ObjectiveTo explore the interaction among root fungi of Stellaria dichotoma var. lanceolata， soil factors， and main components of medicinal materials in lithosol habitats. MethodHigh-throughput sequencing technology was employed to determine the fungal community of the root system of S. dichotoma var. lanceolata at different levels （bulk soil， rhizosphere soil， rhizoplane soil， and root interior） and the soil properties of the root system （bulk and rhizosphere）， and the relationship among the fungal community， soil properties， and the main components of medicinal materials was analyzed. ResultThe total phosphorus， available phosphorus， alkaline nitrogen， dissolved organic carbon， and soil water content in the rhizosphere soil of S. dichotoma var. lanceolata were slightly higher than those in the rhizosphere， but the difference was not significant. Ascomycota is the dominant phylum of root fungi in S. dichotoma var. lanceolata. In the progressive level of bulk-rhizosphere-rhizoplane-root interior system， although the fungal diversity gradually decreased， the abundance of Hypocreales， a new phylum （unclassified_ k_ Fungi）， Helotiales， and Natipusilales gradually increased， among which Hypocreales is the most important fungal group in the root system of S. dichotoma var. lanceolata. The structural equation model （SEM） shows that the physicochemical factors of the root-soil play an important regulatory role in the fungal community and the main components of medicinal herbs， with soil total nitrogen， alkaline nitrogen， soil water content， and pH being the main regulatory factors. Soil nitrogen content is the key to promoting the main components of the medicinal herbs， and Penicillium fungi are the key fungal group to regulate the main components of the medicinal herbs. ConclusionIt highlights that the physicochemical properties of the soil of S. dichotoma var. lanceolata play a crucial role in the fungal community and the components of medicinal materials. Hypocreales fungi in the root of S. dichotoma var. lanceolata were an important group， and Penicillium fungi had a certain role in mediating the components of medicinal materials.

BACKGROUND:Currently,there have been a variety of conservative and surgical treatment plans for spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee,achieving excellent results.However,a broad consensus on indication and guide of surgical treatment has not been announced.In clinical practice,there is still a misunderstanding that unicondylar replacement or total knee arthroplasty should be performed upon the discovery of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee,while an urgent need for universal access to the concept of stepwise therapy. OBJECTIVE:To summarize and find the factors leading to the poor effect of conservative treatment in spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee,which occurred on the medial femoral condyle,from the literature and clinical cases,at the same time,combined with the Koshino stage,to propose the strategy of stepwise spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee treatment on the medial femoral condyle. METHODS:A systematic search of the literature database was conducted to summarize the factors leading to poor outcomes of conservative treatment in spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle.Meanwhile,according to the Clinical&Health Records for analytics&Sharing system,the cases receiving conservative and surgical treatment in spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle in the Department of Orthopedics of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine from January 2017 to January 2023 were analyzed retrospectively,then the causes of success and failure in typical cases were summarized and analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Early diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee were very important for prognosis.For sudden knee pain in some patients,if no obvious abnormality was found in the X-ray examination,and the symptoms persisted and could not be relieved for more than 1 week,an MRI examination was recommended to detect early spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee.(2)The X-ray images of Koshino stage 1 and stage 2 of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle were difficult to be distinguished,which needed to be probed by MRI.MRI images of Koshino stage 1 were mainly characterized by bone marrow edema,and an osteonecrosis area with a clear boundary was not formed,while MR images of Koshino stage 2 showed a necrotic area with a clear boundary.(3)Five factors leading to the poor effect of conservative treatment on spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle were summarized:a.The necrotic area was＞5 cm2;b.The necrotic area accounted for more than 40%of the condyle;c.relative compression percentage of medial meniscus≥33%(with or without medial meniscus injury and subchondral bone marrow edema);d.MRI depth of necrotic area(anterior-posterior diameter of sagittal necrotic area)＞20 mm;e.varus deformity of lower limb＞6°.(4)Conservative treatment of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee in Koshino stage 1 was good.For spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee in Koshino stage 2,conservative treatment was preferred or combined with drilling decompression.If there was no relief or improvement of symptoms or in MRI after 3 months,while the patient had any of the previous five factors,then knee preservation surgery should be considered.For spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee in Koshino stage 3 and stage 4,knee preservation surgery should be selected based on the previous five factors,including age,gender and activity level of the patient.Total knee arthroplasty was used for spontaneous osteonecrosis in Koshino stage 4,which was associated with symptomatic patellofemoral arthritis,valgus alignment,or necrotic area,which greatly affected the stability of unicondyle prosthesis.

