Key role of exportin 6 in exosome-mediated viral transmission from insect vectors to plants.

Exosomes play a key role in virus exocytosis and transmission. The exportin family is usually responsible for cargo nucleocytoplasmic trafficking, and they are frequently found in exosomes. However, the function of exportins sorted in exosomes remains unknown. Here, we successfully isolated "cup holder"-like exosomes from the saliva of ∼30,000 small brown planthoppers, which are vectors of rice stripe virus (RSV). RSV virions were packed in comparatively large exosomes. Four viral genomic RNAs at a certain ratio were identified in the saliva exosomes. The virions contained in the saliva exosomes were capable of replicating and causing disease in rice plants. Interference with each phase of the insect exosome system affected the transmission of RSV from the insect vectors to rice plants. Fragmented exportin 6 was coimmunoprecipitated with viral nucleocapsid protein in saliva and sorted to exosomes via interactions with the cargo sorting protein VPS37a. When the expression of exportin 6 was knocked down, the amounts of RSV secreted in saliva and rice plants were reduced by 60% and 74%, respectively. These results showed that exportin 6 acted as a vehicle for transporting RSV into exosomes to overcome the barrier of insect salivary glands for horizontal transmission. Exportin 6 would represent an ideal target that could be manipulated to control the outbreak of insect-borne viruses in the future.

Membrane association of importin α facilitates viral entry into salivary gland cells of vector insects.

The importin α family belongs to the conserved nuclear transport pathway in eukaryotes. However, the biological functions of importin α in the plasma membrane are still elusive. Here, we report that importin α, as a plasma membrane-associated protein, is exploited by the rice stripe virus (RSV) to enter vector insect cells, especially salivary gland cells. When the expression of three importin α genes was simultaneously knocked down, few virions entered the salivary glands of the small brown planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus Through hemocoel inoculation of virions, only importin α2 was found to efficiently regulate viral entry into insect salivary-gland cells. Importin α2 bound the nucleocapsid protein of RSV with a relatively high affinity through its importin ß-binding (IBB) domain, with a dissociation constant KD of 9.1 µM. Furthermore, importin α2 and its IBB domain showed a distinct distribution in the plasma membrane through binding to heparin in heparan sulfate proteoglycan. When the expression of importin α2 was knocked down in viruliferous planthoppers or in nonviruliferous planthoppers before they acquired virions, the viral transmission efficiency of the vector insects in terms of the viral amount and disease incidence in rice was dramatically decreased. These findings not only reveal the specific function of the importin α family in the plasma membrane utilized by viruses, but also provide a promising target gene in vector insects for manipulation to efficiently control outbreaks of rice stripe disease.

Shenxiang Suhe pill improves cardiac function through modulating gut microbiota and serum metabolites in rats after acute myocardial infarction.

CONTEXT: Shenxiang Suhe pill (SXSH), a traditional Chinese medicine, is clinically effective against coronary heart disease, but the mechanism of cardiac-protective function is unclear. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the cardiac-protective mechanism of SXSH via modulating gut microbiota and metabolite profiles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n = 8): Sham, Model, SXSH (Low, 0.063 g/kg; Medium, 0.126 g/kg; High, 0.252 g/kg), and Ato (atorvastatin, 20 mg/kg). Besides the Sham group, rats were modelled with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by ligating the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery (LAD). After 3, 7, 14 days' administration, ultrasound, H&E staining, serum enzymic assay, 16S rRNA sequencing were conducted to investigate the SXSH efficacy. Afterwards, five groups of rats: Sham, Model, Model-ABX (AMI with antibiotics-feeding), SXSH (0.126 g/kg), SXSH-ABX were administrated for 14 days to evaluate the gut microbiota-dependent SXSH efficacy, and serum untargeted metabolomics test was performed. RESULTS: 0.126 g/kg of SXSH intervention for 14 days increased ejection fraction (EF, 78.22%), fractional shortening (FS, 109.07%), and aortic valve flow velocities (AV, 21.62%), reduced lesion area, and decreased serum LDH (8.49%) and CK-MB (10.79%). Meanwhile, SXSH upregulated the abundance of Muribaculaceae (199.71%), Allobaculum (1744.09%), and downregulated Lactobacillus (65.51%). The cardiac-protective effect of SXSH was disrupted by antibiotics administration. SXSH altered serum metabolites levels, such as downregulation of 2-n-tetrahydrothiophenecarboxylic acid (THTC, 1.73%), and lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC, 4.61%). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The cardiac-protective effect and suggested mechanism of SXSH could provide a theoretical basis for expanding its application in clinic.

