1.2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone alleviates septic shock in mice by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation
Wei ZHANG ; Mengmeng DENG ; Yao ZENG ; Chenfei LIU ; Feifei SHANG ; Wenhao XU ; Haoyi JIANG ; Fengchao WANG ; Yanqing YANG
Journal of Southern Medical University 2024;44(6):1024-1032
Objective To investigate the mechanism of 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone(DMQ),an active ingredients in fermented wheat germ extract,for inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and alleviating septic shock in mice.Methods Cultured murine bone marrow-derived macrophages(BMDM)stimulated with lipopolysaccharide(LPS)were treated with DMQ,followed by treatment with Nigericin,ATP,and MSU for activating the canonical NLRP3 inflammasome;the non-canonical NLRP3 inflammasome was activated by intracellular transfection of LPS,and AIM2 inflammasome was activated using Poly A:T.In human monocytic THP-1 cells,the effect of Nigericin on inflammasome activation products was examined using Western blotting and ELISA.Co-immunoprecipitation was performed to explore the mechanism of DMQ-induced blocking of NLRP3 inflammasome activation.In a male C57BL/6J mouse model of LPS-induced septic shock treated with 20 and 40 mg/kg DMQ,the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in the serum and peritoneal lavage fluid were determined using ELISA,and the survival time of the mice within 36 h was observed.Results Treatment with DMQ effectively inhibited LPS-induced activation of canonical NLRP3 inflammasome in mouse BMDM and human THP-1 cells and also inhibited non-canonical NLRP3 inflammasome activation in mouse BMDM,but produced no significant effect on AIM2 inflammasome activation.DMQ significantly blocked the binding between ASC and NLRP3.In the mouse models of septic shock,DMQ treatment significantly reduced the levels of IL-1β in the serum and peritoneal fluid and obviously prolonged survival time of the mice.Conclusion DMQ can effectively block ASC-NLRP3 interaction to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation and alleviate LPS-induced septic shock in mice.
2.2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone alleviates septic shock in mice by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation
Wei ZHANG ; Mengmeng DENG ; Yao ZENG ; Chenfei LIU ; Feifei SHANG ; Wenhao XU ; Haoyi JIANG ; Fengchao WANG ; Yanqing YANG
Journal of Southern Medical University 2024;44(6):1024-1032
Objective To investigate the mechanism of 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone(DMQ),an active ingredients in fermented wheat germ extract,for inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and alleviating septic shock in mice.Methods Cultured murine bone marrow-derived macrophages(BMDM)stimulated with lipopolysaccharide(LPS)were treated with DMQ,followed by treatment with Nigericin,ATP,and MSU for activating the canonical NLRP3 inflammasome;the non-canonical NLRP3 inflammasome was activated by intracellular transfection of LPS,and AIM2 inflammasome was activated using Poly A:T.In human monocytic THP-1 cells,the effect of Nigericin on inflammasome activation products was examined using Western blotting and ELISA.Co-immunoprecipitation was performed to explore the mechanism of DMQ-induced blocking of NLRP3 inflammasome activation.In a male C57BL/6J mouse model of LPS-induced septic shock treated with 20 and 40 mg/kg DMQ,the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in the serum and peritoneal lavage fluid were determined using ELISA,and the survival time of the mice within 36 h was observed.Results Treatment with DMQ effectively inhibited LPS-induced activation of canonical NLRP3 inflammasome in mouse BMDM and human THP-1 cells and also inhibited non-canonical NLRP3 inflammasome activation in mouse BMDM,but produced no significant effect on AIM2 inflammasome activation.DMQ significantly blocked the binding between ASC and NLRP3.In the mouse models of septic shock,DMQ treatment significantly reduced the levels of IL-1β in the serum and peritoneal fluid and obviously prolonged survival time of the mice.Conclusion DMQ can effectively block ASC-NLRP3 interaction to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation and alleviate LPS-induced septic shock in mice.