Objective To investigate the expression of hsa_circ_0018574 in colorectal cancer tissues and human colon cancer HT29 cell line, as well as its effect on the proliferation and apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells. Methods The circPrimer 1.2 software was used to draw the circRNA sequence structure. Meanwhile, the circRNA microarray was used to screen differentially-expressed circRNA in colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent tissues, and RNA was extracted from tissue samples. The expression of hsa_circ_0018574 in human colorectal tumors was detected by RT-qPCR. The si-circ_0018574 was transfected into HT29 cells, and the expression of CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, cyclinD1, and cyclinE cyclins were detected by colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and Western blot, respectively. Results The expression of hsa_circ_0018574 in human colorectal tumor tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the si-circ_0018574 in HT29 cells could significantly inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, reduce clone formation and colony formation ability (P < 0.01), and induce tumor cell apoptosis (P < 0.01). The expressions of CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, cyclinD1 and cyclinE cyclins were decreased. Conclusion The hsa_circ_0018574 is highly expressed in colorectal tumors, and si-circ_0018574 could significantly inhibit the proliferation of HT29 cells, reduce cell division, and induce apoptosis.

OBJECTIVE：To ex plore the protective effects of Longbie capsule contained serum （called“LBJN”for short ）on the apoptosis of chondrocytes induced by YAP inhibitor verteporfin and its mechanism. METHODS ：Primary human knee osteoarthritis（OA）chondrocytes were extracted by two-step enzymatic digestion ，and then identif ied by toluidine blue staining and type Ⅱ collagen immunofluorescence staining. The effects of 2，5 μmol/L verteporfin alone or combined with 5％LBJN on cell apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. Solvent control （0.1％ DMSO）and 5％ LBJN were set. Western blot assay was adopted to detect the expression of apoptosis related proteins （YAP，Bcl-2，cleaved-caspase-3） after treated with 0.1％DMSO（solvent control ），2 μmol/L verteporfin，2 μmol/L verteporfin+5％LBJN 和 0（blank control ），2.5％ LBJN and 5％ LBJN for 48 h. The expression of autophagy related proteins （mTOR，Beclin-1，LC3A/B） after treated with 0 （blank control ），2.5％，5％ LBJN for 48 h were det ected by Western blot assay. RESULTS ：The isolated cells accorded with the characteristics of chondrocytes. Compared with 0.1％DMSO， the apoptosis rates of cells were increased significantly after treated with 2，5 μmol/L verteporfin（P＜0.05），and the effects of the two concentrations were similar （P＞0.05）. Compared with verteporfin alone ，2，5 μmol/L verteporfin combined with 5％LBJN could significantly decrease the apoptotic rate of cells （P＜0.05）. Compared with 0.1％DMSO，the protein expression of YAP and Bcl-2 were decreased significantly after treated with 2 μ mol/L verteporfin （P＜0.05）， while the protein expression of cleaved-caspase-3 were increased significantly （P＜0.05）. Compared with 2 μmol/L verteporfin，protein expression of YAP and Bcl-2 were increased significantly after treated with 2 μmol/L verteporfin+5％LBJN（P＜0.05），while the protein expression of cleaved-caspase-3 were decreased significantly （P＜0.05）. Compared with blank control ，the protein expression of YAP ，Bcl-2 and Beclin-1 were increased significantly after treated with 2.5％，5％LBJN（P＜0.05），while protein expression of cleaved-caspase- 3 and mTOR were decreased significantly （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS ：LBJN can block the apoptosis of chondrocytes induced by YAP inhibitor verteporfin ，and its mechanism may be related to regulating the expression of apoptosis related proteins and enhancing autophagy of chondrocytes.

