Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common and well-known complication following surgery, particularly cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery. There are currently no suitable treatments for POCD, which is associated with increased illness and mortality rates. The present study aimed to identify a novel treatment for POCD. The protective effect of kappa opioid receptor (KOR) agonists on POCD in rats following CPB was determined and the regulatory mechanism of the Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3) signaling pathway was examined. The rats were randomly divided into five groups: Sham operation (Sham group), CPB operation (CPB group), KOR agonist + CPB (K group), KOR agonist + norbinaltorphimine (nor-BNI) + CPB (NK group), and KOR agonist + JAK2-STAT3 specific pathway inhibitor + CPB (AG group). A water maze test and neurological function scores were used to evaluate POCD. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to observe hippocampal neurons. ELISA was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors, oxidative stress factors and brain injury markers. Immunofluorescence was used to visualize the neurons. TUNEL staining and western blotting were used to detect neuronal apoptosis, and western blotting was also used to detect JAK2/STAT3 pathway-related proteins. The KOR agonists significantly improved POCD. S-100β and NSE detection revealed that KOR agonists alleviated brain damage in CPB rats, and this result was reversed by KOR antagonists. The KOR agonists led to a significantly reduced inflammatory response and oxidative stress, as determined by ELISA detection, and attenuated hippocampal neuronal apoptosis, as revealed by TUNEL staining and western blotting, compared with the results in the CPB group. Finally, the KOR agonists inhibited the expression levels of phosphorylated (p-)JAK2 and p-STAT3, rather than total JAK2 and STAT3, compared with levels in the CPB group. Taken together, KOR agonists improved POCD in rats with CPB by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Husk and pellicle as the agri-food waste in the walnut-product industry are in soaring demand because of their rich polyphenol content. This study investigated the differential compounds related to walnut polyphenol between husk and pellicle during fruit development stage. By using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-orbitrap (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap), a total of 110 bioactive components, including hydrolysable tannins, flavonoids, phenolic acids and quinones, were tentatively identified, 33 of which were different between husk and pellicle. The trend of dynamic content of 16 polyphenols was clarified during walnut development stage by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This is the first time to comprehensive identification of phenolic compounds in walnut husk and pellicle, and our results indicated that the pellicle is a rich resource of polyphenols. The dynamic trend of some polyphenols was consistent with total phenols. The comprehensive characterization of walnut polyphenol and quantification of main phenolic compounds will be beneficial for understanding the potential application value of walnut and for exploiting its metabolism pathway.

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ABSTRACT. The protective effects of remifentanil preconditioning on serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) during pump-assisted coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) were investigated. Forty pump-assisted CABG patients were randomly divided into a remifentanil preconditioning group (R group) and a control group (C group, N = 10; normal saline). The R group was further divided into 3 sub-groups (R1, R2, and R3; N = 10 per group) according to the remifentanil dose (0.6, 1.2, and 1.8 μg·kg -1 ·min -1 , respectively). A venous blood sample was taken at anesthesia induction (T 0 ), before cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (T 1 ), CPB 30 min (T 2 ), and after CPB (T 3 ), and protein concentrations were measured. Patients were tested 24 h before and after the operation with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the difference was calculated. The MMSE score difference in the R3 group was lower than those of the other 3 groups (P < 0.05). At T 2 and T 3 , the R3 group showed a significant decrease in S-100β protein and MDA and an increase in SOD (P < 0.05) compared with the other groups, and S-100β was negatively correlated with SOD activity (T 2 : r = -0.76, -0.80, P < 0.01; T 3 : r = -0.795, P < 7659 ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 13 (3): 7658-7665 (2014) Remifentanil preconditioning on cerebral injury 0.01), and was positively correlated with MDA density (T 2 : r = 0.71, P < 0.01; T 3 : r = 0.71, P < 0.01). In conclusion, high-dosage remifentanil preconditioning played a protective role on brain damage, possibly through inhibition of the oxidative stress response.

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