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Objective: This study is to explore the exact roles of extracellular vesicle (EVs) miRNAs from brain microvascular pericytes in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Results: Forty-eight significantly differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, of which 17 were found to be upregulated and 31 were found to be downregulated in brain microvascular pericytes of spontaneous hypertensive rats, compared with that of normotension Wistar Kyoto rats. The GO enrichment analysis verified that the target genes were enriched in signaling pathways and molecular functions, such as metal ion binding, nucleotide binding and ATP binding. The KEGG analysis indicated that the target genes were enriched in Linoleic acid, alpha-linolenic acid and sphingolipid metabolism pathways. Conclusions: Several EV derived miRNAs, such as miR-21-5p, let-7c-5p and let-7a-5p, were found to be abnormally expressed in brain microvascular pericytes obtained from spontaneous hypertensive rats, compared with that of normotension Wistar Kyoto rats. The results of our research provide more insights into the functional link between brain microvascular pericytes and the pathogenesis of hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pu-erh tea has become a focus of research due to its reported biological activities, including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation and anti-immunosenescence. The present study was performed to evaluate the potential gastroprotective function of Pu-erh tea extracts against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage in rats. Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into seven groups: A normal control, a model control, a cimetidine (0.08 g/kg) group, three Pu-erh tea extracts groups (low, moderate and high-dose; 0.50, 1.00 and 1.50 g/kg, respectively, and a green tea powder (1.00 g/kg) group. The normal and model groups were pre-treated with distilled water while the other groups were respectively administered cimetidine, Pu-erh tea extracts and green tea powder for 14 days. Then, absolute ethanol was orally administered to the rats of all groups excluding the normal controls. The effects of the pretreatments on gastric mucosal injury were evaluated by gross assessment of gastric lesions, examination of histopathology and determination of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and asymmetric arginine (ADMA) concentration in gastric mucosal homogenate. Pre-treatment with cimetidine or Pu-erh tea extracts markedly suppressed the formation of ethanol-induced gastric lesions. Furthermore, clear decreases in MPO activity and ADMA concentration in the gastric mucosal homogenate were observed following pretreatment with cimetidine or Pu-erh tea extracts. The anti-gastric ulcer activity of green tea was less than that of Pu-erh tea. Overall, these effects of Pu-erh tea extracts may be due to potential functions in protecting the gastric mucus layer and suppressing inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]