MaiJiTong granule attenuates atherosclerosis by reducing ferroptosis via activating STAT6-mediated inhibition of DMT1 and SOCS1/p53 pathways in LDLR-/- mice.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Atherosclerosis is the primary pathological basis of cardiovascular disease. Ferroptosis is a regulated form of cell death, a process of lipid peroxidation driven by iron, which can initiate and promote atherosclerosis. STAT6 is a signal transducer that shows a potential role in regulating ferroptosis, but, the exact role in ferroptosis during atherogenesis remains unclear. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Maijitong granule (MJT) is used for treating cardiovascular disease and shows a potential inhibitory effect on ferroptosis. However, the antiatherogenic effect and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. In this study, we determined the role of STAT6 in ferroptosis during atherogenesis, investigated the antiatherogenic effect of MJT, and determined whether its antiatherogenic effect was dependent on the inhibition of ferroptosis. METHODS: 8-week-old male LDLR-/- mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) at 1st and 10th week, respectively, to assess the preventive and therapeutic effects of MJT on atherosclerosis and ferroptosis. Simultaneously, the anti-ferroptotic effects and mechanism of MJT were determined by evaluating the expression of genes responsible for lipid peroxidation and iron metabolism. Subsequently, we reanalyzed microarray data in the GSE28117 obtained from cells after STAT6 knockdown or overexpression and analyzed the correlation between STAT6 and ferroptosis. Finally, the STAT6-/- mice were fed HFD and injected with AAV-PCSK9 to validate the role of STAT6 in ferroptosis during atherogenesis and revealed the antiatherogenic and anti-ferroptotic effect of MJT. RESULTS: MJT attenuated atherosclerosis by reducing plaque lesion area and enhancing plaque stability in both preventive and therapeutic groups. MJT reduced inflammation via suppressing inflammatory cytokines and inhibited foam cell formation by lowering the LDL level and promoting ABCA1/G1-mediated lipid efflux. MJT ameliorated the ferroptosis by reducing lipid peroxidation and iron dysregulation during atherogenesis. Mechanistically, STAT6 negatively regulated ferroptosis by transcriptionally suppressing SOCS1/p53 and DMT1 pathways. MJT suppressed the DMT1 and SOCS1/p53 via stimulating STAT6 phosphorylation. In addition, STAT6 knockout exacerbated atherosclerosis and ferroptosis, which abolished the antiatherogenic and anti-ferroptotic effects of MJT. CONCLUSION: STAT6 acts as a negative regulator of ferroptosis and atherosclerosis via transcriptionally suppressing DMT1 and SOCS1 expression and MJT attenuates atherosclerosis and ferroptosis by activating the STAT6-mediated inhibition of DMT1 and SOCS1/p53 pathways, which indicated that STAT6 acts a novel promising therapeutic target to ameliorate atherosclerosis by inhibiting ferroptosis and MJT can serve as a new therapy for atherosclerosis treatment.

Icariin mitigates anxiety-like behaviors induced by hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation via inhibiting of astrocytic activation.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal activation of astrocytes in the amygdala contributes to anxiety after hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation (HSR). Nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB)-associated epigenetic reprogramming of astrocytic activation is crucial to anxiety. A bioactive monomer derived from Epimedium icariin (ICA) has been reported to modulate NF-κB signaling and astrocytic activation. PURPOSE: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of ICA on post-HSR anxiety disorders and its potential mechanism of action. METHODS: We first induced HSR in mice through a bleeding and re-transfusion model and selectively inhibited and activated astrocytes in the amygdala using chemogenetics. Then, ICA (40 mg/kg) was administered by oral gavage once daily for 21 days. Behavioral, electrophysiological, and pathological changes were assessed after HSR using the light-dark transition test, elevated plus maze, recording of local field potential (LFP), and immunofluorescence assays. RESULTS: Exposure to HSR reduced the duration of the light chamber and attenuated open-arm entries. Moreover, HSR exposure increased the theta oscillation power in the amygdala and upregulated NF-κB p65, H3K27ac, and H3K4me3 expression. Contrarily, chemogenetic inhibition of astrocytes significantly reversed these changes. Chemogenetic inhibition in astrocytes was simulated by ICA, but chemogenetic activation of astrocytes blocked the neuroprotective effects of ICA. CONCLUSION: ICA mitigated anxiety-like behaviors induced by HSR in mice via inhibiting astrocytic activation, which is possibly associated with NF-κB-induced epigenetic reprogramming.

