1.Modified Ditan Tang Regulates Biorhythm-related Genes in Rat Model of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Zhiwen PANG ; Yu LIU ; Nan SONG ; Jie WANG ; Jingxuan ZHU ; Zhen HUA ; Yupeng PEI ; Qun WANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(6):115-124
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of modified Ditan tang on genes related to the transcription-translation feedback loop (TTFL) of biorhythm in the rat model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its mechanism for prevention and treatment of NAFLD. MethodsSixty-five healthy SPF male SD rats were randomly assigned into blank (n=20), model (n=15), and low-, medium-, and high-dose (2.68, 5.36, and 10.72 g·kg-1·d-1, respectively) modified Ditan tang (n=10) groups. Other groups except the blank group were fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks. The modified Ditan tang groups were treated with the decoction at corresponding doses by gavage, and the blank and model groups were treated with an equal volume of normal saline from the 9th week for 4 weeks. The levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in the serum were measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer. TG and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) assay kits were used to measure the levels of TG and NEFA in the liver. The pathological changes in the hypothalamus and liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, and the lipid deposition in the liver was observed by oil red O staining. The levels of brain-muscle ARNT-like protein 1 (BMAL1/ARNTL) in the hypothalamus and liver were determined by immunohistochemical staining. The mRNA and protein levels of BMAL1, circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK), period circadian clock 2 (PER2), and cryptochrome1 (Cry1) in the hypothalamus and liver were determined by Real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. ResultsCompared with the blank group, the model group showed elevated levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, AST, and ALT (P<0.01) and a lowered level of HDL-C (P<0.05) in the serum, elevated levels of TG and NEFA in the liver (P<0.01), pyknosis and deep staining of hypothalamic neuron cells, and a large number of vacuoles in the brain area. In addition, the model group showed lipid deposition in the liver, up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of CLOCK and BMAL1 (P<0.01), and down-regulated mRNA and protein levels of Cry1 and PER2 (P<0.01) in the hypothalamus and liver. Compared with the model group, all the three modified Ditan tang groups showed lowered levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, ALT, and AST (P<0.05, P<0.01) and an elevated level of HDL-C (P<0.05) in the serum, and lowered levels of TG and NEFA (P<0.05, P<0.01) in the liver. Furthermore, the three groups showed alleviated pyknosis and deep staining of hypothalamic neuron cells, reduced lipid deposition in the liver, down-regulated mRNA and protein levels of CLOCK and BMAL1 (P<0.05, P<0.01), and up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of Cry1 and PER2 (P<0.05, P<0.01) in the hypothalamus and liver. ConclusionModified Ditan tang can reduce lipid deposition in the liver and regulate the expression of CLOCK, BMAL1, Cry1, and PER2 in the TTFL of NAFLD rats.
2.Research on ethical issues and coping strategies of voice biomarkers in medical applications
Sikai SHAN ; Shuyu HAN ; Wenxia WANG ; Yufan YANG ; Xiaomeng WANG ; Wenmin ZHANG ; Siye CHEN ; Mo CHEN ; Zhiwen WANG
Chinese Medical Ethics 2025;38(10):1233-1239
Voice biomarkers, as an emerging smart medical technology, are now being used in applications such as assisting in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, facilitating accurate and personalized medical services for patients. However, it also raises many ethical issues, including informed consent, privacy protection, accuracy and reliability, data security, legal risks, and other issues. This paper systematically sorted out the ethical issues in the applications of voice biomarkers in the medical field, summarized these issues, such as informed consent, privacy protection, accuracy and reliability, data security, and legal risks, as well as explored the corresponding coping strategies. These countermeasures encompassed utilizing new media platforms to raise public awareness of voice biomarkers, strengthening supervision and management to promote the privacy protection of voice biomarkers, reducing algorithm biases to promote the general benefits of voice biomarkers to the public, establishing multidisciplinary teams to protect the data security of voice biomarkers, and encouraging medical professionals and researchers to participate in policy research, with a view to providing references for promoting and regulating the applications of voice biomarkers in the medical field.
