To investigate the effect of Xuebijing injection (XBJ) on cGAS/STING pathway in alleviating sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI), the mouse sepsis-induced ALI model was established by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and the cell inflammation model was constructed by LPS stimulating RAW264.7 cells. The effects of XBJ on lung tissue injury and cGAS/STING pathway-related protein expression in septic mice were investigated by HE staining, ELISA, and Western blot. The results showed that XBJ intervention could alleviate lung tissue injury, reduce serum IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-β, IL-1-β levels, and the expression of cGAS, STING, p-TBK1, and p-IRF3 proteins in lung tissue in vivo, and reduce the mRNA level of related inflammatory factors in RAW264.7 cells and the expression of cGAS/STING pathway proteins in vitro. The results showed that XBJ could play a role in the prevention and treatment of sepsis-induced ALI by inhibiting the inflammatory response via inhibition of the activation of cGAS/STING pathway. This study provides a new molecular mechanism for the clinical prevention and treatment of sepsis-induced acute lung injury with XBJ.

Stroke is a neurological disease characterized by cerebral ischemia or hemorrhagic injury， leading to death and disability worldwide. At present， there is still a lack of neuroprotective drugs for the treatment of stroke. Niuhuang Qingxin pills are Chinese patent medicine recommended by guidelines and expert consensus for preventing and treating stroke. Studies have shown that Niuhuang Qingxin pills have sedative， anticonvulsant， antipyretic， and other pharmacological effects. Moreover， the main components， such as flavonoids， phenolic acids， and saponins， also exhibit strong pharmacological activities which can improve stroke-induced nerve damage. Studies have confirmed that representative ingredients such as baicalin and ginsenosides can interfere with multiple pathological events， including blood-brain barrier destruction， oxidative stress， inflammatory response， apoptosis， and autophagy， and the mechanisms of the essential ingredients are related to the action on important targets such as Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 （Keap1）， matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9）， and high-mobility group box 1 （HMGB1）， and involvement in the regulation of Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）/nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， nuclear factor E₂-related factor 2 （Nrf2）/heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1）， and phosphoinositide 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathways. This article summarized the research status of Niuhuang Qingxin pills and the experimental pharmacological progress of common ingredients in the prevention and treatment of stroke to provide clues for further research into Niuhuang Qingxin pills and the development of active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines.

As an active hydroxyanthraquinone ingredient, emodin is abundant in Chinese medicine herbs, such as Rheum palmatum, Polygonum cuspidatum and Polygonum multiflorum.Modern pharmacological studies have shown that emodin has a variety of pharmacological activities including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory, antibacterial and anti-viral effects, myocardial protection, neuroprotection, renal protection, bone protection, antifibrosis and so on, which indicate its high medicinal value and broad application prospects.This article aims to summarize the progress in the pharmacological activity and mechanism of action of emodin published in domestic and international journals over the last 5 years and highlight the potential targets and molecular signaling pathways linked with emodin, so as to provide some clues and references for further development and clinical application of emodin.

Pulmonary endothelial barrier dysfunction is a hallmark of clinical pulmonary edema and contributes to the development of acute lung injury (ALI). Here we reported that ruscogenin (RUS), an effective steroidal sapogenin of Radix Ophiopogon japonicus, attenuated lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced pulmonary endothelial barrier disruption through mediating non-muscle myosin heavy chain IIA (NMMHC IIA)‒Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) interactions. By in vivo and in vitro experiments, we observed that RUS administration significantly ameliorated LPS-triggered pulmonary endothelial barrier dysfunction and ALI. Moreover, we identified that RUS directly targeted NMMHC IIA on its N-terminal and head domain by serial affinity chromatography, molecular docking, biolayer interferometry, and microscale thermophoresis analyses. Downregulation of endothelial NMMHC IIA expression in vivo and in vitro abolished the protective effect of RUS. It was also observed that NMMHC IIA was dissociated from TLR4 and then activating TLR4 downstream Src/vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) signaling in pulmonary vascular endothelial cells after LPS treatment, which could be restored by RUS. Collectively, these findings provide pharmacological evidence showing that RUS attenuates LPS-induced pulmonary endothelial barrier dysfunction by inhibiting TLR4/Src/VE-cadherin pathway through targeting NMMHC IIA and mediating NMMHC IIA‒TLR4 interactions.

