1.Huayu Mingmu Prescription Downregulates PI3K/Akt/mTOR-HIF-1α/VEGFA Signaling Pathway to Intervene in Retinal Angiogenesis of DR Rats
Xiaoqiu MA ; Lei ZHAO ; Huimin ZHOU ; Fanghui ZHENG ; Guoqing YANG ; Tao ZUO ; Xiande MA
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(8):78-87
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Huayu Mingmu prescription on retinal angiogenesis and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR)-hypoxia inducible factor-1α/vascular endothelial growth factor A (HIF-1α/VEGFA) signaling pathway in diabetic retinopathy (DR) rats. MethodsSixty-four SPF-grade male SD rats were used in the study. Eleven rats were randomly selected as the normal group, while the remaining 53 rats were fed a high-sugar, high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneal injection to establish a type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rat model. DR model evaluation was performed after 12 weeks of diabetes. The rats were then divided into model, low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose groups of Huayu Mingmu prescription (9.29, 18.57, 37.14 g·kg-1), and a calcium dobesilate group (0.16 g·kg-1), with 10 rats in each group. The rats were orally administered the corresponding doses of Huayu Mingmu prescription and calcium dobesilate. The normal and model groups received equal volumes of physiological saline via gavage for 8 consecutive weeks. Retinal vascular changes were observed through fundus photography, and pathological changes in retinal tissue were evaluated using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Retinal microvascular pathological changes were examined through retinal vascular network preparation and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. Immunofluorescence (IF) was used to detect the expression of VEGFA and angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) in retinal tissue. Western blot was employed to detect the protein expression of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, HIF-1α, VEGFA, and VEGFR2 in retinal tissue. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to assess the mRNA expression of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, HIF-1α, VEGFA, and VEGFR2 in retinal tissue. ResultsCompared with the normal group, the model group exhibited significant pathological changes in retinal tissue, including the appearance of acellular capillaries, as well as significant endothelial cell (E) proliferation and pericyte (P) loss (P<0.01). The E/P was significantly elevated (P<0.01). Protein and mRNA expression levels of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, HIF-1α, VEGFA, and VEGFR2 in retinal tissue were significantly increased (P<0.01), and the expression of Ang-2 protein was significantly elevated (P<0.01). In contrast, retinal tissue in the treatment groups showed alleviated pathological changes, with reduced endothelial cell proliferation and pericyte loss (P<0.05, P<0.01). Among the treatment groups, the high-dose Huayu Mingmu prescription and the calcium dobesilate group exhibited a decreased E/P (P<0.01). Protein and mRNA expression levels of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, HIF-1α, VEGFA, and VEGFR2 in retinal tissue were significantly reduced (P<0.05, P<0.01), and the expression of Ang-2 protein was significantly decreased (P<0.01). ConclusionHuayu Mingmu prescription can intervene in retinal neovascularization in DR rats, delay the progression of DR, and its mechanism may be related to antagonizing the PI3K/Akt/mTOR-HIF-1α/VEGFA signaling pathway.
2.Expression and prognostic value of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 in patients with cirrhotic ascites and intra-abdominal infection
Feng WEI ; Xinyan YUE ; Xiling LIU ; Huimin YAN ; Lin LIN ; Tao HUANG ; Yantao PEI ; Shixiang SHAO ; Erhei DAI ; Wenfang YUAN
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;42(5):914-920
Objective To analyze the expression level of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1(TREM-1)in serum and ascites of patients with cirrhotic ascites,and to investigate its correlation with clinical features and inflammatory markers and its role in the diagnosis of infection and prognostic evaluation.Methods A total of 110 patients with cirrhotic ascites who were hospitalized in The Fifth Hospital of Shijiazhuang from January 2019 to December 2020 were enrolled,and according to the presence or absence of intra-abdominal infection,they were divided into infection group with 72 patients and non-infection group with 38 patients.The patients with infection were further divided into improvement group with 38 patients and non-improvement group with 34 patients.Clinical data and laboratory markers were collected from all patients.Serum and ascites samples were collected,and ELISA was used to measure the level of TREM-1.The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups;the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups,and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups;the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups.A Spearman correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between indicators.A multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the influencing factors for the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic ascites and infection.