AIM:To explore the mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza(Danshen)-derived exosome-like nanoparti-cles(DDN)in attenuating oxidative damage in endothelial cells through the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(PKB/Akt)/endothelial nitric oxide synthase(eNOS)signaling pathway.METHODS:The DDN were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering.Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the uptake of DDN by human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs).The viability,migration and invasion of HUVECs were assessed using CCK8 assay,wound-healing assay and Transwell assay,respec-tively.The HUVECs were induced by angiotensin II(Ang II)for oxidative stress and intervened with DDN or LY294002(a PI3K inhibitor).The levels of reactive oxygen species were determined by flow cytometry,and intracellular nitric oxide(NO)content was measured using a biochemical assay kit.Additionally,the protein levels of NADPH oxidase 4(NOX4),NOX2,endothelial nitric oxide syntnase(eNOS),p-eNOS,Akt and p-Akt were examined by Western blot.RESULTS:(1)Transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering analysis revealed that DDN had good bio-compatibility and stability.(2)According to fluorescence images and flow cytometry results,DDN were strongly taken up by HUVECs.(3)Compared with control group,DDN significantly promoted the viability,migration and invasion of HUVECs,showing a dose-dependent effect.(4)Compared with control group,DDN remarkably increased intracellular NO levels,thereby enhancing endothelial cell vasodilation via activating the PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway.(5)The PI3K/Akt/eNOS pathway played a critical role in mitigating oxidative stress and improving cellular function in response to DDN treat-ment.CONCLUSION:The DDN mediate PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway activation to significantly alleviate Ang II-induced oxidative damage in endothelial cells,suggesting a potential vascular protective effect of DDN.

AIM:To explore the mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza(Danshen)-derived exosome-like nanoparti-cles(DDN)in attenuating oxidative damage in endothelial cells through the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(PKB/Akt)/endothelial nitric oxide synthase(eNOS)signaling pathway.METHODS:The DDN were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering.Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the uptake of DDN by human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs).The viability,migration and invasion of HUVECs were assessed using CCK8 assay,wound-healing assay and Transwell assay,respec-tively.The HUVECs were induced by angiotensin II(Ang II)for oxidative stress and intervened with DDN or LY294002(a PI3K inhibitor).The levels of reactive oxygen species were determined by flow cytometry,and intracellular nitric oxide(NO)content was measured using a biochemical assay kit.Additionally,the protein levels of NADPH oxidase 4(NOX4),NOX2,endothelial nitric oxide syntnase(eNOS),p-eNOS,Akt and p-Akt were examined by Western blot.RESULTS:(1)Transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering analysis revealed that DDN had good bio-compatibility and stability.(2)According to fluorescence images and flow cytometry results,DDN were strongly taken up by HUVECs.(3)Compared with control group,DDN significantly promoted the viability,migration and invasion of HUVECs,showing a dose-dependent effect.(4)Compared with control group,DDN remarkably increased intracellular NO levels,thereby enhancing endothelial cell vasodilation via activating the PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway.(5)The PI3K/Akt/eNOS pathway played a critical role in mitigating oxidative stress and improving cellular function in response to DDN treat-ment.CONCLUSION:The DDN mediate PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway activation to significantly alleviate Ang II-induced oxidative damage in endothelial cells,suggesting a potential vascular protective effect of DDN.

Objective Bibliometric analysis software VOSviewer and CiteSpace were applied to analyze literatures related to acupuncture for myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion(I/R)injury published in Chinese and English,to explore the status quo,dynamic trend and hot spots in the field,in order to provide reference for future research.Methods Based on the literature on acupuncture and moxibustion for myocardial I/R injury published in CNKI and Web of Science Core Collection database,VOSviewer and CiteSpace software were used to analyze literature publication trends,authors,institutions,countries,journals,keywords and citations,and draw graphs and tables to show the development status of the field and analyze the future development direction.Results Both Chinese and English literatures on the treatment of myocardial I/R injury by acupuncture and moxibustion show an increasing trend,which is one of the academic hotspots with great potential at present.In terms of Chinese literature,Yan Jie is the scholar who has published the most papers,and Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the representative of the high production institution.The journal of Acupuncture Research has published the most papers.In terms of English literature,lu sheng-feng is the representative scholar with a high number of publications,Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine is the institution with the largest number of publications,and Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine is the journal with the largest number of publications.The authors in the field have weak interinstitutional cooperation and exchange,and their research is mainly from China,with little international collaboration and exchange.At present,acupuncture treatment of myocardial I/R injury covers three aspects:specific acupoints,molecular biological mechanisms and clinical studies,which mainly focus on seven hot spots.Conclusion The bibliometric visual analysis visually demonstrated the current status,hot spots and frontier trends of acupuncture in the treatment of myocardial I/R injury.In the future,it is necessary to strengthen international collaboration,promote exchanges and cooperation between scholars and institutions,and promote the publication of multi-center,large-sample and high-level clinical randomized controlled studies;At the same time,the effect mechanism was further discussed from the perspectives of new molecular biological mechanisms,new intervention measures and point selection,and clinical translational research was carried out.

