1.Pathogenesis Reasoning Chain-of-thought Supervision for Large Language Models: Syndrome Manifestation Recognition and Multidimensional Evaluation in Spleen-stomach Disorders
Shu-Han YANG ; Yu-Xin HU ; Xin-Yu YU ; Yu-Ying TU ; Yi-Chang ZANG ; Pan-Fei LI
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(5):1240-1263
ObjectiveThe essence of syndrome manifestation recognition in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is to infer the body’s latent pathogenesis state from clinical observational information, rather than to perform simple label matching. However, previous studies have largely modeled this task as syndrome pattern classification within a fixed label space, which does not adequately reflect the cognition process of TCM syndrome differentiation centered on pathogenesis reasoning, and is also insufficient to capture the openness, semantic variability, and cross-disease reusability of syndrome manifestation expression. This study aimed to investigate whether introducing pathogenesis reasoning chain-of-thought (PR-CoT) supervision into large language models (LLMs) could improve the quality and cognitive consistency of syndrome manifestation recognition and support cross-disease transfer. MethodsSyndrome manifestation recognition was formulated as a conditional generation task under the framework of clinical observational information (X)→pathogenesis structure (Z)→syndrome pattern output (Y), where Z serves as an explicit intermediate structural variable linking the clinical evidence and syndrome judgment. Within this framework, a PR-CoT-supervised dataset for syndrome manifestation recognition was constructed based on medical case records of spleen-stomach disorders. After preprocessing, information extraction, manual proofreading, and data cleaning, the dataset comprised 4 800 training cases, 400 development cases, and 400 test cases. Each sample was annotated with a structured PR-CoT consisting of three progressive levels: clinical information summarization, comprehensive pathogenesis analysis, and syndrome pattern output. Supervised fine-tuning was conducted on open-source LLMs, with an end-to-end model serving as the baseline. Qwen3-32B was used as the primary experimental model, and Qwen3-14B as the scale comparison model. A progressive multidimensional evaluation framework was further established, comprising a structural parsing level, a semantic similarity level, and an expert blind review level. At the structural parsing level, syndrome pattern expressions were decomposed into structural elements and evaluated using Precision, Recall, F1 score, and Jaccard similarity. At the semantic similarity level, independent LLMs scored the theoretical proximity between predicted and reference syndrome patterns. At the expert blind review level, three TCM experts independently evaluated model outputs on two dimensions: syndrome differentiation consistency and terminology standardization of syndrome patterns. In addition, zero-shot cross-disease transfer evaluation was conducted on gynecological and heart-system disorder test sets. ResultsAt the structural parsing level, PR-CoT supervision did not lead to a stable improvement in the element-wise overlap of syndrome pattern structural components. Compared with the corresponding baselines, neither Qwen3-32B nor Qwen3-14B showed consistent advantages in structural matching metrics after the introduction of PR-CoT supervision. In contrast, at the semantic similarity level, PR-CoT supervision produced stable positive gains across different model scales and evaluation systems. The average semantic score of Qwen3-32B increased from 6.425 8 in the baseline model to 6.585 0 after PR-CoT supervision, and that of Qwen3-14B increased from 5.870 0 to 5.964 2. At the expert blind review level, the overall score of Qwen3-32B (PR-CoT) was 7.026 0±0.107 7, higher than 6.416 3±0.288 9 for its baseline. In zero-shot cross-disease testing, the PR-CoT model still showed advantages in semantic evaluation and expert evaluation on both gynecological and heart-system disorder test sets, indicating a certain degree of transferability. ConclusionThe benefits of PR-CoT supervision are mainly reflected in TCM semantic consistency and clinical plausibility, rather than in improved hard matching of structural elements. These findings support understanding syndrome manifestation recognition as a process of generating and expressing latent pathogenesis structures, rather than as a classification task within a traditional fixed label space. By introducing pathogenesis reasoning as an explicit intermediate structure into the modeling process and combining it with a progressive multidimensional evaluation framework, this study provides a methodological pathway for intelligent TCM syndrome differentiation that integrates theoretical alignment, interpretability, and multi-level evaluation.
