Maintaining skeletal muscle mass is important for improving muscle strength and function. Hence, maximizing lean body mass (LBM) is the primary goal for both elite athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The use of amino acids as dietary supplements is widespread among athletes and physically active individuals. Extensive literature analysis reveals that branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), creatine, glutamine and β-alanine may be beneficial in regulating skeletal muscle metabolism, enhancing LBM and mitigating exercise-induced muscle damage. This review details the mechanisms of these amino acids, offering insights into their efficacy as supplements. Recommended dosage and potential side effects are then outlined to aid athletes in making informed choices and safeguard their health. Lastly, limitations within the current literature are addressed, highlighting opportunities for future research.

Inflammatory factors and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are risk factors for atherosclerosis. Many existing therapies use ROS-sensitive delivery systems to alleviate atherosclerosis, which achieved certain efficacy, but cannot eliminate excessive ROS. Moreover, the potential biological safety concerns of carrier materials through chemical synthesis cannot be ignored. Herein, an amphiphilic low molecular weight heparin- lipoic acid conjugate (LMWH-LA) was used as a ROS-sensitive carrier material, which consisted of injectable drug molecules used clinically, avoiding unknown side effects. LMWH-LA and curcumin (Cur) self-assembled to form LLC nanoparticles (LLC NPs) with LMWH as shell and LA/Cur as core, in which LMWH could target P-selectin on plaque endothelial cells and competitively block the migration of monocytes to endothelial cells to inhibit the origin of ROS and inflammatory factors, and LA could be oxidized to trigger hydrophilic-hydrophobic transformation and accelerate the release of Cur. Cur released within plaques further exerted anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, thereby suppressing ROS and inflammatory factors. We used ultrasound imaging, pathology and serum analysis to evaluate the therapeutic effect of nanoparticles on atherosclerotic plaques in apoe^−/− mice, and the results showed that LLC showed significant anti-atherosclerotic effects. Our finding provided a promising therapeutic nanomedicine for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Aim: Arterial wall elasticity including the circumferential and longitudinal modulus is a measure of sub-clinical cardiovascular disease; the circumferential modulus is increased in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). There are still no reports of non-invasive measurement of longitudinal elastic modulus of arterial wall and its prospect of clinical application. In this study, the longitudinal elastic modulus of the arterial wall was assessed using real-time shear wave elastography in patients with AIS. The technique’s feasibility and its related factors were studied initially. Materials and methods: In this study 179 patients with AIS and 168 age- and sex-matched controls were examined. The pulse wave velocity (PWV) of the bilateral carotid arteries was measured using radio frequency ultrasound technology. The 20 areas of superficial walls of bilateral carotid artery were analyzed by real-time shear wave elastography (SWE), and the average values of longitudinal average elastic modulus (MEmean), maximum elastic modulus (MEmax), minimum elastic modulus (MEmin), and elastic modulus standard deviation (MESD) were measured. Results: The PWV, MEmean, MEmax and MESD of the carotid artery in patients with AIS were greater than those in the control group. Age, systolic blood pressure, PWV, and low-density lipoprotein were positively related to MEmean and MEmax (r=0.221and r=0.248, r=0.174 and r=0.176, r=0.776 and r=0.716, r=0.173 and r=0.200, p<0.05) and were independent risk factors for MEmean and MEmax。ROC curves for detection of ischemic stroke as decided by PWV, MEmean and MEmax. The area under the curves were 0.55±0.03 (p≤0.05), 0.59±0.03 (p≤0.05) and 0.60±0.03 (p=0.023), respectively. The optimal PWV, MEmean and MEmax cutoff values for the detection of ischemic stroke were 9.66 m/s, 55.4 kPa and 65.4 kPa, with 69%, 73% and 73% sensitivity and 89%, 53% and 51% specificity, respectively. Conclusions: SWE could measure non-invasively the longitudinal elastic modulus of the arterial wall and evaluate the arterial stiffness. It was equivalent to the PWV which showed circular elastic modulus of arterial wall on evaluating AIS. Age, systolic blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, and low-density lipoprotein were independent risk factors for longitudinal elastic modulus. SWE may be effective in the assessment of arterial stiffness and offer a potential clinical benefit.

CUDC-907 is a novel dual-acting inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and histone deacetylase (HDAC). In this study, we aimed to explore the anticancer effects of CUDC-907 on human breast cancer cells. Our results showed that CUDC-907 effectively inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that CUDC-907 induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in breast cancer cells. The combined treatment of CUDC-907 and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) resulted in a marked increase in apoptosis and cleavage of caspase-8, −9 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in breast cancer cells. CUDC-907 enhanced expressions of death receptor 5 (DR5), reduced the levels of anti-apoptotic molecules XIAP, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Knockdown of DR5 abrogated apoptosis induced by the combination of CUDC-907 and TRAIL in breast cancer cells. CUDC-907 increased the phosphorylation of JNK and p38 MAPK. JNK inhibitor pretreatment attenuated CUDC-907-induced upregulation of DR5. In summary, CUDC-907 shows potent cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells and facilitates TRAIL-mediated apoptosis through DR5 upregulation. The combination of CUDC-907 and TRAIL may be a promising therapeutic approach in the treatment of breast cancer.