Reperfusion therapy is widely utilized for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but further injury induced by rapidly initiating reperfusion of the heart is often encountered in clinical practice. Ginsenoside RK3 (RK3) is reportedly present in the processed Radix notoginseng that is often used as a major ingredient of the compound preparation for ischemic heart diseases. This study aimed to investigate the possible protective effect of RK3 against hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) induced H9c2 cardiomyocytes damage and its underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that RK3 pretreatment caused increased cell viability and decreased levels of LDH leakage compared with the H/R group. Moreover, RK3 pretreatment inhibited cell apoptosis, as evidenced by decreased caspase-3 activity, TUNEL-positive cells, and Bax expression, as well as increased Bcl-2 level. Further mechanism investigation revealed that RK3 prevented H9c2 cardiomyocytes injury and apoptosis induced by H/R via AKT/Nrf-2/HO-1 and MAPK pathways. These observations indicate that RK3 has the potential to exert cardioprotective effects against H/R injury, which might be of great importance to clinical efficacy for AMI treatment.

Doxorubicin (Dox) is one of the most effective and widely used anthracycline antineoplastic antibiotics. Unfortunately, the use of Dox is limited by its cumulative and dose‐dependent cardiac toxicity. Myricitrin, a natural flavonoid which is isolated from the ground bark of Myrica rubra, has recently been found to have a strong antioxidative effect. This study aimed to evaluate the possible protective effect of myricitrin against Dox‐induced cardiotoxicity and the underlying mechanisms. An in vivo investigation in SD rats demonstrated that myricitrin significantly reduced the Dox‐induced myocardial damage, as indicated by the decreases in the cardiac index, amelioration of heart pathological injuries, and decreases in the serum cardiac enzyme levels. In addition, in vitro studies showed that myricitrin effectively reduced the Dox‐induced cell toxicity. Further study showed that myricitrin exerted its function by counteracting oxidative stress and increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, myricitrin suppressed the myocardial apoptosis induced by Dox, as indicated by decreases in the activation of caspase‐3 and the numbers of TUNEL‐positive cells, maintenance of the mitochondrial membrane potential, and increase in the Bcl‐2/Bax ratio. Further mechanism study revealed that myricitrin‐induced suppression of myocardial apoptosis relied on the ERK/p53‐mediated mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.

Gouty arthritis is an inflammatory joint disease closely related to hyperuricemia. It is characterized by deposition of monosodium urate crystals in the joints, resulting in an intense inflammatory process and pain. Control of hyperuricemia and anti‐inflammation treatments are the main therapeutic approaches. However, the commonly used drugs for inhibiting uric acid and acute gouty arthritis have obvious gastrointestinal and renal toxicity; thus, there is an urgency to develop new alternative therapeutic drugs. An extract of Tu-Teng-Cao (TTC), a compound drug used in traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely applied to the clinical treatment of arthritis. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of TTC on gouty arthritis. In this study, an animal model of acute gouty arthritis with hyperuricemia was established using potassium oxonate and monosodium urate crystals. After treatment with TTC, the results showed obvious therapeutic effects on the rat model of acute gouty arthritis. The treatment significantly attenuated the degree of ankle swelling, inflammation, and dysfunction index, and the levels of proinflammatory cytokines. In addition, TTC has significant antihyperuricemia activity in rats with hyperuricemia induced by potassium oxonate. Histological evaluation showed that TTC relieved pathological damage in rats with acute gouty arthritis induced by monosodium urate crystals. All the groups treated with TTC showed improvement in cartilage degeneration, cell degeneration, synovial hyperplasia, and inflammatory cell invasion in the ankle joint of rats. TTC significantly alleviated swelling, inflammation, and bleeding of the renal corpuscle and convoluted tubules of rats. The results of this study suggest that TTC is capable of treating gouty arthritis and decreasing ankle injury through the control of uric acid and inflammation.

Kaihoujian Throat Spray children's type (KHJSC) is a Chinese medicine prescription for treating pediatric acute pharyngitis and tonsillitis (APT). However, its relevant mechanisms remain unclear. To investigate the pharmacological effects of KHJSC on APT in vitro and in vivo, and explore the possible mechanism and target proteins. The antiviral and antibacterial effects in vitro were evaluated by IC₅₀ and MICs. Thirty-six Japanese white rabbits were averagely divided into control group, model group, amoxicillin group and 3 dose groups of KHJSC (720, 540 and 360 μL/kg/d). The model rabbits were injected with β-hemolytic Streptococcus solution into the tonsils for 2 consecutive days. KHJSC treatment started on the third day. The whole blood, serum, tonsil tissues and pharyngeal mucosa tissues were collected for routine blood tests, proteomic, ELISA and other tests on the sixth day. The IC₅₀ of KHJSC on HCoV-229E, influenza PR8 and Ad3 were 1.99, 1.99 and 4.49 mg/mL, respectively; MICs of MDR-PA, MRSA and β-hemolytic Streptococcus were 350, 350, and 175 mg/mL. KHJSC markedly decreased the number of white blood cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils, and the level of IL-1β, IL-5, IL-6, IL-18, TNF-α and MCP-1; increased the content of IL-2 and IFN-γ. Proteomic analysis and ELISA revealed that PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway were the potential mechanisms of KHJSC against APT. These results provided the reference and scientific basis for the application of KHJSC in clinic and further mechanisms study.

Cervicitis is a common sexually transmitted disease. In recent years, the abuse of antibiotic in the treatment of cervicitis results in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; alternative strategies are needed to be developed. In this research, we investigated the effects of Feilin Vaginal Gel (FVG), a Chinese herbal formula, on the treatment of cervicitis. Two cervicitis models were optimized using BALB/c mouse; onein vitromodel was established in HeLa cells. InChlamydia trachomatis-induced cervicitis model, the high level of bacterial loads, the inflammation in tissue, and the cytokines in serum could be observed. With the administration of FVG, the bacterial loads in cervical mucus and cervix tissue could be significantly inhibited in dose-dependent manners. The pathological injury of cervix and vagina, as well as the levels of IL-2, IL-17, and MCP-1 in serum, could be mitigated by FVG. FVG reduced the number of inclusion induced byC. trachomatisin HeLa cells. In addition, the histological damage inEscherichia coliandStaphylococcus aureus-induced cervicitis model could be reduced by FVG. These results suggest that FVG is capable of treating cervicitis through the inhibition of pathogens and the regulation of host immune responses. FVG may contribute as an alternative agent for the treatment of cervicitis.