1.Interventional Effect of Active Ingredients of Chinese Medicine and Compound Formulas on Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition in Lung Cancer: A Review
Shanshan SONG ; Min JIANG ; Xinxin LIU ; Bozhen HUANG ; Siyi MA ; Guoyu WANG ; Wanqing WANG ; Luyao WANG ; Liang WANG ; Ruiqing BO
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(6):336-346
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and tumor metastasis is a key factor contributing to the mortality of most lung cancer patients. Aberrant activation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a major driver of lung cancer progression and metastasis. EMT is characterized by the loss of apical-basal polarity and intercellular adhesion in highly differentiated, polarized, and organized epithelial cells, which acquire motility, migratory potential, and invasive properties. During this process, cells undergo cytoskeletal remodeling and transform into a mesenchymal phenotype, accompanied by associated changes in cellular markers. The EMT process is highly complex and is tightly regulated by intricate networks involving multiple transcription factors, post-translational controls, epigenetic modifications, and non-coding RNAs. Therefore, therapies targeting the mechanisms of malignant transformation and their associated pathways in lung cancer are of significant clinical importance. In recent years, EMT has attracted increasing attention as a potential target for cancer therapy. Chinese medicine, with its characteristics of multi-target action, low side effects, and good therapeutic efficacy, has demonstrated an important role in anticancer treatment. A series of studies have investigated the role of Chinese medicine in inhibiting EMT in lung cancer. Active ingredients of Chinese medicine, including flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, terpenoids, saccharides, and alkaloids, as well as Chinese medicine compound formulas, have shown significant regulatory effects on EMT. Their mechanisms mainly involve multiple pathways, targets, and links, including signaling pathways, exosomes, microRNAs (miRNAs), and the tumor-associated immune microenvironment. This article summarizes the mechanisms by which EMT promotes malignant tumor progression and reviews the current research on how Chinese medicine active ingredients, monomers, and compound formulas inhibit EMT and suppress lung cancer cell migration and invasion. This study is expected to provide comprehensive theoretical information for basic and translational research on lung cancer.
2.Research progress on the health communication capacity of clinicians
Dingbin CAI ; Luis Manuel Dias MARTINS ; Zefeng LU ; Sanhao HUANG ; Shuangmiao WANG ; Qini HUANG ; Zhaoji LONG ; Xinxin CHEN ; Siyang YE ; Dong WANG
China Occupational Medicine 2025;52(2):216-221
Health communication aims to improve public health attitudes and behaviors by propagating health information. It plays an important role in promoting public health literacy and "Healthy China Initiative". The basic theories of health communication include "7 W" and Theory of Planned Behavior. Clinicians with profound medical expertise and a wealth of clinical practice play key roles in the communication, and they hold an unparalleled advantage in health communication by delivering authoritative and trustworthy information to the public. The capacity of health communication among clinicians in the nation is determined by various factors including professional characteristics, policy support, dissemination platforms and pathways, time and effort. Meanwhile, some problems in the research on the health communication capacity of clinicians remain, such as lack of well-established motivation systems, limited dissemination pathways, and imperfect evaluation frameworks. In some regions of China, health communication performance has been considered as part of the professional title evaluation for clinical physicians. Medical institutions and universities have also initiated relevant training and practice programs. It is crucial to improve evaluation frameworks, strengthen training pathways and effectiveness assessment, promote interdisciplinary integration, and enhance the role of clinicians in health communication in the future.
3.Fu's subcutaneous needling based on anatomy train theory for nonspecific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Shuang LIANG ; Kaiyu HUANG ; Xinxin FENG ; Yongyi XU ; Xu CHEN
Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion 2025;45(9):1248-1252
OBJECTIVE:
To observe the clinical effect of Fu's subcutaneous needling based on anatomy train theory for nonspecific low back pain (NLBP).
METHODS:
A total of 120 patients with NLBP were randomized into an anatomy train Fu's subcutaneous needling group (40 cases, 3 cases dropped out), a conventional acupuncture group (40 cases, 2 cases dropped out) and a conventional Fu's subcutaneous needling group (40 cases, 2 cases dropped out). Acupuncture was applied at ashi points and bilateral Shenshu (BL23) and Dachangshu (BL25) in the conventional acupuncture group, once every other day, 3 times a week. Fu's subcutaneous needling was applied at lumbodorsal myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the Fu's subcutaneous needling group, once every 3 days, twice a week. On the basis of the treatment in the Fu's subcutaneous needling group, Fu's subcutaneous needling was applied at MTrPs along the posterior superficial line and lateral line in the anatomy train Fu's subcutaneous needling group, once every 3 days, twice a week. All groups were treated for 2 weeks. Before and after treatment, the scores of numeric rating scale (NRS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were observed, the distance of Schober test was measured and the endurance of trunk extensors was assessed in the 3 groups.