3.A model based on the graph attention network for epileptic seizure anomaly detection.
Guohua LIANG ; Jina E ; Hanyi LI ; Zhiwen FANG ; Jun WANG ; Chang'an ZHAN ; Feng YANG
Journal of Biomedical Engineering 2025;42(4):693-700
The existing epilepsy seizure detection algorithms have problems such as overfitting and poor generalization ability due to high reliance on manual labeling of electroencephalogram's data and data imbalance between seizure and interictal periods. An unsupervised learning detection method for epileptic seizure that jointed graph attention network (GAT) and Transformer framework (GAT-T) was proposed. In this method, channel correlations were adaptively learned by GAT encoder. Temporal information was captured by one-dimensional convolution decoder. Combining outputs of the two mentioned above, predicted values for electroencephalogram were generated. The collective anomaly score was calculated and the detection threshold was determined. The results demonstrated that GAT-T achieved the average performance exceeding 90% (or 99%) with a 0.25 s (or 2 s) time segment length, which could effectively detect epileptic seizures. Moreover, the channel association probability matrix was expected to assist clinicians in the initial screening of the epileptogenic zone, and ablation experiments also reflected the significance of each module in GAT-T. This study may assist clinicians in making more accurate diagnostic and therapeutic decisions for epilepsy patients.
Humans
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Electroencephalography/methods*
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Epilepsy/physiopathology*
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Algorithms
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Seizures/physiopathology*
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Neural Networks, Computer
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Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
4.Ablation of macrophage transcriptional factor FoxO1 protects against ischemia-reperfusion injury-induced acute kidney injury.
Yao HE ; Xue YANG ; Chenyu ZHANG ; Min DENG ; Bin TU ; Qian LIU ; Jiaying CAI ; Ying ZHANG ; Li SU ; Zhiwen YANG ; Hongfeng XU ; Zhongyuan ZHENG ; Qun MA ; Xi WANG ; Xuejun LI ; Linlin LI ; Long ZHANG ; Yongzhuo HUANG ; Lu TIE
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(6):3107-3124
Acute kidney injury (AKI) has high morbidity and mortality, but effective clinical drugs and management are lacking. Previous studies have suggested that macrophages play a crucial role in the inflammatory response to AKI and may serve as potential therapeutic targets. Emerging evidence has highlighted the importance of forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1) in mediating macrophage activation and polarization in various diseases, but the specific mechanisms by which FoxO1 regulates macrophages during AKI remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the role of FoxO1 in macrophages in the pathogenesis of AKI. We observed a significant upregulation of FoxO1 in kidney macrophages following ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Additionally, our findings demonstrated that the administration of FoxO1 inhibitor AS1842856-encapsulated liposome (AS-Lipo), mainly acting on macrophages, effectively mitigated renal injury induced by I/R injury in mice. By generating myeloid-specific FoxO1-knockout mice, we further observed that the deficiency of FoxO1 in myeloid cells protected against I/R injury-induced AKI. Furthermore, our study provided evidence of FoxO1's pivotal role in macrophage chemotaxis, inflammation, and migration. Moreover, the impact of FoxO1 on the regulation of macrophage migration was mediated through RhoA guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1 (ARHGEF1), indicating that ARHGEF1 may serve as a potential intermediary between FoxO1 and the activity of the RhoA pathway. Consequently, our findings propose that FoxO1 plays a crucial role as a mediator and biomarker in the context of AKI. Targeting macrophage FoxO1 pharmacologically could potentially offer a promising therapeutic approach for AKI.
