Objective: To investigate the association between plant-based dietary patterns and gestational weight gain (GWG) among pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), so as to provide the evidence for guiding the reasonable diet during pregnancy. Methods: GDM pregnant women who participated in the WeBirth project in Hangzhou Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital were selected. Maternal age and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) were collected. The Chinese version of Pregnancy Physical Activity questionnaire was used to assess the daily activity equivalent. The food frequency questionnaire was used to collect the frequency and amount of food intake in the last month before enrollment. The overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthy plant-based diet index (HPDI), and unhealthy plant-based diet index (UPDI) were constructed based on food intake and grouped by quartiles. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the association between plant-based dietary patterns and GWG. Results: A total of 1 943 pregnant women with GDM, with a median age of 30.91 (interquartile range, 4.92) years. The median BMI of pre-pregnancy was 21.51 (interquartile range, 4.06) kg/m2. The medians of PDI, HPDI and UPDI were 32.42 (interquartile range, 4.60), 32.48 (interquartile range, 4.41) and 32.40 (interquartile range, 5.36), respectively. The median of GWG was 11.30 (interquartile range, 4.52) kg. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that PDI (Q3 group, β=0.674, 95%CI: 0.064-1.285; Q4 group, β=0.702, 95%CI: 0.098-1.306), UPDI (Q3 group, β=1.332, 95%CI: 0.771-1.894; Q4 group, β=1.115, 95%CI: 0.550-1.681) were positively associated with GWG after adjusting for age, pre-pregnancy BMI, daily activity equivalent and daily energy intake. No significant association was found between HPDI and GWG (all P>0.05). Conclusion UPDI was associated with a higher risk of GWG in pregnant women with GDM.

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the role of hippocampal glutamate system in regulating HPA axis in mediating the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at the heart meridian for improving myocardial injury in rats with acute myocardial ischemia (AMI). METHODS: Male SD rats were randomized into sham-operated group, AMI group, EA group, and L-glutamic acid+EA group (n=9). Rat models of AMI were established by left descending coronary artery ligation, and EA was applied at the "Shenmen-Tongli" segment; the rats in L-glutamic acid+EA group were subjected to microinjection of L-glutamic acid into the bilateral hippocampus prior to AMI modeling and EA treatment. Cardiac functions of the rats were evaluated using echocardiography, and ECG and heart rate variation (HRV) were analyzed using PowerLab and LabChart. Pathological changes in the myocardial tissue was examined using HE staining, and serum levels of myocardial enzymes were detected with ELISA. Myocardial expressions of TH and GAP43 were detected with immunohistochemistry, and colocalization of VGLUT1, VGLUT2 and c-fos were observed using immunofluorescence staining; the expressions of VGLUT1, VGLUT2, NMDAR1 and NMDAR2B were detected using Western blotting. RESULTS: The rat models of AMI showed significantly decreased LVEF and LVFS and increased serum levels of myocardial enzymes in positive correlation with the HPA axis. Numerous TH- and GAP43-positive cells were observed in the hippocampus, where the expressions of NE and E, neurons colabeled with VGLUT1, VGLUT2 and c-fos, and expressions of VGLUT1, VGLUT2, NMDAR1, NMDAR2B and Glu increased significantly. All these changes were significantly improved by interventions with EA as compared with those in AMI and L-Glutamate+EA groups. CONCLUSIONS In rats with AMI, EA at the heart meridian can regulate excessive glutamate release in the hippocampus, thereby inhibiting HPA axis hyperactivity and reducing sympathetic nerve activity to protect the myocardial tissue.
Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Rats ; Glutamic Acid/metabolism* ; Myocardial Ischemia/physiopathology* ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiopathology* ; Pituitary-Adrenal System/physiopathology* ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/metabolism*

The stimulator of interferon genes(STING),an integral adaptor protein in the DNA-sensing pathway,plays a pivotal role in the innate immune response against infections.Additionally,it presents a valuable therapeutic target for infectious diseases and cancer.We observed that fangchinoline(Fan),a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid(BBA),effectively impedes the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus(VSV),encephalomyocarditis virus(EMCV),influenza A virus(H1 N1),and herpes simplex virus-1(HSV-1)in vitro.Fan treatment significantly reduced the viral load,attenuated tissue inflammation,and improved survival in a viral sepsis mouse model.Mechanistically,Fan activates the antiviral response in a STING-dependent manner,leading to increased expression of interferon(1FN)and interferon-stimulated genes(ISGs)for potent antiviral effects in vivo and in vitro.Notably,Fan interacts with STING,preventing its degradation and thereby extending the activation of IFN-based antiviral responses.Collectively,our findings highlight the potential of Fan,which elicits antiviral immunity by suppressing STING degra-dation,as a promising candidate for antiviral therapy.

