ObjectiveThe study aims to investigate the intervention effect of modified Xiangsha Liujunzitang （M-XSLJZ） on intestinal-derived lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-activated Kupffer cell inflammation in rats with hyperlipidemia spleen deficiency syndrome. MethodsSeventy male SD rats were randomly divided into seven groups （n=10）： blank control （CON）， high-fat diet without spleen deficiency （HFD）， high-fat diet with spleen deficiency （SD-HFD）， M-XSLJZ low-， medium-， and high-dose groups （XS-L， XS-M， XS-H）， and western medicine control （R）. Spleen deficiency was induced in SD-HFD， XS-L， XS-M， XS-H， and R groups via irregular diet combined with exhaustive swimming for 15 days. The CON group received a standard diet， while other groups were fed a high-fat diet for 10 weeks to establish the hyperlipidemia model. After successful modeling， rats were treated for 8 weeks： M-XSLJZ was administered at 3.51， 7.02， 14.04 g·kg^-1 in XS-L， XS-M， and XS-H groups， respectively. The R group received 9×10^-4 g·kg^-1 of a reference drug. D-xylose excretion rate was measured by the phloroglucinol method. Blood lipids were assessed using an automated biochemical analyzer. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to evaluate the pathological conditions of the liver， and oil red O staining was used to observe the lipid deposition in the liver. The levels of LPS， portal vein serum LPS， LPS-binding protein （LBP）， serum interleukin-6 （IL-6）， IL-1β， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Immunofluorescence was used to evaluate CD86 expression and CD68/TLR4 co-localization in the liver. Protein levels of TLR4， MyD88， NF-κB p65， and p-NF-κB p65 in Kupffer cells were analyzed via Western blot automated protein analysis. Hepatic IL-6， TNF-α， and IL-1β mRNA and protein levels were measured using Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot. ResultsCompared with the CON group， the SD-HFD group showed a decrease in D-xylose excretion （P<0.01）. TC， TG， HDL-C， and LDL-C increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. A large number of hepatic lipid vacuoles and orange-red lipid droplet deposition appeared in the liver. Ileal LPS， portal LPS， and LBP increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The levels of serum IL-6， TNF-α， and IL-1β increased （P<0.01）. The expression of CD86 was upregulated （P<0.01）， and the co-expression of CD68 and TLR4 was enhanced. The protein levels of TLR4， MyD88， and p-p65 in Kupffer cells increased （P<0.01）. The mRNA and protein levels of IL-6， TNF-α， and IL-1β increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the HFD group， the SD-HFD group exhibited decreased D-xylose excretion （P<0.01）， higher HDL-C， LDL-C （P<0.05）， increased portal LBP and LPS （P<0.05）， increased serum IL-6 and TNF-α （P<0.01）， upregulated CD86 （P<0.01）， enhanced CD68/TLR4 co-expression， and higher TNF-α mRNA/protein （P<0.05）. Compared with the SD-HFD group， all M-XSLJZ treatment groups showed reduced TC， TG， and LDL-C （P<0.05， P<0.01）. XS-H and R groups displayed improved hepatic lipid deposition. XS-H and R groups had lower ileal LPS， portal LPS， and LBP levels （P<0.05， P<0.01）. All M-XSLJZ treatment groups exhibited reduced serum IL-6， IL-1β， and TNF-α （P<0.01）. The XS-H group showed downregulated CD86 （P<0.01） and weakened CD68/TLR4 co-expression. The XS-H group had reduced TLR4， MyD88， and p-NF-κB p65 in Kupffer cells （P<0.01）. XS-H and R groups showed lower IL-6， TNF-α， and IL-1β mRNA/protein （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionM-XSLJZ may exert its lipid-lowering effects by inhibiting intestinal-derived LPS and alleviating Kupffer cell inflammation in the liver.

