Objective To explore the effect of tri pterygium glycoside (TG) on the skeletal muscle atrophy and apoptosis after nerve allograft. Methods Twenty Wistar male rats were adopted as donors, weighing 200-250 g, and the sciatic nerves were harvested. Fifty SD male rats were adopted as recipients, weighing 200-250 g. Fifty SD rats were made the models of10 mm right sciatic nerve defect randomly divided into five groups (n=10): group A, group B, group C, group D and group E.groups A and B received fresh nerve allograft, groups C and D received sciatic nerve allograft pretreated with TG, and group E received autograft. The SD rats were given medicine for 5 weeks from the second day after the transplantation: groups A and E were given physiological sal ine, groups B and D TG 5 mg/ (kg·d), and group C TG 2.5 mg/ (kg·d). At 3 and 6 weeks, respectively, after nerve transplantation, general observation was performed; the structure of skeletal muscles was observed by HE staining; the diameter of skeletal muscles was analyzed with Image-Pro Plus v5.2; the ultrastructure of skeletal muscles was observed by TEM; the expressions of Bax and Bcl-2 were detected by immunohistochemical staining; and the apoptosis of skeletal muscles was detected by TUNEL. Results All rats survived to the end of the experiment. In general observation, the skeletal muscles of SD rates atrophied to different degrees 3 weeks after operation. The muscular atrophy in group A was more serious at 6 weeks, and that in the other groups improved. The wet weight, fiber diameter and expression of Bcl-2 in group A were significantly lower than those in groups B, C, D and E (P lt; 0.01)；those in groups B, C and D were lower than those in group E (P lt; 0.05); and there were no significant differences among groups B, C and D (P gt; 0.05). The apoptosis index and expression of Bax in group A were significantly higher than those in groups B, C, D and E (P lt; 0.01)；those in groups B, C and D were higher than in groupE (Plt; 0.05); and there were no significant differences among groups B, C and D (P gt; 0.05). Three weeks after nerve allograft, under the l ight microscope, the muscle fibers became thin; under the TEM, the sarcoplasmic reticulum was expanded. Six weeks after nerve allograft, under the l ight microscope, the gap of the muscle fibers in group A was found to broaden and connective tissue hyperplasia occurred obviously; under the TEM, sarcomere damage, serious silk dissolution and fragmentary Z l ines were seen in group A, but the myofibrils were arranged tidily in the other groups, and the l ight band, dark band and sarcomere were clear. Conclusion TG can decrease the skeletal muscle atrophy and apoptosis after nerve allograft. The donor’s nerve that is pretreated with TG can reduce the dosage of immunosuppressant for the recipient after allograft.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tripterygium for diabetic nephropathy. Methods All randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials (RCTs or quasi-RCTs) of tripterygium for biabetic nephropathy were collected from The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2010), MEDLINE (1996 to March 2010), CNKI (1994 to March 2010), and CBM (1978 to March 2010). Two reviewers evaluated the quality of the trials and extracted the data independently. RevMan 5.0 software was used for meta-analyses. Results A total of 12 RCTs involving 862 patients were identified. The methodology of the included trials was poor and potential publication bias existed. The meta-analyses results showed: (1) Compared with the conventional treatment, the tripterygium showed more effects in reducing the 24-hour urinary protein (Clinical phase: WMD= –0.49, 95%CI –0.63 to –0.34, No phase: WMD= –0.60, 95%CI –0.96 to –0.24), and the urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) (WMD= –148.75, 95%CI –238.01 to –59.48) was higher than that of the conventional treatment. (2) There were no significant differences between the two groups in the effect on the serum creatinine (Clinical phase: WMD= –8.43, 95%CI –18.15 to 1.29, No phase: WMD= –0.66, 95%CI –2.12 to 0.79) and creatinine clearance rate (WMD= 1.74, 95%CI –6.34 to 9.83). (3) Without enough data, it was uncertain to define the effect of tripterygium on lipids, blood pressure of the DN patients. (4) No severe adverse events or allergic reactions were reported. Conclusion Tripterygium may be a kind of medicine relatively safe and effective for diabetic nephropathy. However, the evidence is not b enough because of some low-quality trials and publication bias. Rigorously-designed, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trials of tripterygium for diabetic nephropathy are needed to further assess the effect.