Protective effect of modified Huangqi Chifeng decoction on immunoglobulin A nephropathy through toll-like receptor 4/myeloid differentiation factor 88/nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the nephroprotective mechanism of modified Huangqi Chifeng decoction (, MHCD) in immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) rats. METHODS: To establish the IgAN rat model, the bovine serum albumin, lipopolysaccharide, and carbon tetrachloride 4 method was employed. The rats were then randomly assigned to the control, model, telmisartan, and high-, medium-, and low-dose MHCD groups, and were administered the respective treatments via intragastric administration for 8 weeks. The levels of 24-h urinary protein, serum creatinine (CRE), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured in each group. Pathological alterations were detected. IgA deposition was visualized through the use of immunofluorescence staining. The ultrastructure of the kidney was observed using a transmission electron microscope. The expression levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) were examined by immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Levels of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) P65, were examined by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The 24-h urine protein level in each group increased significantly at week 6, and worsen from then on. But this process can be reversed by treatments of telmisartan, and high-, medium-, and low-dose of MHCD, and these treatments did not affect renal function. Telmisartan, and high-, and medium-dose of MHCD reduced IgA deposition. Renal histopathology demonstrated the protective effect of high-, medium-, and low-dose of MHCD against kidney injury. The expression levels of MCP-1, IL-6, and TGF-ß1 in kidney tissues were downregulated by low, medium and high doses of MHCD treatment. Additionally, treatment of low, medium and high doses of MHCD decreased the protein and mRNA levels of TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB. CONCLUSIONS: MHCD exerted nephroprotective effects on IgAN rats, and MHCD regulated the expressions of key targets in TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway, thereby alleviating renal inflammation by inhibiting MCP-1, IL-6 expressions, and ameliorating renal fibrosis by inhibiting TGF-ß1 expression.

Toxicity Reduction Measures of Herbal Medicines Causing Liver Injury and Role of Herbal Medicines in Preventing and Treating Liver Injury / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Chinese herbal medicines play a great role in disease prevention and treatment， while some may cause adverse effects on the human body after of long-term application. Liver injury， one of such adverse effects， is an important check item in the development of new Chinese medicines for clinical application and has become a major reason for the withdrawal of many listed drugs from the market. With the rising concern about the safety of Chinese herbal medicines， studies about liver injury caused by herbal medicines are increasing. Most of the studies focus on liver injury caused by Chinese herbal medicines or their ingredients. To improve the safety of Chinese herbal medicines， this paper summarizes the material basis and mechanisms of several Chinese herbal medicines that cause liver injury and the measures to reduce liver injury. These measures include reducing the dose and course of administration， changing the route of administration， and altering the dosage form， compatibility， and processing. In addition， this paper introduces the biological effects and mechanisms of single Chinese herbal medicines， Chinese medicine prescriptions， and active components in the prevention and treatment of liver injury. Furthermore， this paper proposes the safe dose and efficacy-toxicity boundary of Chinese herbal medicines that may cause liver injury by referring to the modern research on toxicity reduction， clarifies the mechanisms of toxicity reduction measures， and determines the material basis of liver injury induced by Chinese herbal medicines， which will ensure the safe application of herbal medicines in clinical practice. Finally， this paper suggests that efforts should be made to strengthen the clinical research on the prevention and treatment of liver injury and elucidate the scientific connotation of the prevention and treatment of liver injury by Chinese herbal medicines by using modern science and technology， aiming to provide a scientific basis for the clinical prevention and treatment of liver injury.

Influence of mindfulness-based stress reduction plus micro-class education on the complications and knowledge mastery rate in laparoscopic appendectomy patients with diabetes mellitus / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To discuss the influence of mindfulness-based stress reduction plus micro-class education on the complications and knowledge mastery rate in surgical patients with diabetes mellitus.Methods:A total of 105 patients, diagnosed as diabetes mellitus complicated with appendicitis in the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College were selected from January 2019 to January 2020. They were hospitalized for laparoscopic appendectomy and were randomly divided into the control group ( n = 52) and the study group ( n = 53) in accordance with the random number table. The patients in the control group were given routine nursing care, and the patients in the study group were given mindfulness decompression therapy combined with micro-classroom education. The blood glucose control and psychological emotion of the two groups before and after operation, and the postoperative complications and the mastery rate of disease knowledge of the two groups were compared. Results:There was no significant difference in blood glucose indexes between the two groups at baseline ( P>0.05); FBG, HbA1c and other indicators in the two groups were improved during operation and 24h after operation, but FBG (7.38±0.54) mmol/L, HbA1c (6.39±0.21)% and FBG (6.90±0.52) mmol/L and HbA1c (6.10±0.39)% in the study group were lower than those in the control group [(8.16±1.21) mmol/L, (7.53±1.05)%, (7.60±0.57) mmol/L, (6.50±0.41)%], the difference was statistically significant ( t value was 6.789-13.264, P < 0.05); there was no significant difference in SAS and SDS scores between the two groups at baseline ( P > 0.05), until discharge, the SAS and SDS scores of the treatment group were 35.81±5.49 and 42.08±4.91 respectively, which were significantly lower than those of the control group (42.21±5.53, 6.51±4.72) respectively, compared with the corresponding scale scores of the control group, the difference between the two groups after treatment was statistically significant ( t value was 5.386, 4.265, P < 0.05). Compared with 17.31% (9/52) of the control group, the incidence of complications in the study group decreased to 5.66% (3/53), there was significant difference ( χ2 value was 6.789, P < 0.05). The qualified rate of disease knowledge mastery in the study group (98.11%,52/53) was significantly higher than that in the control group (86.53%, 45/52), and the difference was significant ( χ2 value was 5.062, P < 0.05). Conclusion:The mindfulness-based stress reduction plus micro-class education can effectively control the laparoscopic appendectomy patients blood glucose, stabilize the mental emotions, increase the illness knowledge mastery degree, keep in good mood, reduce the postoperative complications and promote the fast recovery.

Isolation, idetification and anti-HIV-1 integrase activity of culturable endophytic fungi from Tibetan medicinal plant Phlomis younghusbandii Mukerjee / 药学学报

A total of 52 endophytic fungi were isolated from roots and stems of Tibetan medicinal plant Phlomis younghusbandii Mukerjee. These fungal isolates were molecularly identified based on ITS sequnces and 28S sequences distributed to 12 genera, including Phoma, Chaetosphaeronema, Fusarium and Leptosphaeria, etc. Among them, the dominant genus was Phoma. Extracts of all strains were evaluated for anti-HIV-1 integrase activity by using soluable integrase expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The results showed that seven samples from five fungal endophytes PHY-24, PHY-38, PHY-40, PHY-51, PHY-53, which belonged to genus Chaetosphaeronema, inhibited strand transfer reaction catalyzed by HIV-1 integrase with IC50 values, of 6.60, 5.20, 2.86, 7.86, 4.47, 4.56 and 3.23 microg x mL(-1) respectively. In conclusion, the endophytic fungi of Phlomis younghusbandii Mukerjee are valuable for further screening anti-HIV-1 integrase agents.