Objective To explore the molecular targets and associated potential pathways of Sinomenii caulis in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on network pharmacology. Methods The constituents of Sinomenii caulis were searched by Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). The potential active ingredients were screened based on oral bioavailability (OB) and drug like index (DL) in TCMSP database. The potential targets of active ingrediens were explored based on DRAR-CPI docking server. RA related gene targets were retrieved through GeneCards and OMIM database. Venn online software was used to obtain the common target of drugs and diseases. The "herbs-compound-target-disease" network diagram was constructed by using Cytoscape software. String database was used to draw the protein interaction (PPI) network. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of the intersection network were conducted by Bioconductor Database. Results 6 active ingredients and 176 targets were identified. 305 target genes directly related to RA were obtained from the GeneCards and OMIM databases. 15 genes were obtained from the intersection of component-target and disease-target. The GO function analysis found 500 items on biological process (BP), 18 items on cellular component (CC), and 28 items on molecular function (MF). KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed 77 pathways. Conclusion This study identified six active ingredients from Sinomenii caulis and revealed the key targets of the anti-RA treatment with Sinomenii caulis being IL10、IL4、INS、MAPK8、ELANE、MAPK1 and MAPK14. The important biological processes and signaling pathways including infection, inflammation and immunity were explored. It has laid the foundation for further molecular biology experiments.

Objective:To observe any regulatory effect of a pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) on A2A adenosine receptors (A2ARs) in the nucleus pulposus of rats with intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), and to explore any combination with the A2ARs′ agonist-mediating ROS/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.Methods:Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group, an intervertebral disc degeneration group (the model group), an A2AR agonist CGS-21680 treatment group (the agonist group), a PEMF group and a PEMF combined with CGS-21680 treatment group (the observation group). IDD was modeled in all except the rats in the control group. 100μL of CGS-21680 (100μg/kg) was injected into the L 5-6 intervertebral discs of the agonist group, while the PEMF group was given 30 minutes of PEMF intervention daily for 14 days at 1.5mT and 75Hz with a pulse width of 150μs. The observation group was injected with CGS-21680 and then given the same PEMF intervention. Primary nucleus pulposus cells from each group (50ng/mL) were cultured and the expressions of 8-OHDG, SOD, MDA and ROS were detected by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence or with an ELISA kit. The A2AR, PI3K, AKT and p-AKT protein levels were detected using western blotting. Results:The nucleus pulposus cells and the annulus fibrosus were obviously wrinkled, necrotic and broken in the model group but the annulus fibrosus was intact and the nucleus pulposus was almost normal in the observation group. Compared with the model group, the levels of SOD and A2AR, PI3K, p-AKT and AKT protein were higher in the agonist, PEMF and observation groups, while the expressions of MDA, ROS and 8-OHDG were weaker. The ROS level in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the agonist and PEMF groups, and the phosphorylation level of p-AKT in the observation group was significantly higher than in the agonist and PEMF groups. The average levels of SOD, A2AR, PI3K, p-AKT and AKT protein in the nucleus pulposus cells of the agonist, PEMF and observation groups were significantly higher than the IL-1β group′s average, while the average levels of MDA, ROS and 8-OHDG were significantly lower. The ROS levels in the observation group were significantly lower than in the agonist and PEMF groups, while the A2AR protein content and p-AKT phosphorylation in the observation group were significantly greater. The average Bax levels in the nucleus pulposus cells of the agonist, PEMF and observation groups were significantly lower than that in the IL-1β group, and the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly increased. There was significantly less apoptosis observed in the observation group than in the agonist and PEMF groups, while the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly higher.Conclusions:PEMF plays an anti-oxidative stress role by up-regulating A2AR activity and reducing ROS generation. Treatment with PEMF and A2AR agonist could further activate the phosphorylation of PI3K/Akt, down-regulate Bax and up-regulate Bcl-2, thus inhibiting the apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells and alleviating the malignant progression of IDD.

Objective The aim of this study was to draw single-cell transcriptome profiles of high-grade serous ovarian cancer(HGSOC),borderline ovarian cancer(OC),and normal ovaries in order to identify biomarkers that can diagnose and predict the prognosis of OC.Methods The differentially expressed genes between HGSOC,borderline OC,and normal ovarian tissues were ana-lyzed using single-cell data sequenced(SRA database:PRJNA756768).The cell subsets associated with tumor progression were screened by functional enrichment,cell communication between different subsets was analyzed by Cellchat,and cell differentiation traj-ectories were explored by pseudotime analysis to finally determine the subsets most relevant to tumor progression.Combined with OC transcriptome data of OC from the Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)with patient prognosis,biomarkers for diagnosing and predicting sur-vival of OC patients were ultimately screened.Results After using t-distribution stochastic neighbor embedding(t-SNE)for di-mensionality reduction,nine cell subpopulations were obtained:endothelial cells,myeloid cells,fibroblasts,T cells,stromal cells,B cells,and 3 epithelial cell subpopulations(C1,C4,and C7).Further analysis revealed that copy number variation(CNV)in the C4 group had the highest score in HGSOC,higher than those of borderline OC and normal ovaries,and was negatively correlated with prognosis.DMKN was a key marker gene in this group.Transcriptome analysis of OC in the TCGA database showed a close correlation between DMKN and poor prognosis(P=0.026),and the diagnostic efficacy of DMKN for OC was significant(A UC=0.906).Con-clusion This study is based on single-cell sequencing data to screen for DMKN,which can effectively diagnose and predict the prognosis of OC.This study provides new ideas for the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of OC.

Objective:To explore any effect of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) stimulation on intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD).Methods:Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group, an IDD model group, a PEMF group and an observation group. An IDD model was induced in all except those in the control group. Both the PEMF and observation groups were given PEMF stimulation, while the latter was additionally injected with the A2AR agonist CGS-21680. Eight weeks after the modelling any pathological changes in the morphology of the rats′ intervertebral disc tissues were evaluated using saffron solid green staining. The expression of A2AR, cyclic adenosine phosphate (cAMP), protein kinase A (PKA), cysteine aspartate proteolytic enzyme-3 (Caspase-3), type II collagen (COL-II) and matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3) in the intervertebral discs were evaluated.Results:The nucleus pulposus had shrunk, while fibrous tissues and chondrocytes had increased in the IDD model group. In the observation group the nucleus pulposus was intact and of basically normal shape. A2AR mRNA and protein levels were higher in the intervertebral disc tissue of the model group than among the control group, on average, while the levels in the observation group were significantly higher than in the other groups. In the PEMF and observation groups cAMP and PKA mRNA were significantly higher than in the IDD model group. The p38 MAPK and P-P38 MAPK levels of the IDD model group and its average P-P38 MAPK/p38 MAPK ratio were significantly higher than in the control group. In the PEMF and observation groups those indices had decreased to varying degrees, with those of the observation group significantly lower than among the model and PEMF groups on average, except for the p38 MAPK values. Caspase-3 and its mRNA were significantly higher in the model group than in the control group, on average, and those values were significantly lower in the PEMF and observation groups than in the IDD model group. The average MMP3 contents of the IDD model group had increased significantly compared with the control group, while the Col-Ⅱ level had decreased significantly. Compared with the IDD model group, the MMP3 level had decreased but Col-Ⅱ expression had increased in both the PEMF and observation groups, with significant differences between the IDD model and observation groups.Conclusions:The activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway by inflammatory factors to induce apoptosis is one of the important reasons for the aggravation of IDD lesions. PEMF combined with A2AR agonists can activate the A2AR/cAMP/PKA signaling pathway, inhibit p38 MAPK phosphorylation, reduce apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells, and relieve IDD damage.