This study aims to delve into the influences and underlying mechanisms of Banxia Xiexin Decoction(BXD) on the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration of colon cancer cells. Firstly, the components of BXD in blood were identified by UPLC-MS/MS, and subsequently the content of these components were determined by HPLC. Then, different concentrations of BXD were used to treat both the normal intestinal epithelial cells(NCM460) and the colon cancer cells(HT29 and HCT116). The cell viability and apoptosis were examined by the cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) and flow cytometry, respectively. Western blot was employed to determine the expression of the apoptosis regulators B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2) and Bcl-2-associated X(Bax). The cell wound healing assay and Transwell assay were employed to measure the cell migration and invasion, respectively. Additionally, Western blot was employed to determine the expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)-associated proteins, including epithelial cadherin(E-cadherin), neural cadherin(N-cadherin), and vimentin. The protein and mRNA levels of the factors in the poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase(PARG)/poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1(PARP1)/nuclear factor kappa-B p65(NF-κB p65) signaling pathway were determined by Western blot and RT-qPCR, respectively. The results demonstrated that following BXD intervention, the proliferation of HT29 and HCT116 cells was significantly reduced. Furthermore, BXD promoted the apoptosis, enhanced the expression of Bcl-2, and suppressed the expression of Bax in colon cancer cells. At the same time, BXD suppressed the cell migration and invasion and augmented the expression of E-cadherin while diminishing the expression of N-cadherin and vimentin. In addition, BXD down-regulated the protein and mRNA levels of PARG, PARP1, and NF-κB p65. In conclusion, BXD may inhibit the malignant phenotypes of colon cancer cells by mediating the PARG/PARP1/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Colonic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Phenotype ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Apoptosis ; Cell Movement/drug effects* ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; HCT116 Cells ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/biosynthesis* ; Humans ; Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase-1 ; Glycoside Hydrolases ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; NF-kappa B p50 Subunit

Diterpenoid ferruginol is a key intermediate in biosynthesis of active ingredients such as tanshinone and carnosic acid.However, the traditional process of obtaining ferruginol from plants is often cumbersome and inefficient. In recent years, the increasingly developing gene editing technology has been gradually applied to the heterologous production of natural products, but the production of ferruginol in microbe is still very low, which has become an obstacle to the efficient biosynthesis of downstream chemicals, such as tanshinone. In this study, miltiradiene was produced by integrating the shortened diterpene synthase fusion protein,and the key genes in the MVA pathway were overexpressed to improve the yield of miltiradiene. Under the shake flask fermentation condition, the yield of miltiradiene reached about(113. 12±17. 4)mg·L~(-1). Subsequently, this study integrated the ferruginol synthase Sm CYP76AH1 and Sm CPR1 to reconstruct the ferruginol pathway and thereby realized the heterologous synthesis of ferruginol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The study selected the best ferruginol synthase(Il CYP76AH46) from different plants and optimized the expression of pathway genes through redox partner engineering to increase the yield of ferruginol. By increasing the copy number of diterpene synthase, CYP450, and CPR, the yield of ferruginol reached(370. 39± 21. 65) mg·L~(-1) in the shake flask, which was increased by 21. 57-fold compared with that when the initial ferruginol strain JMLT05 was used. Finally, 1 083. 51 mg·L~(-1) ferruginol was obtained by fed-batch fermentation, which is the highest yield of ferruginol from biosynthesis so far. This study provides not only research ideas for other metabolic engineering but also a platform for the construction of cell factories for downstream products.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics* ; Diterpenes/metabolism* ; Metabolic Engineering ; Fermentation ; Abietanes

