Naringin alleviates pneumonia caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae infection by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome.

Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn) is an important pathogen of hospital-acquired pneumonia, which can lead to sepsis and death in severe cases. In this study, we simulated pneumonia induced by Kpn infection in mice to investigate the therapeutic effect of naringin (NAR) on bacterial-induced lung inflammation. Mice infected with Kpn exhibited increases in white blood cells (WBC) and neutrophils in the peripheral blood and pathological severe injury of the lungs. This injury was manifested by increased expression of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)- 18, IL-1ß, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6, and elevated the expression of NLRP3 protein. NAR treatment could decrease the protein expression of NLRP3, alleviate lung inflammation, and reduce lung injury in mice caused by Kpn. Meanwhile, molecular docking results suggest NAR could bind to NLRP3 and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) analyses also confirm this result. In vitro trials, we found that pretreated with NAR not only inhibited nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB protein P65 but also attenuated the protein interaction of NLRP3, caspase-1 and ASC and inhibited the assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome in mice AMs. Additionally, NAR could reduce intracellular potassium (K+) efflux, inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation. These results indicated that NAR could protect against Kpn-induced pneumonia by inhibiting the overactivation of the NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway. The results of this study confirm the efficacy of NAR in treating bacterial pneumonia, refine the mechanism of action of NAR, and provide a theoretical basis for the research and development of NAR as an anti-inflammatory adjuvant.

TMT-Based Proteomics Reveal the Mechanism of Action of Amygdalin against Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Rat Model through Regulation of Complement and Coagulation Cascades.

The limitations of current medications for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) emphasize the urgent need for the development of new drugs. This study aimed to investigate the potential anti-RA mechanism of amygdalin using tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics technology. First, the anti-RA activity of amygdalin was evaluated in a Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced rat model. Then, the roles and importance of proteins in the extracted rat joint tissue were evaluated using TMT-based quantitative proteomics technology. A bioinformatics analysis was used to analyze differentially abundant proteins (DAPs). A proteomics analysis identified 297 DAPs in the amygdalin group compared with the model group, of which 53 upregulated proteins and 51 downregulated proteins showed opposite regulatory trends to the DAPs produced after modeling. According to enrichment analyses of the DAPs, the signaling pathways with a high correlation degree were determined to be the complement and coagulation cascades. Furthermore, western blotting and molecular docking were used to further validate the key node proteins, e.g., complement C1s subcomponent (C1s), component C3 (C3) and kininogen 1 (Kng1). These results suggest that amygdalin may be a promising agent for treating RA by regulating the complement and coagulation cascades.

Label-free based quantitative proteomics analysis to explore the molecular mechanism of gynecological cold coagulation and blood stasis syndrome.

Cold coagulation and blood stasis (CCBS) syndrome is one of the common traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes of gynecological diseases. However, the molecular mechanism of CCBS syndrome is still unclear. Thus, there is a need to reveal the occurrence and regulation mechanism of CCBS syndrome, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the treatment of CCBS syndrome in gynecological diseases. The plasma proteins in primary dysmenorrhea (PD) patients with CCBS syndrome, endometriosis (EMS) patients with CCBS syndrome, and healthy women were screened using Label-free quantitative proteomics. Based on the TCM theory of "same TCM syndrome in different diseases," the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) identified in each group were subjected to intersection mapping to obtain common DEPs in CCBS syndrome. The DEPs of gynecological CCBS syndrome in the intersection part were again cross-mapped with the DEPs of gynecological CCBS syndrome obtained by the research group according to the TCM theory of "different TCM syndromes in same disease" theory in the early stage, so as to obtain the DEPs of gynecological CCBS syndrome that were shared by the two parts. The common DEPs were subjected to bioinformatics analysis, and were verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total of 67 common DEPs were identified in CCBS syndrome, of which 33 DEPs were upregulated and 34 DEPs were downregulated. The functional classification of DEPs involved in metabolic process, energy production and conversion, immune system process, antioxidant activity, response to stimulus, and biological adhesion. The subcellular location mainly located in the cytoplasm, nucleus, and extracellular. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the upregulated DEPs mainly concentrated in lipid transport, cell migration, and inflammatory reaction, and the downregulated DEPs mostly related to cell junction, metabolism, and energy response. Protein domain enrichment analysis and clustering analysis revealed that the DEPs mainly related to cell proliferation and differentiation, cell morphology, metabolism, and immunity. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis clustering analysis showed that the upregulated DEPs were involved in inflammation and oxidative damage, while the downregulated DEPs were involved in inflammation, cell adhesion, cell apoptosis, and metabolism. The results of ELISA showed significantly increased levels of Cell surface glycoprotein MUC18 (MCAM) and Apolipoprotein C1 (APOC1), and significantly decreased levels of Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), Fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5), and Vinculin (VCL) in patients with CCBS syndrome compared with healthy women. We speculated that cold evil may affect the immune process, inflammatory response, metabolic process, energy production and conversion, oxidative damage, endothelial cell dysfunction, and other differential proteins expression to cause CCBS syndrome in gynecological diseases.

