OBJECTIVE To prepare reactive oxygen species （ROS）-responsive methotrexate （MTX）-modified paclitaxel （PTX）/icariin （ICA） micelles （MTX-oxi-Ms@PTX/ICA）， and perform technology optimization and in vitro anti-tumor effect evaluation. METHODS Synergistic toxicity concentration range of PTX and ICA was screened by synergistic toxicity test. The micelles were prepared by thin film hydration method， and their technology was optimized by response surface methodology. The fundamental characteristics of the micelles prepared by the optimal technology were evaluated. The micelles’ cytotoxicity， targeting ability to renal carcinoma RENCA cells of mice， and their inhibitory effects on invasion and migration were assessed. RESULTS Results of synergistic toxicity experiments demonstrated that the strongest synergistic effect occurred when PTX concentrations ranged from 2.5 to 10 μmol/L and ICA concentrations ranged from 5 to 15 μmol/L. The optimal technology of MTX-oxi-Ms@PTX/ ICA was determined to include 80 mg Soluplus®， Soluplus® and TPGS1000 mass ratio of 4∶1 （mg/mg）， 2 mg DSPE-PEG2000-TK- PEG5000， 2 mg DSPE-PEG2000-MTX， 1 mg PTX， and 1.5 mg ICA， with a hydration temperature of 35 ℃ and a formulation volume of 5 mL. Under the optimal conditions， average encapsulation efficiency of PTX and ICA in 3 batches of MTX-oxi- Ms@PTX/ICA reached 92.75%， the critical micelle concentration （CMC） was 0.007 9 mg/mL， the particle size was （62.09±1.68） nm， the polydispersity index （PDI） was 0.046±0.032， and the Zeta potential was （－2.47±0.15） mV. Within 30 days of placement， there was no significant change E-mail：yingqiang_1126@163.com in particle size and polydispersity index of micelle. In vitro release experiments showed that MTX-oxi-Ms@PTX/ICA released drugs more rapidly in oxidative environments. The half maximal inhibitory concentration of MTX-oxi-Ms@PTX/ICA against RENCA cells was （5.170±0.036） μmol/L. In vitro cellular uptake experiments indicated that compared with unmodified micelles， MTX modified micelles had stronger targeting effects on cancer cells， and also significantly enhanced the inhibitory ability of invasion and migration of RENCA cells （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS MTX-oxi-Ms@PTX/ICA micelles are successfully prepared， which exhibit high encapsulation efficiency， low critical micelle concentration， and good stability. These micelles demonstrate significant cytotoxicity against RENCA cells and effectively inhibit cancer cell invasion and migration.

This study investigated the role of the nuclear factor of activated T cells c3 (NFATc3) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) during aortic aneurysm and dissection (AAD) progression and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Cytoplasmic and nuclear NFATc3 levels were elevated in human and mouse AAD. VSMC-NFATc3 deletion reduced thoracic AAD (TAAD) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) progression in mice, contrary to VSMC-NFATc3 overexpression. VSMC-NFATc3 deletion reduced extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and maintained the VSMC contractile phenotype. Nuclear NFATc3 targeted and transcriptionally upregulated matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and MMP2, promoting ECM degradation and AAD development. NFATc3 promoted VSMC phenotypic switching by binding to eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) and inhibiting its phosphorylation in the VSMC cytoplasm. Restoring eEF2 reversed the beneficial effects in VSMC-specific NFATc3-knockout mice. Cabamiquine-targets eEF2 and inhibits protein synthesis-inhibited AAD development and progression in VSMC-NFATc3-overexpressing mice. VSMC-NFATc3 promoted VSMC switch and ECM degradation while exacerbating AAD development, making it a novel potential therapeutic target for preventing and treating AAD.

