1.Research progress on the intervention of energy metabolism disorders in chronic heart failure by active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine through regulating circadian rhythms
Ruiqi GUO ; Sutong WANG ; Zhaohui LYU ; Yan LI ; Renwei GUAN ; Xiao LI
China Pharmacy 2026;37(5):670-675
The onset and progression of chronic heart failure (CHF) are closely associated with myocardial energy metabolism disorders, and this pathological process significantly affects patient prognosis. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), grounded in time-based medical theories such as the correspondence between humans and nature and the theory of circadian flow of meridians (Ziwu Liuzhu), exhibits intrinsic consistency with modern circadian rhythm theory, providing a unique theoretical framework for understanding and intervening in CHF from a temporal perspective. This article systematically explores the impact of circadian rhythms on energy metabolism and the potential mechanisms by which TCM active ingredients intervene in CHF through a review of relevant literature. It is found that various TCM active ingredients, including flavonoids (such as nobiletin), alkaloids (such as berberine), and polyphenols (such as resveratrol), can improve mitochondrial function, promote fatty acid oxidation, enhance glucose uptake and utilization efficiency, maintain metabolic balance, and alleviate oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in myocardial cells by regulating the expression and rhythms of core circadian clock genes such as CLOCK, BMAL1, PER, and CRY. These actions thereby correct energy metabolism disorders and improve cardiac function. Further exploration of the interaction mechanisms between these components and the circadian rhythms holds promise for providing novel theoretical foundations and potential intervention strategies for the prevention and treatment of CHF.
2.Influenza surveillance results in Ordos City in 2017 - 2023
Xiaomin ZHANG ; Hongtao XIAO ; Sheng WANG ; Rong SUN ; Shangwu JIN ; Di ZHANG ; Jiming HAO ; Jialin LYU ; Chunyan YANG
Journal of Public Health and Preventive Medicine 2026;37(2):54-58
Objective To analyze the influenza-like illness (ILI) data in Ordos City from 2017 to 2023 and conduct nucleic acid detection of the virus to understand the local influenza epidemic situation, and to provide a reliable basis for influenza prevention and control in the city. Methods Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to identify virus subtypes in ILI throat swab samples. Comparisons of positive rates were conducted using the chi-square test, with a significance level of α=0.05. Results From 2017 to 2023, a total of 3,283,434 outpatient and emergency visits were recorded at the Ordos City Central Hospital, including 74,159 ILI cases, with an ILI proportion of 2.26%. The majority of ILI cases (74.43%) occurred in children aged 0~14 years old. The overall positive rate of influenza virus nucleic acid detection was 10.87%, with the highest proportion being subtype A (seasonal H3) at 43.03%. The highest detection rate was observed in the 5~14 years age group, with statistically significant differences in positive rates across age groups (χ2=155.638, P<0.001). Influenza peaks occurred mainly from November to March of the following year. From January to April, three types of influenza were prevalent alternately or mixed, while from October to December, subtype A (seasonal H3) predominated. Positive rates varied significantly across months (χ2=250.923, P<0.001). The temporal trends of ILI proportions and PCR-positive rates were consistent. Conclusion Influenza in Ordos City exhibits distinct seasonal and age distribution characteristics, with alternating or mixed circulation of three virus types. Continued efforts are needed to strengthen influenza surveillance, especially the prevention and control of influenza in infants and adolescents.
