1.Research progress on interactions between medicinal plants and microorganisms.
Er-Jun WANG ; Ya-Long ZHANG ; Xiao-Hui MA ; Hua-Qian GONG ; Shao-Yang XI ; Gao-Sen ZHANG ; Ling JIN
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(12):3267-3280
The interactions between microorganisms and medicinal plants are crucial to the quality improvement of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants attract microorganisms to colonize by secreting specific compounds and provide niche and nutrient support for these microorganisms, with a symbiotic network formed. These microorganisms grow in the rhizosphere, phyllosphere, and endophytic tissues of plants and significantly improve the growth performance and medicinal component accumulation of medicinal plants by promoting nutrient uptake, enhancing disease resistance, and regulating the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Microorganisms are also widely used in the ecological planting of medicinal plants, and the growth conditions of medicinal plants are optimized by simulating the microbial effects in the natural environment. The interactions between microorganisms and medicinal plants not only significantly improve the yield and quality of medicinal plants but also enhance their geoherbalism, which is in line with the concept of green agriculture and eco-friendly development. This study reviewed the research results on the interactions between medicinal plants and microorganisms in recent years and focused on the analysis of the great potential of microorganisms in optimizing the growth environment of medicinal plants, regulating the accumulation of secondary metabolites, inducing systemic resistance, and promoting the ecological planting of medicinal plants. It provides a scientific basis for the research on the interactions between medicinal plants and microorganisms, the research and development of microbial agents, and the application of microorganisms in the ecological planting of medicinal plants and is of great significance for the quality improvement of medicinal plants and the green and sustainable development of TCM resources.
Plants, Medicinal/metabolism*
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Bacteria/genetics*
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Symbiosis
2.Polarized light microscopic mineral phase authentication and health risk assessment of raw and calcined fossil mineral Chinese medicinal material Draconis Os.
Yan-Qiong PAN ; Zheng LIU ; Li-Wen ZHENG ; Ying ZHANG ; Liu ZHOU ; Xi-Long QIAN ; Fang FANG ; Xiao WU ; Sheng-Jin LIU
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(15):4238-4247
This study aims to investigate the polarized microscopic mineral phase characteristics, inorganic element content, and potential health risks associated with the intake of raw and calcined fossil mineral Chinese medicinal material Draconis Os. Microscopy was employed to observe the mineralogical characteristics of Draconis Os and compare the microscopic features and phase composition of raw and calcined Draconis Os under monochromatic and orthogonal polarized light. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS) was employed to determine the content of 30 inorganic elements. Health risk assessment was conducted by calculating the single pollution index(P_i), average daily intake of elements for adults(ADI), target hazard quotient(THQ), non-carcinogenic assessment method-hazard quotient(HQ), and the carcinogenic risk of elements(CR). The results indicated that under monochromatic polarized light, the Draconis Os powder sections exhibited light gray-brown to gray-brown irregular fragments, some with undulating textures that were slightly curved. Under crossed polarized light, they appeared dark gray, grayish-white, and yellowish-white. Clear apatite was visible in the ground sections of Draconis Os under crossed polarized light. P_i results indicated that Draconis Os samples were free from contamination and were of good quality. According to the maximum allowable limits of heavy metals stipulated in ISO Traditional Chinese Medicine: Determination of heavy metals in herbal medicines used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, ADI, THQ, HQ, and CR were taken as assessment indicators. Only the THQ value for As(arsenic) in raw Draconis Os was greater than 1, while the THQ values for other heavy metal elements in the Draconis Os samples were all less than 1. The study demonstrates that the primary mineral phase of raw and calcined Draconis Os is apatite, with some samples co-existing with calcite, which can serve as one of the means for quality control of Draconis Os. The elemental analysis results from ICP-MS provide scientific evidence for the safety assessment of Draconis Os, indicating that Draconis Os is safe in clinical application.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/analysis*
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Risk Assessment
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Minerals/chemistry*
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Fossils
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Humans
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Drug Contamination
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Mass Spectrometry
3.Shenmai Injection Reduces Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis Induced by Doxorubicin through miR-30a/Bcl-2.
Xiao-Nan ZHANG ; Yan-Yang LI ; Shi-Chao LYU ; Qiu-Jin JIA ; Jun-Ping ZHANG ; Long-Tao LIU
Chinese journal of integrative medicine 2025;31(3):240-250
OBJECTIVE:
To explore the molecular mechanism of Shenmai Injection (SMI) against doxorubicin (DOX) induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis.
