1.Controllability Analysis of Structural Brain Networks in Young Smokers
Jing-Jing DING ; Fang DONG ; Hong-De WANG ; Kai YUAN ; Yong-Xin CHENG ; Juan WANG ; Yu-Xin MA ; Ting XUE ; Da-Hua YU
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):182-193
ObjectiveThe controllability changes of structural brain network were explored based on the control and brain network theory in young smokers, this may reveal that the controllability indicators can serve as a powerful factor to predict the sleep status in young smokers. MethodsFifty young smokers and 51 healthy controls from Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology were enrolled. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to construct structural brain network based on fractional anisotropy (FA) weight matrix. According to the control and brain network theory, the average controllability and the modal controllability were calculated. Two-sample t-test was used to compare the differences between the groups and Pearson correlation analysis to examine the correlation between significant average controllability and modal controllability with Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND) in young smokers. The nodes with the controllability score in the top 10% were selected as the super-controllers. Finally, we used BP neural network to predict the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in young smokers. ResultsThe average controllability of dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, lenticular nucleus putamen, and lenticular nucleus pallidum, and the modal controllability of orbital inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, gyrus rectus, and posterior cingulate gyrus in the young smokers’ group, were all significantly different from those of the healthy controls group (P<0.05). The average controllability of the right supplementary motor area (SMA.R) in the young smokers group was positively correlated with FTND (r=0.393 0, P=0.004 8), while modal controllability was negatively correlated with FTND (r=-0.330 1, P=0.019 2). ConclusionThe controllability of structural brain network in young smokers is abnormal. which may serve as an indicator to predict sleep condition. It may provide the imaging evidence for evaluating the cognitive function impairment in young smokers.
2.Effect Analysis of Different Interventions to Improve Neuroinflammation in The Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
Jiang-Hui SHAN ; Chao-Yang CHU ; Shi-Yu CHEN ; Zhi-Cheng LIN ; Yu-Yu ZHOU ; Tian-Yuan FANG ; Chu-Xia ZHANG ; Biao XIAO ; Kai XIE ; Qing-Juan WANG ; Zhi-Tao LIU ; Li-Ping LI
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(2):310-333
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a central neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive decline and memory impairment in clinical. Currently, there are no effective treatments for AD. In recent years, a variety of therapeutic approaches from different perspectives have been explored to treat AD. Although the drug therapies targeted at the clearance of amyloid β-protein (Aβ) had made a breakthrough in clinical trials, there were associated with adverse events. Neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the onset and progression of AD. Continuous neuroinflammatory was considered to be the third major pathological feature of AD, which could promote the formation of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. At the same time, these toxic substances could accelerate the development of neuroinflammation, form a vicious cycle, and exacerbate disease progression. Reducing neuroinflammation could break the feedback loop pattern between neuroinflammation, Aβ plaque deposition and Tau tangles, which might be an effective therapeutic strategy for treating AD. Traditional Chinese herbs such as Polygonum multiflorum and Curcuma were utilized in the treatment of AD due to their ability to mitigate neuroinflammation. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and indomethacin had been shown to reduce the level of inflammasomes in the body, and taking these drugs was associated with a low incidence of AD. Biosynthetic nanomaterials loaded with oxytocin were demonstrated to have the capability to anti-inflammatory and penetrate the blood-brain barrier effectively, and they played an anti-inflammatory role via sustained-releasing oxytocin in the brain. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells could reduce neuroinflammation and inhibit the activation of microglia. The secretion of mesenchymal stem cells could not only improve neuroinflammation, but also exert a multi-target comprehensive therapeutic effect, making it potentially more suitable for the treatment of AD. Enhancing the level of TREM2 in microglial cells using gene editing technologies, or application of TREM2 antibodies such as Ab-T1, hT2AB could improve microglial cell function and reduce the level of neuroinflammation, which might be a potential treatment for AD. Probiotic therapy, fecal flora transplantation, antibiotic therapy, and dietary intervention could reshape the composition of the gut microbiota and alleviate neuroinflammation through the gut-brain axis. However, the drugs of sodium oligomannose remain controversial. Both exercise intervention and electromagnetic intervention had the potential to attenuate neuroinflammation, thereby delaying AD process. This article focuses on the role of drug therapy, gene therapy, stem cell therapy, gut microbiota therapy, exercise intervention, and brain stimulation in improving neuroinflammation in recent years, aiming to provide a novel insight for the treatment of AD by intervening neuroinflammation in the future.
