OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by chronic relapsing intestinal inflammation and encompasses ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). IBD has emerged as a global healthcare problem. Clinically efficacious therapeutic agents are deficient. This study concentrates on models of ulcerative colitis with the objective of discovering novel therapeutic strategies. Previous investigations have established that schisandrin A demonstrates anti-inflammatory effects in vitro, concurrently enhancing the transcriptional activity of farnesoid X receptor (FXR). FXR inversely modulates the transcriptional activity of NF-κB, which has an important role in regulating inflammatory responses. Consequently, the current study was to explore the safeguarding influence of schisandrin A on ulcerative colitis and delineate the mechanism by which it regulates this effect through the FXR signaling pathway. The effect of schisandrin A on the mRNA levels of inflammatory factors was evaluated in RAW264.7 cells. The dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the relationship between schisandrin A and FXR targeting. The animal experiments were performed in accordance with the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (approval No. PZSHUTCM2304250005). Acute ulcerative colitis was induced in wild-type or FXR knockout C57BL/6 mice by drinking 3% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) for 7 days, and schisandrin A was administered via gavage for a continuous treatment period of 7 days. The body weight and faecal were monitored daily. The mRNA levels of inflammatory factors in colon tissue and FXR target genes were measured by RT-qPCR. The findings revealed that schisandrin A, in vitro, impeded the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced elevation in mRNA levels of inflammatory factors and schisandrin A could augment transcriptional activity of FXR. In wild-type mice, schisandrin A significantly improved weight loss, colon shortening, loose stools and blood in stools in mice with acute ulcerative colitis, and schisandrin A significantly reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory factors genes and significantly increased the expression of FXR target genes in colon tissues. In FXR knockout mice, the administration of schisandrin A failed to yield ameliorative effect on acute ulcerative colitis in mice. In conclusion, schisandrin A can reduce intestinal inflammation through the FXR signaling pathway to alleviate acute ulcerative colitis in mice. Implications arise that Schisandra lignans could serve as lead compounds for drug development aimed at inflammatory bowel disease.

Aim To explore the improvement effect of Bazi Bushen capsule on thymic degeneration in SAMP6 mice and the possible mechanism.Methods Twenty 12 week old male SAMP6 mice were randomly divided into the model group(SAMP6)and the Bazi Busheng capsule treatment group(SAMP6+BZBS).Ten SAMR1 mice were assigned to a homologous control group(SAMR1).The SAMP6+BZBS group was oral-ly administered Bazi Bushen capsule suspension(2.8 g·kg-1)daily,while the other two groups were orally administered an equal amount of distilled water.After nine weeks of administration,the morphology of the thymus in each group was observed and the thymus in-dex was calculated;HE staining was used to observe the structural changes of thymus tissue;SA-β-gal stai-ning was used to detect thymic aging;flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of thymic CD3+T cells in each group;Western blot was used to detect the levels of p16,Bax,Bcl-2,and cleaved caspase-3 proteins in thymus;immunofluorescence was applied to detect the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells in each group;ELISA was employed to detect IL-7 lev-els in thymus.Results Compared with the SAMP6 group,the thymic index of the SAMP6+BZBS group significantly increased(P＜0.05);the disordered thy-mic structure was significantly improved;the positive proportion of SA-β-gal staining significantly decreased(P＜0.01);the proportion of CD3+T cells apparently increased(P＜0.05);the level of p16 protein signifi-cantly decreased(P＜0.05);the level of Bcl-2 pro-tein significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the lev-el of cleaved caspase-3 protein markedly decreased(P＜0.05);the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells evidently increased;the level of IL-7 significantly increased(P＜0.01).Conclusions Bazi Bushen capsule can delay thymic degeneration,inhibit cell ap-optosis in thymus and promote thymic cell development in SAMP6 mice,which may be related to increasing the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells and promoting IL-7 secretion.