Madecassoside alleviates acute kidney injury by regulating JNK-mediated oxidative stress and programmed cell death.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has high morbidity and mortality, which is manifested by inflammation and apoptosis. Effective treatment methods for AKI are currently lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study demonstrated the protecting effects of Madecassoside (MA) in the cisplatin- and hypoxia-reoxygenation-induced renal tubular epithelial cells in vitro and AKI mice in vivo. METHODS: In vivo AKI mouse models were established by inducing them with cisplatin and renal ischemia-reperfusion. In vitro injury models of mouse renal tubular epithelial cells were established by inducing them with cisplatin and hypoxia and reoxygenation, respectively. The mechanism of MA effects was further explored using molecular docking and RNA-sequencing. RESULTS: MA could significantly reduce kidney injury in the cisplatin-and renal ischemia-reperfusion (IRI)-induced AKI. Further validation in the two cellular models also showed that MA had protect effects. MA can alleviate AKI in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting inflammation, cell apoptosis, and oxidative stress. MA exhibited high permeability across the Caco-2 cell, can enter cells directly. Through RNA-seq and molecular docking analysis, this study further demonstrated that MA inhibits its activity by directly binding to JNK kinase, thereby inhibiting c-JUN mediated cell apoptosis and improving AKI. In addition, MA has better renal protective effects compared to curcumin and JNK inhibitor SP600125. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that MA might be a potential drug for the treatment of AKI and act through the JNK/c-JUN signaling pathway.

Diverse terpenoid glycosides with in vitro cytotoxicity from Glechoma longituba.

Terpenoids are the largest class of all known natural products, possessing structural diversity and numerous biological activities. Ten previously undescribed terpenoid glycosides, glechlongsides A-J (1-10), were isolated from the ethanol extract of the whole plant of Glechoma longituba, including diterpenoid glycoside and pentacyclic triterpenoid saponin. The structures of these compounds were characterized by extensive analysis of 1D and 2D NMR as well as HRESIMS spectra. In addition, glechlongsides F-I (6-9) exhibited weak cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines BGC-823, Be1, HCT-8, A2780, and A549 with IC50 values ranging from 3.77 to 30.95 µM, respectively.

[Research progress in signaling pathways related to treatment of functional dyspepsia with traditional Chinese medicine].

Functional dyspepsia(FD) is a prevalent functional gastrointestinal disease characterized by recurrent and long-lasting symptoms that significantly impact the quality of life of patients. Currently, western medicine treatment has not made breakthrough progress and mainly relies on symptomatic therapies such as gastrointestinal motility agents, acid suppressants, antidepressants/anxiolytics, and psychotherapy. However, these treatments have limitations in terms of insufficient effectiveness and safety. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) possesses unique advantages in the treatment of FD. Through literature search in China and abroad, it has been found that the mechanisms of TCM in treating FD is associated with various signaling pathways, and research on these signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms has gradually become a focus. The main signaling pathways include the SCF/c-Kit signaling pathway, 5-HT signaling pathway, CRF signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, TRPV1 signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, and RhoA/ROCK2/MYPT1 signaling pathway. This series of signaling pathways can promote gastrointestinal motility, alleviate anxiety, accelerate gastric emptying, reduce visceral hypersensitivity, and improve duodenal micro-inflammation in the treatment of FD. This article reviewed the research on TCM's regulation of relevant signaling pathways in the treatment of FD, offering references and support for further targeted TCM research in the treatment of FD.

Nitric oxide is required for lung alveolarization revealed by deficiency of argininosuccinate lyase.

