1.Effects of magnetic nano-drug carriers on exercise-induced muscle injury and inflammatory response in rats
Chao DONG ; Mohan ZHAO ; Yunan LIU ; Zeli YANG ; Leqin CHEN ; Lanfang WANG
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(2):345-353
BACKGROUND:Magnetic nanomaterials,as a hot topic in the biomedical field in recent years,are often used to enhance the targeted delivery of drugs to the affected area.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of magnetic nano drug carriers on skeletal muscle injury markers and inflammatory responses in rats with sports injuries.METHODS:Magnetic nanoparticles were prepared.A total of 88 male SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group(n=8),an injury control group(n=32),a Yunnan Baiyao group(n=24),and a magnetic nano-drug carrier group(n=24)by using a random number table method.The latter three groups were modeled with exercise-induced muscle injury(treadmill slope of-16°,running speed of 16 m/min,and training time of 120 min).Immediately after exercise,after verifying the success of the model,Yunnan Baiyao patch was applied to the gastrocnemius muscle of the rats in the Yunnan Baiyao group.Yunnan Baiyao patch loaded with magnetic nanoparticles was applied to the gastrocnemius muscle of the rats in the magnetic nano-drug carrier group.At 24,48,and 120 hours after exercise,blood was drawn from the abdominal aorta of rats to detect the activities of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase,as well as the levels of myoglobin,interleukin-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α.Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the gastrocnemius muscle.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the blank group,the levels of myoglobin,creatine kinase,lactate dehydrogenase and tumor necrosis factorα in the injury control group at 24,48 and 120 hours after exercise were increased(P<0.05),and the level of interleukin 6 at 24 and 120 hours after exercise was increased(P<0.05).Compared with the injury control group,the level of myoglobin in the Yunnan Baiyao group at 24 and 48 hours after exercise was decreased(P<0.05),the activities of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase at 24,48 and 120 hours were decreased(P<0.05),and the levels of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α at 120 hours after exercise were decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the Yunnan Baiyao group,the level of myoglobin in the magnetic nano-drug carrier group at 24 and 48 hours after exercise was decreased(P<0.05),the activities of creatine kinase and tumor necrosis factor α at 48 and 120 hours after exercise were decreased(P<0.05),and the lactate dehydrogenase activity was reduced(P<0.05).(2)Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that a large number of inflammatory cells infiltrated in the muscle fibers of the injury control group 24 hours after exercise,and then the inflammatory cell infiltration gradually decreased,and the local damaged muscle fibers began to regenerate 120 hours after exercise.A large number of inflammatory cells infiltrated in the muscle fibers of the Yunnan Baiyao group and the magnetic nano-drug carrier group 24 hours after exercise,and then the inflammatory cell infiltration gradually decreased,and the damaged muscle fibers were regenerating 120 hours after exercise,and there was no significant difference from the blank group.(3)The results show that Yunnan Baiyao patch combined with magnetic nanoparticles can accelerate the recovery of exercise-induced muscle injury in rats,and the effect is better than that of Yunnan Baiyao alone.