2.Pathogenesis Reasoning Chain-of-thought Supervision for Large Language Models: Syndrome Manifestation Recognition and Multidimensional Evaluation in Spleen-stomach Disorders
Shu-Han YANG ; Yu-Xin HU ; Xin-Yu YU ; Yu-Ying TU ; Yi-Chang ZANG ; Pan-Fei LI
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(5):1240-1263
ObjectiveThe essence of syndrome manifestation recognition in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is to infer the body’s latent pathogenesis state from clinical observational information, rather than to perform simple label matching. However, previous studies have largely modeled this task as syndrome pattern classification within a fixed label space, which does not adequately reflect the cognition process of TCM syndrome differentiation centered on pathogenesis reasoning, and is also insufficient to capture the openness, semantic variability, and cross-disease reusability of syndrome manifestation expression. This study aimed to investigate whether introducing pathogenesis reasoning chain-of-thought (PR-CoT) supervision into large language models (LLMs) could improve the quality and cognitive consistency of syndrome manifestation recognition and support cross-disease transfer. MethodsSyndrome manifestation recognition was formulated as a conditional generation task under the framework of clinical observational information (X)→pathogenesis structure (Z)→syndrome pattern output (Y), where Z serves as an explicit intermediate structural variable linking the clinical evidence and syndrome judgment. Within this framework, a PR-CoT-supervised dataset for syndrome manifestation recognition was constructed based on medical case records of spleen-stomach disorders. After preprocessing, information extraction, manual proofreading, and data cleaning, the dataset comprised 4 800 training cases, 400 development cases, and 400 test cases. Each sample was annotated with a structured PR-CoT consisting of three progressive levels: clinical information summarization, comprehensive pathogenesis analysis, and syndrome pattern output. Supervised fine-tuning was conducted on open-source LLMs, with an end-to-end model serving as the baseline. Qwen3-32B was used as the primary experimental model, and Qwen3-14B as the scale comparison model. A progressive multidimensional evaluation framework was further established, comprising a structural parsing level, a semantic similarity level, and an expert blind review level. At the structural parsing level, syndrome pattern expressions were decomposed into structural elements and evaluated using Precision, Recall, F1 score, and Jaccard similarity. At the semantic similarity level, independent LLMs scored the theoretical proximity between predicted and reference syndrome patterns. At the expert blind review level, three TCM experts independently evaluated model outputs on two dimensions: syndrome differentiation consistency and terminology standardization of syndrome patterns. In addition, zero-shot cross-disease transfer evaluation was conducted on gynecological and heart-system disorder test sets. ResultsAt the structural parsing level, PR-CoT supervision did not lead to a stable improvement in the element-wise overlap of syndrome pattern structural components. Compared with the corresponding baselines, neither Qwen3-32B nor Qwen3-14B showed consistent advantages in structural matching metrics after the introduction of PR-CoT supervision. In contrast, at the semantic similarity level, PR-CoT supervision produced stable positive gains across different model scales and evaluation systems. The average semantic score of Qwen3-32B increased from 6.425 8 in the baseline model to 6.585 0 after PR-CoT supervision, and that of Qwen3-14B increased from 5.870 0 to 5.964 2. At the expert blind review level, the overall score of Qwen3-32B (PR-CoT) was 7.026 0±0.107 7, higher than 6.416 3±0.288 9 for its baseline. In zero-shot cross-disease testing, the PR-CoT model still showed advantages in semantic evaluation and expert evaluation on both gynecological and heart-system disorder test sets, indicating a certain degree of transferability. ConclusionThe benefits of PR-CoT supervision are mainly reflected in TCM semantic consistency and clinical plausibility, rather than in improved hard matching of structural elements. These findings support understanding syndrome manifestation recognition as a process of generating and expressing latent pathogenesis structures, rather than as a classification task within a traditional fixed label space. By introducing pathogenesis reasoning as an explicit intermediate structure into the modeling process and combining it with a progressive multidimensional evaluation framework, this study provides a methodological pathway for intelligent TCM syndrome differentiation that integrates theoretical alignment, interpretability, and multi-level evaluation.