RESULTS:
After treatment, in the 3 groups, the NRS and ODI scores were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), the Schober test distance was increased compared with that before treatment (P<0.05), the static and dynamic muscle endurance was increased compared with that before treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, in the anatomy train Fu's subcutaneous needling group, the NRS and ODI scores were lower than those in the conventional acupuncture group and the conventional Fu's subcutaneous needling group (P<0.05), the Schober test distance was longer than that in the conventional acupuncture group and the conventional Fu's subcutaneous needling group (P<0.05), the static and dynamic muscle endurance was superior to that in the conventional acupuncture group and the conventional Fu's subcutaneous needling group (P<0.05).
CONCLUSION
Fu's subcutaneous needling based on anatomy train theory can effectively relieve the pain symptom, enhance quality of life, improve lumbar motion and lumbar muscle function in patients with NLBP.
Humans
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Low Back Pain/physiopathology*
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Female
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Male
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Adult
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Acupuncture Therapy/methods*
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Middle Aged
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Acupuncture Points
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Young Adult
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Treatment Outcome
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Aged
5.Erratum: Author correction to "Sphingosine-1-phosphate, a novel TREM2 ligand, promotes microglial phagocytosis to protect against ischemic brain injury" Acta Pharm Sin B 12 (2022) 1885-1898.
Tengfei XUE ; Juan JI ; Yuqin SUN ; Xinxin HUANG ; Zhenyu CAI ; Jin YANG ; Wei GUO ; Ruobing GUO ; Hong CHENG ; Xiulan SUN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(5):2813-2814
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.10.012.].
6.Research progress on the pharmacological mechanism of Rehmannia glutinosa in diabetic kidney disease
Di NIU ; Ruifang CHEN ; Xinmeng HUANG ; Changchang LI ; Hansong ZHOU ; Xinxin PANG
China Pharmacy 2025;36(23):2995-3000
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the most common and harmful microvascular complications of diabetes, and there is currently a lack of effective treatment methods to delay its progression. Traditional Chinese medicine has a long history of treating DKD and offers unique advantages. As a traditional Chinese medicine, Rehmannia glutinosa has shown potential in the treatment of DKD in clinical and modern pharmacological research. After integrating relevant research on the pharmacological mechanism of R. glutinosa in treating DKD, it has been found that the main active components of R. glutinosa, such as catalpol, rehmannioside D, aucubin, verbascoside, salidroside, echinacoside and R. glutinosa polysaccharides, along with its extracts and compounds (such as Liuwei dihuang pills, Shenqi dihuang decoction, and Shenqi pills), can exert multiple effects by intervening in various signaling pathways, including advanced glycation end product (AGE)/receptor for AGE, nuclear factor kappa-B (NF- κB), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smads. These effects include ameliorating metabolic disorders and oxidative stress in DKD, inhibiting the processes of renal inflammation and fibrosis, regulating cell death modalities including apoptosis and ferroptosis, as well as autophagy, and reshaping the gut microbiota. Consequently, it can improve physical and chemical indices and renal tissue pathological damage, thus delaying the progression of DKD.
7.Pharmacological mechanism of Tibetan medicine Zuotangkaca pills for the treatment of hypertension based on network pharmacology
Sang GENG ; Xinxin ZOU ; Luobu BAIMA ; Daozhi ZHAXI ; Xuejiao JI ; Renqing DUOJIE ; Fengjie HUANG
Journal of China Pharmaceutical University 2025;56(5):624-633
The mechanism of Tibetan medicine Zuotangkaca pills (ZTKCW) for the treatment of hypertension was explored by network pharmacology and in vivo experiments. 68 active ingredients of ZTKCW and 518 drug-disease targets were screened by network pharmacology. Eight core components of ZTKCW (vasicolinone, luteolin, (–)-isocorypalmine, esculetin, liquiritigenin, etc.) and eight key targets (AKT1, TNF, IL6, and STAT3, etc.) were screened by network topology analysis. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the core targets were mainly enriched in lipids and atherosclerosis, JAK/STAT, and inflammation-related pathways. An in vivo experiment was conducted using spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), which were gavaged with ZTKCW at doses of 0.41, 0.82, and 1.64 g/kg for 12 weeks, respectively. The results showed that ZTKCW at a dose of 1.64 g/kg significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic pressure in SHR rats and decreased the phosphorylation levels of AKT1, PI3K, STAT3, and JAK2 in the thoracic aorta and heart tissues. This study demonstrates that ZTKCW may exert its antihypertensive effects through PI3K/AKT and JAK2/STAT3 pathways, providing some insights and a theoretical basis for the use of ZTKCW in hypertension.