Objective:To investigate whether brown adipose tissue-derived exosomes(BAT-exos) could ameliorate endothelial cell injury by activating Pink1-Parkin pathway-mediated mitophagy.Methods:Endothelial cell injury was induced with angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ) to establish a cellular injury model. Exosomes were isolated from both brown adipose tissue and white adipose tissue and characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis(NTA), fluorescence labeling, and Western blot. Cell viability was assessed using the CCK-8 assay, and apoptosis rates were determined by flow cytometry. Levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin(IL)-6, and IL-8 were measured by ELISA. Mitochondrial autophagy was assessed by immunofluorescence colocalization, and protein expression levels of Pink1, Parkin, and LC3 Ⅱ/I were determined by Western blot.Results:Ang Ⅱ induced endothelial cell apoptosis, activated inflammatory responses, and suppressed mitophagy, as evidenced by decreased expression of mitophagy-related proteins. Following the successful characterization of BAT-exos, we found that BAT-exos activated mitophagy and alleviated endothelial cell injury, whereas white adipose tissue-derived exosomes(WAT-exos) inhibited mitophagy and exacerbated injury. Mechanistically, BAT-exos targeted the Pink1-Parkin signaling pathway to activate mitophagy.Conclusion:BAT-exos markedly improve endothelial cell injury by activating mitophagy through the Pink1-Parkin pathway, providing new insights and potential therapeutic targets for cardiovascular diseases.

Probiotics have shown excellent application prospects in preventing and treating many diseases. However, their sensitivity to the harsh environment in vivo always leads to a massive loss of viability and insufficient therapeutic effect. Fortunately, modified probiotics have emerged and provide multiple possibilities for their use in various diseases. Modification not only endows probiotics with extra capacity to resist severe environments but also gives them exogenous characteristics, such as prolonged retention time and improved therapeutic effects. Modified probiotics could combine with other therapies, which has opened up new avenues to enhance the efficacy of probiotic-based therapy. In this review, we have summarized the current physicochemical and biological modification strategies of probiotics. In addition, the progress of research on probiotic-based combination therapy has also been extensively reviewed, which contributes to the enhanced delivery of probiotics or other active constituents and provides new ideas for disease treatment, bioimaging, and diagnosis.

Objective:To investigate whether brown adipose tissue-derived exosomes(BAT-exos) could ameliorate endothelial cell injury by activating Pink1-Parkin pathway-mediated mitophagy.Methods:Endothelial cell injury was induced with angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ) to establish a cellular injury model. Exosomes were isolated from both brown adipose tissue and white adipose tissue and characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis(NTA), fluorescence labeling, and Western blot. Cell viability was assessed using the CCK-8 assay, and apoptosis rates were determined by flow cytometry. Levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin(IL)-6, and IL-8 were measured by ELISA. Mitochondrial autophagy was assessed by immunofluorescence colocalization, and protein expression levels of Pink1, Parkin, and LC3 Ⅱ/I were determined by Western blot.Results:Ang Ⅱ induced endothelial cell apoptosis, activated inflammatory responses, and suppressed mitophagy, as evidenced by decreased expression of mitophagy-related proteins. Following the successful characterization of BAT-exos, we found that BAT-exos activated mitophagy and alleviated endothelial cell injury, whereas white adipose tissue-derived exosomes(WAT-exos) inhibited mitophagy and exacerbated injury. Mechanistically, BAT-exos targeted the Pink1-Parkin signaling pathway to activate mitophagy.Conclusion:BAT-exos markedly improve endothelial cell injury by activating mitophagy through the Pink1-Parkin pathway, providing new insights and potential therapeutic targets for cardiovascular diseases.

