Excellent Papers Recommended by Editors
Excellent papers recommended by editors of each issue in 2022
- The Paper
- Abstract：ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between Kansui Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in the Gansui Banxiatang based on cytochrome P450 （CYP450） enzyme and ascites rats.MethodA total of 150 Wistar rats were randomized into blank group （distilled water， ig）， model group （distilled water， ig）， Gansui Banxiatang group （5.68 g·kg-1·d-1， ig）， Gansui Banxiatang without Kansui Radix group （5.57 g·kg-1·d-1， ig）， Gansui Banxiatang without Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma group （4.01 g·kg-1·d-1， ig）， and Gansui Banxiatang without Kansui Radix And Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma group （3.90 g·kg-1·d-1， ig）， with 25 rats in each group. The Gansui Banxiatang was composed of 1.1 g Kansui Radix， 9 g Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum， 15 g Paeoniae Radix Alba， 16.7 g Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma praeparata cum melle， and 15 g honey. The rats， except for the blank group， were injected （ip） with Walker-256 cells to induce cancerous ascites. The administration lasted 7 days for each group. The concentration of probe drugs was detected by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） and based on the metabolic rates of the drugs， the CYP450 enzyme activity was yielded. The CYP450 enzyme gene expression was determined by Real-time PCR， and CYP450 enzyme protein expression by Western blot.ResultCompared with the blank group， the model group showed high activity of CYP1A2 and CYP2C9， low activity of CYP2E1， CYP2C19， and CYP3A4， low mRNA expression of CYP2E1， CYP2C19， CYP2C9， and CYP3A4， and low protein expression of CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， Gansui Banxiatang group displayed low activity of CYP2C9 and high expression of CYP3A4 mRNA （P<0.01）， and Gansui Banxiatang without Kansui Radix group demonstrated low activity of CYP1A2， high activity of CYP2E1 and CYP3A4， high mRNA expression of CYP1A2， CYP2E1， CYP2C19， and CYP3A4， and high protein expression of CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 （P<0.05）. In comparison with the model group， the Gansui Banxiatang without Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma group showed low activity of CYP2C9， high activity of CYP3A4， and high mRNA expression of CYP2E1 and CYP2C19 （P<0.05）， and Gansui Banxiatang without Kansui Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma group had low activity of CYP2C9， high activity of CYP3A4， and high CYP3A4 mRNA expression （P<0.01）. The activity of CYP2E1， CYP2C9， and CYP3A4 was higher， and the mRNA expression of CYP1A2， CYP2C19， and CYP3A4 and CYP3A4 protein expression were higher in the Gansui Banxiatang without Kansui Radix group than in the Gansui Banxiatang group （P<0.05）. The activity of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4， and CYP2C19 mRNA were higher and mRNA expression of CYP3A4 was lower in the Gansui Banxiatang without Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma group than in the Gansui Banxiatang group （P<0.05）. The activity of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 in the Gansui Banxiatang without Kansui Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma group was higher than that in the Gansui Banxiatang group （P<0.01）.ConclusionThe four prescriptions all showed certain efficacy in the perspective of CYP450 enzyme， among which Gansui Banxiatang without Kansui Radix had the best effect and was better than Gansui Banxiatang. The Kansui Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma did not show antagonism in Gansui Banxiatang， but reduced the effect. Thus， in this study， the medicinal pair may show mutual inhibition.Keywords：eighteen antagonisms;Gansui Banxiatang;KANSUI RADIX;Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma;cytochrome P450300|335|0
<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-11-02 - Abstract：ObjectiveTo explore the compatibility advantage of Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma in the prevention and treatment of neuroinflammation， and to elucidate the action characteristics and mechanism of the compatibility advantage based on Toll like receptor （TLR4）/myeloid differentiation factor 88 （MyD88）/nuclear factor kappaB （NF-κB） pathway.MethodRepresentative mouse microglia cells （BV2） in vitro were selected and divided into 8 groups： control group， model group， Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma group， Piracetam group， Scutellariae Radix group and Coptidis Rhizoma group. The BV2 cell inflammatory model was established by lipopolysaccharide （LPS）， and the cell activity was detected by cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8）. Cell morphology was observed under bright field. The production and release of pro-inflammatory factors in BV2 cells were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and immunofluorescence assay， and the mRNA expressions of TLR4， MyD88 and NF-κB were detected by Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. The nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 was detected by immunofluorescence， and