Exploring the potential mechanism of WuFuYin against hypertrophic scar using network pharmacology and molecular docking.

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic scar (HTS) is dermal fibroproliferative disorder, which may cause physiological and psychological problems. Currently, the potential mechanism of WuFuYin (WFY) in the treatment of HTS remained to be elucidated. AIM: To explore the potential mechanism of WFY in treating HTS. METHODS: Active components and corresponding targets were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform. HTS-related genes were obtained from the GeneCards, DisGeNET, and National Center for Biotechnology Information. The function of targets was analyzed by performing Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) enrichment analysis. A protein + IBM-protein interaction (PPI) network was developed using STRING database and Cytoscape. To confirm the high affinity between compounds and targets, molecular docking was performed. RESULTS: A total of 65 core genes, which were both related to compounds and HTS, were selected from multiple databases. PPI analysis showed that CKD2, ABCC1, MMP2, MMP9, glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3B), PRARG, MMP3, and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit gamma (PIK3CG) were the hub targets and MOL004941, MOL004935, MOL004866, MOL004993, and MOL004989 were the key compounds of WFY against HTS. The results of KEGG enrichment analysis demonstrated that the function of most genes were enriched in the PI3K-Akt pathway. Moreover, by performing molecular docking, we confirmed that GSK3B and 8-prenylated eriodictyol shared the highest affinity. CONCLUSION: The current findings showed that the GSK3B and cyclin dependent kinase 2 were the potential targets and MOL004941, MOL004989, and MOL004993 were the main compounds of WFY in HTS treatment.

Gene expression related to trehalose metabolism and its effect on Volvariella volvacea under low temperature stress.

The mechanism of the low temperature autolysis of Volvariella volvacea (V. volvacea) has not been thoroughly explained, and trehalose is one of the most important osmolytes in the resistance of fungi to adversity. The present study used the low temperature sensitive V. volvacea strain V23 and the low temperature tolerant strain VH3 as test materials. Intracellular trehalose contents under low temperature stress in the two strains were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis was carried out to study the transcriptional expression differences of enzymes related to trehalose metabolism. And trehalose solution was exogenously added during the cultivation of fruit bodies of V. volvacea. The effect of exogenous trehalose solution on the anti-hypothermia of fruit bodies was studied by evaluating the sensory changes under low temperature storage after harvest. The results showed that the intracellular trehalose content in VH3 was higher than that in V23 under low temperature stress. In the first 2 h of low temperature stress, the expression of trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (TPP) gene involved in trehalose synthesis decreased, while the expression of trehalose phosphorylase (TP) gene increased. The expression of TPP gene was almost unchanged in VH3, but it decreased dramatically in V23 at 4 h of low temperature stress. The expression levels of TPP and TP genes in VH3 was significantly higher than that in V23 from 6 h to 8 h of low temperature stress. TP gene may be a crucial gene of trehalose metabolism, which was more inclined to synthesize trehalose during low temperature stress. In addition, the sensory traits of V. volvacea fruit bodies stored at 4 °C were significantly improved by the application of exogenous trehalose compared with the controls. Thus, trehalose could help V. volvacea in response to low temperature stress and high content of it may be one of the reasons that why VH3 strain was more tolerant to the low temperature stress than V23 strain.

[Combined detection of Epstein-Barr virus antibodies for serodiagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of combined detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) VCA/IgA, EA/IgA, Rta/IgG and EBNA1/IgA in serodiagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: Serum samples obtained from 211 untreated patients with NPC and 203 non-NPC ENT patients were examined for the presence of VCA/IgA and EA/IgA by immunoenzymatic assay and for Rta/IgG and EBNA1/IgA by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated to confirm the cutoff values of different antibodies. The evaluation indexes of combined detection of multiple antibodies used for serodiagnosis of NPC were calculated with compounded positive judgment method. RESULTS: Compared to a single antibody, combined detection achieved a higher sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity of VCA/IgA + Rta/IgG + EBNA1/IgA (98.1%) was higher than the other 3 combinations with a specificity, accuracy, Youden index and positive predictive value (PPV) of 88.7%, 93.5%, 0.868 and 90.0%, respectively. The combination of EA/IgA+Rta/IgG+EBNA1/IgA had the highest specificity (95.1%), accuracy (94.9%), Youden index (0.899) and PPV (95.2%), with a sensitivity of 94.8%, suggesting its higher accuracy in the serodiagnosis of NPC. Combined detection of the 4 antibodies had the highest sensitivity (98.6%) with a specificity, accuracy, Youden index and PPV of 88.2%, 93.5%, 0.868 and 89.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Combined detection of Rta/IgG against immediate early antigens, EA/IgA against early antigens, VCA/IgA against late antigens, and EBNA1/IgA against latent antigens provides better understanding of the expression profiles of EBV lytic and latent antigens with excellent complementarity, and may serve as an optimal combination for NPC serodiagnosis.