1.Augmentation of PRDX1-DOK3 interaction alleviates rheumatoid arthritis progression by suppressing plasma cell differentiation.
Wenzhen DANG ; Xiaomin WANG ; Huaying LI ; Yixuan XU ; Xinyu LI ; Siqi HUANG ; Hongru TAO ; Xiao LI ; Yulin YANG ; Lijiang XUAN ; Weilie XIAO ; Dean GUO ; Hao ZHANG ; Qiong WU ; Jie ZHENG ; Xiaoyan SHEN ; Kaixian CHEN ; Heng XU ; Yuanyuan ZHANG ; Cheng LUO
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(8):3997-4013
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by persistent inflammation and joint damage, accompanied by the accumulation of plasma cells, which contributes to its pathogenesis. Understanding the genetic alterations occurring during plasma cell differentiation in RA can deepen our comprehension of its pathogenesis and guide the development of targeted therapeutic interventions. Here, our study elucidates the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying plasma cell differentiation by demonstrating that PRDX1 interacts with DOK3 and modulates its degradation by the autophagy-lysosome pathway. This interaction results in the inhibition of plasma cell differentiation, thereby alleviating the progression of collagen-induced arthritis. Additionally, our investigation identifies Salvianolic acid B (SAB) as a potent small molecular glue-like compound that enhances the interaction between PRDX1 and DOK3, consequently impeding the progression of collagen-induced arthritis by inhibiting plasma cell differentiation. Collectively, these findings underscore the therapeutic potential of developing chemical stabilizers for the PRDX1-DOK3 complex in suppressing plasma cell differentiation for RA treatment and establish a theoretical basis for targeting PRDX1-protein interactions as specific therapeutic targets in various diseases.
2.Clinical and genetic characteristics of X-linked intellectual disability associated with HUWE1 gene variants
Xiao LI ; Huan GONG ; Zheng CHEN ; Xianhe JIANG ; Zhibin LI ; Xiaoli ZHANG ; Lin LI ; Hao CHEN ; Jing GUAN ; Lina KONG ; Kaixian DU
Chinese Journal of Pediatrics 2025;63(12):1360-1365
Objective:To explore the clinical and genetic characteristics of X-linked intellectual disability associated with HUWE1 gene variants.Methods:A cases series study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 6 children with HUWE1 gene variants. The children were identified from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, and Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center of Guangzhou Medical University between April 2021 and July 2023.The data included sex, age, dysmorphic features, intellectual and motor development, seizure history, neuroimaging findings, family history, and genetic results was analyzed.Results:A total of 6 children, including 5 boys and 1 girl. The age of onset ranged from 1 day to 3 years. All children presented with varying degrees of intellectual disability, with or without motor developmental delay. Dysmorphic features were observed in 4 children, including microcephaly in 3 children. Short stature were observed in 3 children. One child was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and 1 child had seizures. Two boys had relevant maternal family histories of febrile seizures and mild intellectual disability, respectively. Abnormal neuroimaging findings were presented in 4 children, including cerebral dysplasia (1 child), prominent supratentorial ventricles (1 child), and mild white matter demyelination (2 children). Whole-exome sequencing identified 5 missense variants and 1 in-frame deletion variant. Five variants were novel and previously unreported (c.12290C>T, c.12701T>C, c.9875C>T, c.9641A>T and c.10313_10315del). The variants in 4 boys were maternally inherited, while the remaining 2 children had de novo variants. The child with the in-frame deletion variant (c.10313_10315del) presented with the most severe phenotype, exhibiting symptoms from 1 day of age, absent cognitive development, feeding difficulties, and congenital laryngeal chondrodysplasia. He was lost to follow-up at 3 months of age after treatment was withdrawn. The age at the last follow-up for the remaining 5 children ranged from 2 years and 10 months to 17 years. A boy with seizures died at 2 years and 10 months of age. The remaining 4 children were able to walk independently at the last follow-up, although their developmental progress was slow. Conclusions:HUWE1 gene related X-linked intellectual disability is characterized by varying degrees of developmental delay and intellectual disability, frequently accompanied by microcephaly, short stature, and occasionally by seizures and autism spectrum disorders. Missense variants are more common and the in-frame deletion variant appears to be associated with a particularly severe phenotypic presentation.
