2.Local overexpression of miR-429 sponge in subcutaneous white adipose tissue improves obesity and related metabolic disorders.
Liu YAO ; Wen-Jing XIU ; Chen-Ji YE ; Xin-Yu JIA ; Wen-Hui DONG ; Chun-Jiong WANG
Acta Physiologica Sinica 2025;77(3):441-448
Obesity is a worldwide health problem. An imbalance in energy metabolism is an important cause of obesity and related metabolic diseases. Our previous studies showed that inhibition of miR-429 increased the protein level of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in beige adipocytes; however, whether local inhibition of miR-429 in subcutaneous adipose tissue affects diet-induced obesity and related metabolic disorders remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of local overexpression of miR-429 sponge in subcutaneous adipose tissue on obesity and related metabolic disorders. The control adeno-associated virus (AAV) or AAV expressing the miR-429 sponge was injected into mouse inguinal white adipose tissue. Seven days later, the mice were fed a high-fat diet for 10 weeks to induce obesity. The effects of the miR-429 sponge on body weight, adipose tissue weight, plasma glucose and lipid levels, and hepatic lipid content were explored. The results showed that the overexpression of miR-429 sponge in subcutaneous white adipose tissue reduced body weight and fat mass, decreased fasting blood glucose and plasma cholesterol levels, improved glucose tolerance, and alleviated hepatic lipid deposition in mice. Mechanistic investigation showed that the inhibition of miR-429 significantly upregulated the expression of UCP1 in adipocytes and adipose tissue. These results suggest that local inhibition of miR-429 in subcutaneous white adipose tissue ameliorates obesity and related metabolic disorders potentially by upregulating UCP1, and miR-429 is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders.
Animals
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MicroRNAs/physiology*
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Obesity/metabolism*
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Mice
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Adipose Tissue, White/metabolism*
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Metabolic Diseases
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Subcutaneous Fat/metabolism*
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Male
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Uncoupling Protein 1/metabolism*
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Diet, High-Fat
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
3.Deubiquitinase OTUD6A alleviates acetaminophen-induced liver injury by targeting EZH2 to reduce cell death in hepatocytes.
Yanni ZHAO ; Tianyang JIN ; Tingxin XU ; Yi FANG ; Qingsong ZHENG ; Wu LUO ; Weiwei ZHU ; Yue CHEN ; Jiong WANG ; Yi CHEN ; Wei ZUO ; Lijiang HUANG ; Guang LIANG ; Yi WANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(9):4772-4788
Acetaminophen (APAP) is the primary cause of drug-induced acute liver failure. Ovarian tumor deubiquitinase 6A (OTUD6A), a recently discovered deubiquitinase of the OTU family, has been primarily studied in tumor contexts. However, its role in APAP-induced liver injury (AILI) remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the involvement of OTUD6A in the pathogenesis of AILI. Our findings demonstrated a substantial upregulation of OTUD6A in both the liver tissue and isolated hepatocytes of mice following APAP stimulation. OTUD6A knockout exacerbated APAP-induced inflammation, hepatocyte necrosis, and liver injury, whereas OTUD6A overexpression alleviated these pathologies. Mechanistically, OTUD6A directly interacted with the enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and selectively removed K48-linked polyubiquitin chains from EZH2, enhancing its stability. This resulted in increased protein levels of EZH2 and H3K27me3, as well as reduced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and cell death in hepatocytes. Collectively, our research uncovers a novel role for OTUD6A in mitigating APAP-induced liver injury by promoting EZH2 stabilization.
4.Evolution-guided design of mini-protein for high-contrast in vivo imaging.
Nongyu HUANG ; Yang CAO ; Guangjun XIONG ; Suwen CHEN ; Juan CHENG ; Yifan ZHOU ; Chengxin ZHANG ; Xiaoqiong WEI ; Wenling WU ; Yawen HU ; Pei ZHOU ; Guolin LI ; Fulei ZHAO ; Fanlian ZENG ; Xiaoyan WANG ; Jiadong YU ; Chengcheng YUE ; Xinai CUI ; Kaijun CUI ; Huawei CAI ; Yuquan WEI ; Yang ZHANG ; Jiong LI
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(10):5327-5345
Traditional development of small protein scaffolds has relied on display technologies and mutation-based engineering, which limit sequence and functional diversity, thereby constraining their therapeutic and application potential. Protein design tools have significantly advanced the creation of novel protein sequences, structures, and functions. However, further improvements in design strategies are still needed to more efficiently optimize the functional performance of protein-based drugs and enhance their druggability. Here, we extended an evolution-based design protocol to create a novel minibinder, BindHer, against the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). It not only exhibits super stability and binding selectivity but also demonstrates remarkable properties in tissue specificity. Radiolabeling experiments with 99mTc, 68Ga, and 18F revealed that BindHer efficiently targets tumors in HER2-positive breast cancer mouse models, with minimal nonspecific liver absorption, outperforming scaffolds designed through traditional engineering. These findings highlight a new rational approach to automated protein design, offering significant potential for large-scale applications in therapeutic mini-protein development.
