Therapeutic effects and modulatory mechanism of Alpiniae oxyphyllae Fructus in chronic intermittent hypoxia induced enuresis in rats.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the effect of Alpiniae oxyphyllae Fructus (AOF) on a rat model of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH)-induced enuresis. Findings of this study may help identify therapeutic targets in children with nocturnal enuresis (NE). METHODS: Female rats were randomly divided into a control group (saline gavage, 4 weeks of normal air), CIH group (saline gavage, 4 weeks of CIH), and AOF group (AOF gavage, 4 weeks of CIH). The variables measured in this study included water intake, urine output, bladder leak point pressure (BLPP), malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The expression levels of the purinergic P2X3 receptor, muscarinic M3 receptor, and ß3-adrenergic receptor (ß3-AR) in the bladder were also measured. The bladder was subjected to haematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Weigert staining, and histological changes were observed under a light microscope to evaluate the morphological changes in the bladder in each group. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, urine output was increased, and the BLPP was decreased in the CIH group, but AOF administration decreased urine output and increased BLPP. In addition, the serum MDA level increased and the SOD activity decreased in the CIH group compared with the control group. Administration of AOF decreased the MDA level and increased the SOD activity. Additionally, compared with the control group, HE and Weigert staining in the CIH group showed that the bladder detrusor muscle bundles were disordered and loose, some muscle bundles were broken, the content of collagen fibres in the gap was reduced, and the gap was significantly widened. However, following the administration of AOF, the bladder detrusor muscle bundles were neatly arranged, and the content of collagen fibres in the gap was increased. Furthermore, compared with the control group, the purinergic P2X3 receptor and muscarinic M3 receptor were expressed at higher levels, and ß3-AR was expressed at lower levels in the CIH group, but AOF administration decreased the expression of the purinergic P2X3 receptor and muscarinic M3 receptor and increased the expression of the ß3-AR. CONCLUSIONS: AOF improves enuresis by inhibiting oxidative stress and regulating the expression of the purinergic P2X3 receptor, muscarinic M3 receptor, and ß3 adrenergic receptor.

[Eosinophils apoptosis, fas mRNA and bcl-2 mRNA expressions in asthma model of young rat and effects of achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides].

OBJECTIVE: Asthma is a chronic respiratory tract disorder characterized by airway hyperreaction (AHR), persistent airway inflammation, high serum IgE, overproduction of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 by allergen-specific Th2 cells. The morbidity and mortality of asthma have continued to increase despite the use of currently available therapeutic agents. The reputed effects of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have led to increasing use of TCMs for treatment of asthma throughout the world. The aims of this study were to investigate in asthma model of young rat the mRNA expressions of apoptotic gene fas and bcl-2, eosinophils (EOS) apoptosis in airway, and effects of achyranthes bidentata polysaccharides (ABPS), a group of polysaccharides extracted from TCM Achyranthes bidentata blume, on treatment of asthma. METHODS: Fifty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into five groups, 10 rats per group. Asthma in rats was induced by intraperitioneal sensitization and challenge with nebulized ovalbumin (OVA). A pretreatment with ABPS [50 mg/(kg x d)] was done according to three different schedules: consecutively 3 days at sensitization (T1), at challenge (T2) or both of the two periods (T3). Sham-treated rats (A) and naive rats (C) served as controls. The animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the last challenge. The mRNA expression of bcl-2 and fas in eosinophils presenting in airway and the apoptosis of eosinophils in airway were assessed by using in situ hybridization with oligonucleotide probe and TUNEL methods, respectively. RESULTS: (1) Twenty-four hours after the last antigen challenge, the mRNA expression of fas in eosinophils presenting in airway significantly decreased in group A [(43.4 +/- 10.0)%] compared with that in group C [(73.2 +/- 11.9)%] (P < 0.01). ABPS could increase the fas mRNA expression significantly in all the three groups [(59.0 +/- 8.1)%, (57.5 +/- 9.6)%, (76.2 +/- 2.7)%], compared with that in group A (P < 0.05, P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively). The expression of the bcl-2 mRNA in group C was (47.9 +/- 8.7)%, it was elevated to (67.4 +/- 7.3)% in group A (P < 0.01). The expression of the bcl-2 mRNA in ABPS treated T1 and T3 groups was significantly lowered [(57.7 +/- 12.7)%, (57.3 +/- 6.8)%, P < 0.05], but not in T2 group [(72.4 +/- 6.7)%]. (2) In group A, the EOS presenting in the airway increased significantly, but there were few apoptotic EOS; the percentage of apoptotic eosinophil was distinctly lower in group A than that in group C [(5.3 +/- 2.2)% vs. (15.9 +/- 2.4)%, P < 0.01]. Compared with that in group A, the eosinophil apoptosis ratio in those ABPS treated groups T1, T3 was evidently elevated [(8.7 +/- 2.9)%, (9.8 +/- 2.2)%, P < 0.05, P < 0.05], but ABPS treated at challenge (T2) could not change the eosinophil apoptosis ratio significantly (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: (1) In asthmatic rat, the expressions of the genes fas and bcl-2 mRNA in EOS were changed evidently and the ratio of EOS apoptotosis reduced greatly. (2) ABPS could enhance the apoptosis of EOS by upregulating the expression of the genes fas and bcl-2 mRNA.