3.Impact of peer dating behavior and cohabitation with parents on sexual behaviors among secondary vocational school students
JIA Xin, FANG Yuhang, JIN Yan, ZUO Xiayun, YU Chunyan, LIAN Qiguo, LI Lihe, HONG Ping, TU Xiaowen
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(5):657-661
Objective:
To understand the moderating effect of cohabitation with parents on the association between peer dating behavior and sexual behaviors among secondary vocational school students, so as to provide a scientific basis for preventing sexual behaviors among secondary vocational school students.
Methods:
From March to April 2021, an electronic questionnaire survey was conducted among 3 180 students from 6 vocational schools in Shanghai (urban, suburban, exurban) and Shaanxi (Shangluo, Ankang, Baoji) using cluster sampling. Spearman correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship of cohabitation with parents, peer dating behavior and sexual behaviors among secondary vocational school students. Binary Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the role of cohabitation with parents on peer dating behavior and sexual behaviors among secondary vocational students.
Results:
There was a significant negative between cohabitation with parents and sexual ( r =-0.04); and there was a positive correlation between peer dating behavior and sexual behaviors ( r =0.24), as well as cohabitation with parents and peer dating behavior ( r =0.04)( P <0.05). Multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed an association between peer dating behavior and the occurrence of sexual behaviors ( OR=2.79-12.95, P <0.05). Cohabitation with parents played a moderating role in the association between peer dating behavior and sexual behaviors, and a signification interaction was found between cohabitation with parents and reporting that a small part or about half of their peers had dating behavior ( OR =0.48, P <0.05).
Conclusions
The more peers dating behavior are associated with a higher risk of sexual behaviors among secondary vocational school students, and cohabitation with parents can partly reduce this risk. School and family sexuality education for secondary vocational students should be strengthened to improve their interpersonal skills and decision-making, and ability to resist peer pressure, so as to reduce their risk of sexual behaviors.
4.Deubiquitinase JOSD2 alleviates colitis by inhibiting inflammation via deubiquitination of IMPDH2 in macrophages.
Xin LIU ; Yi FANG ; Mincong HUANG ; Shiliang TU ; Boan ZHENG ; Hang YUAN ; Peng YU ; Mengyao LAN ; Wu LUO ; Yongqiang ZHOU ; Guorong CHEN ; Zhe SHEN ; Yi WANG ; Guang LIANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(2):1039-1055
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, which increases the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC). In the pathophysiology of IBD, ubiquitination/deubiquitination plays a critical regulatory function. Josephin domain containing 2 (JOSD2), a deubiquitinating enzyme, controls cell proliferation and carcinogenesis. However, its role in IBD remains unknown. Colitis mice model developed by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) or colon tissues from individuals with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease showed a significant upregulation of JOSD2 expression in the macrophages. JOSD2 deficiency exacerbated the phenotypes of DSS-induced colitis by enhancing colon inflammation. DSS-challenged mice with myeloid-specific JOSD2 deletion developed severe colitis after bone marrow transplantation. Mechanistically, JOSD2 binds to the C-terminal of inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 (IMPDH2) and preferentially cleaves K63-linked polyubiquitin chains at the K134 site, suppressing IMPDH2 activity and preventing activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and inflammation in macrophages. It was also shown that JOSD2 knockout significantly exacerbated increased azoxymethane (AOM)/DSS-induced CRC, and AAV6-mediated JOSD2 overexpression in macrophages prevented the development of colitis in mice. These outcomes reveal a novel role for JOSD2 in colitis through deubiquitinating IMPDH2, suggesting that targeting JOSD2 is a potential strategy for treating IBD.
