Abelmoschus manihot (L.) Medik. (A. manihot) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with a variety of pharmacological properties. It was first recorded in Jiayou Materia Medica dating back to the Song dynasty to eliminate urinary tract irritation by clearing away heat and diuretic effect. However, its pharmacological action on urinary tract infections has not been investigated. The present study aims to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of A. manihot on a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cystitis. The results showed that A. manihot decreased white blood cell (WBC) count in urine sediments of the cystitis mice, alleviated bladder congestion, edema, as well as histopathological damage, reduced the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β simultaneously. Moreover, A. manihot administration significantly downregulated the expression levels of TLR4, MYD88, IκBα, p-IκBα, NF-κB p65, and p-NF-κB p65 in LPS-induced cystitis mice. These findings demonstrated the protective effect of A. manihot against LPS-induced cystitis, which is attributed to its anti-inflammatory profile by suppressing TLR4/MYD88/NF-κB pathways. Our results suggest that A. manihot could be a potential candidate for cystitis treatment.
Abelmoschus/metabolism* ; Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use* ; Cystitis ; Female ; Humans ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Male ; Mice ; Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88/metabolism* ; NF-KappaB Inhibitor alpha/metabolism* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; Toll-Like Receptor 4/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the genetic polymorphism of InDel loci in SifalnDel 45plex system in the Han population in Jiangsu Province and the Mongolian population in Inner Mongolia, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the system in forensic medicine. METHODS: SifaInDel 45plex system was used for genotyping in blood samples of 398 unrelated individuals from the above two populations, and allele frequencies and population genetic parameters of the two populations were calculated respectively. Eight intercontinental populations in the gnomAD database were used as reference populations. The genetic distances between the two studied populations and eight reference populations were calculated based on the allele frequencies of 27 autosomal-InDels (A-InDels). The phylogenetic trees and multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis diagrams were constructed accordingly. RESULTS: Among two studied populations, the 27 A-InDels and 16 X-InDels showed no linkage disequilibrium between each other and the allele frequency distributions were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The CDP of the 27 A-InDels in two studied populations were all higher than 0.999 999 999 9, and the CPE_trio were all less than 0.999 9. The CDP of the 16 X-InDels in Han in Jiangsu and Mongolian in Inner Mongolia female and male samples were 0.999 997 962, 0.999 998 389, and 0.999 818 940, 0.999 856 063, respectively. The CMEC_trio were all less than 0.999 9. The results of population genetics showed that the Jiangsu Han nationality, Inner Mongolia Mongolian nationality and East Asian population clustered into one branch, showing closer genetic relationship. The other 7 intercontinental populations clustered into another group. And the above 3 populations displayed distant genetic relationships with the other 7 intercontinental populations. CONCLUSIONS The InDels in the SifaInDel 45plex system have good genetic polymorphism in the two studied populations, which can be used for forensic individual identification or as an effective complement for paternity identification, and to distinguish different intercontinental populations.
Humans ; Phylogeny ; Gene Frequency ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Genetics, Population ; Asian People/genetics* ; China ; INDEL Mutation

This study aimed to explore the characteristic role of Puerariae Lobatae Radix(PLR) in Gegen Decoction for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea(PD). Estrogen(E_2) was combined with oxytocin to establish a mouse model of PD. The mice were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, a Gegen Decoction group, a PLR-free Gegen Decoction group, a PLR group, and a positive drug group(ibuprofen). Writhing response times and writhing incubation of mice in each group were tested by behavio-ral assessment, and the serum levels of prostaglandin F_(2α)(PGF_(2α)), prostaglandin E_2(PGE_2), E_2, and progesterone(PROG) were detected by ELISA kits. Western blot method was adopted to detect cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and estrogen receptor alpha(ER_α) expression levels in uterine tissues. Doppler ultrasound was employed to detect changes in uterine artery blood flow in mice, including peak systolic blood flow velocity(maximum velocity), end-diastolic velocity(minimum velocity), peak systolic blood flow velocity/end-diastolic velocity(S/D), pulsatility index(PI), and resistive index(RI). Histopathological changes in the uterus were detected by HE staining. Based on the oxytocin-induced isolated uterine contraction model, the effects of Gegen Decoction, PLR-free Gegen Decoction, and PLR on the amplitude, frequency, and activity of isolated uterine contraction were compared to investigate the role of PLR in Gegen Decoction for the treatment of PD. The results showed that compared with the Gegen Decoction group, the PLR-free Gegen Decoction improved the indicators of PD except for E_2 content, ER_α expression, and uterine artery blood flow. PLR could significantly down-regulate the serum content of E_2 and the protein expression of uterine ER_α, and improve the uterine artery blood flow. The data suggested that PLR, as the sovereign drug of Gegen Decoction, might function in Gegen Decoction for the treatment of PD by mediating E_(2 )and improving the uterine artery blood flow.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Dysmenorrhea/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Mice ; Plant Roots ; Pueraria ; Uterus

This study analyzed the plasma components of Gegen Decoction(GGD) by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS), which is expected to serve as a reference for exploring the pharmacodynamic substances of GGD. Female Wistar rats were given(ig) GGD and then plasma samples were collected and analyzed by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS. The results showed that 42 chemical components were identified: 25 prototypes(14 from Puerariae Lobatae Radix, 6 from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, 3 from Paeoniae Radix Alba, and 2 from Ephedrae Herba) and 17 metabolites(from isoflavonoids in Puerariae Lobatae Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma). UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS was employed to achieve rapid analysis of plasma components of GGD, laying a basis for elucidating the therapeutic material basis and mechanism of GGD.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Female ; Mass Spectrometry ; Paeonia ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Objective:To investigate the effects of different concentrations of Astragali Radix containing serum on the expression of 24-hydroxylase（CYP24A1），1α-OHase（CYP27B1） mRNA and protein in rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells （BMSCs）， and to explore the mechanism of primary osteoporosis （OP）. Method:The experiment was divided into 6 groups，like normal group， model group， low ，middle and high dose group of Astragali Radix containing serum（20%，40%，60%），Vitamin D group. Cell proliferation toxicity assay（CCK-8） was used to detect the effect of different concentrations of Astragali Radix containing serum on survival rate of aging BMSCs.Real-time quantitative PCR（Real-time PCR） and Western blot was used to detect the expression of CYP24A1 CYP27B1 mRNA and protein in senile BMSCs osteogenic differentiation cells by different concentrations of Astragali Radix containing serum. Result:Compared with normal group， the proliferation and survival rate of BMSCs osteoblasts induced by D-galactose in model group was significantly lower than that in normal group （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， medium and high dose groups and Vitamin D group could improve the proliferation and differentiation of aging BMSCs into osteoblasts in different degrees（P<0.01）. The relative expression of CYP27B1 mRNA and protein in model group was significantly lower than that in normal group， while the relative expression of CYP24A1 mRNA and protein in model group was significantly higher than that in normal group. Compared with model group， high dose Astragali Radix containing serum group could increase the relative expression of CYP27B1 mRNA and protein， and decrease the relative expression of CYP24A1 mRNA and protein in a dose-dependent manner（P<0.01）. Conclusion:The mechanism of different concentrations of Astragali Radix containing serum in the treatment of osteoporosis may be related to the regulation of CYP24A1， CYP27B1 mRNA and protein in the osteogenic differentiation of aging BMSCs.