Cold has been a long-term survival challenge in the evolutionary process of mammals. In response to cold stress, in addition to brown adipose tissue (BAT) dissipating energy as heat through glucose and lipid oxidation to maintain body temperature, cold stimulation can strongly activate thermogenesis and energy expenditure in beige fat cells, which are widely distributed in the subcutaneous layer. However, the effects of cold stimulation on other tissues and systemic lipid metabolism remain unclear. Our previous research indicated that, under cold stress, BAT not only produces heat but also secretes numerous exosomes to mediate BAT-liver crosstalk. Whether subcutaneous fat has a similar mechanism is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the alterations in lipid metabolism across various tissues under cold exposure and to explore whether subcutaneous fat regulates systemic glucose and lipid metabolism via exosomes, thereby elucidating the regulatory mechanisms of lipid metabolism homeostasis under physiological stress. RT-qPCR, Western blot, and H&E staining methods were used to investigate the physiological changes in lipid metabolism in the serum, liver, epididymal white adipose tissue, and subcutaneous fat of mice under cold stimulation. The results revealed that cold exposure significantly enhanced the thermogenic activity of subcutaneous adipose tissue and markedly increased exosome secretion. These exosomes were efficiently taken up by hepatocytes, where they profoundly influenced hepatic lipid metabolism, as evidenced by alterations in the expression levels of key genes involved in lipid synthesis and catabolism pathways. This study has unveiled a novel mechanism by which subcutaneous fat regulates lipid metabolism through exosome secretion under cold stimulation, providing new insights into the systemic regulatory role of beige adipocytes under cold stress and offering a theoretical basis for the development of new therapeutic strategies for obesity and metabolic diseases.
Animals ; Lipid Metabolism/physiology* ; Mice ; Exosomes/metabolism* ; Cold Temperature ; Subcutaneous Fat/physiology* ; Thermogenesis/physiology* ; Adipose Tissue, Brown/metabolism* ; Male

This study explores the basic characteristics and potential functions of the terpene synthase(TPS) gene family members in Lonicera japonica. The L. japonica TPS(LjTPS) gene family was identified and functionally analyzed using bioinformatics methods. The results showed that a total of 70 members of the LjTPS gene family were identified in L. japonica, with protein lengths ranging from 130 to 1 437 amino acids. Most of these proteins were hydrophilic, and they were unevenly distributed across nine chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the LjTPS gene family members were divided into six subfamilies, mainly consisting of members from the TPS-a, TPS-b, and TPS-e subfamilies. Promoter cis-acting element analysis showed that LjTPS members contained a large number of stress-responsive cis-acting elements. Aphid inoculation experiments showed that key enzyme genes in the MVA pathway for terpenoid backbone synthesis in L. japonica, such as HMGS, HMGR, MK, MPD, and the key enzyme gene in the DXP pathway, DXS, exhibited an initial increase followed by a decrease under aphid stress. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expression levels of the α-farnesene synthase genes LjTPS34 and LjTPS39 were down-regulated, while the expression levels of(E)-β-caryophyllene synthase genes LjTPS15 and LjTPS17 were up-regulated 12 h before aphid feeding, then began to decline. Farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase(FPS), which interacted with these genes, also displayed a pattern of increasing followed by decreasing expression. The expression of linalool synthase genes LjTPS12 and LjTPS33 was significantly up-regulated after 72 h of aphid feeding(P<0.000 1), reaching 24.39 and 22.64 times the initial expression, respectively. This pattern was in close alignment with the trend of linalool content in L. japonica. This study provides a theoretical foundation for future research on the interaction between L. japonica and pests, as well as on the functional roles of the LjTPS gene family.
