AIM To investigate the mechanism of Jiedu Yizhi Formula on cognitive function and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease(AD).METHODS 50 APP/PS1 double transgenic mice were randomly divided into the model group,the donepezil group,and the low-dose,moderate-dose,and high-dose Jiedu Yizhi Formula group(1.78,3.56 and 7.12 g/kg),with 10 mice in each group,in contrast to the 10 WT mice of the blank group.Following anesthesia administration and 8-week oral gavage regimen with respective drugs,all mice underwent final tissue sample collection.The mice had their learning and memory ability assessed by Morris water maze and nesting behavior scores;their pathology of brain tissue and Aβ expression observed using HE,Nissl and IHC staining;their polarization of microglia and the expression of inflammatory factors in hippocampal tissue detected by IF and ELISA;their hippocampal expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot.RESULTS Compared with the blank group,the model group had lower scores in total swimming distance,frequency in crossing the platform,residence time in the target quadrant,and nesting behavior scores(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);prolonged evasion latency(P＜0.01);more disorganized arrangement of pyramidal cells,solidification and deep staining,unclear demarcation,irregular cell shapes,reduction of Nyctinidia,and increased Aβ deposition in the brain tissue(P＜0.01);elevated expression of hippocampal microglia M1-type markers CD16/32 and lba-1(P＜0.01);decreased levels of M2-type marker CD206(P＜0.05);elevated levels of TNF-α and IL-1β(P＜0.01);decreased expressions of IL-13 and IL-4(P＜0.01);and decreased levels of PI3K,Akt and mTOR mRNA,and reduced p-PI3K,p-Akt and p-mTOR protein expressions(P＜0.01).Compared to the model group,the donepezil group and the Jiedu Yizhi Formula groups showed statistically significant improvements in the aforementioned indexes(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),with the magnitude of improvement being higher in the high-dose Jiedu Yizhi Formula group.CONCLUSION Jiedu Yizhi Formula suppresses microglia Ml-type polarization while enhancing M2-type polarization via activation the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway,which subsequently reduces inflammatory cytokine secretion.This mechanism attenuates Aβ deposition in brain tissues and ameliorates cognitive dysfunction in AD mouse models.

AIM To investigate the mechanism of Jiedu Yizhi Formula on cognitive function and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease(AD).METHODS 50 APP/PS1 double transgenic mice were randomly divided into the model group,the donepezil group,and the low-dose,moderate-dose,and high-dose Jiedu Yizhi Formula group(1.78,3.56 and 7.12 g/kg),with 10 mice in each group,in contrast to the 10 WT mice of the blank group.Following anesthesia administration and 8-week oral gavage regimen with respective drugs,all mice underwent final tissue sample collection.The mice had their learning and memory ability assessed by Morris water maze and nesting behavior scores;their pathology of brain tissue and Aβ expression observed using HE,Nissl and IHC staining;their polarization of microglia and the expression of inflammatory factors in hippocampal tissue detected by IF and ELISA;their hippocampal expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot.RESULTS Compared with the blank group,the model group had lower scores in total swimming distance,frequency in crossing the platform,residence time in the target quadrant,and nesting behavior scores(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);prolonged evasion latency(P＜0.01);more disorganized arrangement of pyramidal cells,solidification and deep staining,unclear demarcation,irregular cell shapes,reduction of Nyctinidia,and increased Aβ deposition in the brain tissue(P＜0.01);elevated expression of hippocampal microglia M1-type markers CD16/32 and lba-1(P＜0.01);decreased levels of M2-type marker CD206(P＜0.05);elevated levels of TNF-α and IL-1β(P＜0.01);decreased expressions of IL-13 and IL-4(P＜0.01);and decreased levels of PI3K,Akt and mTOR mRNA,and reduced p-PI3K,p-Akt and p-mTOR protein expressions(P＜0.01).Compared to the model group,the donepezil group and the Jiedu Yizhi Formula groups showed statistically significant improvements in the aforementioned indexes(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),with the magnitude of improvement being higher in the high-dose Jiedu Yizhi Formula group.CONCLUSION Jiedu Yizhi Formula suppresses microglia Ml-type polarization while enhancing M2-type polarization via activation the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway,which subsequently reduces inflammatory cytokine secretion.This mechanism attenuates Aβ deposition in brain tissues and ameliorates cognitive dysfunction in AD mouse models.