3.Lysosomes as Regulators of Cancer Stemness and Drug Resistance
Fa-Xiao ZHOU ; Di-Ping YU ; Si-Qi TAN ; Hong-Yu DUAN ; Xiao-Ming WU
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(4):951-967
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a distinct subpopulation of cells characterized by self-renewal capacity, differentiation potential, and critical roles in driving tumor progression, therapeutic resistance, recurrence, and maintenance of the tumor microenvironment. Targeting CSCs has emerged as a pivotal direction in cancer research, offering novel strategies to overcome drug resistance and prevent metastasis and relapse. Lysosomes, traditionally recognized as central organelles for intracellular degradation and recycling, are indispensable for cellular homeostasis. Dysregulation of lysosomal function is intimately linked to various diseases, including cancer. In tumors, aberrant lysosomal activity can promote malignant progression through mechanisms such as altering metabolic pathways, enhancing lysosomal exocytosis, modulating drug resistance, and interfering with autophagy-lysosomal pathways. Recent studies have underscored the involvement of lysosomes in regulating CSC properties. This review synthesizes findings on lysosomal regulation of CSCs through the following aspects. (1) Lysosomes exert complex and critical bidirectional control over CSC stemness maintenance through three degradation pathways that are dependent on their degradative function. (i) The lysophagy pathway. This pathway exhibits dual roles. Activation can sustain CSC functions; for instance, in glioblastoma, hypoxia upregulates Gal-8 via the STAT3/HIF1α signaling axis to induce autophagy, supporting stem cell survival. In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, degradation of GSK3β activates the Wnt pathway, enhancing stemness. Conversely, this pathway can suppress stemness by degrading stemness-related proteins such as BMI-1 and OCT4A, thereby impairing CSC self-renewal capacity. (ii) Mitophagy pathway. In non-small cell lung cancer stem cells, mitophagy-related mechanisms, such as the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) activating the TLR9-Notch1-AMPK signaling axis, have been shown to promote CSC proliferation. (iii) Autophagosome-dependent lysosomal degradation pathway. This pathway directly regulates stemness-related proteins in a bidirectional manner. Enhanced degradative function can promote CSC properties, exemplified by the degradation of NUMB to activate Notch signaling. Conversely, attenuated degradative function can also enhance stemness by stabilizing oncoproteins (e.g., protecting Frizzled-1 from degradation to sustain Wnt signaling) or preventing the degradation of tumor suppressors (e.g., inhibiting Notch degradation). (2) Constituent proteins of lysosomes, including membrane proteins and luminal acid hydrolases, participate in regulating CSC stemness. Regarding membrane proteins, LAMP2A facilitates chaperone-mediated autophagy to maintain stemness in glioblastoma and ovarian cancer. V-ATPase, by maintaining an acidic luminal environment, promotes proliferation and drug resistance in glioma stem cells. Among hydrolases, cathepsins B and L are highly expressed in pancreatic and ovarian cancers and correlate with poor prognosis. Furthermore, targeting lysosomes to induce lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) triggers lysosome-mediated cell death, presenting a potential therapeutic strategy for eradicating CSCs.(3) The acidic luminal environment, single-membrane structure, and the presence of transmembrane transporters (e.g., ABCA3) enable lysosomes to passively trap or actively uptake and sequester chemotherapeutic drugs. Subsequent drug extrusion via exocytosis confers drug resistance. In CSCs, this lysosome-mediated drug sequestration, often cooperating with autophagy, establishes multimodal drug resistance. Therefore, targeting lysosomal function represents a potential strategy to overcome therapy resistance. The central role of lysosomes in regulating CSC stemness and resistance positions them as highly promising therapeutic targets. Strategies aimed at disrupting lysosomal function to selectively eliminate CSCs include: inhibiting the lysosome-autophagy system using agents like IITZ or lovastatin; inducing lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) with compounds such as hexamethylene amiloride to compromise membrane stability; and disrupting the acidic luminal environment using drugs like siramesine or the K/H transport compound 2. In conclusion, lysosomes critically regulate CSC stemness maintenance and drug resistance through degradative pathways, membrane protein functions, luminal hydrolase activities, and drug sequestration mechanisms. This redefines the lysosome from a traditional “waste disposal unit” to a “signal integration center” in CSCs. The duality and context-dependency of lysosomal function in CSCs offer novel insights into the heterogeneity observed across different tumors. Targeting lysosomal vulnerabilities—such as inducing LMP, disrupting acidity, or blocking autophagic flux—provides a strategy to bypass canonical CSC resistance mechanisms and directly trigger cell death. This establishes the lysosome as a key target to overcome CSC-mediated therapy resistance, paving the way for developing diverse candidate drugs and innovative combination therapies in oncology.
