Objective To explore the mechanism of IL-6 in EAE. Methods 25 female Wistar rats were randomly divided into 2 groups, EAE group( n=15 ) and normal control group( n=10). The expression of IL-6, TNF-αtand TGF-β of the two groups rots were ob-served by immunohistochemistry staining, and then correlation analysis of the expression of IL-6, TNF-αtandTGF-β was made. Results There was negative correlation between gray scale of IL-6 and symptom scores( r=-0.953, P＞0.05). IL-6 and TGF-β had no statistical-ly significant correlation ( r=-0.492, P＞0.05). There was negative correlation between gray scale of TNF-α and symptom scores( r=-0.978, P＜0.05), and both of the correlation between TNF-α and TGF-β ( r=-0.502, P＞0.05), TGF-β and scores( r=0.470,P＞0.05 ) were not statistically significant. Conclusions IL-6 may participate in EAE as a inflammatory factor.

Objective:To explore the anti-inflammatory therapeutic effect and possible immunoregulatory mechanism of Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) on the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Methods:Female C57BL/6 mice were immunized subcutaneously with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptides ( MOG35-55 ) ,and randomly divided into saline group,BYHWD group,with 13 mice in each group. At the 3th day,25 ml/kg of saline was orally given to each mouse of saline group,50 g/kg ig of crude BYHWD was orally given to each mouse in BYHWD group for 25 days. Clinical score and body mass were recorded every day. Inflammatory cell infiltrations of spinal cord were observed by HE staining Myelin staining observes the demyelination situa-tion. And the expression of ROCKⅡ in spleen was detected by immunofluorescence staining. The subtypes of CD4+ T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to detect the expression of TLR4,Myd88,NF-κB,COX-2,ROCKⅡ in spinal cord and ROCKⅡ in brain. Results: The neurologicalscore significantly decreased in EAE mouse of BYHWD group compared with the saline group (P<0. 001) . BYHWD inhibited the inflammatory cell infiltration and demyelination in the nervous centralis(P<0. 05). The treatment of BYHWD effectively reduced the increased the proportion of CD25+(P<0. 05),IL-10+(P<0. 05),TGF-β+(P<0. 01), IFN-γ+( P<0. 05 ) CD4+T cells , and inhibited the expression of peripheral and central ROCKⅡ( P<0. 05 ) ;BYHWD reduced the expression of TLR4,MyD88,NF-κB,COX-2 in spinal cord (P<0. 05). Conclusion:BYHWD can exert anti-inflammatory and immune regulation effect by the inhibition of ROCKⅡ/TLR4/ NF-κB signaling pathway and regulation of the proportion of peripheral T cell sub-sets.

AIM:To evaluate the effect of lipoic acid ( LA) on LPS-induced Parkinson disease ( PD) model of mice.METHODS:Female C57BL/6 mice of 10-month-old were randomly divided into saline control group , PD group and LA group.The PD mouse model was induced by intranasal instillation of LPS .Assays of tyrosine hydroxylase , microglia and nuclear factor kappa B ( NF-κB) were performed by the methods of immunohistochemistry and Western blotting .RE-SULTS:Intranasal LPS instillation exhibited basic characteristics of PD model .However, LA administration significantly improved motor dysfunction , protected dopaminergic neurons from damage , and inhibited NF-κB activation in inflammatory microglia in the substantia nigra area of the brain .CONCLUSION:LA may exert a profound neuroprotective effect by an-ti-neuroinflammatory reaction to arrest the progression of PD .