OBJECTIVE： To study the effects of ligustrazine on miR-20b/VEGF and BMP2/Smad1 pathways in subchondral bone of knee osteoarthritis （KOA） model rats， and to investigate the mechanism of ligustrazine for KOA prevention and treatment. METHODS： Totally 18 healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group， model group and ligustrazine group， with 6 rats in each group. The rats in the latter two groups were used to establish KOA model by intra-articular injection of 4％ papain solution. From the 2nd day after the last injection， ligustrazine group was given intragastrical administration of Ligustrazine suspension （100 mg/kg） 2 mL； normal control group and model group were given intragastrical administration of isometrical normal saline， once a day， for consecutive 6 weeks. After the last after medication， the situation of bilateral knee articular cartilage of rats were observed after exposure. The knee joints of rats were sectioned and stained with HE. The pathological change of articular cartilage were observed by microscope and scored by modified Mankin’s score. mRNA expression of VEGF， BMP2 and Smad1， and the expression of miR-20b were detected by RT-PCR； the protein expression of VEGF， BMP2 and Smad1 were detected by Western blot assay. RESULTS： Model group and ligustrazine group suffered from cartilage injury of knee joint at varying degrees. Compared with normal control group， Mankin’s scores of knee joint and cartilage tissue were increased significantly in model group （P＜0.01）； mRNA and protein expression of BMP and Smad1， the expression of miR-20b in subchondral bone of model group were decreased significantly， while mRNA and protein expression of VEGF were increased significantly （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， Mankin’s score of cartilage tissue were decreased significantly in ligustrazine group （P＜0.01）； mRNA and protein expression of BMP and Smad1， the expression of miR-20b in subchondral bone were increased significantly， while mRNA and protein expression of VEGF were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： Ligustrazine can repair damaged articular cartilage in KOA model rats， the mechanism of which may be associated with inhibiting the protein expression of VEGF and activating BMP-2/Smad1 signaling pathway via up-regulating the expression of miR-20b， and promoting the degradation of VEGF mRNA in subchondral bone.

Objective ToexploretherelationshipbetweenSchizasgradeofthenerverootwithintheduralsacandtheduralsac cross-sectionalarea(DSCA)ofthelumbarspineaswellastheclinicalsignificance.Methods 3.0T MRIexaminationofthelumbar spineof89patientswithlunbarspinestenosis(LSS)from May2016toSeptember2017intheaffiliatedhospitalofNantongUniversitywere collected.Twoexperienceddoctorsindependently measuredthekyphosisdegreeofthethoracolumbarspine,theDSCAofthe2-5 lumbarlevels,vDSCA,dDSCA,andevaluatedSchizasgradeofthenerverootforfourdegradsofA,B(gradeB1:DCSA≥100 mm2, gradeB2 :DCSA<100 mm2 ),CandDaccordingtozygopophysisconnectingline,andfinallyconductedthetestof Kappa consistency.DSCA wasdividedintothreegroupsof≤75 mm2,76-99 mm2and≥100 mm2,andχ2 wasadoptedtoexaminetherateineachSchizas grade.Schizasgradewithd/vvalue(dDSCA/vDSCA)andthekyphosisdegreeofthethoracolumbarspinewerecomparatedbyttest. Forthecorrelationcoefficient,S pear m an analysis wasadopted.Results In89cases with173lumbarlevels,schizasgradeofthenerve rootwere52,51,32and38levelsforgradeA-DrespectivelyI.nDSCA≤75mm2group,SchizasCandDwere18.5%and21.9%respectively, whichweresignificantlyhigherthanthoseforgradeAandB(0% and3.5%,P<0.01);InDSCA=76-99mm2group,Schizasgrade AandBwere8.7% and17.9%,whichweresignificantlyhigherthanthoseofgradeCandD (0% and0%,P<0.05and0.01);In DSCA≥100mm2group,therewere0% and0%forSchizasgradeCandD,whichweresignificantlylowerthanthoseforgradeAand B(21.4% and8.1%,P<0.0SchizasgradesofA-Dgroups,d/vaveragevalueswere0.64±0.29,0.48±0.22,0.42±0.20and0.34±0.11 respectively,in whichgradeCand D weresignificantlylower thanthoseofgradeAandB(P<0.01).Thecorrelationcoefficientof SchizasgradewiththeDSCAandd/vvalueswere0.83and0.87 respectively(P<0.01).Thekyphosisdegreeofthethoracolumbar spinewas(158.7±15.9)°inSchizasgradeB1,and (167.8±11.2)°inothergrades(t=4.37,P<0.05).Conclusion Theclassification ofnerverootSchizasgradeishighlyrelatedtoDCSA,andbothofthemaretheindicatorsforjudgingwhetherthelumbarspinalis stenosisornormal.TheSchizasgradeismoreconvenientandquicker;InordertoavoidconflictwithDCSA,SchizasBshouldbedividedintoB1 andB2 Whenitisusedtodeterminewhetherhavestenosis.

