1.Research progress on the role of dopamine system in regulating hippocampal related brain functions.
Jing REN ; Wei-Yi MO ; Ling WANG ; Guang-Jian NI ; Jia-Jia YANG
Acta Physiologica Sinica 2025;77(5):893-904
Dopamine, as a catecholamine neurotransmitter widely distributed in the central nervous system, is involved in physiological functions such as motivation, arousal, reinforcement, and movement through various dopamine signaling pathways. The hippocampus receives dopaminergic neuron projections from regions such as the ventral tegmental area, locus coeruleus, and substantia nigra. Through D1-like and D2-like receptors, dopamine exerts significant regulatory effects such as spatial navigation, episodic memory, fear, anxiety, and reward. This review mainly summarizes the research progress on the functions of dopamine in the hippocampus from aspects including the sources of dopamine, receptor distribution and function, and the association of hippocampal dopamine system dysregulation with neurodegenerative diseases. The aim is to provide insights into the involvement of the dopamine system in hippocampal functions and the diagnosis and treatment of related diseases.
Hippocampus/physiology*
;
Dopamine/physiology*
;
Humans
;
Animals
;
Receptors, Dopamine D2/physiology*
;
Memory/physiology*
;
Signal Transduction/physiology*
;
Neurodegenerative Diseases/physiopathology*
2.Scientific connotation of "blood stasis toxin" in hypoxic microenvironment: its "soil" function in tumor progression and micro-level treatment approaches.
Wei FAN ; Yuan-Lin LYU ; Xiao-Chen NI ; Kai-Yuan ZHANG ; Chu-Hang WANG ; Jia-Ning GUO ; Guang-Ji ZHANG ; Jian-Bo HUANG ; Tao JIANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(12):3483-3488
The tumor microenvironment is a crucial factor in tumor occurrence and progression. The hypoxic microenvironment is widely present in tumor tissue and is a key endogenous factor accelerating tumor deterioration. The "blood stasis toxin" theory, as an emerging perspective in tumor research, is regarded as the unique "soil" in tumor progression from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) due to its dynamic evolution mechanism, which closely resembles the formation of the hypoxic microenvironment. Scientifically integrating TCM theories with the biological characteristics of tumors and exploring precise syndrome differentiation and treatment strategies are key to achieving comprehensive tumor prevention and control. This article focused on the hypoxic microenvironment of the tumor, elucidating its formation mechanisms and evolutionary processes and carefully analyzing the internal relationship between the "blood stasis toxin" theory and the hypoxic microenvironment. Additionally, it explored the interaction among blood stasis, toxic pathogens, and hypoxic environment and proposed micro-level prevention and treatment strategies targeting the hypoxic microenvironment based on the "blood stasis toxin" theory, aiming to provide TCM-based theoretical support and therapeutic approaches for precise regulation of the hypoxic microenvironment.
Humans
;
Tumor Microenvironment/drug effects*
;
Neoplasms/therapy*
;
Animals
;
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
;
Disease Progression
;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal
3.Expert consensus on evaluation index system construction for new traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) from TCM clinical practice in medical institutions.
Li LIU ; Lei ZHANG ; Wei-An YUAN ; Zhong-Qi YANG ; Jun-Hua ZHANG ; Bao-He WANG ; Si-Yuan HU ; Zu-Guang YE ; Ling HAN ; Yue-Hua ZHOU ; Zi-Feng YANG ; Rui GAO ; Ming YANG ; Ting WANG ; Jie-Lai XIA ; Shi-Shan YU ; Xiao-Hui FAN ; Hua HUA ; Jia HE ; Yin LU ; Zhong WANG ; Jin-Hui DOU ; Geng LI ; Yu DONG ; Hao YU ; Li-Ping QU ; Jian-Yuan TANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(12):3474-3482
Medical institutions, with their clinical practice foundation and abundant human use experience data, have become important carriers for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and the "cradles" of the preparation of new TCM. To effectively promote the transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and establish an effective evaluation index system for the transformation of new TCM conforming to the characteristics of TCM, consensus experts adopted the literature research, questionnaire survey, Delphi method, etc. By focusing on the policy and technical evaluation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions, a comprehensive evaluation from the dimensions of drug safety, efficacy, feasibility, and characteristic advantages was conducted, thus forming a comprehensive evaluation system with four primary indicators and 37 secondary indicators. The expert consensus reached aims to encourage medical institutions at all levels to continuously improve the high-quality research and development and transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and targeted at clinical needs, so as to provide a decision-making basis for the preparation, selection, cultivation, and transformation of new TCM for medical institutions, improve the development efficiency of new TCM, and precisely respond to the public medication needs.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards*
;
Humans
;
Consensus
;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*
;
Surveys and Questionnaires
4.Effects of continued use of targeted therapy on patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and complicated by hemoptysis.
Zhong-Chao WANG ; Xiu-Min HAN ; Yao ZUO ; Na DONG ; Jian-Ming WANG ; Li-Li MENG ; Jia-Wang XIAO ; Ming ZHAO ; Yuan MI ; Qi-Guang WANG
Journal of Geriatric Cardiology 2025;22(3):404-410
5.Independent and Interactive Effects of Air Pollutants, Meteorological Factors, and Green Space on Tuberculosis Incidence in Shanghai.
