Disturbed Yin-Yang balance: stress increases the susceptibility to primary and recurrent infections of herpes simplex virus type 1

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), a neurotropic herpes virus, is able to establish a lifelong latent infection in the human host. Following primary replication in mucosal epithelial cells, the virus can enter sensory neurons innervating peripheral tissues nerve termini. The viral genome is then transported to the nucleus where it can be maintained without producing infectious progeny, and thus latency is established in the cell. Yin-Yang balance is an essential concept in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory. Yin represents stable and inhibitory factors, and Yang represents the active and aggressive factors. When the organism is exposed to stress, especially psychological stress caused by emotional stimulation, the Yin-Yang balance is disturbed and the virus can re-engage in productive replication, resulting in recurrent diseases. Therefore, a better understanding of the stress-induced susceptibility to HSV-1 primary infection and reactivation is needed and will provide helpful insights into the effective control and treatment of HSV-1. Here we reviewed the recent advances in the studies of HSV-1 susceptibility, latency and reactivation. We included mechanisms involved in primary infection and the regulation of latency and described how stress-induced changes increase the susceptibility to primary and recurrent infections.

[Emotional stress-induced Shanghuo syndrome increases disease susceptibility].

Shanghuo(excessive internal heat) is a special organic state based on the concept of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), commonly known as the abnormal heating syndrome of body in folks. With the acceleration of modern life rhythm and the increase of the social competition pressure, emotional stress has become an important cause for the spread of Shanghuo symptoms. What's more, Shanghuo can impact the body physiological functions to cause the onset, recurrence and progression of common diseases, harming the health of the body. According to the long-term research findings, the author found that Shanghuo referred to the imbalance of multiple physiological functions, such as nerve, immunity and metabolism, caused by emotional stress. "Shanghuo" is not a disease itself, but it can increase the susceptibility to a variety of diseases. This study reviewed the traditional medicine theory and the modern medical studies, and explored the relevance and correlation mechanisms between the Shanghuo symptoms and disease susceptibility, so as to provide a reference to improve the state of sub-health and prevent or treat modern diseases.

Hypotriglyceridemic effects of apple polyphenols extract via up-regulation of lipoprotein lipase in triton WR-1339-induced mice.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of apple polyphenols extract (APE) in Triton WR-1339-induced endogenous hyperlipidemic model. METHODS: Firstly, APE was isolated and purified from the pomace of Red Fuji Apple and contents of individual polyphenols in APE were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Secondly, forty male National Institude of Health (NIH) mice were randomly divided into 5 groups with 8 animals in each group. The Fenofibrate Capsules (FC) group and APE groups received oral administration of respective drugs for 7 consecutive days. All mice except those in the normal group were intravenously injected through tail vein with Triton WR-1339 on the 6th day. Serum and livers from all the mice were obtained 18 h after the injection. The changes in serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic triglyceride lipase (HTGL) were measured by respective kits. Finally, expression of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) mRNA was measured by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. RESULTS SERUM TC AND TG LEVELS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN TRITON WR-1339-INDUCED MODEL GROUP COMPARED WITH THE NORMAL GROUP (P<0.01). ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF APE [200 AND 400 MG/(KG DAY)] DOSE-DEPENDENTLY REDUCED THE SERUM LEVEL OF TG IN HYPERLIPIDEMIC MICE (P<0.01). SERUM LPL AND HTGL ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN TRITON WR-1339-INDUCED MODEL GROUP COMPARED WITH THE NORMAL GROUP (P<0.05). ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF APE [200 AND 400 MG/(KG DAY)] DOSE-DEPENDENTLY ELEVATED THE SERUM ACTIVITY OF LPL IN HYPERLIPIDEMIC MICE (P<0.05 OR P<0.01). FURTHERMORE, COMPARED WITH THE NORMAL GROUP, HEPATIC MRNA LEVEL OF PPARα IN THE MODEL GROUP SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED (P<0.01). ORAL ADMINISTRATION OF APE [200 AND 400 MG/(KG DAY)] DOSE-DEPENDENTLY ELEVATED THE EXPRESSION OF PPARα IN HYPERLIPIDEMIC MICE (P<0.05 OR P<0.01): CONCLUSION: APE could reduce TG level via up-regulation of LPL activity, which provides new evidence to elucidate the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of APE.

