1.Molecular Mechanism of Programmed Cell Death in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Traditional Chinese Medicine Intervention: A Review
Xin PENG ; Yunhui LI ; Lei LIANG ; Zheyu LUAN ; Hanxiao WANG ; Haotian XU ; Ziming DANG ; Jihong FENG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(3):304-313
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic respiratory disease that poses a significant threat to global health, exhibiting high morbidity, disability and mortality rate, with its prevention and treatment situation becoming increasingly critical. The pathogenesis of COPD is complex, and the underlying cellular and molecular biological mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. Programmed cell death (PCD) is the process wherein cells actively undergo demise to maintain internal environmental stability in response to certain signals or specific stimuli. Contemporary medical research indicates that the dysregulation of PCD patterns such as apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis is closely related to the onset and progression of COPD. Clarifying the molecular mechanisms of PCD in COPD may provide novel perspectives for in-depth understanding and prevention of the disease. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is characterized by holistic regulation. In recent years, extensive research has been conducted in the TCM field focusing on modulating apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis for the treatment of COPD, yielding remarkable achievements. Therefore, this study systematically explored the molecular mechanism of PCD in COPD and reviewed the potential mechanisms and intervention status of TCM targeting PCD in COPD, aiming to provide insights and references for the clinical prevention, treatment and in-depth research of COPD.
2.Molecular Mechanism of Programmed Cell Death in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Traditional Chinese Medicine Intervention: A Review
Xin PENG ; Yunhui LI ; Lei LIANG ; Zheyu LUAN ; Hanxiao WANG ; Haotian XU ; Ziming DANG ; Jihong FENG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(3):304-313
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic respiratory disease that poses a significant threat to global health, exhibiting high morbidity, disability and mortality rate, with its prevention and treatment situation becoming increasingly critical. The pathogenesis of COPD is complex, and the underlying cellular and molecular biological mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. Programmed cell death (PCD) is the process wherein cells actively undergo demise to maintain internal environmental stability in response to certain signals or specific stimuli. Contemporary medical research indicates that the dysregulation of PCD patterns such as apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis is closely related to the onset and progression of COPD. Clarifying the molecular mechanisms of PCD in COPD may provide novel perspectives for in-depth understanding and prevention of the disease. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is characterized by holistic regulation. In recent years, extensive research has been conducted in the TCM field focusing on modulating apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis for the treatment of COPD, yielding remarkable achievements. Therefore, this study systematically explored the molecular mechanism of PCD in COPD and reviewed the potential mechanisms and intervention status of TCM targeting PCD in COPD, aiming to provide insights and references for the clinical prevention, treatment and in-depth research of COPD.
3.Immunity-inflammation Mechanism of Viral Pneumonia and Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment Based on Theory of Healthy Qi and Pathogenic Qi
Zheyu LUAN ; Hanxiao WANG ; Xin PENG ; Yihao ZHANG ; Yunhui LI ; Jihong FENG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(2):239-247
Viral pneumonia is an infectious disease caused by virus invading the lung parenchyma and interstitial tissue and causing lung inflammation, with the incidence rising year by year. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can treat viral pneumonia in a multi-component, multi-target, and holistic manner by targeting the core pathogenesis of pneumonia caused by different respiratory viruses, demonstrating minimal side effects and significant advantages. According to the theory of healthy Qi and pathogenic Qi in TCM, the struggle between healthy Qi and pathogenic Qi and the imbalance between immunity and inflammation run through the entire process of viral pneumonia, and the immunity-inflammation status at different stages of the disease reflects different relationships between healthy Qi and pathogenic Qi. Immune dysfunction leads to the deficiency of healthy Qi, causing viral infections. The struggle between healthy Qi and pathogenic Qi causes immunity-inflammation imbalance, leading to the onset of viral pneumonia. Inflammatory damage causes persistent accumulation of phlegm and stasis, leading to the progression of viral pneumonia. The cytokine storm causes immunodepletion, leading to the excess of pathogenic Qi and diminution of healthy Qi and the deterioration of viral pneumonia. After the recovery from viral pneumonia, there is a long-term imbalance between immunity and micro-inflammation, which results in healthy Qi deficiency and pathogenic Qi lingering. Healthy Qi deficiency and pathogenic Qi excess act as common core causes of pneumonia caused by different respiratory viruses. Clinical treatment should emphasize both replenishing healthy Qi and eliminating pathogenic Qi, helping to restore the balance between healthy Qi and pathogenic Qi as well as between immunity and inflammation, thus promoting the recovery of patients from viral pneumonia. According to the TCM theory of healthy Qi and pathogenic Qi, this article summarizes the immunity-inflammation mechanisms at different stages of viral pneumonia, and explores the application of the method of replenishing healthy Qi and eliminating pathogenic Qi in viral pneumonia. The aim is to probe into the scientific connotation of the TCM theory of healthy Qi and pathogenic Qi in viral pneumonia and provide ideas for the clinical application of the method of replenishing healthy Qi and eliminating pathogenic Qi to assist in the treatment of viral pneumonia.