TLR4 signal transduction inhibitor （CLI-095） and NF-κB inhibitor （PDTC） were used to confirm the anti-neuroinflammation targets of Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma.ResultCompared with the conditions in the control group， most cells in LPS-induced model group were activated， and the contents of IL-6， TNF-α and IL-1β in culture medium and cells and the mRNA expressions of TLR4， MyD88， NF-κB p50 and NF-κB p65 were increased （P<0.01）， with obvious nuclear entry of NF-κB p65. Compared with the conditions in the model group， BV2 cell morphology was mostly recovered after pretreatment in Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma and Piracetam groups， and the levels of IL-6， TNF-α and IL-1β and the mRNA expressions of TLR4， MyD88， NF-κB p50 and NF-κB p65 were decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， with NF-κB p65 mostly observed in cytoplasm. Compared with the conditions in the model group， cell morphology was slightly recovered in Scutellariae Radix group and Coptidis Rhizoma group， and the levels of pro-inflammatory factors and mRNA expressions of TLR4， MyD88， NF-κB p50 and NF-κB p65 were reduced. In terms of inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory factors， Scutellariae Radix group and Coptidis Rhizoma group were lower than Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma group （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the "Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma+CLI-095" group and "Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma+PDTC" group had lowered mRNA expressions of TLR4， MyD88， NF-κB p50 and NF-κB p65 （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the transfer of NF-κB p65 into nucleus was obviously inhibited.ConclusionThe anti-neuroinflammation effect of Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma was significantly better than Scutellariae Radix or Coptidis Rhizom alone， and the anti-neuroinflammation advantage was closely related to the inhibition of activation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in microglial cells. It was confirmed that TLR4， MyD88 and NF-κB were potential targets for Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma to exert the compatibility advantage.Keywords：Scutellariae Radix-Coptidis Rhizoma;compatibility advantage;Toll like receptor/myeloid differentiation factor 88/nuclear factor kappaB （TLR4/MyD88/NF-
κ B）;neuroinflammation;mouse microglia cells （BV2）262|111|9<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-10-18 - Abstract：ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of An'erning granules in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in children.MethodA randomized， double-blind， single-simulation， placebo-controlled trial was designed in this study. The children were randomly assigned into an observation group （An'erning granules combined with ceftriaxone sodium） and a control group （An'erning granules placebo combined with ceftriaxone sodium） according to the ratio of 2∶1. The disease cure rate was taken as the main indicator of efficacy， and the safety of An'erning granules was observed.ResultA total of 206 children （137 in the observation group and 69 in the control group） were included in this study. Before treatment， the age， sex， body height， body weight， diagnosis time of pneumonia， and symptom and sign scores had no significant differences between the two groups. After 8 days of continuous medication， the observation group［70.80%（97/137）］ had higher cure rate than the control group［56.52%（39/69）］（χ2=4.17，P<0.05） and total effective rate of chest X-ray ［97.98%（97/99）］ than the control group［86.27%（44/51）］ （χ2=12.98，P<0.01）. The observation group was superior to the control group in the alleviation of TCM syndrome under the condition of 0-3 g dose stratification on day 3 of medication （P<0.01）. The recovery time， time to complete fever abatement， time to fever abatement and expectoration alleviation， rate of conversion to severe case， and reduction in the frequency of antibiotic use showed no significant differences between the two groups. In terms of safety， 13 and 7 adverse events occurred in the observation group and control group， respectively， which were relieved or disappeared after drug withdrawal or symptomatic treatment and showed no significant difference between the two groups.ConclusionIntravenous drip of ceftriaxone sodium combined with An'erning granules is effective in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in children. It can accelerate the absorption of pulmonary inflammation， alleviate the clinical symptoms in a short time for young children or the children with mild symptoms， and is safe in clinical application.Keywords：An'erning granules;community-acquired pneumonia in children;randomized controlled trial;antibiotic343|840|3<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-08-30
