In recent years, China has been facing the dual challenges of declining fertility rates and births, with male reproductive health issues, especially the decline in semen quality, identified as a pivotal contributor to this phenomenon. Meanwhile, accumulating evidence indicates that air pollutants, an increasingly severe environmental problem, can damage semen quality not only directly through their biological toxicity but also indirectly by disrupting the composition of microbial communities in the gut and semen, thereby dysregulating immune function, endocrine homeostasis, and oxidative stress responses. The gut microbiota and semen microbiota, as important components of the human microecosystem, play crucial roles in maintaining reproductive health. This article comprehensively reviewed the research progress on the potential effects of air pollutants (particulate matter and gaseous pollutants), gut microbiota, and semen microbiota on semen quality. Specifically, it elucidated the mechanisms of interaction between these factors and explored how they affect male fertility.

Gut microbial communities are likely remodeled in tandem with accumulated physiological decline during aging, yet there is limited understanding of gut microbiome variation in advanced age. Here, we performed a metagenomics-based enterotype analysis in a geographically homogeneous cohort of 367 enrolled Chinese individuals between the ages of 60 and 94 years, with the goal of characterizing the gut microbiome of elderly individuals and identifying factors linked to enterotype variations. In addition to two adult-like enterotypes dominated by Bacteroides (ET-Bacteroides) and Prevotella (ET-Prevotella), we identified a novel enterotype dominated by Escherichia (ET-Escherichia), whose prevalence increased in advanced age. Our data demonstrated that age explained more of the variance in the gut microbiome than previously identified factors such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or diet. We characterized the distinct taxonomic and functional profiles of ET-Escherichia, and found the strongest cohesion and highest robustness of the microbial co-occurrence network in this enterotype, as well as the lowest species diversity. In addition, we carried out a series of correlation analyses and co-abundance network analyses, which showed that several factors were likely linked to the overabundance of Escherichia members, including advanced age, vegetable intake, and fruit intake. Overall, our data revealed an enterotype variation characterized by Escherichia enrichment in the elderly population. Considering the different age distribution of each enterotype, these findings provide new insights into the changes that occur in the gut microbiome with age and highlight the importance of microbiome-based stratification of elderly individuals.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Bacteroides ; China ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/microbiology* ; Escherichia coli/classification* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics* ; Metagenomics ; East Asian People

Homo- or heterodimeric compounds that affect dimeric protein function through interaction between monomeric moieties and protein subunits can serve as valuable sources of potent and selective drug candidates. Here, we screened an in-house dimeric natural product collection, and panepocyclinol A (PecA) emerged as a selective and potent STAT3 inhibitor with profound anti-tumor efficacy. Through cross-linking C712/C718 residues in separate STAT3 monomers with two distinct Michael receptors, PecA inhibits STAT3 DNA binding affinity and transcription activity. Molecular dynamics simulation reveals the key conformation changes of STAT3 dimers upon the di-covalent binding with PecA that abolishes its DNA interactions. Furthermore, PecA exhibits high efficacy against anaplastic large T cell lymphoma in vitro and in vivo, especially those with constitutively activated STAT3 or STAT3^Y640F. In summary, our study describes a distinct and effective di-covalent modification for the dimeric compound PecA to disrupt STAT3 function.

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), when released extracellularly, plays a pivotal role in the development of spinal cord synapses and exacerbates autoimmune diseases within the central nervous system. In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a condition that models multiple sclerosis, the levels of extracellular HMGB1 and interleukin-33 (IL-33) have been found to be inversely correlated. However, the mechanism by which IL-33 deficiency enhances HMGB1 release during EAE remains elusive. Our study elucidates a potential signaling pathway whereby the absence of IL-33 leads to increased binding of P300/CBP-associated factor with HMGB1 in the nuclei of astrocytes, upregulating HMGB1 acetylation and promoting its release from astrocyte nuclei in the spinal cord of EAE mice. Conversely, the addition of IL-33 counteracts the TNF-α-induced increase in HMGB1 and acetylated HMGB1 levels in primary astrocytes. These findings underscore the potential of IL-33-associated signaling pathways as a therapeutic target for EAE treatment.
Animals ; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental/metabolism* ; Astrocytes/metabolism* ; Interleukin-33/metabolism* ; HMGB1 Protein/metabolism* ; Acetylation ; Mice, Knockout ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; p300-CBP Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Mice ; Spinal Cord/metabolism* ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Signal Transduction

Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) protein inhibitors are a promising class of therapeutics, but research on molecules that effectively penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) remains limited, which is crucial for treating central nervous system (CNS) malignancies. Although molecular generation models have recently advanced drug discovery, they often overlook the complexity of biological and chemical factors, leaving room for improvement. In this study, we present a structure-constrained molecular generation workflow designed to optimize lead compounds for both drug efficacy and drug absorption properties. Our approach utilizes a variational autoencoder (VAE) generative model integrated with reinforcement learning for multi-objective optimization. This method specifically aims to enhance BBB permeability (BBBp) while maintaining high-affinity substructures of KRAS inhibitors. To support this, we incorporate a specialized KRAS BBB predictor based on active learning and an affinity predictor employing comparative learning models. Additionally, we introduce two novel metrics, the knowledge-integrated reproduction score (KIRS) and the composite diversity score (CDS), to assess structural performance and biological relevance. Retrospective validation with KRAS inhibitors, AMG510 and MRTX849, demonstrates the framework's effectiveness in optimizing BBBp and highlights its potential for real-world drug development applications. This study provides a robust framework for accelerating the structural enhancement of lead compounds, advancing the drug development process across diverse targets.

