[Textual research on Xilei Powder].

Xilei Powder is a commonly used prescription for the treatment of oral ulcers, and is originally used to treat scarlet fever. Scarlet fever is a warm-toxin disease from the perspective of the theory of warm disease. It is a warm infectious disease caused by epidemic. Xilei Powder was recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia from 1953 edition to 2010 edition. As China joined Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES), Xilei Powder was removed from the Chinese Pharmacopoeia of 2015 edition due to the limitation of the use of animal drugs, such as ivory and rhinoceros horn. Xilei Powder has been widely used to treat such diseases as otolaryngology, fever, gynecological diseases, digestive diseases, and tumors. Does Xilei Powder have a unique place in clinical application? Can stable and effective alternative drugs be derived from original prescription? Due to the lack of theoretical studies on Xilei Powder, by consulting ancient books, monographs and papers, we comprehensively summarized and studied historical evolution and prescription connotation of Xilei Powder, and analyzed its drug origin and clinical application, in the hope to promote the theoretical study and clinical application.

Reveal the mechanisms of prescriptions for liver cancer' treatment based on two illustrious senior TCM physicians.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the core herbs of two illustrious senior Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Physicians for the treatment of liver cancer, and to further clarify the gene targets and pathway mechanisms of liver cancer that the core prescription (CP) may regulate. METHODS: We used the patient information of two illustrious senior TCM physicians from the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Affiliated Hospital of Capital Medical University as the database. The CP was analyzed using the community network algorithm. The pathway mechanism was analyzed using network pharmacology method. And the prognostic survival genes were identified using Single factor cox regression analysis. Integrative Pharmacology-based Research Platform of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCMIP), Herb, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), Genecards, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), Genomic Data Commons (GDC), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gephi and R were used to mine CP, building a pathway network diagram. All the analyses were visualized. RESULTS: We found that the CP consistes of Huangqi (), Danshen (), Shuihonghuazi (), Baihuasheshecao (), Banzhilian (), and Ezhu (), which were attributed to the two physicians respectively. The CP played an anti-cancer role through such pathways as signal transduction, energy metabolism, immune system and other pathways, covering a total of 112 pathways and 176 herb-disease-related genes. Fourteen genes have a significant impact on the prognosis and survival of liver cancer. CONCLUSION: Based on the liver cancer cases of two illustrious senior TCM physicians, we obtained the CP through data mining. The CP may mainly exert anti-cancer effects by inhibiting inflammatory response, angiogenesis, and enhancing the body's immune response. We screened out 14 genes in the CP that may be related to the prognosis of liver cancer, and these genes may play an important regulatory role in the prognosis of liver cancer.

Comparison of Extracellular Proteins from Virulent and Avirulent Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strains To Identify Potential Virulence Factors.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a leading seafood-borne pathogen that causes gastroenteritis, septicemia, and serious wound infections due to the actions of virulence-associated proteins. We compared the extracellular proteins of nonvirulent JHY20 and virulent ATCC 33847 V. parahaemolyticus reference strains. Eighteen extracellular proteins were identified from secretory profiles, and 11 (68.75%) of the 16 proteins in ATCC 33847 are associated with virulence and/or protection against adverse conditions: trigger factor, chaperone SurA, aspartate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase, 4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl diphosphate synthase, glutamate 5-kinase, alanine dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, outer membrane protein OmpV, ribosome-associated inhibitor A, chaperone protein Skp, and universal stress protein. Two nontoxic-related proteins, amino acid ABC transporter substrate-binding protein and an uncharacterized protein, were identified in JHY20. The results provide a theoretical basis for supporting safety risk assessment of aquatic foods, illuminate the pathogenic mechanisms of V. parahaemolyticus, and assist the identification of novel vaccine candidates for foodborne pathogens.

Taurine Attenuates Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced Breast Tumorigenesis in Rats: A Plasma Metabolomic Study.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide. Taurine, the most abundant free amino acid, plays a role in several biological processes in humans and has been shown to have activity against breast cancer and other tumors. To investigate the role and mechanism of taurine action in breast cancer, we used dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast carcinogenesis in rats as a model of breast cancer. The administration of taurine significantly reduced the DMBA-induced breast cancer rate from 80% to 40% in rats (p<0.05). Metabolomic studies using time-of-flight gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified 23 differential metabolites in the plasma of taurine-administered rats. Bioinformatic analysis further revealed that these metabolites are involved in multiple metabolic pathways, including energy, glucose, amino acid, and nucleic acid metabolism, suggesting that the antitumor activity of taurine in rats is mediated through altered metabolism of breast cancer cells. We propose that these differential metabolites may be potential biomarkers for monitoring cancer therapy and prognosis in the clinic. This study provides a scientific basis for further investigations of the antitumor mechanism of taurine and the development of novel therapeutic strategies to treat breast cancer.