1.Research Progress on Short Stature Accompanied by Disorders of Sex Development
Xinran GONG ; Huifang PENG ; Jiali CHEN ; Hongwei JIANG
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2026;17(2):476-483
Short stature(SS) and disorder of sex development(DSD) are two types of conditions characterized by high clinical heterogeneity and complex etiology. There is interplay and mutual influence between the pathways regulated by growth hormone and sex hormones in skeletal and gonadal development. Causing co-occurrence of SS and DSD, as seen in conditions such as Turner syndrome, mixed gonadal dysgenesis, Noonan syndrome, and Prader-Willi syndrome. Patients with these disorders are often accompanied by distinctive facial features, endocrine and metabolic disturbances, cardiovascular disease, and other systemic complications. Genetic factors involved include chromosomal numerical and structural abnormalities; mutations in genes such as SHOX, CHD7, SOX8, and PTPN11, dysregulation of the RAS/mitogen activated protein kinase signaling pathway, and defects in imprinted genes. This article aims to systematically review the relevant research progress, in order to provide a reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment strategies of patients with coexisting SS and DSD.
2.Research progress of urea-containing PET tracers targeting prostate specific membrane antigen
Hong ZHU ; Hui WANG ; Hongwei SI ; Dan ZHANG ; Dengyun CHEN ; Pengfei DAI
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2026;61(2):369-375
Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors of male genitourinary system. Prostate cancer has the following characteristics: insidious onset, early asymptomatic or not obvious symptoms, complex etiology and pathogenesis, long incubation period and so on. Therefore, the realization of its early diagnosis and treatment is of great significance to the prognosis of patients. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a type 2 transmembrane glycoprotein that is highly expressed on the membrane of almost all primary and metastatic prostate cancer cells, and is an ideal target for prostate cancer imaging and treatment. In recent years, with the approval of urea-containing small molecule PET (positron emission computed tomography) radiopharmaceutical based on PSMA (68Ga-PSMA-11, 18F-PSMA-1007), PET-CT (positron emission computed tomography/computed tomography) has shown new potential for early diagnosis and accurate staging of prostate cancer patients. This review mainly summarizes the research progress of urea-containing PSMA PET imaging agents and finds that they have defects such as uptake in non-target tissues like the kidneys, lacrimal glands, and salivary glands. Thus, further optimizing their structure to reduce the uptake in non-target tissues, providing provide convenience for the labeling of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, thereby achieving the goal of integrated diagnosis and treatment, is an important development direction in this field.
3.Construction and Validation of a Clinical Prediction Model for Inflammatory Remission Outcome of Bushen Zhiwang Decoction(补肾治尪汤)in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis with Liver and Kidney Deficiency Syndrome
Zihan WANG ; Xiaojing LIU ; Yanyu CHEN ; Tianyi LAN ; Huilan YANG ; Hongwei YU ; Qingwen TAO ; Yuan XU
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2026;67(5):523-533
ObjectiveTo construct and validate a clinical prediction model for inflammatory remission outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with liver and kidney deficiency syndrome treated with Bushen Zhiwang Decoction (补肾治尪汤, BZD) based on metabolomics. MethodsA prospective cohort study was conducted, enrol-ling 60 RA patients with liver and kidney deficiency syndrome. All patients were treated with BZD and conventional-dose oral conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) for 12 months. Clinical data were collected, and the change in disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28) after treatment compared with baseline (△DAS28) was used as the primary outcome and grouping criterion. Peripheral blood samples were collected before treatment to analyze plasma metabolites. Differential analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression were used to preliminarily screen differential metabolites, followed by machine learning algorithms to further identify a core metabolite combination. Based on the expression levels of the core metabolite combination, a novel metabolite index, namely the metabolomics-based inflammatory remission score (Met-IRS), was calculated using standar-dized metabolite values, and its clinical applicability was evaluated. A clinical prediction model was constructed by integrating clinical characteristics and Met-IRS, and the model performance was assessed. ResultsAmong the 60 patients, those with △DAS28 ≥ 0.27 were assigned to the high inflammatory remission group, while those with △DAS28 < 0.27 were assigned to the low inflammatory remission group, with 30 cases in each group. Compared to the low inflammatory remission group, the high inflammatory remission group showed a higher frequency of methotrexate use and a lower positive rate of rheumatoid factor (RF) (P<0.05). Seven core metabolites were identified as the optimal combination, including mangiferic acid, fatty acid-hydroxy fatty acid ester 40∶6, fatty acid-hydroxy fatty acid ester 18∶0, fatty acid-hydroxy fatty acid ester 36∶1, glucosylceramide, lysophosphatidylcholine 22∶5, and pregnanetriol ketone. The calculated Met-IRS comprehensively reflected the characteristics of differential metabolites and demonstrated clinical applicability. Met-IRS was significantly higher in the high inflammatory remission group than in the low inflammatory remission group, and was positively correlated with high inflammatory remission outcomes (P<0.05). Based on the variables Met-IRS, methotrexate use, leflunomide use, and RF positivity, a clinical prediction model for inflammatory remission in RA treatment (Cj-RTRM) was constructed. Model performance evaluation demonstrated that the model had good clinical predictive ability, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.880, sensitivity 0.967, specificity 0.700 and Youden's index 0.667. ConclusionThe clinical prediction model Cj-RTRM constructed based on the metabolomics-based inflammatory remission score Met-IRS can effectively predict clinical inflammatory remission outcomes in RA patients treated with BZD and accurately identify the advantageous population for this treatment. This model provides guiding evidence for dynamic inflammation monitoring, targeted management, and identification of populations with advantages in traditional Chinese medicine.
4.Research progress on the effects of processing on the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Morinda officinalis
Na BAI ; Tianyi FU ; Yale MA ; Chen WANG ; Hongwei LI ; Kai LI ; Le KANG ; Mengyun LIU
China Pharmacy 2026;37(13):1778-1783
Morinda officinalis is one of the “Four Great Southern Medicines” and is commonly used in clinical practice to treat erectile dysfunction and nocturnal emissions caused by kidney yang deficiency, uterine cold infertility, menstrual disorders, low abdominal pain, rheumatism, and muscle and bone weakness. Based on the principle of “treating raw and cooked differently”, this article summarizes the effects of different processing methods on the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of M. officinalis . Research has found that processing can affect the content and structure of sugars, iridoids, and anthraquinones in M. officinalis , thereby regulating its pharmacological effects such as anti-osteoporosis, immune regulation, anti-fatigue, and anti-depression. Among them, salt M. officinalis shows outstanding performance in anti-osteoporosis and enhancing immunity. Although previous studies have preliminarily elucidated the major chemical constituents of M. officinalis and their pharmacological characteristics, the dynamic transformation paths of constituents during the processing remain to be further clarified, especially the es tablishment of a quality marker system associated with the processing technology, to achieve the precision and intelligent development of the processing.
5.Diagnostic efficacy of different pathogen detection methods in active tuberculosis of kidney transplant recipients
Zhen WANG ; Yan YANG ; Wen CHEN ; Tao YU ; Hongwei BAI
Organ Transplantation 2026;17(4):644-651
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of different pathogen detection methods in active tuberculosis (ATB) of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) and analyze their diagnostic value in different types of clinical specimens. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted, including adult KTRs with suspected ATB from the Eighth Medical Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital from January 2020 to January 2025. Baseline data of the recipients were collected and analyzed, and the diagnostic criteria were based on a composite reference standard (including clinical diagnosis and bacteriological confirmation). The single-detection efficacy of acid-fast staining smear, mycobacterium tuberculosis culture, Xpert test for the detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis nucleic acid and resistance to rifampicin (Xpert MTB/RIF), as well as tuberculosis or non-tuberculosis mycobacterial DNA detection was compared. The differences in sensitivity among different methods were analyzed. Results A total of 95 KTRs with suspected ATB and 136 specimens were included. And 52 cases were diagnosed as ATB, among which 48 cases were confirmed by bacteriological means (92%). The sensitivity of Xpert MTB/RIF and DNA detection (0.55 and 0.52, respectively) was significantly higher than that of acid-fast staining smear (0.30) and mycobacterium tuberculosis culture (0.35) (P < 0.01). There was a statistically significant difference in the bacteriological diagnosis rate among different specimen types (P = 0.035). The detection sensitivity of each method was the highest in pus, puncture tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, followed by sputum and pleural and abdominal effusions, and the lowest in cerebrospinal fluid. Conclusions The sensitivity of nucleic acid amplification technology for immunosuppressed KTRs is slightly reduced, but it should still be recommended as the preferred initial screening tool. The comprehensive strategy of "multi-site sampling (prior to obtaining high bacterial load specimens) combined with multiple method detection" may improve the diagnostic efficacy.
