Objective: To investigate the mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) for treating depression and to explore the role of brevican in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in modulating stress susceptibility and the antidepressant effects of EA in rats. Methods: Twenty-four Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were equally divided into three groups: green fluorescent protein (GFP) + control, GFP + chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS), and short-hairpin RNA targeting on brevican (shBcan) + CUMS. Another 24 SD rats were equally divided into CUMS + GFP, CUMS + GFP + EA, and CUMS + shBcan + EA groups. Behavioral tests were conducted to assess depression-like behavior. Western blot analysis was used to evaluate the expression of brevican, aggrecan, GLuA1, and PSD95 in mPFC subregions. Results: Behavioral parameter evaluation show that rats in the shBcan + CUMS group exhibited a significantly reduced sucrose preference (P = .0002) and increased immobility time (P = .0011) compared to those in rats in the GFP + CUMS group. Western blotting showed that brevican expression was significantly downregulated in the PrL of the shBcan + CUMS group compared with that in the GFP + CUMS group (P = .0192). Furthermore, compared to the CUMS + GFP + EA group, the CUMS + shBcan + EA group exhibited a significantly decreased sucrose preference (P = .0334), increased immobility time (P = .0465), and increased latency to food (P = .0261). In the CUMS + shBcan + EA group, the EA-induced brevican and PSD95 overexpression was reversed, compared with that in the CUMS + GFP + EA group (P = .0454 and P = .0198, respectively). Conclusion EA exerts its antidepressant effects through the modulation of brevican expression in rats. Our findings highlight the important role for brevican in stress susceptibility, which could be a potential target for treating depression.

Aim To investigate the potential molecular basis of Epimedium and to clarify the molecular mechanism of Epimedium in the treatment of osteoporosis.Methods The method of network pharmacology was used to determine and screen the known compounds corresponding to Epimedium,and predict the drug-related gene/protein targets,and combined with bioinformatics,the specific target of osteoporosis prevention and treatment of Epimedium was determined,and then the signal pathway enrichment was analysed,the molecular mechanism of Epimedium in treatment of osteoporosis was further explored.Results A total of 130 corresponding compounds were retrieved in the TCMID database from Epimedium.According to the values of OB and DL,23 blood transfusion components were screened,in which 101 targets were obtained using the related target prediction technique.Through the secondary mining of the gene chip of GEO chip database,we obtained a total of 124 significantly different genes.And a total of 355 known target genes closely related to the development of osteoporosis were retrieved in the disease-related database.Using the cytoscape to construct and synthesize the protein-protein interaction network of active ingredients and diseases,221 key genes were screened out by network topological analysis.Using ClueGO analysis,it was shown that Epimedium was directly engaged in the signal pathways involved in the key nodes of osteoporosis,which were mainly related to the direct regulation of bone metabolism,such as Wnt signaling pathway,TGF-β signaling pathway and Notch signaling pathway,and that Epimedium regulated other signal pathways,such as PI3K-Akt signaling pathway,VEGF signaling pathway and thyroid hormone signaling pathway.Conclusions Epimedium has the characteristics of multiple targets and multicomponent in the treatment of osteoporosis,which could not only be directly involved in bone cell differentiation and regulation of the balance of osteogenesis and osteoclasts,but also affect and interfere with the bone microenvironment through other systemic systems,such as circulatory system,nervous system,which is consistent with the current mechanism of treatment of osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression variation and significance of ERK1/2 MAPK signaling transduction pathway in the pathogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Kazakh patients.

METHODSThe expression level of p-ERK1/2 after serum starvation and treatment with U0126 inhibitor was detected in esophageal cancer cell line EC9706 by Western blot assay. The mRNA level of total ERK1/2 (t-ERK1/2) and expression level of t-ERK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 proteins of 25 pairs of ESCC and adjacent normal esophageal mucosal tissues of Kazakh patients were examined and identified by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting, respectively. The expression of p-ERK1/2 protein was verified by immunohistochemistry in 126 paraffin-embeded specimens, including 19 normal esophageal mucosa, 55 esophageal carcinomas in situ and 52 invasive carcinomas.

