ObjectiveTo compare the hepatic bile acid profile between a mouse model of metabolic-associated steatohepatitis （MASH） induced by a high-fat， high-sugar， and high-cholesterol diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of 10% carbon tetrachloride （CCl₄） and MASH cases in clinical practice， and to investigate the feasibility of this model in studying drug interventions on bile acid profile in MASH. MethodsA total of 30 male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group and model group， with 15 mice in each group. The mice in the control group were given normal diet and drinking water and weekly injections of olive oil， and those in the model group were given a high-fat， high-sugar， and high-cholesterol diet， high-sugar drinking water， and weekly injections of CCl₄+olive oil. At the end of weeks 8， 12， and 16， 5 mice were selected from each group to collect samples. Behavioral assessments were performed， and body weight and liver wet weight were measured； liver pathology and lipid deposition were evaluated by HE staining， SAF scoring， oil Red O staining， the semi-quantitative analysis of stained area， the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， and liver triglyceride （TG） content； Sirius Red staining was performed for liver tissue to assess liver fibrosis； ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and targeted metabolomics were used to measure the hepatic bile acid profile， including cholic acid （CA）， glycocholic acid （GCA）， chenodeoxycholic acid （CDCA）， glycochenodeoxycholic acid （GCDCA）， ursodeoxycholic acid （UDCA）， tauroursodeoxycholic acid （TUDCA）， hyodeoxycholic acid （HDCA）， and glycodeoxycholic acid （GDCA）. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups. ResultsCompared with the control group at the same time point， the model group had disheveled and dull fur， reduced activity， and relatively slow reactions at weeks 8， 12， and 16， as well as significant increases in liver wet weight （P<0.05）， the serum level of ALT （P<0.05）， the content of TG in the liver （P<0.05）， and SAF score （P<0.05）. As for the differentially expressed bile acids in liver tissue， compared with the control group at week 8， the model group had significantly higher levels of CA and CDCA and significantly lower levels of UDCA， TUDCA， HDCA， and GDCA （all P<0.05）； compared with the control group at week 12， the model group had significantly higher levels of CA， GCA， CDCA， and GCDCA and significantly lower levels of UDCA and HDCA （all P<0.05）； compared with the control group at week 16， the model group had significantly higher levels of CA， GCA， CDCA， GCDCA， and TUDCA and significantly lower levels of UDCA， HDCA， and GDCA （all P<0.05）. As for the differentially expressed bile acids in the bile acid pool of liver tissue， compared with the control group at week 8， the model group had significantly higher levels of CA and CDCA and significantly lower levels of UDCA， TUDCA， GDCA， and HDCA （all P<0.05）； compared with the control group at weeks 12 and 16， the model group had significantly higher levels of GCA and GCDCA and significantly lower levels of UDCA， GDCA， and HDCA （all P<0.05）. ConclusionThere are significant changes in the hepatic bile acid profile in a mouse model of MASH induced by a high-fat， high-sugar， and high-cholesterol diet combined with CCl₄， which are similar to the changes in bile acids in MASH cases in clinical practice， suggesting that this model can be used to explore the interventional effect of drugs on the bile acid profile in MASH.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Homebox A6 （HOXA6） on the proliferation， invasion， metastasis， and apoptosis of HepG2 hepatoma cells and its association with the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. MethodsHepG2 hepatoma cells were cultured， and HOXA6 overexpression plasmid and siRNA were constructed and transfected into cells. The cells were randomly divided into empty plasmid group， HOXA 6 overexpression group， siRNA negative control group， and siRNA HOXA6 interference group. CCK8 assay was used to measure cell proliferation， Transwell assay was used to observe cell invasion， and wound healing assay was used to observe cell migration （related proteins TIMP3， MMP9， and MMP3）. Flow cytometry was used to measure cell apoptosis （related proteins BAX and BCL2）， the BCA method was used to measure protein concentration， and Western Blot was used to measure the expression of related proteins. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups， and the SNK-q test was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the empty plasmid group， HOXA6 overexpression significantly promoted the proliferation， invasion， and migration of HepG2 hepatoma cells （all P<0.001）， and there was a significant reduction in the protein expression of TIMP3 （P<0.001）， while there were significant increases in the expression levels of MMP9 and MMP3 （both P<0.001）. Compared with the siRNA negative control group， HOXA6 interference significantly inhibited the proliferation， invasion， and migration of HepG2 hepatoma cells （all P<0.001）， and there was a significant increase in the protein expression of TIMP3 （P<0.001）， while there were significant reductions in the expression levels of MMP9 and MMP3 （both P<0.001）. Flow cytometry showed that compared with the empty plasmid group， HOXA6 overexpression inhibited the apoptosis of HepG2 hepatoma cells （P<0.001）， with a significant reduction in the expression of the apoptosis-related protein BAX and a significant increase in the expression of BCL2 （both P<0.001）. Compared with siRNA negative control group， HOXA6 interference promoted the apoptosis of HepG2 hepatoma cells （P<0.001）， with a significant increase in the expression of BAX and a significant reduction in the expression of BCL2 （both P<0.001）. Compared with the empty plasmid group， the HOXA6 overexpression group had significantly higher ratios of p-AKT/AKT and p-PI3K/PI3K （both P<0.001）， and compared with the siRNA negative control group， the siRNA HOXA6 interference group had significantly lower ratios of p-AKT/AKT and p-PI3K/PI3K （both P<0.001）. ConclusionHOXA6 can promote the proliferation， invasion， and metastasis of HepG2 hepatoma cells and inhibit their apoptosis by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through phosphorylation.

