AIM:To observe the role of enoyl-coenzyme A hydratase/L-3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydroge-nase(Ehhadh)in renal tubulointerstitial inflammation in high-fat diet(HFD)fed mice,and to explore its molecular mecha-nism.METHODS:Twenty-four C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into 4 groups:standard diet(SD)group,HFD group,HFD with Ehhadh overexpression(HFD+Ehh)group and HFD with blank vector(HFD+Vec)group.Each group consisted of 6 mice.The HFD mice were fed with a diet containing 60%fat,20%protein,and 20%carbohydrates for 16 weeks.Briefly,at the end of 8 weeks,the mice in HFD+Ehh or HFD+Vec group were injected with adeno-associated virus 9(AAV9)-Ehhadh or AAV9-vector via the tail vein,and then continued another 8-week HFD feeding.At the end of the experiments,the renal function and morphological changes were observed.The protein expression levels of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3),caspase-1 p10,interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-18 in the kidney were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry.Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the colocalization of Ehhadh and peroxisomal biogenesis factor 14(Pex14).ELISA was used to detect the content of IL-1β and IL-18 in the urine.Lipid droplet formation in renal tissues was detected by Nile red staining.Absolute quantitative lip-idomic analysis were used to detect the differential lipid species in renal cortices of the mice in SD,HFD and HFD+Ehh groups.RESULTS:Compared with SD group,the expression of Ehhadh protein was significantly decreased in the peroxi-some of renal tubular epithelium cells in HFD-fed mice(P<0.01).Overexpression of Ehhadh significantly improved renal function(P<0.01)and alleviated the morphological changes of renal tubular epithelial cells in HFD group.Moreover,it significantly inhibited the expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 and macrophage infiltration in renal tu-bule interstitium of HFD-fed mice(P<0.01).At the same time,Ehhadh overexpression inhibited HFD-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation(P<0.01).It also attenuated lipid deposition in renal tubular epithelium cells(P<0.01)and promoted the β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acid such as cholesterol and phospholipids in peroxisomes.CONCLUSION:The Ehhadh inhibits tubulointerstitial inflammation by promoting long-chain fatty acid β-oxidation in peroxisomes and in-hibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in HFD-fed mice.

AIM:To observe the role of enoyl-coenzyme A hydratase/L-3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydroge-nase(Ehhadh)in renal tubulointerstitial inflammation in high-fat diet(HFD)fed mice,and to explore its molecular mecha-nism.METHODS:Twenty-four C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into 4 groups:standard diet(SD)group,HFD group,HFD with Ehhadh overexpression(HFD+Ehh)group and HFD with blank vector(HFD+Vec)group.Each group consisted of 6 mice.The HFD mice were fed with a diet containing 60%fat,20%protein,and 20%carbohydrates for 16 weeks.Briefly,at the end of 8 weeks,the mice in HFD+Ehh or HFD+Vec group were injected with adeno-associated virus 9(AAV9)-Ehhadh or AAV9-vector via the tail vein,and then continued another 8-week HFD feeding.At the end of the experiments,the renal function and morphological changes were observed.The protein expression levels of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3),caspase-1 p10,interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-18 in the kidney were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry.Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the colocalization of Ehhadh and peroxisomal biogenesis factor 14(Pex14).ELISA was used to detect the content of IL-1β and IL-18 in the urine.Lipid droplet formation in renal tissues was detected by Nile red staining.Absolute quantitative lip-idomic analysis were used to detect the differential lipid species in renal cortices of the mice in SD,HFD and HFD+Ehh groups.RESULTS:Compared with SD group,the expression of Ehhadh protein was significantly decreased in the peroxi-some of renal tubular epithelium cells in HFD-fed mice(P<0.01).Overexpression of Ehhadh significantly improved renal function(P<0.01)and alleviated the morphological changes of renal tubular epithelial cells in HFD group.Moreover,it significantly inhibited the expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 and macrophage infiltration in renal tu-bule interstitium of HFD-fed mice(P<0.01).At the same time,Ehhadh overexpression inhibited HFD-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation(P<0.01).It also attenuated lipid deposition in renal tubular epithelium cells(P<0.01)and promoted the β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acid such as cholesterol and phospholipids in peroxisomes.CONCLUSION:The Ehhadh inhibits tubulointerstitial inflammation by promoting long-chain fatty acid β-oxidation in peroxisomes and in-hibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in HFD-fed mice.

