ObjectiveTo optimize the extraction method for polysaccharides from turnip（Brassica rapa）， and analyze and evaluate the primary structure of the isolated and purified turnip polysaccharide fraction（BP-1） and its hypoglycemic effects in diabetic zebrafish. MethodsTaking polysaccharide yield as the evaluation index， a semi-bionic extraction method was employed. Single-factor experiments and Box-Behnken response surface methodology were used to investigate three factors of solid-to-liquid ratio， extraction time and extraction temperature， in order to optimize the extraction process. BP-1 was isolated and purified using the Sevage method and DEAE-52 cellulose column chromatography. Structural characterization of the turnip polysaccharides was performed using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry（UV）， gas chromatography-mass spectrometry（GC-MS）， Congo red assay， and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR） to determine purity， monosaccharide composition， triple-helix structure， and functional groups. The microstructure of the polysaccharides was observed using scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and atomic force microscopy（AFM）. Zebrafish were divided into the blank group（adding E3 medium）， and BP-1-1， BP-1-10， BP-1-50， BP-1-200， BP-1-1 000 groups（adding BP-1 solutions at concentrations of 1， 10， 50， 200， 1 000 mg·L^-1， respectively）， and zebrafish embryos were subjected to a 96-hour exposure experiment. The maximum tolerated concentration of BP-1 in zebrafish was determined by evaluating its effects on phenotype， survival rate， malformation rate， and heart rate. Experimental animals were randomly divided into the blank group， model group， BP-1-10 group（10 mg·L^-1）， BP-1-50 group（50 mg·L^-1）， and BP-1-200 group（200 mg·L^-1）. The blank group was cultured in E3 medium， the model and treatment groups were induced to establish a diabetic model in 4 day-post-fertilization（dpf） zebrafish embryos using 10 g·L^-1 of glucose combined with 500 µmol·L^-1 of alloxan. The treatment groups received corresponding doses of BP-1 solution， while the blank and model groups received an equal volume of saline. Glucose and insulin（INS） levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） kits， the effects on the liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin（HE） histopathological sections. The mRNA expression levels of glucagon（Glucagon）， insulin（Insa）， and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1（PCK1） were detected with real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）. ResultsThe optimized extraction conditions were determined as follows：solid-to-liquid ratio of 1∶40（g·mL^-1）， extraction time of 66 min， and extraction temperature of 79 ℃. Under these conditions， the yield of turnip polysaccharides was （10.34±0.96）%. UV analysis indicated that BP-1 contained no proteins or nucleic acids， GC-MS analysis revealed that BP-1 consisted of six monosaccharides（arabinose， rhamnose， ribose， mannose， galactose and glucose）. Congo red assay indicated that the molecular conformation did not exhibit a triple-helix structure， FT-IR analysis showed the presence of α-glycosidic bonds and uronic acids， SEM analysis revealed an irregular flaky structure with a flat and smooth surface， AFM analysis suggested that the aggregated structure might be formed by the entanglement of molecular chains and intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The maximum tolerated concentration of BP-1 in zebrafish over 96 h was determined to be 200 mg·L^-1. Pharmacodynamic results showed that， compared with the blank group， the model group exhibited significantly increased glucose levels and significantly decreased INS levels（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the BP-1-50 group significantly reduced glucose levels and increased INS levels（P<0.05）. Histopathological examination of liver tissue revealed that various doses of BP-1 had a certain reparative effect on damaged liver tissue. The liver tissue structure in the BP-1-200 group was nearly normal， with hepatocytes appearing plump. Real-time PCR results showed that， compared with the blank group， the model group exhibited significantly upregulated mRNA expressions of Glucagon and PCK1， and significantly downregulated mRNA expression of Insa（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the BP-1-50 and BP-1-200 groups showed significantly downregulated mRNA expressions of Glucagon and PCK1， and significantly upregulated mRNA expression of Insa（P<0.01）. ConclusionThe semi-bionic extraction method for turnip polysaccharides yields a high extraction rate， is simple to operate， has low costs， making it suitable for large-scale industrial production. BP-1 consists of six monosaccharides， contains α-glycosidic bonds and uronic acids， exhibits hypoglycemic activity， and provides a certain protective effect on the liver of alloxan-induced diabetic model zebrafish.

