Direct and Indirect Effects of Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) 15 and FGF19 on Liver Fibrosis Development

Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) induces fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15; human ortholog FGF19) in the gut to potently inhibit bile acid (BA) synthesis in the liver. FXR activation in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) reduces liver fibrosis (LF). Fgf15^-/- mice develop attenuated LF, but the underlying mechanisms for this protection are unclear. We hypothesized that FGF15/19 functions as a profibrotic mediator or mitogen to HSCs and increased BAs in Fgf15^-/- mice leads to enhanced FXR activation in HSCs, subsequently reducing fibrogenesis. In this study, complimentary in vivo and in vitro approaches were used: (1) CCl₄ -induced LF model in wild type (WT), Fgf15^-/- , and Fgf15 transgenic (TG) mice with BA levels modulated by feeding cholestyramine- or cholic acid-containing diets; (2) analysis of primary HSCs isolated from WT and Fgf15^-/- mice; and (3) treatment of a human HSC line, LX-2, with FXR activators and/or recombinant FGF19 protein. The results showed that Fgf15^-/- mice had lower basal collagen expression, which was increased by BA sequestration. CCl₄ induced fibrosis with similar severity in all genotypes; however, cholestyramine increased fibrosis severity only in Fgf15^-/- mice. HSCs from Fgf15^-/- mice showed increased FXR activity and reduced expression of profibrotic mediators. In LX-2 cells, FXR activation increased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma activity and reduced proliferation. FGF19 activated both signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathways and reduced nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells signaling without increasing fibrogenic gene expression or cell proliferation. Conclusion: FGF15/19 does not act as a direct profibrotic mediator or mitogen to HSCs in our models, and the protection against fibrosis by FGF15 deficiency may be mediated through increased BA activation of FXR in HSCs.

[Epidemiological characteristics and related risk factors on placental abruption in Hebei province]

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors and epidemiological characteristics of placental abruption (PA) in Hebei province. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data on 218 880 pregnant women who were hospitalized in 22 hospitals which were under a monitoring program, in Hebei province, from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016. Data regarding epidemiological characteristics as time distribution, population distribution and related risk factors of placental abruption were gathered and analyzed. Results: In this cohort study, 218 880 women were included, with 669 (0.31%) of the pregnant women having PA. The overall prevalence rates were higher in the South than in the north parts of the area and higher in more developed regional economic centers. The average age of women having the episode was (27.87±4.50) years and presented "J" distribution on the prevalence of maternal age. Results from the multivariate regression analysis showed that the following factors were independently at risk for placental abruption: pregnancy the including hypertension (OR=1.65, 95%CI: 1.09-2.50), mild preeclampsia (OR=3.65, 95%CI: 2.40-5.56), severe preeclampsia (OR=4.72, 95%CI: 3.86-5.76) and anemia (OR=2.41, 95%CI: 2.05-2.83) which were all increased in pregnant women with PA compared with the normal female population without placental abruption. Conclusions: Placental abruption seemed to be associated with a moderate increasing risk of age, and was seen higher in those population older than 35 or younger than 20 year-olds. It was suggested that appropriate inoculation programs should be taken in different regions, especially on high-risk groups. Health education on related disease was of great significance for improving the prenatal outcome.

The effect of fibroblast growth factor 15 deficiency on the development of high fat diet induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) characterized by steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis often associated with metabolic syndrome. Fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15), an endocrine factor mainly produced in the distal part of small intestine, has emerged to be a critical factor in regulating bile acid homeostasis, energy metabolism, and liver regeneration. We hypothesized that FGF15 alters the development of each of the listed features of NASH. To test this hypothesis, four-week old male Fgf15^-/- and their corresponding wild-type (WT) mice were fed either a high fat diet (HFD) or a control chow diet for six months. The results confirmed that HFD feeding for six months in WT mice recapitulated human NASH phenotype, including macrovesicular steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis. Whereas FGF15 deficiency had no effect on the severity of liver steatosis or inflammation, it was associated with decreased liver fibrosis. Furthermore, FGF15 deficiency resulted in abnormal bile acid homeostasis, increased insulin resistance, increased HFD-induced serum triglycerides, decreased inductions of hepatic cholesterol content by HFD, and altered gene expression of lipid metabolic enzymes. These data suggest that FGF15 improves lipid homeostasis and reduces bile acid synthesis, but promotes fibrosis during the development of NASH.

