This study aims to investigate the mechanism of Qingrun Decoction in alleviating hepatic insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) rats through the reprogramming of amino acid metabolism. A T2DM rat model was established by inducing insulin resistance through a high-fat diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The model rats were randomly divided into five groups: model group, high-, medium-, and low-dose Qingrun Decoction groups, and metformin group. A normal control group was also established. The rats in the normal and model groups received 10 mL·kg~(-1) distilled water daily by gavage. The metformin group received 150 mg·kg~(-1) metformin suspension by gavage, and the Qingrun Decoction groups received 11.2, 5.6, and 2.8 g·kg~(-1) Qingrun Decoction by gavage for 8 weeks. Blood lipid levels were measured in different groups of rats. Pathological damage in rat liver tissue was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and oil red O staining. Transcriptome sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were performed on rat liver and serum samples, integrated with bioinformatics analyses. Key metabolites(branched-chain amino acids, BCAAs), amino acid transporters, amino acid metabolites, critical enzymes for amino acid metabolism, resistin, adiponectin(ADPN), and mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR) pathway-related molecules were quantified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR), Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The results showed that compared with the normal group, the model group had significantly increased serum levels of total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), and resistin and significantly decreased ADPN levels. Hepatocytes in the model group exhibited loose arrangement, significant lipid accumulation, fatty degeneration, and pronounced inflammatory cell infiltration. In liver tissue, the mRNA transcriptional levels of solute carrier family 7 member 2(Slc7a2), solute carrier family 38 member 2(Slc38a2), solute carrier family 38 member 4(Slc38a4), and arginase(ARG) were significantly downregulated, while the mRNA transcriptional levels of solute carrier family 1 member 4(Slc1a4), solute carrier family 16 member 1(Slc16a1), and methionine adenosyltransferase(MAT) were upregulated. Furthermore, the mRNA transcription and protein expression levels of branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase E1α(BCKDHA) and DEP domain-containing mTOR-interacting protein(DEPTOR) were downregulated, while mRNA transcription and protein expression levels of mTOR, as well as ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1(S6K1), were upregulated. The levels of BCAAs and S-adenosyl-L-methionine(SAM) were elevated. The serum level of 6-hydroxymelatonin was significantly reduced, while imidazole-4-one-5-propionic acid and N-(5-phospho-D-ribosyl)anthranilic acid levels were significantly increased. Compared with the model group, Qingrun Decoction significantly reduced blood lipid and resistin levels while increasing ADPN levels. Hepatocytes had improved morphology with reduced inflammatory cells, and fatty degeneration and lipid deposition were alleviated. Differentially expressed genes and differential metabolites were mainly enriched in amino acid metabolic pathways. The expression levels of Slc7a2, Slc38a2, Slc38a4, and ARG in the liver tissue were significantly upregulated, while Slc1a4, Slc16a1, and MAT expression levels were significantly downregulated. BCKDHA and DEPTOR expression levels were upregulated, while mTOR and S6K1 expression levels were downregulated. Additionally, the levels of BCAAs and SAM were significantly decreased. The serum level of 6-hydroxymelatonin was increased, while those of imidazole-4-one-5-propionic acid and N-(5-phospho-D-ribosyl)anthranilic acid were decreased. In summary, Qingrun Decoction may improve amino acid metabolism reprogramming, inhibit mTOR pathway activation, alleviate insulin resistance in the liver, and mitigate pathological damage of liver tissue in T2DM rats by downregulating hepatic BCAAs and SAM and regulating key enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism, such as BCKDHA, ARG, and MAT, as well as amino acid metabolites and transporters.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Rats ; Insulin Resistance ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/genetics* ; Male ; Liver/drug effects* ; Amino Acids/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Humans ; Metabolic Reprogramming

