Expecting the Holistic Regulation from Chinese Medicine Based on the "Solar System" Hypothesis of Ischemic Heart Disease

Stenosis of the coronary artery has been considered as an essential component of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Consequently, revascularization [e.g., percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass] has been the primary therapeutic approach to IHD. Such strategy has indeed revolutionized the management of IHD patients. However, not all patients with myocardial ischemia have visible coronary stenosis. Moreover, cardiovascular events occur in nearly 20% patients with stable coronary artery disease who have undergone PCI. The recently proposed “solar system” hypothesis of IHD postulates that coronary stenosis is only one (albeit important) of its features. Mechanistic contribution and clinical implication of multiple pathophysiological processes beyond coronary stenosis are highlighted in this hypothesis. On the basis of a holistic regulation and individualized medicine, Chinese medicine (CM) has been used in the real-world setting to manage a variety of diseases, including IHD, for more than two thousands years. In this article, we summarize the evidence of CM that supports the “solar system” IHD hypothesis, and argue for a comprehensive approach to IHD. At the theoretical level, the central features of this approach include a holistic view of disease and human subjects, as well as individualized medicine. At the practical level, this approach emphasizes anoxia-tolerance and self-healing.     

Pre-germinated brown rice prevents high-fat diet induced hyperglycemia through elevated insulin secretion and glucose metabolism pathway in C57BL/6J strain mice

This study investigated the effect and mechanism of pre-germinated brown rice (PGBR) prevented hyperglycemia in C57BL/6J mice fed high-fat-diet (HFD). Normal six-week-old mice were randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 was fed standard-regular-diet (SRD) and group 2 was fed HFD for 16 weeks. In group 3, the mice were fed a HFD with its carbohydrate replaced with PGBR for 16 weeks. Comparing the SRD and HFD groups, we found the HFD group had higher blood pressure, higher concentrations of blood glucose and HbA1c. The HFD group had less protein expression of insulin receptor (IR), insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), glucose transporter-4 (GLUT-4) and glucokinase (GCK) and greater expression of glucogen synthase kinase (GSK) in skeletal muscle. The HFD group also had less expression of IR, serine/threonine kinase PI3K-linked protein kinase B (Akt/PKB), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), GCK and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) in liver. In the HFD + PGBR group, the PGBR could reverse the disorders of blood pressure, blood glucose, HbA1c and increase insulin concentration. PGBR increased the IR, IRS-1, PI3K, Akt, GLUT-1 and GLUT-4 proteins, and ameliorated AMPK, GCK, GSK and PPARγ proteins. Together, PGBR prevented HFD-induced hyperglycemia through improving insulin levels, insulin receptor, glucose transporters and enhancing glucose metabolism.     

Interleukin 17A genetic variations and susceptibility to non‐small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer‐related death, in which non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type. Evidence have shown that interleukin 17 (IL‐17) greatly involves in human immune responses. In this study, we investigated the effect of IL‐17 on NSCLC by examining the association between IL‐17A genetic polymorphisms and the susceptibility to NSCLC. IL‐17A ‐420A/G and IL‐17A ‐73G/A polymorphisms were detected in 330 NSCLC patients and 382 healthy controls. We found that subjects carrying ?73GA genotype or AA genotype had 2.09‐fold or 2.52‐fold increased risk of NSCLC than those with ?73GG genotype [odds ratio (OR) = 2.09, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.46 – 2.98, p < 0.001; OR = 2.52, 95% CI, 1.30–4.88, p = 0.005, respectively). However, the IL‐17A ‐420A/G did not reveal any correlation with the cancer. Further investigation showed that prevalence of IL‐17A ?73GA genotype and A allele were significantly increased in adenocarcinoma patients (OR = 1.75, 95% CI, 1.08–2.86, p = 0.024, OR = 1.57, 95% CI, 1.09–2.28, p = 0.016, respectively). We also evaluated the effect of the polymorphisms on gene expression, and identified that peripheral blood mononuclear cells with IL‐17A ‐73GA and AA genotypes produced significantly higher level of IL‐17 than the cells with IL‐17A ‐73GG genotype. Our results suggest that IL‐17A ‐73G/A genetic variations may upregulate IL‐17 expression and are associated with increased susceptibility to NSCLC.     

SOCE通道在消化系肿瘤中的研究进展

钙库操纵性钙离子内流(store-operated calcium entry,SOCE)是介导胞外Ca2+进入细胞内的重要通道之一.其核心蛋白是位于内质网上的基质相互作用分子1(stromal interaction molecule 1,STIM1)及位于细胞膜上的钙释放激活钙通道蛋白1(calcium release-activated calcium channel protein 1,CRCM1/Orai1).随着研究的不断深入,SOCE通道在肿瘤中的作用机制逐渐阐明并加以完善,同样在消化系肿瘤中SOCE通道也发挥了重要作用.本文重点对SOCE通道基本信息、及其在消化系肿瘤中研究概况进行综述,并初步分析其作用机制.     

Structure of the apoptosome: mechanistic insights into activation of an initiator caspase from Drosophila

Apoptosis is executed by a cascade of caspase activation. The autocatalytic activation of an initiator caspase, exemplified by caspase-9 in mammals or its ortholog, Dronc, in fruit flies, is facilitated by a multimeric adaptor complex known as the apoptosome. The underlying mechanism by which caspase-9 or Dronc is activated by the apoptosome remains unknown. Here we report the electron cryomicroscopic (cryo-EM) structure of the intact apoptosome from Drosophila melanogaster at 4.0 Å resolution. Analysis of the Drosophila apoptosome, which comprises 16 molecules of the Dark protein (Apaf-1 ortholog), reveals molecular determinants that support the assembly of the 2.5-MDa complex. In the absence of dATP or ATP, Dronc zymogen potently induces formation of the Dark apoptosome, within which Dronc is efficiently activated. At 4.1 Å resolution, the cryo-EM structure of the Dark apoptosome bound to the caspase recruitment domain (CARD) of Dronc (Dronc-CARD) reveals two stacked rings of Dronc-CARD that are sandwiched between two octameric rings of the Dark protein. The specific interactions between Dronc-CARD and both the CARD and the WD40 repeats of a nearby Dark protomer are indispensable for Dronc activation. These findings reveal important mechanistic insights into the activation of initiator caspase by the apoptosome.