4.Artificial intelligence in traditional Chinese medicine: from systems biological mechanism discovery, real-world clinical evidence inference to personalized clinical decision support.
Dengying YAN ; Qiguang ZHENG ; Kai CHANG ; Rui HUA ; Yiming LIU ; Jingyan XUE ; Zixin SHU ; Yunhui HU ; Pengcheng YANG ; Yu WEI ; Jidong LANG ; Haibin YU ; Xiaodong LI ; Runshun ZHANG ; Wenjia WANG ; Baoyan LIU ; Xuezhong ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2025;23(11):1310-1328
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) represents a paradigmatic approach to personalized medicine, developed through the systematic accumulation and refinement of clinical empirical data over more than 2000 years, and now encompasses large-scale electronic medical records (EMR) and experimental molecular data. Artificial intelligence (AI) has demonstrated its utility in medicine through the development of various expert systems (e.g., MYCIN) since the 1970s. With the emergence of deep learning and large language models (LLMs), AI's potential in medicine shows considerable promise. Consequently, the integration of AI and TCM from both clinical and scientific perspectives presents a fundamental and promising research direction. This survey provides an insightful overview of TCM AI research, summarizing related research tasks from three perspectives: systems-level biological mechanism elucidation, real-world clinical evidence inference, and personalized clinical decision support. The review highlights representative AI methodologies alongside their applications in both TCM scientific inquiry and clinical practice. To critically assess the current state of the field, this work identifies major challenges and opportunities that constrain the development of robust research capabilities-particularly in the mechanistic understanding of TCM syndromes and herbal formulations, novel drug discovery, and the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered clinical care. The findings underscore that future advancements in AI-driven TCM research will rely on the development of high-quality, large-scale data repositories; the construction of comprehensive and domain-specific knowledge graphs (KGs); deeper insights into the biological mechanisms underpinning clinical efficacy; rigorous causal inference frameworks; and intelligent, personalized decision support systems.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods*
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Artificial Intelligence
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Humans
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Precision Medicine
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Decision Support Systems, Clinical
5.Optimization of promoter screening for heterologous expression of carbonic anhydrase and characterization of its enzymatic properties and carbon sequestration performance.
Dandan YAO ; Yunhui LI ; Xingjia FU ; Hui WANG ; Yun LIU
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2025;41(4):1588-1604
In this study, high-throughput promoter screening was employed to optimize the heterologous expression of Mesorhizobium loti carbonic anhydrase (MlCA) in order to reduce the costs associated with carbon capture and storage (CCS). To simplify the complexity of traditional vectors, a fusion protein expression system was constructed using superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) and MlCA. The synthetic promoter library in Escherichia coli was utilized for efficient one-step screening. Based on fluorescence intensity on agar plates, a total of 143 monoclonal colonies were identified, forming a library with varying expression levels. The top four recombinants with the highest fluorescence intensity were selected, among which MlCA driven by the promoter 342042/+ exhibited the highest enzymatic activity, with a specific activity of the 34.6 Wilbur-Anderson units (WAU)/mg. Optimization experiments revealed that MlCA exhibited the best performance when cultured for 4 days under pH 7.0 and 40 ℃ conditions. The Michaelis constant (Km·hdy) and maximum reaction rate (Vmax·hdy) for CO2 hydration were determined to be 62.46 mmol/L and 0.164 mmol/(s·L), respectively. For esterase hydrolysis, MlCA showed the Km and Vmax of 639.8 mmol/L and 0.035 mmol/(s·L), respectively. MlCA accelerated the CO2 hydration process, promoting CO2 mineralized into CaCO3 within 9 min at low pH and room temperature conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirmed that the precipitated product was calcite. This study provides a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative for future CCS applications.