Background and objective Pembrolizumab(PEM)has been shown to be effective in clinical trials for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC),but clinical trials were based on cohorts of patients selected on specific criteria,and whether the findings are consistent with real-world patients is debatable.The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PEM in the treatment of advanced NSCLC based on real-world data.Methods A retro-spective collection of real-world data from patients with advanced NSCLC receiving PEM was conducted.Propensity score matching was used to eliminate inter-group differences and assess the efficacy and safety of PEM compared to chemotherapy.Results Among 450 matched patients,the incidence rates of any-grade adverse events were 79.87％in the PEM group and86.71％inthe chemotherapy group,while the incidence rates of grade＞3 adverse events were 4.03％and 7.31％,respectively.The objective response rates were 48.63％for PEM and 36.00％for chemotherapy(P=0.011).The median progression-free survival was 15.5 months for PEM and 8.8 months for chemotherapy(P＜0.001),and the median overall survival was not reached for PEM and 26.2 months for chemotherapy(P＜0.001).Conclusion PEM treatment for advanced NSCLC demonstrates favorable survival outcomes and acceptable safety in real-world clinical practice.

Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of novel bioabsorbable vascular scaffold(BVS)in the treatment of patients with complex coronary artery disease.Methods This was a retrospective,matched,single-center observational study.45 patients with coronary atherosclerotic cardiopathy received BVS treatment in the cardiovascular medicine department Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University from June 2020 to June 2021(BVS),and 45 patients treated with drug-eluting stents(DES)group were selected according to matching study requirements during the same period.Baseline,surgical,and follow-up data were compared between the two groups to evaluate safety and efficacy.The main measures of safety were:surgical time,intraoperative adverse events,etc.,and the end point of efficacy was target lesion failure(TLF),including cardiac death,target vessel myocardial infarction,and ischa-driven target lesion revascularization.Results A total of 90 patients were enrolled in this study,all of whom were followed up for at least 3 years.There were 20 cases of bifurcation lesions and 25 cases of diffuse long lesions in the two groups,and 50 cases of imaging were reviewed among the 90 patients.The proportion of stable coronary heart disease,history of diabetes,history of hypertension,history of smoking,pre-dilated balloon pressure and postoperative diastolic blood pressure in BVS group was higher than that in DES group,and the proportion of family history was lower than that in DES group(all P＜0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the rates of cardiac death,target vessel myocardial infarction,and ischemia-driven revascularization of target lesions between the two groups(all P＞0.05).Binary Logistic regression model analysis showed that the diameter stenosis ratio of target lesions was an independent risk factor for intrastent restenosis(OR 2.786,95％CI 1.096-7.081,P=0.031).Conclusions Compared with traditional DES,BVS implantation has consistent safety and efficacy in the treatment of complex coronary artery disease within 3 years.The diameter stenosis ratio of target lesions was an independent risk factor for intrastent restenosis.

Hyperpolarized (HP) carbon-13 ( 13C) MRI represents an innovative approach for noninvasive, real-time assessment of dynamic metabolic flux, with potential integration into routine clinical MRI. The use of [1- 13C]pyruvate as a probe and its conversion to [1- 13C]lactate constitute an extensively explored metabolic pathway. This review comprehensively outlines the establishment of HP 13C-MRI, covering multidisciplinary team collaboration, hardware prerequisites, probe preparation, hyperpolarization techniques, imaging acquisition, and data analysis. This article discusses the clinical applications of HP 13C-MRI across various anatomical domains, including the brain, heart, skeletal muscle, breast, liver, kidney, pancreas, andprostate. Each section highlights the specific applications and findings pertinent to these regions, emphasizing the potential versatility of HP 13C-MRI in diverse clinical contexts. This review serves as a comprehensive update, bridging technical aspects with clinical applications and offering insights into the ongoing advancements in HP 13C-MRI.