This study aims to explore the mechanism of Jiaotai Pills in treating depression based on metabolomics and network pharmacology. The chemical constituents of Jiaotai Pills were identified by UHPLC-Orbitrap Exploris 480, and the targets of Jiaotai Pills and depression were retrieved from online databases. STRING and Cytoscape 3.7.2 were used to construct the protein-protein interaction network of core targets of Jiaotai Pills in treating depression and the "compound-target-pathway" network. DAVID was used for Gene Ontology(GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses of the core targets. The mouse model of depression was established with chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) and treated with different doses of Jiaotai Pills. The behavioral changes and pathological changes in the hippocampus were observed. UHPLC-Orbitrap Exploris 120 was used for metabolic profiling of the serum, from which the differential metabolites and related metabolic pathways were screened. A "metabolite-reaction-enzyme-gene" network was constructed for the integrated analysis of metabolomics and network pharmacology. A total of 34 chemical components of Jiaotai Pills were identified, and 143 core targets of Jiaotai Pills in treating depression were predicted, which were mainly involved in the arginine and proline, sphingolipid, and neurotrophin metabolism signaling pathways. The results of animal experiments showed that Jiaotai Pills alleviated the depression behaviors and pathological changes in the hippocampus of the mouse model of CUMS-induced depression. In addition, Jiaotai Pills reversed the levels of 32 metabolites involved in various pathways such as arginine and proline metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, and porphyrin metabolism in the serum of model mice. The integrated analysis showed that arginine and proline metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism, and porphyrin metabolism might be the key pathways in the treatment of depression with Jiaotai Pills. In conclusion, metabolomics combined with network pharmacology clarifies the antidepressant mechanism of Jiaotai Pills, which may provide a basis for the clinical application of Jiaotai Pills in treating depression.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Depression/genetics* ; Mice ; Network Pharmacology ; Metabolomics ; Male ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Protein Interaction Maps/drug effects* ; Antidepressive Agents

Based on the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor(α7nAChR), this study examined how tetrahydropalmatine(THP) affected BV2 microglia exposed to lipopolysaccharide(LPS), aiming to clarify the possible mechanism underlying the anti-depression effect of THP from the perspectives of preventing inflammation and regulating polarization. First, after molecular docking and determination of the content of Corydalis saxicola Bunting total alkaloids, THP was initially identified as a possible anti-depression component. The BV2 microglia model of inflammation was established with LPS. BV2 microglia were allocated into a normal group, a model group, low-and high-dose(20 and 40 μmol·L~(-1), respectively) THP groups, and a THP(20 μmol·L~(-1))+α7nAChR-specific antagonist MLA(1 μmol·L~(-1)) group. The CCK-8 assay was used to screen the safe concentration of THP. A light microscope was used to examine the morphology of the cells. Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to determine the expression of α7nAChR. qRT-PCR was performed to determine the mRNA levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS), cluster of differentiation 86(CD86), suppressor of cytokine signaling 3(SOCS3), arginase-1(Arg-1), cluster of differentiation 206(CD206), tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α, interleukin(IL)-6, and IL-1β. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was employed to measure the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in the cell supernatant. The experimental results showed that THP at concentrations of 40 μmol·L~(-1) and below had no effect on BV2 microglia. THP improved the morphology of BV2 microglia, significantly up-regulated the protein level of α7nAChR, significantly down-regulated the mRNA levels of iNOS, CD86, SOCS3, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, significantly up-regulated the mRNA levels of Arg-1 and CD206, and dramatically lowered the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in the cell supernatant. However, the antagonist MLA abolished the above-mentioned ameliorative effects of THP on LPS-treated BV2 microglia. As demonstrated by the aforementioned findings, THP protected LPS-treated BV2 microglia by regulating the M1/M2 polarization and preventing inflammation, which might be connected to the regulation of α7nAChR on BV2 microglia.