Qi YE ; Jing CHEN ; Ya Ting JI ; Xiao Yu LU ; Jia le DENG ; Nan LI ; Wei WEI ; Ren Jie HOU ; Zhi Yuan LI ; Jian Bang XIANG ; Xu GAO ; Xin SHEN ; Chong Guang YANG
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(7):792-809
OBJECTIVE:
To assess the independent and combined effects of air pollutants, meteorological factors, and greenspace exposure on new tuberculosis (TB) cases.
METHODS:
TB case data from Shanghai (2013-2018) were obtained from the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Environmental data on air pollutants, meteorological variables, and greenspace exposure were obtained from the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center. We employed a distributed-lag nonlinear model to assess the effects of these environmental factors on TB cases.
RESULTS:
Increased TB risk was linked to PM 2.5, PM 10, and rainfall, whereas NO 2, SO 2, and air pressure were associated with a reduced risk. Specifically, the strongest cumulative effects occurred at various lags: PM 2.5 ( RR = 1.166, 95% CI: 1.026-1.325) at 0-19 weeks; PM 10 ( RR = 1.167, 95% CI: 1.028-1.324) at 0-18 weeks; NO 2 ( RR = 0.968, 95% CI: 0.938-0.999) at 0-1 weeks; SO 2 ( RR = 0.945, 95% CI: 0.894-0.999) at 0-2 weeks; air pressure ( RR = 0.604, 95% CI: 0.447-0.816) at 0-8 weeks; and rainfall ( RR = 1.404, 95% CI: 1.076-1.833) at 0-22 weeks. Green space exposure did not significantly impact TB cases. Additionally, low temperatures amplified the effect of PM 2.5 on TB.
CONCLUSION
Exposure to PM 2.5, PM 10, and rainfall increased the risk of TB, highlighting the need to address air pollutants for the prevention of TB in Shanghai.
China/epidemiology*
;
Humans
;
Air Pollutants/analysis*
;
Tuberculosis/epidemiology*
;
Incidence
;
Meteorological Concepts
;
Particulate Matter/adverse effects*
;
Environmental Exposure
;
Male
;
Female
;
Adult
;
Air Pollution
;
Middle Aged
6.Nanomaterial-based Therapeutics for Biofilm-generated Bacterial Infections
Zhuo-Jun HE ; Yu-Ying CHEN ; Yang ZHOU ; Gui-Qin DAI ; De-Liang LIU ; Meng-De LIU ; Jian-Hui GAO ; Ze CHEN ; Jia-Yu DENG ; Guang-Yan LIANG ; Li WEI ; Peng-Fei ZHAO ; Hong-Zhou LU ; Ming-Bin ZHENG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2024;51(7):1604-1617
Bacterial biofilms gave rise to persistent infections and multi-organ failure, thereby posing a serious threat to human health. Biofilms were formed by cross-linking of hydrophobic extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), such as proteins, polysaccharides, and eDNA, which were synthesized by bacteria themselves after adhesion and colonization on biological surfaces. They had the characteristics of dense structure, high adhesiveness and low drug permeability, and had been found in many human organs or tissues, such as the brain, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and skeleton. By releasing pro-inflammatory bacterial metabolites including endotoxins, exotoxins and interleukin, biofilms stimulated the body’s immune system to secrete inflammatory factors. These factors triggered local inflammation and chronic infections. Those were the key reason for the failure of traditional clinical drug therapy for infectious diseases.In order to cope with the increasingly severe drug-resistant infections, it was urgent to develop new therapeutic strategies for bacterial-biofilm eradication and anti-bacterial infections. Based on the nanoscale structure and biocompatible activity, nanobiomaterials had the advantages of specific targeting, intelligent delivery, high drug loading and low toxicity, which could realize efficient intervention and precise treatment of drug-resistant bacterial biofilms. This paper highlighted multiple strategies of biofilms eradication based on nanobiomaterials. For example, nanobiomaterials combined with EPS degrading enzymes could be used for targeted hydrolysis of bacterial biofilms, and effectively increased the drug enrichment within biofilms. By loading quorum sensing inhibitors, nanotechnology was also an effective strategy for eradicating bacterial biofilms and recovering the infectious symptoms. Nanobiomaterials could intervene the bacterial metabolism and break the bacterial survival homeostasis by blocking the uptake of nutrients. Moreover, energy-driven micro-nano robotics had shown excellent performance in active delivery and biofilm eradication. Micro-nano robots could penetrate physiological barriers by exogenous or endogenous driving modes such as by biological or chemical methods, ultrasound, and magnetic field, and deliver drugs to the infection sites accurately. Achieving this using conventional drugs was difficult. Overall, the paper described the biological properties and drug-resistant molecular mechanisms of bacterial biofilms, and highlighted therapeutic strategies from different perspectives by nanobiomaterials, such as dispersing bacterial mature biofilms, blocking quorum sensing, inhibiting bacterial metabolism, and energy driving penetration. In addition, we presented the key challenges still faced by nanobiomaterials in combating bacterial biofilm infections. Firstly, the dense structure of EPS caused biofilms spatial heterogeneity and metabolic heterogeneity, which created exacting requirements for the design, construction and preparation process of nanobiomaterials. Secondly, biofilm disruption carried the risk of spread and infection the pathogenic bacteria, which might lead to other infections. Finally, we emphasized the role of nanobiomaterials in the development trends and translational prospects in biofilm treatment.
8.Bushen Huoxue Fang improves recurrent miscarriage in mice by down-regulating the JAK2/STAT3 pathway.
Jia Lin ZHAO ; Ping CHEN ; Guang Li XU ; Jian Hua SUN ; Yuan Yuan RUAN ; Miao Miao XUE ; Yue Liang WU
Journal of Southern Medical University 2023;43(2):265-270
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the efficacy of Bushen Huoxue Fang (BSHXF, a traditional Chinese medicine formula) for improving recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) in mice and the role of tyrosine kinase (JAK2) and transcriptional activator (STAT3) signaling pathway in its therapeutic mechanism.
METHODS:
Female CBA/J mice were caged with male DBA/2 mice to establish RSA mouse models, which were randomly divided into model group, dydrogesterone group and BSHXF group, with the female mice caged with male BALB/c mice as the control group (n=6). From the first day of pregnancy, the mice were subjected to daily intragastric administration of BSHXF, dydrogesterone, or distilled water (in control and model groups) for 12 days. After the treatments, serum levels of antithrombin III (AT-III), activated protein C (APC), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), progesterone, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), and estradiol (E2) were detected in each group using ELISA. HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes of the endometrium of the mice. Western blotting was performed to determine the expressions of p-JAK2, p-Stat3 and Bcl-2 in the placenta of the mice.
RESULTS:
Compared with the control mice, the mouse models of RSA showed a significantly increased embryo loss rate with decreased serum levels of AT-III, T-PA, progesterone, APC and HCG, increased placental expressions of p-JAK2, p-STAT3 and Bax, and decreased expression of Bcl-2 (P < 0.05). Treatments with BSHXF and dydrogesterone both increased serum levels of AT-III, t-PA and HCG in the mouse models; Serum APC level was significantly reduced in BSHXF group and serum progesterone level was significantly increased in dydrogesterone group (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
BSHXF can improve the prethrombotic state and inhibit cell apoptosis by downregulating the JAK2/STAT3 pathway to increase the pregnancy rate in mouse models of RSA.
Animals
;
Mice
;
Abortion, Habitual/prevention & control*
;
Signal Transduction
;
Down-Regulation
;
Disease Models, Animal
9.Efficacy and safety of stereotactic body radiotherapy combined with karelizumab and apatinib in treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
Yan-Wen LEI ; Guang-Cheng DING ; De-Hua QIN ; Yan-Wei GUO ; Hai-Xia WANG ; Jian ZHANG ; Jia-Fu CHEN ; Qing-Zhu LUO ; Wen-Jing GUO
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2023;48(12):1420-1426
Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of stereotactic body radiotherapy(SBRT)combined with camrelizumab and apatinib in treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed of 85 patients with advanced HCC treated in the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and People's Hospital of Zhengzhou from January 2019 to September 2021.They were divided into observation group(n=31,SBRT combined with camrelizumab and apatinib)and control group(n=54,treated with camrelizumab and apatinib)according to whether they received SBRT.The propensity score matching(PSM)was used to balance the influence of confounding factors.The objective remission rate(ORR)and disease control rate(DCR)were compared between the two groups.The 6-month overall survival rate,1-year overall survival rate and progression-free survival(PFS)were compared between the two groups by Kaplan-Meier method.The safety of the two groups was evaluated by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events(CTCAE)version 5.0.Results Before PSM,there were significant differences in age(P=0.043),number of extrahepatic metastasis(P=0.028),and previous surgical treatment(P=0.038)between the two groups.After PSM,there was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups(P>0.05).After PSM,27 cases were included in each groups,and three months after treatment,the ORR in observation group and control group were 66.7%and 29.6%,respectively,showed difference with statistically significant(P=0.006);and the DCR in the both groups were 96.3%and 85.2%respectively,showed no statistically significant difference(P=0.175).There were statistical differences in 6-month overall survival rate(96.3%vs.80.9%,P=0.001),1-year overall survival rate(75.0%vs.61.4%,P=0.034)and median PFS(8 months vs.5 months,P=0.003)between the observation group and control group.Multi-factor Cox regression analysis showed that baseline alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)≥400 ng/ml was an independent risk factor for affecting the survival of patients with advanced HCC(HR>1,P<0.05),while the triple therapy and previous targeted drugs therapy were the protective factors for the survival of patients with advanced HCC(HR<1,P<0.05).In the observation group,4 patients had grade 3 adverse reactions,and the common adverse reactions were dyspepsia(14.8%).One case of grade 3 adverse reactions occurred in control group,and there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups(P=0.639).Conclusion SBRT combined with camrelizumab and apatinib is a safe and effective treatment for advanced HCC with significant clinical effect and controllable adverse reactions.

Result Analysis
Print
Save
E-mail