OBJECTIVE To establish fingerprints and multi-components determination of Jieze lotion, and use chemometrics methods for quality evaluation. METHODS The HPLC-DAD fingerprints was established and 10 components were recognized by comparison with references. Meanwhile, their contents were determined. The data were evaluated by the methods of chemometrics such as similarity evaluation, cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis. RESULTS The similarity of 11 batches of Jieze lotion were all >0.95. The linearity was good(r≥0. 999 1) and the average recoveries were between 89.70% and 106.0% with the RSD of 1.52%−3.41%. Instrument precision, stability and reproducibility of the method were all great. The contents of the common ten components(gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, neochlorogenic acid, caftaricacid, 5-O-feruloylquinicacid, chlorogenic acid, phellodendrine chloride, magnoflorine, 4-O-feruloylquinic acid, berberinehydrochloride) were 40.103−55.841, 2.347−6.179, 8.336−23.810, 7.084−21.956, 33.098−53.833, 24.597−49.610, 21.587−31.188, 5.915−13.162, 115.381−189.702, 31.378−112.686 μg·mL−1, respectively. The results of chemometrics showed that the 11 batches of samples could be divided into 4 categories, and the strong characteristic peaks used to distinguish each batch of samples were berberine hydrochloride, 4-O-feruloylquinic acid, chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid and 5-O-feruloylquinic acid. CONCLUSION The method is accurate and reliable, and it can be used for the quality control and comprehensive evaluation of Jieze lotion.

Objective To explore the effects of exposure to lipopolysaccharides in late pregnancy on age-related cognitive changes in offspring of mice,and to investigate whether there is a gender specific genetic effect.Methods Institute of cancer research(ICR)CD-1 mice during gestational days 15-17 were injected with lipopolysaccha-ride daily(LPS group,50 μg/kg),or equal volume of normal saline(CON group).At the age of 2 months after their delivery,LPS treated offspring mice(F1-LPS,male and female)were randomly selected and hybridized with age-matched wild-type CD-1 mice.F1-LPS males and females with different littermates,and F1-CON males and fe-males were hybridized to obtain F2 generations of different lineages.Similarly,F2-LPS mice were mated with wild-type mice to conceive the F3 generation.At the age of 3 and 18 months old,F1,F2,and F3 mice(n=8 in each group)were randomly selected to complete the Morris maze experiment in order to test their cognitive abilities.Re-sults Compared with 3-month-old CON mice,18-month-old CON mice showed poorer learning and memory abili-ties,especially in females.For Fl generation,the learning and memory abilities of the 3-month-old and 18-month-old F1-LPS mice were inferior to those of the same aged CON mice.For F2 generation,the 3-month-old F2-LPS-parental mice had poorer learning and memory compared to the same aged CON mice,while the F2-LPS-paternal mice only had poorer memory compared to the same aged CON group.The learning and memory abilities of 18-month-old F2-LPS paternal and F2-LPS-parental mice were inferior to those of the same aged CON mice.The learn-ing and memory abilities of F2-LPS maternal male mice were inferior to those of CON male mice,and the memory abilities of F2-LPS maternal mice were stronger than those of F2-LPS-parental mice.With regards to the F3 genera-tion,the memory of the 3-month-old F3-LPS-parental mice was poorer than that of the same aged CON mice.The learning and memory abilities of F3-LPS paternal and F3-LPS-parental mice at 18 months old were inferior to those of CON mice of the same age.The 18-month-old F3-LPS maternal and paternal male mice had better memory than F3-LPS-parental male mice.Conclusion Exposure to lipopolysaccharides in late pregnancy can accelerate age-re-lated cognitive decline in offspring mice,and it has a cross generational genetic effect and gender differences,mainly in paternal inheritance.

