Vascular dementia (VD) is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, but there is a lack of definitive treatment for VD. Acupuncture treatment is effective in improving the ...cognitive impairment and behavioral capacity of patients with VD. In recent years, more studies indicated that peripheral inflammation and abnormal peripheral immune function may aggravate neuroinflammation and cognitive dysfunction. However, there are few studies about the acupuncture and the abnormal peripheral immune function of VD. Also, few studies concern the regulating effect of acupuncture on peripheral immunity of patients with VD.
The aim of this study was to explore the effect of the "sanjiao" acupuncture method on peripheral immunity of patients with mild to moderate VD.
A total of 30 patients with VD were involved in the acupuncture group (AG), which was treated with the "sanjiao" acupuncture method once a day for six times a week and lasted for 12 weeks, and 30 healthy elderly people were assigned to the normal group (NG), which had no treatment. The distribution of lymphocyte subsets and the levels of some inflammatory cytokines in the peripheral blood of subjects were evaluated using the flow cytometry (FCM) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
A total of 60 subjects were involved in this study, while 58 subjects completed the entire trial. Before treatment, the levels of CD3
T, CD4
T cells, CD4
/CD8
, Tregs, B cells, IFN-γ, and IL-10 in patients with VD were significantly decreased compared with the normal group (all
< 0.05 or
< 0.01). The level of TNF-α in peripheral blood of patients with VD was significantly increased (
< 0.01). After acupuncture treatment, the levels of CD3
T, CD4
T cells, and IFN-γ were significantly increased (all
< 0.05 or
< 0.01). The level of TNF-α was significantly decreased (
< 0.01). The proportion of Tregs was increased (
< 0.01), but it was still lower than that of the normal group (
< 0.05).
The acupuncture method can increase the proportion of CD3
, CD4
T cells, and Tregs in peripheral blood of patients with VD. And, it reduces the levels of pro-inflammatory factor TNF-α, which achieves the anti-inflammatory effects and immunostimulation. It suggests that acupuncture can improve the peripheral immune dysfunction of patients with VD by regulating the distribution of lymphocyte subsets and the levels of inflammatory cytokines.
www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR-IOR-17012052.
The present study was developed to explore the impact of acupuncture on the Th17/Treg balance in the brain and the periphery and associated changes in cognitive deficits in a rat model of vascular ...dementia (VD).
Male Wistar rats (8 weeks old) were randomly assigned to sham-operated (Gs, n = 10), and operation (n = 30) groups. A VD model was established for all rats in the operation group via the permanent bilateral occlusion of the common carotid artery. Behavioral screening of these rats was conducted via a hidden platform trial at 2 months post-operation. These operation group rats were then further subdivided into impaired (Gi) and acupuncture (Ga) groups (n = 10/group). Acupuncture was performed over a 21-day period for rats in the Ga group. A Morris water maze (MWM) test was used to assess cognitive function for rats in all groups. Flow cytometry and fluorescent staining were used to detect Th17 and Treg cells in samples from these animals based on IL-17/FoxP3 or CD4+FoxP3+/CD4+RORγt+ staining profiles.
Relative to the Gs group, escape latency values for rats in the Gi group were significantly increased. Following treatment, rats in the Ga group exhibited significant reductions in escape latency values as compared to rats in the Gi group (P < 0.05). The relative Treg proportion in the peripheral blood and spleen additionally trended upwards in these Ga rats as compared to those in the Gi group (P > 0.05), whereas the frequency of Th17 cells in the peripheral blood and spleen of Ga group rats trended downward relative to the Gi group (P > 0.05). Significantly fewer CD4+RORγt+ and RORγt+ cells were detected in the Ga group relative to the Gi group, whereas CD4+FoxP3+ and FoxP3+ cell counts were increased (P < 0.01).
In summary, VD model rats exhibited dysregulated Th17/Treg homeostasis. Acupuncture treatment was sufficient to reduce the frequency and numbers of Th17 cells in these animals while increasing Treg cell levels, thereby alleviating cognitive deficits with respect to both spatial learning and memory impairment. Consequently, the therapeutic benefits of such acupuncture treatment may be attributable to the regulation of the Th17/Treg balance and associated improvements in cognitive function.
Objective
The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of acupuncture on peripheral immune function, inflammation, and cognitive impairment in vascular dementia (VD) rats.