Objective To investigate the effect of neurotrophin-3(NT-3)on the proliferation and apoptosis of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)in rats and possible mechanisms. Methods The NT-3 overexpression and lentiviral transfection of BMSCs were co-cultured with neuronal cells respectively and then they were divided into overexpression control group,NT-3 transfection group and shRNA-NT-3 transfection group(NT-3 silencing group).MTT assay was used to detect the cell culture for 24 h,48 h and 72 h. Cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry for 48 h. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of C/EBPβmRNA.The expression of C/EBPβprotein was detected by Western blot. Results MTT results showed that the proliferation ability of BMSCs in the NT-3 overexpres-sion group was significantly higher than that in the control group(0.650±0.042,0.826±0.074)at 48 h and 72 h(P<0.05).Compared with the control group(P<0.05),the cell cycle and apoptosis of BMSCs in NT-3 silencing group were significantly decreased at 48 h and 72 h(P<0.05). The results of 48 h cell cycle and apoptosis showed that the percentage of G1 phase in BMSCs was decreased,G2 and S were increased and the apoptosis was decreased. The percentage of G1 phase in G2-S phase and the increase of apoptosis were in-creased in NT-3 silencing group. The results of Western Blot showed that C/EBPβ mRNA and protein levels were significantly up-regulated in BMSCs of NT-3 overexpression group and significantly decreased in NT-3 silencing group(P<0.05).Conclusion NT-3 may promote the expression of C/EBP beta and affect the ex-pression of its downstream target genes,which can inhibit the apoptosis of BMSCs cells.

Objective To evaluate effects of antisense oligonucleotides against microRNA-155 (miRNA-155) on the proliferation,apoptosis,migration and invasion of a human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma cell line A431.Methods A431 cells were divided into 3 groups:nonsense oligonucleotide group transfected with nonsense control oligonucleotides using liposomes,antisense oligonucleotide group transfected with antisense oligonucleotides against microRNA-155 using liposomes,and blank control group treated with Dulbecco's minimum essential medium (DMEM) containing Lipofectamine 2000.Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR)was performed to determine the expression of miRNA-155 in A431 cells:Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was conducted to estimate cellular proliferative activity at 24,36,72,96 and 120 hours after transfection,flow cytometry to detect apoptosis and cell cycle changes,and Transwell assay to evaluate the migration and invasion of A431 cells.Statistical analysis was carried out by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for intergroup comparisons and by least significant difference (LSD)-t test for multiple comparisons.Results After transfection,there were significant differences in the expression of miRNA-155 among the nonsense oligonucleotide group,antisense oligonucleotide group and blank control group (0.98 ± 0.02,0.28 ± 0.18,1.00 ± 0.01 respectively,F =634.57,P ＜ 0.001),and the expression of miRNA-155 was significantly lower in the antisense oligonucleotide group than in the blank control group and nonsense oligonucleotide group (both P ＜ 0.05).At 72,96 and 120 hours,there were significant differences in the survival rate of A431 cells among the 3 groups (all P ＜ 0.05),and the antisense oligonucleotide group showed a significantly lower survival rate of A431 cells compared with the blank control group and nonsense oligonucleotide group (all P ＜ 0.05).Additionally,the proportions of cells at G0/G1 phase and at S phase,and the cellular proliferative index all significantly differed among the 3 groups (F =23.46,36.81,19.35,respectively,P ＜ 0.01).The antisense oligonucleotide group showed significantly higher proportion of cells at G0/G1 phase (74.63％ ± 2.13％),but lower proportion of cells at S phase (9.88％ ± 1.83％) and cellular proliferative index (25.36 ± 2.13) compared with the blank control group(62.92％ ± 2.56％,18.86％ ± 2.78％,37.08 ± 2.56,respectively,all P ＜ 0.05) and nonsense oligonucleotide group (63.75％ ± 3.06％,18.33％ ± 3.72％,36.25 ± 3.06,respectively,all P ＜ 0.05).Additionally,the antisense oligonucleotide group showed significantly lower numbers of migratory cells and invasive cells compared with the blank control group and nonsense oligonucleotide group (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Transfection of A431 squamous cell carcinoma cells with antisense miRNA-155 oligonucleotides can decrease the expression of miRNA-155,effectively inhibit the proliferation,migration and invasion of A431 cells,and promote cell apoptosis.