Objective:To establish a stable rat model of sequelae of pelvic inflammatory disease(SPID)with clinical characteristics,and to provide a reliable experimental model for the study of the pharmcological effect and mechanism of SPID.Methods:Twenty-four 7-week-old SD rats were divided into sham operation group,model-A(108 cfu/mL mixed bacterial solution,0.2 mL),model-B(109 cfu/mL mixed bacterial solution 0.2 mL),and model-C(108 cfu/mL E.coli 0.2 mL).The weight of the rat's uterine was weighed and the uterine index was calculated.The automatic hematology analyzer was used to detect the blood routine;hematoxylin-eosin staining(HE)and masson staining were used to detect uterine pathlogical changes in rats.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was used to detect interleukin-1β(IL-1β),interleukin-6(IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in rat uterine tissue homogenates.Western blot was used to detect the expression of proteins related to NF-κB signaling pathway.Results:Compared with the sham operation group,the uterine index of model-A,model-B,and model-C were significantly increased(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).The levels of WBC and NE in the model-A increased significantly(P＜0.01).The level of LY in model-B decreased significantly(P＜0.01).The levels of IL-1β,TNF-α in model-A,model-B,and model-C were significantly increased(P＜0.01).The levels of IL-6 in model-A and model-B were significantly increased(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).The collagen volume fraction of model-A and model-B were significantly increased(P＜0.01).Mechanism study indicates that the expression levels of p-IKKβ/IKKβ,p-IκBα/IκBα and p-p65/p65 in model-A were significantly increased(P＜0.01),and the expression levels of IκBα/β-actin were significantly decreased(P＜0.01).The expression level of p-IKKβ/IKKβ in model-B was significantly increased(P＜0.01).Conclusions:A stable rat model of SPID that conforms to clinical characteristics can be successfully constructed by combining 0.2 mL of mixed bacterial solution with a concentration of 108 cfu/mL and mechanical injury.This modeling method intervened in the expression of the NF-κB inflammatory signaling pathway.

Objective To study the economic burden caused by healthcare-associated infection(HAI)in patients with severe acute pancreatitis(SAP),and provide theoretical basis for formulating HAI prevention and control measures.Methods Patients with SAP discharged from a tertiary first-class hospital in Jiangxi Province from July 1,2023 to June 30,2024 were selected as the study subjects.Information including demographic characteristics,clinical data,and hospitalization expense were collected.Patients were divided into a HAI group and a non-HAI group according to HAI occurrence.A propensity score matching(PSM)method was used to conduct a 1∶2 ma-tching,and differences in the length of hospital stay and hospitalization expense between the two groups of patients after PSM were compared.Results A total of 709 patients were included in the analysis,out of which 65 cases ex-perienced HAI,with a HAI incidence of 9.17％.After PSM,all 65 patients in the HAI group were successfully matched.The length of hospital stay,total hospitalization expense,expenses of medication and hygiene product of patients in the HAI group were all higher than those in the non-HAI group,and differences were all statistically sig-nificant(all P＜0.001).Patients who experienced≥2 episodes of HAI had a higher economic burden than those who experienced only once(P＜0.05).HAI of bloodstream,abdomen,digestive system,and respiratory system significantly increased the economic burden of patients(all P＜0.05).Conclusion HAI in SAP patients can extend the length of hospital stay and increase economic burden of patients.Targeted infection prevention and control mea-sures should be formulated to reduce the incidence of HAI and save medical resources.

