Bushen Huoxue Prescription Replenishes Diminished Ovarian Reserve in Rats Through PI3K/Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To explore the mechanism of Bushen Huoxue prescription in regulating the related factors in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/ protein kinase B （Akt）/ mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） pathway and improving ovarian reserve function of rats with diminished ovarian reserve （DOR）. Method:Sixty DOR model rats were duplicated by Ataya method （intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide） and then randomized into the model group， estradiol valerate （0.000 9 g·kg^-1） group， and high- （33 g·kg^-1）， middle- （16.5 g·kg^-1） and low-dose （8.25 g·kg^-1） Bushen Huoxue prescription groups， with 12 rats in each group. Another 12 healthy rats were classified into the blank control group. The rats in each group were given the corresponding drugs by gavage， while those in the blank control group and model group received the same volume of normal saline， once per day， for 14 successive days. After treatment， the ovarian tissue was stained with hematoxylin-eosin （HE） for observing the changes in quantities of primary follicles， mature follicles， and total follicles under a light microscope， followed by the detection of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） expression in the ovarian tissue by immunohistochemistry. The protein expression levels of PI3K， Akt， mTOR， and cysteine-dependent aspartate-directed protease-3 （Caspase-3） in the ovarian tissue were assayed by Western blot， whereas the mRNA expression levels of PI3K， Akt， and mTOR were measured by Real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. Result:As revealed by comparison with the blank control group， the quantities of mature follicles and total follicles in the ovarian tissue of model group were significantly reduced （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）. The protein expression levels of VEGF and Caspase-3 in the ovarian tissue were increased （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， while the protein and mRNA expression levels of PI3K， Akt， and mTOR were decreased （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）. Compared with the model group， Bushen Huoxue prescription at the high and middle doses elevated the quantities of mature follicles and total follicles to varying degrees （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， and VEGF increased most significantly in the middle-dose Bushen Huoxue prescription group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Caspase-3 in the low-， middle-， and high-dose Bushen Huoxue prescription groups and the western medicine group declined. The protein and mRNA expression levels of PI3K， Akt， and mTOR were up-regulated in the middle- and high-dose Bushen Huoxue prescription groups （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， and the levels in the middle-dose Bushen Huoxue prescription group were closer to those in the blank control group. Conclusion:Bushen Huoxue prescription effectively improves the ovarian reserve function of rats with DOR and increases the number of follicles possibly by up-regulating VEGF expression in the ovarian tissue， activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway， and regulating the content of Caspase-3.

Protective Effect of Zengye Decoction () on Submandibular Glands in Nonobese Diabetic Mice / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the protective effect of Zengye Decoction (, ZYD) on the submandibular glands (SMGs) in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice.@*METHODS@#Twenty-seven female NOD mice were randomly equally divided into 3 groups: the model group, the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) group, and the ZYD group. Nine C57/B6 mice served as the normal group. After 1-week acclimation, the HCQ and ZYD groups were intragastrically administered with HCQ and ZYD, respectively, and the normal and model groups were administered with normal saline. Changes in the salivary flow rate were observed. Mice from all 4 groups were sacrificed at the age of 20 weeks. The serum and SMGs were collected. Serum cytokines gamma-interferon (IFN-γ), interleukin-10 (IL-10) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Histological changes in the submandibular glands were examined by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The mRNA expression of IFN-γ, IL-10 and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the submandibular glands were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the model group, the salivary flow of the ZYD group significantly increased (P<0.05), the extent of the histological changes was ameliorated (P<0.05), and the Th1/Th2 cytokine imbalance was remedied (P<0.05). In the ZYD-treated mice, the VIP mRNA was up-regulated (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#ZYD is beneficial in protecting structure and function of SMGs in NOD mice. The mechanism may be associated with the correction of the Th1/Th2 cytokine imbalance, and with the prevention of a progressive decline of the VIP level.

Probing into Second Pathological Factors of Sjögren's Syndrome / 中国中西医结合杂志

Sjögren's syndrome is a chronic autoimmune disease with unclear etiology. From the point of etiology, Chinese medicine (CM) theory holds that pathological products like dry toxin, blood stasis are produced in the pathological process. They are both pathologic results and pathogenic factors for its further development. So pathological products are also named as second pathogenic factors. In this article, the concept of second pathogenic factors was sorted and defined. Main second pathogenic factors of Sjögren's syndrome were pinpointed, and their modern medical bases were analyzed. Authors came to a conclusion that clearing away second pathogenic factors is a key point in treating Sjögren's syndrome.