Comparison and correlation study of synovial ultrasound indices and serum VEGF in rheumatoid wrist arthritis before and after treatment

Role of reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial damage in rheumatoid arthritis and targeted drugs

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by synovial inflammation, pannus formation, and bone and cartilage damage. It has a high disability rate. The hypoxic microenvironment of RA joints can cause reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and mitochondrial damage, which not only affect the metabolic processes of immune cells and pathological changes in fibroblastic synovial cells but also upregulate the expression of several inflammatory pathways, ultimately promoting inflammation. Additionally, ROS and mitochondrial damage are involved in angiogenesis and bone destruction, thereby accelerating RA progression. In this review, we highlighted the effects of ROS accumulation and mitochondrial damage on inflammatory response, angiogenesis, bone and cartilage damage in RA. Additionally, we summarized therapies that target ROS or mitochondria to relieve RA symptoms and discuss the gaps in research and existing controversies, hoping to provide new ideas for research in this area and insights for targeted drug development in RA.

The Effect and Mechanism of External Use Ulcer Powder on Diabetic Mice

Objective  Through the preparation of the diabetic mice skin ulcer model, we investigated the effect of Mongolian medicine external ulcer powder (WYK) on the treatment of diabetic skin ulcers and the expression of angiogenesis-related factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK). Methods  Thirty male clean Kunming mice were randomly divided into normal control group (group C), diabetic control group (group HC), and diabetic topical ulcer powder group (group HW). After successful modeling in the HC group and the HW group, the rats in the HW group were given external ulcer powder, which was applied to the back of the mice once a day. In addition, the rats in group C and group HC were treated with gentamicin injection external application once a day. The mice were sacrificed on the 3rd, the sixth, and the ninth day of dosing, and samples were taken. The adopted methods included protein immunoblotting (western blot) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression differences of angiogenesis-related factors such as VEGF and ERK in the repair process were detected. SPSS 13 software was used to analyze the results of angiogenesis-related factors VEGF and ERK. Results Comparison of VEGF and ERK Contents The serum VEGF content of mice in the HC group was significantly lower than that in the C group on days 3, 6, and 9 (p <0.05). The VEGF content in the HW group was significantly higher than that in the HC group (p <0.05). The content of ERK in serum was basically consistent with that of VEGF. The results of the western blot assay were consistent with those of the RT-PCR assay. Conclusion  WYK can effectively promote the healing of skin ulcer wounds in diabetic mice, accelerate the proliferation of granulation tissue, enrich the contents of capillary blood tubes and collagen fibers, and increase the microvascular content. WYK can improve the expression level of VEGF and ERK in the serum of mice and advance the peak value of protein expression.