Objective Bibliometric analysis software VOSviewer and CiteSpace were applied to analyze literatures related to acupuncture for myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion(I/R)injury published in Chinese and English,to explore the status quo,dynamic trend and hot spots in the field,in order to provide reference for future research.Methods Based on the literature on acupuncture and moxibustion for myocardial I/R injury published in CNKI and Web of Science Core Collection database,VOSviewer and CiteSpace software were used to analyze literature publication trends,authors,institutions,countries,journals,keywords and citations,and draw graphs and tables to show the development status of the field and analyze the future development direction.Results Both Chinese and English literatures on the treatment of myocardial I/R injury by acupuncture and moxibustion show an increasing trend,which is one of the academic hotspots with great potential at present.In terms of Chinese literature,Yan Jie is the scholar who has published the most papers,and Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the representative of the high production institution.The journal of Acupuncture Research has published the most papers.In terms of English literature,lu sheng-feng is the representative scholar with a high number of publications,Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine is the institution with the largest number of publications,and Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine is the journal with the largest number of publications.The authors in the field have weak interinstitutional cooperation and exchange,and their research is mainly from China,with little international collaboration and exchange.At present,acupuncture treatment of myocardial I/R injury covers three aspects:specific acupoints,molecular biological mechanisms and clinical studies,which mainly focus on seven hot spots.Conclusion The bibliometric visual analysis visually demonstrated the current status,hot spots and frontier trends of acupuncture in the treatment of myocardial I/R injury.In the future,it is necessary to strengthen international collaboration,promote exchanges and cooperation between scholars and institutions,and promote the publication of multi-center,large-sample and high-level clinical randomized controlled studies;At the same time,the effect mechanism was further discussed from the perspectives of new molecular biological mechanisms,new intervention measures and point selection,and clinical translational research was carried out.

Objective To explore the value of the Physiology and Surgical Severity Score(POSSUM)scoring system in predicting postoperative complications in elderly patients with thoracic surgery,and to ana-lyze its correlation with Clavien-Dindo classification.Methods The data of 182 elderly patients who under-went thoracic surgery in this hospital from October 2019 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.They were divided into the complication group and the non-complication group according to whether there were complications after surgery.The baseline data and POSSUM score of the two groups were analyzed,and the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn to analyze the predictive value of POSSUM for post-operative complications in elderly patients.POSSUM of patients with different Clavien-Dindo classification was compared,and the correlation between POSSUM and Clavien-Dindo classification analyzed.Results The incidence of pulmonary infection was the highest in the complication group,followed by hypoproteinemia.POSSUM in the complication group was higher than that in non-complication group before operation,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The ROC curve showed that the area under curve(AUC)value of POSSUM was 0.829;In the complication group,according to Clavien-Dindo classification,there were 5 cases of grade Ⅰ,47 cases of grade Ⅱ,8 cases of grade Ⅱ Ⅲ,7 cases of grade Ⅳ and 8 cases of grade V,the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The correlation analysis showed that POSSUM score was positively correlated with Clavien-Dindo classification(r＞0.513,P＜0.05).Conclusion The POSSUM scoring system has a high value in predicting postoperative complications in elderly patients with thoracic surgery.

Globally, the prevalence of physical inactivity in the adult population is as high as 27.5%. Physical activity is closely associated with menstrual disorders, ovulation disorders, organic diseases of the reproductive system, and outcomes of reproductive treatment in infertile women, and reasonable and appropriate physical activity is important for preventing and treating female infertility. This paper summarized the studies on the effects of physical activity on the reproductive health of infertile women in recent years by reviewing and analyzing the relevant literature and exploring the possible biological mechanisms to provide a scientific basis for improving the reproductive health of infertile women.

Globally, the prevalence of physical inactivity in the adult population is as high as 27.5%. Physical activity is closely associated with menstrual disorders, ovulation disorders, organic diseases of the reproductive system, and outcomes of reproductive treatment in infertile women, and reasonable and appropriate physical activity is important for preventing and treating female infertility. This paper summarized the studies on the effects of physical activity on the reproductive health of infertile women in recent years by reviewing and analyzing the relevant literature and exploring the possible biological mechanisms to provide a scientific basis for improving the reproductive health of infertile women.