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes of myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD2) in inflammation-induced pain and acupuncture-mediated analgesia. METHODS: Mice were randomly divided into three groups by a random number table method: saline group (n=16), complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) group (n=24) and CFA+electroacupuncture (EA) group (n=26). Inflammation-induced pain was modelled by injecting CFA to the plantar surface of the hind paw of mice and EA was applied to bilateral Zusanli (ST 36) to alleviate pain. Only mice in the CFA+EA group received EA treatment (30 min/d for 2 weeks) 24 h after modelling. Mice in the saline and CFA groups received sham EA. von-Frey test and Hargreaves test were used to assess the pain threshold. Brain and spinal tissues were collected for immunofluorescence staining or Western blotting to quantify changes of MD2 expression. RESULTS: CFA successfully induced plantar pain and EA significantly alleviated pain 3 days after modelling (P<0.01). Compared with the CFA group, the number of MD2⁺/c-fos⁺ neurons was significantly increased in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord 7 and 14 days after EA, especially in laminae I - II_o (P<0.01). The proportion of double positive cells to the number of c-fos positive cells and the mean fluorescence intensity of MD2 neurons were also significantly increased in laminae I - II_o (P<0.01). Western blotting showed that the level of MD2 was significantly decreased by EA only in the hippocampus on day 7 and 14 (both P<0.01) and no significant changes were observed in the cortex, thalamus, cerebellum, or the brainstem (P<0.05). Fluorescence staining showed significant decrease in the level of MD2 in periagueductal gray (PAG) and locus coeruleus (LC) after CFA injection on day 7 (P<0.01 for PAG, P<0.05 for LC) and EA significantly reversed this decrease (P<0.01 for PAG, P<0.05 for LC). CONCLUSION The unique changes of MD2 suggest that EA may exert the analgesic effect through modulating neuronal activities of the superficial laminae of the spinal cord and certain regions of the brain.
Animals ; Acupuncture Analgesia/methods* ; Male ; Central Nervous System/pathology* ; Freund's Adjuvant ; Mice ; Pain ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/metabolism* ; Spinal Cord/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Electroacupuncture/methods* ; Inflammation/pathology*

Objective:To investigate the epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) in Jiangsu province during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in China from December 7, 2022 to January 27, 2023, and to analyze the influencing factors of all-cause death.Methods:It was a multi-center cross-sectional investigation. Structured questionnaire was used to collect patient information by medical staff of each hemodialysis center (room) as investigators. Part of the demography data and laboratory examination data came from the Jiangsu Province Hemodialysis Data Information System. MHD patients from hemodialysis centers (rooms) at all levels of medical institutions and independent hemodialysis institutions in Jiangsu province during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection were included, and the clinical characteristics and all-cause mortality of confirmed and suspected cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were analyzed.Results:Questionnaire surveys and data analysis on 57 278 patients in 407 hemodialysis centers (rooms) were completed, accounting for 90.41% of the total number of MHD patients (63 357 cases) in Jiangsu province during the same period. There were 24 038 cases (41.97%) of SARS-CoV-2 infection and 14 805 cases (25.85%) of suspected