This study aimed to explore the effects and mechanisms of total extracts from Anthriscus sylvestris on pulmonary hypertension in rats. Sixty male SD rats were divided into normal(NC) group, model(M) group, positive drug sildenafil(Y) group, low-dose A. sylvestris(ES-L) group, medium-dose A. sylvestris(ES-M) group, and high-dose A. sylvestris(ES-H) group. On day 1, rats were intraperitoneally injected with monocrotaline(60 mg·kg~(-1)) to induce pulmonary hypertension, and the rat model was established on day 28. From days 15 to 28, intragastric administration of the respective treatments was performed. After modeling and treatment, small animal echocardiography was used to detect the right heart function of the rats. Arterial blood gas was measured using a blood gas analyzer. Hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining and Masson staining were performed to observe cardiopulmonary pathological damage. Flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis in the lung and myocardial tissues and reactive oxygen species(ROS) levels. Western blot was applied to detect the expression levels of transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1), phosphorylated mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3(p-Smad3), Smad3, tissue plasminogen activator(t-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1(PAI-1) in lung tissue. A blood routine analyzer was used to measure inflammatory immune cell levels in the blood. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to detect the expression levels of P-selectin and thromboxane A2(TXA2) in plasma. The results showed that, compared with the NC group, right heart hypertrophy index, right ventricular free wall thickness, right heart internal diameter, partial carbon dioxide pressure(PaCO_2), apoptosis in cardiopulmonary tissue, and ROS levels were significantly increased in the M group. In contrast, the ratio of pulmonary blood flow acceleration time(PAT)/ejection time(PET), right cardiac output, change rate of right ventricular systolic area, systolic displacement of the tricuspid ring, oxygen partial pressure(PaO_2), and blood oxygen saturation(SaO_2) were significantly decreased in the M group. After administration of the total extract of A. sylvestris, right heart function and blood gas levels were significantly improved, while apoptosis in cardiopulmonary tissue and ROS levels significantly decreased. Further testing revealed that the total extract of A. sylvestris significantly decreased the levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-6(IL-6), and PAI-1 proteins in lung tissue, while increasing the expression of t-PA. Additionally, the extract reduced the levels of inflammatory cells such as leukocytes, lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes in the blood, as well as the levels of P-selectin and TXA2 in plasma. Metabolomics results showed that the total extract of A. sylvestris significantly affected metabolic pathways, including arginine biosynthesis, tyrosine metabolism, and taurine and hypotaurine metabolism. In conclusion, the total extract of A. sylvestris may exert an anti-pulmonary hypertension effect by inhibiting the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway, thereby alleviating immune-inflammatory responses and thrombosis.
Animals ; Male ; Smad3 Protein/metabolism* ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/genetics* ; Thrombosis/immunology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Humans ; Apoptosis/drug effects*

