ObjectiveTo explore effect of Xianlian Jiedu prescription on the recurrence of colorectal cancer （CRC） and investigate the related mechanisms. MethodsA postoperative recurrence model was established in 25 Balb/c mice by injecting CT26 cells subcutaneously into the armpit， followed by surgical removal of 99% of the subcutaneous tumor. The mice were randomly divided into model group， low-dose Xianlian Jiedu prescription （XLJDP-L） group （6.45 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， medium-dose Xianlian Jiedu prescription （XLJDP-M） group （12.9 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， high-dose Xianlian Jiedu prescription （XLJDP-H） group （25.8 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， and 5-fluorouracil （5-FU） group （1×10^-3 g·kg^-1·d^-1）. The mice were euthanized after 14 days of continuous intervention， and recurrent tumor tissue was harvested. Hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining was used to observe pathological and morphological changes in the recurrent tumor tissue. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） was employed to assess the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen （Ki67）， vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， and platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule （CD31） in recurrent tumor tissue. The Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of angiopoietin-2 （ANG-2）， VEGF， phosphorylated-protein kinase B （p-Akt）， protein kinase B （Akt）， phosphorylated-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （p-PI3K）， and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K） in recurrent tumor tissue. ResultsBefore treatment， there were no statistical differences in tumor volume， tumor weight， and body mass among the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group compared to the model group， indicating model stability. After treatment， compared with those in the model group， the tumor volume and tumor weight in the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group were significantly reduced （P<0.01）， showing dose dependency. Meanwhile， there were no significant differences in body weight among the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group compared to the model group. HE staining showed that compared with that in the model group， tumor tissue in the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group had loosely arranged cells， increased intercellular spaces， small and shriveled nuclei， light staining， fewer mitotic figures and atypical nuclei， and increased necrotic areas. IHC showed that compared with those of the model group， the positive rates of Ki67， VEGF， and CD31 in the recurrent tumor tissue of the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group were significantly reduced （P<0.01） in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot results showed that compared with those of the model group， the protein expression levels of ANG-2 and VEGF in the recurrent tumor tissue of the XLJDP-L， XLJDP-M， and XLJDP-H groups and the 5-FU group were significantly downregulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the p-Akt/Akt and p-PI3K/PI3K ratios were significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionXianlian Jiedu prescription significantly inhibits the recurrence of CRC in mice after subcutaneous tumor surgery. The mechanism may involve regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway and downregulating key angiogenic proteins such as ANG-2， VEGF， and CD31.

Malignant tumors are one of the major diseases that endanger human life and health. Chinese medicine has unique advantages in clinical anti-tumor treatment. However， how to translate the anti-tumor effects of Chinese medicine into clinical practice is the core issue that must be addressed in the process of treating malignant tumors with traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. Unlike modern chemical drugs， the compatibility application of Chinese medicine is the key factor that determines whether Chinese medicine can achieve optimal anti-tumor efficacy and realize the goal of "enhancing efficacy and reducing toxicity". The formulation structure based on this compatibility is the basic form for the safe， efficient， and rational clinical use of anti-tumor Chinese medicine， and it mainly includes three categories： herb pairs， tri-herbal combinations， and compound compatibility. Although herb pairs have the characteristics of a simple structure and strong targeting （enhancing efficacy and reducing toxicity）， they often have a single effect and cannot fully address the complex pathogenesis of tumors. As a result， herb pairs are rarely used alone in practice. Compared to herb pairs， tri-herbal combinations broaden the application scope of herbs in clinical treatment， but their therapeutic range remains limited. The traditional "sovereign， minister， assistant， and guide" compound prescription， which includes herb pairs and tri-herbal combinations， improves the efficacy of herbs in treating serious diseases， hypochondriasis， chronic diseases， and miscellaneous disorders. However， due to the limitations of its historical background， it has not been integrated with modern clinical practice and modern pharmacological research， which restricts the development of compound compatibility theory. With the emergence of modern medical technology， it has been combined with traditional compatibility theory of Chinese medicine to create an innovative modern compatibility theory. This includes the "aid medicine" theory derived from modern Chinese medicine pharmacology， which compensates for the inability of the "sovereign， minister， assistant， and guide" theory to accurately apply medicine. Additionally， the "state-targeted treatment based on syndrome differentiation" theory， developed from pharmacology and modern medicine， addresses the deficiency in disease cognition in the "sovereign， minister， assistant， and guide" theory. Under the guidance of these compatibility forms and theories， clinical anti-tumor Chinese medicine can exert its maximum anti-tumor efficacy， which is of great significance for the application of Chinese medicine in clinical tumor treatment.