3.Research progress on the AMPK signaling pathway-based pharmacological mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury
Chenfei HE ; Chiyuan MA ; Chunlong RAN ; Haoge CHENG ; Shu ZHANG ; Senyu WANG ; Hanlin YU ; Xiangzhe LIU
Chinese Journal of Comparative Medicine 2024;34(9):127-136
Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury(CIR1)refers to the recovery of blood supply after cerebral ischemia,which leads to further damage and the dysfunction of brain tissue.Modern medicine has made some progress in the prevention and treatment of CIRI,but it still faces some challenges and limitations.Therefore,it is of great clinical value to find effective interventions to prevent and treat CIRI.AMP-activated protein kinase(AMPK)and its downstream proteins are important targets for the treatment of CIRI and play key roles in the regulation of cellular energy homeostasis.Traditional Chinese medicine for CIRI has multi-target and multi-pathway activities and multiple effects.It can activate a cascade of reactions in the AMPK signaling pathway and can be used to treat CIRI by regulating autophagy,oxidative stress,inflammatory response,and apoptosis,and has achieved certain result.Therefore,this paper summarizes the structure and mechanisms of the AMPK-related signaling pathway,elaborates on its relationship with CIRI,and systematically summarizes the research status of traditional Chinese medicine's ability to regulate the AMPK signaling pathway in the prevention and treatment of CIRI.This paper aims to provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of CIRI using traditional Chinese medicine and the development of new drugs.
4.Memantine hydrochloride promotes the antibacterial effect of neutrophils against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and the related mechanism
Chenfei LIU ; Mujie ZHANG ; Xiaoyan DENG ; Xiaodan TANG ; Jiaxin LIANG ; Zhikai YANG ; Liang PENG
Chinese Journal of Microbiology and Immunology 2023;43(2):144-151
Objective:To investigate whether memantine hydrochloride (MEM) could promote the bactericidal effect of neutrophils against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the possible mechanism. Methods:Neutrophils were co-incubated with different concentrations of MEM and MRSA for 4 h. Then the cell lysates were collected and cultured on plate for survival bacteria counting. After co-incubation, the neutrophils were collected to detect the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). A mouse model of MRSA infection was established, and then the mice were treated with or without MEM. Blood, spleen and kidney samples were collected from the mice for bacterial colony counting and blood procalcitonin (PCT) detection. In the 48 h survival experiment, the mice were first infected with MRSA, and then treated with MEM or PBS. The survival rates of the mice were calculated and the survival curves were drawn.Results:The number of MRSA co-cultured with neutrophils decreased significantly in the presence of MEM, and within a certain concentration range, the survival number of MRSA decreased with the increase of MEM concentration. Moreover, MEM could significantly promote the production of ROS by neutrophils and the formation of NETs. In vivo experiment showed that the concentration of PCT in mouse blood samples was lower in the MRSA+ MEM group than in the MRSA+ PBS group. The animal experiment also revealed that MEM significantly decreased the bacteria loads in mouse blood and organs and increased the 48 h survival rate after MRSA infection.Conclusions:MEM could significantly promote the bactericidal effect of neutrophils against MRSA, which might be related to the enhanced generation of ROS by neutrophils and the formation of NETs.
5.SS-31 inhibits O3 -mediated airway hyperresponsiveness and mucus hypersecretion in mice
Meiqin Xie ; Chenfei Li ; Qi Liu ; Jiali Weng ; Hai Zhang ; Feng Li ; Xiaoyun Fan
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2023;58(6):908-913
Objective :
To investigate whether Mitochondria-targeted antioxidant peptide SS-31 can inhibit the ozone ( O3 ) -induced mice lung airway hyperresponsiveness and mucus hypersecretion.
Methods :
Eight-week C57BL /6 mice were randomized into four groups,including phosphate buffer saline (PBS) + Air group,SS-31 + Air group, PBS + O3 group and SS-31 + O3 group.C57BL /6 mice were injected intraperitoneally with SS-31 ( 10 mg / kg) one hour before ozone exposure ,and then single-exposed to ozone at a concentration of 5. 01 × 10 -6 mol / m3 for 3 hours.After 24 hours,airway hyperresponsiveness(AHR) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cells numbers were measured.Lung tissue schiff periodic acid shiff (PAS) staining,malondialdehyde (MDA) ,inflammatory factors ( interleukin,IL ) -1 β , IL-6 ,IL-18 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 ( MCP-1 ) ) and mucin factor (MUC5B) were detected,and the protein expression levels of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) ,pro-Caspase 1 / Caspase 1 (p20) ,Gasdermin D ( GSDMD) and Cleaved GSDMD were determined by Western blot.
Results:
O3 exposure caused both mice lung airway hyperresponsiveness and mucus hypersecretion.However,SS-31 could inhibit the O3 -induced airway hyperresponsiveness and mucus secretion,reduce the levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory factor mRNA expression ,and downregulate the protein expression level of NLRP3 and the activated forms of Caspase 1 and GSDMD.
