Objective. At present, the relationship between autophagosomes and the prognosis of various cancers has become a subject of active investigation. A series of studies have demonstrated the correlation between autophagy microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC-3), Beclin-1, and colorectal cancer (CRC). Since autophagy has dual regulatory roles in tumors, the results of this correlation are also uncertain. Hence, we summarized the relationship between Beclin-1, LC-3, and CRC using systematic reviews and meta-analysis to clarify their prognostic significance in it. Methods. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched online up to April 1, 2019. The quality of the involving studies was assessed against the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) in a fixed or random effects model were used to assess the strength of correlation between Beclin-1, LC-3, and CRC. Results. A total of 9 articles were collected, involving 2,297 patients. Most literatures scored more than 6 points, suggesting that the quality of our including research was acceptable. Our finding suggested that the expression of Beclin-1 was not associated with overall survival (HR = 0.68, 95% CI (0.31–1.52), P=0.351). Nonetheless, LC-3 expression exerted significant impact on OS (HR = 0.51, 95% CI (0.35–0.74), P<0.05). Subgroup analysis exhibited that Beclin-1 expression was associated with OS at TNM stage III (HR = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.02–0.08, P<0.05), surgical treatment (HR = 1.53, 95% CI (1.15–2.02), P=0.003), and comprehensive treatment (HR = 0.27 95% CI (0.08–0.92), P=0.036), respectively. Similarly, the results showed the increased LC-3 expression in CRC was related to OS in multivariate analyses (HR = 0.44, 95% CI (0.34–0.57), P<0.05), stages (HR = 0.51, 95% CI (0.35–0.74), P<0.05), and comprehensive treatment (HR = 0.44, 95% CI (0.34–0.57), P<0.05). Conclusions. Autophagy-related proteins of LC-3 might be an important marker of CRC progression. However, since the number of the original studies was limited, more well-designed, large-scale, high-quality studies are warranted to provide more convincing and reliable information.

Intestinal absorption of food is one of the sources of glucose. Insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance caused by lifestyle and diet are the precursors of type 2 diabetes. Patients with type 2 diabetes have trouble controlling their blood sugar levels. For long-term health, strict glycemic management is necessary. Although it is thought to be well correlated with metabolic diseases like obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes, its molecular mechanism is still not completely understood. Disturbed microbiota triggers the gut immune response to reshape the gut homeostasis. This interaction not only maintains the dynamic changes of intestinal flora, but also preserves the integrity of the intestinal barrier. Meanwhile, the microbiota establishes a systemic multiorgan dialog on the gut-brain and gut-liver axes, intestinal absorption of a high-fat diet affects the host’s feeding preference and systemic metabolism. Intervention in the gut microbiota can combat the decreased glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity linked to metabolic diseases both centrally and peripherally. Moreover, the pharmacokinetics of oral hypoglycemic medications are also influenced by gut microbiota. The accumulation of drugs in the gut microbiota not only affects the drug efficacy, but also changes the composition and function of them, thus may help to explain individual therapeutic variances in pharmacological efficacy. Regulating gut microbiota through healthy dietary patterns or supplementing pro/prebiotics can provide guidance for lifestyle interventions in people with poor glycemic control. Traditional Chinese medicine can also be used as complementary medicine to effectively regulate intestinal homeostasis. Intestinal microbiota is becoming a new target against metabolic diseases, so more evidence is needed to elucidate the intricate microbiota-immune-host relationship, and explore the therapeutic potential of targeting intestinal microbiota.

To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on acute lung injury (ALI), a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced ALI mouse model was used in this study. Before receiving intratracheal LPS instillation, mice were given EA at ST36 for 7 days as a long-term treatment or one time as a short-term treatment. Lung histopathological examination, lung injury scores, lung wet/dry (W/D) ratio, and inflammatory cytokines included proinflammation factors such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 and anti-inflammation factors such as IL-4 and IL-10 in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected at the end of experiment. The results show that EA pretreatment ameliorated the lung damage and inflammatory response by LPS. In addition, we found that SIRT1 and its deacetylation of NF-κB were promoted after EA pretreatment in lung tissues. Meanwhile, the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is also enhanced by EA pretreatment. Thus, the present findings suggest that EA could be a potential therapy of ALI.

Acupuncture is a common complementary and alternative therapy around the world, but its mechanism remains still unclear. In the past decade, some studies indicated that transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) channels play a great role in the response of acupuncture stimulation. In this article, we discussed the relationship between acupuncture and TRPV channels. Different from inhibitors and agonists, the regulation of acupuncture on TRPV channels is multi-targeted and biphasic control. Acupuncture stimulation shows significant modulation on TRPV1 and TRPV4 at the autonomic nervous system (ANS) including central and peripheral nervous systems. On the contrary, the abundant expression and functional participation of TRPV1 and TRPV4 were specific to acupuncture stimulation at acupoints. The enhancement or inhibition of TRPV channels at different anatomical levels will affect the therapeutic effect of acupuncture. In conclusion, TRPV channels help to understand the principle of acupuncture stimulation, and acupuncture also provides a potential approach to TRPV-related trials.