Free Wanderer Powder regulates AMPA receptor homeostasis in chronic restraint stress-induced rat model of depression with liver-depression and spleen-deficiency syndrome

Exploring pathogenesis and biomarkers through establishment of a rat model of male infertility with liver depression and kidney deficiency

OBJECTIVES

To establish a rat model that accurately replicates the clinical characteristics of male infertility (MI) with Liver Depression and Kidney Deficiency (LD & KD) and investigate the pathogenesis.

METHODS

After subjecting the rats to chronic restraint stress (CRS) and adenine treatment, a series of tests were conducted, including ethological assessments, evaluations of reproductive characteristics, measurements of biochemical parameters, histopathological examinations, and analyses of urinary metabolites. Additionally, bioinformatics predictions were performed for comprehensive analysis.

RESULTS

Compared to the control, the model exhibited significant manifestations of MI with LD & KD, including reduced responsiveness, diminished frequency of capturing estrous female rats, and absence of mounting behavior. Additionally, the kidney coefficient increased markedly, while the coefficients of the testis and epididymis decreased significantly. Sperm counts and viabilities decreased notably, accompanied by an increase in sperm abnormalities. Dysregulation of reproductive hormone levels in the serum was observed, accompanied by an upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines expressions in the liver and kidney, as well as exacerbated oxidative stress in the penile corpus cavernosum and testis. The seminiferous tubules in the testis exhibited a loose arrangement, loss of germ cells, and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Furthermore, utilizing urinary metabolomics and bioinformatics analysis, 5 key biomarkers and 2 crucial targets most closely linked to MI were revealed.

CONCLUSION

The study successfully established a clinically relevant animal model of MI with LD & KD. It elucidates the pathogenesis of the condition, identifies key biomarkers and targets, and provides a robust scientific foundation for the prediction, diagnosis, and treatment of MI with LD & KD.

Qi-Zhi-Wei-Tong granules alleviates chronic non-atrophic gastritis in mice by altering the gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

In traditional Chinese medicine, Qi-zhi-wei-tong granule (QZWT) significantly reduced the major gastrointestinal and psychological symptoms of functional dyspepsia.

AIM OF THE STUDY

We aimed to explore the therapeutic effect of QZWT treated chronic non-atrophic gastritis (CNAG) and to elucidate its potential mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The composition of QZWT was analysed by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS. The CNAG mice model was established by chronic restraint stress (CRS) in combination with iodoacetamide (IAA). Morphological staining was utilized to reveal the impact of QZWT on stomach and gut integrity. RT‒qPCR and ELISA were used to measure proinflammatory cytokines in the stomach, colon tissues and serum of CNAG mice. Next-generation sequencing of 16 S rDNA was applied to analyse the gut microbiota community of faecal samples. Finally, we investigated the faecal bile acid composition using GC‒MS.

RESULTS

Twenty-one of the compounds from QZWT were successfully identified by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS analysis. QZWT enhanced gastric and intestinal integrity and suppressed inflammatory responses in CNAG mice. Moreover, QZWT treatment reshaped the gut microbiota structure by increasing the levels of the Akkermansia genus and decreasing the populations of the Desulfovibrio genus in CNAG mice. The alteration of gut microbiota was associated with gut bacteria BA metabolism. In addition, QZWT reduced BAs and especially decreased conjugated BAs in CNAG mice. Spearman's correlation analysis further confirmed the links between the changes in the gut microbiota and CNAG indices.

CONCLUSIONS

QZWT can effectively inhibited gastrointestinal inflammatory responses of CNAG symptoms in mice; these effects may be closely related to restoring the balance of the gut microbiota and regulating BA metabolism to protect the gastric mucosa. This study provides a scientific reference for the pathogenesis of CNAG and the mechanism of QZWT treatment.

Aging impairs recovery from stress-induced depression in male rats possibly by alteration of microRNA-101 expression and Rac1/RhoA pathway in the prefrontal cortex

Along with altering brain responses to stress, aging may also impair recovery from depression symptoms. In the present study, we investigated depressive-like behaviors in young and aged rats and assayed the levels of microRNA-101 (miR-101), Rac1/RhoA, PSD-95, and GluR1 in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) after stress cessation and after a recovery period. Young (3 months old) and aged (22 months old) male Wistar rats were divided into six groups; Young control (YNG), young rats received chronic stress for four weeks (YNG + CS), young rats received chronic stress for four weeks followed by a 6-week recovery period (YNG + CS + REC), Aged control (AGED), aged rats received chronic stress for four weeks (AGED + CS), and aged rats received chronic stress for four weeks followed by a 6-week recovery period (AGED + CS + REC). Stress-induced depression, evaluated by the sucrose preference test (SPT) and forced swimming test (FST), was yet observed after the recovery period in aged but not in young rats, which were accompanied by unchanged levels of miR-101, Rac1/RhoA, GluR1, and PSD-95 in the PFC of aged rats. These data suggested that impaired synaptic plasticity of glutamatergic synapses via the miR-101/Rac1/RhoA pathway may contribute to the delayed behavioral recovery after stress exposure observed in aging animals.

Research progress on classical traditional chinese medicine formula xiaoyaosan in the treatment of depression

Depression is an emotional disorder that is problematic in psychiatry owing to its unclear etiology and unknown pathogenesis. Traditional Chinese medicine formulations such as Xiaoyaosan have been widely used throughout history to treat depression. In this review, we have focused on recent evidences elucidating the links between Xiaoyaosan and the treatment of depression. Data from animal and clinical studies, focusing on the pharmacological mechanisms, clinical applications, and effective materials that form the basis for the treatment of depression are presented and discussed. We found that the antidepressant effects of Xiaoyaosan are related to the effects of monoamine neurotransmitters, regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, neuroplasticity, synaptic plasticity, inflammatory response, neuroprotection, brain-gut axis, regulation of intestinal microbiota, oxidative stress, and autophagy for reducing neuronal apoptosis. This review highlights the current evidence supporting the use of Xiaoyaosan as an antidepressant and provides an overview of the potential mechanisms involved.