2.Construction of craniocerebral tissue segmentation model based on texture feature retrieval enhancement
Jinqian LI ; Chao WANG ; Zhuangzhuang DOU ; Xiaoke JIN ; Shijie RUAN ; Jia LI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(6):1431-1438
BACKGROUND:Rapid and accurate segmentation of brain tissue in medical images is of great significance for three-dimensional biomechanical modeling and diagnosis of craniocerebral injuries.Currently,artificial intelligence(AI)-based baseline models exhibit excellent generalization capabilities on large-scale datasets.However,due to the specificity and complexity of craniocerebral tissues,these models have certain limitations in their application to craniocerebral tissue segmentation.Additionally,the scarcity of craniocerebral tissue samples makes it difficult for baseline models to achieve precise segmentation results through fine-tuning.OBJECTIVE:To construct a craniocerebral tissue segmentation model based on texture feature retrieval enhancement to improve segmentation accuracy under a small number of samples.METHODS:Segment Anything in Medical Images(MedSAM)model was selected as the basic framework,and texture features were combined with deep learning to build a brain tissue segmentation model based on texture feature retrieval enhancement(DP-MedSAM).Dice Coefficient and mean intersection over union(MIoU)were selected to evaluate the efficiency of image segmentation results.In comparison with the original MedSAM model,the ablation experiment systematically evaluated the influence of key components on the model performance.The sensitivities of MedSAM,the Segment Anything Model(SAM)for medical image segmentation(SAM-Med2D)and DP-MedSAM in the mandible,left optic nerve,and left parotid gland were compared.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)By verifying the impact of the number of point prompts on segmentation results on the HaN-Seg dataset,the experimental results indicated that the optimal Dice score was achieved with the addition of three points.(2)DP-MedSAM demonstrated performance improvements compared with MedSAM and SAM-Med2D on two datasets(HaN and Public Domain Database for Computational Anatomy).Especially on the Public Domain Database for Computational Anatomy dataset,in terms of the MIoU metric,DP-MedSAM outperformed MedSAM by 6.59%and SAM-Med2D by 37.35%;in terms of the Dice metric,DP-MedSAM outperformed MedSAM and SAM-Med2D by 4.34%and 25.32%,respectively.(3)The ablation experiment results showed that removing the texture feature extraction module in the DP-MedSAM model,relying solely on original image features,led to a significant decrease in results on the test set.Furthermore,removing the vector cache database and its retrieval enhancement function from the model,which deprived the ability of the model to perform similarity retrieval using an external knowledge base,further reduced model performance.(4)Under conditions of limited data resources,the DP-MedSAM model outperformed the other two models in all evaluation metrics.The DP-MedSAM model performed excellently when processing simple and moderately difficult samples,demonstrating a clear advantage over the other two models and indicating good generalization ability.Processing the fine structures of difficult samples placed higher demands on the model's segmentation capabilities.Although the performance of the DP-MedSAM model declined slightly,it still outperformed the other two models.(5)This study proposes an innovative craniocerebral tissue segmentation model,DP-MedSAM,which improves the baseline model's performance in capturing local details and global structural information in medical images by introducing target region texture feature extraction.Through vector similarity retrieval technology,DP-MedSAM can retrieve the feature vector most similar to the current target region from a pre-constructed vector database,providing more precise guiding information for the segmentation process.
3.3D printed poly-L-lactic acid bone scaffolds in repair of bone defects
Fengli YANG ; Chao ZHOU ; Wei XIONG ; Yuxiang ZHOU ; Dengshun LI ; Xin WANG ; Zhanzhen LI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(2):507-515
BACKGROUND:3D-printed bone tissue engineering scaffolds have obvious advantages in the research and clinical treatment of bone defect repair.As one of the important raw materials for 3D printed bone scaffolds,poly-L-lactic acid has a great potential for application in performing bone defect repair,but clinical patients with different bone defect causative factors have different requirements for the comprehensive performance of poly-L-lactic acid bone scaffolds.OBJECTIVE:To summarize and review the development of 3D printing technology and poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds and the design strategies chosen for scaffolds for bone repair in the setting of bone diseases such as osteomyelitis,bone tumor,osteonecrosis,and osteoporosis.METHODS:Literature from CNKI,WanFang,PubMed,Science Direct,and Web of Science databases were searched and screened from 1994 to 2024.Search terms were"3D printing,polylactic acid,bone tissue engineering scaffold,osteomyelitis,bone tumor,osteonecrosis,osteoporosis,bone defect"in Chinese and English.The screened 62 articles were systematically summarized and analyzed.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Poly-L-lactic acid is considered to be an ideal raw material for artificial bone scaffold design due to its non-toxicity,processability,biocompatibility,and ability to self-degrade in the human environment.The application of 3D printing technology has enabled poly-L-lactic acid bone scaffolds to meet the multilayered and porous structural design requirements of biomimetic artificial bone repair materials,and to optimize the mechanical properties for better bone repair.(2)According to different bone disease microenvironments,timely adjustment of the functional design of poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds is important for the comprehensive osteogenic efficacy of the scaffolds.The article discusses the application of poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds in bone disease environments such as osteomyelitis,bone tumor,osteonecrosis,and osteoporosis,and highlights the importance of rationally grasping the timing of bone disease treatment and bone tissue regeneration for bone defects caused by different bone diseases.(3)Although poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds show potential in bone repair,there are still some problems,such as the need to further optimize the structural design of the scaffolds to fit new bone regeneration,enhance the bioactivity of the scaffolds,and take into account other functions(e.g.,antimicrobial,anti-tumor,and anti-osteoporosis)in order to adapt to the needs of bone tissue repair in different pathological environments.
