Effects of umbilical moxibustion on phobic behavior and monoamine neurotransmitters in stress-model rats / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of umbilical moxibustion therapy on phobic behavior and the contents of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in different brain regions of the stress-model rats and explore the potential mechanism of umbilical moxibustion on phobic behavior.@*METHODS@#Among 50 Wistar male rats, 45 rates were selected and randomly divided into a control group, a model group and an umbilical moxibustion group, 15 rats in each one; and the rest 5 rats were used for preparing the model of electric shock. The bystander electroshock method was adopted to prepare phobic stress model in the model group and the umbilical moxibustion group. After modeling, the intervention with umbilical moxibustion started in the umbilical moxibustion group, in which, the ginger-isolated moxibustion was applied at "Shenque" (CV 8), once daily, 2 cones for 20 min each time, for consecutively 21 days. After modeling and intervention completed, the rats in each group were subjected to the open field test to evaluate the state of fear. After intervention, the Morris water maze test and fear conditioning test were performed to evaluate the changes in learning and memory ability and the state of fear. Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the contents of NE, DA and 5-HT in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus were determined.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group, the horizontal and vertical activity scores were lower (P<0.01), the number of stool particles was increased (P<0.01), the escape latency was prolonged (P<0.01), the times of target quadrant were reduced (P<0.01), and the freezing time was prolonged (P<0.05) in the rats of the model group. The horizontal and vertical activity scores were increased (P<0.05), the number of stool particles was reduced (P<0.05), the escape latency was shortened (P<0.05, P<0.01), the times of target quadrant were increased (P<0.05), and the freezing time was shortened (P<0.05) in the rats of the umbilical moxibustion group when compared with the model group. The trend search strategy was adopted in the control group and the umbilical moxibustion group, while the random search strategy was used in rats of the model group. Compared with the control group, the contents of NE, DA and 5-HT in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus were reduced (P<0.01) in the model group. In the umbilical moxibustion group, the contents of NE, DA and 5-HT in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus were increased (P<0.05, P<0.01) when compared with the model group.@*CONCLUSION@#Umbilical moxibustion can effectively relieve the state of fear and learning and memory impairment of phobic stress model rats, which may be related to the up-regulation of contents of brain neurotransmitters, i.e. NE, DA, and 5-HT.

Research Progress in Genetic Research of Fatigue / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Fatigue refers to the manifestation of disorders in the process of carrying out or maintaining random activities， which can be regarded as an independent disease or as a symptom in a variety of chronic diseases. The high incidence of fatigue has seriously affected people's physical and mental health， and the prevention and treatment of fatigue has become an important problem to be solved urgently. The pathogenesis of fatigue mainly includes energy consumpation， accumulation of metabolites， abnormal secretion of neurotransmitters， decline of mitochondrial function， dysfunction of hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis， etc. At present， there is no unified understanding about the pathogenesis of fatigue at home and abroad. The gene research of fatigue is the current research frontier. Gene expression profiling provides a new method for the study of the mechanism of fatigue. The combination of gene chip technology and traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） theory is expected to bring a breakthrough in the study of the pathogenesis of fatigue. In the study of fatigue gene chip， messenger RNA（mRNA） and microRNA（miRNA） are the common research objects， but few explorations are focused on the gene expression rule of fatigue by a specific signaling pathway and the effective regulation targets of TCM for treating fatigue. In recent years， the dysfunction of reward and inhibition mechanism in the central nervous system has become a research hotspot. In particular， gamma amino butyric acid （GABA） and dopamine （DA） have attracted much attention as the main substances of inhibition and reward mechanism， respectively. GABA and DA are used as inhibition and reward mechanisms to maintain the balance， and the body will not feel fatigue. Once the balance is broken， the fatigue will be formed. At the same time， DA and GABA receptors can also regulate cyclic adenosine monophosphate signaling pathway（cAMP） to affect fatigue. The research on key genes in GABA/DA balance mechanism and related cAMP signaling pathway by gene chip technology is expected to reveal the pathogenesis of fatigue in depth. The gene chip method is used to detect the changes of key genes in GABA/DA pathway and the related cAMP signaling pathway in the fatigue population and the normal population， so as to further explore the pathogenesis of fatigue. In this paper， the key genes in GABA/DA balance mechanism and cAMP signaling pathway related to fatigue were summarized by using the review method， so as to provide the basis for further study on the pathogenesis of fatigue and effective prevention and treatment from the perspective of genetics.

Effects of different TCM prescriptions of JinKuiYaoLve on the levels of Noradrenaline(NE),Dopamine(DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT) in lung and brain tissues of pulmonary fibrosis in the early stages / 中华中医药杂志

Objective:To observe the effect of different TCM prescriptions of JinKuiYaoLve on levels of noradrenaline(NE), dopamine(DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT) in lung and brain tissues of pulmonary fibrosis in the early stages. To investigate the effect and mechanism of TCM prescriptions and the nature of prescription-syndrome. Methods: The wistar rats were divided into groups randomly. Pulmonary fibrosis was induced by bleomycin A5 in all groups except normal group. Rats in drug group were killed after 7 days' treatment. The levels of NE, DA and 5-HT in the lung and brain tissues were detected. Results: The level of NE in the lung tissue of model group was higher than that of normal group, Gualouxiebai decoction(GLXB) group and prednisone group. The level of 5-HT of model group was lower than that of Shenqi Pills(SQW) group and prednisone group. The level of DA of SQW group was lower than that of GLXB group. The level of NE in the brain tissue of model group was higher than that of normal group, but the level of DA was lower than that of normal group, GLXB group and Maimendong decoction(MMD) group. The level of 5-HT of Dahuangzhechong pills (DHZCW) group was higher than that of other groups(P