OBJECTIVE: To prepare clinical-grade human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSC) with high expression of hematopoietic supporting factors and evaluate their stem cell characteristics. METHODS: Fetal umbilical cord tissues were collected from healthy postpartum women during full-term cesarean section. Wharton's jelly was mechanically separated and hUC-MSCs were obtained by explant culture method and enzyme digestion method in an animal serum-free culture system with addition of human platelet lysate. The phenotypic characteristics of hUC-MSCs obtained by two methods were detected by flow cytometry. The differences in proliferation ability between the two groups of hUC-MSCs were identified through CCK-8 assay and colony forming unit-fibroblast (CFU-F) assay. The differences in multilineage differentiation potential between the two groups of hUC-MSCs were identified through induction of adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation. The mRNA expression levels of hematopoietic supporting factors such as SCF, IL-3, CXCL12, VCAM1 and ANGPT1 in the two groups of hUC-MSCs were identified by real-time fluorescence quantiative PCR(RT-qPCR). RESULTS: The results of flow cytometry showed that hUC-MSCs obtained by the two methods both expressed high levels of CD73, CD90 and CD105, while lowly expressed CD31, CD45 and HLA-DR. The results of CCK-8 and CFU-F assay showed that the proliferation ability of hUC-MSCs obtained by explant culture method was better than those obtained by enzyme digestion method. The results of the triple lineage differentiation experiment showed that there was no significant difference in multilineage differentiation potential between the two grous of hUC-MSCs. The results of RT-qPCR showed that the mRNA expression levels of hematopoietic supporting factors SCF, IL-3, CXCL12, VCAM1 and ANGPT1 in hUC-MSCs obtained by explant cultrue method were higher than those obtained by enzyme digestion method. CONCLUSION Clinical-grade hUC-MSCs with high expression levels of hematopoietic supporting factors were successfully cultured in an animal serum-free culture system.
Humans ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Umbilical Cord/cytology* ; Cell Differentiation ; Female ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Chemokine CXCL12/metabolism* ; Angiopoietin-1/metabolism* ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1/metabolism* ; Stem Cell Factor/metabolism* ; Flow Cytometry ; Pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Based on the China-VHD database, this study sought to develop and validate a Valvular Heart Disease- specific Age-adjusted Comorbidity Index (VHD-ACI) for predicting mortality risk in patients with VHD. METHODS & RESULTS: The China-VHD study was a nationwide, multi-centre multi-centre cohort study enrolling 13,917 patients with moderate or severe VHD across 46 medical centres in China between April-June 2018. After excluding cases with missing key variables, 11,459 patients were retained for final analysis. The primary endpoint was 2-year all-cause mortality, with 941 deaths (10.0%) observed during follow-up. The VHD-ACI was derived after identifying 13 independent mortality predictors: cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary artery hypertension, low body weight, anaemia, hypoalbuminaemia, renal insufficiency, moderate/severe hepatic dysfunction, heart failure, cancer, NYHA functional class and age. The index exhibited good discrimination (AUC, 0.79) and calibration (Brier score, 0.062) in the total cohort, outperforming both EuroSCORE II and ACCI (P < 0.001 for comparison). Internal validation through 100 bootstrap iterations yielded a C statistic of 0.694 (95% CI: 0.665-0.723) for 2-year mortality prediction. VHD-ACI scores, as a continuous variable (VHD-ACI score: adjusted HR (95% CI): 1.263 (1.245-1.282), P < 0.001) or categorized using thresholds determined by the Yoden index (VHD-ACI ≥ 9 vs. < 9, adjusted HR (95% CI): 6.216 (5.378-7.184), P < 0.001), were independently associated with mortality. The prognostic performance remained consistent across all VHD subtypes (aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation, mitral stenosis, mitral regurgitation, tricuspid valve disease, mixed aortic/mitral valve disease and multiple VHD), and clinical subgroups stratified by therapeutic strategy, LVEF status (preserved vs. reduced), disease severity and etiology. CONCLUSION The VHD-ACI is a simple 13-comorbidity algorithm for the prediction of mortality in VHD patients and providing a simple and rapid tool for risk stratification.

Natural product-based drug combinations (NPDCs) present distinctive advantages in treating complex diseases. While high-throughput screening (HTS) and conventional computational methods have partially accelerated synergistic drug combination discovery, their applications remain constrained by experimental data fragmentation, high costs, and extensive combinatorial space. Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI), encompassing traditional machine learning and deep learning algorithms, have been extensively applied in NPDC identification. Through the integration of multi-source heterogeneous data and autonomous feature extraction, prediction accuracy has markedly improved, offering a robust technical approach for novel NPDC discovery. This review comprehensively examines recent advances in AI-driven NPDC prediction, presents relevant data resources and algorithmic frameworks, and evaluates current limitations and future prospects. AI methodologies are anticipated to substantially expedite NPDC discovery and inform experimental validation.
