1.Bufalin reduces PD-L1 expression in colorectal cancer cells through suppressing TAM-mediated STAT3 phosphorylation
LU Chang1,2 ; SHANG Jing3 ; CHEN Jinbao4 ; ZHU Yuan2 ; ZHONG Jiani2 ; YIN Peihao1,5
Chinese Journal of Cancer Biotherapy 2026;33(4):373-378
[摘 要] 目的:探讨蟾毒灵(BU)对肿瘤相关巨噬细胞(TAM)介导的结直肠癌(CRC)细胞程序性死亡蛋白-配体1(PD-L1)表达的调控作用及其分子机制。方法:采用HCT116细胞与THP-1来源巨噬细胞构建体外共培养体系。佛波酯(PMA)诱导THP-1细胞分化为M0型巨噬细胞,进一步以HCT116细胞条件培养基(CM)刺激形成TAM样细胞。流式细胞术检测CD11b、CD206表达,以评价巨噬细胞极化水平;RT-qPCR及WB法检测TGF-β、IL-10、STAT3/p-STAT3及PD-L1表达变化;慢病毒转染构建STAT3敲低细胞系HCT116sh-STAT3,结合BU干预验证STAT3/PD-L1信号通路作用。结果:HCT116细胞CM可诱导巨噬细胞向M2表型极化,表现为CD11b⁺CD206⁺细胞比例升高(P < 0.01)及TGF-β、IL-10表达增加(均P < 0.001)。TAM条件培养基可显著促进HCT116细胞STAT3磷酸化(P < 0.001)并上调PD-L1 mRNA及蛋白表达水平(P < 0.001或P < 0.01)。BU干预后,TAM介导的STAT3磷酸化水平明显下降,PD-L1表达同步下调(均P < 0.01)。STAT3敲低可降低PD-L1表达,其作用趋势与BU一致。结论:BU可通过抑制TAM介导的STAT3信号激活,下调CRC细胞PD-L1表达,提示其在肿瘤免疫微环境调控中具有潜在的应用价值。
2.Development and validation of PhenoRAG: A visualization tool for automated human phenotype ontology term annotation based on large language models and retrieval-augmented generation technology.
Wei ZHONG ; Yousheng YAN ; Kai YANG ; Yan LIU ; Xinyu FU ; Zhengyang YAO ; Chenghong YIN
Chinese Journal of Medical Genetics 2026;43(1):36-43
OBJECTIVE:
To develop a user-friendly visualization application for the automatic annotation of Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) terms based on large language models and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology, and to validate its performance in an authoritative case dataset.
METHODS:
By integrating the domestic open-source large language model DeepSeek-V3 with RAG technology, an interactive web application was deployed on the Streamlit cloud platform. Using only the latest official HPO dataset as the data source, the lightweight sentence-embedding model BAAI/bge-small-en-v1.5 was employed to construct a FAISS vector index. During the online phase, a four-step closed-loop process is automatically completed: multilingual translation, phenotype phrase extraction, RAG candidate retrieval, term mapping, and official database validation. 121 English case reports publicly released by BMJ Case Reports and Oxford Medical Case Reports (with a gold-standard HPO set of 1 794 terms) were selected for application validation. Precision, recall, and F1 score were calculated and compared horizontally with traditional dictionary tools, standalone large language models, and the similar application "RAG-HPO". Finally, replace the model with the more advanced ChatGPT-5 and evaluate its performance on the newly extracted dataset.
RESULTS:
An HPO term automatic annotation visualization application named PhenoRAG, based on large language models and RAG technology, was successfully developed. Users can access it directly via a web link. Across the 112 cases, a total of 2 150 HPO terms were generated; 2,064 (96.0%) were fully validated by the official database, with a hallucination rate of 1.3% and an HPO ID-name mismatch rate of 2.7%. After deduplication, 1,906 terms remained for testing. The overall precision was 63.65%, recall was 67.34%, and F1 was 65.44%, significantly outperforming traditional annotation tools (F1: 0.45-0.49, P < 0.001). Although PhenoRAG's F1 was lower than that of RAG-HPO (F1 = 0.78, P < 0.001), which relies on a manually constructed synonym database of 54 000 entries plus the HPO dataset, it requires no additional dictionary maintenance and can be used without any background in computer programming. Moreover, after switching to the GPT-5 model, PhenoRAG exhibited no hallucination rate on the new dataset, and its F1 score significantly increased (P = 0.038).
