Investigation of the regulatory mechanism of lijie capsules on gut microbiota in rheumatoid arthritis.

Lijie Capsules (LJJN) are a classical Chinese herbal formula adopted to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clinically, yet the regulatory mechanism underlying the protection of LJJN against RA has not been fully elucidated. Here, the animal model of RA was established by complete Freund's adjuvant administration in mice. About 60 mg/ml of LJJN was used for treatment. The histological change of ankle joint was measured by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The inflammatory cytokines were detected using ELISA kits. The protein associated with inflammation and GLUD2 was detected using Western blot. The mice feces were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. The levels of glutamate (Glu) and α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) were detected using their detection kits. In addition, fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) were stimulated by Glu to induce an injured synoviocytes model in vitro, with or without LJJN treatment for 48 h. It was demonstrated that LJJN alleviated ankle joint swelling and synovial injury in RA mice. Meanwhile, LJJN inactivated nuclear factor kappa B signaling and suppressed inflammation of RA mice. The disordered gut microbiota composition in RA mice was partly restored by LJJN. Bacteroides-mediated Glu metabolism was impacted in RA mice, and LJJN contributed to the conversion of Glu to α-KG in RA mice. In addition, the in vitro results revealed that LJJN could block Glu-induced inflammation in FLSs but had no direct influence on α-KG and GLUD2 levels. In summary, LJJN exerted a protective role against ankle joint injury and inflammation in RA, which might be partly associated with gut microbiota-mediated Glu metabolism.

[Water Chemistry and Characteristics of Dissolved Organic Carbon During the Wet Season in Wulixia Reservoir, SW China].

In recent years, scientists have focused on the karst carbon cycle. To better understand the hydrochemical characteristics and the physical-chemical properties of DOC in the wet season in karst areas, the water chemistry and DOC distribution characteristics in Wulixia reservoir were analyzed. The molecular weight of the water organic matter was analyzed based on the UV absorption spectrum. The results showed that the water chemistry of Wulixia reservoir was HCO3-Ca ·Mg, the nutrient status of the water body was of the medium nutrient type, and the water maintained a good quality. The DOC mass concentration was lower in the wet season than in the dry season, and DOC was the main component of TOC. The DOC mass concentration tended to decrease from the surface to the bottom in a vertical direction. Chl-a and DIC were the main factors affecting the DOC vertical distribution. The organic matter in the reservoir area related to the absorption spectrum parameters of S275~295, M, SUVA254, and E253/E203 showed that the water was dominated by constituents with small molecular weight, a high proportion of fulvic acid, low proportion of humic acid, and weak aroma. The results showed that the organic matter in the reservoir area was readily consumed by microbial bioactivity and that it played an active role in the carbon cycle of the reservoir. It also showed that the DOC endogenous characteristics of the reservoir were strong and provided a sufficient carbon source for heterotrophic microbes.

[Carbon Metabolism Characteristics of the Karst Soil Microbial Community for Pb-Zn Mine Tailings].

BIOLOG and 18S rRNA PCR-DGGE methods were used to estimate the characteristics of carbon source metabolism of the soil microbial community as well as the relationship between soil fungi and soil organic carbon in different karst land use types (corn field, citrus field, and paddy field) contaminated by Pb-Zn tailings at Sidi Village, Yangshuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, SW China. It was found that the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd were highest in the paddy field, followed by the corn field, citrus field, and control group (dry field). In addition, the geo-accumulation index indicated that the heavy metal pollution at this area was caused by Pb and Cd and that Cd was the key environmental risk factor. With the Pb-Zn tailings, there was low microbial biomass carbon, biological entropy, and microbial carbon source metabolism in the soil samples. The highest soil organic carbon and heavy metal concentrations were found in the paddy field, followed by the corn field and citrus field. According to the DDGE results, it was found that Pycnoporus sp. ZW02.30 was found in control group soils, Fusarium solani and Fusarium oxysporum were found in the corn field and citrus field, and Penicillium decumbens was found in citrus field. These were involved in the degradation of sugars, such as starch, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. However, the fungi were not found in the paddy field. Based on the low functional diversity of the soil microbial community and biological entropy as well as the high soil organic carbon concentration in the paddy field, it was concluded that soil microbial carbohydrate metabolism and the mineralization rate of the soil organic carbon was controlled by soil microorganisms, especially fungi, in different land use soils in the karst area contaminated by Pb-Zn tailings.