Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Naringin in Chronic Pulmonary Neutrophilic Inflammation in Cigarette Smoke-Exposed Rats

Yi-Chu Nie,Hao Wu,Pei-Bo Li,Yu-Long Luo,Kang Long,Li-Ming Xie,Jian-Gang Shen,Wei-Wei Su 한국식품영양과학회 2012 Journal of medicinal food Vol.15 No.10

Naringin, a well-known flavanone glycoside of grapefruit and citrus fruits, was found to be as an effective anti-inflammatory compound in our previous lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury mouse model via blockading activity of nuclear factor κB. The current study sought to explore the anti-inflammatory effects of naringin on chronic pulmonary neutrophilic inflammation in cigarette smoke (CS)-induced rats. Seventy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into seven groups to study the effects of CS with or without various concentrations of naringin or saline for 8 weeks. The results revealed that naringin supplementation at 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg significantly increased body weight of CS-induced rats as compared to that in the CS group. Moreover, naringin of 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg prevented CS-induced infiltration of neutrophils and activation of myeloperoxidase and matrix metalloproteinase-9, in parallel with suppression of the release of cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-8 (IL-8). IL-10 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was significantly suppressed after CS exposure, but dose dependently elevated by naringin. The results from hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that naringin dose dependently reduced CS-induced infiltration of inflammatory cells, thickening of the bronchial wall, and expansion of average alveolar airspace. In conclusion, our data suggest that naringin is an effective anti-inflammatory compound for attenuating chronic pulmonary neutrophilic inflammation in CS-induced rats.

Adenosine A3 Receptor Mediates ERK1/2- and JNK-Dependent TNF-α Production in Toxoplasma gondii-Infected HTR8/SVneo Human Extravillous Trophoblast Cells

Wei Ye,Jinhui Sun,Chunchao Li,Xuan-Yan Fan,Fan Gong,Xinqia Huang,Mingzhu Deng,Jia-Qi Chu 대한기생충학ㆍ열대의학회 2020 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.58 No.4

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that causes severe disease when the infection occurs during pregnancy. Adenosine is a purine nucleoside involved in numerous physiological processes; however, the role of adenosine receptors in T. gondii-induced trophoblast cell function has not been investigated until now. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the intracellular signaling pathways regulated by adenosine receptors using a HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cell model of T. gondii infection. HTR8/SVneo human extravillous trophoblast cells were infected with or without T. gondii and then evaluated for cell morphology, intracellular proliferation of the parasite, adenosine receptor expression, TNF-α production and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling pathways triggered by adenosine A3 receptor (A3AR). HTR8/SVneo cells infected with T. gondii exhibited an altered cytoskeletal changes, an increased infection rate and reduced viability in an infection time-dependent manner. T. gondii significantly promoted increased TNF-α production, A3AR protein levels and p38, ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation compared to those observed in uninfected control cells. Moreover, the inhibition of A3AR by A3AR siRNA transfection apparently suppressed the T. gondii infection-mediated upregulation of TNF-α, A3AR production and MAPK activation. In addition, T. gondii-promoted TNF-α secretion was dramatically attenuated by pretreatment with PD098059 or SP600125. These results indicate that A3AR-mediated activation of ERK1/2 and JNK positively regulates TNF-α secretion in T. gondii-infected HTR8/SVneo cells.

Comparison of Hybridization Behavior between Double and Single Strand of Targets and the Application of Asymmetric PCR Targets in cDNA Microarray

Wei, Qing,Liu, Sanzhen,Huang, Jianfeng,Mao, Xueying,Chu, Xiaohui,Wang, Yu,Qiu, Minyan,Mao, Yumin,Xie, Yi,Li, Yao Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biol 2004 Journal of biochemistry and molecular biology Vol.37 No.4

Double stranded targets on the cDNA microarray contain representatives of both the coding and noncoding strands, which will introduce hybridization competition with probes. Here, the effect of double and single strands of targets on the signal intensity and the ratios of Cy5/Cy3 within the same slide were compared. The results show that single stranded targets can increase the hybridization efficiency without changing the Cy5/Cy3 ratio. Based on these results, a new strategy was established by generating cDNA targets with asymmetric PCR, instead of conventional PCR, to increase the sensitivity of the cDNA microarray. Furthermore, the feasibility of this approach was validated. The results indicate that the cDNA microarray system based on asymmetric PCR is more sensitive, with no decrease in the reliability and reproducibility as compared with that based on conventional symmetric PCR.