The phase changes and quantity-quality transfer of 17 batches of Ostreae Concha(Ostrea rivularis) during the raw material-calcined decoction pieces-standard decoction process were analyzed. The content of calcium carbonate(CaCO_3), the main component, was determined by chemical titration, and the extract yield and transfer rate were calculated. The CaCO_3 content in the raw material, calcined decoction pieces, and standard decoction was 94.39%-98.80%, 95.03%-99.22%, and 84.58%-90.47%, respectively. The process of raw material to calcined decoction pieces showed the yield range of 96.85% to 98.55% and the CaCO_3 transfer rate range of 96.92% to 99.27%. The process of calcined decoction pieces to standard decoction showed the extract yield range of 2.86% to 5.48% and the CaCO_3 transfer rate range of 2.59% to 5.13%. The results of X-ray fluorescence(XRF) assay showed that the raw material, calcined decoction pieces, and standard decoction mainly contained Ca, Na, Mg, Si, Br, Cl, Al, Fe, Cr, Mn, and K. The chemometric results showed an increase in the relative content of Cr, Fe, and Si from raw material to calcined decoction pieces and an increase in the relative content of Mg, Al, Br, K, Cl, and Na from calcined decoction pieces to standard decoction. X-ray diffraction(XRD) was employed to establish XRD characteristic patterns of the raw material, calcined decoction pieces, and standard decoction. The XRD results showed that the main phase of all three was calcite, and no transformation of crystalline form or generation of new phase was observed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) was employed to establish the FTIR characteristic spectra of the raw material, calcined decoction pieces, and standard decoction. The FTIR results showed that the raw material had internal vibrations of O-H, C-H, C=O, C-O, and CO■ groups. Due to the loss of organic matter components after calcination, no information about the vibrations of C-H, C=O, and C-O groups was observed in the spectra of calcined decoction pieces and standard decoction. In summary, this study elucidated the quantity-quality transfer and phase changes in the raw material-calcined decoction pieces-standard decoction process by determining the CaCO_3 content, calculating the extract yield and transfer rate, and comparing the element changes, FTIR characteristic spectra, and XRD characteristic pattern. The results were reasonable and reliable, laying a foundation for the subsequent process research and quality control of the formula granules of calcined Ostreae Concha(O. rivularis Gould), and providing ideas and methods for the quality control of the whole process of raw material-decoction pieces-standard decoction-formula granules of Ostreae Concha and other testacean traditional Chinese medicine.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification* ; Calcium Carbonate/analysis* ; Quality Control

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method utilizing correction factors was established for the quantitative detection of related substances in flumazenil. Separation was achieved using an Agilent Pursuit XRs C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with an isocratic elution of dilute phosphoric acid, methanol, and tetrahydrofuran as the mobile phases. Correction factors calculated from a standard curve method were applied to determine the impurity content. The quantification of impurities in flumazenil was conducted using both external standard and correction factor methods, followed by validation and comparison of the two. For the identification of degradation products, a forced degradation approach was employed to prepare a flumazenil degradation solution, and the resulting impurities were confirmed by LC-MS analysis. The separation of flumazenil and its impurities was found to be efficient. The limits of quantification for impurities A, B, D, and E were established at 0.169 9, 0.314 7, 0.143 9, and 0.270 8 ng, respectively, with the limits of detection at 0.055 8, 0.096 9, 0.048 8, and 0.089 0 ng. These impurities demonstrated a strong linear relationship across the concentration ranges of 0.034 9-7.847 0, 0.038 7-8.710 7, 0.034 6-7.794 1, and 0.032 4-7.292 8 µg·mL^-1, respectively (n = 7). The method achieved average recoveries between 98.25% and 99.42%, with an RSD of less than 2.0% (n = 9), indicating high accuracy. The external standard and correction factor methods were used to determine the related substances in flumazenil, and the results of the two methods were consistent. The established HPLC method is characterized by its high accuracy, sensitivity, and repeatability, and is suitable for determining related substances in flumazenil.

Pharmaceutical cocrystals is an advanced technology to improve the physicochemical and biological properties of drugs. However, there are few studies on the in vivo metabolism of pharmaceutical cocrystals. In this study, the pharmacokinetics of wogonin cocrystal in normal rats was further studied on the basis of the previous preparation of wogonin-aloperine cocrystal. Firstly, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established for simultaneous determination of wogonin and its metabolite wogonoside in rat plasma, and to investigate the methodology. The method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study of wogonin-aloperine cocrystal (Wog-Alop) in rats. The results showed that wogonin and its metabolite wogonoside had a good linear relationship in the range of 1-800 ng·mL^-1, and the precision, accuracy, matrix effect and stability in this range met the requirements of biological analysis. Compared with direct administration of wogonin, the C_max of wogonin and its metabolite in rats increased to 7.44-fold and 9.15-fold, AUC_0-t increased to 1.67-fold and 3.72-fold, and oral bioavailability of wogonin increased to 187.66% after cocrystal administration. Wog-Alop cocrystal can significantly improve the C_max, AUC, and oral bioavailability of wogonin and its metabolite, which provides a new perspective for the clinical application of wogonin. This study was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Review Committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (approval number: BUCM-2023032307-1148).