4.Effects of magnetic nano-drug carriers on exercise-induced muscle injury and inflammatory response in rats
Chao DONG ; Mohan ZHAO ; Yunan LIU ; Zeli YANG ; Leqin CHEN ; Lanfang WANG
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(2):345-353
BACKGROUND:Magnetic nanomaterials,as a hot topic in the biomedical field in recent years,are often used to enhance the targeted delivery of drugs to the affected area.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of magnetic nano drug carriers on skeletal muscle injury markers and inflammatory responses in rats with sports injuries.METHODS:Magnetic nanoparticles were prepared.A total of 88 male SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group(n=8),an injury control group(n=32),a Yunnan Baiyao group(n=24),and a magnetic nano-drug carrier group(n=24)by using a random number table method.The latter three groups were modeled with exercise-induced muscle injury(treadmill slope of-16°,running speed of 16 m/min,and training time of 120 min).Immediately after exercise,after verifying the success of the model,Yunnan Baiyao patch was applied to the gastrocnemius muscle of the rats in the Yunnan Baiyao group.Yunnan Baiyao patch loaded with magnetic nanoparticles was applied to the gastrocnemius muscle of the rats in the magnetic nano-drug carrier group.At 24,48,and 120 hours after exercise,blood was drawn from the abdominal aorta of rats to detect the activities of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase,as well as the levels of myoglobin,interleukin-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α.Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the gastrocnemius muscle.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the blank group,the levels of myoglobin,creatine kinase,lactate dehydrogenase and tumor necrosis factorα in the injury control group at 24,48 and 120 hours after exercise were increased(P<0.05),and the level of interleukin 6 at 24 and 120 hours after exercise was increased(P<0.05).Compared with the injury control group,the level of myoglobin in the Yunnan Baiyao group at 24 and 48 hours after exercise was decreased(P<0.05),the activities of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase at 24,48 and 120 hours were decreased(P<0.05),and the levels of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α at 120 hours after exercise were decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the Yunnan Baiyao group,the level of myoglobin in the magnetic nano-drug carrier group at 24 and 48 hours after exercise was decreased(P<0.05),the activities of creatine kinase and tumor necrosis factor α at 48 and 120 hours after exercise were decreased(P<0.05),and the lactate dehydrogenase activity was reduced(P<0.05).(2)Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that a large number of inflammatory cells infiltrated in the muscle fibers of the injury control group 24 hours after exercise,and then the inflammatory cell infiltration gradually decreased,and the local damaged muscle fibers began to regenerate 120 hours after exercise.A large number of inflammatory cells infiltrated in the muscle fibers of the Yunnan Baiyao group and the magnetic nano-drug carrier group 24 hours after exercise,and then the inflammatory cell infiltration gradually decreased,and the damaged muscle fibers were regenerating 120 hours after exercise,and there was no significant difference from the blank group.(3)The results show that Yunnan Baiyao patch combined with magnetic nanoparticles can accelerate the recovery of exercise-induced muscle injury in rats,and the effect is better than that of Yunnan Baiyao alone.
