1.An investigation of radiation doses in pediatric non-cardiac interventional procedures
Junnan LU ; Yifei WANG ; Yingmin CHEN ; Fuhua JING ; Xiaoshan WANG ; Chenglong ZHENG ; Qingmei CHEN ; Rui CHEN
Chinese Journal of Radiological Health 2025;34(3):395-401
Objective To evaluate the current radiation doses in pediatric non-cardiac interventional procedures, and analyze the associated clinical factors, and to provide data references for reducing pediatric radiation exposure. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of the radiation doses of children who had undergone non-cardiac interventional procedures at the interventional department of a tertiary pediatric hospital in Jinan from January 2022 to October 2024. The collected data included basic demographic information, surgical date, anatomical site, disease type, and radiation dose parameters (cumulative fluoroscopy time, cumulative dose area product in cine mode, cumulative air kerma, and the number of images acquired). The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparative analysis between groups (P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant). Results Among the 475 included children, 99 cases (20.8%) had infantile hemangioma (median Pka, 0.136 Gy·cm2; median Ka,r, 0.38 mGy), 235 cases (49.5%) had venous malformation (median Pka, 9.82 Gy·cm2; median Ka,r, 40.99 mGy), 75 cases (15.8%) had lymphatic malformation (median Pka, 0.06 Gy·cm2; median Ka,r, 0.18 mGy), 32 cases (6.7%) had retinoblastoma (median Pka, 6.58 Gy·cm2; median Ka,r, 52.34 mGy), 12 cases (2.5%) had arteriovenous malformation (median Pka, 42.3 Gy·cm2; median Ka,r, 162.87 mGy), and 22 cases (4.6%) had other vascular malformations (median Pka, 21.7 Gy·cm2; median Ka,r, 89.1 mGy). There were significant differences between children with different disease types in the cumulative fluoroscopy time, cumulative dose area product in cine mode, cumulative air kerma at the patient entrance reference point, and the number of images acquired during non-cardiac interventional procedures (all P < 0.01). Conclusion This study presented the types and proportions of pediatric non-cardiac interventional procedures, evaluated the radiation dose levels of different surgical types, and analyzed the effects of weight and anatomical site on radiation exposure, which can be useful for preliminary assessment of radiation doses in pediatric non-cardiac interventional procedures.
2.Effects of point-moxibustion with Zhuang medicinal thread on pain sensitization and FcεRI pathway in rats with postherpetic neuralgia.
Sitong XIAN ; Chenglong WANG ; Caiyue LIN ; Guangtian HUANG ; Lingyao ZHOU ; Xiaoting FAN ; Chen LIN
Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion 2025;45(6):801-807
OBJECTIVE:
To observe the effects of point-moxibustion with Zhuang medicinal thread on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG), tissue morphology, and the expression of Fc epsilon RI (FcεRI) pathway proteins spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) and membrane spanning 4-domain A2 (MS4A2) in rat model of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and to explore the potential mechanism by which this therapy alleviates pain sensitization.
METHODS:
Thirty-nine male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, and a moxibustion group, with 13 rats in each group. The PHN model was established in the model and moxibustion groups by intraperitoneal injection of resiniferatoxin. In the moxibustion group, bilateral L4-L6 "Jiaji" (EX-B2) points were treated with point-moxibustion with Zhuang medicinal thread from day 7 post-modeling, with two cones per acupoint per session, every other day for a total of 10 sessions. Mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) were measured at 1 day before modeling and on days 1, 4, 7, 13, 19, and 25 after modeling. After intervention, HE staining was used to observe DRG morphology. RNA sequencing was performed to analyze DEGs in DRG and conduct bioinformatics analysis. The expression of Syk and MS4A2 mRNA and proteins in the FcεRI pathway in DRG was detected by quantitative PCR and Western blot.