Inhaled nitric oxide (NO) therapy has been reported to improve lung growth in premature newborns. However, the underlying mechanisms by which NO regulates lung development remain largely unclear. NO is enzymatically produced by three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes. NOS knockout mice are useful tools to investigate NO function in the lung. Each single NOS knockout mouse does not show obvious lung alveolar phenotype, likely due to compensatory mechanisms. While mice lacking all three NOS isoforms display impaired lung alveolarization, implicating NO plays a pivotal role in lung alveolarization. Argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) is the only mammalian enzyme capable of synthesizing L-arginine, the sole precursor for NOS-dependent NO synthesis. ASL is also required for channeling extracellular L-arginine into a NO-synthetic complex. Thus, ASL deficiency (ASLD) is a non-redundant model for cell-autonomous, NOS-dependent NO deficiency. Here, we assessed lung alveolarization in ASL-deficient mice. Hypomorphic deletion of Asl (AslNeo/Neo) results in decreased lung alveolarization, accompanied with reduced level of S-nitrosylation in the lung. Genetic ablation of one copy of Caveolin-1, which is a negative regulator of NO production, restores total S-nitrosylation as well as lung alveolarization in AslNeo/Neo mice. Importantly, NO supplementation could partially rescue lung alveolarization in AslNeo/Neo mice. Furthermore, endothelial-specific knockout mice (VE-Cadherin Cre; Aslflox/flox) exhibit impaired lung alveolarization at 12 weeks old, supporting an essential role of endothelial-derived NO in the enhancement of lung alveolarization. Thus, we propose that ASLD is a model to study NO-mediated lung alveolarization.

[Research progress on chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Ajania plants].

Ajania belonging to the subtribe Artemisiinae of Anthemideae(Asteraceae) is a genus of semi-shrubs closely related to Chrysanthemum. There are 24 species of Ajania in northwestern China, most of which are folk herbal medicines with strong stress tolerance. Modern medical studies have demonstrated that the chemical constituents of Ajania mainly include terpenoids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, alkynes, and essential oils. These compounds endow the plants with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimalarial, antioxidant, and insecticide effects. In this study, we reviewed the research progress in the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Ajania, aiming to provide reference for the further research and development of Ajania.

Acupuncture at Back-Shu point improves insomnia by reducing inflammation and inhibiting the ERK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Insomnia is a disease where individuals cannot maintain a steady and stable sleep state or fail to fall asleep. Western medicine mainly uses sedatives and hypnotic drugs to treat insomnia, and long-term use is prone to drug resistance and other adverse reactions. Acupuncture has a good curative effect and unique advantages in the treatment of insomnia. AIM: To explore the molecular mechanism of acupuncture at Back-Shu point for the treatment of insomnia. METHODS: We first prepared a rat model of insomnia, and then carried out acupuncture for 7 consecutive days. After treatment, the sleep time and general behavior of the rats were determined. The Morris water maze test was used to assess the learning ability and spatial memory ability of the rats. The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines in serum and the hippocampus were detected by ELISA. qRT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression changes in the ERK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Western blot and immunohistochemistry were carried out to evaluate the protein expression levels of RAF-1, MEK-2, ERK1/2 and NF-κB. RESULTS: Acupuncture can prolong sleep duration, and improve mental state, activity, diet volume, learning ability and spatial memory. In addition, acupuncture increased the release of 1L-1ß, 1L-6 and TNF-α in serum and the hippocampus and inhibited the mRNA and protein expression of the ERK/NF-κB signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that acupuncture at Back-Shu point can inhibit the ERK/NF-κB signaling pathway and treat insomnia by increasing the release of inflammatory cytokines in the hippo-campus.

Mechanisms of Ganweikang Tablets against Chronic Hepatitis B: A Comprehensive Study of Network Analysis, Molecular Docking, and Chemical Profiling.

