC by targeting CIP2A/PP2A signaling.
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Gut inflammation has been put forward to be associated with hepatic injury in the clinical practice. The dismantled intestinal barrier was highly concerned, however, largely unknown about the role of gut-vascular barrier (GVB) in this process. This study aimed to investigate if inflamed gut directly contributes to the progression of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), especially attention to the GVB dysfunction. ⋯ Gut inflammation exacerbates liver injury and fibrosis in HFD mice, which may contribute to the development of NASH. Beyond the damaged intestinal epithelial barrier, GVB disruption with bacterial translocation into may play a key role in the pathogenesis of NASH.
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), one of the serious form of acute lung injury (ALI), is the primary cause of death in patients with ALI. Sini decoction (SND) is a widely used Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). However, the application of SND in ALI is rarely reported. Previous studies have found that renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) played vital and bidirectional roles in ALI. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate protective effect of SND on ALI model induced by E. coli, as well as to further explore relations between RAAS and SND. ⋯ In this paper, we demonstrated that SND alleviates E. coli induced acute lung injury in mice via equilibrating ACE-AngII-AT1R and ACE2-Ang-(1-7)-Mas axis.
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It has been shown that activation of autophagy is involved in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Meanwhile, activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) has been found to induce autophagy in several types of human diseases including cancer and cardiac diseases. However, it is still unknown whether NF-κB mediates autophagy activation in PAH, and whether activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) benefits PAH by modulation of NF-κB and autophagy. ⋯ NF-κB-induced autophagy activation and consequent down-regulation of RND3 contributes to the development of PAH in MCT-treated rats. Activation of AMPK prevents the development of PAH by targeting on NF-κB to suppress autophagy and vascular remodeling.