ObjectiveTo establish an early predictive model using serological markers based on LASSO regression for predicting the possibility of HBsAg clearance in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B （CHB） patients treated with pegylated interferon α-2b （PEG-IFNα-2b）， and to investigate the diagnostic value of the model. MethodsA total of 136 HBeAg-negative CHB patients who received PEG-IFNα-2b treatment in the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from April 2020 to October 2021 were enrolled， among whom 47 received PEG-IFNα-2b for the first time （previously untreated） and 89 received PEG-IFNα-2b after 48 weeks of treatment with nucleos（t）ide analogues （treatment-experienced）. The patients were randomly assigned to a training set with 95 patients and a validation set with 41 patients at a ratio of 7∶3， and related data were collected for both groups， including virological markers， routine blood test results， and liver function at baseline and week 12 of treatment. According to HBsAg status at week 48 of treatment， the patients were divided into seroconversion group with 38 patients and non-seroconversion group with 98 patients. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical variables between two groups. The LASSO regression analysis and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to establish a nomogram model； the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was used to assess its predictive ability， and the area under the ROC curve （AUC） was used for comparison of predictive value. ResultsIn the training set， 95 HBeAg-negative CHB patients were treated with PEG-IFNα-2b for 48 weeks， among whom there were 27 patients in the seroconversion group and 68 in the non-seroconversion group. The univariate Logistic regression analysis， with P<0.2 as the criterion for screening， showed that 9 indicators were included in the LASSO regression analysis， i.e.， sex， baseline HBV DNA level， the reduction in HBV DNA in 0 — 12 weeks， baseline HBsAg level， the reduction in HBsAg in 0 — 12 weeks， baseline aspartate aminotransferase （AST） level， the reduction in AST in 0 — 12 weeks， baseline alanine aminotransferase （ALT） level， and the reduction in ALT in 0 — 12 weeks. The LASSO regression analysis showed that sex， baseline HBsAg level， the reduction in HBsAg in 0 — 12 weeks， and the reduction in ALT in 0 — 12 weeks were non-zero variables and were included in the multivariate Logistic regression analysis. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis obtained 4 independent predictive factors， i.e.， sex （odds ratio ［OR］=5.38， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 1.11 — 34.21， P=0.049）， baseline HBsAg level （OR=0.12， 95%CI： 0.04 — 0.26， P<0.001）， the reduction in HBsAg in 0 — 12 weeks （OR=5.54， 95%CI： 1.97 — 19.18， P=0.003）， and the reduction in ALT in 0 — 12 weeks （OR=0.99， 95%CI： 0.97 — 1.00， P=0.039）. A nomogram model was established based on the results of the multivariate Logistic regression analysis， and the ROC curve was used to assess the predictive value of this nomogram model. This nomogram model had an AUC of 0.934 （95%CI： 0.886 — 0.981） in the training set and an AUC of 0.921 （95%CI： 0.838 — 1.000） in the validation set. In addition， the results of calibration curve and decision curve analyses showed that the model had good consistency and accuracy. ConclusionBased on general information and serological markers， the LASSO regression analysis is used to establish a nomogram model using sex， baseline HBsAg level， the reduction in HBsAg in 0 — 12 weeks， and the reduction in ALT in 0 — 12 weeks， and this model can be used to predict the probability of achieving HBsAg clearance in HBeAg-negative CHB patients treated with PEG-IFNα-2b， which provides important reference and theoretical support for the clinical treatment of patients.