ObjectiveTo observe the effects of Dihuang Yinzi （DY） on motor dysfunction in rats with advanced Parkinson's disease （PD） and to investigate the mechanisms by which DY improves advanced PD symptoms through the "gut microbiota-short-chain fatty acids （SCFAs）-inflammation-neuroprotection pathway". MethodsAn advanced PD rat model was induced by rotenone. Rats were divided into a normal group， model group， positive drug group （levodopa， 50 mg·kg^-1）， and DY low-， medium-， and high-dose groups （5.2， 10.4， 20.8 g·kg^-1）. After 7 days of administration， motor function was evaluated using the open-field， pole-climbing， and inclined plate tests. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe pathological changes in the substantia nigra and colon， and immunohistochemistry was performed to detect α-Synuclein （α-Syn） and tyrosine hydroxylase （TH） expression in the substantia nigra. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to measure levels of dopamine （DA）， 5-hydroxytryptamine （5-HT）， 3，4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid （DOPAC）， Levodopa， homovanillic acid （HVA）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and interleukin-1β （IL-1β）. Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of zonula occludens-1 （ZO-1） and occludin. Gut microbiota diversity was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing， and gas chromatography （GC） was used to determine the content of SCFAs in colonic contents. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group showed significantly decreased movement speed and distance in the open-field test， prolonged pole-climbing time， and reduced retention angle on the inclined plate （P<0.01）， accompanied by increased α-Syn expression （P<0.01） and decreased TH expression （P<0.01） in the brain. Compared with the model group， all DY dose groups improved motor dysfunction in advanced PD rats to varying degrees （P<0.05， P<0.01） and alleviated pathological damage in the brain and colon. High-dose DY significantly reduced α-Syn aggregation in the substantia nigra （P<0.01） and increased TH expression （P<0.01）. ELISA and Western blot results showed that， compared with the normal group， the model group exhibited decreased levels of DA， 5-HT， DOPAC， Levodopa， and HVA in the striatum （P<0.01）， increased levels of TNF-α， IL-6， and IL-1β in the colon and striatum （P<0.01）， and significantly reduced expression of ZO-1 （P<0.05） and occludin in the colon （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， all DY dose groups increased the levels of DA， 5-HT， DOPAC， Levodopa， and HVA in the striatum to varying degrees （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In the high-dose DY group， the levels of TNF-α， IL-6， and IL-1β in the colon and striatum were reduced （P<0.01）， while the expression of ZO-1 （P<0.05） and occludin in the intestine was increased. The 16S rRNA sequencing results indicated that the relative abundances of Actinobacteriota， Enterobacteriaceae， and Erysipelotrichaceae were increased in the model group， whereas the relative abundances of Bacteroidota， class Clostridia， Lachnospiraceae， and Akkermansia muciniphila were decreased. These changes were effectively reversed after high-dose DY intervention. GC analysis showed that the content of SCFAs in the colonic contents of rats in the model group was decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while after high-dose DY intervention， the levels of acetate， propionate， isobutyrate， and butyrate were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionDY may exert therapeutic effects in advanced PD by regulating the gut microbiota-SCFAs-inflammation pathway.

Diabetic kidney disease（DKD） is a chronic kidney structural and functional disorder caused by diabetes. With the global prevalence of diabetes continuing to rise， DKD has gradually become a major cause of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease（ESRD）， posing a serious threat to patients' quality of life and long-term health outcomes. Studies have shown that apoptosis plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of DKD， with its mechanisms involving abnormal activation of multiple signaling pathways such as Toll-like receptor 4（TLR4）/nuclear transcription factor-κB（NF-κB）/B-cell lymphoma-2（Bcl-2）/cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase（Caspase）-3， protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase（PERK）/eukaryotic initiation factor 2α（eIF2α）/activating transcript factor 4（ATF4）/CCAAT enhancer-binding protein homologous protein（CHOP）， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase（PI3K）/protein kinase B（Akt）/glycogen synthase kinase-3β（GSK-3β）， Janus kinase 2（JAK2）/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3（STAT3）， adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase（AMPK）/mammalian target of rapamycin（mTOR） and silent information regulator 1（SIRT1）/tumor suppressor protein 53（p53）， thereby accelerating renal pathological damage in DKD. Extensive evidence-based medical studies have confirmed that traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）， leveraging its unique therapeutic advantages of multi-target， multi-component and multi-pathway approaches， has demonstrated remarkable efficacy and favorable safety profiles in treating DKD. Recent studies have demonstrated that active components of TCM can specifically target and modulate key effectors in apoptotic signaling pathways. Meanwhile， traditional compound formulations exert synergistic effects through multiple approaches such as replenishing deficiency and activating blood circulation， detoxifying and dredging collaterals， tonifying kidney essence， and removing stasis and purging turbidity， thereby comprehensively regulating critical pathological processes including endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial apoptosis pathways. This combined therapeutic approach of molecular targeting and holistic regulation provides novel strategies for delaying the progression of DKD. Based on this， this paper provides an in-depth analysis of key apoptotic signaling pathways and their regulatory mechanisms， while systematically summarizing recent research advances regarding the therapeutic effects of TCM active components， compound formulations， and proprietary Chinese medicines on DKD through modulation of these pathways， with particular emphasis on their underlying molecular mechanisms. These findings not only elucidate the modern scientific connotation and theoretical basis of TCM in treating DKD but also establish a solid theoretical and practical foundation for promoting the wider clinical application and further research of TCM in the field of DKD treatment.

