Weiguo Zhang

An increasing body of scientific research and observational evidence indicates that resting heart rate (HR) is inversely related to the lifespan among homeothermic mammals and within individual species. In numerous human studies with patients stratified by resting HR, increased HR is universally associated with greater risk of death. The correlatio...

Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are potent antioxidants found in certain foods and drinks, most notably in coffee. In recent years, basic and clinical investigations have implied that the consumption of chlorogenic acid can have an anti-hypertension effect. Mechanistically, the metabolites of CGAs attenuate oxidative stress (reactive oxygen species), whic...

The roles of the resting heart rate (RHR) have been actively investigated and increasingly recognized in recent decades, because of the growing evidence that fast RHR is associated with and predicts the risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, as well as all-cause mortality. Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (...

In the last several years, a number of experiments have implicated a pivotal role of the calcium/calmodulin-calcineurin dependent pathway as a final common signaling mechanism by which diverse hypertrophic stimuli converge to mediate hypertrophic responses in cardiomyocytes. Calcineurin inhibitors, i.e. cyclosporine A (CsA) and FK506, can interrupt...

Maintaining skin elasticity and moisture is crucial for preserving skin health and delaying skin aging. We have recently developed piscine-derived small molecular collagen peptides (SMCPs. MW < 1000 Daltons) and investigated their functionalities on skin health. Firstly, in the Caco-2 cell line that simulated gastrointestinal transport barriers, SM...

Two large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials—REDUCE-IT and STRENGTH—have garnered significant attention in cardiovascular medicine. Both trials aimed to evaluate the effects of prolonged administration of nutritional lipids, specifically omega-3 fatty acids, on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in high-risk patient...

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA), playing roles structurally and functionally from growth to health and the pathogenesis of diseases. Being a common nutrient supplement, the bioavailability of DHA is practically important. This study assessed the bioavailability of DHA after oral administration...

Background: Alcohol use, even in moderation, causes hangover discomforts. It has been reported that alcohol-associated symptoms can be improved by either probiotics or medicinal plant extracts to some extent. However, the effects of a combination of multi-strain probiotics, prebiotic, and plant extracts have not been fully explored. Objective: Our...

Context: Resting heart rate (HR) is increasingly recognized as an indicator of disease and overall morbidity and mortality. Whether chronic coffee consumption affects resting HR is an important consideration for individual consumers as well as from a public health perspective. Objective: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was...

Caloric restriction (CR) or energy restriction, when carefully designed, monitored, and implemented in self-motivated and compliant individuals, proves to be a viable non-pharmacologic strategy for human weight control and obesity management. Beyond its role in weight management, CR has the potential to impede responses involved not only in the pat...

Introduction: To this date, many studies have proposed an association between napping and multiple cardiovascular events. The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) level can be used as an indicator of vascular stiffness and is becoming a non-invasive indicator of diseases such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD). However, few...

Objective Our study aimed to investigate the association between obesity status change and hypertension onset based on a longitudinal community-based cohort study in north China. Design and method A total of 2618 individuals free of hypertension at baseline were collected from the longitudinal cohort study from 2011 to 2019. The correlation betwee...

Background Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the main metabolites produced by bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber, possess neuroactive properties. The present study aimed to explore whether SCFAs-butyrate can repress neuroinflammation and alleviate cognitive impairment via improving gut mucosal barrier function and mediating tryptophan metabolis...

Background Subclavian artery stenosis (SAS) is a peripheral arterial disease of asymptomatic appearance and disastrous consequences. The traditional screening method remains unsatisfactory. Objective The study aimed to assess the diagnostic performances of inter-arm systolic pressure difference (IASBPD), derivatives of pulse volume recording (PVR)...

Background and Aims Probiotics consumption lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, but whether it affects heart rate (HR) remains controversial. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the chronotropic effects of probiotics on heartbeat via a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Methods Relevant studies were identified by searching PubMed,...

Objective Gut microbiota-derived metabolites are involved in intestinal inflammation, which can affect the development of atherosclerotic plaques. Previous studies has shown that oat fiber can delay the progression of atherosclerosis via improving lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate how oat fiber acted on gut microbiota-derived...

It is known that cardiovascular disease can result in cognitive impairment. However, whether oat fiber improves cognitive behavior through a cardiovascular-related mechanism remains unclear. The present work was aimed to elucidate the potential of oat fiber on cognitive behavior by targeting the neuroinflammation signal and microbiome–gut–brain axi...

