Probing the Impact of Whole Intestinal Microbiota Transplantation from Alzheimer's Disease Model Mice on the Ileal Microenvironment Based on the “Interior-Exterior Relationship Exists Between Heart and Small Intestine” / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

ObjectiveTo investigate whether the whole intestinal microbiota transplantation in Alzheimer's disease （AD） model mice has more significant effects on ileum intestinal microenvironment in normal mice under the guidance of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine that "interior-exterior relationship exists between the heart and small intestine". MethodsThe whole intestinal microbiota of fourteen 6-month-old specific pathogen free male APP/PS1 double-transgenic AD model mice was transplanted into the gut of six normal C57BL/6J mice of the same age and background treated with mixed antibiotics for 14 days. Then， after 14 days of normal rearing， the mice were sacrificed. Next， the pathological changes in the ileum and colon were observed， and the composition and diversity of the ileal and colonic microbiota was analyzed by sequencing. ResultsAfter the whole intestinal microbiota of AD mice was transplanted into normal mice， pathological analysis showed that only the ileum tissue had mucosal damage and crypt gland epithelial cell degeneration， necrosis， and shedding. Moreover， the microbiota analysis found that only the number of genera （P<0.01）， Chao1 index （P<0.01） and Simpson index of ileal microbiota in normal mice decreased （P<0.01）， and the composition of intestinal microbiota was quite similar to that of AD model mice. ConclusionUnder the effect of whole gut microbiota transplantation in AD mice， the diversity and composition of ileal microbiota change more than that of colonic microbiota in normal mice， and at the same time， it results in pathological damage to the ileal mucosa， indicating that the ileal microenvironment may be more closely related to the occurrence and development of AD， which is highly consistent with the traditional Chinese medicine theory of "interior-exterior relationship between heart and small intestine".

Effect of Usnea diffracta Against Atherosclerosis in Rats and on Microbial Flora of Ileum： An Investigation Based on Interior-exterior Relationship Between Heart and Small Intestine / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To explore the correlation between the efficacy of <italic>Usnea diffracta</italic> in treating atherosclerosis （AS） and the altered microbial flora in rat ileum based on the interior-exterior relationship between heart and small intestine in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. Method:Forty-eight SD rats were randomized into a normal group （<italic>n</italic>=8） and a modeling group （<italic>n</italic>=40）. The AS model was established with high-fat diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of vitamin D₃. The successfully modeled rats were further randomly divided into the model group， positive control （simvastatin， 4 mg·kg^-1） group， and low- （0.7 g·kg^-1）， medium- （1.4 g·kg^-1）， and high-dose （2.8 g·kg^-1） <italic>U. diffracta</italic> ethanol extract groups， with eight rats in each group. After four weeks of intervention， the blood， aorta， ileum， and ileum content of rats in each group were collected. The levels of serum lipopolysaccharide （LPS）， tumor necrosis factor-<italic>α </italic>（TNF-<italic>α</italic>） and interleukin 6 （IL-6） were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the pathological changes in rat thoracic aorta was detected by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. Western blot was conducted to determine the protein expression levels of tight junction protein zonula occluden （ZO-1） and Occludin in rat ileum， and the high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing technology was employed to detect changes in microbial diversity and abundance in rat ileum of each group. Result:Compared with the normal group， the model group exhibited obvious aortic plaque deposition， increased LPS， TNF-<italic>α</italic>， and IL-6 levels （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， but decreased ZO-1 and Occludin protein expression （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The comparison with the model group revealed that <italic>U. diffracta</italic> significantly ameliorated the aortic plaque deposition of model rats， lowered serum LPS， TNF-<italic>α</italic>， and IL-6 levels （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， and up-regulated ZO-1 and Occludin protein expression （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）. The abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes in the model group changed significantly in contrast to that in the normal group， and the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes（B/F） value declined （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Alpha and Beta diversity analysis indicated higher total number of intestinal flora species in the model group， but lower richness and uneven distribution （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， with a large number of pathogenic bacteria enriched. The ethanol extract of <italic>U. diffracta</italic> significantly increased the B/F value， corrected the structural disorder of microbial flora in ileum， reduced pathogenic bacteria， and increased the relative abundance of probiotics. Conclusion:<italic>U. diffracta</italic> exerts the therapeutic effect against AS possibly by improving the intestinal microbial communities， strengthening the intestinal mucosal barrier function， and reducing the serum LPS and inflammatory factors.

[Research progress on mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine in prevention and treatment of postoperative peritoneal adhesion].

Peritoneal adhesion is one of the common complications after abdominal operation, which could seriously affect the quality of life in patients. Although the development of modern surgical technology and the improvement of doctors' operation level have reduced the incidence of peritoneal adhesion to a certain extent, due to the lack of special treatment drugs, the therapeutic effect still cannot meet the expectations and requirements of clinicians and patients. Traditional Chinese medicines(TCM) have unique advantages and remarkable curative effect in the treatment of peritoneal adhesion, and they can play an important role in regulating multiple pathological links. However, the relevant researches and product development of TCM against peritoneal adhesion have not attracted enough attention from industry scholars. As for the related work that has been carried out, most of the studies on the efficacy and mechanism are not thorough and systematic enough, seriously restricting the industrial development in this field. In this paper, the efficacy and mechanism were systematically described and summarized based on the review of papers in the recent years, so as to provide a reference for the thorough study of TCM in the prevention and treatment of peritoneal adhesions, and promote the deep development and industrialization process of related products.

A study of the substance dependence effect of the ethanolic extract and iridoid-rich fraction from Valeriana jatamansi Jones in mice.

BACKGROUND: Recently we found the ethanolic extract and iridoid-rich fraction from Valeriana jatamansi Jones, which is a traditional Chinese medicine exhibited anxiolytic properties. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to the substance dependence effect of the ethanolic extract and iridoid-rich fraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included two experiments: Mice were given orally with ethanolic extract for 12 weeks or iridoid-rich fraction for 16 weeks in experiment I and experiment II, respectively. Diazepam was used as a control drug and the normal mice groups were administered with 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose Na in both experiments. All groups were administered twice daily. Natural withdrawal symptoms, withdrawal-induced body weight change, audiogenic tail-erection test (in experiment I), and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced convulsion test (in experiment II) were measured. RESULTS: (1) Compared to normal group in both experiments, the diazepam-treated group exhibited obvious withdrawal symptoms of tail-erection, irritability, teeth chattering, etc; the body weight of them after withdrawal had a period of significant loss (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01); and the ratios of tail-erection and seizure in two experiments were improved significantly when mice were induced by mixer noise ringtone (experiment I) or PTZ (experiment II) (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).(2) In experiment I and II, there were no significant differences between mice that received ethanolic extract or iridoid-rich fraction and normal group in terms of natural withdrawal symptoms and withdrawal-induced body weight change (P > 0.05); in audiogenic tail-erection test, it found that the significant difference compared with normal group was just in ethanolic extract 900 mg/kg dose group on week 8 (P < 0.05); in PTZ-induced convulsion test, mice in iridoid-rich fraction groups had a slightly tail-erection and seizure, all results of them were with no significant difference compare to normal mice (P > 0.05), while significant lower than diazepam group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: (1) The two experiments successfully established the physical dependence of diazepam by gradually increasing the dose.(2)There were just a few mice received with ethanolic extract for 12 weeks or iridoid-rich fraction for 16 weeks appearing some slight withdrawal symptoms after precipitated withdrawal, but it didn't show significant difference compared to normal mice. Therefore, these indicated that the risks of potential drug dependence about ethanolic extract and iridoid-rich fraction were far lower than that of diazepam.