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ObjectiveTo investigate effect of Maxing Shigantang and supplemented Guominjian decoction on symptoms and levels of inflammatory cytokines in induced sputum of children with cough variant asthma （CVA）. MethodA total of 118 CVA children who were treated in our hospital from January 2020 to January 2021 were enrolled and randomized into the control group and the observation group with the random number table method. Control group received routine western medicine and the observation group was treated by routine western medicine， Maxing Shigantang， and supplemented Guominjian decoction. In the one-month follow-up， the scores of cough and accompanying symptoms， levels of inflammatory cytokines ［interleukin-10 （IL-10）， interleukin-5 （IL-5）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， neutrophil， eosinophil］ in induced sputum， pulmonary function parameters ［forced vital capacity （FVC）， forced expiratory volume in one second （FEV1）， FEV1/FVC］， and treatment outcomes were compared between the two groups. Moreover， the frequency of acute asthma attacks during the three-month follow-up was also compared. ResultNo cases dropped out from this study. After treatment， the scores of cough and accompanying symptoms were decreased in both groups （P<0.05） and were lower in observation group than in control group （P<0.05）. After treatment， FVC， FEV1， and FEV1/FVC were raised in both groups and were higher in observation group than in control group （P<0.05）. The increase in the level of IL-10 along with the decrease in levels of IL-5， TNF-α， neutrophil， and eosinophil in induced sputum was found in both groups after treatment （P<0.05）， and observation group had higher level of IL-10 and lower levels of IL-5， TNF-α， neutrophil， and eosinophil than the control group （P<0.05）. The effective rate was 86.44% （51/59） in observation group， which was higher than the 69.49% （41/59） in control group （χ2=4.933， P<0.05）. No serious adverse reaction occurred in either group. The frequency of acute asthma attacks during the three-month follow-up was （1.09±0.18） in observation group， which was lower than the （2.83±049） in the control group （P<0.05）. ConclusionRoutine western medicine combined with Maxing Shigantang and supplemented Guominjian decoction can effectively and safely alleviate the airway inflammatory responses， control the clinical symptoms， improve pulmonary function， and reduce the frequency of acute recurrence in the treatment of CVA children.
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ObjectiveTo explore the molecular mechanism of "transmission between the lung and brain" of influenza based on Janus kinase 1/signal transducer and activator of transcription 1（JAK1/STAT1） signaling pathway and further investigate the intervention effect of Maxing Shigantang （MXSGT）. MethodA total of 100 SPF BALB/c mice were randomly divided into a normal group，a model group，an oseltamivir group （21.63 mg·kg-1·d-1），an antiviral granules group（3.9 g·kg-1·d-1）， and an MXSGT group（6.05 g·kg-1·d-1）， with 20 mice in each group. The pneumonia model was induced in mice except for those in the normal group by intranasal infection of influenza A virus（IAV）. Twenty-four hours after modeling，mice were treated with corresponding drugs， while those in the normal group and the model group received the same amount of normal saline by gavage， once a day for 3 and 7 days. The pathological changes in the lung and brain were observed by hematoxylin-eosin（HE）staining. The mRNA expression of IAV nucleoprotein（NP），JAK1， and STAT1 in the lung and brain was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）， and the protein expression of JAK1 and STAT1 in the lung and brain was detected by Western blot. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of phosphorylated（p）-STAT1 in the lung and brain tissues， and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was used to detect the serum levels of interleukin-1β（IL-1β） and interleukin-10（IL-10）. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed obvious pathological changes in the lung tissues and cerebral cortex， increased relative mRNA expression of IAV NP in the lung （P<0.01）， elevated mRNA and protein expression of JAK1 and STAT1 in the lung and brain tissues （P<0.05，P<0.01），up-regulated expression level of p-STAT1 in lung tissues and cerebral cortex （P<0.05，P<0.01）， and increased serum level of IL-1β （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the MXSGT group showed alleviated pathological damage to lung tissues and cerebral cortex， decreased relative mRNA expression of IAV NP in lung tissues（P<0.01），reduced mRNA and protein expression levels of JAK1 and STAT1 in lung tissues and brain tissues（P<0.05，P<0.01）， and increased serum level of IL-10（P<0.01）. ConclusionThe abnormal activation of the JAK1-STAT1 signaling pathway may be one of the molecular mechanisms of "transmission between the lung and brain" of influenza. As an effective compound prescription against the influenza virus，MXSGT can alleviate the pathological damage of brain tissues in mice infected with IAV by regulating the level of cytokines mediated by this pathway.
