1.Shaoyaotang Restores Th17/Treg Cell Balance by Regulating Glucose Metabolism Reprogramming in Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis
Yiwen WANG ; Yiling XIA ; Erle LIU ; Shaijin JIANG ; Bo ZOU ; Dongsheng WU ; Youwei XIAO ; Hui CAO
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(13):78-85
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Shaoyaotang on T helper cell 17/regulatory T lymphocyte(Th17/Treg) cell balance in ulcerative colitis and decipher the intervention mechanism based on glucose metabolism reprogramming. MethodsThe mouse model of ulcerative colitis was established by the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) method. Forty-eight C57BL/6 mice were randomly allocated into normal, model, Western drug control (mesalazine, 0.39 g·kg-1·d-1), Shaoyaotang (15.54 g·kg-1·d-1), inhibitor (2-deoxy-D-glucose, 2-DG, 100 mg·kg-1·d-1), and inhibitor (2-DG, 100 mg·kg-1·d-1) + Shaoyaotang (15.54 g·kg-1·d-1) groups. Mice were administrated with the corresponding drugs by gavage for 7 days. The general conditions and the colon injury degree were observed 24 h after the last administration. The expression of interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-17 in the colon tissue was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Western blot and Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) were performed to determine the protein and mRNA levels, respectively, of hypoxia-inducing factor-1α (HIF-1α), lactate dehydrogenase (LDHA), and hexokinase 2 (HK2) in the colon tissue. Th17/Treg cell differentiation was detected by flow cytometry. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the levels of lactic acid and glucose in the colon tissue and IL-10, IL-17, and IL-6 in the serum. ResultsCompared with the normal group, the model group showed decreases in body weight and disease activity index (DAI) (P<0.05), elevations in levels of HIF-1α, LDHA, HK2, IL-17, IL-6, Th17 cells, lactic acid, and glucose in the colon tissue (P<0.05), and declines in the levels of of IL-10 and Treg cells (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the drug administration groups showed increases in body weight and DAI (P<0.05), declines in levels of HIF-1α, LDHA, HK2, IL-17, IL-6, Th17 cells, lactic acid, and glucose in the colon tissue (P<0.05), and rises in levels of IL-10 and Treg cells (P<0.05). Shaoyaotang+2-DG group had the most obvious effect. ConclusionShaoyaotang can relieve diarrhea and bloody stool in mice with ulcerative colitis by restoring the Th17/Treg cell balance via regulation of glucose metabolism reprogramming, thus playing a role in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
2.Shaoyaotang Restores Th17/Treg Cell Balance by Regulating Glucose Metabolism Reprogramming in Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis
Yiwen WANG ; Yiling XIA ; Erle LIU ; Shaijin JIANG ; Bo ZOU ; Dongsheng WU ; Youwei XIAO ; Hui CAO
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(13):78-85
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Shaoyaotang on T helper cell 17/regulatory T lymphocyte(Th17/Treg) cell balance in ulcerative colitis and decipher the intervention mechanism based on glucose metabolism reprogramming. MethodsThe mouse model of ulcerative colitis was established by the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) method. Forty-eight C57BL/6 mice were randomly allocated into normal, model, Western drug control (mesalazine, 0.39 g·kg-1·d-1), Shaoyaotang (15.54 g·kg-1·d-1), inhibitor (2-deoxy-D-glucose, 2-DG, 100 mg·kg-1·d-1), and inhibitor (2-DG, 100 mg·kg-1·d-1) + Shaoyaotang (15.54 g·kg-1·d-1) groups. Mice were administrated with the corresponding drugs by gavage for 7 days. The general conditions and the colon injury degree were observed 24 h after the last administration. The expression of interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-17 in the colon tissue was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Western blot and Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) were performed to determine the protein and mRNA levels, respectively, of hypoxia-inducing factor-1α (HIF-1α), lactate dehydrogenase (LDHA), and hexokinase 2 (HK2) in the colon tissue. Th17/Treg cell differentiation was detected by flow cytometry. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the levels of lactic acid and glucose in the colon tissue and IL-10, IL-17, and IL-6 in the serum. ResultsCompared with the normal group, the model group showed decreases in body weight and disease activity index (DAI) (P<0.05), elevations in levels of HIF-1α, LDHA, HK2, IL-17, IL-6, Th17 cells, lactic acid, and glucose in the colon tissue (P<0.05), and declines in the levels of of IL-10 and Treg cells (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the drug administration groups showed increases in body weight and DAI (P<0.05), declines in levels of HIF-1α, LDHA, HK2, IL-17, IL-6, Th17 cells, lactic acid, and glucose in the colon tissue (P<0.05), and rises in levels of IL-10 and Treg cells (P<0.05). Shaoyaotang+2-DG group had the most obvious effect. ConclusionShaoyaotang can relieve diarrhea and bloody stool in mice with ulcerative colitis by restoring the Th17/Treg cell balance via regulation of glucose metabolism reprogramming, thus playing a role in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
3.Divergent activation patterns of BRS3 revealed by two Chinese herb-derived agonists.
