The abnormal accumulation of neutrophil extracellular traps （NETs） can promote the initiation and progression of pancreatic cancer， which is considered a potential therapeutic target for this disease. The Miraculous Pivot·Inquiry About Statement （《灵枢·口问》） have recorded the concept of "defensive qi stagnation". Based on the recognition that the function of defensive qi is similar to the immune function of neutrophils， and combining traditional Chinese medicine theory with clinical practice， it is proposed that the abnormal accumulation of NETs may be a pathological product of "defensive qi stagnation"， with the spleen being the critical site of pathology. Further exploring the application strategy of cleaning spleen and restoring defensive qi method in pancreatic cancer treatment， it is proposed to employ three approaches such as dredging method to eliminate spleen stagnation and inhibit pancreatic cancer proliferation， cleaning method to remove spleen dampness and suppress the inflammatory micro-environment， and tonifying method to strengthen Weiqi and to improve the immune microenvironment， which aims to provide new insights for the clinical treatment of pancreatic cancer with traditional Chinese medicine.

This study aims to explore the effects of Buzhong Yiqi Decoction(BYD) on the cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase(cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes(STING) signaling pathway in the mouse model of autoimmune thyroiditis(AIT) and the mechanism of BYD in alleviating the immune injury. Forty-eight NOD.H-2~(h4) mice were assigned into normal, model, low-, medium-, and high-dose BYD, and selenium yeast tablets groups(n=8). Mice of 8 weeks old were treated with 0.05% sodium iodide solution for 8 weeks for the modeling of AIT and then administrated with corresponding drugs by gavage for 8 weeks before sampling. High performance liquid chromatography was employed to measure the astragaloside Ⅳ content in BYD. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was employed to observe the pathological changes in the mouse thyroid tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the serum levels of thyroid peroxidase antibody(TPO-Ab), thyroglobulin antibody(TgAb), and interferon-γ(IFN-γ). Flow cytometry was employed to detect the distribution of T cell subsets in the spleen. The immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of cGAS, STING, TANK-binding kinase 1(TBK1), and interferon regulatory factor 3(IRF3). Real-time PCR and Western blot were employed to determine the mRNA and protein levels, respectively, of markers related to the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in the thyroid tissue. The results showed that the content of astragaloside Ⅳ in BYD was(7.06±0.08) mg·mL~(-1). Compared with the normal group, the model group showed disrupted structures of thyroid follicular epithelial cells, massive infiltration of lymphocytes, and elevated levels of TgAb and TPO-Ab. Compared with the model group, the four treatment groups showed intact epithelial cells, reduced lymphocyte infiltration, and lowered levels of TgAb and TPO-Ab. Compared with the normal group, the model group showed increases in the proportions of Th1 and Th17 cells, a decrease in the proportion of Th2 cells, and an increase in the IFN-γ level. Compared with the model group, the four treatment groups presented decreased proportions of Th1 and Th17 cells and lowered levels of IFN-γ, and the medium-dose BYD group showed an increase in the proportion of Th2 cells. Compared with the normal group, the modeling up-regulated the mRNA levels of cGAS, STING, TBK1, and IRF3 and the protein levels of cGAS, p-STING, p-TBK1, and p-IRF3. Compared with the model group, the four treatment groups showed reduced levels of cGAS, STING, TBK1, and IRF3-positive products, down-regulated mRNA levels of cGAS, STING, and TBK1, and down-regulated protein levels of cGAS and p-STING. The high-dose BYD group showed down-regulations in the mRNA level of IRF3 and the protein levels of p-TBK1 and p-IRF3. The above results indicate that BYD can repair the imbalance of T cell subsets, alleviate immune injury, and reduce thyroid lymphocyte infiltration in AIT mice by inhibiting the cGAS-STING signaling pathway.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/metabolism* ; Mice ; Membrane Proteins/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred NOD ; Humans ; Female ; Nucleotidyltransferases/metabolism* ; Male ; Disease Models, Animal

The pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) is related to a variety of factors such as mechanical overload, metabolic dysfunction, aging, etc., and is a group of total joint diseases characterized by intra-articular chondrocyte apoptosis, cartilage fibrillations, synovial inflammation, and osteophyte formation. At present, the treatment methods for osteoarthritis include glucosamine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate, etc., which are difficult to take effect in a short period of time and require long-term treatment, so the patients struggle to adhere to doctor’s advice. Some methods can only provide temporary relief without chondrocyte protection, and some even increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal disease. In the advanced stages of OA, patients often have to undergo joint replacement surgery due to pain and joint dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in the development of OA. It is possible to improve mitochondrial biogenesis, quality control, autophagy balance, and oxidative stress levels, thereby exerting a protective effect on chondrocytes in OA. Therefore, compared to traditional treatments, improving mitochondrial function may be a potential treatment for OA. Here, we collected relevant literature on mitochondrial research in OA in recent years, summarized the potential pathogenic factors that affect the development of OA through mitochondrial pathways, and elaborated on relevant treatment methods, in order to provide new diagnostic and therapeutic ideas for the research field of osteoarthritis.

