Effects of Short-Term Forest Bathing on Human Health in a Broad-Leaved Evergreen Forest in Zhejiang Province,China

Objective To investigate the effects of short-term forest bathing on human health. Methods Twenty healthy male university students participated as subjects and were randomly divided into two groups of 10. One group was sent on a two-night trip to a broad-leaved evergreen forest, and the other was sent to a city area. Serum cytokine levels reflecting inflammatory and stress response, indicators reflecting oxidative stress, the distribution of leukocyte subsets, and plasma endothelin-1 （ET-1） concentrations were measured before and after the experiment to evaluate the positive health effects of forest environments. A profile of mood states （POMS） evaluation was used to assess changes in mood states. Results No significant differences in the baseline values of the indicators were observed between the two groups before the experiment. Subjects exposed to the forest environment showed reduced oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory level, as evidenced by decreased malondialdehyde, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor a levels compared with the urban group. Serum cortisol levels were also lower than in the urban group. Notably, the concentration of plasma ET-1 was much lower in subjects exposed to the forest environment. The POMS evaluation showed that after exposure to the forest environment, subjects had lower scores in the negative subscales, and the score for vigor was increased. Conclusion Forest bathing is beneficial to human health, perhaps through preventive effects related to several pathological factors.

Additive Benefits of Twice Forest Bathing Trips in Elderly Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Chronic heart failure （CHF）, a clinical syndrome resulting from the consequences of various cardiovascular diseases （CVDs）, is increasingly becoming a global cause of morbidity and mortality. We had earlier demonstrated that a 4-day forest bathing trip can provide an adjunctive therapeutic influence on patients with CHF. To further investigate the duration of the impact and the optimal frequency of forest bathing trips in patients with CHF, we recruited those subjects who had experienced the first forest bathing trip again after 4 weeks and randomly categorized them into two groups, namely, the urban control group （city） and the forest bathing group （forest）. After a second 4-day forest bathing trip, we observed a steady decline in the brain natriuretic peptide levels, a biomarker of heart failure, and an attenuated inflammatory response as well as oxidative stress. Thus, this exploratory study demonstrated the additive benefits of twice forest bathing trips in elderly patients with CHF, which could further pave the way for analyzing the effects of such interventions in CVDs.

Current Status of Forest Medicine Research in China

In recent years,due to regional pollution and deteriorating environment,combined with intense social competition and heavier life pressure,an increasing number of people are affected by lifestyle-related diseases and remain in a state of being sub-healthy.Therefore,health issue has been receiving unprecedented attention.

Salidroside Reduces PDE2A Expression by Down-regulating p53 in Human Embryonic Lung Fibroblasts

Salidroside(SAL) is a glucoside of tyrosol and a key constituent of Rhodiola rosea L. The diverse pharmacological activities of SAL include anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective effects(1)Our previous investigation showed that the anti-aging effects of SAL involve reductions of the levels of advanced glycation end products in a D-galactose induced mouse model(2)Additionally.

Pyropia haitanensis polysaccharide extends lifespan by inhibiting protein aggregation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Pyropia haitanensis polysaccharide(LP)have been found for having many excellent functions such as anti-aging.Using Caenorhabditis elegans models,we evaluated the anti-aging activity of LP by observing the lifespan,reproduction,pharyngeal pumping,stress response,quantitative fluorescence of polyglutamic acid,and nuclear localization of DAF-16 of worms.The results reveal that LP could extend the adult lifespan of wild-type and polyQ nematodes,indicating a connection of its anti-aging benefit with the toxicity-suppressing effect.The number of polyglutamic acid aggregates in high concentration groups decreased by 24.39%(P<0.05)to the control.The high-dose group strongly induced DAF-16 nuclear translocation over intermediate and cytosolic localizations compared with the control(P<0.001).Therefore,we believe that LP could extend the lifespan and reduce the protein aggregation in C.elegans through nuclear DAF-16∷GFP expression.