Objective:To investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of galectin-3(Gal3)on mast cells activation and skin injury in a psoriatic murine model.Methods:Imiquimod was applied to the bare skin on back of SPF(Gal3+/+)mice and their matched(Gal3-/-)siblings respectively once daily for 5 d to establish a psoriatic mice model.The development and dynamics of skin le-sions were monitored and recorded,scored.with the psoriasis area and severity index(PASI).The expressions of il-1 and il-17 in the damaged skin were detected by real-time PCR to compare the severity of inflammation between Gal3+/+ mice and their Gal3-/-siblings.HE staining was used to observe the histopathological changes of skin.The difference in morphology and distribution of mast cells were examined by toluidine blue staining.Immunohistochemistry and image analysis techniques were improved to assay the expression and distribution of activated mast cells markers such as tryptase and 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT).Results:The typical psoriatic signs in-cluding erythema,scaling and infiltration were formed in mice after continuous administration of imiquimod in Gal3-/-mice,whereas Gal3+/+ mice just developed small scaling and mild infiltration.PASI score of Gal3-/-mice was significantly higher than that of Gal3+/+mice.In accordance,il-1 and il-17 were increased in the skin lesions of Gal3+/+ mice and Gal3-/-mice,but these inflammatory factors were more upregulated remarkably in the latter.Histopathology observation revealed that the epidermis of Gal3+/+ mice was slightly thickened,whereas thickened epidermis of Gal3-/-mice was more seriously and the rete ridges extended downward,with massive in-flammatory cells aggregation.Toluidine blue staining indicated that the mast cells were sparsely distributed and most of their structures were intact in Gal3+/+ mice,instead the mast cells of Gal3-/-mice were mostly in degranulation state with increased and distributed widely in skin.Immunohistochemistry staining revealed that tryptase and 5-HT,compared with those of Gal3+/+ mice,were increased obviously in the lesioned skin of Gal3-/-mice,most of them were concentrated in the epidermal in particular.Conclusion:The defi-ciency of Gal3 may result in over-activation and degranulation of mast cells at the skin in psoriatic mice model,which aggravates the occurrence of dermatitis inflammatory injury and disease progression in psoriasis,and Gal3 plays suppressive effects on mast cells acti-vation and degranulation at the skin lesions in this model.

Objective To investigate the effects of galectin-3(Gal3)on skin abscess development and activation of mast cells(MC)in mice infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA).Methods Wild type mice and Gal3-knockout(Gal3-/-)mice,at 6～8 weeks of age,were divided into four groups:Wild type mice+PBS group,Wild type mice+MRSA group,Gal3-/-mice+PBS group,Gal3-/-mice+MRSA group,were subcutaneously injected with MRSA or the same volume of phosphate buffer saline,with five mice per group.The development and pathological changes of skin abscess were monitored and recorded.The bacterial load in skin tissues was compared,and the expression of associated cytokines,degranulation of MC,and the distribution of MC activation marker 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT)were detected.Results The skin of Wild type mice showed progressive abscesses after subcutaneous infection with MRSA,but the Gal3-/-mice showed smaller abscess areas.Compared to the Wild type mice+MRSA group,the Gal3-/-mice+MRSA group showed lower bacterial loading in the skin tissues(P＜0.01)and fewer infiltrating inflammatory cells with histopathological observation.The expression of cytokines,including IL-1β,TNF-α,IL-33,TGF-β,and IL-10,were significantly lower in Gal3-/-mice than Wild type mice(P＜0.05).The toluidine blue staining showed a large number of degranulated MCs in the skin tissues of the wild type mice+MRSA group,whereas only a few degranulated MCs were observed in the Gal3-/-mice+MRSA group.It was further found that the expression of 5-HT in Gal3-/-mice+MRSA group was significantly lower than that in wild-type mice+MRSA group with immunohistochemical staining.Conclusion Gal3 deficiency reduced the activation and degranulation of mouse skin MC after MRSA infection,resulting in changes to inflammatory responses and alleviating the severity of skin tissue abscesses.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the damage mechanism of pathogenic E.coli on mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells(BMEC cells)and mouse alveolar macrophages(MH-S cells),as well as the lung and brain of healthy mice.In this study,BMEC cells and MH-S cells were infected with pathogenic E.coli strains,and cell morphological changes were observed.Plate counting method was used to detect the adhesion and invasion ability of the strains to cells and the number of bacteria in the lungs and brains of mice.RT-qPCR was used to detect the ex-pression of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 genes in cells and mouse organs at different time periods.West-ern blot was used to detect the expression of p-NF-κB,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins related to inflammation in cells and mouse organs after infection.The results showed that the cell culture medium of the infection group was turbid,the cell vision became dark and blurred,some cells shrank and died,and more fragments were produced.The adhesion rate and invasion rate of BMEC cells at 3 h were significantly lower than those at 6 h(P＜0.050),and the adhesion rate and inva-sion rate of MH-S cells at 3 h were significantly higher than those at 6 h(P＜0.010).Infected mice had a large area of swelling and bleeding in the brain,and the lungs had different degrees of swell-ing and bleeding.The bacterial load in the brain and lung was the highest at 12 h.Compared with the control group,the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in the infection group were significantly increased at 3 h and 6 h(P＜0.050),and the mRNA expression levels of inflam-matory factors in BMEC cells and MH-S cells were the highest at 6 and 3 h,respectively.The mR-NA expression of inflammatory factors in the brain and lung of infected mice showed a trend of in-creasing first and then decreasing with time,with the highest expression at 12 h after infection.The expression levels of p-NF-κB protein in BMEC cells,MH-S cells,lung and brain tissues of mice in the infection group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P＜0.001),and the expression levels of p-JAK2 protein and p-STAT3 protein were significantly lower than those in the control group(P＜0.050).The above results showed that pathogenic E.coli could adhere and invade BMEC cells and MH-S cells,colonize in lung and brain tissues of mice,promote the expres-sion of NF-κB protein in cells and tissues,inhibit the expression of JAK2 protein and STAT3 pro-tein,and then stimulate cells and tissues to produce inflammatory response.

