Objective To study the effects of EP4 and EP2 antagonists on the differentiation of Treg/ Th17 cells and disease progression in mice of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model.Methods DBA/1 mice wereimmunized subcutaneously twice at the root of the tail with type Ⅱ collagen emulsified in Freund's complete adjuvant.EP2 and EP4 antagonist therapies were intraperitoneally administrated for 14 consecutive days after the second immunization.Clinical signs,histological manifestation,serum interleukin (IL)-17 and quantity of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells were determined.ANOVA and t-test were used for statistical analysis.Results Clinical signs of the disease appeared on day 27 and peaked on day 35 after the first immunization.The quantity of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells in spleens [(1.67±0.15)％] and draining inguinal lymph nodes [(3.30±0.36)％] isolated from CIA mice were significantly lower than those of normal DBA/1 mice [(2.77±0.45)％ and (4.73 ±0.45)％ respectively,P＜0.05].Serum IL-17 level of CIA mice [(27±7) pg/ml] was significantly higher than that of normal DBA/1 mice [(14±4) pg/ml,P＜0.05].Intra-peritoneal injection of EP4 but not EP2 antagonist to CIA mice decreased paw edema and swelling,and alleviated the histological manifestations (1.8±1.0 vs 3.5±0.6,P＜0.05) on day 35 after the first immunization.The percentages of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells in both inguinal lymph nodes [(4.20±0.32)％] and spleens [(2.63±0.40)％] were significantly higher in EP4 antagonist-treated but not EP2 antagonist-treated CIA mice compared with CIA mice group [(3.30±0.36)％ and (1.67±0.15)％ respectively,P＜0.05].The level of serum IL-17 was significantly lower in EP4 antagonist-treated [(15±7) pg/ml] but not EP2 antagonist-treated CIA mice compared with CIA mice group [(27±7) pg/ml,P＜0.05].Conclusion EP4 antagonist therapy alleviates clinical symptoms of CIA,improves the histological manifestations,decreases the serum IL-17 level and increases the percentages of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells in both spleens and draining inguinal lymph nodes,so targeting EP4 receptor may be a new possible therapeutic possibility in the prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective To study the receptors signaling of prostaglandin E2 on the differentiation of regulatory T (Treg) cells and Th17 cells.Methods The expression of prostaglandin E2 receptors (EP1/EP2/EP3/EP4) on the MACS-purified CD4+CD62L+ T (Th0) cells was analyzed by flow cytometry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).The quantity of CD25+Foxp3+ cells was examined by flow cytometry,the expression of FoxP3 mRNA and RORγt mRNA were detected using real-time RT-PCR,the level of IL-17 in the culture supernatants was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).ANOVA,LSD-t,Dunnett T3 were used for statistical analysis.Results EP1,EP2,EP3,EP4 were expressed on Th0 cells at different levels,and EP2 [(89.7±9.1)％] had the strongest expression.PGE2 [(3.0± 2.2) ％],EP2 agonist [(4.5± 1.0) ％] and EP4 agonist [(8.8 ±2.5) ％] decreased the quantity of CD25 +Foxp3 + cells compared with the control group [(28.6±6.8)％] (t=7.156,P=0.021; t=6.958,P=0.032; t=5.359,P=0.044).PGE2(0.210±0.020),EP1 agonist (0.833±0.045),EP2 agonist (0.227±0.025) and EP4 agonist (0.450±0.060) decreased the expression of Foxp3 mRNA compared with the control group (1.000) (t=23.817,t=5.026,t=23.313,t=16.581; all P=0.000).PGE2 [(22±6)pg/ml],EP2 agonist [(24±5)pg/ml]and EP4 agonist [(207±19) pg/ml] decreased the secretion of IL-17 compared with the control group [(678±87) pg/ml] (t=14.925,P=0.004; t=14.873,P=0.004; t=10.480,P=0.008).PGE2 (0.141±0.027),EP1 agonist (0.869±0.033),EP2 agonist (0.176±0.029) and EP4 agonist(0.371±0.042) decreased the expression of RORγt mRNA compared with the control group (1.000) (t=34.046,t=5.184,t=32.673,t=24.962,all P=0.000).Conclusion EP1,EP2,EP3,EP4 receptors are expressed on CD4+CD62L+ T (Th0) cells at different levels.Prostaglandin E2 inhibits the differentiation of Treg cells and Th17 cells via the EP2 and EP4 receptors signaling.

The practice and exploration of bilingual teaching for the course of microbiology has been made in order to improve the students foreign lingual level and to meet the higher requirement on tip-top person with the social development. As a result,bilingual teaching is welcome,and the teaching effect is so distinct that the aim was reached to either study the fundamental knowledge or enhance the English level.

Agricultural Microbiology is a professional foundation curriculum for biology,botany and envi-ronmental majors in agricultural universities.After 1999,with the increase enrollment of the national under-graduate education and rapid construction of the university,the number of majors and students increased rapidly and quality of students and talent demand of society changed dramatically.Under such condition,in order to meet the society demand of microbiology,according to the distinguishing feature of different major groups,based on strengthening the basis teaching and stretching application teaching,new curriculum teaching model and method were explored positively,and then new curriculum system was constructed.Be-ing aroused sufficiently of the students’ subjective initiative,both the teaching quality and comprehensive quality were improved.

