1.Danhong Injection Regulates Ventricular Remodeling in Rat Model of Chronic Heart Failure with Heart-Blood Stasis Syndrome via p38 MAPK/NF-κB Signaling Pathway
Zizheng WU ; Xing CHEN ; Jiahao YE ; Lichong MENG ; Yao ZHANG ; Junyu ZHANG ; Zhixi HU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(5):149-159
ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of ventricular remodeling mediated by the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway in the rat model of chronic heart failure (CHF) with heart-blood stasis syndrome, as well as the intervention effect of Danhong injection. MethodsIn vivo experiment: SPF-grade male SD rats were assigned via the random number table method into 4 groups: Sham operation, model, captopril (8.8 mg·kg-1), and Danhong injection (6.0 mL·kg-1). The model of CHF with heart-blood stasis syndrome was established by abdominal aortic constriction, and the sham operation group only underwent laparotomy without constriction. All the groups were treated continuously for 15 days. The tongue color of rats was observed. Echocardiography, hemorheology, heart mass index (HMI), and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Masson staining were performed to observe the pathological and fibrotic changes of the myocardial tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to quantify the levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), angiotensin Ⅱ (AngⅡ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and Creactive protein (CRP) in the serum, as well as the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in the myocardial tissue. Western blot was used to quantify the protein levels of p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 in the myocardial tissue. In vitro experiment: H9C2 cardiomyocytes were treated with 1×10-6 mol·L-1 AngⅡ to establish a model of myocardial hypertrophy. H9C2 cardiomyocytes were allocated into normal, model, inhibitor + Danhong injection, Danhong injection (20 mL·L-1), and inhibitor (SB203580, 5 μmol·L-1) groups. CCK-8 assay was used to detect the viability of H9C2 cardiomyocytes. Rhodamine-labeled phalloidin staining was used to reveal the area of cardiomyocytes. Real-time PCR was performed to determine the mRNA levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Western blot was used to assess the protein levels of p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65. ResultsIn vivo experiment: Compared with the sham operation group, the model group showed purplish-dark tongue with decreased R, G, B values of the tongue surface (P<0.01), increased whole blood viscosity (at low, medium, and high shear rates) (P<0.01), decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) (P<0.01), increased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVIDd), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVIDs), and left ventricular posterior wall thickness at end-diastole (LVPWd) (P<0.01), raised LVMI and HMI (P<0.01), and elevated levels of NT-proBNP, TNF-α, IL-6, and CRP in the serum and MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the myocardial tissue (P<0.01). The HE and Masson staining of the myocardial tissue showed compensatory myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis, and massive inflammatory cell infiltration in the model group. Additionally, the model group presented up-regulated protein levels of p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 in the myocardial tissue (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, each administration group showed increased R, G, B values of the tongue surface (P<0.05, P<0.01), decreased whole blood viscosity (at low, medium, and high shear rates) (P<0.05, P<0.01), increased LVEF and LVFS (P<0.01), decreased LVIDd, LVIDs, and LVPWd (P<0.05, P<0.01), declined LVMI and HMI (P<0.05, P<0.01), and lowered levels of NT-proBNP, TNF-α, IL-6, and CRP in the serum and MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the myocardial tissue (P<0.01). HE and Masson staining showed alleviated compensatory myocardial hypertrophy, reduced fibrosis, and decreased expression of p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 in the myocardial tissue (P<0.01). In vitro experiment: When the concentration of Danhong injection reached 20 mL·L-1, the survival rate of H9C2 cardiomyocytes was the highest (P<0.01). Compared with the normal group, the model group showed up-regulated mRNA levels of ANP and BNP (P<0.01), increased relative cell surface area (P<0.01), and raised protein levels of p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, each administration group showed down-regulated mRNA levels of ANP and BNP (P<0.01), reduced relative cell surface area (P<0.05, P<0.01), and down-regulated protein levels of p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 (P<0.05, P<0.01). ConclusionDanhong injection can regulate ventricular remodeling through the p38 MAPK/NF-κB pathway, thereby exerting a protective effect on the rat model of CHF with heart-blood stasis syndrome.