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the current situation of human resource allocation in district and county centers for disease control and prevention （CDCs） in Kashgar ， identify existing problems and influencing factors， and to provide scientific evidence for optimizing the human resource allocation. MethodsA survey was conducted among all CDCs in Kashgar in February 2022. The questionnaire included the institutional and individual questions. ResultsThe overall staff size approved for the CDCs in Kashgar was 604， with a staffing rate of 76.17%， among which the staffing rates in 5 county CDCs were less than 60%. Currently， there were a total of 524 approved staff members in all CDCs， resulting in a vacancy rate of 13.25%. In the district CDC， 85 staff members were on duty， while the median of staff on duty was 34 in each county CDC. The staff in the district CDC was ageing， of which those aged over 45 accounted for 67.06%. The staff in the county CDCs was generally young， of which those aged less than 35 accounted for 54.22%. Moreover， the proportion of staff with bachelor’s degree or above in the district and county CDCs was 31.76% and 24.95%， respectively. The proportion of staff without professional title was 32.94% and 48.03%， respectively. In contrast， the proportion of those with middle and senior professional title was 57.89% and 22.02%， respectively. In addition， in recent 3 years， 24 staff members resigned in the CDCs， all of whom had professional titles. ConclusionHuman resources are insufficient in CDCs in Kashgar. Furthermore， staff structure is unreasonable， with a serious loss of human resources. In particular， the district CDC needs to optimize the allocation of human resources.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) have a higher incidence to develop depression. However, its pathogenesis has not yet been fully elucidated. Here we aimed to investigate the role of inflammatory cytokines in CNP-related anhedonia, which is a core symptom of depression, and to explore the effects of ketamine and parecoxib on pain and anhedonia. METHODS: A rat model of spared nerve injury (SNI) was constructed to mimic CNP. Hierarchical cluster analysis of sucrose preference test (SPT) was applied to classify the SNI rats into anhedonia susceptible and unsusceptible. Inflammatory cytokines in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of brain, serum and L2–5 spinal cord were measured. Moreover, effects of ketamine or parecoxib on mechanical withdrawal test (MWT) and SPT in anhedonia susceptible rats were detected. RESULTS: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α was increased in mPFC, serum and and spinal cord of anhedonia susceptible rats. Furthermore, anhedonia susceptible and unsusceptible rats both increased the interleukin (IL)-1β level in mPFC, serum and spinal cord. IL-6 was altered in serum and spinal cord, but not in mPFC. IL-10 was significantly altered in mPFC and serum, but not in spinal cord. Additionally, ketamine treatment significantly attenuated the decreased results of MWT and SPT in anhedonia susceptible rats, and that parecoxib significantly improved the MWT score, but failed to alter the result of SPT. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that abnormalities in inflammatory cytokines confer susceptible to anhedonia in a rat model of SNI. Ketamine, a fast-acting antidepressant, has pharmacological benefits to alleviate pain and anhedonia symptoms.
Anhedonia ; Animals ; Brain ; Cytokines ; Depression ; Humans ; Incidence ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukins ; Ketamine ; Models, Animal ; Neuralgia ; Neurogenic Inflammation ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Rats ; Spinal Cord ; Sucrose ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Objective To investigate the effects and its possible mechanisms of tiopronin (TIP) on interleukin-2 (IL-2) immunotherapy of human leukemia KG-1 cells transplanted in nude mice.Methods KG-1 cells (1 x 107/ml) in logarithmic growth phase were injected subcutaneously into the groin of the left hind leg of the 45 5-week-old nude mice.When the subcutaneous tumor diameter was about 8 mm,nude mice were randomly divided into three groups (n =15):Control group (intraperitoneal injection of phosphate buffer),IL-2 group (hypodermic injection of IL-2),IL-2 + TIP group (hypodermic injection of IL-2 and intraperitoneal injection of TIP).The therapeutic effect of TIP combined with IL-2 on human leukemia KG-1 cells transplanted in nude mice was observed.The number of nature killer (NK) cells in peripheral blood of nude mice was detected by flow cytometry.Nitrate reductase assay was used to detect reactive nitric metabolite (RNM) levels in peripheral blood of nude mice.