3.Research progress on the mechanism of action of rosmarinic acid in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases
Ke CAI ; Sheng-ru HUANG ; Fang-fang GAO ; Xiu-juan PENG ; Sheng GUO ; Feng LIU ; Jin-ao DUAN ; Shu-lan SU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2025;60(1):12-21
With the rapid development of social economy and the continuous improvement of human living standard, the incidence, fatality and recurrence rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are increasing year by year, which seriously affects people's life and health. Conventional therapeutic drugs have limited improvement on the disability rate, so the search for new therapeutic drugs and action targets has become one of the hotspots of current research. In recent years, the therapeutic role of the natural compound rosmarinic acid (RA) in CVD has attracted much attention, which is capable of preventing CVD by modulating multiple signalling pathways and exerting physiological activities such as antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet aggregation, as well as anti-coagulation and endothelial function protection. In this paper, the role of RA in the prevention of CVD is systematically sorted out, and its mechanism of action is summarised and analysed, with a view to providing a scientific basis and important support for the in-depth exploration of the prevention value of RA in CVD and its further development as a prevention drug.
4.Adolescent Smoking Addiction Diagnosis Based on TI-GNN
Xu-Wen WANG ; Da-Hua YU ; Ting XUE ; Xiao-Jiao LI ; Zhen-Zhen MAI ; Fang DONG ; Yu-Xin MA ; Juan WANG ; Kai YUAN
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(9):2393-2405
ObjectiveTobacco-related diseases remain one of the leading preventable public health challenges worldwide and are among the primary causes of premature death. In recent years, accumulating evidence has supported the classification of nicotine addiction as a chronic brain disease, profoundly affecting both brain structure and function. Despite the urgency, effective diagnostic methods for smoking addiction remain lacking, posing significant challenges for early intervention and treatment. To address this issue and gain deeper insights into the neural mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence, this study proposes a novel graph neural network framework, termed TI-GNN. This model leverages functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to identify complex and subtle abnormalities in brain connectivity patterns associated with smoking addiction. MethodsThe study utilizes fMRI data to construct functional connectivity matrices that represent interaction patterns among brain regions. These matrices are interpreted as graphs, where brain regions are nodes and the strength of functional connectivity between them serves as edges. The proposed TI-GNN model integrates a Transformer module to effectively capture global interactions across the entire brain network, enabling a comprehensive understanding of high-level connectivity patterns. Additionally, a spatial attention mechanism is employed to selectively focus on informative inter-regional connections while filtering out irrelevant or noisy features. This design enhances the model’s ability to learn meaningful neural representations crucial for classification tasks. A key innovation of TI-GNN lies in its built-in causal interpretation module, which aims to infer directional and potentially causal relationships among brain regions. This not only improves predictive performance but also enhances model interpretability—an essential attribute for clinical applications. The identification of causal links provides valuable insights into the neuropathological basis of addiction and contributes to the development of biologically plausible and trustworthy diagnostic tools. ResultsExperimental results demonstrate that the TI-GNN model achieves superior classification performance on the smoking addiction dataset, outperforming several state-of-the-art baseline models. Specifically, TI-GNN attains an accuracy of 0.91, an F1-score of 0.91, and a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.83, indicating strong robustness and reliability. Beyond performance metrics, TI-GNN identifies critical abnormal connectivity patterns in several brain regions implicated in addiction. Notably, it highlights dysregulations in the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex, consistent with prior clinical and neuroimaging findings. These regions are well known for their roles in emotional regulation, reward processing, and impulse control—functions that are frequently disrupted in nicotine dependence. ConclusionThe TI-GNN framework offers a powerful and interpretable tool for the objective diagnosis of smoking addiction. By integrating advanced graph learning techniques with causal inference capabilities, the model not only achieves high diagnostic accuracy but also elucidates the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction. The identification of specific abnormal brain networks and their causal interactions deepens our understanding of addiction pathophysiology and lays the groundwork for developing targeted intervention strategies and personalized treatment approaches in the future.