infection, which were widely distributed in all dialysis centers in Jiangsu province. After clinical classification of 38 843 confirmed and suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection cases, 3 662 cases were severe and critical cases, accounting for 9.43% of the infected and suspected cases. Among the patients who had completed the questionnaires, there were 1 812 all-cause deaths, with an all-cause mortality rate of 3.16%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that elderly (taking ≤50 years as a reference, 51-59 years: OR=1.583, 95% CI 1.279-1.933, P=0.001; 60-69 years: OR=3.972, 95% CI 3.271-4.858, P<0.001; 70-79 years: OR=7.236, 95% CI 5.917-8.698, P<0.001; ≥80 years: OR=11.738, 95% CI 9.459-14.663, P<0.001), male ( OR=1.371, 95% CI 1.229-1.529, P<0.001), and co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) (positive serum HBV surface antigen, OR=0.629, 95% CI 0.484-0.817, P<0.001) were independent influencing factors for all cause mortality. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve for male, age and current HBV infection prediction of all-cause death was 0.529 ( P<0.001), 0.724 ( P<0.001) and 0.514 ( P=0.042), respectively, and the cut-off value for age prediction of all-cause death was 65.5 years old. Compared with patients without HBV infection, MHD patients with HBV infection significantly reduced the proportion of severe and critically ill patients, all-cause hospitalizations and all cause deaths when infected with SARS-CoV-2 (4.99% vs. 6.41%, χ2=6.136, P=0.013; 8.90% vs. 11.44%, χ2=11.662, P<0.001; 2.01% vs. 3.37%, χ2=10.713, P=0.001, respectively). Conclusion:The MHD patients in Jiangsu province are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. Elderly age and male gender are independent risk factors for death in MHD patients during the epidemic, while the HBV infection may be a protective factor for death of MHD patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Objective:Human leukocyte antigen(HLA)B27 is a susceptibility allele of ankylosing spondylitis(AS),and HLA-B27 antigen typing is an important indicator for clinical diagnosis of AS,but current typing methods such as sequence specific primer polymerase chain reaction(PCR-SSP)still possess limitation.Therefore,this study aims to analyze the correlation between B27 subtypes and susceptibility to AS in Hunan Province by applying high-resolution polymerase chain reaction-sequence-based typing(PCR-SBT). Methods:Peripheral blood of 116 patients with suspected AS(suspected AS group)and 121 healthy volunteers(control group)admitted to the Second Xiangya Hospital from January 2020 to December 2020 were collected for HLA-B genotyping by PCR-SBT.Among the patients in the suspected AS group,23 patients were finally diagnosed with AS(confirmed AS group),and the remaining 93 undiagnosed patients served as the non-confirmed AS group.PCR-SBT and PCR-SSP were used to detect HLA-B27 typing in 116 patients with suspected AS,and the results of the 2 methods were compared. Results:The HLA-B27 allele frequency in the suspected AS group was significantly higher than that in the control group[11.63%vs 2.48%;P<0.001,odds ratio(OR)=5.18,95%confidence interval(CI)2.097 to 12.795].B*27:04,B*27:05,B*27:06,and B*27:07 were detected in the suspected AS group and the control group.The frequency of the B*27:04 allele in the suspected AS group was significantly higher than that in the control group(9.48%vs 1.24%;P<0.001,OR=8.346,95%CI 2.463 to 28.282).The positive rate of B27 in the suspected AS group and the confirmed AS group(B27+/+ and B27+/-)was significantly higher than that in the control group(χ2=16.579,P<0.001;χ2=94.582,P<0.001,respectively).Among the confirmed AS group,21 were HLA-B27 carriers,and the B27 positive rate in the confirmed AS group was 91.3%.PCR-SBT could achieve high resolution typing of the HLA-B gene locus,with higher sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value,and accuracy than PCR-SSP. Conclusion:PCR-SBT typing analysis shows a strong correlation between HLA-B * 27:04 and AS in Hunan province.The PCR-SBT method can be used as the preferred option for the auxiliary diagnosis of clinical AS.

