XSSJS inhibits hepatic fibrosis by promoting the miR-29b-3p/VEGFA axis in vitro and in vivo.

Hepatic pathological angiogenesis (HPA) is the key event of hepatic fibrosis (HF). Xueshisanjia powder (XSSJS), a Chinese herbal compound, is beneficial for alleviating pathological angiogenesis of hepatic tissue. The present study attempts to reveal the effect and mechanism of XSSJS via regulating miR-29b-3p/VEGFA axis against pathological angiogenesis in HF. In in vitro model, human embryonic kidney 293T cells were transfected with miR-29b-3p mimics, whereby the expression of miR-29b-3p was tested by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), ensued by Luciferase assay determining the relationship between miR-29b-3p and vascular endothelial cell growth factor A (VEGFA). In addition, miR-29b-3p mimic transfected into the activated hepatic stellate cell T6 (HSC-T6). The Cell-Counting-Kit 8 (CCK8) and 5-Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) staining were first utilized to detect the antiproliferative efficiency of XSSJS following the XSSJS compound serum intervention, and then used to observe the expression of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß), VEGFA, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) via RT-PCR, Western blot (WB), and Immunofluorescence (IF) methods. During the in vivo model, XSSJS with boil-free granules were fed to Wistar rats with liver fibrosis caused by intraperitoneal injection of pig serum followed by the transfection of miR-29b-3p adeno-associated virus (AAV). Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining was used for histopathology assessment. The expression of miR-29b-3p, VEGFA, PDGF, TGF-ß have been investigated in liver tissue using RT-PCR, WB, IF. The results verified that XSSJS could up-regulate miR-29b-3p and suppress the expression of VEGFA, PDGA, and TGF-ß. In mechanism, miR-29b-3p primarily targeted the 3'UTR of VEGFA. In conclusion, XSSJS could modulate miR-29b-3p/VEGFA axis to inhibit the pathological angiogenesis of HF.

Adjuvant Treatment with Xiaoqinglong Formula for Bronchial Asthma in Acute Attack: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND: XQLF (Xiaoqinglong formula) is the most commonly used prescription of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of asthma. XQLF combined with western medicine has been used to treat bronchial asthma in more and more cases, and good results have been achieved. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the adjuvant treatment of traditional Chinese medicine classic herbal formula XQLF with bronchial asthma in acute attack. METHODS: The following electronic databases were systematically searched from inception to April 2019: PubMed, EMBASE database, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and China Biology Medicine (CBM). Two reviewers searched these databases and independently evaluated all the eligible articles for inclusion. Stata 14.0 was used for data synthesis and analysis. RESULTS: A total of 33 RCTs (randomized controlled trials) including 2176 patients were enrolled. All of the patients in these studies were in the acute attack stage of asthma. We conducted subgroup analysis according to the duration of treatment, which was 14 days, 10 days, and 7 days, respectively. The overall results show that adjuvant treatment with XQLF significantly improve CER (clinical efficacy rate) (RR = 1.17; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.21; P < 0.0001) and promote pulmonary function including FEV1 (WMD = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.27 to 0.43; P < 0.0001), PEF (SMD = 1.02; 95% CI, 0.49 to 1.55; P < 0.0001), and FVC (WMD = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.66; P < 0.0001). The adjuvant treatment of XQLF can also reduce serum IgE concentration (SMD = -1.39; 95% CI, 1.92 to -0.85; P < 0.0001) and serum EOS concentration at 14 days (WMD = -39.85; 95% CI, -56.20 to -23.49; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This study finally showed that XQLF has the auxiliary effect of improving the efficiency, promoting the lung function, and reducing the serum IgE in the treatment of acute attack asthma. This trial is registered with CRD42019133549.

Meta-analysis of influences of Biejiajian Pill combined with entecavir on serum liver fibrosis markers of compensatory period of hepatitis b cirrhosis: Protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic viral hepatitis b and its related complications have caused serious harm to human health and become a worldwide public health problem. Hepatitis b cirrhosis is one of the most common complications in Asia. Traditional Chinese medicine combined with antiviral therapy has become the first choice for clinical treatment of hepatitis b Cirrhosis. Biejia Pill is an effective prescription of traditional Chinese medicine in treating Compensatory period of cirrhosis, and there are more and more clinical reports about its validity in treating Compensatory period of cirrhosis. Therefore, we designed this study protocol to evaluate the adjuvant role of Biejia Pill in the treatment of Compensatory period of cirrhosis. METHOD: Electronic Databases, PubMed, EMBASE database, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang, Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP) and China Biology Medicine disc, (CBM), will be systematically searched from inception to July 2019. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Biejiajian Pill combined with Entecavir and Entecavir alone against Compensatory period of hepatitis b cirrhosis will be included; inclusion and exclusion criteria will be used to screen the trials. liver fibrosis biomarkers including ECM or its metabolites (serum hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), procollagen type III (PC-III), and type IV collagen (IV-C)) will be measured as primary outcomes. Liver function, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartarte aminotransferase (AST), and improvement of related clinical symptoms will be measured as secondary outcomes. RevMan5 software will be used for literature quality evaluation and data synthesis and analysis. RESULT: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Biejiajian Pill in combination therapy by observing the outcomes of serum liver fibrosis markers, adverse reactions and liver function. CONCLUSION: This study protocol will be used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Biejia Pill in combination with entecavir in the treatment of Compensatory period of hepatitis b cirrhosis, as well as the adjuvant treatment of Biejia Pill in combination.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019135402.