4.Pre-operative risk assessment of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence in liver transplant recipients by non-invasive detection of pre-existing genetic lesions
Suqin YANG ; Sunbin LING ; Jianhua LI ; Yan WANG ; Jiapei WANG ; Qiwei HUANG ; Fanming LIU ; Yiqi ZHUANG ; Yingyu ZHENG ; Rui WANG ; Zhe YANG ; Xiaoping ZHENG ; Kai WANG ; Zhikun LIU ; Jun CHEN ; Jianguo WANG ; Haiyang XIE ; Lin ZHOU ; Leiming CHEN ; Guoqiang CAO ; Dandan CHEN ; Junfang JI ; Bin ZHAO ; Chao JIANG ; Di LU ; Xuyong WEI ; Hangjin JIANG ; Qiaonan SHAN ; Hengbo SHI ; Yong-Zhen XU ; Shusen ZHENG ; Zhengxin WANG ; Shengda LIN ; Xiao XU
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2026;32(2):884-903
Background/Aims:
Liver transplantation (LT) following total hepatectomy is a life-saving treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The HCC recurrence after LT hinders the effectiveness of the procedure. The objective of this study is to develop a pre-operative risk stratification model based on a liquid biopsy.
Methods:
We conducted a comprehensive multi-omics study of 260 HCC patients from three centers, including clinical data, low-coverage whole-genome sequencing of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from plasma, as well as whole-exome, single-nucleus RNA, and spatial transcriptomics from matched tumor and non-tumor tissues.
Results:
We identified cfDNA-derived copy number alteration (CNA) signatures associated with post-transplant recurrence. By integrating cfDNA-derived CNA profiles with single-cell transcriptomic data, we traced recurrence-associated cfDNA to a distinct subpopulation of malignant cells within the primary tumor. These cells were embedded in a pro-metastatic microenvironment of specialized endothelial subtypes and cancer-associated fibroblasts. Notably, most recurrence-associated lesions were detectable in cfDNA prior to liver transplantation (LT). Building on these insights, we developed the ZJU Criteria based on CNA fragments and tumor markers, a pre-LT risk prediction tool that integrates conventional clinical factors with cfDNA-derived CNA signatures, and validated it using internal and independent external cohorts.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that post-transplant recurrence commonly originates from advanced subclones that emerge late during tumor evolution. The ZJU Criteria provides an accurate, non-invasive strategy that significantly improves pre-LT risk stratification and clinical decision-making for patients with HCC.
5.An excerpt of deceased donor liver utilization and assessment: Consensus guidelines from the European Liver and Intestine Transplant Association (2025 edition)
Wei SHEN ; Shengjun XU ; Di LU ; Xiao XU
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(10):2005-2008
In 2025, the European Liver and Intestine Transplant Association released the guidelines on the utilization and evaluation of deceased donor livers. The guidelines focus on the definition of high-risk donor livers and the strategies and criteria for dynamic liver assessment, aiming to provide standardized guidance for clinicians. This article gives an excerpt of the key recommendations in the guidelines.
6.Advancements in Exosomal Protein Detection Methods and Their Applications in Tumor Diagnosis
Hao-Cheng CHANG ; Ting-Hui WEN ; Hui-Xia DI ; Xiao-Chun LI
Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry 2025;53(7):1037-1049
Early screening of tumors is crucial for prevention and treatment of cancer,thus identifying effective biomarkers is of great importance for early diagnosis of tumors.In recent years,tumor-secreted exosomes(Exos)have attracted widespread attention as a novel biomarker for tumor liquid biopsy.Especially,some specific proteins contained in Exos play important roles in the occurrence,development,metastasis and microenvironment regulation of tumors,indicating their enormous potential as potential diagnostic biomarkers for tumors.Compared to traditional biopsy sample testing,exosome-based protein detection methods exhibit significant advantages in liquid biopsy,including rapid sampling,easy operation,non-invasiveness,and feasibility for early detection,holding important application value for clinical diagnosis of tumors.This review aimed to comprehensively summarize and discuss various detection strategies for exosomal proteins in liquid biopsy for tumors,while comprehensively evaluating the analytical performance of these methods.Meanwhile,new perspectives and strategies for early diagnosis and treatment of tumors were discussed.Additionally,the unique advantages of exosomal proteins as a new generation of non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers and insights into their promising prospects for future clinical applications were emphasized.