Methods
In this study, ...2-month-old healthy male Wistar rats (260–280 g) were assigned to the groups as follows: normal group (Gn,
n
= 10), sham-operated group (Gs,
n
= 10), and operated group (Go,
n
= 45). The Go group was established by permanent, bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO). Two months after operation, the operated rats were screened by hidden platform trial and the rats with cognitive dysfunction were further randomly divided into impaired group (Gi), acupoint group (Ga), and non-acupoint group (Gna) with 10 rats in each group. The Ga group was given acupuncture treatment for 14 days with a rest for every 7 days. After treatment, the Morris water maze (MWM) test was performed to evaluate the spatial learning and memory abilities of rats. The lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and spleen of rats were measured by flow cytometry. The levels of cytokines i.e., interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-γ (INF-γ), chemokines (i.e., macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2)), and other inflammatory mediators (i.e., cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)) in peripheral blood and hippocampus were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results
Compared with the Gn group, the Gi rats presented long escape latencies to find the platform. After acupuncture treatment, the escape latencies of the Ga group were rescued markedly when compared with the Gi group (
P
< 0.05). The proportion of CD4 + T lymphocytes in both spleen and peripheral blood in the Ga group increased (
P
< 0.05) in comparison with the Gi group. There is an obvious reduction in IL-1β (
P
< 0.05), IL-2 (
P
< 0.05), TNF-α (
P
< 0.01), INF-γ (
P
< 0.01), MIP-2 (
P
< 0.05), and iNOS (
P
< 0.01), coming along with the increased levels of IL-4 and IL-10 (
P
< 0.01) in the Ga group when compared with the Gi group. In addition, the hippocampus proinflammatory factors IL-1β (
P
< 0.01), IL-2 (
P
< 0.01), TNF-α (
P
< 0.05), INF-γ (
P
< 0.05), MIP-2 (
P
< 0.05), iNOS (
P
< 0.01), and COX-2 decreased in the Ga group, whereas the anti-inflammatory factors IL-4 and IL-10 (
P
< 0.01) increased.
Conclusion
There are abnormal immune function and peripheral inflammation in VD rats. Acupuncture can regulate the peripheral immune function and inflammation of the VD rats and can improve the cognitive dysfunction of the rats.
OBJECTIVE： To determine the clinical efficacy and safety of electro-scalp acupuncture in the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS： Totally 74 patients with acute ischemic stroke ...were enrolled and divided into either body acupuncture （Control） or electro-scalp acupuncture （ESA） groups according to randomized controlled principle. The patients in the control group were given body acupuncture treatment once daily for 28 d, whereas except for the body acupuncture, electro-scalp acupuncture was additional treatment given to the ESA group. Neurological deficits, everyday motor function and muscle strength were evaluated at baseline and the 28th d by NIH Stroke Scale （NIHSS）, FugI-Meyer Assessment （FMA） and Modified Barthel Index Score （MBI）, respectively. RESULTS： There were not obvious between-group differences in the baseline efficacy parameters （NI- HSS, FMA and MBI） （all P 〉 0.05）, whereas signifi- cant between-group differences were found in post-treatment NIHSS, FMA-UE and MBI scores （all P 〈 0.05）. After acupuncture treatment, systematic within-group improvements were found in the two groups for any of the efficacy parameters assessed （all P 〈 0.01）, and the ESA group showed higher significant improvements in NIHSS, FMA-UE and MBI scores （all P 〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Electro-scalp acupuncture was efficacious in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, which resulted in meaningful improvements in neurologic function, motor function and activities of daily living of patients.
Protection against endothelial damage is recognized as a frontline approach to preventing the progression of cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that interleukin-6 ...(IL-6) promotes vascular endothelial damage during CRS, although the molecular mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. Targeting IL-6 receptor signaling delays CRS progression; however, current options are limited by persistent inhibition of the immune system. Here, we show that endothelial IL-6 trans-signaling promoted vascular damage and inflammatory responses via hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α)-induced glycolysis. Using pharmacological inhibitors targeting HIF1α activity or mice with the genetic ablation of gp130 in the endothelium, we found that inhibition of IL-6R (IL-6 receptor)-HIF1α signaling in endothelial cells protected against vascular injury caused by septic damage and provided survival benefit in a mouse model of sepsis. In addition, we developed a short half-life anti-IL-6R antibody (silent anti-IL-6R antibody) and found that it was highly effective at augmenting survival for sepsis and severe burn by strengthening the endothelial glycocalyx and reducing cytokine storm, and vascular leakage. Together, our data advance the role of endothelial IL-6 trans-signaling in the progression of CRS and indicate a potential therapeutic approach for burns and sepsis.
