1.Mechanism of Cyanotis arachnoidea Gel in improving melasma based on network pharmacology and transcriptomics.
Mamattursun MARZIYA ; Li-Ying QIU ; Wan-Quan BAI ; Amar DLRABA ; Chen MA ; Le ZHANG ; Jian GU
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(13):3775-3790
Through a comprehensive analysis combining network pharmacology prediction and transcriptomics, this study systematically explained the multi-target mechanism of Cyanotis arachnoidea(CA) Gel in improving melasma. A melasma model was induced in female SD rats by progesterone injection combined with ultraviolet B(UVB) irradiation for 40 consecutive days, while the blank control group was only fed routinely. After successful model establishment, the rats were randomly divided into five groups and administered different doses of CA ethanol extract gel(high, medium, and low doses) or arbutin Gel(positive control), which were applied once daily for 28 consecutive days. Subsequently, the levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD), malondialdehyde(MDA), and tyrosinase(TYR) in the skin, serum, and liver tissues were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and Masson-Fontana staining were used to observe the pathological changes in the tissues. Network pharmacology combined with transcriptomics was employed to identify core targets and pathways, and the differential gene expression was validated by quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR). Pharmacodynamic experiments showed that CA Gel significantly increased SOD activity and decreased MDA and TYR levels in the skin, serum, and liver of model rats. It also improved epidermal thickening, inflammatory infiltration, collagen loss, and melanin deposition. Network pharmacology analysis showed that CA mainly regulated core targets such as signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3), epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR), and interleukin-6(IL-6), and modulated the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)-protein kinase B(AKT) and interleukin-17(IL-17) signaling pathways. Transcriptomic analysis showed that CA Gel significantly downregulated the gene expression of heat shock protein 90β family member 1(Hsp90b1), heat shock protein 90α family member 1(Hsp90aa1), and the key steroid synthesis enzyme cytochrome P450 family 17 subfamily A member 1(Cyp17a1), while upregulating thioredoxin 1(Txn1). qPCR results confirmed that CA Gel regulated oxidative stress and inflammatory response by inhibiting the IL-17 signaling pathway and steroid hormone synthesis. This study, for the first time, reveals the molecular mechanism of CA Gel in improving melasma through multi-target synergistic regulation of oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and hormone metabolism pathways, providing a scientific basis for the treatment of pigmentation diseases with traditional Chinese medicine.
Animals
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Rats
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Female
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Rats, Sprague-Dawley
;
Network Pharmacology
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*
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Melanosis/metabolism*
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Transcriptome/drug effects*
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Humans
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Superoxide Dismutase/genetics*
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Signal Transduction/drug effects*
;
Malondialdehyde/metabolism*
2.Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Analysis to Explore the Ferroptosis Susceptibility of Venetoclax-Resistant AML Cells.
Yue LI ; Jia-Qi WAN ; Xin-Tong YANG ; Bao-Quan SONG ; Fei LI ; Hong-Wei PENG
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2025;33(3):621-632
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the susceptibility of venetoclax-resistant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines to ferroptosis and to uncover the underlying molecular mechanisms using transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis methods.
METHODS:
Venetoclax-resistant AML cell lines were constructed using a low-dose concentration escalation method. The sensitivity of cells to chemotherapeutic drugs was detected by CCK-8 assay. The susceptibility of drug-resistant cell lines to ferroptosis was assessed using transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis methods. The expression of cellular GPX4 and SLC7A11 protein was detected by Western blot, and cell death and lipid peroxidation levels were measured by flow cytometry. Depmap database and TCGA cohort were applied to explore the effect of ferroptosis-related genes expression on prognosis.
RESULTS:
Venetoclax-resistant cell lines exhibited sensitivity to ferroptosis inducers RSL3, APR246, and sorafenib. The ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1 partially inhibited cell death induced by these inducers. Compared with the parental cells, significant changes in metabolites and gene expression levels related to ferroptosis were observed in the resistant cell lines. In particular, deregulated expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 may play critical role in ferroptosis susceptibility. Besides, GPX4 was identified as more important for AML cell survival and higher GPX4 expression may predict shortened overall survival, NPM1 mutant and IDH1 R132 mutation positive patients may prone to possess higher GPX4 expression.
