In a healthy human, the airway mucus forms a thin, protective liquid layer covering the surface of the respiratory tract. It comprises a complex blend of mucin, multiple antibacterial proteins, metabolic substances, water, and electrolytes. This mucus plays a pivotal role in the lungs' innate immune system by maintaining airway hydration and capturing airborne particles and pathogens. However, heightened mucus secretion in the airway can compromise ciliary clearance, obstruct the respiratory tract, and increase the risk of pathogen colonization and recurrent infections. Consequently, a thorough exploration of the mechanisms driving excessive airway mucus secretion is crucial for establishing a theoretical foundation for the eventual development of targeted drugs designed to reduce mucus production. Across a range of lung diseases, excessive airway mucus secretion manifests with unique characteristics and regulatory mechanisms, all intricately linked to mucin. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the characteristics and regulatory mechanisms associated with excessive airway mucus secretion in several prevalent lung diseases.
Humans ; Mucus/metabolism* ; Mucins/physiology* ; Lung Diseases/metabolism* ; Respiratory Mucosa/metabolism* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/physiopathology* ; Asthma/physiopathology* ; Cystic Fibrosis/physiopathology* ; Mucociliary Clearance/physiology*

Melicope pteleifolia is a plant belonging to the Melicope genus of the Rutaceae family. Known for a bitter taste and cold nature, its stems and tender branches with leaves possess properties of clearing heat, detoxifying, dispelling wind, and removing dampness and can be used to treat sore throat, malaria, jaundice hepatitis, rheumatic bone pain, eczema, dermatitis, and sores and ulcers. In this study, 19 compounds were isolated from the chloroform and n-butanol extracts of M. pteleifolia leaves by using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance(~1H-NMR)-guided separation techniques. The compounds were identified as isoleptonol(1), leptaones B-E(2-5), friedelin(6), evodionol(7), ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate(8), litseachromolaevane A(9), quercetin-7,3',4'-trimethyl ether(10), kokusaginin(11), 8-(1-hydroxyethyl)-5,6,7-trimethoxy-2,2-dimethyl-2H-1-benzopyran(12), ethyl p-hydroxycinnamate(13), 3-hydroxy-9-methyl-6H-benzo\[c\]chromen-6-one(14), agrimonolide(15), 7-hydroxycoumarin(16), scopoletin(17), isoscutellarein(18), and agrimonolide 6-O-glucoside(19). Among these, the new compounds included one chromene and four meroterpenoid(1-5). The anti-inflammatory activities of the newly identified compounds 1-5 were screened in vitro, showing that the five compounds(1-5) exhibited inhibitory effects on nitric oxide(NO) production in BV2 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS)/interferon(IFN)-γ, with IC_(50) values ranging from 12.25 to 36.48 μmol·L~(-1).
Anti-Inflammatory Agents/isolation & purification* ; Mice ; Animals ; Rutaceae/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification* ; Macrophages/immunology* ; Nitric Oxide/immunology*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of acupuncture on the neurotransmitter levels and gut microbiota in a mouse model of Tourette syndrome (TS). METHODS: Thirty-six male C57/BL6 mice were randomly divided into 4 groups using a random number table method: 3,3'-iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) group, control group, acupuncture group, and tiapride group, with 9 mice in each group. In the IDPN group, acupuncture group, and tiapride group, mice received daily intraperitoneal injections of IDPN (300 mg/kg body weight) for 7 consecutive days to induce stereotyped behaviors. Subsequently, in the acupuncture intervention group, standardized acupuncture treatment was administered for 14 consecutive days to IDPN-induced TS model mice. The selected acupoints included Baihui (DU 20), Yintang (DU 29), Waiguan (SJ 5), and Zulinqi (GB 41). In the tiapride group, mice were administered tiapride (50 mg/kg body weight) via oral gavage daily for 14 consecutive days. The control group, IDPN group, and acupuncture group received the same volume of saline orally for 14 consecutive days. Stereotypic behaviors were quantified through behavioral assessments. Neurotransmitter levels, including dopamine (DA), glutamate (Glu), and aspartate (ASP) in striatal tissue were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Dopamine transporter (DAT) expression levels were additionally quantified through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Gut microbial composition was analyzed through 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, while metabolic profiling was conducted using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). RESULTS: Acupuncture administration significantly attenuated stereotypic behaviors, concurrently reducing striatal levels of DA, Glu and ASP concentrations while upregulating DAT expression compared with untreated TS controls (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Comparative analysis identified significant differences in Muribaculaceae (P=0.001), Oscillospiraceae (P=0.049), Desulfovibrionaceae (P=0.001), and Marinifilaceae (P=0.014) following acupuncture intervention. Metabolomic profiling revealed alterations in 7 metabolites and 18 metabolic pathways when compared to the TS mice, which involved various amino acid metabolisms associated with DA, Glu, and ASP. CONCLUSIONS Acupuncture demonstrates significant modulatory effects on both central neurotransmitter systems and gut microbial ecology, thereby highlighting its dual therapeutic potential for TS management through gut-brain axis regulation.
Animals ; Tourette Syndrome/metabolism* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Neurotransmitter Agents/metabolism* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice

Wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a transformative surveillance tool for estimating substance consumption and monitoring disease prevalence, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It enables the population-level monitoring of illicit drug use, pathogen prevalence, and environmental pollutant exposure. In this perspective, we summarize the key challenges specific to the Chinese context: (1) Sampling inconsistencies, necessitating standardized 24-hour composite protocols with high-frequency autosamplers (≤ 15 min/event) to improve the representativeness of samples; (2) Biomarker validation, requiring rigorous assessment of excretion profiles and in-sewer stability; (3) Analytical method disparities, demanding inter-laboratory proficiency testing and the development of automated pretreatment instruments; (4) Catchment population dynamics, reducing estimation uncertainties through mobile phone data, flow-based models, or hydrochemical parameters; and (5) Ethical and data management concerns, including privacy risks for small communities, mitigated through data de-identification and tiered reporting platforms. To address these challenges, we propose an integrated framework that features adaptive sampling networks, multi-scale wastewater sample banks, biomarker databases with multidimensional metadata, and intelligent data dashboards. In summary, wastewater-based epidemiology offers unparalleled scalability for equitable health surveillance and can improve the health of the entire population by providing timely and objective information to guide the development of targeted policies.
China/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Wastewater/analysis* ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Public Health ; Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring ; SARS-CoV-2

ObjectiveTransfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury （TRALI） is a common fatal transfusion adverse reaction. Major Histocompatibility Complex （MHC） class I is an important factor involved in the pathogenesis of TRALI； however， the role of complement in itspathogenesis has not been fully elucidated. This study aims to explore the role of complement in MHC class I antibody-mediated TRALI， so as to provide a theoretical basis for clinical prevention and treatment. MethodsThis study established a murine model of transfusion-related acute lung injury （TRALI） based on the "two-hit" theory， with lipopolysaccharide （LPS） as the first hit and MHC class I antibody as the second hit. Male Balb/c mice were randomly divided into seven groups （n=5 per group per experiment）： Naive （blank control）， LPS （first hit only）， Isotype （isotype antibody control）， TRALI （model group）， C5aR1 inhi （C5aR1 antagonist intervention）， C5aR2 inhi （C5aR2 antagonist intervention）， and Anti-C5 （anti-complement C5 antibody intervention）. Rectal temperature was monitored after MHC class I antibody injection. After sample collection， the severity of pulmonary edema was assessed by measuring the lung wet-to-dry weight ratio， histological analysis， and immunohistochemistry. Serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were collected to measure cytokine and complement levels. ResultsMice in the TRALI group exhibited a significant decrease in rectal temperature， an increased lung wet-to-dry weight ratio， elevated serum cytokine levels， and markedly heightened complement C5a levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （P＜0.000 1）. Histopathological examination revealed substantial infiltration of inflammatory cells， predominantly neutrophils accompanied by fewer lymphocytes， plasma cells， and monocytes， along with increased deposition of the membrane attack complex C5b-9 in lung tissues. In contrast， mice treated with anti-C5 antibody demonstrated no significant decrease in rectal temperature. The lung wet-to-dry weight ratio in this group showed no statistical difference compared to either the Naive or Isotype control groups （P＞0.05）. Furthermore， these mice displayed reduced serum cytokine levels， a significant attenuation of inflammatory cell infiltration in the lungs， and a 100% survival rate at the 2-hour time point. However， mice administered either the C5aR1 antagonist or the C5aR2 antagonist failed to be protected and subsequently developed TRALI. ConclusionComplement activation， which forms the membrane attack complex C5b-9， plays a critical role in MHC class I antibody-mediated TRALI. Blocking complement C5 activation can effectively prevent the occurrence of TRALI.

