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Chaigui granules (CG) are a compound composed of six herbal medicines with significant antidepressant effects. However, the antidepressant mechanism of CG remains unclear. In the present study, we attempted to elucidate the antidepressant mechanism of CG by regulating purine metabolism and purinergic signaling. First, the regulatory effect of CG on purine metabolites in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rats was analyzed by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) targeted quantitative analysis. Meanwhile, purinergic receptors (P2X7 receptor (P2X7R), A 1 receptor (A 1 R) and A 2A receptor (A 2A R)) and signaling pathways (nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathway and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-protein kinase A (PKA) pathway) associated with purine metabolism were analyzed by western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Besides, antidepressant mechanism of CG by modulating purine metabolites to activate purinergic receptors and related signaling pathways was dissected by exogenous supplementation of purine metabolites and antagonism of purinergic receptors in vitro. An in vivo study showed that the decrease in xanthine and the increase in four purine nucleosides were closely related to the antidepressant effects of CG. Additionally, purinergic receptors (P2X7R, A 1 R and A 2A R) and related signaling pathways (NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and cAMP-PKA pathway) were also significantly regulated by CG. The results of exogenous supplementation of purine metabolites and antagonism of purinergic receptors showed that excessive accumulation of xanthine led to activation of the P2X7R-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway, and the reduction of adenosine and inosine inhibited the A 1 R-cAMP-PKA pathway, which was significantly ameliorated by CG. Overall, CG could promote neuroprotection and ultimately play an antidepressant role by inhibiting the xanthine-P2X7R-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and activating the adenosine/inosine-A 1 R-cAMP-PKA pathway. CG reduced xanthine and increased adenosine, inosine levels to regulate P2X7R and A1R expression in the PFC of CUMS rats, thereby inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and activating cAMP-PKA pathway to promote neuroprotection, which in turn exerted the antidepressant effect of CG. [Display omitted] • The antidepressant effect of CG was related to the regulation of purine metabolism in the brain. • The purine metabolite-purinergic receptor-purinergic signaling pathway axis played an important role in the development of depression. • CG can ameliorate the purine metabolite-purinergic receptor-purinergic signaling pathway axis in depression model rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radix Bupleuri (RB) is commonly used to treat depression, but it can also lead to hepatotoxicity after long-term use. In many anti-depression prescriptions, RB is often used in combination with Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA) as an herb pair. However, whether RPA can alleviate RB-induced hepatotoxicity remain unclear. In this work, the results confirmed that RB had a dose-dependent antidepressant effect, but the optimal antidepressant dose caused hepatotoxicity. Notably, RPA effectively reversed RB-induced hepatotoxicity. Afterward, the mechanism of RB-induced hepatotoxicity was confirmed. The results showed that saikosaponin A and saikosaponin D could inhibit GSH synthase (GSS) activity in the liver, and further cause liver injury through oxidative stress and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB)/NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) pathway. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which RPA attenuates RB-induced hepatotoxicity were investigated. The results demonstrated that RPA increased the abundance of intestinal bacteria with glycosidase activity, thereby promoting the conversion of saikosaponins to saikogenins in vivo. Different from saikosaponin A and saikosaponin D, which are directly combined with GSS as an inhibitor, their deglycosylation conversion products saikogenin F and saikogenin G exhibited no GSS binding activity. Based on this, RPA can alleviate the inhibitory effect of saikosaponins on GSS activity to reshape the liver redox balance and further reverse the RB-induced liver inflammatory response by the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway. In conclusion, the present study suggests that promoting the conversion of saikosaponins by modulating gut microbiota to attenuate the inhibition of GSS is the potential mechanism by which RPA prevents RB-induced hepatotoxicity. Radix Paeoniae Alba attenuates Radix Bupleuri-induced hepatotoxicity via the gut-liver axis metabolic pathway. "San": Radix Bupleuri is the herb of "Xin San"; "Shou": Radix Paeoniae Alba is the herb of "Suan Shou". [Display omitted] • RPA effectively reversed RB-induced hepatotoxicity in depression model rats. • RPA attenuates RB-induced hepatotoxicity via the gut-liver axis metabolic pathway. • RPA can promote the conversion of saikosaponins by modulating gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angelicae Sinensis Radix (AS) is reproted to exert anti-depression effect (ADE) and nourishing blood effect (NBE) in a rat model of depression. The correlation between the two therapeutic effects and its underlying mechanisms deserves further study. The current study is designed to explore the underlying mechanisms of correlation between the ADE and NBE of AS based on hepatic metabonomics, network pharmacology and molecular docking. According to metabolomics analysis, 30 metabolites involved in 11 metabolic pathways were identified as the potential metabolites for depression. Furthermore, principal component analysis and correlation analysis showed that glutathione, sphinganine, and ornithine were related to pharmacodynamics indicators including behavioral indicators and hematological indicators, indicating that metabolic pathways such as sphingolipid metabolism were involved in the ADE and NBE of AS. Then, a target-pathway network of depression and blood deficiency syndrome was constructed by network pharmacology analysis, where a total of 107 pathways were collected. Moreover, 37 active components obtained from Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Triple-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS) in AS extract that passed the filtering criteria were used for network pharmacology, where 46 targets were associated with the ADE and NBE of AS. Pathway enrichment analysis further indicated the involvement of sphingolipid metabolism in the ADE and NBE of AS. Molecular docking analysis indciated that E -ligustilide in AS extract exhibited strong binding activity with target proteins (PIK3CA and PIK3CD) in sphingolipid metabolism. Further analysis by Western blot verified that AS regulated the expression of PIK3CA and PIK3CD on sphingolipid metabolism. Our results demonstrated that sphingolipid metabolic pathway was the core mechanism of the correlation between the ADE and NBE of AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are abundant uranium resources in seawater, and the development of low-cost and high-efficiency adsorbents for uranium extraction from seawater has high economic and environmental-friendly benefits. In this work, a polyethyleneimine modified MWCNTs adsorbent was fabricated and used for uranium capture. The prepared samples exhibited excellent removal efficiency (∼ 82.39∼96.98%) and adsorption selectivity (with a K d ∼2.34 ×104∼1.61 ×105 mL/g) in the pH range of 4.0–8.0, which obviously superior than that of pure MWCNTs (∼ 36.16∼52.65%, K d ∼2.83 ×103 ∼5.56 ×103 mL/g). The adsorption process followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and its maximum adsorption capacity reached 97.60 mg/g. In addition, due to the existence of various chelating ligands in PEI, the specimen showed excellent adsorption performance in various interfering ions and simulated seawater. Therefore, the adsorbed samples can be easily regenerated in low-concentration hydrochloric acid solution, and the removal efficiency still reaches 85.83% after five consecutive adsorption-desorption experiments, showing fine regeneration performance. XPS analysis indicated that chelation between nitrogen- and oxygen-containing functional groups with UO 2 2+ was the dominant removal mechanism. The excellent adsorption efficiency and regeneration performance, as well as low preparation cost and environmental friendliness, make it a potential seawater uranium sorbent. [Display omitted] • Polyethyleneimine-modified MWCNTs were prepared by a facile hydrothermal covalent grafting method. • The PEI@MWCNTs samples exhibited excellent removal efficiency (∼82.39% ∼ 96.98%) and adsorption selectivity (with a K d ∼2.34 ×104 ∼1.61 ×105 mL/g) in the pH range of 4.0–8.0. • The sufficient UO 2 2+ Chelation sites were responsible for the higher UO 2 2+ removal efficiency in various competing ions (K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+) and simulated seawater. • The PEI@MWCNTs shown fine regenerated and stability in low-concentration hydrochloric acid solution. • XPS analysis indicated that chelation between nitrogen- and oxygen-containing functional groups with UO 2 2+ was the dominant removal mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xanthate-modified cross-linked chitosan (chitosan-SH) was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The adsorption mechanism and capacity of removing ruthenium [Ru(Ⅲ)] from aqueous solutions with chitosan-SH as an adsorbent was investigated. The characterization results indicated that carbon disulfide (CS 2) was successfully loaded into cross-linked chitosan. Structural characterization of the samples was performed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), specific surface area and porosity analysis (BET) analysis methods. The results of kinetics data suggested that the ruthenium ion adsorption process by chitosan-SH could be fast to reach equilibrium within 30 min. Additionally, the removal percentage of uranium was obtained 94.7% at pH 7.0. Several parameters affecting adsorption capacity, including pH, contact time, initial Ru(Ⅲ) concentration and solution volume, and adsorbent concentration, were also investigated. Overall, chitosan-SH could be applied as a superior adsorbent for Ru(Ⅲ) in wastewater. ga1 • FTIR and XPS analysis indicate the interaction between S-containing functional groups, Ru(Ⅲ) and Na+. • The maximum removal rate of Ru(Ⅲ) was found to be 97.87% • Chitosan-SH exhibited an enhanced sorption capacity of 175.4 mg g−1 for Ru3+. • Chitosan-SH was prepared in the study by two-step method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimony has been listed as a critical pollutant in many countries because of its toxic effects on earth organisms. In this study, titanate nanosheets (TNS) were prepared with a high specific surface area by alkaline hydrothermal method. The adsorption mechanism and adsorption capacity of removing Sb(III) from aqueous solutions with TNS as an adsorbent were investigated for the first time. The FTIR and XPS analysis indicated that the interlayer sodium ions of TNS were responsible for Sb(III) adsorption. The batch experiments were conducted on solution pH, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration and reaction time. The results exhibited that when pH was 2, the removal rate was about 90% with the dosage of TNS was 0.1 g/L. The adsorption reaction was exceedingly rapid in the initial 5 min, and then the reaction was in equilibrium after about 30 min. The experimental data were better fitted with Langmuir isotherm model, and the maximum adsorption amount could attain 232.56 mg/g. The experiments showed that TNS had outstanding anti-interference performance to common cations. Therefore, TNS were considered to be an excellent material for removing Sb(III) from aqueous solutions. Image 1 • The removal of Sb(III) from aqueous solutions by TNS was firstly studied. • TNS showed a high adsorption capacity for Sb(III). • TNS exhibited an excellent selectivity for Sb(III) in the interference of common cations. • The adsorption mechanism was the ion exchange between the interlayer Na+ of TNS and Sb(III). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]