Effect of Bairui Granule on Inflammatory Mediators in Induced Sputum, Leukotriene C4, and EOS in Peripheral Blood of Children with Cough Variant Asthma.

Objective: To study the effect of Hanchuan Zupa granule combined with conventional western medicine in the treatment of children with bronchial asthma. Methods: 98 cases in Fengrun District People's Hospital of Tangshan City from June 2018 to February 2021 were selected. The control group was given oxygen therapy, antibiotics, and aerosol inhalation of quick acting ß 2 receptor agonist, glucocorticoid, and other conventional western medicine treatment, while the observation group was treated with Bairui granule on the basis of the control group. The course of treatment of the two groups was 1 week. Results: After treatment, the levels of sputum IL-4, IL-17, neu, and ECP in the two groups decreased, and the observation group was lower than the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of EOS, CXCR4, LTB4, and SDF-1 in peripheral blood of the two groups were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The daytime cough, night cough, and TCM syndrome scores of the two groups were decreased, and the observation group was lower than the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Bairui granule combined with conventional western medicine in the treatment of children with bronchial asthma, the curative effect is worthy of affirmation, can effectively improve cough symptoms, reduce EOS, CXCR, LTB4, SDF-1 levels, inhibit airway inflammation, and has good clinical application value.

The Effects of Combined Therapeutic Protocol on Allergic Rhinitis Symptoms and Molecular Determinants.

Current medications to treat allergic rhinitis (AR) include antihistamines, corticosteroids, and anti-leukotrienes. In the present study, we investigated the effects of combination therapy; using these drugs, and evaluates the AR-related markers and parameters in an animal model. After inducing BALB/c mice AR models, the animals were treated with either pranlukast, loratadine, fluticasone, loratadine + fluticasone, loratadine + pranlukast, fluticasone + pranlukast, or loratadine + fluticasone + pranlukast. Clinical symptoms, Immunoglobulin (Ig)G1, ovalbumin (OVA)-specific and total IgE, leukotriene (LT)B4, LTC4, histamine, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) serum levels, and interleukin 4 level in the nasal lavage fluid were determined. The expressions of HRH1, CysLT1R, NLR3, Caspase-1, and MUC5a were studied. Allergic symptoms (nasal rubbing and sneezing), serum Igs (IgG1, total and OVA-specific IgE), eicosanoids (LTB4 and LTC4), histamine, TSLP, and IL-4 as well as gene expressions of MUC5a, Caspase-1, NLR3, HRH1, and CysLT1R were reduced in the animals receiving each of the therapeutic regimens; however, more pronounced effects were seen in the group treated with the triple combined protocol (loratadine + fluticasone + pranlukast). The combination of the loratadine, fluticasone, and pranlukast can effectively control the symptoms of AR probably via modulating several related mechanisms at early and late phases of allergic responses.

Chemotherapy in experimental brain tumor, part 2: pretreatment with leukotriene C4 prolongs survival.

Previous work in our laboratory has shown a correspondence between the chemosensitivity of C6 rat glioma and that of human glioblastoma (GBM) to a panel of chemotherapeutic agents in vitro, as determined by the MTT [3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide] colorimetric assay. In the present study, an in vivo model of intracerebral C6 glioma in Sprague-Dawley rats was used to determine if a correlation exists between in vitro chemosensitivity and in vivo survival of the animals, and post-mortem histopathological changes in the tumor. Cisplatin (CDDP) and methotrexate (MTX), agents previously shown to demonstrate high and low in vitro cytotoxicity, respectively, against C6, were administered by intra-carotid infusion over the course of two days. In a separate series of animals, LTC4 was administered prior to infusion of CDDP or MTX; LTC4 was used in view of its known, selective, vasogenic effect on the permeability of brain tumor capillaries. It was found that survival of animals treated with CDDP alone was increased, although this did not reach statistical significance; histopathologically, CDDP-treated animals showed significant tumor necrosis. However, in CDDP-treated animals, pre-treatment with LTC4 increased survival to a statistically significant degree. When administered alone, LTC4 (not followed by CDDP) had no effect on either survival or histology. The survival-enhancing effect of CDDP, when combined with LTC4, was probably not due to any cytotoxic effect of LTC4; this is based on our finding that, on the in vitro MTT colorimetric assay, LTC4 showed low cytotoxicity for C6 glioma cells. By contrast with CDDP, MTX -- with or without pretreatment with LTC4 -- affected neither survival nor tumor histology. With respect to the question of correspondence between the MTT colorimetric in vitro assay and in vivo effect, MTX showed a clear correlation: low cytotoxicity in vitro and poor in vivo response. In the case of CDDP, the correspondence was not clear-cut: there was a high level of in vitro chemosensitivity of the C6 cell line to CDDP as well as post-mortem tumor necrosis, but in vivo testing showed no significant prolongation of survival. However, pre-treatment with LTC4 did significantly extend survival in animals treated with CDDP.