Objective To explore the mechanism of Quhan Zhufeng Mixture on proliferation and apoptosis of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocyte(RA-FLS)based on NDRG2/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.Methods RA-FLS cells were cultured in vitro,and were divided into ① blank serum group,methotrexate group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture low-,medium-and high-dosage groups;② blank serum group,AG490 group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture low-,medium-and high-dosage groups.Different concentrations of drug-containing serum were used to intervene cells.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 method,apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry,and mRNA expressions of Bax,Bcl-2,Caspace-3,Caspace-9,N-myc downstream regulatory gene 2(NDRG2),Janus kinase 2(JAK2)and signal transduction and transcription activator 3(STAT3)were detected by RT-qPCR,Western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of Bax,Bcl-2,Caspace-3,Caspace-9,NDRG2,JAK2,STAT3,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 in cells.Results Compared with the blank serum group,cell survival rate in methotrexate group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture all dosage groups significantly decreased(P<0.01),the apoptosis rate significantly increased(P<0.01),the mRNA and protein expressions of Bax and Caspase-9 significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the mRNA and protein expression of Bcl-2 significantly decreased(P<0.01),and Caspase-3 mRNA and protein expression in methotrexate group and Quhan Zhufeng Mixture medium-and high-dosage groups significantly increased(P<0.01).Compared with the blank serum group,the mRNA and protein expression of NDRG2 significantly increased in Quhan Zhufeng Mixture all dosage groups(P<0.05,P<0.01),the mRNA and protein expressions of JAK2 and STAT3 were significantly reduced in AG490 group and Quhan Zhufeng Mixture medium-and high-dosage groups(P<0.05,P<0.01),and the expressions of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins were significantly reduced(P<0.01).Conclusion Quhan Zhufeng Mixture can regulate the proliferation and apoptosis of RA-FLS by regulating the activity of NDRG2/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway,playing a role in treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective:To investigate the completion rate of tumor evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients in the national multicenter real-world database.Methods:The prospective real-world study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 1 074 patients who underwent surgical treatment for mid and low rectal cancer in 47 national medical institutions, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital et al, from May 12,2023 to May 11,2024 were collected. Observation indicators: (1) clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (2) initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (3) initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (4) imaging evaluation after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3). Count data were described as absoluter numbers and/or percentages. Results:(1) Clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 713 males and 361 females, aged 63(56,70)years. The body mass index of 1 074 patients was 24(21,26)kg/m 2.For American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, there were 147 cases of stage Ⅰ, 641 cases of stage Ⅱ, 157 cases of stage Ⅲ, 2 cases of stage Ⅳ, and there were 127 cases missing data. (2) Initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 787 cases (73.28%) undergoing complete colonoscopy, and there were only 197 cases (18.34%) undergoing immunohistochemical evaluation of all four mismatch repair proteins. (3) Initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 842(78.40%) patients completing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 914(85.10%) patients completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced computed tomography (CT) evaluation. In the 149 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 122 cases (81.88%) comple-ting T staging evaluation, and there were 81 cases (54.36%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 808 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 708 cases (87.62%) completing T staging evaluation, and there were 590 cases (73.02%) completing N staging evaluation. (4) Imaging evalua-tion after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 388 patients with neoadjuvant therapy, there were 332 patients (85.57%) completing MRI or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 327 patients (84.28%) completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced CT evalua-tion. In the 70 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 65 cases (92.86%) com-pleting T staging evaluation, and there were 49 cases (70.00%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 327 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 246 cases (75.23%) completing T staging, and there were 228 cases (69.72%) completing N staging evaluation. Conclusion:The com-pletion rate of tumor imaging evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients on a national scale is relatively good.

