Food Allergy-Induced Autism-Like Behavior is Associated with Gut Microbiota and Brain mTOR Signaling.

Purpose: Food allergy-induced autism-like behavior has been increasing for decades, but the causal drivers of this association are unclear. We sought to test the association of gut microbiota and mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling with cow's milk allergy (CMA)-induced autism pathogenesis. Methods: Mice were sensitized intragastrically with whey protein containing cholera toxin before sensitization on intraperitoneal injection with whey-containing alum, followed by intragastric allergen challenge to induce experimental CMA. The food allergic immune responses, ASD-like behavioral tests and changes in the mTOR signaling pathway and gut microbial community structure were performed. Results: CMA mice showed autism-like behavioral abnormalities and several distinct biomarkers. These include increased levels of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in the hypothalamus; c-Fos were predominantly located in the region of the lateral orbital prefrontal cortex (PFC), but not ventral; decreased serotonin 1A in amygdala and PFC. CMA mice exhibited a specific microbiota signature characterized by coordinate changes in the abundance of taxa of several bacterial genera, including the Lactobacillus. Interestingly, the changes were accompanied by promoted mTOR signaling in the brain of CMA mice. Conclusion: We found that disease-associated microbiota and mTOR activation may thus play a pathogenic role in the intestinal, immunological, and psychiatric Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)-like symptoms seen in CAM associated autism. However, this is only a preliminary study, and their mechanisms require further investigation.

Mechanistic Studies of Gypenosides in Microglial State Transition and its Implications in Depression-Like Behaviors: Role of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB Signaling.

Depression is a prevalent psychiatric disorder. Microglial state transition has been found in many neurological disorders including depression. Gypenosides (Gypenosides I-LXXVIII, Gps) are saponin extracts isolated from the traditional Chinese herb Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino that exert anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities and regulate depression-like behaviors. However, its effect on microglial state transition in depression remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate the potential relationship between Gps and TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling in microglial state transition in vitro and in vivo. First, BV-2 cells (microglial cell line) were exposed to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and treated with 10 or 5 µg/ml Gps. Second, the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression mouse model was used to investigate the antidepressant-like behaviors effects of Gps (100 or 50 mg/kg). We determined depression-like behaviors using the open-field test (OFT), forced swim test (FST), and sucrose preference test (SPT). Proteins and inflammatory factors in the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and the different microglial reaction states markers were subsequently conducted using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence, qPCR, or Western blotting analyses to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antidepressant properties of Gps and the underlying molecular mechanisms. We found that Gps regulated the microglial cell line state transition in LPS-exposed BV-2 cells, as evidenced by the significantly decreased expression of inflammatory parameters iNOS, IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α and significantly promoted anti-inflammatory microglial phenotypes markers CD206 (Mrc1) and IL-10. More importantly, Gps protected against the loss of monoamine neurotransmitters and depression-like behavior in a mouse model of depression, which was accompanied by a regulation of the microglial state transition. Mechanistically, Gps inhibited TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling, which reduced the release of downstream inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α) and promoted microglial phenotype transition, which all together contributed to the antidepressant effect. Our results suggest that Gps prevents depression-like behaviors by regulating the microglial state transition and inhibiting the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway. Thus, Gps could be a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent and treat depression-like behaviors and other psychiatric disorders.

Using a System Pharmacology Method to Search for the Potential Targets and Pathways of Yinqiaosan against COVID-19.

The first reported case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Thereafter, it spread through China and worldwide in only a few months, reaching a pandemic level. It can cause severe respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia and lung failure. Since the onset of the disease, the rapid response and intervention of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have played a significant role in the effective control of the epidemic. Yinqiaosan (YQS) was used to treat COVID-19 pneumonia, with good curative effects. However, a systematic overview of its active compounds and the therapeutic mechanisms underlying its action has yet to be performed. The purpose of the current study is to explore the compounds and mechanism of YQS in treating COVID-19 pneumonia using system pharmacology. A system pharmacology method involving drug-likeness assessment, oral bioavailability forecasting, virtual docking, and network analysis was applied to estimate the active compounds, hub targets, and key pathways of YQS in the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia. With this method, 117 active compounds were successfully identified in YQS, and 77 potential targets were obtained from the targets of 95 compounds and COVID-19 pneumonia. The results show that YQS may act in treating COVID-19 pneumonia and its complications (atherosclerosis and nephropathy) through Kaposi sarcoma-related herpesvirus infection and the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications and pathways in cancer. We distinguished the hub molecular targets within pathways such as TNF, GAPDH, MAPK3, MAPK1, EGFR, CASP3, MAPK8, mTOR, IL-2, and MAPK14. Five of the more highly active compounds (acacetin, kaempferol, luteolin, naringenin, and quercetin) have anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. In summary, by introducing a systematic network pharmacology method, our research perfectly forecasts the active compounds, potential targets, and key pathways of YQS applied to COVID-19 and helps to comprehensively clarify its mechanism of action.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Improves Hearing Level via Attenuating TLR4/NF-κB Mediated Inflammation in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) has demonstrated efficacy in improving hearing levels of patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL); however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. HBOT alleviates the inflammatory response, which is mediated by Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. In this study we investigated whether HBOT attenuates inflammation in ISHHL patients via alteration of TLR4 and NF-κB expression. METHODS: ISHHL patients ( n = 120) and healthy control subjects ( n = 20) were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomly divided into medicine group treated with medicine only ( n = 60) and HBO group receiving both HBOT and medicine ( n = 60). Audiometric testing was performed pre- and post-treatment. TLR4, NF-кB, and TNF-α expression in peripheral blood of ISSHL patients and healthy control subjects was assessed by ELISA before and after treatment. RESULTS: TLR4, NF-κB, and TNF-α levels were upregulated in ISSHL patients relative to healthy control subjects; the levels were decreased following treatment and were lower in the HBO group than that in the medicine group post-treatment ( P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: HBOT alleviates hearing loss in ISSHL patients by suppressing the inflammatory response induced by TLR4 and NF-κB signaling.

