1.Interventional Effect of Active Ingredients of Chinese Medicine and Compound Formulas on Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition in Lung Cancer: A Review
Shanshan SONG ; Min JIANG ; Xinxin LIU ; Bozhen HUANG ; Siyi MA ; Guoyu WANG ; Wanqing WANG ; Luyao WANG ; Liang WANG ; Ruiqing BO
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(6):336-346
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and tumor metastasis is a key factor contributing to the mortality of most lung cancer patients. Aberrant activation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a major driver of lung cancer progression and metastasis. EMT is characterized by the loss of apical-basal polarity and intercellular adhesion in highly differentiated, polarized, and organized epithelial cells, which acquire motility, migratory potential, and invasive properties. During this process, cells undergo cytoskeletal remodeling and transform into a mesenchymal phenotype, accompanied by associated changes in cellular markers. The EMT process is highly complex and is tightly regulated by intricate networks involving multiple transcription factors, post-translational controls, epigenetic modifications, and non-coding RNAs. Therefore, therapies targeting the mechanisms of malignant transformation and their associated pathways in lung cancer are of significant clinical importance. In recent years, EMT has attracted increasing attention as a potential target for cancer therapy. Chinese medicine, with its characteristics of multi-target action, low side effects, and good therapeutic efficacy, has demonstrated an important role in anticancer treatment. A series of studies have investigated the role of Chinese medicine in inhibiting EMT in lung cancer. Active ingredients of Chinese medicine, including flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, terpenoids, saccharides, and alkaloids, as well as Chinese medicine compound formulas, have shown significant regulatory effects on EMT. Their mechanisms mainly involve multiple pathways, targets, and links, including signaling pathways, exosomes, microRNAs (miRNAs), and the tumor-associated immune microenvironment. This article summarizes the mechanisms by which EMT promotes malignant tumor progression and reviews the current research on how Chinese medicine active ingredients, monomers, and compound formulas inhibit EMT and suppress lung cancer cell migration and invasion. This study is expected to provide comprehensive theoretical information for basic and translational research on lung cancer.
2.Research progress on the health communication capacity of clinicians
Dingbin CAI ; Luis Manuel Dias MARTINS ; Zefeng LU ; Sanhao HUANG ; Shuangmiao WANG ; Qini HUANG ; Zhaoji LONG ; Xinxin CHEN ; Siyang YE ; Dong WANG
China Occupational Medicine 2025;52(2):216-221
Health communication aims to improve public health attitudes and behaviors by propagating health information. It plays an important role in promoting public health literacy and "Healthy China Initiative". The basic theories of health communication include "7 W" and Theory of Planned Behavior. Clinicians with profound medical expertise and a wealth of clinical practice play key roles in the communication, and they hold an unparalleled advantage in health communication by delivering authoritative and trustworthy information to the public. The capacity of health communication among clinicians in the nation is determined by various factors including professional characteristics, policy support, dissemination platforms and pathways, time and effort. Meanwhile, some problems in the research on the health communication capacity of clinicians remain, such as lack of well-established motivation systems, limited dissemination pathways, and imperfect evaluation frameworks. In some regions of China, health communication performance has been considered as part of the professional title evaluation for clinical physicians. Medical institutions and universities have also initiated relevant training and practice programs. It is crucial to improve evaluation frameworks, strengthen training pathways and effectiveness assessment, promote interdisciplinary integration, and enhance the role of clinicians in health communication in the future.
3.Fu's subcutaneous needling based on anatomy train theory for nonspecific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Shuang LIANG ; Kaiyu HUANG ; Xinxin FENG ; Yongyi XU ; Xu CHEN
Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion 2025;45(9):1248-1252
OBJECTIVE:
To observe the clinical effect of Fu's subcutaneous needling based on anatomy train theory for nonspecific low back pain (NLBP).
