BackgroundIsoflavones are naturally occurring plant chemicals belonging to the “phytoestrogen” class. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of isoflavones obtained from Cordyceps sinensis (CSIF) on development of estrogen deficiency-induced osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats.MethodsAfter the rats were treated orally with CSIF, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), tartarate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), serum osteocalcin (OC), homocysteine (HCY), C-terminal crosslinked telopeptides of collagen type I (CTX), estradiol and interferonγ (IFN-γ) level were examined. At the same time, the urine calcium, plasma calcium, plasma phosphorus and the mass of uterus, thymus and body were also examined.ResultsThe beneficial effects of CSIF on improvement of osteoporosis in rats were attributable mainly to decrease ALP activity, TRAP activity, CTX level and IFN-γ level. At the same time, CSIF also increase the OC and estradiol level in ovariectomized osteopenic rats. The histological examination clearly showed that dietary CSIF can prevent bone loss caused by estrogen deficiency.ConclusionThe significant estrogenic activity of CSIF demonstrated that CSIF has significant estrogenic effects in OVX rats.

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Design. From July 2016 to June 2018, 36 women with symptomatic early pregnancy around 4-8 weeks of gestation were recruited into the study. Among them, there were 16 women with viable intrauterine pregnancy (VIP), 9 women with spontaneous abortion (SA), and 11 women of EP. Serum exosomal miRNAs were extracted and measured at the first prenatal visit. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the clinical utility of these biomarkers as single markers and as multimarker panels for EP. Results. Concentrations of miR-378d in serum exosomes were significantly higher in EP than in VIP and also SA group. As a single marker, miR-378d had the highest specificity of 64% at the sensitivity of 89.1%. Comparatively, both combined panels of hCG, progesterone, miR-100-5p and hCG, progesterone, and miR-215-5P yielded the specificity of 96%. Panels for all markers achieved the highest specificity of 80% at the sensitivity of 91%. Conclusions. Although further validation in large-scale prospective studies is necessary, our results suggest that serum exosomal miR-378d, miR-100-5p, and miR-215-5P are promising biomarkers for early EP.