A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin-like motifs (ADAMTS) represent a diverse family of secreted metalloproteinases, comprising 19 distinct members categorized into five groups based on their substrate specificity: proteoglycanases, procollagen N-peptidases, von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease, cartilage oligomeric matrix proteases and other proteases. Among these, ADAMTS proteoglycanases predominantly target hyalectans, pivotal components in extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and inflammation. Dysfunction of ADAMTS proteoglycanases disrupts the structure and function of hyalectans, thereby perturbing ECM homeostasis, resulting in reproduction disorders, including abnormal follicular development, ovulation dysfunction, impaired implantation, placentation and preterm labor. Hence, investigation of the role of ADAMTS proteoglycanases offers valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the physiological or pathological processes within the female reproductive system, thereby paving the way for innovative strategies in predicting, preventing and treating reproductive system diseases. This review summarizes the recent research advances in the structure and regulation of ADAMTS proteoglycanases and their role in female reproductive system.
Humans ; Female ; ADAMTS Proteins/physiology* ; ADAM Proteins/physiology* ; Pregnancy ; Animals ; Genitalia, Female/enzymology* ; Extracellular Matrix/metabolism*

The thought of medicine and food homology and substances with both edible and medicinal values are an important part of China's excellent traditional culture and medicine treasure, playing an important role in human diet and health maintenance for thousands of years. Substances with both edible and medicinal values are a standardized name governed by existing regulations, and many substances with both edible and medicinal values in the list lack important information such as original plants and edible and medicinal parts. Some substances change as the relevant regulations change, which confuses the use and regulation. According to the definition and inclusion conditions of substances with both edible and medicinal values in the Regulation of Substances with Both Edible and Medicinal Values Catalogue, this paper comprehensively reviewed the first batch of 87 substances with both edible and medicinal values published in 2002 by collecting information and investigating the practical application. Some substances supplemented, deleted, and revised were analyzed and discussed, and a complete revised list was compiled, encompassing a total of 90 substances, which were when combined with the 19 substances of the last three batches(published in 2019, 2023, and 2024), amounted to a total of 109 substances. In addition, the substances not currently in the published list but have both edible and medicinal values according to the latest definition were summarized, which revealed at least 27 other substances. Therefore, there were at least 136 substances with both edible and medicinal values. Additionally, the potential substances that could be included in the list of substances with edible and medicinal values were prospected, providing a focus for future expansion of the list. This paper systematically reviewed and revised the list of substances with both edible and medicinal values to lay a foundation for the regulatory authorities to revise the catalog of these substances and provide basic information for promoting the new quality productive forces in the health field and boosting the orderly and rapid development of the big health industry.
China ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

OBJECTIVE: Cigarette smoking exacerbates the progression of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The role of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in chronic lung diseases has gained attention; however, it remains unclear whether smoking-exacerbated lung damage in TB is associated with TLS. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of pulmonary TLS in smokers with TB and to explore the possible role of TLS in smoking-related lung injury in TB. METHODS: Lung tissues from 36 male patients (18 smokers and 18 non-smokers) who underwent surgical resection for pulmonary TB were included in this study. Pathological and immunohistological analyses were conducted to evaluate the quantity of TLS, and chest computed tomography (CT) was used to assess the severity of lung lesions. The correlation between the TLS quantity and TB lesion severity scores was analyzed. The immune cells and chemokines involved in TLS formation were also evaluated and compared between smokers and non-smokers. RESULTS: Smoker patients with TB had significantly higher TLS than non-smokers ( P < 0.001). The TLS quantity in both the lung parenchyma and peribronchial regions correlated with TB lesion severity on chest CT (parenchyma: r = 0.5767; peribronchial: r = 0.7373; both P < 0.001). Immunohistochemical analysis showed increased B cells, T cells, and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) expression in smoker patients with TB ( P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Smoker TB patients exhibited increased pulmonary TLS, which was associated with exacerbated lung lesions on chest CT, suggesting that cigarette smoking may exacerbate lung damage by promoting TLS formation.