[Detection of common deletions and mutations causing α-thalassemia in Southeast Asians and Southern Chinese with denaturing high performance liquid chromatography].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a comprehensive and simple assay using denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) for the diagnosis of most common mutations and deletions of α-thalassemia gene in Southeast Asians and Southern Chinese. METHODS: This assay has included a duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by DHPLC analysis. An improved PCR was also performed followed by DHPLC analysis. With this assay, a blinded study of 160 samples was screened for three common mutations and three common deletions. RESULTS: The duplex PCR-DHPLC combined with the improved PCR-DHPLC analysis has detected all mutations and the wild-type allele. The results were consistent with those by the original methods. CONCLUSION: This molecular assay may be used for the diagnosis of α-thalassemia patients from this geographical region. The method is accurate, rapid, semi-automatic and cost-effective, which makes it suitable for large-scale screening.

[Correlation of hippocampal acetylcholine and learning and study capability after anesthesia in senescent rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the general anesthetic's effect upon cholinergic system to examine whether the regional and progressive cholinergic changes may lead to postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). METHOD: A model of hippocampus microdialysis was established in aging rats (18 months old). The tissue levels of choline (Ch) and acetylcholine (Ach) were determined in hippocampus. The post-anesthesia learning capability and spatial memory were tested in Morris maze. Using in vivo microdialysis, the releases of Ach and Ch, functional parameters of cholinergic system, were determined in freely moving rats. The contents of both in perfusate were quantified by HPLC-ECD as described for the function of cholinergic system. RESULTS: The learning curve of the control group demonstrated differences from the experiment group. Changes in hippocampal Ach and Ch levels were observed in both cognition markedly impaired group and cognition lightly impaired group, accompanied by performance failure in water maze test. In the experiment group, the hippocampal releases of Ach and Ch were markedly different between cognition markedly impaired group and cognition lightly impaired group. CONCLUSION: Cholinergic system dysfunction in hippocampus may be responsible for behavioral abnormality in learning and spatial memory tasks in senescent rats.

[Rapid diagnosis of Down's syndrome by multiplex real-time fluorescence relative quantitative PCR].

To establish a multiplex real-time fluorescence relative quantitative PCR method for diagnosis of Down's syndrome. The fragment from Down's syndrome critical region gene 3 (DSCR3) on chromosome 21 was used as the target gene, and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene on chromosome 12 was used as the control gene. The two genes were amplified in the same tube. The relative quantitative index-CT value was used to differentiate trisomy 21 patient from normal person. The peripheral blood sample from a Down's syndrome patient was collected and the B-lymphocytes were transformed by Epstein-Barr virus to establish the immortalized cell lines as standard material. The reaction conditions were optimized to obtain an equal amplification efficiency from both the target and the control genes. The slopes of both genes were almost -3.32, indicating that the efficiencies of the two amplifications were approximately equal. Among a certain range from 3-300 ng/PCR, the variation of detected DeltaCT value were less than 15%, and amplification showed the highest reproducibility when the concentration of DNA template was 30 ng/microL. Then, the variation of DeltaCT value with inter- and intra-assay were 9.8% and 13.3% at this DNA concentration of the templates. Clinical samples, including 20 blood samples from patients and 30 blood samples from normal persons, were detected using the established method. The DeltaCT value from Down's syndrome group were dramatically different from normal group (P < 0.001). The trisomy 21 immortalized cell lines were established and the genetic integrity of the cell lines was stable as evaluated by karyotype and DNA analysis. The relative quantitative PCR with DeltaCT value could be used to rapidly diagnose Down's syndrome.

[High-level expression of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in Lactococcus Lactis via synthesized sequence based on bias codons].

To construct a safer and more efficient gene engineering Lactococcus Lactis for expressing phenylalaine ammonia lyase (PAL) which will be benefit for PKU therapy, pal cDNA of Parsly and synthesized sequence based on Lactococcus Lactis bias codons were recombined into two Lactococcus Lactis NICE systems. The activities of the expressed PAL were detected, and the effect of Lactococcus Lactis bias codons on the expression of exterior protein was analyzed. The results showed that the expression level of PAL was increased by using Lactococcus Lactis bias codons in both Lactococcus Lactis NICE systems. Through which several safer andmore efficient strains of the gene engineering Lactococcus Lactis were obtained.

[The progressive study on gene therapy for hyperphenylalaninemia rats].

To construct a new high effective genetic engineering strain which can express active PAL enzyme in Lactococcus lactis (L.L), and acquire better effect on curing hyperphenylalaninemia rats, Firstly translational fusion vector and transcriptional fusion vector were constructed in E. coli MC1061, and then PAL cDNA was transformed into L.L. Two kinds of high effect strain were compared with their enzyme activity and animal experiment was carried out. The results showed: (1) Two kinds of engineering L.L. were obtained and translational fusion strain has higher level enzyme activity. (2) The amount of transcinnamic aicd reach peak when induced for 6 hours. (3) The blood phe level of the treated rats was significantly reduced compared with non-treated rats when receiving fresh p(NZ8048-PAL)1/NZ9000. The engineering L.L(translational fusion strain) can significantly reduce the blood phe level of the hyperphenylalaninemia rats, which has more superiority than pMG36e-PAL/L. L.