OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect and mechanism of morin on alveolar bone resorption in periodontitis mice based on the silent information regulator 1 （SIRT1）/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α （PGC-1α）/nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2） pathway. METHODS The mice were randomly divided into control group， model group， morin group （40 mg/kg）， SRT1720 （SIRT1 activator） group （5 mg/kg）， and morin+EX527 （SIRT1 inhibitor） group （40 mg/kg morin+7.5 mg/kg EX527）， with 18 mice in each group. Except for control group， mice in other groups were subjected to silk ligation to establish periodontitis model. After successful modeling， mice in each group were treated with corresponding medicinal solutions or normal saline intragastrically or intraperitoneally， once a day， for two consecutive weeks. After the last medication， serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin （IL）-1β， IL-6 and IL-10 were measured. The distance between the cementoenamel junction and alveolar bone crest was determined， and bone volume fraction and bone mineral density were calculated. Pathological changes of periodontal tissue were observed， and the number of osteoclasts was measured. mRNA expressions of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand （RANKL） and osteoprotegerin （OPG） in periodontal tissue， the levels of malondialdehyde （MDA） and superoxide dismutase （SOD） as well as protein expressions of SIRT1， PGC-1α， and Nrf2 were determined. RESULTS Compared with model group， the alveolar bone resorption and inflammatory cell infiltration in the periodontal tissues of mice were improved in morin group and SRT1720 group. The serum levels of TNF-α， IL-1β and IL-6， the distance between cementoenamel junction and alveolar bone crest， the number of osteoclasts in periodontal tissue， RANKL mRNA expression and the MDA level were decreased， shortened and reduced significantly （ P ＜0.05）； however， serum level of IL-10， bone volume fraction and bone mineral density， OPG mRNA expression in periodontal tissue， SOD level and protein expressions of SIRT1， PGC-1α and Nrf2 were increased significantly （ P ＜0.05）. Compared with morin group， the above pathological changes were significantly aggravated in the morin+EX527 group； and the levels of quantitative indicators were markedly reversed （ P ＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Morin may inhibit alveolar bone resorption in periodontitis mice by activating the SIRT1/PGC-1α/Nrf2 pathway to reduce inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress.

Objective To construct and evaluate a prognostic model for clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)based on preoperative lipid ratios, cM0(i+)staging, and other clinical characteristics, so as to provide a precise tool for clinical prognosis assessment. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 215 ccRCC patients treated in our hospital during May 2014 and May 2023. Lipid ratios were calculated using preoperative lipid data, and patients were divided into cM0(i+)stage or cM0 stage according to postoperative circulating tumor cells(CTCs)test results. The optimal lipid ratio and cutoff value were selected using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves and the X-tile method. Patients were subdivided into three groups based on the level of the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to non-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio(LNLR)and cM0(i+)staging:Group A [LNLR＞1.68 and diagnosed with cM0(i+)], Group B [LNLR＞1.68 or diagnosed with cM0(i+)], and Group C(LNLR ≤1.68 and diagnosed with cM0). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to plot survival curves for patients in different groups. The log-rank test was employed to compare differences in recurrence-free survival(RFS)among the subgroups. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was conducted to identify the independent risk factors influencing RFS, and a nomogram prediction model was constructed based on these results. The predictive performance of the model was validated using ROC curves, calibration curves, and decision curves. Results ROC curves were plotted for lipid markers, and LNLR was identified as the most predictive for RFS. Its optimal cutoff point was 1. 68. Patients in Group A experienced a significantly shorter postoperative RFS. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified preoperative LNLR, cM0(i+)staging, pathological grade, and stage as independent risk factors for RFS. A nomogram model was constructed based on these risk factors. The area under the ROC curve(AUC)for 1-, 3-, and 5-year RFS was 0.896(95% CI:0.8121-0.9627), 0.890(95%CI:0.7879-0.9641), and 0.870(95%CI:0.7697-0.9526), indicating good discriminatory ability and predictive performance. Calibration plots demonstrated good agreement between predicted and actual outcomes. Clinical decision curve analysis showed high clinical net benefit. Conclusion Preoperative LNLR level is an independent risk factor for RFS in ccRCC patients. The prognostic prediction model based on LNLR, cM0(i+)staging, patient pathological grade, and staging demonstrates good predictive performance for RFS and holds potential clinical application value.

Objective To investigate the regulatory role and underlying mechanism of the long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) LINC01430 in the inhibitory effect of sanguinarine on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Differentially expressed LncRNAs and coexpressed target genes in A549 and H1975 cells before and after sanguinarine treatment were identified through high-throughput lncRNA sequencing. LINC01430 expression and its prognostic value were analyzed by using the TCGA database and experimental validation. An LINC01430-overexpressing A549 cell model was established, and CCK-8, TUNEL, RT-qPCR, Western blot analysis, and dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed to evaluate the influence of LINC01430 overexpression on sanguinarine-mediated cell proliferation, apoptosis and NOX4/IL-6 expression. Results A total of 361 differentially expressed LncRNAs, among which LINC01430 was significantly downregulated (P<0.001), were identified after sanguinarine treatment. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed pathways associated with oxidative stress and inflammation, and the mRNA and protein levels of the target genes NOX4 and IL-6 were markedly reduced (P<0.05, P<0.01). LINC01430 exhibited high expression in NSCLC tissues and cell lines (P<0.05), with a trend toward poor prognosis (HR=1.15). The overexpression of LINC01430 significantly attenuated the inhibitory effect of sanguinarine on cell proliferation and the promoting effect on apoptosis in NSCLC cells (P<0.01) and partially reversed the downregulation of NOX4 and IL-6 induced by sanguinarine (P<0.05). LINC01430 directly activated IL-6 promoter transcriptional activity (P<0.05). Meanwhile, its effect on the NOX4 promoter showed an upward trend without statistical significance. Conclusion Sanguinarine may suppress NSCLC by downregulating LINC01430 to inhibit NOX4/IL-6 signaling. LINC01430 represents a promising target for NSCLC therapy.

Diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hyperuricemia have emerged as global chronic metabolic disorders posing significant public health challenges. Edible medicinal plants demonstrate multitarget regulatory effects and favorable safety profiles in the management of chronic metabolic diseases, owing to their bioactive compounds and nutritional synergy. Radix Astragali (RA), a traditional Chinese medicine with medicine–food homology, has a long history of application in China. Based on a review of relevant literature, this article discusses the historical background, modern research, therapeutic functions, and mechanisms of RA in the treatment of chronic metabolic diseases. Modern studies have shown that RA contains a variety of bioactive components and demonstrates efficacy in managing diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hyperuricemia. Its mechanisms of action involve modulation of the insulin signaling pathway, regulation of lipid metabolism-related enzyme activity, promotion of uric acid excretion, and other processes. Notably, RA exhibits certain common therapeutic effects across hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hyperuricemia. Through modulation of the gut microbiota and inhibition of inflammatory pathways, RA exerts synergistic, multitarget effects that improve metabolic disorders associated with chronic metabolic diseases.

Objective To investigate the predictive value of D-dimer for in-hospital mortality and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods A total of 688 patients with AMI who were hospitalized at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, from January 2020 to December 2023 were retrospectively enrolled. Demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, echocardiographic parameters, and in-hospital outcomes were collected. Patients were divided into four groups according to D-dimer quartiles, and trend tests were used to compare changes in each indicator with increasing D-dimer levels. The primary endpoints were in-hospital mortality and HFrEF. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent associations of D-dimer with in-hospital mortality and HFrEF. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate its predictive performance. Results Differences and trend tests among four groups for age, creatinine, peak cardiac troponin T, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), left ventricular ejection fraction, HFrEF incidence, and in-hospital mortality were statistically significant (P＜0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that elevated D-dimer was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with AMI (OR＝1.251, 95%CI 1.093–1.432, P＝0.001), and HFrEF (OR＝1.075, 95%CI 1.028–1.124, P＝0.002). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of D-dimer for predicting in-hospital mortality and HFrEF were 0.871 and 0.716, respectively. At a cutoff value of 0.47 mg/L, the sensitivity and specificity of D-dimer in predicting HFrEF were 81.9% and 52.1%, respectively; at a cutoff value of 2.18 mg/L, the sensitivity and specificity of D-dimer in predicting in-hospital mortality were 63.6% and 93.8%, respectively. Restricted cubic spline analysis demonstrated significant non-linear associations between D-dimer and the risks of in-hospital mortality and HFrEF (P＜0.001). Conclusions Elevated D-dimer level is significantly associated with increased risks of in-hospital mortality and HFrEF in patients with AMI and shows acceptable predictive performance. As a simple and readily available laboratory biomarker, D-dimer may provide useful information for early risk stratification and clinical management in patients with AMI.

Objective To explore the safety of Yttrium-90 resin microsphere selective internal radiation therapy (⁹⁰Y-SIRT) on malignant liver tumors. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 64 patients with malignant liver tumors who underwent ⁹⁰Y-SIRT from February 2023 to November 2024 at Weifang People’s Hospital. The clinical characteristics of the patients and the occurrence of adverse reactions after treatment were analyzed to assess the safety of ⁹⁰Y-SIRT. Results Among the 64 patients, there were 52 males (81.25%) and 12 females (18.75%); the average age was (56.29±11.08) years. Seven patients (10.94%) had tumors with maximum diameter of less than 5 cm, 38 patients (59.38%) had tumors with maximum diameter of 5-10 cm, and 19 patients (29.68%) had tumors with maximum diameter of greater than 10 cm. There were 47 cases (73.44%) of solitary lesions and 17 cases (26.56%) of multiple lesions; 53 cases (82.81%) were primary liver cancers and 11 cases (17.19%) were metastatic liver cancers. Of the 64 patients, 63 successfully completed the Technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin (^99mTc-MAA) perfusion test and received the ⁹⁰Y-SIRT; one patient received ⁹⁰Y-SIRT after the second ^99mTc-MAA perfusion test due to a work error. The most common adverse reactions included grade 1 alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation in 26 cases (40.62%) and grade 2 in 2 cases (9.37%), grade 1 aspartate aminotransferase (AST) elevation in 27 cases (42.18%) and grade 2 in 7 cases (10.93%); grade 1 nausea in 17 cases (26.56%) and grade 2 in 6 cases (9.37%); grade 1 abdominal pain in 12 cases (18.75%), grade 2 in 5 cases (7.81%), and grade 3 in 1 case (1.56%); grade 1 vomiting in 11 cases (17.18%), grade 2 in 5 cases (7.81%), and grade 3 in 1 case (1.56%). Conclusion The adverse reactions of ⁹⁰Y-SIRT for treating malignant liver tumors are mild, indicating good safety.

OBJECTIVES: The application of photodynamic therapy in solid tumors has attracted increasing attention in recent years, and the efficiency of photosensitizers is a crucial determinant of therapeutic efficacy. This study aims to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of a novel photosensitizer, PEG-MTPABZ-PyC, in photodynamic therapy against gastric cancer cells. METHODS: Gastric cancer MKN45 cells were treated with PEG-MTPABZ-PyC. A high-content live-cell imaging system was used to assess the cellular uptake kinetics and subcellular localization of the photosensitizer. The cytotoxic effects of PEG-MTPABZ-PyC-mediated photodynamic therapy were examined using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry, while the intrinsic cytotoxicity of the photosensitizer alone was verified by the CCK-8 assay. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation after photodynamic therapy was detected using 2'-7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). RESULTS: PEG-MTPABZ-PyC alone exhibited no cytotoxicity toward MKN45 cells, indicating excellent cytocompatibility. The compound efficiently entered cells within 6 hours and localized predominantly in lysosomes. Upon light irradiation, PEG-MTPABZ-PyC-mediated photodynamic therapy induced significant cytotoxicity compared with the control group (P<0.05) and generated abundant intracellular ROS. CONCLUSIONS The novel photosensitizer PEG-MTPABZ-PyC demonstrates potent photodynamic cytotoxicity against gastric cancer cells, showing promising potential for further development in gastric cancer photodynamic therapy.
Humans ; Stomach Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Photochemotherapy/methods* ; Photosensitizing Agents/pharmacology* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Polyethylene Glycols/chemistry* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Mesoporphyrins/pharmacology*

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) represents a paradigmatic approach to personalized medicine, developed through the systematic accumulation and refinement of clinical empirical data over more than 2000 years, and now encompasses large-scale electronic medical records (EMR) and experimental molecular data. Artificial intelligence (AI) has demonstrated its utility in medicine through the development of various expert systems (e.g., MYCIN) since the 1970s. With the emergence of deep learning and large language models (LLMs), AI's potential in medicine shows considerable promise. Consequently, the integration of AI and TCM from both clinical and scientific perspectives presents a fundamental and promising research direction. This survey provides an insightful overview of TCM AI research, summarizing related research tasks from three perspectives: systems-level biological mechanism elucidation, real-world clinical evidence inference, and personalized clinical decision support. The review highlights representative AI methodologies alongside their applications in both TCM scientific inquiry and clinical practice. To critically assess the current state of the field, this work identifies major challenges and opportunities that constrain the development of robust research capabilities-particularly in the mechanistic understanding of TCM syndromes and herbal formulations, novel drug discovery, and the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered clinical care. The findings underscore that future advancements in AI-driven TCM research will rely on the development of high-quality, large-scale data repositories; the construction of comprehensive and domain-specific knowledge graphs (KGs); deeper insights into the biological mechanisms underpinning clinical efficacy; rigorous causal inference frameworks; and intelligent, personalized decision support systems.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Artificial Intelligence ; Humans ; Precision Medicine ; Decision Support Systems, Clinical

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder among the elderly, and BuChE has emerged as a potential therapeutic target. In this study, we reported the development of compound 8e, a selective reversible BuChE inhibitor (eqBuChE IC₅₀ = 0.049 μmol/L, huBuChE IC₅₀ = 0.066 μmol/L), identified through extensive virtual screening and lead optimization. Compound 8e demonstrated favorable blood-brain barrier permeability, good drug-likeness property and pronounced neuroprotective efficacy. Additionally, 8e exhibited significant therapeutic effects in zebrafish AD models and scopolamine-induced cognitive impairments in mice. Further, 8e significantly improved cognitive function in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Proteomics analysis demonstrated that 8e markedly elevated the expression levels of very low-density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR), offering valuable insights into its potential modulation of the Reelin-mediated signaling pathway. Thus, compound 8e emerges as a novel and potent BuChE inhibitor for the treatment of AD, with significant implications for further exploration into its mechanisms of action and therapeutic applications.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the correlation of ELFN1 expression level with prognosis of colorectal cancer and its regulatory role in colorectal cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. METHODS: We analyzed the expression levels of ELFN1 across 33 cancer types using publicly available databases and identified differential genes related to ELFN1 in colorectal cancer. Gene function annotation and enrichment analysis were used to identify the involved signaling pathways. Logistic analysis, Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis were performed to evaluate the correlation between ELFN1 expression and clinicopathological parameters and survival of colorectal cancer patients. qPCR and Western blotting were used to validate the expression levels of ELFN1 in different colorectal cancer cell lines and tissues, and Transwell and EDU experiments were carried out to assess the effect of ELFN1 knockdown on biological behaviors of SW480 cells. RESULTS: ELFN1 was highly expressed in 14 cancers, and its expression was significantly higher in colon cancer tissues than in adjacent tissues. A high expression of ELFN1 mRNA was associated with a poorer overall survival of colorectal cancer patients. Cox regression analysis indicated that ELFN1 expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of the patients. ELFN1 was significantly enriched in tumor metastasis and proliferation and participated in several tumor signaling pathways. The colon cancer cell lines showed significantly higher expression levels of ELFN1 than normal cells, ELFN1 knockdown obviously inhibited proliferation and migration of SW480 cells in vitro. CONCLUSIONS ELFN1 is overexpressed in colorectal cancer and is associated with poor clinical prognosis of the patients. A high ELFN1 expression is associated with malignant phenotypes of colorectal cancer and promotes cancer cell proliferation and metastasis, suggesting its potential as a prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer.
Humans ; Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Cell Proliferation ; Prognosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism* ; Female ; Male