METHODS:
A total of 40 specific pathogen-free (SPF) male Sprague Dawley (SD) male rats were divided into 5 groups based on the random number table, including the control group, the model group, miR-30a agomir group, SMI low-dose (SMI-L) group, and SMI high-dose (SMI-H) group, with 8 rats in each group. Except for the control group, the rats were injected weekly with DOX (2 mg/kg) in the tail vein for 4 weeks to induce myocardial injury, and were given different regimens of continuous intervention for 2 weeks. Cardiac function was detected by echocardiography and myocardial pathological changes were observed by Van Gieson (VG) staining. Myocardial injury serum markers, including creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), troponin T (cTnT), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), soluble ST2 (sST2), and growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was observed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated biotinylated dUTP triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL) and transmission electron microscopy, and the expressions of target proteins and mRNA were detected by Western blot and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-RCR), respectively.
RESULTS:
The treatment with different doses of SMI reduced rat heart mass index and left ventricular mass index (P<0.05), significantly improved the left ventricular ejection fraction (P<0.05), decreased the levels of serum CK, LDH, cTnT, and NT-proBNP (P<0.05 or P<0.01), reduced the levels of serum sST2 and GDF-15 (P<0.05 or P<0.01), decreased the collagen volume fraction, reduced the expressions of rat myocardial type I and type III collagen (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and effectively alleviated myocardial fibrosis. And the study found that SMI promoted the expression levels of miR-30a and Bcl-2 in myocardium, and down-regulated the expression of Bax, which inhibited the activation of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and improved myocardial cell apoptosis.
CONCLUSIONS
SMI can alleviate myocardial injury and apoptosis caused by DOX, and its mechanism possibly by promoting the targeted expression of myocardial Bcl-2 protein through miR-30a.
Animals
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Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism*
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Apoptosis/drug effects*
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MicroRNAs/genetics*
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Rats, Sprague-Dawley
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Male
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*
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Doxorubicin/pharmacology*
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/genetics*
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Drug Combinations
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Injections
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Rats
4.Ferrum@albumin assembled nanoclusters inhibit NF-κB signaling pathway for NIR enhanced acute lung injury immunotherapy.
Xiaoxuan GUAN ; Binbin ZOU ; Weiqian JIN ; Yan LIU ; Yongfeng LAN ; Jing QIAN ; Juan LUO ; Yanjun LEI ; Xuzhi LIANG ; Shiyu ZHANG ; Yuting XIAO ; Yan LONG ; Chen QIAN ; Chaoyu HUANG ; Weili TIAN ; Jiahao HUANG ; Yongrong LAI ; Ming GAO ; Lin LIAO
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(11):5891-5907
Acute lung injury (ALI) has been a kind of acute and severe disease that is mainly characterized by systemic uncontrolled inflammatory response to the production of huge amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the lung tissue. Given the critical role of ROS in ALI, a Fe3O4 loaded bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanocluster (BF) was developed to act as a nanomedicine for the treatment of ALI. Combining with NIR irradiation, it exhibited excellent ROS scavenging capacity. Significantly, it also displayed the excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions for lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced macrophages (RAW264.7), and Sprague Dawley rats via lowering intracellular ROS levels, reducing inflammatory factors expression levels, inducing macrophage M2 polarization, inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway, increasing CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratios, as well as upregulating HSP70 and CD31 expression levels to reprogram redox homeostasis, reduce systemic inflammation, activate immunoregulation, and accelerate lung tissue repair, finally achieving the synergistic enhancement of ALI immunotherapy. It finally provides an effective therapeutic strategy of BF + NIR for the management of inflammation related diseases.
5.Application status and research progress of tranexamic acid in the perioperative period of joint replacement and arthroscopic surgery
Bao-Hua YUAN ; Hai-Ping LIU ; Xing-Yong LI ; Xiao-Ting LIU ; Ji-Hai MA ; Xu-Sheng ZHANG ; Hao-Fei YANG ; Jin-Sheng LI ; Sheng-Long HAN
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2024;40(7):1080-1084
Tranexamic acid is widely used in joint orthopedic surgery.At the same time,it has high safety and few adverse drug reactions.It can effectively improve intraoperative bleeding and promote early functional recovery of patients.This article reviews the mode of administration,safe dose,administration time and adverse drug reactions of tranexamic acid in the perioperative period of joint replacement and arthroscopic surgery,in order to provide reference for the clinical application of tranexamic acid.