Simvastatin attenuates delayed encephalopathy induced by carbon monoxide poisoning in rats by regulating oxidative stress, inflammation and NF-κB pathway

Chu Zhe,Liu Zuolong,Li Wei,Xu Dahai,Pang Li 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2021 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.17 No.2

Background Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The delayed encephalopathy occurs a period after poisoning in patients without effective treatment. Simvastatin (Sim), a lipid-lowering drug, was reported to exert endothelial protective effects and inhibit inflammatory response. This research focused on the effects of Sim on delayed encephalopathy caused by CO poisoning. Objective The acute CO poisoning model was established by exposing rats to 2500 ppm CO gas for 40 min, then 3000 ppm for 30 min or until they lost consciousness. Rats in the treatment group were given Sim (20 mg/kg/day, ig.). The behavioral tests included the Morris water maze test and shuttle box. The pathological changes were evaluated by H and E staining. The inflammatory mediators were analyzed by ELISA. The expression levels of eNOS, iNOS and the NF-κB-related proteins were analyzed by Western blot. Results The results showed that Sim could alleviate CO-induced behavioral disorders and the hippocampal nerve cells apoptosis. Sim administration reversed the effects of CO on oxidative stress-related molecules. Sim could also inhibit the production of the inflammatory mediators induced by CO. The level of eNOS was decreased after CO exposure, while iNOS was increased. Sim could significantly inhibit the effects of CO. Furthermore, Sim inhibited the phosphorylation of IκBα (an NF-κB inhibitory protein), i.e., the activation of NF-κB, which indicated that Simvastatin reduced the inflammatory response induced by CO poisoning partially through inhibiting the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. Conclusion To sum up, our research indicated that Sim could attenuate the delayed encephalopathy induced by CO poisoning via regulating oxidative stress, inflammation and NF-κB pathway. Background Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The delayed encephalopathy occurs a period after poisoning in patients without effective treatment. Simvastatin (Sim), a lipid-lowering drug, was reported to exert endothelial protective effects and inhibit inflammatory response. This research focused on the effects of Sim on delayed encephalopathy caused by CO poisoning. Objective The acute CO poisoning model was established by exposing rats to 2500 ppm CO gas for 40 min, then 3000 ppm for 30 min or until they lost consciousness. Rats in the treatment group were given Sim (20 mg/kg/day, ig.). The behavioral tests included the Morris water maze test and shuttle box. The pathological changes were evaluated by H and E staining. The inflammatory mediators were analyzed by ELISA. The expression levels of eNOS, iNOS and the NF-κB-related proteins were analyzed by Western blot. Results The results showed that Sim could alleviate CO-induced behavioral disorders and the hippocampal nerve cells apoptosis. Sim administration reversed the effects of CO on oxidative stress-related molecules. Sim could also inhibit the production of the inflammatory mediators induced by CO. The level of eNOS was decreased after CO exposure, while iNOS was increased. Sim could significantly inhibit the effects of CO. Furthermore, Sim inhibited the phosphorylation of IκBα (an NF-κB inhibitory protein), i.e., the activation of NF-κB, which indicated that Simvastatin reduced the inflammatory response induced by CO poisoning partially through inhibiting the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. Conclusion To sum up, our research indicated that Sim could attenuate the delayed encephalopathy induced by CO poisoning via regulating oxidative stress, inflammation and NF-κB pathway.

MODIFICATION OF HMM USING NEURAL PREDICTORS FOR SPEECH RECOGNITION

Li, Wei Ying,Yi, Ke Chu,Zheng, Hu 대한전자공학회 1992 HICEC:Harbin International Conference on Electroni Vol.1 No.1

In this paper, a modification of Hidden Markov Model (HMM) using Neural Predictor (NP) was proposed for speech recognition. In the proposed model HMM/NP, each NP is a multilayer perception (MLP) used as a separate nonlinear predictor, and corresponds to a state in the model. Training and recognition algorithms are given based on Baum-Welch and Back-Propagation (BP) algorithms. Experiments of Chinese vowel phoneme recognition were carried out and a recognition accurcy of 96.2% was obtained. The result confirmed the effectiveness of HMM/NP for speech recognition.

Structural and dielectric properties in the (Ba1−xCax)(Ti0.95Zr0.05)O3 ceramics

Wei Li,Zhi-Jun Xu,Ruiqing Chu,Peng Fu,Guo-Zhong Zang 한국물리학회 2012 Current Applied Physics Vol.12 No.3

Lead-free (Ba1-xCax)(Ti0.95Zr0.05)O3 (x = 0.05e0.40) (BCZT) ceramics were prepared by solid-state reaction technique. XRD results show that the samples in the composition range of 0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.25 exhibit pure perovskite structures and undergo a polymorphic phase transitions from orthorhombic to tetragonal phase around room temperature. The biphasic structures are detected at x ≥ 0.30 and the dielectric peaks become broad and dielectric constants decrease with increasing Ca content. Ca replacement at Ba site leads to diffuseness, whereas Ca occupancy at Ti site leads to decrease of the Tc.