CONCLUSION
Venetoclax-resistant AML cell lines remain susceptible to ferroptosis, higher GPX4 expression maybe a critical marker for poor prognosis. Regulating the expression of ferroptosis-related genes and metabolites may enhance the efficacy of venetoclax and provide new treatment options for AML patients.
Humans
;
Ferroptosis
;
Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/metabolism*
;
Sulfonamides/pharmacology*
;
Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic/pharmacology*
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Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
;
Metabolomics
;
Cell Line, Tumor
;
Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase
;
Amino Acid Transport System y+/metabolism*
;
Transcriptome
3.Progress in delivering biotechnology drugs on microneedles
Han LIU ; Guo-zhong YANG ; Wan-ren DU ; Suo-hui ZHANG ; Ze-quan ZHOU ; Yun-hua GAO
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(10):2751-2762
As a new transdermal drug delivery system, microneedles can significantly improve skin permeability, enhance drug transdermal delivery, and demonstrate unique advantages in breaking stratum corneum barrier of skin. This feature enables microneedles to demonstrate enormous potential in delivering biotechnology drugs. The traditional delivery method for biotechnology drugs is mainly injection, which brings problems such as pain and skin redness to patients, leading to poor patient compliance. In addition, the production, transportation, and storage of biotechnology drugs require strict low-temperature conditions to maintain their activity and increase cost output. Microneedles, by contrast, have many benefits, providing new avenues and solutions for biomolecular delivery. Accordingly, this review introduced the microneedle drug delivery system for delivery biotechnology drugs, and summarized the research progress of microneedle systems in biotechnology drugs.
4.Determination of 19 components in Microctis Folium from different production areas based on UPLC-MS/MS
Min-you HE ; Li-wei WANG ; Lin LIU ; Po-yu ZHANG ; Jin-quan LAN ; Xin-ya WAN ; Zhen-yu LI ; Xiang-dong CHEN ; Dong-mei SUN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(5):1374-1381
The paper is to establish an UPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of 19 components in Microctis Folium from different production areas. The 50% methanol was used as extraction solvent. The Agilent ZORBAX SB C18 (150 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm) column was used; mobile phase was acetonitrile - 0.1% acetic acid with gradient elution, flow rate was 0.3 mL·min-1, colume temperature was 30 ℃, and the injection volume was 2 μL; electrospray ionizaton source was used and detected in negative ion mode. The results showed that the established UPLC-MS/MS method could well separate the 19 components, and the methodological investigation results of 19 components were good. By means of orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), 28 batches of Microctis Folium samples from different production areas can be divided into three categories, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan are each classified into one category, and 10 signature compounds which affecting the quality differences of different production areas were screened out. The established method is accurate, reliable, sensitive and reproducible. It can provide a basis for the establishment of the quality standard of Microctis Folium, as well as for safety and quality research.
5.Study on Self-management Level of Elderly Diabetic Mellitus Patients in Dongcheng District of Beijing and Its Influencing Factors
Yuqing YANG ; Quan CHEN ; Qile HE ; Jinyao ZHANG ; Zhuocun WU ; Yanli WAN
Journal of Medical Informatics 2024;45(1):59-63,88
Purpose/Significance To investigate the status quo and influencing factors of self-management level of elderly diabetic mellitus patients in Dongcheng District of Beijing,and to provide references for further development of community diabetes health educa-tion and health management.Method/Process The survey is conducted on 1 962 cases of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are randomly selected from community-level health service institutions in Dongcheng District of Beijing and are investigated by self-made questionnaires and the summary of diabetes self-care activities.Multiple stepwise regression and logistic regression are used to analyze the influencing factors of patients'self-management level.Result/Conclusion The self-management level of elderly diabetic mellitus patients is affected by many factors,among which the awareness of disease-related knowledge,the form of medical security and the use of health-related software to manage chronic diseases are the main influencing factors(P<0.05).Local management depart-ments can take targeted health interventions to further improve the self-management ability of elderly diabetic mellitus patients.