METHODS:
A total of 120 patients with NLBP were randomized into an anatomy train Fu's subcutaneous needling group (40 cases, 3 cases dropped out), a conventional acupuncture group (40 cases, 2 cases dropped out) and a conventional Fu's subcutaneous needling group (40 cases, 2 cases dropped out). Acupuncture was applied at ashi points and bilateral Shenshu (BL23) and Dachangshu (BL25) in the conventional acupuncture group, once every other day, 3 times a week. Fu's subcutaneous needling was applied at lumbodorsal myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the Fu's subcutaneous needling group, once every 3 days, twice a week. On the basis of the treatment in the Fu's subcutaneous needling group, Fu's subcutaneous needling was applied at MTrPs along the posterior superficial line and lateral line in the anatomy train Fu's subcutaneous needling group, once every 3 days, twice a week. All groups were treated for 2 weeks. Before and after treatment, the scores of numeric rating scale (NRS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were observed, the distance of Schober test was measured and the endurance of trunk extensors was assessed in the 3 groups.
RESULTS:
After treatment, in the 3 groups, the NRS and ODI scores were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), the Schober test distance was increased compared with that before treatment (P<0.05), the static and dynamic muscle endurance was increased compared with that before treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, in the anatomy train Fu's subcutaneous needling group, the NRS and ODI scores were lower than those in the conventional acupuncture group and the conventional Fu's subcutaneous needling group (P<0.05), the Schober test distance was longer than that in the conventional acupuncture group and the conventional Fu's subcutaneous needling group (P<0.05), the static and dynamic muscle endurance was superior to that in the conventional acupuncture group and the conventional Fu's subcutaneous needling group (P<0.05).
CONCLUSION
Fu's subcutaneous needling based on anatomy train theory can effectively relieve the pain symptom, enhance quality of life, improve lumbar motion and lumbar muscle function in patients with NLBP.
Humans
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Low Back Pain/physiopathology*
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Female
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Male
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Adult
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Acupuncture Therapy/methods*
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Middle Aged
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Acupuncture Points
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Young Adult
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Treatment Outcome
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Aged
5.Erratum: Author correction to "Sphingosine-1-phosphate, a novel TREM2 ligand, promotes microglial phagocytosis to protect against ischemic brain injury" Acta Pharm Sin B 12 (2022) 1885-1898.
Tengfei XUE ; Juan JI ; Yuqin SUN ; Xinxin HUANG ; Zhenyu CAI ; Jin YANG ; Wei GUO ; Ruobing GUO ; Hong CHENG ; Xiulan SUN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(5):2813-2814
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.10.012.].
6.Research progress on the pharmacological mechanism of Rehmannia glutinosa in diabetic kidney disease
Di NIU ; Ruifang CHEN ; Xinmeng HUANG ; Changchang LI ; Hansong ZHOU ; Xinxin PANG
China Pharmacy 2025;36(23):2995-3000
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the most common and harmful microvascular complications of diabetes, and there is currently a lack of effective treatment methods to delay its progression. Traditional Chinese medicine has a long history of treating DKD and offers unique advantages. As a traditional Chinese medicine, Rehmannia glutinosa has shown potential in the treatment of DKD in clinical and modern pharmacological research. After integrating relevant research on the pharmacological mechanism of R. glutinosa in treating DKD, it has been found that the main active components of R. glutinosa, such as catalpol, rehmannioside D, aucubin, verbascoside, salidroside, echinacoside and R. glutinosa polysaccharides, along with its extracts and compounds (such as Liuwei dihuang pills, Shenqi dihuang decoction, and Shenqi pills), can exert multiple effects by intervening in various signaling pathways, including advanced glycation end product (AGE)/receptor for AGE, nuclear factor kappa-B (NF- κB), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smads. These effects include ameliorating metabolic disorders and oxidative stress in DKD, inhibiting the processes of renal inflammation and fibrosis, regulating cell death modalities including apoptosis and ferroptosis, as well as autophagy, and reshaping the gut microbiota. Consequently, it can improve physical and chemical indices and renal tissue pathological damage, thus delaying the progression of DKD.