5.Construction of craniocerebral tissue segmentation model based on texture feature retrieval enhancement
Jinqian LI ; Chao WANG ; Zhuangzhuang DOU ; Xiaoke JIN ; Shijie RUAN ; Jia LI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(6):1431-1438
BACKGROUND:Rapid and accurate segmentation of brain tissue in medical images is of great significance for three-dimensional biomechanical modeling and diagnosis of craniocerebral injuries.Currently,artificial intelligence(AI)-based baseline models exhibit excellent generalization capabilities on large-scale datasets.However,due to the specificity and complexity of craniocerebral tissues,these models have certain limitations in their application to craniocerebral tissue segmentation.Additionally,the scarcity of craniocerebral tissue samples makes it difficult for baseline models to achieve precise segmentation results through fine-tuning.OBJECTIVE:To construct a craniocerebral tissue segmentation model based on texture feature retrieval enhancement to improve segmentation accuracy under a small number of samples.METHODS:Segment Anything in Medical Images(MedSAM)model was selected as the basic framework,and texture features were combined with deep learning to build a brain tissue segmentation model based on texture feature retrieval enhancement(DP-MedSAM).Dice Coefficient and mean intersection over union(MIoU)were selected to evaluate the efficiency of image segmentation results.In comparison with the original MedSAM model,the ablation experiment systematically evaluated the influence of key components on the model performance.The sensitivities of MedSAM,the Segment Anything Model(SAM)for medical image segmentation(SAM-Med2D)and DP-MedSAM in the mandible,left optic nerve,and left parotid gland were compared.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)By verifying the impact of the number of point prompts on segmentation results on the HaN-Seg dataset,the experimental results indicated that the optimal Dice score was achieved with the addition of three points.(2)DP-MedSAM demonstrated performance improvements compared with MedSAM and SAM-Med2D on two datasets(HaN and Public Domain Database for Computational Anatomy).Especially on the Public Domain Database for Computational Anatomy dataset,in terms of the MIoU metric,DP-MedSAM outperformed MedSAM by 6.59%and SAM-Med2D by 37.35%;in terms of the Dice metric,DP-MedSAM outperformed MedSAM and SAM-Med2D by 4.34%and 25.32%,respectively.(3)The ablation experiment results showed that removing the texture feature extraction module in the DP-MedSAM model,relying solely on original image features,led to a significant decrease in results on the test set.Furthermore,removing the vector cache database and its retrieval enhancement function from the model,which deprived the ability of the model to perform similarity retrieval using an external knowledge base,further reduced model performance.(4)Under conditions of limited data resources,the DP-MedSAM model outperformed the other two models in all evaluation metrics.The DP-MedSAM model performed excellently when processing simple and moderately difficult samples,demonstrating a clear advantage over the other two models and indicating good generalization ability.Processing the fine structures of difficult samples placed higher demands on the model's segmentation capabilities.Although the performance of the DP-MedSAM model declined slightly,it still outperformed the other two models.(5)This study proposes an innovative craniocerebral tissue segmentation model,DP-MedSAM,which improves the baseline model's performance in capturing local details and global structural information in medical images by introducing target region texture feature extraction.Through vector similarity retrieval technology,DP-MedSAM can retrieve the feature vector most similar to the current target region from a pre-constructed vector database,providing more precise guiding information for the segmentation process.
