Investigated the mechanisms by which baicalein regulates nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)to ameliorate lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced sepsis-asso-ciated acute kidney injury(AKI)in mice.Sixty male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into six groups:control,model,low-dose baicalein(50 mg/kg),medium-dose baicalein(100 mg/kg),high-dose baicalein(200 mg/kg),and high-dose baicalein+brusatol(4 mg/kg).Baicalein was adminis-tered orally for 7 days as a preventative measure.Sepsis was induced via intraperitoneal injection of LPS.Murine sepsis score(MSS)was assessed within 12 hours post-induction.Serum creatinine(Scr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and interleukin-6(IL-6)were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays(ELISA),respectively.Histopathological changes in kidney tissues were ob-served via hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining.Western blot analysis was employed to determine the protein expression levels of Nrf2,HO-1,caspase-8,TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-6 in kidney tissues.Additionally,total superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity in kidney tissues was assessed using com-mercially available kits.Compared to the model group,baicalein treatment significantly improved renal histopathological changes,alleviated cellular damage,and reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines(TNF-α,IL-1βand IL-6)(P＜0.01)and kidney injury markers(Scr and BUN)(P＜0.01).Moreover,baicalein treatment significantly increased the protein expression levels of Nrf2 and HO-1(P＜0.01)and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity.In conclusion,baicalein may pro-tect against LPS-induced sepsis-associated AK1 in mice by modulating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway,thereby attenuating oxidative stress,reducing inflammation,and disrupting the vicious cycle between inflammation and oxidative stress.

Investigated the mechanisms by which baicalein regulates nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)to ameliorate lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced sepsis-asso-ciated acute kidney injury(AKI)in mice.Sixty male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into six groups:control,model,low-dose baicalein(50 mg/kg),medium-dose baicalein(100 mg/kg),high-dose baicalein(200 mg/kg),and high-dose baicalein+brusatol(4 mg/kg).Baicalein was adminis-tered orally for 7 days as a preventative measure.Sepsis was induced via intraperitoneal injection of LPS.Murine sepsis score(MSS)was assessed within 12 hours post-induction.Serum creatinine(Scr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and interleukin-6(IL-6)were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays(ELISA),respectively.Histopathological changes in kidney tissues were ob-served via hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining.Western blot analysis was employed to determine the protein expression levels of Nrf2,HO-1,caspase-8,TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-6 in kidney tissues.Additionally,total superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity in kidney tissues was assessed using com-mercially available kits.Compared to the model group,baicalein treatment significantly improved renal histopathological changes,alleviated cellular damage,and reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines(TNF-α,IL-1βand IL-6)(P＜0.01)and kidney injury markers(Scr and BUN)(P＜0.01).Moreover,baicalein treatment significantly increased the protein expression levels of Nrf2 and HO-1(P＜0.01)and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity.In conclusion,baicalein may pro-tect against LPS-induced sepsis-associated AK1 in mice by modulating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway,thereby attenuating oxidative stress,reducing inflammation,and disrupting the vicious cycle between inflammation and oxidative stress.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics, muscle imaging and pathological features of patients with anti-signal recognition particle positive immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (SRP-IMNM).Methods:Nine patients with SRP-IMNM were collected in the Neuromuscular Disease Center of Jiaozuo People′s Hospital from May 2018 to May 2023, who were confirmed by skeletal muscle pathology and myositis-specific autoantibodies detection, and their clinical manifestations, muscle imaging and muscle pathology characteristics were systematically summarized.Results:Among the 9 patients with SRP-IMNM, there were 7 females and 2 males. The age of onset ranged from 18 to 59 years. All the patients presented proximal muscle weakness. Seven patients experienced neck weakness, and dysphagia was present in 5 patients. Laboratory examinations showed elevated serum creatine kinase levels in all 9 patients (1 866-6 725 U/L). Eight patients were combined with other antibodies positivity, except for anti-SRP antibody. Among them, 7 patients were combined with anti-Ro-52 antibody positivity, 4 patients combined with anti-Ro-52 antibody positivity alone, and 3 patients combined with 3 or more positive antibodies simultaneously. Those patients who presented with interstitial lung disease and cardiac involvement were all combined with other antibodies positivity. Seven patients completed thigh muscle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which showed diffuse skeletal muscle oedema, partial muscle atrophy and fatty replacement, primarily affecting the posterior thigh muscle group. Two patients underwent shank muscle MRI. The soleus involvement was evident, while the tibialis anterior muscle and gastrocnemius muscles were involved in 1 patient. All 9 patients showed varying degrees of scattered muscle fiber necrosis and regeneration on muscle biopsies. In 1 patient, a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration was observed. Pipestem capillaries were observed in 4 patients. Immunohistochemical staining revealed a small number of CD68-positive lymphocytes in 8 patients. Additionally, 5 patients showed upregulation of major histocompatibility complex Ⅰ expression on the muscle fiber membrane, while 6 patients showed deposition of membrane attack complex (C5b-9) on non-necrotic muscle fibers and capillaries. P62 staining showed homogeneous fine-granular in sarcoplasm in 6 patients.Conclusions:In addition to proximal muscle weakness, patients with SRP-IMNM often experience neck weakness and dysphagia. Those with multiple antibodies are more likely to develop interstitial lung disease and cardiac involvement. SRP-IMNM patients have diffuse oedema in the affected muscles, and the posterior thigh muscles are more prone to atrophy and fatty tissue formation. C5b-9 deposition and pipestem capillaries are significant pathological features of SRP-IMNM, which provide additional evidence for clinical diagnosis.