Objective To analyze the feasibility and efficacy of a deep convolutional neural network(DCNN)model based on chest CT images to evaluate bone mineral density(BMD).Methods A total of 1 048 health check subjects'2 096 central level images of lumbar 1 and 2 vertebral bodies were used for experiments and analysis in this retrospective study.According to the results of quanti-tative computed tomography(QCT)BMD measurement,the subjects were divided into three categories:normal,osteopenia,osteopo-rosis(OP).Herein,a DCNN segmentation model was constructed based on chest CT images[training set(n=1 096),tuning set(n=200),and test set(n=800)],the segmentation performance was evaluated using the Dice similarity coefficient(DSC)to com-pare the consistency with the manually sketched region of vertebral body.Then,the DCNN classification models 1(fusion feature construction of lumbar 1 and 2 vertebral bodies)and model 2(image feature construction of lumbar 1 alone)was developed based on the training set(n=530).Model performance was compared in a test set(n=418)by the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Results When the number of images in the training set(n=300)was adopted,the DSC value was 0.950 in the test set.The results showed that the sensitivity,specificity and area under the curve(AUC)of model 1 and model 2 in diagno-sing osteopenia and OP were 0.716,0.960,0.952;0.941,0.948,0.980;0.638,0.954,0.940;0.843,0.959,0.978,respectively.The AUC value of normal model 1 was higher than that of model 2(0.990 vs 0.983,P=0.033),while there was no significant difference in AUC values between osteopenia and OP(P=0.210,0.546).Conclusion A DCNN may have the potential to evaluate bone mass based on chest CT images,which is expected to become an effective tool for OP screening.

Bacterial biofilms gave rise to persistent infections and multi-organ failure, thereby posing a serious threat to human health. Biofilms were formed by cross-linking of hydrophobic extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), such as proteins, polysaccharides, and eDNA, which were synthesized by bacteria themselves after adhesion and colonization on biological surfaces. They had the characteristics of dense structure, high adhesiveness and low drug permeability, and had been found in many human organs or tissues, such as the brain, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and skeleton. By releasing pro-inflammatory bacterial metabolites including endotoxins, exotoxins and interleukin, biofilms stimulated the body’s immune system to secrete inflammatory factors. These factors triggered local inflammation and chronic infections. Those were the key reason for the failure of traditional clinical drug therapy for infectious diseases.In order to cope with the increasingly severe drug-resistant infections, it was urgent to develop new therapeutic strategies for bacterial-biofilm eradication and anti-bacterial infections. Based on the nanoscale structure and biocompatible activity, nanobiomaterials had the advantages of specific targeting, intelligent delivery, high drug loading and low toxicity, which could realize efficient intervention and precise treatment of drug-resistant bacterial biofilms. This paper highlighted multiple strategies of biofilms eradication based on nanobiomaterials. For example, nanobiomaterials combined with EPS degrading enzymes could be used for targeted hydrolysis of bacterial biofilms, and effectively increased the drug enrichment within biofilms. By loading quorum sensing inhibitors, nanotechnology was also an effective strategy for eradicating bacterial biofilms and recovering the infectious symptoms. Nanobiomaterials could intervene the bacterial metabolism and break the bacterial survival homeostasis by blocking the uptake of nutrients. Moreover, energy-driven micro-nano robotics had shown excellent performance in active delivery and biofilm eradication. Micro-nano robots could penetrate physiological barriers by exogenous or endogenous driving modes such as by biological or chemical methods, ultrasound, and magnetic field, and deliver drugs to the infection sites accurately. Achieving this using conventional drugs was difficult. Overall, the paper described the biological properties and drug-resistant molecular mechanisms of bacterial biofilms, and highlighted therapeutic strategies from different perspectives by nanobiomaterials, such as dispersing bacterial mature biofilms, blocking quorum sensing, inhibiting bacterial metabolism, and energy driving penetration. In addition, we presented the key challenges still faced by nanobiomaterials in combating bacterial biofilm infections. Firstly, the dense structure of EPS caused biofilms spatial heterogeneity and metabolic heterogeneity, which created exacting requirements for the design, construction and preparation process of nanobiomaterials. Secondly, biofilm disruption carried the risk of spread and infection the pathogenic bacteria, which might lead to other infections. Finally, we emphasized the role of nanobiomaterials in the development trends and translational prospects in biofilm treatment.