2.Application of liquid biopsy in early screening and diagnosis of pancreatic cancer
Junyu CHEN ; Pan ZHAO ; Xiao LI ; Zhengcai LIU ; Shuqiang YUE
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(6):1481-1488
Pancreatic cancer is characterized by occult clinical manifestations and high malignancy, and conventional imaging examinations and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 lack sufficient sensitivity and specificity for detecting early-stage pancreatic cancer lesions. Difficulty in early diagnosis severely restricts the long-term survival of pancreatic cancer patients. Liquid biopsy targets the biomarkers in body fluid samples, including circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA, circulating tumor microRNA, and extracellular vesicles, showing the advantages of noninvasiveness and continuous monitoring. This review systematically summarizes the latest advances in liquid biopsy for the early screening and diagnosis, recurrence prediction, and prognostic assessment of pancreatic cancer, aiming to provide new insights and references for precision screening of high-risk populations and the clinical translation of liquid biopsy.
3.Comparison of Automatic Evaluation Methods for Pattern Hallucinations of Large Language Models in Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Differentiation
Qinwei WU ; Yuzhu GAO ; Xingyue GOU ; Junyu YAO ; Chuangan ZHOU ; Zhengchun XUE ; Zhirong XU ; Xinlin CHEN ; Dong CAO
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2026;67(17):1845-1852
ObjectiveTo compare the performance of different automatic evaluation methods for detecting pattern hallucinations generated by large language models (LLMs) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation and to identify a strategy with higher overall discriminative performance against expert manual judgment. MethodsA standardized TCM syndrome-differentiation dataset containing 598 cases was constructed from case reports published in Chinese core journals indexed by Peking University Core Journals or Chinese Science Citation Database. Each of the 598 cases was submitted to five Chinese LLMs, with each model generating one syndrome-pattern output per case, yielding 2990 outputs in total. The 598 outputs generated by Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking were independently annotated for syndrome-pattern hallucinations by two licensed TCM physicians with intermediate or higher professional titles. Disagreements were adjudicated by a third licensed TCM physician with a senior associate professional title and more than 10 years of clinical experience. The resulting consensus annotations served as the reference labels for training and validating the automated evaluation method. Based on these reference labels, three categories of automated evaluation methods were developed and compared following a progressive strategy from text-level semantic similarity, to syndrome-element structural consistency, and finally multi-feature fusion. Method A employed sentence-embedding models based on semantic similarity between pattern texts. Method B adopted a rule-based threshold method using weighted Jaccard coefficients of disease-location and disease-nature syndrome elements. Method C utilized a machine-learning classifier integrating syndrome-element matching scores, missing and redundant syndrome-element counts, and multiple semantic-similarity features. Five-fold cross-validation was used to evaluate the discriminative performance of each method against manual judgment. The optimal method was then applied to uniformly assess the pattern hallucination rates of five LLMs. ResultsIn method A, text2vec-large-chinese showed best overall performance, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), area under the precision-recall curve (PR-AUC), F1-score, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.849, 0.884, 0.794, 0.801, and 0.691, respectively. In method B, the corresponding metrics of the rule-based syndrome-element Jaccard threshold method were 0.848, 0.851, 0.817, 0.845, and 0.684, respectively; those of the LLM-based syndrome-element Jaccard method were 0.872, 0.906, 0.795, 0.764, and 0.780, respectively. In method C, the multilayer perceptron (MLP) classifier showed the best overall performance, with AUROC, PR-AUC, F1-score, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.933, 0.951, 0.871, 0.857, and 0.846, respectively. Under the unified evaluation framework combining DeepSeek-R1 syndrome-element extraction and MLP classifier, the estimated pattern hallucination rates of the five LLMs ranged from 56.0% to 77.4%. ConclusionAmong the three automatic evaluation methods, Method C integrating syndrome-element discrepancy features and text semantic features using an MLP classifier showed the highest overall discriminative performance against manual judgment, and is more suitable for evaluating syndrome hallucinations in LLM-based TCM syndrome differentiation tasks.
