Search

Anal fistula is a common anal and intestinal disease. The wound of anal fistula surgery is open and polluting, which is the most difficult to heal among all surgical incisions. To investigate the mechanism of Huanglian ointment (HLO) on wound healing after anal fistula incision. The S. aureus infected wound in SD rats were used to imitate poor healing wound after anal fistula surgery. SD rats with wound sites (n = 24) were randomly divided into four groups (Control group, Model group, Potassium permanganate (PP) treatment group, and HLO treatment group). The wound healing rate was evaluated, HE staining was used to evaluate the pathological changes of each group, ELISA was used to detect the secretion of inflammatory factors in each group, and the mechanism was explored through metabolomics and proteomics in plasma rat. Compared to other groups, the rate of wound healing in the HLO group was higher on days 7 and 14. Histological analysis showed that collagen and fibroblast in HLO rats were significantly increased, inflammatory cells were reduced, and vascular endothelial permeability was increased. ELISA results showed that the secretion of inflammatory factors in HLO rats was significantly lower. Significant proteins and metabolites were identified in the wound tissues of the infected rats and HLO-treated rats, which were mainly attributed to Cdc42, Ctnnb1, Actr2, Actr3, Arpc1b, Itgam, Itgb2, Cttn, Linoleic acid metabolism, d-Glutamine and d-glutamate metabolism, Phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, Phenylalanine metabolism, alpha-Linolenic acid metabolism, and Ascorbate and aldarate metabolism. In conclusion, this study showed that HLO can promote S. aureus infected wound healing, and the data provide a theoretical basis for the treatment of wounds after anal fistula surgery with HLO.

The important parameters affecting the nutritional properties of lipids were analyzed and compared between human milk (HM), infant formulas (IFs), mammalian milk, and substitute fat, including molecular species, fatty acid composition, glyceride content, and important structural triacylglycerols (TAGs). The molecular species of triacylglycerols with functional fatty acids were significantly different between HM and IFs, and their contents in HM were significantly higher than those in IFs. Accordingly, the evaluation scores of fatty acid composition and glyceride content in IFs were less than 50 compared to HM. Although the introduction of vegetable oils effectively improved the unsaturation of IF lipid, the excessive addition of TAGs rich in oleic and linoleic acid resulted in an imbalance of TAG composition and structure. Only 36.84 % of IFs were supplemented with structured lipids, but those still lacked sn-2 palmitate TAGs. The adoption of multiple lipids and novel processing technologies is required for novel IFs to match the composition, content, positional structure and spherical membrane structure of HM as closely as possible.

Due to the personalized large defect and bone absorption of the alveolar cleft, its regeneration is still a great challenge. Conventional autologous bone repair leads to donor site adverse reactions and then bioactive materials with stable mechanical properties, suitable degradation rates, good osteogenic ability are required. In this study, the α-tricalcium phosphate (doping with and without 6% strontium; α-TCP-Sr6, α-TCP) bioceramic scaffolds with high-precision pore structure were developed to repair the alveolar cleft, and the physicochemical properties and bone repair performances were systematically compared with the pure β phase of tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) bioceramic scaffolds. It was shown that Sr dopant could adjust the bio-dissolution of α-TCP scaffolds, and contributed to excellent mechanical stability. As for the osteogenic capability in the alveolar cleft of rabbits, the α-phase TCP scaffolds both exhibited appreciable new bone ingrowth compared to the β-TCP scaffolds. However, bone malformation and fibrous tissue invasion occurred in the control group (without filling scaffolds). This study suggests that the Sr dopant may adjust the biodegradation and mechanical stability of α-TCP, and such biodegradable Ca-phosphate bioceramics scaffolds prepared by digital light processing (DLP)-based 3D printing technique demonstrate significance in promoting the reconstruction of the alveolar cleft.

Background: Celastrol is an active ingredient of Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii which is clinically used to treat the immune diseases. Currently, celastrol is documented as a potent agent for treating cancer and inflammatory disorders. This study was to investigate the effect of celastrol on cisplatin nephrotoxicity and the underlying mechanism. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were treated with cisplatin (20 mg/kg) with or without celastrol treatment (1 and 2 mg/kg/day). In vitro, human proximal tubule epithelial cell line (HK−2) and mouse renal tubule epithelial cells (RTECs) were treated with cisplatin (5 μg/mL) with or without celastrol administration. Then renal injury and cell damage were evaluated. Findings: In vivo, after celastrol treatment, cisplatin-induced kidney injury was significantly ameliorated as shown by the improvement of renal function (BUN, serum creatinine, and cystatin C), kidney morphology (PAS staining) and oxidative stress (MDA) and the suppression of renal tubular injury markers of KIM-1 and NGAL. Meanwhile, the renal apoptosis and inflammation induced by cisplatin were also strikingly attenuated in celastrol-treated mice. In vitro, celastrol treatment markedly inhibited cisplatin-induced renal tubular cell apoptosis, suppressed NF-κB activation, and improved mitochondrial function evidenced by the restored mtDNA copy number, mitochondrial membrane potential, and OXPHOS activity in cisplatin-treated renal tubular epithelial cells. Interpretation: This work suggested that celastrol could protect against cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury possibly through suppressing NF-κB and improving mitochondrial function. Fund: The National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program, and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province. Keywords: Celastrol, AKI, Cisplatin, NF-κB, Mitochondrial Dysfunction