Carbonic Anhydrases/biosynthesis*
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Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics*
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Escherichia coli/metabolism*
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Carbon Sequestration
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Carbon Dioxide/metabolism*
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Green Fluorescent Proteins/metabolism*
6.Signal interference between drugs and metabolites in LC-ESI-MS quantitative analysis and its evaluation strategy
Jiang FULIN ; Liu JINGYU ; Li YAGANG ; Lu ZIHAN ; Liu QIAN ; Xing YUNHUI ; Zhu JANSHON ; Huang MIN ; Zhong GUOPING
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2024;14(7):1024-1034
Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry(LC-ESI-MS)is a widely utilized technique for in vivo pharmaceutical analysis.Ionization interference within electrospray ion source,occurring between drugs and metabolites,can lead to signal variations,potentially compromising quantitative accuracy.Currently,method validation often overlooks this type of signal interference,which may result in systematic errors in quantitative results without matrix-matched calibration.In this study,we conducted an investigation using ten different groups of drugs and their corresponding me-tabolites across three LC-ESI-MS systems to assess the prevalence of signal interference.Such in-terferences can potentially cause or enhance nonlinearity in the calibration curves of drugs and metabolites,thereby altering the relationship between analyte response and concentration for quanti-fication.Finally,we established an evaluation scheme through a step-by-step dilution assay and employed three resolution methods:chromatographic separation,dilution,and stable labeled isotope internal standards correction.The above strategies were integrated into the method establishment process to improve quantitative accuracy.
7.Implement quality control circle activities to improve customer satisfaction
Yaoxing LI ; Cuidi LI ; Fen ZHANG ; Min TANG ; Wei YAN ; Puxian XIE ; Youlan XI ; Jiaxin WANG ; Yunhui WANG ; Haibo MA ; Chaodong ZHANG ; Jiyan DENG ; Yamei YU ; Qunhua MU
Modern Hospital 2024;24(3):391-394
Objective To study the application effect of quality control circle(QCC)in reducing the dissatisfaction rate of physical examination clients in health management center.Methods To establish QCC,selected the health check-up popula-tion in our hospital in September-2019 and March-2020,through the questionnaire investigation and analysis,compare the dis-satisfaction of the clients before and after the quality control circle.Results After carrying out QCC activities,the dissatisfaction of physical examination clients was significantly lower than that before QCC,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion The activities of QCC in the health management center can effectively improve the quality of the physical examination work and reduce the dissatisfaction of the customers in the physical examination.It is of great significance to the health management.
8.The expression and diagnostic value of RARRES2, MACF1, and DCN in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neurosyphilis
Xiaoyun YU ; Zihai LI ; Ning YAN ; Wei CHEN ; Jieyao JIANG ; Shen HOU ; Yunhui HUA
Journal of Chinese Physician 2024;26(3):413-417
Objective:To investigate the expression of retinoic acid receptor responsive gene 2 (RARRES2), microtubule microfilament cross-linking factor 1 (MACF1), and core protein polysaccharide (DCN) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with neurosyphilis, and their diagnostic value for neurosyphilis.Methods:A total of 64 non neurosyphilis syphilis patients (syphilis group) and 78 neurosyphilis patients (neurosyphilis group) admitted to the Second Hospital of Nanjing between June 2020 and September 2022 were included. Among neurosyphilis patients, there were 48 early neurosyphilis patients (early group) and 30 late neurosyphilis patients (late group). Patients with neurosyphilis are treated with routine symptomatic therapy and antibiotic therapy to expel syphilis. The mRNA levels of RARRES2, MACF1, and DCN in CSF of patients with neurosyphilis before and after treatment were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to evaluate the neurological function of patients with neurosyphilis before and after treatment. The diagnostic value of various indicators for neurosyphilis was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.Results:The mRNA levels of RARRES2, MACF1, and DCN in CSF of patients with neurosyphilis were higher than those in the syphilis group (all P<0.001). The mRNA levels of RARRES2, MACF1, and DCN in the CSF of patients with advanced neurosyphilis were higher than those in the early group (all P<0.001). Compared with before treatment, the NIHSS score and RARRES2, MACF1, and DCN mRNA levels of neurosyphilis patients decreased after treatment (all P<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity of the combined diagnosis of RARRES2, MACF1, and DCN mRNA in CSF for neurosyphilis were 0.995%, 100.00%, and 93.75%, respectively. The AUC and sensitivity were higher than those of individual diagnosis. Conclusions:The expression of RARRES2, MACF1, and DCN is elevated in CSF of patients with neurosyphilis, and is associated with disease severity and treatment response. These three genes may be candidate biomarkers for diagnosing neurosyphilis.