4.Carthamus tinctorius L.-derived nanovesicles alleviate cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway
Guojun ZHANG ; Zhongpeng DU ; Lu WANG ; Junyu CHEN ; Huanjun RUAN ; Ye LUO ; Weili DUAN ; Shiyu CHEN ; Teng LI ; Xiao KE
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2026;61(8):1416-1423
ObjectiveTo investigate whether Carthamus tinctorius L.-derived nanovesicles (CDNVs) can alleviate angiotensin Ⅱ (ANGⅡ)-induced cardiomyocyte (H9C2) hypertrophy by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. MethodsCDNVs were isolated and purified by ultracentrifugation combined with sucrose density gradient centrifugation, and their morphology and particle size distribution were identified by transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Rat H9C2 cardiomyocytes were cultured in vitro and randomly divided into the normal control group (NC), ANGⅡ (1.0 μmol/L) group, ANGⅡ+CDNVs group, and ANGⅡ+CDNVs+NF-κB activator 1 group. After 24 h of intervention, cell viability was detected by the CCK-8 assay, the expression of myocardial hypertrophy-related genes (ANP, BNP) was determined by qPCR, the relative cell area was measured by phalloidin staining, the expression of hypertrophy marker proteins and NF-κB pathway proteins (P-p65/p65, P-IκBα/IκBα) was examined by Western blot, and nuclear translocation of p65 was observed by immunofluorescence. Subsequently, NF-κB signaling pathway agonist activator 1 was added, and the expression of myocardial hypertrophy marker proteins and NF-κB pathway proteins was detected. ResultsCDNVs exhibited a typical round-like vesicle structure with an average particle size of 140.4 nm, which was consistent with the morphological characteristics of exosomes. ANGⅡ at concentrations of 0.1-1.0 μmol/L had no significant effect on cardiomyocyte viability. Compared with the NC group, ANGⅡ significantly upregulated the gene expression of ANP and BNP, increased the relative surface area of cardiomyocytes, elevated the levels of myocardial hypertrophy marker proteins and NF‑κB pathway proteins, and promoted the nuclear translocation of p65 (P<0.05). Following treatment with CDNVs, all the above indicators were markedly reduced in comparison with the ANGⅡ group (all P<0.05). However, all these experimental results were reversed after the addition of an NF‑κB agonist. ConclusionCDNVs alleviate ANGⅡ-induced H9C2 cell hypertrophy by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway.
5.Follow up analysis on the relationship between 24 hour movement behaviors and physical fitness in preschool children
CHEN Lanzhi, WANG Junyu, LIANG Yixin, WANG Tian, HUANG Haiquan, ZHUANG Jie
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(9):1257-1261
Objective:
To explore the cross sectional and longitudinal associations between 24 hour movement behaviors and physical fitness in preschool children, and to adopt the method of equal time substitution analysis to evaluate the impact of time redistribution of different activity behaviors on physical fitness scores,so as to provide a scientific basis for promoting the health of preschool children.
Methods:
A total of 193 preschool children aged 3-6 years were selected from three Shanghai districts (Jing an, Baoshan, Jiading) from October to December 2023 by the stratified cluster random sampling method. The 24 hour movement behaviors were monitored via 7 day accelerometry, and physical fitness was measured according to the National Physical Fitness Measurement Standards (Revised 2023, preschool section). From October to December 2024, the follow up of physical fitness among preschool children used the same testing method. The comparison between groups was conducted by t-test. Compositional regression analyses evaluated the relationship of 24 hour movement behaviors and physical fitness among preschool children.
Results:
At baseline, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) time was significantly higher in boys [(84.10±25.78)min/d] than in girls [( 70.44± 25.98)min/d]; the composite physical fitness score was significantly higher in boys (71.65±8.69) than in girls (68.84±9.89), and the differences were statistically significant ( t =3.65, 2.10, both P <0.01). After adjusting for gender, age and body mass index, the results of component multiple linear regression analysis showed that MVPA time proportion was positively correlated with the composite physical fitness score at baseline among preschool children ( β =6.61), but was negatively correlated with two legged continuous hopping time at 1 year ( β =-1.12) (both P <0.05). Light physical activity (LPA) time proportion was negatively correlated with walking on the balance beam time at 1 year ( β =-4.44), and sedentary behavior (SB) time proportion was negatively correlated with the composite score of physical fitness at baseline ( β =-6.55) (both P <0.05). Isotemporal substitution analysis revealed that replacing 10 minutes of sleep (SP), SB, and LPA with MVPA increased the baseline physical fitness composite score by 0.750, 0.689 and 0.575 units, respectively; at 1 year follow up, the composite score increased by 1.440, 1.419 and 1.430 units, respectively (all P <0.05). Conversely, replacing MVPA with 10 minutes of SP, SB, and LPA,resulted in decreases in baseline physical fitness composite scores of 0.836, 0.777 and 0.669 units, and reductions of 1.613, 1.592 and 1.598 units at 1 year follow up (all P < 0.05 ).