RESULTSERK1/2 MAPK signaling transduction pathway was in an active status in the EC9706 cells. The expression level of p-ERK1/2 in Ec9706 cells reached a peak at 10 min after transient serum stimulation, and p-ERK1/2 expression was totally restrained after the treatment with 50 µmol/L U0126. In the 25 pairs of ESCC and adjacent normal mucosa, the t-ERK1 mRNA level was 1.92 ± 3.49 in the ESCC tissues and 3.67 ± 7.47 in the adjacent normal mucosa. The t-ERK1 mRNA level in ESCC tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent normal mucosa (P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant difference of t-ERK2 mRNA level between them(P > 0.05). The expression levels of p-ERK1 and p-ERK2 proteins were 0.87 ± 0.14 and 0.79 ± 0.10 in the ESCC tissues, and 1.10 ± 0.13 and 1.32 ± 0.12 in the adjacent normal mucosae. p-ERK1/2 protein in the ESCC tissues was significantly lower than that in the adjacent normal tissue (P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference between their t-ERK1/2 protein levels (P > 0.05). In the 126 cases of paraffin-embeded specimens, positive expressions of both p-ERK1 and p-ERK2 in esophageal cancer tissues were 7.7% (4/52), significantly lower than those in adjacent normal mucosa (31.6%, 6/19) and carcinoma in situ (85.5%, 47/55, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSERK1/2 MAPK signaling pathway is in an active status in esophageal cancer and adjacent normal mucosa. Our results imply that the activation of p-ERK1/2 MAPK signaling transduction pathway plays a role in the early pathogenesis of ESCC in Kazakh patients.

Butadienes ; pharmacology ; Carcinoma in Situ ; enzymology ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; enzymology ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; China ; ethnology ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; enzymology ; pathology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Nitriles ; pharmacology ; Phosphorylation ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism

ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect of Dayuanyin on acute lung injury induced by H1N1 infection and decipher the potential mechanism. MethodThe constituents in Dayuanyin were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-exactive orbitrap mass spectrometry （UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS）. Forty-eight female BALB/c mice were randomized into normal， model， oseltamivir （19.5 mg·kg^-1）， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （2.73， 5.46， 10.92 g·kg^-1） Dayuanyin groups. The normal and model groups were administrated with deionized water by gavage， and the other groups were administrated with the corresponding drugs by gavage. On day 3 of drug administration， the normal group received nasal inhalation of normal saline， and the other groups were inoculated intranasally with A/RP/8/34 （H1N1） for the modeling of influenza virus infection. Mice were administrated with drugs continuously for 7 days and weighed daily. Sampling was performed 12 h after the last administration， and the lung tissue was weighed to calculate the lung index. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe the pathological and morphological changes of the lung tissue and bronchi. The cytometric bead array （CBA） was used to measure the serum levels of interferon-gamma （IFN-γ）， C-X-C motif ligand 1 （CXCL1）， tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， chemokine ligand 2 （CCL2）， interleukin-12p70 （IL-12p70）， chemokine ligand 5 （CCL5）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， chemokine （C-X-C motif） ligand 10 （CXCL10）， granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor （GM-CSF）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， interferon-beta （IFN-β）， interferon-alpha （IFN-α）， and interleukin-6 （IL-6）. According to the results of mass spectrometry and network pharmacology， we analyzed the mechanism of Dayuanyin in treating acute lung injury caused by H1N1. The protein levels of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 （ERK1/2）， p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p38 MAPK）， nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB）， and their phosphorylated forms were determined by Western blot. The mRNA levels of myeloid differentiation factor 88 （MyD88）， Toll-like receptor 3 （TLR3）， Toll-like receptor 7 （TLR7）， and Toll-like receptor 8 （TLR8） in the lung tissue were measured by Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultA total of 57 compounds， including paeoniflorin and baicalein， were detected in Dayuanyin. Compared with the normal group， the model group showed decreased body weight （P<0.01）， lung edema and hemorrhage， increased lung index （P<0.01）， and elevated levels of IFN-γ， IL-12p70， CCL5， IL-1β， CXCL10， GM-CSF， IFN-β， and IL-6 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Dayuanyin attenuated alveolar wall thickening， capillary congestion， and immune cell infiltration， reduced the alterations in body weight and lung index （P<0.01）， and down-regulated the protein levels of IFN-γ， IL-12p70， CCL5， IL-1β， CXCL10， GM-CSF， IFN-β， and IL-6 （P<0.01）. A total of 57 key genes were predicted by network pharmacological analysis， of which the MAPK signaling pathway was the main target signaling pathway. Compared with the normal group， the model group showed up-regulation in the protein levels of phosphorylation （p）-ERK1/2， p-p38 MAPK， and p-NF-κB （P<0.01） and the mRNA levels of TLR7， TLR8， MyD88， and TLR3 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Dayuanyin lowered the phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2， p38 MAPK， and NF-κB p65 in a dose-dependent manner （P<0.01） and down-regulated the mRNA levels of TLR3， TLR7， TLR8， and MyD88 （P<0.01）. ConclusionDayuanyin can prevent and control H1N1 infection-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting the TLR/MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.