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the protective effects of graphene heating film far-infrared (FIR) hyperthermia therapy against frostbite in mice and its impacts on microcirculation and coagulation function. METHODS: Seventy-six C57BL/6J mice were randomized into control, model, graphene-FIR, and carbon fiber-FIR groups. After 7-day FIR intervention (4 h/day), the mice were subjected to acute (4 ℃, 4 h) and intermittent (4 ℃, 4 h/day for 3 days) cold exposure and the changes in rectal temperature were monitored. In liquid nitrogen frostbite experiment, 24 ICR mice were divided into model, graphene-FIR, and carbon fiber-FIR groups, and after a 7-day FIR pretreatment (4 h/day), the liquid nitrogen frostbite models were established and apparent scores of the wounds were assessed on days 3 and 6 after modeling. In carrageenan-induced thrombosis experiment, 40 ICR mice were allocated to control, model, graphene-FIR, carbon fiber-FIR, and prazosin groups to test the effect of a 7-day FIR intervention on thrombosis induced by intraperitoneal carrageenan injection (2.5 mg/kg) by measuring thrombus length, blood perfusion, and serum biomarkers (6-keto-PGF1α, TXB2, t-PA, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF‑α) 24 h after the injection. RESULTS: The mice in graphene-FIR group showed significantly elevated rectal temperature in cold exposure tests. In mice with liquid nitrogen-induced frostbite, graphene-FIR treatment significantly reduced the wound scores and reduced frostbite area, producing better effects than carbon fiber. In mice with carrageenan-induced thrombosis, graphene-FIR treatment significantly decreased tail thrombosis length and thrombosis area, increased blood perfusion, lowered serum levels of TXB2, TNF-α and IL-6, and increased the levels of 6-keto-PGF1α and t-PA. CONCLUSIONS Graphene heating film FIR therapy can alleviate frostbite injury in mice by improving microcirculation, suppressing thrombosis and inflammatory responses, and reducing coagulation dysfunction.
Animals ; Frostbite/therapy* ; Graphite ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice ; Infrared Rays ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Hyperthermia, Induced/methods* ; Male ; Microcirculation

Sustained inflammatory responses are closely related to various severe diseases, and inhibiting the excessive activation of inflammasomes and pyroptosis has significant implications for clinical treatment. Natural products have garnered considerable concern for the treatment of inflammation. Huanglian-Wumei decoction (HLWMD) is a classic prescription used for treating inflammatory diseases, but the necessity of their combination and the exact underlying anti-inflammatory mechanism have not yet been elucidated. Inspired by the supramolecular self-assembly strategy and natural drug compatibility theory, we successfully obtained berberine (BBR)-chlorogenic acid (CGA) supramolecular (BCS), which is an herbal pair from HLWMD. Using a series of characterization methods, we confirmed the self-assembly mechanism of BCS. BBR and CGA were self-assembled and stacked into amphiphilic spherical supramolecules in a 2:1 molar ratio, driven by electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, and π-π stacking; the hydrophilic fragments of CGA were outside, and the hydrophobic fragments of BBR were inside. This stacking pattern significantly improved the anti-inflammatory performance of BCS compared with that of single free molecules. Compared with free molecules, BCS significantly attenuated the release of multiple inflammatory mediators and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pyroptosis. Its anti-inflammatory mechanism is closely related to the inhibition of intracellular nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) p65 phosphorylation and the noncanonical pyroptosis signalling pathway mediated by caspase-11.

OBJECTIVE To identify the chemical components of Shenbai Jiedu Decoction(SBJDD),a traditional Chinese medi-cine(TCM)prescription clinically used for the treatment of colorectal adenoma(CRA),and explore the potential mechanism of SBJDD preventing and treating CRA carcinogenesis.METHODS An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS)method was established to detect the chemical components in the decoction of SBJDD and the plas-ma samples of rats after administration with SBJDD.Based on the network pharmacological method,SBJDD was screened for the poten-tial active ingredients at different stages of CRA carcinogenesis,and the mechanism of the anti-cancer effect of SBJDD was explored.In vitro experiments were also carried out to verify the mechanism of anti-colorectal cancer(CRC)action of SBJDD.RE-SULTS The detection data of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS showed that 152 components were found from SBJDD water extraction.41 chemical compounds were identified in plasma samples from rats administrated with SBJDD.Network pharmacology analysis indicated that during the CREI stage,the potential active ingredients in SBJDD,including epiberberine,and kushenol H,might affect target proteins such as PIK3CA,MAPK3 and PIK3CB.This,in turn,can influence signaling pathways like PI3K-AKT and Ras signaling pathways,and regulate biological processes like protein phosphorylation,and signal transduction.During the CRA stage,the potential active ingredi-ents from SBJDD,such as 3,7-dihydroxycoumarin,palmatine,and kushenol A,might affect target proteins such as AKT and EGFR.This can regulate the negative regulation of apoptotic process,and positive regulation of cell proliferation,and modify HIF-1,and Rap1 signaling pathways.During the progression of CRA carcinogenesis,potential active ingredients such as 3,7-dihydroxycouma-rin may interact with TP53,and impact the PI3K-AKT,and Thyroid hormone signaling pathways to regulate biological processes,in-cluding positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase Ⅱ promoter,and negative regulation of apoptotic process.In the CRC stage,core ingredients like p-coumaric acid may bind with proteins such as PRKCB.This binding may impact the signaling pathways that negatively affect EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance,and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways.Additionally,it may regulate bio-logical processes,including negative regulation of apoptotic process,signal transduction,and protein phosphorylation.In vitro experi-ment results indicated that SBJDD inhibited the proliferation of HT29 cells and suppressed the expression of EGFR and PKC proteins.CONCLUSION The UPLC-Q-TOF-MS method is established to effectively separate the chemical constituents in SBJDD,which are mainly composed of alkaloids,organic acids and flavonoids components.Components from SBJDD dock with different targets during the carcinogenesis process of CRA and regulate cancer-related signaling pathways to exert therapeutic effects.