7.Determination of Organic Fluorinated Amines in Oral Care Products by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Charged Aerosol Detector Coupled with Solid-Phase Extraction
Xiao-Fang LI ; Yan PENG ; Di XIN ; Wei ZHOU ; Xiao-Hong QIAO ; Hua-Jin SHI ; Lei ZHANG ; Guo-Qiang CAI ; Ying LIU
Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry 2025;53(8):1362-1370,中插100-中插105
The major components of Olaflur raw material were characterized using ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF/MS).The results revealed that cetyl amine fluoride(C16-AmF),octadecene amine fluoride(C18:1-AmF),and octadecyl amine fluoride(Olaflur)were the main components.The contents of C16-AmF,C18:1-AmF,and Olaflur in oral care products were determined via ultra performance liquid chromatography-charged aerosol detector coupled with solid-phase extraction(SPE-UPLC-CAD).The oral care sample was dispersed evenly with a 50%ethanol aqueous solution,and then vortexed with ethanol.The supernatant was collected by centrifugation,concentrated to near dryness,and redissolved with ultrapure water.The re-dissolved sample was loaded onto a Poly-Sery HLB Pro SPE column for purification and elution.The acetonitrile eluate was collected and concentrated to 1.0 mL.Finally,a prepared test solution was separated on a Thermo Acclaim Surfactant Plus chromatographic column(2.1 mm×150 mm,3 μm).Acetonitrile and 100 mmol/L acetic acid-ammonium acetate aqueous solution(pH=4.8)were used as the mobile phases for gradient elution.The flow rate was 0.3 mL/min and cloumn temperature was maintained at 40℃.The sample was detected using a charged aerosol detector,and quantified using an external standard method.The experimental results indicated that the three organic fluorinated amines showed good linear relationship in their respective concentration ranges.The correlation coefficients(r)were greater than 0.99.The limit of detection(LOD)and the limit of quantification(LOQ)of C16-AmF were 2.0 and 8.0 μg/mL,respectively.The LOD and LOQ of C18:1-AmF were 2.0 and 8.0 μg/mL,respectively.The LOD and LOQ of Olaflur were 3.0 μg/mL and 10.0 μg/mL,respectively.The spiked recoveries of the three organic fluorinated amines were 84.3%-104.2%,with relative standard deviations(RSDs)of 4.93%-5.82%.The 28 batches of commercial oral care samples were detected by this method and the results indicated that three organic fluorinated amines were detected in 18 samples and the total content were 22.2-11477.8 μg/g.This method had high sensitivity and good reproducibility.It was suitable for verifying the authenticity of the claims of oral care products promoted with Olaflur as the main efficacy ingredient and selling point,and provided a valuable reference for establishing and improving the standard analytical method for Olaflur.
8.Validation and Forensic Application of a Domestic Human DNA Quantitative De-tection Kit
Jing CHEN ; Ya-Ping WANG ; Yun-Peng FENG ; Xiao-Xin HU ; Zhen-Jun JIA ; Hong-Di LIU ; An-Xin YAN ; Yong-Jiu LI ; Zhu PENG ; Zhi-Fang LIU ; Jian-Gang CHEN
Journal of Forensic Medicine 2025;41(3):252-259
Objective To verify the efficacy of a domestic human DNA quantification kit based on real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR in detecting the total human DNA concentration,male DNA concen-tration in mixed male/female DNA samples,the degree of DNA degradation and inhibitor tolerance.Methods Samples with different concentrations,different male/female ratios,different concentrations of inhibitors,and different degradation degrees were tested using the domestic human DNA quantification kit based on real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.This kit was compared with a similar product on the market and was applied to the detection of DNA from real cases.Results This human DNA quan-tification kit can effectively detect human DNA as low as 0.001 65 ng/μL,and 6.25 pg/μL of male DNA in mixed samples with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶15 000.Even when the sample contains as high as 400 ng/μL of humic acid or 1 000 μmol/L of hemin alone,the DNA concentration can still be accurately detected.The degradation index can effectively characterize the degradation degree of the sample.This kit has been successfully applied in forensic practice.Conclusion This human DNA quan-tification kit is accurate and reliable in detection.It can accurately reflect the degradation of DNA and inhibitor tolerance.It has good performance in quantitative accuracy,determination of the male/female ratio in mixed samples,and inhibitor tolerance.It has application potential in forensic case examination.