5.Development and evaluation of the Children's Screen Interaction Quality Questionnaire for Children aged 0-4
Lifang JIN ; Yan LUO ; Chengwei SHEN ; Huiling QIN ; Kexin TU ; Lanyin JIAN ; Fan ZHANG ; Jiacai ZHANG ; Xin ZHOU ; Xiuli CHEN
Chongqing Medicine 2025;54(5):1118-1122,1127
Objective To develop the Children's Screen Interaction Quality Questionnaire(CSIQ)suit-able for measuring Chinese children aged 0 to 4 years,and to test its reliability and validity.Methods The purposive sampling method was used,and the guardians of 30 normal children aged 0 to 4 years undergoing physical examinations in the Department of Child Health Care of Guiyang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital from February to April 2023 were selected as the interview objects.25 initial items were constructed through literature review,semi-structured interviews,and the Delphi expert consultation method.With the convenience sampling method,2 242 guardians of children aged 0 to 4 years old in the small and middle classes of 9 kindergartens in Guiyang City,Zunyi City,and Renhuai City were surveyed for item analysis,exploratory factor analysis,confirmatory factor analysis,and reliability and validity analysis.Results Exploratory factor a-nalysis extracted three factors,namely screen content interaction,reality interaction,and media interaction,with a total of 12 items.The cumulative variance explained rate of the 3-factor model was 69.829%.Confirma-tory factor analysis supported the three-factor model of CSIQ:x2/df=4.424,root mean square error of ap-proximation(RMSEA)=0.066,normed fit index(NFI)=0.955,comparative fit index(CFI)=0.965,incre-mental fit index(IFI)=0.965,Tucker-Lewis index(TLI)=0.955,goodness-of-fit index(GFI)=0.955,and the CSIQ had good convergent validity and discriminant validity.Conclusion The CSIQ has good reliability and validity.
6.The relationship between preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance and prognosis in patients undergoing left ventricular assist device implantation: a single-center report
Junjiang LIU ; Dingqian LIU ; Guangwei HAO ; Zhe LUO ; Kefang GUO ; Lili DONG ; Xin LI ; Guowei TU ; Chunsheng WANG ; Xiaoning SUN
Chinese Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;41(9):556-560
Objective:To compare the impact of preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance(PVR) levels on the prognosis of patients undergoing left ventricular assist device(LVAD)implantation.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 33 patients among September 2021 and June 2024, who underwent LVAD implantation at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University. 29 males and 4 females, with a mean age of(53.61±9.65)years old. The cohort included 30 cases of dilated cardiomyopathy, 2 cases of ischemic cardiomyopathy, and 1 case of noncompaction cardiomyopathy. Patients were grouped based on a preoperative PVR threshold of 3 WU, Preoperative data from Swan-Ganz catheterization, liver and renal function indicators, as well as other relevant clinical parameters were recorded. Patients were followed up to assess differences in survival outcomes.Results:Preoperative PVR was elevated in 18 cases(60%)of the patients, with a mean preoperative PVR of(3.16±1.71)WU. Immediate postoperative right heart catheterization was performed in 20 patients, showing a significant reduction in PVR from(3.85±1.72)WU preoperatively to(1.80±1.38)WU postoperatively( P<0.05). The cardiac index improved significantly from(1.95±0.63)L·min -1·m -2 preoperatively to(4.25±1.26)L·min -1·m -2 postoperatively( P<0.001). The mean follow-up duration was(14.78±12.06)months, no significant difference in postoperative survival was observed between the two groups(100% vs. 80%, P=0.667). Conclusion:Increased pulmonary resistance is often secondary to left heart dysfunction. After the implantation of a LVAD, pulmonary resistance can be improved. For patients with relatively normal right heart function before surgery, elevated pulmonary resistance does not affect the short-term outcomes of the implantation.
