BACKGROUND:Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease.Many studies have shown that wogonin has a good anti-inflammatory effect on rheumatoid arthritis,but its exact efficacy and specific mechanism of action remain to be clarified. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the mechanism of wogonin ameliorating joint inflammation by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway in rats with collagen-induced arthritis. METHODS:(1)At the animal level:Female Wistar rats were divided into healthy control group,arthritis model group and wogonin treatment group.Rat models of arthritis in the latter two groups were established by subcutaneous injection of bovine type Ⅱ collagen and adjuvant.In the wogonin group,wogonin was given by gavage for 28 consecutive days after modeling.During this period,the rats in each group were weighed,and arthritis score and ankle swelling were measured every 7 days.After the experiment,the pathological changes of the joint were observed,the mRNA and protein levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway GRP78 and CHOP were detected by qRT-PCR,western blot,and immunohistochemistry.(2)At the cellular level,cell counting kit-8 was used to detect the cytotoxic effect of wogonin on fibroblast-like synoviocytes from rats with collagen-induced arthritis.The fibroblast-like synoviocytes induced by thapsigargin were treated with different concentrations of wogonin.The levels of interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α in the cell supernatant were detected by ELISA,and the intracellular reactive oxygen species in each group were determined by DCFH-DA probe method.The mRNA and protein levels of GRP78,IRE1α,XBP1s and CHOP were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot,respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the healthy control group,arthritis index score and ankle swelling degree in the arthritis model group were increased(P<0.01),synovial hyperplasia,inflammatory cell infiltration,cartilage destruction and bone erosion were observed in pathological sections,and the mRNA and protein expressions of GRP78 and CHOP in the ankle were significantly increased(P<0.01),which were mainly located in synovial tissue and articular surface.Compared with the arthritis model group,the arthritis index score and ankle swelling degree in the wogonin treatment group were decreased(P<0.05),synovial hyperplasia and the number of inflammatory cells were decreased,cartilage destruction and bone erosion were alleviated,the mRNA and protein expression levels of GRP78 and CHOP in the ankle were decreased(P<0.05),particularly in synovial tissue and on the articular surface.There was no significant difference in body mass among the three groups(P>0.05).In the cell experiment,200 μmol/L wogonin significantly reduced the survival rate of fibroblast-like synoviocytes(P<0.01).Compared with the blank control group,the levels of interleukin-1β,tumor necrosis factor-α,content of reactive oxygen species,and mRNA and protein expression of GRP78,IRE1α,XBP1s,and CHOP in the thapsigargin group were significantly increased(P<0.05);compared with the thapsigargin group,50 and 100 μmol/L wogonin significantly reduced the levels of interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α in the cell supernatant(P<0.05,P<0.01),and 100 μmol/L wogonin significantly reduced the content of reactive oxygen species(P<0.01)and down-regulated the mRNA and protein expression levels of GRP78,IRE1α,XBP1s and CHOP(all P<0.05).These results suggest that wogonin can effectively alleviate joint inflammatory responses in rats with collagen-induced arthritis,and the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway may be the key target of its intervention.