In this report, the protective effect and molecular mechanism of Chaihu Shugan San-containing serum on corticosterone(CORT)-induced mitochondrial damage in pheochromocytoma(PC12) cells was studied based on CORT-induced rat PC12 cell model. The cultured cells were divided into five groups: blank control group, CORT group(400 μmol·L~(-1) CORT), Chaihu Shugan San-containing serum group(400 μmol·L~(-1) CORT + 10% Chaihu Shugan San-containing serum), control serum group(400 μmol·L~(-1) CORT + 10% control serum), and fluoxetine group(400 μmol·L~(-1) CORT + 10% fluoxetine-containing serum). The study was carried out by cell activity detection, mitochondrial morphology observation, membrane potential measurement, energy metabolism analysis, and mitochondrial dynamics-related protein detection. The results showed that CORT treatment significantly reduced the survival rate of PC12 cells, altered mitochondrial morphology, and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and adenosine triphosphate(ATP) synthetic rate. Both Chaihu Shugan San-and fluoxetine-containing serum significantly increased the survival rate of CORT-treated PC12 cells and the ATP synthetic rate in the mitochondria. Unlike fluoxetine, Chaihu Shugan San-containing serum significantly inhibited the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential caused by CORT and increased the oxygen consumption rate(OCR) values of both mitochondrial maximum respiration and reserve respiration capacity. Western blot analysis showed that CORT induced upregulated protein expressions of dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1α(PGC-1α) in PC12 cells and specific protein expression of optic atrophy protein 1(OPA1), yet it repressed the protein expressions of silent information regulator 1(SIRT1) and mitochondrial fusion protein 1(Mfn1) in PC12 cells. Both Chaihu Shugan San-and fluoxetine-containing serum significantly inhibited the protein expression of Drp1. However, only Chaihu Shugan San-containing serum could significantly inhibit the CORT-induced upregulation protein of PGC-1α. RESULTS:: herein suggest that Chaihu Shugan San-containing serum can alleviate CORT-induced damage in PC12 cells, which may be related to the mitochondrial fragmentation/lipid peroxidation protection by Drp1 inhibition, as well as mitochondrial dynamics and energy metabolism mediated by PGC-1α/SIRT1 signaling pathway.
Animals ; PC12 Cells ; Rats ; Mitochondrial Dynamics/drug effects* ; Mitochondria/metabolism* ; Corticosterone/adverse effects* ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Protective Agents/pharmacology* ; Cell Survival/drug effects*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of achyranthes bidentata (AB) on sperm quality in mice with spermatogenic disorder through the glycolytic metabolic pathway and its action mechanism. METHODS: We equally randomized 40 Kunming mice into a normal control, a model control, a low-dose AB (3.5 g/kg) and a high-dose AB group (7.0 g/kg), and established the model of spermatogenic disorder in the latter three groups of mice by intraperitoneal injection of doxorubicin (30 mg/kg). Two days after modeling, we collected the testis and kidney tissues and blood samples from the mice for observation of the pathological changes in the testis tissue by HE staining, detection of perm motility with the sperm quality analyzer, examination of the apoptosis of testis cells by flow cytometry, measurement of the levels of testosterone (T), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the serum and testis tissue by ELISA, and determination of expressions of the key enzymes of glycolysis hexokinase Ⅱ (HK2), pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), platelet phosphofructokinase (PFKP), lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and the meiosis proteins REC8 and SCP3 by Western blot, and the mRNA expressions of glycolytic phosphofructokinase 1 (PFK1), phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) by fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR). RESULTS: Compared with the model controls, the mice in the AB groups showed significant increases in the testis coefficient, kidney index, sperm concentration, sperm motility, spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, spermatids, sperm count and the serum T level (P<0.05 or P<0.01), but dramatic decreases in the apoptosis of testis cells and percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm (P<0.01). Achyranthes bidentata also significantly elevated the levels of SOD and CAT, and down-regulated the mRNA expressions of MDA, TNF-α and IL-1β (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and up-regulated the protein expressions of HK2, PKM2, PFKP, LDHA, REC8 and SCP3, and expressions of the glycolysis key genes Pfk1 and Pgk1 (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION Achyranthes bidentata ameliorates doxorubicin-induced spermatogenic disorder in mice by regulating the glycolytic pathway and reducing oxidative stress and the expressions of inflammatory factors.
Glycolysis/drug effects* ; Doxorubicin/toxicity* ; Spermatogenesis/drug effects* ; Random Allocation ; Male ; Animals ; Mice ; Disease Models, Animal ; Achyranthes/chemistry* ; Spermatozoa/pathology* ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Primary Cell Culture ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Sperm Motility/drug effects* ; Testis/pathology* ; Infertility, Male/prevention & control* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Animals, Outbred Strains

Glutamine provides carbon and nitrogen to support the proliferation of cancer cells. However, the precise reason why cancer cells are particularly dependent on glutamine remains unclear. In this study, we report that glutamine modulates the tumor suppressor F-box and WD repeat domain-containing 7 (FBW7) to promote cancer cell proliferation and survival. Specifically, lysine 604 (K604) in the sixth of the 7 substrate-recruiting WD repeats of FBW7 undergoes glutaminylation (Gln-K604) by glutaminyl tRNA synthetase. Gln-K604 inhibits SCFFBW7-mediated degradation of c-Myc and Mcl-1, enhances glutamine utilization, and stimulates nucleotide and DNA biosynthesis through the activation of c-Myc. Additionally, Gln-K604 promotes resistance to apoptosis by activating Mcl-1. In contrast, SIRT1 deglutaminylates Gln-K604, thereby reversing its effects. Cancer cells lacking Gln-K604 exhibit overexpression of c-Myc and Mcl-1 and display resistance to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. Silencing both c-MYC and MCL-1 in these cells sensitizes them to chemotherapy. These findings indicate that the glutamine-mediated signal via Gln-K604 is a key driver of cancer progression and suggest potential strategies for targeted cancer therapies based on varying Gln-K604 status.
Glutamine/metabolism* ; Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein/genetics* ; Humans ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc/genetics* ; Cell Proliferation ; Signal Transduction ; Neoplasms/pathology* ; F-Box-WD Repeat-Containing Protein 7/genetics* ; Cell Survival ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis

Three 2,3-diketoquinoxaline alkaloids were isolated from Heterosmilax yunnanensis Gagnep. Their structures were determined through 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, UV, and IR as 1-[5′-(3″-hydroxy-3″-methyl) glutaryl] ribityl-2,3-diketo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6,7-dimethylquinoxaline (1), 1-[2′-(3″-hydroxy-3″-methyl) glutaryl]ribityl-2,3-diketo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6,7-dimethylquinoxaline (2), and 1-ribityl-2,3-diketo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6,7-dimethylquinoxaline (3). Compounds 1 and 2 are novel compounds, and 3 was isolated from H. yunnanensis for the first time. The hepatoprotective activity of these three compounds was evaluated, with compound 3 showing promising hepatoprotective activity.

Objective To explore the application value of neutrophil to lymphocyte subsets ratios in clinical staging and pathological classification of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods A total of 132 NSCLC patients who were hospitalized and diagnosed by histopathology from January 2018 to December 2020 in the hospital were selected as the NSCLC group.Another 85 healthy individuals who underwent physical ex-aminations at the same hospital were selected as the control group,and the neutrophil to lymphocyte subsets ratios of the two study groups were detected and calculated for comparison.Results Compared with the con-trol group,the CD3+T cell,CD4+T cell,CD8+T cell,B cell,natural killer(NK)cell,and CD4+/CD8+in the NSCLC group were significantly reduced,while neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio(NLR),neutrophil to CD3+T cell ratio(N/CD3+),neutrophil to CD4+T cell ratio(N/CD4+),neutrophil to CD8+T cell ratio(N/CD8+),neutrophil to B cell ratio(N/B),and neutrophil to NK cell ratio(N/NK)significantly increased(P＜0.05).Compared with adenocarcinoma group,NLR,N/CD3+,N/CD4+,N/B.and N/NK were higher in the squa-mous cell carcinoma group(P＜0.05).NLR,N/CD3+,N/CD4+,N/CD8+,N/B and N/NK in the stage Ⅰgroup,the stage Ⅱ group,the stage Ⅲ group and the stage Ⅳ group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05).Compared with the stage Ⅰ group,N/CD3+,N/CD4+,N/CD8+,and N/B in the stage Ⅲ group and the stage Ⅳ group were significantly increased(P＜0.05),while CD3+T cell and B cell were significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Receiver operating characteristic curve results showed that the area under the curve and Youden index of the neutrophils to lymphocyte subsets ratios were higher than those of the corresponding lymphocyte subsets.The Linear Support Vector Classification(Linear SVC)algorithm based on machine learning was used to construct a NSCLC risk prediction model using N/CD3+,N/CD4+,N/CD8+,N/B,and N/NK indicators.The results showed that the area under the curve could reach 0.929,with a positive predictive value of 0.911 and a negative predictive value of 0.787.Conclusion The neutrophil to lym-phocyte subsets ratios are closely related to the clinical staging and pathological classification of NSCLC.The combined detection of N/CD3+,N/CD4+,N/CD8+,N/B,and N/NK has high clinical diagnostic efficacy and could provide new diagnostic and therapeutic ideas for the early diagnosis and assessment of the severity of NSCLC.