To determine the clinical efficacy and safety of electro-scalp acupuncture in the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Totally 74 patients with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled and ...divided into either body acupuncture (Control) or electro-scalp acupuncture (ESA) groups according to randomized controlled principle. The patients in the control group were given body acupuncture treatment once daily for 28 d, whereas except for the body acupuncture, electro-scalp acupuncture was additional treatment given to the ESA group. Neurological deficits, everyday motor function and muscle strength were evaluated at baseline and the 28th d by NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Modified Barthel Index Score (MBI), respectively.
There were not obvious between-group differences in the baseline efficacy parameters (NIHSS, FMA and MBI) (all P > 0.05), whereas significant between-group differences were found in post-treatment NIHSS, FMA-UE and MBI scores (all P < 0.05). After acupuncture treatment, systematic within-group improvements were found in the two groups for any of the efficacy parameters assessed (all P < 0.01), and the ESA group showed higher significant improvements in NIHSS, FMA-UE and MBI scores (all P < 0.05).
Electro-scalp acupuncture was efficacious in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, which resulted in meaningful improvements in neurologic function, motor function and activities of daily living of patients.
Our study aimed to investigate whether CAF (cancer-associated fibroblasts) were involved in long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA)-regulated radioresponse in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
By use ...of lncRNAs PCR array, 38 lncRNAs were screened in esophageal cancer cells and in normal esophageal epithelial cells Het-1A. LncRNA DNM3OS was detected in tumor tissues of patients with ESCC and in matched normal esophageal epithelial tissues by qRT-PCR analysis and
hybridization assay. The association of DNM3OS and tumor radioresistance was investigated
and
. The influences of DNM3OS on DNA damage response (DDR) was investigated by Western blotting, immunofluorescence imaging, and comet assay. The mechanisms by which CAFs promoted DNM3OS expression was investigated by kinase inhibitors' screening, luciferase assay, and chromatin immunoprecipitation.
Among the 38 lncRNAs tested, DNM3OS was found to have a much higher expression level in esophageal cancer cells than in Het-1A. In tumor tissues of 16 patients with ESCC, the expression level of DNM3OS showed an average increase of 6.3429-fold compared with that in matched normal tissues. DNM3OS conferred significant radioresistance
and
by regulating DDR. CAFs promoted the expression of DNM3OS with a 39.2554-fold and 38.3163-fold increase in KYSE-30 and KYSE-140, respectively. CAFs promoted the expression of DNM3OS in a PDGFβ/PDGFRβ/FOXO1 signaling pathway-dependent manner. FOXO1, a transcription factor downstream of PDGFβ/PDGFRβ signaling pathway, initiated the transcription of DNM3OS by binding to DNM3OS promoter.
Our study highlighted CAF-promoted DNM3OS as an attractive target to reverse tumor radioresistance in ESCC.
The Cu/Cu2O nanoclusters deposited carbon spheres have been synthesized through a layer by layer assembly method and subsequently in situ self reduction process, during which the deposited CuO served ...as the precursor of Cu/Cu2O nanoclusters and carbon sphere as the reducing agent and high specific surface substrate. XRD, SEM and TEM were employed to characterize the crystal structure and morphology of the as-prepared samples. The results showed that the Cu/Cu2O nanoclusters are homogeneously anchored onto the carbon spheres and the phase composition can be changed by altering the numbers of the assembly layers. The double shelled Cu/Cu2O/CSs showed remarkable electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation including two linear range (10–690μM and 1190–3690μM) with high selectivity of 63.8 and 22.6μAmM−1cm−2 respectively, as well as good stability and repeatability. More importantly, the interference from the commonly interfering species such as l-valine, urea, l-proline, NaCl and l-lysine can be effectively avoided. All these results indicated this novel nanostructured material might be a promising candidate for non-enzymatic glucose sensors.
This paper presents a new three-dimensional chaotic system with a nonlinear term. More interesting is that the system can produce different types of coexisting attractors under one sets of fixed ...model parameters, which include point attractor, bursting orbit, three kinds of period orbits, and two kinds of chaotic orbits. At the same time, the coexisting attractors have nested structure. In addition, riddled basins are observed on local attraction basins, which indicate that the dynamical behaviors of proposed system are extremely sensitive to the initial conditions. Finally, by setting different initial condition, the circuit can generate multitudinous coexisting attractors. The circuit implementation in Pspice supports furtherly numerical analyses and validates the mathematical model.
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