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Abstract The roots of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (ginseng) are one of the traditional medicinal herbs in Asian countries and is known as the “king of all herbs”. The most important active components of ginseng are the secondary metabolite saponins, which are closely related to ecological stress. Unsuitable ecological stress can generate a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), by which the secondary metabolism is regulated, and the quality of herbs can be significantly improved. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) treatment on the quality of fresh ginseng roots. In this study, 5-year-old fresh ginseng was exposed to 0.1, 0.5, and 2 mmol/L SNP, a nitric oxide (NO) donor for five consecutive days. SNP significantly increased the levels of O2 ·−, H2O2, malondialdehyde (MDA), NADPH oxidase (NOX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxides (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate (AsA) and GSH/GSSG. The main root treated by 0.5 mmol/L SNP for three days was the best, with the activities of the key enzymes of the ginsenoside synthesis pathway, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPS), squalene synthase (SS), squalene epoxidase (SE), and dammarane diol-II synthase (DS) activities increased markedly; the ginsenosides Rg1 + Re, Rb1, Rf, Rc, Rg2 + Rh1 and the total ginsenoside contents increased by 51.0%, 77.7%, 44.6%, 26.8%, 63.2% and 48.2%, respectively, but only a trace amount of the ginsenoside monomer Rb2 decreased 23.4%. The fibrous roots treated by 0.1 mmol/L SNP for four days showed the best effect, HMGCR, FPS, SS, SE, and DS also increased significantly; ginsenosides Rg1 + Re, Rb1, Ro, Rc, Rf, Rb3, Rb2, and total saponin contents increased 37.6%, 47.8%, 34.2%, 75.1%, 51.0%, 49.4%, 28.3%, and 20.4%, respectively. The 1,3-diphosphoglycerate (1,3-DPG) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), related to primary metabolism, were also significantly elevated. The Morris water maze (MWM), histopathological analysis and oxidative stress indexes in brain tissues were used to evaluate the anti-aging effect, indicating that the SNP-treated ginseng further ameliorated D-gal-induced the impaired memory function and oxidative stress in mice, implying the efficacy of SNP-treated ginseng was better than untreated ginseng’s. SNP can build the physiological state of ginseng under ecological stress, stimulate the antioxidant protection mechanism, increase the secondary metabolites, and improve the quality of ginseng.

Abstract Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in clinical practice. Inflammation plays an important role in the initiation and perpetuation of AF. The present study was conducted to characterize immune clusters in nonparoxysmal AF and to distinguish immune subtypes of nonparoxysmal AF. Immune-related algorithms (CIBERSORT, ESTIMATE, and ssGSEA) were used to evaluate the immune cluster characterization and cell abundance, and multivariable logistics analysis was performed to determine the most relevant immune cells. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and used consensus clustering analysis to identify nonparoxysmal AF subtypes. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was used for finding highly correlated gene sets and attach to external sample traits. And it was conducted twice to identify the immune- and subtype- related modules. Finally, Metascape was used to compare the biological functions of the two nonparoxysmal AF subtypes we obtained. CytoHubba was used to identify the hub genes of these two subtypes. Based on the results of bioinformatics analysis, regulatory T cells, resting NK cells, active mast cells and neutrophils were considered to be closely related to nonparoxysmal AF. The brown module was identified as the most relevant module to the above immune cells by WGCNA. We identified two major nonparoxysmal AF subtypes by consensus clustering analysis and their enriched biological functions by Metascape. The hub genes are TYROBP, PTPRC, ITGB2, SPI1, PLEK, and CSF1R in permanent AF and JAM3, S100P, ARPC5, TRIM34, and GREB1L in persistent AF. This study revealed two major nonparoxysmal AF subtypes and eleven hub genes, which provide potential therapeutic targets for anti-inflammatory treatments of nonparoxysmal AF.

Abstract This retrospective study aimed to explore the relationships between electrolytes and osmotic pressure homeostasis with contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) risk in patients with percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary angiography. We totally enrolled 4386 hospitalized patients, who were categorized into five groups based on the predetermined cutoff values of electrolytes and osmotic pressure. CA-AKI was defined as an increase in serum creatine by 0.5 mg/dL (44.2 mol/L) or a 25% increase of the highest level post-operation compared to baseline. Multivariable logistic analysis was used to examine the association of CA-AKI incidence with electrolytes and osmotic pressure levels. Piecewise linear regression models and restricted cubic spline analysis were further utilized to determine the nonlinear relationship. The results showed U-shaped relationships between sodium, chloride, magnesium, and osmotic pressure levels and CA-AKI incidence. The lowest incidence was observed in the categories of 139–141.9 mmol/L, 107.0–109.9 mmol/L, 0.91–1.07 mmol/L, and 290.0–299.9 mOsm/kg, respectively. J-shaped associations were observed for potassium and phosphate levels and CA-AKI incidence, with the lowest incidence in the categories of 3.50–4.09 mmol/L and 0.96–1.28 mmol/L, respectively. A negative correlation was observed between calcium level and CA-AKI incidence, with the lowest CA-AKI risk in the category of ≥ 2.58 mmol/L. In conclusion, abnormally higher or lower sodium, chloride, magnesium, phosphate, and osmotic pressure levels on admission were associated with increased risks of CA-AKI. While for potassium and calcium, the status of hyperkalemia and hypocalcemia on admission showed more susceptibility for CA-AKI.

Abstract Ginseng rusty root symptom (GRS) is one of the primary diseases of ginseng. It leads to a severe decline in the quality of ginseng and significantly affects the ginseng industry. The regulatory mechanism of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) remains unclear in the course of disease. This study explored the long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and microRNAs (miRNAs) in GRS tissues and healthy ginseng (HG) tissues and performed functional enrichment analysis of the screened differentially expressed ncRNAs. Considering the predictive and regulatory effects of ncRNAs on mRNAs, we integrated ncRNA and mRNA data to analyze and construct relevant regulatory networks. A total of 17,645 lncRNAs, 245 circRNAs, and 299 miRNAs were obtained from HG and GRS samples, and the obtained ncRNAs were characterized, including the classification of lncRNAs, length and distribution of circRNA, and the length and family affiliations of miRNAs. In the analysis of differentially expressed ncRNA target genes, we found that lncRNAs may be involved in the homeostatic process of ginseng tissues and that lncRNAs, circRNAs, and miRNAs are involved in fatty acid-related regulation, suggesting that alterations in fatty acid-related pathways may play a key role in GRS. Besides, differentially expressed ncRNAs play an essential role in regulating transcriptional translation processes, primary metabolism such as starch and sucrose, and secondary metabolism such as alkaloids in ginseng tissues. Finally, we integrated the correlations between ncRNAs and mRNAs, constructed corresponding interaction networks, and identified ncRNAs that may play critical roles in GRS. These results provide a basis for revealing GRS's molecular mechanism and enrich our understanding of ncRNAs in ginseng.