Objective:To explore the difference of inflammatory factor imbalance between adolescent and adult patients with depression.Methods:A total of 30 adolescent and 30 adult patients with depression, and 30 adolescent and 30 adult healthy controls were included from January 2022 to August 2023. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-17 (IL-17), transforming growth factor-beta1(TGF-β1), interleukin-10(IL-10) and Maresin-1(MaR1) level were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. 24-item Hamilton depression scale (HAMD-24) was used to assess the severity of depression in all depressed patients. SPSS 26.0 statistical software was used for t-test, covariance analysis, Spearman analysis and multivariate binary logistic regression, and the predictive value of selected inflammatory factors in depression was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve. Results:(1)In adolescent group, the levels of IL-6 ((64.000±38.632) pg/mL), IL-17((239.132±49.757) pg/mL), and TGF-β1((737.267±328.447)pg/mL) in patients with depression were higher than those in control group((32.396±16.330)pg/mL, (214.954±42.326)pg/mL, (454.542±297.194)pg/mL, all P<0.05), while the level of MaR1((21 381.301±3 946.011)pg/mL) was significantly lower than that in control group((30 130.138±10 278.999)pg/mL)( P<0.001). The level of IL-17 was positively correlated with the total score of HAMD-24 ( r=0.429) and the course of disease ( r=0.571), the level of IL-10 was negatively correlated with body weight factor score ( r=-0.384), and the levels of TGF-β1 was negatively correlated with anxiety/somatization factor score ( r=-0.449)(all P<0.05) in adolescent patients with depression.MaR1( B=0.000 1, OR=0.999 8, AUC=0.794, P<0.05) was an independent risk factor for adolescents depression.(2)In adult depression group, the levels of IL-6, IL-17, IL-10, TGF-β1 and MaR1 were higher than those in adult control group(all P<0.05). The level of TGF-β1 in adult depression group was negatively correlated with the total score of HAMD-24 ( r=-0.427), the score of anxiety/somatization factor ( r=-0.368), the score of blocking factor ( r=-0.405), and the score of hopelessness factor ( r=-0.398).The level of MaR1 was positively correlated with the age of onset of disease ( r=0.425)(all P<0.05) in adult patients with depression.MaR1( B=0.000 4, OR=1.000 3, AUC=0.874, P<0.001) and IL-6( B=0.040, OR=1.040 7, AUC=0.779, P<0.05) were independent risk factors for adult depression.The AUC of IL-6 combined with MaR1 was 0.938. Conclusion:There are differences in the underlying mechanism of immune imbalance between adolescent and adult patients with depression.MaR1 may be a diagnostic biomarker for depression in adolescents and adults.