Iodine speciations in aquatic environments are affected by dissolved oxygen,redox potential,microbial activity,organic matter decomposition,light reaction,etc.Accurate quantification of iodine speciation can not only help to understand the geochemical cycle of iodine,but also help to trace and study environmental processes.Based on the combination of ion chromatography(IC)and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS),a rapid and sensitive method was established for determining the speciations of iodine in environmental water samples including seawater,river water,lake water,rainwater,groundwater,etc.The results presented here showed that IO3?and I?in seawater were quickly separated and measured within 120 s when using guard column AG22 and 8 mmol/L(NH4)2CO3 as the mobile phase.While for lake water,river water and precipitation samples with high soluble organically bond iodine(SOI),an AS22 separation column(250 mm×4 mm)connected with a guard column and using 50 mmol/L(NH4)2CO3 as mobile phase could effectively separate unknown SOI from IO3? to achieve accurate quantification of IO3?.For accurate correction of iodine measurement signal fluctuations,133Cs was directly added to the(NH4)2CO3 mobile phase as an internal standard.The SOI content was calculated by the total iodine concentrations minus the sum of IO3?and I?.The precision of the established iodine speciation analytical method was better than 3.5%,and the standard addition experiment showed that the analytical method was accurate.When the injection volume was 25 μL,the detection limits were 0.011?0.025 μg/L for IO3? and 0.023?0.031 μg/L for I?,respectively.The method was successfully used to analyze IO3?,SOI and I? in environmental water samples,such as seawater,river water,rainwater and groundwater.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of a novel FANCL mutation identified in a patient with premature ovarian insufficiency(POI)and to explore its potential functional impacts in vitro.Methods A novel FANCL heterozygous mutation c.1033G>A(p.Glu345Lys)was screened in a patient with POI using whole exome sequencing(WES),which was found to be inherited from a mother who had undergone early menopause.The authenticity of the mutation was identified by Sanger sequencing and the conserved nature of the mutation site was predicted by software.Overexpressing FANCL mutant and wildtype plasmids were constructed and transiently transfected into HEK293T cell lines,and the effect of the mutation was detected by qPCR,immunofluorescence and Western blot.Results The mutation site of FANCL was located within the Ring domain of FANCL,which was highly conserved across multiple species.The mutant showed no significant change in mRNA expression level,while the protein expression level was significantly down-regulated.In vitro cellular experiments further revealed that the mutation leads to decreased expression levels by reducing protein stability.Conclusion A FANCL c.1033G>A mutation was found and it may cause disease in the POI patient due to decreased protein stability.

Aim To identify the underlying target of bullatine A(BA)against rheumatoid arthritis(RA)u-sing limited proteolysis-small molecule mapping(LiP-SMap)drug target proteomics and to provide a scientif-ic basis for clinical application of Aconiti brachypodi Radix in the treatment of RA.Methods LiP-SMap drug target proteomics was employed to perform bioin-formatics analysis for comparing and validating the dif-ferential protein expression after BA intervention.A collagen-induced arthritis(CIA)model was estab-lished in DBA/1 mice using bovine type Ⅱ collagen.The mice were then divided into the CIA model group,methotrexate-positive control group(MTX group),and BA groups(10 mg·kg-1 and 20 mg·kg-1)based on their clinical scores.After drug intervention,the thera-peutic efficacy against RA was assessed by joint index scores and foot thickness measurements.Histopatholog-ical changes in the arthritic joints of CIA mice were e-valuated using hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was employed to detect inflammatory cytokines interleukin-17(IL-17)and total IgG and IgG3 anti-collagen-spe-cific antibodies levels from the serum of CIA mice.Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression levels of intracellular Th17 cells(IL-17+CD4+T cells)and Th1 cells(IFN-γ+CD4+T cells).Fluorescent quanti-tative PCR was performed to detect the expression of genes related to differential proteins.Results The proteomic analysis identified Serpinb1a as a protein with strong binding affinity to BA,and KEGG enrich-ment analysis indicated IL-17 signaling pathway was a crucial pathway of BA in against RA.BA treatment significantly reduced clinical scores and foot thickness,improved local arthritis symptoms in CIA mice,and al-leviated inflammatory cell infiltration into arthritic joints(P＜0.05).Differential protein validation re-sults showed that BA had strong affinity with Serpinb1a(-5.92 kJ·mol-1)and downregulated the expres-sion of Serpinb1a mRNA.Furthermore,the administra-tion of BA markedly reduced serum IL-17 A levels from CIA mice,inhibited the expression of intracellular IL-17 A and IFN-γ cytokines in splenic CD4+T cells(P＜0.05),and significantly downregulated the transcrip-tional expression of IL-17F(P＜0.05).Conclusion BA exhibits therapeutic effects on collagen-induced arthritis,and its mechanism of action may involve the regulation of Serpinb1a and the IL-17 signaling path-way.

