ABSTRACT
The pathogenesis of chloasma is complex and diverse. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） believes that it is mostly related to liver, spleen and kidney, with hematogenous impassability as the standard and pigmentation on the face or body surface as the main symptom. Western medicine believes that it is closely related to family inheritance, ethnic differences and ultraviolet radiation. At present, there are various clinical therapies, mainly including prevention of ultraviolet radiation, local whitening agent and chemical skin. In addition, TCM plays an important role in the treatment of chloasma, often involving internal use, topical use, acupuncture and moxibustion. Modern studies have shown that TCM therapies mainly regulate the metabolism of antioxidant, endocrine and melanin in vivo. Although the mechanism of action could not explained to some extent, there are still some restriction in the discussions on the mechanism of external use of TCM in controlling chloasma. As the skin nerve-endocrine-immune (NEI) network is proposed and further studied, the role of NEI network in realizing overall functional regulation with cytokines, hormones and neurotransmitters as information molecules has been widely verified and recognized. This paper symmetrically reviewed the pathogenesis of chloasma and the progress of the regulatory effect of TCM, and proposed the possible local efficacy of TCM for external use in treating chloasma by regulating surface NEI network. This is worth further study and exploration in the expectation of providing new ideas for the treatment of chloasma and the studies on the mechanisms of action of TCM for external use.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of modified wuzi-yanzong prescription(MWP) on brain gene expression profile in senescence accelerated mouse-prone/8 (SAMP8) mice and detect the mechanism of MWP treating dementia-related diseases. METHODS: Six SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into model group and MWP group on average, meanwhile three senescence accelerated mouse-resistance/1 (SAMR1) mice were chosen as the blank control group. The MWP group was intragastrically intervened by MWP 9 g · kg-1 · d-1, while model group and control goup were given equal volume of sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose, once a day. After 10 d, the mice in experiment were killed and seperated the whole brain. Brain RNA expression was analyzed using Illumina whole genome expression profiles. RESULTS: Compared with the model group, 293 differential genes were screened in the MWP group, including 179 up-regulated genes and 114 down-regulated genes. Gene Ontology (GO) categories and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis indicated 17 key targets about differentiation and proliferation of neural stem cells, including Notch pathway, Rap1/B-Raf/ERK pathway and related target proteins; 9 key targets about neural endocrine-immune (NEI) network, including follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), etc. CONCLUSION: The action mechanisms of MWP on brain in SAMP8 mouse involve the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells and NEI network.