Abstract Background The distinct arterial and venous cell fates are dictated by a combination of various genetic factors which form diverse types of blood vessels such as arteries, veins, and capillaries. We report here that YULINK protein is involved in vasculogenesis, especially venous formation. Methods In this manuscript, we employed gene knockdown, yeast two-hybrid, FLIM-FRET, immunoprecipitation, and various imaging technologies to investigate the role of YULINK gene in zebrafish and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Results Knockdown of YULINK during the arterial-venous developmental stage of zebrafish embryos led to the defective venous formation and abnormal vascular plexus formation. Knockdown of YULINK in HUVECs impaired their ability to undergo cell migration and differentiation into a capillary-like tube formation. In addition, the phosphorylated EPHB4 was decreased in YULINK knockdown HUVECs. Yeast two-hybrid, FLIM-FRET, immunoprecipitation, as well as imaging technologies showed that YULINK colocalized with endosome related proteins (EPS15, RAB33B or TICAM2) and markers (Clathrin and RHOB). VEGF-induced VEGFR2 internalization was also compromised in YULINK knockdown HUVECs, demonstrating to the involvement of YULINK. Conclusion This study suggests that YULINK regulates vasculogenesis, possibly through endocytosis in zebrafish and HUVECs. Key points Knockdown of YULINK with morpholino in embryos of double transgenic zebrafish exhibited abnormal venous formation. Tube formation and phosphorylated EPHB4 were decreased in YULINK knockdown HUVECs. FLIM-FRET, immunoprecipitation, as well as other imaging technologies showed that YULINK colocalized with endosome related proteins (EPS15, RAB33B and TICAM2) and endosome markers (Clathrin and RHOB). Knockdown of YULINK decreased the internalization of VEGF and VEGFR2 in HUVECs.

Abstract In China, Scutellaria is used for treating inflammatory-related diseases. Baicalin is the main active component of Scutellaria and has protective effects on acute pancreatitis. However, the mechanism of Baicalin is still unclear. In this study, the protective effects of baicalin on acute pancreatitis induced by taurocholate and its mechanism are investigated. In this study, mice were randomly divided into three groups: sham operation, model, and treatment groups. Acute pancreatitis in mice was induced by intraperitoneal injection of taurocholate (35 mg/kg). The treatment group was given baicalin (100 mg/kg) 2 h before acute pancreatitis induction. The mRNA expression levels of miR-429, nuclear factor kappa B65(NF-kB65), toll-like receptor 4(TLR4), TNF receptor associated factor6 (TRAF6), NF-kappa-B inhibitor(IkB), Follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1), and interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) in the liver tissues 24 h after intraperitoneal injection were detected by RT-PCR. Then, the expression levels of NF-kB65, p-NF-κB65, TLR4, TRAF6, IkB, FSTL1, IRAK, p- IRAK, and p- IkB-а proteins were detected by Western blot. IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1 β in plasma were measured by ELISA, and histopathological changes in the pancreases of the mice were observed. The results showed that after baicalin treatment, miR-429 expression in the pancreatic tissues and the expression levels of NF-kB65, TLR4, TRAF6, p-IkB-а, FSTL1, and p-IRAK decreased. Similarly, pancreatic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and the plasma levels of IL-6, TNF-а, IL-12, IL-1β1, endotoxin, serum amylase, and lipase were reduced. Thus, the pancreatic injury induced by taurocholate was alleviated. The present study indicates that pretreatment with Baicalin can alleviate acute pancreatic injury induced by taurocholate in mice. The mechanism may be associated with the decreased miR-429 expression, reduced FSTL1 signaling pathway activity, TLR4 and TLR4/MyD88 signaling pathway inhibition, and reduced pancreatic inflammation. FSTL1 is the regulatory target for miR-429.

Abstract Chinese quince fruits are rich in proanthocyanidins (PAs), which have antioxidant properties. This work describes a method to isolate PAs from Chinese quince fruits by a combination of ball-milling and enzyme hydrolysis pretreatments. The yield, total PA and total phenolic contents, structural characteristics, antioxidant activity, and α-amylase inhibitory activity of different pretreated PA samples were determined and analyzed. Among them, the ball-milling combined with multi-enzyme (cellulase, xylanase, and pectinase) hydrolysis pretreated sample (BEP-4) was the most outstanding. The yield of BEP-4 could be improved up to 7.72%, which was 2.51 times higher than that of the conventional organic solvent extraction method (3.02%). It had the highest total phenols and PAs content of 750.98 ± 6.95 and 948.72 ± 3.50 mg/g extract, respectively. The thermal stability and molecular weight (9610 Da) of BEP-4 were lower than other fractions. BEP-4 contained a high proportion of PC structure (98.35%) and flavan-3-ol content (87.88%). It also had the highest antioxidant capacity with IC50 values of 131.45 ± 0.97, 22.66 ± 0.32, 134.05 ± 0.71, and 182.07 ± 0.28 μg/mL for DPPH, ABTS, hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity, and α-amylase inhibiting capacity, respectively. These investigations provide a new, efficient way to isolate PAs from Chinese quince fruits, and reveal that Chinese quince fruits may be a good source of antioxidants, worthy of further development.

