Background: Optimizing cultivation techniques for traditional Chinese medicine has become a crucial means to improve the quality of medicinal materials. Microbial agents, as environmentally friendly and efficient plant growth promoters and soil conditioners, have increasingly attracted attention in eco-agriculture research. Objective: Our understanding remains limited regarding how the application of microbial agents, alone or in combination, affects changes in the rhizosphere microbiome and its association with the bioactive components of medicinal materials. Methods: In this study, Epimedium pubescens Maxim. was employed as a model plant to examine the effects of 2 microbial agents(Paenibacillus mucilaginosus and Bacillus subtilis) applied individually and in combination on plant growth and the accumulation of bioactive components. Additionally, this study explored the relationship between the rhizosphere microbiome and plant development. Results: The application of microbial agents increased the yield of E. pubescens leaves by 20.30% to 33.66% and enhanced the total flavonol glycosides content by 11.40% to 29.94%. Meanwhile, microbial treatments reshaped the rhizosphere microbiome, promoted the enrichment of beneficial microorganisms (e.g., Frankia and Paenibacillus), suppressed phytopathogenic fungi such as Didymella and Scytalidium, and enhanced the stability of the soil microbial co-occurrence network. The partial least squares path model suggested that microbial agents not only directly impact the quality of medicinal herbs but also indirectly alter the accumulation of bioactive components by modulating the soil microbiome. Conclusion: These findings deepen our understanding of the relationship between medicinal plant quality and rhizosphere microbiomes as mediated by microbial agents. They also provide a basis for designing and manipulating synthetic microbial communities to promote sustainable development in eco-agriculture.

Objective:To investigate whether the highly expressed chemokine ligand 17(CCL17)in cervical cancer(CC)pro-motes the progression of CC through M2 macrophage polarization.Methods:The effect of CCL17 on the expression of IL-27 in CC cell line was detected by flow cytometry and ELISA.The effects of CCL17 and IL-27 on proliferation and differentiation of U937 cells were analyzed.The co-culture model of macrophages and CC cells were established to detect the effects of CCL17 on the proliferation of U937 and CC cells.Results:The CC cells secreted significantly higher levels of IL-27 after stimulation with CCL17.In addition,IL-27 but not CCL17 significantly upregulated interleukin 27 receptor(IL-27R,consisted of WSX-1 and GP130)on U937 cells.IL-27 de-rived from CC cells can promote the proliferation of U937 cells and induce the polarization of M2 macrophages.In the co-culture sys-tem,the level of IL-27 secreted by CC cells stimulated by CCL17 was significantly increased,and both CCL17 and IL-27 promoted the proliferation of CC and U937 cells,and the effect of CCL17 was partially reversed by αIL-27.Conclusion:CCL17 promotes the proliferation of macrophages and induces M2 polarization by stimulating CC cells to secrete IL-27,thereby enhancing the crosstalk be-tween CC cells and macrophages.Eventually,CCL17 participates in the malignant evolution of CC.

Background:Optimizing cultivation techniques for traditional Chinese medicine has become a crucial means to improve the quality of medicinal materials.Microbial agents,as environmentally friendly and efficient plant growth promoters and soil conditioners,have increasingly attracted attention in eco-agriculture research.Objective:Our understanding remains limited regarding how the application of microbial agents,alone or in combination,affects changes in the rhizosphere microbiome and its association with the bioactive components of medicinal materials.Methods:In this study,Epimedium pubescens Maxim.was employed as a model plant to examine the effects of 2 microbial agents(Paenibacillus mucilaginosus and Bacillus subtilis)applied individually and in combination on plant growth and the accumulation of bioactive components.Additionally,this study explored the relationship between the rhizosphere microbiome and plant development.Results:The application of microbial agents increased the yield of E.pubescens leaves by 20.30％to 33.66％and enhanced the total flavonol glycosides content by 11.40％to 29.94％.Meanwhile,microbial treatments reshaped the rhizosphere microbiome,promoted the enrichment of beneficial microorganisms(e.g.,Frankia and Paenibacillus),suppressed phytopathogenic fungi such as Didymella and Scytalidium,and enhanced the stability of the soil microbial co-occurrence network.The partial least squares path model suggested that microbial agents not only directly impact the quality of medicinal herbs but also indirectly alter the accumula-tion of bioactive components by modulating the soil microbiome.Conclusion:These findings deepen our understanding of the relationship between medicinal plant quality and rhizosphere micro-biomes as mediated by microbial agents.They also provide a basis for designing and manipulating synthetic microbial communities to promote sustainable development in eco-agriculture.