5.Relationship between serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels and the severity of coronary artery lesions and myocardial fibrosis in patients with acute coronary syndrome
International Journal of Laboratory Medicine 2025;46(17):2086-2091,2096
Objective To investigate the relationship between serum high-mobility group box-1(HMGB-1)and glucose-regulated protein-78(GRP-78)levels and the severity of coronary artery lesions and myocardial fibrosis(MF)in patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS).Methods A total of 155 ACS patients(ACS group)admitted to the hospital from January 2021 to August 2024 and 70 healthy volunteers who came to the hospital for health check ups during the same period(control group)were enrolled.ACS patients were further categorized based on the severity of coronary artery lesions(SYNTAX Ⅱ score)into mild lesion group(65 cases),moderate lesion group(51 cases),and severe lesion group(39 cases).Additionally,they were divided into the MF group(62 cases)and the non-MF group(93 cases)based on whether MF was present.Serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The correlation be-tween serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels and SYNTAX Ⅱ score was assessed using Spearman's rank correla-tion.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing MF in ACS patients.Re-ceiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the value of serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels in diagnosing severe coronary artery lesions and MF.Results Serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels were significantly higher in the ACS group compared to the control group(P<0.05).The serum levels of HMGB-1 and GRP-78 increased sequentially in the mild,moderate,and severe lesion groups(P<0.05).Serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels were positively correlated with SYNTAX Ⅱ score(P<0.05).Serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels in the MF group were significantly higher than those in the non-MF group(P<0.05).High SYNTAX Ⅱ score,high N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide,high HMGB-1,and high GRP-78 were independent risk factors for MF in ACS patients(P<0.05).The area under the curve for the combined detec-tion of serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels for the diagnosis of severe coronary artery lesions in ACS patients was 0.887,which was larger than those of serum HMGB-1(0.803)and GRP-78(0.791)alone(P<0.05).The area under the curve of the combined detection of serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels for the diagnosis of MF in ACS patients was 0.882,which was larger than those of serum HMGB-1(0.797)and GRP-78(0.789)alone(P<0.05).Conclusion Serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels are elevated in ACS patients and are closely associated with the severity of coronary artery lesions and MF.The combined detection of serum HMGB-1 and GRP-78 levels has high value in diagnosing severe coronary artery lesions and MF in ACS patients.
6.Clinical application of physician-modified stent grafts in complex aortic disease
Hao WANG ; Bin LIU ; Zhiwen ZHANG ; Zhe ZHANG ; Zhao LIU ; Mingyuan LIU ; Wenrui LI ; Lishan LIAN ; Bodong XU ; Hai FENG
International Journal of Surgery 2025;52(7):439-443
In the past, aortic dissection, aortic aneurysm, and other aortic diseases, primarily rely on surgical intervention. In recent years, due to breakthroughs in materials science, endovascular therapy has become the first choice for the surgical treatment of most aortic diseases. However, traditional endovascular repair cannot fully meet the clinical needs for certain complex lesions involving the aortic arch and the originations of visceral arteries. The emergence of physician-modified stent technology has brought new hope for the treatment of complex aortic diseases. This article provides a detailed introduction to the concept, development, technical characteristics, and applications of physician-modified stents in the treatment of aortic diseases, analyzing their advantages and limitations. Physician-modified stents serve as a powerful complement to traditional endovascular interventions and commercial branched stents, yet further research and refinement are still required.
7.Expression and significance of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor on thymic T follicular helper cells in myasthenia gravis
Meng WANG ; Menghao YANG ; Xinzheng CUI ; Zirui SUN ; Chenshuo SHI ; Zhiwen ZHANG ; Lixiang ZHENG ; Qingyong ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(12):1771-1776
Objective To investigate the expression of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) in thymic T follicular helper cells (TFH) and its significance in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods Fifteen MG patients who underwent surgical treatment at the Myasthenia Gravis Comprehensive Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Henan Provincial People’s Hospital from June 2022 to June 2023 were selected as a MG group, including 7 males and 8 females, aged 12-30 years. Twelve patients who underwent partial thymectomy to optimize surgical field exposure during cardiac surgery at Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital from June 2022 to June 2023 were selected as a control group, including 5 males and 7 females aged 20-35 years. Thymus single cell suspension was obtained by grinding the thymus tissue, and flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of α7nAChR in TFH cells. The thymus cell suspension was purified using density gradient centrifugation, followed by immunomagnetic bead separation to obtain CD4+T cells. CXCR5 antibody and coupled magnetic beads were added to isolate TFH cells. Real-time fluorescent polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were performed to further investigate the expression of α7nAChR in TFH cells. Results Compared with the control group, the proportion of thymic TFH cells in the MG group was significantly increased (P<0.05), along with significantly decreased mRNA and protein expression levels of α7nAChR within these cells (P<0.01). Conclusion The findings suggest that there is a reduced expression of α7nAChR within thymic TFH cells in MG patients, leading to weakened immunosuppressive function which may indirectly contribute to disease onset and progression.