5.High-throughput single-microbe RNA sequencing reveals adaptive state heterogeneity and host-phage activity associations in human gut microbiome.
Yifei SHEN ; Qinghong QIAN ; Liguo DING ; Wenxin QU ; Tianyu ZHANG ; Mengdi SONG ; Yingjuan HUANG ; Mengting WANG ; Ziye XU ; Jiaye CHEN ; Ling DONG ; Hongyu CHEN ; Enhui SHEN ; Shufa ZHENG ; Yu CHEN ; Jiong LIU ; Longjiang FAN ; Yongcheng WANG
Protein & Cell 2025;16(3):211-226
Microbial communities such as those residing in the human gut are highly diverse and complex, and many with important implications for health and diseases. The effects and functions of these microbial communities are determined not only by their species compositions and diversities but also by the dynamic intra- and inter-cellular states at the transcriptional level. Powerful and scalable technologies capable of acquiring single-microbe-resolution RNA sequencing information in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of complex microbial communities together with their hosts are therefore utterly needed. Here we report the development and utilization of a droplet-based smRNA-seq (single-microbe RNA sequencing) method capable of identifying large species varieties in human samples, which we name smRandom-seq2. Together with a triple-module computational pipeline designed for the bacteria and bacteriophage sequencing data by smRandom-seq2 in four human gut samples, we established a single-cell level bacterial transcriptional landscape of human gut microbiome, which included 29,742 single microbes and 329 unique species. Distinct adaptive response states among species in Prevotella and Roseburia genera and intrinsic adaptive strategy heterogeneity in Phascolarctobacterium succinatutens were uncovered. Additionally, we identified hundreds of novel host-phage transcriptional activity associations in the human gut microbiome. Our results indicated that smRandom-seq2 is a high-throughput and high-resolution smRNA-seq technique that is highly adaptable to complex microbial communities in real-world situations and promises new perspectives in the understanding of human microbiomes.
Humans
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Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics*
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Bacteriophages/physiology*
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High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
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Sequence Analysis, RNA/methods*
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Bacteria/virology*
6.A quantitative study on the outcome of patients with breast cancer after autologous breast reconstruction and implant breast reconstruction based on multi-scaleon
Qiu-Ping WU ; Jiong WU ; Ke-Da YU ; A-Yong CAO ; Xiao-Yan HUANG ; Sheng CHEN ; Lei WANG ; Jia-Qin GUAN
Fudan University Journal of Medical Sciences 2024;51(1):81-88,127
Objective To evaluate the patient-reported outcome(PRO)of patients with breast cancer who underwent autologous breast reconstruction and implant breast reconstruction.Methods Patients who underwent breast reconstruction in Shanghai Cancer Center,Fudan University from Jan 2020 to Jun 2021 were selected,including 111 patients who underwent autologous breast reconstruction and 108 patients who underwent implant breast reconstruction.Chinese version Breast-Q2.0 scale,breast cancer specificity scale QLQ-BR23 and EORTC quality of life scale QLQ-C30 were used to investigate the PRO of the two groups 18 months after operation.Results The rate of stage Ⅲ breast cancer in the self-weight construction group was higher than that in the implant reconstruction group(64.9%vs.44.4%,P<0.001).The preoperative neoadjuvant therapy and postoperative radiotherapy in the autologous reconstruction group were higher than those in the implant reconstruction group(P<0.001).Postoperative chemotherapy and endocrine therapy in the autologous reconstruction group were lower than those in the implant reconstruction group(P<0.001).The study based on Breast-Q scale showed that the breast satisfaction of autologous reconstruction group was higher than that of implant reconstruction(59.28±17.20 vs.54.94±14.48,P<0.05).The study based on QLQ-BR23 showed that the self-weight construction group was higher than the implant reconstruction group in the field of arm symptoms(20.02±20.80 vs.12.65±16.18,P<0.05).The study based on QLQ-C30 scale showed that there was no significant difference in all functional areas and symptom areas of patients.There was no significant difference in the number and time of social regression between the two groups.Conclusion Breast reconstruction can improve the PRO of breast cancer patients,and oncology factors will affect the choice of breast reconstruction.Patients with autologous breast reconstruction are more satisfied with breast appearance,but upper limb symptoms such as swelling and pain are more obvious than implant reconstruction,which is related to the higher proportion of axillary lymph node dissection in patients with autologous reconstruction.There is no significant difference in quality of life and social regression between the two groups.
7.Study and Practice on Intelligent Classification of Medical Safety Incidents Based on BERT Model
Congpu ZHAO ; Da YUAN ; Pujue ZHU ; Jiong ZHOU ; Zheng CHEN ; Hua PENG
Journal of Medical Informatics 2024;45(1):27-32,38
Purpose/Significance To improve the classification and evaluation mode of medical safety incidents,and to improve work efficiency and timeliness.Method/Process The data of previous medical safety incidents are pre-processed,BERT model is used for training,testing and iterative optimization,and an intelligent classification and prediction model for medical safety incidents is built.Re-sult/Conclusion The model is used to classify 466 medical safety incidents reported by clinical departments from January to November 2022,and F1 value reaches 0.66.The application of BERT model in the classification and evaluation of medical safety incidents can im-prove work efficiency and timeliness,and help timely intervene in medical safety risks.