Berberine Alkaloids/chemistry* ; alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor/chemistry* ; Microglia/metabolism* ; Mice ; Animals ; Cell Line ; Corydalis/chemistry* ; Humans ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Inflammation/drug therapy* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/immunology* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology*

The effects of Chloriti Lapis on metal elements in plasma and lung tissue of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease( AECOPD) rats were studied. The rat AECOPD model with phlegm heat syndrome was established by smoking combined with Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. After the rats were treated by Chloriti Lapis,the contents of metal elements in plasma and lung tissue were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy( ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). The changes in the contents of metal elements were analyzed by SPSS 18. 0. Further,the correlations of differential metal elements( including Cu/Zn ratio) with differential metabolites in plasma,lung tissue and urine of AECOPD rats treated with Chloriti Lapis were analyzed. The results showed that Chloriti Lapis significantly up-regulated the contents of Fe,Al,Mn,Cu,Zn,Sn( P<0. 05),V,Co( P< 0. 01) and Cu/Zn ratio( P< 0. 05),and significantly down-regulated the contents of Ti( P< 0. 05)and Pb( P<0. 05) in the model rat plasma. It significantly increased the content of Be( P<0. 05) and decreased the contents of Mg,Ti and Al( P<0. 01) in model rat lung tissue. The element profiles of normal group,model group and Chloriti Lapis group can be well separated. Chloriti Lapis group and other groups were clustered into two categories. The taurine in plasma and phytosphingosine in lung tissue had the strongest correlations with differential metal elements. The Fe,Al,Mg,Be,Ti,V,Mn,Cu,Zn,Sn,and Co in Chloriti Lapis may directly or indirectly participate in the intervention of AECOPD rats. This group of metal elements may be the material basis of Chloriti Lapis acting on AECOPD rats,and reduce the Cu/Zn value in vivo. It was further confirmed that Chloriti Lapis could interfere with the metabolic pathways of taurine and hypotaurine in plasma and urine as well as the sphingolipid metabolism pathway in lung tissue of AECOPD rats. In addition,this study confirmed that long-term smoking can cause high-concentration Cd accumulation in the lung and damage the lung tissue.
Animals ; Lung ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Minerals ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Rats ; Spectrum Analysis ; Trace Elements/analysis*

To study the effect of mineral Chloriti Lapis on pulmonary metabolites and metabolic pathways in lung tissues of rats with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(AECOPD). The AECOPD rat model of phlegm heat syndrome was replicated by the method of smoking combined with Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. Except for using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis, SPSS 18.0, SIMCA 13.0 and other software were also used for statistical analysis. Through literature search and online database comparison, the differential metabolites were identified, and the possible metabolic pathways were analyzed. After 15 days of administration, PLS-DA analysis was carried out on lung tissue samples of rats in each group. The results showed that the metabolic profiles of lung tissues of rats in each group could be well separated, which indicated that Chloriti Lapis and aminophylline had significant intervention effect on the lung metabolic profile of rats with AECOPD. Moreover, the metabolic profile of Chloriti Lapis group was closer to that of control group, and the intervention effect was better than that of aminophylline group. As a result, 15 potential differential metabolites were identified: phytosphingosine, sphinganine, tetradecanoylcarnitine, L-palmitoylcarnitine, elaidic carnitine, lysoPC[18∶2(9Z,12Z)], lysoPC(16∶0), lysoPC[18∶1(9Z)], lysoPC(18∶0), stearic acid, lysoPC(15∶0), arachidonic acid, docosapentaenoic acid, linoleic acid and palmitic acid. Among them, Chloriti Lapis could significantly improve the levels of 10 differential metabolites of phytosphingosine, tetradecanoylcarnitine, L-palmitoylcarnitine, elaidic carnitine, lysoPC[18∶2(9Z,12Z)], lysoPC(16∶0), lysoPC[18∶1(9Z)], stearic acid, lysoPC(15∶0), and palmitic acid(P<0.05). The intervention effect of Chloriti Lapis group was better than that of aminophylline group. Analysis of metabolic pathways showed that there were 8 possible metabolic pathways that could be affected, and three of the most important metabolic pathways(pathway impact>0.1) were involved: linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and sphingolipid metabolism. Chloriti Lapis had obvious intervention effects on lung tissue-related metabolites and metabolic pathways in rats with AECOPD, and the effect was better than that of aminophyllinne.
