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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive lung disease characterized by irreversible lung dysfunction caused by fibroblast proliferation and excessive collagen deposition, is the result of persistent chronic inflammation of the lung parenchyma. Although the pathogenesis is not fully understood, the role of immune mechanisms such as innate immune response, adaptive immunity and immune regulation, and cytokines in the pathophysiological mechanism of pulmonary fibrosis have been gradually recognized. There are currently limited drugs available to treat IPF, and long-term use of these drugs may have many adverse effects. With the elucidation of the underlying immunological pathogenesis, the development of more valuable drugs targeting the immune system becomes possible. This review introduces the immunological pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis and the emerging drugs targeting the immune system in recent years, aiming to provide insights into the mechanism and treatment direction of pulmonary fibrosis.

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the composition and function of the gut microbiome in long-term depression using an 8-week chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rat model.Materials and methodsAnimals were sacrificed after either 4 weeks or 8 weeks under CUMS to mimic long-term depression in humans. The gut microbiome was analyzed to identify potential depression-related gut microbes, and the fecal metabolome was analyzed to detect their functional metabolites. The correlations between altered gut microbes and metabolites in the long-term depression rats were explored. The crucial metabolic pathways related to long-term depression were uncovered through enrichment analysis based on these gut microbes and metabolites.ResultsThe microbial composition of long-term depression (8-week CUMS) showed decreased species richness indices and different profiles compared with the control group and the 4-week CUMS group, characterized by disturbance of Alistipes indistinctus, Bacteroides ovatus, and Alistipes senegalensis at the species level. Additionally, long-term depression was associated with disturbances in fecal metabolomics. D-pinitol was the only increased metabolite in the 8-week CUMS group among the top 10 differential metabolites, while the top 3 decreased metabolites in the long-term depression rats included indoxyl sulfate, trimethylaminen-oxide, and 3 alpha,7 alpha-dihydroxy-12-oxocholanoic acid. The disordered fecal metabolomics in the long-term depression rats mainly involved the biosynthesis of pantothenate, CoA, valine, leucine and isoleucine.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the gut microbiome may participate in the long-term development of depression, and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of gut metabolism.

Cat8 is an important transcription factor regulating the utilization of non-fermentative carbon sources in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, our previous studies found that Cat8 may play a critical role in nitrogen metabolism, but the regulatory mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, the nuclear localization and analysis of regulatory activity showed that the Cat8 function relies on Snf1 kinase. In the fermentation with glucose or glycerol as carbon sources under phenylalanine (Phe) induction, by comparing the changes of cellular gene expression and Cat8 target gene binding profiles after Cat8 overexpression, enhanced transcription was shown among key genes involved in the Ehrlich pathway (e.g., ARO9, ARO10, and ADH2) and its upstream and downstream related factors (e.g., GAP1, AGP1, GAT1, PDR12, and ESPB6), indicating that Cat8 participated in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism. Moreover, highly active Cat8 interacts with transcriptional activator Aro80 and GATA activator Gat1 coordinately to regulate the transcription of ARO10. Altogether, our results showed that Cat8 may act as a global transcription factor in response to nutritional changes, regulating both carbon and nitrogen utilization. This provides a new insight for us to explore the regulation of cell nutrient metabolism networks in yeast.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, in the pathogenesis of which oxidative stress (OS) was believed to play a key role. Shenqi Fuzheng Injection (SFI) concocted from two kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs, Radix Codonopsis and Radix Astragali, was proven to be eligible to reduce the OS injury and increase the activity of the nuclear factor-erythroid-2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway, an antioxidant enzymes inducer.Objective: We aim to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms underlying the action of SFI on a well-established transgenic mouse model of ALS.Methods: Transgenic SOD1-G93A mice were intraperitoneally injected with SFI (40 ml/kg) three times a week from 87 days of age. Motor function, survival, pathological manifestations in the brain, and Nrf2 pathway-related assessments of the mice were performed.Results: SFI treatment efficiently postponed the disease onset (p = 0.022) and extended the overall survival (p = 0.038) of the SOD1-G93A mice. Moreover, SFI significantly reduced motor neuron loss (p < 0.001) and astrocytic activation (p < 0.05) in the motor cortex of the brain of SOD1-G93A mice at 130 days of age. The protective effects of SFI in the SOD1-G93A mice were associated with decreasing the level of malondialdehyde (p < 0.05) and increasing the levels of superoxide dismutase (p < 0.05), Nrf2 (p < 0.05), heme oxygenase-1 (p < 0.05), and glutathione S-transferase (p < 0.05) in the SOD1-G93A mice.Conclusion: The SFI treatment efficiently extended the overall survival and improved the pathological manifestations of the brain via alleviating the OS injury and activating the Nrf2 pathway in the animal model of ALS, which made SFI a potentially promising candidate for ALS treatment.

We have examined the effect of Yishen Juanbi decoction combined with predictive nursing intervention on the prognosis, pain, and nutritional status of patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis patients received oral Yishen Juanbi decoction, followed by routine nursing intervention or predictive nursing intervention. The visual analog scale score and bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index score in the predictive nursing intervention were lower relative to the routine nursing intervention (P < 0.05). The predictive nursing intervention also had better quality of life than the routine nursing intervention group (P < 0.05). Serum total protein and albumin levels were higher in the predictive nursing intervention group than the routine nursing intervention group (P < 0.05), while serum IgA, IgM, and IgG levels were lower (P < 0.05). The nursing satisfaction of patients in the predictive nursing intervention group was higher compared to the routine nursing intervention group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, Yishen Juanbi decoction combined with predictive nursing can reduce pain, improve the nutritional status, and promote the motor function and quality of life of ankylosing spondylitis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]