Antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities of Oviductus ranae in mice

Oviductus ranae (OR) is a traditional Chinese medicine, which was first recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica in the Ming Dynasty. OR contains high amounts of proteins and elicits therapeutic effects on neurasthenia, insomnia, and respiratory symptoms, which are related to oxidative stress and immunodeficiency. This study aimed to obtain the potential of OR for the development of functional food possessing antioxidant and immune-enhancement functions in the same dose. In antioxidant evaluation, OR can significantly decrease malondialdehyde and protein carbonyls (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) and significantly increase total superoxide dismutase and glutathione in a dose-dependent manner (P< 0.05, P < 0.01) against ethanol-induced oxidative stress in mice at 0.1, 1.0, and 3.0 g/kg BW. In immunomodulatory evaluation, OR could significantly enhance the phagocytosis of liver macrophages (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), delayed-type hypersensitivity response (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), hemolytic activity (P < 0.05), antibody-producing cells (P < 0.05), and natural killer cell activity (P < 0.05) in the same dose range described in antioxidant evaluation compared with those in the normal control. OR slightly influenced lymphocyte proliferation, peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis, and immune organ indices in mice. Thus, 3.0 g/kg BW OR showed potential for the development of functional food with antioxidant and immune-enhancement activities

Up-regulation effect of neureglin1β on extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 signaling pathway in rats with cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury / 中华神经医学杂志

Objective To explore the regulating mechanism ofneuregulin1β (NRG1β) on extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) signaling pathway in rats with cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury.Methods Fifty male Wistar rats were divided randomly into sham-operated group,model group,treatment group,inhibitor group,and inhibitor combined with treatment group (n=10).Focal cerebral ischemic models were established by inserting a monofilament thread to achieve middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).The rats were injected 5 μL (2 μg/kg) NRGlβ to the internal carotid artery.This inhibitor BIX02189 was injected into the internal carotid artery before ischemia.The neurobehavioral functions were evaluated by modified neurological severity scale (mNSS).The apoptotic cells were counted by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling,and the expressions of phosphorylated (p-) mitogen activated proteins kinase kinase 5 (MEKK5),ERK5 and myocyte enhancer-binding factor 2C (MEF2C) were determined by immunohistochemical assay and Western blotting.Results The rats in the model group appeared neurobehavioral dysfunction,the number of apoptotic cells in the cortex was increased,and the expressions of p-MEKK5,p-ERK5 and p-MEF2C showed compensable enhancement,which were significantly different as compared with those in the sham-operated group (P＜0.05).As compared with those in the model group and inhibitor combined with treatment group,the expressions of p-MEKK5,p-ERK5 and p-MEF2C were further significantly enhanced,the number of apoptotic cells was significantly decreased and the neurobehavioral functions were significantly improved in treatment group (P＜0.05).As compared with those in the model group and inhibitor combined with treatment group,the number of apoptotic cells was significantly increased,and the expressions ofp-MEKK5,p-ERK5 and p-MEF2C were significantly decreased in the inhibitor group (P＜0.05).Conclusion NRG1β could play a neuroprotective role by activating the MEKK5-ERK5-MEF2C signaling pathway and further up-regulating the expressions of p-MEKK5,p-ERK5 and p-MEF2C to inhibit the inflammation induced by cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in rats.

The synergetic effect of combined astaxanthin and lithium chloride treatment on cognitive dysfunc-tion of chronic omethoate poisoned mice / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To investigate the synergetic effect of combined astaxanthin ( AST) and lith-ium chloride ( LiCl) treatment on cognitive dysfunction of chronic omethoate poisoned mice. Methods 8 mice were selected randomly as control group from 55 healthy adult male Kunming mice,and the rest were used to establish chronic organophosphate poisoning cognitive impairment models by injecting omethoate 5 mg/kg subcutaneously every day for 4 weeks. Totally 40 successfully established models were randomly divid-ed into model group,AST group,edaravone group,LiCl group and AST+LiCl group with 8 in each. Morris wa-ter maze test was used to examine the learning and memory ability of mice. Contents of reactive oxygen spe-cies (ROS) in hippocampus were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Activity of superoxide dismutase ( SOD) in hippocampus was measured by colorimetric assay. Morphology of hippocam-pus area was observed by HE staining. The distribution and expression of p-PI3K,p-Akt,p-GSK3β and p-CREB were determined by immunohistochemical staining ( IHC staining) and Western blot. Results The average escape latency of 5 days in each group was statistically significant (F=1662.147, P<0.05) . The av-erage escape latency of 5 days in AST+LiCl group was significantly lower than that in model group ( all P<0.05) and was lower than other treatment groups. Compared with the control group (0.087±0.007,0.084± 0.009,0.097±0.002,0.076±0.012),the hippocampal neuronal injury in model group was serious,the expres-sions of p-PI3K (0.032±0.008),p-Akt (0.03±0.006),p-GSK3β (0.028±0.007) and p-CREB (0.020± 0.008) was significantly lower ( all P<0.05) . The injuries of hippocampal neurons in AST+LiCl group were slightly lighter than that in model group,and the expression of p-PI3K (0.067±0.008),p-Akt (0.065± 0.005),p-GSK3β (0.068±0.009) and p-CREB (0.062±0.008) in hippocampus was significantly higher than that in model group ( all P<0.05) . Conclusion Combined AST and LiCL treatment exerts neuroprotec-tive effect on cognitive dysfunction induced by chronic organophosphate poisoning via up-regulating the ex-pression of Akt/GSK3β/CREB.

Normal mesenteric lymph ameliorates lipopolysaccharide challenge-induced spleen injury

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of normal mesenteric lymph (NML) from mice on the spleen injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge.METHODS: Mice in the LPS and LPS+NML groups received an intraperitoneal injection of LPS (35 mg/kg) and kept for 6 h.. The mice in the LPS+NML group received NML treatment at 1 h after LPS injection. Afterward, the splenic morphology, the levels of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14), phosphorylation mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and inflammatory mediators in splenic tissue were investigated.RESULTS:LPS injection induced spleen injury, increased the levels of LBP, CD14, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and interferon γ (IFN-γ), and decreased the IL-4 content in the spleen. By contrast, NML treatment reversed these changes. Meanwhile, the LPS challenge decreased the phosphorylation levels of p38 MAPK, extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Moreover, the phosphorylation levels of p38 MAPK and JNK were further decreased by the NML administration.CONCLUSION:rRdThe normal mesenteric lymph treatment alleviated lipopolysaccharide induced spleen injury by attenuating LPS sensitization and production of TNF-α, IL-6, and IFN-γ.