BACKGROUNDSevoflurane and propofol are effective cardioprotective anaesthetic agents, though the cardioprotection of propofol has not been shown in humans. Their roles and underlying mechanisms in anesthetic postconditioning are unclear. Mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) opening is a major cause of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Here we investigated sevoflurane- and propofol-induced postconditioning and their relationship with MPTP.

METHODSIsolated perfused rat hearts were exposed to 40 min of ischemia followed by 1 h of reperfusion. During the first 15 min of reperfusion, hearts were treated with either control buffer (CTRL group) or buffer containing 20 micromol/L atractyloside (ATR group), 3% (v/v) sevoflurane (SPC group), 50 micromol/L propofol (PPC group), or the combination of atractyloside with respective anesthetics (SPC+ATR and PPC+ATR groups). Infarct size was determined by dividing the total necrotic area of the left ventricle by the total left ventricular slice area (percent necrotic area).

RESULTSHearts treated with sevoflurane or propofol showed significantly better recovery of coronary flow, end-diastolic pressures, left ventricular developed pressure and derivatives compared with controls. Sevoflurane resulted in more protective alteration of hemodynamics at most time point of reperfusion than propofol. These improvements were paralleled with the reduction of lactate dehydrogenase release and the decrease of infarct size (SPC vs CTRL: (17.48+/-2.70)% vs (48.47+/-6.03)%, P<0.05; PPC vs CTRL: (35.60+/-2.10)% vs (48.47+/-6.03)%, P<0.05). SPC group had less infarct size than PPC group (SPC vs PPC: (17.48+/-2.70)% vs (35.60+/-2.10)%, P<0.05). Atractyloside coadministration attenuated or completely blocked the cardioprotective effect of postconditioning of sevoflurane and propofol.

CONCLUSIONPostconditioning of sevoflurane and propofol has cardioprotective effect against ischemia-reperfusion injury of heart, which is associated with inhibition of MPTP opening. Compared to propofol, sevoflurane provides superior protection of functional recovery and infarct size.

Anesthesia ; Anesthetics, Inhalation ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Heart ; drug effects ; Hemodynamics ; Ischemic Preconditioning, Myocardial ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism ; Male ; Methyl Ethers ; pharmacology ; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins ; physiology ; Perfusion ; Propofol ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tetrazolium Salts ; pharmacology

AIMTo study the cutaneous permeation kinetics and pharmacodynamics of lidocaine gel.

METHODSThe concentration of lidocaine in dermis following topical application in rats was determined by the cutaneous microdialysis technique and related parameters were calculated; the pharmacodynamics of the gel was evaluated by electric stimulation method with EMLA (eutectic mixture of local anesthetics) cream as a control.

RESULTSThe peak of percutaneous absorption kinetic profile of lidocaine gel across rat skin occurred at 1.25 h; the onset time of local anesthetic action of lidociane gel was similar to that of EMLA, but both the duration and depth of anesthetic effect were superior to EMLA cream.

CONCLUSIONLidocaine gel showed good anesthetic effect. The minimum effective concentration of lidocaine in dermis is 12 mg.L-1.

Anesthesia, Local ; Anesthetics, Local ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Gels ; Lidocaine ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Male ; Pain Threshold ; drug effects ; Prilocaine ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Skin Absorption

In this study, we explored the mechanism of Huganning tablet (HGNP) in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on network pharmacology and computer-aided drug design. Firstly, the potential ingredients and targets of HGNP were identified from TCMSP database, Swiss Target Prediction database, Chinese pharmacopoeia (2015) and literatures, and then the targets of HGNP intersected with NAFLD disease targets that obtained in GeneCards database to acquired potential targets. The bioconductor bioinformatics package of R software was used for gene ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. The network of “potential ingredient-key target-pathway” was formed in Cytoscape software to study the interactions between potential ingredients of HGNP, key targets, pathways and NAFLD. Based on the results of network pharmacology, the molecular docking analysis of the key targets and potential active ingredients in HGNP tablets with top degree in the network was conducted using Discovery Studio 2020 software, followed by molecular dynamics simulations, binding free energy calculation, drug-likeness properties analysis and ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) properties prediction. In vitro, HepG2 cells were used to establish steatosis model, and the effects of five key compounds on hepatocyte steatosis were analyzed by oil red O staining and triglyceride (TG) content determination. The results showed that 141 ingredients and 151 potential targets were obtained. A total of 2 526 items and 151 pathways were identified by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. The molecular docking suggested that five components, isorhamnetin, salvianolic acid B, emodin, resveratrol and rhein, exhibited strong binding ability with key targets [retinoic acid receptor RXR-alpha (RXRA), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK3B), serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (AKT1)]. It was further verified that isorhamnetin and salvianolic acid B bind to key targets with good structural stability and binding affinity based on molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy calculations. The drug-likeness properties, pharmacokinetic properties and toxicity of five key compounds were more comprehensively analyzed through drug-likeness properties analysis and ADMET properties prediction. In vitro, all five compounds, isorhamnetin, salvianolic acid B, emodin, resveratrol, and rhein, improved hepatocyte steatosis of HepG2 cells, confirming the reliability of the present study. In conclusion, based on network pharmacology, computer-aided drug design and in vitro validation, this study investigated the mechanism of HGNP for the treatment of NAFLD at multiple levels and provided a basis for its clinical application.

