Notum, a negative feedback regulator of the Wnt signaling, has emerged as a promising target for treating glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP). This study showcases an efficient strategy for discovering the anti-Notum constituents from herbal medicines (HMs) as novel anti-GIOP agents. Firstly, a rapid-responding near-infrared fluorogenic substrate for Notum was rationally engineered for high-throughput identifying the anti-Notum HMs. The results showed that Bu-Gu-Zhi (BGZ), a known anti-osteoporosis herb, potently inhibited Notum in a competitive-inhibition manner. To uncover the key anti-Notum constituents in BGZ, an efficient strategy was adapted via integrating biochemical, phytochemical, computational, and pharmacological assays. Among all identified BGZ constituents, three furanocoumarins were validated as strong Notum inhibitors, while 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MP) showed the most potent anti-Notum activity and favorable safety profiles. Mechanistically, 5-MP acted as a competitive inhibitor of Notum via creating strong hydrophobic interactions with Trp128 and Phe268 in the catalytic cavity of Notum. Cellular assays showed that 5-MP remarkably promoted osteoblast differentiation and activated Wnt signaling in dexamethasone (DXMS)-challenged MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts. In dexamethasone-induced osteoporotic mice, 5-MP strongly elevated bone mineral density (BMD) and improved cancellous and cortical bone thickness. Collectively, this study constructs a high-efficient platform for discovering key anti-Notum constituents from HMs, while 5-MP emerges as a promising anti-GIOP agent.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the potential target and molecular mechanism of Eclipta prostrata L-Ligustrum Lucidum Ait (EPL-LLA) in the treatment of periodontitis by using network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, and to explore its biocompatibility, regulatory effects on inflammatory factors, and antioxidant acti-vity through in vitro experiments. METHODS: The active components and potential targets of EPL-LLA were screened and predicted through a variety of databases, and the intersection of EPL-LLA and periodontitis targets was selected. The protein interaction network (PPI) was analyzed by the string platform. The Metascape database was used for gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. The active ingredients from the top 6 degrees were docked with the core targets, and the results of binding energy were visualized. An in vitro cell model was established to evaluate the biocompatibility, modulation of inflammatory factors, and antioxidative effects of EPL-LLA through cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and 2',7'-Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) fluorescent probe assays. RESULTS: Screening revealed 13 active components in EPL corresponding to 220 potential targets, 10 active components in LLA corresponding to 283 potential targets, and 1 643 periodontitis-related targets, with 91 shared targets among the three. GO analysis of the shared targets yielded 5 271 entries, while KEGG enrichment analysis indicated involvement in 253 signaling pathways. Molecular docking confirmed stable binding between the top 6 active components and core targets. CCK-8 assays demonstrated good biocompatibility of EPL-LLA at concentrations 0.02 mg/mL (P<0.05). qRT-PCR showed that EPL-LLA reduced the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory factors in macrophages stimulated by Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide while upregulating anti-inflammatory factor mRNA expression (P<0.05). DCFH-DA fluorescence probe assays confirmed the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging capacity of EPL-LLA (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS EPL-LLA may treat periodontitis through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway mechanisms, providing a theoretical basis for further research on its therapeutic potential.
Periodontitis/drug therapy* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Eclipta/chemistry* ; Humans ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Ligustrum/chemistry* ; Antioxidants/pharmacology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Network Pharmacology

