Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the primary fibrogenic cells in the liver, and their activation plays a crucial role in the development and progression of hepatic fibrosis. Here, we report that retinoid X receptor-alpha (RXRα), a unique member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, is a key modulator of HSC activation and liver fibrosis. RXRα exerts its effects by modulating calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase β (CaMKKβ)-mediated activation of AMP-activated protein kinase-alpha (AMPKα). In addition, we demonstrate that K-80003, which binds RXRα by a unique mechanism, effectively suppresses HSC activation, proliferation, and migration, thereby inhibiting liver fibrosis in the CCl₄ and amylin liver NASH (AMLN) diet animal models. The effect is mediated by AMPKα activation, promoting mitophagy in HSCs. Mechanistically, K-80003 activates AMPKα by inducing RXRα to form condensates with CaMKKβ and AMPKα via a two-phase process. The formation of RXRα condensates is driven by its N-terminal intrinsic disorder region and requires phosphorylation by CaMKKβ. Our results reveal a crucial role of RXRα in liver fibrosis regulation through modulating mitochondrial activities in HSCs. Furthermore, they suggest that K-80003 and related RXRα modulators hold promise as therapeutic agents for fibrosis-related diseases.

Objective To investigate the expression characteristics and clinical significance of endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles(EC-EVs)in the peripheral blood of patients with sep-sis-induced cardiomyopathy(SIC).Methods A total of 143 sepsis patients were enrolled and divid-ed into cardiomyopathy group(n=72)and non-cardiomyopathy group(n=71)based on occurrence of SIC.Peripheral blood samples were collected from patients in both groups upon admission for isola-tion and identification of EC-EVs.The number of EC-EVs,apoptosis,and the activity and expression levels of caspase-1 in EC-EVs were compared between the two groups.Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess the correlations of the number of EC-EVs,caspase-1 activity,and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP)with cardiac troponin Ⅰ(cTnⅠ).Multivariable Logistic regres-sion analysis was conducted to explore the factors influencing the occurrence of SIC in sepsis patients.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were plotted to analyze the predictive value of the number of EC-EVs and caspase-1 activity for SIC.Results EC-EVs with a diameter of approximately 100 nm,intact membrane structure,and expression of extracellular vesicles(EVs)marker molecules(CD9,CD63,CD81)were successfully isolated from samples in both groups.The cardiomyopathy group had significantly higher numbers of EC-EVs in peripheral blood,EC-EV apoptosis levels,caspase-1 activity,and protein expression levels compared to the non-cardiomyopathy group(P＜0.05).Spearman correlation analysis revealed positive correlations between the number of EC-EVs and NT-proBNP(r=0.603,0.685,P＜0.001),and between caspase-1 activity and cTnⅠ(r=0.474,0.711,P＜0.001).Multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed that the number of EC-EVs,caspase-1 activity,NT-proBNP levels,and cTnⅠ levels were all independent influencing factors for the occurrence of SIC in sepsis patients(P＜0.05).The ROC curves indicated that the areas under the curve for predicting SIC based on the number of EC-EVs and caspase-1 activity in peripheral blood were 0.721 and 0.858,respectively.Conclusion The number of EC-EVs and caspase-1 activity in EC-EVs in the peripheral blood of SIC patients are significantly increased,and are closely related to cardiac function and myocardial injury in sepsis patients.Thus,they have the potential to become biomarkers for predicting SIC.

Objective To summarize and analyze the clinical and imaging features in patients with initial onset of anti-myelin oli-godendrocyte glycoprotein-IgG(MOG-IgG)associated disease(MOGAD).Methods The clinical and MRI data of 39 patients with serum MOG-IgG positive were analyzed retrospectively.Clinical features(including history of prior infection,initial symptoms and clinical phenotypes,cerebrospinal fluid examination,and serum antibody levels)and location,distribution,and enhancement patterns of lesions were all compared between adult and pediatric groups.Results Blurred vision was the most common initial symptom,with no statistically significant difference between the two groups.Compared to the adult group,the pediatric group more frequently presented with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis(ADEM)as the clinical phenotype.There were no statistically significant differ-ences between the two groups in cerebrospinal fluid examination results,including leukocyte count,protein content,and oligoclonal bands(OCB)positive.The pediatric group showed a higher prevalence of lesions in the cortical and subcortical white matter,deep white matter,and basal ganglia regions compared with the adult group.There was no statistically significant difference in the inci-dence of optic neuritis between the two groups.Spinal cord inflammation predominantly affected the cervical and thoracic segments,with central gray matter involvement presenting as the"H-sign".Conclusion The clinical and imaging features of MOGAD exhibit certain variations across different patient populations.Accurate recognition and early diagnosis of MOGAD and prompt examination and treatment are instrumental in improving patients'prognosis.