Objective To explore the clinical manifestation of eosinophilic gastroenteritis, reduce the misdiagnosis rate, then improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment rate. Methods The clinical data of patients with eosinophilic gastroenteritis diagnosed and treated by digestive medicine from 2008 to 2016 were analyzed and summarized retrospectively. Results The final diagnosis of 21 patients with no specific clinical manifestations were manifested as abdominal pain, diarrhea, abdominal distension, with nausea, vomiting, etc, respectively. Most of them have the history of asthma, skin and drug or food allergy history. The clinical type was mainly mucosa type, 16 cases, 3 case were serosa and 2 cases were mixed type. Peripheral blood neutrophil percentage and eosinophil proportion increased; Some patients with bone marrow results suggested the bone marrow hyperplasia was active, increased proportion of eosinophils. Eosinophils increased in ascites test. Abdominal CT can also be seen thickening of the intestinal wall, showing ascites. Hormone therapy to 19 patients was effective. Conclusion Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a cureable disease. Because of its clinical manifestation, it is necessary to get more knowledge and attention from clinicians and pathologists to diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible to avoid misdiagnosis.

OBJECTIVETo study the mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of Qingluo Tongbi Granule (, QTG) on osteoclast differentiation in rheumatoid arthritis in rats.

METHODSFibroblast and monocyte co-culture were used to induce osteoclast differentiation in adjuvant-induced arthritic (AIA) rats. Serum containing QTG was prepared and added to the osteoclasts, and activation of the tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6/mitogen-activated protein kinase/nuclear factor of activated T cells, cytoplasmic1 (TRAF6/MAPK/NFATc1) pathways was examined.

RESULTSThe induced osteoclasts were multinucleated and stained positive for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. Serum containing QTG at 14.4, 7.2 or 3.6 g/kg inhibited the activation of TRAF6, extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK)1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 and decreased the percentage of cells with nuclear NFATc1 in a dose-dependent manner, the high and middle doses exhibited clear inhibitory activity (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively). After the addition of MAPK inhibitors, the NFATc1 expression showed no significant difference compared with the control group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSSerum containing QTG could generally inhibit the TRAF6/MAPK pathways and possibly inhibit the NFATc1 pathway. In addition, QTG may regulate other signaling pathways that are related to osteoclast differentiation and maturation.

Adjuvants, Immunologic ; adverse effects ; Animals ; Arthritis, Experimental ; pathology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Coculture Techniques ; Down-Regulation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Fibroblasts ; pathology ; Male ; Monocytes ; pathology ; Osteoclasts ; cytology ; drug effects ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Synovial Membrane ; pathology

BACKGROUNDTreatment for malignant glioma generally consists of cytoreductive surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this study, we intended to investigate the effects of 2-propylpentanoic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, on chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity in human glioma cell lines.

METHODSHuman glioma cell lines, T98-G, and SF295, were treated with temozolomide (TMZ) or irradiation (IR), with or without VPA (1.0 mmol/L). Then, cytotoxicity and clonogenic survival assay was performed. Cell cycle stage, apoptosis, and autophagy were also detected using flow cytometry and dansyl monocadaverin (MDC) incorporation assay. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test were used to analyze the differences among variant groups.

RESULTSMild cytotoxicity of VPA was revealed in both cell lines, T98-G and SF295, with the 50% inhibiting concentration (IC50) value of (3.85 ± 0.58) mmol/L and (2.15 ± 0.38) mmol/L, respectively; while the IC50 value of TMZ was (0.20 ± 0.09) mmol/L for T98-G and (0.08 ± 0.02) mmol/L for SF295. Moreover, if combined with VPA (1.0 mmol/L) for 96 hours, the sensitivity of glioma cells to TMZ was significant increased (P < 0.05). The surviving fractions at 2 Gy (SF2) of T98-G and SF295 cells exposed to IR alone were 0.52 and 0.58. However, when VPA was combined with IR, the SF2 of T98-G and SF295 dropped to 0.39 (P = 0.047) and 0.49 (P = 0.049), respectively. Treatment with VPA plus TMZ or IR also resulted in a significant decrease in the proportion of cells in the G2 phase and increased apoptotic rates as well as autophagy in T98-G and SF295 cell lines (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONVPA may enhance the activities of TMZ and IR on glioma cells possibly through cell cycle block and promote autophagy, and thus could be a potential sensitizer of glioma treatment.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; radiation effects ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; radiation effects ; Dacarbazine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Flow Cytometry ; Glioma ; metabolism ; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Valproic Acid ; pharmacology