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic efficacy of each indicator,and the Delong test was used for comparison of the area under the ROC curve(AUC).Results The level of TREM-1 in ascites was significantly positively correlated with that in serum(r=0.50,P<0.001).Compared with the improvement group,the non-improvement group had a significantly higher level of TREM-1 in ascites(Z=-2.391,P=0.017)and serum(Z=-2.544,P=0.011),and compared with the non-infection group,the infection group had a significantly higher level of TREM-1 in ascites(Z=-3.420,P<0.001),while there was no significant difference in the level of TREM-1 in serum between the two groups(P>0.05).The level of TREM-1 in serum and ascites were significantly positively correlated with C-reactive protein(CRP),procalcitonin(PCT),white blood cell count,and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(r=0.288,0.344,0.530,0.510,0.534,0.454,0.330,and 0.404,all P<0.05).The ROC curve analysis showed that when PCT,CRP,and serum or ascitic TREM-1 were used in combination for the diagnosis of cirrhotic ascites with infection,the AUCs were 0.715 and 0.740,respectively.The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that CRP(odds ratio[OR]=1.019,95%confidence interval[CI]:1.001-1.038,P=0.043)and serum TREM-1(OR=1.002,95%CI:1.000-1.003,P=0.016)were independent risk factors for the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic ascites and infection,and the combination of these two indicators had an AUC of 0.728 in predicting poor prognosis.Conclusion The level of TREM-1 is closely associated with the severity of infection and prognosis in patients with cirrhotic ascites,and combined measurement of TREM-1 and CRP/PCT can improve the diagnostic accuracy of infection and provide support for prognostic evaluation.
3.Expression and prognostic value of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 in patients with cirrhotic ascites and intra-abdominal infection
Feng WEI ; Xinyan YUE ; Xiling LIU ; Huimin YAN ; Lin LIN ; Tao HUANG ; Yantao PEI ; Shixiang SHAO ; Erhei DAI ; Wenfang YUAN
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(5):914-920
ObjectiveTo analyze the expression level of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) in serum and ascites of patients with cirrhotic ascites, and to investigate its correlation with clinical features and inflammatory markers and its role in the diagnosis of infection and prognostic evaluation. MethodsA total of 110 patients with cirrhotic ascites who were hospitalized in The Fifth Hospital of Shijiazhuang from January 2019 to December 2020 were enrolled, and according to the presence or absence of intra-abdominal infection, they were divided into infection group with 72 patients and non-infection group with 38 patients. The patients with infection were further divided into improvement group with 38 patients and non-improvement group with 34 patients. Clinical data and laboratory markers were collected from all patients. Serum and ascites samples were collected, and ELISA was used to measure the level of TREM-1. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. A Spearman correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between indicators. A multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the influencing factors for the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic ascites and infection. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic efficacy of each indicator, and the Delong test was used for comparison of the area under the ROC curve (AUC). ResultsThe level of TREM-1 in ascites was significantly positively correlated with that in serum (r=0.50, P<0.001). Compared with the improvement group, the non-improvement group had a significantly higher level of TREM-1 in ascites (Z=-2.391, P=0.017) and serum (Z=-2.544, P=0.011), and compared with the non-infection group, the infection group had a significantly higher level of TREM-1 in ascites (Z=-3.420, P<0.001), while there was no significant difference in the level of TREM-1 in serum between the two groups (P>0.05). The level of TREM-1 in serum and ascites were significantly positively correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), white blood cell count, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (r=0.288, 0.344, 0.530, 0.510, 0.534, 0.454, 0.330, and 0.404, all P<0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that when PCT, CRP, and serum or ascitic TREM-1 were used in combination for the diagnosis of cirrhotic ascites with infection, the AUCs were 0.715 and 0.740, respectively. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that CRP (odds ratio [OR]=1.019, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.001 — 1.038, P=0.043) and serum TREM-1 (OR=1.002, 95%CI: 1.000 — 1.003, P=0.016) were independent risk factors for the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic ascites and infection, and the combination of these two indicators had an AUC of 0.728 in predicting poor prognosis. ConclusionThe level of TREM-1 is closely associated with the severity of infection and prognosis in patients with cirrhotic ascites, and combined measurement of TREM-1 and CRP/PCT can improve the diagnostic accuracy of infection and provide support for prognostic evaluation.