Objective To analysa the correlation between the mRNA expression of potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily F member 1(KCNF1)in lung cancer tissue and clinical pathological features and prognosis.Methods 102 patients with lung cancer in Shexian People's Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University from December 2019 to December 2021 were selected as the research object.All patients were divided into metastasis group(n=34)and non metastasis group(n=68)according to whether the patients had lung cancer metastasis.Compared the expression of KCNF1 protein and mRNA in lung cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues.The influencing factors of metastasis of lung cancer were analyzed by univariate analysis.Spearman correlation was used to analyze the relationship between KCNF1mRNA expression and metastasis related factors.Analyzed the independent correlation between the expression of KCNF1 mRNA and the metastasis of lung cancer.Used survival curve analysis to investigate the relationship between KCNF1 protein levels and 3-year survival of lung cancer.Results The high expression rate of KCNF1 protein in lung cancer tissues was 38.24%(39/102),which was significantly higher than 7.84%(8/102)in adjacent normal tissues(χ2=26.568,P<0.001).The relative expression levels of KCNF1 mRNA in lung cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent normal tissues,the difference was statistically significant(t=23.127,P<0.001).Compared with the non metastatic group,the proportion of high and moderate differentiation in the metastatic group was higher,the proportion of TNM stages III to IV,KCNF1,Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor(EGFR),C-erbB-2,the mRNA expression levels of chemokine receptor 2(CXCR2),matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9),vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and HIF-l α were significantly increased,the differences were statistically significant(χ2/t=3.036～19.555,all P<0.05).The expression of KCNF1mRNA in lung cancer tissues was independently correlated with the metastasis of lung cancer.The expression of KCNF1mRNA and the transfer related factor EGFR,C-erbB-2,CXCR2,MMP-9,the expression of VEGF and HIF-l α was positively correlated(r=0.633～0.803,all P<0.05).The 3-year survival rate of patients with high expression of KCNF1 protein was significantly shorter than that of patients with low expression(HR=1.85,95%CI:1.04～3.27,P=0.032).Conclusion KCNF1mRNA and protein are highly expressed in lung cancer tissues,and its expression level is closely related to the metastasis and prognosis of patients with lung cancer,which is a risk factor for predicting the metastasis of lung cancer.

Objective:To investigate lymph node metastasis(LNM)in the prostatic anterior fat pad(PAFP)of PCa patients after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy(RARP),and analyze the clinicopathological features and prognosis of LNM in the PAFP.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data on 1 003 cases of PCa treated by RARP in the Department of Urolo-gy of PLA General Hospital from January 2017 to December 2022.All the patients underwent routine removal of the PAFP during RARP and pathological examination,with the results of all the specimens examined and reported by pathologists.Based on the pres-ence and locations of LNM,we grouped the patients for statistical analysis,compared the clinicopathological features between different groups using the Student's t,Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests,and conducted survival analyses using the Kaplan-Meier and Log-rank methods and survival curves generated by Rstudio.Results:Lymph nodes were detected in 77(7.7％)of the 1 003 PAFP samples,and LNM in 11(14.3％)of the 77 cases,with a positive rate of 1.1％(11/1 003).Of the 11 positive cases,9 were found in the upgraded pathological N stage,and the other 2 complicated by pelvic LNM.The patients with postoperative pathological stage≥T3 constituted a significantly higher proportion in the PAFP LNM than in the non-PAFP LNM group(81.8％[9/11]vs 36.2％[359/992],P=0.005),and so did the cases with Gleason score ≥8(87.5％[7/8]vs 35.5％[279/786],P=0.009).No statisti-cally significant differences were observed in the clinicopathological features and biochemical recurrence-free survival between the pa-tients with PAFP LNM only and those with pelvic LNM only.Conclusion:The PAFP is a potential route to LNM,and patients with LNM in the PAFP are characterized by poor pathological features.There is no statistically significant difference in biochemical recur-rence-free survival between the patients with PAFP LNM only and those with pelvic LNM only.Routine removal of the PAFP and inde-pendent pathological examination of the specimen during RARP is of great clinical significance.