Objective To investigate the immunoregulatory effect of Fasudil-modified macrophages on cell transferred experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis ( EAE) in a mouse model.Methods Fe-male C57BL/6 mice were immunized with MOG35-55 to establish the model of EAE.The encephalomyelitic mononuclear cells ( MNCs) were isolated from spleen of mice with EAE on day 9 after immunization and treated with or without Fasudil for 72 h in vitro.Several assays including the flow cytometry analysis, Griess reaction and ELISA were performed to analyze the M1 and M2 phenotypes of macrophages, the production of NO and the levels of cytokines, respectively.The cultured MNCs (5×107 cells) were resuspended in 500μl of PBS and transferred into na?ve C57BL/6 recipients via intraperitoneal injection.Two groups including the PBS-MNCs group and the Fasudil-MNCs group were set up.The body weights and clinical scores of the mice in each group were recorded in every other days after the induction of EAE in the recipients.Results The Fasudil treated MNCs affected the induction of EAE in adoptive cell transferred mice.The expression of CD16/32, iNOS and IL-12 on F4/80-macrophages were decreased, while the expression of CD206, CD23 and IL-10 on F4/80-macrophages were increased upon the treatment of Fasudil, indicating that Fasudil im-proved the differentiation of macrophages from M1 to M2 phenotypes.Moreover, Fasudil inhibited the pro-duction of NO and enhanced the expression of Arginase-1.Conclusion Fasudil ameliorated the clinical se-verity of EAE in mice by promoting the transformation of macrophages from M1 to M2 phenotype.

AIM:To explore the therapeutic effect of Buyang-Huanwu decoction (BYHWD) on experimental au-toimmune encephalomyelitis ( EAE) and its immunoregulatory effect on monocyte-macrophages .METHODS: Chronic EAE was induced by myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide fragment 35-55 ( MOG35-55 ) in the female C57BL/6 mice, which were randomly divided into saline group and BYHWD group .On day 3 after immunization , the mice in BYHWD group were orally administrated with BYHWD , while normal saline was given to the control mice .The clinical score and body mass were recorded every other day .At day 17 after immunization , the mice were sacrificed and spinal cords were obtained for HE staining and myelin staining .The M1 and M2 macrophage phenotypes of splenic cells were detected by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining .The protein expression of iNOS , TNF-α, arginase and IL-10 in the spinal cord macro-phages was determined by Western blotting .RESULTS:BYHWD delayed the onset of EAE , reduced the clinical scores of EAE, inhibited the inflammatory cell infiltration and demyelination in the spinal cord , and promoted the conversion of M 1 macrophages into M2 phenotype in the spinal cord and spleen .CONCLUSION:BYHWD intervention attenuates the be-havioral and pathological changes in the EAE mice , and its mechanism may be related to the macrophage conversion .

AIM:To explore the therapeutic effect of a novel Rho kinase inhibitor WAR 5 on the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and its possible mechanism.METHODS: Female C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into EAE group and WAR5 group.EAE model was induced by the application of MOG 35-55 peptide.WAR5 was in-jected intraperitoneally every other day from post-immunization (PI) day 3 to PI day 27.The clinical score and body weight were recorded every other day .On PI day 28, the animals were sacrificed and spinal cords were obtained for HE and mye-lin staining .The splenocytes were isolated and the expression of CD 16/32 and CD206 were analyzed by flow cytometry . The protein extracts from the brains and spinal cords were collected for the measurement of inducible nitric oxide synthase ( iNOS) by Western blotting .RESULTS:The administration of WAR 5 delayed the onset of EAE and attenuated the clini-cal symptoms .The results of the pathological examination revealed that WAR 5 inhibited the infiltration of inflammatory cells and improved myelination in spinal cords , accompanied with the poralization of M 1 macrophages to M2 phenotype in the spleen.WAR5 inhibited the expression of iNOS in the central nervous system , especially in the spinal cords .CON-CLUSION:The therapeutic effect of WAR5 on EAE may be related to the shift of M1 macrophages to M2 phenotype and inhibition of inflammation in the central nerve system .