4.Clinical characteristics of patients with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy
Lili MA ; Huimin YIN ; Zhicheng WANG ; Bo WANG ; Qunying FU ; Zhimei LI ; Qun WANG ; Tao CUI
Chinese Journal of Neurology 2025;58(8):846-853
Objective:To investigate the clinical manifestations, gene mutation characteristics, imaging and video electroencephalogram (VEEG) characteristics of patients with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA).Methods:The clinical data of 9 patients with genetically diagnosed DRPLA in the Neurology Center, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2018 to January 2023 were collected, and the clinical data of DRPLA patients reported in China were retrieved and summarized.Results:A total of 45 cases were included. The clinical characteristics were summarized as follows: (1) The male to female ratio of 45 patients was 1.00∶1.25, and the age of onset was (28.11±14.58) years. (2) The main clinical symptoms of juvenile type, early-onset adult type and late-onset adult type were analyzed, and the results showed that the frequency of seizures in juvenile type (16/17) was higher than that in early-onset adult type (8/21) and late-onset adult type (2/7), with statistically significant difference (χ 2=15.971, P<0.001). In addition, the frequency of cognitive impairment in juvenile type (16/17) was also higher than that in early-onset adult type (15/21) and late-onset adult type (2/7), also with statistically significant difference (χ 2=10.177, P=0.005). Cognitive impairment, language disorder and involuntary movement were common in early-onset adult patients, and about half of the patients had ataxia. Ataxia and language disorder were more common in late-onset adult patients, while seizures and cognitive impairment were rare. (3) In imaging, cerebellum and brainstem atrophy was the most common, followed by cortical atrophy and white matter lesions. (4) The number of trinucleotide (CAG) repeats was 53-79, and there was a significant negative correlation between the number of CAG repeats and the age of onset ( r=-0.765, P<0.001), that means the younger the age of onset, the higher the number of CAG repeats. (5) In terms of electrophysiology, 21 patients provided complete VEEG data, of which slowed activity (52%, 11/21) and generalized discharge (71%, 15/21) were more common, and focal discharge (33%, 7/21) was uncommon. Conclusions:DRPLA patients can present with epilepsy, cerebellar ataxia, and other clinical manifestations. Brainstem and cerebellar atrophy and white matter lesions can be relatively characteristic in imaging. In terms of electrophysiology, slowed activity and generalized discharge are more common. DRPLA patients are easy to be misdiagnosed in clinical practice and genetic confirmation helps confirm the diagnosis.
5.Examples sharing and effectiveness of Medical Immunology teaching under background of"Golden Course"
Jinlong LIU ; Tao ZHANG ; You LIU ; Huimin BAI
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(4):979-984
Eliminating low-level and obsolete"water courses"and creating high-level,innovative and challenging"Golden Course"are fundamental guarantee for improving quality of undergraduate education and training qualified talents.Medical Immunology is an important backbone and bridge course of basic medicine,and plays an important role in life science and medicine.In this paper,combining with teaching work of Medical Immunology,some methods and experiences of cultivating students' problem-solving ability and enlightening innovative thinking are shared from aspects of course introduction,course main body,course ending and teaching effect evaluation with concrete examples,to provide some reference for construction of Medical Immunology"Golden Course".
6.Experimental Study on the Effect of Stachydrine on Proliferation,Apoptosis and Radiosensitivity of AML Cells by Regulating FOXO3-FOXM1 Signaling Axis
Tao XIONG ; Xuanxuan XU ; Huimin LIU ; Jiangzhao ZHANG ; Yuanli WANG ; Min ZHANG
Journal of Modern Laboratory Medicine 2025;40(6):28-32
Objective The effects of stachydrine(STA)on the proliferation,apoptosis and radiosensitivity of acute myeloid leukemia(AML)cells by regulating the transcription factor forkhead box protein O3(FOXO3)-forkhead box protein M1(FOXM1)signaling axis.Methods Human AML cells(HL-60)were treated with STA at a concentration of 50~1 600 μmol/L,and the activity of HL-60 cells was detected using the cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)method to screen for the optimal drug concentration;HL-60 cells were separated into Control group,low,medium,and high concentration STA groups(STA-L group,STA-M group,STA-H group),STA+lentivirus transfection control group(STA-H+LV-NC group),and high-concentration STA+FOXO3 overexpression