6.3D printed poly-L-lactic acid bone scaffolds in repair of bone defects
Fengli YANG ; Chao ZHOU ; Wei XIONG ; Yuxiang ZHOU ; Dengshun LI ; Xin WANG ; Zhanzhen LI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(2):507-515
BACKGROUND:3D-printed bone tissue engineering scaffolds have obvious advantages in the research and clinical treatment of bone defect repair.As one of the important raw materials for 3D printed bone scaffolds,poly-L-lactic acid has a great potential for application in performing bone defect repair,but clinical patients with different bone defect causative factors have different requirements for the comprehensive performance of poly-L-lactic acid bone scaffolds.OBJECTIVE:To summarize and review the development of 3D printing technology and poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds and the design strategies chosen for scaffolds for bone repair in the setting of bone diseases such as osteomyelitis,bone tumor,osteonecrosis,and osteoporosis.METHODS:Literature from CNKI,WanFang,PubMed,Science Direct,and Web of Science databases were searched and screened from 1994 to 2024.Search terms were"3D printing,polylactic acid,bone tissue engineering scaffold,osteomyelitis,bone tumor,osteonecrosis,osteoporosis,bone defect"in Chinese and English.The screened 62 articles were systematically summarized and analyzed.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Poly-L-lactic acid is considered to be an ideal raw material for artificial bone scaffold design due to its non-toxicity,processability,biocompatibility,and ability to self-degrade in the human environment.The application of 3D printing technology has enabled poly-L-lactic acid bone scaffolds to meet the multilayered and porous structural design requirements of biomimetic artificial bone repair materials,and to optimize the mechanical properties for better bone repair.(2)According to different bone disease microenvironments,timely adjustment of the functional design of poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds is important for the comprehensive osteogenic efficacy of the scaffolds.The article discusses the application of poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds in bone disease environments such as osteomyelitis,bone tumor,osteonecrosis,and osteoporosis,and highlights the importance of rationally grasping the timing of bone disease treatment and bone tissue regeneration for bone defects caused by different bone diseases.(3)Although poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds show potential in bone repair,there are still some problems,such as the need to further optimize the structural design of the scaffolds to fit new bone regeneration,enhance the bioactivity of the scaffolds,and take into account other functions(e.g.,antimicrobial,anti-tumor,and anti-osteoporosis)in order to adapt to the needs of bone tissue repair in different pathological environments.
7.Neuroprotective Effects of Transcranial Magneto-acoustic Stimulation on Parkinson’s Disease Model Mice by Regulating Mitophagy and Mitochondrial Homeostasis
Shuai ZHANG ; Yan-Bin WANG ; Yi-Hao XU ; Jin-Rui MI ; Xiao-Chao LU ; Yu-Chen AN ; Ji-Zhou LIU ; Jia-Qi SUN
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(5):1457-1470
ObjectiveTranscranial magneto-acoustic stimulation (TMAS) is an emerging non-invasive neuromodulation technique that may provide a novel non-pharmacological intervention strategy for Parkinson's disease (PD). PD is characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), leading to motor impairments such as bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity. Increasing evidence indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired mitochondrial quality control are central mechanisms underlying dopaminergic neuronal loss. In particular, abnormalities in mitophagy and mitochondrial fission-fusion balance contribute substantially to oxidative stress, energy metabolic failure, and neuronal injury. At present, most clinical treatments for PD mainly alleviate symptoms but do not effectively halt disease progression. Therefore, exploring new interventions targeting the core pathological mechanisms is of considerable significance. This study aims to investigate whether TMAS can improve neural damage and motor dysfunction in PD mice by regulating mitophagy and the fission/fusion dynamic balance, thereby providing theoretical and experimental support for its application in PD treatment. MethodsMale C57BL/6 mice were used in this study. A PD model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) for 7 consecutive days. After model induction, mice in the intervention group received TMAS once daily for 14 consecutive days, whereas the corresponding control group received sham stimulation. The stimulation target was positioned over the primary motor cortex (M1). Motor performance was evaluated using the pole test and the open-field test. To verify the activation effect of TMAS on the target cortical region, c-Fos immunohistochemistry was performed in the M1. To