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ObjectiveTo compare and evaluate the clinical efficacy of five classical prescriptions for acute attack of bronchial asthma （BA） and cough variant asthma （CVA） in children， and to further compare and assess the effect of them on cold-induced asthma or heat-induced asthma. MethodRandomized controlled trials （RCT） on the treatment of acute attack of asthma with five classical prescriptions （Sanzi Yangqintang， Maxing Shigantang， Shegan Mahuangtang， Xiao Qinglongtang， and Dingchuantang） were retrieved from China Science and Technology Journal Database （VIP）， China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）， and Wanfang Data （from establishment to August 15， 2021）. The eligible RCT were evaluated and the data were extracted for network Meta-analysis by Stata 16.0. ResultA total of eligible 47 RCT were screened out， involving 5 114 children with acute attack of asthma and 10 intervention measures. Among them， 16 RCT （1 912 children， 6 intervention measures） were about the cold-induced asthma and 10 RCT （1 054 cases， 4 intervention measures） focused on the heat-induced asthma. According to the Meta-analysis， among the 10 interventions， Maxing Shigantang + routine treatment of western medicine demonstrated the most significant effect， and the effect of the interventions was in the following order： Maxing Shigantang + routine treatment of western medicine > routine treatment of western medicine， Shegan Mahuangtang + routine treatment of western medicine> Xiao Qinglongtang + routine treatment of western medicine > Shegan Mahuangtang > Dingchuantang + routine treatment of western medicine. For the cold-induced asthma， the effect of Shegan Mahuangtang + routine treatment of western medicine was remarkable， and for the heat-induced asthma， the corresponding intervention was Dingchuantang + routine treatment of western medicine. Shegan Mahuangtang was outstanding in improving the percentage of forced expiratory volume in the first second in predicted value （FEV1%）. ConclusionThe combination of western medicine with the five prescriptions was more effective than the western medicine alone， particularly the combination with Maxing Shigantang. The combination of Shegan Mahuangtang and western medicine was outstanding in the treatment of cold-induced asthma， while the corresponding intervention for heat-induced asthma was the combination of Dingchuantang and western medicine. However， a large number of RCT with scientific design and higher quality are still needed to verify the conclusion.
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ObjectiveTo explore the optimal formula of Maxing Shigantang in regulating epidermal growth factor receptor（EGFR）expression and alleviating airway injury in asthmatic rats and to reveal the underlying mechanism. MethodSD male rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group, dexamethasone group (5×10-4 g·kg-1) and Maxing Shigantang 1∶0.5, 1∶1, 1∶2 groups (group A, B, C, 10 g·kg-1), with 8 rats in each group. The other groups except the normal group received nebulization of 2% acetylcholine chloride and 0.4% histamine phosphate for the modeling of asthma. One hour before modeling， the normal group and the model group were given the same amount of normal saline， and the other groups were given the same amount of corresponding drugs， once a day for 7 days. On the 7th day， the model was established and the incubation period of asthma was recorded. The rats were then immediately anesthetized， and arterial blood and tracheal tissue were collected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was employed to detect the levels of interleukin-2 （IL-2）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in serum. Pathological sections were prepared for the observation of the pathological changes of tracheal tissues and the ultrastructure of epithelial cells in each group. Terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick-end labeling （TUNEL） was adopted to detect epithelial cell apoptosis， and in situ hybridization and Western blot were employed to determine the mRNA and protein levels of epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR）， respectively. ResultCompared with the model group， groups A， B and C prolonged the incubation period of asthma （P<0.05，P<0.01）. Compared with the control group， the model group showed declined IL-2 level （P<0.01）， risen IL-4 and TNF-α levels （P<0.05，P<0.01）， increased airway pathology score， collagen volume fraction， and airway epithelial cell apoptosis index （P<0.01）， and up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of EGFR in trachea tissue （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， group A showed increased IL-2 level （P<0.05） and declined IL-4 （P<0.05，P<0.01） level， and group B showed declined IL-4 level （P<0.05）. The level of TNF-α in groups A， B， and C declined compared with that in the model group （P<0.01）. Maxing Shigantang repaired the tracheal tissue to different degrees （P<0.05）. Among the three groups， group A inhibited tracheal fibrosis （P<0.05） and had the most significant effect of repairing the ultrastructural changes of airway epithelial cells. Groups A， B and C all inhibited the apoptosis of airway epithelial cells （P<0.05）. All the three groups inhibited the up-regulation of EGFR mRNA level （P<0.05，P<0.01）， and groups B and C inhibited the up-regulation of EGFR protein level （P<0.05，P<0.01）. ConclusionMaxing Shigantang can inhibit the abnormal changes of airway epithelial structure， alleviate airway injury， and can down-regulate the expression of EGFR in the tracheal tissue of asthma model rats. In this study， the optimal compatibility of Maxing Shigantang to repair airway epithelial injury in asthmatic rats was group A， with the Ephedrae Herba-Armeniacae Semen Amarum-Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum ratio of 1∶0.5∶4∶1.