Int J Med Sci
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Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury exacerbates cellular damage upon restoring blood flow to ischemic cardiac tissue, causing oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. This study investigates Nicotinamide Riboside (NR), a precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), for its cardioprotective effects. Administering NR to mice before I/R injury and evaluating heart function via echocardiography showed that NR significantly improved heart function, increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and fractional shortening (FS), and reduced left ventricular end-diastolic (LVDd) and end-systolic diameters (LVSd). ⋯ Using SIRT3-knockout (SIRT3-KO) mice, we confirmed that NR's cardioprotective effects depend on SIRT3. Echocardiography showed that NR's benefits were abrogated in SIRT3-KO mice. In conclusion, NR provides significant cardioprotection against myocardial I/R injury by enhancing NAD+ levels and modulating the SIRT3/mtROS/JNK pathway, suggesting its potential as a novel therapeutic agent for ischemic heart diseases, meriting further clinical research.
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Background and Objectives: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder often exacerbated by stress, influencing the brain-gut axis (BGA). BGA dysregulation, disrupted intestinal barrier function, altered visceral sensitivity and immune imbalance defects underlying IBS pathogenesis have been emphasized in recent investigations. Phosphoproteomics reveals unique phosphorylation details resulting from environmental stress. ⋯ And IL-1β showed no significant difference was observed in serum. Our findings reveal substantial alterations in ZO-1 and IL-1RAP phosphorylation, correlating with increased epithelial permeability and immune imbalance. Conclusions: Overall, decreased p-S179-ZO1 and increased p-S566-IL-1RAP on the BGA result in changes to tight junction structure, compromising the structure and function of the intestinal epithelial barrier and exacerbating immune imbalance in IBS-like stressed mice.
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Previous studies have highlighted the protective effects of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) overexpression in septic cardiomyopathy. In our study, we utilized cardiomyocyte-specific PKM2 knockout mice to further investigate the role of PKM2 in attenuating LPS-induced myocardial dysfunction, focusing on mitochondrial biogenesis and prohibitin 2 (PHB2). Our findings confirmed that the deletion of PKM2 in cardiomyocytes significantly exacerbated LPS-induced myocardial dysfunction, as evidenced by impaired contractile function and relaxation. ⋯ PKM2 deficiency impeded mitochondrial biogenesis, leading to compromised mitochondrial integrity, increased myocardial inflammation, and impaired cardiac function. The overexpression of PHB2 mitigated the deleterious effects of PKM2 deletion. This discovery offers a novel insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying septic cardiomyopathy and suggests potential therapeutic targets for intervention.
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Objective: Citicoline can be used to reduce acute ischemic stroke injury via venous infusion, however, its protective effects in the brain extracellular space remain largely unknown. Herein, we investigated the brain protective effects of citicoline administered via the brain extracellular space and sought precise effective dosage range that can protect against ischemic injury after experimental ischemic stroke in rats. Methods: Fifty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, intraperitoneal (IP), caudate-putamen (CPu)-25, CPu-40, CPu-50, CPu-60 and CPu-75 groups based on the infusion site and concentration of citicoline. ⋯ Conclusions: Here, we showed that citicoline can decrease the brain infarct volume, thus protecting the brain from acute ischemic stroke injury. We also found that the appropriate effective citicoline dose delivered via the brain extracellular space is 50 mM. Our study provides novel insights into the precise treatment of acute ischemic stroke by citicoline via the brain extracellular space, further guiding the treatment of brain disease.
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Nowadays dog bite is becoming a world public health problem. Therefore, the study aimed to develop a dog bite animal model that is helpful to solve these problems. In this study, the skull of an adult dog was scanned. ⋯ The results showed a reliable animal model of dog bite injuries has been developed in this study. The sites and severities of the injuries could be adjusted as the operator wishes and the animal model of dog bite injuries was highly repeatable. This study also indicates the feasibility of using digital technology in establishing animal bite models.