lentiviral group(STA-H+LV-FOXO3 group).5-ethyny1-2'-deoxyuridine(Edu)was applied to detect HL-60 cell proliferation;flow cytometry(FCM)was applied to detect cell apoptosis;cell cloning experiments were applied to detect the radiotherapy sensitivity of cells;Western blot was applied to detect the expression of cell proliferation antigen markers(Ki67),Cyclin D1,Caspase-3,B-cell lymphoma2 assaciated X protein(Bax),FOXO3,and FOXM1 proteins.Results STA concentrations of 100,200 and 400 μmol/L were selected for subsequent experiments.Compared with the control group,the positive rate of Ki67,Cyclin D1,Edu,FOXO3 and FOXM1 expression levels in the STA-L,STA-M,and STA-H groups decreased sequentially(tSTA-L=2.169~5.879,tSTA-M=3.089~11.284,tSTA-H=4.572~11.502),Caspase-3 and Bax expression levels,the apoptosis rate,increased sequentially(tSTA-L=9.171,10.082,20.144;tSTA-M=5.435,7.530,7.450;tSTA-H=4.138,4.159,5.956)and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05),respectively.Compared with the STA-H+LV-NC group,the positive rate of Edu and the expression levels of Ki67,Cyclin D1,FOXO3 and FOXM1 were obviously increased in the STA-H+LV-FOXO3 group(t=10.055~16.267),Caspase-3 and Bax expression levels,the apoptosis rate were obviously reduced(t=5.736,5.433,8.933),and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05),respectively.The colony formation rate of HL-60 cells in the radiotherapy group and STA+radiotherapy group decreased with the increase of radiotherapy dose,and the differences were statistically significant(F=78.630,137.843,all P<0.05),and the colony formation rate of HL-60 cells in the STA+radiotherapy group was lower than that in the radiotherapy group at the same dose(t=1.480~11.301,all P<0.05).Conclusion Stachydrine inhibits AML cell proliferation,induces apoptosis,and enhances radiotherapy sensitivity by inhibiting the FOXO3-FOXM1 signaling axis.
7.Experimental Study on the Effect of Stachydrine on Proliferation,Apoptosis and Radiosensitivity of AML Cells by Regulating FOXO3-FOXM1 Signaling Axis
Tao XIONG ; Xuanxuan XU ; Huimin LIU ; Jiangzhao ZHANG ; Yuanli WANG ; Min ZHANG
Journal of Modern Laboratory Medicine 2025;40(6):28-32
Objective The effects of stachydrine(STA)on the proliferation,apoptosis and radiosensitivity of acute myeloid leukemia(AML)cells by regulating the transcription factor forkhead box protein O3(FOXO3)-forkhead box protein M1(FOXM1)signaling axis.Methods Human AML cells(HL-60)were treated with STA at a concentration of 50~1 600 μmol/L,and the activity of HL-60 cells was detected using the cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)method to screen for the optimal drug concentration;HL-60 cells were separated into Control group,low,medium,and high concentration STA groups(STA-L group,STA-M group,STA-H group),STA+lentivirus transfection control group(STA-H+LV-NC group),and high-concentration STA+FOXO3 overexpression lentiviral group(STA-H+LV-FOXO3 group).5-ethyny1-2'-deoxyuridine(Edu)was applied to detect HL-60 cell proliferation;flow cytometry(FCM)was applied to detect cell apoptosis;cell cloning experiments were applied to detect the radiotherapy sensitivity of cells;Western blot was applied to detect the expression of cell proliferation antigen markers(Ki67),Cyclin D1,Caspase-3,B-cell lymphoma2 assaciated X protein(Bax),FOXO3,and FOXM1 proteins.Results STA concentrations of 100,200 and 400 μmol/L were selected for subsequent experiments.Compared with the control group,the positive rate of Ki67,Cyclin D1,Edu,FOXO3 and FOXM1 expression levels in the STA-L,STA-M,and STA-H groups decreased sequentially(tSTA-L=2.169~5.879,tSTA-M=3.089~11.284,tSTA-H=4.572~11.502),Caspase-3 and Bax expression levels,the apoptosis rate,increased sequentially(tSTA-L=9.171,10.082,20.144;tSTA-M=5.435,7.530,7.450;tSTA-H=4.138,4.159,5.956)and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05),respectively.Compared with the STA-H+LV-NC group,the positive rate of Edu and the expression levels of Ki67,Cyclin D1,FOXO3 and FOXM1 were obviously increased in the STA-H+LV-FOXO3 group(t=10.055~16.267),Caspase-3 and Bax expression levels,the apoptosis rate were obviously reduced(t=5.736,5.433,8.933),and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05),respectively.The colony formation rate of HL-60 cells in the radiotherapy group and STA+radiotherapy group decreased with the increase of radiotherapy dose,and the differences were statistically significant(F=78.630,137.843,all P<0.05),and the colony formation rate of HL-60 cells in the STA+radiotherapy group was lower than that in the radiotherapy group at the same dose(t=1.480~11.301,all P<0.05).Conclusion Stachydrine inhibits AML cell proliferation,induces apoptosis,and enhances radiotherapy sensitivity by inhibiting the FOXO3-FOXM1 signaling axis.