RESULTS:
Compared with the control group, the model group exhibited decreased MWT (P<0.05) and increased TWL (P<0.05); histopathological analysis revealed neuronal atrophy, nuclear displacement, and intracellular vacuoles, with a slightly loose arrangement; the RNA-Seq identified 3,207 DEGs (1,997 upregulated and 1,210 downregulated); the mRNA and protein expression levels of Syk and MS4A2 were significantly increased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the moxibustion group showed increased MWT (P<0.05) and decreased TWL (P<0.05), with relatively normal neuronal morphology; the RNA-Seq identified 426 DEGs (250 upregulated and 176 downregulated); the mRNA and protein expression levels of Syk and MS4A2 were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Venn diagram analysis identified 156 DEGs that showed a reversal in expression trends after treatment, including Syk and MS4A2, which are associated with pain sensitization. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that these DEGs were primarily enriched in the FcεRI pathway.
CONCLUSION
Point-moxibustion with Zhuang medicinal thread could alleviate pain sensitization in PHN rats, possibly by inhibiting the FcεRI signaling pathway and downregulating the expression of Syk and MS4A2.
Animals
;
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
;
Male
;
Rats
;
Moxibustion
;
Neuralgia, Postherpetic/physiopathology*
;
Syk Kinase/metabolism*
;
Acupuncture Points
;
Humans
;
Ganglia, Spinal/metabolism*
;
Signal Transduction
3.Artificial intelligence in drug development for delirium and Alzheimer's disease.
Ruixue AI ; Xianglu XIAO ; Shenglong DENG ; Nan YANG ; Xiaodan XING ; Leiv Otto WATNE ; Geir SELBÆK ; Yehani WEDATILAKE ; Chenglong XIE ; David C RUBINSZTEIN ; Jennifer E PALMER ; Bjørn Erik NEERLAND ; Hongming CHEN ; Zhangming NIU ; Guang YANG ; Evandro Fei FANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(9):4386-4410
Delirium is a common cause and complication of hospitalization in the elderly and is associated with higher risk of future dementia and progression of existing dementia, of which 70% is Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD and delirium, which are known to be aggravated by one another, represent significant societal challenges, especially in light of the absence of effective treatments. The intricate biological mechanisms have led to numerous clinical trial setbacks and likely contribute to the limited efficacy of existing therapeutics. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a promising avenue for overcoming these hurdles by deploying algorithms to uncover hidden patterns across diverse data types. This review explores the pivotal role of AI in revolutionizing drug discovery for AD and delirium from target identification to the development of small molecule and protein-based therapies. Recent advances in deep learning, particularly in accurate protein structure prediction, are facilitating novel approaches to drug design and expediting the discovery pipeline for biological and small molecule therapeutics. This review concludes with an appraisal of current achievements and limitations, and touches on prospects for the use of AI in advancing drug discovery in AD and delirium, emphasizing its transformative potential in addressing these two and possibly other neurodegenerative conditions.
4.Evolution and genetic variation of HA and NA genes of H1N1 influenza virus in Shanghai, 2024
Lufang JIANG ; Wei CHU ; Xuefei QIAO ; Pan SUN ; Senmiao DENG ; Yuxi WANG ; Xue ZHAO ; Jiasheng XIONG ; Xihong LYU ; Linjuan DONG ; Yaxu ZHENG ; Yinzi CHEN ; Chenyan JIANG ; Chenglong XIONG ; Jian CHEN
Shanghai Journal of Preventive Medicine 2025;37(9):719-724
ObjectiveTo analyze the evolutionary characteristics and genetic variations of the HA (hemagglutinin) and NA (neuraminidase) genes of influenza A(H1N1) viruses in Shanghai during 2024, to investigate their transmission patterns, and to evaluate their potential impact on vaccine effectiveness. MethodsFrom January to October 2024, throat swab specimens were collected from influenza like illness (ILI) patients at 4 hospitals in Shanghai. Real-time fluorescence ploymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for virus detection and isolation of H1N1 influenza viruses. Forty influenza A(H1N1) virus strains were sequenced using Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform, followed by phylogenetic analyses, genetic distance analysis, and amino acid variation analyses of HA and NA genes. ResultsPhylogenetic tree of the HA and NA genes revealed that the 40 influenza A(H1N1) virus strains circulating in Shanghai in 2024 exhibited no significant geographic clustering, with a broad origin of strains and complex transmission chains. Genetic distance analyses demonstrated that the average intra-group genetic distances of HA and NA genes among the Shanghai strains were 0.005 1±0.000 6 and 0.004 6±0.000 6, respectively, which were comparable to or higher than those observed in global surveillance strains. Both HA and NA genes displayed frequent mutations. Compared to the 2023‒2024 and 2024‒2025 Northern Hemisphere A(H1N1) vaccine strains (WHO-recommended), the HA proteins of 40 Shanghai strains exhibited amino acid substitutions at positions 120, 137, 142, 169, 216, 223, 260, 277, 356 and 451, with critical mutations at positions 137 and 142 located within the Ca2 antigenic determinant. Furthermore, mutations in the NA protein were observed at positions 13, 50, 200, 257, 264, 339 and 382. ConclusionThe genetic background of the 2024 Shanghai influenza A(H1N1) virus strains is complex and diverse, and antigenic variation may affect vaccine effectiveness. Therefore, it is recommended to enhance genomic surveillance of influenza viruses, evaluate vaccine suitability, and implement more targeted prevention and control strategies against imported influenza viruses.
5.The clinical efficacy of catheter-directed breaking thrombus together with thrombolysis in the treatment of acute pulmonary embolism
Haibo CHEN ; Yunyun WAN ; Qinglong GUAN ; Kaidong WANG ; Chenglong LIU ; Tongfei LI
Journal of Interventional Radiology 2025;34(3):307-310
Objective To discuss the clinical efficacy of catheter-directed thrombolysis(CDT)in treating acute pulmonary embolism(APE).Methods A total of 215 patients with APE,who were admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University of China,were enrolled in this study.Pulmonary angiography was performed in all the patients.After the location of the thrombus was identified,the pigtail catheter was rotated so as to break the thrombus into small pieces,which was followed by local infusion of thrombolytic agent urokinase to make recanalization of the occluded pulmonary artery.The postoperative clinical symptoms,blood oxygen saturation,mean pulmonary artery pressure,BNP,D-dimer,RV/LV diameter ratio were compared with their preoperative values.PESI scoring was used to evaluate the severity of the pulmonary embolism.Patients with PESI grade-Ⅲ and PESI grade-Ⅳ were classified into medium-risk group,and patients with PESI grade-V were classified into higher-risk group.Results Symptom relief immediately after surgery was observed in 210 patients,complete recanalization of pulmonary artery was achieved in 200 patients,and partial recanalization of pulmonary artery was seen in 15 patients.The preoperative mean pulmonary artery pressure,blood oxygen saturation,BNP,D-dimer,RV/LV diameter ratio were(46.24±5.32)mmHg,(90.36±3.23)%,(8 000.12±750.56)pg/mL,(7.5±2.3)mg/L and(1.63±0.22)respectively;at one week after surgery the above indicators were(26.12±3.36)mmHg,(98.74±2.12)%,(240.35±33.52)pg/mL,(1.75±0.36)mg/L and(1.11±0.13)respectively;the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).In the patients who had symptoms of hemoptysis,shock and syncope before surgery,all these symptoms were completely disappeared in one week after CDT,and the symptoms of dyspnea,chest pain,and palpitations were significantly relieved after CDT,the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).The difference in survival time between different PESI grade groups was statistically significant(P<0.05).No serious postoperative complications such as severe arrhythmia,cerebral hemorrhage,or gastrointestinal bleeding occurred.Postoperative 3-month CT pulmonary angiography(CTPA)showed that the main pulmonary artery was well visualized and no thrombus-produced filling defect shadow was detected.Conclusion For the treatment of APE,CDT can promptly and rapidly open the obstructed pulmonary artery lumen,restore pulmonary artery hemodynamics,and correct hypoxemia.Therefore,CDT is a safe,effective and quick treatment for APE.
6.Identify Key Mitochondrial Autophagy Genes in Schizophrenia through Integrated Bioinformatics Approaches
Kun LIAN ; Yongmei LI ; Chenglong SHI ; Yilan CHEN ; Lei ZHANG ; Wei YANG ; Xiufeng XU
Journal of Kunming Medical University 2025;46(1):23-35
Objective To utilize single-cell and peripheral blood transcriptomic data from 3D brain organoids,combined with machine learning,to analyze the role of mitochondrial autophagy genes in schizophrenia(SCZ).Methods By integrating two machine learning algorithms,we identified differentially expressed mitochondrial autophagy-related genes between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls using peripheral blood RNA sequencing data.The relationship between mitophagy gene,immune cells and inflammatory factors was further explored.Comprehensive single-cell analysis was used to explore the signaling pathways and specific transcription factors based on mitophagy genes.Results Using machine learning,seven key mitophagy genes expressed in schizophrenia patients were identified.Based on Mitoscore analysis,at the single-cell level,neurons with high mitochondrial autophagy activity(Mitohigh_Neuron)formed new interactions with endothelial cells via the SPP1 signaling pathway.Conclusion This study identified two subtypes of mitophagy and seven key mitophagy genes in schizophrenia,providing new insights into the pathogenesis of the disease.
7.False-positive HIV-1 nucleic acid testing results in patients with severe thalassemia after receiving cell and gene therapy
Yifan ZHONG ; Jifei NIU ; Yue LI ; Jing LIU ; Xiaohui WANG ; Hao LI ; Yongxia GAN ; Guilian LI ; Chenli ZHENG ; Chenglong LI ; Yifan CAI ; Zijie YANG ; Wei TAN ; Xiaozhen CHEN ; Tiejian FENG ; Cong JIN ; Jin ZHAO
Chinese Journal of Laboratory Medicine 2024;47(4):451-454
A 11-year old female patient with severe thalassemia, receipt a lentivirus-based cell and gene therapy (CGT) therapy in Shenzhen Children′s Hosptial on July 27th, 2021. At the two follow-up visits after discharge, patient were continuously tested positive for HIV screening through HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay (chemiluminescence Immunoassay), and the viral load results of HIV-1 nucleic acid testing (NAT) were both>5 000 copies/ml. The patient can be diagnosed with HIV infection according to the National Guideline for Detection of HIV/AIDS(2020 Revised Edition). The thorough investigation findings and supplementary experiment results indicated that the false-positive HIV-1 NAT results was caused by cross-reactivity between the target sites detected by conventional HIV-1 NAT reagents and the lentiviral vectors fragments integrated into the genome of patient′s hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. In conclusion, it is important for laboratories to select appropriate HIV-1 NAT testing platforms which won′t cause cross-reactivity for the testing of samples from patients who have been treated with HIV-derived vectors. It is also recommended to design and develop NAT testing platforms with multiple target regions labeled by different fluorescents for HIV NAT supplementation experiment to reduce the risk of false-positive diagnoses of HIV infection.
8.Progress in regulation of JAK/STAT signaling pathway by traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of osteoarthritis
Xiaoting LIU ; Jiaru GUANG ; Yusuo GONG ; Baohua YUAN ; Chenglong LU ; Xufan CHEN ; Bifeng ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Pathophysiology 2024;40(2):375-384
Osteoarthritis(OA)mainly lies in the lesions of articular cartilage and surrounding tissues,pro-ducing osteophytes and bone sclerosis,resulting in damage to the articular cartilage.The main pathological mechanism of OA rests with a large number of inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators produced by joint synovial lesions as well as pathological vascular growth at the junction of the synovium and cartilage,which may be one of the key reasons for promoting synovitis and cartilage damage.The OA mainly occurs in the knees,hips,hands and the spine.It is mainly manifested by chronic joint pain,swelling and stiffness,and limitation of motion seriously affects the functional activities of patients.The treatment of OA mainly relies on oral administration or intraarticular injection of drugs to relieve symp-toms.When OA develops to the middle and late stages,the action and life of patients will be seriously affected.There-fore,surgical replacement of joints is considered to ensure the basic life demands of patients.Studies show that traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)treatment has attracted widespread attention and application due to its unique advantages in pre-vention and treatment of OA.Janus kinase(JAK)/signaling transduction and transcriptional activator(STAT)signaling pathway may be one of the important signaling pathways that regulate the chondrocyte proliferation,differentiation and apoptosis.Moreover,it is closely associated with intra-articular inflammatory response.The JAK/STAT signaling pathway regulates the expression of inflammatory factors and related proteins through TCM so as to reduce the inflammatory re-sponse and decrease the chondrocyte damage.It has an important reference value for OA treatment.In this paper,the roles and mechanisms of the TCM monomers and active ingredients and the Chinese herbal compounds in OA by regulating JAK/STAT signaling pathway and affecting related cytokine and protein expression levels have been reviewed,providing a new method and direction for TCM treatment of OA.
9.Construction of prognostic nomogram based on clinicopathological characteristics and epithelial-stromal interaction 1 expression for clear cell renal cell carcinoma
Zeng CHENGLONG ; Wu XIAOHUI ; Lin BOHAN ; Qiu QIANREN-SHUN ; Zheng QINGSHUI ; Xu NING ; Xue XUEYI ; Chen SHAOHAO
Chinese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2024;51(12):595-601
Objective:To construct a prognostic nomogram based on epithelial-stromal interaction protein 1(EPSTI1)and predict the pro-gnosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed from January 2012 to December 2015 at The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University,on 221 patients with ccRCC who underwent surgical treatment in our center and 533 patients with ccRCC in The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database.Immunohistochemical(IHC)staining was performed on adjacent nor-mal and cancerous tissues to analyze the expression level of EPSTI1 and its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed for the overall survival(OS)and disease-free survival(DFS)of patients with high and low EPSTI1 expression levels.Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the prognostic factors for OS,and a nomogram model was constructed and verified.Results:The IHC scores and mRNA expression levels of EPSTI1 were significantly higher in ccRCC tissues than in normal tissues(all P<0.001).EPSTI1 was expressed at higher levels in cancer tissues at higher T stages(P=0.036,P=0.006).The EPSTI1 protein expression level was related to the maximum tumor diameter and TNM stage(P=0.002,P=0.032,respectively).The OS and DFS were higher in the low-EPSTI1-expression group than the high-EPSTI1-expression group(P=0.046,P=0.003,P=0.001).Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that a high EPSTI1 protein expression level,WHO/ISUP grade,and AJCC/TNM stage were independent risk factors for poor prognosis(P=0.009,P=0.039,P<0.001).The prognostic nomogram model constructed based on the above variables was su-perior to the AJCC/TNM stage in predicting the 5-year OS,and the calibration curve showed that the predicted value of the model was con-sistent with the actual value.Conclusions:The nomographic model based on EPSTI1,AJCC/TNM staging and WHO/ISUP staging has a strong predictive ability for the prognosis of renal clear cell carcinoma.
10.Recombinant expression and immunological characterization of Burkholderia pseudomallei type Ⅲ secretion system protein BipD
Dongqi NAN ; Yuan WEN ; Jiangao CHEN ; Chenglong RAO ; Pan WU ; Ziyuan ZHANG ; Shiwei WANG ; Jingmin YAN ; Qian LI ; Xuhu MAO
Journal of Army Medical University 2024;46(15):1713-1720
Objective To express recombinant Burkholderia pseudomallei(B.pseudomallei)type Ⅲ secretion system BipD protein,prepare its polyclonal antibodies and verify their immunological traits.Methods The recombinant pET-28a-BipD plasmid was generated,and the pET-28a-BipD-carried E.coli BL21(DE3)bacteria were induced with isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactoside(IPTG)to express recombinant BipD(rBipD)protein.The rBipD was obtained by affinity chromatography using His Trap column,then mixed with Fredrick's adjuvant to immunize BALB/c mice by intraperitoneal injection in order to obtain anti-rBipD polyclonal antibodies.The immunoreactivity of rBipD was detected by Western blot assay using rabbit anti-melioidosis serum and the serum from melioidosis patients.The immunogenicity of rBipD was evaluated using Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining.Finally,rBipD was used to establish an indirect ELISA to detect serum antibodies of clinical melioidosis patients.Results The recombinant plasmid pET-28a-BipD was successfully constructed and transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3)to induce rBipD expression with IPTG treatment.The obtained rBipD had a relative molecular weight of 36×103 and a purity of 95.4%,and had good immunogenicity and immunoreactivity.It could induce the production of specific antibodies after immunizing mice,and mouse polyclonal antibodies against rBipD were prepared with the titer of 1∶512 000.rBipD of 5.0 μg/mL produced specific immune response with the serum of melioidosis patients,but had no specific reaction with the serum of tuberculosis patients,with statistical difference(P<0.01).Conclusion rBipD with immunological activity is successfully prepared and purified,and its polyclonal antibodies are also developed,which provide a good tool for clinical immunological diagnosis and study of immune mechanism of B.pseudomallei infection.

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