7.Association of NLRP3 genetic variant rs10754555 with early-onset coronary artery disease.
Lingfeng ZHA ; Chengqi XU ; Mengqi WANG ; Shaofang NIE ; Miao YU ; Jiangtao DONG ; Qianwen CHEN ; Tian XIE ; Meilin LIU ; Fen YANG ; Zhengfeng ZHU ; Xin TU ; Qing K WANG ; Zhilei SHAN ; Xiang CHENG
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(21):2844-2846
8.Network pharmacology and animal experiments reveal molecular mechanisms of Cordyceps sinensis in ameliorating heart aging and injury in mice by regulating Nrf2/HO-1/NF-κB pathway.
Si-Yi LIU ; Yue TU ; Wei-Ming HE ; Wen-Jie LIU ; Kai-Zhi WEN ; Cheng-Juan LI ; Chao HAN ; Xin-Yu LIANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(4):1063-1074
This study aims to explore the effects and mechanisms of the traditional Chinese medicine Cordyceps sinensis(CS) in ameliorating heart aging and injury in mice based on animal experiments and network pharmacology. A mouse model of heart aging was established by continuously subcutaneous injection of D-galactose(D-gal). Thirty mice were randomly assigned into a normal group, a model group, a low-dose CS(CS-L) group, a high-dose CS(CS-H) group, and a vitamin E(VE) group. Mice in these groups were administrated with normal saline, different doses of CS suspension, or VE suspension via gavage daily. After 60 days of treatment with D-gal and various drugs, all mice were euthanized, and blood and heart tissue samples were collected for determination of the indicators related to heart aging and injury in mice. Experimental results showed that both high and low doses of CS and VE ameliorated the aging phenotype, improved the heart index and myocardial enzyme spectrum, restored the expression levels of proteins associated with cell cycle arrest and senescence-associated secretory phenotypes(SASP), and alleviated the fibrosis and histopathological changes of the heart tissue in model mice. From the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP),259 active ingredients of CS were retrieved. From Gene Cards and OMIM, 2 568 targets related to heart aging were identified, and 133common targets shared by CS and heart aging were obtained. The Gene Ontology(GO) functional annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes( KEGG) pathway enrichment revealed that the pathways related to heart aging involved oxidative stress,apoptosis, inflammation-related signaling pathways, etc. The animal experiment results showed that both high and low doses of CS and VE ameliorated oxidative stress and apoptosis in the heart tissue to varying degrees in model mice. Additionally, CS-H and VE activated the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) pathway and inhibited the expression of key proteins in the nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB) pathway in the heart tissue of model mice. In conclusion, this study demonstrated based on network pharmacology and animal experiments that CS may alleviate heart aging and injury in aging mice by reducing oxidative stress,apoptosis, and inflammation in the heart via the Nrf2/HO-1/NF-κB pathway.
Animals
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Cordyceps/chemistry*
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Mice
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NF-E2-Related Factor 2/genetics*
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NF-kappa B/genetics*
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Aging/genetics*
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Male
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Signal Transduction/drug effects*
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Network Pharmacology
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology*
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Heme Oxygenase-1/genetics*
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Heart/drug effects*
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Humans
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Myocardium/metabolism*
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Membrane Proteins/genetics*
9.Two new protoberberine alkaloids from Stephania hernandifolia.