5.Ibandronate alleviates inflammatory damage in diabetic osteoporosis rats by activating Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway
Xiao-Li LIU ; Qin-Fang ZHU ; Jin-Juan LI ; Li-Xin YANG
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2024;40(2):230-233
Objective To investigate the potential mechanism of ibandronate sodium(IB)in alleviating inflammatory damage in diabetic osteoporosis rats by activating the nuclear transcription factor erythro 2-associated factor 2(Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)signaling pathway.Methods Intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin at several low doess was used to induce rat model of diabetes mellitus,then bilateral oophorectomy were used to establish type 2 diabetic osteoporosis(T2DOP)rat model.T2DOP model rats were divided into model group,control group,combined group and experimental-L,-M,-H groups,with 8 rats in each group;another 8 diabetic rats were selected as blank group.Model group was treated with normal saline.Control group was given the same volume of solvent.Experimental-L,-M,-H groups were given 2,10 and 50 mg·kg-1 IB.Combined group was treated with 50 mg·kg-1 IB and 50 mg·kg-1 ML385.Seven groups were administered intraperitoneally once a day for 12 weeks.After 12 weeks of treatment,the bone morphologic parameters were detected by calxanthoprotein double labeling method,the expression levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 pathway protein were detected by Western blot.Results The bone morphologic parameters of experimental-M,-H groups,combined group,control group,model group and blank group were 1.74±0.32,2.94±0.58,0.98±0.32,1.01±0.24,0.98±0.42 and 2.92±0.42;the relative expression levels of Nrf2 protein were 0.99±0.09,1.47±0.12,0.51±0.06,0.52±0.06,0.52±0.05 and 1.48±0.12;the relative expression levels of HO-1 protein were 1.02±0.11,1.33±0.14,0.61±0.05,0.59±0.06,0.62±0.06 and 1.29±0.13,respectively.The above indexes in the control group were statistically different with those in the experimental-M,-H groups(all P<0.05).Conclusion IB repairs bone microstructure and alleviates inflammation in diabetic osteoporosis rats by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.
6.Bioequivalence study of telmisartan tablets in Chinese healthy subjects
Cheng SUN ; Yan ZHANG ; Hong-Xia FANG ; Gui-Ying CHEN ; Xiao-Juan ZHANG ; Hong-Xun SUN ; Bin JIANG
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2024;40(2):249-253
Objective To evaluation the bioequivalence of telmisartan tablets(80 mg)between test formulation and reference formulation in Chinese healthy subjects.Methods A single-center,randomized,open-label,two-preparations,single administration,partial repeat crossover of three sequences in three postprandial cycles and complete repeat crossover of two sequences in four fasting cycles,bioequivalence test was designed.Chinese healthy subjects were included in the bioequivalence trial,with 33 randomly assigned to the postprandial group and 32 randomly assigned to the fasting group.In each period,blood samples was collected before and after administration.The plasma concentration of the drug was determined by LC-MS/MS,using WinNonlin version 8.3 calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters and perform a statistical analysis using SAS version 9.4.Results The main pharmacokinetic parameters of telmisartan tablets after oral administration of test or reference were as follows.Fasting group Cmax were(556.10±456.06)and(580.99±533.50)ng·mL-1;AUC0-t were(3 475.15±3 785.16)and(3 450.54±3 681.02)ng·mL-1·h;AUC0-∞ were(3 214.06±2 272.06)and(3 194.84±2 187.45)ng·mL-1·h.The 90%confidence intervals of the geometric mean ratio of Cmax,AUC0-t,AUC0-∞ were within the requirements of the equivalent range of bioequivalence(80.00%-125.00%).Postprandial group Cmax were(299.26±124.72)and(291.29±126.34)ng·mL-1;AUC0-t were(3 682.24±2 799.72)and(3 636.71±2 158.42)ng·mL-1·h;AUC0-were(3 544.53±1 553.06)and(3 969.38±2 528.22)ng·mL-1·h.The 90%confidence intervals of the geometric mean ratio of Cmax,AUC0-t,AUC0-∞ were within the requirements of the equivalent range of bioequivalence(80.00%-125.00%).Conclusion Under fasting and fed conditions,two kinds of telmisartan tablets are bioequivalent in Chinese healthy subjects.