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major viral infection problems worldwide in public health. The exclusive proprietary Chinese medicine Ganweikang (GWK) tablet has been marketed for years in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, the pharmacodynamic material basis and underlying mechanism of GWK are not completely clear. This study is aimed at investigating the pharmacological mechanism of the GWK tablet in the treatment of CHB. The chemical ingredient information was obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), Traditional Chinese Medicines Integrated Database (TCMID), and Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry of CAS. Ingredients and disease-related targets were defined by a combination of differentially expressed genes from CHB transcriptome data and open-source databases. Target-pathway-target (TPT) network analysis, molecular docking, and chemical composition analysis were adopted to further verify the key targets and corresponding active ingredients of GWK. Eight herbs of GWK were correlated to 330 compounds with positive oral bioavailability, and 199 correlated targets were identified. The TPT network was constructed based on the 146 enriched targets by KEGG pathway analysis, significantly associated with 95 pathways. Twenty-five nonvolatile components and 25 volatile components in GWK were identified in UPLC-QTOF/MS and GC-MS chromatograms. The key active ingredients of GWK include ferulic acid, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, tormentic acid, 11-deoxyglycyrrhetic acid, dibenzoyl methane, anisaldehyde, wogonin, protocatechuic acid, psoralen, caffeate, dimethylcaffeic acid, vanillin, ß-amyrenyl acetate, formonentin, aristololactam IIIa, and 7-methoxy-2-methyl isoflavone, associated with targets CA2, NFKB1, RELA, AKT1, JUN, CA1, CA6, IKBKG, FOS, EP300, CREB1, STAT1, MMP9, CDK2, ABCB1, and ABCG2.

Therapeutic effects of shikonin on adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats and cellular inflammation, migration and invasion of rheumatoid fibroblast-like synoviocytes via blocking the activation of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

BACKGROUND: Shikonin (SKN), the main bioactive component isolated from Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb et Zucc, has multiple activities including anti-rheumatic effect, but its specific roles and the precise mechanisms in regulating biological properties of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) are unclear and need further clarification. PURPOSE: This study explored the therapeutic roles of SKN on rat adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) and cellular inflammation, migration and invasion of TNF-α-induced RA FLS (MH7A cells), and further demonstrated the involved mechanisms. METHODS: SKN was intraperitoneally given to AIA rats and its therapeutic role was valued. The effects of SKN in vivo and in vitro on the production of pro-inflammatory factors were examined by ELISA and western blot. Wound-healing, transwell and phalloidin staining assay were carried out to evaluate the effects of SKN on TNF-α-induced migration and invasion in RA FLS. The involvement of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway was checked by immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence assay for ß-catenin and western blot for pathway-related proteins. RESULTS: SKN treatment in AIA rats reduced paw swelling, arthritis index and pathological damage of ankle joints, indicating its anti-arthritic effect in vivo. SKN had anti-inflammatory roles in vivo and in vitro, evidenced by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory factors (like IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, MMP-2 and MMP-9) in sera and synovium of AIA rats, and in TNF-α-induced MH7A cells. Gelatin zymography result revealed the suppression of SKN on TNF-α-induced MMP-2 activity in vitro. Moreover, SKN inhibited TNF-α-induced migration, invasion and cytoskeletal reorganization in MH7A cells. Mechanistically, SKN suppressed the activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in AIA rat synovium and in TNF-α-induced MH7A cells, indicated by the reduced protein levels of Wnt1, p-GSK-3ß (Ser9) and ß-catenin, the raised protein level of GSK-3ß and the decreased nuclear translocation of ß-catenin. Interestingly, the combination of LiCl (Wnt/ß-catenin agonist) canceled the therapeutic functions of SKN on cellular inflammation, migration and invasion in TNF-α-induced MH7A cells, whereas XAV939 (Wnt/ß-catenin inhibitor) enhanced the therapeutic roles of SKN. CONCLUSION: SKN showed therapeutic effects on rat AIA and cellular inflammation, migration and invasion of TNF-α-stimulated RA FLS via interrupting Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

Relief of ovalbumin-induced airway remodeling by the glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine-Cu2+ tripeptide complex via activation of SIRT1 in airway epithelial cells.