[Analysis of chemical compositions in different parts of Isodon japonicus using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technique combined with chemometrics].

In order to analyze the similarities and differences of chemical compositions between the roots and stems and leaves of Isodon japonicus(IJ), this study utilized UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technology to systematically characterize its chemical compositions, analyzed and identified the structure of its main compounds, and established a method for simultaneous determination of its content by refe-rence substance. A total of 34 major compounds in IJ, including 14 reference compounds, were identified or predicted online. Moreover, an UPLC-UV content determination method was developed for 11 compounds [danshensu, caffeic acid, vicenin-2,(1S,2S)-globoidnan B, rutin,(+)-rabdosiin,(-)-rabdosiin,(1S,2S)-rabdosiin, shimobashiric acid C, rosmarinic acid, and pedalitin]. The method exhibited excellent separation, stability, and repeatability, with a wide linear range(0.10-520.00 µg·mL~(-1)) and high linearity(R~2>0.999). The average recovery rates ranged from 94.72% to 104.2%. The principal component analysis(PCA) demonstrated a clear difference between the roots and stems and leaves of IJ, indicating good separation by cluster. Furthermore, the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) model was employed, and six main differentially identified compounds were identified: rosmarinic acid, shimobashiric acid C, epinodosin, pedalitin, rutin, and(1S,2S)-rabdosiin. In summary, this study established a strategy and method for distinguishing different parts of IJ, providing a valuable tool for quality control of IJ and a basis for the ratio-nal utilization and sustainable development of IJ.

d-p Hybridization-Induced "Trapping-Coupling-Conversion" Enables High-Efficiency Nb Single-Atom Catalysis for Li-S Batteries.

Single-atom catalysts have been paid more attention to improving sluggish reaction kinetics and anchoring polysulfide for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. It has been demonstrated that d-block single-atom elements in the fourth period can chemically interact with the local environment, leading to effective adsorption and catalytic activity toward lithium polysulfides. Enlightened by theoretical screening, for the first time, we design novel single-atom Nb catalysts toward improved sulfur immobilization and catalyzation. Calculations reveal that Nb-N4 active moiety possesses abundant unfilled antibonding orbitals, which promotes d-p hybridization and enhances anchoring capability toward lithium polysulfides via a "trapping-coupling-conversion" mechanism. The Nb-SAs@NC cell exhibits a high capacity retention of over 85% after 1000 cycles, a superior rate performance of 740 mA h g-1 at 7 C, and a competitive areal capacity of 5.2 mAh cm-2 (5.6 mg cm-2). Our work provides a new perspective to extend cathodes enabling high-energy-density Li-S batteries.

Flotillin 2 Facilitates the Infection of a Plant Virus in the Gut of Insect Vector.

