Objective:To explore the therapeutic mechanism of Mongolian medicine Sendeng-4 decoction for rheumatoid arthritis by 99Tc m-hydrazinonicotinamide-(polyethylene glycol) 4-E[(polyethylene glycol) 4-c((Arg-Gly-Asp)fk)] 2 (3PRGD 2) imaging. Methods:A total of 200 female SD rats (age: 6-7 weeks) were divided into collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) group ( n=176) and blank control group ( n=24). Rats in the CIA group were divided into Sendeng-4 decoction treatment group ( n=24), etanercept treatment group ( n=24), and negative control group ( n=24) by simple random sampling method. 99Tc m-3PRGD 2 SPECT/CT imaging was performed before and after modeling and treatment. The differences of target/non-target (T/NT) ratio and serological, pathological, and immunohistochemical results among groups were compared by one-way analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. The correlation was analyzed by Pearson correlation or Spearman correlation analysis. Results:There were 95 (95/176) CIA models successfully established. The T/NT ratios of Sendeng-4 decoction treatment group and etanercept treatment group were lower than that of negative control group (0.260± 0.094, 0.238±0.099, 0.766±0.144 ; F=163.00, P<0.001), while there was no significant difference between the two drug treatment groups ( P>0.05). After drug treatment, serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and α vβ 3 were significantly lower than those of negative control group ( F values: 49.43-92.36, all P<0.001), pathological score was also lower than that of negative control group ( H=34.25, P<0.001), and levels of immunohistochemical makers (VEGF, TNF-α, α vβ 3, CD31, CD34) were also lower than those of negative control group ( H values: 13.51-26.84, all P<0.001), while there were no significant differences between the two drug treatment groups (all P>0.05). The T/NT ratios were positively correlated with above indictors in Sendeng-4 decoction treatment group ( r values: 0.56-0.59, rs values: 0.49-0.69), etanercept treatment group ( r values: 0.50-0.55, rs values: 0.46-0.70) and negative control group ( r values: 0.55-0.80, rs values: 0.58-0.86, P<0.001 or P<0.05). Conclusion:Verified by 99Tc m-3PRGD 2 SPECT/CT imaging and molecular pathology, Mongolian medicine Sendeng-4 decoction can inhibit neovascularization by down-regulating vascular factors such as VEGF, resulting in delaying the progression of the disease and improving clinical symptoms.

Objective To construct a regulatory network of competing endogenous RNA(ceRNA)with prognostic value for bladder urothelial carcinoma(BLCA),and analyze the relationship between key messenger RNA(mRNA)and immune function.Methods The UCSC Xena database was used to download mRNA expression data from 404 BLCA patients and 28 normal individuals and key mRNAs were screened by differential analysis.ENCORI database was utilized to search microRNAs(miRNAs)that bind to key mRNAs and all long non-coding RNAs(LncRNAs)that bind to miRNAs.The expression data of miRNA and LncRNA were downloaded from TCGA database,co-expression analysis was performed to identify key mRNA with all miRNAs and miRNA with all LncRNAs,and thus key miRNAs and LncRNAs were screened out.Survival analysis was conducted based on the differences in expression levels of these key mRNAs,miRNAs,and LncRNAs between tumor patients and normal individuals,and finally a ceRNA regulatory network was constructed.The correlation between key mRNAs and immune cells,immune checkpoints(CD274,PDCD1 and CTLA4),and immune cell marker genes(IG)was analyzed using the TIMER 2.0 database.Results A total of 22 key mRNAs were screened,with the most significant difference being proline 3-hydroxylase 4(P3H4).The expression of P3H4 in patients with BLCA was high,and survival time was shorter in patients with high expression.A sum of 33 miRNAs and 14 LncRNAs were screened using the key mRNAs as the central link.Through co-expression analysis and survival analysis,hsa-miR-151a-3p and MIR100 HG were identified as the key miRNA and key LncRNA with prognostic value.The differences in the above analysis results were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Based on these findings,a ceRNA regulatory network consisting of 1 mRNA,1 miRNA,and 1 LncRNA was constructed.Immunoassay firstly revealed a significant positive correlation between double positive T cells and P3H4 expression in the tumor microenvironment of BLCA.Moreover,there were 3 types of immune cells(tumor-associated neutrophils,and tumor-associated macrophages,dendritic cells),3 immune checkpoints(CD274,PDCD1,CTLA4),and 15 IGs with significant correlation with P3H4.These differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.01).Conclusion This study could help to reveal the progression mechanism of BLCA.The constructed ceRNA network and immune analysis can offer new insights into potential biological targets and immunotherapy directions for the diagnosis,treatment,and prediction of BLCA patients.

Objective: To observe the uptake of ⁹⁹Tc^m-3 polyethylene glycol Arg-Gly-Asp dimer (3PRGD₂) in rat models of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in order to provide theoretical foundation for early diagnosis of RA. Methods: The healthy female SD rats were divided into collagen induced arthritis (CIA) group (n=100), osteoarthritis (OA) group (n=20) and control group (n=20). Bovine collagen type Ⅱ emulsion was used for arthritis induction to establish CIA models. OA models were established by injection of L-cysteine and papain. Gamma imaging was performed before and 15 d, 30 d after the model establishment. The mediastinum was selected as non-target (NT) area and the target (T)/NT ratios were calculated. The serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), α_Vβ₃ before and after the model establishment were measured. Pathological and immunohistochemical detection were performed. One-way analysis of variance, Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were used to analyze the data. Results: There were 58 CIA models successfully established. Before the model establishment, T/NT ratios of CIA group, OA group and control group were 0.215±0.049, 0.210±0.050, 0.209±0.051, respectively (F=0.093, P>0.05). The T/NT ratios of the above three groups were 0.405±0.230, 0.223±0.045, 0.211±0.049 (F=12.601, P<0.05) 15 d post-model establishment, and those were 0.572±0.182, 0.238±0.045, 0.212±0.055 (F=65.147, P<0.05) 30 d post-model establishment. T/NT ratios of CIA group were positively correlated with the levels of serum VEGF, TNF-α, α_Vβ₃, pathological score and the levels of immunohistochemical markers (VEGF, TNF-α, α_Vβ₃, CD31, CD34; r values: 0.391-0.721, r_s values: 0.365-0.669, all P<0.05). Conclusion ⁹⁹Tc^m-3PRGD₂ can be specifically up-taken by RA lesions in rat models, thus has the potential in early synovial neovascularization imaging of RA.