Compound Chaijin Jieyu Tablets ameliorating insomnia complicated with depression by improving synaptic plasticity via regulating orexin A, melatonin, and acetylcholine contents / 数字中医药（英文）

@#Objective To investigate the efficacy and mechanism of action of Compound Chaijin Jieyu Tablets (复方柴金解郁片, CCJJYT) in rats with insomnia complicated with depression. Methods Seventy-two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into eight groups: the control, chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), sleep deprivation (SD), CUMS + SD, positive drug (venlafaxine hydrochloride + diazepam), CCJJYT high-dose (CCJJYT˗2×), medium-dose (CCJJYT˗1×), and low-dose (CCJJYT˗0.5×) groups, with nine rats in each group. Depression-like behavior was evaluated by body weight, food intake, and behavioral tests such as the sucrose preference test (SPT), open field test (OFT), forced swimming test (FST), and pentobarbital-induced sleep test (PST). Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Golgi-Cox staining were used to observe changes in pathological tissue and synaptic morphology, respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the contents of orexin-A and acetylcholine. The expression levels of orexin receptor 1 (OXR1), melatonin receptor 1 (MT1A), melatonin receptor 2 (MT1B), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Results In the present study, rats in the model group showed significant behavioral changes as well as a reduction in hippocampal dendritic branch length and synaptic number, along with increasing the content of orexin A and acetylcholine (P< 0.05), and altered expression levels of OX1R, MT1A, MT1B, ChAT, and AChE in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex after modeling (P < 0.05). CCJJYT can improve depressive insomnia behavior and synaptic plasticity of rats (P < 0.05), which is similar to that of the positive drug group. It can also decrease the content of orexin A and acetylcholine, and reduce the expression levels of OXR1 and ChAT in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (P < 0.05), and increase the expression levels of MT1A, MT1B, and AChE proteins (P < 0.05). Conclusion CCJJYT has good antidepressant and insomnia effects, probably through the regu-lation of orexin-A, melatonin, and acetylcholine content in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of rats, improving synaptic plasticity and thus exerting antidepressant and insomnia effects.

[Yishen Tonglong Decoction inhibits the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and Ras/ERK signaling pathway in human prostate cancer DU-145 cells].

Objective: To observe the effect of Yishen Tonglong Decoction (YTD) on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and Ras/ERK signaling pathway in human PCa DU-145 cells and explore its action mechanism. METHODS: We treated human PCa DU-145 cells with normal plasma (the blank control) or plasma containing 5% (low-dose), 10% (medium-dose) and 15% (high-dose) YTD. After intervention, we examined the proliferation of the DU-145 cells in different groups with CCK-8 and their apoptosis by Annexin V/PI double staining. We detected the cell cycle by PI assay, the invasion and migration of the cells using the Transwell chamber and scratch test, and the expressions of the proteins and genes related to the EMT and Ras/ERK signaling pathways in the cells by Western blot and RT-PCR. RESULTS: Compared with the blank control group, high-, medium- and low-dose YTD significantly inhibited the proliferation of the PCa DU-145 cells, decreased their adherence and growth (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), promoted their apoptosis (P < 0.01), regulated their cell cycles (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), and reduced their in vitro invasion and migration abilities (P < 0.05), all in a dose-dependent manner. The results of Western blot and RT-PCR revealed down-regulated protein and mRNA expressions of N-cadherin, zinc finger transcription factor (Snail), Ras, p-ERK1/2 and ERK1/2, but up-regulated protein and mRNA expressions of E-cadherin in the PCa DU-145 cells treated with YTD (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Yishen Tonglong Decoction can effectively inhibit the proliferation, promote the apoptosis, regulate the cell cycle and suppress the invasion and migration abilities and EMT process of human PCa DU-145 cells. The mechanism of Yishen Tonglong Decoction acting on PCa may be associated with its inhibitory effect on the EMT process and expression of the Ras/ERK signaling pathway in PCa cells./.

Growing phosphorus dilemma: The opportunity from aquatic systems' secondary phosphorus retention capacity.