Adjuvant treatment with Xiaoqinglong formula for bronchial asthma: Protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bronchial asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world and has become a serious public health problem. Combination therapy has become the first choice for clinical treatment of bronchial asthma. In addition to the combined use of routine medication, traditional Chinese medicine as an adjuvant therapy is also considered. Xiaoqinglong Decoction (XQLD) is an effective prescription of traditional Chinese medicine in treating asthma, and there are more and more clinical reports about its combination with western medicine in treating asthma. Therefore, we designed this study protocol to evaluate the adjuvant role of XQLD in the treatment of bronchial asthma. METHOD: The following electronic databases will be systematically searched from inception to April 2019: PubMed, EMBASE database, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang, Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP), and China Biology Medicine disc, (CBM). And the following primary outcomes will be tested, including effective rate (ER), pulmonary function (FEV1, PEF, FEV1/FVC), adverse reactions (AR). RevMan5 software will be used for literature quality evaluation and stata14.0 software will be used for data synthesis and analysis. RESULT: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Xiaoqinglong decoction in combination therapy by observing the outcomes of efficacy, adverse reactions and pulmonary function. CONCLUSION: This study protocol will be used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of XQLD in combination with conventional drugs in the treatment of bronchial asthma, as well as the adjuvant role of XQLD in combination. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019133549.

Global DNA methylation variations after short-term heat shock treatment in cultured microspores of Brassica napus cv. Topas.

Heat stress can induce the cultured microspores into embryogenesis. In this study, whole genome bisulphite sequencing was employed to study global DNA methylation variations after short-term heat shock (STHS) treatments in cultured microspores of Brassica napus cv. Topas. Our results indicated that treatment on cultured Topas microspores at 32 °C for 6 h triggered DNA hypomethylation, particularly in the CG and CHG contexts. And the total number of T32 (Topas 32 °C for 6 h) vs. T0 (Topas 0 h) differentially methylated region-related genes (DRGs) was approximately two-fold higher than that of T18 (Topas 18 °C for 6 h) vs. T0 DRGs, which suggested that 32 °C might be a more intense external stimulus than 18 °C resulting in more changes in the DNA methylation status of cultured microspores. Additionally, 32 °C treatment for 6 h led to increased CHG differential methylations of transposons (DMTs), which were mainly constituted by overlaps between the hypomethylated differentially methylated regions (hypo-DMRs) and transposon elements (TEs). Further analysis demonstrated that the DRGs and their paralogs exhibited differential methylated/demethylated patterns. To summarize, the present study is the first methylome analysis of cultured microspores in response to STHS and may provide valuable information on the roles of DNA methylation in heat response.

Genome-wide association study dissects the genetic architecture of seed weight and seed quality in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.).

Association mapping can quickly and efficiently dissect complex agronomic traits. Rapeseed is one of the most economically important polyploid oil crops, although its genome sequence is not yet published. In this study, a recently developed 60K Brassica Infinium(®) SNP array was used to analyse an association panel with 472 accessions. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the array were in silico mapped using 'pseudomolecules' representative of the genome of rapeseed to establish their hypothetical order and to perform association mapping of seed weight and seed quality. As a result, two significant associations on A8 and C3 of Brassica napus were detected for erucic acid content, and the peak SNPs were found to be only 233 and 128 kb away from the key genes BnaA.FAE1 and BnaC.FAE1. BnaA.FAE1 was also identified to be significantly associated with the oil content. Orthologues of Arabidopsis thaliana HAG1 were identified close to four clusters of SNPs associated with glucosinolate content on A9, C2, C7 and C9. For seed weight, we detected two association signals on A7 and A9, which were consistent with previous studies of quantitative trait loci mapping. The results indicate that our association mapping approach is suitable for fine mapping of the complex traits in rapeseed.