Background: Experimental evidence indicates that oral L-citrulline (L-Cit) may reduce resting blood pressure (BP) as well as BP responses to exercise and cold exposure (non-resting). However, results from human intervention trials are inconsistent. This study aims to summarize the clinical evidence regarding the effects of L-Cit supplementation on...

Background: Previously we reported severe vitamin D deficiency in a large-scale cohort in Tangshan area in northern China. However, whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiovascular risk factors has not been systematic examined in the cohort. Objective: We aimed to determine the correlation between serum vitamin D status and lipid leve...

Cereal fiber is associated with decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, whether cereal fiber modulates inflammatory response and improves atherosclerosis remains unclear. This study evaluated the anti-atherosclerotic effect of cereal fibers from oat or wheat bran and explored the potential anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Male ApoE-/-...

Background: Elevated resting heart rate (HR) has emerged as a new risk factor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The effect of marine-derived omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LCPUFAs) supplementation on HR was investigated as an outcome in many clinical trials. The present study was to provide an updated meta-analysis on...

OBJECTIVE: Dietary fiber consumption is associated with reduced risk for the development of noncommunicable diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of cereal dietary fiber on the levels of proteins involved in lipolysis and thermogenesis in white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) of C57 BL/6 J mice fed a...

Background: Cereal fiber is reported to be associated with obesity and metabolic diseases. However, whether cereal fiber improves leptin resistance and sensitivity remains unclear. Design: For 24 weeks, 48 male C57BL/6J mice were randomly given a normal chow diet (Chow), high-fat/cholesterol diet (HFD), HFD with 0.8% oat fiber (H-oat) or HFD wit...

Prospective observational studies have shown inconsistent associations of dietary or circulating n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) with risk of all-cause mortality. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the associations. Potentially eligible studies were identified by searching PubMed and EMBASE databases. The summary relative...

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the vitamin D status and the relationship between the vitamin D status and hypertension in a relatively large cohort in northern China. Methods This study was a part of the Kailuan study, consisting of 3,788 coal mine workers (including 2,532 underground workers and 1,256 surface workers) who received...

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the long-term clinical outcomes of selective stenting versus percutaneous balloon angioplasty (PTA) in hypertensive patients with renal artery stenosis caused by Takayasu arteritis (RASTA). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of consecutive 152 RASTA patients from Fuwai Hospital between 2005 and 2012...

A method for treatment and prevention of air pollution-related diseases, especially diseases related to atmospheric PM2.5 in subjects. The method comprises administering an effective amount of a polyunsaturated fatty acid and vitamin E to subjects in need thereof. Pub. No.: WO2016095778 International Application No.: PCT/CN2015/097277

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and highly prevalent worldwide. Although the pathogenesis of hypertension remains enigmatic, low birthweight and prematurity have emerged as novel mechanisms with which intrauterine kidney growth is impeded and glomerular numbers are unoptimized, leading to greate...

Adequate intake of dietary fibers has proven metabolic and cardiovascular benefits, molecular mechanisms remain still limited. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of cereal dietary fiber on obesity-related liver lipotoxicity in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat/cholesterol (HFC) diet and underlying mechanism. Forty-eight adult male C57BL/6J...

BACKGROUND: Mounting experimental evidence supports a protective effect of high 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), a good indicator of vitamin D status, on risk of various cancers including lung cancer. However, prospective observational studies examining the 25(OH)D-lung cancer association reported inconsistent findings. A dose-response meta-analysis...

Systematic investigation with large sample size of the distribution of etiologies of renal artery stenosis (RAS) is scant in both Western countries and China. We retrospectively analyzed the etiology of RAS in 2047 consecutive inpatients diagnosed with RAS for hypertension at Fuwai Hospital between 1999 and 2014. The number of patients with atheros...

Inhaling polluted air, especially air containing fine particulate matter (i.e. PM2.5) constitutes an environmental risk that has proven impact on the quality and duration of human life. The objective of this article is to highlight human clinical investigations in which vitamins and marine-derived long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e. fish o...

Inhaling polluted air, especially air containing fine particulate matter (i.e. PM2.5) constitutes an environmental risk that has a proven impact on the quality and duration of human life. The objective of this article is to highlight human clinical investigations in which vitamins and marine-derived long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e. fish...

Abstract Previous studies suggested that dietary fiber intake may have a lowing effect on circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) level, a sensitive marker of inflammation, in overweight/obese adults with inconsistent results. A literature search was performed in April 2014 for related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analysis was conducte...