This study investigated the effects of Agrimoniae Herba-Coptidis Rhizoma(XHC-HL)-medicated serum on the proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of human colorectal cancer HT29 and HCT116 cells via the autophagy mediated by lysosome-associated membrane protein type 2A(LAMP2A). Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to explore the role of LAMP2A in the development and progression of colorectal cancer. Western blot(WB) was used to detect the expression of LAMP2A protein in colorectal cancer cell lines. Lentiviral transfection was utilized to construct LAMP2A knockdown in HT29 and overexpression in HCT116 colorectal cancer cell models. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(real-time qPCR) was performed to assess transfection efficiency. HT29 and HCT116 cells were treated with different concentrations of XHC-HL-medicated serum. The cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay was used to detect cell proliferation and determine the optimal concentration and duration of medicated serum intervention. HT29 cells were divided into a normal control(NC) group, an XHC-HL(medicated serum treatment) group, and an XHC-HL+shLAMP2A(medicated serum treatment+LAMP2A knockdown) group. HCT116 cells were divided into a NC group, an XHC-HL group, and an XHC-HL+LAMP2A(medicated serum treatment+LAMP2A overexpression) group. CCK-8 was used to measure cell viability. Colony formation assay was employed to assess cell proliferation ability. Scratch and Transwell migration assays were conducted to evaluate cell migration ability, and Transwell invasion assay was used to detect cell invasion ability. Flow cytometry was adopted to determine apoptosis rates. WB and real-time qPCR were employed to detect the effect of XHC-HL on the protein and mRNA expression of LAMP2A, heat shock cognate protein 70(HSC70), heat shock protein 90(HSP90), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GAPDH) in colorectal cancer cells. Differential expression analysis revealed that LAMP2A expression was significantly higher in colorectal cancer patients compared to that in normal controls. Survival analysis indicated that the key molecule of chaperone-mediated autophagy(CMA), LAMP2A, was closely associated with colorectal cancer progression. Gene set enrichment analysis showed that patients with high LAMP2A expression significantly upregulated tumor progression-related signaling pathways such as angiogenesis and immune suppression. Immune infiltration analysis found that patients with high LAMP2A expression had fewer CD8 T cell infiltrations in their tumor microenvironment. XHC-HL-medicated serum inhibited the viability of HT29 and HCT116 cells, with the optimal intervention concentration and duration being 20% and 48 hours, respectively. Compared to the NC group, XHC-HL inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HT29 and HCT116 cells, and induced apoptosis. The medicated serum treatment with LAMP2A knockdown further inhibited colorectal cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, and promoted apoptosis, whereas overexpression of LAMP2A reversed the inhibitory effects of the medicated serum on proliferation, migration, and invasion, and reduced apoptosis rates. XHC-HL-medicated serum inhibited CMA by upregulating the protein and mRNA expression of LAMP2A, HSC70, and HSP90 and downregulating substrate protein GAPDH expression via the autophagy mediated by LAMP2A. In conclusion, XHC-HL-medicated serum inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of colorectal cancer cells and induces apoptosis by downregulating the expression of the key CMA molecule LAMP2A and inhibiting CMA activity.
Humans ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Lysosomal-Associated Membrane Protein 2/metabolism* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Autophagy/drug effects* ; HCT116 Cells ; Cell Movement/drug effects* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; HT29 Cells ; Serum/chemistry* ; Coptis chinensis

Excessive application of chemical fertilizer has caused many problems in Angelica dahurica var. formosana planting, such as yield decline and quality degradation. In order to promote the green cultivation mode of A. dahurica var. formosana and explore rhizosphere fungus resources, the rhizosphere fungi with nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, potassium solubilization, iron-producing carrier, and IAA-producing properties were isolated and screened in the rhizosphere of A. dahurica var. formosana from the genuine and non-genuine areas, respectively. The strains were identified comprehensively in light of the morphological characteristics and ITS rDNA sequences, and the growth-promoting effect of the screened strains was verified by pot experiment. The results showed that 37 strains of growth-promoting fungi were isolated and screened from the rhizosphere of A. dahurica var. formosana, mostly belonging to Fusarium. The cultured rhizosphere growth-promoting fungi of A. dahurica var. formosana were more abundant and diverse in the genuine producing areas than in the non-genuine producing areas. Among all strains, Aspergillus niger ZJ-17 had the strongest growth promotion potential. Under the condition of no fertilization outdoors, ZJ-17 inoculation significantly promoted the growth, yield, and accumulation of effective components of A. dahurica var. formosana planted in the soil of genuine and non-genuine producing areas, with yield increases of 73.59% and 37.84%, respectively. To a certain extent, it alleviated the restriction without additional fertilization on the growth of A. dahurica var. formosana. Therefore, A. niger ZJ-17 has great application prospects in increasing yield and quality of A. dahurica var. formosana and reducing fertilizer application and can be actually applied in promoting the growth of A. dahurica var. formosana and producing biofertilizer.
Fertilizers ; Rhizosphere ; Angelica/chemistry* ; Fungi/genetics* ; Phosphorus

