ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the effect of Liuwei Dihuangwan on the autophagy function in the hippocampus of senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 （SAMP8） by regulating the expression of glycoprotein non-metastatic melanoma protein B （GPNMB）. Furthermore， it is designed to explore the mechanism of the method of tonifying the kidneys and replenishing essence in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease （AD）. MethodsIn experiment 1， 24 5-month-old SAMP8 mice were randomly and equally divided into the model group， and the low-， middle- and high-dose（0.59，1.18，2.36 g·kg^-1） Liuwei Dihuangwan groups. At the same time， six 5-month-old senescence accelerated mouse resistant 1 （SAMR1） mice were used as the control group. The learning and memory ability was evaluated through novel object recognition experiment. Serum cortisol （Cort）， adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH） and urine 17-hydroxycorticosteroid （17-OHCS） levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The ultrastructure of hippocampal neurons was observed by transmission electron microscope （TEM）， and the expression levels of hippocampal GPNMB， a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10 （ADAM10） and autophagy-related proteins were detected by Western blot. In experiment 2， 18 SAMP8 mice were randomly and equally divided into the model group， vector control group （Vector）， and GPNMB overexpression group （GPNMB^OE）. Lentiviral vectors were stereotactically injected into the brain （2 μL per side in the GPNMB^OE group）. Western blot was used to detect the expression of the above target proteins in the hippocampus； In Experiment 3， 24 SAMP8 mice were randomly and equally divided into the model group， Liuwei Dihuangwan group， Liuwei Dihuangwan+negative control （NC） group， and Liuwei Dihuangwan+GPNMB silencing group （shGPNMB）. Before drug treatment， the Liuwei Dihuangwan+NC group and the Liuwei Dihuangwan+shGPNMB group were injected with negative control and GPNMB silencing lentivirus， respectively. Western blot was used to detect the expression of the above target proteins in the hippocampus. ResultsThe novel object discrimination index of mice in the model group was significantly lower than that of mice in the control group （P<0.01）. The novel object discrimination index of mice in the medium- and high-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan groups was significantly higher than that of mice in the model group （P<0.01）. Aggregated autolysosomes were observed in the normal hippocampus tissue by TEM. In the model group， mitochondria were dominant， and no typical characteristic autophagosomes were observed. In the low- and medium-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan groups， a small number of autolysosomes and autophagosomes with double-membrane structures were observed. In the high-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan group， the number of autophagosomes and autolysosomes was greater than that in the low- and medium-dose groups. The results of ELISA and Western blot showed that compared with the control group， the levels of serum Cort， ACTH， and urine 17-OHCS in the model group were substantially increased， while the expression of hippocampal ADAM10， Beclin1， and microtubule associated-protein light chain 3-Ⅱ/Ⅰ （LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ） was significantly decreased. The expression of GPNMB and ubiquitin binding protein p62 was significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the serum Cort and ACTH levels in the low-， medium-， and high-dose Liuwei Dihuangwan groups were significantly reduced， while only the urine 17-OHCS level in the high-dose group was significantly reduced. The hippocampal GPNMB， ADAM10， Beclin1， and LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ expression levels in the medium-， and high-dose groups of Liuwei Dihuangwan were significantly increased compared to the model group， whereas the expression of p62 was significantly reduced （P<0.01）. The above indicators showed a progressive trend among the three groups. Compared with the model group， the GPNMB^OE group showed a significant increase in GPNMB， ADAM10， Beclin1， LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ expression， and a significant decrease in p62 expression （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the expression of GPNMB， ADAM10， Beclin1， and LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ in the hippocampus of the Liuwei Dihuangwan group significantly increased， while the expression of p62 significantly decreased （P<0.01）. Compared with the Liuwei Dihuangwan group， the Liuwei Dihuangwan+shGPNMB group showed a significant decrease in GPNMB， ADAM10， Beclin1， LC3 Ⅱ/Ⅰ， and a significant increase in p62 expression （P<0.01）. ConclusionLiuwei Dihuangwan can enhance hippocampal autophagy function and improve AD by upregulating GPNMB expression.