6.Clinical trial of rituximab and leflunomide in the treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Jia-Hui GUO ; Jun-Jie ZOU ; Yang-Yang WANG ; Jin-Long ZHANG ; Dan-Dan PANG ; Xiao-Yan XU
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2024;40(11):1547-1550
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of rituximab injection combined with leflunomide tablets in the treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).Methods The SLE patients were divided into control and treatment groups according to cohort method.The control group received leflunomide with 50 mg·d-1 after meal in the first 3 days of treatment and was adjusted to 20 mg·d-1 thereafter.On the basis of control group,the treatment group was combined with rituximab,375 mg·m-2 was given intravenously every 2 weeks in the first 3 times of treatment,and adjusted to once every 4 weeks from the 4th dose.Two groups were treated for 24 weeks.The clinical efficacy,systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index(SLEDAI)scores,serological indicators,24-hour urinary protein and adverse drug reactions were compared between two groups.Results The treatment and control groups were enrolled 74 cases and 72 cases,respectively.After treatment,the total effective rates of treatment and control groups were 91.89%(68 cases/74 cases)and 79.17%(57 cases/72 cases)with significant difference(P<0.05).After treatment,the SLEDAI scores of treatment and control groups were(7.21±1.67)and(9.03±1.35)points;the levels of anti-Smith/ribonucleoprotein antibodies were(81.43±18.25)and(59.38±14.61)U·mL-1;the levels of immunoglobulin G were(12.04±2.15)and(17.28±2.64)g·L-1;the levels of interleukin-10 were(33.39±7.13)and(39.87±9.02)pg·mL-1;24-hour urinary protein quantification were(1.46±0.32)and(2.67±0.54)g·24 h-1;all the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).The drug adverse reactions of two groups were liver and kidney function injury and digestive tract reactions.The total incidences of drug adverse reactions in the treatment and control groups were 13.51%and 5.56%without significant difference(P>0.05).Conclusion Rituximab injection combined with leflunomide tablets has a definitive clinical efficacy in the treatment of SLE patients,which can significantly reduce disease activity and inflammatory reactions,improve immune function,without increasing the incidence of drug adverse reactions.
7.Exploring the risk "time interval window" of sequential medication of Reduning injection and penicillin G injection based on the correlation between biochemical indexes and metabolomics characteristics
Ming-liang ZHANG ; Yu-long CHEN ; Xiao-yan WANG ; Xiao-fei CHEN ; Hui ZHANG ; Ya-li WU ; Liu-qing YANG ; Shu-qi ZHANG ; Lu NIU ; Ke-ran FENG ; Wei-xia LI ; Jin-fa TANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(7):2098-2107
Exploring the risk "time interval window" of sequential medication of Reduning injection (RDN) and penicillin G injection (PG) by detecting the correlation between serum biochemical indexes and plasma metabonomic characteristics, in order to reduce the risk of adverse reactions caused by the combination of RDN and PG. All animal experiments and welfare are in accordance with the requirements of the First Affiliated Experimental Animal Ethics and Animal Welfare Committee of Henan University of Chinese Medicine (approval number: YFYDW2020002). The changes of biochemical indexes in serum of rats were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. It was determined that RDN combined with PG could cause pseudo-allergic reactions (PARs) activated by complement pathway. Further investigation was carried out at different time intervals (1.5, 2, 3.5, 4, 6, and 8 h PG+RDN). It was found that sequential administration within 3.5 h could cause significant PARs. However, PARs were significantly reduced after administration interval of more than 4 h. LC-MS was used for plasma metabolomics analysis, and the levels of serum biochemical indicators and plasma metabolic profile characteristics were compared in parallel. 22 differential metabolites showed similar or opposite trends to biochemical indicators before and after 3.5 h. And enriched to 10 PARs-related pathways such as arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, linoleic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism. In conclusion, there is a risk "time interval window" phenomenon in the adverse drug reactions caused by the sequential use of RDN and PG, and the interval medication after the "time interval window" can significantly reduce the risk of adverse reactions.
8.Aesthetic Investigation of the Pretarsal Shows and Morphology of Double Eyelids in Chinese Populations: A Questionnaire-based Survey
Yarong CHI ; Zhujun LI ; Lin JIN ; Nanze YU ; Jiuzuo HUANG ; Xiao LONG
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2024;15(6):1334-1341
To explore the ideal pretarsal shows and morphological characteristics of double eyelids in Chinese populations through a morphometric analysis. This study employed a convenience sampling method to survey Chinese adults who did not reside abroad for an extended period (with cumulative overseas stay of over one year). From November 2023 to May 2024, electronic questionnaires were distributed to collect attractiveness ratings of nine different images (including one image featuring single eyelid and eight images with varying pretarsal shows and morphologies of double eyelids). Stratified comparisons were conducted based on gender, age, occupation, etc., to determine the ideal pretarsal show and morphology of double eyelids. Quantitative analysis was performed on the aesthetic features of the nine images depicting double eyelids to validate and elucidate the survey findings. A total of 493 questionnaires were filled out, and 397 valid questionnaires were included for data analysis after quality control. As for the whole cohort, the images feathering 2 mm double eyelid were deemed to be the most attractive, with the in-fold type scoring (3.72±0.97) points and the out-fold type scoring (3.65±1.04) points. The next was 1 mm, followed by 3 mm, single eyelid, and finally, 4 mm. As for morphology, in-fold type achieved higher scores than out-fold type in images with the same pretarsal show. However, statistically significant differences were only found in ratings for the images with 3 mm and 4 mm double eyelids (all This study validates that the pretarsal show of 2 mm and the presence of either an in-fold or out-fold morphology are considered optimal for double eyelids among Chinese individuals. These findings hold significant implications for the planning of double eyelid surgeries, assessment of surgical outcomes, and evaluation of other periocular procedures associated with double eyelid surgeries.
9.Aesthetic Investigation of the Pretarsal Shows and Morphology of Double Eyelids in Chinese Populations: A Questionnaire-based Survey
Yarong CHI ; Zhujun LI ; Lin JIN ; Nanze YU ; Jiuzuo HUANG ; Xiao LONG
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2024;15(6):1334-1341
To explore the ideal pretarsal shows and morphological characteristics of double eyelids in Chinese populations through a morphometric analysis. This study employed a convenience sampling method to survey Chinese adults who did not reside abroad for an extended period (with cumulative overseas stay of over one year). From November 2023 to May 2024, electronic questionnaires were distributed to collect attractiveness ratings of nine different images (including one image featuring single eyelid and eight images with varying pretarsal shows and morphologies of double eyelids). Stratified comparisons were conducted based on gender, age, occupation, etc., to determine the ideal pretarsal show and morphology of double eyelids. Quantitative analysis was performed on the aesthetic features of the nine images depicting double eyelids to validate and elucidate the survey findings. A total of 493 questionnaires were filled out, and 397 valid questionnaires were included for data analysis after quality control. As for the whole cohort, the images feathering 2 mm double eyelid were deemed to be the most attractive, with the in-fold type scoring (3.72±0.97) points and the out-fold type scoring (3.65±1.04) points. The next was 1 mm, followed by 3 mm, single eyelid, and finally, 4 mm. As for morphology, in-fold type achieved higher scores than out-fold type in images with the same pretarsal show. However, statistically significant differences were only found in ratings for the images with 3 mm and 4 mm double eyelids (all This study validates that the pretarsal show of 2 mm and the presence of either an in-fold or out-fold morphology are considered optimal for double eyelids among Chinese individuals. These findings hold significant implications for the planning of double eyelid surgeries, assessment of surgical outcomes, and evaluation of other periocular procedures associated with double eyelid surgeries.
10.Raman Spectroscopy Analysis of The Temporal Heterogeneity in Lung Cell Carcinogenesis Induced by Benzo(a)pyrene
Hai-Tao ZHOU ; Wei YAO ; Cao-Zhe CUI ; Xiao-Tong ZHOU ; Xi-Long LIANG ; Cheng-Bing QIN ; Lian-Tuan XIAO ; Zhi-Fang WU ; Si-Jin LI
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2024;51(6):1458-1470
ObjectiveTemporal heterogeneity in lung cancer presents as fluctuations in the biological characteristics, genomic mutations, proliferation rates, and chemotherapeutic responses of tumor cells over time, posing a significant barrier to effective treatment. The complexity of this temporal variance, coupled with the spatial diversity of lung cancer, presents formidable challenges for research. This article will pave the way for new avenues in lung cancer research, aiding in a deeper understanding of the temporal heterogeneity of lung cancer, thereby enhancing the cure rate for lung cancer. MethodsRaman spectroscopy emerges as a powerful tool for real-time surveillance of biomolecular composition changes in lung cancer at the cellular scale, thus shedding light on the disease’s temporal heterogeneity. In our investigation, we harnessed Raman spectroscopic microscopy alongside multivariate statistical analysis to scrutinize the biomolecular alterations in human lung epithelial cells across various timeframes after benzo(a)pyrene exposure. ResultsOur findings indicated a temporal reduction in nucleic acids, lipids, proteins, and carotenoids, coinciding with a rise in glucose concentration. These patterns suggest that benzo(a)pyrene induces structural damage to the genetic material, accelerates lipid peroxidation, disrupts protein metabolism, curtails carotenoid production, and alters glucose metabolic pathways. Employing Raman spectroscopy enabled us to monitor the biomolecular dynamics within lung cancer cells in a real-time, non-invasive, and non-destructive manner, facilitating the elucidation of pivotal molecular features. ConclusionThis research enhances the comprehension of lung cancer progression and supports the development of personalized therapeutic approaches, which may improve the clinical outcomes for patients.

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