Moxibustion Down-Regulates Colonic Epithelial Cell Apoptosis and
Repairs Tight Junctions in Rats with Crohn's Disease
Bao CH, et al. Chun-Hui Bao, Lu-Yi Wu, Yin Shi, Huan-Gan Wu,
Hui-Rong Liu, Rong Zhang, Li-Qing Yu, Jin-Hai Wang, Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and
Meridian, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
To investigate the effects of moxibustion on down-regulation of the colonic epithelial cell apoptosis and repair of the tight junctions in rats with Crohn's disease (CD). METHODS:
Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal control (NC) group, a model control (MC) group, an herbs-partitioned moxibustion (HPM) group, a mild-warm moxibustion (MWM) group and a salicylazosulphapyridine (SASP) group, with 12 rats in each group. The CD model rats were treated with trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid to induce intestinal inflammation. The rats in the HPM and MWM groups were treated at the Tianshu (ST25) and Qihai (CV6) acupoints once daily for 14 d, and the SASP group was fed SASP twice daily for 14 d. No additional treatment was given to the MC and NC groups. The microstructure of the colonic epithelium was observed under a transmission electron microscope, the transepithelial resistance was measured using a short-circuit current, colonic epithelial cell apoptosis was determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labelling assay, and the expression of occludin, claudin-1 and zonula occludens-l (ZO-1) in the colonic epithelial junction was determined by Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining.
RESULTS: Compared with the MC group, the microstructure of the colonic epithelial barrier was significantly improved in rats treated with HPM, MWM or SASP, meanwhile, the current flow was reduced significantly, with values of 168.20 ± 6.14 vs 99.70 ± 3.13, 99.10 ± 4.28 and 120.30 ± 3.65 mA, respectively (P = 0.001). However, the HPM and MWM groups had higher current flow rates than the SASP group (99.70 ± 3.13, 99.10 ± 4.28 vs 120.30 ± 3.65 mA, P = 0.001). The number of the apoptotic colonic epithelial cells in HPM, MWM and SASP groups was largely reduced (61.5 ± 16.91 vs 15.5 ± 8.89, 14.8 ± 6.27 and 24.7 ± 9.68, respectively (P = 0.001); and the expression of occludin, claudin-1 and ZO-1 in the MWM and HPM groups was significantly enhanced (0.48 ± 0.10, 0.64 ± 0.09 vs 0.18 ± 0.05 for occludin, 0.12 ± 0.02, 0.17 ± 0.03 vs 0.05 ± 0.01 for claudin-1, and 0.08 ± 0.01, 0.11 ± 0.01 vs 0.02 ± 0.01 for ZO-1). And in SASP group, the expression of occludin and ZO-1 was also significantly increased (0.27 ± 0.04 vs 0.18 ± 0.05 for occludin and 0.05 ± 0.01 vs 0.02 ± 0.01 for ZO-1), but there was no significant difference for claudin-1. The HPM and MWM groups had higher expression of occludin, claudin-1 and ZO-1 than the SASP group. CONCLUSION: HPM and MWM treatment can down-regulate apoptosis of colonic epithelial cells, repair tight junctions and enhance colonic epithelial barrier function in rats with CD.
World J Gastroenterol.2011 Dec 7;17(45):4960-70.
Source: PubMed
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Acupuncture at ST36 Prevents Chronic Stress-Induced Increases
in Neuropeptide Y in Rat
Eshkevari L, et al. Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Health Studies.
Chronic stress, as seen in post-traumatic stress disorder, can exacerbate existing
diseases. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been proposed to treat chronic stress, although information on its
efficacy or mechanism(s) of action is limited. While many factors contribute to the chronic stress
response, the sympathetic peptide, neuropeptide Y (NPY), has been shown to be elevated in chronic stress
and is hypothesized to contribute to the physiological stress response. Our objective was to determine if
EA at acupuncture point stomach 36 (ST(36)) is effective in mitigating cold stress-induced increase in NPY
in rats. Both pretreatment and concomitant treatment with EA ST(36) effectively suppressed peripheral and
central NPY after 14 d of cold stress (P < 0.05). The effect was specific, as NPY in Sham-EA rats was not
different than observed in stress-only rats. Additionally, the effect of EA ST(36) was long-lasting, as
NPY levels remained suppressed despite early cessation of EA ST(36), while exposure to cold stress was
continued. In the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), it was notable that changes in NPY mirrored plasma NPY
levels, and that the significant elevation in PVN Y1 receptor observed with stress was also prevented with
EA ST(36). The findings indicate that EA ST(36) is effective in preventing one of the sympathetic pathways
stimulated during chronic stress, and thus may be a useful adjunct therapy in stress-related disorders.
Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2011 Dec 7.
Source: PubMed
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In Vitro Effects of Aqueous Extracts of Astragalus Membranaceus
and Scutellaria Baicalensis GEORGI on Toxoplasma Gondii
Yang X, et al. Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine,
Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, China.
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that infects animals and humans worldwide. The standard
treatment for toxoplasmosis is limiting due to toxic adverse effects, thus there is a need to identify new
drugs that are less toxic. Both Astragalus membranaceus and Scutellaria baicalensis GEORGI are popular
traditional Chinese herbs widely used for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases in Asia, and we
have previously demonstrated that water extracts of A. membranaceus (AmE) and S. baicalensis GEORGI (SbE)
have good efficacy in controlling T. gondii replication in mouse models. This study was designed to
further evaluate their effects against developing tachyzoites of the RH strain of T. gondii in HeLa cell
cultures. AmE, SbE, and TMP-SMX (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole) were added into the wells containing both
HeLa cells and replicating T. gondii of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing RH tachyzoites. The
proliferation and morphous of the tachyzoites were observed, the fluorescence intensity expressed as the
fluorescence gray scale value was measured, and the living tachyzoites were counted at different culture
times after treatment. The results showed that, compared to untreated controls, parasites treated with
either AmE or SbE had significantly decreased intracellular replication at 72, 96, and 120 h after
treatment (P < 0.01); while compared to either AmE- or SbE-treated groups, SMX-treated groups had even
significantly decreased replication (only a few living parasites were detected) at the above times
(P < 0.01). Our data demonstrated that both AmE and SbE had remarkable in vitro activities against T.
gondii.
Parasitol Res. 2011 Dec 17.
Source: PubMed
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