Cancer toxin is the key pathogenesis of malignant tumors. The basic principle of cancer treatment is “dispelling pathogen and resolving toxins， reinforcing healthy qi and reinforcing the foundation”. As one of the “eight methods of anticancer and detoxification”， the counteracting toxin with toxin therapy is a commonly used clinical treatment of malignant tumors. This paper discussed the method of counteracting toxin with toxin and its application in the prevention and treatment of malignant tumors from the aspects of history tracing， academic connotation， application principles and clinical application. Toxic Chinese medicinals with anticancer function are required to eliminate cancer toxins based on the principles of excessive cancer toxicity and plentiful healthy qi， as well as in accordance with the various stages and classifications of tumors， thereby improving the theoretical connotation of the method of counteracting toxin with toxin， and promoting the popularization and application of the pathogenesis theory of cancer toxin in the prevention and treatment of malignant tumors.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide. A novel Chinese medicine formula-01 (NCHF-01) has shown significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of NSCLC, but the mechanism of this formula in the treatment of NSCLC is not fully understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular mechanism of NCHF-01 in inhibiting NSCLC. METHODS: Lewis lung cells (LLC) tumor bearing mice were established to detect the tumor inhibitory effect of NCHF-01. The morphological changes of tissues and organs in LLC tumor-bearing mice were detected by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. NSCLC cells were treated by NCHF-01. The effects of cell viability and proliferation were detected by MTT and crystal violet staining experiment. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle, apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Network pharmacology was used to predict the mechanism of its inhibitory effect of NSCLC. Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to detect the expression of related proteins. RESULTS: NCHF-01 can inhibit tumor growth in LLC tumor-bearing mice, and has no obvious side effects on other tissues and organs. NCHF-01 could inhibit cell viability and proliferation, induce G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis, and promote the increase of ROS level. Network pharmacological analysis showed that NCHF-01 exerts anti-NSCLC effects through various biological processes such as oxidative stress and central carbon metabolism. NCHF-01 can reduce the protein expression and enzyme activity of the key enzymes 6-phosphate glucose dehydrogenase (G6PD) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). CONCLUSIONS NCHF-01 can inhibit NSCLC through oxidative stress dependent on the PPP.