assess nigral dopaminergic neuronal injury, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry was used to quantify TH-positive neurons in the SNc. Mitochondrial function was evaluated by measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content in the SNc. Western blot was further performed to determine the expression of mitophagy-related proteins, including PINK1, Parkin, LC3-II, and p62, as well as mitochondrial dynamics-related proteins, including Drp1 and Opa1. ResultsTMAS significantly increased the number of c-Fos-positive cells in M1 (P<0.000 1), indicating effective activation of neurons in the targeted cortical region. Compared with the control group, MPTP-treated mice exhibited marked motor dysfunction, including a significant reduction in total distance traveled in the open-field test (P<0.000 1) and mean speed (P=0.000 1), as well as significant prolongation of turn time and total climbing time in the pole test (P<0.000 1). These behavioral impairments were accompanied by a substantial loss of TH-positive dopaminergic neurons in the SNc, whereas TMAS significantly increased TH-positive neuron survival (P<0.000 1). In parallel, MPTP induced a pronounced increase in ROS levels and a significant reduction in ATP content, indicating severe mitochondrial dysfunction and energy metabolism impairment (P<0.01). TMAS treatment significantly improved motor performance, as reflected by the reversal of MPTP-induced impairment in the open-field and pole tests, and significantly reduced ROS accumulation (P<0.01) while restoring ATP production (P<0.001). At the molecular level, MPTP markedly downregulated PINK1 and Parkin, decreased p62 expression, increased LC3-II accumulation, elevated Drp1 expression, and reduced Opa1 expression, whereas TMAS significantly reversed these abnormalities, suggesting restoration of mitophagy-related mitochondrial quality control and re-establishment of mitochondrial fission-fusion balance. Collectively, these findings indicate that TMAS ameliorates MPTP-induced neurotoxicity and restores mitochondrial homeostasis and energy metabolism. ConclusionTMAS effectively attenuates neural damage and improves motor dysfunction in MPTP-induced PD mice. Its neuroprotective effects are closely associated with multidimensional regulation of the mitochondrial quality control system, including restoration of PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy and rebalancing of Drp1/Opa1-related mitochondrial dynamics. Rather than acting only as a symptomatic neuromodulatory intervention, TMAS may influence a key pathological axis of PD by improving mitochondrial homeostasis in SNc and protecting nigral dopaminergic neurons. These findings provide experimental evidence supporting TMAS as a promising non-invasive physical intervention for PD.
8.Neuroprotective Effects of Transcranial Magneto-acoustic Stimulation on Parkinson’s Disease Model Mice by Regulating Mitophagy and Mitochondrial Homeostasis
Shuai ZHANG ; Yan-Bin WANG ; Yi-Hao XU ; Jin-Rui MI ; Xiao-Chao LU ; Yu-Chen AN ; Ji-Zhou LIU ; Jia-Qi SUN
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(5):1457-1470
ObjectiveTranscranial magneto-acoustic stimulation (TMAS) is an emerging non-invasive neuromodulation technique that may provide a novel non-pharmacological intervention strategy for Parkinson's disease (PD). PD is characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), leading to motor impairments such as bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity. Increasing evidence indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired mitochondrial quality control are central mechanisms underlying dopaminergic neuronal loss. In particular, abnormalities in mitophagy and mitochondrial fission-fusion balance contribute substantially to oxidative stress, energy metabolic failure, and neuronal injury. At present, most clinical treatments for PD mainly alleviate symptoms but do not effectively halt disease progression. Therefore, exploring new interventions targeting the core pathological mechanisms is of considerable significance. This study aims to investigate whether TMAS can improve neural damage and motor dysfunction in PD mice by regulating mitophagy and the fission/fusion dynamic balance, thereby providing theoretical and experimental support for its application in PD treatment. MethodsMale C57BL/6 mice were used in this study. A PD model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) for 7 consecutive days. After model induction, mice in the intervention group received TMAS once daily for 14 consecutive days, whereas the corresponding control group received sham stimulation. The stimulation target was positioned over the primary motor cortex (M1). Motor performance was evaluated using the pole test and the open-field test. To verify the activation effect of TMAS on the target cortical region, c-Fos immunohistochemistry was performed in the M1. To assess nigral dopaminergic neuronal injury, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry was used