Anti-inflammatory effects of Reduning Injection on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury of rats / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the protective effects of Reduning Injection (, RDN), a patent Chinese medicine, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in rats and its underlying mechanisms of action.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, including normal control, model, dexamethasone (DEX, 5 mg/kg), RDN-H (720 mg/kg), RDN-M (360 mg/kg) and RDN-L (180 mg/kg) groups, with 10 rats in each group. Rats were challenged with intravenous injection of LPS 1 h after intraperitoneal treatment with RDN or DEX. At 6 h after LPS challenge, lung tissues and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected, and the number of inflammatory cells was determined. The right lungs were collected for histopathologic examination, measurement of gene and protein expressions, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In vivo pretreatment of RDN (360, 720 mg/kg) significantly reduced the weight of wet to dry (W/D) ratio of lung, protein content in BALF, and led to remarkable attenuation of LPS-induced histopathological changes in the lungs. Meanwhile, RDN enormously decreased BALF total inflammatory cells, especially neutrophil and macrophage cell numbers. Moreover, RDN increased SOD activity, inhibited MPO activity, alleviated LPS-induced tumor neurosis factor-α (TNF-α) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in lung tissues. Furthermore, RDN (720 mg/kg) efficiently weakened nuclear factorkappa B (NF-κB) gene and protein expression.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Anti-inflammatory effects of RDN was demonstrated to be preventing pulmonary neutrophil infiltration, lowering MPO activity, TNF-α and iNOS gene expression by inhibiting NF-κB activity in LPS-induced ALI.</p>

[Study on antipyretic effect of Reduning injection on lipopolysaccharide-induced fever rats].

To observe the antipyretic effect of Reduning injection (RDN) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fever rats and its impact on centric fever medium. Rats were randomly divided into the blank control group, the model group, the Metamizole group, and high and low-dose RDN groups. Except for the blank control group, all of the rats were injected intraperitoneally with LPS (80 microg x kg(-1)) to observe their body temperature changes. The double-antibody sandwich ELSIA method was adopted to determine cAMP content in hypothalamus and MPO in lung tissues of fever peak rats. The high-dose RDN group can obviously reduce the temperature rise in fever rats, and cAMP and MPO content in hypothalamus. RDN showed significant antipyretic effect, which may be related with the reduction of cAMP content in hypothalamus and MPO in lung tissues.

[Determination of theacrine in rat plasma by RP-HPLC].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a method for the determination of theacrine in rat plasma after ig. administration of theacrine. METHOD: Blood sample was taken timely from the eyes canthus of rats. Plasma was isolated and the protein was precipitated by ethyl acetate. Then the plasma concentration of theacrine was determined with RP-HPLC. Caffeine was used as the internal standard. The chromatographic conditions were as follows: Phenomenex Luna C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) at 25 degrees C, a mixture of methanol-water (25: 75) as the mobile phase, at the flow rate of 1.0 mL x min(-1) and the detection wavelength of 290 nm. RESULT: The linear range of theacrine was 0.5-100 mg x L(-1) (R2 = 0.998 9). The lower limit of quantification was 0.5 mg x L(-1). The intra-day RSD was 1.49% 4.40% and inter-day RSD was 0.80% -10.27%. The average extraction recoveries of theacrine were 90.3% -95.8% at concentrations of 0.5, 5.0, 50 mg x L(-1). The main pharmacokinetic parameters after ig. administration of theacrine at concentration of 30 mg x kg(-1) were as follow: C(max) (35.45 +/- 30 2.68) mg x L(-1), t(max) (0.51 +/- 0.13) h, t1/2 (3.13 +/- 1.37) h, AUC(0-infinity) (2.65.39 +/- 94.71) mg x L(-1) x h. CONCLUSION: The method has been confirmed to be simple, stable, reproducible and with high specificity, and can be used for the pharmacokinetic study of theacrine in rats.