BACKGROUND:Our previous study found that Modified Erxian Pill could alleviate inflammation in collagen-induced arthritis rats,but its mechanism needs to be further verified. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the components absorbed in the blood of Modified Erxian Pill,and observe the effect of the drug-containing serum of Modified Erxian Pill on pyroptosis of J774A.1 macrophages. METHODS:(1)Analysis of components absorbed in the blood of Modified Erxian Pill:Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry was used to detect and identify Modified Erxian Pill and its components absorbed in the blood.(2)Effect of the drug-containing serum of Modified Erxian Pill on pyroptosis of J774A.1 macrophages:Molecular docking technology was used to initially verify the sesquiterpenoids and NLRP3 in components absorbed in the blood of Modified Erxian Pill.J774A.1 macrophages were randomly divided into blank control group,lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate group,and lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate+Modified Erxian Pill with low(2.5%),medium(5%),and high(10%)dose groups.The release of lactate dehydrogenase in the cell supernatant of each group was detected according to the kit instructions.The levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-18 in cell supernatant were detected in each group by ELISA.The cell membrane damage was detected by Hoechst/PI staining.The expression levels of NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-N protein in the cells of each group were detected by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 32 active components of Modified Erxian Pill were identified,and 21 components entered the blood.The main components into blood included a variety of sesquiterpenoids.(2)Molecular docking results showed that 3-O-Acetyl-13-deoxyphomenone,Incensol oxide,Atractylenolide III,Rupestonic acid,and 3,7-Dihydroxy-9,11-eremophiladien-8-one had good binding activity with NLRP3.(3)Compared with the blank control group,lactate dehydrogenase activity and the expression levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-18 were significantly increased in cell supernatant of lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate group(P<0.001).Hoechst/PI staining showed that the number of PI-positive cells was significantly increased.After the intervention of lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate+Modified Erxian Pill group,all of them showed different degrees of reduction.(4)Compared with the blank control group,NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-N protein expression levels were significantly increased in the lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate group(P<0.05).Compared with lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate group,the protein expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-N were significantly decreased in the lipopolysaccharide+adenosine triphosphate+Modified Erxian Pill group(P<0.05),and had a certain dose dependence.These findings verify that the drug-containing serum of Modified Erxian Pill may inhibit the pyroptosis of J774A.1 macrophages by regulating the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD pathway.

【Objective】 To investigate the frequency of platelet antibodies in voluntary blood donors and patients in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, and to study the specificity and cross-matching of platelet antibodies. 【Methods】 Platelet antibodies of blood donors and patients were screened by solid-phase immunoadsorption (SPIA), rechecked by flow cytometry (FCM), and antibody specificity was identified by PakPlus enzyme immunoassay, and platelet cross-matching was simulated by SPIA. 【Results】 A total of 1 049 blood donor samples and 598 patient samples were tested, with 6 (0.57%) and 49 (8.19%) samples positive for SPIA,respectively(P<0.05); In SPIA positive samples, the positive concordance rate of FCM in blood donors and patients was 100% vs 95%, and that of enzyme immunoassay was 100% vs 88%. Among the initial screening positive samples of blood donors, 5 were anti-HLA Ⅰ antibodies, accounting for 83%, and 1 was anti CD36 antibody, accounting for 17%, with an incidence rate of 0.10%. Among the 14 samples of enzyme immunoassay positive patients, 2 were anti-GP Ⅱb/Ⅲa, 1 was anti-GP Ⅱa/Ⅱa, 8 were anti HLA Ⅰ, and 3 were mixed antibodies (HLA Ⅰ, GP Ⅱb/Ⅲa, GP Ⅰa/Ⅱa). According to the types of antibodies, HLA Ⅰ antibodies were the most common, accounting for 65% (11/17), followed by HPA related anti GP, accounting for 35% (6/17). The majority of patients had a platelet antibody positive typing rate below 30%, accounting for 71.4% (10/14). 【Conclusions】 The positive rate of platelet antibody of patients in Zhongshan area is significantly higher than that of voluntary blood donors, and most of them are anti-HLA Ⅰ and anti-GP, and the incidence of anti-CD36 is extremely low. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a known platelet antigen donor bank, and at the same time, carry out platelet antibody testing and matching of patients, which is helpful to solve the issue of platelet transfusion refractoriness.

