De novo transcriptome assembly and metabolomic analysis of three tissue types in Cinnamomum cassia / 中草药·英文版

OBJECTIVE@#The barks, leaves, and branches of Cinnamomum cassia have been historically used as a traditional Chinese medicine, spice, and food preservative, in which phenylpropanoids are responsible compounds. However phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways are not clear in C. cassia. We elucidated the pathways by descriptive analyses of differentially expressed genes related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis as well as to identify various phenylpropanoid metabolites.@*METHODS@#Chemical analysis, metabolome sequencing, and transcriptome sequencing were performed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the difference of active components content in the barks, branches and leaves of C. cassia.@*RESULTS@#Metabolomic analysis revealed that small amounts of flavonoids, coumarine, and cinnamaldehyde accumulated in both leaves and branches. Transcriptome analysis showed that genes associated with phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis were downregulated in the leaves and branches relative to the barks. The observed differences in essential oil content among the three tissues may be attributable to the differential expression of genes involved in the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid metabolic pathways.@*CONCLUSION@#This study identified the key genes in the phenylpropanoid pathway controling the flavonoid, coumarine, and cinnamaldehyde contents in the barks, branches and leaves by comparing the transcriptome and metabolome. These findings may be valuable in assessing phenylpropanoid and flavonoid metabolites and identifying specific candidate genes that are related to the synthesis of phenylpropanoids and flavonoids in C. cassia.

Effect of benvitimod on the proliferation of, inflammatory cytokine secretion by and skin barrier factor production by HaCaT cells / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective:To evaluate the effect of benvitimod on the proliferation of, inflammatory cytokine secretion by, skin barrier protein synthesis by, and phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) in human keratinocytes.Methods:In vitro cultured HaCaT cells were treated with 0.1 - 1 000 μmol/L benvitimod for 24 hours, and cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was performed to evaluate cell proliferative ability. Some HaCaT cells were divided into 6 groups: control group treated with DMEM medium alone, stimulant group treated with 10 μg/L tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) , benvitimod groups treated with benvitimod at final concentrations of 1 - 10 or 1 - 100 μmol/L followed by the treatment with 10 μg/L TNF-α and IFN-γ, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) antagonist group treated with 10 or 100 μmol/L benvitimod and 10 nmol/L StemRegenin1 (SR1) followed by the treatment with 10 μg/L TNF-α and IFN-γ. After 24-hour treatment, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect levels of interleukin (IL) -4, IL-10, IL-22 and thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) in the cell culture supernatant, reverse transcription (RT) -PCR to determine the mRNA expression of AhR, cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A1) , filaggrin, involucrin, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and TARC in HaCaT cells, Western blot analysis to determine the protein expression of filaggrin, involucrin, TSLP, STAT1 and phosphorylated STAT1 (p-STAT1) , and immunofluorescence study to assess the effect of benvitimod on AhR nuclear translocation in HaCaT cells. Measurement data were compared by using unpaired Student′s t test and one-way analysis of variance, and relationship between the indicators was analyzed by using Spearman test. Results:After 24-hour treatment with benvitimod at concentrations of 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1 000 μmol/L, the survival rate of HaCaT cells significantly differed among the different benvitimod groups (90.2% ± 2.4%, 85.4% ± 11.9%, 52.8% ± 14.0%, 39.4% ± 7.9%, 27.5% ± 3.4%, respectively, F = 162.5, P < 0.001) , and the 50% inhibitory concentration was 48.54 μmol/L. Compared with the stimulant group, the level of IL-10 secreted by HaCaT cells significantly increased in the 10- and 100-μmol/L benvitimod groups ( F = 16.110, P < 0.001) , while the IL-22 level significantly decreased in the 100-μmol/L benvitimod group ( F = 6.884, P < 0.001) , and the TARC level significantly decreased in the 10- and 100-μmol/L benvitimod groups ( F = 7.052, P < 0.001) . Compared with the stimulant group, RT-PCR showed significantly increased CYP1A1 mRNA expression in the 1- and 10-μmol/L benvitimod groups ( P = 0.004) , significantly increased FLG mRNA expression in the 10-μmol/L benvitimod group ( P = 0.040) , but significantly decreased TARC and TSLP mRNA expression in the 10-μmol/L benvitimod group (both P < 0.01) , and there was no significant difference in the AhR mRNA expression between the stimulant group and benvitimod group ( P = 0.193) . Compared with the stimulant group, Western blot analysis showed significantly increased filaggrin expression but significantly decreased TSLP expression in the 10-μmol/L benvitimod group ( P = 0.02, < 0.001, respectively) , and significantly increased involucrin expression but significantly decreased p-STAT1 expression in the 1-, 10-μmol/L benvitimod groups (all P < 0.001) . Compared with the 100-μmol/L benvitimod group, the AhR antagonist group showed significantly decreased supernatant levels of IL-10 ( t = 4.794, P = 0.003) , but significantly increased mRNA expression of TSLP ( t = 3.769, P = 0.005) ; compared with the 10-μmol/L benvitimod group, the AhR antagonist group showed significantly decreased protein expression of involucrin ( t = 5.117, P = 0.002) , but significantly increased protein expression of TSLP ( t = 3.117, P = 0.043) , and there was no significant change in protein expression of p-STAT1 ( t = 1.400, P = 0.719) . Immunofluorescence staining showed green fluorescence of AhR in the cytoplasm of HaCaT cells in the control group and 1-μmol/L benvitimod group, but almost no fluorescence in the nuclei; both the 10- and 20-μmol/L benvitimod groups showed high-density green fluorescence in the cytoplasm and nuclei of HaCaT cells. Conclusion:Benvitimod can inhibit the proliferation of HaCaT cells, regulate the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, upregulate production of skin barrier-related factors and inhibit STAT1 phosphorylation by activating the AhR signaling pathway.