ObjectiveTo optimize the extraction method for polysaccharides from turnip（Brassica rapa）， and analyze and evaluate the primary structure of the isolated and purified turnip polysaccharide fraction（BP-1） and its hypoglycemic effects in diabetic zebrafish. MethodsTaking polysaccharide yield as the evaluation index， a semi-bionic extraction method was employed. Single-factor experiments and Box-Behnken response surface methodology were used to investigate three factors of solid-to-liquid ratio， extraction time and extraction temperature， in order to optimize the extraction process. BP-1 was isolated and purified using the Sevage method and DEAE-52 cellulose column chromatography. Structural characterization of the turnip polysaccharides was performed using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry（UV）， gas chromatography-mass spectrometry（GC-MS）， Congo red assay， and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR） to determine purity， monosaccharide composition， triple-helix structure， and functional groups. The microstructure of the polysaccharides was observed using scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and atomic force microscopy（AFM）. Zebrafish were divided into the blank group（adding E3 medium）， and BP-1-1， BP-1-10， BP-1-50， BP-1-200， BP-1-1 000 groups（adding BP-1 solutions at concentrations of 1， 10， 50， 200， 1 000 mg·L^-1， respectively）， and zebrafish embryos were subjected to a 96-hour exposure experiment. The maximum tolerated concentration of BP-1 in zebrafish was determined by evaluating its effects on phenotype， survival rate， malformation rate， and heart rate. Experimental animals were randomly divided into the blank group， model group， BP-1-10 group（10 mg·L^-1）， BP-1-50 group（50 mg·L^-1）， and BP-1-200 group（200 mg·L^-1）. The blank group was cultured in E3 medium， the model and treatment groups were induced to establish a diabetic model in 4 day-post-fertilization（dpf） zebrafish embryos using 10 g·L^-1 of glucose combined with 500 µmol·L^-1 of alloxan. The treatment groups received corresponding doses of BP-1 solution， while the blank and model groups received an equal volume of saline. Glucose and insulin（INS） levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） kits， the effects on the liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin（HE） histopathological sections. The mRNA expression levels of glucagon（Glucagon）， insulin（Insa）， and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1（PCK1） were detected with real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）. ResultsThe optimized extraction conditions were determined as follows：solid-to-liquid ratio of 1∶40（g·mL^-1）， extraction time of 66 min， and extraction temperature of 79 ℃. Under these conditions， the yield of turnip polysaccharides was （10.34±0.96）%. UV analysis indicated that BP-1 contained no proteins or nucleic acids， GC-MS analysis revealed that BP-1 consisted of six monosaccharides（arabinose， rhamnose， ribose， mannose， galactose and glucose）. Congo red assay indicated that the molecular conformation did not exhibit a triple-helix structure， FT-IR analysis showed the presence of α-glycosidic bonds and uronic acids， SEM analysis revealed an irregular flaky structure with a flat and smooth surface， AFM analysis suggested that the aggregated structure might be formed by the entanglement of molecular chains and intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The maximum tolerated concentration of BP-1 in zebrafish over 96 h was determined to be 200 mg·L^-1. Pharmacodynamic results showed that， compared with the blank group， the model group exhibited significantly increased glucose levels and significantly decreased INS levels（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the BP-1-50 group significantly reduced glucose levels and increased INS levels（P<0.05）. Histopathological examination of liver tissue revealed that various doses of BP-1 had a certain reparative effect on damaged liver tissue. The liver tissue structure in the BP-1-200 group was nearly normal， with hepatocytes appearing plump. Real-time PCR results showed that， compared with the blank group， the model group exhibited significantly upregulated mRNA expressions of Glucagon and PCK1， and significantly downregulated mRNA expression of Insa（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the BP-1-50 and BP-1-200 groups showed significantly downregulated mRNA expressions of Glucagon and PCK1， and significantly upregulated mRNA expression of Insa（P<0.01）. ConclusionThe semi-bionic extraction method for turnip polysaccharides yields a high extraction rate， is simple to operate， has low costs， making it suitable for large-scale industrial production. BP-1 consists of six monosaccharides， contains α-glycosidic bonds and uronic acids， exhibits hypoglycemic activity， and provides a certain protective effect on the liver of alloxan-induced diabetic model zebrafish.

This paper introduces a real-world cohort research model for community-acquired pneumonia （CAP） based on the Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） Dominant Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment Data Platform. Firstly， data cleaning is performed by standardizing diagnosis， symptoms， treatment and imaging， intelligently extracting unstructured information， and cleaning and constructing a standardized database. Secondly， for cohort establishment， CAP patients across the province are screened in accordance with CAP diagnostic criteria to build a high-quality disease-specific cohort. Lastly， in terms of protocol design， the characteristics of TCM research and the CAP disease profile are considered to determine appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria， estimate sample size， define interventions， outcomes and economic evaluations， providing a reference for real-world TCM research on CAP.

