1.SRSF7 promotes pulmonary fibrosis through regulating PKM alternative splicing in lung fibroblasts.
Tongzhu JIN ; Huiying GAO ; Yuquan WANG ; Zhiwei NING ; Danyang BING ; Yan WANG ; Yi CHEN ; Xiaomu TIAN ; Qiudi LIU ; Zhihui NIU ; Jiayu GUO ; Jian SUN ; Ruoxuan YANG ; Qianqian WANG ; Shifen LI ; Tianyu LI ; Yuhong ZHOU ; Wenxin HE ; Yanjie LU ; Yunyan GU ; Haihai LIANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(6):3041-3058
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic interstitial lung disease, is characterized by aberrant wound healing, excessive scarring and the formation of myofibroblastic foci. Although the role of alternative splicing (AS) in the pathogenesis of organ fibrosis has garnered increasing attention, its specific contribution to pulmonary fibrosis remains incompletely understood. In this study, we identified an up-regulation of serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 7 (SRSF7) in lung fibroblasts derived from IPF patients and a bleomycin (BLM)-induced mouse model, and further characterized its functional role in both human fetal lung fibroblasts and mice. We demonstrated that enhanced expression of Srsf7 in mice spontaneously induced alveolar collagen accumulation. Mechanistically, we investigated alternative splicing events and revealed that SRSF7 modulates the alternative splicing of pyruvate kinase (PKM), leading to metabolic dysregulation and fibroblast activation. In vivo studies showed that fibroblast-specific knockout of Srsf7 in conditional knockout mice conferred resistance to bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Importantly, through drug screening, we identified lomitapide as a novel modulator of SRSF7, which effectively mitigated experimental pulmonary fibrosis. Collectively, our findings elucidate a molecular pathway by which SRSF7 drives fibroblast metabolic dysregulation and propose a potential therapeutic strategy for pulmonary fibrosis.
2.Evolution-guided design of mini-protein for high-contrast in vivo imaging.
Nongyu HUANG ; Yang CAO ; Guangjun XIONG ; Suwen CHEN ; Juan CHENG ; Yifan ZHOU ; Chengxin ZHANG ; Xiaoqiong WEI ; Wenling WU ; Yawen HU ; Pei ZHOU ; Guolin LI ; Fulei ZHAO ; Fanlian ZENG ; Xiaoyan WANG ; Jiadong YU ; Chengcheng YUE ; Xinai CUI ; Kaijun CUI ; Huawei CAI ; Yuquan WEI ; Yang ZHANG ; Jiong LI
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(10):5327-5345
Traditional development of small protein scaffolds has relied on display technologies and mutation-based engineering, which limit sequence and functional diversity, thereby constraining their therapeutic and application potential. Protein design tools have significantly advanced the creation of novel protein sequences, structures, and functions. However, further improvements in design strategies are still needed to more efficiently optimize the functional performance of protein-based drugs and enhance their druggability. Here, we extended an evolution-based design protocol to create a novel minibinder, BindHer, against the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). It not only exhibits super stability and binding selectivity but also demonstrates remarkable properties in tissue specificity. Radiolabeling experiments with 99mTc, 68Ga, and 18F revealed that BindHer efficiently targets tumors in HER2-positive breast cancer mouse models, with minimal nonspecific liver absorption, outperforming scaffolds designed through traditional engineering. These findings highlight a new rational approach to automated protein design, offering significant potential for large-scale applications in therapeutic mini-protein development.
3.Global trends in the incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis in 204 countries/territories from 1990 to 2019
Shihao TANG ; Jiaxin CUI ; Yuquan CHEN ; Qiuyuan MAI ; Jinwei ZHANG ; Zhi WANG
Chinese Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases 2024;42(2):123-128
Objective:To analyze the changing trend of incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis globally, and provide scientific basis for the formulation of health policy.Methods:In June 2022, through the Global Health Data exchange (GHDx) query tool (http: //ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool) , the pneumoconiosis incidence and prevalence data was downloaded and organized. Estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) and age-standardized rate (ASR) were used to estimate the trends of pneumoconiosis from 1990 to 2019. EAPC was estimated by linear regression model based on ASR.Results:The overall ASR of the incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis decreased from 1990 to 2019, and their EAPCs were-0.85% (95% CI: -1.11%--0.60%) and -0.78% (95% CI: -1.08%--0.49%) . Over the past 30 years, the incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis in all SDI areas showed decreasing trends, especially in high SDI areas, their EAPCs were -1.46% (95% CI: -1.76%--1.15%) and -1.99% (95% CI: -2.44%--1.53%) . 110 countries/areas showed increasing trends in age standardized incidence rate (ASIR) , with Iran and Georgia showing the most pronounced upward trend, their EAPCs were 5.32% (95% CI: 4.43%-6.22%) and 4.39% (95% CI: 3.81%-4.97%) . 125 countries/areas showed anincreasing trends in prevalence ASR, with Iran had the fastest rise in prevalence (EAPC=6.40%, 95% CI: 5.33%-7.49%) . Conclusion:Although decreasing trends in the burden of pneumoconiosis are observed globally from 1990 to 2019, but the burden of pneumoconiosis in low-and middle-income countries or regions are still heavy. We need more effective strategies to prevent and reduce the burden of pneumoconiosis.