Fibrillarin promotes homologous recombination repair by facilitating the recruitment of recombinase RAD51 to DNA damage sites

Eukaryotic organisms constantly face a wide range of internal and external factors that cause damage to their DNA.Failure to accurately and efficiently repair these DNA lesions can result in genomic instability and the development of tumors(Canela et al.,2017).Among the various forms of DNA damage,DNA doublestrand breaks(DSBs)are particularly harmful.Two major pathways,non-homologous end joining(NHEJ)and homologous recombination(HR),are primarily responsible for repairing DSBs(Katsuki et al.,2020;Li and Yuan,2021;Zhang and Gong,2021;Xiang et al.,2023).NHEJ is an error-prone repair mechanism that simply joins the broken ends together(Blunt et al.,1995;Hartley et al.,1995).

Berberine diminishes cancer cell PD-L1 expression and facilitates antitumor immunity via inhibiting the deubiquitination activity of CSN5

Programmed cell death-1(PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand-1(PD-L1)blocking therapy has become a major pillar of cancer immunotherapy.Compared with antibodies targeting,small-molecule checkpoint inhibitors which have favorable pharmacokinetics are urgently needed.Here we identified berberine(BBR),a proven anti-inflammation drug,as a negative regulator of PDL1 from a set of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)chemical monomers.BBR enhanced the sensitivity of tumour cells to co-cultured T-cells by decreasing the level of PD-L1 in cancer cells.In addition,BBR exerted its antitumor effect in Lewis tumor xenograft mice through enhancing tumorinfiltrating T-cell immunity and attenuating the activation of immunosuppressive myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)and regulatory T-cells(Tregs).BBR triggered PD-L1 degradation through ubiquitin(Ub)/proteasome-dependent pathway.Remarkably,BBR selectively bound to the glutamic acid76 of constitutive photomorphogenic-9 signalosome 5(CSN5)and inhibited PD-1/PD-L1 axis through its deubiquitination activity,resulting in ubiquitination and degradation of PD-L1.Our data reveals a previously unrecognized antitumor mechanism of BBR,suggesting BBR is small-molecule immune checkpoint inhibitor for cancer treatment.

Role of pyroptosis in inflammation and cancer

Pyroptosis is a form of programmed cell death mediated by gasdermin and is a product of continuous cell expansion until the cytomembrane ruptures,resulting in the release of cellular contents that can activate strong inflammatory and immune responses.Pyroptosis,an innate immune response,can be triggered by the activation of inflammasomes by various influencing factors.Activation of these inflammasomes can induce the maturation of caspase-1 or caspase-4/5/11,both of which cleave gasdermin D to release its N-terminal domain,which can bind membrane lipids and perforate the cell membrane.Here,we review the latest advancements in research on the mechanisms of pyroptosis,newly discovered influencing factors,antitumoral properties,and applications in various diseases.Moreover,this review also provides updates on potential targeted therapies for inflammation and cancers,methods for clinical prevention,and finally challenges and future directions in the field.

Tubeimoside-1 induces TFEB-dependent lysosomal degradation of PD-L1 and promotes antitumor immunity by targeting mTOR

Programmed cell death ligand 1(PD-L1)/programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1)cascade is an effective therapeutic target for immune checkpoint blockade(ICB)therapy.Targeting PD-L1/PD-1 axis by small-molecule drug is an attractive approach to enhance antitumor immunity.Using flow cytometry-based assay,we identify tubeimoside-1(TBM-1)as a promising antitumor immune modulator that negatively regulates PD-L1 level.TBM-1 disrupts PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and enhances the cytotoxicity of T cells toward cancer cells through decreasing the abundance of PD-L1.Furthermore,TBM-1 exerts its antitumor effect in mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma(LLC)and B16 melanoma tumor xenograft via activating tumor-infiltrating T-cell immunity.Mechanistically,TBM-1 triggers PD-L1 lysosomal degradation in a TFEB-dependent,autophagy-independent pathway.TBM-1 selectively binds to the mammalian target of rapamycin(m TOR)kinase and suppresses the activation of m TORC1,leading to the nuclear translocation of TFEB and lysosome biogenesis.Moreover,the combination of TBM-1 and anti-CTLA-4 effectively enhances antitumor T-cell immunity and reduces immunosuppressive infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)and regulatory T(Treg)cells.Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized antitumor mechanism of TBM-1 and represent an alternative ICB therapeutic strategy to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.