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Background Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most common and devastating causes of sensory or motor dysfunction. Nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)-mediated neuroinflammatory responses, in addition to nitric oxide (NO), are key regulatory pathways in SCI. Paeoniflorin (PF), a major active component extracted from Paeonia roots, has been suggested to exert neuroprotective effects in the central nervous system. However, whether PF could improve the motor function after SCI in vivo is still unclear. Method Immunohistochemical analysis, western blot, real-time quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence staining, and histopathological and behavioral evaluation were used to explore the effects of paeoniflorin after SCI for 14 days. Results In this study, PF treatment significantly inhibited NF-κB activation and downregulated the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2), and Nogo-A. Comparing behavioral and histological changes in SCI and PF treatment groups, we found that PF treatment improved motor function recovery, attenuated the histopathological damage, and increased neuronal survival in the SCI model. PF treatment also reduced expression levels of Bax and c-caspase-3 and increased the expression level of Bcl-2 and cell viabilities. Upregulation of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β after injury was also prevented by PF. Conclusion These results suggest that the neuroprotective effects of PF are related to the inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway. And PF may be a therapeutic strategy in spinal cord injury.

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Background: Soft tissue sarcoma is a malignant tumor with high degree of malignancy and poor prognosis, originating from mesenchymal tissue. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in various biological and pathological processes in the body. They target mRNA through transcription or post-transcription, resulting in the occurrence, invasion, and metastasis of tumors. Therefore, they are highly relevant with regard to early diagnoses and as prognostic indicators.Objective: The objective of the present study was to identify immune-related lncRNAs associated with the tumor microenvironment that can be used to predict soft tissue sarcomas.Methods: Clinical data and follow-up data were obtained from the cBioPortal database, and RNA sequencing data used for the model structure can be accessed from. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. LncRNAs were screened by differential expression analysis and co-expression analysis. The Cox regression model and Kaplan–Meier analysis were used to study the association between lncRNAs and soft tissue sarcoma prognosis in the immune microenvironment. Unsupervised cluster analysis was then completed to discover the impact of screening lncRNAs on disease. Lastly, we constructed an mRNA-lncRNA network by Cytoscape software.Results: Unsupervised cluster analysis revealed that the 210 lncRNAs screened showed strong correlation with the tumor immune microenvironment. Two signatures containing seven and five lncRNAs related to the tumor microenvironment were constructed and used to predict overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). The Kaplan–Meier（K-M） survival curve showed that the prognoses of patients in the high-risk and low-risk groups differed significantly, and the prognosis associated with the low-risk group was better than that associated with the high-risk group. Two nomograms with predictive capabilities were established.Conclusion: The results indicate that seven OS- and five DFS-related lncRNAs are correlated with the prognosis of soft tissue sarcoma.