Study on the Mechanism of Qing-Fei-Shen-Shi Decoction on Asthma Based on Integrated 16S rRNA Sequencing and Untargeted Metabolomics.

Qing-Fei-Shen-Shi decoction (QFSS) consists of Prunus armeniaca L., Gypsum Fibrosum, Smilax glabra Roxb., Coix lacryma-jobi L., Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn., Plantago asiatica L., Pyrrosia lingua (Thunb.) Farw., Houttuynia cordata Thunb., Fritillaria thunbergii Miq., Cicadae Periostracum, and Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle. QFSS shows significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of asthma. However, the specific mechanism of QFSS on asthma remains unclear. Recently, multiomics techniques are widely used in elucidating the mechanisms of Chinese herbal formulas. The use of multiomics techniques can better illuminate the multicomponents and multitargets of Chinese herbal formulas. In this study, ovalbumin (OVA) was first employed to induce an asthmatic mouse model, followed by a gavage of QFSS. First, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of QFSS on the asthmatic model mice. Second, we investigated the mechanism of QFSS in treating asthma by using an integrated 16S rRNA sequencing technology and untargeted metabolomics. Our results showed that QFSS treatment ameliorated asthma in mice. In addition, QFSS treatment affected the relative abundances of gut microbiota including Lactobacillus, Dubosiella, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, and Helicobacter. Untargeted metabolomics results showed that QFSS treatment regulated the metabolites such as 2-(acetylamino)-3-[4-(acetylamino) phenyl] acrylic acid, D-raffinose, LysoPC (15 : 1), methyl 10-undecenoate, PE (18 : 1/20 : 4), and D-glucose6-phosphate. These metabolites are associated with arginine and proline metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, pyrimidine metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Correlation analysis indicated that arginine and proline metabolism and pyrimidine metabolism metabolic pathways were identified as the common metabolic pathways of 16s rRNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics. In conclusion, our results showed that QFSS could ameliorate asthma in mice. The possible mechanism of QFSS on asthma may be associated with regulating the gut microbiota and arginine and proline metabolism and pyrimidine metabolism. Our study may be useful for researchers to study the integrative mechanisms of Chinese herbal formulas based on modulating gut microbiota and metabolism.

The Effectively Simultaneous Production of Cello-oligosaccharide and Glucose Mono-decanoate from Lignocellulose by Enzymatic Esterification.

Cello-oligosaccharide has drawn an increasing attention as the nutritional ingredients of dietary supplements, whose quality is affected by the concentration of monosaccharide. In the present study, an effective process was developed for the simultaneous production of cello-oligosaccharide and glucose mono-decanoate from lignocellulose by enzymatic esterification. During the process, the excessive glucose in cello-oligosaccharide was converted into glucose mono-decanoate, which is a well-known biodegradable nonionic surfactant. The filter paper was initially used as the model to investigate the feasibility of the process, in which the purity of resultant cello-oligosaccharide was increased from 33.3% to 74.3%, simultaneously producing glucose mono-decanoate with a purity of 92.3%. Further verification of 3 kinds of lignocelluloses (switchgrass, cornstalk, and reed) also indicated a good performance of the process. The present process provided an effective strategy to increase the purity of resultant cello-oligosaccharide with the simultaneous production of high value-added products of sugar monoester. Graphical Abstract Simultaneous production of cello-oligosaccharide and glucose mono-decanoate from lignocellulose.

High expression of keratin 6C is associated with poor prognosis and accelerates cancer proliferation and migration by modulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a more frequent subtype of lung cancer and most cases are discovered in the late stages. The proliferation and metastasis of LUAD are pivotal for disease progression. Despite unremitting deeper understanding of LUAD biology, the mechanisms involved in the proliferation and metastasis of LUAD remain unclear. The objective of our article was to inquiry the expression and the function of keratin 6C (KRT6C) in LUAD cells. METHODS: First, the expression level and prognostic value of KRT6C in LUAD tissues were analyzed on the basis of the data acquired from TCGA database. Through qRT-PCR, the expression level of KRT6C on LUAD cell lines (A549, H1299, PC-9) and human normal lung cell line MRC-5 was tested. After that, CCK8 and colony formation assays was utilized to detect cell proliferation. In addition, to explore the influence of KRT6C on LUAD migration and invasion ability, scratch wound healing and transwell assays were utilized. Through western blotting, the protein expression levels of KRT6C, PCNA, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Snail and Vimentin were detected. RESULTS: The outcomes revealed that KRT6C was highly expressed in LUAD tissues and cell lines. Besides, elevated level of KRT6C was related to worse prognosis in LUAD patients. Ablation of KRT6C restrained proliferation, migration and invasion of A549 cells. KRT6C deficiency augmented the expression of E-cadherin as well as reduced the expression of N-cadherin, Snail and Vimentin. CONCLUSION: Above all, these consequences indicated that depletion of KRT6C suppressed A549 cell proliferation, migration and invasion, which might be achieved by regulating EMT. In general, KRT6C is identified as a potential therapeutic target for LUAD.