Bavachin is a dihydroflavonoid compound isolated from Psoralea corylifolia, and exhibits anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and lipid-lowering activities. Recent attention has gradually drawn on bavachin-induced apoptosis in many human cancer cell lines. However, the anti-cancer effects and related mechanisms in colorectal cancer remain unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of bavachin on colorectal cancer in vivo and in vitro. The results showed that bavachin inhibited the proliferation of human colorectal cancer cells and induce apoptosis. These changes were mediated by activating the MAPK signaling pathway, which significantly up-regulated the expression of Gadd45a. Furthermore, Gadd45a silencing obviously attenuated bavachin-mediated cell apoptosis. Inhibition of the MAPK signaling pathway by JNK/ERK/p38 inhibitors also weakened the up-regulation of Gadd45a by bavachin. The anticancer effect of bavachin was also validated using a mouse xenograft model of human colorectal cancer. In conclusion, these findings suggest that bavachin induces the apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells through activating the MAPK signaling pathway.
Humans ; Signal Transduction ; Flavonoids/pharmacology* ; Proteins/pharmacology* ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Colorectal Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Cycle Proteins/pharmacology*

Objective:To improve the prognosis stratification, especially early mortality(EM), of elderly patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma(NDMM).Methods:In this retrospective study, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were conducted to identify the independent prognostic factors associated with overall survival(OS)and the chi-square test and multivariate Logistic analysis were used to identify the prognostic factors associated with EM in 223 elderly patients(age≥65 years)with NDMM from three centers in the country.Results:Increased NT-pro-BNP(≥300 pg/ml), ECOG-PS≥2 and stage Ⅲ R-ISS were identified as three independent adverse prognostic factors of OS.The rates of EM3, EM6, EM12 and EM24 were 12.1%, 20.1%, 32.2% and 60%, respectively.The most common cause for EM6(particularly EM3)was disease-related complications resulting from ineligibility for treatment due to poor physical performance, severe organ dysfunction or treatment discontinuation due to treatment intolerance, while the most common cause for EM12(particularly EM24)was disease progression or relapse mainly as a result of inadequate treatment.R-ISS staging failed to predict EM, while decreased eGFR, ECOG-PS≥2, and increased NT-pro-BNP were able to estimate the risk of EM, with increased NT-pro-BNP as a common independent factor for EM12( P=0.03)and EM24( P=0.015). Conclusions:R-ISS staging, which primarily reflects MM biology, cannot predict EM.However, factors such as NT-pro-BNP, eGFR and ECOG-PS associated with frailty and impairment of organ functions can be used to estimate the risk of EM, among which NT-pro-BNP may be the most important independent factor for EM.Therefore, incorporation of these frailty-related biomarkers into R-ISS staging may be able to more precisely estimate the prognosis and particularly early death of elderly patients with NDMM.

The chemical complexity of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) makes the active and functional annotation of natural compounds challenging. Herein, we developed the TCMs-Compounds Functional Annotation platform (TCMs-CFA) for large-scale predicting active compounds with potential mechanisms from TCM complex system, without isolating and activity testing every single compound one by one. The platform was established based on the integration of TCMs knowledge base, chemome profiling, and high-content imaging. It mainly included: (1) selection of herbal drugs of target based on TCMs knowledge base; (2) chemome profiling of TCMs extract library by LC‒MS; (3) cytological profiling of TCMs extract library by high-content cell-based imaging; (4) active compounds discovery by combining each mass signal and multi-parametric cell phenotypes; (5) construction of functional annotation map for predicting the potential mechanisms of lead compounds. In this stud TCMs with myocardial protection were applied as a case study, and validated for the feasibility and utility of the platform. Seven frequently used herbal drugs (Ginseng, etc.) were screened from 100,000 TCMs formulas for myocardial protection and subsequently prepared as a library of 700 extracts. By using TCMs-CFA platform, 81 lead compounds, including 10 novel bioactive ones, were quickly identified by correlating 8089 mass signals with 170,100 cytological parameters from an extract library. The TCMs-CFA platform described a new evidence-led tool for the rapid discovery process by data mining strategies, which is valuable for novel lead compounds from TCMs. All computations are done through Python and are publicly available on GitHub.