Most plant viruses require insect vectors for transmission. One of the key steps for the transmission of persistent-circulative plant viruses is overcoming the gut barrier to enter epithelial cells. To date, little has been known about viral cofactors in gut epithelial cells of insect vectors. Here, we identified flotillin 2 as a plasma membrane protein that facilitates the infection of rice stripe virus (RSV) in its vector, the small brown planthopper. Flotillin 2 displayed a prominent plasma membrane location in midgut epithelial cells. The nucleocapsid protein of RSV and flotillin 2 colocalized on gut microvilli, and a nanomolar affinity existed between the two proteins. Knockout of flotillin 2 impeded the entry of virions into epithelial cells, resulting in a 57% reduction of RSV levels in planthoppers. The knockout of flotillin 2 decreased disease incidence in rice plants fed by viruliferous planthoppers from 40% to 11.7%. Furthermore, flotillin 2 mediated the infection of southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus in its vector, the white-backed planthopper. This work implies the potential of flotillin 2 as a target for controlling the transmission of rice stripe disease. IMPORTANCE Plant viral diseases are a major threat to world agriculture. The transmission of 80% of plant viruses requires vector insects, and 54% of vector-borne plant viruses are persistent-circulative viruses, which must overcome the barriers of gut cells with the help of proteins on the cell surface. Here, we identified flotillin 2 as a membrane protein that mediates the cell entry of rice stripe virus in its vector insect, small brown planthopper. Flotillin 2 displays a prominent cellular membrane location in midgut cells and can specifically bind to virions. The loss of flotillin 2 impedes the entry of virions into the midgut cells of vector insects and substantially suppresses viral transmission to rice. Therefore, flotillin 2 may be a promising target gene for manipulation in vector insects to control the transmission of rice stripe disease and perhaps that of other rice virus diseases in the future.

Miniaturized matrix solid-phase dispersion and solid-phase clear-up combined with capillary electrophoresis for efficient determination of trace bioactive components in complicated sample matrix: Take Wubi Shanyao Pill as an example.

Accurate quantitative analysis of trace analytes in a complicated matrix is a challenge in modern analytical chemistry. An appropriate analytical method is considered to be one of the most common gaps during the whole process. In this study, a green and efficient strategy based on miniaturized matrix solid-phase dispersion and solid-phase extraction combined with capillary electrophoresis was first proposed for extracting, purifying and determining target analytes from complicated matrix, using Wubi Shanyao Pill as an example. In detail, 60 mg of samples were dispersed on MCM-48 to obtain high yields of analytes, then the extract was purified with a solid-phase extraction cartridge. Finally, four analytes in the purified sample solution were determined by capillary electrophoresis. The parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of matrix solid-phase dispersion, purification efficiency of solid-phase extraction and separation effect of capillary electrophoresis were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, all analytes demonstrated satisfactory linearity (R2 >0.9983). What's more, the superior green potential of the developed method for the determination of complex samples was confirmed by the Analytical GREEnness Metric Approach. The established method was successfully applied in the accurate determination of target analytes in Wubi Shanyao Pill and thus provided reliable, sensitive, and efficient strategy support for its quality control.

DNA Helix Structure Inspired Flexible Lithium-Ion Batteries with High Spiral Deformability and Long-Lived Cyclic Stability.

With the development of flexible devices, it is necessary to design high-performance power supplies with superior flexibility, durability, safety, etc., to ensure that they can be deformed with the device while retaining their electrochemical functions. Herein, we have designed a flexible lithium-ion battery inspired by the DNA helix structure. The battery structure is mainly composed of multiple thick energy stacks for energy storage and some grooves for stress buffers, which realized the spiral deformation of batteries. According to the results, the batteries exhibit less than 3% capacity degradation even after more than 31000 times of in situ dynamic mechanical loadings. Moreover, the mechanism of the battery with spiral deformability is further revealed. It is anticipated that this bioinspired design strategy could create unique opportunities for the commercialization of flexible batteries and fill the current gap in realizing battery-specific deformations to meet various requirements for future complex device designs.

Kirigami-Inspired Flexible Lithium-Ion Batteries via Transformation of Concentrated Stress into Segmented Strain.

Emerging directions in the growing wearable electronics market have spurred the development of flexible energy storage systems that require deformability while maintaining electrochemical performance. However, the traditional fabrication approaches of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are challenging to withstand long-cycle bending alternating loads due to the stress concentration caused by the nonuniformity of the actual deformation. Herein, inspired by kirigami, a segmented deformation design of full-cell scale thin-type flexible lithium-ion batteries (FLIBs) with large-scale manufacturing characteristics via the current collector's mechanical blanking process is reported. This strategy allows the battery's elliptical deformation of the actual state to be transformed into the circular strain of the ideal configuration, thereby dispersing the stress concentration on the top of the battery. According to the results, the designed battery maintains >95% capacity after >20 000 harsh in situ dynamic tests. In addition, finite element analysis further reveals the mechanism that the segmented deformation strategy bears the mechanical stress. This work can enlighten the rational design and customization of electrode patterns for high compatibility with various devices, thereby providing potential opportunities for the application of FLIBs.

