MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, mature, noncoding RNA that lead to posttranscriptional gene silencing to regulate gene expression. miRNAs are instrumental in biological processes such as cell development, cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and cell apoptosis. The miRNA-mediated gene silencing is an important part of the regulation of gene expression in many kinds of diseases. miR-155, one of the best-characterized miRNAs, has been found to be closely related to physiological and pathological processes. What is more, miR-155 can be used as a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases. We analyze the articles about miR-155 for nearly five years, review the advanced study on the function of miR-155 in different inflammatory cells like T cells, B cells, DCs, and macrophages, and then summarize the biological functions of miR-155 in different inflammatory cells. The widespread involvement of miR-155 in human diseases has led to a novel therapeutic approach between Chinese and Western medicine.

Influenza is an acute respiratory infection disease caused by the influenza virus. At present, due to the high mutation rate of influenza virus, it is difficult for the existing antiviral drugs to play an effective antiviral effect continually, so it is urgent to develop a new anti-influenza drug. Recently, more and more studies have been conducted on the antiviral activity ofAstragalus membranaceus, but the specific antiviral mechanism of this traditional Chinese medicine is not clear. In this study, the results proved that theAstragalus membranaceusinjection showed obvious anti-influenza virus activity. It could improve the survival rate of Raw264.7 cells which were infected with influenza virus, while it improved the blocking effect of influenza virus on cell cycle after infection, increased the SOD activity, and reduced the MDA content. At the same time, the innate immunity was affected by regulating the expression of TLR3, TAK1, TBK1, IRF3, and IFN-βin the TLR3-mediated signaling pathway, thus exerting its antiviral effect in vitro.

Radix Glycyrrhizae (RG)-Radix Euphorbiae Pekinensis (REP) is a representative incompatible herbal pair of Eighteen Incompatible Medicaments (EIM) and has been disputed in clinical application for a long time. The present study was performed with the Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell line using cell cytotoxicity assay, apoptosis detection, cell cycle measurement, reactive oxygen species (ROS) determination, and high content analysis (HCA) in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint comparison to clarify whether RG and REP can be concomitantly used from the perspective of cytotoxicity, investigate the major correlated compounds, and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that the toxicity of REP could be significantly enhanced through its concomitant use with RG in the ratio of 1 : 1, and this increased toxicity could be weakened with the further increased proportion of RG. 3,3′-di-O-methylellagic acid-4′-O-β-D-xylopyranoside (DEAX) and 3,3′-di-O-methylellagic acid (DEA) were shown to be mainly responsible for the toxicity induced by concomitant use of REP and RG. Both RG-REP decoctions and the above two compounds boosted cell apoptosis, cellular morphological change, ROS accumulation, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) disruption. In conclusion, the incompatible use of RG and REP is conditionally established because of the bidirectional regulatory effect of RG, and the major compounds responsible for RG-REP incompatibility are DEAX and DEA, which result in toxicity through activation of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis induced by increased ROS production. This study provided a basis for understanding the incompatible use of RG and REP and the EIM theory.