Humans ; Male ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/immunology* ; Middle Aged ; Tertiary Lymphoid Structures/pathology* ; Adult ; Lung/pathology* ; Smoking/adverse effects* ; Smokers ; Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVES: To explore the promoting effect of ginsenoside Rb3 (Rb3) on osteogenesis in periodontitis environment, and to explain its mechanism. METHODS: Human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) were cultured by tissue block method and identified by flow cytometry. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) method and calcein acetoxymethyl ester/propidium iodide staining were used to detect the effect of Rb3 on the viability of hPDLSCs cells. In vitro cell experiments were divided into control group, 10 μg/mL lipopolysaccharides (LPS) group, 10 μg/mL LPS+100 μmol/L Rb3 group and 10 μg/mL LPS+200 μmol/L Rb3 group. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining was used to detect the ALP activity of hPDLSCs in each group after osteogenesis induction. The expression of hPDLSCs interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)genes in each group after osteogenesis was detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) method. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of hPDLSCs phosphorrylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) in each group. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the control group, ligation group and ligation+Rb3 group. The left molar-maxillary tissue was subjected to micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning. After the scanning, the left molar-maxilla was made into periodontal tissue sections. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to detect the infiltration and loss of adhesion of inflammatory cells. Masson staining was used to detect the destruction of gingival collagen fibers. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the protein expression of RUNX2 and p-ERK. The expression of TGF-β in rat gingival tissue was detected by qRT-PCR. The protein expression of IL-6 in peripheral serum of rats was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Treg cells in rat heart blood. The experimental data were statistically analyzed by Graph Pad Prism10.1.2 software. RESULTS: Rb3 had no effect on the cell activity of hPDLSCs. The results of qRT-PCR and ALP staining showed that Rb3 could inhibit the gene expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in inflammatory hPDLSCs, promote TGF-β gene and promote the osteogenic differentiation of inflammatory hPDLSCs. Western blot showed that Rb3 inhibited the protein expression of inflammatory hPDLSCs p-ERK. The results from micro-CT, Masson staining, and HE staining demonstrated that Rb3 promotes alveolar bone formation in rats with periodontitis, while simultaneously inhibiting the destruction of periodontal fibrous tissue, reducing attachment loss, and suppressing inflammatory cell infiltration. The results of flow cytometry showed that Rb3 could promote the differentiation of Treg cells in peripheral blood of periodontitis rats. The results of ELISA and qRT-PCR showed that Rb3 could inhibit the protein expression of IL-6 and promote the gene expression of TGF-β in periodontitis rats. Immunofluorescence results showed that Rb3 could promote the protein expression of RUNX2 and inhibit the protein expression of p-ERK in periodontitis rats. CONCLUSIONS Rb3 can reduce the inflammatory reaction of periodontal tissues in periodontitis rats, and promote the osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs by regulating p-ERK pathways.
Animals ; Ginsenosides/pharmacology* ; Osteogenesis/drug effects* ; Periodontitis/metabolism* ; Rats ; Periodontal Ligament/cytology* ; Humans ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit/metabolism* ; Stem Cells/drug effects* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Interleukin-8/metabolism* ; Cells, Cultured ; MAP Kinase Signaling System/drug effects* ; Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; Male ; Phosphorylation ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases/metabolism* ; Alkaline Phosphatase/metabolism*

As a Chinese saying goes， "good Chinese medicinal material makes good medicine"， the quality of Chinese herbal medicines is related to the development prospect of Chinese medicine industry in China. With the rapid development of new technologies such as traceability methods and monitoring instruments， it is imperative to integrate and innovate traditional Chinese herbal medicines with new-generation information technology in view of the quality problems existing in the current production and circulation of Chinese herbal medicines， and it is of great significance for the construction of traceability system to ensure the quality and safety of Chinese herbal medicines and to promote the industry of Chinese herbal medicines to move towards high-quality development. This paper reviews the development history of the traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines in China， takes the influencing factors of the quality of Chinese herbal medicines as the entry point， and proposes that the construction of the traceability system should satisfy the traceability requirements of the characteristics of Chinese herbal medicines and their traditional medication experience. By analyzing the influencing factors of the quality of Chinese herbal medicines， it is pointed out that focusing on the influencing factors to build a traceability system is of great significance for targeting the problematic links at a later stage and exploring the interrelationship between environmental factors and the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. Based on the previous explorations， the author summarizes the system framework， functional modules and practical applications of the traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines， and looks forward to the development of a traceability system with risk early warning function and expert decision-making function in its functional development. Finally， based on the factors affecting the quality of Chinese herbal medicines， the author puts forward several thoughts on construction of the traceability system， and makes an in-depth analysis and puts forward a solution for the current situation that a unified， standardized and universal traceability system has not yet been built， with a view to providing ideas and references for the construction of traceability system of Chinese herbal medicines.

