Qinghua decoction improves chronic nonbacterial prostatitis possibly regulating the chromogranin A/nerve growth factor/tyrosine kinase A signaling pathway mediated by inflammatory factors.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism by which Qinghua decoction regulates neuroendocrine inflammation in chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNP) model rats and provide an experimental basis for clinical treatment. METHODS: The rats were randomly divided into six groups: normal control, model, Qianlie Tongyu capsule, low-dose Qinghua decoction, medium-dose Qinghua decoction, and high-dose Qinghua decoction group with six rats in each group. Rats in each group were sacrificed on the 29th day of treatment, and blood and prostate tissues were collected. Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukins 1-beta, 6, 8, and 10 (TNF-α and IL-1ß, -6, -8, and -10, respectively) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The pathological changes in the rat prostate tissue in each group were observed under a light microscope. The expression levels of chromogranin A (CgA), nerve growth factor (NGF), and tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) were detected using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Western blotting was used to detect protein expression of CgA, NGF, and TrkA. RESULTS: In the model group, the prostate capsule membrane and stroma were significantly dilated with more inflammatory cells infiltrating the stroma and perivessels. TNF-α, IL-1ß, -6, and -8, CgA, NGF, and TrkA levels increased, whereas the content of IL-10 decreased, which was statistically significant compared to that in the normal control group ( < 0.05). Prostate tissue cells in the high-dose group were neatly arranged with no obvious inflammatory cell infiltration. When compared with the model group, the high-dose Qinghua decoction group showed a significant improvement in these indices ( < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Qinghua decoction led to inhibition of pathological changes in the prostate tissue of rats with CNP, regulation of inflammatory cytokine expression, and inhibition in the expression of CgA, NGF, and TrkA. This mechanism may be primarily related to regulation of the CgA/NGF/TrkA signaling pathway mediated by various inflammatory factors.

Mechanism of Bugansan Decoction in ameliorating learning and memory impairment in D-galactose-induced aging rats based on AGEs/RAGE/NF-κB pathway / 数字中医药（英文）

@#Objective To investigate the underlying mechanism of the compound Bugansan Decoction (补肝散, BGSD) in intervening learning and memory in D-galactose (D-gal)-induced aging rats. @*Methods@#A total of 40 rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control, model, BGSD [14.06 g/(kg·d)], and piracetam [0.4 g/(kg·d)] groups, with 10 rats in each group. D-gal [400 mg/(kg·d)] was injected intraperitoneally to establish the aging rat model. The rats' body weight, water intake, food intake, and gripping strength were recorded each week. The eightarm maze and step-down test were used to measure the rats' capacity for learning and memory. Liver, thymus, spleen, and brain tissues were weighed to calculate the corresponding organ indices; serum malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was adopted to observe the pathological changes of the hippocampus; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β in the hippocampus. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β mRNA in the hippocampus. Western blot (WB) was employed to detect the expression levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), RAGE, and NF-κB protein in the hippocampus. @*Results@#In D-gal-induced aging rats, BGSD significantly increased food intake, water intake, body weight, gripping strength, and organ indices (P < 0.05), and significantly decreased working memory error (WME), reference memory error (RME), and total memory errors (TE) in an eight-arm maze (P < 0.05). In the step-down test, step-down latency was prolonged and the frequency of errors dropped (P < 0.05). Additionally, BGSD could lessen the harm done to hippocampus neurons, increase serum SOD activity, lower MDA levels, and down-regulate the expression levels of the pro-inflammatory molecules TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β (P < 0.05). Further findings showed that BGSD significantly decreased hippocampal AGEs, RAGE, and NF-κB expression (P < 0.05). @*Conclusion@#By blocking the AGEs/RAGE/NF-κB signaling pathway, BGSD may regulate the neuroinflammatory damage in D-gal-induced aging rats, and thus improve learning and memory.

Effect of Buyang Huanwutang on Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 Antioxidant Signaling Pathway in Rats with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo study the effect of Buyang Huanwutang on Kelch-like Ech-related protein 1 （Keap1）/nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 （Nrf2）/heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1） antioxidant signaling pathway in rats with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis （IPF） and explore the mechanism of this prescription in the treatment of IPF. MethodForty SPF-grade male SD rats were assigned into a sham operation group， a model group， a Buyang Huanwutang group， and a nintedanib group according to random number table method， with 10 rats in each group. IPF rat model was established by intratracheal infusion of bleomycin （0.005 g·kg-1） in other groups except the sham operation group. Buyang Huanwutang group was administrated with Buyang Huanwutang (14.84 g·kg-1)，intragastric administration of nitedanib suspension (0.1 g·kg-1)，sham operation group and model group were given equal volume of normal saline， for 28 days. After lung function test， serum and lung tissue samples were collected. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and Masson trichrome staining were employed to observe the pathological changes of the lung tissue. The content of hydroxyproline （HYP） in lung tissue was detected. The levels of malondialdehyde （MDA） in serum and lung tissue， and the activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） and catalase （CAT） were determined. The mRNA and protein levels of Keap1， Nrf2， and HO-1 was determined by Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction， immunohistochemical staining， and Western blot. ResultCompared with the sham operation group， the modeling increased the resistance and elasticity and decreased the compliance of respiratory system （P<0.01）， elevated the lung index， pathological score， and HYP content in lung tissue （P<0.01）， and enriched MDA in serum and lung tissue， while it decreased the activities of SOD， GSH-Px， and CAT （P<0.01）. Furthermore， the modeling down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of Keap1 and up-regulated those of Nrf2 and HO-1 in lung tissue （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Buyang Huanwutang decreased the resistance and elasticity and increased the compliance of respiratory system （P<0.01）， lowered the lung index， pathological score， and HYP content in lung tissue （P<0.01）， and reduced MDA in serum and lung tissue， while it increased the activities of SOD， GSH-Px， and CAT （P<0.01）. Additionally， Buyang Huanwutang down-regulated the expression of Keap1 and up-regulated that of Nrf2 and HO-1 in lung tissue （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionBuyang Huanwutang can activate Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway to enhance the antioxidant capacity and slow down the pathological process of IPF in rats.