Fixed airflow limitation (FAO), prevalent in patients with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma, is mainly caused by airway remodeling. Airway remodeling is initiated by inflammation and involves subsequent pathological changes. Glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine (GHK) is a matrikine with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, naturally existing in human tissue. At present, the GHK level in human plasma and whether it is related to airway remodeling of asthma remain unclear. This study was conducted to determine how GHK is involved in airway remodeling in asthma. Our result showed that the plasma GHK levels of patients with asthma were significantly lower than those of age-matched healthy controls. In asthma patients, plasma GHK levels display a moderate correlation with FEF25-75%, and patients with FAO had significantly lower GHK levels. Ovalbumin-induced mice of asthma model treated with PBS or GHK-Cu (a form of GHK with higher bioavailability) were used to evaluate the effect of exogenous GHK supplement on airway remodeling. GHK-Cu administration alleviated airway remodeling, as reflected by decreased peribronchial collagen deposition and airway mucus secretion, and suppressed epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The therapeutical effect related to decreased TGF-ß1 level. Successively, network pharmacology and the validation data of experiments in vivo and vitro demonstrated that GHK-Cu decreased TGF-ß1 level by increasing SIRT1 expression and activating SIRT1 deacetylation in airway epithelial cells, thereby alleviating airway remodeling. Collectively, decreased plasma GHK levels were related to FAO in asthma patients. Through the direct binding and activation of SIRT1, exogenous GHK-Cu administration alleviated airway remodeling in asthmatic mice.

Monolithic integration of embedded III-V lasers on SOI.

Silicon photonic integration has gained great success in many application fields owing to the excellent optical device properties and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility. Realizing monolithic integration of III-V lasers and silicon photonic components on single silicon wafer is recognized as a long-standing obstacle for ultra-dense photonic integration, which can provide considerable economical, energy-efficient and foundry-scalable on-chip light sources, that has not been reported yet. Here, we demonstrate embedded InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) lasers directly grown on trenched silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, enabling monolithic integration with butt-coupled silicon waveguides. By utilizing the patterned grating structures inside pre-defined SOI trenches and unique epitaxial method via hybrid molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), high-performance embedded InAs QD lasers with monolithically out-coupled silicon waveguide are achieved on such template. By resolving the epitaxy and fabrication challenges in such monolithic integrated architecture, embedded III-V lasers on SOI with continuous-wave lasing up to 85 °C are obtained. The maximum output power of 6.8 mW can be measured from the end tip of the butt-coupled silicon waveguides, with estimated coupling efficiency of approximately -6.7 dB. The results presented here provide a scalable and low-cost epitaxial method for the realization of on-chip light sources directly coupling to the silicon photonic components for future high-density photonic integration.

Saponin extract from Achyranthes bidentata Blume alleviates disuse-induced muscle atrophy through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The roots of Achyranthes bidentata Blume are one of the regularly used herbal drugs in Chinese medicine, and has been applied for strengthening the muscle and bone for a long time. However, its effect on muscle remains unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: This paper aims to explore the anti-muscle atrophy effect of A. bidentata, and to clarify the possible signaling pathways involved. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The saponin extract of the roots of A. bidentata (ABSE) was prepared and analyzed, and its activity on myoblast differentiation was assayed with C2C12 cell culture. ABSE was then orally administered at dosage of 35, 70 and 140 mg/kg/day to disuse-induced muscle atrophy mice. The studies on mice body weight and muscle quality were conducted, and Western blot was used for exploring the possible signaling pathways involved in the muscle protective action aided with transcriptome analysis. RESULTS: The total saponin content of ABSE was 59.1%. ABSE promoted the C2C12 cells differentiation to myotube in C2C12 differentiation assay. Further study with disuse-induced muscle atrophy mice model demonstrated that ABSE significantly increased muscle fiber diameter as well as the proportion of slow muscle fibers. Possible mechanism study aided with transcriptome analysis revealed that ABSE alleviated muscle atrophy at least through activation of PI3K/Akt pathway in vivo & vitro. CONCLUSIONS: The saponin extract of the root of A. bidentata (ABSE) has a protective effect on muscle atrophy, and showed a considerable potential in prevention and treatment of muscle atrophy.

Successful Design and Implementation of a POEM Program for Achalasia in an Integrated Healthcare System.

