OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of FK506 on cytokine secretions in whole blood from healthy individuals.

METHODSBlood samples collected from healthy volunteers were co-cultured with different concentrations of FK506 and stimulated with PMA and IONO. The concentrations of 8 cytokines including IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, GM-CSF and G-CSF were detected by Bio-Plex suspension system.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, high-concentration FK506 (20 ng/ml) significantly inhibited the secretions of IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, GM-CSF and G-CSF. At a moderate concentration (5 ng/ml), FK506 inhibited the secretion of GM-CSF significantly.

CONCLUSIONFK506 effectively inhibits the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha and also the secretion of IL-2, IL-12, IL-17, GM-CSF and G-CSF. FK506 might play the role of immunosuppression by inhibiting the production of these cytokines by the immune cells. Monitoring the levels of these cytokines might be a potential method for evaluating the adequacy of FK506 doses administered.

Adult ; Cytokines ; blood ; secretion ; Down-Regulation ; drug effects ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; pharmacology ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; secretion ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; secretion ; Male ; Tacrolimus ; pharmacology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; secretion ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo compare the responses to sepsis between C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice.

METHODSThirty C57BL/6 mice and 30 BALB/c mice were randomized into sham-operated group and sepsis group (n=15). Sepsis model was established by cecal ligation puncture (CLP) in the mice, and 6 h after the operation, 5 mice from each group were selected randomly for cytokine detection including IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, GM-CSF, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha by Bio-plex. The other 10 mice in each group were used for survival analysis.

RESULTSThe survival rates of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were both 100% in one week after the sham operation, but lowered to 10% and 50% in one week after CLP, respectively. The survival rate of C57BL/6 mice was significantly lower than that of BALB/c mice (P<0.05). After CLP, C57BL/6 mice showed significantly greater IL-4, TNF-alpha and IL-10 production than the sham-operated mice, but the concentrations of the 8 cytokines in BALB/c mice after CLP showed no significant increment.

CONCLUSIONCompared with BALB/c mice, C57BL/6 strain mouse is more sensitive to sepsis.

Animals ; Cytokines ; blood ; Disease Models, Animal ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Random Allocation ; Sepsis ; blood ; Species Specificity

OBJECTIVETo assess the effect and safety of nano-Amoni Paste (nmAP) in the treatment of children's anorexia (AR).

METHODSOne hundred and eighty patients of AR were assigned according to the randomized, double-blinded, double-simulated and parallel controlled principle to three groups, the treated group (TG), the positive control group (PCG) and the negative control group (NCG), 60 in each group. The patients in TG were treated by sticking 1.5 ml of nmAP on the acupoint of Shenque (Ren 8) once a day and orally taking placebo liquid 10 ml twice a day; those in PCG and NCG treated with sticking paste of placebo on Ren 8, and oral taking of Shanmai Jianpi Oral Liquid and placebo liquid respectively, 10 ml each time twice per day. The course of treatment for all was 10 days, all patients were treated for 2 courses.

RESULTSThe total effective rate and the effective rate on cardinal symptom in TG was 85.0% and 95.0% respectively, that in PCG 86.2% and 96.55% and in NCG 45.5% and 65.45%, respectively, showing significant difference between groups (P<0.05). Comparison of the clinical manifestation before and after treatment showed significant improvement in volume of food intake, appetite, complexion and reduction of restlessness symptom (P<0.05) in all three groups, and there was no adverse reaction found in them.

CONCLUSIONnmAP is an effective and safe remedy for treatment of Children's anorexia.

Acupuncture Points ; Amomum ; chemistry ; Anorexia ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Appetite ; drug effects ; Body Height ; drug effects ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Double-Blind Method ; Eating ; drug effects ; Female ; Humans ; Liposomes ; Male ; Nanoparticles ; Oils, Volatile ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; isolation & purification ; therapeutic use ; Ointments ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Psychomotor Agitation ; physiopathology ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of transfusion of apoptotic and necrotic thymocytes prior to sepsis on the survival rate of mice.

METHODSBALB/c mice are divided into 3 groups and received intravenous injection of PBS (control), apoptotic thymocytes, or necrotic thymocytes. Three days later, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) were performed to induce sepsis in these mice, and their survival and organ damage were observed.

RESULTSThe survival rates of mice in PBS group was 44.6% at the end of first week after CLP, and obvious lung and kidney damages were observed. A significant increase in the survival rate was found in apoptotic cell transfusion group (69.6%, P=0.012), with also lessened lung and kidney damages. The survival rate of mice in necrotic cell transfusion group was only 31.6% at 2 weeks, significantly lower than that in PBS group (P=0.035), and the lung and kidney damage was even more obvious.

