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LncRNAs and miRNAs are correlated with the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). Whether lncRNA ROR or miR-185-5p plays a crucial role in MIRI is still unclear. In in-vitro, human cardiac myocytes (HCMs) were treated with hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R). Wistar rats were used to set up an in-vitro I/R model by means of recanalization after ligation. Evaluation of the myocardial injury marker lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in HCMs cells was performed. The expression of miR-185-5p and ROR, IL-1β, and IL-18 were detected by qRT-PCR. ELISA was also performed to evaluate the secretion of IL-1β and IL-18. Western blotting was carried out to determine CDK6, NLRP3, GSDMD-N, ASC, and cleaved-caspase1 protein expression. The relationship between miR-185-5p and CDK6 or ROR was confirmed by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Our findings revealed that H/R treated HCMs showed a significantly decreased miR-185-5p expression and increased expression of CDK6 and ROR. ROR knockdown reduced H/R induced pyroptosis and inflammation, while knockdown of miR-185-5p accelerated the effect. Furthermore, miR-185-5p was negatively regulated and absorbed by ROR in HCMs. Overexpression of miR-185-5p reversed the H/R-induced cell pyroptosis and upregulation of LDH, IL-1β, and IL-18. In HCMs, miR-185-5p was also negatively regulated and related to CDK6 expression. Moreover, overexpression of CDK6 significantly inhibited the effects of miR-185-5p mimics on the inflammatory response and pyroptosis of HCMs. Knockdown of ROR alleviated H/R-induced myocardial injury by elevating miR-185-5p and inhibiting CDK6 expression. Taken together, our results show that the ROR/miR-185-5p/CDK6 axis modulates cell pyroptosis induced by H/R and the inflammatory response of HCMs. LncRNA ROR knockdown inhibits cardiomyocyte pyroptosis and inflammation induced by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), while miR-185-5p knockdown accelerates the effect. ROR promotes CDK6 expression by targeting miR-185-5p. ROR promotes cardiomyocyte damage and pyroptosis by increasing CDK6 expression via miR-185-5p, suggesting that ROR may be a new therapeutic target of myocardial I/R injury.

Non-healing diabetic wounds (DW) are a serious clinical problem that remained poorly understood. We recently found that topical application of growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) accelerated skin wound healing in both Type 1 DM (T1DM) and genetically engineered Type 2 diabetic db/db (T2DM) mice. In the present study, we elucidated the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the action of GDF11 on healing of small skin wound. Single round-shape full-thickness wound of 5-mm diameter with muscle and bone exposed was made on mouse dorsum using a sterile punch biopsy 7 days following the onset of DM. Recombinant human GDF11 (rGDF11, 50 ng/mL, 10 μL) was topically applied onto the wound area twice a day until epidermal closure (maximum 14 days). Digital images of wound were obtained once a day from D0 to D14 post-wounding. We showed that topical application of GDF11 accelerated the healing of full-thickness skin wounds in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic mice, even after GDF8 (a muscle growth factor) had been silenced. At the cellular level, GDF11 significantly facilitated neovascularization to enhance regeneration of skin tissues by stimulating mobilization, migration and homing of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) to the wounded area. At the molecular level, GDF11 greatly increased HIF-1ɑ expression to enhance the activities of VEGF and SDF-1ɑ, thereby neovascularization. We found that endogenous GDF11 level was robustly decreased in skin tissue of diabetic wounds. The specific antibody against GDF11 or silence of GDF11 by siRNA in healthy mice mimicked the non-healing property of diabetic wound. Thus, we demonstrate that GDF11 promotes diabetic wound healing via stimulating endothelial progenitor cells mobilization and neovascularization mediated by HIF-1ɑ-VEGF/SDF-1ɑ pathway. Our results support the potential of GDF11 as a therapeutic agent for non-healing DW.

Aiming at the problems of cupping machine camera with a small field of view, complete and high-definition cupping spot characteristics need to be monitored in real time, so as to effectively ensure that the cupping machine can accurately control the cupping time to avoid harm to the human body and extracting the complete back contour for automatic acupuncture point positioning, a fast stitching method for multi-view image of cupping spots is proposed. The present study uses linear transformation and Gaussian smoothing to preprocess the images to enhance image details, improve contrast, and reduce the influence of tank occlusion; Then, we combine the BRISK algorithm and the match factor to match the image and estimate the overlapping area through establishing a binary tree model so as to improve the efficiency of feature point detection and matching. Experimental results show that compared with the AutoStitch, the image stitched which is high definition has no obvious seams, ghosting, and distortion. What’s more, the algorithm in this paper is more efficient and the back contour is more complete. The algorithm in this paper has good real-time performance and the clarity of the cupping spots is high, which is conducive to the subsequent real-time detection of the cupping spots. At the same time, the back contour of the image stitched by the algorithm in this paper is complete, which is conducive to the subsequent automatic acupuncture point positioning.