Effects of christina loosestrife and snowbellleaf tickclover herb on kidney calcium oxalate calculi related metabolites in rats / 国际外科学杂志

Objective:To compare the specific mechanism and effects between christina loosestrife and snowbellleaf tickclover herb on kidney calcium oxalate calculi in rats.Methods:A total of 54 SPF grade SD male rats were fed adaptically for 1 week to 180-200 g, the models of rats with kidney calcium oxalate calculi were established by intragastric administration with glycol, and divided into nine groups according to random number table method and controlled, which were healthy control group (group A), positive control group (model group, group B), low, medium and high doses of christina loosestrife groups (C1, C2, C3, 3 groups), low, medium and high doses of snowbellleaf tickclover herb groups (D1, D2, D3, 3 groups), therapeutic control group (potassium sodium hydrogen citrate group, group E), 6 rats in each group. After 4 weeks, samples were collected to determine the urine and serum biochemical indexes of each group, and Von Kossa staining was used to detect kidney calcium oxalate crystals. Calcium oxalate crystal deposition in kidney tissues of rats was observed under polarization microscope, and the difference of efficacy between the two drug effects was determined by the percentage of positive area in photos and the urine and serum biochemical indexes. The measurement data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation ( ± s), one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between groups, and SNK- q test was used for comparison between two groups. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare crystal formation between groups. Results:Compared with the positive control group and christina loosestrife groups, high dose of snowbellleaf tickclover herb could significantly reduce serum creatinine level ( P<0.01), the mean serum creatinine of rats with christina loosestrife was (86.70±11.49) μmol/L, that of rats with snowbellleaf tickclover herb was (70.72±9.08) μmol/L, the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.01). High dose of christina loosestrife and snowbellleaf tickclover herb could significantly increase urinary magnesium and decrease serum urea levels, and there was no statistical significance between them ( P>0.05). Compared with the positive control group, high dose of christina loosestrife ( P<0.000 1) and snowbellleaf tickclover herb ( P<0.000 1) could both inhibit the formation of calcium oxalate crystals and protect the kidney of rats, and there was no statistical significance between the two effects ( P>0.05). The levels of urine pH value could not be increased, while the levels of urinary calcium urinary oxalic acid and 24 h urine volume, serum calcium, serum phosphorus, serum magnesium, blood uric acid and content of kidney oxalate could not be decreased significantly after using these two drugs. Conclusion:Snowbellleaf tickclover herb is better than christina loosestrife in preventing recurrence of kidney calcium oxalate calculi and protecting renal function.

The fenrou zhijian theory in The Inner Canon of Huangdi and the stratified treatment of painful bi syndrome of meridian tendons / 中国针灸

The fenrou zhijian is defined as potential gap between different layers in the three-dimensional network structure formed by the twelve meridian tendons. Various pathological changes of the meridian tendons lead to the adhesion and closure of fenrou zhijian, causing abnormal mechanical conduction of the meridian tendon system, which in turn leads to painful bi syndrome of meridian tendons. As such, restarting the fenrou zhijian is the key to acupuncture treatment for painful bi syndrome of meridian tendons. Under the guidance of musculoskeletal ultrasound, the level and the angle of needle insertion of acupuncture at fenrou zhijian could be accurately controlled, the efficacy of acupuncture is improved.