4.Global trends in the incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis in 204 countries/territories from 1990 to 2019
Shihao TANG ; Jiaxin CUI ; Yuquan CHEN ; Qiuyuan MAI ; Jinwei ZHANG ; Zhi WANG
Chinese Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases 2024;42(2):123-128
Objective:To analyze the changing trend of incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis globally, and provide scientific basis for the formulation of health policy.Methods:In June 2022, through the Global Health Data exchange (GHDx) query tool (http: //ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool) , the pneumoconiosis incidence and prevalence data was downloaded and organized. Estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) and age-standardized rate (ASR) were used to estimate the trends of pneumoconiosis from 1990 to 2019. EAPC was estimated by linear regression model based on ASR.Results:The overall ASR of the incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis decreased from 1990 to 2019, and their EAPCs were-0.85% (95% CI: -1.11%--0.60%) and -0.78% (95% CI: -1.08%--0.49%) . Over the past 30 years, the incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis in all SDI areas showed decreasing trends, especially in high SDI areas, their EAPCs were -1.46% (95% CI: -1.76%--1.15%) and -1.99% (95% CI: -2.44%--1.53%) . 110 countries/areas showed increasing trends in age standardized incidence rate (ASIR) , with Iran and Georgia showing the most pronounced upward trend, their EAPCs were 5.32% (95% CI: 4.43%-6.22%) and 4.39% (95% CI: 3.81%-4.97%) . 125 countries/areas showed anincreasing trends in prevalence ASR, with Iran had the fastest rise in prevalence (EAPC=6.40%, 95% CI: 5.33%-7.49%) . Conclusion:Although decreasing trends in the burden of pneumoconiosis are observed globally from 1990 to 2019, but the burden of pneumoconiosis in low-and middle-income countries or regions are still heavy. We need more effective strategies to prevent and reduce the burden of pneumoconiosis.
5.Vascular segmentation and reconstruction in diabetic retinopathy based on deep learning
Shiyi XU ; Minghui CHEN ; Yi SHAO ; Kaibo QIN ; Yuquan WU ; Zhijie YIN ; Zhengqi YANG
Chinese Journal of Medical Physics 2024;41(10):1256-1264
A method capable of retinal vessel segmentation and three-dimensional(3D)reconstruction is proposed for the early diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy.The 3D reconstruction can avoid the misjudgments of blood vessel length,curvature and branch angle after segmentation,which will affect the early diagnosis.IAAnet algorithm for retinal image segmentation combines traditional Unet with Inception V3,atrous spatial pyramid pooling and AttentionGates to reduce information loss and avoid over-fitting,thereby improving the network's ability to extract features.The projection reconstruction method is used to restore the 3D information of blood vessels,and supports the adjustments of brightness and contrast,so that doctors can better observe the real state of blood vessels.The proposed algorithm has an accuracy,recall rate,F1 score,intersection over union and area under ROC curve of 97.68%,96.07%,97.26%,92.79%and 94.00%,respectively.Compared with other networks,IAAnet algorithm exhibits higher segmentation accuracy,and can obtain more vascular information in 3D image after 3D projection reconstruction to assist in the early diagnosis.