Jie LI ; Changyao LI ; Qingtong ZHOU ; Wei HAN ; Mingzhu FANG ; Youwei XU ; Yiting MAI ; Yao ZHANG ; Jiahua CUI ; H Eric XU ; Yan ZHANG ; Wanchao YIN ; Ming-Wei WANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(10):5231-5243
Bombesin receptor subtype-3 (BRS3) is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that plays critical roles in energy homeostasis, glucose metabolism, and insulin secretion. Recent structural studies have elucidated BRS3 signaling mechanisms using synthetic ligands, including BA1 and MK-5046. However, the molecular basis of BRS3 activation by bioactive natural compounds and their derivatives, particularly those derived from traditional Chinese medicine, remains unclear. Here, we present high-resolution cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of the human BRS3-Gq complex in both unliganded and active states bound by two herb-derived compounds (DSO-5a and oridonin), at resolutions of 2.9, 2.8, and 2.9 Å, respectively. These structures display distinct ligand recognition patterns between DSO-5a and oridonin. Although both compounds bind to the orthosteric pocket, they differentially engage the interaction network of BRS3, as demonstrated by mutagenesis studies assessing calcium mobilization and inositol phosphate 1 (IP1) accumulation. These findings enhance our understanding of BRS3 activation and provide valuable insights into the development of small-molecule BRS3 modulators with therapeutic potential.
4.Facial color-preserving generative adversarial network-based privacy protection of facial diagnostic images in traditional Chinese medicine
Jilong SHEN ; Aihua GUAN ; Xinyu WANG ; Jiadong XIE ; Youwei DING ; Kongfa HU
Digital Chinese Medicine 2025;8(4):455-466
Objective:
To develop a facial image generation method based on a facial color-preserving generative adversarial network (FCP-GAN) that effectively decouples identity features from diagnostic facial complexion characteristics in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) inspection, thereby addressing the critical challenge of privacy preservation in medical image analysis.
Methods:
A facial image dataset was constructed from participants at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine between April 23 and June 10, 2023, using a TCM full-body inspection data acquisition equipment under controlled illumination. The proposed FCP-GAN model was designed to achieve the dual objectives of removing identity features and preserving colors through three key components: (i) a multi-space combination module that comprehensively extracts color attributes from red, green, blue (RGB), hue, saturation, value (HSV), and Lab spaces; (ii) a generator incorporating efficient channel attention (ECA) mechanism to enhance the representation of diagnostically critical color channels; and (iii) a dual-loss function that combines adversarial loss for de-identification with a dedicated color preservation loss. The model was trained and evaluated using a stratified 5-fold cross-validation strategy and evaluated against four baseline generative models: conditional GAN (CGAN), deep convolutional GAN (DCGAN), dual discriminator CGAN (DDCGAN), and medical GAN (MedGAN). Performance was assessed in terms of image quality [peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM)], distribution similarity [Fréchet inception distance (FID)], privacy protection (face recognition accuracy), and diagnostic consistency [mean squared error (MSE) and Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC)].
Results:
The final analysis included facial images from 216 participants. Compared with baseline models, FCP-GAN achieved superior performance, with PSNR = 31.02 dB and SSIM = 0.908, representing an improvement of 1.21 dB and 0.034 in SSIM over the strongest baseline (MedGAN). The FID value (23.45) was also the lowest among all models, indicating superior distributional similarity to real images. The multi-space feature fusion and the ECA mechanism contributed significantly to these performance gains, as evidenced by ablation studies. The stratified 5-fold cross-validation confirmed the model’s robustness, with results reported as mean ± standard deviation (SD) across all folds. The model effectively protected privacy by reducing face recognition accuracy from 95.2% (original images) to 60.1% (generated images). Critically, it maintained high diagnostic fidelity, as evidenced by a low MSE (< 0.051) and a high PCC (> 0.98) for key TCM facial features between original and generated images.