6.Research progress on the effects of processing on the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Morinda officinalis
Na BAI ; Tianyi FU ; Yale MA ; Chen WANG ; Hongwei LI ; Kai LI ; Le KANG ; Mengyun LIU
China Pharmacy 2026;37(13):1778-1783
Morinda officinalis is one of the “Four Great Southern Medicines” and is commonly used in clinical practice to treat erectile dysfunction and nocturnal emissions caused by kidney yang deficiency, uterine cold infertility, menstrual disorders, low abdominal pain, rheumatism, and muscle and bone weakness. Based on the principle of “treating raw and cooked differently”, this article summarizes the effects of different processing methods on the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of M. officinalis . Research has found that processing can affect the content and structure of sugars, iridoids, and anthraquinones in M. officinalis , thereby regulating its pharmacological effects such as anti-osteoporosis, immune regulation, anti-fatigue, and anti-depression. Among them, salt M. officinalis shows outstanding performance in anti-osteoporosis and enhancing immunity. Although previous studies have preliminarily elucidated the major chemical constituents of M. officinalis and their pharmacological characteristics, the dynamic transformation paths of constituents during the processing remain to be further clarified, especially the es tablishment of a quality marker system associated with the processing technology, to achieve the precision and intelligent development of the processing.
7.Analysis of monitoring data of 131I internal exposure among nuclear medicine staff in Guangdong Province, China, 2022-2024
Hongwei YU ; Xuan LONG ; Zhan TAN ; Huifeng CHEN ; Rui MA ; Weixu HUANG
Chinese Journal of Radiological Health 2026;35(3):313-318
Objective To analyze the monitoring data of 131I internal exposure in Guangdong Province over the past 3 years, study the thyroid 131I contamination levels among nuclear medicine staff, and provide a basis for optimizing the monitoring plan. Methods Using a convenience sampling method, 574 detections of nuclear medicine staff from 28 hospitals in Guangdong Province were included in the study. The thyroid 131I activity was measured directly in vivo. Differences in detection rates were analyzed, and committed effective doses were estimated. Results Over the past 3 years in Guangdong Province, 131I accumulation was found in the thyroids of staff from 14 hospitals for 62 (10.8%) detections, with an average activity of 154.8 (13.2-8730.6) Bq. The adjusted annual intake was 50.7 (4.5-820.6) kBq. The committed effective dose was 0.56 (0.05-9.03) mSv/a, and the values were ≥ 2 mSv for 8 persons. Among different positions, nurses showed the highest detection rate (19.6%), followed by cleaners (14.7%), with significant differences (P<0.05). Among different exposure types, the detection rate was highest for loading medication into automatic dispenser (23.3%), and the mean activity was highest for entering thyroid cancer patient ward (495.4 Bq), with significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusion Monitoring of 131I internal exposure in Guangdong Province found that the radiation doses of some staff members had exceeded the threshold specified in other investigations. Routine personal 131I internal exposure monitoring should be conducted, with increased monitoring frequency. Priority should be given to nurses and cleaners, with monitoring extended to cleaners and outsourced dispensing staff.
8.Status and influencing factors of the application of informatization tools for antimicrobial stewardship in Chinese county hospitals
Yuqi FU ; Xin LI ; Ying LI ; Hongwei WU ; Zhixin FAN ; Jinru LIU ; Xi CHEN ; Yuxiang XIA ; Qiang SUN ; Yingbo ZHAO
China Pharmacy 2026;37(16):2084-2089
OBJECTIVE To investigate the current status of informatization tools applied to antimicrobial stewardship in county hospitals in China, and to provide a reference for promoting the informatization development of antimicrobial stewardship in county hospitals.METHODS From August to September 2025, an online questionnaire survey was conducted among 1 007 county hospitals across 31 provinces(autonomous regions, and municipalities) in China. The survey focused on the application of four types of informatization tools:the real-time monitoring system for antimicrobial use, the pre-prescription review system, the irrational use warning system, and the electronic prescription evaluation system(hereinafter referred to as the “monitoring system”“review system”“warning system”“evaluation system”,respectively). Correlation analysis and binary Logistic regression analysis were employed to explore the influencing factors.RESULTS Of the county hospitals, 80.83% were equipped with at least one type of informatization tool for antimicrobial stewardship, while 19.17% had no relevant tool. Only 18.87% of the hospitals were equipped with all four types of tools. The monitoring system exhibited the highest equipped rate (70.80%), whereas the warning system was equipped in only 33.96% of the hospitals. Four types of tools are evenly and adequately deployed in the eastern region, the central and western regions have far lower deployment rates of intervention tools including review system and warning system, accompanied by prominent intra-provincial gaps. The total number of the health technicians, hospital grade, and prescription review rate of outpatient antibacterial drug were significantly and positively correlated with the deployment rates of the four informatization tools ( P <0.05). The results of the Logistic regression model fitting indicated that the model of the review system was rated “excellent” [area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)=0.81], and the model of the warning system was rated “further improvement” (AUC=0.67). The total number of health technicians was significantly positively correlated with the deployment rates of all four types of informatization tools (all P <0.05).CONCLUSIONS The informatization of antimicrobial stewardship in county hospitals in China remains in the initial stage of transitioning from “passive statistics” to “active prevention and control”, with challenges such as structural imbalance and regional disparities. In the future, differentiated support strategies should be implemented, the allocation of resources should be optimized, to enhance the level of refined antimicrobial stewardship.
