Cirrhotic portal hypertension could complicate impaired intestinal barrier function,small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota,further exacerbate the severity of cirrhosis.TIPS might lead to hepatic encephalopathy(HE).The research progresses in correlations of cirrhotic portal hypertension,TIPS related HE and gut microbiota were reviewed in this article.

Objective:To investigate the etiology of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Mianyang city in 2022, and to analyze the genetic characteristics of coxsackievirus A6.Methods:Pharyngeal swabs were collected from patients with HFMD in Mianyang city in 2022. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect enteroviruses in the samples. Part of the VP1 gene in enterovirus-positive samples was amplified by nested PCR using enterovirus typing primers to further identify the viral types. The VP1 coding region of all CVA6-positive samples and the whole genome of some samples were amplified and sequenced by PCR. The endemic strain in Mianyang city was analyzed for phylogeny, gene homology, amino acid variation and genetic recombination.Results:A total of 151 pharyngeal swabs were collected, and 104 enterovirus-positive samples were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, with an overall detection rate of 68.88% (104/151). The typing results showed that there were 77 cases of CVA6 infection, with a positive rate of 50.99% (77/151). The full-length VP1 genes of 77 CVA6 strains were amplified, sequenced, and successfully spliced, and phylogenetic analysis showed that all 77 strains were of the D3 genotype. There were multiple amino acid variant sites in the prevalent strains in Mianyang city compared with the reference strain. Twenty whole genome sequences were amplified, sequenced, and successfully spliced, and homology analysis showed that the nucleotide homology between the 20 positive sequences ranged from 97.0% to 99.9%. Phylogenetic tree and recombination analysis showed that no recombination occurred in the coding regions of the epidemic strains in this study.Conclusions:The predominant pathogen causing HFMD in Mianyang city in 2022 is CVA6 D3 subtype, which is consistent with the national epidemic in 2022.

Cysteine dioxygenase 1 (CDO1) gene is a non-heme structured, iron-containing metalloenzyme involved in the conversion of cysteine to cysteine sulfinic acid to regulate cysteine accumulation in vivo. Elevated levels of cysteine have been shown to be cytotoxic and neurotoxic, and this is the first important step in the breakdown of cysteine metabolism in mammalian tissues. The human CDO1 gene is located on chromosome 5q23.2. Studies have shown that deletion or epigenetic silencing of this chromosomal region contributes to tumorigenesis. It is highly expressed in the liver and placenta, and weakly in the heart, brain and pancreas. CDO1 is a tumor suppressor gene (TSG) with a wide range of functions, which can be involved in various biological processes such as tumor cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and iron death, thus affecting the tumor development. CDO1 is epigenetically regulated in human cancers, compared to normal tissues. The CDO1’s mRNA or protein expression levels were significantly down-regulated in tumor tissues, whereas promoter DNA methylation of the CDO1 gene usually accumulates with the progression of human cancers. Aberrant hypermethylation on the CDO1 promoter is a common event in tumor cells, which leads to transcriptional inactivation and silencing of the CDO1 gene. High frequency of methylation of CDO1 gene promoter methylation region in a variety of tumors including breast, oesophageal, lung, bladder, gastric and colorectal cancers. CDO1 gene promoter methylation levels reflect cancer progression and malignant tumorigenesis, which is a common molecular indicator explaining poor prognosis in human cancers. Treatment with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (a drug that promotes demethylation) reactivated the CDO1 expression in most cancer cell lines, indicating that the transcriptional expression of CDO1 is closely correlated with its promoter methylation level, CDO1 gene promoter methylation and tumor progression have also received increasing attention from researchers. It was found that CDO1 gene promoter hypermethylation can be used as an early tumor marker for clinical aid diagnosis and helps to differentiate cancerous from benign diseases. It was also found that CDO1 promoter DNA methylation showed reliable tumor monitoring potential in human body fluids, and furthermore, the degree of CDO1 promoter methylation was strongly correlated with resistance to chemotherapy with tumor drugs, which would be helpful in evaluating the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs. Thus, CDO1, a common promoter methylation gene in human cancers, is closely associated with the development of a wide range of tumors and is one of the most promising candidate genes for assessing tumor-specific epigenetic changes. This article reviews the biological functions of CDO1 and its promoter DNA methylation in tumors, focusing on the mechanism of CDO1 DNA promoter methylation in tumors, with a view to providing theoretical guidance for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of tumors with CDO1 as a potential therapeutic target.