Objective:To investigate whether the highly expressed chemokine ligand 17(CCL17)in cervical cancer(CC)pro-motes the progression of CC through M2 macrophage polarization.Methods:The effect of CCL17 on the expression of IL-27 in CC cell line was detected by flow cytometry and ELISA.The effects of CCL17 and IL-27 on proliferation and differentiation of U937 cells were analyzed.The co-culture model of macrophages and CC cells were established to detect the effects of CCL17 on the proliferation of U937 and CC cells.Results:The CC cells secreted significantly higher levels of IL-27 after stimulation with CCL17.In addition,IL-27 but not CCL17 significantly upregulated interleukin 27 receptor(IL-27R,consisted of WSX-1 and GP130)on U937 cells.IL-27 de-rived from CC cells can promote the proliferation of U937 cells and induce the polarization of M2 macrophages.In the co-culture sys-tem,the level of IL-27 secreted by CC cells stimulated by CCL17 was significantly increased,and both CCL17 and IL-27 promoted the proliferation of CC and U937 cells,and the effect of CCL17 was partially reversed by αIL-27.Conclusion:CCL17 promotes the proliferation of macrophages and induces M2 polarization by stimulating CC cells to secrete IL-27,thereby enhancing the crosstalk be-tween CC cells and macrophages.Eventually,CCL17 participates in the malignant evolution of CC.

Background:Optimizing cultivation techniques for traditional Chinese medicine has become a crucial means to improve the quality of medicinal materials.Microbial agents,as environmentally friendly and efficient plant growth promoters and soil conditioners,have increasingly attracted attention in eco-agriculture research.Objective:Our understanding remains limited regarding how the application of microbial agents,alone or in combination,affects changes in the rhizosphere microbiome and its association with the bioactive components of medicinal materials.Methods:In this study,Epimedium pubescens Maxim.was employed as a model plant to examine the effects of 2 microbial agents(Paenibacillus mucilaginosus and Bacillus subtilis)applied individually and in combination on plant growth and the accumulation of bioactive components.Additionally,this study explored the relationship between the rhizosphere microbiome and plant development.Results:The application of microbial agents increased the yield of E.pubescens leaves by 20.30％to 33.66％and enhanced the total flavonol glycosides content by 11.40％to 29.94％.Meanwhile,microbial treatments reshaped the rhizosphere microbiome,promoted the enrichment of beneficial microorganisms(e.g.,Frankia and Paenibacillus),suppressed phytopathogenic fungi such as Didymella and Scytalidium,and enhanced the stability of the soil microbial co-occurrence network.The partial least squares path model suggested that microbial agents not only directly impact the quality of medicinal herbs but also indirectly alter the accumula-tion of bioactive components by modulating the soil microbiome.Conclusion:These findings deepen our understanding of the relationship between medicinal plant quality and rhizosphere micro-biomes as mediated by microbial agents.They also provide a basis for designing and manipulating synthetic microbial communities to promote sustainable development in eco-agriculture.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)-induced cytokine storms constitute the primary cause of coronavirus disease 19(COVID-19)progression,severity,criticality,and death.Gluco-corticoid and anti-cytokine therapies are frequently administered to treat COVID-19,but have limited clinical efficacy in severe and critical cases.Nevertheless,the weaknesses of these treatment modalities have prompted the development of anti-inflammatory therapy against this infection.We found that the broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory agent inosine downregulated proinflammatory interleukin(IL)-6,upregulated anti-inflammatory IL-10,and ameliorated acute inflammatory lung injury caused by mul-tiple infectious agents.Inosine significantly improved survival in mice infected with SARS-CoV-2.It indirectly impeded TANK-binding kinase 1(TBK1)phosphorylation by binding stimulator of interferon genes(STING)and glycogen synthase kinase-3β(GSK3β),inhibited the activation and nuclear trans-location of the downstream transcription factors interferon regulatory factor(IRF3)and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB),and downregulated IL-6 in the sera and lung tissues of mice infected with lipopoly-saccharide(LPS),H1N1,or SARS-CoV-2.Thus,inosine administration is feasible for clinical anti-inflammatory therapy against severe and critical COVID-19.Moreover,targeting TBK1 is a promising strategy for inhibiting cytokine storms and mitigating acute inflammatory lung injury induced by SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious agents.