BACKGROUND: Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) is a minimally invasive treatment for achalasia with results comparable to laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM). Studies have described the development of proficiency for endoscopists learning to perform POEM, and societies have defined educational and technical objectives for advanced endoscopy fellows in training. However, there is limited guidance on the organizational strategy and educational plan necessary to develop an achalasia service with POEM expertise. AIMS: We aim to outline the steps for design and implementation of a successful POEM program. METHODS: We reported our experience developing a multi-disciplinary clinical program for POEM and the steps taken to achieve procedural proficiency. We also reported our technical success (successful tunneling into the gastric cardia and myotomy of LES muscle fibers) and clinical success (post-procedure Eckardt score ≤ 3) at 3-6 months and 12 months post-procedure. Adverse events were classified per the ASGE lexicon for endoscopic adverse events. RESULTS: After creating a multi-disciplinary clinical program for achalasia and completing procedural proficiency for POEM, our technical success rate was 100% and clinical success rate 90% for the first 41 patients. One adverse event (2.4%) occurred, moderate in severity per the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) lexicon for adverse endoscopic events. CONCLUSION: In this study, we outlined the steps involved to establish a POEM service in a large integrated healthcare system. Prior competency in interventional endoscopy, procedural training models, POEM observation and education, proctorship, and interdisciplinary patient care are recommended.

Modelling Well-Being with Mindfulness Intervention on Bottom- and Middle-40% Income Earners in Malaysia.

This paper examines mindfulness as a costless cognitive asset in reducing stress and improving subjective well-being and psychological well-being among Malaysian bottom-forty-percent and middle-forty-percent income earners, known as B40 and M40, respectively. The participants recruited for this experimental study were divided into intervention and control groups and completed pre- and post-assessment questionnaires. The leveraging on digital technologies during pandemic times from May to June 2021 enabled participants in the intervention group (n = 95) to undergo four weekly online mindfulness intervention sessions through Google Meet and completed daily home mindfulness practices using the mobile application for mindfulness: the MindFi version 3.8.0 mobile app. Based on the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the intervention group's mindfulness and well-being levels increased significantly after four weeks. This outcome contrasted to those in the control group (n = 31), who exhibited lower mindfulness and well-being levels. The PLS-SEM structural model consists of mindfulness as an independent variable, subjective and psychological well-being as dependent variables, and perceived stress and financial desire discrepancies as the mediators. This model has a goodness-of-fit of 0.076, proving that it is a fit and strong model. There is a positive relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being (ß = 0.162, p-value < 0.01). This model supports the mediation effect of perceived stress between mindfulness and subjective well-being variables (ß = 0.152, p-value < 0.05). The overall structural model implies that the effectiveness of mindfulness intervention training not only enhanced bottom- and middle-income earners' well-being but also lowered the perceived stress level that, henceforth, brought the mind and body together in the present moment.

[Long-term Succession Patterns and Driving Factors of Water Quality in a Flood-pulse System Lake: A Case Study of Lake Luoma, Jiangsu Province].

Lake Luoma is an important storage lake for the Eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (NSBD), which has many functions including flood control and irrigation, drinking water supply, and ecological maintenance. In order to understand the succession patterns and driving factors of water quality in Lake Luoma, we used monthly monitoring data from 2009 to 2020 in combination with historical data from 1996 to 2008. The long-term succession patterns, seasonal dynamics, and spatial patterns of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), permanganate index, and ammonia nitrogen (NH+4-N) were examined, and the influence of meteorological and hydrological factors on water quality was explored through correlation analyses and generalized additive models. The results showed that it remained in the status of grade Ⅳ-inferior Ⅴ over the past 25 years. The concentration of TN, which was the main pollutant, changed significantly (1.06-3.49 mg·L-1), experiencing three stages of gradual decline (1996-2002), significant interannual fluctuation (2002-2015), and significant increase (2015-2020). Permanganate index decreased significantly (2.97-6.38 mg·L-1), whereas TP and NH+4-N concentration fluctuated slightly, ranging from 0.024-0.076 mg·L-1 and 0.11-0.69 mg·L-1, respectively. The concentration of TN and TP increased abnormally in the summer of 2017-2020, reaching 3.30 mg·L-1 and 0.14 mg·L-1 in August, respectively, which was approximately 1.5 and 2.4 times the annual average. In terms of seasonal dynamics, the seasonal variation in water quality between summer/autumn and winter/spring reversed after 2015, with water quality in summer/autumn being worse than that in winter and spring, indicating the exacerbation of eutrophication. The water quality in the southern area was obviously better than that in the northern area. The input of pollutants from the Yihe River and Middle Canal increased with water quantity since 2015, which drove the water quality deterioration through nutrients. Our results suggested that the water quality of Lake Luoma should be improved by strengthening exogenous pollution reduction, endogenous control, polder dismantling, and ecological restoration.