Objective To explore the biomarkers and potential mechanisms of chronic restraint stress-induced myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia ApoE-/-mice.Methods The hyperlipidemia combined with the chronic stress model was established by restraining the ApoE-/-mice.Proteomics and bioinformatics techniques were used to describe the characteristic molecular changes and related regulatory mechanisms of chronic stress-induced myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia mice and to explore potential diagnostic biomarkers.Results Proteomic analysis showed that there were 43 significantly up-regulated and 58 sig-nificantly down-regulated differentially expressed proteins in hyperlipidemia combined with the restraint stress group compared with the hyperlipidemia group.Among them,GBP2,TAOK3,TFR1 and UCP1 were biomarkers with great diagnostic potential.KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that fer-roptosis was a significant pathway that accelerated the myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia combined with restraint stress-induced model.The mmu_circ_0001567/miR-7a/Tfr-1 and mmu_circ_0001042/miR-7a/Tfr-1 might be important circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks related to ferroptosis in this model.Conclusion Chronic restraint stress may aggravate myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia mice via ferrop-tosis.Four potential biomarkers are selected for myocardial injury diagnosis,providing a new direction for sudden cardiac death(SCD)caused by hyperlipidemia combined with the restraint stress.

Objective:To analyze the changes in the disease burden of prostate,testis,kidney and bladder cancers among uri-nary and reproductive system tumors in Chinese men from 1990 to 2019 with a prediction of the future trend.Methods:We re-trieved the data on the incidence,mortality and disease burden of prostate,testis,kidney and bladder cancers in Chinese men between 1990 and 2019 from the database of Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.Using the Joinpoint regression model,we analyzed the trend of changes in the disease burden,and predicted the prevalence of the tumors with the ARIMA model.Results:From 1990 to 2019,the standardized incidence and prevalence of prostate,testis,kidney and bladder cancers were on the rise in Chinese men,and those of testis cancer increased most significantly,by 326.79% and 1070.93% respectively.The disease burden of PCa was the highest,with standardized incidence,prevalence and mortality ratios of 17.34/100 000,117.65/100 000 and 7.79/100 000 respectively in 2019.The standardized mortality and disability-adjusted life years(DALY)of kidney cancer were increased by 103.59% and 103.17% respectively.The highest incidence,mortality and DALY of prostate,kidney and bladder cancers in 2019 were found in 90-94 years old males,the highest prevalence rates of prostate,kidney and bladder cancers in the 70-89-year-olds,and the highest prevalence of testis cancer in the25-49-year-olds.ARIMA model prediction showed that the standardized incidence rates of prostate,testis,kidney and bladder cancers in Chinese men kept rising from 2020 to 2029.Conclusion:The disease burden of prostate,tes-tis,kidney and bladder cancers in Chinese men is on the rise,and their standardized incidence rates will be even higher by 2029,with a significant increase in the disease burden in young men,which suggests the need of more attention to the prevention and treatment of genitourinary system tumors in young males.

