Natural products (NPs) are an important source of new drugs for the treatment of stroke. Identifying cellular targets for bioactive molecules is a major challenge and critical issue in the development of new drugs for stroke. Small-molecule probes play a unique role in target discovery. However, drawbacks to these probes include non-specificity, unstable activity, and difficulty in synthesis. Small-molecule probes based on NPs at least partially compensate for these shortcomings. NPs feature rich chemical and structural diversity, biocompatibility, and unique biological activities. These features could be exploited to provide new ideas and tools for target discovery. Small-molecule probes based on NPs provide a precise and direct search for interacting protein targets of NPs-active small molecules. This review explores the properties of small-molecule probes based on NPs and their applications in mechanistic studies of stroke and other diseases. We hope that this review will bring new perspectives to the mechanistic study of NPs-active small molecules and accelerate the translation of these ingredients into drug candidates for the treatment of stroke.

Objective To investigate age-and sex-related changes in choroid plexus(CP)volume in healthy adults,as well as its association with the volumes of other brain regions,and explore the relationship of CP volume changes with degenerative brain alterations.Methods A total of 320 healthy subjects aged between 18 and 85 years were prospectively recruited in Physical Examination Center of First Affiliated Hospital to Army Medical University during August 2023 and February 2024.These participants were randomly divided into 7.OT and 3.OT groups,with 160 people in each group.After all of them underwent sagittal three-dimensional structural MPRAGE scans of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)at 3.OT or7.OT,FreeSurfer 6.0 segmentation software was employed to obtain the volumes of CP and other brain regions automatically.Spearman analysis was applied to analyze the correlation of CP volume with age.Independent sample t-test analysis was applied to analyze the differences in CP volume between genders.Partial correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between CP volume and the volumes of other brain regions.Results A total of 311 subjects were included in the study.The results from both 3.OT and 7.OT MRI showed that CP volume was positively correlated with age(3.OT:r=0.462,P＜0.001;7.OT:r=0.539,P＜0.001).The males had significantly larger CP volume than the females(3.OT:1.4±0.47 vs 1.08±0.39 mL,P＜0.001;7.OT:2.43±0.68 vs 1.98±0.38 mL,P＜0.001).In addition,3.OT MRI revealed there was a significant positive correlation of CP volume with the volumes of white matter hyperintensities(WMH)and cerebrospinal fluid(P＜0.001),as well as a negative correlation with the volumes of gray matter,white matter,hippocampus and thalamus(P＜0.05).Conclusion CP volume is increased with ageing,with gender differences,independent of field strength and resolution.CP volume is correlated with WMH,hippocampus and other brain regions,suggesting that increment in CP volume is involved in age-related degenerative changes in the brain.Changes in CP volume might be regarded as a new imaging marker for the neurodegenerative changes.

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the incidence, mortality, clinical characteristics and related factors of transient and persistent acute kidney injury in patients with sepsis in emergency department.Methods:Patients with sepsis ≥ 18 years old hospitalized in the Emergency Department of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine from June 2018 to May 2020 were selected as the research objects. According to the renal function injury at admission and the renal function recovery at 48 h after admission, patients with sepsis were divided into three groups: non-S-AKI group, transient S-AKI group, and persistent S-AKI group.Results:A total of 197 patients with sepsis were included, including 95 patients with non-S-AKI, 39 patients with transient S-AKI and 63 patients with persistent S-AKI. The mortality in the persistent S-AKI group was significantly higher than that in the non-S-AKI group (36.5% vs. 17.9%, P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the transient S-AKI group and non-S-AKI group (20.5% vs. 17.9%, P>0.05). Multiple categorical disordered Logistic regression analysis showed that urea was associated with transient S-AKI ( OR=1.440, 95% CI: 1.235-1.680), and age ( OR=1.049, 95% CI: 1.008-1.092), urea ( OR=1.440, 95% CI: 1.277-1.733), and infection site in non-urinary tract ( OR=0.149, 95% CI: 0.050-0.448) were associated with persistent S-AKI. Conclusions:The incidence of persistent S-AKI is higher than that of transient S-AKI. Persistent S-AKI is related to the prognosis of patients with sepsis, and the mortality rate is higher, while transient S-AKI has no significant relationship. The urea of patients with S-AKI would increase significantly, and advanced age and urinary tract infection are related factors for the occurrence of persistent S-AKI. For patients with sepsis with such factors, attention should be paid to early protection of renal function to prevent persistent S-AKI.

Objective:To analyze the impact of gender on prognosis in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy.Methods:The data of 1 796 patients with HCC who underwent liver resection at the Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital from January 2010 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 1 548 males and 248 females, the average age were 49.6 years. Patients were followed up for recurrence and survival. After propensity score matching, the postoperative survival rates of male and female patients were compared. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression was used to analyze independent factors affecting prognosis of patients with HCC after hepatectomy. The age and menopause were analyzed by subgroup analyses.Results:The 1-, 3- and 5-years cumulative overall and recurrence-free survival rates of male patients were significantly lower than that of female patients (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that female was an independent protective factor affecting postoperative recurrence ( HR=0.777, 95% CI: 0.615-0.982) and overall survival ( HR=0.669, 95% CI: 0.520-0.856). Using a cut-off value of 50 years old, the patients were divided into <50 years old ( n=915) and ≥50 years old ( n=881). In patients who were less than 50 years old, the 1-, 3- and 5-years cumulative overall and recurrence-free survival rates of male patients were significantly lower than those of female patients (all P<0.05). In patients ≥50 years old, there were no significant difference in the cumulative overall and recurrence-free survival rates between male and female patients (all P>0.05). Female patients were then divided into the postmenopausal group ( n=152) and the premenopausal group ( n=96). There were no significant differences in the cumulative overall and cumulative recurrence-free survival rates between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The prognosis of female patients with HCC after hepatectomy was significantly better than that of male patients.

Objective: To investigate the effects of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) and 5-fluorouracil(5-Fu) on human colon carcinoma LOVO cells in vitro. Methods: The LOVO cells during exponential growth stage were harvested and divided into control group,GH group, 5-Fu group and GH + 5-Fu group. According to the dose of GH, the GH group was separated into two sub-groups(50 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL) and the GH +5-Fu group was separated into two sub-groups. With different concentrations of rhGH and/or 5-Fu , the cell survive rates were analyzed by MTT assay after 24 h , 48 h and 72 h and cell cycle and proliferation index (PI) were analyzed by flow cytometry after 24 h. Results: Compared with the control group, the survive rates in 5-Fu and GH +5-Fu groups were decreased significantly (P <0. 05). The significant effects of rhGH on cell cycle kinetics were found in the cell line. Compared with the control group, percentage of S phase and proliferation index (PI) significantly increased (P <0.05)and percentage of G_0/G_1 phase decreased (P <0. 05) in GH groups. Percentages of cells of S phase and PI significantly decreased in GH + 5-Fu groups (P < 0. 05). Rate of apoptosis increased in 5-Fu and GH +5-Fu groups (P <0.05). Compared with the 5-Fu group, there were no statistically significant differences in percentages of cells of S phase and PI and rate of apoptosis between two GH+5-Fu groups(P >0. 05). Conclusion-. rhGH does not stimulate the LOVO cells proliferation in vitro, and its use is safe when combined with 5-fluorouracil.