Artificial Intelligence ; Biological Products/chemistry* ; Humans ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Discovery/methods* ; Machine Learning ; Algorithms

Objective:To analyze the dynamic changes of serum exosome miR-552 and miR-653 levels in pa-tients with gastric cancer before and after chemotherapy and their relationship with clinical benefit.Methods:IA total of 128 patients with gastric cancer received chemotherapy from January 2022 to January 2024.According to the chemo-therapy effect,the two groups were divided into disease progression group and disease remission group.The levels of serum exosome miR-552 and miR-653 before and after chemotherapy were detected in the two groups,the risk fac-tors affecting the chemotherapy effect of gastric cancer patients were screened,the risk nomogram model was con-structed,and the efficacy was evaluated.Results:The proportion of TNM stage(Ⅲ+Ⅳ),lymph node metastasis,dis-tant metastasis,tumor size(>5 cm),invasion depth(T3/T4)and tumor growth pattern(invasive type)in disease progres-sion group was higher than that in disease remission group(P<0.05).The levels of serum exosomes miR-552 and miR-653 in disease progression group were higher than those in remission group before and after chemotherapy(P<0.05).Compared with before chemotherapy,miR-552 and miR-653 levels in both groups decreased(P<0.05).Logistic regres-sion analysis showed that TNM stage,lymph node metastasis,distant metastasis,tumor size,invasion depth,miR-552 and miR-653 were all risk factors affecting the chemotherapy efficacy of gastric cancer(P<0.05).ROC curve results showed that the AUC,95%CI,sensitivity and specificity of risk nomogram model to predict chemotherapy efficacy of gastric cancer were 0.867,0.672～0.991,92.80%and 80.40%,respectively(P<0.001).Calibration curve results showed that both predicted and actual predicted values were near the ideal curve,and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit curve test χ2=1.869,P=0.782.Conclusion:The levels of serum exosomes miR-552 and miR-653 are closely related to the chemotherapy efficacy of gastric cancer,and dynamic monitoring of the above indexes is helpful for the evaluation of the disease and prognosis of gastric cancer.In this study,the risk nomogram model constructed based on the above indexes and other risk factors has high predictive value and clinical practicability for chemotherapy efficacy in patients with gastric cancer.

Objective:To analyze the dynamic changes of serum exosome miR-552 and miR-653 levels in pa-tients with gastric cancer before and after chemotherapy and their relationship with clinical benefit.Methods:IA total of 128 patients with gastric cancer received chemotherapy from January 2022 to January 2024.According to the chemo-therapy effect,the two groups were divided into disease progression group and disease remission group.The levels of serum exosome miR-552 and miR-653 before and after chemotherapy were detected in the two groups,the risk fac-tors affecting the chemotherapy effect of gastric cancer patients were screened,the risk nomogram model was con-structed,and the efficacy was evaluated.Results:The proportion of TNM stage(Ⅲ+Ⅳ),lymph node metastasis,dis-tant metastasis,tumor size(>5 cm),invasion depth(T3/T4)and tumor growth pattern(invasive type)in disease progres-sion group was higher than that in disease remission group(P<0.05).The levels of serum exosomes miR-552 and miR-653 in disease progression group were higher than those in remission group before and after chemotherapy(P<0.05).Compared with before chemotherapy,miR-552 and miR-653 levels in both groups decreased(P<0.05).Logistic regres-sion analysis showed that TNM stage,lymph node metastasis,distant metastasis,tumor size,invasion depth,miR-552 and miR-653 were all risk factors affecting the chemotherapy efficacy of gastric cancer(P<0.05).ROC curve results showed that the AUC,95%CI,sensitivity and specificity of risk nomogram model to predict chemotherapy efficacy of gastric cancer were 0.867,0.672～0.991,92.80%and 80.40%,respectively(P<0.001).Calibration curve results showed that both predicted and actual predicted values were near the ideal curve,and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit curve test χ2=1.869,P=0.782.Conclusion:The levels of serum exosomes miR-552 and miR-653 are closely related to the chemotherapy efficacy of gastric cancer,and dynamic monitoring of the above indexes is helpful for the evaluation of the disease and prognosis of gastric cancer.In this study,the risk nomogram model constructed based on the above indexes and other risk factors has high predictive value and clinical practicability for chemotherapy efficacy in patients with gastric cancer.

Objective:To investigate the effects and underlying mechanism of ionizing radiation on the adipogenic of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs).Methods:Mouse MSCs were cultured in vitro and treated with 2 Gy and 6 Gy radiation with 60Co,and the radiation dose rate was 0.98 Gy/min.Bulk RNA-seq was performed on control and irradiated MSCs.The changes of adipogenic differentiation and oxidative stress pathways of MSC were revealed by bioinformatics analysis.Oil Red O staining was used to detect the adipogenic differentiation ability of MSCs in vitro,and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(qPCR)was used to detect the expression differences of key regulatory factors Cebpa,Lpl and Pparg after radiation treatment.At the same time,qPCR and Western blot were used to detect the effect of inhibition of Nrf2,a key factor of antioxidant stress pathway,on the expression of key regulatory factors of adipogenesis.Moreover,the species conservation of the irradiation response of human bone marrow MSCs and mouse MSC was determined by qPCR.Results:Bulk RNA-seq suggested that ionizing radiation promotes adipogenic differentiation of MSCs and up-regulation of oxidative stress-related genes and pathways.The results of Oil Red O staining and qPCR showed that ionizing radiation promoted the adipogenesis of MSCs,with high expression of Cebpa,Lpl and Pparg,as well as oxidative stress-related gene Nrf2.Nrf2 pathway inhibitors could further enhance the adipogenesis of MSCs in bone marrow after radiation.Notably,the similar regulation of oxidative pathways and enhanced adipogenesis post irradiation were observed in human bone marrow MSCs.In addition,irradiation exposure led to up-regulated mRNA expression of interleukin-6 and down-regulated mRNA expression of colony stimulating factor 2 in human bone marrow MSCs.Conclusion:Ionizing radiation promotes adipogenesis of MSCs in mice,and oxidative stress pathway participates in this effect,blocking Nrf2 further promotes the adipogenesis of MSCs.Additionally,irradiation activates oxidative pathways and promotes adipogenic differentiation of human bone marrow MSCs.

Objective:To establish an in vitro cell model simulating acute graft-versus-host disease(aGVHD)bone marrow microenvironment injury with the advantage of mouse serum of aGVHD model and explore the effect of serum of aGVHD mouse on the adipogenic differentiation ability of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs).Methods:The 6-8-week-old C57BL/6N female mice and BALB/c female mice were used as the donor and recipient mice of the aGVHD model,respectively.Bone marrow transplantation(BMT)mouse model(n=20)was established by being injected with bone marrow cells(1 × 10'per mouse)from donor mice within 4-6 hours after receiving a lethal dose(8.0 Gy,72.76 cGy/min)of y ray general irradiation.A mouse model of aGVHD(n=20)was established by infusing a total of 0.4 ml of a mixture of donor mouse-derived bone marrow cells(1 × 107 per mouse)and spleen lymphocytes(2 × 106 per mouse).The blood was removed from the eyeballs and the mouse serum was aspirated on the 7th day after modeling.Bone marrow-derived MSCs were isolated from 1-week-old C57BL/6N male mice and incubated with 2％,5％and 10％BMT mouse serum and aGVHD mouse serum in the medium,respectively.The effect of serum in the two groups on the in vitro adipogenic differentiation ability of mouse MSCs was detected by Oil Red O staining.The expression levels of related proteins PPARy and CEBPα were detected by Western blot.The expression differences of key adipogenic transcription factors including PPARy,CEBPα,FABP4 and LPL were determined by real-time quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR).Results:An in vitro cell model simulating the damage of bone marrow microenvironment in mice with aGVHD was successfully established.Oil Red O staining showed that the number of orange-red fatty droplets was significantly reduced and the adipogenic differentiation ability of MSC was impaired at aGVHD serum concentration of 10％compared with BMT serum.Western blot experiments showed that adipogenesis-related proteins PPARy and CEBPα expressed in MSCs were down-regulated.Further RT-qPCR assay showed that the production of PPARy,CEBPα,FABP4 and LPL,the key transcription factors for adipogenic differentiation of MSC,were significantly reduced.Conclusion:The adipogenic differentiation capacity of MSCs is inhibited by aGVHD mouse serum.