Conclusions
Preschool children s 24 hour movement behaviors, especially MVPA, are closely related to physical health. Implementing appropriate strategies to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary time may improve the physical fitness of preschoolers.
6.Genotype analysis of dengue virus in Gengma County, Yunnan Province, China-Myanmar border region in 2023
CHEN Run ; ZHANG Junyu ; ZHANG Guocheng
China Tropical Medicine 2025;25(2):166-
Objective To conduct a genotypic analysis of dengue virus in Gengma County, Yunnan Province, located in the China-Myanmar border region in 2023, and provide a reference for developing effective clinical diagnosis and treatment strategies for dengue fever in the region. Methods Serum samples were collected from hospitalized patients testing positive for dengue NS1 antigen, and dengue virus nucleic acid was detected using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Nucleic acid-positive samples underwent cell culture and sequencing analysis of the dengue virus E gene to determine the origin of the virus. Results Specific nucleic acid detection was performed in 86 NS1-positive serum samples, 75 samples tested positive for dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1), 6 samples for serotype 2 (DENV-2), and 5 samples were DENV-negative. Twelve DENV-1 and four DENV-2 strains were obtained by blind cell culture transmission for 3 generations. Sequencing of E gene sequences (1 485 bp) of 16 strains showed that the nucleotide similarity of 12 DENV-1 E gene sequences ranged from 99.3% to 100.0%, with amino acid homology of 99.8% to 100.0%. For the 4 DENV-2 E gene sequences, the nucleotide similarity ranged from 99.7% to 99.9%, and amino acid homology ranged from 99.0% to 99.8%. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 12 DENV-1 strains belonged to genotype I, while 4 DENV-2 strains belonged to the Asian-II genotype. Conclusion The dengue fever outbreak in Gengma County, Yunnan Province, China, the China-Myanmar border area, was mainly caused by dengue virus 1 genotype I and dengue virus 2 genotype Asian-II. Both dengue virus 1 and 2 may have similar original strains from Guangzhou, China in 2023. It was recommended that local relative departments should strengthen the monitoring of dengue fever.
7.Analysis of the global competitive landscape in artificial intelligence medical device research.
Juan CHEN ; Lizi PAN ; Junyu LONG ; Nan YANG ; Fei LIU ; Yan LU ; Zhaolian OUYANG
Journal of Biomedical Engineering 2025;42(3):496-503
The objective of this study is to map the global scientific competitive landscape in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) medical devices using scientific data. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection to examine global research trends in AI-based medical devices. As of the end of 2023, a total of 55 147 relevant publications were identified worldwide, with 76.6% published between 2018 and 2024. Research in this field has primarily focused on AI-assisted medical image and physiological signal analysis. At the national level, China (17 991 publications) and the United States (14 032 publications) lead in output. China has shown a rapid increase in publication volume, with its 2023 output exceeding twice that of the U.S.; however, the U.S. maintains a higher average citation per paper (China: 16.29; U.S.: 35.99). At the institutional level, seven Chinese institutions and three U.S. institutions rank among the global top ten in terms of publication volume. At the researcher level, prominent contributors include Acharya U Rajendra, Rueckert Daniel and Tian Jie, who have extensively explored AI-assisted medical imaging. Some researchers have specialized in specific imaging applications, such as Yang Xiaofeng (AI-assisted precision radiotherapy for tumors) and Shen Dinggang (brain imaging analysis). Others, including Gao Xiaorong and Ming Dong, focus on AI-assisted physiological signal analysis. The results confirm the rapid global development of AI in the medical device field, with "AI + imaging" emerging as the most mature direction. China and the U.S. maintain absolute leadership in this area-China slightly leads in publication volume, while the U.S., having started earlier, demonstrates higher research quality. Both countries host a large number of active research teams in this domain.
