ObjectiveObesity has been identified as one of the most important risk factors for cognitive dysfunction. Physical exercise can ameliorate learning and memory deficits by reversing synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and cortex in diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, we aimed to determine whether 8 weeks of treadmill exercise could alleviate hippocampus-dependent memory impairment in high-fat diet-induced obese mice and investigate the potential mechanisms involved. MethodsA total of sixty 6-week-old male C57BL/6 mice, weighing between 20-30 g, were randomly assigned to 3 distinct groups, each consisting of 20 mice. The groups were designated as follows: control (CON), high-fat diet (HFD), and high-fat diet with exercise (HFD-Ex). Prior to the initiation of the treadmill exercise protocol, the HFD and HFD-Ex groups were fed a high-fat diet (60% fat by kcal) for 20 weeks. The mice in the HFD-Ex group underwent treadmill exercise at a speed of 8 m/min for the first 10 min, followed by 12 m/min for the subsequent 50 min, totally 60 min of exercise at a 0° slope, 5 d per week, for 8 weeks. We employed Y-maze and novel object recognition tests to assess hippocampus-dependent memory and utilized immunofluorescence, Western blot, Golgi staining, and ELISA to analyze axon length, dendritic complexity, number of spines, the expression of c-fos, doublecortin (DCX), postsynaptic density-95 (PSD95), synaptophysin (Syn), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and the number of major histocompatibility complex II (MHC-II) positive cells. ResultsMice with HFD-induced obesity exhibit hippocampus-dependent memory impairment, and treadmill exercise can prevent memory decline in these mice. The expression of DCX was significantly decreased in the HFD-induced obese mice compared to the control group (P<0.001). Treadmill exercise increased the expression of c-fos (P<0.001) and DCX (P=0.001) in the hippocampus of the HFD-induced obese mice. The axon length (P<0.001), dendritic complexity (P<0.001), the number of spines (P<0.001) and the expression of PSD95 (P<0.001) in the hippocampus were significantly decreased in the HFD-induced obese mice compared to the control group. Treadmill exercise increased the axon length (P=0.002), dendritic complexity(P<0.001), the number of spines (P<0.001) and the expression of PSD95 (P=0.001) of the hippocampus in the HFD-induced obese mice. Our study found a significant increase in MHC-II positive cells (P<0.001) and the concentration of IL-1β (P<0.001) in the hippocampus of HFD-induced obese mice compared to the control group. Treadmill exercise was found to reduce the number of MHC-II positive cells (P<0.001) and the concentration of IL-1β (P<0.001) in the hippocampus of obese mice induced by a HFD. ConclusionTreadmill exercise led to enhanced neurogenesis and neuroplasticity by increasing the axon length, dendritic complexity, dendritic spine numbers, and the expression of PSD95 and DCX, decreasing the number of MHC-II positive cells and neuroinflammation in HFD-induced obese mice. Therefore, we speculate that exercise may serve as a non-pharmacologic method that protects against HFD-induced hippocampus-dependent memory dysfunction by enhancing neuroplasticity and neurogenesis in the hippocampus of obese mice.

Objective To evaluate the bioequivalence of oral sidenafil citrate tablets manufactured(100 mg)test preparations and reference preparations in healthy subjects under fasting and fed conditions.Methods Using a single-dose,randomized,open-lable,two-period,two-way crossover design,36 healthy subjects respectively for fasting and fed study were enrolled,and randomized into two groups to receive a single dose of test 100 mg with 7-day washout period.Plasma concentration of sidenafil and N-demethylsildenafil was determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS)method.The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by Analyst 1.6.3(AB Scie)using non-compartmental model,and bioequivalence evaluation was performed for the two preparations.Relevant safety evaluations were performed during the trial.Results The main pharmacokinetic parameters of sidenafil after a single oral dose of sidenafil citrate tablets under fasting condition for test and reference were as follows:Cmax were(494.69±230.94)and(558.78±289.83)ng·mL-1,AUC0-t were(1 336.21±509.78)and(1 410.82±625.99)h·ng·mL-1,AUC0-were(1 366.49±512.16)and(1 441.84±628.04)h·ng·mL-1,respectively.The main pharmacokinetic parameters of sidenafil under fed condition for T and R were as follows:Cmax were(381.89±126.53)and(432.47±175.91)ng·mL-1,AUC0-t were(1 366.34±366.99)and(1 412.76±420.37)h·ng·mL-1,AUC0-were(1 403.28±375.32)and(1 454.13±429.87)h·ng·mL-1,respectively.The results demonstrated the bioequivalence of sidenafil citrate tablets between T and R.The incidence of adverse events in fasting and fed tests were 33.33％and 25.00％,respectively.No serious adverse event was reported.Conclusion The test and reference formulation of sidenafil citrate tablets were equivalent and was safe.