7.Mechanism of ginsenoside Rg1 inhibiting the proliferation and metastasis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma
Xue LI ; Sha-Fei ZHAI ; Xin-Yang MA ; Dan-Yang WANG ; Juan CHAI ; Fang ZHOU ; Jia ZHANG
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2024;40(13):1888-1892
Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of Ginsenosides Rg1(GS-Rg1)on the proliferation and metastasis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma(TSCC),and its related mechanisms of action.Methods TSCC cells were treated with GS-Rg1 at concentrations of 1.25,2.5,5.0 and 10.0 μmol·L-1 for 48 hours.The proliferation ability of cells at different concentrations was measured by cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)experiment,and the IC5ovalue of GS-Rg1 at CAL-27 for 48 hours was calculated.TSCC cells CAL-27 were divided into control group and GS-Rg1 group.The control group and GS-Rg1 group were treated with 0.9%NaCl and IC50concentration of GS-Rg1 for 48 hours,respectively.The cell cycle distribution of each group was detected by flow cytometry,and the cell metastasis ability of each group was detected by Transwell experiment.Construct TOP/FOP Flash plasmid,transfect control group and GS-Rg1 group,and detect the effect of GS-Rg1 effect on wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway activity in TSCC cell CAL-27 using luciferase assay.Using wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor XAV939 treated GS-Rg1 group cells(XAV939+GS-Rg1 group),and wnt/β-catenin pathway activator HLY78 was used to treat GS-Rg1 group cells(HLY78+GS-Rg1 group)and detect changes of wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway activity,the cell proliferation ability,cell cycle distribution,and metastasis ability in XAV939+GS-Rg1 group,HLY78+GS-Rg1 group and GS-Rg1 group.The expression of wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway related proteins β-catenin,and its downstream cell cycle related proteins cellular myelocytomatosis oncogene(cMYC),Cyclin dependent kinase 4(CDK4),andcyclinD1,as well as metastasis related proteins E-cadherin,N-cadherin and matrix metalloproteinase 2(MMP-2)were detected by Western blotting in each group of cells.Results GS-Rg1 significantly inhibited the proliferation ability of TSCC cells CAL-27(P<0.05),and the IC50value of GS-Rg1 on CAL-27 was(5.46±1.58)μmol·L-1.The ratio of GO/G1 phase cells in the control group and GS-Rg1 group were(60.65±2.16)%and(71.20±2.38)%,respectively;the number of cell transmembrane penetration were 87.33±7.51 and 50.67±3.21,respectively;the luciferase activity were 1.00±0.02 and 0.35±0.06,respectively.Compared with the control group,the GS-Rg1 group showed cell cycle arrest in GO/G1 phase,decreased cell metastasis ability,and the activity of wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01).Compared with the GS-Rg1 group,the activity of the wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was decreased,cell proliferation ability and metastasis ability was decreased(P<0.05),while the number of GO/G1 phase cells was increased(P<0.05),the expression of β-catenin,cMYC,CDK4,cyclinD1,E-cadherin and MMP-2 proteins were decreased(P<0.05),while the expression of N-cadherin protein increased in XAV939+GS-Rg1 group cells.However,the result were opposite in the HLY78+GS-Rg1 group of cells.Conclusion GS-Rg1 downregulates wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway inhibits the proliferation and metastasis ability of TSCC cells.
8.Effects of matrine on the proliferation,migration,and invasion of neuroblastoma cells
Nan-Jing LIU ; Dong-Juan WANG ; Fang-Jie LIU ; Wen-Xia HUANG ; Lin ZOU ; Xiao-Yan HE
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2024;40(14):2048-2052
Objective To observe the effects of matrine on the proliferation,migration,and invasion of human neuroblastoma cells,and to investigate its potential mechanism.Methods This study was divided into AS experimental group(SK-N-AS cells treated with IC50 concentration of matrine),AS blank group(SK-N-AS cells cultured under normal conditions),AS control group(SK-N-AS cells treated with an equal amount of dimethyl sulfoxide),DZ experimental group(SK-N-DZ cells treated with IC50 concentration of matrine),DZ blank group(SK-N-DZ cells cultured under normal conditions),and DZ control group(SK-N-DZ cells treated with an equal amount of dimethyl sulfoxide).Scratch assay and Transwell chamber were used to measure the effect of matrine on the migration and invasion.The expression of E-cadherin,N-cadherin and Vimentin were tested by Western blot.Results After different intervention,the migration percentages of AS blank group,AS control group,AS experimental group,DZ blank group,DZ control group and DZ experimental group were(66.32±3.12)%,(65.27±3.44)%,(23.73±0.79)%,(46.25±4.68)%,(44.15±5.60)%and(16.77±3.52)%,respectively;the number of invasive cells were 