Gastrodin Inhibits Expression of Inducible NO Synthase, Cyclooxygenase-2 and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Cultured LPS-Stimulated Microglia via MAPK Pathways

Microglial activation plays an important role in neurodegenerative diseases by producing several proinflammatory enzymes and proinflammatory cytokines. The phenolic glucoside gastrodin, a main constituent of a Chinese herbal medicine, has been known to display anti-inflammatory properties. The current study investigates the potential mechanisms whereby gastrodin affects the expression of potentially pro-inflammatory proteins by cultured murine microglial BV-2 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS).BV-2 cells were pretreated with gastrodin (30, 40, and 60 µM) for 1 h and then stimulated with LPS (1 µg/ml) for another 4 h. The effects on proinflammatory enzymes, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), are analysed by double-immunofluorescence labeling and RT-PCR assay. To reveal the mechanisms of action of gastrodin we investigated the involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) cascades and their downstream transcription factors, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and cyclic AMP-responsive element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB). Gastrodin significantly reduced the LPS-induced protein and mRNA expression levels of iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, IL-1β and NF-κB. LPS (1 µg/ml, 30 min)-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and this was inhibited by pretreatment of BV-2 cells with different concentrations of gastrodin (30, 40, and 60 µM). In addition, gastrodin blocked LPS-induced phosphorylation of inhibitor κB-α (IκB-α) (and hence the activation of NF-κB) and of CREB, respectively.This study indicates that gastrodin significantly attenuate levels of neurotoxic proinflammatory mediators and proinflammatory cytokines by inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway and phosphorylation of MAPKs in LPS-stimulated microglial cells. Arising from the above, we suggest that gastrodin has a potential as an anti-inflammatory drug candidate in neurodegenerative diseases

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements