Objective:To investigate the effects of chronic persistent hypoxia on hepatic function, histological morphology, and ultrastructure in aged mice, and to evaluate the protective role of pyrroloquinoline quinone(PQQ).Methods:Thirty-two 2-month-old (young group)and thirty-two 18-month-old(aged group)male C57BL6/J mice were each randomly divided into four groups (n=8 per group): normoxia+ normal saline (NS)group, normoxia+ PQQ group, hypoxia+ NS group, and hypoxia+ PQQ group.The normoxia+ NS and normoxia+ PQQ groups were housed under normoxic conditions[fraction of inspired oxygen(FiO 2)=21%], while the hypoxia+ NS and hypoxia+ PQQ groups were continuously exposed to a hypoxic environment[FiO 2=(10±0.5)%]simulated by a custom-made hypoxic chamber, maintaining a constant oxygen concentration for 24 hours per day.The normoxia+ NS and hypoxia+ NS groups received daily intragastric administration of NS, whereas the normoxia+ PQQ and hypoxia+ PQQ groups received daily intragastric administration of PQQ disodium salt(8 mg·kg -1·d -1).After 8 weeks of continuous intervention, blood samples were collected to measure red blood cell count, hemoglobin levels, and liver function-related biochemical indicators.Lung tissues were processed for HE staining, and liver tissues were processed for both HE staining and electron microscopy.The histological and ultrastructural features of each group were observed under light and electron microscopy, respectively, and the differences between the groups were compared and analyzed. Results:Compared with the normoxia+ NS groups, both young and aged hypoxia+ NS groups exhibited significant pulmonary arteriole narrowing( P<0.001), with markedly elevated red blood cell count and hemoglobin levels (all P<0.001), which were not alleviated by PQQ.Compared with the young normoxia+ NS group, the young hypoxia+ NS group showed significantly higher alanine aminotransferase (ALT)and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)levels( Z=2.72, 2.53, P=0.007, 0.011), whereas the young hypoxia+ PQQ group exhibited LDH levels similar to those of the young normoxia+ NS group.The aged hypoxia+ NS group exhibited significant ALT elevation( t=2.66, P=0.013)compared with the aged normoxia+ NS group.Light microscopy revealed hepatocyte ballooning degeneration, mild fatty accumulation, and focal necrosis around central veins in the young hypoxia+ NS group, while the young hypoxia+ PQQ group exhibited no significant pathological damage but displayed numerous deeply stained binucleated hepatocytes.The aged normoxia+ NS group demonstrated hepatocyte ballooning degeneration and inflammatory cell infiltration around central veins, whereas the aged normoxia+ PQQ group exhibited no obvious pathological damage with scattered deeply stained binucleated hepatocytes.The aged hypoxia+ NS group exhibited significant necrosis following physiological oxygen concentration gradient distribution, while the aged hypoxia+ PQQ group displayed no obvious pathological damage with scattered deeply stained binucleated hepatocytes.Electron microscopy revealed that the aged normoxia+ NS group had reduced mitochondrial electron density ( P<0.001)and less developed rough endoplasmic reticulum compared with the young normoxia+ NS group.The young hypoxia+ NS group exhibited a smaller mitochondrial area( P<0.001), decreased mitochondrial matrix electron density( P<0.001), blurred or absent mitochondrial cristae, inactive rough endoplasmic reticulum, and increased accumulation of glycogen and lipid droplets compared with the young normoxia+ NS group, while the young hypoxia+ PQQ group maintained mitochondrial matrix electron density comparable to the young normoxia+ NS group.The aged hypoxia+ NS group exhibited larger mitochondrial area( P=0.001), decreased mitochondrial matrix electron density( P<0.001), blurred or absent mitochondrial cristae, mitochondrial edema, increased lysosomes, and elevated cytoplasmic electron density compared with the aged normoxia+ NS group.The aged hypoxia+ PQQ group exhibited reduced mitochondrial area( P<0.001)and restored mitochondrial matrix electron density to levels comparable with the aged normoxia+ NS group.The aged normoxia+ PQQ group demonstrated increased mitochondrial matrix electron density compared with the aged normoxia+ NS group( P<0.001). Conclusions:Chronic persistent hypoxia induces hepatic functional, histological and ultrastructural damage in mice, with more pronounced effects in aged animals.PQQ provides a certain degree of protection against these injuries.

Objective:To investigate the effects of chronic persistent hypoxia on hepatic function, histological morphology, and ultrastructure in aged mice, and to evaluate the protective role of pyrroloquinoline quinone(PQQ).Methods:Thirty-two 2-month-old (young group)and thirty-two 18-month-old(aged group)male C57BL6/J mice were each randomly divided into four groups (n=8 per group): normoxia+ normal saline (NS)group, normoxia+ PQQ group, hypoxia+ NS group, and hypoxia+ PQQ group.The normoxia+ NS and normoxia+ PQQ groups were housed under normoxic conditions[fraction of inspired oxygen(FiO 2)=21%], while the hypoxia+ NS and hypoxia+ PQQ groups were continuously exposed to a hypoxic environment[FiO 2=(10±0.5)%]simulated by a custom-made hypoxic chamber, maintaining a constant oxygen concentration for 24 hours per day.The normoxia+ NS and hypoxia+ NS groups received daily intragastric administration of NS, whereas the normoxia+ PQQ and hypoxia+ PQQ groups received daily intragastric administration of PQQ disodium salt(8 mg·kg -1·d -1).After 8 weeks of continuous intervention, blood samples were collected to measure red blood cell count, hemoglobin levels, and liver function-related biochemical indicators.Lung tissues were processed for HE staining, and liver tissues were processed for both HE staining and electron microscopy.The histological and ultrastructural features of each group were observed under light and electron microscopy, respectively, and the differences between the groups were compared and analyzed. Results:Compared with the normoxia+ NS groups, both young and aged hypoxia+ NS groups exhibited significant pulmonary arteriole narrowing( P<0.001), with markedly elevated red blood cell count and hemoglobin levels (all P<0.001), which were not alleviated by PQQ.Compared with the young normoxia+ NS group, the young hypoxia+ NS group showed significantly higher alanine aminotransferase (ALT)and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)levels( Z=2.72, 2.53, P=0.007, 0.011), whereas the young hypoxia+ PQQ group exhibited LDH levels similar to those of the young normoxia+ NS group.The aged hypoxia+ NS group exhibited significant ALT elevation( t=2.66, P=0.013)compared with the aged normoxia+ NS group.Light microscopy revealed hepatocyte ballooning degeneration, mild fatty accumulation, and focal necrosis around central veins in the young hypoxia+ NS group, while the young hypoxia+ PQQ group exhibited no significant pathological damage but displayed numerous deeply stained binucleated hepatocytes.The aged normoxia+ NS group demonstrated hepatocyte ballooning degeneration and inflammatory cell infiltration around central veins, whereas the aged normoxia+ PQQ group exhibited no obvious pathological damage with scattered deeply stained binucleated hepatocytes.The aged hypoxia+ NS group exhibited significant necrosis following physiological oxygen concentration gradient distribution, while the aged hypoxia+ PQQ group displayed no obvious pathological damage with scattered deeply stained binucleated hepatocytes.Electron microscopy revealed that the aged normoxia+ NS group had reduced mitochondrial electron density ( P<0.001)and less developed rough endoplasmic reticulum compared with the young normoxia+ NS group.The young hypoxia+ NS group exhibited a smaller mitochondrial area( P<0.001), decreased mitochondrial matrix electron density( P<0.001), blurred or absent mitochondrial cristae, inactive rough endoplasmic reticulum, and increased accumulation of glycogen and lipid droplets compared with the young normoxia+ NS group, while the young hypoxia+ PQQ group maintained mitochondrial matrix electron density comparable to the young normoxia+ NS group.The aged hypoxia+ NS group exhibited larger mitochondrial area( P=0.001), decreased mitochondrial matrix electron density( P<0.001), blurred or absent mitochondrial cristae, mitochondrial edema, increased lysosomes, and elevated cytoplasmic electron density compared with the aged normoxia+ NS group.The aged hypoxia+ PQQ group exhibited reduced mitochondrial area( P<0.001)and restored mitochondrial matrix electron density to levels comparable with the aged normoxia+ NS group.The aged normoxia+ PQQ group demonstrated increased mitochondrial matrix electron density compared with the aged normoxia+ NS group( P<0.001). Conclusions:Chronic persistent hypoxia induces hepatic functional, histological and ultrastructural damage in mice, with more pronounced effects in aged animals.PQQ provides a certain degree of protection against these injuries.

Background/Aims: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an incurable, relapsing-remitting inflammatory disease that increases steadily. Mucosal healing has become the primary therapeutic objective for UC. Nevertheless, endoscopic assessments are invasive, expensive, time-consuming, and inconvenient. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a noninvasive predictive model to monitor endoscopic activity in patients with UC. Methods: Clinical data of 198 adult patients with UC were collected from January 2016 to August 2022 at Huadong Hospital, China. Results: Patients with UC were randomly divided into the training cohort (70%, n=138) and the validation cohort (30%, n=60). The receiver operating characteristic curve value for the training group was 0.858 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.781 to 0.936), whereas it was 0.845 (95% CI, 0.731 to 0.960) for the validation group. The calibration curve employed the Hosmer-Lemeshow test (p>0.05) to demonstrate the consistency between the predicted and the actual probabilities in the nomogram of these two groups. The decision curve analysis validated that the nomogram had clinical usefulness. Conclusions The nomogram, which incorporated activated partial thromboplastin time, fecal occult blood test, β2-globulin level, and fibrinogen degradation products, served as a prospective tool for evaluating UC activity in clinical practices.

Objective To investigate the-75 G/A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region of apolipoprotein A1 gene(apoA1)and its association with gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM)in pregnant women and to provide references for the exploration in the molecular genetic basis of GDM.Methods A total of 626 GDM patients and 1022 normal pregnant women,ie,the controls,were included in the study.The genotyping of apoA1-75 G/A polymorphism was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP)analysis.Total cholesterol(TC),triglycerides(TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),and glucose(Glu)were measured by enzymatic methods.Plasma insulin(INS)was measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay.The protein levels of apoA1 and apoB were measured by the turbidimetric immunoassay.Results Allele frequencies of G and A were 0.718 and 0.282 in the GDM group and 0.713 and 0.287 in the control group,respectively.Distribution of the genotype frequencies was found to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both the GDM and control groups.There was no significant difference in the frequencies of alleles G and A and the genotypes of apoA1-75 G/A polymorphism between the GDM and the control group(P>0.05).In the GDM group,the carriers with the genotype AA were associated with significantly higher levels of TC,HDL-C,and apoA1 than those with genotypes GG and GA did(all P<0.05).After the GDM patients were divided into obese and non-obese subgroups,the genotype-related apoA1 variation was observed only in obese patients,while the genotype-related TC and HDL-C variations were evident in non-obese patients(P<0.05).In the control group,carriers of genotypes AA and GA had higher systolic blood pressure(SBP)and HDL-C than the carriers of genotype GG did(all P<0.05).Carriers of genotypes AA had significantly lower Glu levels than carriers of genotypes GG and GA did(P<0.05).The control subjects were further divided into subgroups according to their body mass index(BMI).Analysis of the subgroups showed that AA carriers were associated with higher SBP levels in the obese control women only,while lower Glu levels were evident in both obese and non-obese control women.Conclusion These results suggest that-75 G/A polymorphism in the apoA1 gene is not associated with GDM.However,the genetic variation is closed associated with the plasma apoA1,HDL-C,and TC levels in GDM patients and plasma HDL-C,Glu,and SBP levels in the control subjects.The apoA1 variant-associated lipids and SBP variation is BMI dependent in both groups.

COVID-19 currently is a major pandemic disease in the world. It is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a member of the β-coronavirus genus that has 79% homology with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus and can lead to acute respiratory infection. While COVID-19 patients typically present with respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, some patients also report symptoms of digestive system. Studies have identified the SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stool specimens of infected patients, and the viral receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is found to be expressed in gastrointestinal epithelial cells, hepatic cells and pancreatic cells, suggesting that fecal-mouth route is a potential route for transmission of SARS-CoV-2. This article reviewed the digestive manifestations and pathogenesis of patients with COVID-19.

Objective: To investigate the effect of dietary control combined with different exercise modes on plasma vaspin, irisin, and metabolic parameters in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) through a randomized open parallel-controlled study. Methods: The patients aged 30-65 years who visited Tianjin Third Central Hospital from January 2013 to December 2014 and were diagnosed with NAFLD by liver ultrasound and fat content determination were screening, and 474 patients were enrolled in this randomized controlled trial and divided into aerobic exercise group, resistance exercise group, and control group. All patients received dietary intervention. The three groups were compared in terms of biochemical parameters, fat content, NFS score, energy metabolic parameters, body composition index, and levels of vaspin and irisin at baseline and after 6 months of intervention. SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical analysis. The t-test, the Mann-Whitney U test, the chi-square test, and an analysis of variance were used for comparison between groups. The multiple imputation method was used for missing data, and the results were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Results: There were no significant differences in age, sex, anthropometrical parameters, and biochemical parameters between the three groups at baseline. Compared with dietary control alone, aerobic exercise and resistance exercise helped to achieve significant reductions in waist circumference, diastolic pressure, percentage of body fat, volatile fatty acid, fasting blood glucose, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, free fatty acid, uric acid, alanine aminotransferase, and liver fat content after 6 months of intervention (P < 0.05). The aerobic exercise group had a significant increase in non-protein respiratory quotient and significant reductions in body mass index and aspartate aminotransferase after intervention, as well as a significant increase in resting energy expenditure and significant reductions in abdominal fat ratio and total cholesterol after 6 months of resistance exercise (P < 0.05). The aerobic exercise group and the resistance exercise group had a significant reduction in vaspin and a significant increase in irisin after intervention (P < 0.05), and the resistance exercise group had significantly greater changes in these two adipokines than the aerobic exercise group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Exercise therapy is an effective method for the treatment of metabolism-associated diseases, and a combination of resistance and aerobic exercises is more reasonable and effective in clinical practice. As a relatively safe exercise mode, resistance exercise can also effectively improve the metabolic state of NAFLD patients.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of different noninvasive methods for the diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH) and hepatic fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) combined with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). Method A prospective comparative study was performed for 91 patients with T2DM and NAFLD, which were diagnosed by glucose tolerance test and liver biopsy. The height and body mass of the patient were measured, and the body mass index(BMI) was calculated. The fasting venous blood of the patient was collected, and then the blood routine, liver function and ferritin were measured. NPS, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio(NLR), BARD score, FIB-4 index, APRI, and NAFLD fibrosis score(NFS) were calculated. All patients underwent transient elastography (Fibrotouch) to evaluate the degree of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and controlled attenuation parameter. All the liver biopsy specimens were categorized by SAF as the gold standard for evaluating NASH and liver fibrosis NASH. Correlation analysis was applied to compare the correlation between the noninvasive methods and SAF. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to assess the diagnostic value of the noninvasive methods for NASH and liver fibrosis NASH. Results In T2DM combine with NAFLD patients, NPS, LSM, NFS, APRI, FIB4 and BMI scores were positively correlated with SAF (r value was 0.509, 0.508, 0.252, 0.396, 0.313 and 0.213, respectively; P value was <0.001, <0.001, 0.016,<0.001, 0.003 and 0.043, respectively). LSM, NPS, NFS and FIB4 scores were positively correlated with liver fibrosis (r value was 0.535, 0.337, 0.315 and 0.315, respectively; P value was <0.001, 0.001, 0.002, 0.002, respectively). The ROC curve shows that the area under the curve of NPS, LSM, APRI, FIB4 and BMI for diagnosing NASH was 0.838, 0.760, 0.734, 0.623 and 0.682, respectively, and P value was 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.044 and 0.003, respectively. For the diagnosis of fibrotic NASH, that value of LSM, NFS, FIB4 and NPS was 0.795, 0.765, 0.686 and 0.623, respectively, and P value was 0.000, 0.001, 0.020 and 0.123, respectively. Conclusions NPS, LSM and APRI have good clinical diagnostic value for NASH. LSM and NFS have good diagnostic value for fibrotic NASH.

Objective To compare the effects of three kinds of Oncomelania hupensis RNA extraction methods,namely a modified SDS method,TRIzol reagent method,and CTAB method,so as to obtain an economical and efficient method for RNA extraction from O. hupensis. Methods The modified SDS method,TRIzol reagent method and CTAB method were applied to ex-tract the RNA from O. hupensis. A nucleic acid protein analyzer was used to measure the concentration and purity of RNA. The yields were calculated by the concentration of the products. The purity was indicated by A260/A280 and A260/A230. The quality of RNA was inspected by 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. The β-acting gene was selected as the target gene for RT-PCR analysis. Re-sults The RNA yields obtained by using the three kinds of extraction methods were significantly different(F = 16895.85,P <0.01)according to the analysis of variance. The LSD test showed that the yields obtained by using the modified SDS method were the highest,and those obtained by the CTAB method were the lowest. The purity of RNA extracted by the CTAB method was su-perior to that by the other two methods,and the A260/A280 and A260/A230 ratios of the CTAB method were in the range from 1.8-2.0 and 2.0-2.2. The A260/A230 ratios of the other two methods were both lower than 2.0. The RNA extracted by the modified SDS meth-od had the better integrity. The electrophoresis results showed that the 28S rRNA band,18S rRNA band and 5S rRNA band were clear,and there was no obvious smear between each band. The RNA obtained by the TRIzol reagent method had no 28S rRNA band,and that obtained by the CTAB method had no 28S rRNA and 5S rRNA bands. The β-acting gene of the RNA ex-tracted by all the three methods could be amplified by RT-PCR. The costs and time-consuming of the modified SDS method were less than those of the other two methods. Conclusion The modified SDS method is an economic and efficient method,and it is suitable for extracting the RNA of O. hupensis,especially for large sample preparation.

0.05).In the elderly group,every complication rates of LR were lower than those of OR(P