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of Yifei Zhuji formula （YFZJF） on epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT） in non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC） through regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） signaling pathway. MethodsThe Lewis lung carcinoma mouse model and human lung adenocarcinoma PC-9 cell model were used in this study. In the animal experiments， 60 C57BL/6 mice were randomized into a blank group and a Lewis lung carcinoma modeling group. The modeled mice were further randomized into model， low-， medium-， and high-dose （7.475， 14.95， 29.9 g·kg^-1·d^-1， respectively） YFZJF， and cisplatin groups， with 10 mice in each group. Mice in YFZJF groups were administrated with YFZJF at different doses by gavage， and those in the cisplatin group received intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin at 6 mg·kg^-1. Mice in the blank group and model group were administrated with equal volumes of normal saline by gavage every day. All the groups were treated for 14 consecutive days， and samples were collected for analysis after completion of treatment. Changes in body mass， tumor volume， and tumor mass were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to observe pathological changes in the lung tissue. Immunohistochemistry， Real-time PCR， and Western blot were employed to determine the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen （Ki-67）， PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway-related molecules， and EMT-related molecules in the tumor tissue. In the cell experiments， human lung adenocarcinoma PC-9 cells were allocated into control， YFZJF-containing serum， and cisplatin groups， which were treated with 20% blank rat serum， 20% YFZJF-containing rat serum， and 5.4 μmol·L^-1 cisplatin for 48 h， respectively. The cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） assay was adopted to detect cell proliferation and determine drug concentration. Cell scratch assay and Transwell assay were employed to evaluate cell migration and invasion. Immunofluorescence staining and Real-time PCR were used to analyze changes in expression of EMT markers. ResultsCompared with those in the model group， the tumor volume and tumor mass were reduced in the high-dose YFZJF group （P<0.01）. Immunohistochemical results showed that compared with the model group， the medium- and high-dose YFZJF groups exhibited reduced Ki-67 expression in the tumor tissue （P<0.01）. HE staining results showed that YFZJF alleviated the pathological injury of the lung tissue to different degrees. Real-time PCR results in the tumor tissue showed that compared with the model group， the high-dose YFZJF group displayed downregulated mRNA levels of protein kinase B1 （Akt1） and N-cadherin （P<0.05）， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase p85 regulatory subunit （p85） （P<0.01）， mTOR （P<0.01）， and Vimentin （P<0.01）， and an upregulated mRNA level of E-cadherin （P<0.01）. Western blot results showed that compared with the model group， the high-dose YFZJF group exhibited downregulated protein levels of phosphorylated （p）-PI3K/PI3K， p-Akt/Akt， p-mTOR/mTOR， Vimentin， and N-cadherin （P<0.01）， and an upregulated protein level of E-cadherin （P<0.01） in the tumor tissue. The cell experiment results showed that compared with the blank serum group， YFZJF-containing serum inhibited the proliferation， migration， and invasion of PC-9 cells （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Immunofluorescence results showed that compared with the control group， YFZJF-containing serum downregulated the protein levels of N-cadherin and Vimentin and upregulated the protein level of E-cadherin （P<0.01）. Real-time PCR results showed that compared with the control group， YFZJF-containing serum upregulated the mRNA level of E-cadherin （P<0.05） and downregulated the mRNA levels of N-cadherin， Vimentin， P85， Akt1， and mTOR （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionYFZJF can significantly inhibit the progression of non-small cell lung cancer and reduce the migration and invasion of tumor cells by inhibiting the abnormal activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and reversing EMT.