Objectives:To investigate the predictive value of the hemoglobin to serum creatinine ratio(Hb/SCr)for all-cause mortality within 3 years after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI).Methods:A total of 687 STEMI patients who successfully underwent the first PCI at the Department of Cardiology,Gansu Provincial People's Hospital,from June 2016 to June 2020 were retrospectively enrolled.Patients were divided into survival and non-survival groups according to their vital status at 3 years post-PCI.Cox regression analysis was performed to identify predictive factors of all-cause mortality.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were constructed to evaluate the predictive value of Hb/SCr for all-cause mortality,and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare cumulative survival rates between subgroups stratified by Hb/SCr levels.Results:The median follow-up duration was 37(25,50)months.Among the 663 patients(96.51%)with complete follow-up data,41 cases(6.18%)experiencing all-cause death.Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that age(HR=1.086,95%CI:1.037-1.137,P=0.000),body mass index(HR=1.195,95%CI:1.128-1.266,P=0.000),fasting blood glucose(HR=1.069,95%CI:1.007-1.135,P=0.030),fibrinogen(HR=1.418,95%CI:1.120-1.795,P=0.004),TIMI flow grade 1(HR=4.968,95%CI:1.194-20.667,P=0.028),TIMI flow grade 2(HR=3.861,95%CI:1.336-11.156,P=0.013),and Hb/SCr(HR=0.858,95%CI:0.766-0.961,P=0.008)were the independent predictors of all-cause mortality.ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the area under the curve(AUC)of Hb/SCr was 0.721(95%CI:0.645-0.798)for predicting all-cause mortality,with a sensitivity of 65.9%and specificity of 71.2%,at the optimal cut-offvalue of 16.627.Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with Hb/SCr<16.627 had significantly lower survival rates than those with Hb/SCr≥16.627(log-rank P=0.000).Conclusions:Hb/SCr is an independent predictor of 3-year all-cause mortality in STEMI patients after PCI and this indicator could be used as risk stratification parameter and patients with lower Hb/SCr might benefit comprehensive post-PCI management to improve their outcome.

Objective To summarize and analyze the clinical and imaging features in patients with initial onset of anti-myelin oli-godendrocyte glycoprotein-IgG(MOG-IgG)associated disease(MOGAD).Methods The clinical and MRI data of 39 patients with serum MOG-IgG positive were analyzed retrospectively.Clinical features(including history of prior infection,initial symptoms and clinical phenotypes,cerebrospinal fluid examination,and serum antibody levels)and location,distribution,and enhancement patterns of lesions were all compared between adult and pediatric groups.Results Blurred vision was the most common initial symptom,with no statistically significant difference between the two groups.Compared to the adult group,the pediatric group more frequently presented with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis(ADEM)as the clinical phenotype.There were no statistically significant differ-ences between the two groups in cerebrospinal fluid examination results,including leukocyte count,protein content,and oligoclonal bands(OCB)positive.The pediatric group showed a higher prevalence of lesions in the cortical and subcortical white matter,deep white matter,and basal ganglia regions compared with the adult group.There was no statistically significant difference in the inci-dence of optic neuritis between the two groups.Spinal cord inflammation predominantly affected the cervical and thoracic segments,with central gray matter involvement presenting as the"H-sign".Conclusion The clinical and imaging features of MOGAD exhibit certain variations across different patient populations.Accurate recognition and early diagnosis of MOGAD and prompt examination and treatment are instrumental in improving patients'prognosis.