Early-life stress (ES) leads to cognitive dysfunction in female adolescents, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain elusive. Recent evidence suggests that the cell adhesion molecules NECTIN1 and NECTIN3 play a role in cognition and ES-related cognitive deficits in male rodents. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether and how nectins contribute to ES-induced cognitive dysfunction in female adolescents. Applying the well-established limited bedding and nesting material paradigm, we found that ES impairs recognition memory, suppresses prefrontal NECTIN1 and hippocampal NECTIN3 expression, and upregulates corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh) and its receptor 1 (Crhr1) mRNA levels in the hippocampus of adolescent female mice. Genetic experiments revealed that the reduction of dorsal CA1 (dCA1) NECTIN3 mediates ES-induced object recognition memory deficits, as knocking down dCA1 NECTIN3 impaired animals' performance in the novel object recognition task, while overexpression of dCA1 NECTIN3 successfully reversed the ES-induced deficits. Notably, prefrontal NECTIN1 knockdown did not result in significant cognitive impairments. Furthermore, acute systemic administration of antalarmin, a CRHR1 antagonist, upregulated hippocampal NECTIN3 levels and rescued object and spatial memory deficits in stressed mice. Our findings underscore the critical role of dCA1 NECTIN3 in mediating ES-induced object recognition memory deficits in adolescent female mice, highlighting it as a potential therapeutic target for stress-related psychiatric disorders in women.
Animals ; Female ; Mice ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal/metabolism* ; Cell Adhesion Molecules/metabolism* ; CRF Receptor, Type 1/metabolism* ; Memory Disorders/etiology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Nectins/genetics* ; Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Recognition, Psychology/physiology* ; Stress, Psychological/complications*

The ventral anterior (VA) nucleus of the thalamus is a major target of the basal ganglia and is closely associated with the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Notably, the VA receives direct innervation from the hypothalamic histaminergic system. However, its role in PD remains unknown. Here, we assessed the contribution of histamine to VA neuronal activity and PD motor deficits. Functional magnetic resonance imaging showed reduced VA activity in PD patients. Optogenetic activation of VA neurons or histaminergic afferents significantly alleviated motor deficits in 6-OHDA-induced PD rats. Furthermore, histamine excited VA neurons via H1 and H2 receptors and their coupled hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels, inward-rectifier K⁺ channels, or Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channels. These results demonstrate that histaminergic afferents actively compensate for Parkinsonian motor deficits by biasing VA activity. These findings suggest that targeting VA histamine receptors and downstream ion channels may be a potential therapeutic strategy for PD motor dysfunction.
Animals ; Histamine/metabolism* ; Male ; Oxidopamine/toxicity* ; Rats ; Ventral Thalamic Nuclei/physiopathology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Disease Models, Animal ; Parkinson Disease/metabolism* ; Neurons/physiology* ; Humans ; Optogenetics

In this study, the reductive amination method was used to label IR783 on Astragalus polysaccharides(APS) for the first time, which was verified by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy. Quantitative analysis methods of APS-IR783 in plasma and various tissue were established using a multifunctional microplate reader. The pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of APS-IR783 in mice were investigated after a single intravenous injection of 30 mg·kg~(-1) APS-IR783, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using DAS 2.0 software. The results showed that the APS used had a mass fraction of 93.69%, a relative molecular weight of 1.55×10~5, and a polydispersity index(PDI, M_w/M_n) of 1.73, close to a homogeneous polysaccharide. The IR783 labeling yield reached 86.50%, and the content of IR783 in APS-IR783 was 0.72%. After a single intravenous injection of 30 mg·kg~(-1), the pharmacokinetic parameters of APS in mouse plasma were as follows: T_(max) was(0.67±0.26) h; C_(max) was(1 599.29±159.30) mg·L~(-1); T_(1/2α) and T_(1/2β) were(2.29±3.06) h and(0.44±0.05) h, respectively; AUC_(0-t) was(23 398.91±2 907.03) mg·h·L~(-1); AUC_(0-∞) was(27 710.55±3 506.55) mg·h·L~(-1); MRT_(0-∞) was(34.38±12.59) h; CL was 0.001 L·h~(-1)·kg~(-1); V_z was(0.042±0.017) L·kg~(-1). The in vivo biodistribution study demonstrated that the in vivo exposure ratios of APS in different tissue were in the following order: spleen > liver > kidney > lung > heart > small intestine > muscle > large intestine > brain > stomach, where the top five tissue accounted for 87.54% of the total area under the curve(AUC). This study successfully labeled APS with a water-soluble near-infrared fluorescent probe of IR783 for the first time and revealed the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of APS in mice. The paper provides detailed in vivo behavior of APS after intravenous injection, which lays the foundation for the development and utilization of APS and related natural medicines.
Animals ; Mice ; Polysaccharides/chemistry* ; Tissue Distribution ; Astragalus Plant/chemistry* ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Fluorescent Dyes/pharmacokinetics* ; Female