[Acupuncture as adjuvant therapy for 32 cases of coronavirus disease 2019].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of acupuncture on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) based on the conventional treatment. METHODS: A total of 35 patients with COVID-19 of mild or ordinary type were involved (3 cases dropped off). Acupuncture was applied on the basis of western medicine and Chinese materia medica treatment. Dazhui (GV 14), Fengchi (GB 20), Kongzui (LU 6), Hegu (LI 4), etc. were selected as the main acupoints, the supplementary acupoints and the reinforcing and reducing manipulations were selected according to syndrome differentiation. Acupuncture treatment was given once a day, 5 times a week. On day 3 and day 7 of acupuncture, relief condition of the main symptoms was observed. Before acupuncture and on day 3 and day 7 of acupuncture, efficacy evaluation scale of TCM on COVID-19 (efficacy evaluation scale) score was recorded. The effects of different intervention time of acupuncture on patients' hospitalization time were compared, the understanding of acupuncture treatment of patients discharged from hospital was recorded, the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment were evaluated. RESULTS: On day 3 and day 7 of acupuncture, the symptoms of lung system and non lung system were both relieved; the scores of efficacy evaluation scale were both decreased compared before acupuncture (P<0.05), and the efficacy evaluation scale score of day 7 of acupuncture were lower than day 3 of acupuncture (P<0.05). The average hospitalization time of patients received early acupuncture was shorter than late acupuncture (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 84.4% (27/32) on day 7 of acupuncture, which was higher than 34.4% (11/32) on day 3 of acupuncture (P<0.05). During the acupuncture treatment, there were neither adverse reactions in patients nor occupational exposures in doctors. The patients generally believed that acupuncture could promote the recovery of COVID-19 and recommended acupuncture treatment. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the conventional treatment, acupuncture can effectively relieve the clinical symptoms in patients with COVID-19, early intervention of acupuncture can accelerate the recovery process. Acupuncture has good safety, clinical compliance and recognition of patients.

Interpretation of therapeutic effect of / 中国针灸

Given that the biomechanical theory cannot well explain the therapeutic effect of

[Clinical cases and experimental evaluation of liver injury related to anti-psoriasis Keyin Pills].

Keyin Pills is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of psoriasis, but it has been reported that it can cause serious liver injury. In this paper, we used the integrated evidence chain method to retrieve and reevaluate the adverse drug reaction database, CNKI literature and cases of liver injury relating to Keyin Pills in specialist hepatology hospitals. We screened out 23 cases with the causal relationship of the possible grade and above. Among them, 11 cases showed the positive causal relationship only with Keyin Pills, accounting for 47.83%, suggesting that there was objective liver injury caused by Keyin Pills. The incubation period of liver injury caused by Keyin Pills is 1-90 days, and the cumulative dosage span is 20-1 800 g. There were obvious individual diffe-rences. There was no relationship between liver injury as well as dose and course of treatment, suggesting that Keyin Pills could induce immune idiosyncratic liver injury. Furthermore, based on the liver injury model induced by immunological stress, it was confirmed that Keyin Pills could induce acute liver injury in a dose-dependent manner in rats with immunological stress. The toxic dose(14 g·kg~(-1)) of a single dose was 6.7 times of the clinical equivalent dose, and had no significant effect on the biochemical index of liver function and histopathology in normal rats. Decomposition experiments showed that Dictamnus dasycarpus in Keyin Pills is the main medicinal flavor that causes special liver injury, and the other three medicines had neither liver injury nor compatibility attenuation effect. The results suggest that clinical medication shall pay attention to the risk of liver injury caused by Keyin Pills in patients with immunological stress.

[Epidemiological analysis of liver injury related to bone diseases].

A total of 1 392 reports on liver injury associated adverse drug reaction(LI-ADR) related to bone diseases were retrospectively analyzed based on national ADR monitoring system [18.75% of the patients used traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) alone and 68.68% used Western medicine alone]. This kind of cases accounted for 2.5% of all drug-related liver injury adverse reactions, ranking top ten of all drug categories. The number of reported cases and the proportion of serious cases showed an increasing trend from 2012 to 2016. The average age of the patients was(54.2±15.8) years old, and there was little difference in overall gender(male-female 1.04∶1). However, the number of female patients with rheumatoid arthritis was significantly higher than that of male patients(male-female 1∶2.6), while the number of male patients with gout was significantly higher than that of female patients(male-female 7.16∶1). The overall prognosis was good, with the recovery and improvement rate of 85.27%. The time from medication to liver injury varied due to different medicines. The median time to liver injury was 27 days in TCM alone group, later than 11 days in Western me-dicine alone group(P<0.05). Drugs for bone diseases have been one of the important categories for clinical drug-induced liver injury, and the number of reported cases on liver injury caused by drugs for bone diseases is increasing, so we should pay close attention to the safe and rational use of them. The LI-ADRs of male and female were different due to their different diseases, and the latency of adverse reactions in TCM group was generally longer than that in Western medicine group. In clinical medication, liver function should be monitored according to different diseases and characteristics of drugs to prevent the risk of liver injury.

Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Extract Ameliorates Streptozotocin-induced Cognitive and Synaptic Plasticity Deficits by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Preserving AKT and ERK Activities.

Progressive memory loss and cognitive impairment are the main clinical manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Currently, there is no effective drug available for the treatment of AD. Previous studies have demonstrated that the cognitive impairment of AD is associated with oxidative stress and the inhibition of AKT and ERK phosphorylation. Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) has been shown to have strong antioxidant effect and can protect the nervous system from oxidative stress damage. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of GSPE on the cognitive and synaptic impairments of AD using a sporadic AD rat model induced by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (ICV-STZ). Rats were treated with GSPE (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg every day) by intragastrical (ig.) administration for continuous 7 weeks, and ICV-STZ (3 mg/kg) was performed on the first day and third day of week 5. Learning and memory abilities were assessed by the Morris water maze (MWM) test at week 8. After behavioral test, hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) was recorded, and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutases (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and the protein expression of AKT and ERK were measured in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of rats. Our study revealed that ICV-STZ significantly impaired the working learning ability and hippocampal LTP of rats, significantly increased the levels of MDA, and decreased the activity of SOD and GSH in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. In contrast, GSPE treatment prevented the impairment of cognitive function and hippocampal LTP induced by ICV-STZ, decreased the level of MDA, and increased the level of SOD and GSH. Furthermore, Western blot results showed that GSPE treatment could prevent the loss of AKT and ERK activities in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex induced by ICV-STZ. Our findings demonstrate that GSPE treatment could ameliorate the impairment of cognitive ability and hippocampal synaptic plasticity in a rat model of sporadic AD by inhibiting oxidative stress and preserving AKT and ERK activities. Therefore, GSPE may be an effective agent for the treatment of cognitive deficits associated with sporadic AD.

[Randomized double-blind parallel controlled multicenter trial of Reyanning Mixture in treatment of acute tonsillitis].

This study is a randomized controlled trial of Reyanning Mixture in the treatment of acute tonsillitis. According to the ratio of 1∶1∶1, a total of 144 patients were randomly divided into Reyanning Mixture group(RYN), Reyanning Mixture+Amoxicillin Capsules group(RYN+Amoxil) and Amoxicillin Capsules group(Amoxil), with 48 cases in each group, in order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RYN alone or combined with Amoxil in the treatment of acute tonsillitis, and provided high-quality evidences for treatment of infectious diseases with traditional Chinese medicine and reduced use of antibiotics. The dosage of RYN was 20 mL, 3 times a day, 100 mL/bottle, oral for 7 days, and Amoxil dosage was 0.5 g, 3 times a day, 0.5 g×12 tablets/plate, oral for 7 days. A total of 144 cases were included, 3 cases were excluded(1 case was mistakenly included, 2 cases did not take drugs after inclu-ded), and a total of 141 cases were included in the full analysis set(FAS). The results showed statistical differences in the recovery time of the disease, the disappearance rate of fever on the 3 rd day and the disappearance rate of tonsillar redness and swelling between RYN and Amoxil. There were statistical differences in the cure rate of disease, recovery time of disease, body temperature recovery time, fever disappearance rate on the 3 rd day, pharynx swelling and pain disappearance rate and tonsil swelling disappearance rate between the RYN+Amoxil and Amoxil, but with no significant difference in the above aspects compared with RYN. The DDD of antibiotic use in RYN+Amoxil was significantly lower than that in Amoxil(P<0.01). According to the findings, when RYN was used alone in the treatment of acute tonsillitis, it was superior to Amoxil in time of recovery, short-term improvement of fever and redness and swelling of tonsil. Compared with RYN+Amoxil, there was no difference in cure rate of disease, recovery time of disease, body temperature recovery time, short-term improvement of fever, swelling of pharynx and swelling of tonsil, with a better efficacy than Amoxil. The clinical effect of RYN was similar to that of combined Amoxil in the treatment of acute tonsillitis, and RYN was superior to Amoxil in the time of recovery, short-term improvement of fever and redness and swelling of tonsil, with no adverse event or adverse reaction. RYN+Amoxil can significantly reduce the DDD value of antibiotics in the treatment of acute tonsillitis, with significant clinical advantages over Amoxil.