Effects of xiaoyan lidan pian extract on mice with stressive liver injury / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the protective effects of Xiaoyan Lidan Pian extract (XLP) on restraint stress induced liver injury in mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Liver injury mouse model was established by restraint stress. Sixty mice were equally divided into 6 groups, the normal control group, the model group, the Thiopronin group, and the three XLP groups treated with low (125 mg/kg), moderate (250 mg/kg) and high dose (500 mg/kg) XLP respectively. Effect of various treatments was evaluated by assessing alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in plasma; malondialdehyde (MDA) content in liver by thiobarbituric acid method; content of nitric oxide (NO) by Griess chemical method; hepatic antioxidant capacity index (ORAC) by fluorescent enzyme immunoassay; glutathione (GSH) content by HPLC; activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX-Px) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) by colorimetry; activity of hepatic mitochondrial respiratory chain complex enzyme (MRCCE) by ultraviolet spectrophotometry; and contents of cytochrome a, b, c, and c1 by the redox differential spectra.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>As compared with the model group, in the XLP groups, level of plasma ALT activity, liver content of MDA and NO, and contents of cytochromes were lower, while levels of ORAC index, GSH, GPX-Px and GST in liver, and MRCCE activity were higher.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>XLP has definite protective effects on stressive liver injury in mice, which may be related to its action in alleviating the oxidative stress condition in mice.</p>

Effects of Sarcandra glabra extract on immune activity in restraint stress mice / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the protective effect of Sarcandra glabra extract (SGE) on immune system in restrained mice.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal control group, stress control group, 125, 500 mg x kg(-1) SGE group. The spleen lymphocyte suspensions of each group were prepared. The parameters of spleen T cells subsets, NK cell and NKT cell proportion and number was detected by Flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>SGE regulated the balance of T cell subsets, increased the percent of NK cells and NKT cell proportion and number in restrained mice.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SGE has immunologic protective effect in restrained mice probably via the amelioration of immune cells proportion and number.</p>

Beneficial effects of oolong tea consumption on diet-induced overweight and obese subjects / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the anti-obesity effects of oolong tea on diet-induced overweight or obesity.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 8 g of oolong tea a day for 6 weeks was ingested by 102 diet-induced overweight or obese subjects. The body fat level of the subjects was determined at the same time by taking body weight, height and waist measurements. The thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer was also determined on the abdomen 3 cm to the right of the navel by the ultrasonic echo method. On the other hand, effects of oolong tea ingestion on plasma triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) were determined. Inhibitions of pancreatic lipase by oolong tea extract and catechins in vitro were also determined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 70% of the severely obese subjects did show a decrease of more than 1 kg in body weight, including 22% who lost more than 3 kg. Similarly, 64% of the obese subjects and 66% of the overweight subjects lost more than 1 kg during the experiment, and the subcutaneous fat content decreased in 12% of the subjects. The correlation between weight loss and subcutaneous fat decrease in men (r=0.055) was obviously lower than that in women (r=0.440, P<0.01). Body weight loss was signifificantly related to the decrease of the waist size in men (r=0.730, P<0.01) and women (r=0.480, P<0.01). Also, the correlation between subcutaneous fat reduction and decreased waist size was signifificant in women (r=0.554, P<0.01), but not in men (r=0.050, P>0.05). Moreover, the plasma levels of TG and TC of the subjects with hyperlipidemia were remarkably decreased after ingesting oolong tea for 6 weeks. In vitro assays for the inhibition of pancreatic lipase by oolong tea extract and catechins suggest that the mechanism for oolong tea to prevent hyperlipidemia may be related to the regulative action of oolong tea catechins in lipoprotein activity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Oolong tea could decrease body fat content and reduce body weight through improving lipid metabolism. Chronic consumption of oolong tea may prevent against obesity.</p>