Artificial Intelligence
;
Bibliometrics
;
Humans
;
China
;
Equipment and Supplies
;
United States
;
Biomedical Research
8.Application of domestic jingfeng single-port robotic-assisted surgery in multisite diseases of oropharyngeal-head and neck region: case series.
Ping HAN ; Faya LIANG ; Peiliang LIN ; Junyu CHEN ; Jingyi WANG ; Yanke LIU ; Xiaoming HUANG
Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery 2025;39(11):1048-1056
Objective:To evaluate the safety, feasibility, and technical advantages of the domestic Jingfeng single-port robotic surgical system in transoral and transaxillary approach surgeries for multisite diseases. Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 6 patients who underwent Jingfeng SP1000 single-port robotic-assisted surgery at our hospital from June 2025 to July 2025. They were divided into the transoral robotic surgery group(4cases) and the transaxillary approach thyroid cancer radical resection group(2cases) based on surgical approaches. The transoral robotic surgery group included extended resection of right tonsillar cancer with cervical lymph node dissection, epiglottic cyst resection, extended resection of right pyriform sinus cancer with cervical lymph node dissection, and surgery for epiglottic cyst and obstructive sleep apnea(OSA). For each case, parameters including operative time, intraoperative blood loss, perioperative complications, robotic operation performance, and postoperative recovery were recorded. Results:All 6 surgeries were successfully completed without conversion to open surgery or system failure. In the transoral robotic surgery group, the mean robotic operation time was(60.00±34.88) minutes, and the mean intraoperative blood loss was 20.00(5.75,20.00)mL. In the transaxillary robotic surgery group, the robotic operation time was respectively 60.00 and 40.00 minutes, and the intraoperative blood loss was 10.00 and 5.00 mL, respectively. One case of minor perioperative complication(in the flap dissection area) occurred, with no severe complications reported. All patients recovered smoothly after surgery, with a median follow-up of 1.9 months showing no residual lesions, recurrence, or functional impairment. Conclusion:This case series confirms the safety and feasibility of the domestic Jingfeng single-port robot in transoral and axillary approach surgeries in oropharyngeal-head and neck surgery. Its single-port design reduces trauma and the risk of robotic arm collision, adapts to minimally invasive needs, and its domestic production attribute lowers costs to facilitate popularization, providing a new option for such patients.
Humans
;
Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods*
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Operative Time
;
Middle Aged
;
Male
;
Female
;
Neck/surgery*
;
Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/surgery*
;
Adult
;
Head and Neck Neoplasms/surgery*
;
Oropharynx/surgery*
;
Oropharyngeal Neoplasms/surgery*
9.Shuangshu Decoction inhibits growth of gastric cancer cell xenografts by promoting cell ferroptosis via the P53/SLC7A11/GPX4 axis.
Xinyuan CHEN ; Chengting WU ; Ruidi LI ; Xueqin PAN ; Yaodan ZHANG ; Junyu TAO ; Caizhi LIN
Journal of Southern Medical University 2025;45(7):1363-1371
OBJECTIVES:
To explore the mechanism of Shuangshu Decoction (SSD) for inhibiting growth of gastric cancer xenografts in nude mice.
METHODS:
Network pharmacology analysis was conducted to identify the common targets of SSD and gastric cancer cell ferroptosis, and bioinformatics analysis and molecular docking were used to validate the core targets. In the cell experiment, AGS cells were treated with SSD-medicated serum, Fer-1 (a ferroptosis inhibitor), or both, and the changes in cell viability, ferroptosis markers (ROS, Fe2+ and GSH), expressions of P53, SLC7A11 and GPX4, and mitochondrial morphology were examined. In a nude mouse model bearing gastric cancer xenografts, the effects of gavage with SSD, intraperitoneal injection of Fer-1, or their combination on tumor volume/weight, histopathology, and expressions of P53, SLC7A11 and GPX4 levels were evaluated.