Objective:To investigate the effect of the key glycolysis enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) on the biological activity of hemangioma-derived endothelial cells (HemECs) .Methods:Totally, 4 proliferating infantile hemangioma (IH) tissues and 4 involuting IH tissues were collected. Primary HemECs were isolated from the proliferating IH tissues, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) served as controls. Immunohistochemical study and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the expression of PFKFB3 in the IH tissues and HemECs, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was conducted to evaluate the effect of PFK15 (a specific inhibitor of PFKFB3) at concentrations of 0 - 10 μmol/L on the proliferation of HemECs, and HemECs treated without PFKFB3 served as the control group. Some in vitro cultured HemECs were treated with 5 μmol/L PFK15, and served as a PFK15 intervention group, while HemECs treated without PFK15 served as a control group; then, the migratory ability of HemECs was assessed by Transwell assay, and the apoptosis level of HemECs was detected by flow cytometry. Comparisons between groups were performed by using t test or analysis of variance. Results:Immunohistochemical study showed that the positive rate of PFKFB3 was significantly higher in the proliferating IH tissues (74.34% ± 5.26%) than in the involuting IH tissues (41.46% ± 2.99%, t = 9.40, P < 0.001). Western blot analysis showed that the relative expression level of PFKFB3 was also significantly higher in HemECs (0.73 ± 0.05) than in HUVECs (0.45 ± 0.04, t = 8.50, P < 0.001). CCK8 assay revealed significantly decreased proliferative activity of HemECs in the 0.625-, 1.25-, 2.5-, 5-, and 10-μmol/L PFK15 groups compared with the control group (all P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the PFK15 intervention group showed significantly decreased number of migratory HemECs (297 ± 15 vs. 422 ± 8, t = 12.59, P < 0.001), but significantly increased apoptosis rates of HemECs (6.69% ± 0.64% vs. 0.34% ± 0.07%, t = 17.07, P < 0.001) . Conclusion:The key glycolytic enzyme PFKFB3 was highly expressed in the proliferating IH tissues and HemECs, and the PFKFB3 inhibitor PFK15 could suppress the proliferation, migration, and increase the apoptosis of HemECs.

The chemical complexity of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) makes the active and functional annotation of natural compounds challenging. Herein, we developed the TCMs-Compounds Functional Annotation platform (TCMs-CFA) for large-scale predicting active compounds with potential mechanisms from TCM complex system, without isolating and activity testing every single compound one by one. The platform was established based on the integration of TCMs knowledge base, chemome profiling, and high-content imaging. It mainly included: (1) selection of herbal drugs of target based on TCMs knowledge base; (2) chemome profiling of TCMs extract library by LC‒MS; (3) cytological profiling of TCMs extract library by high-content cell-based imaging; (4) active compounds discovery by combining each mass signal and multi-parametric cell phenotypes; (5) construction of functional annotation map for predicting the potential mechanisms of lead compounds. In this stud TCMs with myocardial protection were applied as a case study, and validated for the feasibility and utility of the platform. Seven frequently used herbal drugs (Ginseng, etc.) were screened from 100,000 TCMs formulas for myocardial protection and subsequently prepared as a library of 700 extracts. By using TCMs-CFA platform, 81 lead compounds, including 10 novel bioactive ones, were quickly identified by correlating 8089 mass signals with 170,100 cytological parameters from an extract library. The TCMs-CFA platform described a new evidence-led tool for the rapid discovery process by data mining strategies, which is valuable for novel lead compounds from TCMs. All computations are done through Python and are publicly available on GitHub.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features, differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of complex lymphatic malformations.Methods:The clinical data of patients with complex lymphatic malformation were retrospectively analyzed from April 2010 to April 2022 in the Multidisciplinary Outpatient Department of the Vascular Disease Team of West China Hospital, Sichuan University. All patients were diagnosed with complex lymphatic malformation after consultation with multidisciplinary experts in pediatric surgery, radiology, plastic surgery, pathology, rehabilitation and other departments. The clinical manifestations, blood routine, coagulation function, magnetic resonance imaging and treatment methods of the patients were analyzed. According to the follow-up and disease results, the patients were divided into improvement, stability, progress and death.Results:A total of 18 patients with complex lymphatic malformations were included in the study, including 6 males and 12 females. The age of first diagnosis ranged from 1 month to 29 years old, and the median age was 2.5 years old. Patients were followed up and treated for 0.4 to 12.0 years, with an average follow-up of 3.5 years. Ten patients had pleural and pericardial effusion; 15 patients had visceral involvement which showed multifocal changes in imaging examinations; 9 cases were accompanied by bone destruction, which in Gorham-Stout disease patients broke through the cortex while in generalized lymphatic anomalies it did not; 14 patients had various degrees of coagulation abnormalities, of which 8 patients with severe coagulation dysfunction were all diagnosed as kaposiform lymphangiomatosis. Of the 18 patients, one kaposiform lymphangiomatosis patient died; six patients progressed; eight patients were stable; and three patients improved.Conclusion:The clinical characteristics of patients with complex lymphatic malformations are systemic, diverse and complex. The clinical symptoms of patients with diffuse lymphatic malformation accompanied by involvement of bone and multiple internal organs, chest and abdominal effusion, and coagulation dysfunction should be considered as complex lymphatic malformation. However, due to overlapping clinical characteristics of each subtypes, it is difficult to distinguish patients with complex lymphatic malformation, and the curative effect and prognosis are poor. Precision targeted drugs are the future research direction for the treatment of such diseases.