Inhibitory effect of sodium ferulate on inflammatory response in migraine rats based on c-Jun N-terminal kinase / p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway / 解剖学报

[Abstract] Objective To explore the inhibitory effect of sodium ferulate (SF) on the inflammatory response in migraine rats by regulating the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) / p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) signaling pathway. Methods The migraine rat model was prepared by intraperitoneal injection of nitroglycerin. After successful modeling, the rats were randomly grouped into model group, SF low dose (SF-L) group (50 mg/ kg), SF high dose (SF-H) group (100 mg/ kg), SF+JNK inhibitor (SF + SP600125) group (SF 100 mg/ kg +SP600125 10 mg/ kg), and SF+JNK activator [SF + anisomycin(AN)] group (SF 100 mg/ kg +AN 5 mg/ kg), 12 in each group, another 12 SD rats without treatment were taken as blank group. The behavioral changes of the rats in each group were observed 24 hours after the administration, the levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in serum were detected by ELISA, the neuronal apoptosis in brain tissue was observed by TUNEL staining, immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expressions of TNF-α, IL-6 and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in brain tissue, Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of JNK/ p38 MAPK pathway-related proteins in brain tissue. Results Compared with the blank group, the number of times of scratching the head and climbing the cage of the rats in the model group increased significantly, and the apoptosis rate of neurons increased significantly; the content of 5-HT in serum decreased significantly, and the levels of NO, TNF-α and IL-6 increased significantly; the expressions of TNF-α, IL-6 and CGRP, and the ratios of phosphorylated JNK (p-JNK) / JNK and phosphorylated p38 MAPK(p-p38 MAPK) / p38 MAPK in brain tissue obviously increased (all P<0. 05). Compared with the model group, the number of times of scratching the head and the times of climbing the cage of the rats in the SF-L group and the SF-H group reduced significantly, and the neuron apoptosis rate reduced significantly; the content of 5-HT in serum increased significantly, and the levels of NO, TNF-α and IL-6 decreased significantly; the expressions of TNF-α, IL-6 and CGRP, and the ratios of p-JNK/ JNK and p-p38 MAPK/ p38 MAPK in brain tissue obviously decreased (all P<0. 05). Compared with SF-H group, the protective effect of SF on migraine rats in SF+SP600125 group enhanced significantly; the protective effect of SF on migraine rats in the SF+AN group reversed significantly. Conclusion SF may inhibit the expression of JNK/ p38 MAPK signaling pathway, effectively inhibit neurogenic inflammatory response in migraine rats, reduce neuronal apoptosis, and achieve a protective effect on migraine rats.

A Trichophyton Rubrum Infection Model Based on the Reconstructed Human Epidermis - Episkin® / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Trichophyton rubrum represents the most common infectious fungus responsible for dermatophytosis in human, but the mechanism involved is still not completely understood. An appropriate model constructed to simulate host infection is the prerequisite to study the pathogenesis of dermatophytosis caused by T. rubrum. In this study, we intended to develop a new T. rubrum infection model in vitro, using the three-dimensional reconstructed epidermis - EpiSkin ®, and to pave the way for further investigation of the mechanisms involved in T. rubrum infection.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The reconstructed human epidermis (RHE) was infected by inoculating low-dose (400 conidia) and high-dose (4000 conidia) T. rubrum conidia to optimize the infection dose. During the various periods after infection, the samples were processed for pathological examination and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The histological analysis of RHE revealed a fully differentiated epidermis with a functional stratum corneum, which was analogous to the normal human epidermis. The results of hematoxylin and eosin staining and the periodic acid-Schiff staining showed that the infection dose of 400 conidia was in accord with the pathological characteristics of host dermatophytosis caused by T. rubrum. SEM observations further exhibited the process of T. rubrum infection in an intuitionistic way.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>We established the T. rubrum infection model on RHE in vitro successfully. It is a promising model for further investigation of the mechanisms involved in T. rubrum infection.</p>

Effect of Culture Supernatant Derived from Trichophyton Rubrum Grown in the Nail Medium on the Innate Immunity-related Molecules of HaCaT / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Trichophyton rubrum is superficial fungi characteristically confined to dead keratinized tissues. These observations suggest that the soluble components released by the fungus could influence the host immune response in a cell in contact-free manner. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze whether the culture supernatant derived from T. rubrum grown in the nail medium could elicit the immune response of keratinocyte effectively.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The culture supernatants of two strains (T1a, T XHB ) were compared for the β-glucan concentrations and their capacity to impact the innate immunity of keratinocytes. The β-glucan concentrations in the supernatants were determined with the fungal G-test kit and protein concentrations with bicinchoninic acid protein quantitative method, then HaCaT was stimulated with different concentrations of culture supernatants by adopting morphological method to select a suitable dosage. Expressions of host defense genes were assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction after the HaCaT was stimulated with the culture supernatants. Data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance, followed by the least significant difference test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The T. rubrum strains (T1a and T XHB ) released β-glucan of 87.530 ± 37.581 pg/ml and 15.747 ± 6.453 pg/ml, respectively into the media. The messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2), TLR4, and CARD9 were moderately up-regulated in HaCaT within 6-h applications of both supernatants. HaCaT cells were more responsive to T1a than T XHB . The slight increase of dendritic cells-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3-grabbing nonintegrin expression was faster and stronger, induced by T1a supernatant than T XHB . The moderate decreases of RNase 7, the slight up-regulations of Dectin-1 and interleukin-8 at the mRNA level were detected only in response to T1a rather than T XHB . After a long-time contact, all the elevated defense genes decreased after 24 h.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The culture supernatant of T. rubrum could directly and transiently activate the innate immune response of keratinocytes.</p>

Evolution of hepatitis B virus quasispecies during antiviral therapy in one chronic hepatitis B patient / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the evolution of hepatitis B virus (HBV) quasispecies in one patient during lamivudine (LAM) monotherapy and switching to entecavir (ETV) rescue treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Serum samples were taken at seven different time points during antiviral therapy (0, 24, 48, 60, 72, 96, 152 weeks, respectively), the HBV DNA polymerase gene was amplified, cloned and sequenced to analyze the amino acid substitutions within HBV DNA polymerase gene and distribution of virus quasispecies. Quantitative detection of the HBV wild strains and total virus was performed by amplification refractory mutation system real-time PCR (ARMS-PCR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Three mutation patterns detected during antiviral therapy in the patient: rtM204V, rtM204V+rtL180M and rtM204I. The HBV quasispecies were found always in dynamic variation. The HBV populations were completely replaced with the LAM-resistant variants when the viral breakthrough was encountered during LAM monotherapy. Interestingly, the wild-type variants presented gradually dominant (79.3%) with the decline of HBV DNA load after switching to ETV rescue administration. ARMS-PCR results showed that the wild-type variants account ed for 68.55% of the HBV populations at baseline and this proportion declined to 0.21% when the viral breakthrough emerged under LAM therapy. The wild-type variants gradually increased from week 24 after switching to ETV rescue therapy and the proportion of HBV wild-type variants in the population fluctuated between 16.01% to 26.93%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The distribution of virus quasispecies were always in dynamic variation during sequential therapy with nucleotide analogs in chronic hepatitis B patients. Different patterns of dynamic HBV quasispecies may have different contribution in ETV resistance in LMV refractory patients with ETV administration.</p>