Anti-inflammatory effects of Samsoeum, a Korean medicine for health insurance, on chronic bronchitis caused by lipopolysaccharide in rats

BACKGROUND

Samsoeum (SSE), a Korean medicine, has been used to treat upper respiratory infection including residual coughs after catching a cold, and colds in patients with gastrointestinal disorder. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of SSE against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced bronchitis and characterized its optimal dosing range based on the improvement of SSE concentrations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Male Sprague Dawley rats were intra-nasally administered LPS on day 0, 3 and 6. 2 g kg-1 dose of SSE for rat was determined by the human equivalent dose formula and orally administered once a day from day 3 to day 6. To clarify the optimal administration dose of SSE, various doses including 0.5 (1/4 fold), 1 (1/2 fold), 6 (3 fold), 12 (6 fold), 24 (12 fold) and 36 g kg-1 (18 fold) were also orally administered. In addition, the molecular mechanism of SSE in mucin hyperproduction was investigated in LPS-sensitized A549 cells.

RESULTS

Oral administration of SSE ameliorated alveolar wall thickening and inflammatory cell infiltration of lung tissues in LPS-induced bronchitis at doses of 1/4 fold, 1/2 fold and 1 fold. The total cell and neutrophil numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were reduced in the SSE-treated groups compared with the LPS group. In addition, 0.5, 1 and 2 g kg-1 of SSE suppressed LPS-induced mucin glycoprotein 5AC (MUC5AC) production in BALF. Furthermore, SSE treatment significantly inhibited the pro-inflammatory cytokines, resulting in the decrease of MUC5AC production by the JAK1/STAT6 signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

1, 2 and 6 g kg-1 of SSE ameliorated chronic bronchitis by inhibiting LPS-induced neutrophil infiltration and MUC5AC release in BALF. These findings suggested that SSE with 0.5-3-fold of general daily intake dose would be a therapeutic agent for chronic bronchitis.

Development of Simultaneous Analysis of Thirteen Bioactive Compounds in So-Cheong-Ryong-Tang Using UPLC-DAD

So-Cheong-Ryong-Tang, which is a standardized Korean medicine of the National Health Insurance, is a traditional prescription for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, bronchitis, and bronchial asthma. Simultaneous analysis and development of SCRT is essential for its stability, efficacy, and risk management. In this study, a simple, reliable, and accurate method using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) fingerprinting with a diode array detector (DAD) was developed for the simultaneous analysis. The chromatographic separation of the analytes was performed by an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (1.7 μM, 2.1 × 100 mm, Waters) with a mobile phase of water containing 0.01% (v/v) phosphoric acid and acetonitrile containing 0.01% (v/v) phosphoric acid. The flow rate and detection wavelength were set at 0.4 mL/min and 215, 230, 254, and 280 nm. All calibration curves of the thirteen components showed good linearity (R² > 0.999). The limit of detection and limit of quantification ranged 0.001-0.360 and 0.004-1.200 µg/mL, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of intra- and interday was less than 2.60%, and the recoveries were within the range 76.08-103.79% with an RSD value of 0.03-1.50%. The results showed that the developed method was simple, reliable, accurate, sensitive, and precise for the quantification of bioactive components of SCRT.

Congenital annular multiple fibrofolliculomas occurring with deformity of the ear and ventricular septal defect

We describe a 5-year-old girl who had multiple fibrofolliculomas with an unusual annular configuration, present since birth, localized to the mid-back. She had no family history of similar skin lesions. Examination showed a depigmented patch on her left buttock and other congenital anomalies, i.e. deformity of the auricle of the ear and ventricular septal defect. There has been no previous report of congenital multiple fibrofolliculomas occurring with congenital malformations such as deformity of the auricle of the ear and ventricular septal defect. The congenital occurrence and unusual configuration of the lesions in our patient may suggest a naevoid origin for these tumours.

Developmental expression, subcellular localization, and tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2A and NR2B in the rat brain

We carried out quantitative analyses of the developmental expression, subcellular localization of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 2A (NR2A) and 2B (NR2B), and tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2B. Immunoblot analyses showed that NR2A was not detected during the embryonic period and the first postnatal week but its expression reached 63.90% of adult at P14 and continued to increase until the fourth week, reaching a maximum at P30 (110% of adult). The NR2B was detected from as early as E14 (2.65% of adult) and its expression was transiently elevated at birth (43.73% of adult), decreasing for the first postnatal week, and then increased again rapidly in the second week (105.45% of adult at P14) with a maximum at P30 (123.34% of adult). There were 2.26 +/- 0.40-fold more NR2B than NR2A proteins in the forebrain PSD fractions, and NR2A and NR2B were enriched 2.75 +/- 0.35 and 4.65 +/- 0.25 fold, respectively, in the synaptosome, and 13.75 +/- 0.80 and 16.04 +/- 0.25-fold, respectively, in the PSD fraction from brain homogenate. The tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2B reached an adult level at around birth declining in the first postnatal week but recovered to the adult level by the end of the second week, while the amount of the protein itself increased 2.28-fold after birth, indicating that only a fraction of the proteins are phosphorylated in vivo. Our results indicate that expression and tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2B might be important for NMDA receptor functions in embryonic and early postnatal development.

Pharmacokinetics of theophylline: effects of hepatic fibrosis in rats induced bile duct ligation

This experiment was performed to evaluate the usefulness of an experimental fibrosis model by bile duct ligation as a pharmacokinetic model of a disease state. First, experimental liver fibrosis was produced by bile duct ligation. At 4 weeks postoperation, a fibrotic condition was characterized by measurement of the aminoterminal procollagen type III peptide (PIIINP) level in serum, total collagen content in liver and light microscopic histology. Four weeks after bile duct ligation there was an increase in total collagen content of the liver to 430% of the initial values, accompanied by an increase of serum-PIIINP (385%). Secondly, we examined the pharmacokinetics of theophylline in the fibrotic rat induced by bile duct ligation. An i.v. dose of 8 mg of theophylline per kg of body weight was administered, and the levels of theophylline in serum were assayed by high performance liquid chromatography. The area under the serum concentration-time curve of theophylline was increased significantly in fibrotic rats compared with that of the control, and the total clearance of drug in fibrotic rats was low, averaging 22.6 mg/kg/h vs. 36.1 and 60.9 ml/kg/h in the control and the normal rat, respectively. However, the value of distribution during the beta-phase was not significantly affected by experimental liver fibrosis.