ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Weiwei Tongtiao decoction （WTD） on chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG） rats and the underlying mechanism. MethodA total of 90 SD rats were randomized into normal control group， model group， high-dose， medium-dose， and low-dose WTD groups （18， 9， 4.5 g·kg^-1·d^-1 WTD， respectively， ig）， and weifuchun control group （0.45 g·kg^-1·d^-1 weifuchun aqueous solution， ig）， with 15 rats in each group. The N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine （MNNG） was employed to induced CAG in rats. After the modeling （identified by histopathological examination）， the administration began and lasted 12 weeks. Then， gastric mucosa tissues of the rats were collected and stained with hematoxylin and eosin （HE）， and the pathological changes of gastric mucosa were observed under the optical microscope. Real-time PCR， immunohistochemistry （IHC）， and Western blotting were applied to examine the mRNA and protein expression of indexes in nuclear factor kappa-B （NF-κB） signaling pathway in the gastric mucosa of rats. ResultCAG rats showed irregular arrangement and morphology of the inherent glands in gastric mucosa and the glands decreased or disappeared. In addition， inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in the lamina propria of CAG rats， and about 48.4% presented intestinal metaplasia. WTD significantly alleviated the reduction of the glands and intestinal metaplasia in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with the normal control group， the model group demonstrated increase in the mRNA expression of cyclooxygenase-2 （COX-2）， NF-κB p65， interleukin （IL）-1α， IL-1β， IL-10， IL-8α， and IL-8β， and protein expression of COX-2， NF-κB p65， and IL-10 （P<0.01）. WTD and weifuchun lowered the mRNA expression of COX-2， NF-κB p65， IL-1α， IL-1β， IL-10， IL-8α， and IL-8β， and the protein expression of COX-2， NF-κB p65， and IL-10 in gastric mucosa of CAG rats （P<0.01）. The expression of the above indexes after the intervention with high-dose WTD was close to that of the normal control group. ConclusionWTD can improve or even reverse the diseased gastric mucosa of CAG rats， and the mechanism is the likelihood that WTD down-regulates the mRNA and protein expression of the indexes in NF-κB signaling pathway in gastric mucosa of CAG rats.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Bufeitang on intestinal flora of rats with lung Qi-deficiency syndrome of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease（COPD）， and to explore the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in regulating intestinal flora and thus restoring the balance of lung-gut axis. MethodA total of 84 rats were randomly divided into 7 groups， including blank group， model group， fecal bacterial transplantation（FMT） group， dexamethasone group and low， medium and high dose groups of Bufeitang， 12 rats in each group. Except for the blank group， cigarette and sawdust fumigation combined with intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide（LPS） were used to establish the COPD rat model with lung Qi-deficiency syndrome in all other groups. The low， medium and high dose groups of Bufeitang were intragastric administrated with Bufeitang（3.645， 7.29， 14.58 g·kg^-1）， the FMT group was given fecal bacteria liquid enema（10 mL·kg^-1）， dexamethasone group was given dexamethasone acetate tablet suspension by gavage（0.135 mg·kg^-1）， the blank group and model group were given equal amount of distilled water. Fresh feces were collected after 28 d of continuous intervention for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Lung and colon tissues were stained with hematoxylin-eosin（HE） for pathomorphological observation， and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was performed to detect the contents of tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α） and interleukin-8（IL-8） in lung tissues. ResultCompared with the blank group， the model group showed severe abnormal lung tissue structure with alveolar atrophy and collapse accompanied by severe inflammatory cell infiltration. Compared with the model group， the extent of injury was significantly improved， and inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced with basically normal alveolar structure in the high dose group of Bufeitang. Compared with the blank group， the model group had severely abnormal colonic tissue structure， the epithelial cells in the mucosal layer were eroded and shed， the number of inflammatory cells increased， the submucosal layer was edematous and the gap was enlarged. Compared with the model group， the extent of damage was significantly improved in the medium and high dose groups of Bufeitang， the epithelial cells in the mucosal layer were neatly and closely arranged， with only a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration and no significant degeneration. Compared with the blank group， the TNF-α and IL-8 levels of lung tissue in the model group were significantly increased（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the TNF-α and IL-8 levels of lung tissues in the low， medium and high dose groups of Bufeitang were significantly decreased（P<0.01）. Bufeitang significantly modulated the number of bacteria species as well as alpha and beta diversity of model rats， corrected the return of intestinal flora to normal abundance and diversity， and positively regulated 4 differential phyla（such as Firmicutes， Proteobacteria） and 13 differential genera（such as Turicibacter， Lactobacillus， Anaerobiospirillum， Intestinimonas） in COPD model rats with lung Qi-deficiency syndrome， and down-regulated 2 carbohydrate metabolic pathway functions， including the pentose phosphate pathway（non-oxidative branch） Ⅰ and the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. ConclusionBufeitang can modulate the abundance and diversity of intestinal flora species， affect the function of metabolic pathways， repair the structure of lung and colon tissues， regulate the level of inflammatory factors， and thus improve COPD with lung Qi-deficiency syndrome. The mechanism may be related to its regulation of inflammation-related intestinal flora to restore the balance of lung-gut axis in COPD with lung Qi-deficiency syndrome.