Single-Atom Tailored Hierarchical Transition Metal Oxide Nanocages for Efficient Lithium Storage.

Mitigating the mechanical degradation and enhancing the ionic/electronic conductivity are critical but challengeable issues toward improving electrochemical performance of conversion-type anodes in rechargeable batteries. Herein, these challenges are addressed by constructing interconnected 3D hierarchically porous structure synergistic with Nb single atom modulation within a Co3 O4 nanocage (3DH-Co3 O4 @Nb). Such a hierarchical-structure nanocage affords several fantastic merits such as rapid ion migration and enough inner space for alleviating volume variation induced by intragrain stress and optimized stability of the solid-electrolyte interface. Particularly, experimental studies in combination with theoretical analysis verify that the introduction of Nb into the Co3 O4 lattice not only improves the electron conductivity, but also accelerates the surface/near-surface reactions defined as pesudocapacitance behavior. Dynamic behavior reveals that the ensemble design shows huge potential for fast and large lithium storage. These features endow 3DH-Co3 O4 @Nb with remarkable battery performance, delivering ≈740 mA h g-1 after ultra-long cycling of 1000 times under a high current density of 5 A g-1 . Importantly, the assembled 3DH-Co3 O4 @Nb//LiCoO2 pouch cell also presents a long-lived cycle performance with only ≈0.059% capacity decay per cycle, inspiring the design of electrode materials from both the nanostructure and atomic level toward practical applications.

Preparation of a Z-Type g-C3N4/(A-R)TiO2 Composite Catalyst and Its Mechanism for Degradation of Gaseous and Liquid Ammonia.

In this study, an (A-R)TiO2 catalyst (ART) was prepared via the sol-gel method, and g-C3N4 (CN) was used as an amendment to prepare the g-C3N4/(A-R)TiO2 composite catalyst (ARTCN). X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption curves (BET), UV-Vis diffuse absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS), and fluorescence spectroscopy (PL) were used to evaluate the structure, morphology, specific surface area, optical properties, and photocarrier separation ability of the catalysts. The results showed that when the modifier CN content was 0.5 g, the dispersion of the ARTCN composite catalyst was better, with stronger light absorption performance, and the forbidden band width was smaller. Moreover, the photogenerated electrons in the conduction band of ART transferred to the valence band of CN and combined with the holes in the valence band of CN, forming Z-type heterostructures that significantly improved the efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole migration and separation, thus increasing the reaction rate. Gaseous and liquid ammonia were used as the target pollutants to investigate the activity of the prepared catalysts, and the results showed that the air wetness and initial concentration of ammonia had a great influence on the degradation of gaseous ammonia. When the initial concentration of ammonia was 50 mg/m3 and the flow rate of the moist air was 0.9 mL/min, the degradation rate of gaseous ammonia by ARTCN-0.5 reached 88.86%, and it had good repeatability. When the catalytic dose was 50 mg and the initial concentration of NH4+ was 100 mg/L, the degradation rate of liquid ammonia by ARTCN-0.5 was 71.60% after 3 h of reaction, and small amounts of NO3- and NO2- were generated. The superoxide anion radical (·O2-) and hydroxyl radical (·OH) were the main active components in the photocatalytic reaction process.

Removal of microorganisms and antibiotic resistance genes from swine wastewater: a comparison between polyaluminum chloride (PAC), polyaluminum sulfate (LST), and aluminum hydroxide iron (LT).

The presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) in swine wastewater may present a threat to the environment and public health. Conventional swine wastewater treatment processes generally fail to effectively reduce the content of ARGs. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a highly efficient and low-cost treatment method to solve this environmental problem. In doing so, we evaluated the application of three common coagulants in the treatment of swine wastewater. Using metagenomics, we evaluated the removal efficiency of ARG loads, as well as the effect of coagulation on the structure and diversity of swine wastewater, and on the bacterial community. The results showed that the three coagulants could effectively reduce the physicochemical pollution indexes of swine wastewater (e.g., TP, NTU, COD). After treatment, the loads of a variety of antibiotics in the swine wastewater were significantly reduced, with the exception of NFX and SMD, which were all close to 100%. At the same time, in evaluating the total number of microbial colonies and the total number of fecal Escherichia coli bacteria under the three conditions, Polyaluminum Chloride (PAC) ranked first among the three coagulants with 89.18%, 93.07%, 89.92%, 98.76%, 99.60%, and 98.68%. Metagenomic analysis revealed that the abundance of cfcC, tetX, mphE, msrE, tet36, and other ARGs in the water sample after the LST treatment was significantly lower than that of the original swine wastewater sample. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using coagulants to treat swine wastewater, which is of great significance for improving water quality and reducing the potential impacts of ARGs.

Inhibition of p53/miR-34a/SIRT1 axis ameliorates podocyte injury in diabetic nephropathy.

Podocyte injury is associated with albuminuria and the progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). MiR-34a, a p53-regulated miRNA, directly targets SIRT1 and contributed to DN progression. MiR-34a represses SIRT1 to activate p53 and establish a positive feedback loop. However, whether p53/miR-34a/SIRT1 signaling is activated in podocytes and contributes to DN pathogenesis remains elusive. In this study, we observed that serum miR-34a level was positively correlated with podocyte injury in DN patients. The expression of acetylated p53 and miR-34a was upregulated, SIRT1was downregulated in glomeruli from patients with DN and STZ induced diabetic mice, as well as in human podocytes treated with advanced glycation end (AGE). MiR-34a antagonism in vitro and vivo in STZ induced diabetic mice developed alleviated glomerulus injury as reflected by attenuated albuminuria, reduced podocyte loss and restored autophagic flux. In human podocyte, inhibition of AGE formation by pyridoxamine prevented miR-34a dependent repression of SIRT1, p53 acetylation and activate podocyte autophagy in a dose-dependent manner. MiR-34a overexpression increases acetylation of p53 by translational repression of SIRT1. SIRT1 overexpression also impacts AGE induced apoptosis through deacetylating p53, whereas silencing of SIRT1 by EX527 attenuated the cytoprotective functions of miR-34a knockdown. Moreover, blockade of p53 acetylation significantly rescued miR-34a-induced apoptosis through SIRT1 restoration. Collectively, we demonstrate that by activation of p53, AGE induced the transcription of miR-34a, miR-34a in turn repressed SIRT1 to activate p53, resulting in a positive-feedback loop and contributing to podocyte injury. Targeting modulation of p53/miR-34a/SIRT1 feedback by miR-34a knockdown or overexpression of SIRT1 could rescue podocyte injury during DN.

Intercontinental transmission and local demographic expansion of SARS-CoV-2.

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is greatly threatening the public health in the world. We reconstructed global transmissions and potential demographic expansions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 based on genomic information. We found that intercontinental transmissions were rare in January and early February but drastically increased since late February. After world-wide implements of travel restrictions, the transmission frequencies decreased to a low level in April. We identified a total of 88 potential demographic expansions over the world based on the star-radiative networks and 75 of them were found in Europe and North America. The expansion numbers peaked in March and quickly dropped since April. These findings are highly concordant with epidemic reports and modelling results and highlight the significance of quarantine validity on the global spread of COVID-19. Our analyses indicate that the travel restrictions and social distancing measures are effective in containing the spread of COVID-19.

Fault Diagnosis of Rotating Machinery Based on Improved Self-Supervised Learning Method and Very Few Labeled Samples.