Objective To analyze the relationship of the volume of 87 brain regions with postnatal age and neurobehavior in full-term neonates.Methods A total of 75 full-term newborns[gestational age(39.38±1.22)weeks;male/female(51/24);postnatal age(11.11±6.67)days]without abnormalities on brain MRI(three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging,3D T1WI)at our hospital between November 2010 and September 2017 were retrospectively included.Based on the template of 87 brain regions,the neonatal brains were divided into 87 brain regions and their volumes were calculated by using V-shape Bottleneck network(VB-Net)deep learning segmentation technique,Pearson partial correlation and regression analysis were used to explore the relationship of the volume of each brain region with postnatal age and neurobehavioral scores.Results After adjusting for gestational age,birth weight,head circumference,body length and sex,66.7％of the regional brain volumes(58/87 brain regions)significantly increased with the postnatal age(correlation coefficient r:0.2-0.7,P＜0.05).The volumes of gray matter in bilateral lentiform nucleus,left caudate nucleus,right occipital lobe,right inferior temporal lobe,and bilateral anterior temporal lobe strongly correlated with the postnatal age(r＞0.50,P＜0.05).The gray matter volume of the right occipital lobe linearly increased with age(slope:100.67),and was positively correlated with behavioral scores(r=0.324,P＜0.01).Conclusion Most of regional brain volumes increase with the postnatal age during the neonatal period,and the fastest growth occurs in primary sensorimotor-related brain regions,presenting the spatial heterogeneity.Partial brain region grows with the development of behavioral ability.

Objective: To analyze the safety and effectiveness of different types of stents with the treatment of vertebraebasilar artery dissection aneurysms(VBADA). Methods : The clinical data of 80 patients with VBADA treated by intravascular intervention in the First Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China(Anhui Provincial Hospital) from February 2018 to November 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into laser engraved stent group(n=34) and braided stent group(n=46) based on the type of stent used. O′Kelly-Marotta(OKM) grade was used to evaluate the embolization effect of aneurysms in DSA images, and a modified Rankin Scale(mRS) score was used to evaluate the clinical prognosis of patients. The baseline data, aneurysm characteristics, intraoperative and perioperative treatment details and postoperative follow-up details between the two groups were compared. Results : There was no significant difference in baseline data, mRS score, ischemic and hemorrhage complications and mortality between the two groups(allP>0.05). Compared with the laser engraved stent group, the mean diameter of aneurysms was larger(P<0.000 1) and the proportion of ruptured aneurysm(P<0.01), parent artery stenosis and beaded vascular lesions(P<0.05) and branch artery dissecting aneurysm were higher(P<0.01) in the braided stent group. Conversely, the proportion of coil-assisted embolization(P<0.000 1) and the immediate aneurysm occlusion rate(OKM C and D)(P<0.000 1) were lower. Finally, 21 patients were obtained by controlling for maximum diameter of aneurysms and whether coil-assisted embolization, the aneurysm occlusion rate half a year later in the braided stent group was higher than that in the laser engraved stent group(P<0.05), but the recurrence rate of postoperative aneurysm was lower than that of laser engraved stent group(P<0.05). It was worth noting that the cure rate and vascular remodeling rate of middle-large size VBADA which the maximum diameter being over 15 mm in the braided stent group reached 72.2%, and the whole effect was ideal. Conclusion Braided stents are relatively safe and effective in the treatment of VBADA and are significantly better than laser engraved stents in reducing VBADA recurrence and remodeling lesion vessels without increasing postoperative complication.