870.45±19.32,865.32±23.39,492.74±16.81,1 198.10±43.71,1 203.03±71.91 and 891.69±42.62,respectively;the expression levels of E-cadherin protein were(100.00±11.72)%,(105.65±13.11)%,(477.20±29.71)%,(100.00±12.54)%,(97.78±12.77)%and(240.53±12.23)%,respectively;the expression levels of N-cadherin protein were(100.00±15.44)%,(103.90±10.76)%,(43.52±9.96)%,(100.00±10.12)%,(104.95±10.49)%and(38.39±8.70)%,respectively;Vimentin protein expression levels were(100.00±9.51)%,(97.39±11.33)%,(59.13±10.25)%,(100.00±13.20)%,(96.27±11.01)%and(47.67±9.48)%,respectively.There were statistically significant differences in the above indexes between the AS group and the AS blank group(P<0.01,P<0.001),and there were statistically significant differences between the above indexes in the DZ group and the DZ blank group(P<0.01,P<0.001).Conclusion Matrine inhibits the proliferation,migration,and invasion of neuroblastoma SK-N-AS and SK-N-DZ cells,potentially through suppressing epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
9.Relationship among insomnia symptoms,neuroticism,anxiety symptoms and psychological capital in patients with COVID-19
Wenkai ZHENG ; Chunni HENG ; Yunlong TAN ; Juan DU ; Shuo FENG ; Jiao FANG
Chinese Mental Health Journal 2024;38(2):151-157
Objectives:To explore the relationship between insomnia symptoms and neuroticism in patients with COVID-19,and to explore the role of anxiety and psychological capital in the relationship.Methods:Totally 687 patients with COVID-19 were recruited from Shanghai Fangcang Hospital.The Athens Insomnia Scale(AIS),Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Scale for Chinese Neuroticism Subscale(EPQ-RSC-N),Self-Rat-ing Anxiety Scale(SAS)and Psychological Capital Questionnaire(PCQ)were used to measure insomnia symp-toms,neuroticism personality trait,anxiety symptoms and psychological capital levels.The deviation-corrected per-centile Bootstrap method was used to test the mediating effect,and the PROCESS program was used to test the moderated effect.Results:The detection rate of insomnia symptoms was 49.93%.The AIS scores were lower in male patients than in female patients(P<0.01).The SAS scores partly mediated the relationship between neuroti-cism scores and AIS scores,with an effect size of 0.03,accounting for 18.29%of the total effect.With the im-provement of PCQ scores,the predictive effect of SAS scores on AIS scores gradually decreased(β=-0.01,t=-4.41,P<0.001).Conclusions:Anxiety symptoms in patients with COVID-19 play a partial mediating role in the positive relationship between insomnia symptoms and neuroticism.The psychological capital moderates the relation-ship between insomnia and anxiety symptoms.
10.Human ESC-derived vascular cells promote vascular regeneration in a HIF-1α dependent manner.
Jinghui LEI ; Xiaoyu JIANG ; Daoyuan HUANG ; Ying JING ; Shanshan YANG ; Lingling GENG ; Yupeng YAN ; Fangshuo ZHENG ; Fang CHENG ; Weiqi ZHANG ; Juan Carlos Izpisua BELMONTE ; Guang-Hui LIU ; Si WANG ; Jing QU
Protein & Cell 2024;15(1):36-51
Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α), a core transcription factor responding to changes in cellular oxygen levels, is closely associated with a wide range of physiological and pathological conditions. However, its differential impacts on vascular cell types and molecular programs modulating human vascular homeostasis and regeneration remain largely elusive. Here, we applied CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing of human embryonic stem cells and directed differentiation to generate HIF-1α-deficient human vascular cells including vascular endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), as a platform for discovering cell type-specific hypoxia-induced response mechanisms. Through comparative molecular profiling across cell types under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, we provide insight into the indispensable role of HIF-1α in the promotion of ischemic vascular regeneration. We found human MSCs to be the vascular cell type most susceptible to HIF-1α deficiency, and that transcriptional inactivation of ANKZF1, an effector of HIF-1α, impaired pro-angiogenic processes. Altogether, our findings deepen the understanding of HIF-1α in human angiogenesis and support further explorations of novel therapeutic strategies of vascular regeneration against ischemic damage.
Humans
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Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism*
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Endothelial Cells/metabolism*
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Transcription Factors/metabolism*
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Gene Expression Regulation
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Hypoxia/metabolism*
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Cell Hypoxia/physiology*

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