Conclusion
SS-31 could suppress O3 -induced mice airway hyperresponsiveness and mucus hypersecretion by inhibiting the NLRP3 / Caspase 1 / GSDMD signaling pathway.
6.Changes of cytokines IL-4 and IFN-γ of serum in patients with chronic insomnia and mild cognitive impairment
Xinwei ZHENG ; Dong LI ; Lijuan GENG ; Chenfei LIU ; Su MA ; Huimiao LIU ; Yihan LIU ; Sai ZHANG ; Ping GU
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 2020;29(8):700-705
Objective:To investigate the characteristics of serum cytokine IL-4 and IFN- γ levels in patients with chronic insomnia with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and to further explore the relationship between cognitive function and IL-4 and IFN-γ in patients with chronic insomnia.Methods:Sixty-two patients with chronic insomnia were divided into MCI group( n=30) and non-MCI group( n=32) according to the scores of Montreal cognitive assessment(MoCA), mini-mental state examination(MMSE) score and chief complaint of cognitive decline. Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI), Hamilton depression scale(HAMD 24) and Hamilton anxiety scale 14 item(HAMA 14) were evaluated. Serum IL-4 and IFN-γ were detected by flow fluorescence, correlation analysis and regression analysis were carried out. Results:The levels of IL-4 and IFN-γ in MCI group were significantly lower than those in non-MCI group (IL-4: 0.875(0.143, 1.655)μg/L, 1.855(0.813, 2.723)μg/L; IFN-γ: 0.450(0.173, 1.163)μg/L, 1.160(0.483, 3.075)μg/L, all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in IFN- γ/IL-4, PSQI, HAMA 14 and HAMD 24 scores between MCI group and non-MCI group. IL-4 was positively correlated with the total score of MoCA( r=0.318, P<0.05), orientation( r=0.324, P<0.05)and delayed recall( r=0.368, P<0.01). The results of multivariate regression showed that IL-4 had significant effects on MCI in patients with chronic insomnia( B=2.161, OR=8.682, 95% CI=2.058~36.633, P=0.003). Conclusion:The cognitive function of chronic insomnia is closely related to serum IL-4 and IFN-γ, and serum IL-4 has a protective effect on cognition in chronic insomnia patients. Therefore, it can be speculated that cytokines may be an important pathophysiological link of cognitive change in chronic insomnia patients.
7.Safety evaluation on different ventilation strategies set for neonatal respiratory distress syndrome: a network Meta-analysis
Jing WU ; Zihao WEN ; Dandan LIU ; Chenfei WU ; Yong ZHANG ; Lan ZHANG ; Youlan XU ; Guang YANG ; Chunxia JING
Chinese Journal of Epidemiology 2020;41(2):249-260
Objective To evaluate the relative safety of different ventilation methods regarding mortality and rates of complication,on neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS).Methods Network Meta-analysis was used to collect data on randomized controlled trials of pulmonary ventilation strategies in preterm infants with a mean gestational age of less than 32 weeks.Diagnostic criteria on NRDS were published in the PubMed,Cochrane,Web of Science,EBSCO,and Springer Link databases from January 1986 to June 2018.Revman 5.3 software was used to evaluate the quality of studies,based on the Cochrane quality assessment tool.Data were analyzed by Bayesian and frequency methods,using both Win BUGS 1.4.3 and STATA 13.0 software.Safety of different ventilation strategies for NRDS mortality and complications would include intraventficular hemorrhage (IVH),patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and were evaluated.Counted data was displayed by OR and 95%CI.Results A total of 31 RCTs were included in this paper,including 5 827 preterm infants and 11 ventilation strategies.There were no statistically significant differences appearing in 11 ventilation strategies on mortality,PDA or ROE IVH results were reported in 28 studies.Compared with nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV),both high-frequency oscillation ventilation (HFOV) (OR=3.33,95% CI:1.08-16.67,P<0.05) and synchronized intermittent mechanical ventilation (SIMV) (OR=8.22,95%CI:1.25-29.44,P<0.05) schemes seemed to have increased the risk of IVH in preterm infants with NRDS.NIPPV appeared the optimal ventilation strategy in the rankings of cumulative probability.Results on clustering showed that NIPPV was probably the best ventilation strategy for children with NRDS after considering the orders of IVH,PDA and ROP on mortality,respectively.However,HFOV,IMV,and SIMV did not seem to be the ideal ventilated strategies.Conclusions Most of the clinical decision makers might prefer using NIPPV in the treatment of children with NRDS through mechanical ventilation systems to reduce both the incidence and death caused by IVH,PDA and ROP.It was not recommended to use HFOV,SIMV and IMV in treating NRDS with gestational less than 32 weeks.We suggested that larger numbers of multi-center RCTs ba carried out to make the above conclusions more convincing.
