Overexpression of sFlt-1 represses ox-LDL-induced injury of HUVECs by activating autophagy via PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), a circulating antiangiogenic protein, is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (AS), and the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Here, we attempted to investigate the mechanism of action of sFlt-1 in AS. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) to induce cell injury.

Cardiovascular risk of sitagliptin in treating patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a very high risk of cardiovascular related events, and reducing complications is an important evaluation criterion of efficacy and safety of hypoglycemic drugs. Previous studies have shown that the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors (DPP4i), such as sitagliptin, might reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events (MACEs). However, the safety and efficacy of sitagliptin remains controversial, especially the safety for cardiovascular related events.

Structural Changes Induced by Acupuncture in the Recovering Brain after Ischemic Stroke.

The aim of this study was to observe the grey matter (GM) tissue changes of ischemic stroke patients, to explore the therapy responses and possible mechanism of acupuncture. 21 stroke patients were randomly assigned to receive either acupuncture plus conventional (Group A) or only conventional (Group B) treatments for 4 weeks. All patients in both groups accepted resting-state functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) scan before and after treatment, and the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was performed to detect the cerebral grey structure changes.

Strong enhancement of second-harmonic generation (SHG) response through multi-chiral centers and metal-coordination.

The hydrothermal reaction of CdCl2 with L (L =trans-2,3-dihydro-2-(4'-pyridyl)-3-(3"-cyanophenyl)benzo[e]indole) in the presence of NaN3 and water offers a novel route to [Cd(L-N3)2(H2O)2]n, a 1D infinite molecular box with approximate dimensions 10.37 x 6.64 è; 1 is shown to display a very strong SHG response that is 80 times that observed for urea.