Objective To investigate whether astragaloside ( AST) Ⅳ could inhibit lipopolysac-charide (LPS)-induced activation of astrocytes and the possible mechanism. Methods Effects of different concentrations of AST Ⅳ on astrocyte viability were determined by MTT to select the optimum concentration for the following experiments. Primary astrocytes were induced by LPS to construct the inflammatory model. Astrocytes were divided into three groups: PBS, LPS and LPS+ASTⅣ(LPS+ASTⅣ) groups. The release of nitric oxide (NO) was detected by Griess method. Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein ( GFAP), an astrocyte marker, and TLR4 were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Cytokines of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-4 and IL-10 in the supernatants of cell culture for 24 h collected after stimulation were meas-ured by ELISA. Results ASTⅣsignificantly inhibited the LPS-induced activation of astrocytes and NO re-lease (P<0. 01), suppressed the expression of TLR4 (P<0. 05) and reduced the secretion of IL-6 (P<0. 01) and TNF-α (P<0. 01), but increased the secretion of IL-4 and IL-10 (P<0. 05 and P<0. 01). Con-clusion AST Ⅳ could significantly inhibit the LPS-induced activation of astrocytes and suppress inflamma-tory responses, and the possible mechanism might be related to reduced secretion of inflammatory factors af-ter blocking the expression of TLR4.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of the Mini-Mental State Scale (MMSE) versus the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA) in screening cognitive impairment in patients with a lacunar cerebral infarction. Methods:138 eligible patients who received treatment in the Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Datong University from January 2018 to October 2019 were recruited for this study. They received cognitive function evaluation by the MMSE and MoCA. These patients were grouped according to the median number of age or the median number of years of education. The sensitivity and consistency of the MMSE versus MoCA in screening cognitive impairment in patients with a lacunar cerebral infarction were analyzed using the χ2 test. The total cognitive scores of the MMSE and MoCA, and the scores of each cognitive domain such as memory, execution, visual space, attention, language, and orientation, were compared between groups using multiple linear regression analysis. Results:The sensitivity of MoCA in screening for cognitive impairment in low-age, high-age, low-year-education, and high-year-education groups and the whole population of patients with a lacunar cerebral infarction was 76.5%, 75.7%, 74.2%, 77.8%, 76.1%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of MMSE (44.1%, 65.7%, 60.6%, 50.0%, 55.1%, χ2 = 12.17, 13.13, 9.33, 15.75, 23.86, all P < 0.01). The Kappa coefficients of low-age, high-age, low-year-education and high-year-education groups were 0.336, 0.391, 0.358, 0.389, and 0.373, respectively, all of which were less than 0.4 (all P < 0.01). These findings suggest that the consistency of the two scales in screening cognitive impairment is poor. The cognitive impairment detection rate by the MMSE was significantly higher in the high-age group than in the low-age group (65.7% vs. 44.1%, χ2 = 6.50, P < 0.05). The total cognitive scores of MMSE and MoCA and the scores of memory, execution, visual space, attention, language, and orientation in patients with a lacunar cerebral infarction were significantly lower in the high-age group or low-year-education group than in the low-age group ( tMMSE = 3.61, 2.49, 3.12, 4.26, 1.70, 3.69, 2.24, all P < 0.01; tMoCA = 3.83, 1.75, 3.28, 3.80, 2.21, 4.08, 2.52, all P < 0.05) or high-year-education group ( tMMSE = -2.87, -2.32, -0.85, -2.54, -0.73, -2.57, -2.96, all P < 0.01; tMoCA = -2.95, -1.12, -3.39, -1.54, -1.52, -3.09, -3.02, all P < 0.05). Conclusion:Combined application of MMSE and MoCA has a high clinical value in screening cognitive impairment in patients with a lacunar cerebral infarction. High-age patients with a lacunar cerebral infarction who receive low-year education have memory, execution, visual space, attention, language, and orientation impairments.