Convolution neural network (CNN)-based fault diagnosis methods have been widely adopted to obtain representative features and used to classify fault modes due to their prominent feature extraction capability. However, a large number of labeled samples are required to support the algorithm of CNNs, and, in the case of a limited amount of labeled samples, this may lead to overfitting. In this article, a novel ResNet-based method is developed to achieve fault diagnoses for machines with very few samples. To be specific, data transformation combinations (DTCs) are designed based on mutual information. It is worth noting that the selected DTC, which can complete the training process of the 1-D ResNet quickly without increasing the amount of training data, can be randomly used for any batch training data. Meanwhile, a self-supervised learning method called 1-D SimCLR is adopted to obtain an effective feature encoder, which can be optimized with very few unlabeled samples. Then, a fault diagnosis model named DTC-SimCLR is constructed by combining the selected data transformation combination, the obtained feature encoder and a fully-connected layer-based classifier. In DTC-SimCLR, the parameters of the feature encoder are fixed, and the classifier is trained with very few labeled samples. Two machine fault datasets from a cutting tooth and a bearing are conducted to evaluate the performance of DTC-SimCLR. Testing results show that DTC-SimCLR has superior performance and diagnostic accuracy with very few samples.

Overexpression of long non-coding RNA RP11-363E7.4 inhibits proliferation and invasion in gastric cancer.

LncRNA RP11-363E7.4 has been shown to be downregulated in gastric cancer (GC), while the effect of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 on GC and its potential molecular mechanisms is unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the functional role and underlying molecular mechanisms of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 involved in GC progress.To address the question, quantitative real-time PCR assay was performed to confirm lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 expression levels in GC tissues and cell lines. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were estimated using Cell Counting Kit-8, colony formation, scratch wound healing and Transwell assays. Potential molecular mechanisms were evaluated using western blot assay. The results showed that lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 was significantly downregulated in GC cell lines and 82 paired tissues. The correlation between expression and clinicopathological features indicated that low expression of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 was associated with T stage (P = .010). Functional experiments showed that overexpression of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 prevented proliferation, migration, and invasion and induced apoptosis of GC cells. Western blot assay revealed that lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 functioned via the p53, Bax/Bcl-2, ß-catenin pathway. In summary, this study revealed that lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 functioned as a tumour suppressor by inhibiting proliferation, migration, and invasion and inducing apoptosis of GC cells. Significance of the study:LncRNA RP11-363E7.4 has been shown to be downregulated in GC, while the effect of lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 on GC and its potential molecular mechanism is unclear. We revealed that lncRNA RP11-363E7.4 functioned as a tumour suppressor by inhibiting proliferation, migration, and invasion and inducing apoptosis of GC cells. LncRNA RP11-363E7.4 might become an attractive diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of GC and a promising target for GC treatment.

Simultaneous determination of seven compounds in Chinese patent medicines Chenxiangqu by matrix solid-phase dispersion coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

A simple, efficient, and sensitive strategy by coupling matrix solid-phase dispersion with ultra high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was proposed to extract and determine three types of components (including seven analytes) in Chinese patent medicines Chenxiangqu. The highly ordered mesoporous material Fe-SBA-15 synthesized under weakly acidic conditions was selected as a dispersant in matrix solid phase dispersion extraction for the first time. Several parameters including the mass ratio of sample to dispersant, the type of dispersant, the grinding time, and the elution condition were investigated in this work. Under the optimized conditions, 20 compounds were identified by quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and seven analytes were quantified. The results demonstrated that the developed method has good linearity (r > 0.9995), and the limits of detection of the analytes were as low as 0.55 ng/mL. The recoveries of all seven analytes ranged from 97.6 to 104.6% (relative standard deviation < 3.4%). Finally, the improved method was successfully applied to determination of five batches of Chenxiangqu samples, which provided a robust method in quality control of Chinese patent medicines Chenxiangqu. The developed strategy also shows its great potential in analysis of complex matrix samples.

