Calcium signal-mediated activation of NLRP3 inflammasome / 中国药科大学学报

@#Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, which is an important component of the innate immune system, can recognize a variety of pathogens and cell damage, induce the secretion of IL-1β and IL-18, and regulate imflammatory response.More and more studies in recent years have shown that Ca2+ signaling plays an important role in NLRP3 inflammasome activation induced by various NLRP3 inflammasome agonists, and is closely related to the occurrence of related diseases.The article reviews the literatures on Ca2+ and NLRP3 inflammasome, focusing on the potential role of Ca2+ signaling in the activation and regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome, to provide new ideas for the treatment of illness caused by NLRP3 inflammasome.

Advances in the study of relationship between Caspases and innate immunity / 中国药科大学学报

@#Caspases are a group of structurally related cysteine proteases present in cytosol. One of their important common points is that the active sites contain cysteine and can specifically break the peptide bonds after the aspartic acid residues. Caspases are broadly divided into two groups based on their functions, including inflammatory Caspases and apoptotic Caspases. Inflammatory Caspases include Caspase-1, Caspase-4, Caspase-5, Caspase-11 and Caspase-12, which play important roles in the process of innate immune defense. Unlike inflammatory Caspases, apoptotic Caspases(2/3/6/7/8/910)initiate and execute an immunologically silent form of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. However, ongoing investigations have uncovered essential functions of Caspase-8 in the regulation of immunity in cells and organisms. Accumulated studies have shown that Caspases play important roles in the occurrence and development of various immunity-related diseases. In order to comprehensively elucidate the relationship between Caspases and innate immunity, and to provide some scientific basis and theoretical reference for the treatment of various diseases, this article reviews the regulation of activity and inflammation mechanism of innate immunity-related Caspase-1/4/5/11/8/12.

Improvement of emodin on acute fatty liver in mice / 中国药科大学学报

To observe the effects of emodin ( Emo) on acute fatty liver in mice induced by DL-ethionine ( DL-Eth) or tetracyclin ( Tetra) and its potential mechanism, ICR mice of acute fatty liver model induced by DL-Eth were orally administered with Emo or positive control, ursodeoxycholic acid ( UDCA) for 7 days. On day 7, except that the control and Emo groups were treated with vehicle control, animals were orally administered with DL-Eth to induce acute fatty liver model. ICR mice of acute fatty liver model induced by Tetra were orally administered with Emo or positive control, Dong Bao Gan Tai ( DB) or total flavonoid C-glycosides from Abrus mollis extract ( AME) for 7 days. From day 4, except that the control group was treated with vehicle control, animals were injec-ted with Tetra intraperitoneally for 4 days to induce acute fatty liver model. Liver histopathological analyses were determined by HE staining. Serum aspartate transaminase ( AST) , alanine transaminase ( ALT) , serum triglyceride ( TG) , hepatic TG and hepatic total cholesteol ( TC) were detected. The expression of phosphorylated AMP-activa-ted kinase ( p-AMPK) , phosphorylated acetyl-CoA carboxylase ( p-ACC) , SREBP1 and fatty acid synthase ( FAS) were determined by Western blot. The expression of fatty acid translocase ( CD36 ) , peroxisome proliferator activa-ted receptor alpha ( PPARα) and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein ( MTTP ) in liver were determined by RT-PCR. Compared with model groups, Emo could improve hepatocyte swelling and hepatic steatosis induced by DL-Eth or Tetra. Serum AST, ALT, serum TG, hepatic TG and hepatic TC were decreased by Emo significantly. DL-Eth-induced increase of fatty acid synthetase-associated protein was down-regulated by Emo. Fatty acid uptake was down-regulated by Emo; fatty acid oxidation and secretion were increased by Emo. Emo might be effective in preventing acute fatty liver in mice induced by DL-Eth or Tetra.

Hypoglycemic effects of terpenes from Fructus Corni on db/db diabetic mice / 中国药科大学学报

@#To investigate the hypoglycemic effects of terpenes from Fructus Corni(TFC)on type 2 diabetes mellitus, the db/db diabetic mice were intragastrically administered with 25, 50, 100 mg/kg of TFC for 10 weeks. The fasting blood glucose, insulin(Ins), glycosylated serum protein(GSP), total cholesterol(TC)and triglyceride(TG)levels were determined. At weeks 8 and 10, intraperitoneal injections of glucose and gavage starch tolerance tests were performed, respectively. The db/db mice showed obvious obesity. Each dose of TFC could significantly reduce the body weight of db/db mice(P< 0. 05). After 4 weeks of administration, all doses of TFC significantly reduced the fasting blood glucose of db/db mice(P< 0. 05). The serum TC, TG levels were also significantly decreased in the TFC middle- and high-dose groups(P< 0. 05). In addition, middle- and high-dose of TFC could significantly reduce the level of GSP. Middle- and high-dose of TFC also significantly improve the glucose tolerance and gavage starch tolerance in db/db mice(P< 0. 05). These results suggest that TFC could improve diabetes-related symptoms via regulating glucose and lipids metabolism.