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Objective(s): This research was designed to determine the role of irisin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endometritis in female mice. Materials and Methods: Animals were randomly assigned into sham, sham + irisin, LPS, LPS + irisin (0.1, 1, 10 μg/kg), and LPS + irisin + compound C groups. Histological features and expression of AMPK, NF-κB, inflammatory mediators, and oxidative stress markers were compared among different groups. Results: The results showed that LPS resulted in obvious uterus damage, meanwhile, the inflammatory mediators (COX-2, iNOS, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α), as well as NF-κB in the uterine tissue, were significantly increased and the level of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was reduced. Nevertheless, pretreatment with irisin reversed the phenomena caused by LPS. Interestingly, compound C (AMPK inhibitor) abolished irisin’s effects on the uterus, which suggested that irisin’s beneficial function was achieved through regulating the AMPK-NF-κB pathway. Moreover, LPS-induced alterations of oxidative factors (MnSOD, GSH, and MDA) were reversed significantly by pretreatment with irisin. This data indicated irisin’s beneficial function was also related to antioxidation besides anti-inflammation. Conclusion: Our study implies that irisin is a potential therapeutic agent for endometritis.

This study aimed to investigate the hypolipidemic effect and mechanism of aqueous extract of Lindera aggregate leaves and Aloe vera (AqLL-A) in mice. Chemical profile of AqLL-A, serum/hepatic lipid profiles, and fecal TG were measured. The major components of AqLL-A related to hyperlipidemia, quercitrin and aloin were confirmed by HPLC. AqLL-A reduced serum/hepatic lipids, while elevated serum HDL, APOA1, fecal TG levels in hyperlipidemia mice. Furthermore, 20 potential biomarkers were detected by UPLC-QTOF/MS, and all of them were approached to a normal-like level after treatment of AqLL-A. Network pharmacology combined with metabolomics elucidate the related pathways involved in hyperlipidemia. The experimental validation indicated the differential expressions of CYP7A1, ACAT and HMGCR contribute to the hypolipidemic mechanism of AqLL-A. These results suggested that AqLL-A alleviated hyperlipidemia effectively, it might play synergistic therapeutic efficacies through regulating metabolic profiles and related signaling pathway.

In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genome of Lindera aggregate (Sims) Kosterm., an important Chinese herbal medicine. The complete chloroplast genome with a size of 152,714 bp in length, contained two inverted repeats (IRa and IRb) regions of 20,090 bp each, which were separated by a large single copy (LSC, 93,743 bp) regions and a small single copy (SSC, 18,791 bp) regions, the overall GC content was 42.84%. The chloroplast genome contained 122 genes, 77 protein-coding, 37 tRNA, and 8 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic tree showed that Lindera aggregate (Sims) Kosterm. has a close relationship with Lindera chuni.