- Abstract：Network pharmacology （NP） is a novel interdisciplinary subject based on the combination of systems biology， multi-omics theory， computer synthesize， network database， and so on. It is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） for active component screening， compatibility rule， pharmacological mechanism， and toxicity-efficacy network. Domestic NP-related papers began to boost from 2017， but some research showed abnormal "homogenization" in the screening of key components. Due to the non-standard and unreasonable situation in early NP analysis， the screening results always contained the same and widely-existed 200-500 Chinese medicine substances as the key components for TCM compounds， regardless of the various “disease-treatment-medicine” approaches to the study. If the "homogenization" phenomenon cannot be promptly clarified and corrected， it will lead to the misunderstanding that the components such quercetin， kaempferol， and sitosterol are "guaranteed to cure all diseases"， which overestimates the pharmacological weights of the components in each disease. This phenomenon seriously interferes the selection and quality control of Q-Markers related to TCM compounds. It violates and negates the scientific connotation of "treating the same disease with different therapies" and "treating different diseases with the same therapy" guided by the holistic view and the theory of syndrome differentiation and treatment. In the long term， the "homogenization" phenomenon may even hinder the healthy development of NP in TCM. Based on TCM theory and modern medicine， this paper started with the "thomogenization" of component screening in NP， and analyzed from the three module of "tphenomenon consequences"， "tcause exploration"， and "tsolving strategies"， thus providing important references for NP research methods.Keywords：network pharmacology;key components;homogenization;Q-Markers of traditional Chinese medicine;traditional Chinese medicine compounds429|1283|17<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-08-11
- Abstract：ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Chaihu Qinggantang （CHQGT） in the treatment of granulomatous lobular mastitis （GLM） in the rat model.MethodSixty female rats were divided into a normal group， a model group， a prednisolone group （0.001 8 g·kg-1）， and three CHQGT low-dose， medium-dose， and high-dose groups （4.5， 8.9， 17.8 g·kg-1）. The tissue homogenates mixed with GLM lesion tissue and Fritner's reagent were used for modeling. After modeling， the treatment groups were given corresponding treatment factors， and the normal group and the model group were given the equal volume of normal saline. The changes in mammary gland of rats were observed after 14 d. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe the histopathological changes in breast samples. The mRNA expressions of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome， Caspase-1， and interleukin-1β （IL-1β） were detected by real-time quantitative fluorescence polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. The protein expressions of NLRP3， Caspase-1， IL-1β， and IL-18 were detected by Western bolt.ResultAs compared with the normal group， the breasts of rats in the model group were obviously swelling， and mammary gland inflammation index was significantly increased （P<0.01）. Pathological changes included the formation of granuloma centered on the lobule of mammary gland with a large number of inflammatory cells such as lymphocytes and plasma cells. The mRNA expressions of NLRP3， Caspase-1， and IL-1β， and the protein expressions of NLRP3， Caspase-1， IL-1β， and IL18 in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the treatment groups improved breast swelling， and the CHQGT medium and high-dose groups and the prednisolone group reduced inflammation index to some extent after treatment （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The inflammation degree of mammary gland was significantly improved， and inflammatory cells such as macrophages， lymphocytes， and plasma cells were reduced to varying degrees in pathological aspects. The mRNA expressions of NLRP3， Caspase-1， and IL-1β， and the protein expressions of NLRP3， Caspase-1， IL-1β， and IL-18 in the CHQGT high-dose group and the prednisolone group were significantly down-regulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）.ConclusionCHQGT inhibits inflammation and treats GLM in rats. The mechanism is possibly related to the inhibition of NLRP3/IL-1β signaling pathway， which provides a new target for the prevention and treatment of GLM by Qingxiao method.Keywords：granulomatous lobular mastitis;animal model of granulomatous lobular mastitis;Chaihu Qinggantang;Qingxiao method;NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome;NLRP3/interleukin-1
β （IL-1β ） signaling pathway388|60|6<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-06-28 - Abstract：［Background］ In order to implement the spirit of the National Conference on Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM）， and the Opinions on Promoting the Inheritance， Innovation and Development of TCM， regularly review and summarize the research achievements of TCM， dynamically present the trajectory and trend of TCM academic research and innovation achievements， and give full play to the academic leading role of academic organizations， China Association of Chinese Medicine organized the selection of the top 10 academic progress of TCM in 2021. In the forefront of world science and technology， economic main battlefield and the national major requirements and the needs of the people′s life and health， taking the new rules， new discoveries， new methods， new products and new theories with originality， breakthrough and leadership in the field of basic research and applied basic research of TCM as the inclusion criteria， the top 10 academic progress of TCM in 2021 has been determined through working procedures of dynamic collection， first trial， review and final instance.Keywords：traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）;academic progress;acupuncture;emotional disease;herbgenomics;international standard;dispensing granules482|254|4<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-09-01
