Si-Ni-San inhibits hepatic Fasn expression and lipid accumulation in MAFLD mice through AMPK/p300/SREBP-1c axis.

BACKGROUND: Soothing the liver and regulating qi is one of the core ideas of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of fatty liver. Si-Ni-San (SNS) is a well-known herbal formula in TCM for liver soothing and qi regulation in fatty liver treatment. However, its efficacy lacks modern scientific evidence. PURPOSE: This study was aimed to investigate the impact of SNS on metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in mice and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms, particularly its effects on lipid metabolism in hepatocytes. METHODS: The therapeutic effect of SNS was evaluated using in vivo and in vitro models of high-fat/high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet-induced mice and palmitic acid (PA)-induced hepatocytes, respectively. Molecular biological techniques such as RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP), and western blotting were employed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of SNS in regulating lipid metabolism in hepatocytes. RESULTS: Our findings revealed that SNS effectively reduced lipid accumulation in the livers of HFHC diet-induced mice and PA-induced hepatocytes. RNA-seq analysis demonstrated that SNS significantly down-regulated the expression of fatty acid synthase (Fasn) in the livers of HFHC-fed mice. Mechanistically, SNS inhibited Fasn expression and lipid accumulation by activating adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Activation of AMPK suppressed the activity of the transcriptional coactivator p300 and modulated the protein stability of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c). Importantly, p300 was required for the inhibition of Fasn expression and lipid accumulation by SNS. Furthermore, SNS activated AMPK by decreasing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in hepatocytes. CONCLUSION: This study provided novel evidence on the regulatory mechanisms underlying the effects of SNS on Fasn expression. Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that SNS exerts suppressive effects on Fasn expression through modulation of the AMPK/p300/SREBP-1c axis. Consequently, this regulatory pathway mitigates excessive lipid accumulation and ameliorates MAFLD in mice.

[Air pollutants study by differential optical absorption spectroscopy with transmit-receive fibers].

The differential optical absorption spectroscopy system is presented to monitor air pollutants, such as SO2, NO2, etc. The system employs a reflective telescope to collimate light source and focus absorbed light. A combined transmitting and receiving fiber bundle is set to the focus of a concave mirror. A Xenon lamp works as the light source. The light is coupled into the transmitting fiber, and then collimated by the reflective telescope system. After absorbed by the pollutants, the light is reflected by a pyramid mirror far away the telescope. Then the absorbed light is incident on the concave mirror the second time, and focused on the focal plane again. The receiving fiber induces the light which carries the information of the measured gas into a spectrometer. We can get the concentration of the pollutants by DOAS algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be adopted to measure some pollutants in air quality monitoring.

Identification of Key mRNAs and lncRNAs in Neonatal Sepsis by Gene Expression Profiling.

Neonatal sepsis is one of the most prevalent causes of death of the neonates. However, the mechanisms underlying neonatal sepsis remained unclear. The present study identified a total of 1128 upregulated mRNAs and 1008 downregulated mRNAs, 28 upregulated lncRNAs, and 61 downregulated lncRNAs in neonatal sepsis. Then, we constructed PPI networks to identify key regulators in neonatal sepsis, including ITGAM, ITGAX, TLR4, ITGB2, SRC, ELANE, RPLP0, RPS28, RPL26, and RPL27. lncRNA coexpression analysis showed HS.294603, LOC391811, C12ORF47, LOC729021, HS.546375, HNRPA1L-2, LOC158345, and HS.495041 played important roles in the progression of neonatal sepsis. Bioinformatics analysis showed DEGs were involved in the regulation cellular extravasation, acute inflammatory response, macrophage activation of NF-kappa B signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and ribosome, RNA transport, and spliceosome. lncRNAs were involved in regulating ribosome, T cell receptor signaling pathway, RNA degradation, insulin resistance, ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes, and hematopoietic cell lineage. We thought this study provided useful information for identifying novel therapeutic markers for neonatal sepsis.

[Expression of drebrin in the distal cerebrospinal fluid contacting neurons of rats with chronic constriction injury of sciatic nerve].

To observe the expression of drebrin in the distal cerebrospinal fluid contacting neurons (dCSF-CNs) of rats with chronic constriction injury (CCI) of sciatic nerve by immunofluorescence technique, male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, sham surgery group and CCI group. The behavior of rats was scored. After choleratoxin subunit B-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (CB-HRP, 3 muL) was injected into the lateral cerebroventricle to trace dCSF-CNs, the expression of drebrin was observed in the dCSF-CNs through immunofluorescence double staining and laser scanning confocal microscopy technique. The results showed that only the pain threshold of CCI group was decreased. The dCSF-CNs were clearly displayed in three groups. No drebrin expression was observed in the control and sham groups. In CCI group, drebrin was markedly expressed in intracytoplasm. It is suggested that the technique displaying dCSF-CNs with immunofluorescence is successful and the dCSF-CNs are possibly involved in the transmission of nociceptive information under the neuropathic pain state.