Elderly patients with lung cancer have a significantly increased risk of perioperative cardiopulmonary complications due to physiological decline, high incidence of complications and reduced surgical tolerance, which directly affects postoperative recovery and long-term survival. Although the concepts of minimally invasive surgery and enhanced recovery after surgery have improved clinical outcomes, early recognition and intervention of postoperative complications in elderly patients remains a significant challenge in the field of thoracic surgery. By integrating recent literature and clinical practice, this paper systematically analyzes the pathophysiological mechanism and risk factors of perioperative cardiopulmonary complications in elderly patients with lung cancer, and discusses individualized intervention strategies based on risk stratification and multidisciplinary team, in order to provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for optimizing perioperative management and improving postoperative prognosis in elderly patients.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a fatal malignancy with steadily increasing incidence and poor prognosis. Since most CCA cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, systemic therapies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, play a crucial role in the management of unresectable CCA. The recent advances in targeted therapies and immunotherapies brought more options in the clinical management of unresectable CCA. This review depicts the advances of targeted therapies and immunotherapies for unresectable CCA, summarizes crucial clinical trials, and describes the efficacy and safety of different drugs, which may help further develop precision and individualization in the clinical treatment of unresectable CCA.
Humans ; Cholangiocarcinoma/drug therapy* ; Immunotherapy/methods* ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Molecular Targeted Therapy/methods*

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with its high mortality rate primarily attributed to delayed diagnosis. Radiomics, by extracting abundant quantitative features from medical images, offers novel possibilities for early diagnosis and precise treatment of lung cancer. This article reviewed the latest advancements in radiomics for lung cancer management, particularly its integration with artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize diagnostic processes and personalize treatment strategies. Despite existing challenges, such as non-standardized image acquisition parameters and limitations in model reproducibility, the incorporation of AI significantly enhanced the precision and efficiency of image analysis, thereby improving the prediction of disease progression and the formulation of treatment plans. We emphasized the critical importance of standardizing image acquisition parameters and discussed the role of AI in advancing the clinical application of radiomics, alongside future research directions.
Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Artificial Intelligence ; Early Detection of Cancer/methods* ; Precision Medicine ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Radiomics

Cancer is a serious global health problem and a major cause of human death. Conventional cancer treatments often run the risk of impairing vital organ functions. Anticancer peptides (ACPs) are considered to be one of the most promising therapeutic agents against common human cancers due to their small sizes, high specificity, and low toxicity. Since ACP recognition is highly limited to the laboratory, expensive, and time-consuming, we proposed pLM4ACP, a model for predicting ACPs based on machine learning and protein language models. In this model, the protein language model ProtT5 was used to extract the features of ACPs, and the extracted features were input into the support vector machine (SVM) classification algorithm for optimization and performance evaluation. The model showcased significantly higher accuracy than other methods, with the overall accuracy of 0.763, F1-score of 0.767, Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.527, and area under the curve of 0.827 on the independent test set. This study constructs an efficient anticancer peptide prediction model based on protein language models, further advancing the application of artificial intelligence in the biomedical field and promoting the development of precision medicine and computational biology.
Machine Learning ; Antineoplastic Agents/chemistry* ; Humans ; Peptides/chemistry* ; Support Vector Machine ; Algorithms ; Computational Biology/methods* ; Neoplasms/drug therapy*

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic interstitial lung disease, is characterized by aberrant wound healing, excessive scarring and the formation of myofibroblastic foci. Although the role of alternative splicing (AS) in the pathogenesis of organ fibrosis has garnered increasing attention, its specific contribution to pulmonary fibrosis remains incompletely understood. In this study, we identified an up-regulation of serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 7 (SRSF7) in lung fibroblasts derived from IPF patients and a bleomycin (BLM)-induced mouse model, and further characterized its functional role in both human fetal lung fibroblasts and mice. We demonstrated that enhanced expression of Srsf7 in mice spontaneously induced alveolar collagen accumulation. Mechanistically, we investigated alternative splicing events and revealed that SRSF7 modulates the alternative splicing of pyruvate kinase (PKM), leading to metabolic dysregulation and fibroblast activation. In vivo studies showed that fibroblast-specific knockout of Srsf7 in conditional knockout mice conferred resistance to bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Importantly, through drug screening, we identified lomitapide as a novel modulator of SRSF7, which effectively mitigated experimental pulmonary fibrosis. Collectively, our findings elucidate a molecular pathway by which SRSF7 drives fibroblast metabolic dysregulation and propose a potential therapeutic strategy for pulmonary fibrosis.

