OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect and safety of Chinese medicine (CM) Fuzheng Huazhuo Decoction (FHD) in treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who persistently tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at Shanghai New International Expo Center shelter hospital in China between April 1 and May 30, 2022. Patients diagnosed as COVID-19 with persistently positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results for ⩾8 days after diagnosis were enrolled. Patients in the control group received conventional Western medicine (WM) treatment, while those in the FHD group received conventional WM plus FHD for at least 3 days. The primary outcome was viral clearance time. Secondary outcomes included negative conversion rate within 14 days, length of hospital stay, cycle threshold (Ct) values of the open reading frame 1ab (ORF1ab) and nucleocapsid protein (N) genes, and incidence of new-onset symptoms during hospitalization. Adverse events (AEs) that occurred during the study period were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 1,765 eligible patients were enrolled in this study (546 in the FHD group and 1,219 in the control group). Compared with the control group, patients receiving FHD treatment showed shorter viral clearance time for nucleic acids [hazard ratio (HR): 1.500, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.353-1.664, P<0.001] and hospital stays (HR: 1.371, 95% CI: 1.238-1.519, P<0.001), and a higher negative conversion rate within 14 days (96.2% vs. 82.6%, P<0.001). The incidence of new-onset symptoms was 59.5% in the FHD group, similar to 57.8% in the control group (P>0.05). The Ct values of ORF1ab and N genes increased more rapidly over time in the FHD group than those in the control group post-randomization (ORF1ab gene: β =0.436±0.053, P<0.001; N gene: β =0.415 ±0.053, P<0.001). The incidence of AEs in the FHD group was lower than that in the control group (24.2% vs. 35.4%, P<0.001). No serious AEs were observed. CONCLUSION FHD was effective and safe for patients with persistently positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests. (Registration No. ChiCTR2200063956).
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; SARS-CoV-2/drug effects* ; COVID-19/virology* ; Adult ; Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Recent studies have indicated that the expression of ubiquitin-specific protease 51 (USP51), a novel deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) that mediates protein degradation as part of the ubiquitin‒proteasome system (UPS), is associated with tumor progression and therapeutic resistance in multiple malignancies. However, the underlying mechanisms and signaling networks involved in USP51-mediated regulation of malignant phenotypes remain largely unknown. The present study provides evidence of USP51's functions as the prominent DUB in chemoresistant triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. At the molecular level, ectopic expression of USP51 stabilized the 78 kDa Glucose-Regulated Protein (GRP78) protein through deubiquitination, thereby increasing its expression and localization on the cell surface. Furthermore, the upregulation of cell surface GRP78 increased the activity of ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1), the main efflux pump of doxorubicin (DOX), ultimately decreasing its accumulation in TNBC cells and promoting the development of drug resistance both in vitro and in vivo. Clinically, we found significant correlations among USP51, GRP78, and ABCB1 expression in TNBC patients with chemoresistance. Elevated USP51, GRP78, and ABCB1 levels were also strongly associated with a poor patient prognosis. Importantly, we revealed an alternative intervention for specific pharmacological targeting of USP51 for TNBC cell chemosensitization. In conclusion, these findings collectively indicate that the USP51/GRP78/ABCB1 network is a key contributor to the malignant progression and chemotherapeutic resistance of TNBC cells, underscoring the pivotal role of USP51 as a novel therapeutic target for cancer management.