Objective To analyze the detection results and distribution characteristics of serum allergen-specific immunoglobulin(Ig)E antibodies in patients with type Ⅰ allergic diseases(hereinafter referred to as allergic diseases)in Chongqing,and to provide epidemiological data and diagnostic evidence for the prevention and treatment of allergic diseases.Methods A total of 9189 patients who underwent allergen-specific IgE an-tibody detection in this hospital from January 2023 to February 2024 were included in the study.The positive cases of allergen specific IgE antibodies detection were statistically analyzed according to age groups,genders,and sea-sons,and the distribution characteristics and patterns of specific allergens were analyzed.Results Among the 9 189 patients with allergic diseases,4 143 cases showed positive allergen-specific IgE antibodies detection results,with a positive rate of 45.09％.The proportion of patients with multiple sensitization was 68.53％.The main inhalant allergens included Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus(28.95％),Dermatophagoides farinae(23.62％),and Blomia tropicalis(10.95％);while the main ingested allergens were milk(7.57％),shrimp/crab(2.84％),and egg white(1.98％).The positive rate of inhalant allergens was higher than that of ingested al-lergens.The positive rate of allergens in males was higher than that in females(P＜0.05).The allergens in infants and toddlers under 3 years old were mainly ingested and mostly sensitized by single allergen.The posi-tive rate of allergens and multiple sensitization rate were the highest in patients aged 12-＜18 years.The pos-itive rate of allergens was the lowest in patients over 60 years old.The positive rate of allergens was the high-est in autumn,and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae were the main allergens in all seasons.Conclusion Patients with allergic diseases in Chongqing exhibited the following characteristics:Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae are the main allergens,the positive rate of al-lergens in males is higher than that in females,the majority patients are 12-＜18 years old,and the disease is more prone to occur in autumn.These findings can provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of al-lergic diseases in this region.

The Flash radiotherapy(Flash-RT),which is the key breakthrough in the basic field of radiotherapy technique,which is expected to cause a new major transformation in the field of radiotherapy.In this paper,we reviewed the latest research advances of the application and the mechanism exploration of Flash-RT in tumor treatment.Current studies have found that both the Flash-RT with electron beams and photon and the Flash-RT with proton can reduce injury of normal tissue than radiotherapy with conventional dose-rate,but the relevant mechanisms are not yet clearly understood,which includes but not limited to oxygen depletion,DNA damage,cellular senescence,apoptosis and immune response.The difference of Flash-RT injury between tumor tissue and normal tissue further reduces the limitations of radiotherapy,and reduces the adverse reaction and complication compared with conventional radiotherapy,which has wide application prospects.

Objective:To explore the clinical application and triage management value of using blood circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) (cysteine dioxygenase type 1 gene, CDO1, and Homeobox protein A9 gene, HOXA9) hypermethylation level to detect and diagnose ovarian cancer.Methods:A case-control study was conducted on patients who went for surgery at Chengdu Womens and Childrens Central Hospital from November 2022 to October 2023. Blood samples were collected before surgery for evaluation of cancer antigen 125 (CA125), human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), risk of ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA) score, and DNA methylation testing. The basic clinical information, biomarkers, and transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) information were collected simultaneously. Information from a total of 151 patients was collected, including 122 cases with benign pathology and 29 ovarian cancer cases. The pathologic diagnosis of ovarian tissue was defined as the gold standard. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify high-risk factors for ovarian cancer. The clinical efficacy of DNA methylation detection for ovarian cancer was analyzed using the area under curve (AUC).Results:The results showed that the age, menopausal status, CA125 and HE4 detection, ROMA score, positivity rate of CDO1 gene and HOXA9 gene single or combined testing in ovarian cancer patients were higher than those in the benign group and showed significant differences ( P<0.05). Among these detection protocols, the AUC of CDO1 and HOXA9 dual gene methylation testing for ovarian cancer was the highest at 0.936 (95% CI, 0.878-0.994), with 89.7% (95% CI 73.6%-96.4%) sensitivity and 97.5% (95% CI 93.0%-99.2%) specificity, respectively. The positive detection rate of CDO1 and HOXA9 dual gene methylation in early ovarian cancer FOGO I-II stage is 12/14 higher than other tests. Conclusion:Blood cfDNA methylation detection, a simple, non-invasive, and highly sensitive detection method, is superior to the current ovarian cancer testing in the risk assessment and early detection.