8.Construction, breeding, and gene identification of TREM2 knockout mice
Rong Huang ; Xinxin Zhao ; Hui Xue ; Mengjuan Zhu ; Jiajie Tu ; Xinming Wang
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2025;60(6):977-983
Objective :
To construct triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2(TREM2) gene knockout(TREM2-/-) mice using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, to breed TREM2-/- mice and to analyze the genotype of TREM2-/- mice.
Methods :
CRISPR/Cas9 technology was used to selectively knock out exon 2-3 regions of TREM2 gene to construct a TREM2-/- mouse model, and the genetic background of all mice was C57BL/6J. Polymerase chain reaction(PCR) was used to identify the genotype of mice. Quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR) and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of TREM2 in major tissues of mice, and the authenticity and scientific nature of PCR identification results were verified from mRNA level and protein level. According to the sgRNA sequence, the possible off-target sites were predicted on the CCTop website, and the tail DNA of mice was extracted and amplified by PCR and then Sanger sequencing was performed to detect whether there was off-target effect in TREM2-/- mice.
Results :
TREM2-/- mice were successfully constructed by CRISPR/Cas9 technology, and the mice were genotyped. The results of agarose gel electrophoresis showed that the mouse genotype with only 415 bp band amplified was wild type(WT), the mouse genotype of the 449 bp band amplified only was TREM2-/-, and the mouse genotypes amplified with 415 bp and 449 bp double bands were heterozygous. qPCR results showed that compared with WT mice, the mRNA expression of TREM2 in heart and brain tissues of TREM2-/- mice was down-regulated(P-/- mice was reduced(P-/- mice.
Conclusion
TREM2-/- mice are successfully constructed and bred, a reliable genotype identification method is established, the genetic stability of the mouse model is verified, which will provide an important genetic animal model for the study of TREM2 gene function.
9.Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation of Yiqing Capsules in Treating Heat-toxin Syndrome
Yaxing WANG ; Xinxin SU ; Yanli HUANG ; Xin CUI ; Yuanyuan LI ; Yanming XIE
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(6):126-133
ObjectiveTo systematically review the studies about Yiqing Capsules in the treatment of pharyngitis, tonsillitis, gingivitis, and oral ulcers with heat-toxin syndrome and clarify the advantages and therapeutic characteristics of Yiqing capsules, thus providing reference for the decision-making by relevant departments and clues for the clinical and basic research. MethodThe multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) model and CSC v2.0 were employed to comprehensively evaluate Yiqing capsules from multiple aspects. ResultThe serious adverse reactions in the spontaneous reporting system (SRS) monitoring data of Yiqing capsules included pruritus, rash, an ddiarrhea, all of which were relieved or cured, without aggravation or interhospital transfer for treatment. Literature data showed that the main clinical adverse reactions were abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc. Both acute toxicity and long-term toxicity tests showed good safety, and thus the safety of Yiqing capsules was rated as grade B. The results of Meta-analysis showed that Yiqing capsules used alone or in combination with other medicines outperformed Niuhuang Jiedu capsules or Western medicine in the treatment of pharyngitis, tonsillitis, gingivitis, and oral ulcers with heat toxin in terms of symptom alleviation, disappearance rate of main symptoms, and recurrence rate of aphtha. Pharmacological and pharmacodynamic studies showed that Yiqing capsules had antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory effects, with the effectiveness rated as grade B. The decision tree model was adopted to analyze the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. With the threshold of 1 fold per capita GDP and the disappearing rate of pain in gingivitis as the indicator, Yiqing capsules had an economic advantage in the treatment of gingivitis due to heat-toxin compared with Niuhuang Jiedu capsules, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was 0.39 yuan/%, which indicated acceptable cost, with the economy rated as grade B. Yiqing capsules can not only clear heat from Qi aspect but also purge blood fire, serving as the representative prescription of clearing and purging for heat-toxin syndrome. Considering the industrial service system and enterprise innovation, the comprehensive innovation of Yiqing capsules was rated as grade B. Generally, this product does not require personalized treatment plans and features convenient supply, storage, transportation, policy publicity, drug information standards, and easy operation for medical care and patients. The Chinese patent medicine information was complete and in line with national standards, and thus the suitability of Yiqing capsules was rated as grade A. With a low price and good availability and affordability, the accessibility of Yiqing capsules was rated as grade A. The Yiqing capsules prescription, Sanhuang Xiexin decoction, originated from ancient medical books, with rich real-world studies, and thus the traditional Chinese medicine characteristics of Yiqing capsules was rated as grade C. ConclusionThe clinical value of Yiqing capsules was rated as grade B from the "6+1" dimensions, suggesting that it could be conditionally converted into the relevant policy results of basic clinical drug management according to the procedure.