Simultaneous management of intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction and gut microbiota dysregulation represents a significant challenge in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Herein, we report a novel system that integrates multi-enzyme mimicking cerium single-atom nanocatalysts (CeSACs) with Lactobacillus reuteri probiotics (LR@CeSACs) for multipronged management of IBD. In this system, CeSACs demonstrate robust multi-enzyme activities across a broad pH range, effectively scavenging elevated reactive oxygen species, downregulating pro-inflammatory cytokines, and suppressing the expression of fibrosis-related genes. Moreover, probiotics promote the targeting and retention of the CeSACs for sustained catalytic antioxidant therapy. In turn, the inflammation relief enabled by CeSACs promotes bacterial viability, allowing for the rapid reshaping of intestinal barrier function and the restoration of gut microbiota. Therefore, LR@CeSACs exhibit excellent catalytic anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic therapeutic effects, as well as a certain prophylactic effect, as demonstrated in several murine models.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between ABO blood types and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. METHODS: A prospective birth cohort study was conducted. ABO blood types were determined using the slide method. GDM diagnosis was based on a 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) according to the criteria of the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups. Logistic regression was applied to calculate the odds ratios ( ORs) and 95% confidence intervals ( CIs) between ABO blood types and GDM risk. RESULTS: A total of 30,740 pregnant women with a mean age of 31.81 years were enrolled in this study. The ABO blood types distribution was: type O (30.99%), type A (26.58%), type B (32.20%), and type AB (10.23%). GDM was identified in 14.44% of participants. Using blood type O as a reference, GDM risk was not significantly higher for types A ( OR = 1.05) or B ( OR = 1.04). However, women with type AB had a 19% increased risk of GDM ( OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.05-1.34; P < 0.05), even after adjusting for various factors. This increased risk for type AB was consistent across subgroup and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION The ABO blood types may influence GDM risk, with type AB associated with a higher risk. Incorporating it-either as a single risk factor or in combination with other known factors-could help identify individuals at risk for GDM before or during early pregnancy.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Diabetes, Gestational/etiology* ; ABO Blood-Group System ; Adult ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for about half of the number of patients with heart failure. In addition to the typical features of heart failure such as myocardial stiffness and diastolic function impairment, the key characteristic of HFpEF is the normal left ventricular ejection fraction, which increases the difficulty of clinical diagnosis. QiShenYiQi Dripping Pills (QSYQ) is a standardized traditional Chinese medicine approved by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), and many clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of QSYQ in the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, but the role of QSYQ in HFpEF has not been clarified. In this paper, high fat diet (HFD) and drinking water containing N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 0.5 g·L^-1, pH=7.4) were used in C57BL/6N male mice to construct the classical HFpEF model (the experiment was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Hefei University of Technology, the approval number is HFUT20220921002), and at the 8^th week, the mice were dosed with ① empagliflozin, ② low-dose QSYQ (LQ), ③ high-dose QSYQ (HQ), ④ empagliflozin plus low-dose QSYQ (ELQ) for 4 weeks, the body weight of the mice was recorded during the experiment, echocardiography, blood pressure and glucose tolerance were detected and the exercise capacity of mice was evaluated, and pathological and biochemical experiments were used to detect cardiac fibrosis, liver fibrosis and serum biochemical indexes in mice, RNAseq assay was performed with mice heart tissues. The results showed that QSYQ as well as QSYQ+empagliflozin could significantly reduce the body weight, improve diastolic function and hypertension, improve glucose tolerance and enhance exercise ability of HFpEF mice. At the biochemical and molecular levels, QSYQ and QSYQ+empagliflozin can reduce the cross-sectional area of cardiomyocytes and reduce cardiac collagen contents, thereby alleviating myocardial hypertrophy and fibrotic phenotypes, and improve metabolic disorders. The RNAseq results suggest that the function of QSYQ in improving HFpEF may be related to calsequestrin 1. In conclusion, this study shows that QSYQ and QSYQ+empagliflozin can significantly improve HFpEF-related cardiac dysfunction and metabolic disorders, which provides a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of HFpEF.

Objective To evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of listeriosis in patients during preg-nancy,and improve the understanding on the disease.Methods Clinical characteristics and laboratory detection re-sults of 18 pregnant women with gestational listeriosis admitted to two hospitals in Shanxi from 2012 to 2023 were analyzed retrospectively.Results Among the 18 pregnant women,1,3 and 14 cases developed listeriosis in the ear-ly,middle and late pregnancy,respectively(including 2 cases of dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy).The main clinical manifestations were fever(n=17,94.44％),accompanied by vaginal bleeding(n=5,27.78％),abdominal pain(n=4,22.22％),and headache(n=2,11.11％).White blood cell count,neutrophil percentage,and procal-citonin level in peripheral blood of pregnant women all increased.There were 1 spontaneous abortion during early pregnancy,3 deaths during middle pregnancy,and 10 survival during late pregnancy.All pregnant women reco-vered and were discharged from hospital.Specimens with high isolation rate of Listeria monocytogenes(LM)were uterine secretion(n=11,61.11％)and whole blood(n=10,55.55％)of pregnancy women.Among the 17 new-borns of 18 pregnant women,LM was isolated from 4(23.53％)pharyngeal tracheal secretion specimens and 3(17.65％)whole blood specimens.10 cases out of 13 revealed chorioamnionitis via pathology examination of placen-ta.Antimicrobial susceptibility testing results of 15 LM strains showed that the susceptibility rates to ampicillin,compound sulfamethoxazole,and meropenem were all 100％,and the susceptibility rates to penicillin and erythro-mycin were both 93.33％.Conclusion Listeriosis during pregnancy lacks specific clinical characteristics and is prone to be misdiagnosed.The incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes is high.The survival rate of fetus in late pregnancy is high.Empirical anti-infection treatment during early pregnancy should cover LM infection.