8.An Empirical Study on the Use of Diagnosis Related Group Tools for Grouping Adjustments in Large Public Hospitals
Guojie ZHANG ; Xutong TAN ; Zhiling CAI ; Qiang XU ; Weifeng XU ; Yihang CHEN ; Yating WANG ; Jinhan LIU ; Zheng CHEN ; Jiong ZHOU ; Xiaojun MA
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2024;15(5):1052-1058
To analyze the disease group structure and its trends in key departments of large public hospitals using diagnosis related group (DRG) data, explore the key points of intervention and optimization of disease groups in departments, and further promote the rational allocation of department resources. We retrospectively collected DRG data from two surgical departments in a large public hospital in Beijing from 2017 to 2023. When the case mix index (CMI) of the two surgical departments declined, interventions such as performance appraisal, department education, and hospital publicity were promptly adopted. The changesin CMI values were observed and the trends in disease group weights, time consumption index, cost consumption index, and mortality rate in low-risk groups were analyzed. After the interventions, in surgical department Ⅰ, the proportion of patients with lower-weight diseases, such as major thyroid surgery (KD1), significantly decreased, while that of patients with higher-weight diseases, such as colorectal malignancy surgery (GB2) and pancreatic malignancy surgery (HB1), significantly increased. In surgical department Ⅱ, the proportion of patients with lower-weight diseases, such as chemotherapy (RE1), decreased markedly, while that of patients with higher-weight diseases, including major surgery for malignancy of kidney, ureter, and bladder (LA1), adrenal gland surgery (KC1), surgery for kidney/ureter/bladder except for major malignancy surgery (LB1), and male genital organ malignancy surgery (MA1), increased significantly. Both surgical departments achieved the goal of increasing their CMI values. In terms of efficiency, cost, and quality indicators, the time consumption index and cost consumption index of the two surgical departments were significantly lower than 1, and the mortality rate in low-risk groups was 0. Based on actual conditions and development goals, large public hospitals can achieve improvements in CMI values and optimization of disease group structures through reasonable interventions, thereby enhancing medical efficiency and rational utilization of resources.
9.Effects of comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation therapy on pulmonary function and motor function in children after pneumonia:a prospective non-randomized controlled study
Chunli LIU ; Yuan WU ; Jiong CHEN
Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 2024;39(9):1316-1320
Objective:To investigate the effect of comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation therapy on pulmonary and mo-tor function in children after pneumonia. Method:Children with improved acute symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia who were hospitalized in PKUFH-Ningxia Women and Children's Hospital from September 2020 to January 2021 were selected and di-vided into experimental group(n=30)and control group(n=30)according to the treatment intention of pa-tients and parents.Comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation therapy was provided to the patients in the experi-mental group.The pulmonary function and motor function of the two groups were assessed prior to interven-tion and 3 months after intervention.The forced vital capacity(FVC),forced expiratory volume in one sec-ond(FEV1)and the ratio of forced expiratory volume in one second to forced vital capacity(FEV1/FVC),Borg scores and 6min walking test(6MWT)results were recorded and statistically analyzed. Result:After intervention,FEV1/FVC in experimental group was significantly higher than control group(P<0.05);the FVC,FEV1 and 6MWT of the experimental group were significantly higher than those before inter-vention(P<0.05).There were significant differences in FVC,FEV1,Borg scores and 6MWT between the ex-perimental group and the control group before and after intervention(P<0.05). Conclusion:Comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation therapy is helpful to the recovery of pulmonary and mo-tor function in children after community-acquired pneumonia.
10.Emerging role of Jumonji domain-containing protein D3 in inflammatory diseases
Li XIANG ; Chen RU-YI ; Shi JIN-JIN ; Li CHANG-YUN ; Liu YAN-JUN ; Gao CHANG ; Gao MING-RONG ; Zhang SHUN ; Lu JIAN-FEI ; Cao JIA-FENG ; Yang GUAN-JUN ; Chen JIONG
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2024;14(9):1282-1300
Jumonji domain-containing protein D3(JMJD3)is a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that specif-ically removes transcriptional repression marks di-and tri-methylated groups from lysine 27 on histone 3(H3K27me2/3).The erasure of these marks leads to the activation of some associated genes,thereby influencing various biological processes,such as development,differentiation,and immune response.However,comprehensive descriptions regarding the relationship between JMJD3 and inflammation are lacking.Here,we provide a comprehensive overview of JMJD3,including its structure,functions,and involvement in inflammatory pathways.In addition,we summarize the evidence supporting JMJD3's role in several inflammatory diseases,as well as the potential therapeutic applications of JMJD3 inhibitors.Additionally,we also discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with investigating the functions of JMJD3 and developing targeted inhibitors and propose feasible solutions to provide valuable insights into the functional exploration and discovery of potential drugs targeting JMJD3 for inflammatory diseases.

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