The Effects of n-3 PUFA Supplementation on Bone Metabolism Markers and Body Bone Mineral Density in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of RCTs.

Supplemental n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on bone metabolism have yielded inconsistent results. This study aimed to examine the effects of n-3 PUFA supplementation on bone metabolism markers and bone mineral density through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. A systematic literature search was conducted using the PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCO databases, updated to 1 March 2023. The intervention effects were measured as standard mean differences (SMD) and mean differences (MD). Additionally, n-3 PUFA with the untreated control, placebo control, or lower-dose n-3 PUFA supplements were compared, respectively. Further, 19 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (22 comparisons, n = 2546) showed that n-3 PUFA supplementation significantly increased blood n-3 PUFA (SMD: 2.612; 95% CI: 1.649 to 3.575). However, no significant effects were found on BMD, CTx-1, NTx-1, BAP, serum calcium, 25(OH)D, PTH, CRP, and IL-6. Subgroup analyses showed significant increases in femoral neck BMD in females (0.01, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.02), people aged <60 years (0.01, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.01), and those people in Eastern countries (0.02, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.03), and for 25(OH)D in people aged ≥60 years (0.43, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.74), treated with n-3 PUFA only (0.36, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.66), and in studies lasting ≤6 months (0.29, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.47). NTx-1 decreased in both genders (-9.66, 95% CI: -15.60 to -3.71), and serum calcium reduction was found in studies lasting >6 months (-0.19, 95% CI: -0.37 to -0.01). The present study demonstrated that n-3 PUFA supplementation might not have a significant effect on bone mineral density or bone metabolism markers, but have some potential benefits for younger postmenopausal subjects in the short term. Therefore, additional high-quality, long-term randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are warranted to fully elucidate the potential benefits of n-3 PUFA supplementation, as well as the combined supplementation of n-3 PUFA, on bone health.

Gut microbial bile acid metabolite skews macrophage polarization and contributes to high-fat diet-induced colonic inflammation.

High-fat diet (HFD) leads to systemic low-grade inflammation, which has been involved in the pathogenesis of diverse metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Colon is thought to be the first organ suffering from inflammation under HFD conditions due to the pro-inflammatory macrophages infiltration, however, the mechanisms concerning the induction of pro-inflammatory phenotype of colonic macrophages remains unclear. In this study, we show that HFD increased the percentage of gram-positive bacteria, especially genus Clostridium, and resulted in the significant increment of fecal deoxycholic acid (DCA), a gut microbial metabolite produced by bacteria mainly restricted to genus Clostridium. Notably, reducing gram-positive bacteria with vancomycin diminished fecal DCA and profoundly alleviated pro-inflammatory macrophage infiltration in colon, whereas DCA-supplemented feedings to vancomycin-treated mice provoked obvious pro-inflammatory macrophage infiltration and colonic inflammation. Meanwhile, intra-peritoneal administration of DCA also elicited considerable recruitment of macrophages with pro-inflammatory phenotype. Mechanistically, DCA dose-dependently promoted M1 macrophage polarization and pro-inflammatory cytokines production at least partially through toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) transactivated by M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M2-mAchR)/Src pathway. In addition, M2-mAchR mediated increase of TLR2 transcription was mainly achieved via targeting AP-1 transcription factor. Moreover, NF-κB/ERK/JNK signalings downstream of TLR2 are involved in the DCA-induced macrophage polarization. In conclusion, our findings revealed that high level DCA induced by HFD may serve as an initiator to activate macrophages and drive colonic inflammation, thus offer a mechanistic basis that modulation of gut microbiota or intervening specific bile acid receptor signaling could be potential therapeutic approaches for HFD-related inflammatory diseases.

Numerical simulation and experiment on catalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapors in V-shaped downer reactors.

Catalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapors is an effective utilization technology of biomass energy. Based on the disadvantages of commonly used reactors, the V-shaped downer reactors were designed to increase gas-solid two-phase turbulent intensity, contact frequency and then increase the catalytic efficiency in short residence time. The catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis vapors in V-shaped downer reactors in terms of hydrodynamics, chemical reaction and residence time distribution were analyzed by CFD simulation and experiment. The results indicate that the solid concentration gradient decreases while flowing down. The overall mass fraction of the bio-oil vapors is around 50%. The mean residence time of catalysts in the V-shaped reactor is 2.0 s-3.0 s. The effects on product yield and residence time distribution were investigated for optimizing product selectivity and the performance of catalysts. In this paper the optimal flow rates of gas and catalysts are vg = 1.2 m s-1, vs = 0.4 m s-1.

Effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine Ping Chuan Ke Li for the management of mild/moderate persistent asthma.

This study assessed the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine Ping Chuan Ke Li (PCKL) for the treatment of patients with mild/ moderate persistent asthma.A total of 108 eligible patients with persistent asthma were included and were divided into a treatment group and a control group in this retrospective study. All 108 patients underwent oral montelukast. Additionally, subjects in the treatment group also received PCKL therapy. All patients in both groups were treated for a total of 1 month. The primary outcome of lung function was evaluated by the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC). The secondary outcome of quality of life was assessed by St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Moreover, adverse events (AEs) were also recorded in this study. All outcome measurements were assessed after 1-month treatment.After 1-month treatment, patients in the treatment group did not demonstrate better outcome in the improvement of lung function, measured by FEV1 (P =.57, table 2), and FEV1/FVC (P =.29); and enhancement of quality of life, measured by SGRQ scale (total, P =.37; symptom, P =.32; activity, P =.39; impact, P =.83). In addition, no AEs differ between 2 groups.The results of this study showed that Chinese herbal PCKL may not benefit for patients with mild/moderate persistent asthma after 1-month treatment.