[Effects of Xiaoyao Wan on the behavioral despair and stress depression mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-depressant effect and the possible mechanism of Xiaoyao Wan in animal models. METHODS: The open-field test and the forced swimming test were applied to study the anti-depressant effect of Xiaoyao Wan in mice, and HPLC-ECD was carried out to assay the contents of 5-HT and 5-HIAA, and the mechanism of Xiaoyao Wan on anti-depressant effect was discussed. RESULTS: Xiaoyao Wan at the dose of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg significantly increased the revolutions in force swimming test, and ameliorated brain cortex 5-HT and 5-HIAA content of restraint mice. But there was no effect on brain cortex 5-HT and 5-HIAA content of non-restraint mice. CONCLUSION: Xiaoyao Wan has significant anti-depressant effect which may be related to the potentiation of brain serotonergic function.

[Effect of fenghuaqianqingcha on experimentally induced prostatic hyperplasia in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the improvement of fenghuaqianqingcha (FQC) on Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in mice and the related mechanism. METHODS: The BPH model was established by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate in mice. At the same time, mice were infused into the stomach with FQC in different dosages for three weeks. The mice were sacrificed later, and the prostate index, prostatic wet weight, testosterone levels in plasma and MDA contents, NO levels, GSH levels, as well as oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) values in prostate were measured and the morphological change of prostatic gland was observed by light microscope to observe the effects of FQC on BPH in mice. And the effect of FQC on 5 alpha-reductase was determinated in vitro by HPLC. RESULTS: Compared with the BPH model group, all parameters including prostatic index, prostatic wet weight, T levels, MDA contents, ORAC values et. in different experimental groups showed significantly improvement after treatment with FQC. And FQC could inhibit the activity of 5alpha-reductase in vitro significantly. CONCLUSION: FQC has antagonistic effect on BPH induced by testosterone propionate in mice, which may involve its inhibition of the activity of 5 alpha-reductase and accommodate the peroxidation condition.

Protective effects of Guangdong Liangcha grandes on restraint stress-induced liver damage in mice / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Guangdong Liangcha Keli on restraint stress-induced liver damage in mice.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Thirty-five male C57BL/6J mice of 7 weeks old were divided into 5 groups randomly with 7 mice in each group: normal group, restraint stress group, 250 mg kg(-1) Vitamin C, Guangdong Liangcha Keli 500 mg kg(-1) and 250 mg kg(-1). After 18 hr restraint stress, the ALT acitivity in plasma, MDA level in plasma and liver, GSH content, GSH-PX and GST activities, NO level and ORAC value in liver were determined.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Compared with restraint model group, Guangdong Liangcha Keli could markedly reduce ALT activity (92.75 +/- 1.91 vs 39.29 +/- 2.56, 32.69 +/- 1.46) U L(-1), and protect the liver damage induced by oxidative stress. In addition, Guangdong Liangcha Keli could effectively increase the ORAC value, GSH content, GSH-PX activity and GST activity and reduce the MDA level and NO level in liver.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Oral treatment of Guangdong Liangcha Keli is found to reduce restraint stress-induced liver damage in terms of above mentioned biochemical parameters, and these protective effects may be related to its free radical scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation inhibitory effects.</p>

[Protective effect of tanshinones against liver injury in mice loaded with restraint stress].

AIM: To observe the protective effects of tanshinones (tanshinone IIA, tanshinone I, cryptotanshinone and dihydrotanshinone) against liver injury in mice loaded with restraint stress. METHODS: The liver injury model was established under 12 h restraint stress in mice 5 days after tanshinones treatment. The hepatoprotective effects were evaluated by assessing alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in plasma. The contents of vitamin C, GSH and malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver were performed by HPLC and TBARS methods, respectively. Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay was used to measure the antioxidant capacity. RESULTS: Tanshinones decreased ALT and MDA levels, and increased ORAC, vitamin C and GSH levels in liver tissues as compared with restraint stress control. Tanshinones also significantly inhibited oxidation in vitro. Among four tanshinones, dihydrotanshinone was more effective than others both in vivo and in vitro test. CONCLUSION: Tanshinones possesses potent antioxidant activity in vitro and in vivo, and protected against liver injury induced by restraint stress. The active mechanisms may be related to their antioxidant capability.