1."Weibing" in traditional Chinese medicine-biological basis and mathematical representation of disease-susceptible state.
Wanyang SUN ; Rong WANG ; Shuhua OUYANG ; Wanli LIANG ; Junwei DUAN ; Wenyong GONG ; Lianting HU ; Xiujuan CHEN ; Yifang LI ; Hiroshi KURIHARA ; Xinsheng YAO ; Hao GAO ; Rongrong HE
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(5):2363-2371
"Weibing" is a fundamental concept in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), representing a transitional state characterized by diminished self-regulatory abilities without overt physiological or social dysfunction. This perspective delves into the biological foundations and quantifiable markers of Weibing, aiming to establish a research framework for early disease intervention. Here, we propose the "Health Quadrant Classification" system, which divides the state of human body into health, sub-health, disease-susceptible state, and disease. We suggest the disease-susceptible stage emerges as a pivotal point for TCM interventions. To understand the intrinsic dynamics of this state, we propose laboratory and clinical studies utilizing time-series experiments and stress-induced disease susceptibility models. At the molecular level, bio-omics technologies and bioinformatics approaches are highlighted for uncovering intricate changes during disease progression. Furthermore, we discuss the application of mathematical models and artificial intelligence in developing early warning systems to anticipate and avert the transition from health to disease. This approach resonates with TCM's preventive philosophy, emphasizing proactive health maintenance and disease prevention. Ultimately, our perspective underscores the significance of integrating modern scientific methodologies with TCM principles to propel Weibing research and early intervention strategies forward.
2.Unveiling the metabolic fate of drugs through metabolic reaction-based molecular networking.
Haodong ZHU ; Xupeng TONG ; Qi WANG ; Aijing LI ; Zubao WU ; Qiqi WANG ; Pei LIN ; Xinsheng YAO ; Liufang HU ; Liangliang HE ; Zhihong YAO
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(6):3210-3225
Effective annotation of in vivo drug metabolites using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) remains a formidable challenge. Herein, a metabolic reaction-based molecular networking (MRMN) strategy is introduced, which enables the "one-pot" discovery of prototype drugs and their metabolites. MRMN constructs networks by matching metabolic reactions and evaluating MS2 spectral similarity, incorporating innovations and improvements in feature degradation of MS2 spectra, exclusion of endogenous interference, and recognition of redundant nodes. A minimum 75% correlation between structural similarity and MS2 similarity of neighboring metabolites was ensured, mitigating false negatives due to spectral feature degradation. At least 79% of nodes, 49% of edges, and 97% of subnetworks were reduced by an exclusion strategy of endogenous ions compared to the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) platform. Furthermore, an approach of redundant ions identification was refined, achieving a 10%-40% recognition rate across different samples. The effectiveness of MRMN was validated through a single compound, plant extract, and mixtures of multiple plant extracts. Notably, MRMN is freely accessible online at https://yaolab.network, broadening its applications.
3.Ten new lignans with anti-inflammatory activities from the leaves of Illicium dunnianum.
Ting LI ; Xiaoqing HE ; Dabo PAN ; Xiaochun ZENG ; Siying ZENG ; Zhenzhong WANG ; Xinsheng YAO ; Wei XIAO ; Haibo LI ; Yang YU
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2025;23(8):990-996
The anti-inflammatory phytochemical investigation of the leaves of Illicium dunnianum (I. dunnianum) resulted in the isolation of five pairs of new lignans (1-5), and 7 known analogs (6-12). The separation of enantiomer mixtures 1-5 to 1a/1b-5a/5b was achieved using a chiral column with acetonitrile-water mixtures as eluents. The planar structures of 1-2 were previously undescribed, and the chiral separation and absolute configurations of 3-5 were reported for the first time. Their structures were determined through comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis [nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass (HR-ESI-MS), infrared (IR), and ultraviolet (UV)] and quantum chemistry calculations (ECD). The new isolates were evaluated by measuring their inhibitory effect on NO in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 cells. Compounds 1a, 3a, 3b, and 5a demonstrated partial inhibition of NO production in a concentration-dependent manner. Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays revealed that 1a down-regulated the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), COX-2, and iNOS and the protein expressions of COX-2 and iNOS. This research provides guidance and evidence for the further development and utilization of I. dunnianum.