A retrospective study of Yiqibushenhuoxue decoction for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This retrospective study aimed to investigate the effect and safety of Yiqibushenhuoxue decoction (YQBSHXD) for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).This study involved 120 cases of patients with COPD. These cases were assigned to an intervention group and a control group equally, 60 subjects each group. Patients in both groups underwent Salmeterol. In addition, the cases in the intervention group also received YQBSHXD. All cases received a total of 12 weeks treatment. The primary outcome of lung function was measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC). The secondary outcomes included severity of dyspnea on exertion, evaluated by 6-minute walk test (6MWT) with measurement of 6-minute walk distance (6MWD); and quality of life, assessed by the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). In addition, adverse events (AEs) were also recorded in this study. All outcome measurements were assessed before and after 12-week treatment.After 12-week treatment, cases in the intervention group underwent YQBSHXD did not show better outcome in lung function improvement, measured by the FEV1 (P = .11), and FEV1/FVC (P = .15), compared with those in the control group. However, YQBSHXD may help to alleviate the severity of dyspnea on exertion, as measured by 6MWD (P = .03), and to improve the quality of life, as assessed by the SGRQ (P < .01). Additionally, no significant differences in AEs were detected between the 2 groups.The results of this study showed that YQBSHXD may help to manage COPD after 12-week treatment, although the lung function has not been improved.

Deoxycholic Acid-Mediated Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 2 Signaling Exacerbates DSS-Induced Colitis through Promoting Cathepsin B Release.

We recently have proved that excessive fecal DCA caused by high-fat diet may serve as an endogenous danger-associated molecular pattern to activate NLRP3 inflammasome and thus contributes to the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Moreover, the effect of DCA on inflammasome activation is mainly mediated through bile acid receptor sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 (S1PR2); however, the intermediate process remains unclear. Here, we sought to explore the detailed molecular mechanism involved and examine the effect of S1PR2 blockage in a colitis mouse model. In this study, we found that DCA could dose dependently upregulate S1PR2 expression. Meanwhile, DCA-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation is at least partially achieved through stimulating extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) signaling pathway downstream of S1PR2 followed by promoting of lysosomal cathepsin B release. DCA enema significantly aggravated DSS-induced colitis in mice and S1PR2 inhibitor as well as inflammasome inhibition by cathepsin B antagonist substantially reducing the mature IL-1ß production and alleviated colonic inflammation superimposed by DCA. Therefore, our findings suggest that S1PR2/ERK1/2/cathepsin B signaling plays a critical role in triggering inflammasome activation by DCA and S1PR2 may represent a new potential therapeutic target for the management of intestinal inflammation in individuals on a high-fat diet.

[Application and Thinking of Constitution Theory of Chinese Medicine in Stable Phase Chronic Ob- structive Pulmonary Disease].

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease, but seriously threatens to patients' body and mind. Constitutions of Chinese medicine (CM) are closely relat- ed to diseases. Individuals with different constitutions of CM have different responses to the same envi- ronment and the same pathogenic factor. Therefore, studying the application of constitution theory of CM in stable phase COPD is of great significance. In this paper clinical applications of constitution theory of CM in COPD were explored from etiology and mechanism, syndrome typing based treatment, prevention and care, aiming to prevent, diagnose, and treat COPD effectively.

[The binding sites of estrogen receptor for miyabenol C and kobophenol A].

To examine the binding sites of miyabenol C (Miy C) and kobophenol A ( Kob A) with estrogen receptor (ER), computer modeling was applied to determine 3D structure of Miy C and Kob A. Molecular docking of the components to ER was carried out to find the binding sites between them. PCR mutagenesis was used to change the structure of ER cDNA. After the mutated sites were confirmed by DNA sequencing, report gene assay was used to study the effects of Miy C and Kob A on the trans-activating ability of ER. Results indicated that the effect of Miy C on the trans-activating ability of mutant 1 of ER [M1ER (ER M(517)AG(521)D)] was decreased, and Kob A had no stimulating effects on the trans-activating ability of M1ER. Miy C and Kob A had no stimulating effects on the trans-activating ability of mutant 2 of ER [M2ER (ER E(353)GR(394)G)]. Therefore, the ER sites for Miy C and Kob A may be located at Glu(353), Arg(394), Met(517) and Gly(521).

Assessment of estrogenic activity of natural compounds using improved E-screen assay.

AIM: To improve E-screen assay and make it more accurate to screen estrogenic compounds. METHODS: Estrogen receptor antisense RNA expression plasmid (pCASER) was constructed and introduced into MCF-7 with lipofectAMINE(TM), and positive clones were screened out with G418. PCR amplification was employed to identify whether estrogen receptor (ER) cDNA fragment had been inserted into MCF-7 cell genomes. Western blot was applied to detect the expression of ER. Cell growth was determined by MTT assay. RESULTS: One ER antisense clone (MTASER) had been screened out. The effects of 17beta-estradiol, genistein, droloxifen, miyabenol C, and kobophenol A on MCF-7 were stronger than those effects on MTASER. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) had equivalent stimulatory effects on the proliferation of MCF-7 and MTASER. CONCLUSION: The improved E-screen assay could screen estrogenic compounds more accurately than original E-screen assay did.