Objective This study aimed to comprehensively analyze and compare the clinicopathological features and prognosis of Chinese patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-low early breast cancer(BC)and HER2-IHC0 BC. Methods Patients diagnosed with HER2-negative BC(N=999)at our institution between January 2011 and December 2015 formed our study population.Clinicopathological characteristics,association between estrogen receptor(ER)expression and HER2-low,and evolution of HER2 immunohistochemical(IHC)score were assessed.Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to compare the long-term survival outcomes(5-year follow-up)between the HER2-IHC0 and HER2-low groups. Results HER2-low BC group tended to demonstrate high expression of ER and more progesterone receptor(PgR)positivity than HER2-IHC0 BC group(P<0.001).The rate of HER2-low status increased with increasing ER expression levels(Mantel-Haenszel χ2 test,P<0.001,Pearson's R=0.159,P<0.001).Survival analysis revealed a significantly longer overall survival(OS)in HER2-low BC group than in HER2-IHC0 group(P=0.007)in the whole cohort and the hormone receptor(HR)-negative group.There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of disease-free survival(DFS).The discordance rate of HER2 IHC scores between primary and metastatic sites was 36.84%. Conclusion HER2-low BC may not be regarded as a unique BC group in this population-based study due to similar clinicopathological features and prognostic roles.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between urinary metals copper (Cu), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) and grip strength. Methods We used linear regression models, quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to assess the relationship between metals and grip strength.Results In the multimetal linear regression, Cu (β=-2.119), As (β=-1.318), Sr (β=-2.480), Ba (β=0.781), Fe (β= 1.130) and Mn (β=-0.404) were significantly correlated with grip strength (P < 0.05). The results of the quantile g-computation showed that the risk of occurrence of grip strength reduction was -1.007 (95％ confidence interval:-1.362, -0.652; P < 0.001) when each quartile of the mixture of the seven metals was increased. Bayesian kernel function regression model analysis showed that mixtures of the seven metals had a negative overall effect on grip strength, with Cu, As and Sr being negatively associated with grip strength levels. In the total population, potential interactions were observed between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn (Pinteractions of 0.003 and 0.018, respectively).Conclusion In summary, this study suggests that combined exposure to metal mixtures is negatively associated with grip strength. Cu, Sr and As were negatively correlated with grip strength levels, and there were potential interactions between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn.

Eighteen compounds were isolated from the methanol extract of the fruits of Litsea cubeba by silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, semi-preparative RP-HPLC, chiral HPLC and recrystallization. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and by comparison with reported spectroscopic data and physicochemical properties, and the absolute configurations of the enantiomers were established by experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. These compounds were identified as (+)-(R)-4-hydroxypiperitenone (1a), (-)-(S)-4-hydroxypiperitenone (1b), (3S,4S,6R)-3,6-dihydroxy-1-menthene (2), (4S,5R)-4-hydroxy-5-isopropyl-2-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one (3), (R)-6-hydroxy-3-(2-hydroxypropan-2-yl)-6-methylcyclohex-2-enone (4), (4S,6R)-4-hydroxy-6-isopropyl-3-methylcyclohex-2-enone (5), (1R,3S,4R)-3-hydroxy isopulegol (6), subamone (7), (6S)-3,7-dimethyl-7-hydroxy-2(Z)-octen-6-olide (8), (6S)-6,7-dihydroxy-3,7-dimethyloct-2(Z)-enoate (9), holostylactone (10), sesamin (11), dimethylmatairesinol (12), p-hydroxybenzoylcarbinol (13), syringaldehyde (14), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (15), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde (16), 5,4ʹ-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavone (17). Among them, compounds 1a and 1b were a pair of new monoterpenoid enantiomers, 8 and 9 were new natural products, 2-7, 10, 11 and 17 were isolated from Litsea genus for the first time. The in vitro anti-inflammatory effects of compounds 1-17 were evaluated using lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, the results showed that compound 14 exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity with NO inhibitory rate of 66.27% at a concentration of 40 μmol·L^-1.