ObjectiveTo explore the key molecules regulated by norcantharidin (NCTD) in colon cancer treatment.MethodsWe used cell counting kit-8 and 5-ethnyl-2′-deoxyuridine/Hoechst staining assays to study the effects of NCTD on cell proliferation in colon cancer. Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining was used to evaluate apoptosis, whereas Transwell assays were conducted to evaluate migration and invasion. We performed RNA sequencing to analyze the changes in gene expression after treatment. Differential analysis was performed using differential expression sequencing 2 (Deseq2) in R. Cytoscape was used to construct a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets were used to validate sine oculis homeobox homolog 4 (SIX4) expression in colon cancer tissues. Furthermore, the prognostic potential of SIX4 was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristic curves. We conducted an immune infiltration analysis to explore the SIX4 relationship with the immune microenvironment in colon cancer. Finally, SIX4 expression, pan-cancer prognosis, tumor mutation burden (TMB) correlations, microsatellite instability (MSI), and mismatch repair (MMR) were analyzed.ResultsNCTD inhibited colon cancer cell proliferation (P .0001), induced apoptosis (P = .0007), and suppressed the migration and invasion of colon cancer cells. The H19/miR-193b-3p/SIX4 axis was identified as the key ceRNA network involved in the anticancer activity of NCTD. SIX4 is highly expressed in colon cancer tissues, shortening patient survival and affecting immune infiltration. A pan-cancer analysis showed that SIX4 overexpression affects the survival of various cancers. Finally, we correlated SIX4 expression with TMB, MSI, and MMR expression.ConclusionNCTD inhibits the malignant behaviour of colon cancer cells. SIX4 is abnormally expressed in multiple tumor types, significantly affecting the overall survival of patients with cancer, and is a core regulatory target of NCTD in the treatment of colon cancer.

Objective To explore the potential mechanism of Xinnao Maikang in improving ApoE-/-atherosclerosis mice based on PPARγ/LXRα/ABCA1 pathway.Methods Totally 50 ApoE-/-mice were randomly divided into model group,atorvastatin group,Xinnao Maikang high-,medium-and low-dosage groups,and fed with high-fat diet for 12 weeks to establish atherosclerosis model.Another 10 C57BL/6J mice were selected as normal group,and atorvastatin group was given atorvastatin calcium suspension by intragastric administration,Xinnao Maikang high-,medium-and low-dosage groups were given Xinnao Maikang Decoction 56,28,14 g/kg by intragastric administration,the normal group and model group were given equal volume of normal saline by intragastric administration for 8 weeks.Liver index of mice was detected,serum lipid level of mice was detected by automatic biochemical analyzer,TC and TG contents in liver tissue were detected by biochemical kit,morphology of aortic intima and liver tissue were observed by HE staining,lipid deposition in liver tissue was observed by oil red O staining,the expressions of PPARγ,LXRα,ABCA1,ABCG1 and SR-BⅠ in liver tissue were detected by Western blot.Results Compared with the normal group,the liver index in the model group significantly increased(P<0.05),the contents of serum TC,TG and LDL-C significantly increased(P<0.05),and the contents of HDL-C significantly decreased(P<0.05),the contents of TC and TG in liver tissue increased(P<0.05),the aortic wall was thickened,the number of subcutaneous foam cells increased,the arrangement of liver cells were disaffected,and a large number of fat vacuoles could be seen,the protein expressions of PPARγ,LXRα,ABCA1,ABCG1 and SR-BⅠ in liver tissue significantly decreased(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the liver index of Xinnao Maikang high-,medium-and low-dosage groups and atorvastatin group significantly decreased(P<0.05),the serum contents of TC,TG and LDL-C significantly decreased(P<0.05),and the HDL-C contents significantly increased(P<0.05),the contents of TC and TG in liver tissue significantly decreased(P<0.05),the aortic wall thickened and the subcutaneous foam cells decreased,the liver cells were arranged neatly,and fat degeneration was reduced to varying degrees,the protein expressions of PPARγ,LXRα,ABCA1,ABCG1 and SR-BⅠ in liver tissue of Xinnao Maikang high-dosage group and atorvastatin group significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01).Conclusion Xinnao Maikang can decrease blood lipid level,reduce atherosclerotic plaque and reduce lipid deposition in liver of atherosclerotic mice,and its mechanism may be related to regulating PPARγ/LXRα/ABCA1 pathway,regulating lipid metabolism,promoting reverse cholesterol transport.