The extract of aquatic macrophyte Carex cinerascens induced colony formation in bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa.

Colony formation in Microcystis aeruginosa played important roles in blooms formation. To study the effects of plant allelopathy on colony formation in M. aruginosa, unicellular M. aeruginosa was cultivated under laboratory conditions treated with various extract concentration of Carex cinerascens. The growth of M. aeruginosa in the treatments with 0.05 and 0.1 mg L-1 extract of C. cinerascens was promoted but the growth in the treatments with 1.5, 3.0, and 6.0 mg L-1 C. cinerascens extract was inhibited. Obvious colony formation in M. aeruginosa was observed in all treatments while no colony formation was detected in the control. The cell number per colony at the first day was the largest and decreased along with culture time. The cell number per colony in the control ranged from 3.0 to 4.0 during the experiment. However, the values in the five treatments at the first day were 33, 80, 58, 41, and 30, respectively. A positive exponential relationship between cell number per colony of M. aeruginosa and extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) content was found as well. Compared the fold-increase in cell number per colony and the fold-increase in total biomass of M. aeruginosa at various day, it was found that colony formation induced by extract of C. cinerascens was primarily dependent on promotion of cell adhesion during the first 2 days. The cell number per colony decreased afterward was due to the increasing proportion of single cells in the culture because single cells had a great higher growth rate than M. aeruginosa colonies under culture condition. Our results suggested that plant allelopathy be one of the major factor contributing to colony formation in M. aeruginosa.

Epigallocatechin Gallate During Dietary Restriction - Potential Mechanisms of Enhanced Liver Injury.

Green tea extract (GTE) is popular in weight loss, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is considered as the main active component. However, GTE is the primary cause of herbal and dietary supplement-induced liver injury in the United States. Whether there is a greater risk of liver injury when EGCG is consumed during dieting for weight loss has not been previously reported. This study found for the first time that EGCG could induce enhanced lipid metabolism pathways, suggesting that EGCG had the so-called "fat burning" effect, although EGCG did not cause liver injury at doses of 400 or 800 mg/kg in normal mice. Intriguingly, we found that EGCG caused dose-dependent hepatotoxicity on mice under dietary restriction, suggesting the potential combination effects of dietary restriction and EGCG. The combination effect between EGCG and dietary restriction led to overactivation of linoleic acid and arachidonic acid oxidation pathways, significantly increasing the accumulation of pro-inflammatory lipid metabolites and thus mediating liver injury. We also found that the disruption of Lands' cycle and sphingomyelin-ceramides cycle and the high expression of taurine-conjugated bile acids were important metabolomic characteristics in EGCG-induced liver injury under dietary restriction. This original discovery suggests that people should not go on a diet while consuming EGCG for weight loss; otherwise the risk of liver injury will be significantly increased. This discovery provides new evidence for understanding the "drug-host" interaction hypothesis of drug hepatotoxicity and provides experimental reference for clinical safe use of green tea-related dietary supplements.

Effects of different iodine nutrition status on thyroid function in pregnant women and newborns / 中华地方病学杂志

