Mechanism of Xianglian Pills in improving dyslipidemia in obese mice induced by high-fat diet based on network pharmacology and intestinal flora / 中国中药杂志

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Xianglian Pills(XLP) on lipid metabolism in obese mice and explore the underlying mechanism based on network pharmacology and intestinal flora. Firstly, network pharmacology was used to predict the possible effect of XLP on obesity. Secondly, an obese mouse model induced by a high-fat diet was established to observe changes in mouse body weight, adiposity index, liver and adipose tissue pathology. Lipid profiles, liver and kidney function markers, insulin content, and the expression of recombinant uncoupling protein 1(UCP-1) and PR structural domain protein 16(PRDM16) were measured. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology was used to analyze the changes in the intestinal flora. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showed that XLP mainly played a role in improving obesity by regulating lipolysis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and insulin resistance. The results of animal experiments showed that XLP significantly reduced body weight, adiposity, blood lipid levels, and serum insulin levels in obese mice, while enhancing the expression of UCP-1 and PRDM16 in adipose tissue without causing damage to the liver or kidneys. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing results showed that XLP decreased the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes(F/B) ratio at the phylum level, increased the relative abundance of Akkermansia and Bacteroides at the family and genus levels, and reduced the abundance of Allobaculum. Therefore, XLP can effectively improve lipid metabolism disorders in high-fat diet-induced obese mice, and the mechanism is related to the improvement of brown adipose function, the browning of white fat, the accelerated lipid metabolism, and the improvement of intestinal flora. However, its effect on promoting the conversion of white adipose to brown adipose still needs to be further studied.

Comprehensive evaluation of salt-alkali tolerance of rice germplasms at germination and seedling stages and analysis of salt-tolerant genes / 生物工程学报

Cultivating salt-alkali tolerant rice varieties is one of the important ways to meet the increasing food demand of growing global population. In this study, twenty-one rice germplasms with different salt-alkali tolerance were treated with six salt-alkali concentrations at germination and seedling stages. The germination potential, germination rate, shoot length, root length, root number, fresh weight of shoot and seedlings were measured. The average value of salt damage rate was used to evaluate the salt-alkali tolerance. As the salt-alkali concentration increases, the inhibition on seed germination and growth became more obvious. Upon treatment with 1% NaCl plus 0.25% NaHCO3, the salt damage rate of germination rate has the largest variation, ranging from 0% to 89.80%. The salt damage rate of each trait shows a similar trend at all concentrations. Four germplasm resources with strong salt-alkali tolerance (Dajiugu, Nippobare, Mowanggu and 02428) and 7 sensitive germplasms were screened. The salt-tolerant gene sequence of 4 salt-alkali tolerant varieties and 3 sensitive germplasms were analyzed. OSHAL3 and OsRR22 were identical among the 7 germplasms, but SKC1 and DST showed clear variations between the salt-alkali tolerant and sensitive germplasms. Besides the salt-alkali tolerant germplasm resources, this study can also serve as a reference for mining of genes involved in salt-alkali tolerance and breeding of salt-alkali tolerant rice varieties.

Relationship between wntll and bmp9-induced osteogenic differentiation in mesenchymal stem cells / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the relationship between Wnt11 and the BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation, and the possible molecular mechanism underlying this process as well. Methods qPCR, histochemical staining and Western blot were used to detect the changes of osteogenic differentiation markers and activities of BMP/Smad and p38 MAPK signal. Luciferase reporter assay was used to detect the activity of BMP/Smad signal. Results BMP9 increased the alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity, mineralization, expression of osteopontin (OPN) and Wnt11 in C3H10T1/2 cells. Wnt11 was detectable in C3H10T1/2, MEFs, MC3T3-E1 and C2C12 cells. In C3H10T1/2, Wnt11 promoted the effect of BMP9 to increase ALP activity, mineralization, and the expression of Runx-2 and OPN. Wnt11 enhanced the effect of BMP9 on increasing BMP/Smad reporter plasmid transcriptional activity and phosphorylation of Smadl/5/8. Wnt11 also increased the BMP9-induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. Inhibition of p38 MAPK attenuated the BMP9-induced ALP activity, mineralization and expression of OPN, but these effects were partially reversed by Wnt11. Conclusions BMP9 can up-regulate Wnt11 in MSCs. Wnt11 can promote the BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation, which may be mediated by increasing the activity of BMP/Smad and p38 MAPK signaling..