10.Clinical study on the treatment of chronic and prolonged non-infectious diarrhea in children (spleen and kidney yang deficiency type) with Pixu Jiuxie Prescription
International Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;46(9):1134-1139
Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Pixu Jiuxie Prescription in the treatment of chronic and prolonged non-infectious diarrhea (spleen kidney yang deficiency type) in children; To discuss its effects on immune function of patients.Methods:Randomized controlled trial study was conducted. 76 children with chronic and prolonged non-infectious diarrhea of spleen and kidney yang deficiency type who were treated at the Pediatric Clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from December 2021 to February 2023 were selected as the research subjects. They were divided into two groups, with 38 cases in each group. The observation group was orally treated with Pixu Jiuxie Prescription, and the control group was orally treated with Diosmectite and Bifidobacterium Quadruple Viable Tablets. The treatment for both groups lasted for 30 d. Main symptoms, TCM syndromes, and TCM symptoms were scored before and after the treatment. Immunoassay was used to detect the levels of immunoglobulin IgM, IgA, and IgG, and clinical efficacy was evaluated.Results:After treatment, the total effective rate of the observation group was 94.74% (36/38), which was significantly higher than that of the control group 78.95% (30/38), with statistical significance ( χ2=14.05, P=0.003); Main symptoms: the number of stools in the observation group (1.86 ± 0.25 vs. 2.03 ± 0.49, t=7.14), and stool characteristics (1.62 ± 0.26 vs. 1.98 ± 0.37, t=8.26) were lower than those in the control group ( P<0.001). TCM syndrome: after treatment, the abdominal pain (0.68 ± 0.13 vs. 0.74 ± 0.37, t=7.38), abdominal distension (0.43 ± 0.25 vs. 0.75 ± 0.23, t=2.16), appetite (0.50 ± 0.10 vs. 0.88 ± 0.15, t=4.35), nausea and vomiting (0.18 ± 0.33 vs. 0.34 ± 0.36, t=6.53), fatigue and weakness (0.34 ± 0.24 vs. 0.43 ± 0.25, t=5.62), and dehydration (0.30 ± 0.11 vs. 0.68 ± 0.13, t=5.87) integration and the total score of (5.63 ± 4.33 vs. 9.63 ± 5.53, t=16.07) observation group were lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01 or P<0.05). TCM symptoms: after treatment, the scores of color deficiency (0.18 ± 0.33 vs. 0.24 ± 0.13, t=2.63), cold limbs (0.20 ± 0.11 vs. 0.28 ± 0.14, t=4.13), prolapse (0.08 ± 0.33 vs. 0.14 ± 0.37, t=3.64), and clear urine (0.23 ± 0.11 vs. 0.28 ± 0.13, t=8.27) in the observation group were lower than those in the control group ( P<0.01 or P<0.05). After treatment, the levels of immunoglobulin IgA [(0.52 ± 0.21) g/L vs. (0.40 ± 0.26) g/L, t=8.15], IgM [(8.76 ± 1.16) g/L vs. (7.68 ± 1.43) g/L, t=10.67], and IgG [(0.89 ± 0.39) g/L vs. (0.62 ± 0.33) g/L, t=12.15] in the observation group were higher than those in the control group ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Pixu Jiuxie Prescription can effectively improve the clinical symptoms and signs of children with chronic and prolonged non-infectious diarrhea with spleen kidney yang deficiency syndrome, enhance their immunity, and improve clinical efficacy.


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