3.Analysis of the success rate of CT-Guided 3D printed template-navigated radioactive seed implantation in the treatment of pancreatic cancer
Hongyu LIU ; Yunpeng SHI ; Zifan HE ; Baodong GAI ; Kaixian ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Endocrine Surgery 2025;19(5):790-792
Pancreatic cancer is highly malignant and difficult to treat. The implantation of radioactive seed has opened up a new treatment option for pancreatic cancer. Although the implantation of radioactive seed in the treatment of pancreatic cancer has achieved good results, due to the special anatomical location of pancreatic cancer and the dense distribution of important tissues and organs around the tumor, the operation of seed implantation for pancreatic cancer has become a clinical treatment challenge. We applied the method of 3D printing template navigation and constraining the direction of the puncture needle. The puncture needle followed the safe puncture path designed in the preoperative treatment planning system, effectively avoiding important tissues and organs, and implanted radioactive seeds in the tumor. The operation of seed implantation was simplified, homogenized and made safe. In this group of cases, the proportion of successful particle implantation using 3D printing template navigation was 89.5%. All cases met the preoperative treatment plan in postoperative dose verification and achieved the purpose of radioactive seed implantation treatment.
4.Vertebroplasty combined with microwave ablation for treating vertebral compression fractures caused by metastatic cancer
Yuanyuan QIU ; Chao XING ; Qianqian YUAN ; Kaixian ZHANG ; Xusheng ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Interventional Imaging and Therapy 2025;22(1):11-15
Objective To observe the efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP)combined with microwave ablation(MWA)for treating vertebral compression fractures(VCF)caused by metastatic cancer.Methods Totally 112 patients with VCF caused by metastatic cancer were retrospectively enrolled,including 77 cases(105 vertebrae)underwent MWA+PVP(group A)and 35 cases(68 vertebrae)who underwent PVP alone(group B).The success rates of the treatments were recorded,and complications were observed.Visual analogue scale(VAS)score of pain,daily morphine consumption(DMC)and Oswestry disability index(ODI)of patients were compared within and between groups after treatments,and local tumor recurrence rates after treatment were observed.Results The success rates of MWA and PVP were both 100%.After treatments,bone cement leakage occurred in 12 cases(12/77,15.58%)in group A and 19 cases(19/35,54.29%)in group B,in group A was lower than in group B(P<0.001).No other complications occurred.One week and 1,3 and 6 months after treatments,VAS scores of pain,DMC and ODI in group A and B were all lower than those before treatments(all P<0.001).Three and 6 months after treatments,VAS scores of pain in group A were lower than those in group B(both P<0.01),while 6 months after treatments,DMC and ODI in group A were lower than those in group B(both P<0.01).No significant difference of VAS scores of pain,DMC nor ODI was found between groups at the other time points(all P>0.05).Six months after treatments,local tumor recurrence rate in lesions in group A(17.14%,18/105)was significantly lower than that in group B(32.35%,22/68)(P=0.020).Conclusion For treating VCF caused by metastatic cancer,PVP combined with MWA could reduce incidence of complications,prolong pain relief time and bring better short-term local tumor control effect.
5.Analysis of the success rate of CT-Guided 3D printed template-navigated radioactive seed implantation in the treatment of pancreatic cancer
Hongyu LIU ; Yunpeng SHI ; Zifan HE ; Baodong GAI ; Kaixian ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Endocrine Surgery 2025;19(5):790-792
Pancreatic cancer is highly malignant and difficult to treat. The implantation of radioactive seed has opened up a new treatment option for pancreatic cancer. Although the implantation of radioactive seed in the treatment of pancreatic cancer has achieved good results, due to the special anatomical location of pancreatic cancer and the dense distribution of important tissues and organs around the tumor, the operation of seed implantation for pancreatic cancer has become a clinical treatment challenge. We applied the method of 3D printing template navigation and constraining the direction of the puncture needle. The puncture needle followed the safe puncture path designed in the preoperative treatment planning system, effectively avoiding important tissues and organs, and implanted radioactive seeds in the tumor. The operation of seed implantation was simplified, homogenized and made safe. In this group of cases, the proportion of successful particle implantation using 3D printing template navigation was 89.5%. All cases met the preoperative treatment plan in postoperative dose verification and achieved the purpose of radioactive seed implantation treatment.