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the levels of tumor necrosis factor-β (TNF-β) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in peripheral blood of nude mice.Terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was used to analyze apoptosis.Results Both IL-2 and IL-2 + TIP could inhibit the growth of transplanted tumor.Compared with IL-2 group [(54.32 ± 4.32) ％],the tumor inhibition rate of IL-2 + TIP group was (90.15 ± 3.75)％,and its inhibition of tumor growth was more obvious (t =11.893,P ＜ 0.001).The tumor weights of Control group,IL-2 group and IL-2 + TIP group were (0.95 ± 0.05)g,(0.58 ± 0.03)g and (0.27 ± 0.07)g,and there was statistically significant difference among the three groups (F =52.716,P ＜ 0.001).Compared with IL-2 group,the tumor weight of IL-2 + TIP group was significantly reduced (P =0.008).The number of NK cells in IL-2 + TIP group was (0.658 ±0.157)/L,which was significantly higher than (0.452 ±0.124)/L of IL-2 group (P =0.021).The concentration of RNM in IL-2 + TIP group was (42.92 ± 4.68)μmol/ml,which was significantly lower than (163.38 ± 5.49)μmol/ml in IL-2 group (P =0.007).The concentrations of TNF-β and IFN-γin IL-2 + TIP group were (247.68 ± 8.24) pg/ml and (185.61 ±7.58) pg/ml,which were significantly higher than (97.48 ± 7.28)pg/ml (P =0.021) and (70.62 ± 8.47)pg/ml (P =0.015) in IL-2 group.The apoptotic rate of tumor cells in IL-2 + TIP group was (47.38±4.25)％,which was significantly higher than (21.41 ±2.79)％ in IL-2 group (P ＜0.001).Conclusion TIP can increase the sensitivity of leukemia cells to IL-2 immunothe-rapy by removing RNM,promoting NK cells activity and increasing NK cells-induced tumor cell apoptosis.

Objective To establish HPLC determination method and impurity profile of the related substances in metronidazole.Methods A Welch Ultimate(R)XB-C1s (4.6 mm× 250 mm,5 μm)was used with a mobile phase consisting of methanol-1.36 g· L-1 solution of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (20∶ 80).The detection wavelength was 315 nm and the flow rate was 1 mL· min-1.Its related substances were determined by principal component self-contrast method.Results Good separation of metronidazole and the impurities could be achieved.Twenty batches of samples in the past six years were determined which meet quality standards.The study of impurity profiles could effectively monitor the synthetic process and the change of impurities in metronidazole.Conclusion The method is simple,quick and sensitive,which can be used to control the related substances in metronidazole.Meanwhile,the impurity profiles ensure the quality stability of metronidazole.

Objective To investigate the effect of E1A gene on the radiosensitivity of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and its possible mechanism. Methods The E1A gene was transfected into nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2R cells by adenovirus vector. The expression of E1A gene was detected by RT-PCR. Untransfected CNE-2R cells(PBS group)and CNE-2R cells transfected with empty vector Ad-β-gal(Ad-β-gal group)and E1A(Ad-E1A group)were given 0 Gy,2 Gy,4 Gy,6 Gy,8 Gy 6 MV X-ray irradiation. The changes in radiosensitivity of CNE-2R cells were determined by colony-forming assay. Flow cytometry was used to analyze cell apoptosis in each group. The expression of NF-κB, CK2α, Bcl-2, and cleaved caspase-3 was measured by Western blot. Results RT-PCR confirmed that the E1A gene was transfected into CNE-2R cells and stably expressed. The Ad-E1A group had a significantly lower plating efficiency than the PBS group and the Ad-β-gal group(P<0.05). The Ad-E1A group had significantly lower cell survival rate at 2 Gy irradiation than the PBS group and the Ad-β-gal group(0.217 vs. 0.602, P<0.05;0.217 vs. 0.585, P<0.05). The Ad-E1A group had a significantly higher α/β value than the PBS group and the Ad-β-gal group(24.680 vs. 5.268, P<0.05;24.680 vs. 5.132, P<0.05). Flow cytometry results showed that irradiation alone could promote the apoptosis of CNE-2R cells,when combined with E1A gene,the apoptosis rate was significantly increased(P<0.05). Western blot results showed that E1A gene down-regulated the expression of NF-κB/p65,CK2α,and Bcl-2 and up-regulated the expression of cleaved caspase-3. Conclusions E1A gene can enhance the radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by inhibiting the expression of CK2 to block the NF-κB signaling pathway and promoting cell apoptosis.