Background Shoemaking industry workers are prone to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to long-term awkward postures during the work process. There is little research on the prevalence and influencing factors of WMSDs in the knee region of this industry, and it should be taken seriously. Objective To estimate the prevalence of work-related knee pain among shoemaking workers and analyze the related influencing factors. Methods A total of 6982 shoemaking workers were selected from 26 shoemaking factories in Guangdong, Hubei, Fujian, Chongqing, Shandong, Zhejiang, and Jingxi by convenience sampling. Prevalence of work-related knee pain in past year, demographic characteristics, occupational related factors, and work posture were collected by a cross-sectional survey using the electronic version of Musculoskeletal Disorder Questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors that may lead to work-related knee pain. Results This survey collected 6982 valid questionnaires with a recovery rate of 98.3%. The prevalence of work-related knee pain of shoemaking workers in the past 12 months was 13.0% (908/6982). According to the results of logistic regression analysis, compared with workers with less than 5 years of service, workers with 5-10 years of service (OR=1.21, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.45) and more than 10 years (1.53, 95%CI: 1.27, 1.83) showed a higher risk of knee WMSDs; sometimes, often and very frequent (reference : rarely or never) long-term standing (OR=1.33, 95%CI: 1.08, 1.64; OR=2.67, 95%CI: 2.10, 3.39; OR=2.75, 95%CI: 2.08, 3.63) and sometimes, often and very frequent (reference: rarely or never) long-term squatting or kneeling (OR=1.80, 95%CI: 1.47, 2.21; OR=2.43, 95%CI: 1.58, 3.75; OR=3.22, 95%CI: 1.66, 6.24) increased the risk of knee pain: long-term bending (OR=1.59, 95%CI: 1.34, 1.89) and often repeated movement of lower limbs and ankles (OR=1.48, 95%CI: 1.25, 1.75) were also risk factors for knee WMSDs among shoemaking industry workers (P<0.05). Adequate rest time (OR=0.58, 95%CI: 0.49, 0.68) and able to stretch or change leg posture (OR=0.75, 95%CI: 0.64, 0.88) reduced the risk of knee WMSDs (P<0.05). Conclusion In the shoemaking industry, length of service and awkward postures are risk factors for knee pain. The shoemaking enterprises should ensure that workers have sufficient rest time, reduce long-term standing, squatting, kneeling, and bending postures, as well as lower limbs repetition in order to reduce the occurrence of knee WMSDs of workers.

Objective To explore whether the cognitive function of central obese mice is decreased by affecting the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)in hippocampus.Methods Healthy mice at the neonatal stage were divided into normal group and model group at random.To obtain the obese models,model group mice were injected at cervical subcutaneous with 10％L-monosodium glutamate(MSG;3 mg·g-1·d-1)for 5 days.The normal group was injected with the same dose of 0.9％NaCl.In addition,mice were removed according to the requirements.Finally,we got 8 mice in each group.The following parameters were compared:body weight,Lee's index and levels of the serum lipid.The BDNF expression levels in hippocampal tissue were measured using western blotting.Results At the 8th weekend,the body weight of the model and normal groups was(49.01±2.47)and(41.27±3.28)g;the Lee's indexes were(357.14±9.24)and(330.15±7.37)g1/3·cm-1;triglyceride levels were(1.37±0.52)and(0.73±0.31)mmol·L-1;total cholesterol levels were(2.98±0.18)and(1.98±0.30)mmol·L-1;low-density lipoprotein levels were(0.31±0.03)and(0.24±0.02)mmol·L-1;high-density lipoprotein levels were(2.70±0.15)and(1.98±0.40)mmol·L-1;the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),which were consistent with the characteristics of the central obesity model.The BDNF protein expression levels in the hippocampus of the model and normal groups were 6.02 x 104±626.53 and 7.04 x 104±1 440.81,which has statistically significant(P＜0.01).Conclusion The cognitive function of central obese mice may be decreased by down-regulating the expression of BDNF in hippocampus.