6.Vertebroplasty combined with microwave ablation for treating vertebral compression fractures caused by metastatic cancer
Yuanyuan QIU ; Chao XING ; Qianqian YUAN ; Kaixian ZHANG ; Xusheng ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Interventional Imaging and Therapy 2025;22(1):11-15
Objective To observe the efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP)combined with microwave ablation(MWA)for treating vertebral compression fractures(VCF)caused by metastatic cancer.Methods Totally 112 patients with VCF caused by metastatic cancer were retrospectively enrolled,including 77 cases(105 vertebrae)underwent MWA+PVP(group A)and 35 cases(68 vertebrae)who underwent PVP alone(group B).The success rates of the treatments were recorded,and complications were observed.Visual analogue scale(VAS)score of pain,daily morphine consumption(DMC)and Oswestry disability index(ODI)of patients were compared within and between groups after treatments,and local tumor recurrence rates after treatment were observed.Results The success rates of MWA and PVP were both 100%.After treatments,bone cement leakage occurred in 12 cases(12/77,15.58%)in group A and 19 cases(19/35,54.29%)in group B,in group A was lower than in group B(P<0.001).No other complications occurred.One week and 1,3 and 6 months after treatments,VAS scores of pain,DMC and ODI in group A and B were all lower than those before treatments(all P<0.001).Three and 6 months after treatments,VAS scores of pain in group A were lower than those in group B(both P<0.01),while 6 months after treatments,DMC and ODI in group A were lower than those in group B(both P<0.01).No significant difference of VAS scores of pain,DMC nor ODI was found between groups at the other time points(all P>0.05).Six months after treatments,local tumor recurrence rate in lesions in group A(17.14%,18/105)was significantly lower than that in group B(32.35%,22/68)(P=0.020).Conclusion For treating VCF caused by metastatic cancer,PVP combined with MWA could reduce incidence of complications,prolong pain relief time and bring better short-term local tumor control effect.
7.Clinical and genetic characteristics of X-linked intellectual disability associated with HUWE1 gene variants
Xiao LI ; Huan GONG ; Zheng CHEN ; Xianhe JIANG ; Zhibin LI ; Xiaoli ZHANG ; Lin LI ; Hao CHEN ; Jing GUAN ; Lina KONG ; Kaixian DU
Chinese Journal of Pediatrics 2025;63(12):1360-1365
Objective:To explore the clinical and genetic characteristics of X-linked intellectual disability associated with HUWE1 gene variants.Methods:A cases series study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 6 children with HUWE1 gene variants. The children were identified from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, and Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center of Guangzhou Medical University between April 2021 and July 2023.The data included sex, age, dysmorphic features, intellectual and motor development, seizure history, neuroimaging findings, family history, and genetic results was analyzed.Results:A total of 6 children, including 5 boys and 1 girl. The age of onset ranged from 1 day to 3 years. All children presented with varying degrees of intellectual disability, with or without motor developmental delay. Dysmorphic features were observed in 4 children, including microcephaly in 3 children. Short stature were observed in 3 children. One child was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and 1 child had seizures. Two boys had relevant maternal family histories of febrile seizures and mild intellectual disability, respectively. Abnormal neuroimaging findings were presented in 4 children, including cerebral dysplasia (1 child), prominent supratentorial ventricles (1 child), and mild white matter demyelination (2 children). Whole-exome sequencing identified 5 missense variants and 1 in-frame deletion variant. Five variants were novel and previously unreported (c.12290C>T, c.12701T>C, c.9875C>T, c.9641A>T and c.10313_10315del). The variants in 4 boys were maternally inherited, while the remaining 2 children had de novo variants. The child with the in-frame deletion variant (c.10313_10315del) presented with the most severe phenotype, exhibiting symptoms from 1 day of age, absent cognitive development, feeding difficulties, and congenital laryngeal chondrodysplasia. He was lost to follow-up at 3 months of age after treatment was withdrawn. The age at the last follow-up for the remaining 5 children ranged from 2 years and 10 months to 17 years. A boy with seizures died at 2 years and 10 months of age. The remaining 4 children were able to walk independently at the last follow-up, although their developmental progress was slow. Conclusions:HUWE1 gene related X-linked intellectual disability is characterized by varying degrees of developmental delay and intellectual disability, frequently accompanied by microcephaly, short stature, and occasionally by seizures and autism spectrum disorders. Missense variants are more common and the in-frame deletion variant appears to be associated with a particularly severe phenotypic presentation.
8.Transfer learning enhanced graph neural network for aldehyde oxidase metabolism prediction and its experimental application.
