Increasing studies have demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of various diseases, including allergic lower airway inflammation such as asthma. To investigate the role of Rg3 in allergic upper airway disease, the effect and therapeutic mechanism of Rg3 in allergic rhinitis (AR) were studied. Ovalbumin-induced AR model mice were intragastrically administered with Rg3. Nasal symptoms, levels of IgE, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, SOD and MDA in serum, and histopathological analysis of nasal mucosa were used to evaluate the effect of Rg3 on ameliorating AR in mice. Moreover, nasal mucosa samples from the normal control group, AR model group and high dosage of Rg3 were collected to perform omics analysis. The differentially expressed genes and significantly changed metabolites were screened based on transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses, respectively. Integrative analysis was further performed to confirm the hub genes, metabolites and pathways. After Rg3 intervention, the nasal symptoms and inflammatory infiltration were effectively improved, the levels of IgE, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and MDA were significantly reduced, and the level of SOD was obviously increased. The results of the qRT-PCR assay complemented the transcriptomic findings. Integrated analysis showed that Rg3 played an anti-AR role mainly by regulating the interaction network, which was constructed by 12 genes, 8 metabolites and 4 pathways. Our findings suggested that Rg3 had a therapeutic effect on ovalbumin-induced AR in mice by inhibiting inflammation development and reducing oxidative stress. The present study could provide a potential natural agent for the treatment of AR.

In this paper, we fabricated novel carboxymethyl chitosan-coated CdTe quantum dots (CMC-CdTe QDs) via the electrostatic interaction between amino groups in the carboxymethyl chitosan polymeric chains and carboxyl groups of the CdTe QDs. Carboxymethyl chitosan on the surface of CdTe QDs had strong binding ability with Zn(2+), resulting in the obvious enhancement of the photoluminescence of CdTe QDs. The photoluminescence intensity of CMC-CdTe QDs probe was proportional to the concentration of Zn(2+) in the range of 5.0 × 10(-6) to 5.0 × 10(-3) mol l(-1). The detection limit for Zn(2+) was 4.5 × 10(-6) mol l(-1). The experimental results indicate that the CMC-CdTe QDs possess favorable cell compatibility, good sensitivity and selectivity for intracellular Zn(2+) sensing, and are promising candidates for cellular imaging and sensing in prostate cancer cells. The present study also provides an approach for the further development of nanoprobes dedicated to intracellular sensing.