1.Reactive and Enzyme-activated Probe Strategies for Imaging Acute Kidney Injury
Ru-Long CHEN ; Ting-Fei XIE ; Jin-Xin ZHANG ; Jia-Ting CHEN ; Jie LI ; Peng-Fei ZHANG ; Ji-Hong CHEN ; Lin-Tao CAI
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(6):1622-1637
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a prevalent and life-threatening clinical syndrome characterised by a rapid decline in renal function and diverse pathological etiologies. The condition has been demonstrated to be associated with elevated mortality rates and an increased risk of progression to chronic kidney disease. At present, clinicians depend heavily on conventional functional markers, such as serum creatinine and urine output, for the diagnosis and staging of the disease. It is evident that these conventional indicators characteristically manifest a considerable temporal delay and only undergo modification subsequent to considerable tissue damage. This severely restricts the timeframe for early detection and timely therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, standard markers fail to provide specific biological information regarding the underlying cellular injury mechanisms. The utilisation of advanced probe technologies in molecular imaging offers a robust alternative to overcome these inherent diagnostic limitations.This comprehensive review systematically evaluates recent progress in the design and application of two primary categories of molecular imaging tools for acute kidney disease, specifically reactive probes and enzyme-activated probes. Reactive probes are engineered to specifically interact with redox-active chemical species, including hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrite, hypochlorous acid, and sulfur dioxide. Because oxidative stress constitutes a primary early event in acute renal tubular damage, these probes enable researchers and clinicians to visualize early cellular injury and radical accumulation well before global renal functional decline becomes evident. We discuss the application of these reactive probes across multiple imaging modalities including fluorescence imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and photoacoustic techniques. Photoacoustic imaging combines high spatial resolution with deep tissue penetration and has successfully demonstrated the ability to provide diagnostic alerts up to 12 h before any detectable rise in serum creatinine levels. Additionally, specific reactive probes have shown promising translational potential when tested by high-throughput screening in clinical human urine samples. Enzyme-activated probes target the specific catalytic activity of disease-relevant enzymes. These include well-documented renal tubular structural biomarkers such as NAG, GGT, and ALP, along with apoptosis-related caspases and specific nitroreductases. By responding only to enzymatic cleavage, these tools provide highly specific and pathology-directed imaging readouts. Recent structural design strategies in this field have advanced significantly beyond single-enzyme detection. Researchers are now focusing on sophisticated dual-target recognition to minimize background noise, multimodal integration to cross-validate imaging signals, and theranostic applications where probes simultaneously deliver diagnostic feedback and therapeutic agents to injured tissues. Nanotechnology serves as a fundamental enabler for realizing these advanced probe functions. By precisely optimizing nanoparticle parameters such as hydrodynamic size, surface charge, and targeting ligands, researchers can achieve amplified signal output, highly precise kidney delivery, and protection against premature degradation in the systemic circulation. For example, modifying surface charges can significantly enhance the active uptake of nanoprobes by damaged renal tubular epithelial cells.While preclinical probe development has progressed rapidly, moving these technologies into routine clinical practice remains a major challenge. We analyze the translational feasibility and current obstacles from biological, technological, and regulatory perspectives. Although biological targets such as KIM-1, FAP, and ALP have been validated in extensive patient cohorts, practical barriers severely limit their immediate clinical application. These obstacles involve complex changes in in vivo pharmacokinetics. During an acute injury episode, the extreme drop in the glomerular filtration rate alters probe clearance and can cause unwanted systemic accumulation or confusing background imaging signals. Other major hurdles include a lack of comprehensive long-term toxicity data and the absence of standardized manufacturing protocols to ensure batch-to-batch consistency. Future successful translation will require rigorous multi-center clinical studies to confirm the true diagnostic value of these probes over traditional markers. Researchers must also establish strict standardization of imaging procedures and comprehensive safety evaluations. Ultimately, this review provides a thorough reference framework for designing clinically translatable molecular probes and building a precision diagnostic imaging system for acute kidney injury.