Colitis-associated cancer(CAC)is a specific type of colorectal cancer that develops from inflammatory bowel disease(IBD).Myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)are a group of myeloid cells with immunosuppressive properties,and MDSCs in the tumor microenvironment proliferate and activate during the development of colitis-associated cancer,inhibiting T-cell production and impairing their function,which impedes the immunotherapeutic effect of colitis-associated cancer.In this paper,we review the immunosuppressive mechanisms of MDSCs in the development of inflammatory bowel disease to colitis-associated cancers and the current drugs targeting MDSCs for immunotherapy of inflammatory colorectal cancers,with a view to providing new strategies for the treatment of colitis-associated cancers.

Objective To develop a two-dimensional liquid chromatographic method for rifapentine blood concentration determination.Methods The blood concentration of rifapentine was determined by a novel two-dimensional liquid chromatography(2D-LC)with a one-dimensional column:Aston SC2T(3.5 mm ×50.0 mm,5 μm);a two-dimensional column:Aston SCB(4.6 mm ×250.0 mm,5 μm);the temperature of the column was 40 ℃;the flow rate was 1.0 mL·min-1;the detection wavelength was 335 nm;the injection volume was 300 μL.The specificity,standard curve and lower limit of quantification,precision and recovery,and stability of the method were investigated.The method was used to determine the blood concentration of rifapentine in tuberculosis patients.Results Rifapentine showed good linearity within 0.33-18.62 μg·mL-1 with the standard curve equation of y=2.68 x 105x-5 850.36(r=0.997),the recoveries were 99.81％-105.08％,and the intra-and inter-day precision were ≤4.84％.The results of rifapentine blood concentration measurements in tuberculosis patients were in the range of 0.10-54.70μg·mL-1,and 64.74％were within the therapeutic window concentration range(8-30 μg·mL-1).Conclusion The method is easy to operate,has high sensitivity,low detection limit and high specificity,and is suitable for clinical blood concentration determination.Individual differences in the administration of rifapentine in tuberculosis patients are large,and blood concentration monitoring is required for individualized treatment.

Objective To investigate the effects of cinbufagin(CB)on the proliferation,migration and invasion ability as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)of human colon cells HCT116.Methods Logarithmically grown HCT116 cells were randomly divided into blank group and experimental-L,-M,-H groups;the blank group did not receive any treatment(0 nmol·L-1),and experimental-L,-M,-H groups were cultured in 1 640 medium containing 17.5,35 and 70 nmol·L-1 cinbufagin for 48 h.Cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)was used to detect the effect of cinbufagin on the survival rate of HCT116 cells;cloning assay was used to detect the effect of cinbufagin on the proliferation of HCT116 cells;cell scratch assay and Transwell assay were used to detect the effect of cinbufagin on the migration and invasive ability of HCT116 cells;Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of janus kinase 2(JAK2)/signal transducers and activators of transcription 3(STAT3)pathway and EMT-related proteins of HCT116 cells.Results The number of clone formation in blank group and experimental-L,-M,-H groups were 122.67±24.42,73.67±15.82,44.33±4.51 and 21.67±1.53;the rates of migration of scratches were(44.64±9.15)％,(26.91±2.94)％,(19.28±1.52)％and(6.33±2.30)％;the number of invaded cells were 120.33±1.15,58.33±9.07,33.33±1.53 and 18.33±3.21;the relative protein expression of phosphorylated JAK-2(p-JAK-2)/JAK-2 were 1.02±0.06,0.94±0.05,0.75±0.22 and 0.49±0.22;relative protein expression of phosphorylated STAT3(p-STAT3)/STAT3 were 0.89±0.10,0.72±0.04,0.65±0.06 and 0.52±0.18;relative protein expression of E-cadherin were 0.30±0.14,0.41±0.13,0.49±0.14 and 0.69±0.17;relative protein expression of N-cadherin were 0.96±0.11,0.78±0.04,0.69±0.12 and 0.40±0.15;Snail relative protein expression were 0.89±0.08,0.62±0.15,0.44±0.15 and 0.27±0.09;Vimentin relative protein expression were 0.92±0.09,0.76±0.13,0.63±0.01 and 0.43±0.09,respectively.The above indexes in experimental-H group showed statistically significant differences compared to blank group(all P＜0.05).Conclusion HCT116 can inhibit the invasion and metastasis of human colorectal cancer cells HCT116 by inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition through JAK2/STAT3 pathway.