Animals ; Lung ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Metabolomics ; Minerals ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Rats

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of oral mifepristone (10 mg/day) versus placebo in the preoperative treatment of uterine fibroids.Methods:This study was a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo, parallel controlled trial. A total of 132 patients with uterine fibroids were randomly divided into study group and control group, with 66 cases in each group. The patients in the study group orally took 1 tablet/day of mifepristone (dose of 10 mg/tablet), the patients in the control group orally took 1 tablet/day of placebo, and both groups were treated for 3 months. The primary efficacy evaluation indicators were the change rate of maximum fibroid volume; the secondary efficacy evaluation indicators included amenorrhea rate, improvement of subjective symptoms and anemia; the safety evaluation indicators included the analysis of adverse events and changes in laboratory biochemical indicators.Results:At the end of treatment, the maximum leiomyoma volume was reduced by 25.97% (95% CI: -34.79%--15.95%) in the study group and reduced by 1.51% (95% CI: -13.03%-11.54%) in the control group. The change rate of the maximum leiomyoma volume before and after treatment in the study group was significantly greater than that in the control group, and the difference in the change rate of the maximum leiomyoma volume between the two groups was -24.84% (95% CI: -36.56%--10.94%), which was much higher than the 10% superiority threshold goal set by this study within the 95% CI interval. At the end of treatment, the complete amenorrhea rate [84% (52/62)], dysmenorrhea elimination rate [98% (61/62)], and menstrual blood loss disappearance rate [87% (54/62)] in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). At the end of treatment, the mean hemoglobin [(131±13) g/L], red blood cell count [(4.5±0.4)×10 12/L] and hematocrit (0.39±0.03) in the study group were significantly increased compared with the baseline, and the differences had statistical significance (all P<0.05); after treatment, the differences in the above three indicators between the two groups had statistical significance (all P<0.01). The serum estradiol level in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group at the end of treatment, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in follicle-stimulating hormone and cortisol levels before and after treatment between the two groups ( P>0.05). The overall incidences of any adverse event were not significantly different between the two groups (all P>0.05). Abdominal pain was the most common adverse event in the study group [9% (6/65)], but the incidence was not significantly increased compared with the control group [3% (2/64); P>0.05]. Conclusion:Compared with placebo, oral mifepristone 10 mg/day is significantly superior to placebo in reducing the size of uterine fibroids and improving anemia, without significant adverse reactions, and could be used as a drug treatment for patients with of uterine fibroids before surgery.

Objective:To investigate the effect of Chloriti Lapis on metal elements in brain tissue and plasma of epileptic rats kindled by pentylenetetrazol （PTZ）， and to explore the possible material basis of Chloriti Lapis. Method:PTZ kindling method was used to establish epileptic rat model. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （ICP-MS） and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer （ICP-OES） were used to determine the contents of metal elements in brain tissue and plasma of the blank group， model group， carbamazepine group （0.1 g·kg^-1） and Chloriti Lapis group （2 g·kg^-1）. The data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 18.0 software. Result:Compared with the blank group， the contents of Sr， Sb and Ba in brain tissue of rats in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the contents of Zn， Fe， Cu， K， Li， Co， Sn and Pb were significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the contents of Zn， Fe， K， Li， Co， As and Pb in brain tissue of rats in the Chloriti Lapis group were obviously increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the contents of Sr and Sb were significantly decreased （P<0.01）. These results showed that Chloriti Lapis had positive effect on the regulation of the content of metal elements in rat brain tissue to normal level， the intervention effect was clear， and the overall effect was better than that of carbamazepine group. The determination of 21 metal elements in plasma showed that compared with the blank group， the levels of K， Sr and Cd in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.05）， and the contents of Li， Al， Ti and Cr were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the contents of Ca， K， Li， Al and V in the Chloriti Lapis group were obviously increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the contents of Fe， Ti， Sr and Cd were significantly decreased （P<0.05，P<0.01）. The correlation analysis of metal elements among the groups showed that there were 17 pairs of elements had positively correlation in the brain tissue of rats， 2 pairs of elements had significant negative correlation. In the plasma of rats， 8 pairs of elements had significant positive correlation and 6 pairs of elements had significant negative correlation. Conclusion:The metal element groups represented by Zn， Fe， K， Li， Co， As， Pb， Sr， Sb， Ca， Al， V， Ti and Cd may be the effective material basis for Chloriti Lapis to interfere PTZ-kindled epileptic model rats， which may be related to the influence of these metal element groups on the release of neurotransmitters and the electrical balance of neurons， the regulation of abnormal synchronous discharge induced by Na⁺， K⁺， Ca²⁺ channel disorders and intervention of metabolism pathways in brain tissue related to epilepsy. It can make the excitatory and inhibitory activities restrain each other， and finally reach the normal physiological state of neurons and cells. The intervention effect of Chloriti Lapis group was better than that of carbamazepine group.