7.Pharmacological mechanism of Tibetan medicine Zuotangkaca pills for the treatment of hypertension based on network pharmacology
Sang GENG ; Xinxin ZOU ; Luobu BAIMA ; Daozhi ZHAXI ; Xuejiao JI ; Renqing DUOJIE ; Fengjie HUANG
Journal of China Pharmaceutical University 2025;56(5):624-633
The mechanism of Tibetan medicine Zuotangkaca pills (ZTKCW) for the treatment of hypertension was explored by network pharmacology and in vivo experiments. 68 active ingredients of ZTKCW and 518 drug-disease targets were screened by network pharmacology. Eight core components of ZTKCW (vasicolinone, luteolin, (–)-isocorypalmine, esculetin, liquiritigenin, etc.) and eight key targets (AKT1, TNF, IL6, and STAT3, etc.) were screened by network topology analysis. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the core targets were mainly enriched in lipids and atherosclerosis, JAK/STAT, and inflammation-related pathways. An in vivo experiment was conducted using spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), which were gavaged with ZTKCW at doses of 0.41, 0.82, and 1.64 g/kg for 12 weeks, respectively. The results showed that ZTKCW at a dose of 1.64 g/kg significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic pressure in SHR rats and decreased the phosphorylation levels of AKT1, PI3K, STAT3, and JAK2 in the thoracic aorta and heart tissues. This study demonstrates that ZTKCW may exert its antihypertensive effects through PI3K/AKT and JAK2/STAT3 pathways, providing some insights and a theoretical basis for the use of ZTKCW in hypertension.
8.Construction, breeding, and gene identification of TREM2 knockout mice
Rong Huang ; Xinxin Zhao ; Hui Xue ; Mengjuan Zhu ; Jiajie Tu ; Xinming Wang
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2025;60(6):977-983
Objective :
To construct triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2(TREM2) gene knockout(TREM2-/-) mice using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, to breed TREM2-/- mice and to analyze the genotype of TREM2-/- mice.
Methods :
CRISPR/Cas9 technology was used to selectively knock out exon 2-3 regions of TREM2 gene to construct a TREM2-/- mouse model, and the genetic background of all mice was C57BL/6J. Polymerase chain reaction(PCR) was used to identify the genotype of mice. Quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR) and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of TREM2 in major tissues of mice, and the authenticity and scientific nature of PCR identification results were verified from mRNA level and protein level. According to the sgRNA sequence, the possible off-target sites were predicted on the CCTop website, and the tail DNA of mice was extracted and amplified by PCR and then Sanger sequencing was performed to detect whether there was off-target effect in TREM2-/- mice.
Results :
TREM2-/- mice were successfully constructed by CRISPR/Cas9 technology, and the mice were genotyped. The results of agarose gel electrophoresis showed that the mouse genotype with only 415 bp band amplified was wild type(WT), the mouse genotype of the 449 bp band amplified only was TREM2-/-, and the mouse genotypes amplified with 415 bp and 449 bp double bands were heterozygous. qPCR results showed that compared with WT mice, the mRNA expression of TREM2 in heart and brain tissues of TREM2-/- mice was down-regulated(P-/- mice was reduced(P-/- mice.
Conclusion
TREM2-/- mice are successfully constructed and bred, a reliable genotype identification method is established, the genetic stability of the mouse model is verified, which will provide an important genetic animal model for the study of TREM2 gene function.