Oroxylin A (OA), a natural compound extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis, demonstrates preventive potential against ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), the most prevalent cancer worldwide with increasing incidence. Utilizing SKH-1 hairless mice exposed to UVB, this study showed that OA delayed NMSC onset and alleviated acute skin damage. Mechanistic investigations revealed its dual action: inhibiting inflammation and enhancing nucleotide excision repair (NER) by stabilizing XPA, a crucial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair protein. This stabilization occurred through OA's interaction with glucose-regulated protein 94 (GRP94), which disrupted murine double minute 2 (MDM2)-mediated XPA ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. By maintaining XPA levels, OA expedited photoproduct clearance and diminished genomic instability, ultimately impeding NMSC development. These findings suggest OA as a promising chemopreventive agent targeting the GRP94/MDM2-XPA axis to counteract UVB-induced carcinogenesis.
Animals ; Ultraviolet Rays/adverse effects* ; Skin Neoplasms/prevention & control* ; Flavonoids/pharmacology* ; Mice ; Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group A Protein/genetics* ; Humans ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2/genetics* ; DNA Repair/drug effects* ; Scutellaria baicalensis/chemistry* ; Mice, Hairless ; Skin/radiation effects*

Gastric cancer is a malignant tumor with high prevalence worldwide and limited therapeutic options.Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell(CAR-T)therapy has emerged as a promising approach for gastric cancer treatment;however,its application faces substantial challenges.This review provides comprehensive summary of the recent advances in CAR-T cell therapy for gastric cancer,systematic analysis of critical break throughs and core challenges from target discovery to clinical translation,and outlining of future perspectives.We describe the criter-ia for ideal target selection and highlight the current research landscape of major targets,including CLDN18.2 that demonstrated efficacy,and targets facing distinct challenges,including HER-2,CEA,EpCAM,and MUC1.This review also finely dissects three central barriers restrict-ing CAR-T cell efficacy,and discusses corresponding countermeasures:overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment through strategies such as local delivery,armored CAR-T cells,and combination therapies;engineering approaches including affinity modula-tion and logic-gate designs to mitigate on-target/off-tumor toxicity;and optimization of manufacturing processes and reduction of costs via early leukapheresis,rapid production platforms,and universal CAR-T cell strategies.Future multidimensional,integrative,and innovative strategies are pivotal for achieving comprehensive break throughs in CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumors.

Objective:To evaluate the performance of the neural network model in segmenting gout tophus in the first metatarsophalangeal（MTP1）joint ultrasound images.Methods:A total of 1 218 tophus images from 381 patients who underwent MTP1 ultrasound examinations in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University between May 2023 and December 2024 were prospectively collected. The images were divided into training，validation，and test sets in a ratio of 7∶2∶1. Multiple neural network models were trained to automatically identify and segment tophus in the images，with physician-annotated tophus regions serving as the reference standard. Model performance was evaluated in the test set，and the impact of tophus characteristics（e.g.，echogenicity，size，and presence of bone erosion）on segmentation efficacy was analyzed.Results:In the test set，CMUNeXt demonstrated superior tophus segmentation performance versus Unet，Unet++，TransUnet，and CMU-Net，achieving an accuracy of 99.1%，precision of 79.1%，recall of 84.6%，intersection over union of 68.8%，and Dice similarity coefficient of 80.2%. Logistic regression identified tophus echogenicity，size，and bone erosion as independent efficacy factors OR（95% CI）=7.275（1.598-33.129），21.303（4.282-105.985），13.520（3.617-50.530），0.076（0.007-0.823）（all P<0.05）. Hypoechoic tophus demonstrated significantly superior segmentation performance compared to mixed-echoic and isoechoic tophus（all P<0.05），and lesions with larger maximum diameters（>10 mm）were segmented more effectively than smaller tophus（ P<0.05）. Conclusions:The CMUNeXt model enables accurate identification and segmentation of tophus in MTP1 ultrasound images，particularly excelling for larger and hypoechoic lesions. This approach holds significant promise for AI-assisted diagnosis of MTP1 gouty arthritis.