Astrocyte secretes IL-6 to modulate PSD-95 palmitoylation in basolateral amygdala and depression-like behaviors induced by peripheral nerve injury

Dysfunction of glutamatergic synaptic plasticity in basolateral amygdala (BLA) constitutes a critical pathogenic mechanism underlying the depression-like behaviors induced by chronic pain. Astrocytes serve as an important supporting cell modulating glutamatergic synaptic transmission. Here, we found that peripheral spared nerve injury (SNI) induced astrocyte activation to release IL-6 in BLA. Inhibition of astrocyte activity attenuated SNI-induced IL-6 overexpression and depression-like behaviors. Moreover, SNI enhanced the abundance of DHHC2 in synaptosome and DHHC3 in Golgi apparatus, promoted PSD-95 palmitoylation, and increased the recruitment of GluR1 and NR2B at synapses. Suppression of IL-6 or PSD-95 palmitoylation attenuated the synaptic accumulation of GluR1 and NR2B in BLA and improved depression-like behaviors induced by SNI. Furthermore, IL-6 downstream PI3K increased the expression of DHHC3 in Golgi apparatus and facilitated the interaction of palmitoylated PSD-95 with GluR1 and NR2B at synapses. These findings collectively suggested that SNI activated astrocyte to release IL-6 in BLA, which promoted PSD-95 palmitoylation and enhanced the synaptic trafficking of GluR1 and NR2B, and subsequently mediated the depression-like behaviors induced by nerve injury.

A Class I HDAC Inhibitor Rescues Synaptic Damage and Neuron Loss in APP-Transfected Cells and APP/PS1 Mice through the GRIP1/AMPA Pathway

As a neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) seriously affects the health of older people. Changes in synapses occur first over the course of the disease, perhaps even before the formation of Aβ plaques. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) mediates the damage of Aβ oligomers to dendritic spines. Therefore, we examined the relationship between HDAC activity and synaptic defects using an HDAC inhibitor (HDACI), BG45, in the human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line with stable overexpression of Swedish mutant APP (APPsw) and in APP/PS1 transgenic mice during this study. The cells were treated with 15 μM BG45 and the APP/PS1 mice were treated with 30 mg/kg BG45. We detected the levels of synapse-related proteins, HDACs, tau phosphorylation, and amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors using Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. We also measured the expression of cytoskeletal proteins in the cell model. The mRNA levels of the glutamate ion receptor alginate subunit 2 (GRIK2), sodium voltage-gated channel beta subunit (SCN3B), synaptophysin (SYP), Grm2 (the gene encoding glutamate receptor subunit 2 (GluR2)), Grid2IP, glutamate receptor interacting protein 1 (GRIP1), and GRIP2 were detected to explore the effects of the HDACI on regulating the expression of synaptic proteins and AMPA receptors. According to our studies, the expressions of HDAC1, HDAC2, and HDAC3 were increased, which were accompanied by the downregulation of the synapse-related proteins SYP, postsynaptic dendritic protein (PSD-95), and spinophilin as early as 24 h after transfection with the APPsw gene. BG45 upregulated the expression of synapse-related proteins and repaired cytoskeletal damage. In vivo, BG45 alleviated the apoptosis-mediated loss of hippocampal neurons, upregulated synapse-related proteins, reduced Aβ deposition and phosphorylation of tau, and increased the levels of the synapse-related genes GRIK2, SCN3B, SYP, Grm2, and Grid2IP. BG45 increased the expression of the AMPA receptor subunits GluA1, GluA2, and GluA3 on APPsw-transfected cells and increased GRIP1 and GRIP2 expression and AMPA receptor phosphorylation in vivo. Based on these results, HDACs are involved in the early process of synaptic defects in AD models, and BG45 may rescue synaptic damage and the loss of hippocampal neurons by specifically inhibiting HDAC1, HDAC2, and HDAC3, thereby modulating AMPA receptor transduction, increasing synapse-related gene expression, and finally enhancing the function of excitatory synapses. BG45 may be considered a potential drug for the treatment of early AD in further studies.

Efficacy and safety of Xiaoyao pills for mild to moderate depression: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Depression is one of the most frequent and severe psychiatric conditions. Many chemical drugs to treat depression are associated with adverse reactions and have shortcomings. Traditional Chinese medicine is of great significance in the prevention and treatment of depression. Xiaoyao pills has achieved good results in clinical application, which has the advantages of quick effect and no obvious adverse reactions. The aim of our study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Xiaoyao pills on mild to moderate depression patients.

METHODS

This study is a multi-centre, double-blinded, randomized and placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 108 participants are assigned to three groups: Xiaoyao pill group taking Xiaoyao pills twice daily for 4 weeks, placebo group taking placebos twice daily for 4 weeks and normal group without taking any drug. The primary and secondary outcome measures are the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Syndrome Scale. The assessment is at baseline (before treatment initiation), 1 week, 2 weeks 4 weeks after the first treatment. Exploratory outcome is also assessed to explore the mechanism of Xiaoyao pills at baseline and 4 weeks.

DISCUSSION

The results from this study will provide clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of Xiaoyao pills in patients with mild to moderate depression with syndrome of liver stagnation and spleen deficiency.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov ISRCTN12746343. Registered on September 25, 2020.