Aim： The search for molecules whose bioactivities are similar to those of given compounds or to optimize the initial lead compounds from high throughput screening has attracted increasing interest in recent years. Our goal is to provide a publically searchable database of scaffolds out from a large collection of existing chemical molecules. Results： Although a number of in silico methods have emerged to facilitate this process, which has become known as ＂scaffold hopping＂ or ＂molecular hopping＂, there is an urgent need for a database system to provide such valuable data in the drug design field. Here we have systematically analyzed a collection of commercially available small molecule databases and a bioactive compound database to identify unique scaffolds and we have built apublically searchable database. The analysis of approximately 4 800 000 of these compounds identified 241 824 unique scaffolds, which are stored in a relational database （http：//202.127.30.184：8080/db.html）. Each entry in the database is associated with a molecular occurrence and includes its distribution of molecular properties, such as molecular weight, logP, hydrogen bond acceptor number, hydrogen bond donor number, rotatable bond number and ring number. More importantly, for scaffolds derived from the bioactive compounds database, it also contains the original compounds and their target information. Conclusion： This Web-based database system could help researchers in the fields of medicinal and organic chemistry to design novel molecules with properties similar to the original compounds, but built on novel scaffolds.

Background：Myocarditis is an uncommon but serious manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus （SLE）.This study aimed to investigate clinical characteristics and outcomes of lupus myocarditis （LM） and to determine risk factors of LM in hospitalized Chinese patients with SLE.Methods：We conducted a retrospective case-control study.A total of 25 patients with LM from 2001 to 2012 were enrolled as the study group,and 1 O0 patients with SLE but without LM were randomly pooled as the control group.Univariable analysis was performed using Chi-square tests for categorical variables,and the Student＇s t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test was performed for continuous variables according to the normality.Results：LM presented as the initial manifestation of SLE in 7 patients （28％） and occurred mostly at earlier stages compared to the controls （20.88 ± 35.73 vs.44.08 ± 61.56 months,P =0.008）.Twenty-one patients （84％） experienced episodes of symptomatic heart failure.Echocardiography showed that 23 patients （92％） had decreased left ventricular ejection fraction （＜50％） and all patients had wall motion abnormalities.A high SLE Disease Activity Index was the independent risk factor in the development of LM （odds ratio =1.322,P ＜ 0.001）.With aggressive immunosuppressive therapies,most patients achieved satisfactory outcome.The in-hospital mortality was not significantly higher in the LM group than in the controls （4％ vs.2％,P =0.491）.Conclusions：LM could result in cardiac dysfunction and even sudden death.High SLE disease activity might potentially predict the occurrence of LM at the early stage of SLE.Characteristic echocardiographic findings could confirm the diagnosis of LM.Early aggressive immunosuppressive therapy could improve the cardiac outcome of LM.

Aim： To investigate the effect of farrerol, a major active component isolated from a traditional Chinese herb ＂Man-shan-hong＂ （the dried leaves of Rhododendron dauricum L） on fetal bovine serum （FBS）-induced proliferation of cultured vascular smooth muscle cells （VSMCs） of rat thoracic aorta. Methods： VSMCs proliferation, DNA synthesis and cell cycle progression were studied using the MTT assay, bromodeoxyuridine （BrdU） incorporation and flow cytometry, respectively. The mRNA levels of cell cycle proteins were quantified using real-time RT-PCR, and the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was determined using Western blotting. Reporter gene and receptor binding assays were employed to study the interaction between farrerol and estrogen receptors （ERs）. Results： Farrerol （0.3-10 pmol/L） inhibited VSMC proliferation and DNA synthesis induced by 5% FBS in a concentration-dependent manner. The effects were associated with G1 cell cycle arrest, down-regulation of cell cycle proteins and reduction in FBS-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Using a reporter gene, it was found that farrerol （3 μmol/L） induced 2.1-fold transcription of ER. In receptor binding assays, farrerol inhibited the binding of [3H]estradiol for ERα and ERβ with ICsovalues of 57 pmol/L and 2.7 μmol/L, respectively, implying that farrerol had a higher affinity for ERβ. Finally, the inhibition of VSMC proliferation by farrerol （3 μmol/L） was abolished by the specific ERβ antagonist PHTPP （5 μmol/L）. Conclusion： Farrerol acts as a functional phytoestrogen to inhibit FBS-induced VSMC proliferation, mainly via interaction with ERβ, which may be helpful in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases related to abnormal VSMCs proliferation.

A waste heat recovery and denitrification system was developed for improving energy conservation and emissions control especially for control of PM2.5 particles and haze. The system uses enhanced heat and mass transfer techniques in a packed heat exchange tower with self-rotation and zero-pressure spraying, low temperature NO oxidation by ozone, and neutralization with an alkali solution. Operating data in a test project gave NOx in the exhaust flue gas of less than 30 mg/Nm3 with an ozone addition rate of 8 kg/h and spray water pH of 7.5–8, an average heat recovery of 3 MW, and an average heat supply of 7.2 MW.