8.Examples sharing and effectiveness of Medical Immunology teaching under background of"Golden Course"
Jinlong LIU ; Tao ZHANG ; You LIU ; Huimin BAI
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(4):979-984
Eliminating low-level and obsolete"water courses"and creating high-level,innovative and challenging"Golden Course"are fundamental guarantee for improving quality of undergraduate education and training qualified talents.Medical Immunology is an important backbone and bridge course of basic medicine,and plays an important role in life science and medicine.In this paper,combining with teaching work of Medical Immunology,some methods and experiences of cultivating students' problem-solving ability and enlightening innovative thinking are shared from aspects of course introduction,course main body,course ending and teaching effect evaluation with concrete examples,to provide some reference for construction of Medical Immunology"Golden Course".
9.Clinical characteristics of patients with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy
Lili MA ; Huimin YIN ; Zhicheng WANG ; Bo WANG ; Qunying FU ; Zhimei LI ; Qun WANG ; Tao CUI
Chinese Journal of Neurology 2025;58(8):846-853
Objective:To investigate the clinical manifestations, gene mutation characteristics, imaging and video electroencephalogram (VEEG) characteristics of patients with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA).Methods:The clinical data of 9 patients with genetically diagnosed DRPLA in the Neurology Center, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2018 to January 2023 were collected, and the clinical data of DRPLA patients reported in China were retrieved and summarized.Results:A total of 45 cases were included. The clinical characteristics were summarized as follows: (1) The male to female ratio of 45 patients was 1.00∶1.25, and the age of onset was (28.11±14.58) years. (2) The main clinical symptoms of juvenile type, early-onset adult type and late-onset adult type were analyzed, and the results showed that the frequency of seizures in juvenile type (16/17) was higher than that in early-onset adult type (8/21) and late-onset adult type (2/7), with statistically significant difference (χ 2=15.971, P<0.001). In addition, the frequency of cognitive impairment in juvenile type (16/17) was also higher than that in early-onset adult type (15/21) and late-onset adult type (2/7), also with statistically significant difference (χ 2=10.177, P=0.005). Cognitive impairment, language disorder and involuntary movement were common in early-onset adult patients, and about half of the patients had ataxia. Ataxia and language disorder were more common in late-onset adult patients, while seizures and cognitive impairment were rare. (3) In imaging, cerebellum and brainstem atrophy was the most common, followed by cortical atrophy and white matter lesions. (4) The number of trinucleotide (CAG) repeats was 53-79, and there was a significant negative correlation between the number of CAG repeats and the age of onset ( r=-0.765, P<0.001), that means the younger the age of onset, the higher the number of CAG repeats. (5) In terms of electrophysiology, 21 patients provided complete VEEG data, of which slowed activity (52%, 11/21) and generalized discharge (71%, 15/21) were more common, and focal discharge (33%, 7/21) was uncommon. Conclusions:DRPLA patients can present with epilepsy, cerebellar ataxia, and other clinical manifestations. Brainstem and cerebellar atrophy and white matter lesions can be relatively characteristic in imaging. In terms of electrophysiology, slowed activity and generalized discharge are more common. DRPLA patients are easy to be misdiagnosed in clinical practice and genetic confirmation helps confirm the diagnosis.
10.Deep Learning-Based Key Frame Recognition Algorithm for Adrenal Vascular in X-Ray Imaging
Huimin TAO ; Miao HUANG ; Cong LIU ; Yongtian LIU ; Zhihua HU ; Lili TAO ; Shuping ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Medical Instrumentation 2024;48(2):138-143
Adrenal vein sampling is required for the staging diagnosis of primary aldosteronism,and the frames in which the adrenal veins are presented are called key frames.Currently,the selection of key frames relies on the doctor's visual judgement which is time-consuming and laborious.This study proposes a key frame recognition algorithm based on deep learning.Firstly,wavelet denoising and multi-scale vessel-enhanced filtering are used to preserve the morphological features of the adrenal veins.Furthermore,by incorporating the self-attention mechanism,an improved recognition model called ResNet50-SA is obtained.Compared with commonly used transfer learning,the new model achieves 97.11%in accuracy,precision,recall,F1,and AUC,which is superior to other models and can help clinicians quickly identify key frames in adrenal veins.

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