Lignans/isolation & purification*
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Plant Leaves/chemistry*
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Anti-Inflammatory Agents/isolation & purification*
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Mice
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Animals
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Molecular Structure
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Plant Extracts/pharmacology*
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Illicium/chemistry*
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Cyclooxygenase 2/immunology*
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Interleukin-6/immunology*
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Nitric Oxide/metabolism*
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Cell Line
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Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology*
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Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/immunology*
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Lipopolysaccharides
4.Research overview and progress of single-cell sequencing analysis of BCR CDR3 receptor repertoire
Lanwei ZHU ; Jun LI ; Long MA ; Xinsheng YAO
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(3):743-750
B cell receptor(BCR)is the main molecular basis for B cell specific recognition and binding of antigen,and its complementarity determining region(CDR3)presents high diversity and specificity.Using single-cell immune repertoire sequencing technology can accurately analyze the composition and characteristics of each B cell BCR CDR3 sequence,and can better understand the process and mechanism of B cell differentiation,development,and response.Single-cell immune repertoire sequencing technology provides new ideas and theoretical basis for the pathogenesis,monitoring,diagnosis and treatment of B-cell immune-related diseases.This paper mainly compares and analyzes the commonly used detection methods and detection platforms of B-cell BCR CDR3 receptor library,and focuses on the application,research status and progress of single-cell sequencing technology in B-cell BCR CDR3 recep-tor library.
5.Research overview and progress of single-cell sequencing analysis of BCR CDR3 receptor repertoire
Lanwei ZHU ; Jun LI ; Long MA ; Xinsheng YAO
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(3):743-750
B cell receptor(BCR)is the main molecular basis for B cell specific recognition and binding of antigen,and its complementarity determining region(CDR3)presents high diversity and specificity.Using single-cell immune repertoire sequencing technology can accurately analyze the composition and characteristics of each B cell BCR CDR3 sequence,and can better understand the process and mechanism of B cell differentiation,development,and response.Single-cell immune repertoire sequencing technology provides new ideas and theoretical basis for the pathogenesis,monitoring,diagnosis and treatment of B-cell immune-related diseases.This paper mainly compares and analyzes the commonly used detection methods and detection platforms of B-cell BCR CDR3 receptor library,and focuses on the application,research status and progress of single-cell sequencing technology in B-cell BCR CDR3 recep-tor library.
6.Analyzing the mediating effect of sleep quality on the impact of occupational stress on depressive symptom among secondary industry workers
Jin XU ; Wei WANG ; Bingchen LIU ; Xinsheng ZHANG ; Juan TU ; Yao SU
China Occupational Medicine 2024;51(5):550-554
Objective To explore the mediating role of sleep quality on the impact of occupational stress on depressive symptom among secondary industry occupational population. Methods A total of 895 secondary industry workers in Wuxi City were selected as the study subjects using the stratified random sampling method. The Core Occupational Stress Scale (COSS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9) and Self-Filled Sleep Questionnaire (SSQ) were used to investigate their occupational stress, depressive symptom and sleep quality. Depressive symptom, occupational stress and sleep quality were respectively regarded as dependent variable, independent variable and mediating variable. Process program was used to construct a mediation model, and Bootstrap method was used to test its mediating effect. Results The median score and 25th, 75th percentile for occupational stress, depressive symptom and sleep quality was 43.0 (43.0, 48.0), 6.0 (3.0, 8.0) and 3.0 (1.0, 3.0) points. The detection rates of occupational stress, depressive symptom, sleep disorder were 28.7%, 63.0% and 38.8%, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis result showed that occupational stress was positively correlated with both depressive symptom and sleep quality (Spearman correlation coefficients of 0.46 and 0.49, all P<0.01). Bootstrap test result showed that occupational stress had positive effect on both depressive symptom and sleep quality (partial regression coefficients of 0.25 and 0.09, all P<0.01). Sleep quality partially mediated the impact of occupational stress on depressive symptom with the mediation effect value of 0.05 (95% confidence interval of 0.03-0.06), accounting for 20.0% of the total effect. Conclusion Both depression symptom and sleep quality are positively correlated with occupational stress in secondary industry occupational population. Sleep quality of this population partially mediate the impact of occupational stress on depressive symptom.
7.Research Progress on Chemical Constituents of Alpinia oxyphylla and its Pharmacological Activities
Haibo LI ; Mi ZHOU ; Jie DONG ; Zhenzhong WANG ; Liang CAO ; Xinsheng YAO ; Yang YU ; Wei XIAO
World Science and Technology-Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;26(7):1870-1887
As a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine,Alpinia oxyphylla is widely used as both medicine and edible resources.A.oxyphylla has the effects of warming the kidney,consolidating essence,contracting urine,warming the spleen,stopping diarrhea and absorbing saliva,which mainly treated diseases caused by kidney deficiency and spleen cold.A.oxyphylla is rich in chemical components,mainly including 194 volatile oil,121 terpenoids(including 111 sesquiterpenoids),19 diphenylheptanes,ten flavonoids,ten bases and nucleosides,four steroids,eight glycosides and 13 organic acids.It has a wide range of pharmacological effects such as anti-AD/PD,anti-tumor,anti-inflammatory,antioxidant,etc.This article reviews the chemical components and pharmacological effects of A.oxyphylla,in order to provide reference for its further development and rational application.
