Purpose Adenomyosis is a common gynecological disease, but its pathogenesis and treatment options are not yet completely clear. This study aimed to investigate the analgesic effect of berberine on tamoxifen-induced neonatal mouse adenomyosis and its curative effects on the disease. Methods The mouse adenomyosis model was established in neonatal female mice via oral administration of tamoxifen suspended solution. Adenomyosis mice were given berberine by intraperitoneal injection with the dosage of 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg body weight, respectively, at 17 weeks after birth. The pain sensation of the mice was evaluated by hotplate and tail-flick tests. The mRNA levels of gene expression were detected by RT-qPCR. The protein expression was analyzed by ELISA and Western blot. Results Berberine reduced the uterine weight, suppressed the myometrial infiltration of ectopic endometrium, improved the hotplate and tail-flick latency of the adenomyosis mice. Mechanistically, berberine downregulated the expression of genes related to pain and inflammation, such as TRPV1, COX-2, VEGF and OTR, impaired the inflammatory response at the DRG site, and inhibited the expression of TLR4 in DRG and uterine tissues. Conclusions Berberine attenuates hyperalgesia and exhibits analgesic and therapeutic effects on adenomyosis mice.
Background The critical issue in the competitiveness between bioengineering and chemical engineering is the products titer and the volume productivity. The most direct and effective approach usually employs high-density biocatalyst, while the weakened mass transfer and evoked foam problem accompany ultrahigh-density biocatalyst loading and substrate/product titer. In high-density obligate aerobic bioconversion, oxygen as electron acceptor is a speed-limiting step in bioprocesses, but sufficient oxygen supply will lead to the foaming which results in a significant reduction in oxygen utilization and the use of additional defoamers. In this study, we designed a novel sealed-oxygen supply (SOS) biotechnology to resolve the formidable barrier of oxygen transferring rate (OTR), for bio-based fuels and chemical production process.Results Based on systemic analysis of whole-cell catalysis in Gluconobacter oxydans, a novel sealed-oxygen supply technology was smartly designed and experimentally performed for biocatalytic oxidation of alcohols, sugars and so on. By a simple operation skill of automatic online supply of oxygen in a sealed stirring tank bioreactor of SOS, OTR barrier and foaming problem was resolved with great ease. We finally obtained ultrahigh-titer products of xylonic acid (XA), 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HPA), and erythrulose at 588.4 g/L, 69.4 g/L, and 364.7 g/L, respectively. Moreover, the volume productivity of three chemical products was improved by 150–250% compared with normal biotechnology. This SOS technology provides a promising approach to promote bioengineering competitiveness and advantages over chemical engineering.Conclusion SOS technology was demonstrated as an economic and universally applicable approach to bio-based fuels and chemicals production by whole-cell catalysis. The novel technology greatly promotes the competitiveness of bioengineering for chemical engineering, and provides a promising platform for the green and environmental use of biofuels.