Objective:To investigate the clinical phenotypes, muscle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pathological changes, and genetic characteristics of myfibrillar myopathies (MFMs) cuased by MYOT gene mutation. Methods:(1) The clinical data of a MFMs family caused by a de novo frameshift mutation in MYOT gene admitted to Department of Neurology, Jiaozuo People's Hospital Affiliated to Xinxiang Medical University in February 2021 were collected. Electromyography, muscle MRI, and pathological examination were used to confirm the changes of the muscle lesions. MYOT gene mutation in the proband and other patients was detected by next generation sequencing (NGS) and Sanger sequencing, respectively. The 3D structure models of myotilin protein before and after gene mutation were predicted by AlphaFold3 and pymol3. (2) Literature on MFMs caused by MYOT gene mutation was searched from Pubmed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure from the establishment of these databases to July 2024; clinical and genetic characteristics of MFMs caused by MYOT gene mutation were summarized. Results:(1) In the 9 patients from this family, 8 had onset in adolescence (16-20 years old). Unilateral or bilateral hand muscle weakness as the first symptoms appeared in most patients, and then, hand muscle atrophy gradually appeared and slowly progressed to the proximal limbs. Electromyography showed myogenic damage. Muscle MRI showed patchy long T1 and long T2 signal intensity in the bilateral anterior tibial muscles. Muscle pathological staining showed typical rimbed vacuoles, cytoplasm, smear-like muscle fibers and desmin abnormal deposition in some muscle fibers; electron microscopy revealed disorganized myofibril structures, focal myofibril lysis, Z-band streaming, and subsarcolemmal or myofibril mitochondrial accumulation. Heterozygous mutation in MYOT gene c.680_683del (p.Val227GlufsTer10) locus was noted in 8 patients and daughter of the proband. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that MYOT gene c.680_683del mutation could cause premature termination of myotilin translation, leading to the production of a truncated protein, thereby disrupting its normal structure and function. (2) Eighty-nine patients with MFMs caused by MYOT gene mutation in previous literature mainly manifested as chronic progressive weakness of the distal or proximal limbs, with some involving the myocardium, respiratory muscles, or peripheral nerves. A total of 12 MYOT gene mutations were identified, with p. Ser60phe being the most common mutation. Except for p.Tyr4_his9del, being an in-frame mutation, the others were missense mutations. Conclusion:MFMs caused by MYOT gene mutation exhibit obvious clinical heterogeneity, characterized by very slow progression of muscle weakness; MYOT gene locus c.680_683del (p.Val227GlufsTer10) is a de novo heterozygous mutation.