[Feasibility and effectiveness of percutaneous ventricular septal defect closure under solely guidance of echocardiography]

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of percutaneous ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure under solely guidance of echocardiography and fluoroscopy. Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at Fuwai Hospital, between February 2014 and February 2015. The patients were divided into two groups. VSD closure was conducted in 42 patients under solely guidance of echocardiography, and 100 patients who were treated with percutaneous catheter closure under fluoroscopy guidance were selected as a control group. The baseline characteristics, procedural time and complications were recorded and assessed. Results: There were no significant differences in terms of age, gender and pre-operative echocardiographic characteristics (all P>0.05). Percutaneous VSD closure under traditional fluoroscopy guidance was successful in 95 patients (95%). The procedural time was (54.7±12.5) minutes. The symmetrical occluders diameter was (6.9±1.8) mm. Four patients had postoperative residual shunt, one patient developed left bundle branch block, and 6 patients developed new tricuspid regurgitation. Percutaneous VSD closure under only transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) guidance was successful in 39 patients (93%). Because of delivery catheter passage failure through the defect, one case required conversion to perventricular closure via a small transthoracic incision under transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) guidance. The other two cases underwent surgical repair because of residual shunt with more than 2 mm after closure. The procedural time was (40.3±13.2) minutes. The symmetrical occluders diameter was (6.5±1.2) mm. Four patients had postoperative residual shunt that disappeared after 1 month follow-up, and one patient developed right bundle branch block which disappeared 3 days later. During (9.3±3.6) months follow-up, there were no other complications, such as pericardial effusion, occluder malposition, atrioventricular block, aortic valve regurgitation, and aggravating tricuspid regurgitation in each group. However, the total operation time, diameter of VSD occluder, total mild complications, and the equipment cost in the study group were less than that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Percutaneous VSD closure can be successfully performed under sole guidance of echocardiography with outcomes similar to those achieved with fluoroscopy guidance.

Diagnosis value of hysteroscopy for chronic endometritis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the correlation of hysteroscopy in the diagnosis of chronic endometritis (CE) with histology and assess its reliability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Two hundred eleven patients with CE diagnosed by hysteroscopy were selected as the case group, and 30 cases without endometritis diagnosed by hysteroscopy were selected as the control group. Hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy were carried out in all patients with endometrial hyperplasia.

RESULTS

Among 211 patients with CE diagnosed by hysteroscopy, 200 cases were confirmed histologically. There was a significant correlation (p < 0.001) between characterization of CE by hysteroscopy and pathological grading. In 173 cases (86.5%), both histological and hysteroscopic grading were consistent (Kappa value = 0.62).

CONCLUSION

Hysteroscopy is reliable in diagnosing CE and it can assess clinical effectiveness of antibiotic therapy.

The effective method for investigation meridian tropism theory in rats

This present work describes an effective new method for study traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on meridian tropism (MT) theory, which plays an essential role in clinical selection of TCM according to syndromes and strengthens the therapeutic effects. The new thread included material basis foundation and its tissue distribution study. Xiheliu, the most popular TCM on heart tropism, was investigated by simple and accurate high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The analysis of plasma after oral administration the total flavonoid of Xiheliu (TFX) exhibited that tamarixetin and kaempferide had the highest concentration and approximately the highest level within 25 min. The mixture of them could last accelerating the urine excretion more than 7 h after a single dose and could not cause the disorder of ion in rats, which was observed in diuretic activity experiment. In view of the reported biological activities was consistent with the effects of Xiheliu, tamarixetin and kaempferide were likely to be the material basis of it. Tissue distribution study showed that the highest level of analytes was in heart, lung, kidney and liver, and most tissues reached maximum level at 30 min post-dose. Since liver was the most important blood-supply tissue, the result of this experiment was in accordance with the MT record of Xiheliu and confirmed that tamarixetin and kaempferide was the material bases of it on MT. This is the first report for the illumination of material basis and the mechanism of Xiheliu on MT by analysis the record of Xiheliu in Compendium of Materia Medica and experimental study.

Pulsed laser assisted reduction of graphene oxide as a flexible transparent conducting material

In this paper, we use a simple and highly-effective pulsed laser reducing method to fabricate flexible, transparent and conducting graphene film. The pulsed laser reducing process was monitored by digital camera and UV-visible spectroscopy. The obtained reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) was characterized by Raman spectroscopy. Based on this reducing method, the resulting r-GO films possessed a transmittance varied from 29% to 74% and a sheet resistance varied from 2.1 MΩ/[square] to 840 Ω/[square], which was very close to chemically r-GO film.

Few-layer graphene direct deposition on Ni and Cu foil by cold-wall chemical vapor deposition

We report an alternative synthesis process, cold-wall thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD), is replied to directly deposit single-layer and few-layer graphene films on Ar plasma treated Ni and Cu foils using CH4 as carbon source. Through optimizing the process parameters, large scale single-layer graphene grown on Ni foil is comparable to that grown on Cu foil. The graphene films were able to be transferred to other substrates such as SiO2/Si, flexible transparent PET and verified by optical microscopy, Raman microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The sheet resistance and transmission of the transferred graphene films on PET substrate were also discussed.

Construction of three different recombinant scorpion fusion proteins with bifunctional activity

This is the first report of three different fusion proteins with an antitumor-analgesic peptide obtained from Chinese scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch (BmKAGAP). The fusion proteins were constructed in the form of chimeric toxins, aiming to obtain bifunctional analgesic and antitumor activity. The fusion proteins consisted of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH), three different types of flexible linkers (L1, Ser-Ser-His-His-His-His-His-His-Ser-Ser-Gly-Leu-Val-Pro-Arg-Gly-Ser-His-Met; L2, Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser; L3, Ser-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser-Ser-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser), and BmKAGAP. The genes coding three fusion proteins were cloned and expressed in E. coli in soluble form. Following two successive column chromatographic separations, purified fusion proteins were obtained. These fusion proteins exhibited analgesic activity in mice and were cytotoxic to a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line Hep3B.

