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Mounting evidences indicate that autophagy is an essential homeostatic mechanism to maintain the global cardiac structure function. Sophocarpine (SOP), a major bioactive compound derived from the natural plant Sophora flavescens. However, the role of SOP in cardiac hypertrophy remain to be fully elucidated. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that SOP protects against Ang II–induced cardiac hypertrophy by mediating the regulation of autophagy. The results demonstrated that SOP attenuated the Ang II–induced cardiac hypertrophy, as assessed by measurements of echocardiography parameters, the ratios of heart weight/body weight and left ventricle weight/body weight, histopathological staining, cross-sectional cardiomyocyte area, and the expression levels of cardiac hypertrophic markers. The anti-hypertrophic effect of SOP was mediated by activating autophagy-related pathway, as revealed by reversal of the increased autophagy marker protein expression. These findings reveal a novel mechanism of SOP attenuating cardiac hypertrophy via activating autophagy-related signaling pathways.

Background and Aims: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged disease. Since December 2019, more and more confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths are reported by almost all of countries in the world. In the present study, we report the various clinical features of 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases in our hospital, Guangzhou. Methods: Electronic medical records of 12 confirmed COVID-19 patients who had been referred to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were collected. The clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations and related imaging results were analyzed, respectively. Results: Twelve confirmed patients had different clinical manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic, mild to severe manifestations. Seven patients had a fever as the main symptom. Three patients showed nasal obstruction, or stuffy nose, or sore throat without fever. Nine patients did not show abnormal white blood cell and lymphocyte counts. Seven patients did not show radiological features of COVID-19. The first symptoms of Case 4 were vomiting, diarrhea, and Case 4 was wrong diagnosed as gastroenteritis when he saw a doctor firstly. Two patients had negative qRT-PCR results for SARS-CoV-2, but their serum IgM and IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were positive. Conclusion: The clinical characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection are very complex and diverse. More attention should be paid to observe the characteristics of COVID-19 in order to correctly recognize and diagnose cases with SARS-CoV-2 infection as soon as possible.