The coinfection of respiratory viruses and bacteria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite the development of vaccines and powerful antibiotics. As a macromolecule that is difficult to absorb in the gastrointestinal tract, a homogeneous polysaccharide from Houttuynia cordata (HCPM) has been reported to exhibit anti-complement properties and alleviate influenza A virus (H1N1)-induced lung injury; however, the effects of HCPM without in vitro antiviral and antibacterial activities on more complicated pulmonary diseases resulting from viral-bacterial coinfection remains unclear. This study established a representative coinfection murine pneumonia model infected with H1N1 (0.2 LD₅₀) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, 10⁷ CFU). HCPM significantly improved survival rate and weight loss, and ameliorated gut-lung damage and inflammatory cytokine production. Interestingly, the therapeutic effect of HCPM on intestinal damage preceded that in the lungs. Mechanistically, HCPM inhibited the overactivation of the intestinal complement (C3a and C5a) and suppressed the activation of the NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) pathway, which contributes to the regulation of the Treg/Th17 cell balance in the gut-lung axis. The results indicate the beneficial effects of an anti-complement polysaccharide against viral-bacterial coinfection pneumonia by modulating crosstalk between multiple immune regulatory networks.

ObjectiveTo observe the intervention effect of Fufang Kangjiaolv capsules on anxiety-like behaviors in the rat model of chronic restraint stress （CRS） and explore the mechanism underlying the anti-anxiety effect via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. MethodsRats were assigned into blank， model， positive drug （diazepam， 1 mg·kg^-1）， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （0.75， 1.5， 3 g·kg^-1， respectively） Fufang Kangjiaolv capsules groups. After 14 days of administration， the elevated plus maze test， open field test， light and dark box test， and marble burying test were performed. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was employed to observe the pathological changes in the hippocampus and colon of rats， and Nissl staining was conducted to observe the damage of hippocampal neurons. The gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was employed to determine the mRNA levels of zonula occludens-1 （ZO-1） and occludin in the colon of rats. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and interleukin-1β （IL-1β） in the colon， serum， and hippocampus were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of ZO-1， occludin， nuclear factor-κB p65 （NF-κB p65） in the colon tissue and NF-κB p65 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） in the hippocampal tissue. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the model group showed reductions in the time and frequency ratio of rats entering the elevated plus maze， the time and frequency of rats entering the central area of the open field， the time of entering the open box， the times of passing through the light and dark box， and the number of unburied beads （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Fufang Kangjiaolv capsules ameliorated the anxiety of the model rats to varying degrees， and the high-dose group had the best effect， with increases in the proportions of time and frequency of rats entering the open arm in the elevated plus maze （P<0.05）， the number of rats entering the central area in the open field （P<0.05）， the time of entering the open box， the times of passing through the light and dark boxes， and the number of unburied beads （P<0.01）. Moreover， the high-dose group showed alleviated pathological damage of hippocampal neurons and colon. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the model group had increased relative abundance of Firmicutes， Deferribacterota， Romboutsia， and Phascolarctobacterium， while it had decreased relative abundance of Bavcteroidota and Lactobacillus. The drug administration groups showed increased relative abundance of Bavcteroidota， Bacteroides， norank f norank o Clostridia UCG-014， and Blautia and decreased relative abundance of Firmicutes and Deferribacterota. Compared with the blank group， the model group showed down-regulated protein and mRNA levels of ZO-1 and occludin in the colon （P<0.01）， elevated levels of TNF-α， IL-6， and IL-β in the colon， serum， and hippocampus （P<0.01）， up-regulated protein level of NF-κB p65 in the colon and hippocampus （P<0.01）， and down-regulated protein level of BDNF in the hippocampus （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， high-dose Fufang Kangjiaolv capsules up-regulated the mRNA levels of ZO-1 and occludin in the colon （P<0.01）， lowered the levels of TNF-α， IL-6， and IL-β in the colon， serum， and hippocampus （P<0.01）， up-regulated the protein levels of ZO-1 （P<0.01） and occludin （P<0.05） in the colon， down-regulated the protein level of NF-κB p65 in the colon and hippocampus （P<0.05）， and up-regulated the protein level of BDNF in the hippocampus. ConclusionFufang Kangjiaolv capsules can reduce the anxiety-like behaviors in the rat model of CRS by regulating the gut microbiota disturbance， up-regulating the expression of tight junction proteins in the colon， repairing intestinal mucosal mechanical barrier， and down-regulating NF-κB/BDNF signaling pathway， thereby reducing peripheral and central inflammation. This study proves the hypothesis that Fufang Kangjiaolv capsules play an anti-anxiety role via the microbiota-gut-brain axis， providing a new idea for further research.