Evaluation of heavy metal contamination in Phaeozem of northeast China

Surface and profile Phaeozem soil samples from 31 locations affected by various anthropogenic activities such as mining, chemical manufacturing, traffic emission and pesticide application were collected in Heilongjiang Province and Jilin Province, northeast China. The range of total concentrations of four heavy metals Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn in the soil was 0.011-3.137, 10.31-62.34, 9.74-51.21 and 39.54-247.59 mg kg(-1), respectively, determined using the acidic digestion procedure. Four methods including single contamination evaluation, background concentration comparison, surface/subsurface concentration comparison and exchangeable fraction evaluation were used to evaluate the extent of metal contamination in Phaeozem. The results indicated that different activities increased the concentrations of the heavy metals in surface soils, where high concentrations of cadmium and lead were found close to chemical plants and in the suburbs of the investigated cities. The four methods showed a general trend of increased soil contamination with heavy metals. Cadmium was of the most concern compared with the other contaminated elements in the study area, due to the long-term phosphatic fertilizer utilization and industrial activities. The proper evaluation method for cadmium contamination was the background concentration comparison, while for zinc and copper was the single contaminative index evaluation. Cadmium and lead could be the potential environmental risk in the Phaeozem area based on the different evaluations.

Protein kinase C suppresses rat organic anion transporting polypeptide 1- and 2-mediated uptake

Rat oatp1 (Slc21a1) and oatp2 (Slc21a5) transport many structurally unrelated endogenous and exogenous compounds across the sinusoidal membrane of hepatocytes in a sodium-independent manner. There are several potential protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation sites in both rat oatp1 and oatp2 proteins, suggesting that PKA and/or PKC may play a role in regulating their function. It is known that the activities of many transporters are subject to the short-term regulation by activation of PKA or PKC, and thus the purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of compounds that activate or inhibit PKA and PKC on the uptake function of rat organic anion transporting protein (oatp)1 and oatp2 when expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. In the present investigation, neither the PKA activator N-6-benz-cAMP (0.001-1 mM) nor the PKA inhibitor H7 (0.1-100 microM) affected the uptake mediated by rat oatp1 and oatp2. In contrast, the PKC activator phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) suppressed the uptake mediated by rat oatp1 and oatp2 in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. In addition, pretreatment with bisindolylmaleimide, a specific PKC inhibitor, partially reversed the suppression of PMA on rat oatp1-, and almost completely reversed the suppression of PMA on rat oatp2-mediated uptake. In conclusion, this study indicates that rat oatp1- and oatp2-mediated uptake is subject to the short-term regulation by PKC activation, but not by PKA activation.

Removal of toluene in gas streams by a fibrous-bed trickling filter

A novel fibrous-bed trickling filter was developed to remove toluene present in contaminated air. Pure culture of Pseudomonas putida F1 was attached on fibrous-bed and utilized toluene as the carbon source. Experimental results indicated the removal efficiency decreased with the increase of inlet concentration. In general, the removal efficiency of toluene was greater than 90% when the inlet loading capacity was below 70 g m-3h-3. The elimination capacity increased with increasing inlet loading capacity, but the increased rate decreased gradually. When the inlet loading capacity increased to 300 g m-3h-1, the elimination capacity could approach to 130 g m-3h-1. The first order kinetics model was useful to describe the removal of toluene in this filter and an excellent linear relationship was found between the apparent first order parameter and inlet concentration (ranging from 1.2 g m-3 to 3.5 g m-3). Also, the performance of fibrous-bed trickling filter was relatively stable during the four-month period of continuous operation. Slight clogging phenomena of filters were observed only under high loading capacity.

Acute exposure to the abused inhalant, isobutyl nitrite, reduced T cell responsiveness and spleen cellularity

Isobutyl nitrite is an inhalant abused principally by male homosexuals. We have reported that subchronic inhalation exposure (45 min/day for 14 days) to 900 ppm isobutyl nitrite was immunosuppressive. In the present study, the effects of acute exposure to the inhalant were examined. Mice were exposed in an inhalation chamber to 900 ppm isobutyl nitrite for 45 min. One day later, spleen cellularity was reduced by 39% without selectively depleting CD4(+) or CD8(+) cells. The numbers of peripheral blood leukocytes and peritoneal cells were also reduced. Following acute inhalation exposure, T cell proliferative responses stimulated with allogeneic cells or anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies were inhibited, while mitogen-induced responses were not affected. Purified T cells exposed to the inhalant also had compromised responses, suggesting a direct effect on T cells. However, the cumulative effects of multiple exposures were necessary to inhibit T-dependent antibody responses or T cell or macrophage cytotoxicity.