9.PD-1-mediated CD4+T cell exhaustion exacerbates gut microbiota translocation in mouse model of sepsis
Bin QING ; Xinxin KONG ; Dongfan YE ; Chuangye WANG ; Jian ZHANG ; Bin WANG ; Xiaoou HUANG ; Nanbo WANG ; Hang QIAN ; Zhi XU
Journal of Army Medical University 2025;47(19):2302-2314
Objective To investigate the characteristics of immune exhaustion in sepsis and analyze its association with gut microbiota translocation.Methods A total of 130 mice were randomly divided into a cecal ligation and puncture(CLP)group(n=100)and a Sham group(n=30)Mouse model of sepsis was established with CLP procedure.Flow cytometry was used to analyze the proportions of peripheral blood CD4+T and CD8+T cells and programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1)positive T cell subsets in mice.Bacterial colonization in organs such as the heart,liver and kidneys was quantified by plating homogenates of the organs.Pathological changes in immune organs were observed with HE staining.The expression and localization of CD4?,CD8?,and PD-1?cells in immune organs were detected with immunohistochemical staining,and Image J software was employed for subsequent quantification of the number of the positive cells.Results HE staining demonstrated that immune organs exhibited varying degrees of pathological damages with disease progression.Compared with the Sham mice,the CLP mice exhibited significantly increased bacterial colonization in parenchymal organs and peripheral blood(P<0.05),notably in the liver,which showed the most severe infection.In the CLP group,the proportion of CD4+T lymphocytes in peripheral blood at days 1,3,and 5 postoperatively was decreased by 56%,70.57%,and 87.42%,respectively,when compared with the Sham group(P<0.001).The proportion of CD8+T lymphocytes was decreased by 48.33%relative to the Sham group only at day 5(P<0.001).In contrast,the proportion of CD4+T cell subsets expressing PD-1 was increased to 673.08,423.08,and 600 times that of the Sham group,respectively,at the same postoperative time points(P<0.001).Immunohistochemical results showed that,in the CLP group,the proportion of CD4+T cells in the thymus,spleen,and mesenteric lymph nodes was increased to 7.65,2.66,and 3.7 times that of the Sham group,respectively,at the early-stage peak(P<0.001),and then these proportions were decreased by 82.8%(P<0.001),41.9%(P<0.01),and 60.15%(P<0.001),respectively,at the late-stage trough when compared with the early-stage peak in the corresponding organs.The proportion of CD8+positive cells was increased in the early stage and then decreased insignificantly,while the proportion of PD-1+positive cells was increased continuously,and reached 6.24,13.9,and 20.96 times that of the Sham group at the peak in the thymus,spleen,and mesenteric lymph nodes respectively(P<0.001),with their expression regions showing a rough overlap with those of CD4+cells.Conclusion During sepsis,the inflammatory response can cause severe damage to immune organs and persistent exhaustion of CD4?T lymphocytes,leading to declined defenses against infection,which may be the main causes for exacerbated gut microbiota translocation and then systemic infection.
10.Role of Apolipoprotein E4 in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease and Thoughts for Early Intervention with Traditional Chinese Medicine
Jingwen LIU ; Zijia ZHANG ; Kaili WANG ; Jiayan HUANG ; Weimin LI ; Xinxin ZHOU
Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;42(2):512-517
Alzheimer's disease(AD)is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with hidden onset.Recent researches have shown that apolipoprotein E4(APOE4)is a high-risk genetic factor of AD,and the clinical symptoms in APOE4 genotype AD patients are closely related to metabolic disorders.This paper reviewed the role of APOE4 in the pathogenesis of AD,and it is indicated that APOE4 contributes to the injury of the cerebral blood-brain barrier,is associated with the disorder of cerebral glucose and lipid metabolism,and leads to the damage of the scavenging ability of microglia.Moreover,this paper explored the approach of early intervention of AD with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)based on the APOE4 pathogenesis.Based on the pathogenesis of AD being deficiency in origin and excess in superficiality,and under the guidance of the principle of prevention before illness in TCM,it is proposed that early TCM intervention for APOE4 genotype AD patients with metabolic disorders can be performed through improving the phlegm-dampness constitution,by focusing on insulin resistance-related indicators,and with traditional Chinese drug therapy based on syndrome differentiation alone or together with comprehensive management of exercises,diet control and drug interventions,thus to reduce or delay the onset of APOE4 genotype AD.


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