Tongqiao Mingmu formula alleviates retinal ganglion cell autophagy through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway

The role of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), including chronic glomerulonephritis, IgA nephropathy and diabetic nephropathy, are common chronic diseases characterized by structural damage and functional decline of the kidneys. The current treatment of CKD is symptom relief. Several studies have reported that the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinases (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway is a pathway closely related to the pathological process of CKD. It can ameliorate kidney damage by inhibiting this signal pathway which is involved with inflammation, oxidative stress, cell apoptosis, epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and autophagy. This review highlights the role of activating or inhibiting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in CKD-induced inflammatory response, apoptosis, autophagy and EMT. We also summarize the latest evidence on treating CKD by targeting the PI3K/Akt pathway, discuss the shortcomings and deficiencies of PI3K/Akt research in the field of CKD, and identify potential challenges in developing these clinical therapeutic CKD strategies, and provide appropriate solutions.

Study of the optic nerve in patients with type 2 diabetic retinopathy by shear-wave elastography

AIM

To investigate the clinical value of two-dimensional shear-wave elastography (2D-SWE) in detecting optic nerve elasticity and in-frame adipose tissue elasticity in patients with type 2 diabetic retinopathy (DR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

2D-SWE was used to detect SWE values of the optic nerve and adipose tissue in adjacent optic nerve frames in 30 healthy participants, 30 patients with diabetic non-retinopathy (NDR), 35 patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and 30 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). The correlation between SWE values and blood glucose, blood lipid, age, body mass index (BMI) was analysed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed for SWE values.

RESULTS

The SWE values of the optic nerve and in-frame adipose tissue increased with the progression of DR, and analysis of variance was compared with groups: the SWE values of the optic nerve and in-frame adipose tissue in each group were significantly different (all p<0.001). The SWE values of the optic nerve and in-frame adipose tissue correlated positively with BMI, age, triglyceride, and fasting blood glucose, and correlated negatively with high-density lipoprotein. The SWE values of the optic nerve and in-frame adipose tissue had higher diagnostic efficacy. The combination of the two had higher diagnostic accuracy.

CONCLUSION

The elastic modulus of optic nerve and in-frame adipose tissue can effectively predict and grade of DR, that is, 2D-SWE can be used as a non-invasive imaging diagnostic method for DR. The combined diagnostic efficacy of optic nerve SWE value and in-frame adipose tissue SWE value is significantly better than that of single use. This study found that increased BMI, age, triglyceride, and fasting blood glucose, and decreased high-density lipoprotein are risk factors for DR.

Traditional Chinese medicine in human diseases treatment: New insights of their potential mechanisms

For millennia, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has relieved the pain of countless patients with its unique theory and treatment method, which has provoked researchers' interest for exploring the biological and molecular mechanisms. This special issue highlights recent advances of this ancient and mysterious medical system in the basic science research field. The authors in this volume explored the molecular characteristics of TCM syndromes and the disease-resistant mechanisms of acupuncture and Chinese herbs in the diseases effecting the human motor system, digestive system, nervous system, and other organ systems by applying high-throughput omics technologies, molecular biology experiments, animal models and other methods. Alongside enhancing their perception of TCM from these latest findings, readers can also understand how to cross the systematic theory of TCM with modern molecular biology techniques. These studies advance our understanding of the potential mechanisms of TCM in treating human diseases, and also provide inspiration for the development of novel TCM-based therapeutic strategies. We hope these efforts will promote extensive development in TCM research.