6.Expert Consensus on Clinical Diseases Responding Specifically to Traditional Chinese Medicine: Threatened Abortion
Xinchun YANG ; Shuyu WANG ; Huilan DU ; Songping LUO ; Zhe JIN ; Rong LI ; Xiangyan RUAN ; Qin ZHANG ; Xiaoling FENG ; Shicai CHEN ; Fengjie HE ; Shaobin WEI ; Qun LU ; Yanqin WANG ; Yang LIU ; Qingwei MENG ; Zengping HAO ; Ying LI ; Mei MO ; Xiaoxiao ZHANG ; Ruihua ZHAO
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(7):241-246
Threatened abortion is a common disease of obstetrics and gynecology and one of the diseases responding specifically to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The China Association of Chinese Medicine organized experts in TCM obstetrics and gynecology, Western medicine obstetrics and gynecology, and pharmacology to deeply discuss the advantages of TCM and integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment as well as the medication plans for threatened abortion. After discussion, the experts concluded that chromosome, endocrine, and immune abnormalities were the key factors for the occurrence of threatened abortion, and the Qi and blood disorders in thoroughfare and conception vessels were the core pathogenesis. In the treatment of threatened abortion, TCM has advantages in preventing miscarriages, alleviating clinical symptoms and TCM syndromes, relieving anxiety, regulating reproductive endocrine and immune abnormalities, personalized and diversified treatment, enhancing efficiency and reducing toxicity, and preventing the disease before occurrence. The difficulty in diagnosis and treatment of threatened abortion with traditional Chinese and Western medicine lies in identifying the predictors of abortion caused by maternal factors and the treatment of thrombophilia. Recurrent abortion is the breakthrough point of treatment with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine. It is urgent to carry out high-quality evidence-based medicine research in the future to improve the modern diagnosis and treatment of threatened abortion with TCM.
7.Research Progress of Traditional Chinese Medicine Compounds in Prevention and Treatment of Colorectal Adenoma: A Review
Meng SHEN ; Ye ZHANG ; Kai CHEN ; Yuquan TAO ; Minmin FAN ; Mingxin NI ; Liu LI ; Haibo CHENG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(19):64-72
Colorectal adenoma is a benign tumor originating from the mucosal glandular epithelium of the colorectum and belongs to the category of intraepithelial neoplasia. Its etiology and pathogenesis are not completely clear, and some patients have genetic factors. In recent years, with the improvement in living standards, the incidence of colorectal adenoma has gradually increased due to high-fat diets, intestinal flora disorder, and emotional disturbance. As one of the precancerous lesions of colorectal cancer, colorectal adenoma is increasingly threatening human health. Surgical resection is the most direct and effective method for the treatment of colorectal adenoma, but some patients with colorectal adenoma have the possibility of recurrence after resection. At present, there is still a lack of effective prevention and treatment measures for the recurrence of colorectal adenoma. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays a unique advantage in improving the clinical symptoms of patients with colorectal adenoma and preventing postoperative recurrence and carcinogenesis. Therefore, this review summarized the clinical research and mechanism of TCM compounds in the prevention and treatment of colorectal adenoma in recent years. The clinical study on the prevention and treatment of colorectal adenoma by TCM compounds can be divided into internal treatment, external treatment, and internal and external combined treatment. The internal treatment mainly focuses on strengthening the spleen, and the external treatment includes retention enema, acupoint application, and other methods. The internal and external combined treatment is mainly based on the internal administration of TCM compounds combined with acupuncture, retention enema, and acupoint stimulation. The study on the mechanism of TCM compounds in preventing and treating colorectal adenoma was mainly explored from the aspects of regulating intestinal flora, regulating cell proliferation immune function, and achieving anti-inflammation. This review summarized the research progress of TCM compounds in the prevention and treatment of colorectal adenoma in recent years and provided a reference for future treatment with TCM.
9.Sodium alginate coating simultaneously increases the biosafety and immunotherapeutic activity of the cationic mRNA nanovaccine.