Myricetin (Myr) is a common plant-derived polyphenol and is well recognized for its multiple activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anticancer, and antidiabetes. Our previous studies indicated that Myr protected mouse heart from lipopolysaccharide and streptozocin-induced injuries. However, it remained to be unclear whether Myr could prevent mouse heart from pressure overload-induced pathological hypertrophy. Wild type (WT) and cardiac Nrf2 knockdown (Nrf2-KD) mice were subjected to aortic banding (AB) surgery and then administered with Myr (200 mg/kg/d) for 6 weeks. Myr significantly alleviated AB-induced cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and cardiac dysfunction in both WT and Nrf2-KD mice. Myr also inhibited phenylephrine- (PE-) induced neonatal rat cardiomyocyte (NRCM) hypertrophy and hypertrophic markers’ expression in vitro. Mechanically, Myr markedly increased Nrf2 activity, decreased NF-κB activity, and inhibited TAK1/p38/JNK1/2 MAPK signaling in WT mouse hearts. We further demonstrated that Myr could inhibit TAK1/p38/JNK1/2 signaling via inhibiting Traf6 ubiquitination and its interaction with TAK1 after Nrf2 knockdown in NRCM. These results strongly suggested that Myr could attenuate pressure overload-induced pathological hypertrophy in vivo and PE-induced NRCM hypertrophy via enhancing Nrf2 activity and inhibiting TAK1/P38/JNK1/2 phosphorylation by regulating Traf6 ubiquitination. Thus, Myr might be a potential strategy for therapy or adjuvant therapy for malignant cardiac hypertrophy.

Histidine triad nucleotide‐binding protein 2 (HINT2) is an enzyme found in mitochondria that functions as a nucleotide hydrolase and transferase. Prior studies have demonstrated that HINT2 plays a crucial role in ischemic heart disease, but its importance in cardiac remodelling remains unknown. Therefore, the current study intends to determine the role of HINT2 in cardiac remodelling. HINT2 expression levels were found to be lower in failing hearts and hypertrophy cardiomyocytes. The mice that overexpressed HINT2 exhibited reduced myocyte hypertrophy and cardiac dysfunction in response to stress. In contrast, the deficiency of HINT2 in the heart of mice resulted in a worsening hypertrophic phenotype. Further analysis indicated that upregulated genes were predominantly associated with the oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial complex I pathways in HINT2‐overexpressed mice after aortic banding (AB) treatment. This suggests that HINT2 increases the expression of NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) flavoprotein (NDUF) genes. In cellular studies, rotenone was used to disrupt mitochondrial complex I, and the protective effect of HINT2 overexpression was nullified. Lastly, we predicted that thyroid hormone receptor beta might regulate HINT2 transcriptional activity. To conclusion, the current study showcased that HINT2 alleviates pressure overload‐induced cardiac remodelling by influencing the activity and assembly of mitochondrial complex I. Thus, targeting HINT2 could be a novel therapeutic strategy for reducing cardiac remodelling.

Background The effect of statin treatment on circulating coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has been studied in numerous randomized controlled trails (RCTs). However, whether statin treatment decreases circulating CoQ10 is still controversial. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify RCTs to investigate the effect of statin treatment on circulating CoQ10. We calculated the pooled standard mean difference (SMD) using a fixed effect model or random effect model to assess the effect of statin treatment on circulating CoQ10. The methodological quality of the studies was determined according to the Cochrane Handbook. Publication bias was evaluated by a funnel plot, the Egger regression test, and the Begg–Mazumdar correlation test. Results Twelve RCTs with a total of 1776 participants were evaluated. Compared with placebo, statin treatment resulted in a reduction of circulating CoQ10 (SMD, − 2.12; 95% CI, − 3.40 to − 0.84; p  = 0.001), which was not associated with the duration of statin treatment (Exp, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.03; p  = 0.994). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that both lipophilic statins (SMD, − 1.91; 95% CI, − 3.62 to 0.2; p  = 0.017) and hydrophilic statins (SMD, − 2.36; 95% CI, − 4.30 to − 0.42; p  = 0.028) decreased circulating CoQ10, and no obvious difference was observed between the two groups (SMD, − 0.20; 95% CI, − 0.208 to 0.618; p  = 0.320). In addition, both low-middle intensity statins (SMD, − 2.403; 95% CI, − 3.992 to − 0.813; p  < 0.001) and high intensity statins (SMD, − 1.727; 95% CI, − 2.746 to − 0.709; p  < 0.001) decreased circulating CoQ10. Meta-regression showed that the effect of statin on decreasing circulating CoQ10 was not closely associated with the duration of statin treatment (Exp, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.03; p  = 0.994). Conclusions Statin treatment decreased circulating CoQ10 but was not associated with the statin solution, intensity, or treatment time. The findings of this study provide a potential mechanism for statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS) and suggest that CoQ10 supplementation may be a promising complementary approach for SAMS.