Objective Although higher resting heart rate (RHR) has emerged as a predictor for lifespan, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. The present study investigates whether a positive relationship exists between RHR and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and whether RHR predicts future MetS. Methods A cohort of 89 860 participants were surveyed during 2006–...

Use of a pomegranate skin extract for use in the treatment of metabolic syndrome, more particularly, fatty liver disease. More particularly, the pomegranate skin extract is used in inhibiting body weight gain in the prevention and/or the treatment of fatty liver disease in mammals. Publication number WO2015103760 A1 Application number PCT/CN2014/07...

The purpose of the present study was to determine the impact of alcohol consumption on the incidence of hypertension. A total of 32 389 male coal mine workers from Kailuan Coal Group in northern China (Kailuan study), free of hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, transient ischemia attack and cancer, were followed up every 2 years for 4 year...

Objective: To characterize hypertensive patients living in metropolitan cities in China. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The eligibility criteria included outpatients 35-85 years of age with a systolic blood pressure (SBP) of ≥140 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of ≥90 mmHg or bot...

Vitamin D is suggested to have protective effects against type 1 diabetes. However, the results from observational studies have been inconsistent. We aimed to examine their association by conducting a meta-analysis of observational studies. Multiple databases were searched in June 2013 to identify relevant studies including both case-control and co...

(EN) A composition comprising phytosterols and kudzu for use in treatment, alleviation or prevention of disorders associated with hypercholesterolemia and/or hyperlipidemia. (FR) L'invention se rapporte à une composition renfermant des phytostérols et du kudzu destinée à être utilisée dans le traitement, la diminution ou la prévention des troubles...

As an essential dietary micronutrient, vitamin D plays a pivotal role in promoting calcium absorption in the intestine and maintaining a healthy skeletal system throughout life. Beyond bone health, an emerging volume of scientific studies shows that vitamin D also may provide cardiovascular, metabolic, and immunologic benefits and reduce mortality....

A composition for treating, ameliorating or preventing disorders linked to impaired blood vessel elasticity comprises wolfberries or an extract thereof. The wolfberries may also be provided as a primary composition comprising wolfberries or a part thereof and milk or a milk-protein containing carrier in the composition.

Background and aims: Lactotripeptides (LTPs, including IPP and VPP) have held promise in the framework of lifestyle modification for prevention and control of hypertension - a cardiovascular risk factor, as LTPs are reported to have an inhibitory effect on angiotensin-converting enzyme. While the number of clinical trials to test the efficacy of L...

The present invention generally relates to the field of health and wellness. In particular, the present invention addresses hypercholesterolemia and/or hyperlipidemia and disorders associated therewith. For example, the present invention describes a composition comprising phytosterols and kudzu for use in the treatment, alleviation or prevention of...

Objective: It was found that PAX2 (Paired Box 2) re-expression in renal tubular epithelial cells correlated with renal interstitial fibrosis of rats with obstructive nephropathy. The purpose of the present study was to identify whether RNA interference (RNAi) induced by polyethylenimine (jetPEI) could inhibit PAX2 gene re-expression and impact ren...

Objective To analyze the overall pooled estimates of the effect of coffee consumption on the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) ． Methods The PubMed database was searched using search terms“coffee” and “diabetes" for published cohort studies in English language. The prospective studies in which observed the association of coffee consumption was observe...

A composition comprising an extract of the berries of Morus spp.for use in the treatment or prevention of disorders linked to foods with a high glycemic index.The extract of the berries of Morus spp. may also be provided as natural compounds that can help to reduce glucose peaks in the blood of a subject after consumption of food with a high glycem...

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the agreement, mean difference, prevalence, and control rates of arterial hypertension between clinic (i.e. office) and home blood pressure (BP) measurements in a general population. Variations in home BP between morning and evening measurements and the dynamic changes during 7 days of measure...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that L-arginine, an amino acid and a substrate of nitric oxide synthase, may have blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect. Because some studies were performed with limited number of patients with hypertension and therefore limited statistical power with sometimes inconsistent results, we aimed to examine the effect...

To evaluate the early enhancement of coronary atherosclerotic plaque using contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA) and investigate the association between unstable angina pectoris (UAP) and early enhancement of the plaque. Forty-one patients presenting with angina pectoris and demonstrating single-vessel disease with non-calcified plaque and sign...

Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; DHA) is known to play a critical role in postnatal brain development. However, no study has been performed to investigate its preventive effect on prenatal stress-induced behavioral and molecular alterations in offspring. In the present study, rats were exposed to restraint stress on days 14-20 of pregnancy, three tim...