Objective To explore the pattern of early expression and secretion of tissue factor(TF)in vascular endothelial cells induced by heat stress.Methods Thirty SPF-rated C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into five groups:the control group and groups of indicated recovery time,including 0,3,6,and 9 h in room temperature after heat stress(n=6).Mice in the heat stress groups were exposed to an animal incubator to reach 42.5℃for core body temperature for heat stroke.We analyzed the histopathological changes in the liver,lung,and kidney tissues with HE staining.We measured the TF mRNA in mice tissues by RT-qPCR and the plasma concentration of TF in mice with a commercial ELISA kit.Human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)were placed in a culture incubator to build an in vitro heat stress model.HUVECs were divided into five groups,including a control group and groups of indicated recovery time,including 0,3,6,and 9 h after heat stress.We quantified the expression of TF mRNA and protein in HUVEC cells by RT-qPCR,Western blotting,and immunofluorescence and measured the secreted TF with a commercial ELISA kit.Results No significant pathological injury was observed in the tissues of the control group.Mice treated with heat stress had various degrees of structural injuries and hemorrhagic and inflammatory changes in multiple tissues.Compared to control group,the expression of TF mRNA significantly increased in the kidney of heat stress-treated mice with 0 and 3 h recovery time(1.719±0.018,1.241±0.178 vs.1.000±0.063),the lung with 3 h recovery time(2.444±0.511 vs.1.000±0.106)and the liver with 6 h recovery time(7.312±0.618 vs.1.000±0.147)(P<0.05).The concentration of TF in plasma also sustainedly elevated in mice with 0,3,6,and 9 h recovery time after heat stress as compared to control group[(132.426±17.920)pg/ml,(119.400±10.267)pg/ml,(107.374±13.495)pg/ml,(163.767±22.810)pg/ml vs.(75.479±13.831)pg/ml,respectively,P<0.01].The expression levels of TF mRNA were higher in heat stress HUVECs with 6 h and 9 h recovery time than the control cells(1.905±0.354,2.564±0.297 vs.1.000±0.097,P<0.01).Secreted TF in the supernatant from HUVECs treated with heat stress and different recovery time also increased significantly[(36.309±4.101)pg/ml,(38.425±5.484)pg/ml,(41.655±4.380)pg/ml,(43.586±4.718)pg/ml vs.(14.996±0.254)pg/ml,P<0.01].Conclusion Heat stress increased early expression and secretion of TF in vascular endothelial cells.Vascular endothelial cells may be a main source of circulating TF in heat stroke.

This study aimed to explore the mechanism of Qilongtian Capsules in treating acute lung injury(ALI) based on network pharmacology prediction and in vitro experimental validation. Firstly, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to analyze the main chemical components of Qilongtian Capsules, and related databases were used to obtain its action targets and ALI disease targets. STRING database was used to build a protein-protein interaction(PPI) network. Metascape database was used to conduct enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology(GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG). AutoDock software was used to perform molecular docking verification on the main active components and key targets. Then, the RAW264.7 cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide(LPS) for in vitro experiments. Cell viability was measured by MTT and ROS level was measured by DCFH-DA. NO content was measured by Griess assay, and IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR. The predicted targets were preliminarily verified by investigating the effect of Qilongtian Capsules on downstream cytokines. Eighty-four compounds were identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. Through database retrieval, 44 active components with 589 target genes were screened out. There were 560 ALI disease targets, and 65 intersection targets. PPI network topology analysis revealed 10 core targets related to ALI, including STAT3, JUN, VEGFA, CASP3, and MMP9. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that Qilongtian Capsules mainly exerted an anti-ALI effect by regulating cancer pathway, AGE-RAGE, MAPK, and JAK-STAT signaling pathways. The results of molecular docking showed that the main active components in Qilongtian Capsules, including crenulatin, ginsenoside F_1, ginsenoside Rb_1, ginsenoside Rd, ginsenoside Rg_1, ginsenoside Rg_3, notoginsenoside Fe, notoginsenoside G, notoginsenoside R_1, notoginsenoside R_2, and notoginsenoside R_3, had good binding affinities with the corresponding protein targets STAT3, JUN, VEGFA, CASP3, and MMP9. Cellular experiments showed that Qilongtian Capsules at 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 mg·mL~(-1) reduced the release of NO, while Qilongtian Capsules at 0.25 and 0.5 mg·mL~(-1) reduced ROS production, down-regulated mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and inhibited the inflammatory cascade. In summary, Qilongtian Capsules may exert therapeutic effects on ALI through multiple components and targets.
Humans ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Ginsenosides ; Caspase 3 ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; Interleukin-6 ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Network Pharmacology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Acute Lung Injury/genetics* ; Capsules ; RNA, Messenger ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology*