Dexmedetomidine post-treatment attenuates cardiac ischaemia/reperfusion injury by inhibiting apoptosis through HIF-1α signalling.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) plays a critical role in the apoptotic process during cardiac ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study aimed to investigate whether post-treatment with dexmedetomidine (DEX) could protect against I/R-induced cardiac apoptosis in vivo and in vitro via regulating HIF-1α signalling pathway. Rat myocardial I/R was induced by occluding the left anterior descending artery for 30 minutes followed by 6-hours reperfusion, and cardiomyocyte hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) was induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation for 6 hours followed by 3-hours reoxygenation. Dexmedetomidine administration at the beginning of reperfusion or reoxygenation attenuated I/R-induced myocardial injury or H/R-induced cell death, alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction, reduced the number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes, inhibited the activation of HIF-1α and modulated the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins including BCL-2, BAX, BNIP3, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP. Conversely, the HIF-1α prolyl hydroxylase-2 inhibitor IOX2 partly blocked DEX-mediated cardioprotection both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, DEX down-regulated HIF-1α expression at the post-transcriptional level and inhibited the transcriptional activation of the target gene BNIP3. Post-treatment with DEX protects against cardiac I/R injury in vivo and H/R injury in vitro. These effects are, at least in part, mediated via the inhibition of cell apoptosis by targeting HIF-1α signalling

Comprehensive Evaluation of Wild \u3cem\u3eElymus\u3c/em\u3e L. Germplasm in Inner Mongolia

Grassland degradation is increasing in severity and is an important global issue in the 21st century. Increasing research is being conducted on how to solve these problems (Niu and Jiang 2004). Restoration and revegetation of degraded grassland and the establishment of artificial pastures are important in addressing degradation. Successful restoration requires the identification of species and seed sources that are adapted to the ecological conditions of the restoration site. Elymus L. is a large genus that contains about 150 species distributed across a wide range of ecological sites across temperate and subtropical regions of the world (Dewey 1984; Love 1984). There are at least 12 species in China (Guo 1987). Elymus includes many economically important forage grasses as well as species that possess useful genes for disease resistance, stress tolerance and adaptation, which can potentially be transferred to cereal crops through gene introgression. Species within Elymus have the potential for playing an important role in artificial pasture construction, grassland and animal husbandry development and ecological restoration. However, research is lacking on Chinese Elymus species, which can provide critical information for selecting suitable Elymus varieties and extending their use in China

EX-PRESS glaucoma filtration device combined with phacoemulsification for refractory glaucoma complicated with cataract

AIM:To evaluate the efficacy of EX-PRESS glaucoma filtration device combined with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation for refractory glaucoma complicated with cataract.METHODS: Totally 60 patients(60 eyes)of refractory glaucoma were chosen as the research objects between January 2013 and January 2016 in our hospital, who were divided into research group and the control group according to the operation method. Research group(29 patients 29 eyes)was given EX-PRESS glaucoma drainage device combined with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation; control group(31 patients 31 eyes)was given trabeculectomy combined with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation. The visual acuity, intraocular pressure(IOP), the successful rate and other clinical indicators were observed and analyzed. RESULTS: The surgery of all the 60 patients achieved success.The successful rate of research group was 93%, that of control group was 81%, while the difference was not significant(P=0.26). The best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)of both groups was better than before treatment at 6mo after surgery without statistically significant. The postoperative BCVA was not different between the two groups. The IOP between the two groups was significantly different(PPPP=0.007). CONCLUSION:It has good clinical effect that EX-PRESS glaucoma filtration device combined with phacoemulsification for refractory glaucoma complicated with cataract. It is a treatment with high feasibility, safety and effectiveness

Effects of Vanadium doping on BaFe2As2

We report an investigation of the structural, magnetic and electronic properties of Ba(Fe(1-x)V(x))2As2 using x-ray, transport, magnetic susceptibility and neutron scattering measurements. The vanadium substitutions in Fe sites are possible up to 40\%. Hall effect measurements indicate strong hole-doping effect through V doping, while no superconductivity is observed in all samples down to 2K. The antiferromagnetic and structural transition temperature of BaFe2As2 is gradually suppressed to finite temperature then vanishes at x=0.245 with the emergence of spin glass behavior, suggesting an avoided quantum critical point (QCP). Our results demonstrate that the avoided QCP and spin glass state which were previously reported in the superconducting phase of Co/Ni-doped BaFe2As2 can also be realized in non-superconducting Ba(Fe(1-x)V(x))2As2.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Heat Shock Protein 70 Protects the Heart from Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury through Inhibition of p38 MAPK Signaling.

BackgroundHeat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) has been shown to exert cardioprotection. Intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) overload induced by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) activation contributes to cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, whether Hsp70 interacts with p38 MAPK signaling is unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the regulation of p38 MAPK by Hsp70 in I/R-induced cardiac injury.MethodsNeonatal rat cardiomyocytes were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation for 6 h followed by 2 h reoxygenation (OGD/R), and rats underwent left anterior artery ligation for 30 min followed by 30 min of reperfusion. The p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580), Hsp70 inhibitor (Quercetin), and Hsp70 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) were used prior to OGD/R or I/R. Cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI), [Ca2+]i levels, cell apoptosis, myocardial infarct size, mRNA level of IL-1β and IL-6, and protein expression of Hsp70, phosphorylated p38 MAPK (p-p38 MAPK), sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase2 (SERCA2), phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription3 (p-STAT3), and cleaved caspase3 were assessed.ResultsPretreatment with a p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580, significantly attenuated OGD/R-induced cell injury or I/R-induced myocardial injury, as evidenced by improved cell viability and lower LDH release, resulted in lower serum cTnI and myocardial infarct size, alleviation of [Ca2+]i overload and cell apoptosis, inhibition of IL-1β and IL-6, and modulation of protein expressions of p-p38 MAPK, SERCA2, p-STAT3, and cleaved-caspase3. Knockdown of Hsp70 by shRNA exacerbated OGD/R-induced cell injury, which was effectively abolished by SB203580. Moreover, inhibition of Hsp70 by quercetin enhanced I/R-induced myocardial injury, while SB203580 pretreatment reversed the harmful effects caused by quercetin.ConclusionsInhibition of Hsp70 aggravates [Ca2+]i overload, inflammation, and apoptosis through regulating p38 MAPK signaling during cardiac I/R injury, which may help provide novel insight into cardioprotective strategies