Conclusion
The FCP-GAN model provides an effective technical solution for ensuring privacy in TCM diagnostic imaging, successfully having removed identity features while preserving clinically vital facial color features. This study offers significant value for developing intelligent and secure TCM telemedicine systems.
5.Establishment and Evaluation of a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test for Spectinomycin-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Guiqin YANG ; Menghuan LI ; Youwei WANG ; Gang YONG ; Hongren WANG ; Mingjiang BIE
Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences) 2025;56(1):262-267
Objective To develop and evaluate a nucleic acid amplification test for spectinomycin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae(N.gonorrhoeae).Methods N.gonorrhoeae-specific primers NG1/NG2 and primers specific to the N.gonorrhoeae rpsE gene mutation(80_82 delTTA)were designed.Genomic nucleic acids of spectinomycin-sensitive and resistant N.gonorrhoeae,Escherichia coli,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and Salmonella typhi were used as templates to be amplified by PCR and quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR).The sensitivity and specificity of the method were evaluated accordingly.Results The NG1/NG2 primers could effectively amplify specific fragments of N.gonorrhoeae,yielding negative results for the nucleic acid amplification test of the other types of bacteria tested.E64/E175R and E-87/E95R could effectively differentiate the wild type and mutant(80_82 delTTA)rpsE genes.In PCR reactions,the minimum limits of NG1/NG2,E64/E175R,and E87/E95R for the target genes were 414.8 copies,414.8 copies,and 4.1 copies/μL,respectively,while those for qPCR reactions were 41.5,41.5,and 4.1×10-2 copies/μL,respectively.Conclusion A nucleic acid amplification test for spectinomycin-resistant N.gonorrhoeae with high specificity and sensitivity was successfully established in this study,which is expected to provide support for the rapid diagnosis of N.gonorrhoeae infection and treatment decision-making in clinical settings.
6.A Novel rpsE Mutation Mediates High-Level Spectinomycin Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Influences Their Biological Fitness
Menghuan LI ; Guiqin YANG ; Youwei WANG ; Gang YONG ; Hongren WANG
Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences) 2025;56(4):1032-1037
Objective To investigate the role of a novel rpsE gene mutation in mediating high-level spectinomycin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and to evaluate its effect on the biological fitness of the bacteria.Methods Spectinomycin-containing medium was used to screen for Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains with spontaneous mutations that conferred spectinomycin resistance.Minimum inhibitory concentrations(MIC)were determined,and the rpsE gene was sequenced.Changes in the growth rates of spectinomycin-resistant strain were assessed using the drop plate method and growth curves.Additionally,in vitro competition experiments were conducted with spectinomycin at different concentrations to assess changes in the biological fitness of the spectinomycin-resistant strain.Results A Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain with high-level spectinomycin resistance mediated by a novel rpsE gene mutation(88_90delGTT)was successfully identified and designated NG-SPTR.Compare with the wild-type strain,the NG-SPTR exhibited reduced growth rate(optical density[OD]comparison,P<0.05).In addition,in vitro competition experiments showed a competitive index(CI)<1 in gonococcal base liquid(GCBL)without or with low-concentration spectinomycin(≤16 μg/mL).In the GCBL with 32 μg/mL spectinomycin,the CI value gradually increased from<1 before 18 h to>1 after 18 h.The mutant strain showed CI>1 in GCBL with spectinomycin concentrations≥64 μg/mL.Conclusion The rpsE gene mutation(88_90delGTT)mediates high-level spectinomycin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae,and imposes a fitness cost on the bacteria.The biological fitness of the mutant strain is influenced by the concentration of spectinomycin.