Expression and clinical significance of aryl hydrocarbon receptor in peripheral blood and skin lesions of patients with atopic dermatitis / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective To detect levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and its downstream molecules in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and sera from patients with atopic dermatitis (AD),and to analyze the correlation of their expression with serum cytokines and the severity of AD.Methods Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) was performed to analyze mRNA expression of AhR,cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A1),AhR repressor (AHRR),AhR nuclear translocator (ARNT) in PBMCs from 29 AD patients and 17 healthy controls,enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect serum levels of interleukin (IL)-1β,IL-6,tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α,IL-4,IL-22 and AhR in the AD patients,and immunohistochemical study to determine AhR expression in skin lesions of the AD patients and normal skin tissues of 21 patients with pigmented nevus.Measurement data were compared by using unpaired Student's t test,enumeration data were compared by using chi-square test,and correlations between indices were analyzed by using Pearson correlation analysis.Results The serum level of AhR was significantly higher in the AD group (41.26 ± 4.52 pmol/L) than in the healthy control group (33.73 ± 2.49 pmol/L,t =6.507,P ＜ 0.001).Compared with the healthy control group,the AD group showed significantly increased mRNA expression ofAhR (1.572 ± 0.392 vs.1.000 ± 0.173,t =6.819,P =0.007),AHRR (2.402 ±1.716 vs.1.000 ± 0.788,t =3.722,P =0.039),CYP1A1 (2.258 ± 1.598 vs.1.000 ± 0.796,t =3.400,P =0.002) and ARNT (1.383 ± 0.842 vs.1.000 ± 0.586,t =1.653,P =0.105) in PBMCs.The AhR expression in skin lesions in the AD group was significantly higher than that in normal skin tissues in the control group (0.191 ± 0.041 vs.0.087 ± 0.017,t =10.036,P ＜ 0.001).In the AD group,the mRNA expression of AhR in PBMCs was positively correlated with eczema area and severity index score (r =0.448,P =0.019) and the serum IL-6 level (r =0.377,P =0.046),and the AHRR mRNA expression was positively correlated with the serum IL-1β level (r =0.467,P =0.021).Conclusion AhR and its downstream molecules were highly expressed in the AD patients compared with healthy controls,and the AhR expression was positively correlated with the serum IL-6 level and AD severity in AD patients,suggesting that the AhR signaling pathway may play a certain role in pathogenesis of AD and AhR may serve as an efficient index for evaluating AD severitv.