Objective:In general, patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are considered to show an aggressive disease course. However, the relationship between the two subgroups in disease severity is controversial. Our study is aimed to compare the clinical characteristics and prognosis of double-seropositive and seronegative RA in China through a real-world large scale study.Methods:RA patients who met the 1987 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria or the 2010 ACR/European Anti-Rheumatism Alliance RA classification criteria, and who attended the 10 hospitals across the country from September 2015 to January 2020, were enrolled. According to the serological status, patients were divided into 4 subgroups [rheumatoid factor (RF)(-) anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody (-), RF(+), RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+), anti-CCP antibody(+)] and compared the disease characteristics and treatment response. One-way analysis of variance was used for measurement data that conformed to normal distribution, Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for measurement data that did not conform to normal distribution; paired t test was used for comparison before and after treatment within the group if the data was normally distributed else paired rank sum test was used; χ2 test was used for count data. Results:① A total of 2 461 patients were included, including 1 813 RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) patients (73.67%), 129 RF(+) patients (5.24%), 245 RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) patients (9.96%), 74 anti-CCP antibody(+) patients (11.13%). ② Regardless of the CCP status, RF(+) patients had an early age of onset [RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) (51±14) years old, anti-CCP antibody(+) (50±15) years old, RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) (48±14) years old, RF(+)(48±13) years old, F=3.003, P=0.029], longer disease duration [RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) 50 (20, 126) months, anti-CCP antibody(+) 60(24, 150) months, RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) 89(35, 179) months, RF(+) 83(25, 160) months, H=22.001, P<0.01], more joint swelling counts (SJC) [RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) 2(0, 6), Anti-CCP antibody(+) 2(0, 5), RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) 2(0, 7), RF(+) 2(0, 6), H=8.939, P=0.03] and tender joint counts (TJC) [RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) 3(0, 8), anti-CCP antibody(+) 2(0, 6), RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) 3(1, 9), RF(+) 2(0, 8), H=11.341, P=0.01] and the morning stiff time was longer [RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) 30(0, 60) min, anti-CCP antibody(+) 20(0, 60) min, RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) 30(10, 60) min, RF(+) 30(10, 60) min, H=13.32, P<0.01]; ESR [RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) 17(9, 38) mm/1 h, anti-CCP antibody(+) 20(10, 35) mm/1 h, RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) 26(14, 45) mm/1 h, RF(+) 28(14, 50) mm/1 h, H=37.084, P<0.01] and CRP [RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) 2.3 (0.8, 15.9) mm/L, Anti-CCP antibody(+) 2.7(0.7, 12.1) mm/L, RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) 5.2(1.3, 17.2) mm/L, RF (+) 5.2(0.9, 16.2) mm/L, H=22.141, P<0.01] of the RF(+)patients were significantly higher than RF(-) patients, and RF(+) patients had higher disease severity(DAS28-ESR) [RF(-) anti-CCP antibody(-) (4.0±1.8), anti-CCP antibody(+) (3.8±1.6), RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) (4.3±1.8), RF(+) (4.1±1.7), F=7.269, P<0.01]. ③ The RF(+) anti-CCP antibody(+) patients were divided into 4 subgroups, and it was found that RF-H anti-CCP antibody-L patients had higher disease severity [RF-H anti-CCP antibody-H 4.3(2.9, 5.6), RF-L anti-CCP antibody-L 4.5(3.0, 5.7), RF-H anti-CCP antibody-L 4.9(3.1, 6.2), RF-L anti-CCP antibody-H 2.8(1.8, 3.9), H=20.374, P<0.01]. ④ After 3-month follow up, the clinical characteristics of the four groups were improved, but there was no significant difference in the improvement of the four groups, indicating that the RF and anti-CCP antibody status did not affect the remission within 3 months. Conclusion:Among RA patients, the disease activity of RA patients is closely related to RF and the RF(+) patients have more severe disease than RF(-) patients. Patients with higher RF titer also have more severe disease than that of patients with low RF titer. After 3 months of medication treatment, the antibody status does not affect the disease remission rate.