Objective To explore the molecular mechanism of chronic osteomyelitis and to clarify the role of MAPK signal pathway in the pathogenesis of chronic osteomyelitis,by collecting and analyzing the transcriptional information of bone tissue in patients with chronic osteomyelitis.Methods Four cases of traumatic osteomyelitis in limbs from June 2019 to June 2020 were selected,and the samples of necrotic osteonecrosis from chronic osteomyelitis(necrotic group),and normal bone tissue(control group)were collected.Transcriptome information was collected by Illumina Hiseq Xten high throughput sequencing platform,and the gene expression in bone tissue was calculated by FPKM.The differentially expressed genes were screened by comparing the transcripts of the Necrotic group and control group.Genes were enriched by GO and KEGG.MAP3K7 and NFATC1 were selected as differential targets in the verification experiments,by using rat osteomyelitis animal model and im-munohistochemical analysis.Results A total of 5548 differentially expressed genes were obtained by high throughput sequenc-ing by comparing the necrotic group and control group,including 2701 up-regulated and 2847 down-regulated genes.The genes enriched in MAPK pathway and osteoclast differentiation pathway were screened,the common genes expressed in both MAPK and osteoclast differentiation pathway were(inhibitor of nuclear factor κ subunit Beta,IκBKβ),(mitogen-activated protein ki-nase 7,MAP3K7),(nuclear factor of activated t cells 1,NFATC1)and(nuclear factor Kappa B subunit 2,NFκB2).In rat os-teomyelitis model,MAP3K7 and NFATC1 were highly expressed in bone marrow and injured bone tissue.Conclusion Based on the transcriptome analysis,the MAPK signaling and osteoclast differentiation pathways were closely related to chronic os-teomyelitis,and the key genes IκBKβ,MAP3K7,NFATC1,NFκB2 might be new targets for clinical diagnosis and therapy of chronic osteomyelitis.

Objective To retrospectively analyze the ultra-fast track anesthesia(UFTA)methods and perioperative anesthesia management experiences of transcatheter mitral valve edge-to-edge repair(TEER)in the treatment of functional mitral regurgitant.Methods In this retrospective study,patients underwent the TEER procedure and received UFTA in Fuwai Yunnan Hospital,from May 2022 to September 2022 for heart failure combined with moderate to severe or severe functional mitral regurgitant were included.Baseline,preoperative complications,cardial function and anesthesia classification,amino-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP),ultrasound examination results,surgery time,extubation time,intraoperative anesthetic and vasoactive drug,complications related to TEER and UFTA,perioperative,and postoperative 30-day and one-year follow-up data were collected.All perioperative clinical data were recorded and analyzed.Results A total of 30 patients were enrolled,11 patients(36.7％)were female,mean age was(63.6±6.1)years,NYHA classification IV 14 patients(46.7％),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)(36.0±8.1)％,the end-diastolic volume of the left ventricle(66.0±8.2)mm,mitral regurgitation 4+14 patients(56.7％),3+17 patients(43.3％),NT-proBNP(1 934.1±1 973.5)pg/ml,1 patient(3.3％)used high-dose vasoactive drugs during surgery.All patients did not experience nausea,vomiting,delirium,respiratory depression,perioperative transesophageal echocardiography-related gastrointestinal bleeding,pericardial effusion,cerebrovascular accidents,emergency surgery or secondary intervention,or other serious adverse events within 24 hours after surgery.No 30-day all-cause death occurred;the mean postoperative hospital stay was(7.4±2.8)days.All patients completed one-year follow-up,LVEF(37.6±11.1)％,the end-diastolic volume of the left ventricle(63.2±8.6)mm,mitral regurgitation 2+7 patients(23.3％),1+23 patients(76.7％),NT-proBNP(1 949.2±2 576.6)pg/ml.Conclusions Ultra-fast track anesthesia can be safely applied to TEER in treating functional mitral regurgitant patients.