Objective To explore the mechanism of Quhan Zhufeng Mixture on proliferation and apoptosis of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocyte(RA-FLS)based on NDRG2/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.Methods RA-FLS cells were cultured in vitro,and were divided into ① blank serum group,methotrexate group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture low-,medium-and high-dosage groups;② blank serum group,AG490 group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture low-,medium-and high-dosage groups.Different concentrations of drug-containing serum were used to intervene cells.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 method,apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry,and mRNA expressions of Bax,Bcl-2,Caspace-3,Caspace-9,N-myc downstream regulatory gene 2(NDRG2),Janus kinase 2(JAK2)and signal transduction and transcription activator 3(STAT3)were detected by RT-qPCR,Western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of Bax,Bcl-2,Caspace-3,Caspace-9,NDRG2,JAK2,STAT3,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 in cells.Results Compared with the blank serum group,cell survival rate in methotrexate group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture all dosage groups significantly decreased(P<0.01),the apoptosis rate significantly increased(P<0.01),the mRNA and protein expressions of Bax and Caspase-9 significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the mRNA and protein expression of Bcl-2 significantly decreased(P<0.01),and Caspase-3 mRNA and protein expression in methotrexate group and Quhan Zhufeng Mixture medium-and high-dosage groups significantly increased(P<0.01).Compared with the blank serum group,the mRNA and protein expression of NDRG2 significantly increased in Quhan Zhufeng Mixture all dosage groups(P<0.05,P<0.01),the mRNA and protein expressions of JAK2 and STAT3 were significantly reduced in AG490 group and Quhan Zhufeng Mixture medium-and high-dosage groups(P<0.05,P<0.01),and the expressions of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins were significantly reduced(P<0.01).Conclusion Quhan Zhufeng Mixture can regulate the proliferation and apoptosis of RA-FLS by regulating the activity of NDRG2/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway,playing a role in treating rheumatoid arthritis.

The inheritance, innovation, and development of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) need to be based on Chinese medicinal materials. The TCM seed industry is the source of TCM production, which is related to the stable supply and quality safety of TCM. This paper summarizes the basic situation of the TCM seed industry and introduces relevant policies and regulations to TCM seeds in the seed industry and the TCM field. At present, the Management Measures of TCM Seeds and Seedlings has not yet promulgated, and TCM seeds are classified as non-major crops in the category of crops for management. This paper also describes the current situation of TCM seed and seedling system construction, which is in the development stage, from six aspects, including the construction of TCM seed industry technical support system; the establishment of TCM seed standard; the construction of germplasm resource preservation system; TCM seed testing, variety registration, and variety protection; production and management of TCM seeds; TCM seed supervision. According to the development status of the TCM seed industry, four problems are put forward, including imperfect systems and standards relevant to TCM seeds, insufficient supervision and law enforcement regarding TCM seeds, insufficient policy measures and capital investment to promote the development of the industry, and the industry's falling into a low-level cycle.Accordingly, four suggestions are provided, including improving laws, regulations, and policies, perfecting standards and norms,strengthening supervision and law enforcement, and promoting support system construction, in order to boost the high-quality development of the TCM seed industry.
Seeds/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry*