- Abstract：ObjectiveTo investigate the protective effect of Linggui Zhugantang （LGZGT）-medicated serum against H2O2-induced injury in H9c2 cells and its relationship with the phosphatidylinositol 3- kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway.MethodThe LGZGT-medicated serum and blank serum were prepared based on serum pharmacology. H9c2 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into a normal group， an H2O2 group， a 20% blank serum group， and a 20% LGZGT-medicated serum group. The cells were treated with corresponding drugs for 12 h and cultured with 100 μmol·L-1 H2O2 for another 6 h. The effect of 20% LGZGT-medicated serum on the proliferation activity of H9c2 cells induced by H2O2 was detected by cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） assay. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species （ROS） level was detected by the fluorescence probe. The levels of malondialdehyde （MDA）， lactate dehydrogenase （LDH）， catalase （CAT）， and glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） were detected by colorimetry. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase （PI3K）， phosphorylated-PI3K （p-PI3K）， protein kinase B （Akt）， and phosphorylated-Akt （p-Akt）. Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to detect mRNA expression of PI3K and Akt. Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis rate. After the addition of PI3K inhibitor LY294002， the levels of mitochondrial ROS， LDH， and GSH-Px， protein expression of PI3K， p-PI3K， Akt， and p-Akt， and cell apoptosis rate were detected.ResultCompared with the normal group， the H2O2 group showed blunted cell viability （P<0.01）， increased levels of mitochondrial ROS， MDA， and LDH （P<0.01）， decreased levels of CAT and GSH-Px （P<0.01）， reduced phosphorylation and mRNA expression of PI3K and Akt （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and increased apoptosis rate （P<0.01）. Compared with the H2O2 group， the 20% LGZGT-medicated serum group showed potentiated cell viability， reduced levels of mitochondrial ROS， MDA， and LDH （P<0.01）， increased levels of CAT and GSH-Px （P<0.01）， up-regulated phosphorylation and mRNA expression of PI3K and Akt （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and decreased apoptosis rate （P<0.01）. The combined use of LGZGT-medicated serum and inhibitor LY294002 reversed the above-mentioned effects of LGZGT-medicated serum on H9c2 cells （P<0.05， P<0.01）.ConclusionThe protective effect of LGZGT-medicated serum on H2O2-induced H9c2 cell injury may be related to the regulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to reduce oxidative stress and apoptosis.Keywords：Linggui Zhugantang;oxidative stress;apoptosis;phosphatidylinositol 3- kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway248|68|12<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-06-09
- Abstract：ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the potential molecular mechanism of Gegen Qinliantang （GQL） in the intervention of atherosclerosis （AS） based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.MethodThe active components and targets of each medicinal in GQL were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）， and AS-related genes from 7 databases. Thereby， the anti-AS targets of GQL were screened out. Cytoscape 3.8.0 was employed to construct the "component-target" network， and STRING the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network. Core targets were screened out with CytoNCA. R clusterProfiler was used for Gene Ontology （GO） term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment of target genes， which were then visualized. Finally， molecular docking of the top ten active components with the core targets of AS was performed and the binding affinity was compared with that between atorvastatin and the core targets.ResultIn the end， 150 active components of GQL， 20 289 AS targets， and 213 common targets were retrieved， and 48 core common targets were screened out. They were mainly involved in the GO terms of nuclear receptor activity， ligand activation， and transcription factor activity and the pathways of fluid shear force and AS， advanced glycation end products-receptor for advanced glycation end products （AGE/RAGE）， interleukin-17 （IL-17）， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）， Toll-like receptor pathways and other signaling pathways closely related to AS. The molecular docking results showed that the effective components of GQL had high binding affinity to core targets of AS， and the binding affinity was even higher than that between the atorvastatin and core targets. The five groups with high binding affinity were puerarin-TNF， baicalein-inducible nitric oxide synthase 2 （NOS2）， puerarin-NOS2， and formononetin-NOS2， wogonin-NOS2.ConclusionThe above result provides new ideas for further exploration of this classical decoction.Keywords：Gegen Qinliantang;atherosclerosis;network pharmacology;molecular docking;mechanism284|243|1<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-04-28