Objective A rat model of pulmonary fibrosis was constructed using a single or two intratracheal drops of bleomycin(BLM)and the modeling rate and stability of the two modeling modalities were compared.Methods A total of 150 specific pathogen-free SD rats were divided randomly into blank control(control),single intratracheal drop of bleomycin(BLM-S),and two intratracheal drops of bleomycin(BLM-M)groups.Rats in the BLM-S group received a single dose of 3 mg/kg BLM by noninvasive intratracheal instillation,and rats in BLM-M group received 3 mg/kg BLM on day 1 and BLM 2 mg/kg on day 14.Rats in the control group were given intratracheal instillation of 0.9％sodium chloride(1 mL/kg).The rats were euthanized on days 28,42,56,and 84 after modelling,respectively.Deep inspiratory capacity(IC),vital capacity(VC),static lung compliance(Cchord),and dynamic lung complication(Cdyn)were measured in all rats.Pathological changes in lung tissue were observed,and the extent of alveolitis and fibrosis was graded.Collagen-Ⅲ(COL-Ⅲ)expression in rat lung tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry.Results(1)The survival rates in the control,BLM-S,and BLM-M groups were 100％,80％,and 66％,respectively.Rats in the BLM-S and BLM-M groups had significantly lower body weights on days 14～42 compared with the control group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and rats in the BLM-M group had significantly lower body weight on days 28～42 than rats in the control and BLM-S groups(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).(2)Regarding lung function,IC,VC,Cchord,and Cdyn were all markedly decreased in the BLM-S group compared with the control group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01)and IC,VC,and Cchord were significantly decreased in the BLM-M group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01)on day 28.IC,VC,and Cchord were significantly decreased in rats in the BLM-S group on day 42(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and were also significantly decreased in rats in the BLM-M group on days 42～84(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).(3)In terms of lung pathology,inflammatory infiltration and fibrous cords appeared in the BLM-S group from days 28～84 and then gradually decreased(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),while fibrosis and alveolitis were relatively stable in the BLM-M group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).(4)COL-Ⅲ expression levels in lung tissue were significantly higher in rats in the BLM-S and BLM-M groups compared with the control group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and the COL-Ⅲ content in the BLM-S group was significantly lower at 42～84 days than at 28 days(P＜0.05).Conclusions Both method are capable of effectively creating pulmonary fibrosis models.The single-dose approach is straightforward,has a lower death rate,and the degree of fibrosis is clearly visible by day 28,but progressively recovers after 42 days.In contrast,the two-dose instillation model has a greater success rate and better stability,with over half the rats still exhibiting visible fibrosis on day 84.

Kupffer cells(KC),an important subset of immune cells in the liver,are essential for maintaining tissue homeostasis and responding quickly to liver damage.The complement receptor of the immuno-globulin superfamily(CRIg)is a receptor protein on the KC membrane.CRIg can not only capture pathogens in the blood flowing through the liver by complement binding but also mediate immune responses by regulating im-mune cells in the liver.Recent studies have confirmed the role of CRIg in regulating liver immunity.This article reviews the main modes of action of CRIg and the research progress of CRIg in regulating liver immunity.

Hepatic steatosis can be observed in chronic liver diseases of different etiologies. The main predisposing factors for hepatic steatosis include chronic viral hepatitis， cholestatic liver disease， alcoholic liver disease， and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Simple fatty liver disease is the initial manifestation of hepatic steatosis， followed by steatohepatitis， liver fibrosis， liver cirrhosis， and even hepatocellular carcinoma. With the development of medical imaging technology， magnetic resonance imaging-proton density fat fraction （MRI-PDFF） has been widely used in the diagnosis of fatty liver disease （FLD） in clinical practice. MRI-PDFF is gradually becoming the gold standard for the noninvasive diagnosis of FLD due to its high accuracy and good repeatability. This article reviews the clinical application of MRI-PDFF in liver fat quantification and related research advances.

