OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on oral microbiota and metabolites in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted in 47 MAFLD patients complicated with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 48 MAFLD patients without CHB enrolled from November, 2023 to January, 2024. Fasting tongue coating samples were collected from the patients for analyzing microbial community structures and metabolites using high-throughput 16S rDNA sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics techniques, and their associations with clinical indicators and biological pathways were explored using correlation analysis and functional annotation. RESULTS: The levels of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and severity of fatty liver were all significantly lower in MAFLD+CHB group than in MAFLD group. Microbiota analysis showed that the abundances of Patescibacteria (at the phylum level), Hydrogenophaga, and Absconditabacteriales (at the genus level) were significantly increased, while the abundance of Megasphaera was decreased in MAFLD+CHB group. The differential microbiota were significantly correlated with TC, GGT and low-density lipoprotein (r=-0.68‒0.75). Metabolomics analysis revealed that 469 metabolites (including lipids and amino acids) were upregulated and 2306 (including organic oxygen-containing compounds and phenylpropanoids) were downregulated in MAFLD+CHB group, for which KEGG enrichment analysis suggested abnormal activation of the linoleic acid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways. Correlation analysis between microbiota and metabolites indicated that Patescibacteria and Megasphaera, which were positively correlated with lipid metabolites and negatively with fatty acid metabolites, respectively, jointly affected glycolipid metabolism and oxidative stress pathways. CONCLUSIONS Compared to patients with MAFLD alone, MAFLD patients with concurrent chronic HBV infection showed lower levels in some lipid metabolism indicators and the degree of hepatic steatosis, accompanied by alterations in oral microbiota structure and metabolic profiles. The precise mechanisms involved require further investigation to be fully elucidated.
Humans ; Lipid Metabolism ; Prospective Studies ; Microbiota ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/microbiology* ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Fatty Liver/microbiology* ; Middle Aged ; Mouth/microbiology* ; Metabolomics

OBJECTIVE: In Pakistan, traditional medicines are an important component of the medical system, with numerous varieties and great demands. However, due to the scattered resources and the lack of systematic collection and collation, adulteration of traditional Pakistani medicine (TPM) is common, which severely affects the safety of their medicinal use and the import and export trades. Therefore, it is urgent to systematically organize and unify the management of TPM and establish a set of standards and operable methods for the identification of TPM. METHODS: We collected and organized the information on 128 TPMs with regard to their medicinal parts, efficacy, usage, and genetic material, based on Pakistan Hamdard Pharmacopoeia of Eastern Medicine: Pharmaceutical Codex. The genetic information of TPM is summarized from national center for biotechnology information (NCBI) and global pharmacopoeia genome database (GPGD). Furthermore, we utilized bioinformatics technology to supplement the chloroplast genome (cp-genome) data of 12 TPMs. To build the web server, we used the Linux + Apache + MySQL + PHP (LAMP) system and constructed the webpage on a PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) model view controller (MVC) framework. RESULTS: We constructed a new genomic database, the traditional Pakistani medicine genomic database (TPMGD). This database comprises five entries, namely homepage, medicinal species, species identification, basic local alignment search tool (BLAST), and download. Currently, TPMGD contains basic profiles of 128 TPMs and genetic information of 102 TPMs, including 140 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences and 119 mitochondrial genome sequences from Bombyx mori, 1 396 internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences and 1 074 intergenic region (psbA-trnH) sequences specific to 92 and 83 plant species, respectively. Additionally, TPMGD includes 199 cp-genome sequences of 82 TPMs. CONCLUSION TPMGD is a multifunctional database that integrates species description, functional information inquiry, genetic information storage, molecular identification of TPM, etc. The database not only provides convenience for TPM information queries but also establishes the scientific basis for the medication safety, species identification, and resource protection of TPM.