8.Sensitivity of colorectal cancer organoids to hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy with lobaplatin
Duo LIU ; Hui WANG ; Weihao DENG ; Jianqiang LAN ; Zhiwen SONG ; Yu ZHU ; Jianling JING ; Jian CAI
Chinese Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery 2024;27(5):486-494
Objective:To investigate the sensitivity of tumor organoids derived from samples of colorectal cancer to lobaplatin and oxaliplatin hyperthermic perfusion in vitro and to assist clinical development of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Method:Tumor samples and relevant clinical data were collected from patients with pathologically confirmed colorectal cancer in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from July 2021 to December 2022. Organoids were cultured and tumor tissue were passaged. In vitro hyperthermic perfusion experiments were performed on organoids with good viability. Firstly, 10 organoids were treated with oxaliplatin and lobaplatin at the following six concentrations: 1 000, 250, 62.5, 15.6, 3.9, and 0.98 μmol/L. The organoids were exposed to oxaliplatin at 42℃ for 30 minutes and to lobaplatin at 42℃ for 60 minutes. Dose-response curves of responses to in vitro hyperthermic perfusion with these two drugs were constructed and evaluated. Clinical doses of oxaliplatin and lobaplatin were further tested on 30 organoids. This testing revealed oxaliplatin was effective at 579 μmol/L at a hyperthermic perfusion temperature of 42℃ for 30 min and lobaplatin was effective at 240 μmol/L at a hyperthermic perfusion temperature of 42℃ for 60 minutes. Result:Thirty-two tumor organoids were cultured from samples of colorectal cancer. The median concentration required for oxaliplatin to eliminate 50% of tumor cells (IC50) was 577.45 μmol/L (IQR: 1846.09 μmol/L). The median IC50 for lobaplatin was 85.04 μmol/L (IQR: 305.01 μmol/L).The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant ( Z=1.784, P=0.084). In seven of 10 organoids, lobaplatin showed a greater IC50 after in vitro hyperthermic perfusion than did oxaliplatin. Testing of 30 organoids with clinical doses of oxaliplatin and lobaplatin revealed that oxaliplatin achieved an average inhibition rate of 39.6% (95%CI: 32.1%?47.0%), whereas the average rate of inhibition for lobaplatin was 89.7% (95%CI: 87.0%?92.3%): this difference is statistically significant ( t=?15.282, P<0.001). Conclusion:The rate of inhibition achieved by hyperthermic perfusion of lobaplatin in vitro is better than that achieved by hyperthermic perfusion with oxaliplatin. Lobaplatin is more effective than oxaliplatin when administered by hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion and therefore has the potential to replace oxaliplatin in this setting.