Objective To explore and implement a differentiated management strategy for multi-campus hospitals to improve patient experience and satisfaction,and achieve the goal of homogenized management.Methods In December 2021,the Picker Patient Experience Questionnaire was used to survey the patient experience at 3 campuses of a tertiary A hospital in Hangzhou,and the reasons for the differences were analyzed.Based on policy document reviews,special group discussions,and expert meetings,differentiated management strategy for multi-campus hospitals was formulated.The patient experience and satisfaction before(December 2021)and after(December 2023)the implementation were compared.Results After the application of the one-hospital multi-campus difference management strategy,the overall medical experience score of the patients in the 3 campus was(58.54±2.36)points,which was higher than(58.13±3.24)points before the application(t=-3.223,P=0.001),and there was no statistically significant differences among the patients in the 3 campuses(F=0.781,P=0.458).After the application of the management strategy,the overall satisfaction score of the patients in the 3 campus was(98.44±6.22)points,which was higher than(97.98±6.87)points before the application of the management strategy(t=-2.490,P=0.013),and there was no statistical significance among the patients in the 3 campus(F=1.128,P=0.324).The number of banners and letters of commendation received by the 3 campuses increased from 1 661 before the application to 2 190 after the application,with a growth rate of 31.85％.Conclusion Differentiated management in a multi-campus hospital,aiming at homogenized quality through differentiated strategies,is practicable and can significantly improve the patient experience and satisfaction across different campuses.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of the expression of antioxidant 1 copper chaperone protein(ATOX1)in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)and its relationship with tumor proliferation,migration and invasion.Methods The expression of ATOX1 mRNA in HCC cancer tissue and normal liver tissue was analyzed using the Human Genome Atlas database.Immunohistochemical experiment was used to detect the expression of ATOX1 in 15 cases of HCC cancer tissue and adjacent tissue.Human HCC cell lines Hep3B and HepG2 were divided into the control group(NC),the ATOX1 knockdown group 1(si-ATOX1#1)and the ATOX1 knockdown group 2(si-ATOX1#2).The effects of ATOX1 knockdown on the malignant biological behavior of HCC cells were observed through CCK-8 cell proliferation experiment,scratch experiment and Transwell invasion experiments.A nude mouse xenograft tumor model was constructed to analyze the effect of ATOX1 knockdown on the quality and volume of transplanted tumors.Western blot assay was used to detect the relationship between ATOX1 and JAK2/STAT3 pathway protein expression.Results Bioinformatics analysis showed that expression of ATOX1 mRNA in HCC cancer tissue was higher than that in adjacent normal tissue(P＜0.05).The immunohistochemical staining results showed that the positive rate of ATOX1 protein was higher in HCC cancer tissue than that in adjacent tissue(93.33%vs.13.33%,P＜0.01).In vitro experimental results showed that siRNA knockdown of ATOX1 protein expression in Hep3B and HepG2 cells significantly reduced the proliferation,migration and invasion abilities of cancer cells(P＜0.05).In vivo experiments in mice showed that the volume and weight of subcutaneous xenograft tumors were significantly smaller in the sh-ATOX1 group than those in the sh-con group(P＜0.05).The expression levels of JAK2/STAT3 pathway-related proteins p-JAK2,p-STAT3,CyclinD1 and MMP2 were significantly lower in the subcutaneous transplanted tumor tissue of the sh-ATOX1 group than that of the sh-con group(P＜0.05).Conclusion ATOX1 can promote the proliferation,migration and invasion of HCC through JAK2/STAT3 pathway,which can potentially become a potential tumor marker and therapeutic target.

Objective To construct a culture system of endometrial organoids for infertility induced by non-immune or immune factors,and to compare the immune cytokines between them.Methods The samples were collected from infertility patients undergoing hysteroscopy in Department of Reproductive Medicine Center of The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University(Second Military Medical University).Endometrial tissues were obtained from patients with infertility caused by non-immune factors(n=3)and patients with repeated implantation failure(RIF)(n=5).The tissues were embedded in matrix glue for 3D culture after washing,digestion,re-suspension and plate attachment.The growth of endometrial organoids of the 2 groups was observed under inverted microscope;the expression of estrogen receptor,keratin and E-cadherin,which were specific endometrial markers,was detected by immunofluorescence staining;and the cytokines of the 2 groups were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)and the differences of cytokines between the 2 groups were observed.Results During the process of in vitro culture of endometrial organoids,the volume of organoids and the number of cells gradually increased.After 7-10 d of culture,the volume of organoids reached a stable state,and the shape gradually became a perfect circle.At the same time,the number of organoids from the infertility patients caused by non-immune factors was more than that from the infertility patients caused by RIF.Immunofluorescence staining showed the expression of endometrial related marker proteins estrogen receptor,keratin and E-cadherin,indicating the successful construction of endometrial organoids.ELISA results showed that the levels of interferon(IFN)-γ,interleukin(IL)-10,tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α,IL-4 and TNF-α/IL-4 ratio between the 2 groups were significantly different(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).There were no significant differences in the levels of TGF-β1 or IL-17,the ratios of IL-17/TGF-β1,IFN-γ/IL-10 or TNF-α/IL-10(all P＞0.05).Conclusion Endometrial organoids with proliferative ability from patients with non-immune infertility and RIF have been successfully cultured in vitro,which provides a new model for the basic research of immune infertility.