8.Turnover intention of male nurses in Shanghai and its related factors
Weiqing ZHANG ; Qiuying GU ; Yanuo ZHAO ; Chenfei FANG ; Yuchun CHEN ; Yan HE
Chinese Journal of Modern Nursing 2020;26(11):1471-1476
Objective:To explore the current situation of turnover intention of male nurses in Shanghai and its influencing factors.Methods:From March 2017 and August 2017, this study selected 349 male nurses at all levels of hospitals in Shanghai by snowball sampling to carry out questionnaire survey through internet questionnaire distribution platform. The questionnaire consisted of the General Demographic Characteristics, Turnover Intention Scale (TIS) , Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Organization Commitment Scale.Results:Among 349 male nurses in Shanghai, the score of turnover intention was (15.43±3.48) , 274 of them were with a high level of turnover intention accounting for 78.49%. There were statistical differences in the scores of turnover intention among male nurses with different positional titles and night shifts ( P<0.05) . Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the important influencing factors of turnover intention of male nurses included the emotional burnout, emotional commitment, ideal commitment and economic commitment, in which the emotional burnout was the strongest predictor and the emotional commitment was the strongest protective factor. Conclusions:The turnover intention of male nurses is in the high level. The important influencing factors of turnover intention of male nurses include the job burnout and organizational commitment except for positional titles and night shifts. Nursing managers should pay attention to the cultivation of emotions for hospital and profession among male nurses so as to reduce male nurses' turnover intention and stabilize the male nursing team.
9.Immunotherapy-based combination strategies for treatment of gastrointestinal cancers: current status and future prospects.
Frontiers of Medicine 2019;13(1):12-23
Strategies in comprehensive therapy for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer have been optimized in the last decades to improve patients' outcomes. However, treatment options remain limited for late-stage or refractory diseases. The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for treatment of refractory GI cancer has been confirmed by randomized clinical trials. In 2017, pembrolizumab was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as the first agent for treatment of metastatic solid tumors with mismatch repair deficiency, especially for colorectal cancer. Given the different mechanisms, oncologists have focused on determining whether ICIs-based combination strategies could achieve higher efficacy than conventional therapy alone in late-stage or even front-line treatment of GI cancer. This review discusses the current status of combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with molecular targeted therapy, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy in GI cancer in terms of mechanisms, safety, and efficacy to provide basis for future research.
Combined Modality Therapy
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methods
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Gastrointestinal Neoplasms
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immunology
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therapy
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Humans
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Immunotherapy
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methods
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trends
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Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
10.A Clinical Trial of Xu's Xiaoqinglong Decoction's Effect on Children's Pneumonia with Syndrome of Phlegm Blocking in the Lung
Xinguang ZHANG ; Zheng XUE ; Li BAI ; Jie WU ; Liqing LI ; Chenfei SONG ; Jianer YU
World Science and Technology-Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2017;19(11):1886-1890
Objective:To observe the clinical effect of Xu's Liu Wei Xiaoqinglong Decoction on children's pneumonia with the syndrome of phlegm blocking in the lung.Method:86 cases were randomly divided into 2 groups,43 cases in each.Treatment group was treated by Liuwei Xiaoqinglong Decoction (granules),Control group was treated by San Ao Decoction (granules),both taken orally,twice per day,for 7 days.The clinical effects and syndrome integrals improvement were observed.Result:The total effective rate of the treatment group was 95.34% and it was 81.39% in the control group,the difference between the 2 groups was statistically significant (P<0.05).And the syndrome improvement of the treatment group was also significantly better than that of the control group.The disappearing time of major symtoms was statistically significantly shorter than that of the control group (P<0.05).Conclusion:Xu's Liu Wei Xiaoqinglong Decoction has certain effect on children's pneumonia with the syndrome of phlegm blocking in the lung and it should be applied in patient with simple syndrome of phlegm blocking in the lung,or in early stage of phlegm blocking in the lung,compared with cases with syndrome of phlegm blocking in the lung accompanied by spleen deficiency.


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