Objective:To understand the composition of respiratory virus spectrum in hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections in Guilin City from 2021 to 2022, and to explore the epidemic characteristics of different respiratory viruses.Methods:Information of a total of 638 hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections (ARI) syndrome under the age of 14 years in Guilin city, Guangxi from September 2021 to October 2022 was collected as research data. The collected pharyngeal swabs from pediatric patients were subjected to real-time fluorescence reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for nucleic acid testing, screening for 15 common respiratory viruses, and analyzing the virus spectrum characteristics of hospitalized pediatric patients with acute respiratory infections.Results:Among the 638 specimens, 365 were tested positive for at least one virus, with a positive rate of 57.21% (365/638). The detection rate for two or more viruses was 12.85% (82/638). There were 12 types of viruses detected, and the difference in virus detection rates among different seasons was statistically significant (P<0.002). The virus positive detection rate of samples from different age groups was the highest in the 0-2-year old group (40.66%), followed by the 3-5-year old group (34.80%) and the 6-year and older group (24.54%).Conclusions:During the period from September 2021 to October 2022, all 12 respiratory viruses were prevalent in Guilin area, with obvious summer peak as characteristics. It is suggested that corresponding prevention and control measures should be focused on pathogens that may cause acute respiratory infections in children during the local summer to prevent and control the spread and prevalence of respiratory infections.

Traumatic cerebrospinal fluid leakage commonly presents in traumatic brain injury patients, and it may lead to complications such as meningitis, ventriculitis, brain abscess, subdural hematoma or tension pneumocephalus. When misdiagnosed or inappropriately treated, traumatic cerebrospinal fluid leakage may result in severe complications and may be life-threatening. Some traumatic cerebrospinal fluid leakage has concealed manifestations and is prone to misdiagnosis. Due to different sites and mechanisms of trauma and degree of cerebrospinal fluid leak, treatments for traumatic cerebrospinal fluid leakage varies greatly. Hence, the Craniocerebral Trauma Professional Group of Neurosurgery Branch of Chinese Medical Association and the Neurological Injury Professional Group of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized relevant experts to formulate the " Chinese expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic cerebrospinal fluid leakage in adults ( version 2023)" based on existing clinical evidence and experience. The consensus consisted of 16 recommendations, covering the leakage diagnosis, localization, treatments, and intracranial infection prevention, so as to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic cerebrospinal fluid leakage and improve the overall prognosis of the patients.

The material basis and mechanism of Chaenomelis Fructus in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA) were explored by network pharmacology, and the potential anti-RA targets of Chaenomelis Fructus were verified by molecular docking and animal experiments. The active components and targets of Chaenomelis Fructus were searched against the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform. GeneCards, DisGeNET, and OMIM were used to obtain RA-related targets. The common targets shared by Chaenomelis Fructus and RA were considered as the potential targets of Chaenomelis Fructus in the treatment of RA. Cytoscape 3.9.0 was employed to establish a "traditional Chinese medicine-active component-common target-disease" network. The protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was established by STRING, and the core genes were visualized by RStudio 4.1.0. DAVID was used for Gene Ontology(GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment to predict and visualize the involved signaling pathways. Molecular docking was carried out with the active components screened out as ligands and RA core genes as the targets. Finally, the prediction results were verified by animal experiments. Four main active components of Chaenomelis Fructus were obtained, which corresponded to 137 targets. Chaenomelis Fructus and RA shared 37 common targets. GO annotation yielded 239 terms(P<0.05), and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis screened out 94 signaling pathways(P<0.05), mainly involving interleukin-17(IL-17), tumor necrosis factor, Toll-like receptor, and nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB) signaling pathways. Molecular docking results showed that the main active components of Chaenomelis Fructus bound well with the core targets of RA. The results of animal experiments proved that Chaenomelis Fructus can alleviate joint swelling in the mice with RA. The results of ELISA showed that Chaenomelis Fructus lowered the levels of interleukin-6(IL-6) and interleukin-1β(IL-1β). Western blot showed that Chaenomelis Fructus down-regulated the protein level of vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA). Chaenomelis Fructus exerts anti-inflammatory effect and reduces pannus formation by regulating the core targets such as VEGFA, IL-1β, and IL6 in the treatment of RA. The findings of this study provide new ideas for the future treatment of RA with Chaenomelis Fructus.
Animals ; Mice ; Network Pharmacology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/genetics* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; NF-kappa B ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