9.Research progress in the experiments about treatment for kidney diseases with Diaphragma Juglandis Fructus extract
Junshao ZHANG ; Mingzhi XIAO ; Xinxin PANG ; Di NIU ; Ruifang CHEN
International Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;47(10):1489-1492,F4
In the study of kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury, rhabdomyolysis induced kidney injury, hyperuricemia induced kidney injury and other diseases, Diaphragma Juglandis Fructus extract has shown various pharmacological effects such as lowering uric acid, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, sedative and sedative effects. It can improve kidney function by reducing inflammatory response, inhibiting oxidative stress, regulating related enzyme activity and other mechanisms. At the same time, Diaphragma Juglandis Fructus extract also has hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering effects, which can regulate glucose and lipid metabolism, inhibit inflammatory reaction, and reduce oxidative stress. It has potential application prospects in the treatment of diabetes nephropathy. At present, current research is mostly focused on animal and cellular experiment levels. Although certain achievements have been made, further clinical research is still needed to clarify its effectiveness and safety in the human body, and to further explore the active components to promote its application in the treatment of kidney diseases in clinical practice.
10.Reliability and validity of the diagnostic scale for toxic pathogen syndrome in heart failure
Di XIAO ; Meng LI ; Zhuoran WU ; Ce WANG ; Jiashang LIU ; Lijing ZHANG
Journal of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;48(10):1404-1412
Objective To evaluate the reliability,validity,and feasibility of the diagnostic scale for toxic pathogen syndrome in heart failure(HF),and to verify its reliability and effectiveness in clinical diagnosis.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted.Patients with HF who visited four hospitals,including Dongzhimen Hospital,Beijing University of Chinese Medicine,from March 1st to September 30th,2024 were selected.General information of the patients,including gender,age,smoking history,drinking history,and comorbidities,was collected.Cronbach's α coefficient,split-half reliability,and test-retest reliability were used to evaluate the reliability of the scale.Surface validity,discriminant validity,and structural validity were used to assess the validity of the scale.Acceptance rate,completion rate,and completion time were used to evaluate the feasibility.Results A total of 600 patients with HF meeting the research criteria were included,including 290 males and 310 females,with a median(IQR)age of 66.50(58.00,70.00)years.Internal consistency reliability:the Cronbach's α coefficients of the total scale and the four dimensions were all greater than 0.6,indicating a good consistency among the items of the scale.The Spearman-Brown coefficients of the total scale and the four dimensions were all greater than 0.7,indicating good stability and homogeneity within the scale.External consistency reliability:the Kappa coefficients of the total scale and the four dimensions were all greater than 0.7,indicating good external consistency of the scale.Discriminant validity evaluation:patients were divided into the toxic pathogen syndrome group(n=180)and the non-toxic pathogen syndrome group(n=420).There were no statistically significant differences in gender,age,smoking history,drinking history,and comorbidities between the two groups(P>0.05).The scores of the two groups were evaluated using the diagnostic scale for the toxic pathogen syndrome in HF.The toxic pathogen syndrome group had higher scores in all four dimensions and the total scale than the non-toxic pathogen syndrome group(P<0.01),indicating good discriminant validity of the scale.Structural validity assessment:principal component analysis was used to extract 28 factors,and a total of 7 common factors were extracted,with a total variance contribution rate of 60.554%.The absolute values of the loadings of each item were basically greater than 0.5,and the commonalities of the corresponding dimensions ranged from 52.1%to 96.5%,indicating good structural validity of the scale.The acceptance rate of the scale in this evaluation was 100%,the completion rate was 100%,and the average completion time was between 6 and 8 minutes,indicating good feasibility of the scale.Conclusion The diagnostic scale for the toxic pathogen syndrome in HF has good reliability,validity,and feasibility.


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