Although the benefits of wolfberry are well known and highly thought of in TCM, scientific evidence regarding its benefits is unclear. The objective of this review is to highlight the numerous health benefits of wolfberry from a rigorous scientific and clinical perspective. Arguments and evidence are given in this chapter indicating that LBP is not...

The global popularity of herbal supplements and the promise they hold in treating various disease states have caused an unprecedented interest in understanding the molecular basis of the biological activity of traditional remedies. This volume focuses on presenting current scientific evidence of biomolecular effects of selected herbs and their rela...

Cardiac hypertrophy is frequently caused by pressure overload (i.e., high blood pressure or hypertension) and can lead to heart failure. The major objective of the present study was to investigate the proteomic changes in response to the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) induced by abdominal aortic banding (AB) and its prevention by...

To investigate the effect of paired box 2 (PAX2) gene re-expression in renal tubular epithelial cells on renal interstitial fibrosis in rats with obstructive nephropathy. Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: sham-operated group (sham group) and unilateral ureteral obstruction group (UUO group), 40 in each group. After the surgery, rat...

In our previous study, moderate increases in plasma leptin levels achieved via administration of recombinant adenovirus containing the rat leptin cDNA were shown to correct the abnormal metabolic profile in rats with diet-induced obesity, suggesting that these animals had developed resistance to the metabolic effects of leptin, which could be rever...

This study investigates the sex difference of cardiometabolic risk profiles in subjects with visceral fat obesity (VFO) but normal waist circumference (WC). VFO, which is defined as visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area more than 100 cm(2) by computed tomography (CT), and cardiometabolic risk profiles were assessed in 437 subjects with normal WC (197...

1. Chronically increased sympathetic nerve activity is present during chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, its role in contributing to hypertension or the progression of CKD remains poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to determine whether neonatal sympathectomy attenuates hypertension in 5/6 nephrectomized rats and affects renal s...

In recent years, a handful of research investigations have shown that some antihypertensive drugs, i.e., angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), and calcium channel blocker (CCB), can inhibit myocardial expression and/or activity of calcineurin. Calcineurin is a Ca2+–calmodulin-dependent serine/threonine...

Cardiac ryanodine RyR2 receptors regulate Ca ²⁺ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). FK506 binding protein (FKBP) 12.6 prevents aberrant SR Ca ²⁺ leakage during diastole, thereby maintaining the integrity of RyR2 function. Previous studies have focused mainly on FKBP12.6 deficiency and so the pathophysiological consequences of FKBP12.6 ove...

Observational studies established high-sensitivity C-reactive protein as a risk factor for cardiovascular events in the general population. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between target organ damage and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in a cohort of Chinese patients with metabolic syndrome. A total of 1082 consecutive...

It has been a challenge to estimate the infarct size in rats post acute myocardial infarction (MI). The major purpose of our study was measure structural and functional changes of the left ventricle with non-invasive echocardiography and analyze the changes based on infarct size determined by postmortem pathology. Methods: MI was induced by coronar...

Sympathetic vasoconstriction is attenuated in exercising muscle by locally generated vasodilators, including NO. Skeletal muscle also produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide (O(2)(-)), which inactivates NO. We, therefore, hypothesized that excessive ROS production would result in enhanced sympathetic vasoconstriction in exercisin...

Although studies in anesthetized, sino-aortic denervated animals indicate that inhibition of central nitric oxide (NO) causes an excitatory influence on efferent sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) that is normally offset by baroreflex activation, studies in conscious animals have not provided clear-cut evidence for a sympathoexcitatory effect of N(om...

Sympathetic vasoconstriction in contracting muscles normally is blunted by locally generated vasoactive substances, including muscle-derived nitric oxide (NO). Skeletal muscle also produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide (O2−), which can inactivate NO. We therefore hypothesized that in conditions associated with oxidative stress,...

Nitric oxide (NO) is thought to reduce blood pressure by evoking vasodilation either directly by causing relaxation of vascular smooth muscle or indirectly by acting in the rostral brainstem to reduce central sympathetic outflow, which decreases the release of norepinephrine from sympathetic nerve terminals. An increasingly large body of literature...

The radio-telemetric technology makes it possible to continuously monitor arterial pressure, heart rate and physical activity as well as their circadian rhythms and their response to therapeutics in unrestrained animals for a longer period of time. This is essential for in vivo cardiovascular research. The primary purpose of the present study was t...