Objective:To summarize retrospectively the postoperative therapeutic effect of composite orbital fracture.Methods:587 patients with orbital fracture were assessed and diagnosed according to their clinical symptoms and 3D-CT reports before surgeries where incarcerated soft tissue is released and replaced thoroughly, with orbit reset as well as implants used to fix it, and then we evaluated the surgical outcomes by comparing the postoperative outlines of patients’ orbits, the functions of eyeballs along with their 3D-CT evidences.Results:After 10-month to 2-year postoperative follow-up, 12 cases of 587 who had apparent enophthalmos preoperatively still have slightly postoperative symptoms. Although the diplopia of 9 cases is partially recovered, their eye movement remain slightly restricted. In addition, the eye function of other patients didn’t dramatically decline in comparison with that of pre-trauma, except for those undergoing enucleation of eyeballs due to ophthalmorrhexis.Conclusions:Orbital fracture should be diagnosed and evaluated rigorously based on patients’ symptoms and 3D-CT reports, improving treatment effects by accurate reset, fixation and repair at early stage.

Objective:To summarize retrospectively the postoperative therapeutic effect of composite orbital fracture.Methods:587 patients with orbital fracture were assessed and diagnosed according to their clinical symptoms and 3D-CT reports before surgeries where incarcerated soft tissue is released and replaced thoroughly, with orbit reset as well as implants used to fix it, and then we evaluated the surgical outcomes by comparing the postoperative outlines of patients’ orbits, the functions of eyeballs along with their 3D-CT evidences.Results:After 10-month to 2-year postoperative follow-up, 12 cases of 587 who had apparent enophthalmos preoperatively still have slightly postoperative symptoms. Although the diplopia of 9 cases is partially recovered, their eye movement remain slightly restricted. In addition, the eye function of other patients didn’t dramatically decline in comparison with that of pre-trauma, except for those undergoing enucleation of eyeballs due to ophthalmorrhexis.Conclusions:Orbital fracture should be diagnosed and evaluated rigorously based on patients’ symptoms and 3D-CT reports, improving treatment effects by accurate reset, fixation and repair at early stage.

Objective To investigate the relationship between promotion of osteogenic differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) by exosomes secreted by ADSCs and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Methods ADSCs were extracted in the Plastic Surgery Department of the First Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University. Exosomes were extracted from ADSCs induced to differentiate into osteoblasts. The ADSCs were separated into four groups and used for measuring activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) by using enzyme-labeled assay, formation of calcium nodes by Alizarin red staining, and expression of β-catenin by Western blotting. Results ADSC-derived exosomes promoted differentiation of ADSCs into osteoblasts by upregulating the expression of β-catenin. Addition of Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK1), an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, inhibited expression of β-catenin which in turn resulted in reduced potential of ADSCs for osteogenic differentiation. Conclusion The osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs can be promoted by exosomes derived from ADSCs via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Objective:To optimize the alcohol extraction process of herbal pair puerarin-berberine.Methods:Based on the etha-nol reflux extraction,the extraction quantity of total flavonoids,total alkaloid,puerarin and berberine hydrochloride were used as the e-valuation index,and the independent variables included the drug particle,ratio of solid to liquid, ethanol concentration, reflux dura-tion and reflux times. Significance analysis was evaluated by Plackett-Burman design,and then the extraction process was optimized by Box-Behnken response surface methodology.Results:The optimal extraction conditions of drug pair puerarin-berberine were as follows:the drug particle was 80 mesh,the ratio of solid to liquid was 1:13,the ethanol concentration was 75%,the reflux time was 60 min, and the reflux times was 4. Under the above conditions, the extraction quantity of total flavonoids, alkaloid, puerarin and berberine hydrochloride was 120.34,56.99,109.63 and 39.26 mg ·ml-1, respectively.Conclusion: The extraction process of herbal pair puerarin-berberine is reasonable and feasible optimized by Plackett-Burman design and Box-Behnken response surface methodology.