Fabrication of porous metal fiber sintered sheet as a flow field for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Li Shuangli,Zhou Wei,Liu Ruiliang,Huang Jiale,Chu Xuyang 한국물리학회 2020 Current Applied Physics Vol.20 No.5

To improve the diffusion performance of reactive gas, a porous copper fiber sintered sheet (PCFSS) was fabricated and used as the flow field for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The pressure and flow velocity distribution of the reaction gas in the PCFSS was firstly compared with the serpentine flow field by using the Fluent simulation software. Our results showed that the superiority of PCFSS in the uniformity of gas diffusion was observed. The total resistance of PEMFC with PCFSS in different porosities was obtained. And the advantages of PCFSS in electronic transmission were found by comparing with the serpentine flow field. Besides, the influences of different operating conditions and different porosities of porous flow fields on the performance of PEMFC were experimentally investigated. With the cell temperature of 70 °C as well as the humidification temperature of 60 °C, a PEMFC with PCFSS of 70% porosity exhibited better performance.

Injectable Hydrogels with Near-Infrared Controlled Drug Delivery for In Situ Photothermal/Endocrine Synergistic Endometriosis Therapy

Wei Tian,Chenyu Wang,Ran Chu,Haiyan Ge,Xiao Sun,Mingjiang Li 한국생체재료학회 2023 생체재료학회지 Vol.27 No.00

Background Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease in women of childbearing age. Commonly used treatment methods, such as endocrine and surgical therapies, display poor therapeutic effects with a high relapse probability. Thus, novel treatments for endometriosis are required. Methods In our study, polydopamine (PDA), letrozole (LTZ), and agarose (AG) hydrogels were combined to construct an injectable hydrogel with near-infrared controlled drug delivery named LTZ-PDA@AG hydrogel for endometriosis treatment. The release of letrozole can be accurately controlled by the near-infrared light intensity, exposure duration, polydopamine concentration, and hydrogel composition. Meanwhile, we isolated endometrial stromal cells from endometrium in patients with endometriosis, and constructed the rats’ model of endometriosis to verify the biological effects of LTZ-PDA@AG hydrogel. Results Owing to the sufficiently deep penetration of near-infrared light, the LTZ-PDA@AG hydrogel displayed a high temperature increase for efficient photothermal therapy. In addition, high local temperatures can further enhance the diffusion and penetration of letrozole, thereby achieving excellent therapeutic effect in vivo. Importantly, the in vivo and vitro test demonstrated the capacity of the nanocomposite hydrogel for endocrine-photothermal synergistic therapy and the biocompatibility. Conclusion Our work proposes a novel concept for precision endometriosis therapy by photothermal-enhanced endocrine therapy for endometriosis, which is proposed for the first time for the treatment of endometriosis and demonstrates excellent potential for further clinical translation.

MODIFICATION OF HMM USING NEURAL PREDICTORS FOR SPEECH RECOGNITION

Wei Ying Li,Ke Chu Yi,Hu Zheng 대한전자공학회 1992 대한전자공학회 Conference Vol.1992 No.2

Fuzzy system and Improved APIT (FIAPIT) combined range-free localization method for WSN

( Xiaofeng Li ),( Liangfeng Chen ),( Jianping Wang ),( Zhong Chu ),( Qiyue Li ),( Wei Sun ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2015 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.9 No.7

Among numerous localization schemes proposed specifically for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), the range-free localization algorithms based on the received signal strength indication (RSSI) have attracted considerable research interest for their simplicity and low cost. As a typical range-free algorithm, Approximate Point In Triangulation test (APIT) suffers from significant estimation errors due to its theoretical defects and RSSI inaccuracy. To address these problems, a novel localization method called FIAPIT, which is a combination of an improved APIT (IAPIT) and a fuzzy logic system, is proposed. The proposed IAPIT addresses the theoretical defects of APIT in near (it`s defined as a point adjacent to a sensor is closer to three vertexes of a triangle area where the sensor resides simultaneously) and far (the opposite case of the near case) cases partly. To compensate for negative effects of RSSI inaccuracy, a fuzzy system, whose logic inference is based on IAPIT, is applied. Finally, the sensor`s coordinates are estimated as the weighted average of centers of gravity (COGs) of triangles` intersection areas. Each COG has a different weight inferred by FIAPIT. Numerical simulations were performed to compare four algorithms with varying system parameters. The results show that IAPIT corrects the defects of APIT when adjacent nodes are enough, and FIAPIT is better than others when RSSI is inaccuracy.