to quantify TH-positive neurons in the SNc. Mitochondrial function was evaluated by measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content in the SNc. Western blot was further performed to determine the expression of mitophagy-related proteins, including PINK1, Parkin, LC3-II, and p62, as well as mitochondrial dynamics-related proteins, including Drp1 and Opa1. ResultsTMAS significantly increased the number of c-Fos-positive cells in M1 (P<0.000 1), indicating effective activation of neurons in the targeted cortical region. Compared with the control group, MPTP-treated mice exhibited marked motor dysfunction, including a significant reduction in total distance traveled in the open-field test (P<0.000 1) and mean speed (P=0.000 1), as well as significant prolongation of turn time and total climbing time in the pole test (P<0.000 1). These behavioral impairments were accompanied by a substantial loss of TH-positive dopaminergic neurons in the SNc, whereas TMAS significantly increased TH-positive neuron survival (P<0.000 1). In parallel, MPTP induced a pronounced increase in ROS levels and a significant reduction in ATP content, indicating severe mitochondrial dysfunction and energy metabolism impairment (P<0.01). TMAS treatment significantly improved motor performance, as reflected by the reversal of MPTP-induced impairment in the open-field and pole tests, and significantly reduced ROS accumulation (P<0.01) while restoring ATP production (P<0.001). At the molecular level, MPTP markedly downregulated PINK1 and Parkin, decreased p62 expression, increased LC3-II accumulation, elevated Drp1 expression, and reduced Opa1 expression, whereas TMAS significantly reversed these abnormalities, suggesting restoration of mitophagy-related mitochondrial quality control and re-establishment of mitochondrial fission-fusion balance. Collectively, these findings indicate that TMAS ameliorates MPTP-induced neurotoxicity and restores mitochondrial homeostasis and energy metabolism. ConclusionTMAS effectively attenuates neural damage and improves motor dysfunction in MPTP-induced PD mice. Its neuroprotective effects are closely associated with multidimensional regulation of the mitochondrial quality control system, including restoration of PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy and rebalancing of Drp1/Opa1-related mitochondrial dynamics. Rather than acting only as a symptomatic neuromodulatory intervention, TMAS may influence a key pathological axis of PD by improving mitochondrial homeostasis in SNc and protecting nigral dopaminergic neurons. These findings provide experimental evidence supporting TMAS as a promising non-invasive physical intervention for PD.
10.Elucidating the Epigenetic Landscape of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Multi-Omics Analysis Revealing Novel CpG Sites and Their Association with Cardiometabolic Traits
Ren-Hua CHUNG ; Chun-Chao WANG ; Djeane Debora ONTHONI ; Ben-Yang LIAO ; Tzu-Sheng HSU ; Eden R. MARTIN ; Chao A. HSIUNG ; Wayne Huey-Herng SHEU ; Hung-Yi CHIOU
Diabetes & Metabolism Journal 2026;50(1):153-164
Background:
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex, multifactorial disease with a significant global burden. Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many T2DM-associated variants, most lie in non-coding regions, making it difficult to interpret their functional roles.
Methods:
We aimed to identify genetically regulated Cytosine–phosphate–Guanine (CpG) sites associated with T2DM by conducting a methylome-wide association study (MWAS), followed by Mendelian randomization (MR) and functional validation using human pancreatic cells and mouse models. MWAS was performed using summary statistics from large-scale GWAS and a DNA methylation (DNAm) prediction model to test associations between genetically predicted DNAm and T2DM.
Results:
We identified 111 CpG sites significantly associated with T2DM in Europeans, including 8 novel sites near genes not previously linked to T2DM. These findings were replicated in independent datasets. Many CpGs also showed associations with cardiometabolic traits, highlighting shared epigenetic mechanisms. Trans-ethnic MR analysis confirmed consistent effects for six CpGs in East Asians. Functional analysis revealed that several CpGs regulate gene expression in human pancreatic α- and β-cells. Among them, 2´-5´-oligoadenylate synthetase like (OASL) expression, regulated by a significant CpG, was differentially expressed in α-cells of T2DM cases compared to controls. Supporting evidence from mouse models suggests a role for OASL in glucose regulation.
Conclusion
Our study identifies novel genetically regulated CpG sites associated with T2DM risk and highlights OASL as a potential epigenetic regulator of glucose metabolism in α-cells. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the epigenetic architecture of T2DM and suggest potential targets for cross-ethnic biomarker development and therapeutic intervention.

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