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered to be a manifestation of metabolic syndrome and has become one of the chronic diseases that endanger health around the world. There is still a lack of effective therapeutic drugs in clinical practice. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) has been a popular target for NAFLD research in recent years. Fexaramine (Fex) is a potent and selective agonist of FXR, and its mechanism of action to improve NAFLD is unclear. Therefore, in this study, a mouse model of NAFLD was constructed using a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet and treated with Fex orally for 6 weeks. We evaluated the ameliorative effect of Fex on disorders of glucolipid metabolism in NAFLD mice, and preliminarily explored its potential mechanism of action. The animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (approval number: PZSHUTCM210913011). In this study, it was found that 100 mg·kg^-1 Fex significantly inhibited body weight gain, alleviated insulin resistance, improved liver injury and lipid accumulation in NAFLD mice. The effect of Fex on the expression of hepatic intestinal FXR and its target genes in NAFLD mice was further examined. Analysis of serum and hepatic bile acid profiles and expression related to hepatic lipid metabolism. It was found that Fex could stimulate intestinal FXR, promote fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) secretion, inhibit the expression of cytochrome P450 family 7 subfamily A member 1 (CYP7A1), the rate-limiting enzyme of bile acid synthesis in liver, regulate bile acid synthesis by negative feedback, and improve the disorder of bile acid metabolism. At the same time, Fex reduces liver lipid synthesis and absorption, increases fatty acid oxidation, thus improving liver lipid metabolism. This study shows that Fex can improve NAFLD by activating intestinal FXR-FGF15 signal pathway and regulating liver lipid metabolism.

Female ; Humans ; Ovarian Follicle/pathology* ; Ovarian Neoplasms/pathology*

OBJECTIVES: To study the early clinical efficacy of combined therapy of stage 4 neuroblastoma. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data and follow-up data of 14 children with stage 4 neuroblastoma who were diagnosed in Hong Kong University-Shenzhen Hospital from January 2016 to June 2021. RESULTS: The median age of onset was 3 years and 7.5 months in these 14 children. Among these children, 9 had positive results of bone marrow biopsy, 4 had N-Myc gene amplification, 13 had an increase in neuron-specific enolase, and 7 had an increase in vanilmandelic acid in urine. Based on the results of pathological examination, differentiated type was observed in 6 children, undifferentiated type in one child, mixed type, in one child and poorly differentiated type in 6 children. Of all the children, 10 received chemotherapy with the N7 regimen (including 2 children receiving arsenic trioxide in addition) and 4 received chemotherapy with the Rapid COJEC regimen. Thirteen children underwent surgery, 14 received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and 10 received radiotherapy. A total of 8 children received Ch14.18/CHO immunotherapy, among whom 1 child discontinued due to anaphylactic shock during immunotherapy, and the other 7 children completed Ch14.18/CHO treatment without serious adverse events, among whom 1 child was treated with Lu177 Dotatate 3 times after recurrence and is still undergoing chemotherapy at present. The median follow-up time was 45 months for all the 14 children. Four children experienced recurrence within 2 years, and the 2-year overall survival rate was 100%; 4 children experienced recurrence within 3 years, and 7 achieved disease-free survival within 3 years. CONCLUSIONS Multidisciplinary combined therapy is recommended for children with stage 4 neuroblastoma and can help them achieve better survival and prognosis.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Humans ; Infant ; Neuroblastoma/drug therapy* ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Cholesterol Ester Storage Disease/genetics* ; Humans ; Mutation ; Sterol Esterase/genetics*

To comprehensively evaluate the quality of commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra, 43 batches of commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra were collected to determine the content of nine ginsenosides Rg_1, Re, Rb_1, Rk_3, Rh_4, 20(S)-Rg_3, 20(R)-Rg_3, Rk_1, and Rg_5 by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). The quality of the commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra was evaluated by correlation analysis, principal component analysis, factor analysis, analysis of variance(ANOVA), and cluster heatmap analysis. The content determination indicated that the content of common ginsenosides in commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra were higher while that of rare ginsenosides were lower. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that ginsenosides Rg_1 and Rb_1 were significantly positively correlated with rare ginsenosides, and Rg_1, Rb_1 and rare ginsenosides played an important role in evaluating the quality of commercial Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra. In combination with the processing principle and current quality situation of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra, it is recommended to improve the content limit of Rb_1 in the existing quality standards.
Panax ; Ginsenosides/analysis* ; Rhizome/chemistry* ; Plant Roots/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal