Search

In this study, we explored the pharmacological mechanisms of Huangqin Tang (HQT; a traditional Chinese medicine formula) in ulcerative colitis (UC) and provided evidence for potential roles HQT plays by gene expression profiling. The UC rat model was made via a compound method (trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid plus ethanol). After a ten-day treatment, microarray analysis was performed from the colon segment of the rats. Biological functions and specific signaling pathways were enriched based on differentially expressed genes (DEG), and corresponding gene networks were constructed via Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Through the network, we screened the potential “candidate targets,” such as ITGB1, FN1, CASP3, and ITGA5 and FABP1, ABCB1, FABP2, and SLC51B. These potential candidate targets were functionally related to immune responses, inflammation, and metabolism. Moreover, HQT significantly decreased serum levels of proinflammatory factors nitrogen monoxide (NO), proinflammatory cytokines interleukin- (IL-) 17, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The degree of HE staining of colonic tissue was severe in the model group but reduced significantly in the HQT group. HQT exhibited protective effects against colon damage by inhibiting the inflammatory response.

This study was designed to investigate the effect of Huangqin Tang (HQT) on TLR4/Myd88 pathway and the downstream cytokines in rats with ulcerative colitis (UC) to explore its underlying mechanisms of action. The model of UC rats with cell immunoreactivity was made using a compound method (trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid plus ethanol). Rats were randomly divided into the control group, the model group, the salazosulfapyridine (SASP) group, high, medium and low dose(20, 10, 5 g·kg-1) of HQT groups. After a three-day treatment, production of NO in serum was detected by Griess assay, the levels of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, IL-17 and prostaglandin E2（PGE2） in serum were detected by ELISA. After a five-day treatment, the positive protein expressions of COX-2 and iNOS in the colon tissue were determined by ICH method, the protein expressions of TLR4 and MyD88 in colon tissue were determined by Western blot. Compared with the control group, the levels of NO, IL-17, PGE2, the protein expressions of TLR4, MyD88 and the protein positive expressions of COX-2, iNOS were apparently higher in the model group. Compared with model group, the above indexes were significantly improved in the SASP and high-dose HQT groups (P0.05). These results show that HQT has a definite effect on UC in rats. Its mechanisms of action may be achieved by inhibiting the activity of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signal pathway and down-regulation of NO, IL-17 and PGE2 production.

High chemical reactivity, large volume changes, and uncontrollable lithium dendrite growth have always been the key problems of lithium metal anodes. Coating has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to protect the lithium metal. In this work, the effects of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based coatings on electrodeposited lithium have been studied. Our results show that a PAN coating layer provides uniform and dendrite-free lithium deposition as well as better cycling performance with carbonate electrolyte. Notably, heat treatment of the PAN coating layer promotes the formation of larger deposit particle size and higher coulombic efficiency (85%). The compact coating layer of heat-treated PAN with a large Young modulus (82.7 GPa) may provide stable protection for the active lithium. Improved homogeneity of morphology and mechanical properties of heat-treated PAN contribute to the larger deposit particles. This work provides new feasibility to optimize the polymer coating through rational modification of polymers.

The structures, spin reorientations, magnetic, and magnetostrictive properties of the polycrystalline Pr(Fe1−x Co x )1.9 (x = 0–1.0) cubic laves phase alloys between 5 K and 300 K are investigated. Large low-field magnetostrictions are observed at 5 K in the alloys with x = 0.2 and 0.4 due to the low magnetic anisotropies of these two alloys. A large negative magnetostriction of about −1130 ppm is found in PrCo1.9 alloy at 5 K. The magnetizations of the alloys with decrease abnormally at the spin reorientation temperature , and an abnormity is detected in the alloy with x = 1.0 at its Curie temperature (45 K). The substitution of Fe by Co increases the value of in the alloy with x value increasing from 0.0 to 0.4, and then reduces the value of with x value further increasing to 0.6.