Diabetic nephropathy, one of the most common and serious vascular complications of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, has become a major contributor of end-stage renal failure. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects and possible underlying action mechanism(s) of oxymatrine on renal damage in diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by administering a high-fat diet and an intraperitoneal 30 mg/kg streptozotocin injection. The animals were treated orally with saline, metformin hydrochloride, and oxymatrine at 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg/day for 11 weeks. At the end of the treatment, renal tissue, blood, and urine samples were collected for histological and biochemical examination. The results revealed that oxymatrine significantly decreased blood glucose, urinary protein and albumin excretion, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen in diabetic rats, and ameliorated diabetes-induced glomerular and tubular pathological changes. Furthermore, oxymatrine significantly prevented oxidative stress and reduced the contents of renal advanced glycation end products, transforming growth factor-β1, connective tissue growth factor, and inflammatory cytokines in diabetic rats. All these results indicate that oxymatrine has protective effects on experimental diabetic nephropathy by multiple mechanisms.

Phytochemical investigation of the roots of Glehnia littoralis Fr. Schmidt. ex Miq. led to the isolation of 16 known compounds, including three β-carboline alkaloids (1-3), four phenylpropanoids (4-7), five phenolic acids (8-12), three polyacetylenes (13-15) and one fatty acid ( 16). The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectral analysis and comparison with those reported in literatures. To the best of knowledge, the report of the first β-carboline alkaloid in the Umbelliferae family. Additionally, compounds 1-5, 9, 10 and 16 have not been reported from any species in Umbelliferae family, compounds 7, 8 and 12 were isolated from the genus Glehnia for the first time and could be of the chemotaxinomic significance and serve as valuable chemotaxonomic makers for G. littoralis. The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds was summarised.

Cardiac fibrosis is a hallmark of cardiac remodeling associated with nearly all forms of heart disease. Clinically, no effective therapeutic drugs aim to inhibit cardiac fibrosis, owing to the complex etiological heterogeneity and pathogenesis of this disease. A two-in-one protein structure, a ubiquitous expression profile and unique biophysical characteristics enable the involvement of transient receptor potential melastatin-subfamily member 7 (TRPM7) in the pathogenesis and development of fibrosis-related cardiac diseases, such as heart failure (HF), cardiomyopathies, arrhythmia and hyperaldosteronism. In response to a variety of stimuli, multiple bioactive molecules can activate TRPM7 and related signaling pathways, leading to fibroblast proliferation, differentiation and extracellular matrix production in cardiac fibroblasts. TRPM7-mediated Ca 2+ signaling and TGF-β1 signaling pathways are critical for the formation of fibrosis. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that TRPM7 is a potential pharmacological target for halting the development of fibrotic cardiac diseases. Reliable drug-like molecules for further development of high-affinity in vivo drugs targeting TRPM7 are urgently needed. The present review discusses the widespread and significant role of TRPM7 in cardiac fibrosis and focuses on its potential as a therapeutic target for alleviating heart fibrogenesis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between basal metabolic rate (BMR) and all-cause mortality in southern Chinese adults.Methods: We prospectively examined the relationship between BMR and all-cause mortality in 12,608 Southern Chinese adults with age ≥ 35 years who participated in the National Key R&D Program from 2013–2014 to 2019–2020. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association between BMR and all-cause mortality.Results: A total of 809 deaths (including 478 men and 331 women) occurred during a median follow-up period of 5.60 years. All-cause mortality was higher in elderly individuals than in non-elderly individuals (11.48 vs. 2.04%, P < 0.001) and was higher in male subjects than in female subjects (9.84 vs. 4.56%, P < 0.001). There was a significantly inverse relationship between BMR levels and all-cause mortality in elderly male individuals (adjusted-HR per SD increase: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.70–0.91, P < 0.001). Compared with BMR levels ≤ 1,115 kJ/day, there was lower all-cause mortality in third and highest BMR quartiles in the elderly male subjects (adjusted-HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53–0.95, P = 0.022; adjusted-HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.43–0.84, P = 0.003, respectively).Conclusion: An elevated BMR was independently inversely associated with all-cause mortality in elderly male subjects in a southern Chinese population.