2.Safety analysis of Yttrium-90 resin microsphere selective internal radiation therapy on malignant liver tumors
Jia CAI ; Shiwei TANG ; Rongli LI ; Mingxin KONG ; Hongyan DING ; Xiaofeng YUAN ; Yuying HU ; Ruimei LIU ; Xiaoyan ZHU ; Wenjun LI ; Haibin ZHANG ; Guanwu WANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Medicine 2025;32(1):24-29
Objective To explore the safety of Yttrium-90 resin microsphere selective internal radiation therapy (90Y-SIRT) on malignant liver tumors. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 64 patients with malignant liver tumors who underwent 90Y-SIRT from February 2023 to November 2024 at Weifang People’s Hospital. The clinical characteristics of the patients and the occurrence of adverse reactions after treatment were analyzed to assess the safety of 90Y-SIRT. Results Among the 64 patients, there were 52 males (81.25%) and 12 females (18.75%); the average age was (56.29±11.08) years. Seven patients (10.94%) had tumors with maximum diameter of less than 5 cm, 38 patients (59.38%) had tumors with maximum diameter of 5-10 cm, and 19 patients (29.68%) had tumors with maximum diameter of greater than 10 cm. There were 47 cases (73.44%) of solitary lesions and 17 cases (26.56%) of multiple lesions; 53 cases (82.81%) were primary liver cancers and 11 cases (17.19%) were metastatic liver cancers. Of the 64 patients, 63 successfully completed the Technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin (99mTc-MAA) perfusion test and received the 90Y-SIRT; one patient received 90Y-SIRT after the second 99mTc-MAA perfusion test due to a work error. The most common adverse reactions included grade 1 alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation in 26 cases (40.62%) and grade 2 in 2 cases (9.37%), grade 1 aspartate aminotransferase (AST) elevation in 27 cases (42.18%) and grade 2 in 7 cases (10.93%); grade 1 nausea in 17 cases (26.56%) and grade 2 in 6 cases (9.37%); grade 1 abdominal pain in 12 cases (18.75%), grade 2 in 5 cases (7.81%), and grade 3 in 1 case (1.56%); grade 1 vomiting in 11 cases (17.18%), grade 2 in 5 cases (7.81%), and grade 3 in 1 case (1.56%). Conclusion The adverse reactions of 90Y-SIRT for treating malignant liver tumors are mild, indicating good safety.
3.Family socioeconomic status and children's reading fluency: the chain mediating role of family reading environment and children's living and learning styles.
Wen-Xin HU ; Lei ZHANG ; Cai WANG ; Zi-Yue WANG ; Jia-Min XU ; Jing-Yu WANG ; Jia ZHOU ; Wen-Min WANG ; Meng-Meng YAO ; Xia CHI
Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics 2025;27(4):451-457
OBJECTIVES:
To study the impact of family socioeconomic status on children's reading fluency and the chain mediation effect of family reading environment and children's living and learning styles in this relationship.
METHODS:
A total of 473 children from grades 2 to 6 in two primary schools in Nanjing were selected through stratified random sampling. The children's reading fluency was assessed, and a questionnaire was used to collect information on family socioeconomic status, family reading environment, and children's living and learning styles. The mediation model was established using the Process macro in SPSS, and the Bootstrap method was employed to test the significance of the mediation effects.
RESULTS:
Family socioeconomic status, family reading environment, and children's living and learning styles were significantly positively correlated with reading fluency (P<0.001). The family reading environment and children's living and learning styles mediated the relationship between family socioeconomic status and children's reading fluency. Specifically, the independent mediation effect of family reading environment accounted for 11.02% of the total effect, while the independent mediation effect of children's living and learning styles accounted for 10.79%. The chain mediation effect of family reading environment and children's living and learning styles accounted for 7.41% of the total effect.
CONCLUSIONS
Family socioeconomic status can affect children's reading fluency through three pathways: family reading environment, children's living and learning styles, and the chain mediation effect of family reading environment and children's living and learning styles.
Humans
;
Child
;
Male
;
Female
;
Reading
;
Learning
;
Social Class
;
Family
4.Clinical Characteristics and Prognostic Analysis of Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients with NRAS and KRAS Gene Mutations.
Zhang-Yu YU ; Bo CAI ; Yi WANG ; Yang-Yang LEI ; Bing-Xia LI ; Yu-Fang LI ; Yan-Ping SHI ; Jia-Xin CHEN ; Shu-Hong LIU ; Chang-Lin YU ; Mei GUO
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2025;33(3):682-690
OBJECTIVE:
To retrospectively analyze the clinical characteristics, co-mutated genes in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with NRAS and KRAS gene mutations, and the impact of NRAS and KRAS mutations on prognosis.
