Efficacy of Terpenoid in Attenuating Aortic Atherosclerosis in Apolipoprotein-E Deficient Mice: A Meta-Analysis of Animal Studies

Efficacy of terpenoids in attenuating pulmonary edema in acute lung injury: A meta-analysis of animal studies

Background: The clinical efficiency of terpenoids in treating human acute lung injury (ALI) is yet to be determined. The lipopolysaccharide-induced rat model of ALI is a well-established and widely used experimental model for studying terpenoids’ effects on ALI. Using a systematic review and meta-analysis, the therapeutic efficiency of terpenoid administration on the lung wet-to-dry weight ratio in rats was investigated.

Methods: Using the Cochrane Library, Embase, and PubMed databases, a comprehensive literature search for studies evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of terpenoids on ALI in rats was conducted. The lung wet-to-dry weight ratio was extracted as the main outcome. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Systematic Review Center for Laboratory Animal Experimentation’s risk of bias tool.

Results: In total, 16 studies were included in this meta-analysis. In general, terpenoids significantly lowered the lung wet-to-dry weight ratio when compared with the control vehicle (p = 0.0002; standardized mean difference (SMD): −0.16; 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.24, −0.08). Subgroup analysis revealed that low dose (≤10 μmol/kg) (p < 0.0001; SMD: −0.68; 95% CI: −1.02, −0.34), intraperitoneal injection (p = 0.0002; SMD: −0.43; 95% CI: −0.66, −0.20), diterpenoid (p = 0.004; SMD: −0.13; 95% CI: −0.23, −0.04), and triterpenoid (p = 0.04; SMD: −0.28; 95% CI: −0.54, −0.01) significantly lowered the lung wet-to-dry weight ratio when compared with the control vehicle.

Conclusion: A low dose of diterpenoid and triterpenoid administered intraperitoneally is effective in alleviating ALI. This systematic review and meta-analysis provides a valuable mirror for clinical research aiming at the advancement of terpenoids for preventive and therapeutic use.

Systematic Review Registration: CRD42022326779

Effects of toxic apolipoprotein E fragments on Tau phosphorylation and cognitive impairment in neonatal mice under sevoflurane anesthesia

BACKGROUND

Anesthesia induces Tau phosphorylation and cognitive impairment in young, but not adult, mice. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) may play a protective role in neuronal activity and injury repair, whereas its toxic fragments are reported to induce neurodegeneration and neurocognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, we set out to test the hypothesis that the difference in ApoE fragments, but not the full-length ApoE, contributes to the difference in Tau phosphorylation and neurocognitive functions following sevoflurane anesthesia in young mice.

METHODS

Sevoflurane was administered to wild-type (WT), ApoE-knockout (ApoE-KO), ApoE3-targeted replacement (ApoE3 expresses both full-length and fragmented ApoE), and ApoE2-targeted replacement (ApoE2 only expresses full-length ApoE) mice. The mRNA and protein levels of ApoE, phosphorylated Tau (pTau), and cognitive function were tested in the mice.

RESULTS

Sevoflurane anesthesia enhanced ApoE mRNA, total ApoE, full-length ApoE, ApoE fragments, Tau phosphorylation (AT8 and PHF1), and cognitive impairment in young mice, but not in adult mice. ApoE2, but not ApoE3 or ApoE-KO, mice showed reduced sevoflurane-induced pTau elevation and cognitive impairment.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that elevated ApoE fragments rather than full-length ApoE might be one of the underlying mechanisms of age-dependent Tau phosphorylation and cognitive impairment in young mice following sevoflurane anesthesia.

[Metabolomic changes of neonatal sepsis: an exploratory clinical study]

OBJECTIVES

To study the metabolic mechanism of neonatal sepsis at different stages by analyzing the metabolic pathways involving the serum metabolites with significant differences in neonates with sepsis at different time points after admission.

METHODS

A total of 20 neonates with sepsis who were hospitalized in the Department of Neonatology, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020 were enrolled as the sepsis group. Venous blood samples were collected on days 1, 4, and 7 after admission. Ten healthy neonates who underwent physical examination during the same period were enrolled as the control group. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used for the metabonomic analysis of serum samples to investigate the change in metabolomics in neonates with sepsis at different time points.

RESULTS

On day 1 after admission, the differentially expressed serum metabolites between the sepsis and control groups were mainly involved in the biosynthesis of terpenoid skeleton. For the sepsis group, the differentially expressed serum metabolites between days 1 and 4 after admission were mainly involved in pyruvate metabolism, and those between days 4 and 7 after admission were mainly involved in the metabolism of cysteine and methionine. The differentially expressed serum metabolites between days 1 and 7 after admission were mainly involved in ascorbic acid metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS

The metabolic mechanism of serum metabolites varies at different stages in neonates with sepsis and is mainly associated with terpenoid skeleton biosynthesis, pyruvate metabolism, cysteine/methionine metabolism, and ascorbic acid metabolism.