Objective:To screen risk factors for ICU-acquired weakness in patients with mechanical ventilation and construct a predictive model, so as to provide a basis for the health management of patients with mechanical ventilation.Methods:Convenience sampling was used to select 312 ICU patients with mechanical ventilation admitted to the Tenth People's Hospital of Tongji University from October 2019 to August 2020 for the study. Patients were divided into training set ( n=220) and test set ( n=92) in a 7∶3 ratio. Based on machine learning algorithms, decision random forest (DRF), extremely-randomized trees (XRT) and generalized linear model (GLM) were used to construct three ICU-acquired weakness risk prediction models for patients with mechanical ventilation, respectively. The performance of the prediction model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ( AUC), the area under the precision-recall curve ( AUPRC), and the root mean square error ( RMSE) . Results:There were 7 predictors of risk of ICU-acquired weakness in patients with mechanical ventilation, including age, gender, braking, duration of mechanical ventilation, blood glucose, lactic acid, and parenteral nutrition. Test set and training set validation showed that AUC and AUPRC of GLM prediction model were greater than those of DRF, XRT prediction model. Test set validation indicated that the RMSE, logarithmic loss of GLM prediction model was less than those of DRF, XRT prediction model. Conclusions:Machine learning algorithm based GLM prediction model has good prediction performance. Healthcare professionals can construct evidence-based decisions for interventions in areas such as braking, duration of mechanical ventilation, and blood glucose management.

Objectives:To investigate the predictive value of the hemoglobin to serum creatinine ratio(Hb/SCr)for all-cause mortality within 3 years after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI).Methods:A total of 687 STEMI patients who successfully underwent the first PCI at the Department of Cardiology,Gansu Provincial People's Hospital,from June 2016 to June 2020 were retrospectively enrolled.Patients were divided into survival and non-survival groups according to their vital status at 3 years post-PCI.Cox regression analysis was performed to identify predictive factors of all-cause mortality.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were constructed to evaluate the predictive value of Hb/SCr for all-cause mortality,and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare cumulative survival rates between subgroups stratified by Hb/SCr levels.Results:The median follow-up duration was 37(25,50)months.Among the 663 patients(96.51%)with complete follow-up data,41 cases(6.18%)experiencing all-cause death.Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that age(HR=1.086,95%CI:1.037-1.137,P=0.000),body mass index(HR=1.195,95%CI:1.128-1.266,P=0.000),fasting blood glucose(HR=1.069,95%CI:1.007-1.135,P=0.030),fibrinogen(HR=1.418,95%CI:1.120-1.795,P=0.004),TIMI flow grade 1(HR=4.968,95%CI:1.194-20.667,P=0.028),TIMI flow grade 2(HR=3.861,95%CI:1.336-11.156,P=0.013),and Hb/SCr(HR=0.858,95%CI:0.766-0.961,P=0.008)were the independent predictors of all-cause mortality.ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the area under the curve(AUC)of Hb/SCr was 0.721(95%CI:0.645-0.798)for predicting all-cause mortality,with a sensitivity of 65.9%and specificity of 71.2%,at the optimal cut-offvalue of 16.627.Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with Hb/SCr<16.627 had significantly lower survival rates than those with Hb/SCr≥16.627(log-rank P=0.000).Conclusions:Hb/SCr is an independent predictor of 3-year all-cause mortality in STEMI patients after PCI and this indicator could be used as risk stratification parameter and patients with lower Hb/SCr might benefit comprehensive post-PCI management to improve their outcome.

Objective:To screen risk factors for ICU-acquired weakness in patients with mechanical ventilation and construct a predictive model, so as to provide a basis for the health management of patients with mechanical ventilation.Methods:Convenience sampling was used to select 312 ICU patients with mechanical ventilation admitted to the Tenth People's Hospital of Tongji University from October 2019 to August 2020 for the study. Patients were divided into training set ( n=220) and test set ( n=92) in a 7∶3 ratio. Based on machine learning algorithms, decision random forest (DRF), extremely-randomized trees (XRT) and generalized linear model (GLM) were used to construct three ICU-acquired weakness risk prediction models for patients with mechanical ventilation, respectively. The performance of the prediction model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ( AUC), the area under the precision-recall curve ( AUPRC), and the root mean square error ( RMSE) . Results:There were 7 predictors of risk of ICU-acquired weakness in patients with mechanical ventilation, including age, gender, braking, duration of mechanical ventilation, blood glucose, lactic acid, and parenteral nutrition. Test set and training set validation showed that AUC and AUPRC of GLM prediction model were greater than those of DRF, XRT prediction model. Test set validation indicated that the RMSE, logarithmic loss of GLM prediction model was less than those of DRF, XRT prediction model. Conclusions:Machine learning algorithm based GLM prediction model has good prediction performance. Healthcare professionals can construct evidence-based decisions for interventions in areas such as braking, duration of mechanical ventilation, and blood glucose management.