Objective To compare the oral cleansing effects of the microbubble toothbrush and the conventional pulsed oral irrigator to provide references for users.Methods Ninety identical 3D-printed resin tooth models were grouped and subjected to repeated experiments,which were divided randomly into five groups including a microbubble toothbrush high-speed gear(GN-H)group,a microbubble toothbrush medium-speed gear(GN-M)group,a microbubble low-speed gear(GN-L)group,a conventional pulsed oral irrigator high-speed gear(W-H)group and a conventional pulsed oral irrigator low-speed gear(W-L)group,with 18 teeth in each group.The cleansing effects of the microbubble toothbrush and the conventional pulsed oral irrigator were evaluated in terms of irrigating strength and abilities for eliminating plaque and debris.Results Both the two types of water flossers were provided with high irrigating strength and effectively reduced plaque and debris on tooth surfaces,and the GN-H,GN-M and GN-L groups behaved better significantly than the remained groups.The order of the five groups was GN-H group＞GN-M group＞W-H group＞GN-L group＞W-L group for irrigating strength,GN-H group＞GN-M group＞GN-L group＞W-H group＞W-L group for plaque removal,GN-H group＞GN-M group＞W-H group＞GN-L group＞W-L group for debris removal,with all the differences being statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion Both the two types of water flossers remove plaque and debris effectively,while the microbubble toothbrush gains advantages over the conventional pulsed oral irrigator.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(9):67-72]

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

Objective To evaluation the bioequivalence of telmisartan tablets(80 mg)between test formulation and reference formulation in Chinese healthy subjects.Methods A single-center,randomized,open-label,two-preparations,single administration,partial repeat crossover of three sequences in three postprandial cycles and complete repeat crossover of two sequences in four fasting cycles,bioequivalence test was designed.Chinese healthy subjects were included in the bioequivalence trial,with 33 randomly assigned to the postprandial group and 32 randomly assigned to the fasting group.In each period,blood samples was collected before and after administration.The plasma concentration of the drug was determined by LC-MS/MS,using WinNonlin version 8.3 calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters and perform a statistical analysis using SAS version 9.4.Results The main pharmacokinetic parameters of telmisartan tablets after oral administration of test or reference were as follows.Fasting group Cmax were(556.10±456.06)and(580.99±533.50)ng·mL-1;AUC0-t were(3 475.15±3 785.16)and(3 450.54±3 681.02)ng·mL-1·h;AUC0-∞ were(3 214.06±2 272.06)and(3 194.84±2 187.45)ng·mL-1·h.The 90％confidence intervals of the geometric mean ratio of Cmax,AUC0-t,AUC0-∞ were within the requirements of the equivalent range of bioequivalence(80.00％-125.00％).Postprandial group Cmax were(299.26±124.72)and(291.29±126.34)ng·mL-1;AUC0-t were(3 682.24±2 799.72)and(3 636.71±2 158.42)ng·mL-1·h;AUC0-were(3 544.53±1 553.06)and(3 969.38±2 528.22)ng·mL-1·h.The 90％confidence intervals of the geometric mean ratio of Cmax,AUC0-t,AUC0-∞ were within the requirements of the equivalent range of bioequivalence(80.00％-125.00％).Conclusion Under fasting and fed conditions,two kinds of telmisartan tablets are bioequivalent in Chinese healthy subjects.

Objective To observe the effects of pegylated losenatide injection combined with metformin tablets on serum metabolism,lipid levels and intestinal flora in obese type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)patients after axial gastrectomy.Methods Obese T2DM patients who underwent axial gastrectomy were divided into treatment group and control group by cohort methods.The control group was treated with metformin hydrochloride tablet 0.5 g orally,tid.The treatment group was treated by subcutaneous injection of pegylated losenatide injection 0.2 mg once a week on the basis of control group.Both groups were treated continuously for 3 months.Body mass index(BMI),serum metabolic indexes,blood lipid levels,blood glucose levels,intestinal flora and adverse drug reactions were compared between the two groups.Results In this study,a total of 70 subjects were included in the treatment group,and 50 subjects were included in the control group.After three months of treatment,the BMI indices of the treatment and control groups were(26.35±2.36)and(29.34±3.59)kg·m-2,respectively;the glutathione peroxidase levels were(192.42±13.18)and(134.27±12.86)U;interleukin-6 levels were(6.14±1.78)and(7.65±2.09)μg·L-1;fasting blood glucose levels were(5.36±0.41)and(7.43±0.78)mmol·L-1;total cholesterol levels were(2.55±0.67)and(3.47±0.79)mmol·L-1 for the treatment and control groups,respectively.The levels of Bifidobacteria,Bacteroides,Lactobacilli,Enterobacteria,and Enterococci in the treatment group were(8.79±1.36),(9.62±1.37),(6.74±2.15),(7.98±0.61),and(7.23±1.29)logN·g-1,respectively;in the control group,these levels were(7.98±1.79),(8.13±1.45),(5.71±2.41),(9.21±0.88),and(8.15±1.54)logN·g-1.The differences in the above indicators between the treatment and control groups were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The main adverse drug reactions in the treatment group included nausea,headache,dizziness,elevated blood pressure,and indigestion.In the control group,the main adverse drug reactions were nausea,headache,and indigestion.The total incidence of adverse drug reactions in the treatment and control groups was 8.57％and 6.00％,respectively,with no statistically significant difference(P＞0.05).Conclusion Pegylated losenatide injection combined with metformin tablets has a significant effect on axial gastrectomy in obese type 2 diabetes patients.