OBJECTIVES: Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is generally a common fundus disease in young and middle-aged Asian men. Acute and chronic CSC can lead to different degrees of injury to the retinal blood flow. This study aims to observe and compare the blood flow density in different retinal capillary layers in patients with acute and chronic CSC using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) technology. METHODS: Twelve patients with acute CSC and 8 patients with chronic CSC including 12 eyes with acute CSC (acute CSC eye group), 11 eyes with chronic CSC (chronic CSC eye group), and 17 normal eyes (normal eye group) were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent 3 mm×3 mm, 6 mm×6 mm macular OCTA scanning. The retinal microvascu-lature was divided into superficial vascular complexes (SVC), intermediate capillary plexuses (ICP), and deep capillary plexuses (DCP) using the projection resolved-OCTA algorithm. Inner retina includes SVC, ICP, and DCP. The vessel density in each retinal layer and the inner retina were calculated and compared. RESULTS: Macular OCTA scanning of 3 mm×3 mm showed that there was no significant difference in blood flow density of SVC and ICP among the 3 groups (both P>0.05); blood flow density of DCP and inner retina in the chronic CSC eye group was significantly lower than that in the acute CSC eye group and the normal eye group (all P<0.05); there was no significant difference in retinal blood flow density of different layer between the acute CSC eye group and the normal eye group (all P>0.05). Macular OCTA scanning of 6 mm×6 mm showed that inner retinal blood flow density of the chronic CSC eye group was significantly lower than that of the acute CSC eye group and the normal eye group (both P<0.05); there was no significant difference in blood flow density of SVC among the 3 groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS The vessel density of DCP and inner retina in the eyes with chronic CSC are significantly reduced, which may result in impaired visual function. Therefore, we recommend that patients with acute CSC should be properly treated to avoid progressing into chronic CSC.
Central Serous Chorioretinopathy/diagnostic imaging* ; Fluorescein Angiography/methods* ; Humans ; Male ; Microvessels/diagnostic imaging* ; Middle Aged ; Retina ; Tomography, Optical Coherence/methods*

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of total saponins from Panax japonicus( SPJ) on cognitive decline of natural aging rats and its mechanism. Thirty male SD rats of eighteen month old were randomly divided into three groups: aged group,10 mg·kg~(-1) SPJ-treated group and 30 mg·kg~(-1) SPJ-treated group. The SPJ-treated groups were given SPJ at the dosages of 10 mg·kg~(-1) and 30 mg·kg~(-1),respectively,from the age of 18 to 24 months. Aged group were lavaged the same amount of saline,10 six-month-old rats were used as control group,with 10 rats in each group. The open field test,novel object recognition and Morris water maze were performed to detect the changes of cognitive function in each group. The changes of synaptic transmission of long-term potentiation( LTP) in hippocampal CA1 region were detected by field potential recording. Western blot was used to detect the protein levels of NLRP3,ASC,caspase-1 and the changes of Glu A1,Glu A2,CAMKⅡ,CREB and phosphorylation of CAMKⅡ,CREB in each group.The results showed that SPJ could improve the decline of cognitive function in aging rats,reduce the damage of LTP in the hippocampal CA1 region of aged rats,and decrease the expression of NLRP3,ASC,caspase-1 in aging rats. At the same time,SPJ could enhance the membrane expression of AMPA receptor( Glu A1 and Glu A2),and increase the expression of p-CAMKⅡand p-CREB in aging rats.SPJ could improve cognitive decline of natural aging rats,and its mechanism may be related to regulating NLRP3 inflammasome,thus regulating the membrane expression of AMPA receptor,and enhancing the expression phosphorylation of CAMKⅡ and CREB.
Aging ; Animals ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal ; physiology ; Cognition ; drug effects ; Inflammasomes ; metabolism ; Long-Term Potentiation ; Male ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; metabolism ; Panax ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Saponins ; pharmacology