Objective To explore the effect of ozone water acupoint injection combined intra-articular irrigation on pain and related factors in the patients with knee osteoarthritis(KOA).Methods Sixty-four eld-erly patients with KOA in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June to December 2023 were selected as the study subjects and divided into the observation group and control group by adopting the random number table method,32 cases in each group.The control group adopt-ed the ozone water acupoint injection,and the observation group was combined with ozone water intra-articu-lar irrigation on the basis of the control group.The both groups were treated once a week for 4 consecutive weeks.The Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)score,Lysholm knee function score,clinical effect and the levels of joint fluid PGE2,IL-1β and IL-6 before and after treatment were compared between the two groups.Results The VAS score,Lysholm knee function score and the levels of PGE2,IL-1β and IL-6 levels after treatment in the two groups were significantly improved compared with before treatment(P＜0.05),moreo-ver the improvement in the observation group was more significant than that in the control group(P＜0.05).The multiple linear regression analysis showed that the VAS score before treatment was related with the PGE2 level(P＜0.05)and had no relation with the age and level of IL-6 and IL-1β(P＜0.05).The total ex-cellence and good rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05).The no adverse reactions such as fainting during acupuncture treatment,skin infection at injection site,symptom increase and joint discomfort appeared during the treatment process.Conclusion The ozone water acupoint injection combined intra-articular irrigation in treating KOA has better effect,which may improve the pain symptom by regulating the induced pain factors and inflammatory factors levels.

Objective To evaluate the pharmacokinetic characteristics and safety of single and multiple oral azvudine tablets in healthy young and elderly Chinese subjects.Methods This was a open-label and parallel-group study.The trial consisted of two groups:healthy young subjects group and healthy elderly subjects group,with 12 subjects in each group.Enrolled subjects were first given a single dose,fasting oral azvudine tablet 5 mg,after a 3-day cleansing period entered the multiple dose phase,fasting oral azvudine tablet 5 mg·d-1 for 7 days.Results After a single dose of azvudine 5 mg,Cmax and AUC0-∞ were(4.76±2.12)ng·mL-1,(6.53±2.20)ng·mL-1·h,and Tmax,t1/2 were 0.75,1.87 h in young subjects;Cmax and AUC0-∞ were(6.40±3.25)ng·mL-1,(9.50±3.70)ng·mL-1·h,and Tmax,t1/2 were 0.63,2.66 h in elderly subjects.After a multiple dose of azvudine 5 mg·d-1 for 7 d,Cmax and AUC0-∞ were(3.26±1.61)ng·mL-1,(5.38±2.19)ng·mL-1·h,and Tmax,ss,t1/2,ss were 0.88,2.13 h in young subjects;Cmax,ss and AUC0-∞,ss were(3.97±2.09)ng·mL-1,(6.71±3.26)ng·mL-1·h,and Tmax,ss,t1/2,ss were 0.75,2.56 h in elderly subjects.Elderly/young geometric mean ratios and 90％CIs were 128.37％(88.23％-186.76％),139.93％(105.42％-185.72％),140.03％(106.33％-184.41％)for azvudine Cmax,AUC0-t,AUC0-∞ after a single dose,and were 118.66％(80.83％-174.20％),118.41％(83.60％-167.69％),118.95％(84.78％-166.89％)for azvudine Cmax,AUC0-t,AUC0_∞ after a multiple dose of azvudine 5 mg·d-1 for 7 d.Conclusion After single and multiple oral administration of azvudine tablets,systemic exposure to azvudine was higher in healthy elderly subjects compared with healthy young subjects.After taking azvudine tablets,the types,severity and incidence of adverse events and adverse drug reactions in healthy elderly people were not significantly different from those in healthy young subjects.Azvudine was found to be safe and well tolerated in healthy elderly subjects.