8.Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) involved in the regulation of B cell immune senescence.
Jiaping XIAO ; Jun LI ; Xinsheng YAO
Chinese Journal of Cellular and Molecular Immunology 2023;39(5):474-478
The humoral immune response of B cells is the key to the protection of specific immunity, and immune aging reshapes its production and function. The decreased B cell immune function is an indicator of immune senescence. The impaired humoral immune function mediated by antibody secreted by B cells leads to a decline in the response of elderly individuals to the vaccine. These people are therefore more susceptible to infection and deterioration, and have a higher incidence of tumors and metabolic diseases. Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is an enzyme that triggers immunoglobulin class conversion recombination (CSR) and somatic high frequency mutation (SHM). It decreases during immune senescence and is considered to be a biomarker of decreased B cell function in aging mice and humans. Understanding the inherent defects of B-cell immune senescence and the regulation mechanism of AID in the aging process can provide new research ideas for the susceptibility, prevention and treatment of diseases in the elderly.
Animals
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Humans
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Mice
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Aging/metabolism*
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B-Lymphocytes/metabolism*
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Cytidine Deaminase/metabolism*
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Somatic Hypermutation, Immunoglobulin
9.Deciphering chemical and metabolite profiling of Chang-Kang-Fang by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and its potential active components identification.
Fengge YANG ; Sihao ZHANG ; Danmei TIAN ; Guirong ZHOU ; Xiyang TANG ; Xinglong MIAO ; Yi HE ; Xinsheng YAO ; Jinshan TANG
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2023;21(6):459-480
Chang-Kang-Fang (CKF) formula, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) prescription, has been widely used for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, its potential material basis and underlying mechanism remain elusive. Therefore, this study employed an integrated approach that combined ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) with network pharmacology to systematically characterize the phytochemical components and metabolites of CKF, as well as elucidating its underlying mechanism. Through this comprehensive analysis, a total of 150 components were identified or tentatively characterized within the CKF formula. Notably, six N-acetyldopamine oligomers from CicadaePeriostracum and eight resin glycosides from Cuscutae Semen were characterized in this formula for the first time. Meanwhile, 149 xenobiotics (58 prototypes and 91 metabolites) were detected in plasma, urine, feces, brain, and intestinal contents, and the in vivo metabolic pathways of resin glycosides were elaborated for the first time. Furthermore, network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses revealed that alkaloids, flavonoids, chromones, monoterpenes, N-acetyldopamine dimers, p-hydroxycinnamic acid, and Cus-3/isomer might be responsible for the beneficial effects of CKF in treating IBS, and CASP8, MARK14, PIK3C, PIK3R1, TLR4, and TNF may be its potential targets. These discoveries offer a comprehensive understanding of the potential material basis and clarify the underlying mechanism of the CKF formula in treating IBS, facilitating the broader application of CKF in the field of medicine.
Humans
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Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods*
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome/drug therapy*
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Molecular Docking Simulation
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry*
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Glycosides
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Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods*
10.Antimalarial and neuroprotective ent-abietane diterpenoids from the aerial parts of Phlogacanthus curviflorus.
Jia LI ; Xiao MENG ; Chengyue YIN ; Lixia ZHANG ; Bin LIN ; Peng LIU ; Lingjuan ZHU ; Haifeng WANG ; Hongwei LIU ; Xue ZHANG ; Xinsheng YAO
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2023;21(8):619-630
Six new ent-abietane diterpenoids, abientaphlogatones A-F (1-6), along with two undescribed ent-abietane diterpenoid glucosides, abientaphlogasides A-B (7-8) and four known analogs were isolated from the aerial parts ofPhlogacanthus curviflorus (P. curviflorus). The structures of these compounds were determined using high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), one-dimensional and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra, and quantum chemical calculations. Notably, compounds 5 and 6 represented the first reported instances of ent-norabietane diterpenoids from the genus Phlogacanthus. In the β-hematin formation inhibition assay, compounds 2, 4, 7-10, and 12 displayed antimalarial activity, with IC50 values of 12.97-65.01 μmol·L-1. Furthermore, compounds 4, 5, 8, and 10 demonstrated neuroprotective activity in PC12 cell injury models induced by H2O2 and MPP+.
Abietanes/pharmacology*
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Antimalarials
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Hydrogen Peroxide
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Biological Assay
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Plant Components, Aerial

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