ObjectiveTo explore the syndrome elements and evolving patterns of patients with hepatitis B virus-related acute on chronic liver failure （HBV-ACLF） at different stages. MethodsClinical information of 1,058 hospitalized HBV-ACLF patients， including 618 in the early stage， 355 in the middle stage， and 85 in the late stage， were collected from 18 clinical centers across 12 regions nationwide from January 1， 2012 to February 28， 2015. The “Hepatitis B-related Chronic and Acute Liver Failure Chinese Medicine Clinical Questionnaire” were designed to investigate the basic information of the patients， like the four diagnostic information （including symptoms， tongue， pulse） of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， and to count the frequency of the appearance of the four diagnostic information. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were employed to determine and statistically analyze the syndrome elements and patterns of HBV-ACLF patients at different stages. ResultsThere were 76 four diagnostic information from 1058 HBV-ACLF patients， and 53 four diagnostic information with a frequency of occurrence ≥ 5% were used as factor analysis entries， including 36 symptom information， 12 tongue information， and 5 pulse information. Four types of TCM patterns were identified in HBV-ACLF， which were liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern， qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern， liver-kidney yin deficiency pattern， and spleen-kidney yang-deficiency pattern. In the early stage， heat （39.4%， 359/912） and dampness （27.5%， 251/912） were most common， and the pattern of the disease was dominated by liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern （74.6%， 461/618）； in the middle stage， dampness （30.2%， 187/619） and blood stasis （20.7%， 128/619） were most common， and the patterns of the disease were dominated by liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern （53.2%， 189/355）， and qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern （27.6%， 98/355）； and in the late stage， the pattern of the disease was dominated by qi deficiency （26.3%， 40/152） and yin deficiency （20.4%， 31/152）， and the patterns were dominated by qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern （36.5%， 31/85）， and liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern （25.9%， 22/85）. ConclusionThere are significant differences in the distribution of syndrome elements and patterns at different stages of HBV-ACLF， presenting an overall trend of evolving patterns as "from excess to deficiency， transforming from excess to deficiency"， which is damp-heat → blood stasis → qi-blood yin-yang deficiency.

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of modified Liuwei Dihuangtang in preventing and treating renal injury in diabetic kidney disease （DKD） via the angiotensin-converting enzyme 1 （ACE1）/angiotensin Ⅱ （AngⅡ）/angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor （AT1R） axis. MethodFifty male SD rats were randomized into a normal group （n=8） and a modeling group （n=42）. The rats in the modeling group were fed with a high-sugar and high-fat diet for 6 weeks and intraperitoneally injected with 35 mg·kg^-1 streptozotocin （STZ） to establish the model of DKD. After successful modeling， the rats were randomized into model， traditional Chinese medicine （modified Liuwei Dihuangtang granules 21 g·kg^-1）， western medicine （losartan potassium， 33 mg·kg^-1）， and integrated Chinese and western medicine （losartan potassium 33 mg·kg^-1 combined with modified Liuwei Dihuangtang granules 21 g·kg^-1） groups. The levels of fasting blood glucose （FBG）， urinary protein （Up）， blood urea nitrogen （Bun）， and serum creatinine （SCr） were measured in each group after 8 consecutive weeks of drug intervention. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to determine the serum levels of ACE1， AngⅡ， and AT1R. Western blot was employed to measure the protein levels of ACE1， AngⅡ， and AT1R in the renal tissue. The pathological and morphological changes of the renal tissue were observed after hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， Masson staining， and periodic acid Schiff 's （PAS） staining. The fecal samples of rats in each group were collected for 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed elevated levels of Up， FBG， Bun， SCr， ACE1， AngⅡ， and AT1R （P<0.01）， serious lesions in the renal tissue， up-regulated protein levels of ACE1， AngⅡ， and AT1R （P<0.01）， increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes （F/B） ratio， decreased relative abundance of Lactobacillus， and increased relative abundance of Moralella and Bifidobacteria. Compared with the model group， drug intervention lowered the levels of Bun， SCr， ACE1， AngⅡ， and AT1R （P<0.01） and alleviated the pathological changes in the renal tissue. Chinese medicine and integrated Chinese and western medicine lowered the levels of Up and FBG （P<0.01）， and western medicine and integrated Chinese and western medicine down-regulated the protein levels of ACE1， AngⅡ， and AT1R. In addition， Chinese medicine down-regulated the protein levels of AngⅡ （P<0.01） as well as ACE1 and AT1R （P<0.05）. Chinese medicine and integrated Chinese