Mangiferin alleviates diabetic pulmonary fibrosis in mice via inhibiting endothelial-mesenchymal transition through AMPK/FoxO3/SIRT3 axis

Diabetes mellitus results in numerous complications. Diabetic pulmonary fibrosis (DPF), a late pulmonary complication of diabetes, has not attracted as much attention as diabetic nephropathy and cardiomyopathy. Mangiferin (MF) is a natural small molecular compound that exhibits a variety of pharmacological effects including anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, and anti-fibrosis effects. In this study, we investigated whether long-term diabetes shock induces DPF, and explored whether MF had a protective effect against DPF. We first examined the lung tissues and sections of 20 diabetic patients obtained from discarded lung surgical resection specimens and found that pulmonary fibrosis mainly accumulated around the pulmonary vessels, accompanied by significantly enhanced endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). We established a mouse model of DPF by STZ injections. Ten days after the final STZ injection, the mice were administered MF (20, 60 mg/kg, i.g.) every 3 days for 4 weeks, and kept feeding until 16 weeks and euthanized. We showed that pulmonary fibrotic lesions were developed in the diabetic mice, which began around the pulmonary vessels, while MF administration did not affect long-term blood glucose levels, but dose-dependently alleviated diabetes-induced pulmonary fibrosis. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), exposure to high glucose (33.3 mM) induced EndMT, which was dose-dependently inhibited by treatment with MF (10, 50 μM). Furthermore, MF treatment promoted SIRT3 expression in high glucose-exposed HUVECs by directly binding to AMPK to enhance the activity of FoxO3, which finally reversed diabetes-induced EndMT. We conclude that MF attenuates DPF by inhibiting EndMT through the AMPK/FoxO3/SIRT3 axis. MF could be a potential candidate for the early prevention and treatment of DPF.

Hydroxycitric Acid Alleviated Lung Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Ferroptosis through the Hif-1α Pathway

Lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (LIRI) is a prevalent occurrence in various pulmonary diseases and surgical procedures, including lung resections and transplantation. LIRI can result in systemic hypoxemia and multi-organ failure. Hydroxycitric acid (HCA), the primary acid present in the peel of Garcinia cambogia, exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. However, the effects of HCA on LIRI remain unknown. To investigate the impact of HCA on LIRI in mice, the mice were randomly divided into four groups: the control group, the I/R model group, and the I/R + low- or high-dose HCA groups. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were subjected to hypoxia for 12 h followed by reoxygenation for 6 h to simulate in vitro LIRI. The results demonstrated that administration of HCA effectively attenuated lung injury, inflammation, and edema induced by ischemia reperfusion. Moreover, HCA treatment significantly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels while decreasing iron content and increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels after ischemia-reperfusion insult. Mechanistically, HCA administration significantly inhibited Hif-1α and HO-1 upregulation both in vivo and in vitro. We found that HCA could also alleviate endothelial barrier damage in H/R-induced HUVECs in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, overexpression of Hif-1α counteracted HCA-mediated inhibition of H/R-induced endothelial cell ferroptosis. In summary, these results indicate that HCA alleviated LIRI by inhibiting oxidative stress and ferroptosis through the Hif-1α pathway.

MR appearance of the pseudocapsule of renal cell carcinoma and its pathologic basis

The pseudocapsule of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) appears as a low-intensity band or rim on magnetic resonance (MR) images. The frequency of its appearance differed on T1- and T2-weighted images. In our group of 19 RCC (in 18 patients), it appeared on 26.3% of T1-weighted images and on 57% of T2-weighted images. The pathology of the pseudocapsule on MR is its thickness and composition. On T1-weighted images, the appearance of the pseudocapsule is mainly related to the fibrous element, and on T2-weighted images to the fibrous element and compressed renal parenchyma.

[Clinical application of magnetic resonance imaging in gynecology]

Thirty-five women were examined with female pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 5 cases demonstrated normal pelvis structures, 3 had physiological atrophic changes, and one had an underdeveloped uterus. The other 26 cases consisted of 8 leiomyoma of uterus, 11 ovarian benign tumor, 3 ovarian cancer, 2 cervical and 2 endometrial carcinoma. Images of normal uterus as well as those pathological conditions mentioned above were depicted, and compared with the operative findings. By means of MRI, we were able to demonstrate the origin of most of the pelvic masses, number, size and location of leiomyoma, myometrial penetration, parametrial extension and lymph node metastasis of endometrial carcinoma. Cervical malignancy could be accurately staged, and serous cyst was possibly distinguished from hemorrhagic cyst. However, one case of mucinous cystadenoma was misdiagnosed as dermoid cyst; one myoma, 1 cm in diameter, in same density as the uterine muscle was overlooked and one mesonephroma of 0.3 cm in diameter situated deep in the cervical fibrous tissue was not detected.