9.Sensitivity of colorectal cancer organoids to hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy with lobaplatin
Duo LIU ; Hui WANG ; Weihao DENG ; Jianqiang LAN ; Zhiwen SONG ; Yu ZHU ; Jianling JING ; Jian CAI
Chinese Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery 2024;27(5):486-494
Objective:To investigate the sensitivity of tumor organoids derived from samples of colorectal cancer to lobaplatin and oxaliplatin hyperthermic perfusion in vitro and to assist clinical development of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Method:Tumor samples and relevant clinical data were collected from patients with pathologically confirmed colorectal cancer in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from July 2021 to December 2022. Organoids were cultured and tumor tissue were passaged. In vitro hyperthermic perfusion experiments were performed on organoids with good viability. Firstly, 10 organoids were treated with oxaliplatin and lobaplatin at the following six concentrations: 1 000, 250, 62.5, 15.6, 3.9, and 0.98 μmol/L. The organoids were exposed to oxaliplatin at 42℃ for 30 minutes and to lobaplatin at 42℃ for 60 minutes. Dose-response curves of responses to in vitro hyperthermic perfusion with these two drugs were constructed and evaluated. Clinical doses of oxaliplatin and lobaplatin were further tested on 30 organoids. This testing revealed oxaliplatin was effective at 579 μmol/L at a hyperthermic perfusion temperature of 42℃ for 30 min and lobaplatin was effective at 240 μmol/L at a hyperthermic perfusion temperature of 42℃ for 60 minutes. Result:Thirty-two tumor organoids were cultured from samples of colorectal cancer. The median concentration required for oxaliplatin to eliminate 50% of tumor cells (IC50) was 577.45 μmol/L (IQR: 1846.09 μmol/L). The median IC50 for lobaplatin was 85.04 μmol/L (IQR: 305.01 μmol/L).The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant ( Z=1.784, P=0.084). In seven of 10 organoids, lobaplatin showed a greater IC50 after in vitro hyperthermic perfusion than did oxaliplatin. Testing of 30 organoids with clinical doses of oxaliplatin and lobaplatin revealed that oxaliplatin achieved an average inhibition rate of 39.6% (95%CI: 32.1%?47.0%), whereas the average rate of inhibition for lobaplatin was 89.7% (95%CI: 87.0%?92.3%): this difference is statistically significant ( t=?15.282, P<0.001). Conclusion:The rate of inhibition achieved by hyperthermic perfusion of lobaplatin in vitro is better than that achieved by hyperthermic perfusion with oxaliplatin. Lobaplatin is more effective than oxaliplatin when administered by hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion and therefore has the potential to replace oxaliplatin in this setting.
10.Soy isoflavones alleviates calcium overload in rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion by inhibiting the Wnt/Ca2+signaling pathway
Li LI ; Mengzhe WANG ; Saisai LIU ; Xiaonan ZHANG ; Jie CHEN ; Weiting TAO ; Shai LI ; Zhiwen QING ; Quanfang TAO ; Yi LIU ; Li HUANG ; Shidi ZHAO
Journal of Southern Medical University 2024;44(6):1048-1058
Objective To explore the mechanism by which soybean isoflavone(SI)reduces calcium overload induced by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion(I/R).Methods Forty-eight SD rats were randomized into 4 groups to receive sham operation,cerebral middle artery occlusion for 2 h followed by 24 h of reperfusion(I/R model group),or injection of adeno-associated virus carrying Frizzled-2 siRNA or empty viral vector into the lateral cerebral ventricle after modeling.Western blotting was used to examine Frizzled-2 knockdown efficiency and changes in protein expressions in the Wnt/Ca2+signaling pathway.Calcium levels and pathological changes in the ischemic penumbra(IP)were measured using calcium chromogenic assay and HE staining,respectively.Another 72 SD randomly allocated for sham operation,I/R modeling,or soy isoflavones pretreatment before modeling were examined for regional cerebral blood flow using a Doppler flowmeter,and the cerebral infarct volume was assessed using TTC staining.Pathologies in the IP area were evaluated using HE and Nissl staining,and ROS level,Ca2+level,cell apoptosis,and intracellular calcium concentration were analyzed using immunofluorescence assay or flow cytometry;the protein expressions of Wnt5a,Frizzled-2,and P-CaMK II in the IP were detected with Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.Results In rats with cerebral I/R,Frizzled-2 knockdown significantly lowered calcium concentration(P<0.001)and the expression levels of Wnt5a,Frizzled-2,and P-CaMK II in the IP area.In soy isoflavones-pretreated rats,calcium concentration,ROS and MDA levels,cell apoptosis rate,cerebral infarct volume,and expression levels of Wnt/Ca2+signaling pathway-related proteins were all significantly lower while SOD level was higher than those in rats in I/R model group.Conclusion Soy isoflavones can mitigate calcium overload in rats with cerebral I/R by inhibiting the Wnt/Ca2+signaling pathway.

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