musk and Chronic-Disease

This study assessed the impact of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) on the structure of mouse salivary glands and the role of musk in alleviating this impact. Forty male albino mice were distributed equally into four groups; control (untreated), CUMS (exposed to CUMS for 4 weeks), CUMS+fluoxetine (FLU) (exposed to CUMS then treated with FLU, CUMS+musk (exposed to CUMS then treated with musk). Behavioral changes and serum corticosterone levels were assessed at the end of the experiment. The submandibular and parotid glands were dissected out and processed for histopathological and immunohistochemical examination using antibodies against alpha smooth muscle actin (ASMA) and brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF). Exposure to CUMS significantly (P < 0.001) increased the serum corticosterone level and induced depression. CUMS also induced vacuolation in acinar cells along with a significant (P < 0.001) reduction of ASMA immunoexpression, indicating an effect on myoepithelial cells, and a significant (P < 0.001) increase of BDNF expression in the gland ductal system. Both FLU and musk alleviated the CUMS-induced behavioral, biochemical and histopathological changes in the salivary glands. In conclusion, musk ameliorates stress-induced structural changes in mouse salivary glands. This effect might be mediated through up-regulation of BDNF secretion by the glands.

Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Body Weight; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; Chronic Disease; Corticosterone; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; Male; Mice; Salivary Glands; Stress, Physiological

To observe the effects of musk and carterii birdw on the pathology and the expressions of inflammatory cytokines in chronic non-bacterial prostatitis (CNBP) rats treated with polygonum extract.. Five male Wistar rats were used for the preparation of SC purified prostate protein solution, and another 48 randomly divided into four groups: polygonum extract, polygonum extract + musk and carterii birdw, CNBP model control and normal control. CNBP models were established by injecting SC purified prostate protein solution and Freund's complete adjuvant. At 60 days after modeling, the CNBP model control and normal control rats were treated with normal saline, and the other two groups with polygonum extract and polygonum extract + musk and carterii birdw, respectively (polygonum 1.575 g per kg per d, musk 0.021 g per kg per d, and carterii birdw 1.05 g per kg per d). After 14 days of continuous intragastric medication, all the rats were sacrificed for pathological examination, determination of the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-8 in the prostate tissue homogenate by ELISA, and detection of the mRNA and protein expressions of inflammatory cytokines MCP-1 (CCL2) and CCR2 by RT-PCR and Western blot.. The polygonum extract + musk and carterii birdw group showed apparent improvement in the structure of the prostate tissue but no inflammatory infiltration, as was quite obvious in the polygonum extract group. Polygonum extract + musk and carterii birdw significantly decreased the inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha ( [11.04 +/- 4.07] pg/ml), IL-1beta ([16.94 +/- 4.26] pg/ml), IL-6 ([110.08 +/- 28.42] pg/ml) and IL-8 ([26.28 +/- 7.36] pg/ml) in the prostate tissue, as compared with polygonum extract alone ([63.21 +/- 21.37] pg/ml, [41.32 +/- 14.62] pg/ml, [177.64 +/- 42.65] pg/ml and [96.37 +/- 37.61] pg/ml) (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The former also exhibited significantly lower expressions of MCP-1 mRNA (0.32 +/- 0.17), MCP-1 protein (0.28 +/- 0.15), CCR2 mRNA (0.28 +/- 0.11) and CCR2 protein (0.11 +/- 0.04) than either the model control group (1.15 +/- 0.39, 0.93 +/- 0.34, 0.83 +/- 0.26 and 0.93 +/- 0.34) (P < 0.01), or the polygonum extract group (0.65 +/- 0.27, 0.56 +/- 0.22, 0.78 +/- 0.24 and 0.25 +/- 0.09) (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).. Musk and carterii birdw can enhance the effect of polygonum extract on chronic prostatitis, reduce inflammatory response and improve tissue repair of the prostate in rats.

Topics: Animals; Chronic Disease; Disease Models, Animal; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; Inflammation; Male; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Polygonum; Prostatitis; Rats; Rats, Wistar