Since acupuncture is widely used and heavily touted to treat hypertension without any objective evidence of efficacy, we performed a trial of repeated electrical acupuncture over 4 weeks, measuring routine and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABPM) and sympathetic nerve traffic. Otherwise healthy subjects with normal to stage 1 hypertension recei...

Am J Hypertens (2004) 17, 141A–141A; doi: 10.1016/j.amjhyper.2004.03.373 P-298: Chronic cyclosporine-induced hypertension is coupled to calcineurin-mediated inhibition of t cell activation in mice Jia-Ling Li1, Robert A. Augustyniak1, Ronald G. Victor1 and Weiguo Zhang11Internal Medicine/Hypertension Division, University of Texas Southwestern Medi...

P-1Key Words: Acupuncture, Hypertension Treatment, Sympathetic Nerve Traffic

The radio-telemetric technology makes it possible to continuously monitor arterial pressure, heart rate and physical activity as well as their circadian rhythms and their response to therapeutics in unrestrained animals for a longer period of time. This is essential for in vivo cardiovascular research. The primary purpose of the present study was t...

To assess the importance of the sympathetic nervous system in regulating body weight during prolonged leptin infusion, we evaluated food intake, body weight, and physical activity in conscious, unrestrained rats. Initial studies illustrated that prolonged intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of leptin enhanced substrate oxidation so that adipose...

In chronic renal disease, sympathetic overactivity has been hypothesized not only to be a major factor contributing to hypertension but also to accelerate the progression to end stage renal disease by a direct toxic effect of norepinephrine on renal tissue. However, the data to support these provocative hypotheses are relatively weak. To more direc...

Hypertension is a common complication of chronic renal failure, accelerating the deterioration in renal function and constituting an important risk factor for the excessive cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, there are large gaps in our understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of renal hypertension. Although this hypertension tr...

Leptin has been postulated as an important hormone linking obesity with sympathetic activation and hypertension. In a rat model of dietary obesity moderate hyperleptinemia by adenoviral gene transfer has been shown to reverse all the other features of the metabolic syndrome including insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. To determine if lepti...

OBJECTIVE To review the current literature on sympathetic mediation of hypertension in chronic renal failure. BACKGROUND Hypertension is present in the vast majority of patients with chronic renal failure and constitutes a major risk factor for the excessive cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in this patient population. Although, traditionally...

An increasing body of experimental literature implicates a major sympathetic neural component to certain forms of nitric oxide (NO)-deficient hypertension. However, this hypothesis remains controversial and all the existing evidence is indirect, based largely on the ability of sympathectomy or adrenergic blockade to attenuate the hypertensive respo...

The immunosuppressive drug cyclsporine A (CsA) has emerged as an important cause of secondary hypertension, but the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms have remained enigmatic. Synapsins are a family of neuronal phosphoproteins that are essential for normal regulation of neurotransmitter release and also are found on microvesicles in some sensory ne...

Baroreceptor-unloading-mediated activation of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) by antihypertensive agents, such as dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers (CCB), has been considered to compromise the beneficial effects of the therapy and lead to unsatisfying clinical outcome. The present study was aimed at finding a novel way of using CCB without...

Skeletal muscle perfusion during exercise is impaired in heart failure, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. One possibility is that sympathetic vasoconstriction is enhanced in exercising muscle in heart failure as a result of impaired counterregulatory mechanisms that normally act to attenuate vasoconstrictor responses. In healthy...

Inhibition of calcineurin-mediated signaling in T lymphocytes is a major mechanism of cyclosporine A (CsA)-induced immunosuppression, and previous rat studies have suggested that inhibition of calcineurin-mediated signaling in central neuronal pools involved in blood pressure regulation plays an important role in causing acute CsA-induced hypertens...

The calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporine A (CsA) has emerged as a major cause of secondary hypertension in humans, but the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms have remained enigmatic. Synapsins are a family of synaptic vesicle phosphoproteins that are essential for normal regulation of neurotransmitter release at synapses. In addition to synaptic vesi...

To investigate the effect of synthetic retinoids on septic shock induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats. Randomised study. University hospital laboratory, Sweden. 31 male Sprague Dawley rats randomised into four groups: controls, given vehicle alone (n = 6), LPS 6 mg/kg body weight alone (n = 12), and LPS 6 mg/kg but pretreated with the retino...

The effects of a neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y1-receptor antagonist (BIBP 3226) on mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate were investigated in conscious unrestrained rats with chronic congestive heart failure. The rats were randomly assigned to 2 groups, and received either BIBP 3226 or its inactive enantiomer (BIBP 3435) as an intravenous infusion (...