Effects of mineral Chinese medicine Chloriti Lapis on contents of metal elements in plasma and lung tissue of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(AECOPD) rats / 中国中药杂志

The effects of Chloriti Lapis on metal elements in plasma and lung tissue of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease( AECOPD) rats were studied. The rat AECOPD model with phlegm heat syndrome was established by smoking combined with Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. After the rats were treated by Chloriti Lapis,the contents of metal elements in plasma and lung tissue were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy( ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). The changes in the contents of metal elements were analyzed by SPSS 18. 0. Further,the correlations of differential metal elements( including Cu/Zn ratio) with differential metabolites in plasma,lung tissue and urine of AECOPD rats treated with Chloriti Lapis were analyzed. The results showed that Chloriti Lapis significantly up-regulated the contents of Fe,Al,Mn,Cu,Zn,Sn( P<0. 05),V,Co( P< 0. 01) and Cu/Zn ratio( P< 0. 05),and significantly down-regulated the contents of Ti( P< 0. 05)and Pb( P<0. 05) in the model rat plasma. It significantly increased the content of Be( P<0. 05) and decreased the contents of Mg,Ti and Al( P<0. 01) in model rat lung tissue. The element profiles of normal group,model group and Chloriti Lapis group can be well separated. Chloriti Lapis group and other groups were clustered into two categories. The taurine in plasma and phytosphingosine in lung tissue had the strongest correlations with differential metal elements. The Fe,Al,Mg,Be,Ti,V,Mn,Cu,Zn,Sn,and Co in Chloriti Lapis may directly or indirectly participate in the intervention of AECOPD rats. This group of metal elements may be the material basis of Chloriti Lapis acting on AECOPD rats,and reduce the Cu/Zn value in vivo. It was further confirmed that Chloriti Lapis could interfere with the metabolic pathways of taurine and hypotaurine in plasma and urine as well as the sphingolipid metabolism pathway in lung tissue of AECOPD rats. In addition,this study confirmed that long-term smoking can cause high-concentration Cd accumulation in the lung and damage the lung tissue.

Metabonomics research on lung tissue of rats with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treated with mineral Chinese medicine Chloriti Lapis / 中国中药杂志

To study the effect of mineral Chloriti Lapis on pulmonary metabolites and metabolic pathways in lung tissues of rats with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(AECOPD). The AECOPD rat model of phlegm heat syndrome was replicated by the method of smoking combined with Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. Except for using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis, SPSS 18.0, SIMCA 13.0 and other software were also used for statistical analysis. Through literature search and online database comparison, the differential metabolites were identified, and the possible metabolic pathways were analyzed. After 15 days of administration, PLS-DA analysis was carried out on lung tissue samples of rats in each group. The results showed that the metabolic profiles of lung tissues of rats in each group could be well separated, which indicated that Chloriti Lapis and aminophylline had significant intervention effect on the lung metabolic profile of rats with AECOPD. Moreover, the metabolic profile of Chloriti Lapis group was closer to that of control group, and the intervention effect was better than that of aminophylline group. As a result, 15 potential differential metabolites were identified: phytosphingosine, sphinganine, tetradecanoylcarnitine, L-palmitoylcarnitine, elaidic carnitine, lysoPC[18∶2(9Z,12Z)], lysoPC(16∶0), lysoPC[18∶1(9Z)], lysoPC(18∶0), stearic acid, lysoPC(15∶0), arachidonic acid, docosapentaenoic acid, linoleic acid and palmitic acid. Among them, Chloriti Lapis could significantly improve the levels of 10 differential metabolites of phytosphingosine, tetradecanoylcarnitine, L-palmitoylcarnitine, elaidic carnitine, lysoPC[18∶2(9Z,12Z)], lysoPC(16∶0), lysoPC[18∶1(9Z)], stearic acid, lysoPC(15∶0), and palmitic acid(P<0.05). The intervention effect of Chloriti Lapis group was better than that of aminophylline group. Analysis of metabolic pathways showed that there were 8 possible metabolic pathways that could be affected, and three of the most important metabolic pathways(pathway impact>0.1) were involved: linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and sphingolipid metabolism. Chloriti Lapis had obvious intervention effects on lung tissue-related metabolites and metabolic pathways in rats with AECOPD, and the effect was better than that of aminophyllinne.

T-96 attenuates inflammation by inhibiting NF-κB in adjuvant-induced arthritis.

The extract of the medicinal plant, Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. (TW), has been used in the treatment of diverse autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. However, the high frequency of toxic side effects has limited its clinical use. In order to reduce toxicity without losing the therapeutic benefit, the pharmacological activity and toxicity of four compounds (T-96, triptolide, neotripterifordin, and tripterifordin) from TW were evaluated. The current study revealed that these compounds interfere with the IL-1ß signaling pathway, which stimulates the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6) in primary rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASFs). These compounds inhibit IL-6 production, and among these, T-96 was the most effective. Moreover, T-96 blocks activation of NF-kappa B and p38 and ameliorates the joint destruction and the clinical signs of the disease in adjuvant-induced arthritic rats. These data suggest that among the four compounds of the TW, T-96 possesses highest anti-rheumatoid arthritis activity though inhibiting IL-1-mediated inflammatory signaling pathways.