6.An Analysis of the Curative Expenditure and Economic Burden of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Disorders in China
Li WANG ; Peipei CHAI ; Quan WAN ; Wenbin GAO
Chinese Health Economics 2024;43(2):41-44
Objective:To calculate the scale of China's mental health treatment costs,analyze its financing structure,and provide a decision-making basis for optimizing China's mental health disease financing,prevention and control policies.Methods:System of Health Account 2011 was employed to calculate mental disorders(MDs)curative expenditure,and analyze the expenditure by health function,health provider and financing schemes.Results:In 2018,MDs curative expenditure in China was 87.17 billion yuan.Of MDs curative expenditure,over 84%occurred in hospitals,and over 66%was spent on inpatient care.31.80%of MDs curative expenditure was financed by Out-of-Pocket(OOP).Conclusion:China's mental health and mental disorders treatment costs are developing rapidly,the existing resource allocation is unreasonable,and there is an urgent need to optimize the function and institutional configuration.MDs patients and their families bare a high burden on MDs curative expenditure,and the financing policy needs to be further improved.
7.Effects of ultra-filtration extract from Angelica Sinensis Radix and Hedysari Radix improves the kidney injury in diabetic kidney disease rats
Qing-Quan XU ; Xiao-Lin ZHANG ; Ting GAO ; Rong-Ke LI ; Lei ZHANG ; Sheng-Fang WAN
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2024;40(20):3023-3027
Objective To explore the improve mechanism of ultra-filtration extract from Angelica Sinensis Radix and Hedysari Radix on kidney injury in diabetic kidney disease(DKD)rats.Methods The diabetes model was prepared by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin,and then fed with high sugar and high fat diet.The rats with successful DKD were randomly divided into model group,positive control group and experimental-L,-M,-H groups with 8 cases per group.Additionally,selected 8 Wistar rats as the blank group.The experimental-L,-M,-H groups were given 1.5,3.0 and 6.0 g·kg-1 ultra-filtration extract from Angelica Sinensis Radix and Hedysari Radix by gavage,respectively.The positive control group was given 1.75 × 10-3 g·kg-1irbesartan suspension by gavage.The blank and model groups were given equal volume of pure water by gavage.Six groups were administrated once a day for 12 consecutive weeks.The 24 h-urinary total protein were detected by coomassie brilliant blue method.The protein expression levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2),heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)and andacyl-CoA synthetase long chain family member 4(ACSL4)in kidney tissue were detected by Western blot.Results The 24 h-UTP in the experimental-M,-H groups,positive control group,model group and blank group were(47.70±3.85),(43.57±6.38),(36.80±6.52),(64.34±13.38)and(7.58±3.71)mg;the relative expression levels of Nrf2 protein were 0.86±0.08,0.75±0.06,0.64±0.08,1.09±0.06 and 0.60±0.07;the relative expression levels of HO-1 protein were 0.77±0.04,0.63±0.07,0.47±0.05,1.04±0.06 and 0.34±0.07;the relative expression levels of ACSL4 protein were 0.62±0.07,0.55±0.07,0.46±0.06,1.08±0.07 and 0.30±0.01,respectively.Compared with the model group,the above indexes in the experimental-M,-H groups and positive control group were significantly different(P<0.05,P<0.01).Conclusion Ultra-filtration extract from Angelica Sinensis Radix and Hedysari Radix can improve the damage of kidney tissue in DKD rats,and the mechanism may be related to ferroptosis caused by excessive activation of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.