Medications for atopic dermatitis / 中华皮肤科杂志

The pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) has not been fully elucidated,which may be mainly associated with abnormality of immunity,dysfunction of skin barrier and environmental factors.The main symptom of AD is severe pruritus,which can greatly affect the life quality of patients.The management of AD in clinical practice is still a big challenge.Most patients can achieve improvement through avoidance of provocative factors,basic skin care and topical application of anti-inflammatory agents.However,a few patients with generalized lesions are resistant to conventional therapy,and systemic therapy is needed.Biological agents have been widely used in patients with moderate and severe AD.This review summarizes advances in the medications for AD.

The protective effect of bioimpedance spectroscopy guided ultrafiltration on residual renal function in hemodialysis patients / 中华疾病控制杂志

Objective To observe the protective effect of bioimpedance spectroscopy guided ultrahltration on residual renal function in new hemodialysis patients.Methods Patients with end-stage renal disease recruited from January 2015 to June 2016,were randomly divided into experimental group and control group.And all the patients were followed up for 3 months.The ultrafiltration was guided by the bioimpedance spectroscopy analysis in the experimental group,while the ultrafiltration was based on the edema,blood pressure,symptoms of low blood pressure and the increase of weight during the hemodialysis interphase in the control group.The difference of residual renal function,24 hours urine volume and the incidence rate of adverse events between the two groups were collected.Results Compared with the control group,the urine volume(932.58 ± 230.16 ml vs 584.45 ± 137.76 ml,t =7.226,P ＜ 0.001) and residual renal function (RRF) (4.55 ± 0.90 ml/min vs 3.08 ±0.68 ml/min,t =7.300,P ＜0.001)in the experimental group were higher.The drop of RRF(3.14 ±2.05 ml/min vs 4.40 ±2.09 ml/min,t =-2.384,P =0.020) and urinary volume (452.58 ±456.96 ml vs 877.45 ± 452.45 ml,t =-3.679,P =0.001) were lower in the experimental group.While there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups (t =2.081,P =0.084).Conclusions It is helpful for slowing down the decline of residual renal function by using the bioimpedance spectroscopy guided ultrafiltration.

Impact of huolong moxibustion on TNF-α and pain degree in the patients of discogenic low back pain / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To discuss the impact of huolong moxibustion on pain degree in the patients of discogenic low back pain and the effect mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-five patients were randomized into an observation group (33 cases) and a control group (32 cases). In the observation group, huolong moxibustion was applied along the distribution of the Governor Vessel, once a day. In the control group, the routine traction combined with massage therapy was adopted, once a day. In the two groups, the treatment was given 6 times a week, at interval of 1 day. In 3 weeks of treatment, pain score and serum tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) level were compared with those before treatment in the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with those before treatment, pain score and TNF-α level were reduced significantly after treatment in the two groups (both P < 0.05). The results in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (pain score: 1.95 ± 0.61 vs 2.11 ± 0.61; TNF-α: (1.33 ± 0.30) nmol/L vs (1.55 ± 0.48) nmol/L, (both P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Huolong moxibustion significantly alleviates pain in the patients of discogenic low back pain and its effect mechanism is possibly relevant with TNF-α reducing.</p>

Obesity,Hypertension and Aging are Three Most Important Components of Metabolic Syndrome / 中华高血压杂志

Objective To explore the most important risk factors in metabolic syndrome(MS) components.Methods Ninety-four individuals were classified into MS and non-MS group according to the diagnostic criteria for MS proposed by Chinese Diabetes Society(CDS) revised in 2006 or International Diabetes Federal(IDF) in 2005.Age,waist circumference(WC),body mass index(BMI),fasting plasma glucose,lipid profile,blood pressure and blood cell counts in two groups were compared.Partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLSDA) was carried out to determine the most important components of MS.Results Patients with MS diagnosed by CDS or IDF criteria have significantly older age,higher BMI,WC,blood pressure,fasting plasma glucose,triglycerides,insulin levels,insulin resistance index,high sensitivity CRP and fibrinogen levels compared with non-MS group.PLSDA analysis shows WC,BMI,blood pressure and aging are most important components of MS.Conclusion Obesity,hypertension and aging are three most important components of MS with obesity is the utmost among them.