The essential cause of phosphorus scarcity and phosphorus-induced risks, i.e. phosphorus dilemma, mainly lies in current low phosphorus flow efficiency (PFE) in agricultural systems. Improving PFE largely depends on secondary phosphorus retention along the phosphorus flow chain from phosphate mining to terrestrial agricultural systems, to aquatic systems, and ultimately to seabed deposition. Our review found that aquatic systems will have the opportunity and growing capacity to retain seaward secondary phosphorus carried by the runoff, due to its location between land and water systems, its ability of converting secondary phosphorus from both land and aquatic systems into aquatic products, and its rapid expansion with low PFE. However, a knowledge gap exists in secondary phosphorus retention in aquatic systems compared to in terrestrial systems. Although the phosphorus retention literature continues to grow in environmental and agricultural & biological sciences, only 8.8% of the documents are related to aquatic systems with few quantification studies. Based on the literature with phosphorus retention quantification since 1979, we divided the reported phosphorus interceptors into abiotic and biotic groups, further into 7 categories and more subcategories. By 2020, eight categories of interceptors had been reported, increased from only one interceptor in 1979. However, most of them focused on wetlands, only a few studies on aquatic organisms which concentrated in 8 countries before 2000. Thus, it is urgent to emphasize aquatic systems' secondary phosphorus retention capacity and its systemic benefits for a sustainable phosphorus use.

Herbal Fufang Xian Ling Gu Bao prevents corticosteroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head-A first multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: This is a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of Chinese herbal Fufang Xian Ling Gu Bao (XLGB) with antiadipogenic compounds for the prevention of corticosteroid (CS)-induced osteonecrosis of femoral head (ONFH). METHODS: Patients of both genders, aged between 18 and 65 years, with diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, nephrosis, dermatosis and rheumatoid arthritis indicated for CS treatment and who did not show magnetic resonance imaging of ONFH at baseline were recruited into the study and then randomised into either XLGB group (n = 129) with daily oral administration of XLGB or placebo group (n = 146). RESULTS: Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a total of 30 ONFH cases at 6 months after CS treatment, with 6.98% (9 of 129 cases) and 14.4% (21 of 146 cases) in the XLGB group and placebo group, respectively, (p < 0.05), i.e., a 2-fold significantly less ONFH identified in the XLGB treatment group. Blood tests suggested that XLGB significantly inhibited the elevation of activated protein C resistance induced by CS treatment. CONCLUSION: This is the first multicentre clinical study to demonstrate that the antiadipogenic compounds-rich herbal Fufang (formula) XLGB is effective in preventing CS-associated ONFH in patients with immune-inflammatory diseases under CS treatment. THE TRANSLATIONAL POTENTIAL OF THIS ARTICLE: The translation potential of this clinical trial is that the initially officially approved clinical indication for XLGB for treatment of osteoporosis has been now also proven to be effective for a new clinical application.

High-Energy Extracorporeal Shock Wave for Early Stage Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: A Single-Center Case Series.

Our retrospective study assessed the effects of treatment of early stage ONFH with extracorporeal shock wave therapy. 335 patients (528 hips) were treated with shockwave therapy in our institution. Each patient underwent two sessions. The hips were divided into two groups according to whether the lateral pillar of the femoral head (LPFH) was preserved: LPFH and non-LPFH groups. Patients were followed up at 3, 6, and 12 months after the treatment. Most of the patients (83.9% hips) demonstrated pain reduction and improved mobility of the treated joint (visual analogue scale score, P = 0.00006; Harris hip score, P = 0.00091). During the follow-up period, 16 hips failed following femoral head collapse and required hip arthroplasty (2 hips in LPFH group and 14 hips in non-LPFH group). The lesion size decreased after ESWT. However, the differences were statistically not significant (LPFH group, P = 0.091; non-LPFH group, P = 0.087). A significant reduction in bone marrow edema was observed after treatment (LPFH group, P = 0.007; non-LPFH group, P = 0.016). High-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy resulted in considerable improvement in early stage ONFH, which can effectively relieve pain and improve the function of the hip.

Lesion size changes in osteonecrosis of the femoral head: a long-term prospective study using MRI.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is one of the intractable diseases. It is controversial whether the lesion size assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can change over time without any operative treatment. In this study, we used MRI to observe the lesion size changes of ONFH induced by corticosteroid administration in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients. The study included 51 SARS patients (84 hips) with early-stage ONFH who did not receive any operative treatment and were diagnosed by MRI. All of the patients underwent MRI follow-ups. Each patient was evaluated on the basis of the lesion volume on MRI at every follow-up for further comparisons. At the first MRI scan, the mean lesion volume was 10.12 +/- 8.05 cm(3) (range: 0.39-41.62 cm(3)). At the mid-term follow-up (2.5 years), the mean lesion volume was 7.82 +/- 7.59 cm(3) (range: 0.11-39.65 cm(3)). At the final follow-up (five years), complete regression of the lesion was observed in six hips, and the mean lesion volume was 5.67 +/- 6.58 cm(3) (range: 0.00-31.47 cm(3)). Overall, the lesion volume was reduced by >15% in 80 hips, and only four hips with relatively larger lesion volumes showed no apparent reductions. The reduction in lesion size of ONFH observed on MRI is a slow, discontinuous and time-dependent process.