7.Correlation Analysis between Traditional Chinese Medicine Service Efficiency and Comprehensive Medical Service Efficiency in County-Level Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals in Shandong Province
Xue SONG ; Jingjie SUN ; Zhihong LU ; Youwei LI ; Jiayu SUN ; Lijun WANG
Chinese Health Economics 2024;43(11):45-48
Objective:By analyzing the relationship between the efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and the efficiency of comprehensive medical services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong,it explores the path of coordinated development between traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals,providing references for the high-quality development of county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.Methods:The efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and comprehensive medical services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong Province from 2019 to 2022 was analyzed by Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA),and the correlation was analyzed by Spearman correlation coefficient.Results:The efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong Province is lower than that of comprehensive medical services,and the scale return coefficient of traditional Chinese medicine category indicators is better than that of comprehensive category indicators.There is a positive correlation between the efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and the efficiency of comprehensive medical services.Conclusion:Traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should appropriately expand their investment in traditional Chinese medicine resources.Adhere to the hospital management model of traditional Chinese medicine services as the main focus,and build a coordinated development path between traditional Chinese and western medicine from both the supply and demand sides.
8.Correlation Analysis between Traditional Chinese Medicine Service Efficiency and Comprehensive Medical Service Efficiency in County-Level Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals in Shandong Province
Xue SONG ; Jingjie SUN ; Zhihong LU ; Youwei LI ; Jiayu SUN ; Lijun WANG
Chinese Health Economics 2024;43(11):45-48
Objective:By analyzing the relationship between the efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and the efficiency of comprehensive medical services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong,it explores the path of coordinated development between traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals,providing references for the high-quality development of county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.Methods:The efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and comprehensive medical services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong Province from 2019 to 2022 was analyzed by Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA),and the correlation was analyzed by Spearman correlation coefficient.Results:The efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong Province is lower than that of comprehensive medical services,and the scale return coefficient of traditional Chinese medicine category indicators is better than that of comprehensive category indicators.There is a positive correlation between the efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and the efficiency of comprehensive medical services.Conclusion:Traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should appropriately expand their investment in traditional Chinese medicine resources.Adhere to the hospital management model of traditional Chinese medicine services as the main focus,and build a coordinated development path between traditional Chinese and western medicine from both the supply and demand sides.
9.Correlation Analysis between Traditional Chinese Medicine Service Efficiency and Comprehensive Medical Service Efficiency in County-Level Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals in Shandong Province
Xue SONG ; Jingjie SUN ; Zhihong LU ; Youwei LI ; Jiayu SUN ; Lijun WANG
Chinese Health Economics 2024;43(11):45-48
Objective:By analyzing the relationship between the efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and the efficiency of comprehensive medical services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong,it explores the path of coordinated development between traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals,providing references for the high-quality development of county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.Methods:The efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and comprehensive medical services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong Province from 2019 to 2022 was analyzed by Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA),and the correlation was analyzed by Spearman correlation coefficient.Results:The efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong Province is lower than that of comprehensive medical services,and the scale return coefficient of traditional Chinese medicine category indicators is better than that of comprehensive category indicators.There is a positive correlation between the efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and the efficiency of comprehensive medical services.Conclusion:Traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should appropriately expand their investment in traditional Chinese medicine resources.Adhere to the hospital management model of traditional Chinese medicine services as the main focus,and build a coordinated development path between traditional Chinese and western medicine from both the supply and demand sides.
10.Correlation Analysis between Traditional Chinese Medicine Service Efficiency and Comprehensive Medical Service Efficiency in County-Level Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals in Shandong Province
Xue SONG ; Jingjie SUN ; Zhihong LU ; Youwei LI ; Jiayu SUN ; Lijun WANG
Chinese Health Economics 2024;43(11):45-48
Objective:By analyzing the relationship between the efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and the efficiency of comprehensive medical services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong,it explores the path of coordinated development between traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals,providing references for the high-quality development of county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.Methods:The efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and comprehensive medical services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong Province from 2019 to 2022 was analyzed by Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA),and the correlation was analyzed by Spearman correlation coefficient.Results:The efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services in county-level traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in Shandong Province is lower than that of comprehensive medical services,and the scale return coefficient of traditional Chinese medicine category indicators is better than that of comprehensive category indicators.There is a positive correlation between the efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine services and the efficiency of comprehensive medical services.Conclusion:Traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should appropriately expand their investment in traditional Chinese medicine resources.Adhere to the hospital management model of traditional Chinese medicine services as the main focus,and build a coordinated development path between traditional Chinese and western medicine from both the supply and demand sides.

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