Objective:To investigate the correlations of dynamic iodine nutrition status and thyroid function in pregnant women and newborns in Lingang of Shanghai, so as to provide an evidence for whether urine iodine testing and iodine supplementation should be carried out.Methods:A prospective study was conducted by randomly selecting pregnant women from October 2017 to October 2018 in Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital East Affiliated to Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences. The pregnant women were divided into early (5-12 weeks), middle (22-24 weeks), late pregnancy (36-37 weeks). Samples of serum and 24 hours urine were collected to test on thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (FT 4), free triiodothyronine (FT 3), anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb), anti-thyroglobulin (TgAb) and urinary iodine. TSH in neonatal heel blood was analyzed 72 h after birth (newborns from pregnant women in the late pregnancy). The differences of thyroid function of pregnant women with different pregnant periods and different urinary iodine levels were analyzed, as well as the neonatal TSH levels of pregnant women with different urinary iodine levels. Results:A total of 109, 90 and 54 cases of pregnant women in early, middle and late pregnancy were investigated and the medians of urinary iodine were 120.95, 136.30 and 116.80 μg/L, respectively. There was no significant difference in urinary iodine content among different pregnant periods( P > 0.05). The proportions of urinary iodine level less than 150 μg/L in early, middle and late pregnancy were 75.2% (82/109), 61.1% (55/90) and 59.3% (32/54), respectively. The median values of serum TSH in early, middle and late pregnancy were 1.81, 1.95 and 2.29 mU/L, mean values of FT 3 were (5.21 ± 0.84), (4.79 ± 0.72) and (4.13 ± 0.56)pmol/L, and means of FT 4 were (16.48 ± 2.58), (15.02 ± 2.78) and (13.31 ± 1.87) pmol/L, respectively. The FT 3 and FT 4 levels in the late pregnancy were lower than those in the early and middle pregnancy, while the TSH levels in the late pregnancy were higher than those in the early and middle pregnancy. There were no significant difference in serum FT 3, FT 4 and TSH levels among early, middle and late pregnancy under different urinary iodine levels. The median TSH of newborn heel blood was 1.48 mU/L. There was no statistically significant difference between the neonatal heel blood TSH level of pregnant women with urinary iodine < 150 μg/L [1.45(1.09, 2.23)mU/L] in late pregnancy and those with urinary iodine ≥150 μg/L [1.42 (1.14, 2.61) mU/L, Z=- 0.354, P > 0.05]. Conclusions:There is mild iodine deficiency in pregnant women in Lingang of Shanghai. However, due to the compensatory regulation, it has no significant effect on the thyroid function of mother and newborn. Monitoring of iodine nutrition of pregnant women should be carried out and iodine supplementation should be done scientifically and reasonably.

Epidemiological analysis of liver injury related to bone diseases / 中国中药杂志

A total of 1 392 reports on liver injury associated adverse drug reaction(LI-ADR) related to bone diseases were retrospectively analyzed based on national ADR monitoring system [18.75% of the patients used traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) alone and 68.68% used Western medicine alone]. This kind of cases accounted for 2.5% of all drug-related liver injury adverse reactions, ranking top ten of all drug categories. The number of reported cases and the proportion of serious cases showed an increasing trend from 2012 to 2016. The average age of the patients was(54.2±15.8) years old, and there was little difference in overall gender(male-female 1.04∶1). However, the number of female patients with rheumatoid arthritis was significantly higher than that of male patients(male-female 1∶2.6), while the number of male patients with gout was significantly higher than that of female patients(male-female 7.16∶1). The overall prognosis was good, with the recovery and improvement rate of 85.27%. The time from medication to liver injury varied due to different medicines. The median time to liver injury was 27 days in TCM alone group, later than 11 days in Western me-dicine alone group(P<0.05). Drugs for bone diseases have been one of the important categories for clinical drug-induced liver injury, and the number of reported cases on liver injury caused by drugs for bone diseases is increasing, so we should pay close attention to the safe and rational use of them. The LI-ADRs of male and female were different due to their different diseases, and the latency of adverse reactions in TCM group was generally longer than that in Western medicine group. In clinical medication, liver function should be monitored according to different diseases and characteristics of drugs to prevent the risk of liver injury.

Randomized double-blind parallel controlled multicenter trial of Reyanning Mixture in treatment of acute tonsillitis / 中国中药杂志

This study is a randomized controlled trial of Reyanning Mixture in the treatment of acute tonsillitis. According to the ratio of 1∶1∶1, a total of 144 patients were randomly divided into Reyanning Mixture group(RYN), Reyanning Mixture+Amoxicillin Capsules group(RYN+Amoxil) and Amoxicillin Capsules group(Amoxil), with 48 cases in each group, in order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RYN alone or combined with Amoxil in the treatment of acute tonsillitis, and provided high-quality evidences for treatment of infectious diseases with traditional Chinese medicine and reduced use of antibiotics. The dosage of RYN was 20 mL, 3 times a day, 100 mL/bottle, oral for 7 days, and Amoxil dosage was 0.5 g, 3 times a day, 0.5 g×12 tablets/plate, oral for 7 days. A total of 144 cases were included, 3 cases were excluded(1 case was mistakenly included, 2 cases did not take drugs after inclu-ded), and a total of 141 cases were included in the full analysis set(FAS). The results showed statistical differences in the recovery time of the disease, the disappearance rate of fever on the 3 rd day and the disappearance rate of tonsillar redness and swelling between RYN and Amoxil. There were statistical differences in the cure rate of disease, recovery time of disease, body temperature recovery time, fever disappearance rate on the 3 rd day, pharynx swelling and pain disappearance rate and tonsil swelling disappearance rate between the RYN+Amoxil and Amoxil, but with no significant difference in the above aspects compared with RYN. The DDD of antibiotic use in RYN+Amoxil was significantly lower than that in Amoxil(P<0.01). According to the findings, when RYN was used alone in the treatment of acute tonsillitis, it was superior to Amoxil in time of recovery, short-term improvement of fever and redness and swelling of tonsil. Compared with RYN+Amoxil, there was no difference in cure rate of disease, recovery time of disease, body temperature recovery time, short-term improvement of fever, swelling of pharynx and swelling of tonsil, with a better efficacy than Amoxil. The clinical effect of RYN was similar to that of combined Amoxil in the treatment of acute tonsillitis, and RYN was superior to Amoxil in the time of recovery, short-term improvement of fever and redness and swelling of tonsil, with no adverse event or adverse reaction. RYN+Amoxil can significantly reduce the DDD value of antibiotics in the treatment of acute tonsillitis, with significant clinical advantages over Amoxil.

[Re-evaluation of liver injury associated with Buguzhi Preparations based on passive monitoring data and hospital cases].

In this paper,the case reports on rug-induced liver injury( ADR cases) related to Gukang Capsules containing Psoralea corylifolia( Buguzhi,BGZ) were collected from the adverse reaction monitoring database from January 1,2012 to December 31,2016,and the in-patients cases with drug-induced liver injury admitted to a tertiary Class A liver disease hospital from January 1,2010 to December 31,2016 were also collected. These collected cases were re-evaluated and analyzed. 110 cases with liver injury related to this preparation were collected from adverse reaction monitoring database,and 55 cases of them received the preparation alone,mainly for fracture treatment( 52. 74%). Ninty one cases( 82. 72%) met the standard of the biochemical diagnostic criteria for drug-induced liver injury. 89. 01% of patients were over the age of 41 and women accounted for 60. 9%. The time from administration to liver injury was 1-208 days,with the median of 29 d. The dose of the preparation was 2. 4-4. 8 g per day,with a cumulative dose ranging from 3. 6-699. 6 g. The recovery and improvement rate reached 96. 70% after positive treatment. Seven inpatient cases related to the preparation were collected in a tertiary Class A liver disease hospital,6 females and 1 male. All of them were over 40 years old. Two cases reached the " suspicious diagnosis" standard and 5 cases reached the " clinical diagnosis" standard in Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of herb-induced liver injury. Six patients had a good prognosis effect,but another one had liver failure. This preparation is commonly used in fracture,osteoarthritis and other diseases,with remarkable curative effect. However,ADR cases and hospital cases all indicated the risk of liver injury. There was no significant correlation between the time and dose of drug use and the occurrence of liver injury.The induced-liver injury may have immunological heterogeneity,thus regular monitoring of liver function should be taken during clinical use.

Susceptibility-Related Factor and Biomarkers of Dietary Supplement Polygonum multiflorum-Induced Liver Injury in Rats.

Polygonum multiflorum [PM, synonym Reynoutria multiflora (Thunb.) Moldenke.], a well-known and commonly used Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbal dietary supplement for nourishing the kidney and liver, etc., has aroused wide concern for its reported potential hepatotoxicity. Previous clinical cases and experimental studies have suggested that mild immune stress (MIS) may be one of the susceptibility-related factors of idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (IDILI) caused by PM. In this paper, we found that the same dose of PM caused abnormal liver biochemical indicators and liver tissue damage in MIS model rats, while it did not result in liver injury in normal rats, further confirming that MIS is a susceptibility factor for PM-IDILI. Plasma chemokine/cytokine profiling indicated that the MIS model group was significantly different from the other groups, showing a significant upregulation of plasma chemokines, while the MIS/PM group showed upregulated expression of chemokines or pro-inflammatory cytokines. Liver histopathological examination indicated a small amount of inflammatory cytokine infiltration in the MIS group, but no hepatocyte injury, consistent with the plasma profiles of increased chemokines and unchanged inflammatory cytokines. Notably, metabolomics characterization showed that MIS caused reprogramming of these metabolic pathways (such as phenylalanine and glutamate pathways), which was associated with acute phase reactions and inflammatory responses. These results suggested that MIS may promote an immune response to the initial cellular injury induced by PM in the liver, and MIS-induced upregulation of chemokines and metabolic reprogramming may an important mechanism that mediates the susceptibility to PM-IDILI. Furthermore, via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis, we identified 12 plasma cytokines (e.g., IP-10, MCP-1 and MIP-1α) and nine metabolomics biomarkers (e.g., L-Phenylalanine, Creatinine, and L-glutamine) with differential capabilities (all ROC AUC > 0.9) of identifying susceptibility model animals from normal ones, which might be of referable value for the clinical recognition of PM-IDILI susceptible individuals.

