Recombinant human thrombopoietin therapy for primary immune thrombocytopenia in pregnancy: a retrospective comparative cohort study.

Background: Treatment options for pregnant women with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who do not respond to first-line treatment are limited. Few studies have reported the use of recombinant human thrombopoietin (rhTPO) for this subset of patients.

Aims: To investigate the efficacy and safety of rhTPO in ITP during pregnancy and determine obstetric outcomes and predictors of treatment response.

Curcumin Alleviates Hyperandrogenism and Promotes Follicular Proliferation in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Rats: Insights on IRS1/PI3K/GLUT4 and PTEN Modulations.

Objective: To explore the effect of curcumin on the insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1)/phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/endometrial expression of glucose 4 (GLUT4) signalling pathway and its regulator, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), in a rat model of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: PCOS model was induced by letrozole intragastric administration. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into 4 groups according to a random number table: (1) control group; (2) PCOS group, which was subjected to PCOS and received vehicle; (3) curcumin group, which was subjected to PCOS and treated with curcumin (200 mg/kg for 2 weeks); and (4) curcumin+LY294002 group, which was subjected to PCOS, and treated with curcumin and LY294002 (a specific PI3K inhibitor).

4-Guanidino-n-butyl syringate (Leonurine, SCM 198) protects H9c2 rat ventricular cells from hypoxia-induced apoptosis.

In the present study, we examined the ability of a chemically synthesized compound based on the structure of leonurine, a phytochemical component of Herba leonuri, to protect H9c2 rat ventricular cells from apoptosis induced by hypoxia and serum deprivation, as a model of ischemia. The results revealed a concentration-dependent increase in cell viability associated with leonurine treatment, accompanied by a consistent decline in lactate dehydrogenase leakage into the culture medium. The fraction of annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate-positive cells was increased by hypoxia but reduced by leonurine.

Cardioprotective effect of hydrogen sulfide in ischemic reperfusion experimental rats and its influence on expression of survivin gene.

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S), as an endogenous gas signaling molecule with important biological function that has been found recently, may play a protection in ischemic reperfusion (I/R) myocardium. We investigated the cardioprotective effect of H(2)S in rats model of ischemic reperfusion in vivo and a probably influence on the expression of survivin, an anti-apoptosis gene. Animals were randomly divided into 3 groups and received either vehicle, sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) or DL-propargylglycine (PAG) respectively everyday for 1 week before surgery and the treatment continued for a further 2 d after I/R till the animals were sacrificed.

Metabolism of Oxidized High Density Lipoprotein-2(ox-HDL(2)) in Rat Hepatic Sinusoidal Cells.

Incubation of rat hepatic sinusoidal cells with FITC-HDL(2), FITC-ox-HDL(2) and [(3)H]CE-HDL(2)(rHDL(2)), ox-rHDL(2) showed that binding of FITC-HDL(2) to the cells was competitive to ox-HDL(2), but not to HDL(2). The cell-endocytic fluorescence strength (FS) of FITC-HDL(2) and radioactivity of ox-rHDL(2) were 45.5% of that of FITC-HDL(2) and 61.

Cooperation of HDL Receptor and Hepatic Lipase in the Selective Uptake of HDL(2)-CE by Rat Hepatic Sinusoidal Cells.

The recombined (3)H-CE-HDL(2)(rHDL(2)) keeps the biological activities of the native HDL(2). After rat hepatic sinusoidal cells were incubated with rHDL(2) at 37 degrees for 3 h (normal group), the cell-endocytic cpm was 995-/+147(mean-/+s, n=2). After the cells were further incubated for 2 h, the cell-release TCA-precipitable cpm and the TCA-supernatant cpm were 78-/+32 and 12-/+9 respectively.