Research progress on chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Ajania plants / 中国中药杂志

Ajania belonging to the subtribe Artemisiinae of Anthemideae(Asteraceae) is a genus of semi-shrubs closely related to Chrysanthemum. There are 24 species of Ajania in northwestern China, most of which are folk herbal medicines with strong stress tolerance. Modern medical studies have demonstrated that the chemical constituents of Ajania mainly include terpenoids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, alkynes, and essential oils. These compounds endow the plants with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimalarial, antioxidant, and insecticide effects. In this study, we reviewed the research progress in the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Ajania, aiming to provide reference for the further research and development of Ajania.

Shegan Mahuang Decoction May Reduce Airway Inflammation in Neutrophilic Asthmatic Mice by Improving the Mitochondrial Function of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Exosomes.

Asthma is a common pulmonary disease mainly caused by the infiltration of neutrophils. There is a limit to the therapeutic effects of the available asthma drugs on neutrophilic asthma. Shegan Mahuang Decoction (SMD) is one of the representative traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescriptions for asthma, and it can effectively relieve the clinical symptoms of patients. However, the effect of SMD on the treatment of neutrophilic asthma remains unknown. In this study, a mouse model of neutrophilic asthma induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/ovalbumin (OVA) was established, and the effect of a modified SMD prescription on the model was evaluated. After treatment, SMD was demonstrated to be therapeutically effective on asthmatic mice via airway resistance detection and lung pathology and was able to affect cytokine levels in vivo. Further experiments verified that SMD regulated the expression of mitochondrial function proteins in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) exosomes. The results demonstrate that SMD confers a therapeutic effect on a neutrophilic asthma mouse model, and it may reduce neutrophil airway inflammation by regulating myeloid-derived regulatory cell (MDRC) function and airway exosome mitochondrial function.

[Anti-herpes simplex virus type â of tectorigenin derivative and effect on Toll-like receptors in vitro].

The study investigated the inhibitory effect and mechanism of tectorigenin derivative(SGY) against herpes simplex virus type Ⅰ(HSV-1) by in vitro experiments. The cytotoxicity of SGY and positive drug acyclovir(ACV) on African green monkey kidney(Vero) cells and mouse microglia(BV-2) cells was detected by cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) method, and the maximum non-toxic concentration and median toxic concentration(TC_(50)) of the drugs were calculated. After Vero cells were infected with HSV-1, the virulence was determined by cytopathologic effects(CPE) to calculate viral titers. The inhibitory effect of the tested drugs on HSV-1-induced cytopathy in Vero cells was measured, and their modes of action were initially explored by virus adsorption, replication and inactivation. The effects of the drugs on viral load of BV-2 cells 24 h after HSV-1 infection and the Toll-like receptor(TLR) mRNA expression were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR). The maximum non-toxic concentrations of SGY against Vero and BV-2 cells were 382.804 µg·mL~(-1) and 251.78 µg·mL~(-1), respectively, and TC_(50) was 1 749.98 µg·mL~(-1) and 2 977.50 µg·mL~(-1), respectively. In Vero cell model, the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC_(50)) of SGY against HSV-1 was 54.49 µg·mL~(-1), and the selection index(SI) was 32.12, with the mode of action of significantly inhibiting replication and directly inactivating HSV-1. RT-qPCR results showed that SGY markedly reduced the viral load in cells. The virus model group had significantly increased relative expression of TLR2, TLR3 and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 3(TRAF3) and reduced relative expression of TLR9 as compared with normal group, and after SGY intervention, the expression of TLR2, TLR3 and TRAF3 was decreased to different degrees and that of TLR9 was enhanced. The expression of inflammatory factors inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß) was remarkably increased in virus model group as compared with that in normal group, and the levels of these inflammatory factors dropped after SGY intervention. In conclusion, SGY significantly inhibited and directly inactivated HSV-1 in vitro. In addition, it modulated the expression of TLR2, TLR3 and TLR9 related pathways, and suppressed the increase of inflammatory factor levels.