Objective To analyze chemical constituents of compound Maxing Shigan decoction by ultra-high perfor-mance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS). Methods The separation was performed on a UPLC BEH C₁₈ column (2.1 mm×100 mm, 2.5 µm)，with a gradient elution applying 0.1% aqueous formic acid solution and 0.1% formic acid acetonitrile as a mobile phase. The column temperature was 40 °C. The flow rate was 0.4 ml/min and the analysis time was 15 min. Mass spectrometry (MS) data were collected in both positive and negative ESI ion modes. Results Through UPLC-QTOF/MS analysis and reference validation, a total of 59 chemical components in Maxing Shigan decoction were identified. Conclusion An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) method was established to identify the chemical components of Maxing Shigan decoction. This method is simple, efficient, sensitive and accurate, and provides a basis for the elucidation of the pharmacodynamic material basis and mechanism of Maxing Shigan decoction. It can provide data reference for the optimization of the compatibility of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of COVID-19.

Objective To observe the effect of self-formulated Tongluo Yizhi formula on memory deficits and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in rats with vascular dementia (VD) and its mechanism. Methods Fifty SPF-grade Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham surgery group,model group,TLYZF low-dose (12.5 mg/kg/d) group,TLYZF medium dose (25 mg/kg/d) group and TLYZF high-dose (50 mg/kg/d) group,with 10 rats in each group. Except for the Sham group,other rats were subjected to modified bilateral carotid artery ligation to construct VD models. After 4 weeks of TLYZF intervention,Morris water maze experiment was used to evaluate the learning and memory abilities of rats.Hematoxylin eosin staining was used to detect the pathological structure of the hippocampus.Nissl staining was used to detect hippocampal neuronal damage.In situ end transfer enzyme labeling staining was used to detect hippocampal neuronal apoptosis.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the content of inflammatory factors in hippocampal tissue.Protein immunoblotting was used to detect apoptosis of hippocampal tissue cells and the expression of ERS related proteins.Results Compared with the Sham group,the average escape latency of the model group was prolonged(t=14.059),the number of crossing the platform was reduced(t=8.534),the hippocampal neurons were disorderly arranged,the morphology was fuzzy,the cytoplasmic vacuolization,the nuclear pyknosis,the inflammatory cell infiltration increased,the number of Nissl bodies decreased(t=17.131),and the neuronal apoptosis rate increased(t=17.701). The contents of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) and IL-6 increased(t=6.541,6.957,10.014),the expression of Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax),cleaved caspase-3,glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78),phosphorylated endoplasmic reticulum kinase (p-PERK)/PERK,phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (p-eIF2α)/eIF2α,activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) homologous protein (CHOP) increased(t=13.548～76.468),while the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) proteinwas decreased (t=39.691),and the difference were statistically significant (all P<0.05),respectively. Compared with the model group,the average escape latency of TLYZF-treated rats was shortened(t=2.476,7.266,11.306),the number of platform crossing was increased(t=2.187,4.471,6.932),the hippocampal neurons were relatively regular,the nucleus was clear,the inflammatory cell infiltration was significantly reduced,the content of Nissl bodies was increased(t=4.359,9.477,11.449),the apoptosis rate of neurons was decreased(t=3.631,6.145,7.580),the contents of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 were decreased (t=2.382～8.293),the expression of Bax(t=4.696,16.250,20.250),cleaved caspase-3(t=15.205,27.000,26.833),GRP78(t=5.918,13.139,13.741),p-PERK/PERK(t=13.416,14.230,17.889),p-eIF2α/eIF2α(t=20.152,39.346,50.750),ATF4(t=12.093,24.395,22.946)and CHOP protein((t=21.592,19.207,22.136)decreased,while Bcl-2 protein increased(t=7.474,20.761,35.350),the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05),respectively,and the high-dose group had the best therapeutic effect.Conclusion Self-formulated Tongluo Yizhi formula could reduce the apoptosis and inflammatory injury of hippocampal neurons in VD rats,and its mechanism may be related to inhibiting ERS mediated by PERK.