and western medicine decreased the F/B ratio， and western medicine and Chinese medicine increased the relative abundance of Blautia. Chinese medicine and integrated Chinese and western medicine increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus， Ruminococcus undetermined genera， and Bifidobacteria， decreased the relative abundance of Moralella， and increased the Chao 1 and Ace indexes （P<0.05）. Compared with the western medicine group， the integrated Chinese and western medicine group showed lowered levels of Up （P<0.01）， Bun （P<0.05）， and ACE1 and AT1R （P<0.01）， down-regulated protein levels of ACE1， AngⅡ， and AT1R （P<0.05）， alleviated pathological changes in the renal tissue， increased relative abundance of Bifidobacteria， and increased Chao 1 and Ace indexes （P<0.05）. ConclusionModified Liuwei Dihuangtang combined with losartan potassium can mitigate renal fibrosis by regulating the ACE1/AngⅡ/AT1R axis， increasing the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium， reducing the relative abundance of Moralella， improving the richness and evenness of intestinal flora， and alleviating pathological damage in the renal tissue.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF)is a chronic progressive interstitial lung disease of unknown etiology,with a rapid disease course,poor prognosis,and the absence of effective therapeutic drugs.Mitochondrial dys-function is one of the crucial causes of inducing IPF.Silent information regulator 3(SIRT3)can restore mitochondrial ho-meostasis by inhibiting mitochondrial oxidative stress,repairing mitochondrial DNA damage,and ameliorating abnormal mitochondrial lipid metabolism.This paper summarizes the role and mechanism of SIRT3 in attenuating mitochondrial dys-function based on delineating the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and IPF,aiming to provide references for finding effective treatment methods for IPF.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF)is a chronic,progressive interstitial lung disease.IPF incidence is increasing yearly with high mortality and poor prognoses.At present,IPF pathogenesis remains unclear,and its treatments are limited.The experimental model is important to further study IPF pathogenesis and explore effective preventive and therapeutic measures.In recent years,its modeling method have been continuously developed and optimized.This study summarizes the establishment method and research progress of IPF experimental models in recent years to provide ideas and references for preclinical research to select appropriate experimental models.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Ruyi Zhenbaowan（RYZBW）in the treatment of initial and early knee osteoarthritis （KOA） through a prospective multicenter，randomized，double-blind，and placebo-parallel controlled trial. MethodFrom October 13^th， 2021 to December 25^th， 2021， 240 KOA subjects meeting the acceptance criteria were enrolled in 15 sub-centers including Wangjing Hospital， Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences， and they were randomly divided into observation group and control group， with 120 cases in each group. The intervention measures for the observation group were RYZBW + health education， and the intervention measures for the control group were RYZBW placebo + health education. The intervention period in both groups was four weeks， and they were followed up for four weeks after the intervention. The primary outcome measure was the total score of Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index score （WOMAC score）， and the secondary outcome measures were the response rate of visual scale （VAS） pain score， WOMAC sub item scores （joint pain， joint stiffness， and joint function）， quality of life （SF-12） score， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score. Result（1） Efficacy evaluation. The marginal model results showed that the observation group was better than the control group in improving the WOMAC total score and WOMAC pain score in the treatment of KOA with RYZBW， and the difference was statistically significant （P<0.05）. There was no significant difference between the two groups in improving VAS score response rate， WOMAC function score， WOMAC stiffness score， SF12-PCS （quality of life-physical health） score， SF12-MCS （quality of life-mental health） score， and TCM syndrome score. （2） Subgroup analysis. ① In terms of VAS score response rate， the response rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group for subjects with baseline VAS score of （4， 5］， and the difference was statistically significant （P<0.05）. ② In terms of TCM syndrome score， for subjects aged ［56， 60］ and ［61， 65］， the decrease in total TCM syndrome score in the observation group was better than that in the control group， and the difference was statistically significant （P<0.05）. ConclusionTibetan medicine RYZBW has good clinical efficacy in improving WOMAC total score， VAS score response rate， WOMAC pain score， WOMAC function score， and TCM syndrome score for patients with initial and early KOA， which can fill the lack of Tibetan medicine RYZBW in the treatment of KOA and make a demonstration study for the inheritance and development of ethnic medicine.