Risk assessment and analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine intervention in coronavirus disease.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the advantages of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in "prevention" and "control" of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: In this paper, we wish to estimate the effect on the virus transmission of scenarios assuming TCM were used to build the first defense line at the very early stage of the spread in Wuhan. We therefore first developed a classic susceptible infected removed (susceptible infected removed, SIR) transmission model based on the national data in China and then updated it to a TCM-SIR model to assess the potential impact of such assumptions, i.e. the underlying risk of lives lost and social economy loss. RESULTS: (a) With the nationwide community lockdown, the risk value was from 90 000 to 250 000 without TCM intervention and the risk value was from 70 000 to 220 000 with TCM intervention; (b) Based the risk assessment method, we forecasted that the infections peak would be 58016 without TCM intervention, which happened on February 17 2020. However, the infections peak would be 45713 with TCM intervention, which happened on 16 February 2020. CONCLUSIONS: The adoption of nationwide community lockdown is conducive to timely control the epidemic and protect people's lives and safety. At the same time, we can get lower infections if TCM intervention can be considered. We can also get the benefits from TCM prevention of COVID-19 pandemic by the basic number of infections.

Hypothalamic steroid receptor coactivator-2 regulates adaptations to fasting and overnutrition.

The neuroendocrine system coordinates metabolic and behavioral adaptations to fasting, including reducing energy expenditure, promoting counterregulation, and suppressing satiation and anxiety to engage refeeding. Here, we show that steroid receptor coactivator-2 (SRC-2) in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons is a key regulator of all these responses to fasting. POMC-specific deletion of SRC-2 enhances the basal excitability of POMC neurons; mutant mice fail to efficiently suppress energy expenditure during food deprivation. SRC-2 deficiency blunts electric responses of POMC neurons to glucose fluctuations, causing impaired counterregulation. When food becomes available, these mutant mice show insufficient refeeding associated with enhanced satiation and discoordination of anxiety and food-seeking behavior. SRC-2 coactivates Forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1) to suppress POMC gene expression. POMC-specific deletion of SRC-2 protects mice from weight gain induced by an obesogenic diet feeding and/or FoxO1 overexpression. Collectively, we identify SRC-2 as a key molecule that coordinates multifaceted adaptive responses to food shortage.

A mathematical model for quality evaluation of total saponins of Panax japonicas based on hypolipidemic activity / 中草药·英文版

Objective: The chemical finger printing-based methods for evaluating TCMs quality can report partial of TCMs quality without linking to effective constituents. In this study, a mathematical model was established for the quality evaluation of total saponins of Panax japonicus (TSPJ), a folk medicine in China and Japan for treating diseases, through coupling the dynamic changes of chemical constitutions with corresponding activities. Methods: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprints were applied to establish the chromatographic database of TSPJ. The associated hypolipidemic activity database was determined by TG assay using HepG2 cell model. Correlation analyses of two databases were performed by partial least squares (PLS) for calculating regression coefficients, and the interval value of YZL value (the ratio of positive and negative peak-to-peak area coefficient) closely related to hypolipidemic activity was refined by the formula of Norminv function to value the quality of TSPJ. Results: In this study, the chromatographic data of 16 common peaks were obtained from 20 batches of TSPJ. After the estimate by this mathematical evaluation model, seven peaks were positively correlated with hypolipidemic activity, and nine peaks were negatively correlated with hypolipidemic activity. When the YZL value was less than 0.7861, the quality of sample was inferior, while YZL value was more than 6.6992, and the quality of samples was superior. The quality of another ten batches of TSPJ was further assessed to verify this method. Conclusion: These results indicated that the established model could be usefully applied to evaluate the quality of TSPJ in the hypolipidemic activity.

Effect of Wumeiwan on Intestinal Microflora, Inflammatory Factor and Short Chain Fatty Acids in Type 2 Diabetic Rats / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To study the effects of Wumeiwan on blood glucose, intestinal microflora, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and dietary fiber fermented by intestinal microflora in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) rats. Method::Totally 80 SD clean rats were selected as experimental subjects, and 10 of them were randomly selected as the normal group. The remaining 70 rats were given high-sugar and high-fat emulsion for 8 weeks and intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (STZ, 35 mg·kg-1) to establish the rat model of T2DM. The fasting blood glucose higher than 11.10 mmol·L-1 was considered as a successful model. The rats that were not successfully modeled were removed, and the remaining rats that were successfully modeled were randomly divided into model group, metformin group, high-dose Wumeiwan group, medium-dose Wumeiwan group and low-dose Wumeiwan group, with 10 rats in each group. Normal group and model group received (ig) normal saline (20 mL·kg-1·d-1), while metformin group (ig metformin 200 mg·kg-1·d-1), Wumeiwan high, medium and low dose groups (ig Wumeiwan 20, 10, and 5 g·kg-1·d-1) received corresponding drugs respectively. Blood glucose and body weight of rats were monitored regularly before and after administration of the drugs. Blood and feces were collected after four weeks of administration.16S-rDNA high-throughput sequencing technology was used for gene sequencing of intestinal flora. Enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-10 in rats, and the contents of acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid in feces were detected by gas chromatography. Result::As compared with the normal group, the body weight decreased significantly (P<0.01). Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroides, Clostridium increased, Firmicutes, Deltaproteobacteria, and Lactobacillus decreased, fasting blood glucose and serum TNF-α levels increased significantly (P<0.01), IL-10 level decreased (P<0.01), and the contents of acetic acid, propionic acid and n-butyric acid of short-chain fatty acids decreased(P<0.05, P<0.01) in model group. As compared with the model group, the body weight decreased; Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroides and Clostridium decreased. Firmicutes, DeltaProteobacteria and Lactobacillus increased; fasting blood glucose and serum TNF-α decreased (P<0.01), and IL-10 increased (P<0.01), contents of acetic acid, propionic acid and n-butyric acid increased in Wumeiwan high-dose, medium-dose and low-dose groups and metformin group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion::Wumeiwan may prevent and treat T2DM by regulating intestinal flora, improving inflammatory response, increasing SCFAs content and reducing blood glucose.

Recovered insulin production after thiamine administration in permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus with a novel solute carrier family 19 member 2 (SLC19A2) mutation.

BACKGROUND: Solute carrier family 19 member 2 (SLC19A2) gene deficiency is one of the causes of permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus (PNDM) and can be effectively managed by thiamine supplementation. Herein we report on a male patient with a novel SLC19A2 mutation and summarize the clinical characteristics of patients with SLC19A2 deficiency. METHODS: The genetic diagnosis of the patient with PNDM was made by sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The clinical characteristics of PNDM were summarized on the basis of a systematic review of the literature. RESULTS: The patient with PNDM had c.848G>A (p.W283X) homozygous mutation in SLC19A2. His father had a wild-type SLC19A2 (c.848G) and his mother was c.848G/A heterozygous. The patient and his father both had a diploid genotype (c.848A/A and c.848G/G). After oral thiamine administration, the patient's fasting C-peptide levels increased gradually, and there was a marked decrease in insulin requirements. A search of the literature revealed that thiamine treatment was effective and improved diabetes in 63% of patients with SLC19A2 deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: A novel SLC19A2 mutation (c.848G>A; p.W283X) was identified, which was most likely inherited as segmental uniparental isodisomy. Insulin insufficiency in PNDM caused by SLC19A2 deficiency can be corrected by thiamine supplementation. The differential diagnosis of SLC19A2 deficiency should be considered in children with PNDM accompanied by anemia or hearing defects to allow for early treatment.

Qiangzhi decoction protects mice from influenza A pneumonia through inhibition of inflammatory cytokine storm / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the preventive effects of Qiangzhi Decoction (, QZD) on influenza A pneumonia through inhibition of inflammatory cytokine storm in vivo and in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred ICR mice were randomly divided into the virus control, the Tamiflu control and the QZD high-, medium-, and low-dose groups. Mice were infected intranasally with influenza virus (H1N1) at 10 median lethal dose (LD50). QZD and Tamiflu were administered intragastrically twice daily from day 0 to day 7 after infection. The virus control group was treated with distilled water alone under the same condition. The number of surviving mice was recorded daily for 14 days after viral infection. The histological damage and viral replication and the expression of inflammatory cytokines were monitored. Additionally, the suppression capacity on the secretion of regulated on activation normal T cells expressed and secreted (RANTES) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in epithelial and macrophage cell-lines were evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the virus control group, the survival rate of the QZD groups significantly improved in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05), the viral titers in lung tissue was inhibited (P<0.05), and the production of inflammatory cytokines interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-6 (IL-6), TNF-α, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were suppressed (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the secretion of RANTETS and TNF-α by epithelial and macrophage cell-lines was inhibited with the treatment of QZD respectively in vitro (p<0.05) CONCLUSIONS: The preventive effects of QZD on influenza virus infection might be due to its unique cytokine inhibition mechanism. QZD may have significant therapeutic potential in combination with antiviral drugs.</p>

Advances in the study of ginsenoside compound K / 药学学报

Ginsenoside compound K is the main metabolite of protopanaxadiol type ginseng saponins in intestine after oral administration and also is the major form of protopanaxadiol saponins absorbed to the body. Recently, ginsenoside compound K has received increasing attention, because in vivo or in vitro various biological actions of anticancer, hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory etc, have shown to be mediated by this metabolite. In this paper, the studies of preparation, bioactivities, absorption, distribution and pharmacokinetics of compound K were reviewed in detail.