METHODS:
The clinical data and next-generation sequencing results of 80 newly diagnosed AML patients treated at our hospital from December 2018 to December 2023 were collected. The clinical characteristics, co-mutated genes of NRAS and KRAS , and the impact of NRAS and KRAS mutations on prognosis in newly diagnosed AML patients were analyzed.
RESULTS:
Among 80 newly diagnosed AML patients, NRAS mutations were detected in 20 cases(25.0%), and KRAS mutations were detected in 9 cases(11.3%). NRAS mutations predominantly occurred at codons 12 and 13 of exon 2, as well as codon 61 of exon 3, while KRAS mutations were most commonly occurred at codons 12 and 13 of exon 2, all of which were missense mutations. There were no statistically significant differences observed in terms of age, sex, white blood cell count(WBC), hemoglobin(Hb), platelet count(PLT), bone marrow blasts, first induction chemotherapy regimen, CR1/CRi1 rates, chromosome karyotype, 2022 ELN risk classification and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(allo-HSCT) among the NRAS mutation group, KRAS mutation group and NRAS/KRAS wild-type group (P >0.05). KRAS mutations were significantly correlated with PTPN11 mutations (r =0.344), whereas no genes significantly associated with NRAS mutations were found. Survival analysis showed that compared to the NRAS/KRAS wild-type group, patients with NRAS mutation had a relatively higher 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and relapse-free survival (RFS) rate, though the differences were not statistically significant (P =0.097, P =0.249). Compared to the NRAS/KRAS wild-type group, patients with KRAS mutation had a lower 5-year OS rate and RFS rate, with no significant differences observed (P =0.275, P =0.442). There was no significant difference in the 5-year RFS rate between the KRAS mutation group and NRAS mutation group (P =0.157), but the 5-year OS rate of patients with KRAS mutation was significantly lower than that of patients with NRAS mutation (P =0.037).
CONCLUSION
In newly diagnosed AML patients, KRAS mutation was significantly correlated with PTPN11 mutation. Compared to patients with NRAS/KRAS wild-type, those with NRAS mutation showed a more favorable prognosis, while patients with KRAS mutation showed a poorer prognosis; however, these differences did not reach statistical significance. Notably, the prognosis of AML patients with KRAS mutation was significantly inferior compared to those with NRAS mutation.
Humans
;
Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/diagnosis*
;
Mutation
;
Prognosis
;
Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)/genetics*
;
GTP Phosphohydrolases/genetics*
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Membrane Proteins/genetics*
;
Female
;
Male
;
Middle Aged
;
Adult
;
Aged
5.Clinical Application and Pharmacological Mechanism of Sishenwan in Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis: A Review
Keqiu YAN ; Xiaoyu ZHANG ; Sifeng JIA ; Yuyu DUAN ; Zixing QIAN ; Yifan CAI ; Junyi SHEN ; Wenjie XIAO ; Xinkun BAO ; Guangjun SUN ; Aizhen LIN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(21):261-270
Ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic, non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with typical symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and bloody stools, demonstrates a high relapse rate and difficulty in curing. Sishenwan, first recorded in Internal Medicine Abstract (Nei Ke Zhai Yao), are a classic prescription for treating diarrhea caused by deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. The core therapeutic principle of Sishenwan is warming and tonifying the spleen and kidney, and astringing the intestine and stopping diarrhea. In recent years, Sishenwan have demonstrated distinct advantages in the clinical treatment of UC. The pathogenesis of UC involves multiple factors, including immune dysregulation and gut microbiota imbalance. Although Western medicine is effective in the short term, its side effects, high relapse rate, and resistance associated with long-term use pose substantial challenges. Sishenwan have shown excellent clinical outcomes in the treatment of UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Modern clinical studies indicate that Sishenwan, used alone or in combination with Western medicine or other Chinese medicine compound prescriptions, significantly improve the clinical efficacy in treating UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Sishenwan effectively alleviate core symptoms such as mucus, pus, and blood in stools, and persistent abdominal pain, reduce Mayo scores and the relapse rate, and improve patients' quality of life. Research on the material basis reveals that Sishenwan contain multiple active ingredients such as psoralen, isopsoralen, and evodiamine. Mechanism studies indicate that Sishenwan inhibit the inflammatory cascade reactions by regulating the signal network through multiple targets. Sishenwan regulate cellular immunity and restore intestinal immune homeostasis. At the microecological level, Sishenwan promote the intestinal barrier repair through the "microbiota-metabolism-immunity" axis. The current research still needs to be deepened in aspects such as the mining of specific biomarkers for syndromes and the exploration of the collaborative mechanism of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. In the future, a full-chain system covering syndrome differentiation, targeting, and monitoring needs to be constructed for promoting the paradigm transformation of Sishenwan into precision drugs. This review systematically explains the treatment mechanism of Sishenwan regarding the combination of disease and syndrome and its multi-target regulatory characteristics, providing a theoretical basis and transformation direction for the treatment of UC with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine.