Xing DUAN ; Yi ZHANG ; Mengran GUO ; Na FAN ; Kepan CHEN ; Shugang QIN ; Wen XIAO ; Qian ZHENG ; Hai HUANG ; Xiawei WEI ; Yuquan WEI ; Xiangrong SONG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2023;13(3):942-954
The extraordinary advantages associated with mRNA vaccines, including their high efficiency, relatively low severity of side effects, and ease of manufacture, have enabled them to be a promising immunotherapy approach against various infectious diseases and cancers. Nevertheless, most mRNA delivery carriers have many disadvantages, such as high toxicity, poor biocompatibility, and low efficiency in vivo, which have hindered the widespread use of mRNA vaccines. To further characterize and solve these problems and develop a new type of safe and efficient mRNA delivery carrier, a negatively charged SA@DOTAP-mRNA nanovaccine was prepared in this study by coating DOTAP-mRNA with the natural anionic polymer sodium alginate (SA). Intriguingly, the transfection efficiency of SA@DOTAP-mRNA was significantly higher than that of DOTAP-mRNA, which was not due to the increase in cellular uptake but was associated with changes in the endocytosis pathway and the strong lysosome escape ability of SA@DOTAP-mRNA. In addition, we found that SA significantly increased the expression of LUC-mRNA in mice and achieved certain spleen targeting. Finally, we confirmed that SA@DOTAP-mRNA had a stronger antigen-presenting ability in E. G7-OVA tumor-bearing mice, dramatically inducing the proliferation of OVA-specific CLTs and ameliorating the antitumor effect. Therefore, we firmly believe that the coating strategy applied to cationic liposome/mRNA complexes is of potential research value in the field of mRNA delivery and has promising clinical application prospects.
10.Expression and role of deleted in malignant brain tumor protein 1 in acute respiratory distress syndrome rats induced by sepsis
Chen GE ; Yifan ZHANG ; Hongwei JIA ; Yuquan LUO ; Yiwen ZU ; Zhiwei YANG ; Lijing JIA ; Jingmei WANG ; Quansheng DU
Chinese Critical Care Medicine 2023;35(2):152-157
Objective:To observe the expression of deleted in malignant brain tumor protein 1 (DMBT1) in rat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) model induced by sepsis and its relationship with ARDS related biomarkers.Methods:Forty-eight healthy male rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (Sham group) and ARDS model group, and the rats in each group were further divided into three subgroups at 6, 12 and 24 hours after operation, with 8 rats in each subgroup. The rats in the Sham group were exposed to the cecum only, and sepsis induced ARDS model was reproduced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in the ARDS model group. The general performance was observed at 6, 12, 24 hours after operation. Abdominal aortic blood of rats was collected, and the levels of DMBT1, surfactant-associated protein D (SP-D), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukins (IL-6, IL-10) in serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The lung tissues were collected, and the lung wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio was determined. The lung tissue pathological changes were observed under light microscope after hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and the lung tissue injury score was evaluated. The expression of DMBT1 protein in lung tissue was determined by Western blotting. The relationship between the serum DMBT1 and SP-D, VEGF, IL-6, IL-10, lung tissue injury score were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis.Results:Rats in the ARDS model group showed obvious pathological manifestations after operation. The alveolar structure destruction, inflammatory cell infiltration, and alveolar hemorrhage were observed under microscope. Compared with the Sham group, the lung tissue injury score and the lung W/D ratio at 12 hours after operation in the ARDS model group were significantly increased (lung tissue injury score: 3.35±0.13 vs. 1.16±0.07, lung W/D ratio: 5.36±0.44 vs. 4.38±0.35, both P < 0.05), and pulmonary edema was present, which suggested that the ARDS model caused by CLP was successfully reproduced. The results of ELISA and Western blotting showed that the levels of serum DMBT1, SP-D, VEGF and IL-6 in the ARDS model group increased gradually with time, while the level of IL-10 increased first and then decreased. Compared with the Sham group, the levels of DMBT1 in serum and the expressions of DMBT1 protein in lung tissue in the ARDS model group were significantly increased from 6 hours after operation [serum (ng/L) : 231.96±19.17 vs. 187.44±10.19, lung tissue (DMBT1/β-actin): 2.05±0.19 vs. 0.93±0.25, both P < 0.05], and the levels of SP-D, VEGF, IL-6 and IL-10 in serum were significantly increased from 12 hours after operation [SP-D (ng/L): 73.35±8.05 vs. 43.28±5.77, VEGF (ng/L): 89.85±8.47 vs. 43.19±5.11, IL-6 (ng/L): 36.01±2.48 vs. 17.49±1.77, IL-10 (ng/L): 84.55±8.41 vs. 39.83±5.02, all P < 0.05]. Pearson correlation analysis showed that serum DMBT1 was positively correlated with serum SP-D, VEGF, IL-6, IL-10 and lung injury score at 12 hours and 24 hours in the ARDS model group (12 hours: r values were 0.946, 0.942, 0.931, 0.936, 0.748, respectively; 24 hours: r values were 0.892, 0.945, 0.951, 0.918, 0.973, respectively; all P < 0.05). Conclusion:DMBT1 is a novel early biomarker of ARDS by affecting alveolar epithelial cell, alveolar capillary permeability and inflammatory response.

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