- Abstract：ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism underlying the intervention of Gegen Qinliantang （GQL） in vulnerable plaques in atherosclerosis （AS） of ApoE-/- mice by regulating the polarization of macrophages.MethodTwelve normal C57BL/6CNC mice were used as the control group， and 60 ApoE-/- mice of the same line were randomized into 5 groups： model group， low-dose， middle-dose， and high-dose GQL groups （GQL-D， GQL-Z， and GQL-G groups， respectively）， and atorvastatin group （western medicine group）. High-fat diet was used for modeling. The control group and the model group were given （ig） equal volume of sterile distilled water， and GQL-D， GQL-Z， GQL-G， and western medicine groups received （ig） corresponding concentration of drugs for 8 weeks. The levels of total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） were detected with biochemical methods. The distribution of plaques in the aortic region was observed based on oil red O staining and hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. Serum levels of M1 pro-inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α and interleukin （IL）-6 and M2 anti-inflammatory factors IL-13 and transforming growth factor （TGF）-β were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Protein expression of macrophage mannose receptor CD206/arginase-1 （Arg-1） and CD206/inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS） was determined by double-labeling immunofluorescence， and mRNA expression of aortic Arg-1 and iNOS by real-time polymerase chain reaction （PCR）.ResultLevels of TG， TC， and LDL-C were significantly lower and HDL-C level was significantly higher in the GQL-Z， GQL-G， and western medicine groups than in the model group. As the concentration of GQL rose， the area with plaques gradually shrunk and the color became lighter. The staining areas of the GQL-G group and the western medicine group were the most scattered. The administration groups showed significant increase in the protein levels of Arg-1 and CD206， significant decrease in the protein level of iNOS， significant rise of Arg-1 mRNA level， and significant drop of iNOS mRNA level （P<0.05）.ConclusionGQL intervenes in the vulnerable plaques in AS by improving lipid metabolism， inhibiting macrophage M1 polarization， promoting macrophage M2 polarization， and further improving the inflammatory microenvironment.Keywords：Gegen Qinliantang;atherosclerosis;macrophages;polarization;mechanism338|95|5<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-04-28
- Abstract：ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Gegen Qinliantang （GQL） on vulnerable plaque of atherosclerosis based on the macrophage pyroptosis mediated by nuclear factor （NF）-κB/NOD-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3）/cysteine-aspartic acid protease （Caspase）-1 pathway.MethodA total of 12 normal C57BL/6CNC mice were used as the control group， and 60 ApoE-/- mice of the same line were randomized into 5 groups： model group， low-dose， medium-dose， and high-dose GQL groups （GQL-D， GQL-Z， GQL-G groups， respectively）， and western medicine group. The control group and model group were given （ig） equal volume sterile distilled， and GQL-D， GQL-Z， GQL-G and western medicine groups received （ig） corresponding concentration of drugs for 8 weeks. Aortic plaques were observed based on hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining. Serum levels of interleukin （IL）-1β and IL-18 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， protein levels of macrophage mannose receptor （CD206）/apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD （ASC） and CD206/NLRP3 by double-labeling immunofluorescence， and C-terminal gasdermin D （GSDMD）， N-terminal GSDMD， NLRP3， pro-cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1 （pro-Caspase-1） and NF-κB p65 by Western blot.ResultCompared with the control group， model group demonstrated serious pathological changes， rise of the levels of serum IL-1β and IL-18 and tissue ASC， NLRP3， C-terminal GSDMD， N-terminal GSDMD， pro-Caspase-1， and NF-κB p65， and decrease of CD206 level （P<0.05）. As compared with model group， the administration groups showed alleviation of the lesions in aortic wall， decrease in levels of serum IL-1β and IL-18 and tissue ASC， NLRP3， C-terminal GSDMD， N-terminal GSDMD， pro-Caspase-1， and NF-κB p65， and rise of CD206 level， with significant difference between some groups （P<0.05）.ConclusionGegen Qinliantang alleviates vulnerable plaque of atherosclerosis by regulating NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathway and further relieving macrophage pyroptosis.Keywords：Gegen Qinliantang;atherosclerosis;macrophages;pyroptosis;mechanism236|82|12<HTML><H-PDF><L-PDF>Updated：2022-04-28