9.Molecular Characteristics of Prognosis and Chemotherapy Response in Breast Cancer: Biomarker Identification Based on Gene Mutations and Pathway
Liyan LI ; Hongwei LYU ; Qian CHEN ; Yating BAI ; Jing YU ; Ruigang CAI
Journal of Breast Cancer 2025;28(2):61-71
Purpose:
This study aimed to investigate the molecular characteristics associated with better prognosis in breast cancer.
Methods:
We performed targeted sequencing of 962 genes in 56 samples, categorizing them into long-term and short-term survival groups as well as chemotherapy-sensitive and chemotherapy-resistant groups for further analyses.
Results:
The results indicated that the tumor mutational burden values were significantly higher in the short-term survival and chemotherapy-resistant groups (p = 0.008 and p = 0.003, respectively). Somatic mutation analysis revealed that the mutation frequencies of BCL9L and WHSC1 were significantly lower in the long-term survival group than those in the short-term survival group (p = 0.029 and p = 0.024, respectively). CREB-regulated transcription coactivator 1 (CRTC1) mutations occurred significantly more frequently in the chemotherapy-resistant group (p = 0.027) and were associated with shorter progression-free survival (p = 0.036).Signature weighting analysis showed a significant increase in Signature.3, which is associated with homologous recombination repair deficiency in the chemotherapy-sensitive group (p = 0.045). Conversely, signatures related to effective DNA repair mechanisms, Signature.1 and Signature.15, were significantly reduced (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis indicated that gene mutations were significantly enriched in the JAK-STAT signaling pathway.
Conclusion
This study, through intergroup comparative analysis, found that immunotherapy (using programmed death 1/programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitors) may improve the prognosis of patients with short survival and chemotherapy resistance. Additionally, the study revealed that mutations in BCL9L and WHSC1 could serve as biomarkers for breast cancer prognosis, while CRTC1 mutations and Signature.3 could predict chemotherapy response. The study also found that the JAK-STAT pathway might be a potential therapeutic target for chemotherapy resistance. Therefore, this study identifies molecular characteristics that influence the prognosis of breast cancer patients, providing important theoretical insights for the development of personalized treatment strategies.
10.Targeting TM4SF1 promotes tumor senescence enhancing CD8+ T cell cytotoxic function in hepatocellular carcinoma
Weifeng ZENG ; Furong LIU ; Yachong LIU ; Ze ZHANG ; Haofan HU ; Shangwu NING ; Hongwei ZHANG ; Xiaoping CHEN ; Zhibin LIAO ; Zhanguo ZHANG
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2025;31(2):489-508
Background/Aims:
Transmembrane 4 L six family member 1 (TM4SF1) is highly expressed and contributes to the progression of various malignancies. However, how it modulates hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression and senescence remains to be elucidated.
Methods:
TM4SF1 expression in HCC samples was evaluated using immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Cellular senescence was assessed through SA-β-gal activity assays and Western blot analysis. TM4SF1-related protein interactions were investigated using immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry, co-immunoprecipitation, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, and immunofluorescence. Tumor-infiltrating immune cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. The HCC mouse model was established via hydrodynamic tail vein injection.
Results:
TM4SF1 was highly expressed in human HCC samples and murine models. Knockdown of TM4SF1 suppressed HCC proliferation both in vitro and in vivo, inducing non-secretory senescence through upregulation of p16 and p21. TM4SF1 enhanced the interaction between AKT1 and PDPK1, thereby promoting AKT phosphorylation, which subsequently downregulated p16 and p21. Meanwhile, TM4SF1-mediated AKT phosphorylation enhanced PD-L1 expression while reducing major histocompatibility complex class I level on tumor cells, leading to impaired cytotoxic function of CD8+ T cells and an increased proportion of exhausted CD8+ T cells. In clinical HCC samples, elevated TM4SF1 expression was associated with resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Targeting TM4SF1 via adeno-associated virus induced tumor senescence, reduced tumor burden and synergistically enhanced the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy.
Conclusions
Our results revealed that TM4SF1 regulated tumor cell senescence and immune evasion through the AKT pathway, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target in HCC, particularly in combination with first-line immunotherapy.

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