RESUMO Antecedentes: Entre pacientes com acidente vascular cerebral isquêmico (AVCI) agudo com divergência entre gravidade do déficit e volume do infarto, a trombectomia em 6 a 24 horas tem eficácia e segurança semelhantes ao tratamento em até 6 horas. Entretanto, a viabilidade da imagem ponderada em T2 com difusão (DWI) da ressonância magnética necessita validação. Objetivo: Investigar o prognóstico de pacientes com AVCI que recebem tratamento endovascular (EVT) em até 6 horas e de 6-24 horas usando tomografia computadorizada sem contraste (NCCT) e DWI. Métodos: Duzentos e nove pacientes com AVCI de circulação anterior submetidos a EVT foram divididos em ≤ 6 horas e 6-24 horas. Pacientes com sintomas até 6 horas foram tratados se NIHSS ≥ 7 e ASPECTS ≥ 5; aqueles com AVCI ao despertar (WUS) ou com sintomas entre 6-24 horas da última vez em que foram vistos bem (WUS/AVC de fase tardia, LPS) foram tratados se NIHSS ≥ 7 e ASPECTS ≥ 5. Resultados: As porcentagens de pacientes submetidos a implante de stent intracraniano e angioplastia intracraniana sem stent diferiram entre os dois grupos (p <0,001). As taxas de recanalização 0, 1, 2a e 2b não diferiram entre 6 horas e 6-24 horas (p> 0,05). A taxa de recanalização de grau 3 no grupo 6 horas foi menor do que 6-24 horas (p = 0,043). Pontuação na Escala Rankin (3 meses) não foi diferente (p = 0,629). Conclusões: EVT é um tratamento seguro e eficaz para pacientes com WUS e LPS selecionados por meio de imagens baseadas em NCCT e DWI.

ABSTRACT Background: Among patients with acute ischemic stroke with a mismatch between deficit severity and infarct volume, thrombectomy performed within a 6-24 hours time window has efficacy and safety similar to treatment within 6 hours. However, whether magnetic resonance imaging with T2 diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is feasible remains to be validated. Objective: To investigate prognosis among stroke patients receiving endovascular treatment (EVT) within 6 hours and 6-24 hours using non-contrasted computed tomography (NCCT) and DWI. Methods: Overall, 209 anterior-circulation ischemic stroke patients with large-vessel occlusion who underwent EVT were divided into ≤ 6 hours and 6-24 hours groups. Patients presenting symptoms within 6 hours were treated if their NIHSS score was ≥ 7 and ASPECTS score was ≥ 5, whereas those with wake-up stroke (WUS) or presenting symptoms 6-24 hours after last seen well (WUS/late-presenting stroke, LPS) were managed if their NIHSS score was ≥ 7 and ASPECTS score was ≥ 5. Results: The percentages of patients undergoing intracranial stenting and intracranial ballooning without stenting significantly differed between two groups (p < 0.001). Grades 0, 1, 2a and 2b recanalization rates did not differ between the 6 hours and 6-24 hours groups (all p > 0.05). Grade 3 recanalization rate in the 6 hours group was significantly lower than in the 6-24 hours group (p = 0.043). The 3-month Rankin Scale score did not significantly differ between the two groups (p = 0.629). Conclusions: EVT is a safe and effective treatment for patients with WUS and LPS selected through NCCT and DWI-based simple imaging.

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a very common complication that leads to increased physical disability, poor functional outcome, and higher mortality. Therefore, early detection and treatment are very important. Since there are currently no specific guidelines for this disorder in China, the purpose of this study was to develop PSD guidelines and provide suggestions for clinicians and related workers.

We report a case of drug-induced lupus (DIL) on a Chinese woman caused by methimazole (MMI). This report discusses DIL associated with MMI and briefly reviewed the literature concerning to anti-thyroid DIL.

Objective: The aim of the study is to examine the distribution of integrated covariate and its association with blood pressure (BP) among children in Anhui province, China, and assess the predictive value of integrated covariate to children hypertension. Methods: A total of 2,828 subjects (1,588 male and 1,240 female) aged 7-17 years participated in this study. Height, weight, waistline, hipline and BP of all subjects were measured, obesity and overweight were defined by an international standard, specifying the measurement, the reference population, and the age and sex specific cut off points. High BP status was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > 95th percentile for age and gender. Results: Our results revealed that the prevalence of children hypertension was 11.03%, the SBP and DBP of obesity group were significantly higher than that of normal group. Anthropometric obesity indices such as body mass index (BMI) were positively correlated with SBP and DBP. Integrated covariate had a better performance than the single covariate in the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the cut-off value; the sensitivity and the specificity of the integrated covariate were 0.112, 0.577, 0.683, respectively. Conclusion: Integrated covariate is a simple and effective anthropometric index to identify childhood hypertension.

Objetivo: El objetivo del estudio es examinar la distribución de las covariables integrado y su asociación con la presión arterial (PA) entre los niños en la provincia de Anhui, China, y evaluar el valor predictivo de covariables integrado a los niños la hipertensión. Métodos: Un total de 2.828 sujetos (1.588 macho y 1.240 hembra) de 7 a 17 años participaron en este estudio. Altura, peso, cintura, hipline y BP de todos los sujetos fueron medidos, la obesidad y el sobrepeso se han definido por una norma internacional, especificando la medición, la población de referencia, y la edad y sexo los puntos de corte. La condición de alta presión se define como la presión arterial sistólica (PAS) y/o presión arterial diastólica (PAD) > percentil para edad y sexo. Resultados: Nuestros resultados revelan que la prevalencia de niños la hipertensión fue 11,03%, el SBP y DBP de obesidad grupo fueron significativamente más alta que la de grupo normal. Los índices de obesidad, tales como el índice de masa corporal (IMC) se correlacionaron positivamente con SBP y DBP. Integrated covariable tuvo un mejor rendimiento que la covariable en la curva de características operativas del receptor (ROC), el valor de corte, la sensibilidad y la especificidad de las covariables fueron integrados 0,112, 0,577,0,683, respectivamente. Conclusión: Integrado covariable es un simple y eficaz para identificar a la niñez índice antropométrico hipertensión.