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BackgroundPatients often experience postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) because of the use of opioids for anaesthesia and analgesia during the procedure. Some clinical trials have demonstrated that acupuncture-assisted anaesthesia (AAA) reduces opioid consumption and prevents PONV. Although several studies have been conducted on AAA, its safety and efficacy in AF catheter ablation remain unclear due to small sample sizes and a paucity of methodologically rigorous designs. Therefore, this trial was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AAA in reducing PONV and morphine hydrochloride consumption during catheter ablation.MethodsThis single-centre, patient-blinded, randomised, non-penetrating sham-controlled trial will be conducted in China. A total of 100 patients will be randomly assigned to the AAA and conventional anaesthesia (CA) groups in a ratio of 1:1. The patients will receive AAA or CA plus sham acupuncture during catheter ablation and will be followed up for 30 days. The primary outcomes include the total amount of morphine hydrochloride consumed during catheter ablation and PONV within the first 24 hours after the procedure. The secondary outcomes include pain, nausea and vomiting, anxiety, patient’s ability to cope during catheter ablation, AF recurrence and quality of life, as assessed using the numeric rating scale. Adverse events will be recorded and their influence will be analysed at the end of the trial.DiscussionThis study will help in evaluating the safety and efficacy of AAA applied for AF catheter ablation in reducing opioid doses during the procedure and the occurrence of PONV.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences if possible.Trial registration numberChiCTR 2100042646; Chinese Clinical Trial Registry.

Dasatinib is a multi-target protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Due to its potent inhibition of Src, Abl, the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) family kinases, and other oncogenic kinases, it has been investigated as a targeted therapy for a broad spectrum of cancer types. However, its efficacy has not been significantly extended beyond leukemia. The mechanism of resistance to dasatinib in a wide array of cancers is not clear. In the present study, we investigated the effect of dasatinib on hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth and explored the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that dasatinib potently inhibited the proliferation of SNU-449 cells, but not that of other cell lines, such as SK-Hep-1, even though it inhibited the phosphorylation of Src on both negative and positive regulation sites in all these cells. Dasatinib activated the phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase1 (PDK1)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in SK-Hep-1 cells, but not in SNU-449 cells. Blocking the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway strongly promoted the efficacy of dasatinib in SK-Hep-1 cells. In SNU-449 cells, dasatinib promoted apoptosis and the cleavage of caspase-3 and caspase-7, induced cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase, and inhibited the expression of Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK4)/6/CyclinD1 complex. These findings demonstrate that dasatinib exerts its anti-proliferative effect on hepatocellular cell proliferation by blocking the Src family kinases; however, it causes Akt activation, which compromises dasatinib as an anti-cancer drug.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the potential targets and mechanism of action of Danshen in treating concurrent ischemic heart disease (IHD) and depression using network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation (MDS). Methods: The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database was used to obtain active ingredients and targets of Danshen. Candidate targets for IHD and depression were obtained from the Genecards and DisGeNet databases. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database and the Cytoscape 3.8.2 software. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed using the Metascape database and the GlueGO package of the Cytoscape 3.8.2 software. Molecular docking was performed using Autodock 1.5.6 and Vina, and the MDS was completed using GROMACS 5.1.2. Results: We obtained 65 active ingredients of Danshen with 131 candidate targets and 39 intersection targets of the active ingredients and diseases. Luteolin, tanshinone IIA, and salviolone were the core active ingredients, and AKT1, TNF, IL-6, MMP9, CASP3, IL-10, PTGS2, STAT3, PPARG, IL-4, EGFR, MAPK14, NOS3, and EDN1 were the core targets. The GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the intersection targets were mainly enriched in positive regulation of protein phosphorylation, blood circulation, IL-17 signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, and JAK/STAT signaling pathway. The molecular docking revealed that the core active ingredients had a good affinity for the core targets. The results of MDS revealed that the protein-ligand complexes were stable. Conclusions: This study used network pharmacology to analyze the potential mechanism of action of Danshen in the treatment of concurrent IHD and depression. Additionally, the study provided a theoretical basis for further studying the pharmacological mechanisms and targets of Danshen.

IntroductionTraditional Chinese exercise therapy, as one of the commonly used exercise interventions for the treatment of type 2 diabetes patients in China, has been proven effective by many clinical practices, but there is still a lack of evidence-based research. This study aims to integrate clinical randomised controlled correlations via network meta-analysis evidence.Methods and analysisThe comprehensive search included Chinese and other language databases such as the MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Excerpt Medica Database (EMBASE), The Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, China Scientific Journal Database (VIP), China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM). Clinical randomised controlled trials of four traditional Chinese exercise therapies in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, including Tai Chi, Ba Duan Jin, Yi Jin Jing and Wu Qin Xi were retrieved. The search time was conducted from the establishment of the database to 30 October 2020. Two researchers screened the documents that met the inclusion criteria, extracted data according to the preset table, and evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies according to the quality evaluation tools recommended by the Cochrane System Reviewer Manual V.5.1. The R language and ADDIS statistical software were used to conduct statistics and analysis of intervention measures.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020214786

A new dioxidovanadium (V) complex, VO2(HPPCH) (1) (H2PPCH = N'-picolinoylpyridin-1-ium-2-carbohydrazonate) has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, X-ray diffraction analysis and electrospray ionization mass spectra. Complex 1 crystallized in the monoclinic system with space group P21/c. It potently inhibited PTP1B with IC50 of 0.13 μM, about 7, 15 and 125-fold stronger against PTP1B than over TCPTP, SHP-1 and SHP-2, displaying obvious selectivity against PTP1B. Western blotting analysis indicated that complex 1 effectively increased the phosphorylation of PTP1B substrates, especially the phosphorylation of IR/IGF 1R and IRS-1. It exhibited lower cytotoxicity than positive control VOSO4. These results make complex 1 a promising candidate for novel anti-diabetic drug development.