Medical institutions, with their clinical practice foundation and abundant human use experience data, have become important carriers for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and the "cradles" of the preparation of new TCM. To effectively promote the transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and establish an effective evaluation index system for the transformation of new TCM conforming to the characteristics of TCM, consensus experts adopted the literature research, questionnaire survey, Delphi method, etc. By focusing on the policy and technical evaluation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions, a comprehensive evaluation from the dimensions of drug safety, efficacy, feasibility, and characteristic advantages was conducted, thus forming a comprehensive evaluation system with four primary indicators and 37 secondary indicators. The expert consensus reached aims to encourage medical institutions at all levels to continuously improve the high-quality research and development and transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and targeted at clinical needs, so as to provide a decision-making basis for the preparation, selection, cultivation, and transformation of new TCM for medical institutions, improve the development efficiency of new TCM, and precisely respond to the public medication needs.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; Humans ; Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The chemical components of Carthami Flos were investigated by using macroporous resin, silica gel column chromatography, reversed-phase octadecylsilane(ODS) column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). The planar structures of the compounds were established based on their physicochemical properties and ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis), infrared(IR), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(HR-ESI-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectroscopic technology. The absolute configurations were determined by comparing the calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism(ECD). Six flavonoid C-glycosides were isolated from the 30% ethanol elution fraction of macroporous resin obtained from the 95% ethanol extract of Carthami Flos, and identified as saffloquinoside F(1), 5-hydroxysaffloneoside(2), iso-5-hydroxysaffloneoside(3), isosafflomin C(4), safflomin C(5), and vicenin 2(6). Among these, the compounds 1 to 3 were new chalcone C-glycosides. The compounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 could significantly increase the viability of H9c2 cardiomyocytes damaged by oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation(OGD/R) at a concentration of 50 μmol·L~(-1), showing their good cardioprotective activity.
Glycosides/pharmacology* ; Flowers/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Carthamus tinctorius/chemistry* ; Chalcones/pharmacology* ; Animals

In 2040, neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) will overtake cancer as the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, the search for effective intervention measures has become the top priority to deal with this difficult burden. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been used for the past 50 years to treat conditions such as decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning and radiation damage. In recent years, studies have confirmed that HBOT has good effects in improving cognitive impairment after brain injury and stroke, and alleviating neurodegeneration and dysfunction related to NDD. Here we reviewed the pathogenesis and treatment state of NDD, introduced the application of HBOT in animal models and clinical studies of NDD, and expounded the application potential of HBOT in the treatment of NDD from the perspective of mitochondrial function, neuroinflammation, neurogenesis and angiogenesis, oxidative stress, apoptosis, microcirculation and epigenetics.
Hyperbaric Oxygenation ; Humans ; Neurodegenerative Diseases/physiopathology* ; Animals ; Oxidative Stress ; Apoptosis ; Mitochondria/physiology* ; Neurogenesis ; Epigenesis, Genetic

A primary hallmark of pathological cardiac hypertrophy is excess protein synthesis due to enhanced translational activity. However, regulatory mechanisms at the translational level under cardiac stress remain poorly understood. Here we examined the translational regulations in a mouse cardiac hypertrophy model induced by transaortic constriction (TAC) and explored the conservative networks versus the translatome pattern in human dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The results showed that the heart weight to body weight ratio was significantly elevated, and the ejection fraction and fractional shortening significantly decreased 8 weeks after TAC. Puromycin incorporation assay showed that TAC significantly increased protein synthesis rate in the left ventricle. RNA-seq revealed 1,632 differentially expressed genes showing functional enrichment in pathways including extracellular matrix remodeling, metabolic processes, and signaling cascades associated with pathological cardiomyocyte growth. When combined with ribosome profiling analysis, we revealed that translation efficiency (TE) of 1,495 genes was enhanced, while the TE of 933 genes was inhibited following TAC. In DCM patients, 1,354 genes were upregulated versus 1,213 genes were downregulated at the translation level. Although the majority of the genes were not shared between mouse and human, we identified 93 genes, including Nos3, Kcnj8, Adcy4, Itpr1, Fasn, Scd1, etc., with highly conserved translational regulations. These genes were remarkably associated with myocardial function, signal transduction, and energy metabolism, particularly related to cGMP-PKG signaling and fatty acid metabolism. Motif analysis revealed enriched regulatory elements in the 5' untranslated regions (5'UTRs) of transcripts with differential TE, which exhibited strong cross-species sequence conservation. Our study revealed novel regulatory mechanisms at the translational level in cardiac hypertrophy and identified conserved translation-sensitive targets with potential applications to treat cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in the clinic.
Animals ; Humans ; Cardiomegaly/physiopathology* ; Ribosomes/physiology* ; Protein Biosynthesis/physiology* ; Mice ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated/genetics* ; Ribosome Profiling