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features, differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of complex lymphatic malformations.Methods:The clinical data of patients with complex lymphatic malformation were retrospectively analyzed from April 2010 to April 2022 in the Multidisciplinary Outpatient Department of the Vascular Disease Team of West China Hospital, Sichuan University. All patients were diagnosed with complex lymphatic malformation after consultation with multidisciplinary experts in pediatric surgery, radiology, plastic surgery, pathology, rehabilitation and other departments. The clinical manifestations, blood routine, coagulation function, magnetic resonance imaging and treatment methods of the patients were analyzed. According to the follow-up and disease results, the patients were divided into improvement, stability, progress and death.Results:A total of 18 patients with complex lymphatic malformations were included in the study, including 6 males and 12 females. The age of first diagnosis ranged from 1 month to 29 years old, and the median age was 2.5 years old. Patients were followed up and treated for 0.4 to 12.0 years, with an average follow-up of 3.5 years. Ten patients had pleural and pericardial effusion; 15 patients had visceral involvement which showed multifocal changes in imaging examinations; 9 cases were accompanied by bone destruction, which in Gorham-Stout disease patients broke through the cortex while in generalized lymphatic anomalies it did not; 14 patients had various degrees of coagulation abnormalities, of which 8 patients with severe coagulation dysfunction were all diagnosed as kaposiform lymphangiomatosis. Of the 18 patients, one kaposiform lymphangiomatosis patient died; six patients progressed; eight patients were stable; and three patients improved.Conclusion:The clinical characteristics of patients with complex lymphatic malformations are systemic, diverse and complex. The clinical symptoms of patients with diffuse lymphatic malformation accompanied by involvement of bone and multiple internal organs, chest and abdominal effusion, and coagulation dysfunction should be considered as complex lymphatic malformation. However, due to overlapping clinical characteristics of each subtypes, it is difficult to distinguish patients with complex lymphatic malformation, and the curative effect and prognosis are poor. Precision targeted drugs are the future research direction for the treatment of such diseases.

Objective:To analyze demographic and clinical characteristics of infantile hemangioma (IH) , and to explore related risk factors for IH.Methods:A multicenter case-control study was conducted. IH patients (case group) and healthy children (control group) were collected from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University and Yulin Community Central Hospital of Chengdu from October 2018 to December 2020. The data on patients′ demographic characteristics, and risk factors during their mothers′ pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and perinatal period were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using binary logistic regression.Results:A total of 1 479 patients with IH and 1 086 healthy children were included in this study. There were 456 males and 1 023 females in the case group, with the age being 3.74 ± 2.82 months, and there were 359 males and 727 females in the control group, with the age being 3.95 ± 2.77 months. There was no significant difference in the gender ratio, age, ethnic composition, birth weight or birth height between the case group and control group (all P > 0.05) . IH lesions mostly affected the head and face (564 cases, 38.1%) , followed by the trunk (449 cases, 30.6%) and limbs (356 cases, 24.1%) . At the visit, 1 109 (75.0%) patients presented with proliferating IH, 1 059 (71.6%) with superficial IH, and 1 306 (88.3%) with focal IH. The IH lesion area ranged from 0.01 to 168.00 (6.24 ± 12.91) cm 2, and the segmental IH area ranged from 7.50 to 168.00 (32.17 ± 26.94) cm 2. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed some factors influencing the occurrence of IH (all P < 0.05) , including pre-pregnancy factors (delivery history and miscarriage history) , pregnancy factors (fetal distress, cord entanglement, history of threatened abortion, placenta previa, oligohydramnios, gestational hypothyroidism, gestational anemia, history of progesterone supplementation, history of thyroxine drug use, history of uterus myomas) , and perinatal factors (including fetal position, gestational weeks, premature rupture of membranes and preterm premature rupture of membranes) . Multivariate binary logistic regression adjusted analysis showed that fetal breech presentation, preterm birth, cord entanglement and history of thyroxine drug use during pregnancy did not influence the occurrence of IH (all P > 0.05) ; the delivery history was the strongest independent risk factor for IH (adjusted OR = 5.624, 95% CI: 4.275 to 7.398, P < 0.001) , and gestational hypothyroidism and history of uterus myomas were protective factors for IH. Conclusions:In this study, the average age of IH patients at visit was 4 months, skin lesions mostly occurred on the head and face, and most were superficial and focal in the proliferative stage. The occurrence and development of IH may be associated with placental diseases, hypoxia, maternal hormone levels during pregnancy, etc.