This paper introduces a real-world cohort research model for community-acquired pneumonia （CAP） based on the Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） Dominant Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment Data Platform. Firstly， data cleaning is performed by standardizing diagnosis， symptoms， treatment and imaging， intelligently extracting unstructured information， and cleaning and constructing a standardized database. Secondly， for cohort establishment， CAP patients across the province are screened in accordance with CAP diagnostic criteria to build a high-quality disease-specific cohort. Lastly， in terms of protocol design， the characteristics of TCM research and the CAP disease profile are considered to determine appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria， estimate sample size， define interventions， outcomes and economic evaluations， providing a reference for real-world TCM research on CAP.

ObjectiveTo investigate the material basis and mechanism of action of Tuoli Xiaodu San in treating ulcerative colitis （UC） by integrating transcriptomics， network pharmacology， and experimental validation. MethodsNetwork pharmacology was initially employed to screen the active components and potential mechanisms of Tuoli Xiaodu San for treating UC. A UC mouse model was established by dextran sulfate sodium （DSS） induction. The mice were divided into the following groups： normal， model， high-dose （11.3 g·kg^-1） Tuoli Xiaodu San， low-dose （5.7 g·kg^-1） Tuoli Xiaodu San， and positive control （mesalazine， 0.4 g·kg^-1）. Intragastric administration commenced on day 1 of modeling and continued for 7 consecutive days. The disease activity index （DAI） was assessed daily. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe colonic pathological changes. Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， interleukin-1 beta （IL-1β） and interleukin-6 （IL-6） were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Transcriptome sequencing was performed on mouse colonic tissues， and the results were integrated with network pharmacology findings for in-depth analysis of Tuoli Xiaodu San's potential mechanisms in treating UC. Finally， the expression of key genes and proteins in the identified signaling pathways were detected using Western blot and Real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultsThe combined analysis of network pharmacology and transcriptomics results showed that the multi-pathway network with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway as its core was the key mechanism of Tuoli Xiaodu San in the treatment of UC. Tuoli Xiaodu San administration significantly ameliorated weight loss， diarrhea， and bloody stools in UC mice， reduced the DAI scores （P<0.05， P<0.01）， lowered the colonic histopathological scores （P<0.01）， alleviated colon shortening （P<0.01）， and downregulated serum levels of TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-6 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Molecular biology experiments confirmed that Tuoli Xiaodu San significantly inhibited the mRNA and protein expression， as well as the phosphorylation levels， of PI3K， Akt， and p65 in colonic tissues （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionTuoli Xiaodu San can regulate the multi-pathway network with PI3K/Akt as its core through multi-component synergy， thereby reducing colonic inflammatory damage and exerting a therapeutic effect on UC.

Monotropein is a compound classified into iridoid which is found in herbaceous plants Morindae officinalis. It possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-osteoarthritic activities. Previous study indicates that monotropein may have the potential to combat cardiovascular disease, although the related mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we constructed the model of atherosclerosis by oxidized low density lipoprotein-induced vascular smooth muscle cells and LDLR –/–mice given high-fat diet to investigate the effects of monotropein on atherosclerosis.Our results showed that monotropein treatment significantly reduced the area of atherosclerotic plaques and necrotic cores in mice, inhibited the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, and reduced inflammatory responses and oxidative stress, which in turn alleviated atherosclerosis. In addition, we found that monotropein reduced the expression levels of P-NF-κB and P-AP-1. In conclusion, our data suggest that monotropein inhibited the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells by mediating the activity of NF-κB, AP-1, reducing the level of inflammation and oxidative stress, and thus resisting the development of atherosclerosis. These findings demonstrate the efficacious therapeutic impact of monotropein on atherosclerosis and elucidate its specific target.