This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism and protective effect of total saponins of Panax japonicas (TSPJ) on HepG2 cells apoptosis induced by palmitic acid (PA).The HepG2 cells were cultured , and divided into five groups: the control group, the model group, the high-dose group (50 mg·L⁻¹), the middle-dose group (25 mg·L⁻¹) and the low-dose group (12.5 mg·L⁻¹).The cells of the five groups were cultured continuously for 24 hours. The cell viability was measured with MTT. HepG2 cells apoptosis was detected by Hoechest staining and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. The protein expressions of BCL-2, CHOP and TLR4 were measured with western blotting and flow cytometry analysis. The mRNA expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, BCL-2, CHOP and GAPDH were measured with RT-PCR. The results suggested that compared with the control group, the number of HepG2 cells of the model group were reduced significantly (<0.01), while the number of apoptotic HepG2 cells were increased. Compared with the model group, the number of HepG2 cells of the high-dose group and the middle-dose group were increased significantly (<0.01), whereas the number of apoptotic HepG2 cells were reduced. Compared with the control group, TNF-α, IL-1β and CHOP mRNA expressions and CHOP and TLR4 protein expressions in the model group were significantly up-regulated (<0.01), while BCL-2 protein and mRNA expressions in the model group were significantly decreased (<0.01). Compared with the model group, TNF-α, IL-1β and CHOP mRNA expressions and CHOP and TLR4 protein expressions in the high-dose group were significantly decreased (<0.01), while BCL-2 protein and mRNA expressions in the high-dose group were significantly up-regulated (<0.01).In conclusion, TSPJ can reduce inflammation and apoptosis induced by palmitic acid, with a certain protective effect on liver cells.
Apoptosis ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Palmitic Acids ; Panax ; chemistry ; Phytochemicals ; pharmacology ; Saponins ; pharmacology

To investigate the effects of saponins extracted from Panax japonicus(SPJ) on cardiomyocyte apoptosis in natural aging rats and explore its underlying mechanisms. SD male rats were randomly divided into four groups: young control group, natural aging group, SPJ low dose group and SPJ high dose group, with 10 rats in each group. The rats in natural aging group, SPJ low and high dose groups were respectively treated with normal saline, SPJ 10 and 60 mg•kg-1•d-1 from the beginning of 18 month-old, 6 days per week for 6 months till 24 month-old. Then the animals were sacrificed. Their myocardial morphology changes were observed by using haematoxylin-eoin(HE) staining; cardiomyocyte apoptosis was tested by using Tunel assays; and the protein expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, IL-1β, TNF-α, AMPK, p-AMPK, Sirt1, and Ac-NF-κB p65 in myocardial tissues of rats were detected by Western blot. The results showed that SPJ could effectively improve the arrangement disorder of myocardial fibers, reduce the infiltration of inflammatory cells and inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis in natural aging rats. At the same time, SPJ could significantly inhibit the protein expression of Bax, IL-1β, TNF-α and Ac-NF-κB p65, and increase the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-2/Bax, p-AMPK/AMPK and Sirt1 in the heart tissues of natural aging rats. SPJ can effectively inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis in natural aging rats, and its mechanisms may be related with the regulation of inflammatory reaction by AMPK/Sirt1/NF-κB signaling pathway.