Objective:To investigate the effect of the glucose transporter 1 (Glut-1) inhibitor resveratrol on the activity of infantile hemangioma (IH) -derived endothelial cells (HemEC) .Methods:IH tissues were collected from 4 cases of proliferating IH and 4 cases of involuting IH, and immunohistochemical study was performed to determine the Glut-1 expression. Primary HemEC were extracted from 4 proliferating IH tissues, real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expression of Glut-1 in HemEC and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) , respectively. HemEC were cultured in vitro and treated with 0 (control group) , 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 μmol/L resveratrol for 24 hours, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was performed to evaluate the proliferative ability of HemEC in the above groups, and the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated. The migratory ability and apoptosis level of HemEC were assessed by Transwell assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Intergroup comparisons were performed using t test or analysis of variance, and multiple comparisons were performed using least significant difference- t test. Results:Immunohistochemical study showed that Glut-1 was expressed in vascular endothelial cells derived from both proliferating and involuting IH tissues, and the Glut-1 expression was abundant in the proliferating IH but markedly decreased in the involuting IH tissues. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Glut-1 were significantly higher in HemEC (1.793 ± 0.041, 1.959 ± 0.144, respectively) than in HUVEC (0.820 ± 0.073, 0.648 ± 0.046, t = 16.35, 12.28, respectively, both P < 0.001) . After the treatment with Glut-1 inhibitor resveratrol at different concentrations, the proliferative ability of HemEC significantly differed among the control group, 50-, 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-μmol/L resveratrol groups ( F = 1 043.00, P < 0.001) , and was significantly lower in all the resveratrol groups than in the control group (all P < 0.05) . The IC50 of resveratrol was calculated to be 150 μmol/L by using GraphPad Prism 8 software. Transwell assay and flow cytometry showed significantly decreased number of migratory HemEC but significantly increased apoptosis rate respectively in the 150 μmol/L resveratrol group (61 ± 5, 13.01% ± 0.45%, respectively) compared with the control group (150 ± 6, 3.93% ± 0.68%, t = 15.11, 19.34, respectively, both P < 0.001) . Conclusion:The key glycolytic enzyme Glut-1 was highly expressed in proliferating IH tissues and HemEC, and resveratrol could inhibit the proliferation and migration of HemEC, but promote their apoptosis.

Objective:To explore the effect of combining inspiratory muscle training with diaphragm resistance training on the respiratory, motor and balance functioning of stroke survivors.Methods:Eighty-eight stroke survivors were randomly divided into a respiratory muscle training group and a control group, each of 44. Both groups received routine rehabilitation, but the respiratory muscle training group also received daily inspiratory muscle and diaphragm resistance training, five days a week for 4 weeks. The respiratory muscle strength, motor function and balance of the two groups were evaluated using the inspiratory muscle strength index, the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale and the Berg balance scale before and after the treatment.Results:After the treatment, the average inspiratory muscle strength index of the respiratory muscle training group was 61.80%, its average Fugl-Meyer score was 75 and its average Berg balance score was 38. All were significantly better than before the treatment and better than the control group′s averages at the same time point. Spearman correlation analysis found significant correlation among the three measurements.Conclusions:Combining inspiratory muscle training with diaphragm resistance training can significantly improve the inspiratory muscle strength of stroke survivors, and promote the recovery of their motor and balance functions.