Objective To investigate the effects of qigong abdominal breathing training on human brain function.Methods Seventy-two university students were recruited and randomly divided into the control and treatment groups in a 1:1 ratio. Both the control and treatment groups underwent the same standing pile work operation. However,only the treatment group received additional abdominal breathing training. The intervention process comprised two phases:2 weeks of intensive training and 6 weeks of counseling training. Electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram (EEG) tests were performed before (baseline period) and after training respectively. Sample entropy algorithm and empirical mode decomposition were used to analyze the EEG signals. The sample entropy complexity index and the correlation between EEG changes and respiratory curves were calculated to explore the brain function regulation effect. Results The complexity of different brain regions in the treatment group was higher than that of the control group after training. A large difference was observed when comparing the brain complexity in the temporoparietal junction,posterior temporal,parietal,parietal-occipital junction,and occipital regions. The brain complexity in the posterior temporal region of the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group after the intervention,with a significant difference (P<0.05). In the control group,the brain complexity in the frontal pole,anterior temporal,frontal reion,frontal-temporal junction,frontal-central junction,middle temporal,central,and temporal-parietal junction regions decreased to different degrees. However,the comparison between before and after was not significant. Furthermore,brain complexity in the central-parietal junction,posterior temporal,parietal,parietal-occipital junction,and occipital regions increased to different degrees in the control group;however,the difference was not significant. The brain complexity of the treatment group in the frontotemporal junction,middle temporal,and temporoparietal junction areas decreased slightly;however,the before-and-after comparison was not significant. The brain complexity of the treatment group in the frontal pole,frontotemporal,frontal,frontal-central junction,central,central-parietal junction,posterior-temporal,parietal,parietal-occipital junction,and occipital areas increased. The posterior-temporal,parietal,parietal-occipital junction,and occipital areas had more significant increases than the other areas. However,the before-and-after comparison was not significant. In both groups,brain complexity decreased in the frontotemporal junction,middle temporal,and temporoparietal junction areas and increased in the parietal,parieto-occipital junction,and occipital areas. The comparison of complexity between the treatment and control groups in P3 and PO3 leads after training was significant. P3 and PO3 are situated in the parietal region and parieto-occipital junction areas,respectively,indicating that antebellum breathing also affects brain function in these regions. The correlation between the respiratory curve and EEG components was enhanced after training. Conclusion Abdominal breathing training can significantly increase the complexity of the corresponding brain regions (posterior temporal,parietal,and parieto-occipital junction regions),and a significant correlation was observed between the two.

Objective:To investigate the clinical phenotypes, muscle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pathological changes, and genetic characteristics of myfibrillar myopathies (MFMs) cuased by MYOT gene mutation. Methods:(1) The clinical data of a MFMs family caused by a de novo frameshift mutation in MYOT gene admitted to Department of Neurology, Jiaozuo People's Hospital Affiliated to Xinxiang Medical University in February 2021 were collected. Electromyography, muscle MRI, and pathological examination were used to confirm the changes of the muscle lesions. MYOT gene mutation in the proband and other patients was detected by next generation sequencing (NGS) and Sanger sequencing, respectively. The 3D structure models of myotilin protein before and after gene mutation were predicted by AlphaFold3 and pymol3. (2) Literature on MFMs caused by MYOT gene mutation was searched from Pubmed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure from the establishment of these databases to July 2024; clinical and genetic characteristics of MFMs caused by MYOT gene mutation were summarized. Results:(1) In the 9 patients from this family, 8 had onset in adolescence (16-20 years old). Unilateral or bilateral hand muscle weakness as the first symptoms appeared in most patients, and then, hand muscle atrophy gradually appeared and slowly progressed to the proximal limbs. Electromyography showed myogenic damage. Muscle MRI showed patchy long T1 and long T2 signal intensity in the bilateral anterior tibial muscles. Muscle pathological staining showed typical rimbed vacuoles, cytoplasm, smear-like muscle fibers and desmin abnormal deposition in some muscle fibers; electron microscopy revealed disorganized myofibril structures, focal myofibril lysis, Z-band streaming, and subsarcolemmal or myofibril mitochondrial accumulation. Heterozygous mutation in MYOT gene c.680_683del (p.Val227GlufsTer10) locus was noted in 8 patients and daughter of the proband. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that MYOT gene c.680_683del mutation could cause premature termination of myotilin translation, leading to the production of a truncated protein, thereby disrupting its normal structure and function. (2) Eighty-nine patients with MFMs caused by MYOT gene mutation in previous literature mainly manifested as chronic progressive weakness of the distal or proximal limbs, with some involving the myocardium, respiratory muscles, or peripheral nerves. A total of 12 MYOT gene mutations were identified, with p. Ser60phe being the most common mutation. Except for p.Tyr4_his9del, being an in-frame mutation, the others were missense mutations. Conclusion:MFMs caused by MYOT gene mutation exhibit obvious clinical heterogeneity, characterized by very slow progression of muscle weakness; MYOT gene locus c.680_683del (p.Val227GlufsTer10) is a de novo heterozygous mutation.