Objective: To investigate the association between body mass index ( BMI ) and mortality risk among older Chinese based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study ( CHARLS ). Methods: The demographic features, BMI, prevalence of chronic diseases and mortality among the elderly at ages of 60 years and greater were captured from the CHARLS database from 2011 to 2018. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to examine the association between BMI and the risk of death. Results: Totally 6 023 subjects were enrolled, including 3 006 men ( 50.09% ) and 3 017 women ( 49.91% ), and 68.69% of the participants ( 4 137 subjects ) were at ages of 60 to 69 years. There were 637 subjects ( 10.58% ) with underweight, 1 544 ( 25.63% ) with overweight, and 557 ( 9.25% ) with obesity. During the follow-up period ( 35 091 person-years ), 1 035 subjects died. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed an increased risk of mortality among the underweight elderly ( HR=1.496, 95%CI: 1.261-1.775 ) and a reduced risk of mortality among the obese elderly ( HR=0.671, 95%CI: 0.511-0.881 ) relative to the elderly with normal weight, after adjustment for age, gender, smoking, household registration, administration of anti-diabetic drugs, administration of anti-dyslipidemia drugs, and administration of anti-hypertensive drugs. Conclusion It is found that the risk of mortality among the Chinese elderly correlatives with BMI through the analysis of CHARLS data.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.09.017.].

Drug-induced gastrointestinal bleeding is caused by drugs acting on the gastrointestinal tract, which damages the gastrointestinal mucosa causing erosion and ulceration. Many drugs can cause gastrointestinal bleeding including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antithrombotic drugs, chemotherapy drugs, and antibacterial drugs, drugs induced gastrointestinal bleeding by destroying gastrointestinal mucosal barrier, inhibiting of angiogenesis, destroying coagulation mechanism and there are still few prevention methods. This study focused on the clinical research and mechanism of drugs. The research in recent 5 years were reviewed to illustrate drug-induced gastrointestinal bleeding, so as to illustrate the characteristic actions of drug and provide some references and clues for the prevention of drug-induced gastrointestinal bleeding.

Arterial thrombosis (AT) is a common disease which usually causes acute myocardial infarction,ischemic stroke and other ischemic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,which shows high rates of morbidity and mortality,and has become a serious problem to human health.It is increasingly clear that the interactions among platelets,the endothelium and leukocytes are important throughout all stages of the atherothrombotic process.It is of great significance to search for therapeutic targets in the process of AT and developing the therapeutic drugs based on those newly discovered targets.This article reviews the research advances in the discovery of antithrombotic targets and the current situation of drug development based on those antithrombotic targets found in the recent 5 years,in order to provide some references or clues for the development of innovative drugs to prevent and treat AT.

Nitric oxide(NO)is a vital signal messenger in human and generated by nitric oxide synthase including endothelial nitric oxide synthase(eNOS), inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)and neuropathic nitric oxide synthase(nNOS). NO has important regulatory function on the immune system, nervous system and many other physiological systems. Endogenous NO can enhance the function of the vascular system and endothelial cell survival, and inhibit platelet accumulation and leukocyte infiltration. Excessive production of NO may damage tissues by cytotoxic and cytostatic effects. Thus, NO plays a dual role in physiology and pathology. This paper gives a brief review on regulatory effects of NOS-NO system by traditional Chinese medicine during the recent five years, so as to provide some clues or references for the treatment of related diseases and scientific evidene for reasonable and effective clinical application.

Acute lung injury(ALI)is a common critical disease with increasing morbidity and mortality rate in clinic. Its major pathological cause is the inflammation imbalance, which can cause diffuse alveolar and pulmonary vascular endothelial cell injury, lung edema and atelectasis. Many pathways and receptors, such as NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways, and the adenosine A2A receptors, Toll-like receptors(TLRs), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma(PPARγ), etc. are involved in ALI. Nowadays, prevention and treatment of ALI with natural products attract more and more attention. This article reviews the advances in the mechanisms research of natural products in recent three years against ALI so as to provide some references and clues for the development of innovative drugs to prevent and treat ALI.