Objective:To establish a human buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma (BMSCC) cell line SCC117 in China, analyze and identify its basic biological characteristics.Methods:A 59-year-old Chinese male patient with BMSCC in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology in January 2011 was included in this study, his surgical specimens were primary cultured in vitro by improved tissue block culture method. The BMSCC cell line SCC117 was established after continuous passage and stable growth. The morphological characteristics of the cells were observed by light and electron microscope, and their basic biological characteristics were analyzed by growth curve, chromosome karyotype and xenotransplantation tumorigenicity in nude mice experiment. The expressions of cytokeratin (CK14), tumor-related proteins retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (RB), P53, E-cadherin, P21, phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) were detected by immunohistochemical and human papilloma virus (HPV) were tested by PCR. SCC117 was identified by short tandem repeat (STR) analysis of genomic DNA. Results:SCC117, a human BMSCC cell line, had been continuously subcultured in vitro for more than 150 generations. The cells grew in polygonal mosaic and lost contact inhibition, the typical desmosomes and tensional fibrils were observed by electron microscope, and CK14 was positive by immunohistochemistry. The doubling time was 40.16 h, the chromosome mode of the cell line was concentrated between 67 and 69, hypo-triploid. All 4 nude mice inoculated with SCC117 cells developed tumors, indicating that the SCC117 cell line had the ability of xenogeneic tumorigenesis. The histopathological type of the transplanted tumor in nude mice was consistent with that of the primary tumor tissue, both of which were squamous cell carcinoma. The immunohistochemical results showed that in both human primary tumor and the transplanted tumor tissue in nude mice, RB, P53, and E-cadherin were all positive, P21 was weakly positive, while PTEN was negative. SCC117 was tested negative for the presence of HPV. STR sequence analysis showed that SCC117 cell line originated from primary tumor tissue and was not cross-contaminated by other cell lines. Conclusions:The human BMSCC cell line SCC117 was successfully established in China, which could provide a new experimental model for the study of oral SCC without HPV infection, especially BMSCC.

Background::Although some well-established oncogenes are involved in cancer initiation and progression such as prostate cancer (PCa), the long tail of cancer genes remains to be defined. Goosecoid ( GSC) has been implicated in cancer development. However, the comprehensive biological role of GSC in pan-cancer, specifically in PCa, remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of GSC in PCa development. Methods::We performed a systematic bioinformatics exploration of GSC using datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas, Genotype-Tissue Expression, Gene Expression Omnibus, German Cancer Research Center, and our in-house cohorts. First, we evaluated the expression of GSC and its association with patient prognosis, and identified GSC-relevant genetic alterations in cancers. Further, we focused on the clinical characterization and prognostic analysis of GSC in PCa. To understand the transcriptional regulation of GSC by E2F transcription factor 1 ( E2F1), we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Functional experiments were conducted to validate the effect of GSC on the tumor cellular phenotype and sensitivity to trametinib. Results::GSC expression was elevated in various tumors and significantly correlated with patient prognosis. The alterations of GSC contribute to the progression of various tumors especially in PCa. Patients with PCa and high GSC expression exhibited worse progression-free survival and biochemical recurrence outcomes. Further, GSC upregulation in patients with PCa was mostly accompanied with higher Gleason score, advanced tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, and elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Mechanistically, the transcription factor, E2F1, stimulates GSC by binding to its promoter region. Detailed experiments further demonstrated that GSC acted as an oncogene and influenced the response of PCa cells to trametinib treatment. Conclusions::GSC was highly overexpressed and strongly correlated with patient prognosis in PCa. We found that GSC, regulated by E2F1, acted as an oncogene and impeded the therapeutic efficacy of trametinib in PCa.

Objective:To explore the correlation between hip muscle factors measured with CT imaging and recovery of independent mobility within 1 year after surgery in elderly patients with hip fractures.Methods:A prospective cohort study was conducted on the clinical data of 680 elderly patients with hip fractures admitted to Beijing Jishuitan Hospital of Capital Medical University from November 2018 to December 2019. The patients were assigned to dependent group and assistant group according to whether they regained pre-injury independent mobility within 1 year after surgery. Gender, age, body mass index, personal history, living habits, past diseases, Charlson comorbidity index, laboratory test indicators, fracture types, anesthesia types, surgical methods, rehabilitation training, time from injury to surgery, and hip muscle parameters in both groups were recorded. OsiriX software was employed in the measurement of the hip muscles to measure the muscle area and density of the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius/minimus on CT images, and the average values were calculated as hip muscle area and density. Then the variables of hip muscle area and density were converted seperately to gender-normalized Z-scores, and were divided into high-area group ( Z&ge;0) and low-area group ( Z<0), and high-density group ( Z&ge;0) and low-density group ( Z<0) respectively. Observable variables were primarily analyzed using univariate analysis between the independent group and assistant group. Those variables with statistically significant differences in the univariate analysis or would potentially affect mobility recovery according to previous researches although there were no statistical significance were included in a multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Three Logistic regression models were designed (Model 1 uncorrected, Model 2 corrected for gender, age and body mass index, Model 3 corrected for variables in Model 2 and other variables included after above-mentioned analysis) to analyze whether muscle parameters were risk factors for recovery of independent mobility. Additionally, generalized estimating equations were used for repeated measurement to analyze the correlation between hip muscle area and recovery of independent mobility after surgery. Results:Compared to the assistant group, the independent group were younger in age, with lower rate of living alone, being housebound, cognitive impairment, and Charlson comorbidity index, lower level of hemoglobin and albumin, higher rate of femoral neck fractures, lower rate of internal fixation, shorter time from injury to surgery, larger hip muscle area, and higher hip muscle density ( P<0.05 or 0.01). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that, in the fully corrected Model 3, only hip muscle area remained significantly correlated with recovery of independent mobility ( P<0.05), while no significant difference was found between the high-density group and low-density group ( P>0.05). In the repeated measurement, patients in the high-area group were 1.84 times more likely to restore independent mobility than those in the low-area group ( OR=1.84, 95% CI 1.33, 2.53, P<0.01). Conclusions:Hip muscle area measured with CT imaging is closely correlated to the recovery of independent mobility within 1 year after surgery in elderly patients with hip fractures. Moreover, larger hip muscle area indicates a larger likelihood of recovery of independent mobility.

The U6 promoter is an important element driving sgRNA transcription in the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Seven PqU6 promo-ter sequences were cloned from the gDNA of Panax quinquefolium, and the transcriptional activation ability of the seven promoters was studied. In this study, seven PqU6 promoter sequences with a length of about 1 300 bp were cloned from the adventitious roots of P. quinquefolium cultivated for 5 weeks. Bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the sequence characteristics of PqU6 promoters, and the fusion expression vectors of GUS gene driven by PqU6-P were constructed. Tobacco leaves were transformed by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated method for activity detection. The seven PqU6 promoters were truncated from the 5'-end to reach 283, 287, 279, 289, 295, 289, and 283 bp, respectively. The vectors for detection of promoter activity were constructed with GUS as a reported gene and used to transform P. quinquefolium callus and tobacco leaves. The results showed that seven PqU6 promoter sequences(PqU6-1P to PqU6-7P) were cloned from the gDNA of P. quinquefolium, with the length ranged from 1 246 bp to 1 308 bp. Sequence comparison results showed that the seven PqU6 promoter sequences and the AtU6-P promoter all had USE and TATA boxes, which are essential elements affecting the transcriptional activity of the U6 promoter. The results of GUS staining and enzyme activity test showed that all the seven PqU6 promoters had transcriptional activity. The PqU6-7P with a length of 1 269 bp had the highest transcriptional activity, 1.31 times that of the positive control P-35S. When the seven PqU6 promoters were truncated from the 5'-end(PqU6-1PA to PqU6-7PA), their transcriptional activities were different in tobacco leaves and P. quinquefolium callus. The transcriptional activity of PqU6-7PA promoter(283 bp) was 1.59 times that of AtU6-P promoter(292 bp) when the recipient material was P. quinquefolium callus. The findings provide more ideal endogenous U6 promoters for CRISPR/Cas9 technology in ginseng and other medicinal plants.
Panax/genetics* ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Agrobacterium tumefaciens/genetics* ; Computational Biology ; Cloning, Molecular

This study aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory material basis and molecular mechanism of Artemisia stolonifera based on the analysis of the chemical components in different extracted fractions of A. stolonifera and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in combination with network pharmacology and molecular docking. Thirty-two chemical components were identified from A. stolonifera by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Among them, there were 7, 21 and 22 compounds in water, n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions, respectively. The antio-xidant capacity of different extracted fractions was evaluated by measuring their scavenging ability against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) hydrazyl(DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)(ABTS) free radicals and total antioxidant capacity [ferric reducing antioxidant power(FRAP) assay]. The inflammatory model of RAW264.7 cells was induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS), and the levels of nitrite oxide(NO), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-6(IL-6) in the supernatant and the mRNA expression of related inflammatory factors in cells were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects. The results revealed that ethyl acetate fraction of A. stolonifera was the optimal antioxidant and anti-inflammatory fraction. By network pharmacology, it was found that flavonoids such as rhamnazin, eupatilin, jaceosidin, luteolin and nepetin could act on key targets such as TNF, serine/threonine protein kinase 1(AKT1), tumor protein p53(TP53), caspase-3(CASP3) and epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR), and regulate the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-protein kinase B(PI3K-AKT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK) signaling pathways to exert the anti-inflammatory effects. Molecular docking further indicated excellent binding properties between the above core components and core targets. This study preliminarily clarified the anti-inflammatory material basis and mechanism of ethyl acetate fraction of A. stolonifera, providing a basis for the follow-up clinical application of A. stolonifera and drug development.
Antioxidants/chemistry* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Artemisia ; Network Pharmacology ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Interleukin-6

Objective: To compare the efficacies between open surgery and axillary non-inflatable endoscopic surgery in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 343 patients with unilateral PTC treated by traditional open surgery (201 cases) and transaxillary non-inflating endoscopic surgery (142 cases) from May 2019 to December 2021 in the Head and Neck Surgery of Sichuan Cancer Hospital. Among them, 97 were males and 246 were females, aged 20-69 years. 1∶1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed on the enrolled patients, and the basic characteristics, perioperative clinical outcomes, postoperative complications, postoperative quality of life (Thyroid Cancer-Specific Quality of Life), aesthetic satisfaction and other aspects of the two groups were compared after successful matching. SPSS 26.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 190 patients were enrolled after PSM, with 95 cases in open group and 95 cases in endoscopic group. Intraoperative blood losses for endoscopic and open groups were [20 (20) ml vs. 20 (10) ml, M (IQR), Z=-2.22], postoperative drainage volumes [170 (70)ml vs. 101 (55)ml, Z=-7.91], operative time [135 (35)min vs. 95 (35)min, Z=-7.34], hospitalization cost [(28 188.7±2 765.1)yuan vs. (25 643.5±2 610.7)yuan, x¯±s, t=0.73], postoperative hospitalization time [(3.1±0.9)days vs. (2.6±0.9)days, t=-3.24], and drainage tube placement time [(2.5±0.8) days vs. (2.0±1.0)days, t=-4.16], with statistically significant differrences (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in surgical complications (P>0.05). There were significant diffferences between two groups in the postoperative quality of life scores in neuromuscular, psychological, scar and cold sensation (all P<0.05), while there were no statistically significant differences in other quality of life scores (all P>0.05). In terms of aesthetic satisfaction 6 months after surgery, the endoscopic group was better than the open group, with statistically significant difference (χ²=41.47, P<0.05). Conclusion: Endoscopic thyroidectomy by a gasless unilateral axillary approach is a safe and reliable surgical method, which has remarkable cosmetic effect and can improve the postoperative quality of life of patients compared with the traditional thyroidectomy.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Thyroid Neoplasms/pathology* ; Endoscopy ; Thyroidectomy/methods*