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Allergic rhinitis (AR) impairs the quality of life of patients and reduces the efficiency of social work, it is an increasingly serious public medical and economic problem in the world. Conventional anti-allergic drugs for the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR) can cause certain side effects, which limit the quality of life of patients. Therefore, it makes sense to look for other forms of treatment. Several studies in recent years have shown that probiotics have shown anti-allergic effects in various mouse and human studies. For example, the application of certain probiotic strains can effectively relieve the typical nasal and ocular symptoms of allergic rhinitis in children and adults, thereby improving the quality of life and work efficiency. At the same time, previous studies in humans and mice have found that probiotics can produce multiple effects, such as reduction of Th2 cell inflammatory factors and/or increase of Th1 cell inflammatory factors, changes in allergy-related immunoglobulins and cell migration, regulate Th1/Th2 balance or restore intestinal microbiota disturbance. For patients with limited activity or allergic rhinitis with more attacks and longer attack duration, oral probiotics have positive effects. The efficacy of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of allergic rhinitis is remarkable, but its specific mechanism needs further study. This review summarizes the research progress of probiotics in the treatment of allergic rhinitis in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qing Jin Hua Tan Tang (QJHTT) exerts therapeutic effects in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by alleviating inflammation. However, the anti-inflammatory components of QJHTT have not yet been reported. Our study aimed to screen the active anti-inflammatory components of QJHTT using a multivariate statistical analysis approach for spectrum-effect relationships. Different polar fractions of QJHTT were prepared using ethanol, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol to analyze the phytochemical components. Phytochemical fingerprints were generated using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography. In total, 24 peaks were observed in ten batches of QJHTT extracts. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using a xylene-induced ear-swelling mouse model. Additionally, the spectrum-effect relationship between the relative areas of the 24 peaks and pharmacological activity was investigated using multivariate statistical analysis. The potential anti-inflammatory ingredients obtained from the screening (multivariate statistical analysis) will be validated for their anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms utilizing a lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophage inflammation model. QJHTT ethanol extract 1 exhibited good anti-inflammatory activity. Peaks 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16, which were closely correlated with anti-inflammatory activity, were identified as meranzin, baicalin, baicalein, chrysin-7-O-β-D-glucuronide, and wogonoside, respectively. The anti-inflammatory activities of meranzin, baicalin, baicalein, and wogonoside were verified in vitro. These four bioactive components significantly inhibited the secretion of inflammatory factors in the lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophage cell line. This research successfully screened the QJHTT anti-inflammatory active ingredient group. Meranzin, baicalin, baicalein, chrysin-7-O-β-D-glucuronide, and wogonoside were predicted to be the anti-inflammatory active ingredient groups of QJHTT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a severe chronic lung disease in preterm infants. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are key regulators of various biological processes. The present study aimed to explore the biological roles of circRNAs in BPD pathogenesis. Methods: A newborn BPD rat model was developed to construct a circRNA library; Illumina deep sequencing (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) was used to reveal differential expression of circRNAs in the hyperoxia‐induced BPD rat models. Sanger sequencing and a reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction were performed to confirm circRNAs that may be related to BPD. After miRNA binding‐site prediction, we constructed a network diagram of circRNA‐competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) related to transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β and p53 pathways using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Results: In total, 256 differentially expressed circRNAs were detected between the hyperoxia group and the normoxia group. Of these circRNAs, 195 were up‐regulated and 61 were down‐regulated. The differences of circRNA distribution between the two groups were analyzed and six circRNAs were validated in the tissue samples. GO analysis indicated that 6519 target genes were enriched in cell location and biological processes. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that circRNAs involved in 242 KEGG pathways. A network diagram of circRNA‐ceRNA related to TGF‐β and p53 pathways was constructed. Conclusions: CircRNAs are differentially expressed between the BPD model and control group. Many target genes of circRNAs are involved in the developmental process, which suggests that BPD may be associated with pathways including extracellular matrix–receptor interaction, vascular endothelial growth factor signaling and vascular smooth muscle contraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common disease that requires more convenient, safe and effective antigen-specific immunotherapies. The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of intranasal administration of a eukaryotic expression vector co-expressing Der p2 and A20 protein (pVAX1-Der p2-A20) on mice with allergic rhinitis. The pVAX1-Der p2-A20 vaccine was prepared and encapsulated into poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles. An allergic rhinitis Balb/c mouse model was established through intraperitoneal sensitization with recombinant Der p2 and cholera toxin followed by intranasal challenge with recombinant Der p2. The treatment effect of the DNA vaccine on nasal allergic inflammation was evaluated, and serum IgE, sIgE, IgG and cytokine levels were determined by ELISA. The percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Tregs in the spleen was detected by flow cytometry. The DNA vaccine co-expressing Der p2 and A20 was successfully constructed and encapsulated into PLGA nanoparticles. Der p2-A20 DNA vaccine intranasal administration markedly ameliorated Der p2-induced nasal allergic inflammation. The serum Der p2-specific IgE, IL-4 and IL-13 expression levels were inhibited, while the Der p2-specific IgG1, IgG2a and IFN-γ expression levels in the serum and splenic CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg population were significantly increased after Der p2-A20 DNA vaccine treatment. These results indicated that the Der p2-A20 DNA vaccine alleviates nasal allergic inflammation and promotes splenic Treg population in mice with allergic rhinitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camellia kucha, a wild tea plant with potent antioxidant potential, has been consumed as local beverage for a long history. It is featured for the presence of theacrine and low content of caffeine. Interestingly, compared with caffeine showed strong stimulant effect, theacrine showed sedation, hypnoses and promoting memory function. In this study, the anti-adipogenic ability of Kucha tea ( KT) and its main components were evaluated in mouse 3T3-L1 cells. The results indicated that KT acted significantly to decrease lipid droplet accumulation. Moreover, KT decreased the expression of major transcription factors of adipogenesis pathway, such as PPAR γ and C/ EBP α. KT also decreased the mRNA and protein levels of fatty acid synthase, fatty acid translocase, steroylcoenzyme A desaturase-1, lipoprotein lipase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase-1. Furthermore, KT suppressed the activation of ERK, p38 and JNK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous selenium (a-Se) film is a promising photoconductive material for X-ray flat-panel detectors (FPD) application. However, a-Se tends to be crystalline Se at near room temperature. This remarkable temperature sensitivity limits its practical application. To prevent the near-room-temperature crystallization of a-Se film, we fabricate antimony (Sb)-doped a-Se films using a vacuum evaporation technique equipped with an in situ cooling trap. We experimentally demonstrate that the Sb doping improves the thermal stability of a-Se film while possessing a similar X-ray photoelectric conversion efficiency as the pure a-Se film. After air annealing at 50 °C for 90 min, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) results of the 4.1 at.% Sb-doped a-Se film shows no detectable crystallization diffraction peak. Upon applying an electric field of 10 V µm−1, such Sb-doped a-Se film exhibits dark current density below 1 nA cm−2, while under an X-ray dosage of about 4 mGy, the annealed Sb-doped a-Se film shows a photocurrent density of more than 100 nA cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]