Objective:To explore the possible mechanism of Chloriti Lapis in the treatment of epilepsy by the metabonomics of brain tissue in pentylenetetrazol （PTZ）-kindled epileptic rats treated with Chloriti Lapis. Method:The epileptic animal model in rats was established by PTZ kindling， and the rats were divided into the control group， model group， carbamazepine group and Chloriti Lapis group. The brain tissue samples were detected by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC/Q-TOF-MS）， and the experimental results were statistically analyzed by partial least squares-discriminant analysis （PLS-DA） and SPSS 18.0. Result:The metabolic fingerprints and metabolic profiles of the rat brain tissue were established， which showed that the metabolic profiles of each group had changed significantly and could be separated well among the groups. Moreover， the Chloriti Lapis group had a tendency to be closer to the control group than the carbamazepine group. Seven differential metabolites were screened， including phosphatidylserine （PS） （18∶0/18∶0）， L-glutamic acid， docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide， arachidonic acid， glucosylsphingosine， cholestane-3，7，12，24，25-pentol and lysophosphatidylcholine （LysoPC） （P-18∶0）. Except for docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide and LysoPC （P-18∶0）， Chloriti Lapis had significant intervening and regulating effects on the other five differential metabolites. There were 12 possible metabolic pathways that affected the metabolic disorder of PTZ-kindled rats， and 3 important metabolic pathways （pathway impact>0.1）， namely， D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism， alanine， aspartate and glutamate metabolism， and arachidonic acid metabolism， among which D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism was the most important metabolic pathways. Conclusion:From this point of view， Chloriti Lapis has a clear intervention effect on PTZ-kindled epileptic rats， which may be related to the intervention of the above differential metabolite contents and related metabolic pathways. It can reduce the toxic effect of excitatory neurotransmitters on neurons in brain tissue and inhibit the development of inflammation in brain tissue， so as to maintain the biological function of brain cells and slow down the occurrence of epilepsy.

Objective:To study the effect of sedimentary type Limonitum on hemostatic indexes in blood and metal ions in serum of rats with hemorrhage. Method:The hemorrhagic rat models were established by warfarin sodium. The experimental animals were divided into control group，model group，powder group and water decoction group. On day 15 from drug administration， the contents of 6-keto prostaglandin F_1α（6-keto-PGF_1α），thromboxane B₂（TXB₂），arachidonic acid（AA），endothelin 1（ET-1），platelet activating factor（PAF），P-selectin（PS），and Ca²⁺ in the whole blood of rats in each group were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. The contents of Na，Mg，K，Ca，Fe，Al，Li，Be，Ti，V，Cr，Mn，Co，Ni，Cu，Zn，As，Sr，Cd，Sn，Sb，Ba，and Pb in serum samples were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer（ICP-OES） and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry（ICP-MS）. Result:Compared with the model group，the content of 6-keto-PGF_1α was reduced in the powder group and water decoction group （P<0.05），and the contents of TXB₂，AA，ET-1，PAF，PS，Ca²⁺ were significantly increased（P<0.01），with a positive and beneficial regulatory effect. In the powder group， 10 kinds of metal elements in serum of rats were significantly and positively regulated： Na，K，Ca，Fe，Li，Ti，V，Co，Cu，and Zn（P<0.05，P<0.01）. In the water decoction group， 10 metal elements with significant positive regulation were as follows： Na，K，Ca，Fe，Li，V，Ni，Cu，Zn，and Sr（P<0.05，P<0.01）. In addition，the content of Cr（P<0.01） in the powder group and Cr（P<0.01），Pb（P<0.05） in the water decoction group were significantly reduced. Conclusion:The powder and water decoction of sedimentary type Limonitum had definite and positive intervention effect on warfarin hemorrhage model rats，which could play a coagulation role by enhancing the vasoconstriction ability，promoting the activation of platelets，and increasing the platelet aggregation rate and blood viscosity. The metal elements such as Na，K，Ca，Fe，Li，Ti，V，Co，Cu，Zn，Ni and Sr may be the material basis for sedimentary type Limonitum to exert hemostatic effect. According to the above indicators，the intervention effect of powder group and decoction group was basically the same.