Objective To explore the effect of miR-296-3p on hepatic fibrosis induced by bile duct ligation(BDL)in rats.Methods 25 SD rats were randomly divided into sham group,model(BDL)group,NC adv group,miR-296-3p adv group and miR-296-3p sponge adv group,with 5 rats in each group.The pathological changes were ob-served in rat liver tissue via HE,Masson and Sirius Red staining;the levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and total bilirubin(TBIL)in the serum of rat in each group were detected;the expression levels of miR-296-3p,interleukin(IL)-6,IL-1 β,tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α and smooth muscle actin(α-SMA),type Ⅰ collagen(Col1A1),and connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)mRNA in rat liver tissue were detected by qRT-PCR;the expression levels of α-SMA,Col1A1 and CTGF proteins were detected by Western blot.Immunohistochemical staining(IHC)was performed to detect the expression of α-SMA in liver tissue.Target genes of miR-296-3p was predicted by bioinformatic analysis using the online database.Zinc finger and BTB do-main-containing protein20(ZBTB20)mRNA and protein expression levels were detected.Results The pathologi-cal staining results showed that compared with sham group,a large number of infiltrated inflammatory cells and col-lagen deposition were observed in the liver tissues of rats in the BDL group and NC adv group.Compared with NC adv group,the inflammatory cells and collagen deposition decreased in the liver tissues of miR-296-3p adv group.However,in miR-296-3p sponge adv group,collagen product and inflammatory reaction increased.Compared with sham group,the contents of ALT,AST and TBIL in serum of rats in BDL group and NC adv group increased,the expression level of miR-296-3p decreased,the mRNA expression levels of IL-6,IL-1β,TNF-α increased,and the mRNA and protein expression levels of α-SMA,Col1A1 and CTGF increased(all P＜0.05).Compared with the NC adv group,the contents of ALT,AST and TBIL in serum of rats in miR-296-3p adv group decreased,the ex-pression level of miR-296-3p increased,the mRNA expression levels of IL-6,IL-1 β and TNF-α,and the mRNA and protein expression levels of α-SMA,Col1A1 and CTGF in liver tissues decreased(all P＜0.05).The results of miR-296-3p sponge adv group were opposite to those of miR-296-3p adv group(all P＜0.05).The bioinformat-ics website predicted that ZBTB20 might be a candidate target gene of miR-296-3p.Compared with sham group,the expression of ZBTB20 mRNA and protein in the liver tissues of BDL group and NC adv group increased(P＜0.05),and the expression of ZBTB20 in the liver tissues of miR-296-3p adv group decreased compared with NC adv group(P＜0.05).However,the expression of ZBTB20 in liver tissues of miR-296-3p sponge adv group in-creased(P＜0.05).Conclusion miR-296-3p expression decreases in BDL-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats,and miR-296-3p may inhibit hepatic fibrosis in BDL rats by targeting ZBTB20.

Objective To investigate the effect of miR-199a-5p on common bile duct ligation(BDL)-induced liver fibrosis in rats by regulating intestinal flora.Methods The 25 SD rats were randomly divided into five groups:the Sham group,the BDL group,the negative control adenovirus(NC adv)group,the miR-199a-5p adv group and the miR-199a-5p sponge adv group.The pathological changes of liver tissue and the degree of liver fibrosis were ob-served by HE,Masson and Sirius Red staining.The levels of aspartate aminotransferase(AST),alanine amin-otransferase(ALT),total bilirubin(TBIL)and direct bilirubin(DBIL)in serum of rats were determined by a fully automatic biochemical analyzer.The mRNA expression level of miR-199a-5p in liver tissue of rats was detec-ted by qRT-PCR.The protein expression levels of α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA)and collagen type 1 alpha 1(COL1A1)in liver tissue of rats were detected by double immunofluorescence staining and Western blot experi-ment.Rat feces were collected for 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing.Results The expression of miR-199a-5p was up-regulated in the liver tissue of BDL rats(P＜0.01).Compared with the NC adv group,the degree of liver injury and collagen deposition were relatively serious,the levels of AST,ALT,TBIL and DBIL in serum and the expression levels of α-SMA and COL1A1 in liver tissue increased in the miR-199a-5p adv group(all P＜0.05).However,the results of miR-199a-5p sponge adv intervention were opposite(all P＜0.05).The 16S rRNA sequencing results showed that rats treated with miR-199a-5p adv were characterized by increased diversity and richness of intestinal microbiota,changed composition of intestinal microbiota,while the results of miR-199a-5p sponge adv interfering with the bacterial community were opposite(all P＜0.05).Conclusion miR-199a-5p promotes liver fibrosis of BDL rats,and its mechanism may be related to regulating the diversity and abundance of intestinal microbiota.