RESULTS:
The active components in SSD (quercetin and wogonin) showed strong binding affinities to P53. In AGS cells, SSD treatment dose-dependently inhibited cell proliferation, increased ROS and Fe2+ levels, upregulated P53 expression, and downregulated the expressions of SLC7A11 and GPX4, but these effects were effectively attenuated by Fer-1 treatment. SSD also induced mitochondrial shrinkage and increased the membrane density, which were alleviated by Fer-1. In the tumor-bearing mouse models, gavage with SSD significantly reduced tumor size and weight, caused tumor cell necrosis, upregulated P53 and downregulated SLC7A11 and GPX4 expression in the tumor tissue, and these effects were obviously mitigated by Fer-1 treatment.
CONCLUSIONS
SSD inhibits gastric cancer growth in nude mice by inducing cell ferroptosis via the P53/SLC7A11/GPX4 axis.
Ferroptosis/drug effects*
;
Animals
;
Stomach Neoplasms/metabolism*
;
Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism*
;
Mice, Nude
;
Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase
;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology*
;
Humans
;
Amino Acid Transport System y+/metabolism*
;
Mice
;
Cell Line, Tumor
;
Cell Proliferation/drug effects*
;
Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
10.Study on the safety and pharmacological effect on improving dyspepsia of Shuangshu decoction in rats
Xinyuan CHEN ; Changzhou XIONG ; Jiongfen LI ; Kangyi YU ; Huan XU ; Yingxia WANG ; Dan LIAO ; Junyu TAO ; Ziyi YANG ; Caizhi LIN
China Pharmacy 2025;36(9):1059-1064
OBJECTIVE To study the safety of Shuangshu decoction in rats and its efficacy in improving functional dyspepsia (FD) in rats. METHODS In safety test, 40 rats were divided into blank control group, Shuangshu decoction low-dose, medium- dose and high-dose groups [108, 216, 324 g/(kg·d), calculated by raw medicine, the same applies below]; they were given relevant medicine intragastrically, for continuous 14 days. The mortality and toxic reactions of rats were recorded, and the organ indexes of the liver, kidney, spleen, lung and heart of rats were calculated; the pathological morphological changes in the liver, kidney, spleen, lung, heart, stomach, duodenum, and colon were observed to evaluate the acute toxicity of Shuangshu decoction. Another 40 rats were grouped and administered in the same way for 30 consecutive days. The mortality and toxic reactions of the rats were recorded, and the corresponding organ indexes were calculated. The pathological morphological changes in the corresponding organs were observed, and blood routine and serum biochemical indicators were measured, in order to assess the subacute toxicity of Shuangshu decoction. In pharmacodynamic experiments: 50 rats were divided into blank control group, model group, and Shuangshu decoction low-, medium-, and high-dose groups (9.45, 18.9, 37.8 g/kg), with 10 rats in each group. Except for blank control group, rats in all other groups were used to establish the FD rat model by subcutaneous injection of loperamide (3.5 mg/kg). Rats in each group were administered the corresponding drug solution/normal saline intragastrically, once a day, for 14 consecutive days. After the last medication, fecal moisture content, intestinal propulsion rate, gastric emptying rate and serum level of motilin were all detected, and interstitial cell of Cajal (ICC) ultrastructure of rats was observed in colon tissue. RESULTS The safety experiments showed that no death occurred in each dose group, and no significant difference was found in organ coefficient, routine blood and serum biological index, compared to blank control group (P>0.05); no abnormality was found in organ appearance and pathological sections. The results of the pharmacodynamic experiments showed that, compared with the blank control group, the fecal moisture content, gastric emptying rate, intestinal propulsion rate, and serum motilin levels in the model group were significantly decreased (P<0.05); in the colonic tissue, the mitochondria in the ICC exhibited severe swelling with the disappearance of cristae, and the endoplasmic reticulum was dilated. Compared with model group, the rats in Shuangshu decoction high-dose group showed significant increases in the above quantitative indicators (P< 0.05); additionally, there was a large number of mitochondria in the ICC of the colonic tissue, with clear cristae and regular arrangement. CONCLUSIONS Shuangshu decoction is safe and has a beneficial improving effect on FD rats; its mechanism of action may be related to the regulation of gastrointestinal hormone expression to promote gastric emptying and intestinal propulsion, as well as the repair of mitochondrial structure in ICCs to restore gastrointestinal function.


Result Analysis
Print
Save
E-mail