Jiacheng XIONG ; Rongrong CUI ; Zhaojun LI ; Wei ZHANG ; Runze ZHANG ; Zunyun FU ; Xiaohong LIU ; Zhenghao LI ; Kaixian CHEN ; Mingyue ZHENG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2024;14(2):623-634
Aldehyde oxidase (AOX) is a molybdoenzyme that is primarily expressed in the liver and is involved in the metabolism of drugs and other xenobiotics. AOX-mediated metabolism can result in unexpected outcomes, such as the production of toxic metabolites and high metabolic clearance, which can lead to the clinical failure of novel therapeutic agents. Computational models can assist medicinal chemists in rapidly evaluating the AOX metabolic risk of compounds during the early phases of drug discovery and provide valuable clues for manipulating AOX-mediated metabolism liability. In this study, we developed a novel graph neural network called AOMP for predicting AOX-mediated metabolism. AOMP integrated the tasks of metabolic substrate/non-substrate classification and metabolic site prediction, while utilizing transfer learning from 13C nuclear magnetic resonance data to enhance its performance on both tasks. AOMP significantly outperformed the benchmark methods in both cross-validation and external testing. Using AOMP, we systematically assessed the AOX-mediated metabolism of common fragments in kinase inhibitors and successfully identified four new scaffolds with AOX metabolism liability, which were validated through in vitro experiments. Furthermore, for the convenience of the community, we established the first online service for AOX metabolism prediction based on AOMP, which is freely available at https://aomp.alphama.com.cn.
9.Remarkable Research Achievements in Traditional Chinese Medicine During New Era (2012—2022)
Xiaoxiao ZHANG ; Xianghong HE ; Liangzhen YOU ; Junfeng CHEN ; Jun MA ; Guochen WANG ; Kaixian CHEN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(5):1-10
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), a continuous stream of scientific and technological innovations has unfolded in the realm of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). With the aim of implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, and the Opinions on Promoting the Inheritance, Innovation and Development of TCM, and to underscore the exemplary role of significant scientific and technological achievements, the China Association of Chinese Medicine, in alignment with relevant requirements and under the guidance of authoritative experts, has organized a comprehensive review of the important scientific and technological achievements in the field of TCM since the 18th National Congress of the CPC. Through rigorous procedures, including collecting and reviewing achievements, writing achievement reports, organizing expert reviews, and seeking public opinions, remarkable research achievements in TCM during 2012—2022 were compiled.
10.Epimedin B exhibits pigmentation by increasing tyrosinase family proteins expression,activity,and stability
Chen HONG ; Yifan ZHANG ; Lili YANG ; Haoyang XU ; Kang CHENG ; Zhi LV ; Kaixian CHEN ; Yiming LI ; Huali WU
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2024;14(1):69-85
Epimedin B(EB)is one of the main flavonoid ingredients present in Epimedium brevicornum Maxim.,a traditional herb widely used in China.Our previous study showed that EB was a stronger inducer of melanogenesis and an activator of tyrosinase(TYR).However,the role of EB in melanogenesis and the mechanism underlying the regulation remain unclear.Herein,as an extension to our previous investi-gation,we provide comprehensive evidence of EB-induced pigmentation in vivo and in vitro and eluci-date the melanogenesis mechanism by assessing its effects on the TYR family of proteins(TYRs)in terms of expression,activity,and stability.The results showed that EB increased TYRs expression through microphthalmia-associated transcription factor-mediated p-Akt(referred to as protein kinase B(PKB))/glycogen synthase kinase 3β(GSK3β)/β-catenin,p-p70 S6 kinase cascades,and protein 38(p38)/mitogen-activated protein(MAP)kinase(MAPK)and extracellular regulated protein kinases(ERK)/MAPK pathways,after which EB increased the number of melanosomes and promoted their maturation for melanogenesis in melanoma cells and human primary melanocytes/skin tissues.Furthermore,EB exerted repigmentation by stimulating TYR activity in hydroquinone-and N-phenylthiourea-induced TYR inhibitive models,including melanoma cells,zebrafish,and mice.Finally,EB ameliorated monobenzone-induced depigmentation in vitro and in vivo through the enhancement of TYRs stability by inhibiting TYR misfolding,TYR-related protein 1 formation,and retention in the endoplasmic reticulum and then by downregulating the ubiquitination and proteolysis processes.These data conclude that EB can target TYRs and alter their expression,activity,and stability,thus stimulating their pigmentation function,which might provide a novel rational strategy for hypopigmentation treatment in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

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