BACKGROUND:In the initial stage of multiple sclerosis,central immune cells activate and release a large number of inflammatory factors,causing white matter demyelination and even involving gray matter neurons.The equilibrium of differentiation between different subsets of CD4+ T cells plays an important role in the progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.The previous results of the research group showed that the active ingredient astragalus glycoprotein in astragalus can regulate the immune response in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice,and whether it has a regulatory effect on the differentiation of T cell subsets has not been determined. OBJECTIVE:To explore the therapeutic effects and immune regulatory mechanisms of astragaloside IV on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice. METHODS:Female C57BL/6 mice were divided into the normal control group,experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis disease model group,and astragaloside IV treatment group(n=8 per group).Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptides 35-55 were used for experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model induction in the last two groups.On day 10 to 28 after immunization,the astragaloside IV treatment group was treated with 40 mg/kg per day astragaloside IV intragastrically.Body weight and clinical scores of mice in each group were recorded from the immunization day to the 28th day.On the 28th day after immunization,the mouse spinal cord was taken and made into frozen sections for hematoxylin-eosin staining and Lux fast blue staining to observe pathological changes in the spinal cord.Percentage of splenic T cell subsets was detected using flow cytometry.Western blot assay was used to determine the protein expression of interferon-γ,interleukin-17 and interleukin-6 in the spinal cord.Levels of interferon-γ,interleukin-17,interleukin-6 and interleukin-4 in supernatants of cultured splenocytes were determined by ELISA. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis disease model group,astragaloside IV could reduce the degree of weight loss in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice(P<0.05),ameliorate clinical symptoms(P<0.05),inhibit the infiltration of inflammatory cells and alleviate myelin loss(P<0.01,P<0.05).(2)Compared with the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis disease model group,astragaloside IV could inhibit the proportion of CD4+T cell subsets expressing interferon-γ(P<0.001)and interleukin-17(P<0.001),but increase percentages of CD4+ interleukin-10+(P<0.001)and CD4+ transforming growth factor-β+(P<0.01)T cell subsets.(3)Astragaloside IV could inhibit the expression of interferon-γ(P<0.05,P<0.01),interleukin-17(P<0.05,P<0.05),and interleukin-6(P<0.05,P<0.05)in the spinal cord and spleen,and up-regulate the expression of interleukin-4(P<0.01)in spleen.(4)These findings confirm that astragaloside IV alleviates clinical symptoms in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice,which may be related to regulating the splenic T cell subsets,therefore,inhibiting the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the center and reducing the demyelination.

AIM: To observe the effects of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), myeloperoxidase (MPO) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) of radiation-induced lung injury rats by Kiwi fruit essence (unsaturated fatty acid of actinidia chinesis planch seed oil). METHODS: According to random number table, 90 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the control group, model group, 60 mg/kg unsaturated fatty acid of actinidia chinesis planch seed oil intervention group, 120 mg/kg unsaturated fatty acid of actinidia chinesis planch seed oil intervention group, 240 mg/kg unsaturated fatty acid of actinidia chinesis planch seed oil intervention group, 18 animals were included in each group. Except for the control group, rats in the remaining groups were constructed by 6MV-X-ray 18Gy full chest radiation, one week before modeling, the rats in the last 3 groups were given (60, 120, 240) mg/kg unsaturated fatty acid of actinidia chinesis planch seed oil. The first two groups were given 0.9% sodium chloride solution by gavage, once a day in each rat. 14 days, 28 days, and 56 days after radiation, the rats were randomly sacrificed and their chests were cut, and ave lung tissue was saved. HE and Masson staining were performed to observe the pathological changes, and the content of SOD, GSH-Px, MPO was determined. The expression of TGF-β1 was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: Compared with the model group, (60, 120, 240) mg/kg unsaturated fatty acid of actinidia chinesis planch seed oil significantly reduced the degree of lung alveolitis and radiation pulmonary fibrosis, reduced the content of hydroxyproline (HYP), MPO, increased the antioxidant enzymes SOD and GSH-Px content, down-regulated the expression of TGF-β1.There were significant differences in the above-mentioned indicators among the intervention groups of (60, 120, 240) mg/kg unsaturated fatty acid of actinidia chinesis planch seed oil group, and it was positively correlated with dosage. CONCLUSION: Unsaturated fatty acid of actinidia chinesis planch seed oil has a preventive effect on radiation-induced lung injury, and its mechanism may be related to the reduction of oxidative stress damage and down-regulation of TGF-β1 expression.