Animals ; Aphids/physiology* ; Alkyl and Aryl Transferases/chemistry* ; Lonicera/parasitology* ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins/chemistry* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Multigene Family ; Terpenes/metabolism*

This research study focuses on addressing the limitations of current neuropathic pain (NP) treatments by developing a novel dual-target modulator, E0199, targeting both Na_V1.7, Na_V1.8, and Na_V1.9 and K_V7 channels, a crucial regulator in controlling NP symptoms. The objective of the study was to synthesize a compound capable of modulating these channels to alleviate NP. Through an experimental design involving both in vitro and in vivo methods, E0199 was tested for its efficacy on ion channels and its therapeutic potential in a chronic constriction injury (CCI) mouse model. The results demonstrated that E0199 significantly inhibited Na_V1.7, Na_V1.8, and Na_V1.9 channels with a particularly low half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) for Na_V1.9 by promoting sodium channel inactivation, and also effectively increased K_V7.2/7.3, K_V7.2, and K_V7.5 channels, excluding K_V7.1 by promoting potassium channel activation. This dual action significantly reduced the excitability of dorsal root ganglion neurons and alleviated pain hypersensitivity in mice at low doses, indicating a potent analgesic effect without affecting heart and skeletal muscle ion channels critically. The safety of E0199 was supported by neurobehavioral evaluations. Conclusively, E0199 represents a ground-breaking approach in NP treatment, showcasing the potential of dual-target small-molecule compounds in providing a more effective and safe therapeutic option for NP. This study introduces a promising direction for the future development of NP therapeutics.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between blood uric acid level and body composition, exercise capacity, and cardiopulmonary function in medical examination population.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 83 individuals who underwent physical examinations at Peking University Third Hospital from June 1, 2023, to October 1, 2023, and met the inclusion criteria were included. According to whether they had hyperuricemia (HUA), the participants were divided into HUA group (53 cases) and non-HUA group (30 cases). Body composition parameters, such as body mass index and visceral fat area, were measured with a body composition analyzer. Exercise capacity indicators, including grip strength, vertical jump, back strength, and sit-and-reach test, were measured using specific monitoring devices. Cardiopulmonary function was assessed using the stair index test. The clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared with t-tests or chi-square tests, and the correlation between uric acid levels and body composition, exercise capacity, and cardiopulmonary function was analyzed. Results:The HUA group had significantly higher skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, body mass index, and visceral fat area when compared with the non-HUA group [(31.92±5.60) vs (26.11±6.19) kg, (23.66±9.33) vs (17.19±5.00) kg, (26.53±3.68) vs (23.27±3.59) kg/m2, 91.20 (74.25, 123.90) vs 68.25 (56.25, 90.48) cm 2, respectively] (all P<0.05). The grip strength, vertical jump, and back pull strength were all lower in the HUA group [32.70 (25.25, 40.30) vs 42.35 (35.95, 48.10) kg, 30.30 (24.10, 36.48) vs 40.55 (33.06, 45.10) kg, 24.20(20.60, 32.23) vs 29.90 (25.20, 35.50) cm, 65.60 (51.75, 78.00) vs 91.00 (67.25, 111.50) kg, respectivley] (all P<0.05). The increased step index was positively correlated with reduced risk of hyperuricemia ( OR=0.875, 95% CI: 0.793-0.966) ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Blood uric acid level is correlated with cardiopulmonary function in medical examination population. Individuals with better cardiopulmonary function have a lower risk of developing HUA. However, the relationship between blood uric acid level and body composition and exercise capacity is not clear.