Wei-Hua DAI ; Xin-Tao CUI ; Yu-Jiao TU ; Lei JIANG ; Lin YUAN
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(5):1231-1235
The 95% ethanol extract of Stephania hernandifolia was isolated and purified by column chromatography on silica gel and Sephadex LH-20, RP-18 medium-pressure liquid chromatography, and semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography. The chemical structures of the compounds were identified by NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Four alkaloids were isolated and identified as(-)-8-oxo-2,3,4,10,11-pentamethoxyberberine(1),(-)-8-oxo-11-hydroxy-2,3,4,10-tetramethoxyberberine(2), N-trans-feruloyl tyramine(3), and N-cis-feruloyl tyramine(4). Compounds 1 and 2 were new protoberberine alkaloids, while compounds 3 and 4 were amide alkaloids. All the four compounds were separated from this plant for the first time. The inhibitory activities of compounds 1, 3, and 4 against α-glycosidase were measured by the enzymatic reaction in vitro with 4-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside(PNPG) as the substrate. Compounds 3 and 4 showed inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase, with median inhibition concentration(IC_(50)) values of(7.09±0.42) and(31.25±1.14) μmol·L~(-1), respectively.
Berberine Alkaloids/isolation & purification*
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Stephania/chemistry*
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification*
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Molecular Structure
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alpha-Glucosidases/metabolism*
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Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
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Alkaloids/isolation & purification*
10.Dahuang Zhechong Pills delay heart aging by reducing cardiomyocyte apoptosis via PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α signaling pathway.
Wen-Jie LIU ; Yue TU ; Wei-Ming HE ; Si-Yi LIU ; Liu-Yun-Xin PAN ; Kai-Zhi WEN ; Cheng-Juan LI ; Chao HAN
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(5):1276-1285
This study aimed to investigate the effect of Dahuang Zhechong Pills(DHZCP) in delaying heart aging(HA) and explore the potential mechanism. Network pharmacology and molecular docking were employed to explore the targets and potential mechanisms of DHZCP in delaying HA. Furthermore, in vitro experiments were conducted with the DHZCP-containing serum to verify key targets and pathways in D-galactose(D-gal)-induced aging of cardiomyocytes. Active components of DHZCP were searched against the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCSMP), and relevant targets were predicted. HA-related targets were screened from the GeneCards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM), and DisGeNET. The common targets shared by the active components of DHZCP and HA were used to construct a protein-protein interaction network in STRING 12.0, and core targets were screened based on degree in Cytoscape 3.9.1. Metaspace was used for Gene Ontology(GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment analyses of the core targets to predict the mechanisms. Molecular docking was performed in AutoDock Vina. The results indicated that a total of 774 targets of the active components of DHZCP and 4 520 targets related to HA were screened out, including 510 common targets. Core targets included B-cell lymphoma 2(BCL-2), serine/threonine kinase 1(AKT1), and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit A(HIF1A). The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses suggested that DHZCP mainly exerted its effects via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/AKT signaling pathway, HIF-1α signaling pathway, longevity signaling pathway, and apoptosis signaling pathway. Among the pathways predicted by GO and KEGG enrichment analyses, the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α signaling pathway was selected for verification. The cell-counting kit 8(CCK-8) assay showed that D-gal significantly inhibited the proliferation of H9c2 cells, while DHZCP-containing serum increased the viability of H9c2 cells. SA-β-gal staining revealed a significant increase in the number of blue-green positive cells in the D-gal group, which was reduced by DHZCP-containing serum. TUNEL staining showed that DHZCP-containing serum decreased the number of apoptotic cells. After treatment with DHZCP-containing serum, the protein levels of Klotho, BCL-2, p-PI3K/PI3K, p-AKT1/AKT1, and HIF-1α were up-regulated, while those of P21, P16, BCL-2 associated X protein(Bax), and cleaved caspase-3 were down-regulated. The results indicated that DHZCP delayed HA via multiple components, targets, and pathways. Specifically, DHZCP may delay HA by reducing apoptosis via activating the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α signaling pathway.
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics*
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology*
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Signal Transduction/drug effects*
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Apoptosis/drug effects*
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Myocytes, Cardiac/cytology*
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Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/genetics*
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Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics*
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Animals
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Rats
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Humans
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Molecular Docking Simulation
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Aging/metabolism*
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Protein Interaction Maps/drug effects*
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Heart/drug effects*
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Network Pharmacology


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