Objective:To observe the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on functional connectivity (FC) in language-related brain regions of patients with picture-naming dysfunction after cerebral infarction by using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-fMRI).Methods:Twenty-eight patients with post-infarction picture-naming dysfunction were divided into an acute stage group( n=16) and a recovery stage group( n=12) according to the course of the disease, and 18 middle-aged and elderly volunteers were recruited as the normal control group.The anodic tDCS was applied on the posterior perisylvian region(PPR) of the left sylvian of the patients, 5 days a week for 2 weeks.Before and after the 2 weeks′ treatment, the rs-fMRI and Psycholinguistic Assessment of Chinese Aphasia (PACA)-picture-naming subscale were performed, and FC changes in language-related brain areas were observed. Results:After treatment, the PACA scores of patients in both acute and recovery stage groups were significantly improved after treatment( P<0.05). Compared with normal subjects, FC in multiple brain regions and particularly the Wernicke area was reduced in both cerebral hemispheres among the patient group. It was more severe in the dominant hemisphere.After the tDCS treatment, FC in both frontotemporal lobes and in the Wernicke area was significantly enhanced in both the acute and recovery groups. Further comparison showed that in the acute group FC in both temporo-occipital lobes was significantly enhanced after treatment. In the recovery group, the enhanced FC in the left temporal lobe before the treatment was significantly reduced after treatment. Conclusion:The fMRI technique can evaluate changes in brain connectivity in aphasia patients with picture-naming dysfunction after cerebral infarction accurately and non-invasively.tDCS may improve picture-naming function of stroke patients by enhancing the FC in bilateral language-related brain areas(concentrated in frontotemporal lobes) and Wernicke area.

Objective:To document any effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the picture naming ability of stroke survivors with aphasia.Methods:Twenty-eight aphasic stoke survivors with picture naming dysfunction were divided into an acute group (with a course of disease of <1 month) and a convalescent group (with a course of disease of 2 to 6 months). Eighteen healthy subjects well-matched for age, gender and years of education formed the healthy control group. The patient group received tDCS once a day, 5 days a week for 2 weeks. Before and after the intervention, they were assessed using the Chinese psycholinguistic aphasia assessment (PACA) instrument. The activation of speech-related brain areas in everyone was quantified using resting state functional magnetic imaging (rs-fMRI).Results:After treatment the average PACA image naming scores of both the acute and convalescent groups had improved significantly. ALFF showed significant positive activation in the patient group′s right inferior temporal gyrus and negative activation in their left posterior central gyrus, while ReHo was significantly and positively activated in the right orbital superior frontal gyrus, the left medial superior frontal gyrus, the pericalar fissure cortex and the left parietal gyrus. It was, however, significantly negatively activated in the right posterior central gyrus. In the acute stage group, the ALFF was significantly and positively activated in the right superior frontal gyrus and right angular gyrus after the treatment, while the significant positive ReHo activation was in the right direct gyrus, the right angular gyrus, the right superior frontal gyrus and the right inferior temporal gyrus. In the convalescent group after the intervention the ALFF was significantly and positively activated in the left middle occipital gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus but negatively and significantly activated in the right insula, while ReHo was significantly and positively activated in the left superior temporal gyrus and the right angular gyrus.Conclusions:tDCS can improve the image naming of aphasic stroke survivors. The compensatory activation of language function is mainly in the right hemisphere in the acute stage, but in the convalescent stage the unimpaired brain area of the left cerebral hemisphere is also activated. The long-term recovery of language functioning may be the result of synergy between the hemispheres.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in tertiary hospitals in major regions of China in 2022.Methods Clinical isolates from 58 hospitals in China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2022 Clinical &Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints.Results A total of 318 013 clinical isolates were collected from January 1,2022 to December 31,2022,of which 29.5％were gram-positive and 70.5％were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species(excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi)was 28.3％,76.7％and 77.9％,respectively.Overall,94.0％of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 90.8％of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis showed significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 94.2％in the isolates from children and 95.7％in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 13.1％in most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,21.7％-23.1％of which were resistant to carbapenems.Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.1％to 13.3％.The prevalence of meropenem-resistant strains decreased from 23.5％in 2019 to 18.0％in 2022 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and decreased from 79.0％in 2019 to 72.5％in 2022 in Acinetobacter baumannii.Conclusions The resistance of clinical isolates to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still increasing in tertiary hospitals.However,the prevalence of important carbapenem-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a downward trend in recent years.This finding suggests that the strategy of combining antimicrobial resistance surveillance with multidisciplinary concerted action works well in curbing the spread of resistant bacteria.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of the common pathogens isolated from urine from 2015 to 2021 in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program.Methods The bacterial strains were isolated from urine and identified routinely in 51 hospitals across China in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program from 2015 to 2021.Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by Kirby-Bauer method,automatic microbiological analysis system and E-test according to the unified protocol.Results A total of 261 893 nonduplicate strains were isolated from urine specimen from 2015 to 2021,of which gram-positive bacteria accounted for 23.8％(62 219/261 893),and gram-negative bacteria 76.2％(199 674/261 893).The most common species were E.coli(46.7％),E.faecium(10.4％),K.pneumoniae(9.8％),E.faecalis(8.7％),P.mirabilis(3.5％),P.aeruginosa(3.4％),SS.agalactiae(2.6％),and E.cloacae(2.1％).The strains were more frequently isolated from inpatients versus outpatients and emergency patients,from females versus males,and from adults versus children.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing strains in E.coli,K.pneumoniae and P.mirabilis was 53.2％,52.8％and 37.0％,respectively.The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant strains in E.coli,K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii was 1.7％,18.5％,16.4％,and 40.3％,respectively.Lower than 10％of the E.faecalis isolates were resistant to ampicillin,nitrofurantoin,linezolid,vancomycin,teicoplanin and fosfomycin.More than 90％of the E.faecium isolates were ressitant to ampicillin,levofloxacin and erythromycin.The percentage of strains resistant to vancomycin,linezolid or teicoplanin was＜2％.The E.coli,K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa and A.baumannii strains isolated from ICU inpatients showed significantly higher resistance rates than the corresponding strains isolated from outpatients and non-ICU inpatients.Conclusions E.coli,Enterococcus and K.pneumoniae are the most common pathogens in urinary tract infection.The bacterial species and antimicrobial resistance of urinary isolates vary with different populations.More attention should be paid to antimicrobial resistance surveillance and reduce the irrational use of antimicrobial agents.

Objective To understand the distribution and changing resistance profiles of clinical isolates of Enterococcus in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted for the clinical isolates of Enterococcus according to the unified protocol of CHINET program by automated systems,Kirby-Bauer method,or E-test strip.The results were interpreted according to the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints in 2021.WHONET 5.6 software was used for statistical analysis.Results A total of 124 565 strains of Enterococcus were isolated during the 7-year period,mainly including Enterococcus faecalis(50.7％)and Enterococcus faecalis(41.5％).The strains were mainly isolated from urinary tract specimens(46.9％±2.6％),and primarily from the patients in the department of internal medicine,surgery and ICU.E.faecium and E.faecalis strains showed low level resistance rate to vancomycin,teicoplanin and linezolid(≤3.6％).The prevalence of vancomycin-resistant E.faecalis and E.faecium was 0.1％and 1.3％,respectively.The prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecalis increased from 0.7％in 2015 to 3.4％in 2021,while the prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecium was 0.3％.Conclusions The clinical isolates of Enterococcus were still highly susceptible to vancomycin,teicoplanin,and linezolid,evidenced by a low resistance rate.However,the prevalence of linezolid-resistant E.faecalis was increasing during the 7-year period.It is necessary to strengthen antimicrobial resistance surveillance to effectively identify the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and curb the spread of resistant pathogens.