Glycosylation is one of the most important reactions in living organisms as it results in the formation of glycoconjugates with diverse biological functions. Sugar nucleotides are structurally composed of sugar and nucleoside diphosphate or monophosphate, which are widespread within a variety of biological cells. As glycosyl donors for the transglycosyl reactions catalyzed by Leloir-type glycosyltransferases, sugar nucleotides are essential for the synthesis of glycans and glycoconjugates. However, high costs and limited availability of nucleotide sugars prevent applications of biocatalytic cascades on an industrial scale. Therefore, attentions on synthetic strategies of sugar nucleotides have been increasing to achieve their wide applications in various fields. The 9 common sugar nucleotides in mammals have been fully studied with large-scale synthesis through chemical, enzymatic (chemo-enzymatic) and cell factory strategies. In addition to common sugar nucleotides, many rare sugar nucleotides are present in plants and bacteria. Although unnatural sugar nucleotides cannot be synthesized in organisms, they have great potential in research as substrates for glycosyltransferases in carbohydrate synthesis, as enzyme inhibitors in biochemical studies, and as components of glycoconjugate biosynthesis. Therefore, increasing attention has been paid to explore the efficient synthesis of unnatural sugar nucleotides. Currently, strategies for chemical synthesis of sugar nucleotides have been greatly improved, such as the use of effective catalysts for forming pyrophosphate bonds and the development of entirely new synthesis protocols. Multiple sugar nucleotides, especially unnatural sugar nucleotides, are synthesized chemically. However, chemical synthesis requires tedious protection and deprotection steps, resulting in complex steps, high cost and low yield. In contrast, enzymatic (chemo-enzymatic) and cell factory methods have significant advantages such as high yield, easy operation and easy process scale-up in the preparation of sugar nucleotides. Hence, they are prominent strategies for sugar nucleotide preparation. Herein, the biosynthesis and application of sugar nucleotides are reviewed, mainly focusing on the 9 sugar nucleotides common in mammals. The early strategies for enzymatic synthesis of sugar nucleotides generally used de novo synthesis pathway. With the discoveries of enzymes involved in salvage pathway of sugar nucleotide synthesis and the development of one-pot multienzyme (OPME) method, the synthesis of sugar nucleotides was greatly simplified. Cell factory method employs the microbial living cells as a “processing plant” by engineering their metabolic pathways through genetic engineering technology. The cell factory method has high yield, and has been applied for efficient synthesis of several sugar nucleotides. Moreover, the strategy of gram-scale synthesis of multiple rare sugar nucleotides by cascade reactions from common sugar nucleotides using sugar nucleotides synthases cloned from different sources was illustrated. In recent years, the synthesis cost of sugar nucleotides has been further reduced through various ways, such as regeneration of nucleotides, regeneration of organic cofactors, and application of immobilized enzyme technology. Furthermore, through the continuous improvement of sugar nucleotide purification process, the use of high concentration of multi-enzyme cascade and rapid non-chromatographic purification process, the synthesis of multiple sugar nucleotides and their derivatives from monosaccharides was achieved, which gradually broke the limitations of the existing strategy. With the efficient synthesis of sugar nucleotides, their applications in various fields have been increasingly explored, including the synthesis of glycans and glycoconjugates, biochemical characterization of glycosyltransferases and bioorthogonal labeling strategies, which are of great significance to the research of biochemistry, glycobiology and the development of related pharmaceutical products.

The assessment of adverse drug events is an important basis for clinical safety evaluation and post-marketing risk control of drugs,and its causality assessment is gaining increasing attention.The existing methods for assessing the causal relationship between drugs and the occurrence of adverse reactions can be broadly classified into three categories:global introspective methods,standardized methods,and probabilistic methods.At present,there is no systematic introduction of the operational details of the various methods in the domestic literature.This paper compares representative causality assessment methods in terms of definition and concept,methodological steps,industry evaluation and advantages and disadvantages,clarifies the basic process of determining the causality of adverse drug reactions,and discusses how to further improve the adverse drug reaction monitoring and evaluation system,with a view to providing a reference for drug development and pharmacovigilance work in China.

