Kunming mice

Wound healing assay was carried out using 25 g male Kunming mice (vitalriver, Beingjing, China). All animals were anesthetized with 3% pentobarbital sodium, then the back was shaved and a puncture appliance was used to create a 6 mm skin defects on the back of mice. To avoid the differences between individuals, all model mice were randomly divided into control, CS/PEO, AquacelAg, and Cur@β-CD/AgNPs meshes groups (n = 6). Nanofiber meshes of the same diameter were sterilized with ultraviolet light for 30 min, and each nanofiber meshes was placed at the wound site and secured with gauze. CS/PEO and AquacelAg was used as negative and positive control, respectively. Changes in wound area were measured at day 6 and 12, the wound area that remained exposed was measured for three times and the degree of wound healing was calculated according to a previous report [22 (link)].

40 Kunming mice (20 female mice and 20 male mice) with body weights of 22–25 g were purchased from Beijing Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co. Ltd. All experimental procedures and animal care were approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine (Approval No. IACUC-DWZX-2022-865). All animals received research according to the criteria outlined in the “Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals” prepared by the National Academy of Sciences and published by the National Institutes of Health. All methods were reported in accordance with ARRIVE guidelines. All mice were housed at 20–25 °C and 55% relative humidity environment using a 12 h light/dark cycle and had free access to food and water. After acclimatization to the environment for a week, the mice were randomly divided into four groups (sex in half, n = 10): a control group, low dose group (3.9 g/kg), middle dose group (7.8 g/kg) and high dose group (11.7 g/kg). The doses are equivalent to 3, 6 and 9 times of a typical human dose (10 g/70 kg/day), respectively. The PF extracts were resuspended in ultrapure water and administered intragastrically for 4 weeks. The control group was administered with an equal volume of ultrapure water. After cervical dislocation was used to sacrifice all of the mice, the livers were harvested, cleaned with saline and used for the next experiments.

All animal experiments were approved by Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Committee on Use and Care of Animals (TCM-LAEC20170037). Sprague–Dawley rats (weight = 180 ± 10 g) and Kunming mice (weight = 25 ± 5 g) were purchased from Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co. Ltd., (Beijing China). Both of them were acclimated for 1 week before the experiments. All animals were allowed free access to a standard diet and drink ad libitum and adapted to the experimental conditions at 22 ± 2°C, and humidity 60 ± 5% with a fixed 12-h artificial light period.

Twenty female Kunming mice, weighing 18 ± 2 g, were purchased from Beijing Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co. Ltd. (Beijing, China) and randomly divided into the control group (double steam water), model group (double steam water + UVA), sample group (1 g/L RFP + UVA), and positive control group (1 g/L GSH+ UVA). Each set of five mice was housed in a separate cage, with the temperature kept between 22 °C and 25 °C. The circadian cycle consisted of 12 h of light and 12 h of darkness. They consumed food and liquids ad libitum. After one week of acclimation to the environment, the experiment was carried out. Before applying the samples, the back hair of the mice was shaved (3 × 3 cm) and they were allowed to adapt to the environment for 1 h. The sample volume was 1 mL/d, UVA irradiated the skin for 50 J/cm²/d, and the experiment lasted for 30 days [14 (link)].

Kunming mice were obtained from Beijing Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co., Ltd. Male mice (5 weeks old) were housed in enclosures on sawdust bedding at 25 °C and 40% relative humidity including a normal light cycle (12 h dark /12 h light cycle). Deionized water and fodder were provided. Mice were acclimatized for one week before in-vivo experiments. All animal procedures complied with all relevant ethical regulations and were approved by the Laboratory Animal Committee (LAC) of South China University of Technology (AEC-2019071).

All experiments involving animals were approved by the Laboratory Animal Ethical Committee of the Medical College of the Shantou University, China. Fifty Kunming mice (15 males and 35 females; age 8–10 weeks) were purchased from the Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co. Ltd. (Beijing, China). Female mice were mated with fertile males overnight and the presence of a vaginal plug on the following morning was considered indicative of embryonic day 0.5 (E0.5). Pregnant females at E10.5 were randomly divided into two oral gavage groups: retinoic acid (70 mg/kg) (RA; Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA) dissolved in sesame oil group, and 10 mL/kg sesame oil only control group.

Thirty Kunming mice (7 weeks old) with body weights of 22–25 g were purchased from Beijing Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co., Ltd. [Permission No. SCXK (Beijing, China) 2016-0011]. They were kept in an environmentally controlled breeding room for 5 days at 22°C–25°C. The mice were housed with free access to laboratory food and water. After acclimatization, these mice were randomly divided into control, PFW, and PFE groups (n = 10). To dissolve the drugs, 0.5% CMC-Na was used. Mice in the treated groups were administered PFW or PFE at doses of 5.14 g/kg/day (dosage of PF) for 28 days; the control group was administered with the 0.5% CMC-Na. Then, the mice were sacrificed, and their livers were reserved for H&E staining. According to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, all animal experiments were carried out and approved by the Ethical Committee on Animal Research at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.