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Introduction Airway epithelial mitochondrial injury is an important pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Cyclophilin D (CypD) is a component of mitochondrial permeability transition pore and related to mitochondrial damage. However, the role of CypD in airway epithelial mitochondrial injury and COPD pathogenesis remains unclear. Methods CypD expression in human airway epithelium was determined by immunohistochemistry, and mitochondrial structure of airway epithelial cell was observed under the transmission electron microscopy. The expression of CypD signaling pathway in cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-treated airway epithelial cells was measured by real-time PCR and Western-blot. CSE-induced damage of airway epithelial cell and mitochondria was further studied. Results Immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that CypD expression in airway epithelium was significantly increased associated with notable airway epithelial mitochondrial structure damage in the patients with COPD. The mRNA and protein expression of CypD was significantly increased in concentration- and time-dependent manners when airway epithelial cells were treated with CSE. CypD siRNA pretreatment significantly suppressed the increases of CypD and Bax expression, and reduced the decline of Bcl-2 expression in 7.5% CSE-treated airway epithelial cells. Furthermore, CypD silencing significantly attenuated mitochondrial damage and cell apoptosis, and increased cell viability when airway epithelial cells were stimulated with 7.5% CSE. Conclusion These data suggest that CypD signaling pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of COPD and provide a potential therapeutic target for COPD., Author(s): Rui Zhang [sup.1], Hu Shan [sup.1], Yuer Li [sup.1], Yuefeng Ma [sup.2], Shiyuan Liu [sup.2], Xiaohuan Liu [sup.1], Xia Yang [sup.1], Jie Zhang [sup.1], Ming Zhang [sup.1] Author Affiliations: [...]

Objective To investigate the cause of elevation of bile amylase level in patients with normal pancreaticobiliary junction and the effect of endoscopic treatment. Methods The clinical data of 96 patients with normal pancreaticobi-liary junction who had laparoscopic cholecystectomy from January 2016 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Gallbladder bile was gotten before gallbladder resection and the amylase in bile was measured. Duodenoscopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), endoscopic pancreaticobiliary separation (EPBS) and bile duct amylase (BDA) was done in some cases. Results Gallbladder bile amylase (GBA) in all 96 cases was (484.2±200.0) U/L. Sixty-two cases had duodenoscopy. Diagnoses was as follows: long nipple: 7 cases; papillary atrophy: 5 cases; parapapillary diverticulum: 4 cases; papillary tumor: 3 cases; papillitis: 2 cases; parapapillary diverticulum and papillitis: 26 cases; parapapillary diverticulum and long nipple: 8 cases; long nipple and papillitis: 4 cases; parapapillary diverticulum and papillary atrophy: 3 cases. Fifty-nine cases had ERCP among whom 45 cases had elevated level of BDA[(386.9±137.3) U/L] higher than normal (110 U/L), but lower than GBA [(466.3±189.4) U/L] with significant difference (t=2.276, P=0.025). EPBS was performed in all 45 cases and ERCP was performed again one month later. BDA returned to normal [(65.9±13.6) U/L] with significant difference before EPBS and after (P

This work examines the influencing mechanism of light radiation on performances and structures of calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H) through exposing synthetic C-S-H samples to high-power Xenon radiation. The compositions, chemical structures and nanomorphology of C-S-H were investigated using XRD, TG, 29Si NMR, Ca XANES, Si XANES and TEM. Xenon radiation reduces the chemically bound water content in C-S-H and the drying effect induced by Xenon radiation is more pronounced in C-S-H with lower Ca/Si ratio. Xenon radiation increases the polymerization of C-S-H and elongates the silicate chain by driving separated Si–O tetrahedron to connect with each other without changing its Ca/Si ratio. Furthermore, Xenon radiation reduces the coordination numbers of Ca–O and causes the self-organization of chemical structure at molecular and atomic scales. The existence of portlandite improves the resistance of C-S-H to compositional and structural changes induced by Xenon radiation. These findings pave the way for understanding aging mechanism of cement-based materials under the action of solar radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]