Animals ; Mice ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Pentose Phosphate Pathway ; Oxidative Stress ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Apoptosis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of absorbable anchor combined with Kirschner wire fixation in the reconstruction of extension function of old mallet finger. METHODS: Between January 2020 and January 2022, 23 cases of old mallet fingers were treated. There were 17 males and 6 females with an average age of 42 years (range, 18-70 years). The cause of injury included sports impact injury in 12 cases, sprain in 9 cases, and previous cut injury in 2 cases. The affected finger included index finger in 4 cases, middle finger in 5 cases, ring finger in 9 cases, and little finger in 5 cases. There were 18 patients of tendinous mallet fingers (Doyle type Ⅰ), 5 patients were only small bone fragments avulsion (Wehbe type ⅠA). The time from injury to operation was 45-120 days, with an average of 67 days. The patients were treated with Kirschner wire to fix the distal interphalangeal joint in a mild back extension position after joint release. The insertion of extensor tendon was reconstructed and fixed with absorbable anchors. After 6 weeks, the Kirschner wire was removed, and the patients started joint flexion and extension training. RESULTS: The postoperative follow-up ranged from 4 to 24 months (mean, 9 months). The wounds healed by first intention without complications such as skin necrosis, wound infection, and nail deformity. The distal interphalangeal joint was not stiff, the joint space was good, and there was no complication such as pain and osteoarthritis. At last follow-up, according to Crawford function evaluation standard, 12 cases were excellent, 9 cases were good, 2 cases were fair, and the good and excellent rate was 91.3%. CONCLUSION Absorbable anchor combined with Kirschner wire fixation can be used to reconstruct the extension function of old mallet finger, which has the advantages of simple operation and less complications.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Bone Wires ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Finger Injuries/surgery* ; Fractures, Bone/surgery* ; Tendon Injuries/surgery* ; Fingers ; Treatment Outcome ; Finger Joint/surgery*

OBJECTIVES: The automatic delineation of organs at risk (OARs) can help doctors make radiotherapy plans efficiently and accurately, and effectively improve the accuracy of radiotherapy and the therapeutic effect. Therefore, this study aims to propose an automatic delineation method for OARs in cervical cancer scenarios of both after-loading and external irradiation. At the same time, the similarity of OARs structure between different scenes is used to improve the segmentation accuracy of OARs in difficult segmentations. METHODS: Our ensemble model adopted the strategy of ensemble learning. The model obtained from the pre-training based on the after-loading and external irradiation was introduced into the integrated model as a feature extraction module. The data in different scenes were trained alternately, and the personalized features of the OARs within the model and the common features of the OARs between scenes were introduced. Computer tomography (CT) images for 84 cases of after-loading and 46 cases of external irradiation were collected as the train data set. Five-fold cross-validation was adopted to split training sets and test sets. The five-fold average dice similarity coefficient (DSC) served as the figure-of-merit in evaluating the segmentation model. RESULTS: The DSCs of the OARs (the rectum and bladder in the after-loading images and the bladder in the external irradiation images) were higher than 0.7. Compared with using an independent residual U-net (convolutional networks for biomedical image segmentation) model [residual U-net (Res-Unet)] delineate OARs, the proposed model can effectively improve the segmentation performance of difficult OARs (the sigmoid in the after-loading CT images and the rectum in the external irradiation images), and the DSCs were increased by more than 3%. CONCLUSIONS Comparing to the dedicated models, our ensemble model achieves the comparable result in segmentation of OARs for different treatment options in cervical cancer radiotherapy, which may be shorten time for doctors to sketch OARs and improve doctor's work efficiency.
Female ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Machine Learning ; Organs at Risk/radiation effects* ; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/radiotherapy*

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism by which Shenbai Jiedu prescription （SBJDF） inhibits the proliferation of colorectal cancer （CRC） HCT116 cells. MethodAfter 48 h treatment of HCT116 cells with SBJDF （0， 0.25， 0.5， 1， 2， 4 g·L^-1）， the viability of HCT116 cells were determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） colorimetry. Following the classification of cells into blank control group and SBJDF （1， 2， 4 g·L^-1） groups， the effect of SBJDF on HCT116 cell morphology was observed under an inverted microscope. The effects of SBJDF on the proliferation of HCT116 cells and mitochondrial membrane potential （Δψm） were detected by colony formation assay and JC-1 probe， respectively. The flow cytometry was then performed for determining cell cycle distribution and apoptosis. The effects of SBJDF on cell cycle-， apoptosis-， and nuclear factor kappa-B （NF-κB） signaling pathway-related proteins were determined by Western blot. ResultSBJDF effectively inhibited the vitality of HCT116 cells and changed their morphology in a concentration-dependent manner. Compared with the blank control group， SBJDF at 1， 2， 4 g·L^-1 significantly reduced cell colony formation （P<0.05， P<0.01），and SBJDF at 2 and 4 g·L^-1 arrested the HCT116 cell cycle at G₀/G₁ phase （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the blank control group， SBJDF at 1， 2， 4 g·L^-1 remarkably down-regulated the protein expression of CyclinD₁ （P<0.05， P<0.01）. SBJDF at 2 and 4 g·L^-1 lowered the CyclinA₂ and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 （CDK4） （P<0.05， P<0.01）. SBJDF at 4 g·L^-1 reduced the cyclin-dependent kinase 1 （CDK1） （P<0.01）. Compared with the blank control group， SBJDF at 2 and 4 g·L^-1 induced HCT116 cell apoptosis， down-regulated the protein expression of anti-apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl as well as the NF-κB signaling pathway-related proteins IκB kinase α （IKKα），inhibitor α of NF-κB （IκBα），and phospho-NF-κB p65 （p-p65） （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and diminished the mitochondrial membrane potential of HCT116 cells. ConclusionSBJDF inhibits the proliferation of HCT116 cells， which may be related to its inhibition of the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway and the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.