prostaglandin-d2 and propionic-acid

To explore the mechanism of moxibustion in the treatment of asthmatic inflammation from the point of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in rats with asthma.. A total of 48 SD rats (half male and half female) were randomly divided into 4 groups： normal, model, lung treatment and joint-treatment of lung and intestine (joint-treatment), with 12 rats in each group. The asthma model was made by subcutaneous (bilateral back and inguinal regions) and intraperitoneal injection of mixture solution of ovalbumin and aluminium hydroxide gel (on day 1 and 8) and followed by inhalation of atomized 1% ovalbumin (20 min from day 15, once daily for one week). Moxibustion was applied to bilateral "Feishu" (BL13) for rats of the lung treatment group or bilateral "Feishu" (BL13) and "Tianshu" (ST25) for rats of the joint treatment group. One hour after the intervention, the rats in the later three groups were separately given atomized 1% ovalbumin solution inhalation for 20 min. The treatment was conducted for 30 min, once daily for 14 consecutive days. At the end of the intervention, the percentage of inflammatory cells in blood was detected by biochemical method and histopathological changes of the lung were observed after H.E. staining. The inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were counted after Wright-Giemsa staining. The mRNA expressions of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, IL-33, leukotriene (LT), thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) were detected by real-time PCR, and the contents of SCFAs in rats' feces were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.. Relevant to the normal group, the model group had an obvious increase in the percentages of neutrophils, lymphocytes and eosinophils in the blood, the percentages of neutrophils and eosinophils in the BALF, and in the expression levels of PGD2, TSLP, LT, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17 and IL-33 mRNAs in the lung tissues (. Joint treatment of asthma from the lung and intestine can better regulate the contents of intestinal SCFAs and alleviate the inflammatory response of asthmatic model rats, thus, intestinal SCFAs may be involved in the process of moxibustion in improving inflammatory response.

Topics: Acupuncture Points; Animals; Asthma; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Female; Interleukin-13; Interleukin-17; Interleukin-33; Interleukin-4; Interleukin-5; Intestines; Isobutyrates; Lung; Male; Moxibustion; Ovalbumin; Pneumonia; Propionates; Prostaglandin D2; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma is a nuclear lipid-activable receptor controlling the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism and adipocyte differentiation. In order to investigate the possible role of PPAR-gamma in the differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells, we examined its expression in the human colon carcinoma cell line Caco-2, which undergoes rapid cell differentiation in the presence of butyrate. PPARs were quantified on mRNA level by RT competitive multiplex PCR, the corresponding proteins were determined by Western blot. In contrast to PPAR-alpha and PPAR-beta, PPAR-gamma mRNA and protein increased significantly in butyrate-treated Caco-2 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This effect was butyrate-specific, since no change in PPAR-gamma expression could be observed after incubation with propionate or valerate. Activation of PPAR-gamma by ciglitazone further increased butyrate-induced cell differentiation dose-dependently. These data demonstrate a role for PPAR-gamma in the regulation of cell differentiation in Caco-2 cells.

Topics: Alkaline Phosphatase; Blotting, Western; Butyrates; Caco-2 Cells; Cell Differentiation; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme Activation; Humans; Pentanoic Acids; Propionates; Prostaglandin D2; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger; Substrate Specificity; Thiazoles; Thiazolidinediones; Transcription Factors; Up-Regulation