[Research on morphological characteristics change of quercetin and polyphenols of accumulation dynamic of spines of Gleditsia sinensis].

To study morphological characteristics change of the development process and quercetin and polyphenols of accumulation dynamic of the spines of Gleditsia sinensis, measure and compare morphological indexes using Vernier caliper, ruler and balance, calibrate and analysis quercetin and polyphenols content using HPLC and colorimetric method. The spines of G. sinensis development process is divided into formation period (the beginning of August to the beginning of November), dormant period (the beginning of November to the end of March in the following year), germination period (the end of March to the middle of April), fast growth period (the middle of April to the middle of August), browning period (the middle of August to the end of August) and mature period (the beginning of September to the end of December). Formation period the spines primordium divides and forms the scale bubs; dormant period the scale bubs are in a dormant state; germination period the bubs scales fall off, spines primordium began to development; fast growth period rapid growth to maximum; browning period browning from the tip and browns until the whole becomes brown; mature period The early stage of maturity is full of luster, gradually the color deepened and the luster faded. The accumulation of quercetin was gradually decreasing after increasing. The total polyphenol accumulation was significantly decreased and then gradually increased, decreased finally. The content of quercetin was increased from 0.000 4%-0.002 6%, and the polyphenol content decreased from 0.761 9%-0.049 1% and then slowly increased to 0.286 9% in the fast growth period.The quercetin continuous increase to 0.004 3% and total polyphenol increased to 0.421 6% in the browning period. In the mature period, the quercetin content significantly decreased after reaching 0.009 6% in September, and the polyphenols content decreased after reaching 0.723 5% in October. Using principal component analysis results: September first, October 2nd, November 3rd. The morphological characteristics change of the development process and quercetin and polyphenols accumulation were determined. The development process is divided into six periods, the best harvest time is the early stage of mature period. Provide theoretical support for the utilization of the spines of G. sinensis and cultivation techniques of high yield.

Global gene expression analysis in liver of db/db mice treated with catalpol.

Catalpol, a major bioactive component from Rehmannia glutinosa, which has been used to treat diabetes. The present study was designed to elucidate the anti-diabetic effect and mechanism of action for catalpol in db/db mice. The db/db mice were randomly divided into six groups (10/group) according to their blood glucose levels: db/db control, metformin (positive control), and four dose levels of catalpol treatment (25, 50, 100, and 200 mg·kg-1), and 10 db/m mice were used as the normal control. All the groups were administered orally for 8 weeks. The levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), random blood glucose (RBG), glucose tolerance, insulin tolerance, and glycated serum protein (GSP) and the globe gene expression in liver tissues were analyzed. Our results showed that catalpol treatment obviously reduced water intake and food intake in a dose-dependent manner. Catalpol treatment also remarkably reduce fasting blood glucose (FBG) and random blood glucose (RBG) in a dose-dependent manner. The RBG-lowering effect of catalpol was better than that of metformin. Furthermore, catalpol significantly improved glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance via increasing insulin sensitivity. Catalpol treatment significantly decreased GSP level. The comparisons of gene expression in liver tissues among normal control mice, db/db mice and catalpol treated mice (200 and 100 mg·kg-1) indicated that there were significant increases in the expressions of 287 genes, whichwere mainly involved in lipid metabolism, response to stress, energy metabolism, and cellular processes, and significant decreases in the expressions of 520 genes, which were mainly involved in cell growth, death, immune system, and response to stress. Four genes expressed differentially were linked to glucose metabolism or insulin signaling pathways, including Irs1 (insulin receptor substrate 1), Idh2 (isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (NADP+), mitochondrial), G6pd2 (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase 2), and SOCS3 (suppressor of cytokine signaling 3). In conclusion, catalpol ecerted significant hypoglycemic effect and remarkable therapeutic effect in db/db mice via modulating various gene expressions.