Aim To disclose the subcellular localiza-tion,expression pattern,cellular physiological function and possible molecular mechanism of C12ORF56,a novel gene located at q14.2 of chromosome 12,in the pathogenesis of lung cancer.Methods ONCOMINE database was applied to investigate the mRNA level dif-fering of C12ORF56 between normal and lung cancer tissues.Analysis based on LinkedOmics,Metascape,String and GSEA database or tools provided indication of potential cellular physiological functions of C12ORF56 in the developing of lung cancer.C12ORF56 was knocked down via siRNA and the pro-liferation of NCI-H1073 cells were observed by EdU and CCK-8 assay.RT-qPCR was used to detect the ex-pression level of C12ORF56 of lung cancer cells on dif-ferent cycle phases.The core sequence regions of pro-moter affecting the transcription of C12ORF56 gene were analyzed by Jaspar online-tools and verified by dual-luciferase assay.Results C12ORF56 was highly expressed in lung cancer cells,especially in squamous cell lung cancer.C12ORF56 correlated with cell cy-cle,cancer immune,DNA replication.Knockdown of C12ORF56 reduced NCI-H1703 cell proliferation.Conclusion The up-regulation of C12ORF56 is in-volved in the development of lung cancer by enhancing lung cancer cell proliferation.

OBJECTIVE: To explore characteristics, management strategies and preventive measures of fusion device displacement after oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) in treating lumbar lesions. METHODS: The clinical data of 12 patients with fusion device displacement after OLIF for lumbar lesions in 4 medical centers from October 2014 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, including 4 males and 8 females, aged from 53 to 81 years old;2 patients with lumbar disc degeneration, 4 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis, 3 patients with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis and 3 patients with lumbar degenerative kyphosis;preoperative dual-energy X-ray bone mineral density (BMD) was detected in 1 patient with T-value > -1 SD, 5 patients with T-value >-1~-2.5 SD, and 6 patients with T-value <-2.5 SD;9 patients with single-segment fusion, 1 patient with 2-segment fusion, and 2 patients with 3-segment fusion;standalone OLIF was performed in 9 patients and OLIF combined with posterior pedicle screws in 3 patients. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were used to evaluate low back pain and lumbar function recovery at the time of fusion graft displacement and at the latest follow-up, respectively. In addition, according to imaging results during follow-up, the fusion device subsidence or redisplacement, loosening or fracture of internal fixation, and interbody fusion were observed, and the changes in the height of interbody space on the segment with fusion device displacement were measured and compared. RESULTS: There were no necrosis or infection in skin incision of 10 patients after reoperation, and 12 patients were followed up for 12 to 48 months. VAS for low back pain decreased from 3 to 8 points at the time of fusion device displacement to 0 to 2 points at the latest follow-up. ODI recovered from 31% to 51% at the time of fusion transfer to 5% to 13% at the latest follow-up. There was no loosening or fracture of the pedicle screw system during follow-up. All 11 patients with bone grafting with fusion apparatus had fusion apparatus subsidence and no further displacement of fusion apparatus. The vertebral space height recovered from 9.0 to 12.7 mm at the time of fusion graft displacement to 8.0 to 11.8 mm at the latest follow-up. Interbody fusion was obtained in all patients except 1 with no imaging results at the latest follow-up. CONCLUSION OLIF could be used for fusion of lumbar lesions, and there is a risk of fusion organ displacement after operation, especially in cases of bone loss or osteoporosis before surgery, end-plate injury during surgery, and Stand-alone mode, and most of them occur within 3 months after operation. Surgery is required for the transposition of the fusion apparatus in the Stand-alone OLIF mode during the primary operation. Although good clinical results could be obtained by timely detection and accurate treatment, it is still necessary to emphasize the precise selection of cases before operation, the appropriate application of OLIF, and precise operation during operation to prevent displacement of fusion device.
Humans ; Spinal Fusion/instrumentation* ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Pedicle Screws