Polygalasaponin F treats mice with pneumonia induced by influenza virus. Ye Yi,Wang Huixian,Liu Jinyuan,Zhao Fang,Xu Peiping Inflammopharmacology BACKGROUND:Influenza is an acute viral respiratory illness that causes high morbidity and mortality globally. Therapeutic actions are limited to vaccines and a few anti-viral drugs. Polygala (P.) japonica herba is rich in Polygalasaponin F (PSF, CHO), used for acute bronchitis, pharyngitis, pneumonia, amygdalitis, and respiratory tract infections treatment in China. Hypercytokinemia is often correlated with severe pneumonia caused by several influenza viruses. PSF was reported to have anti-inflammatory effects and its mechanism is associated with the nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway. The action of PSF to alleviate pulmonary inflammation caused by influenza A virus (IAV) infection requires careful assessment. In the present study, we evaluated the effect and mechanism of PSF on mice with pneumonia caused by influenza H1N1 (A/FM/1/47). METHODS:Mice were infected intranasally with fifteen 50% mouse lethal challenge doses (MLD) of influenza virus. BALB/c mice were treated with PSF or oseltamivir (oral administration) for 2 h post-infection and received concomitant treatment for 5 days after infection. On day 6 post-infection, 10 mice per group were killed to collect related samples, measure body weight and lung wet weight, and detect the viral load, cytokine, prostaglandins, pathological changes, and cell pathway protein expression in the lungs. In addition, the survival experiments were carried out to investigate the survival of mice. The expression profile of cell pathway proteins was detected and analyzed using a broad pathway antibody array and confirmed the findings from the array by western blotting. RESULTS:Polygalasaponin F and oseltamivir can protect against influenza viral infection in mice. PSF and oseltamivir significantly relieved the signs and symptoms, reduced body weight loss, and improved the survival rate of H1N1-infected mice. Moreover, PSF efficiently decreased the level of interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-4, interferon (IFN)-γ, thromboxane A (TXA), and prostaglandin E (PGE) in lung tissues of mice infected with influenza virus (p < 0.05-0.01). Oseltamivir had a similar effect to lung cytokine of PSF, but did not decrease the levels of TXA and PGE. There was a twofold or greater increase in four cell pathway protein, namely NF-κB p65 (2.68-fold), I-kappa-B-alpha (IκBα) (2.56-fold), and MAPK/ERK kinase 1 (MEK1) (7.15-fold) assessed in the array induced by influenza virus. Western blotting showed that the expression of these proteins was significantly decreased in lung after influenza virus challenge in PSF and oseltamivir-treated mice (p < 0.05-0.01). CONCLUSION:Polygalasaponin F appears to be able to augment protection against IAV infection in mice via attenuation of pulmonary inflammatory responses. Its effect on IAV-induced pulmonary inflammation was associated with suppression of Raf/MEK/ERK and NF-κB expressions. 10.1007/s10787-019-00633-1

Something's "Fishy" With That Sore Throat... Sweeney Michael,Ramponi Denise R Advanced emergency nursing journal A 9-year old male presented to the emergency department for the evaluation of a sore throat. Initial history of present illness stated in the triage note was that "the child complained of a sore throat," suggesting possible pharyngitis. There was no evidence of stridor, sialorrhea, hypoxia, or aphonia. Further investigation of the history of present illness identified the concern for a possible esophageal foreign body. Imaging studies of the neck identified a fishbone in the esophagus. This case presentation discusses an atypical presentation of an esophageal foreign body and the subtle findings on assessment and imaging. This case highlights the importance of illiciting a history of present illness and the subtleties of esophageal foreign body identification. 10.1097/TME.0000000000000362

A systematic review and clinical atlas on mucocutaneous presentations of the current monkeypox outbreak: With a comprehensive approach to all dermatologic and nondermatologic aspects of the new and previous monkeypox outbreaks. Journal of medical virology Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease, endemic in central and west African regions, and has re-emerged, currently causing an outbreak as of May 2022. In this systematic review, we aimed to characterize the current face of the disease, with a detailed categorization of mucocutaneous, as well as systemic symptoms of the disease. We searched four main online databases with the keywords "monkeypox" and "Orthopoxvirus". A total of 46 articles were included, with a cumulative number of 1984 confirmed cases. Patients were predominantly men who have sex with men, who were mostly in their 30s, with a history of unprotected sexual contact or international travel. Among mucocutaneous manifestations, anogenital lesions were the most commonly observed, followed by lesions on the limbs, face, trunk, and palms or soles. Among lesion types, vesiculopustular, pustular or pseudo-pustular, vesicular-umbilicated and papular lesions were the most common, mainly presenting asynchronously, with less than 10 lesions on each patient. Almost all patients also reported systemic manifestations, namely fever, lymphadenopathy, fatigue, myalgia, headaches, pharyngitis, and proctitis. Sexual contact is the main pathway of transmission in the current outbreak, with viral shedding in bodily fluids playing a key role. We've compared these idiosyncratic findings of the new outbreak with previous outbreaks. We've also gathered and categorized images from our included studies to make a "clinical atlas" for this "new" face of monkeypox, which can be of utmost importance for clinicians to be familiarized with, and have a clear picture of monkeypox for their differential diagnoses. 10.1002/jmv.28230

Network Pharmacological Analysis and Experimental Study of the Antipharyngitis Mechanism of the Chaiqin Qingning Capsule. BioMed research international Objective:The study aimed to explore the active composition and mechanism of the Chaiqin Qingning capsule (CQQN) against pharyngitis based on the network pharmacology and through using a pharyngitis rat model. Methods:The active ingredients and targets of CQQN were queried using the TCMSP database. Disease-related target genes were queried in the DrugBank, GeneCards, OMIM, and DisGeNEt databases using "pharyngitis" as the search term. The STRING database was used to establish a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. GO function enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed to identify active components and key targets. Cytoscape software (version 3.7.2) was used to construct an active component/target gene/enrichment pathway network. AutoDock software was used to select the best binding target for molecular docking. The effect of CQQN was verified in the pharyngitis rats. Results:Network pharmacology showed 30 active compounds in CQQN with 240 targets, including 54 for the treatment of pharyngitis. Potential active ingredients included quercetin, kaempferol, stigmasterol, saikosaponin D, and isorhamnetin. The key targets involved were AKT1, TNF, IL-6, and IL-1. Signaling pathways included virus infection, TNF, IL-17, and cancer pathways. The molecular docking results showed that the critical components in CQQN had good potential for binding to key target genes. Animal experiments showed that CQQN could significantly reduce the expression of TNF-, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-17 in the serum of rats with pharyngitis ( < 0.05). Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed that the inflammatory state of pharyngeal tissue in rats was significantly reduced compared to that in the model group. Conclusion:CQQN can improve pharyngitis by regulating the TNF and IL-17 signaling pathways. The study makes a positive exploration and provides a new idea for a more comprehensive and in-depth excavation of CQQN with an intervention effect on pharyngitis and other upper respiratory diseases in the future. 10.1155/2022/5616942