8.Interaction Between Bruceoside B and Intestinal Flora and Its Inhibitory Effect on Human Lung Cancer A549 Cells
Lingyu SHI ; Wenmin WANG ; Yulin FENG ; Shilin YANG ; Yang WAN ; Daofeng CHEN ; Quan WEN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(13):160-166
ObjectiveTo explore the interaction between bruceoside B and gut microbiota and the inhibitory activity of its metabolites on human lung cancer A549 cells, and to explore the value of bruceoside B in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). MethodBruceoside B was co-incubated with the human gut microbiota under anoxic conditions in vitro, and ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was used to analyze the metabolic transformation products. Cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay was performed to determine the effects of bruceoside B and its metabolites on the proliferation of human lung cancer A549 cells and the half inhibitory concentration(IC50) was calculated. Five healthy male rats were gavaged with bruceoside B(2 mg·kg-1) for 7 days after adaptive feeding. The feces of rats were collected before and after administration. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to assess gut microbiota. ResultBruceoside B was mainly metabolized to brusatol by human gut microbiota, the IC50 of bruceoside B and the conversion product to A549 cells were 1 755.50, 19.57 μmol·L-1, respectively, and the conversion product had a better activity at inhibiting A549 cells proliferation than bruceoside B. Additionally, The results of intestinal flora analysis showed no significant differences in α diversity and β diversity of gut microbiota after administration. In terms of species abundance, at the phylum level, bruceoside B decreased the relative abundance of Actinobacteriota and Proteobacteria, increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Patescibacteria and Cyanobacteria. At the genus level, bruceoside B decreased the relative abundance of Staphylococcus, Aerococcus and Psychrobacter, increased the relative abundance of Romboutsia, Lactobacillus, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Norank-f-norank-o-Clostridia-UCG-014, Turicibacter, Allobaculum and Candidatus Saccharimonas. The results of functional prediction showed that the gut microbiota functional compositions were relatively stable. ConclusionBruceoside B can be deglycosylated by intestinal flora and converted into brusatol, with a significant increase in antitumor activity. The administration of bruceoside B will not cause significant changes in the structure and function of the intestinal flora, resulting in intestinal microecological balance disorders, and the administration appears to be beneficial to the intestinal flora of NSCLC patients.
9.Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of endocrine therapy-related osteoporosis among patients with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Xiaomin Quan ; Hongyang Chen ; Weiyi Wang ; Yu Gao ; Xingyue Zhi ; Xun Li ; Guanhu Yang ; Donggui Wan ; Chao An
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences 2024;11(2):148-164
Objective:
To assess the efficacy and safety of combining traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), specifically Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), with Western medicine (WM), compared to WM alone to treat breast cancer endocrine therapy-related osteoporosis (BCET-OP) by meta-analysis.
Methods:
Thirty-eight randomized controlled trials involving 2170 participants were analyzed. Eight databases were searched for articles published between inception and December 2023. Quality assessment was performed using the Risk of Bias 2 tool.
Results:
Significant increases were observed in the TCM-WM group in lumbar vertebrae bone mineral density (BMD) (P < .001, mean difference (MD) = 0.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.06 to 0.08), lumbar vertebrae T-score (P = .0005, MD = 0.21, 95%CI: 0.09 to 0.33) and collum femoris BMD (P = .01, MD = 0.10, 95%CI: 0.02 to 0.19). No significant difference was observed between the groups in the collum femoris T-score and estradiol levels. Bone gla-protein levels were significantly increased in the TCM-WM group (P = .0002, MD = 0.52, 95%CI: 0.25 to 0.79). Beta-CrossLaps decreased significantly in the TCM-WM group (P = .0008, MD = −0.10, 95%CI: −0.16 to −0.04). No significant difference was observed between the TCM-WM and WM groups in alkaline phosphatase, in procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide, and in the Kupperman index. The visual analog score (VAS) was decreased in the TCM-WM group compared to the WM group (P < .001, MD = −1.40, 95%CI: −1.94 to −0.87). No significant difference in adverse events was observed between the two groups.
Conclusion
Combining CHM with WM in patients with BCET-OP significantly improved BMD, T-score, and certain bone turnover markers and reduced the VAS score, indicating potential benefits for bone health and related pain. Adverse event analysis revealed no differences between the groups, supporting the feasibility of the combination therapy. However, further research, particularly in diverse populations, is required.
10.Practice and Enlightenment of Strengthening Health System Resilience through Investment in OECD Countries
Guochun XIANG ; Weilin CHEN ; Xiaocan SUN ; Quan WAN ; Peipei CHAI
Chinese Health Economics 2024;43(6):89-92,96
Sound financing mechanism is an important support for the development of health system.In response to the problems exposed in the health system during the COVID-19 pandemic,OECD countries have proposed intervention directions and investment strategies to strengthen the resilience of the health system.The investment allocation in strengthening core public health capabilities,proactive material reserves,and coordinated supply from OECD countries were analyzed,in order to explore the characteristics and effectiveness,which could provide a reference for strengthening the resilience of China's health system.


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