CONCLUSION
Without constructing a synonym database, the PhenoRAG achieved high-accuracy automatic mapping from clinical text to standard HPO terms. It features a low usage threshold, free access, and a Chinese-language interface, and can directly serve rare disease diagnosis, genetic counseling, and research scenarios in China and worldwide, warranting further clinical promotion and multicenter validation.
Humans
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Phenotype
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Biological Ontologies
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Language
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Software
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Large Language Models
3.Criteria for pancreas donor selection in islet transplantation and the experience of Changzheng hospital
Hanxiang ZHONG ; Junfeng DONG ; Wenyuan GUO ; Shengxian LI ; Hao YIN ; Yuanyu ZHAO ; Junsong JI
Organ Transplantation 2026;17(1):164-169
Diabetes mellitus, characterized by glucose metabolism disorders and marked by insulin deficiency or insulin resistance, has seen a continuous rise in prevalence. In recent years, islet transplantation has matured as a therapeutic approach for diabetes, becoming an important method for glycemic control and the reduction of diabetes-related complications. Donor selection directly influences transplant outcomes, and various research institutions worldwide have proposed multiple scoring systems to optimize donor assessment, such as the University of Alberta scoring system and the North American Islet Donor Score. This article explores the impact of key factors such as donor age, body mass index and ischemia time on islet transplantation. Combining practical experience in pancreatic donor selection from Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, it proposes screening criteria for pancreatic donors suitable for China, aiming to provide new evidence for improving the success rate of islet transplantation.
4.The expression and function of MST1 in prostate cancer
Yuhang HUANG ; Shiyuan YIN ; Linna FANG ; Kun ZHONG ; Guifang HE ; Yongping CAI ; Yu YIN
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2026;61(6):1045-1052
ObjectiveTo investigate the expression level of mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (MST1) in prostate cancer (PCa) tissues, its biological functions, and its regulatory effects on androgen receptor (AR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. MethodsImmunohistochemistry was performed to detect MST1 expression in 77 prostate cancer tissues and 34 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissues, and the relationship between MST1 expression and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. MST1-overexpressing C4-2 and LNCaP cell lines were constructed. CCK-8 assay, Transwell migration assay, and angiogenesis assay were conducted to evaluate the effects of MST1 on cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. The expression changes of AR and VEGF were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. ResultsMST1 expression was significantly lower in PCa tissues compared with BPH tissues (P=0.012). Low MST1 expression was significantly associated with tumor metastasis (P=0.033). MST1 overexpression inhibited C4-2 cell proliferation and migration, with transmembrane migrated cells reduced by 53.6% (P<0.01). MST1 overexpression decreased the mRNA and protein expression levels of AR and VEGF (P<0.05). Angiogenesis assay demonstrated that the length of new vessel structure was significantly reduced (P<0.05). ConclusionMST1 shows a low expression level in PCa tissues and is associated with tumor metastasis. MST1 exerts tumor-suppressive effects in prostate cancer by inhibiting cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis, as well as downregulating the expression of AR and VEGF, indicating its potential as a therapeutic target for prostate cancer.
5.Epidemiology and influencing factors of babesiosis: a review
Xinyang ZHONG ; Yan CHEN ; Jiaxiang YIN
Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control 2026;38(4):439-445
Babesiosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by tick-borne Babesia species. Currently, more than 100 species of Babesia have been characterized, including at least 4 species that may infect humans. Babesiosis is prevalent across the world, and humans are commonly susceptible to babesiosis. The incidence of babesiosis appears an obvious seasonal distribution, and peaks in summer and autumn. Recently, the number of reported babesiosis cases has increased year by year with the improvement of diagnostic and monitoring capabilities, and the range of animal hosts has continued to expand. However, effective prevention and control of babesiosis remain challenging because of the lack of highly effective specific drugs and available vaccines. This review summarizes the pathogenic characteristics, epidemiological characteristics, epidemic process of babesiosis, and influencing factors of its epidemic, with an emphasis on natural and social factors, so as to provide the scientific evidence for risk assessment of babesiosis and formulation of babesiosis control strategy.
6.Distribution characteristics of smoking behavior among adult twins in China
Shunkai LIU ; Wenjing GAO ; Weihua CAO ; Jun LYU ; Canqing YU ; Shengfeng WANG ; Tao HUANG ; Dianjianyi SUN ; Chunxiao LIAO ; Yuanjie PANG ; Ruqin GAO ; Min YU ; Jinyi ZHOU ; Xianping WU ; Zhong DONG ; Fan WU ; Dezheng WANG ; Zhihua XU ; Yu LIU ; Jianrui WANG ; Jie YIN ; Shengli YIN ; Liming LI
Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine 2025;59(7):1090-1096
This study aims to describe the population and regional distribution characteristics of smoking behavior among adult twins in the China Twin Registry (CNTR), as well as the concordance rates for smoking behavior in monozygotic and dizygotic twins, and estimate the heritability. The study population included adult twins in CNTR who had smoking questionnaire data. A random-effects regression model was used to describe the distribution of smoking behavior among different subgroups based on various characteristics. The concordance of smoking behavior between different zygosity groups was calculated, and heritability was estimated. A total of 28 444 twin pairs were included in this study, with an average age of (36.6±12.0) years. Among male twins, 41.2% were current smokers, while only 1.2% of females smoked. Higher smoking rates were observed among male smokers in the 50-59 age group ( z=23.0, P<0.001), northern regions ( z=2.9, P<0.01), rural areas ( z=-5.2, P<0.001), those who were divorced/widowed ( z=3.8, P<0.001), and first-born twins ( z=-4.3, P<0.001), while lower smoking rates were found in those with higher education ( z=-16.1, P<0.001) and unmarried individuals ( z=-16.0, P<0.001). The smoking concordance rate for male monozygotic twins was 69.6%, significantly higher than the 57.3% concordance rate for dizygotic twins ( χ 2=105.0, P<0.05). The heritability of smoking behavior in male twins was estimated at 28.9% (95% CI: 24.3%-33.4%). Stratified analyses showed differences in heritability across regions and age groups: the heritability in northern regions was 32.6% (95% CI: 27.3%-38.0%), higher than the 21.0% (95% CI: 12.4%-29.5%) observed in southern regions; the highest heritability of 35.1% (95% CI: 26.3%-43.9%) was found in the 18-29 age group, with heritability decreasing with age. In conclusion, the smoking rate and influencing factors in the twin population are similar to those in the general population, with unique characteristics, such as higher smoking rates in first-born twins. Genetic factors have a significant impact on smoking behavior.
7.Diagnosis and Treatment of a Case of Spironolactone-Associated Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia After Renal Transplantation
Yun XIAO ; Xiaoyu HAN ; Chao ZHENG ; Yu FU ; Hanbin XIONG ; Bin ZOU ; Baolin WANG ; Hua ZOU ; Chenglong YIN ; Zhengyao JIANG ; Sheng ZOU ; Anle DU ; Guohui LI ; Xiaohui GUO ; Lin ZHONG ; Jiake HE
Herald of Medicine 2025;44(10):1562-1565
Objective To explore the identification method,pathogenesis,clinical characteristics and individualized pharmacotherapy of asymptomatic hyperuricemia after renal transplantation.Methods The pharmacist was on duty at the organ transplant outpatient clinic.During this time,they analyzed and sorted out the medications,identified and differentiated a case of asymptomatic hyperuricemia related to spironolactone in a patient who had undergone a renal transplant,and provided comprehensive care throughout the entire process.Results The asymptomatic hyperuricemia in this patient might be associated with spironolactone,and the adverse reactions of the patient were alleviated by pharmacists through optimizing clinical treatment.Up to now,no hyperuricemia occurred.Conclusions Pharmacists are required to collaborate closely with clinicians to establish medication profiles for patients under long-term follow-up and to closely monitor and evaluate drug-related adverse reactions.Additionally,they should assess the renal function and immune status of transplant recipients promptly and formulate individualized treatment plans in order to enhance the long-term survival of both the transplanted kidneys and the recipients.
8.Analysis of the Main Chemical Components and Seasonal Differences of Mussels
Xiaozheng HUANG ; Qianqian ZHONG ; Xinyu PAN ; Wanglin BAO ; Qiyuan FENG ; Jizhou YIN ; Jiangyu LI-ANG ; Shenghan YAN ; Jidong ZHOU ; Jipeng SUN ; Hao WU ; Rui LIU
Journal of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;41(3):383-392
OBJECTIVE To analyze the differences in chemical composition of mussels from Shengsi,Zhoushan in different har-vest months,and to compare the differences in the composition of mussels from different origins,so as to provide ideas for the compre-hensive utilization of its resources.METHODS Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry(UHPLC-QqQ-MS)and spectrophotometry were used to analyze and evaluate the contents of nucleosides,amino acids,water-soluble proteins,total sugars and polysaccharides in mussels from Shengsi,Zhoushan in 12 months of the year and from 5 different origins;principal component analysis(PCA),partial least squares discriminant method(PLS-DA)and TOPSIS method were used to compre-hensively evaluate mussels.RESULTS A total of 16 amino acids and 11 nucleosides were detected in mussels.The average content of total amino acids in Shengsi mussels throughout the year was 4 851.74 μg·g-1,the average content of total nucleosides was 921.40 μg·g-1,and the average contents of water-soluble protein,polysaccharides,and total sugars were 51.32 mg·g-1,74.39 μg·g-1,and 417.22 mg·g-1,respectively.The nucleosides of Shengsi mussels were the highest in March and April,the ami-no acids and water-soluble proteins were the highest in April and May,and the polysaccharides and total sugars were the highest in Oc-tober and November.The PCA and PLS-DA results of the chemical components of different resources showed that there were great differences in Shengsi mussel samples harvested in different seasons.The entropy weight TOPSIS analysis showed that the comprehen-sive scores of Shengsi mussels in March and April(S7 and S8)were better than those in other areas,and the comprehensive score of Shengsi mussels in April(S8)was the highest,which was determined to be the best harvesting month.CONCLUSION The comparison results of multi-type resource chemistry show that there are great differences in the chemical compo-sition of Shengsi mussels in different harvesting seasons;the quality of Shengsi mussels is better than that of other areas;April is the best harvesting season,providing a reference for the quality evaluation and comprehensive development and utilization of mussels.
9.Specific effect of inserted sham acupuncture and its impact on the estimation of acupuncture treatment effect in randomized controlled trials: A systematic survey.
Xiao-Chao LUO ; Jia-Li LIU ; Ming-Hong YAO ; Ye-Meng CHEN ; Arthur Yin FAN ; Fan-Rong LIANG ; Ji-Ping ZHAO ; Ling ZHAO ; Xu ZHOU ; Xiao-Ying ZHONG ; Jia-Hui YANG ; Bo LI ; Ying ZHANG ; Xin SUN ; Ling LI
Journal of Integrative Medicine 2025;23(6):630-640
BACKGROUND:
The use of inserted sham acupuncture as a placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is controversial, because it may produce specific effects that cause an underestimation of the effect of acupuncture treatment.
OBJECTIVE:
This systematic survey investigates the magnitude of insert-specific effects of sham acupuncture and whether they affect the estimation of acupuncture treatment effects.
SEARCH STRATEGY:
PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to identify acupuncture RCTs from their inception until December 2022.
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
RCTs that evaluated the effects of acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture and no treatment.
DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS:
The total effect measured for an acupuncture treatment group in RCTs were divided into three components, including the natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (controlled for no-treatment group), the placebo effect, and the specific effect of acupuncture. The first two constituted the contextual effect of acupuncture, which is mimicked by a sham acupuncture treatment group. The proportion of acupuncture total effect size was considered to be 1. The proportion of natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (PNE) and proportional contextual effect (PCE) of included RCTs were pooled using meta-analyses with a random-effect model. The proportion of acupuncture placebo effect was the difference between PCE and PNE in RCTs with non-inserted sham acupuncture. The proportion of insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture (PIES) was obtained by subtracting the proportion of acupuncture placebo effect and PNE from PCE in RCTs with inserted sham acupuncture. The impact of PIES on the estimation of acupuncture's treatment effect was evaluated by quantifying the percentage of RCTs that the effect of outcome changed from no statistical difference to statistical difference after removing PIES in the included studies, and the impact of PIES was externally validated in other acupuncture RCTs with an inserted sham acupuncture group that were not used to calculate PIES.
RESULTS:
This analysis included 32 studies with 5492 patients. The overall PNE was 0.335 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.255-0.415) and the PCE of acupuncture was 0.639 (95% CI, 0.567-0.710) of acupuncture's total effect. The proportional contribution of the placebo effect to acupuncture's total effect was 0.191, and the PIES was 0.189. When we modeled the exclusion of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, the acupuncture treatment effect changed from no difference to a significant difference in 45.45% of the included RCTs, and in 40.91% of the external validated RCTs.
CONCLUSION
The insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture in RCTs represents 18.90% of acupuncture's total effect and significantly affects the evaluation of the acupuncture treatment effect. More than 40% of RCTs that used inserted sham acupuncture would draw different conclusions if the PIES had been controlled for. Considering the impact of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, caution should be taken when using inserted sham acupuncture placebos in RCTs. Please cite this article as: Luo XC, Liu JL, Yao MH, Chen YM, Fan AY, Liang FR, Zhao JP, Zhao L, Zhou X, Zhong XY, Yang JH, Li B, Zhang Y, Sun X, Li L. Specific effect of inserted sham acupuncture and its impact on the estimation of acupuncture treatment effect in randomized controlled trials: A systematic survey. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):630-640.
Acupuncture Therapy/methods*
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Humans
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Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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Placebo Effect
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Placebos
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Treatment Outcome
10.The novel combination of astragaloside IV and formononetin protects from doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy by enhancing fatty acid metabolism.
Xinyue YU ; Zhaodi HAN ; Linling GUO ; Shaoqian DENG ; Jing WU ; Qingqing PAN ; Liuyi ZHONG ; Jie ZHAO ; Hui HUI ; Fengguo XU ; Zunjian ZHANG ; Yin HUANG
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2025;23(10):1171-1182
Astragali Radix (AR), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy against various diseases, including cardiovascular conditions, over centuries of use. While doxorubicin serves as an effective chemotherapeutic agent against multiple cancers, its clinical application remains constrained by significant cardiotoxicity. Research has indicated that AR exhibits protective properties against doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy (DIC); however, the specific bioactive components and underlying mechanisms responsible for this therapeutic effect remain incompletely understood. This investigation seeks to identify the protective bioactive components in AR against DIC and elucidate their mechanisms of action. Through network medicine analysis, astragaloside IV (AsIV) and formononetin (FMT) were identified as potential cardioprotective agents from 129 AR components. In vitro experiments using H9c2 rat cardiomyocytes revealed that the AsIV-FMT combination (AFC) effectively reduced doxorubicin-induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner, with optimal efficacy at a 1∶2 ratio. In vivo, AFC enhanced survival rates and improved cardiac function in both acute and chronic DIC mouse models. Additionally, AFC demonstrated cardiac protection while maintaining doxorubicin's anti-cancer efficacy in a breast cancer mouse model. Lipidomic and metabolomics analyses revealed that AFC normalized doxorubicin-induced lipid profile alterations, particularly by reducing fatty acid accumulation. Gene knockdown studies and inhibitor experiments in H9c2 cells demonstrated that AsIV and FMT upregulated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) and PPARα, respectively, two key proteins involved in fatty acid metabolism. This research establishes AFC as a promising therapeutic approach for DIC, highlighting the significance of multi-target therapies derived from natural herbals in contemporary medicine.
Animals
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Doxorubicin/adverse effects*
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Saponins/administration & dosage*
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Isoflavones/pharmacology*
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Rats
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Cardiomyopathies/prevention & control*
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Mice
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Fatty Acids/metabolism*
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Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism*
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Triterpenes/administration & dosage*
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Male
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*
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Humans
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Cardiotonic Agents/administration & dosage*
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Cell Line
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Astragalus Plant/chemistry*
;
Astragalus propinquus

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