The prevalence of osteoporosis， osteoarthritis， gouty arthritis， rheumatoid arthritis， and intervertebral disc degeneration is increasing year by year with the growing number of elderly people， and the common clinical manifestations of these diseases include severe pain in different areas， which seriously affects the daily life of the patients. Therefore， how to relieve the pain and reduce the prevalence of bone and joint diseases and improve the quality of life of the patients is a hot spot in the medical field. Studies have confirmed that NOD-like receptor family， pyrin domain-containing protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasomes， as pattern recognition receptors， are involved in the inflammation， chondrocyte proliferation， osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation， intervertebral disc cell inflammation and scorching， extracellular matrix degradation and apoptosis， mitochondrial dysfunction， endoplasmic reticulum stress， and reactive oxygen species damage， demonstrating close link with the development of bone and joint diseases. Chinese medicine has a long history and demonstrates remarkable therapeutic effects in the treatment of bone and joint diseases. It can mitigate the pathological changes of bone and joint diseases by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasomes to alleviate the pain， playing a role in preventing and treating these diseases. Therefore， this paper briefly describes the relationship between NLRP3 inflammasomes and the development of bone and joint diseases by reviewing the latest research progress at home and abroad. We summarize the latest studies about the active components， extracts， and compound prescriptions of Chinese medicines in the treatment of bone and joint diseases via regulating NLRP3 inflammasomes. This review is expected to offer new insights into the in-depth research on the pathogenesis and drug treatment of bone and joint diseases and provide a basis for the clinical application of Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of such diseases.

OBJECTIVE：To establish the UPLC fingerprint of Polygonum cuspidatum ，and to determine the contents of four active ingredients and to provide reference for the quality evaluation of P. cuspidatum . METHODS ：The determination was performed on Waters BEH C 18 column（100 mm×2.1 mm，1.7 μm）with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile- 0.2％ formic acid （gradient elution ）at flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The column temperature was 40 ℃，and detection wavelength was 290 nm. The sample size was 1 μL. The fingerprints were evaluated by similarity calculation，cluster analysis and orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA）. Using polydatin as internal standard ，relative calibration factors of resveratrol ，emodin-8-O- β-D-glucoside and emodin were determined to develop a method of QAMS. The contents of 4 above components in 15 batches of P. cuspidatum were calculated by relative calibration factors. The results of QAMS were compared with those of external standard. RESULTS：UPLC fingerprints of 15 batches of P. cuspidatum were established ，and 12 common peaks were confirmed. Five components were identified ，i.e. polydatin ，resveratrol，emodin-8-O-β-D-glucoside，emodin，emodin methyl ether. The fingerprint similarity of 15 batches of P. cuspidatum was in the range of 0.865-0.976. According to cluster analysis ，15 batches of P. cuspidatum were classified into 4 categories，showing certain regularity of origin. Seven markers were identified by OPLS-DA method. The order of difference significance was peak 7＞emodin-8-O-β-D-glucoside＞resveratrol＞peak 8＞polydatin＞peak 1＞ peak 10. The relative deviation among the contents of resveratrol ，emodin-8-O-β-D-glucoside and emodin in 15 batches of P. cuspidatum determined by QAMS and external standard method was less than 5.0％，indicating that there was no significant difference between the two methods. CONCLUSIONS ：UPLC fingerprint combined with QAMS method is convenient and reliable for the quality evaluation of P. cuspidatum ；the quality of P. cuspidatum produced in Chongqing and Anhui province is better.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and neo-anastomosis in juxta-anastomotic stenosis of autologous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) of diabetic hemodialysis patients. Methods: Diabetic patients with juxta-anastomotic stenosis in Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital from February 2016 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical data, success rate, patency time of PTA and vascular neo-anastomosis were compared. Results: Thirteen patients received PTA, including 1 case of surgical failure and 1 case of thrombosis, and the success rate was 11/13. Vascular neo-anastomosis were performed in 15 cases, and 13 cases succeeded. The success rate was 13/15, and the success rate between two groups had no significant (P > 0.05). The median patency time was 11(7-12) months and 15(5-22) months (P > 0.05). The volume of bleeding [3(2-4) ml vs. 20(10-40) ml], the length of blood vessel wastage [0 vs. (3.6 ± 1.2) cm] and the operating time [(0.6 ± 0.7) h vs. (1.8 ± 0.5) h] of PTA patients were less than those of vascular neo-anastomosis group, and there were significant differences (P < 0.05). Conclusions There are no significant differences between PTA and neo-anastomosis with respect to patency. PTA has the advantages of less vascular injury, shorter operation time, less bleeding and can dilate arteries at the same time.