Objective To observe the effect of self-formulated Tongluo Yizhi formula on memory deficits and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in rats with vascular dementia (VD) and its mechanism. Methods Fifty SPF-grade Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham surgery group,model group,TLYZF low-dose (12.5 mg/kg/d) group,TLYZF medium dose (25 mg/kg/d) group and TLYZF high-dose (50 mg/kg/d) group,with 10 rats in each group. Except for the Sham group,other rats were subjected to modified bilateral carotid artery ligation to construct VD models. After 4 weeks of TLYZF intervention,Morris water maze experiment was used to evaluate the learning and memory abilities of rats.Hematoxylin eosin staining was used to detect the pathological structure of the hippocampus.Nissl staining was used to detect hippocampal neuronal damage.In situ end transfer enzyme labeling staining was used to detect hippocampal neuronal apoptosis.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the content of inflammatory factors in hippocampal tissue.Protein immunoblotting was used to detect apoptosis of hippocampal tissue cells and the expression of ERS related proteins.Results Compared with the Sham group,the average escape latency of the model group was prolonged(t=14.059),the number of crossing the platform was reduced(t=8.534),the hippocampal neurons were disorderly arranged,the morphology was fuzzy,the cytoplasmic vacuolization,the nuclear pyknosis,the inflammatory cell infiltration increased,the number of Nissl bodies decreased(t=17.131),and the neuronal apoptosis rate increased(t=17.701). The contents of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) and IL-6 increased(t=6.541,6.957,10.014),the expression of Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax),cleaved caspase-3,glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78),phosphorylated endoplasmic reticulum kinase (p-PERK)/PERK,phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (p-eIF2α)/eIF2α,activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) homologous protein (CHOP) increased(t=13.548～76.468),while the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) proteinwas decreased (t=39.691),and the difference were statistically significant (all P<0.05),respectively. Compared with the model group,the average escape latency of TLYZF-treated rats was shortened(t=2.476,7.266,11.306),the number of platform crossing was increased(t=2.187,4.471,6.932),the hippocampal neurons were relatively regular,the nucleus was clear,the inflammatory cell infiltration was significantly reduced,the content of Nissl bodies was increased(t=4.359,9.477,11.449),the apoptosis rate of neurons was decreased(t=3.631,6.145,7.580),the contents of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 were decreased (t=2.382～8.293),the expression of Bax(t=4.696,16.250,20.250),cleaved caspase-3(t=15.205,27.000,26.833),GRP78(t=5.918,13.139,13.741),p-PERK/PERK(t=13.416,14.230,17.889),p-eIF2α/eIF2α(t=20.152,39.346,50.750),ATF4(t=12.093,24.395,22.946)and CHOP protein((t=21.592,19.207,22.136)decreased,while Bcl-2 protein increased(t=7.474,20.761,35.350),the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05),respectively,and the high-dose group had the best therapeutic effect.Conclusion Self-formulated Tongluo Yizhi formula could reduce the apoptosis and inflammatory injury of hippocampal neurons in VD rats,and its mechanism may be related to inhibiting ERS mediated by PERK.

Objective To predict the potential geographic distribution of Oncomelania hupensis in Yunnan Province using random forest (RF) and maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models, so as to provide insights into O. hupensis surveillance and control in Yunnan Province. Methods The O. hupensis snail survey data in Yunnan Province from 2015 to 2016 were collected and converted into O. hupensis snail distribution site data. Data of 22 environmental variables in Yunnan Province were collected, including twelve climate variables (annual potential evapotranspiration, annual mean ground surface temperature, annual precipitation, annual mean air pressure, annual mean relative humidity, annual sunshine duration, annual mean air temperature, annual mean wind speed, ≥ 0 ℃ annual accumulated temperature, ≥ 10 ℃ annual accumulated temperature, aridity and index of moisture), eight geographical variables (normalized difference vegetation index, landform type, land use type, altitude, soil type, soil textureclay content, soil texture-sand content and soil texture-silt content) and two population and economic variables (gross domestic product and population). Variables were screened with Pearson correlation test and variance inflation factor (VIF) test. The RF and MaxEnt models and the ensemble model were created using the biomod2 package of the software R 4.2.1, and the potential distribution of O. hupensis snails after 2016 was predicted in Yunnan Province. The predictive effects of models were evaluated through cross-validation and independent tests, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), true skill statistics (TSS) and Kappa statistics were used for model evaluation. In addition, the importance of environmental variables was analyzed, the contribution of environmental variables output by the models with AUC values of > 0.950 and TSS values of > 0.850 were selected for normalization processing, and the importance percentage of environmental variables was obtained to analyze the importance of environmental variables. Results Data of 148 O. hupensis snail distribution sites and 15 environmental variables were included in training sets of RF and MaxEnt models, and both RF and MaxEnt models had high predictive performance, with both mean AUC values of > 0.900 and all mean TSS values and Kappa values of > 0.800, and significant differences in the AUC (t = 19.862, P < 0.05), TSS (t = 10.140, P < 0.05) and Kappa values (t = 10.237, P < 0.05) between two models. The AUC, TSS and Kappa values of the ensemble model were 0.996, 0.954 and 0.920, respectively. Independent data verification showed that the AUC, TSS and Kappa values of the RF model and the ensemble model were all 1, which still showed high performance in unknown data modeling, and the MaxEnt model showed poor performance, with TSS and Kappa values of 0 for 24%(24/100) of the modeling results. The modeling results of 79 RF models, 38 MaxEnt models and their ensemble models with AUC values of > 0.950 and TSS values of > 0.850 were included in the evaluation of importance of environmental variables. The importance of annual sunshine duration (SSD) was 32.989%, 37.847% and 46.315% in the RF model, the MaxEnt model and their ensemble model, while the importance of annual mean relative humidity (RHU) was 30.947%, 15.921% and 28.121%, respectively. Important environment variables were concentrated in modeling results of the RF model, dispersed in modeling results of the MaxEnt model, and most concentrated in modeling results of the ensemble model. The potential distribution of O. hupensis snails after 2016 was predicted to be relatively concentrated in Yunnan Province by the RF model and relatively large by the MaxEnt model, and the distribution of O. hupensis snails predicted by the ensemble model was mostly the joint distribution of O. hupensis snails predicted by RF and MaxEnt models. Conclusions Both RF and MaxEnt models are effective to predict the potential distribution of O. hupensis snails in Yunnan Province, which facilitates targeted O. hupensis snail control.

OBJECTIVE To prepare spider fibroin membrane loaded with Periplaneta americana extract， and investigate its characterization， in vitro drug release property and cytotoxicity. METHODS Using natural spider silk collected from Chilobrachys guangxiensis as raw material， P. americana extract as model drug， the drug-loaded spider fibroin membrane （hereinafter referred to as drug-loaded membrane） was prepared by solvent casting method. The material matrix spider fibroin membrane without P. americana extract （hereinafter referred to as blank membrane） was prepared with same method. The membrane structure was characterized by static water contact angle， Fourier infrared chromatography， X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy from different angles； drug release characteristics in artificial saliva were simulated in vitro to evaluate the drug sustained-release performance. MTT assay was adopted to validate the cytotoxicity of drug-loaded membrane. RESULTS The drug-loaded membrane was prepared， and the static water contact angle was less than 90°， which was less than that of blank membrane. The drug-loaded membrane showed the characteristic absorption peak to polypeptide of P. americana extract at 1 500-1 700 cm－1. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy also proved that the drug was successfully loaded into the pellicle. The release time of the pellicle in artificial saliva was more than 200 min. The MTT test results showed that the cell proliferation rates of blank membrane and drug-loaded membrane were 84.6% and 79.4% （both greater than 70%）， respectively， without significant potential cytotoxicity. CONCLUSIONS Drug-loaded membrane prepared with natural spider silk has a certain sustained-release effect in artificial saliva， which can be further developed as a drug sustained-release carrier with excellent biological characteristics and biocompatibility.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the cytotoxicity of four wild mushrooms involved in a case of Yunnan sudden unexplained death (YNSUD), to provide the experimental basis for prevention and treatment of YNSUD. METHODS: Four kinds of wild mushrooms that were eaten by family members in this YNSUD incident were collected and identified by expert identification and gene sequencing. Raw extracts from four wild mushrooms were extracted by ultrasonic extraction to intervene HEK293 cells, and the mushrooms with obvious cytotoxicity were screened by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). The selected wild mushrooms were prepared into three kinds of extracts, which were raw, boiled, and boiled followed by enzymolysis. HEK293 cells were intervened with these three extracts at different concentrations. The cytotoxicity was detected by CCK-8 combined with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) Assay Kit, and the morphological changes of HEK293 cells were observed under an inverted phase contrast microscope. RESULTS: Species identification indicated that the four wild mushrooms were Butyriboletus roseoflavus, Boletus edulis, Russula virescens and Amanita manginiana. Cytotoxicity was found only in Amanita manginiana. The raw extracts showed cytotoxicity at the mass concentration of 0.1 mg/mL, while the boiled extracts and the boiled followed by enzymolysis extracts showed obvious cytotoxicity at the mass concentration of 0.4 mg/mL and 0.7 mg/mL, respectively. In addition to the obvious decrease in the number of HEK293 cells, the number of synapses increased and the refraction of HEK293 cells was poor after the intervention of Amanita manginiana extracts. CONCLUSIONS The extracts of Amanita manginiana involved in this YNSUD case has obvious cytotoxicity, and some of its toxicity can be reduced by boiled and enzymolysis, but cannot be completely detoxicated. Therefore, the consumption of Amanita manginiana is potentially dangerous, and it may be one of the causes of the YNSUD.
Humans ; HEK293 Cells ; Sincalide ; China ; Amanita ; Death, Sudden

Animals ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Macaca mulatta ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Antibodies, Viral ; Vaccines

Objective To establish a Cox proportional-hazards prediction model for mortality during short-term hospitalization in patients with liver cirrhosis and sepsis. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 336 patients with liver cirrhosis and sepsis who were admitted to The Third People's Hospital of Kunming from January 2012 to August 2022, and according to whether the patient died during short-term hospitalization, they were divided into death group with 40 patients and survival group with 296 patients. Demographic data, comorbidities, and clinical biochemical parameters were collected and compared between the two groups. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. The multivariate Cox analysis was used for screening of variables, then a Cox proportional-hazards prediction model was established, and hazard ratio ( HR ) and its 95% confidence interval [ CI ] were calculated; C-index index was used to evaluate the prediction accuracy of the model. The Cox proportional-hazards prediction model was visualized by a nomogram, and calibration curve was plotted to evaluate the consistency between the prediction results of the model and the actual condition. Results Among the 336 patients, there were 261 male patients (77.7%) and 75 female patients (22.3%), with a mean age of 50.0±10.6 years, and 40 patients died, with a mean hospital stay of 16.8±11.3 days (range 8.2-23.0 days). Compared with the survival group, the death group had a significantly higher proportion of patients with an age of ≥60 years, a history of invasive operation within the past two weeks, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy (HE) or hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), a significantly higher Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) score, and significantly higher levels of prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, D-dimer, CD4/CD8 ratio, lactate, white blood cell count, norepinephrine, total bilirubin, interleukin-6, procalcitonin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine (all P < 0.05), as well as significantly lower levels of red blood cell count, hemoglobin, albumin, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein (all P < 0.05). The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age ( HR =2.602, 95% CI : 1.277-5.303, P =0.008), HE ( HR =2.516, 95% CI : 1.258-5.033, P =0.009), HRS ( HR =2.324, 95% CI : 1.010-5.349, P =0.047), hsCRP ( HR =1.008, 95% CI : 1.003-1.013, P =0.004), MEWS score ( HR =1.205, 95% CI : 1.022-1.422, P =0.027), and PT ( HR =1.076, 95% CI : 1.030-1.124, P =0.027) were independent influencing factors for death in patients with liver cirrhosis and sepsis. The model showed a C-index of 0.857 (95% CI : 0.815-0.920), suggesting that the model had relatively high prediction accuracy, and the calibration curve showed good consistency between the predicted risk and the actual risk. Conclusion The Cox proportional-hazards prediction model established for death during short-term hospitalization in patients with liver cirrhosis and sepsis can be used to predict the risk of death during short-term hospitalization in patients with liver cirrhosis and sepsis, thereby guiding clinical medical staff to take targeted intervention measures to avoid or reduce the possibility of death in patients.