The littoral ecotone between land and lake makes an important part of the lake ecosystem which provide essential ecosystem services for human society. In this paper, the littoral wetland zone of Balagasi Lakeshore, Inner Mongolia, China and steppe being adjacent to was taken as the research object to discuss the characteristics of bacterial diversity and community structure in non-rhizosphere soils along zonal distribution of plants in the arid area. From the sediment of the exposed lakebed to the landward, according to the distribution of plant communities (Phragmites australis, Kalidium foliatum, Achnatherum splendens, Reaumuria songarica and Stipa klemenzii), the relationship between plant communities and soil physical and chemical factors were analysed. The Illumina HiSeq high-throughput sequencing method was used to measure bacterial community diversity and composition in their non-rhizosphere soils along the zonal distribution of plant. The results showed that the distribution of plant communities in the littoral zone of Balagasi Lake was mainly affected by soil bulk density, pH, TP, AP, TOC and TN. Meanwhile, the distribution of bacterial communities in non-rhizosphere soils was mainly affected by water content, salinity, AP, TOC, TP of soils. The communities of Achnatherum splendens, Reaumuria songarica, Stipa klemenzii were negatively correlated with pH, water content and nutrient content, while the Phragmites australis was opposite. There was a positive correlation between the Kalidium foliatum community and soil nutrient content. The species diversity of soil bacteria was the lowest in lakebed sediment. There was a significant negative correlation between Acidobacteria∖Verrucomicrobia∖Actinobacteria and soil salinity, so in the three sample groups near the lakebed area (lakebed sediment, Phragmites australis community, Kalidium foliatum community), the relative abundance of which was lower than slope and landward terrace. However, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was opposite. Bacteroidetes was positively correlated with soil nutrients, and its relative abundance was the highest in the non-rhizosphere soil of Kalidium foliatum community with the highest soil nutrients.

Desertification is one of the most serious ecological environmental problems over the past several decades in the arid regions. The quantitative assessment of the desertification degree in sandy lands has also been an essential part of landscape ecology. Based on the character of relief, we proposed a new indicator system, i.e., Normalized Landscapes Index (NLI) to calculate the dynamic trend of the desertification process. The data from three periods of Mu Us sandy land and Kubuqi sandy land in Inner Mongolia were used to verify the accuracy of this method. The results show that, from 1990s to 2010s, the NLI change amount of fixed sandy land and semi-fixed sandy land all had positive values while bare sandy land and water had all negative values for both regions. Over the past 20 years, the desertification reversal phenomenon occurs in Mu Us with the desertification process (DP) of −0.36%, while a positive development of desertification in Kubuqi with the DP of 0.01%. The NLI dynamic degree of two sandy lands had the same trend as land use dynamic degree, while NLI was more accurate than the landscape dynamic degree. These findings can provide an important method for comparing the desertification process of the desert and also the meaningful information for prevention and control of desertification and sustainable development for the sandy lands in the arid regions.

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose causes acute liver injury and leads to fatal liver damage. However, the therapies are quite limited. Shikonin is a natural product with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In the present study, the hepatoprotective effects and the underlying mechanisms of shikonin in APAP-induced hepatotoxicity in vivo and in vitro were investigated. APAP-induced acute liver injury and shikonin pretreatment models were established in vivo and in vitro, as evidenced by serum hepatic enzymes, histological changes, oxidative stress indicators and proinflammatory cytokines. The results revealed that shikonin pretreatment prevented the elevation of serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and markedly reduced APAP-induced histological alterations in liver tissues. Additionally, shikonin restored superoxide dismutase (SOD) expression and glutathione (GSH) content in line with the blockade of oxidative stress. The changes in gene expression involved in oxidative stress including methionine sulfoxide reductase (such as MsrA and MsrB1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), SOD2 and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), were markedly reversed after shikonin therapy. Furthermore, shikonin markedly attenuated the APAP-induced production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and suppressed the expression of genes related to inflammation. In AML-12 cells, shikonin pretreatment decreased APAP-induced cytotoxicity as measured by CCK-8 assay and LDH release. The changes in gene expression involved in oxidative stress and the inflammatory response were consistent with those in mouse livers. This study indicated that shikonin attenuated APAP-induced acute liver injury via inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in vivo and in vitro. These findings offer new insights into the potential therapy for APAP hepatotoxicity.