Background: The genetic basis for hyperglycaemia in pregnancy remain unclear. This study aimed to uncover the genetic determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and investigate their applications. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for GDM in Chinese women (464 cases and 1,217 controls), followed by de novo replications in an independent Chinese cohort (564 cases and 572 controls) and in silico replication in European (12,332 cases and 131,109 controls) and multi-ethnic populations (5,485 cases and 347,856 controls). A polygenic risk score (PRS) was derived based on the identified variants. Results: Using the genome-wide scan and candidate gene approaches, we identified four susceptibility loci for GDM. These included three previously reported loci for GDM and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at MTNR1B (rs7945617, odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.38 to 1.96]), CDKAL1 (rs7754840, OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.58), and INS-IGF2-KCNQ1 (rs2237897, OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.79), as well as a novel genome-wide significant locus near TBR1-SLC4A10 (rs117781972, OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.62; Pmeta=7.6×10-9), which has not been previously reported in GWAS for T2DM or glycaemic traits. Moreover, we found that women with a high PRS (top quintile) had over threefold (95% CI, 2.30 to 4.09; Pmeta=3.1×10-14) and 71% (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.71; P=0.0220) higher risk for GDM and abnormal glucose tolerance post-pregnancy, respectively, compared to other individuals. Conclusion Our results indicate that the genetic architecture of glucose metabolism exhibits both similarities and differences between the pregnant and non-pregnant states. Integrating genetic information can facilitate identification of pregnant women at a higher risk of developing GDM or later diabetes.

Monotropein is a compound classified into iridoid which is found in herbaceous plants Morindae officinalis. It possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-osteoarthritic activities. Previous study indicates that monotropein may have the potential to combat cardiovascular disease, although the related mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we constructed the model of atherosclerosis by oxidized low density lipoprotein-induced vascular smooth muscle cells and LDLR –/–mice given high-fat diet to investigate the effects of monotropein on atherosclerosis.Our results showed that monotropein treatment significantly reduced the area of atherosclerotic plaques and necrotic cores in mice, inhibited the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, and reduced inflammatory responses and oxidative stress, which in turn alleviated atherosclerosis. In addition, we found that monotropein reduced the expression levels of P-NF-κB and P-AP-1. In conclusion, our data suggest that monotropein inhibited the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells by mediating the activity of NF-κB, AP-1, reducing the level of inflammation and oxidative stress, and thus resisting the development of atherosclerosis. These findings demonstrate the efficacious therapeutic impact of monotropein on atherosclerosis and elucidate its specific target.

Monotropein is a compound classified into iridoid which is found in herbaceous plants Morindae officinalis. It possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-osteoarthritic activities. Previous study indicates that monotropein may have the potential to combat cardiovascular disease, although the related mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we constructed the model of atherosclerosis by oxidized low density lipoprotein-induced vascular smooth muscle cells and LDLR –/–mice given high-fat diet to investigate the effects of monotropein on atherosclerosis.Our results showed that monotropein treatment significantly reduced the area of atherosclerotic plaques and necrotic cores in mice, inhibited the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, and reduced inflammatory responses and oxidative stress, which in turn alleviated atherosclerosis. In addition, we found that monotropein reduced the expression levels of P-NF-κB and P-AP-1. In conclusion, our data suggest that monotropein inhibited the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells by mediating the activity of NF-κB, AP-1, reducing the level of inflammation and oxidative stress, and thus resisting the development of atherosclerosis. These findings demonstrate the efficacious therapeutic impact of monotropein on atherosclerosis and elucidate its specific target.

Background: The genetic basis for hyperglycaemia in pregnancy remain unclear. This study aimed to uncover the genetic determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and investigate their applications. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for GDM in Chinese women (464 cases and 1,217 controls), followed by de novo replications in an independent Chinese cohort (564 cases and 572 controls) and in silico replication in European (12,332 cases and 131,109 controls) and multi-ethnic populations (5,485 cases and 347,856 controls). A polygenic risk score (PRS) was derived based on the identified variants. Results: Using the genome-wide scan and candidate gene approaches, we identified four susceptibility loci for GDM. These included three previously reported loci for GDM and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at MTNR1B (rs7945617, odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.38 to 1.96]), CDKAL1 (rs7754840, OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.58), and INS-IGF2-KCNQ1 (rs2237897, OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.79), as well as a novel genome-wide significant locus near TBR1-SLC4A10 (rs117781972, OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.62; Pmeta=7.6×10-9), which has not been previously reported in GWAS for T2DM or glycaemic traits. Moreover, we found that women with a high PRS (top quintile) had over threefold (95% CI, 2.30 to 4.09; Pmeta=3.1×10-14) and 71% (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.71; P=0.0220) higher risk for GDM and abnormal glucose tolerance post-pregnancy, respectively, compared to other individuals. Conclusion Our results indicate that the genetic architecture of glucose metabolism exhibits both similarities and differences between the pregnant and non-pregnant states. Integrating genetic information can facilitate identification of pregnant women at a higher risk of developing GDM or later diabetes.