Objective To evaluate the effect of small interfering RNA (siRNA)targeting survivin gene on the expression of survivin and proliferation,apoptosis,migration and invasion of a human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma cell line A431 in vitro.Methods A survivin-specific siRNA was designed and synthesized.Cultured A431 cells were divided into 3 groups to be transfected with 50.0 nmol/L liposome complexes containing survivin-specific siRNA (survivin siRNA group),50.0 nmol/L liposome complexes containing unrelated siRNA (negative control group) and 50.0 nmol/L prepared vesicles (blank control group).Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expression of survivin in A431 cells,respectively.Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was conducted to evaluate cellular proliferative activity,flow cytometry using annexin-V/propidium iodide (PI) staining to detect cell apoptosis,Transwell assay to estimate migratory and invasive activities of A431 cells,and flow cytometry to detect cell cycle changes.Results At 48 hours after transfection,the mRNA and protein expression of survivin both significantly differed among the survivin siRNA group,negative control group and blank control group (mRNA:0.56 ± 0.15,0.88 ± 0.37,0.90 ± 0.43,F =276.67,P ＜ 0.001;protein:0.59 ± 0.04,0.86 ± 0.05,0.91 ± 0.07,F =243.61,P ＜ 0.001),the survivin siRNA group showed significantly lower mRNA and protein expression of survivin compared with the negative control group and blank control group (all P ＜ 0.05),and there were no significant differences between the negative control group and blank control group (both P ＞ 0.05).Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the transfection with survivin siRNA could significantly inhibit the proliferation of A431 cells (F =13.19,P =0.004),the proliferation inhibition rate was significantly higher in the survivin siRNA group than in the negative control group and blank control group (both P ＜ 0.05),and no significant difference was observed between the negative control group and blank control group (P ＞ 0.05).At 24 hours after transfection,the apoptosis rate significantly differed among the 3 groups (F =83.97,P =0.002).The survivin siRNA group showed a significantly higher apoptosis rate compared with the negative control group and blank control group (both P ＜ 0.05),and there was no significant difference between the negative control group and blank control group (P ＞ 0.05).At 48 hours after transfection,the survivin siRNA group showed a significantly higher proportion of cells at G2/M phase,but lower number of migratory cells and invasive cells compared with the negative control group and blank control group (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Survivin-specific siRNA can inhibit the expression of survivin gene and the proliferation of A431 cells,promote cell apoptosis,and suppress cell migration and invasion,indicating that survivin may serve as a genetic target for the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective To investigate the gastrointestinal imaging (GI)performance of herniation of pure abdominal omental fat (PAOF)into the esophagus hiatus(EH).Methods 7 cases of PAOF herniated into EH found by GI and MSCT were collected.The performance of GI was analyzed and compared with MSCT.Results 4 cases with large soft tissue shadow around lower segment esophagus,its density are lower,esophageal mucosa was showed coarse disorderly in the range of 2-4 cm of lower segment esophageal in the mucous membrane phase,of which 1 case with the mucosal line of esophagus at the j unction of esophagus and the superior border of the soft tissue slung up.Mild stenosis lumen of flexible wall was displayed in the filling phase,the upper bound of the lesions was often visible.3 cases with obtuse His angle,of which 1 case its change was shown with position.A more larger cystic fat density shadow was showed in MSCT right side of lower segment esophagus.3 cases were almost normal GI performance,among them 1 case of esophageal diaphragmatic ampulla lasting and a smaller cystic fat density shadow was showed in MSCT right side lower segment esophagus.The connection of the lower part of cystic fat density shadow to abdominal fat was showed all in 7 cases by MSCT MPR,and left gastric artery was shown to point to or protruded into EH by arcuate form.Conclusion A slight change of mucous membrane and lumen of lower segment esophagus which bounded above with larger and fade soft tissue density shadow and His angle obtuse variable were the special GI performance of the herniation of PAOF into EH,and the diagnose depended on MSCT.