6.Clinical Application and Pharmacological Mechanism of Sishenwan in Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis: A Review
Keqiu YAN ; Xiaoyu ZHANG ; Sifeng JIA ; Yuyu DUAN ; Zixing QIAN ; Yifan CAI ; Junyi SHEN ; Wenjie XIAO ; Xinkun BAO ; Guangjun SUN ; Aizhen LIN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(21):261-270
Ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic, non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with typical symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and bloody stools, demonstrates a high relapse rate and difficulty in curing. Sishenwan, first recorded in Internal Medicine Abstract (Nei Ke Zhai Yao), are a classic prescription for treating diarrhea caused by deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. The core therapeutic principle of Sishenwan is warming and tonifying the spleen and kidney, and astringing the intestine and stopping diarrhea. In recent years, Sishenwan have demonstrated distinct advantages in the clinical treatment of UC. The pathogenesis of UC involves multiple factors, including immune dysregulation and gut microbiota imbalance. Although Western medicine is effective in the short term, its side effects, high relapse rate, and resistance associated with long-term use pose substantial challenges. Sishenwan have shown excellent clinical outcomes in the treatment of UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Modern clinical studies indicate that Sishenwan, used alone or in combination with Western medicine or other Chinese medicine compound prescriptions, significantly improve the clinical efficacy in treating UC due to deficiency of the spleen and kidney Yang. Sishenwan effectively alleviate core symptoms such as mucus, pus, and blood in stools, and persistent abdominal pain, reduce Mayo scores and the relapse rate, and improve patients' quality of life. Research on the material basis reveals that Sishenwan contain multiple active ingredients such as psoralen, isopsoralen, and evodiamine. Mechanism studies indicate that Sishenwan inhibit the inflammatory cascade reactions by regulating the signal network through multiple targets. Sishenwan regulate cellular immunity and restore intestinal immune homeostasis. At the microecological level, Sishenwan promote the intestinal barrier repair through the "microbiota-metabolism-immunity" axis. The current research still needs to be deepened in aspects such as the mining of specific biomarkers for syndromes and the exploration of the collaborative mechanism of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. In the future, a full-chain system covering syndrome differentiation, targeting, and monitoring needs to be constructed for promoting the paradigm transformation of Sishenwan into precision drugs. This review systematically explains the treatment mechanism of Sishenwan regarding the combination of disease and syndrome and its multi-target regulatory characteristics, providing a theoretical basis and transformation direction for the treatment of UC with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine.
7.Chemical constituents from the water fraction of rhizoma of Smilax trinervula and their biological activities
Yong-hong LIANG ; Jia-cheng WANG ; Hui-lian HUANG ; Hui-ying YAO ; Yu LU ; Cheng-qi WANG ; Hai-ying ZHONG ; Ying-cai YU ; Hai-yan ZHANG
Chinese Traditional Patent Medicine 2025;47(3):807-812
AIM To study the chemical constituents from the water fraction of rhizoma of Smilax trinervula Miq.and their biological activities.METHODS Polyamide,silica gel,Sephadex LH-20,ODS and semi-preparative HPLC were used for isolation and purification,then the structures of obtained compounds were identified by physicochemical properties and spectral data.The antitumor activities were determined by MTT mothod,and the inhibitory activities on α-glucosidase were determined by PNPG method.RESULTS Eleven compounds were isolated and identified as tyrosine(1),uridine(2),2-(2',3',4'-trihydroxybutyl)-6-(2",3",4"-trihydroxybutyl)-pyrazine(3),2-(1',2',3',4'-tetrahydroxybutyl)-6-(2",3",4"-trihydroxybutyl)-pyrazine(4),2-(1',2',3',4'-tetrahydroxybutyl)-5-(2",3",4"-trihydroxybutyl)-pyrazine(5),uracil(6),2-(1',2',3',4'-tetrahydroxybutyl)-5-(1",2",3",4"-tetrahydroxybutyl)-pyrazine(7),dioscin(8),shikimic acid(9),pyrazine(10),3,4-dihydroxyphenyethyl alcohol 8-O-β-D-glycopyranoside(11).The IC50 values of compounds 8 to human breast cancer cell MCF-7 was(2.36±0.26)μg/mL,and the IC50 values of compounds 3-5 and 7 to α-glucosidase were(1.54±0.15)-(10.53±0.38)μg/mL.CONCLUSION Compounds 1-7,10 are isolated from Smilax genus for the first time,and compound 9,11 are first isolated from this plant.Compound 8 has anti-tumor activity,and compounds 3-5,7 have α-glucosidase inhibitory activities.
