MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be involved in many neurodegenerative diseases. The present study focused on the role of hsa-miR-144-3p in one of the neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our study showed a remarkable down-regulation of miR-144-3p expression in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated SH-SY5Y cells. MiR-144-3p was then overexpressed and silenced in human SH-SY5Y cells by miRNA-mimics and miRNA-inhibitor transfections, respectively. Furthermore, β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) was identified as a target gene of miR-144-3p via a luciferase reporter assay. We found that miR-144-3p overexpression significantly inhibited the protein expression of APP. Since mitochondrial dysfunction has been shown to be one of the major pathological events in PD, we also focused on the role of miR-144-3p and APP in regulating mitochondrial functions. Our study demonstrated that up-regulation of miR-144-3p increased expression of the key genes involved in maintaining mitochondrial function, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM). Moreover, there was also a significant increase in cellular ATP, cell viability and the relative copy number of mtDNA in the presence of miR-144-3p overexpression. In contrast, miR-144-3p silencing showed opposite effects. We also found that APP overexpression significantly decreased ATP level, cell viability, the relative copy number of mtDNA and the expression of these three genes, which reversed the effects of miR-144-3p overexpression. Taken together, these results show that miR-144-3p plays an important role in maintaining mitochondrial function, and its target gene APP is also involved in this process.

Backgrounds/Aims: Pycnogenol (PYC) is a patented mix of bioflavonoids with potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of PYC on oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced injury in primary rat astrocytes. Methods: The primary rat astrocytes were randomly divided into 6 groups, blank control, OGD/R, OGD/R+PYC (10, 20, 40, and 60 µg/mL). The cell activity were detected by MTT and LDH assays, then the levels of oxidant products [malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS)] , antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD)], mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and inflammatory cytokines were detected. In addition, the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins (Bax, Bcl-2 and Cleaved caspase 3), proinflammatory factors (NF-κB p65), and p-ERK1/2 were measured by Western blot analysis. Results: The results showed that PYC incubation dose-dependently attenuated cell viability loss, LDH leakage, oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines accumulation and cell apoptosis caused by OGD/R. Furthermore, PYC pretreatment dose-dependently suppressed OGD/R-induced NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation, NF-κB activity and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Similarly to PYC, NF-κB inhibitor PDTC and ERK1/2 inhibitor PD098059 dramatically inhibited OGD/R-induced NF-κB activation, ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and ROS production, as well as TNF-α secretion. Conclusions: These findings revealed that PYC has neuroprotective effects against OGD/R-induced injury via NF-κB and ERK1/2 pathways in primary rat astrocytes.

Background: it was a meta-analysis on the efficacy of statins in the treatment of atherosclerosis Methods: The PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Sciences, and other Chinese and English databases were used to retrieve literature on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of statins in the treatment of atherosclerosis, published from January 2000 to January 2021. The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Intervention 5.0.2 was used to conduct bias risk assessment, and Review Manager 5.3 software (RevMan) was used for meta-analysis.Results: A total of 12 articles with 1,180 participants were included in the meta-analysis. In the observation group, the plaque area [mean difference (MD) =−1.

The most common pathogens responsible for viral encephalitis in Cangzhou, Hebei province, China, were EVs, and the multiplex RT-PCR was a rapid, sensitive, accurate method of testing the viruses responsible for causing these illnesses.

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