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of melezitose(MELE)on ulcerative colitis(UC)by structing a mouse model of ulcerative colitis(UC)induced by dextran sodium sulfate(DSS).Methods Forty-eight SPF grade male c57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group(0.9％NaCl),model group(0.9％NaCl),control group(100 mg·kg-1 mesalazine)and experimental-L,-M,-H groups(20,40,80 mg·kg-1 melezitose solution).The UC model was induced by giving 3％DSS solution instead of drinking water,and the disease activity index(DAI)was evaluated.Serum levels of interleukin-1 β(IL-113),IL-6,IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.The expression levels of major histocompatibility complex Ⅱ(MHC Ⅱ)and cluster of differentiation 4 receptors(CD4)protein were detected by Western blot.Results The levels of IL-1 β in serum in the experimental-M,-H groups,model group and normal group were(82.15±13.66),(75.56±11.07),(118.20±19.31)and(23.47±4.72)pg·mL-1;serum IL-6 levels were(71.54±16.48),(58.57±15.62),(140.60±5.76)and(30.33±4.15)pg·mL-1;serum IL-10 levels were(48.64±5.60),(52.65±7.99),(27.10±4.91)and(61.90±10.44)pg·mL-1;serum TNF-α levels were(70.33±8.51),(66.55±8.12),(90.88±4.90)and(34.18±4.15)pg·mL-1;the relative expression levels of MHC Ⅱ protein were 0.34±0.04,0.15±0.06,0.08±0.05 and 0.53±0.59;the relative expression levels of CD4 protein were 0.79±0.08,0.92±0.12,0.99±0.11 and 0.54±0.14,respectively.Compared with the model group,the above indexes in the experimental-M,-H groups showed statistically significant differences(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Conclusion Melezitose could effectively improve the symptoms of UC mice;the mechanism may be through down-regulating MHC Ⅱ protein and up-regulating CD4 protein to activate T cell signal pathway to play an anti-inflammatory effect.

Liver is the main organ of glucose and lipid metabolism, and persistent hyperglycemia is a common cause of liver injury. Panax notoginsenosides (PNS) is the main active ingredient in Panax notoginseng, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. In this study, quantitative proteomics combined with experimental verification was used to explore the protective effect of PNS on liver injury in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mice and its potential mechanism. All experiments were approved by the Ethical Committee Experimental Animal Center of North Sichuan Medical College (NSMC2022023). Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe the effect of PNS on the histopathological changes of liver in T2DM mice. TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining was used to analyze the effect of PNS on hepatocyte apoptosis in T2DM mice. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malonaldehyde (MDA) kits were used to detect the effect of PNS on oxidative damage of liver in T2DM mice. Subsequently, proteomics profiling of mice in T2DM and T2DM+PNS groups were investigated based on quantitative proteomics. Differentially expressed proteins were screened out according to fold change and significance level in T2DM and T2DM+PNS groups, respectively. Pathway enrichment analysis of these differential proteins was done using GeneAnalytics database. Gene ontology analysis was conducted by Metascape database. Protein-protein interaction networks were constructed based on STRING database. Western blot was used to detect protein expression. These results showed that PNS could improve liver abnormalities, inhibit hepatocyte apoptosis, and improve the morphology of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in T2DM mice. Proteome data demonstrated that 489 genes expression changed significantly in liver of T2DM mice compared with normal, and 42 ones were significantly reversed after PNS treatment and returned to normal levels. Pathway analysis showed that sterol hormone biosynthesis, adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway, oxidative stress, insulin signaling, phosphatidylinositol pathway, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) mediated inflammation, insulin resistance, and mTOR signaling pathway exhibited notable changes based on pathway enrichment ratio and significance level. It is worth noting that PNS could improve the abnormal changes of AMPK, TNF-α, apoptosis and insulin pathways. Western blot manifested that PNS inhibit the expression of Bax, Grp78 and Chop, reduce ratio of cleaved casp6/casp6, increase the levels of pAMPKα, HO-1 and Nu-Nrf2 in the liver of T2DM mice. These results suggested that PNS may play protective roles in the liver of T2DM mice by inhibiting apoptosis via activating AMPK/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, alleviating oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress.