Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）， the predominant subtype of primary liver cancer， ranks among the top in both incidence and mortality rates of malignant tumors in China. In its early stages， the disease may present with subtle or nonspecific symptoms， often leading to poor clinical prognosis and low patient survival rates， which makes it a significant public health concern. The pathogenesis is associated with multiple factors， including hepatitis virus infection， alcohol consumption， obesity， drug-induced liver injury， and immune disorders， which may interact synergistically to promote disease development. Currently， mainstream therapeutic approaches for HCC in modern medicine encompass surgical resection， liver transplantation， radiofrequency ablation， radiotherapy， and chemotherapy， but they all have certain limitations， such as large side effects and poor prognosis， imposing substantial psychological distress and financial strain on affected individuals. With a rich historical background in hepatic malignancy management， traditional Chinese medicine offers therapeutic benefits characterized by multi-targeted mechanisms， multi-level regulation， minimal adverse effects， and reduced likelihood of disease recurrence. It can not only enhance the curative effect， but also reduce the side effects of radiotherapy， chemotherapy， and surgery. Thus， it has attracted widespread attention. Extensive research has demonstrated that traditional Chinese medicine exhibits significant antitumor properties， along with notable anti-inflammatory and oxidative stress-reducing capabilities， and its mechanism may be related to the regulation of nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） signaling pathway， which can affect multiple stages of hepatocarcinogenesis， such as cell proliferation， invasion， metastasis， and apoptosis. The mechanism of NF-κB signaling pathway in traditional Chinese medicine for HCC treatment has emerged as one of the pivotal research directions in current oncology studies. Based on the existing research foundation， a systematic literature review method was adopted to retrieve and analyze relevant Chinese and English literature in recent years. Integrating the molecular regulatory mechanisms of the NF-κB signaling pathway and its pivotal role in HCC pathogenesis and progression helped further explore the latest research advances in traditional Chinese medicine interventions targeting this pathway for HCC treatment. This approach may provide novel theoretical foundations and translational strategies for the prevention and management of HCC using traditional Chinese medicine.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a critical global health threat. This review systematically examines AMR surveillance technology advances, from conventional culture methods to modern molecular diagnostics (e.g., whole-genome sequencing) and artificial intelligence-assisted approaches. It focuses on the current application of mass spectrometry, machine learning predictive models, and real-time surveillance networks. To address challenges including inadequate technical standardization, clinical translation barriers, and data-sharing limitations, we propose integrated ^"genotype-phenotype^" strategies and global standardization framework, while exploring future applications of CRISPR-based portable detection, single-cell sequencing, and blockchain technologies.

ObjectiveTo clarify whether METTL14 mediates the core role of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) in promoting myelination and improving behavior in young autistic rats through gene intervention technology. MethodsThe ASD model was established by intraperitoneal injection of valproic acid (VPA) in pregnant rats. Male offspring were intracerebroventricularly injected with adenovirus-packaged METTL14 shRNA (sh-METTL14) or its control (sh-NC) on postnatal day 1, with a model group set as well. Subsequently, the juvenile rats were divided into model group, acupuncture group, acupuncture+sh-NC group, and acupuncture+sh-METTL14 group. The acupuncture group received acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) from postnatal day 7, once daily for 21 consecutive days. Neurobehavioral changes were evaluated by behavioral tests; METTL14 knockdown efficiency and the expression of METTL14, METTL3, and PTEN were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot (WB); PTEN m⁶A levels were measured by RNA immunoprecipitation-qPCR (RIP-qPCR); myelin ultrastructure, expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) and neurofascin 155 (NF155), and dendritic spine density were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and primary neuron culture. ResultsBehaviorally, knockdown of METTL14 significantly counteracted the beneficial effects of acupuncture in improving self-grooming, open field exploration, three-chamber social interaction, and Morris water maze learning and memory (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the acupuncture+sh-NC group, the acupuncture+sh-METTL14 group showed significantly decreased mRNA and protein expression of hippocampal METTL14 (P<0.01), and the upregulating effects of acupuncture on METTL3 and PTEN expression were reversed (P<0.01). Meanwhile, knockdown of METTL14 significantly inhibited the acupuncture-induced increase in PTEN m⁶A levels (P<0.01). Morphologically, knockdown of METTL14 attenuated the improvement of myelin structure by acupuncture, reversed the downregulation of MBP and upregulation of NF155 induced by acupuncture, and blocked the increase in dendritic spine density (P<0.05, P<0.01). ConclusionMETTL14 is a key molecule mediating the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at Neiguan. Acupuncture at Neiguan upregulates METTL14, thereby enhancing m⁶A methylation modification of PTEN mRNA to stabilize its expression, ultimately promoting myelin development and improving behavioral symptoms in ASD juvenile rats. This preliminarily reveals the modern biological connotation of “opening Xuanfu and dredging myelin”.

ObjectiveTo clarify whether METTL14 mediates the core role of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) in promoting myelination and improving behavior in young autistic rats through gene intervention technology. MethodsThe ASD model was established by intraperitoneal injection of valproic acid (VPA) in pregnant rats. Male offspring were intracerebroventricularly injected with adenovirus-packaged METTL14 shRNA (sh-METTL14) or its control (sh-NC) on postnatal day 1, with a model group set as well. Subsequently, the juvenile rats were divided into model group, acupuncture group, acupuncture+sh-NC group, and acupuncture+sh-METTL14 group. The acupuncture group received acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) from postnatal day 7, once daily for 21 consecutive days. Neurobehavioral changes were evaluated by behavioral tests; METTL14 knockdown efficiency and the expression of METTL14, METTL3, and PTEN were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot (WB); PTEN m⁶A levels were measured by RNA immunoprecipitation-qPCR (RIP-qPCR); myelin ultrastructure, expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) and neurofascin 155 (NF155), and dendritic spine density were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and primary neuron culture. ResultsBehaviorally, knockdown of METTL14 significantly counteracted the beneficial effects of acupuncture in improving self-grooming, open field exploration, three-chamber social interaction, and Morris water maze learning and memory (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the acupuncture+sh-NC group, the acupuncture+sh-METTL14 group showed significantly decreased mRNA and protein expression of hippocampal METTL14 (P<0.01), and the upregulating effects of acupuncture on METTL3 and PTEN expression were reversed (P<0.01). Meanwhile, knockdown of METTL14 significantly inhibited the acupuncture-induced increase in PTEN m⁶A levels (P<0.01). Morphologically, knockdown of METTL14 attenuated the improvement of myelin structure by acupuncture, reversed the downregulation of MBP and upregulation of NF155 induced by acupuncture, and blocked the increase in dendritic spine density (P<0.05, P<0.01). ConclusionMETTL14 is a key molecule mediating the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at Neiguan. Acupuncture at Neiguan upregulates METTL14, thereby enhancing m⁶A methylation modification of PTEN mRNA to stabilize its expression, ultimately promoting myelin development and improving behavioral symptoms in ASD juvenile rats. This preliminarily reveals the modern biological connotation of “opening Xuanfu and dredging myelin”.

To investigate the effect of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) on the fibrosis progression and endometrial regeneration in mouse models of endometrial injury, a mouse endometrial injury model was established by physical scraping combined with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) chemical induction, and the endometrium morphology and collagen deposition were evaluated by HE and Masson staining after unilateral administration of MSCs. RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of epithelial markers Epcam and collagen I (Col1). Primary endometrial epithelial cells were isolated to assess p21 expression. Fibrosis-related genes and signaling pathways were validated using transcriptome sequencing and RT-qPCR. The experimental results showed that MSCs increased endometrial thickness and number of glands (P<0.05), up-regulated the expression of Epcam (P<0.01), while significantly reducing uterine collagen fiber deposition (P<0.05) and the expression of p21 in primary epithelial cells (P<0.0001). Transcriptomic analysis revealed that MSCs attenuated collagen deposition by modulating genes involved in the TGF-β signaling pathway. This study elucidates that MSCs facilitate uterine repair by reversing endometrial fibrosis and promoting epithelial regeneration, and their role is related to the regulation of the TGF-β/SMAD pathway and suppression of aberrant collagen accumulation.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and safety of Shuganning injection in the treatment of liver injury by observing the clinical outcome of patients with liver injury after treatment with Shuganning injection and comparing it with reduced glutathione （GSH）. MethodsThis study was conducted among 175 patients with liver injury who attended 6 hospitals in China （Beijing YouAn Hospital， Capital Medical University； Nanyang First People’s Hospital； The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University； The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital； The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University； The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University） from April 25， 2019 to February 28， 2022. The patients were divided into experimental group （89 patients treated with Shuganning injection） and control group （86 patients treated with GSH）， and the course of treatment was 4 weeks for both groups. Related indicators were recorded before treatment， after treatment， and after drug withdrawal for 8 weeks， including liver function parameters， blood biochemical parameters， blood lipids， coagulation profiles， liver fibrosis markers， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， and ultrasound findings， as well as adverse events during treatment. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups， and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for comparison of observation indicators before treatment， at week 4 of treatment， and after drug withdrawal for 8 weeks. When the efficacy evaluation of TCM syndromes was used as the outcome， a pooled analysis was performed for the effective cases and the markedly effective cases， and a Logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratio （OR） and its 95%CI. ResultsAfter 4 weeks of treatment with Shuganning injection， the patients showed significant reductions in TCM syndrome score （P<0.001） and the levels of aspartate aminotransferase， alanine aminotransferase， total bilirubin， and direct bilirubin （all P<0.001） and a significant increase in the level of albumin （P=0.002）， and these significant improvements persisted after drug withdrawal for 8 weeks. Furthermore， compared with the control group， the experimental group had a significantly higher proportion of patients assessed as effective or markedly effective cases （48.31% vs 32.56%， P=0.033）. Compared with the control group， the experimental group had a significantly greater change in TCM syndrome score at weeks 1-4 of treatment and after drug withdrawal for 8 weeks （P<0.05）. At week 4 of treatment， the experimental group had a significantly greater reduction in alanine aminotransferase than the control group （P<0.05）， and at week 8 after drug withdrawal， the experimental group had a significantly greater reduction in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase than the control group （all P<0.05）. One patient in the experimental group （1.12%） experienced an adverse event， which was determined to be associated with the progression of viral hepatitis. ConclusionShuganning injection can effectively improve liver injury， with good long-term efficacy and a low incidence rate of adverse reactions.

ObjectiveMicrotube associated protein-2 （MAP-2）， alpha-tubulin （α-tubulin）， and synaptophysin （SYP） are important proteins in neuronal signal communication. This paper observed the effects of modified Zhigancao Tang on the expression of serum α-Synuclein （α-Syn） and its oligomers， MAP-2， α-tubulin， and SYP of patients with liver and kidney deficiency of Parkinson's disease （PD）， analyzed their correlation， and evaluated the therapeutic effect of modified Zhigancao Tang in patients with liver and kidney deficiency of PD based on α-Syn transmission pathway mediated by neuronal communication in vivo. MethodsA total of 60 patients with PD who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into a treatment group （30 cases） and a control group （30 cases）. Both groups were treated on the basis of PD medicine， and the treatment group was treated with modified Zhigancao Tang. Both groups were treated for 12 weeks. The changes in UPDRS score， TCM syndrome score， and expression of serum α-Syn and its oligomers， MAP-2， α-tubulin， and SYP were observed before and after 12 weeks of treatment in each group. The correlation between the above-mentioned serum biological indexes and the levels of serum α-Syn and its oligomers was analyzed. ResultsAfter treatment， the TCM syndrome score， UPDRS score， UPDRS-Ⅱ score， and UPDRS-Ⅲ score of the treatment group were significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The UPDRS score， UPDRS-Ⅱ score， and UPDRS-Ⅲ scores in the treatment group were significantly decreased compared with those in the control group after treatment （P<0.05）. After treatment， the total effective rate of the control group was 63.3% （19/30）， and that of the treatment group was 86.7% （26/30）. The clinical effect of the observation group was better than the control group （Z=-2.03， P<0.05）. The total effective rate of the observation group was better than that of the control group， and the difference was statistically significant （χ²=5.136， P<0.05）. After treatment， the oligomer level of serum α-Syn and MAP-2 level in the treatment group were significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The levels of serum α-Syn and its oligomers， as well as α-tubulin in the treatment group， were significantly decreased compared with those in the control group after treatment （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Serum α-Syn was correlated with serum MAP-2 and α-Syn oligomer in patients with PD （P<0.05， P<0.01） but not correlated with serum SYP . Serum α-Syn oligomers of patients with PD were correlated with serum MAP-2 and α-tubulin （P<0.05， P<0.01） but not correlated with serum SYP level. Serum SYP of patients with PD was correlated with serum MAP-2 （P<0.05）. ConclusionModified Zhigancao Tang has a therapeutic effect on patients with liver and kidney deficiency of PD by inhibiting the production of α-Syn oligomers and intervening α-Syn microtubule transport pathway in vivo.

Hepatitis E is an acute and self-limiting viral hepatitis caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV). It has a higher mortality rate among immunosuppressed patients and pregnant women infected with HEV. Although HEV infections in humans are mostly caused by contaminated water or food worldwide, the incidence of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis E is continuously rising. Additionally, the prevalence of serum anti-HEV IgG in the blood donors in China is at a relatively high level, making it worth considering screening blood donors for HEV. This article briefly reviews the globally reported cases of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis E and the HEV screening strategies for blood donations.

Background/Aims: Early detection and effective prognosis prediction in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) provide an avenue for survival improvement, yet more effective approaches are greatly needed. We sought to develop the detection and prognosis models with ultra-sensitivity and low cost based on fragmentomic features of circulating cell free mtDNA (ccf-mtDNA). Methods: Capture-based mtDNA sequencing was carried out in plasma cell-free DNA samples from 1168 participants, including 571 patients with HCC, 301 patients with chronic hepatitis B or liver cirrhosis (CHB/LC) and 296 healthy controls (HC). Results: The systematic analysis revealed significantly aberrant fragmentomic features of ccf-mtDNA in HCC group when compared with CHB/LC and HC groups. Moreover, we constructed a random forest algorithm-based HCC detection model by utilizing ccf-mtDNA fragmentomic features. Both internal and two external validation cohorts demonstrated the excellent capacity of our model in distinguishing early HCC patients from HC and highrisk population with CHB/LC, with AUC exceeding 0.983 and 0.981, sensitivity over 89.6% and 89.61%, and specificity over 98.20% and 95.00%, respectively, greatly surpassing the performance of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and mtDNA copy number. We also developed an HCC prognosis prediction model by LASSO-Cox regression to select 20 fragmentomic features, which exhibited exceptional ability in predicting 1-year, 2-year and 3-year survival (AUC=0.8333, 0.8145 and 0.7958 for validation cohort, respectively). Conclusions We have developed and validated a high-performing and low-cost approach in a large clinical cohort based on aberrant ccf-mtDNA fragmentomic features with promising clinical translational application for the early detection and prognosis prediction of HCC patients.

The applications of nuclear technology in industries, medicine, and other fields have increased the risk of radiation injury. Although some small-molecule drugs for radiation injury treatment have been applied clinically or are in preclinical research, their therapeutic efficacy is significantly limited by short circulation time and rapid metabolism. Nanomaterials have attracted growing attention with their outstanding bioactivity, chemical stability, tissue compatibility, and targeted delivery capabilities, therefore having the promise of offering the potential solutions to the limitations of current small-molecule drugs. However, their biosafety and clinical efficacy require further investigation. This review summarizes the design strategies and classifications of nanomaterials for radiation injury treatment, analyzes current research progress in their therapeutic applications, and introduces nanomaterial-based approaches for enhancing the elimination of internal radionuclide contamination. Finally, the challenges and future prospects of nanomaterials in radiation injury treatment are discussed. This review aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive understanding of recent advances in nanomaterial-based radiation injury therapeutics, thereby promoting further development in this field.