8.Establishment and validation of urine AD7c-NTP reference intervals for healthy adults in Mianyang area using the indirect method
Yurong ZHANG ; Yifei HE ; Ping YANG ; Zixi XU ; Zhilong CAI ; Yang LIU ; Dan WANG ; Liang HUANG ; Bing HOU ; Jia YANG ; Xuemei JIANG ; Kun FANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science 2025;43(5):378-381
Objective To establish the reference interval of urine Alzheimer-associated neuronal thread protein(AD7c-NTP)for healthy adults in Mianyang area using the indirect method.Methods The detection results of urine AD7c-NTP from 5 093 healthy in-dividuals were collected from the information management database of Medical Laboratory Department of Sichuan Science City Hospital from March 2017 to March 2022.Skewness-kurtosis and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to determine whether the data followed a normal distribution.After removing outliers using the Box Plots method,the enrolled subjects were grouped by gender and age.The Mann-Whitney U or Kruska-Wallis H tests were used to analyze the between-group differences of urine AD7c-NTP in healthy individu-als with different genders and ages.The adjacent age groups without statistically significant difference(P>0.05)were combined,and the indirect method(non-parametric test method)was used to calculate the reference intervals for different gender and age groups.Results Skewness-kurtosis and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests showed that the data followed a non-normal distribution.After removing 293 outliers using the Box Plots method,a total of 4 800 subjects,including 3 199 males and 1 601 females,were enrolled.The enrolled subjects were grouped by gender and age,and the non-parametric test method were used to establish the reference intervals of urine AD7c-NTP in healthy populations with different genders.The Mann-Whitney U test confirmed that urine AD7c-NTP levels existed gen-der differences(Z=14.09,P<0.01),and the reference intervals for males and females were≤1.10 ng/mL and≤1.40 ng/mL,re-spectively.There were also statistical differences in urine AD7c-NTP levels among different age groups of the same gender.After combi-ning adjacent age groups without statistically significant difference(P>0.05),the reference intervals of urine AD7c-NTP in healthy populations with different genders and ages were established by the non-parametric test method,which were≤1.00 ng/mL for male 20-39 years old group,≤1.10 ng/mL for male 40-79 years old group,≤1.60 ng/mL for male≥80 years old group,≤1.30 ng/mL for female 20-69 years old group,and≤1.60 ng/mL for female≥70 years old group,respectively.The established reference intervals of urine AD7c-NTP were further verified by healthy individuals,and the results met the standards.Conclusion The reference intervals of urine AD7c-NTP in healthy populations with different genders and ages in Mianyang area are established successfully using the indi-rect method,which may help to predict the risk of Alzheimer's disease in clinical practice and provide support for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
9.Application of multi-parameters of coronary CT angiography in diagnosing coronary heart disease and predicting major adverse cardiovascular events after percutaneous coronary intervention
Jinlun CAI ; Yaowen JIA ; Ping ZHANG ; Lizhong WANG
Journal of Interventional Radiology 2025;34(9):935-940
Objective To discuss the application of multi-parameters of coronary CT angiography(CTA)in diagnosing coronary heart disease(CHD)and predicting major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Methods A total of 350 patients with CHD,who received PCI at the Affiliated Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital of Capital Medical University of China from January 2021 to January 2024,were enrolled in this study as observation group.Other 180 patients with suspected CHD,who underwent coronary CTA and coronary angiography(CAG)to exclude coronary artery lesion in the same period as in the observation group,were collected and used as control group.According to whether MACE occurred or not within 6 months after PCI,the patients of observation group were further divided into MACE group and non-MACE group.The CTA parameters,including total plaque volume(TPV),plaque burden(PB),remodeling index(RI),fat attenuation index(FAI)around coronary artery,spot calcification and napkin-ring sign,were compared between the observation group and the control group as well as between MACE group and non-MACE group.Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the independent factors influencing the occurrence of MACE after PCI.Area under receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)was adopted to assess the value of each parameter in predicting the occurrence of MACE within 6 months after PCI.Results The TPV,PB,RI,FAI,and the detection rate of spot calcification and napkin-ring sign in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P<0.05).Of the 350 patients in the observation group,54(15.43%)developed MACE within 6 months after PCI,including cardiac death(n=5,1.43%),non-fatal myocardial infarction(n=22,6.29%),target vessel reconstruction due to in-stent restenosis(n=15,4.29%),and hospitalization due to heart failure(n=12,3.43%),all the 54 patients were classified in MACE group.The non-MACE group had 296 patients.The TPV,PB,RI,FAI,and the detection rate of napkin-ring sign in MACE group were higher than those in non-MACE group(P<0.05).Logistic multivariate analysis showed that TPV,PB and FAI were the independent factors influencing the occurrence of MACE in CHD patients after PCI(P<0.05).ROC curve analysis indicated that in predicting the occurrence of MACE within 6 months after PCI the sensitivity of TPV,PB and FAI were 65.40%,76.90%and 76.90%respectively,and the specificity of TPV,PB and FAI were 63.80%,72.50%and 73.80%respectively.The sensitivity and specificity of the combined detection were 96.20%and 71.80%respectively,with an AUC of 0.896.Conclusion Multi-parameters of coronary CT A have important application value in diagnosing CHD and in predicting the occurrence of MACE after PCI.The combined detection of TPV,PB and FAI can provide important reference for making clinical decision.
10.Perineural invasion is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis of cervical cancer patients , and the occurrence of perineural invasion can be effectively predicted by the constructed multivariate mode.
Ran Tang ; Gege Jiang ; Xiangwen Meng ; Zheng Cai ; Li Jin ; Nan Xiang ; Min Zhang ; Xiaoyi Jia
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2025;60(12):2368-2377
Objective:
To predict and screen potential biomarkers of systemic lupus eythematosus(SLE) based on machine learning algorithms and structural biology, and to reveal their mechanisms of action and to provide new targets for disease diagnosis and treatment.
Methods:
Four machine learning algorithms, random forest(RF), eXtreme gradient boosting(XGBoost), support vector machine(SVM), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO), were used to analyze the gene expression data of SLE patients in GEO(datasets: GSE121239 and GSE11907) to analyze the gene expression data of SLE patients and screen key markers. Peripheral blood single nucleated cells(PBMCs) from SLE patients were collected and RT-qPCR was used to detect differential gene expression levels. Subsequently, GSEA enrichment analysis was used to identify biomarker-related pathways. CIBERSORT immune infiltration analysis and protein interactions network were applied to calculate the sample immune cell infiltration abundance. Single-cell data were analyzed for gene expression specificity in immune cells. Interaction relationships in combination with AlphaFold3(AF3) were predicted.
Results:
Multiple algorithms were screened together to identify the unique marker gene HERC5 , and expression analysis of multiple datasets showed that HERC5 was highly expressed in SLE compared to the normal group (P < 0. 05) , and RT⁃qPCR verified the same trend (P = 0. 006 2) . Functional enrichment analysis identified the major pathway promoted by HERC5 in SLE as the interferon receptor signalling pathway (P < 0. 05) . Immune infiltration analysis showed that HERC5 was closely associated with immune cells (Neutrophils : r = 0. 39 , P < 0. 05 ; Memory B cells : r = 0. 33 , P < 0. 05 ; Activated dendritic cell : r = 0. 52 , P < 0. 05) . Most HERC5 ⁃related interacting proteins were associated with SLE ,and potential transcription factors of HERC5 and its related genes were also significantly associated with immune responses.
Conclusion
The HERC5 gene is an important biomarker for SLE , which upregulates the interferon pathway to promote SLE progression and provides a new target for SLE diagnosis and treatment.


Result Analysis
Print
Save
E-mail