[Effect of Wubi Shanyao pills on sexual function in mice with kidney-yang-deficiency induced by hydrocortisone].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Chinese medicine Wubi Shanyao pills on sexual function of kidney-yang-deficiency mice induced by hydrocortisone. METHODS: Male Kunming mice were injected with hydrocortisone for 10 days to prepare the kidney-yang-deficiency model, and administrated with Wubi Shanyao pills (0.91, 1.82, 2.73 g/kg) for 9 weeks. The general behaviors of mice (autonomous activity, grasping power) were observed; sexual behaviors (capture, straddle, ejaculation frequency and incubation period) of mice were detected by mating experiment. The serum levels of cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (E2) and testosterone were measured by ELIZA. The organ indexes of kidney, epididymis, testis and seminal vesicle were calculated. The histomorphology of testis was observed by HE staining. The apoptosis of testis cells was detected by TUNEL; and the expression level of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in testis was detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Wubi Shanyao pills increased the number of independent activities, grasping power, capture frequency of model mice and shortened the capture latency (all P<0.01); and also increased the serum levels of testosterone, cortisol, ACTH, decreased the serum levels of FSH (P<0.05 or P<0.01); increased testis index (P<0.05), improved the pathological changes of testis, inhibited cell apoptosis, and promoted PCNA protein expression in testis. CONCLUSIONS: Wubi Shanyao pills can improve the sexual function of mice with kidney-yang-deficiency induced by hydrocortisone, which may be related to regulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), promoting the proliferation of testicular cells, and inhibiting cell apoptosis.

[Effect of Wubi Shanyao Pills on sexual dysfunction in rats with adenine-induced kidney-Yang deficiency].

The aim of this paper was to study the effect of Wubi Shanyao Pills on sexual dysfunction in rats with kidney-Yang deficiency and to investigate its possible mechanism. Adenine(100 mg·kg~(-1)) was administered to male SD rats for 8 weeks to establish kidney-Yang deficiency model, and at the same time, Wubi Shanyao Pills(2, 1, 0.5 g·kg~(-1)) were administered to rats for 8 weeks. The syndrome manifestation of kidney-Yang deficiency was observed in rats and the scores of symptoms were evaluated. Sexual behavior indexes(incubation period and times of capture, straddle and ejaculation) were measured by mating experiment. The levels of serum testosterone(T), estradiol(E_2), follicle stimulating hormone(FSH), luteinizing hormone(LH), and gonadotropin releasing hormone(GnRH) were measured by radioimmunoassay. The wet weights of testis and seminal vesicle were measured. The content of fructose in seminal plasma was detected by UV spectrophotometry. The pathological changes of testis and epididymis were observed by HE staining. The expression levels of transforming growth factor(TGF-ß1) and cytochrome P450 aromatase(CYP19) in testis were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The results showed that Wubi Shanyao Pills could significantly reduce the score of kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome, improve the symptoms of kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome, shorten capture, straddle and ejaculation latency, increase capture and straddle times, increase serum T, LH, FSH, E_2 and GnRH levels, increase the wet weight of testis and seminal vesicle and fructose content in seminal plasma, improve the pathological structure of testis and epididymis, and inhibit the expression of TGF-ß1 and increase CYP19 in testis of the model rats. Therefore, Wubi Shanyao Pills can significantly improve sexual dysfunction in rats with kidney-Yang deficiency, and its mechanism may be related to regulating the low function of hypothalamus pituitary gonad(HPG) axis and improving the disorder of sex hormone secretion. In addition, it may be also related to inhibiting the expression of testicular TGF-ß1, increasing the expression of CYP19 protein, and then regulating the amount of T converted to E_2.

Pharmacological effects of berberine on mood disorders.

Berberine, a natural isoquinoline alkaloid, is used in herbal medicine and has recently been shown to have efficacy in the treatment of mood disorders. Furthermore, berberine modulates neurotransmitters and their receptor systems within the central nervous system. However, the detailed mechanisms of its action remain unclear. This review summarizes the pharmacological effects of berberine on mood disorders. Therefore, it may be helpful for potential application in the treatment of mood disorders.