Fangji Fuling Decoction Alleviates Sepsis by Blocking MAPK14/FOXO3A Signaling Pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the therapeutic effect of Fangji Fuling Decoction (FFD) on sepsis through network pharmacological analysis combined with in vitro and in vivo experiments. METHODS: A sepsis mouse model was constructed through intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS). RAW264.7 cells were stimulated by 250 ng/mL LPS to establish an in vitro cell model. Network pharmacology analysis identified the key molecular pathway associated with FFD in sepsis. Through ectopic expression and depletion experiments, the effect of FFD on multiple organ damage in septic mice, as well as on cell proliferation and apoptosis in relation to the mitogen-activated protein kinase 14/Forkhead Box O 3A (MAPK14/FOXO3A) signaling pathway, was analyzed. RESULTS: FFD reduced organ damage and inflammation in LPS-induced septic mice and suppressed LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis and inflammation in vitro (P<0.05). Network pharmacology analysis showed that FFD could regulate the MAPK14/FOXO signaling pathway during sepsis. As confirmed by in vitro cell experiments, FFD inhibited the MAPK14 signaling pathway or FOXO3A expression to relieve LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis and inflammation (P<0.05). Furthermore, FFD inhibited the MAPK14/FOXO3A signaling pathway to inhibit LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis in the lung tissue of septic mice (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: FFD could ameliorate the LPS-induced inflammatory response in septic mice by inhibiting the MAPK14/FOXO3A signaling pathway.

[C, N, P, K Stoichiometric Characteristic of Leaves, Root and Soil in Different Abandoned Years in Loess Plateau].

The research of plant ecological stoichiometry characteristics, nutrients distribution and their changes is of great significance to explain the response and adaptation of plants to environmental change. Leaves, root and soil from eight different abandoned years in Yanhe River basin were selected to study the content, characteristic ratio and distribution of carbon ( C) , nitrogen (N) , phosphorus (P), potassium (K). The results showed that the C, N, P, K contents of plant leaves were 444.21, 22.34, 1.49, 14.66 mg · g⁻¹ respectively, the C/N, C/P, C/K, N/P ratios of plant leaves were 21.86, 424.72, 39.82, 20.27 respectively; the C, N, P, K contents of root were 285.16, 5.79, 0.27, 6.07 mg · g⁻¹ respectively, the C/N, C/P, C/K, N/P ratios of root were .60. 56, 1019.33, 46.55, 21.36 respectively; the C, N, P, K contents of soil were 2.28, 0.18, 0.28, 4.33 mg · g⁻¹ respectively, the C/N, C/P, C/K, N/P ratios of soil were 16.43, 8.40, 0.54, 0.66 respectively. During the abandoned year of 1-35, C content of leaves increased, N content increased and then declined, P content declined overall, K content declined and then increased. The C/N, C/P, C/K, N/P ratios of plant leaves showed a rising trend overall. The changing pattern of root was different from that of leaves. Along with the increasing rehabilitation age, C and N contents of soil increased, P content changed as arc-sin function, K content changed as parabola, C/N decreased, C/P, C/K, N/P increased. With the increase of Abandoned Years, the ratio of C, P, K contents in leaves and root decreased, the ratio of C, N, P contents in leaves and soil decreased, the ratio of C, N contents in root and soil decreased. Corresponding relationship and its intension between different abandoned years and plant nutrient limit status and its allocation pattern were different.

[Changes of cell factor in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in rats exposed to silica].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in the levels of inflammatory cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in rats exposed to silica dust. METHODS: Experimental rats were randomly divided into control group and three experimental groups (doses of dust: 15, 30, and 60 mg/ml), with 42 rats in each group. Each rat in the control group was treated with 1 ml of normal saline by intratracheal instillation, while each rat in the experimental groups was exposed to 1 ml of silica suspension by a single intratracheal instillation. Seven rats in each group were killed at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after exposure, and then BALF was collected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the levels of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-16, macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1α), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß). RESULTS: The levels of cytokines in each experimental group were higher than those in the control group at any time point. In the early stage of exposure (day 1-3), BALF IL-1 level increased significantly with the increase in dust dose, and on day 14, BALF IL-6 and IL-16 levels increased significantly with the increase in dust dose; the levels of IL-1, IL-6, and IL-16 in the experimental groups reached the peak on day 14. There were significant differences in the levels of MIP-1α and MCP-1 between the experimental groups (FMIP-1α = 30.106, P<0.01; FMCP-1 = 17.193, P<0.01). In each group, the level of MCP-1 varied significantly at different time points (F = 0.618, P>0.05). On day 1-14, BALF TNF-α level increased with the increase in dust dose, with a significant dose-response relationship (P < 0.05). In each experimental group, TNF-α level reached the peak on day 14. On days 14, 21, and 28, the high-dose group had significantly higher BALF TGF-ß levels than the low-dose group (P<0.05); on days 14 and 28, the high-dose group had significantly higher BALF TGF-ß levels than the middle-dose group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: IL-1, IL-6, IL-16, MIP-1α, MCP-1, and TNF-α play a role in the development and progression of silicosis inflammation. TGF-ß may be related to (related to; associated with; correlated with) fibrosis.

[Scavenging effect of Sarcandra glabra powder on radiation-induced reactive oxygen species in the parotid gland of miniature pigs].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Sarcandra glabra in scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by γ-ray irradiation in the parotid gland of miniature pigs. METHODS: Forty-five male miniature pigs were randomly divided into control group, radiation group and radiation plus medication group, and each group contained 3 parallel groups (subgroups a, b and c). From 1 week before exposure of the parotid gland region to 15 Gy γ-ray irradiation (which was not administered in the control group), the miniature pigs in radiation plus medication group were given Sarcandra glabra powder, while those in the other groups received an equal amount of saline. Bilateral parotid glands were taken and weighed on the days 10, 40 and 90 following the exposure in subgroups a, b, and c, respectively, and ROS content in the parotid glands were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The content of ROS was significantly lower in radiation plus medication group than in the radiation group (P<0.01). In the radiation plus medication group, the ROS content showed no significant difference between subgroups a and b or between subgroups a and c (P>0.01), but differed significantly between subgroups b and c (P<0.01). Sarcandra glabra showed a strong ROS-scavenging effect 10 days after the irradiation, and the ROS content was similar with that in the control group (P>0.01); at 40 and 90 days, the ROS-scavenging effect of Sarcandra glabra was still observable, but the ROS content was significantly higher in the irradiation plus medication group than in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Sarcandra glabra displays a ROS-scavenging effect in the parotid gland of miniature pigs against irradiation, especially at 10 days following the exposure, which may serve as the main mechanism for the protective effect of Sarcandra glabra against radiation injury in the parotid gland.

[Study on the identification of tea using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy].

A rapid tea identification method by near infrared spectroscopy coupled with pattern recognition based on principal components analysis and Mahalanobis' distance technique was proposed. Four famous brand teas in China were studied, including Longjing tea, Biluochun tea, Maofeng tea and Tieguanyin tea in the experiment. In the spectral region between 6 500 and 5 300 cm(-1), through preprocessing method of MSC (multiplicative scatter comection), the prediction model was built. The result showed that the model was the best with 8 principal component factors. The rates of identification in calibration set samples and prediction set samples were 98.75% and 95%, respectively. A new idea about quick and precise identification of tea was offered.