ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the effect of Elian granule on autophagy and the phosphatidylinositol -3 kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （PKB/Akt）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） signaling pathway in gastric tissue of rats with gastric cancer. Method:SPF SD rats were randomly divided into the normal， model， Elian granule， and Weifuchun groups. In addition to the routine feeding in the normal group， the model， Elian granule， and Weifuchun groups received <italic>N</italic>-methyl-<italic>N</italic>'-nitro-<italic>N</italic>-nitrosoguanidine （MNNG） to induce gastric cancer in rats， and they were respectively given normal saline， Elian granule aqueous solution （3.240 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>） and Weifuchun aqueous solution （0.390 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>） by gavage （<italic>ig</italic>） for 48 weeks. The gross changes of the stomach taken by laparotomy were observed by naked eyes. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to observe the histopathological changes of the gastric tissue in rats. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot （WB） were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta （LC3B）， Beclin1， p62， PI3K， Akt， mTOR in rat gastric tissue. Result:Compared with the normal group， the model group showed gastric distension， thinner gastric wall， pale gastric mucosa， atrophied and flat folds， disordered course， and visible nodules and vegetations. Compared with the model group， the Elian granule group demonstrated alleviated gastric distension， dark gastric mucosa， reduced folds， and regular course， with the thinned gastric wall improved and granular nodules observed occasionally. According to HE staining， compared with the normal group， the model group showed crowded and disordered rat gastric glands， diverse in shape， varied cell morphology， basophilic cytoplasm， large irregular hyperchromatic nuclei， visible mitosis， and infiltrated and destroyed muscularis mucosae. While compared with the model group， the arrangement of gastric glands was regular， and a few mildly atypical cells could be observed in rats of the Elian granule group. Compared with the normal group， the model group exhibited decreased expression of LC3B and Beclin1 mRNA and protein in gastric tissue （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， and increased expression of PI3K， p62， Akt， and mTOR mRNA and protein （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Compared with the model group， the Elian granule group showed increased expression of LC3B and Beclin1 mRNA and protein in gastric tissue （<italic>P<</italic>0.05）， and decreased expression of PI3K mRNA and p62， Akt， and mTOR mRNA and protein （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Conclusion:Elian granule can improve the cell atypia of gastric tissue in rats with gastric cancer， and the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway to promote autophagy.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe the effects of Chaihu Shugansan on gastric motility and mitochondrial function and mitophagy in rats with functional dyspepsia （FD） and to preliminarily reveal its mechanism in preventing and treating FD. Method:Thirty-two SD rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into the normal group， model group， Chaihu Shugansan （4.8 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>） group， and domperidone group （4.5 mg·kg<sup>-1</sup>） after one week of adaptive feeding， with eight rats in each group. Rats in all groups except for the normal group were exposed to modified tail-clamping stimulation for inducing FD. Four weeks later， the semi-solid nutritive medium was used to observe the gastric emptying rate of FD rats， and the serum citrate synthase （CS）， motilin （MTL）， and gastrin （GAS） were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The pathological changes in gastric tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， the mitochondrial characteristics by transmission electron microscopy， and the expression of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 （LC3） and voltage-dependent anion-selective channel 1 （VDAC1） by immunofluorescence co-localization. The mitochondria were extracted from fresh gastric tissue for measuring the reactive oxygen species （ROS）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， and superoxide dismutase （SOD） levels using the biochemical kits. The mitochondrial LC3， yeast Atg6 homologous（Beclin1）， and p62 protein expression was assayed by Western blot. Result:Compared with the normal group， the model group exhibited significantly reduced gastric emptying rate （<italic>P</italic><0.01） and serum CS， MTL， and GAS levels （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. HE staining showed no pathological changes like erosion or ulcer in the gastric tissue of rats in each group. However， the mitochondria in the gastric tissue were observed swollen and dilated under the transmission electron microscope， and vacuolar lesions appeared. The co-expression of LC3 with VDAC1 increased significantly （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The mitochondrial ROS and MDA levels were elevated significantly （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， while SOD content was significantly reduced （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The protein expression levels of LC3 and Beclin1 were significantly up-regulated （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， whereas p62 protein expression was down-regulated significantly （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Compared with the model group， Chaihu Shugansan and domperidone elevated the gastric emptying rate （<italic>P</italic><0.05） and serum CS， MTL， and GAS levels （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）. It was observed under the transmission electron microscope that the mitochondrial nuclear membrane of the gastric tissue was intact， with clear structure and high density of mitochondrial cristae， and mitochondrial fission and fusion were observed in some parts. The co-localization area of LC3 and VDAC1 was significantly reduced （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The mitochondrial ROS and MDA levels declined significantly （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， whereas SOD level rose （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. The protein expression levels of LC3 and Beclin1 were significantly down-regulated （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， while that of p62 was obviously up-regulated （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Conclusion:The mechanism of Chaihu Shugansan in preventing and treating FD may be related to the improvement of mitochondrial function and the inhibition of mitophagy in gastric tissue.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the efficacy of acupoint catgut embedding therapy combined medication on chronic urticaria induced by Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety-two cases were randomly divided into 3 groups, named a medication group (group A, 31 cases), an acupoint catgut embedding group (group B, 30 cases) and a medication combined acupoint catgut embedding group (group C, 31 cases). In group A, the medication was administered orally for antihistamine and anti-HP infection. In group B, catgut embedding was applied on Quchi (LI 11), Xuehai (SP 10), Zusanli (ST 36), etc. In group C, acupoint catgut embedding therapy was applied in combination with medication (medication as group A, acupoint catgut embedding as group B). After 3-month treatment, the efficacy, recurrence rate and HP negative rate were compared among 3 groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Separately, the effective rates of group A, B, C were 61.3% (19/31), 53.3% (16/30) and 90.3% (28/31); the recurrence rates were 27.3% (3/11), 33.3% (3/9) and 5.9% (1/17); and HP negative rates were 31.3% (10/31), 26.7% (9/30) and 77.4% (24/31). The clinical efficacy and HP negative rate in group C were superior to those in group A and B (P < 0.01, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupoint catgut embedding therapy combined medication is significant in efficacy and low in recurrence rate in treatment of chronic urticaria caused by HP infection.</p>