(1) Background: Rhubarb anthraquinones—a class of components with neuroprotective function—can be used to alleviate cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury. (2) Methods: The three pharmacodynamic indicators are neurological function score, brain water content, and cerebral infarction area; UPLC-MS/MS was used in pharmacokinetic studies to detect plasma concentrations at different time points, and DAS software was used to calculate pharmacokinetic parameters in a noncompartmental model. (3) Results: The results showed that the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of one of the five anthraquinone aglycones could be modified by the other four anthraquinones, and the degree of interaction between different anthraquinones was different. The chrysophanol group showed the greatest reduction in pharmacodynamic indicators comparing with other four groups where the rats were administered one of the five anthraquinones, and there was no significant difference between the nimodipine group. While the Aloe-emodin + Physcion group showed the most obvious anti-ischemic effect among the groups where the subjects were administered two of the five anthraquinones simultaneously. Emodin, rhein, chrysophanol, and physcion all increase plasma exposure levels of aloe-emodin, while aloe-emodin lower their plasma exposure levels. (4) Conclusions: This experiment provides a certain preclinical basis for the study of anthraquinone aglycones against cerebral ischemia and a theoretical basis for the study of the mechanism of interaction between anthraquinones.

The interaction between alveolar epithelial cells (EpCs) and macrophages (MPs) serves an important role in initiating and maintaining inflammation in chronic pulmonary diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the inflammatory response in co‑cultured EpCs and MPs. Briefly, a co‑culture system of A549 (EpCs) and THP‑1 (monocyte/MPs) cells was established in a filter‑separated Transwell plate to evaluate the inflammatory response. Following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment, cytokine levels were measured using ELISAs, NF‑κB transcription factor activity was detected using EMSA and protein expression levels were analyzed using Western blot assays subsequently in EpCs and MPs. Co‑cultured EpCs/MPs were found to secrete increased levels of interleukin (IL)‑6, IL‑1β, IL‑8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α following LPS exposure for 6, 12, 24 and 48 h compared with either EpC or MP monocultures. Concurrently, NF‑κB was revealed to be activated in MPs at 6 and 12 h, and in EpCs at 24 h. NF‑κB DNA binding, Toll‑like receptor 4 expression levels and the p65 phosphorylation status were also increased, which may contribute to the inflammatory response in the EpC/MP co‑cultures. Notably, cytokine levels decreased following the inhibition of NF‑κB expression with pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate. In conclusion, the present study successfully established an EpC/MP co‑culture system using LPS, which may be a useful model for studying chronic inflammation in vitro.