CONCLUSIONTransfusion of apoptotic thymocytes 3 days before induction of sepsis can reduce organ damage and improve the survival rate of mice, while necrotic cell transfusion produces the opposite effect.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Disease Models, Animal ; Lymphocyte Transfusion ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Necrosis ; Sepsis ; mortality ; therapy ; Survival Rate ; Thymus Gland ; cytology

Animals ; Female ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Hepatocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; ultrastructure ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; metabolism

By consulting ancient herbal medicines and medical books， combined with modern documents and field investigations， the textual research of Pheretima has been conducted to verify the name， origin， producing area， quality， harvesting and processing changes， and sort out the relationship of origin between ancient and modern times， so as to provide reference and basis for the development and utilization of the related famous classical formulas. Through textual research， it is known that there are many aliases for Pheretima， the rectification of name was "Qiuyin" or "Baijing Qiuyin" in materia medica books. In the Song dynasty and later prescription books， the prescription name is mostly Dilong. From the beginning of Yaowu Chuchanbian （《药物出产辨》）， Dilong was used as the rectification of name. It is widely distributed in our country， which is produced all over the country and mostly wild. According to ancient Pheretima with "Baijing Dilong"， "Jingbai Shenzi" and "Datiao" as the principles of medicine， combined with historical origin， producing area and easy access， it is confirmed that Pheretima used in ancient times to the present is mainly Pheretima aspergillum， and it also has many other Qiuyin as Pheretima for medicinal purposes. Chinese Pharmacopoeia has unified the origin of the Pheretima since the 1995 edition based on historical origins and actual harvesting conditions. The medicinal material processed by P. aspergillum was called Guangdilong， and the medicinal materials processed by P. vulgaris， P. guillelmi and P. pectinifera were called Hudilong. Since then， all the herbal books published in the future are in line with Chinese Pharmacopoeia that was implemented at that time. The authentic production areas of Guangdilong are Guangdong and Guangxi， and the authentic production areas of Hudilong is Jiangsu， Shanghai， Zhejiang and Anhui. The Guangdilong produced in Guangdong and Guangxi has the best quality. After harvesting， remove the soil and offal， wash and dry. Clinically cut into sections for medicine， or prepare medicine according to prescription. The Pheretima in ancient used "Baijing Dilong"， "Jingbai Shenzi" and "Datiao" as the mainstream quality evaluation standards. According to historical origins， P. aspergillum should be the main source of Pheretima， and its quality is better than other species. Therefore， it is recommended that Pheretima in Shentong Zhuyutang use P. aspergillum， which is produced in Guangdong， Guangxi and other places. After harvest， the abdomen was opened in time to remove the viscera and sediment， washed and dried.

By consulting ancient Chinese herbal medicines and medical books， combined with modern documents， the textual research of Polygonati Rhizoma has been conducted to verify the name， origin， bitter-flavored Polygonatum species， Latin name evolution， origin， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing changes， so as to provide reference and basis for the development and utilization of the famous classical formulas. Through textual research， it can be seen that there are many other names for Polygonati Rhizoma， and Huangjing is the correct name since Mingyi Bielu. Based on the original research， it is concluded that P. sibiricum and P. cyrtonema were the mainstream of Polygonati Rhizoma before the Tang dynasty， and P. kingianum was added in the Qing dynasty. According to the shape of medicinal materials， these Polygonatum species were called Jitou Huangjing， Jiangxing Huangjing and Dahuangjing. The harvest time of Polygonati Rhizoma is spring and autumn. After harvest， it is steamed and dried in the sun， and its processing method is mainly "nine steaming and nine storms". Bitter-flavored Polygonatum is mainly P. cirrhifolium， P. zanlanscianense， P. curvistylum and P. verticillatum， which are not suitable for medicine. Based on textual research， it is recommended that when developing famous classical formulas and health products with Polygonati Rhizoma as the main raw material， the origin and producing area should be clear and fixed， and P. sibiricum or P. cyrtonema with clear origin should be used. It is necessary to conduct germplasm survey and sampling in the producing area， establish a planting base and a traceability system for Polygonati Rhizoma， in order to control the quality and stabilize the efficacy of the products. The processing method of Polygonati Rhizoma can be determined according to the product function positioning.

The present study aimed to regulate the market circulation of Caryophylli Flos and formulate standards for commodity specifications and grades of Caryophylli Flos. Market survey was carried out in four major medicinal material markets with 48 samples of Caryophylli Flos collected. The property, 100-seed weight, impurity percentage, moisture, and eugenol content in Caryophylli Flos of different specifications from different producing areas were determined and analyzed. The results showed that 27.1% of the samples surveyed on the markets did not meet the requirements of Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition). The 100-seed weight and the property are important factors for the classification of Caryophylli Flos specifications. There were significant differences in the property, 100-seed weight, impurity percentage, and eugenol content in Caryophylli Flos samples of different specifications from different producing areas, and also differences in the proportions of different specifications in Caryophylli Flos samples from different producing areas. The African-originated Xiaohong(medium grade) and Guangxi-originated Xiaohong(medium grade) accounted for 70% and 66.7% respectively, the Indonesian-originated Dahong(top grade) for 56.2%. In conclusion, there are many problems in the circulation of Caryophylli Flos at present, mainly including the loss of origin information, no standards for specifications, non-implementation of grade standards, excessive impurities, and no evidence for authenticity identification. According to the classification of Caryophylli Flos specifications in this study, the average eugenol content of Xiaohong is significantly higher than the Dahong by 4.74%.
China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/analysis* ; Indonesia