9.Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Element, Evolutionary Patterns of Patients with Hepatitis B Virus-Related Acute on Chronic Liver Failure at Different Stages: A Multi-Center Clinical Study
Simiao YU ; Kewei SUN ; Zhengang ZHANG ; Hanmin LI ; Xiuhui LI ; Hongzhi YANG ; Qin LI ; Lin WANG ; Xiaozhou ZHOU ; Dewen MAO ; Jianchun GUO ; Yunhui ZHUO ; Xianbo WANG ; Xin DENG ; Jiefei WANG ; Wukui CAO ; Shuqin ZHANG ; Mingxiang ZHANG ; Jun LI ; Man GONG ; Chao ZHOU
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;65(12):1262-1268
ObjectiveTo explore the syndrome elements and evolving patterns of patients with hepatitis B virus-related acute on chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) at different stages. MethodsClinical information of 1,058 hospitalized HBV-ACLF patients, including 618 in the early stage, 355 in the middle stage, and 85 in the late stage, were collected from 18 clinical centers across 12 regions nationwide from January 1, 2012 to February 28, 2015. The “Hepatitis B-related Chronic and Acute Liver Failure Chinese Medicine Clinical Questionnaire” were designed to investigate the basic information of the patients, like the four diagnostic information (including symptoms, tongue, pulse) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and to count the frequency of the appearance of the four diagnostic information. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were employed to determine and statistically analyze the syndrome elements and patterns of HBV-ACLF patients at different stages. ResultsThere were 76 four diagnostic information from 1058 HBV-ACLF patients, and 53 four diagnostic information with a frequency of occurrence ≥ 5% were used as factor analysis entries, including 36 symptom information, 12 tongue information, and 5 pulse information. Four types of TCM patterns were identified in HBV-ACLF, which were liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern, qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern, liver-kidney yin deficiency pattern, and spleen-kidney yang-deficiency pattern. In the early stage, heat (39.4%, 359/912) and dampness (27.5%, 251/912) were most common, and the pattern of the disease was dominated by liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern (74.6%, 461/618); in the middle stage, dampness (30.2%, 187/619) and blood stasis (20.7%, 128/619) were most common, and the patterns of the disease were dominated by liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern (53.2%, 189/355), and qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern (27.6%, 98/355); and in the late stage, the pattern of the disease was dominated by qi deficiency (26.3%, 40/152) and yin deficiency (20.4%, 31/152), and the patterns were dominated by qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern (36.5%, 31/85), and liver-gallbladder damp-heat pattern (25.9%, 22/85). ConclusionThere are significant differences in the distribution of syndrome elements and patterns at different stages of HBV-ACLF, presenting an overall trend of evolving patterns as "from excess to deficiency, transforming from excess to deficiency", which is damp-heat → blood stasis → qi-blood yin-yang deficiency.
10.Dendrobine interferes with diabetic kidney disease by up-regulating HSP90AA1 to regulate immune cells
Yunhui JIANG ; Chuantie TANG ; Jun LI ; Nannan ZHANG
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2024;59(9):1599-1609
Objective To explore the mechanism of dendrobine in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease(DKD)by intervening immunity using network pharmacology,bioinformatics and Western blot.Methods The targets of dendrobine were screened by Pharmmaper,Superpred and other databases.The disease targets of DKD were screened from GeneCards,OMIM and other databases.The immune-related targets were searched in Immport,In-nateDB and other databases.The intersection of the above three was obtained via Venn diagram.The PPI map of intersection targets was constructed by STRING software combined with Cytoscape software,and the core targets in the interaction network were mined by CytoHubba plug-in.The data set GSE142025 was obtained from GEO,and immune infiltration and WGCNA analysis were performed using the R language CIBERSORT package.GSE1009,GSE30122 and GSE142025 were used for gene differential expression analysis and ROC verification.The correla-tion between core targets and immune cell phenotype was analyzed.Molecular docking and molecular dynamics sim-ulation analysis were used to test the binding force of dendrobine to key targets.Western blot was used to detect the expression of HSP90AA1 in HK-2 cells.Results A total of 128 intersecting genes,including HSP90AA1,LCK and EGFR,were obtained,and the core targets involved HSP90AA1,LCK and STAT3;molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation analyses showed that the protein of HSP90AA1 could bind well with dendrobine.Western blot experiments showed that compared with the control group,HSP90AA1 was significantly down-regula-ted in the high glucose group.Compared with the high glucose group,HSP90AA1 was significantly up-regulated in the dendrobine group.Conclusion Dendrobine can intervene in diabetic kidney disease by regulating the expres-sion of HSP90AA1.


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