Objective:To investigate a new method for the reconstruction of hemifacial microsomia by sagittal osteotomy of the affected mandibular outer cortex combined with bone graft of mandibular outer cortex from healthy side.Methods:From March 2006 to March 2023, the clinical data of patients with hemifacial microsomia admitted to the Department of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were analyzed retrospectively. Preoperative diagnosis and surgical design were performed based on clinical manifestations and imaging findings. All cases were operated under general anesthesia. The affected mandibular outer cortex was previously split by an intraoral approach, and then the mandibular outer cortex of appropriate shape and size on the healthy side was harvested and grafted into the split bone space according to the preoperative design, following by internal rigid fixation. Complications, facial appearance improvement, and patient satisfaction were followed up. Photographs were taken preoperative, immediately postoperative and at the long-term(last) postoperative follow-up, and the severity of the deformity was analyzed. CT data from preoperative, immediate postoperative, and long-term follow-up visits were imported into Surgicase Proplan medical three-dimensional image workstation in Dicom format. The mandible was reconstructed using Segmentation, and the thickness of the mandible was measured during pre-operative, immediate post-operative and long-term follow-up visits. Anova with repeated measurement design was used to compare measurements and LSD test was used for multiple comparisons. The Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test were used to statistically analyze malformation severity. P< 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results:A total of 39 patients were included in this study, including 13 females and 26 males, with an average age of (22.21±4.57) years (15-27 years). All patients were followed up for an average of (45.56±39.41) months (6-153 months) after surgery. The grafted mandibular outer cortex grows well with the adjacent bone tissue, and the mandibular angle and mandibular body are significantly wider. Of the 39 cases, 1 developed an infection 1 year after surgery, the titanium plate was exposed, and the patient healed after debridement and removal of the immobilizing splint. The facial appearance of the other patients improved significantly. Preoperative, immediate postoperative and long term follow up of mandibular thickness measurements were compared in pairs, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The patient’s appearance satisfaction score: the preoperative score was [2.0(1.5, 2.0)] points, the immediate postoperative score was [4.0(4.0, 4.0)] points, the score of the last postoperative follow up was [4.0(4.0, 4.0)] points. There was statistical difference in satisfaction among the three groups ( P<0.01). The preoperative scores were compared with the scores of the immediate postoperative and the last postoperative follow-up respectively, and the differences were statistically significant( P<0.01). There was no statistical significance in satisfaction between the immediate postoperative score and the score of the last postoperative follow up ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The sagittal splitting osteotomy of the mandibular outer cortex is consistent with the features of mandibular anatomy, and provides a good condition for the grafting and healing of autogenous bone. Removing the outer cortex of the mandible on the healthy side not only increases the thickness of the affected side, but also decreases the width of the angle of the mandible on the healthy side, so as to effectively correct the asymmetric deformity of the mandible. The method is simple, with few complications and good results, and is one of the ideal treatments to correct hemofacial microsomia.

Objective:To develop a prediction tool for 6-year incident risk of frailty among Chinese older adults aged 65 years or above.Methods:Data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2002 to 2018 was used, including 13 676 older adults aged 65 years or above who were free of frailty at baseline. Key predictors of frailty were identified via the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method, and were thereafter used to predict the incident frailty based on the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The model was internally validated by 2 000 Bootstrap resamples and evaluated for the performance of discrimination and calibration using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration curve, respectively. The net benefit of the developed prediction tool was evaluated by decision-curve analysis.Results:The M( Q1, Q3) age and follow-up time of the participants were 81.0 (71.0, 90.0) years and 6.0 (4.1, 9.2) years, respectively. A total of 4 126 older persons (30.2%) were recorded with frailty incidents during the follow-up, with the corresponding incidence density of 41.8/1 000 person-years. A total of 15 key predictors of frailty were selected by LASSO, namely, age, sex, race, education years, meat consumption, tea drinking, performing housework, raising domestic animals, playing cards or mahjong, and baseline status of visual function, activities of the daily living score, instrumental activities of the daily living score, hypertension, heart disease, and self-rated health. The prediction model was internally validated with an AUC of 0.802, with the max Youden's index of 0.467 at a risk threshold of 19.0%. The calibration curve showed high consistency between predicted probabilities and observed proportions of frailty events. The decision curve indicated that higher net benefits could be obtained via the prediction model than did strategies based on intervention in all or none participants for any risk threshold less than 59%, and the model-based net benefit was estimated to be 0.10 at a risk threshold of 19.0%. Conclusions:The herein developed 6-year incident risk prediction model of frailty, based on easily accessible questionnaires and physical examination variables, has good predictive performance. It has application potential in identifying populations at high risk of incident frailty.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.