HuoXueTongFu formula induces M2c macrophages via the MerTK/PI3K/AKT pathway to eliminate NETs in intraperitoneal adhesion in mice.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: HuoXueTongFu Formula (HXTF) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula that has been used as a supplement and alternative therapy for intraperitoneal adhesion (IA). However, its specific mechanism of action has not been fully understood. AIM OF THE STUDY: In surgery, IA presents an inevitable challenge, significantly impacting patients' physical and mental well-being and increasing the financial burden. Our previous research has confirmed the preventive effects of HXTF on IA formation. However, the precise mechanism of its action still needs to be understood. METHODS: In this study, the IA model was successfully established by using the Ischemic buttons and treated with HXTF for one week with or without Mer Tyrosine Kinase (MerTK) inhibitor. We evaluated the pharmacodynamic effect of HXTF on IA mice. The MerTK/phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway-associated proteins were detected by Western blotting. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) were detected by immunofluorescence. Macrophage phenotype was assessed by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Inflammatory cytokines were detected by Real Time Quantitative PCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: HXTF reduced inflammatory response and alleviated IA. HXTF significantly enhanced MerTK expression, increased the number of M2c macrophages, and decreased the formation of NETs. In addition, the MerTK/PI3K/AKT pathway was significantly activated by HXTF. However, after using MerTK inhibitors, the role of HXTF in inducing M2c macrophage through activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway was suppressed and there was no inhibitory effect on NETs formation and inflammatory responses, resulting in diminished inhibition of adhesion. CONCLUSION: HXTF may improve IA by activating the MerTK/PI3K/AKT pathway to induce M2c polarization, which removes excess NETs and attenuates the inflammatory response.

Blocking coprophagy increases the levels of inflammation and depression in healthy mice as well as mice receiving fecal microbiota transplantation from disease model mice donors.

Rodents have been extensively used as animal models in microbiome studies. However, all rodents have a habitual nature called coprophagy, a phenomenon that they self-reinoculate feces into their gastrointestinal tract. Recent studies have shown that blocking coprophagy can alter rodents' diversity of gut microbiota, metabolism, neurochemistry, and cognitive behavior. However, whether rodents' coprophagy behavior affects the levels of inflammation and depression is unclear. In order to address this problem, we first blocked coprophagy in healthy mice. It displayed an increase in the levels of depression, verified by depressive-like behaviors and mood-related indicators, and inflammation, verified by the increased levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, in coprophagy-blocked mice. Furthermore, we transplanted fecal microbiota from chronic restraint stress (CRS) depression model mice and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inflammation model mice to healthy recipient mice, respectively. It showed that the disease-like phenotypes in the coprophagy-blocked group were worse than those in the coprophagy-unblocked group, including severer depressive symptoms and higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α and IFN-γ) in serum, prefrontal cortex (PFC), and hippocampus (HIP). These findings showed that blocking coprophagy in mice not only increased the levels of inflammation and depression in healthy mice but also aggravated inflammation and depression induced by fecal microbiota from disease donors. The discovery may provide a vital reference for future research involving FMT in rodents.

Antibacterial activity and mechanism of silver nanoparticles on Escherichia coli.

The antibacterial activity and acting mechanism of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) on Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 were investigated in this study by analyzing the growth, permeability, and morphology of the bacterial cells following treatment with SNPs. The experimental results indicated 10 microg/ml SNPs could completely inhibit the growth of 10(7) cfu/ml E. coli cells in liquid Mueller-Hinton medium. Meanwhile, SNPs resulted in the leakage of reducing sugars and proteins and induced the respiratory chain dehydrogenases into inactive state, suggesting that SNPs were able to destroy the permeability of the bacterial membranes. When the cells of E. coli were exposed to 50 microg/ml SNPs, many pits and gaps were observed in bacterial cells by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the cell membrane was fragmentary, indicating the bacterial cells were damaged severely. After being exposed to 10 microg/ml SNPs, the membrane vesicles were dissolved and dispersed, and their membrane components became disorganized and scattered from their original ordered and close arrangement based on TEM observation. In conclusion, the combined results suggested that SNPs may damage the structure of bacterial cell membrane and depress the activity of some membranous enzymes, which cause E. coli bacteria to die eventually.

[Plastic bronchitis associated with severe influenza A (H1N1) in children: a case report and review of the literature].

OBJECTIVE: to improve understanding of the pathological and clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of plastic bronchitis associate with influenza A (H1N1). METHODS: one case of plastic bronchitis associated with influenza A (H1N1) diagnosed and treated in our hospital in January 2010 was reported and 19 cases of plastic bronchitis reported in the literature were reviewed. RESULTS: we describe a 5-year-old Chinese Japanese boy presenting with cough for 2 days, gasping and fever for 1 day was admitted. Left lung atelectasis and pneumothorax were found on chest X-ray examination. Pathologically, plastic bronchitis was diagnosed after the endogenous foreign body was extracted by bronchoscopy and classified as type 1 cast. In addition, influenza A (H1N1) was confirmed by the swabs which showed positive for H1N1 nucleic acid. The condition was controlled and the patient was cured and discharged after 16-days' treatment with antiviral therapy, low-dose corticosteroids, and antibiotics. CONCLUSION: plastic bronchitis associated with influenza A (H1N1) is a rare life-threatening disorder. The diagnosis could be made based on pathological findings of the bronchial casts as well as the positive H1N1 nucleic acid detection. Bronchoscopic extraction of casts in plastic bronchitis is not only useful for early diagnosis but an effective therapeutic modality for the disease. Influenza A (H1N1) may be a cause of plastic bronchitis.