Objective To investigate the effects of emodin on the healing of infected wound and the regulation of Toll-likereceptor 4(TLR4)/nuclear factor kappa-B(NF-κB)signaling pathway in rats.Methods The model of infectious wounds rats were constructed by the full-thickness skin defect method.The successful model rats were randomly divided into model group,control group and experimental-L,-M,-H groups with 12 rats per group;another 12 normal rats were taken as the normal group.Experimental-L,-M,-H groups was applied with emodin 150,300 and 600 μg·d-1 and 200 mg·kg-1 emodin by gavage,respectively.Control group was applied with mopirolacin cream 0.1 g·d-1 on rat wounds,once a day.Normal and model groups were treated with 0.9％NaCl.Six groups were treated for 21 days.The wound healing rates and dynamic blood flow were measured.The levels of tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α and interleukin(IL)-1β in serum and the hydroxyproline(HYP)and catalase(CAT)in wound tissue were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.The protein levels of TLR4 and NF-κB in wound were determined by Western blot.Results The wound healing rates of experimental-M,-H groups,control group and model group were(50.70±1.26)％,(75.51±0.50)％,(69.44±1.65)％and(28.58±5.09)％,respectively.The dynamic blood flow values of experimental-M,-H groups,control group,model group and blank group were(123.71±3.71),(155.61±2.47),(146.29±2.04),(79.47±4.76)and(158.00±1.93)mL·min-1;the levels of TNF-α were(81.05±2.32),(56.69±1.59),(69.53±2.39),(139.46±2.46)and(46.49±5.71)ng·L-1;the levels of IL-1β were(59.87±0.83),(42.66±1.30),(48.37±3.34),(88.79±1.84)and(33.93±2.19)ng·L-1;the levels of HYP were(24.79±0.82),(31.12±1.16),(25.83±1.12),(16.88±2.20)and(32.95±1.18)pg·mg-1;the levels of CAT were(24.99±1.47),(34.52±1.26),(31.00±1.15),(13.70±2.09)and(34.23±0.70)U·mg-1;the relative expression levels of TLR4 protein were 0.74±0.05,0.53±0.05,0.55±0.04,1.09±0.07 and 0.23±0.05;the relative expression levels of NF-κB protein were 0.69±0.06,0.44±0.04,0.52±0.03,1.10±0.04 and 0.22±0.10,respectively.Compared with the model group,the above indexes in the experimental-M,-H groups were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Emodin can improve the infectious wound healing and dynamic blood flow in rats,and inhibit the inflammatory levels and oxidative stress response in wound tissue,and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Background/Aims: Finite nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy has been proposed as an alternative treatment strategy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB), but biomarkers for post-treatment monitoring are limited. We investigated whether measuring hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) after NA cessation may stratify the risk of subsequent clinical relapse (CR). Methods: This retrospective multicenter analysis enrolled adults with CHB who were prospectively monitored after discontinuing entecavir or tenofovir with negative HBeAg and undetectable HBV DNA at the end of treatment (EOT). Patients with cirrhosis or malignancy were excluded. CR was defined as serum alanine aminotransferase > two times the upper limit of normal with recurrent viremia. We applied time-dependent Cox proportional hazard models to clarify the association between HBcrAg levels and subsequent CR. Results: The cohort included 203 patients (median age, 49.8 years; 76.8% male; 60.6% entecavir) who had been treated for a median of 36.9 months (interquartile range [IQR], 36.5–40.1). During a median post-treatment follow-up of 31.7 months (IQR, 16.7–67.1), CR occurred in 104 patients with a 5-year cumulative incidence of 54.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 47.1–62.4%). Time-varying HBcrAg level was a significant risk factor for subsequent CR (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.53 per log U/mL; 95% CI, 1.12–2.08) with adjustment for EOT HBsAg, EOT anti-HBe, EOT HBcrAg and time-varying HBsAg. During follow-up, HBcrAg <1,000 U/mL predicted a lower risk of CR (aHR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.21–0.81). Conclusions Dynamic measurement of HBcrAg after NA cessation is predictive of subsequent CR and may be useful to guide post-treatment monitoring.

The study investigated the effect of Buyang Huanwu Decoction(BYHWD) on endogenous biomarkers in the urine of rats with chronic inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS) using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS), aiming to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect of BYHWD on chronic inflammation from a metabolomics perspective. Male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, and low-, medium-, and high-dose BYHWD groups(7.5, 15, and 30 g·kg~(-1)). The model group and BYHWD groups received tail intravenous injection of LPS(200 μg·kg~(-1)) on the first day of each week, followed by oral administration of BYHWD once a day for four consecutive weeks. Urine samples were collected at the end of the administration period, and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to analyze the metabolic profiles of the rat urine in each group. Multivariate statistical analysis methods such as principal component analysis(PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis(PLS-DA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) were used to analyze the effect of BYHWD on endogenous metabolites. One-way ANOVA and variable importance for the projection(VIP) were used to screen for potential biomarkers related to chronic inflammation. The identified biomarkers were subjected to pathway and enrichment analysis using MetaboAnalyst 5.0. A total of 25 potential biomarkers were screened and identified in the rat urine in this experiment. Compared with the normal group, the model group showed significant increases in the levels of 14 substances(P<0.05) and significant decreases in the levels of 11 substances(P<0.05). BYHWD was able to effectively reverse the trend of most endogenous biomarkers. Compared with the model group, BYHWD significantly down-regulated 13 biomarkers(P<0.05) and up-regulated 10 biomarkers(P<0.05). The metabolic products were mainly related to the biosynthesis of pantothenic acid and coenzyme A, tryptophan metabolism, retinol metabolism, and propionate metabolism. BYHWD has therapeutic effect on chronic inflammation induced by LPS, which may be related to its ability to improve the levels of endogenous metabolites, enhance the body's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capabilities, and restore normal metabolic activity.
Rats ; Male ; Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Metabolomics/methods* ; Inflammation/drug therapy* ; Biomarkers/urine*