Therapeutic effect and mechanism of Yougui Wan in rats with intervertebral disk degeneration.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the potential mechanism of Yougui Wan on deformed lumbar intervertebral disk structure in rats. METHODS: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, with 10 rats in each group. The animals in the blank control group were healthy rats without specific treatment, and those in the model group and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) group were used to establish the intervertebral disk degeneration (IDD) model by puncturing the annulus. Four weeks after modeling, rats in the TCM group were administered Yougui Wan by gavage for 2 consecutive weeks. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-10), macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels were measured by ELISA, and the protein expression levels of collagen II and Notch1 in intervertebral disk tissues were examined by Western blotting. Apoptosis was detected by the TUNEL method. RESULTS: Compared with those in the blank group, IL-10, MIF and TNF-α levels in the model group and TCM group were increased (P < 0.05), the protein expression levels of collagen II were decreased, and the protein expression levels of Notch1 were increased. Compared with those in the model group, the levels of IL-10 in the TCM group were increased (P < 0.05), the levels of MIF and TNF-α were decreased (P < 0.05), the protein expression levels of collagen II were increased, and the protein expression levels of Notch1 were decreased. CONCLUSION: Yougui Wan can inhibit the inflammatory response in IDD rats, reduce the degradation of extracellular matrix, reduce apoptosis in nucleus pulposus cells, and alleviate intervertebral disk degeneration. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of the Notch signaling pathway.

[Comparison of endogenetic microbial community diversity between wild Cordyceps sinensis,artificial C. sinensis and habitat soil].

To obtain the difference of the fungal and bacterial community diversity between wild Cordyceps sinensis, artificial C. sinensis and their habitat soil, Illmina Hiseq high-throughput sequencing technology was applied. The results show that Proteobacteria was the dominant bacterial phylum in C. sinensis, Actinobacteria was the dominant bacterial phylum in soil microhabitat, Ophiocordyceps sinensis was the predominant dominant fungus of C. sinensis. The α diversity analysis showed that the fungal diversity of stroma was lower than other parts, and the fungal diversity of wild C. sinensis was lower than that of artificial C. sinensis. The ß diversity analysis showed that the fungal and bacterial community diversity of soil microhabitat samples was significantly different from that of C. sinensis. The fungal community diversity was less different between wild and artificial C. sinensis, especially in sclerotia. LEfSe analysis showed a lot of species diversity between wild and artificial C. sinensis. Those different species between wild C. sinensis, artificial C. sinensis and their habitat soil provide ideas for further research on breed and components of C. sinensis.

Plumbagin protects against glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis through Nrf-2 pathway.

Long-term and high-dose glucocorticoids (GCs) supplementation has been linked to osteoporosis. In this study, we studied the protective role of plumbagin against GC-induced cell damage in MC3T3-E1 cells. The effect of dexamethasone (DEX) and plumbagin on cell viability was determined. DEX showed as IC-50 value of 95 µM. Further, 10 µM plumbagin treatment effectively ameliorated DEX-induced cell death by increasing the cell viability to 92 %. A further effect of plumbagin on DEX-induced oxidative stress was determined through reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, lipid peroxide content, and antioxidant status. Nrf-2 nuclear localization was analyzed through immunofluorescence. Protein expression of redox regulator Nrf-2 and their target genes HO-1 and NQO1 and osteogenic markers (OCN, OPN Runx-2) were determined by Western blot. Apoptotic effect was analyzed by mitochondrial membrane potential and caspase activities (3, 8, and 9). The results showed that DEX treatment showed a significant increase in oxidative stress through increased ROS levels and downregulation of cytoprotective antioxidant proteins and antioxidant enzyme activities. Further DEX treatment downregulated the osteogenic markers and upregulated apoptosis through decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and upregulation of caspase activities. Plumbagin treatment significantly reversed the levels of oxidative stress and apoptotic markers and protected against DEX-induced cell damage. Further, plumbagin treatment significantly improved the expression of osteogenic markers compared to DEX treatment. In conclusion, the present study shows that plumbagin offers significant protective role against DEX-induced cellular damage via regulating oxidative stress, apoptosis, and osteogenic markers.

Total synthesis and anti-viral activities of an extract of Radix isatidis.

Radix isatidis (Banlangen), a famous traditional Chinese medicine, has been used for thousands of years in China due to its anti-viral activity. Through our research, we inferred that the anti-viral activity of Radix isatidis depended on the water-soluble part. Among the components of this extract, the isoquinoline derivative 1 was isolated for the first time and has shown better anti-viral activity than other constituents. In this study, to solve the problem of sourcing sufficient quantities of compound 1, a total synthesis route is described, and several analogues are also evaluated for their anti-viral activities. Among them, compound 8 shown potent anti-viral activity with an IC50 value of 15.3 µg/mL. The results suggested that isoquinoline derivatives possessed potent anti-viral activity and are worthy further development.