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) in treatment of IgA nephropathy. MethodsThe Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2014), PubMed, EMbase, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data were searched up to April 28th, 2004 to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the efficacy and safety of TwHF in treatment of IgA nephropathy. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality of included studies. Metaanalysis was then conducted using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 10 RCTs involving 521 patients were finally included. The results of meta-analysis showed that:a) compared with MMF group, TwHF group had better outcomes in complete remission (CR) (OR=2.01, 95%CI 1.04 to 3.87, P=0.04), total remission (TR) (OR=3.17, 95%CI 1.22 to 8.23, P=0.02), 24-hour urinary protein content (MD=2.61, 95%CI 1.34 to 3.88, P<0.000 1), and level of serum albumin (MD=-6.42, 95%CI -9.13 to -3.71, P<0.000 01); and b) compared with ACEI (ARB) group, TwHF group had better outcomes in complete remission (CR) (OR=4.25, 95%CI 2.63 to 6.86, P<0.000 01), total remission (TR) (OR=4.15, 95%CI 2.33 to 7.40, P<0.000 01), 24-hour urinary protein content (MD=1.15, 95%CI 0.63 to 1.66, P<0.000 1), and level of serum albumin (MD=-5.18, 95%CI -8.96 to -1.41, P=0.007), all with significant differences. ConclusionTwHF has favourable therapeutic efficacy and safety in treatment of IgA nephropathy. Due to limited quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusion should be verified by further conducting more high quality, large-scale, multicentre RCTs.
Objective To observe the effect of celastrol on the secretion of interleukin (IL)-17 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with sympathetic ophthalmia (SO), and its possible mechanisms. Methods Venous blood samples were extracted from 10 cases of sympathetic ophthalmia patients and 10 health objectives. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated by density gradient centrifugation and then were divided into 4 groups. Group A (control group): PBMCs of health objectives; Group B: PBMCs of SO patients; Group C: PBMCs of SO patients with 0.5 μmol/L celastrol in the medium; Group D: PBMCs of SO patients with 1 μmol/L celastrol in the medium. After culturing the cells for 3 days, the supernatant of 4 groups was collected, and the levels of IL-23 and IL-17 were detected by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). Then, the 50 ng/ml rIL-23 was added into the medium of group A which was the group A1; the 50ng/ml rIL-23 and 1 μmol/L Cela were added into to the medium of group A which was the group A2. For the medium of group B, the 50 ng/ml rIL-23 was added into the medium which was the group B1; the 50 ng/ml rIL-23 and 1 μmol/L celastrol were added into to the medium of group B which was the group B2. After culturing for 3 days, the supernatant of cells of these 4 groups was collected, and the levels of IL-17 were detected by ELISA. Results In group A, the levels of IL-23 and IL-17 were (228.43±17.27) pg/ml and (220.55±31.15) pg/ml respectively. In group B, the levels of IL-23 and IL-17 were (513.85±36.46) pg/ml and (866.77±72.92) pg/ml respectively. In group C, the levels of IL-23 and IL-17 were (381.07±20.93) pg/ml and (517.43±54.87) pg/ml respectively. In group D, the levels of IL-23 and IL-17 were (237.14±17.97) pg/ml and (242.89±34.09) pg/ml respectively. Between group A and D, there was no statistically significant difference in IL-23 or IL-17 level (P＞0.05); but when comparing other groups, the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05). The levels of IL-17 in group A1 and group A2 were (428.43±24.53) pg/ml and (229.15±23.28) pg/ml and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). The levels of IL-17 in group B1 and group B2 were (1373.39±89.51) pg/ml and (571.01±94.88) pg/ml and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). Conclusion Celastrol can inhibit the secretion of IL-17 by PBMCs in SO patients via inhibiting the secretion of IL-23.