AIM:To investigate the effects of glutathione-S-transferase(GST)gene polymorphism on the concentration of 6-thioguanine nucleotides(6-TGN),an active metabolite of azathioprine(AZA),in patients with inflammatory bowel disease(IBD),in order to provide reference for the optimization of AZA treatment in patients.METHODS:The clini-cal data of patients with IBD treated by AZA were collected prospectively,the genotypes of GST-A1,GST-M1,GST-P1 and GST-T1 were detected by tar-geted sequencing of multiplex PCR combined with high-throughput sequencing technology before ad-ministration,and the steady-state trough concen-trations of 6-TGN in patients' red blood cells were determined by HPLC.Statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS 26.0 software.RESULTS:A total of 90 patients were included in this study.The alleles fre-quencies of GST-A1,GST-M1,GST-P1 and GST-T1 were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium law.Logistic regression analysis showed that carry-ing GST-A1 mutant gene was an independent risk factor for the increase of trough concentration of 6-TGN(low concentration OR=17.50,P=0.030;high concentration OR=3.60,P=0.033),while the gene polymorphism of GST-M1,GST-P1,GST-T1 had no significant correlation with the concentration of 6-TGN(P＞0.05).CONCLUSION:The gene polymor-phism of GST-A1 may affect the concentration of 6-TGN,an active metabolite of AZA,and detection of GST-A1 genotype before AZA treatment will contrib-ute to clinical individualized medication.

Objective:To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects and mechanisms of Dachaihu decoction(DCD)on dextran sodium sulfate(DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis(UC)and liver injury in mice,as well as the association between DCD benefits and gut microbiota modulation.Methods:Mice were treated with DCD(20.10 and 10.05 g/kg)for 2 weeks,with free access to drinking water containing 3%DSS in the second week to induce UC.Histopathological examination,RT-qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing were used to investigate the effect of DCD on UC mice.Results:DCD pretreatment significantly alleviated weight loss,bloody diarrhea with mucus,histopathological abnormalities of the colon,and colon shortening in mice with DSS-induced UC.In addition,DCD pretreat-ment significantly upregulated the levels of Occludin,ZO-1,and MUC-2 in the colon and protected the intestinal barrier of mice.DCD pretreatment also alleviated inflammatory cell infiltration in the colon and the liver and significantly reduced the expression levels of the proinflammatory factors such as IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,iNOS,COX-2,and NLRP3,thereby exerting a protective effect against UC and liver injury.It should be noted that DCD corrected gut micro-biota imbalance in UC mice by enriching probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and reducing harmful bacteria such as Norank_f_Desulfovibrionaceae and Escherichia-Shigella.Conclusion:DCD can alleviate DSS-induced UC and exert a liver-protecting effect by protecting intestinal barrier,inhibiting inflam-mation,and regulating gut microbiota.

Background: The immune system plays a critical role in the development and progression of osteoporosis and fractures. However, the causal relationships between antibody immune responses, immune cells, and these bone conditions remain unclear. This study aimed to explore these relationships using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Methods: We collected complete blood count data from patients with fractures and healthy individuals and analyzed their differences. Then, we conducted a 2-sample, 2-step MR analysis to investigate the causal effects of antibody immune responses on osteoporosis and fractures, using inverse-variance weighted (IVW) as the primary method. We also explored whether immune cells mediate the pathway between antibodies and osteoporosis or fractures. Finally, we analyzed the functions and expression levels of key genes involved. Results: Overall, the fracture group exhibited increased white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, absolute monocyte count, platelet count, and their respective proportions, while absolute lymphocyte count, absolute eosinophil count, absolute basophil count, red blood cell count, and their proportions were decreased. We identified 44 causal relationships between antibodies and osteoporosis or fractures, with 7 supported by multiple MR methods, and 5 showing odds ratios significantly deviating from 1 in the IVW analysis. Epstein-Barr virus-related antibodies had a notable impact on osteoporosis and fractures. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene family, particularly HLA-DPB1, emerged as a significant risk factor. However, immune cells were not found to mediate these effects. Conclusions This study elucidated the causal relationships between antibody immune responses, immune cells, and osteoporosis or fractures. The HLA gene family plays a crucial role in the interaction between antibodies and these bone conditions, with HLA-DPB1 identified as a key risk gene. Immune cells do not serve as mediators in this process. These findings provide valuable insights for future research.