BACKGROUND: Among malignant tumors, lung cancer has the highest mortality rate. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a kind of malignant lung cancer. Its doubling time is very fast. Patients are prone to drug resistance during treatment, and their condition often deteriorates rapidly after recurrence. Except for topotecan, there is a lack of effective second-line single-agent chemotherapy. This study aims to analysis the efficacy and safety of irinotecan (CPT-11) in the second-line treatment of refractory and relapsed SCLC. METHODS: A total of 107 SCLC patients were collected from the Department of Oncology, Jilin Guowen Hospital, who were diagnosed from April 2012 to March 2020, relapsed within 6 months after first-line treatment, and received second-line chemotherapy with single-agent CPT-11. Follow-up until November 2020, calculate the patient's progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and summarize the effects and adverse reactions of CPT-11 chemotherapy. RESULTS: The patient's median PFS was 3.8 (3.4-4.4) months, median OS was 8.1 (6.5-10.9) months, objective response rate (ORR) was 16.82% (18/107), and DCR was 55.14% (59/107). The incidence of grade 3-4 adverse reactions in patients was relatively low. Among them, neutropenia was 13.08%, delayed diarrhea was 7.48%, nausea and vomiting was 17.76%, and liver function impairment was 6.54%. The influencing factors of PFS in single-agent CPT-11 second-line chemotherapy were gender (P=0.001), NSE (P=0.029), and effusion (P=0.040). While the influencing factors of OS were NSE level only (P=0.033). CONCLUSIONS For patients with refractory relapsed SCLC, CPT-11 single-agent second-line chemotherapy has a certain effect, is well tolerated, and is worthy of promotion.
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The aim of the present study was to observe the expression of pyroptosis- and inflammation-related proteins in the hippocampus of mice with insulin resistance (IR) after aerobic exercise, and to explore the possible mechanism of exercise to improve IR. C57BL/6J male mice of 6 weeks old were randomly fed with normal diet (n = 12) and high-fat diet (HFD) (n = 26) for 12 weeks respectively. Glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) were performed to determine whether IR occurred in HFD mice. Then the mice were randomly divided into control group (n = 12), IR group (n = 10) and IR + aerobic exercise group (AE, n = 10). Mice in AE group performed a 12-week progressive speed treadmill training after being adapted to the treadmill for one week. After the intervention, the expression of pyroptosis- and inflammation-related proteins in hippocampus was detected by Western blot. The results showed that compared with control group, NFκB, Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing CARD (ASC), pyroptosis-related proteins like pro-Caspase-1, gasdermin D (GSDMD), GSDMD-N, and inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-18 were significantly increased. The inflammasome-related protein NIMA-related kinase 7 (NEK7) and pyroptosis-related protein Caspase-1 showed an increasing trend, but there was no significant difference. Compared with the IR group, progressive speed treadmill training significantly reduced the expression of NFκB, NLRP3, NEK7, ASC, pro-Caspase-1, GSDMD, GSDMD-N, IL-1β, and IL-18 in the hippocampus of mice with IR. These results suggested 12-week progressive speed treadmill training can significantly reduce the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins and inflammatory factors in the hippocampus of mice with IR, and inhibit pyroptosis.
Animals ; Caspase 1 ; Gene Expression ; Hippocampus ; Inflammasomes ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; NIMA-Related Kinases ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Pyroptosis