1.Research on The Role of Dopamine in Regulating Sleep and Wakefulness Through Exercise
Li-Juan HOU ; Ya-Xuan GENG ; Ke LI ; Zhao-Yang HUANG ; Lan-Qun MAO
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):88-98
Sleep is an instinctive behavior alternating awakening state, sleep entails many active processes occurring at the cellular, circuit and organismal levels. The function of sleep is to restore cellular energy, enhance immunity, promote growth and development, consolidate learning and memory to ensure normal life activities. However, with the increasing of social pressure involved in work and life, the incidence of sleep disorders (SD) is increasing year by year. In the short term, sleep disorders lead to impaired memory and attention; in the longer term, it produces neurological dysfunction or even death. There are many ways to directly or indirectly contribute to sleep disorder and keep the hormones, including pharmacological alternative treatments, light therapy and stimulus control therapy. Exercise is also an effective and healthy therapeutic strategy for improving sleep. The intensities, time periods, and different types of exercise have different health benefits for sleep, which can be found through indicators such as sleep quality, sleep efficiency and total sleep time. So it is more and more important to analyze the mechanism and find effective regulation targets during sleep disorder through exercise. Dopamine (DA) is an important neurotransmitter in the nervous system, which not only participates in action initiation, movement regulation and emotion regulation, but also plays a key role in the steady-state remodeling of sleep-awakening state transition. Appreciable evidence shows that sleep disorder on humans and rodents evokes anomalies in the dopaminergic signaling, which are also implicated in the development of psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia or substance abuse. Experiments have shown that DA in different neural pathways plays different regulatory roles in sleep behavior, we found that increasing evidence from rodent studies revealed a role for ventral tegmental area DA neurons in regulating sleep-wake patterns. DA signal transduction and neurotransmitter release patterns have complex interactions with behavioral regulation. In addition, experiments have shown that exercise causes changes in DA homeostasis in the brain, which may regulate sleep through different mechanisms, including cAMP response element binding protein signal transduction, changes in the circadian rhythm of biological clock genes, and interactions with endogenous substances such as adenosine, which affect neuronal structure and play a neuroprotective role. This review aims to introduce the regulatory effects of exercise on sleep disorder, especially the regulatory mechanism of DA in this process. The analysis of intracerebral DA signals also requires support from neurophysiological and chemical techniques. Our laboratory has established and developed an in vivo brain neurochemical analysis platform, which provides support for future research on the regulation of sleep-wake cycles by movement. We hope it can provide theoretical reference for the formulation of exercise prescription for clinical sleep disorder and give some advice to the combined intervention of drugs and exercise.
2.Enhancer remodeling characteristics in diffuse-type gastric cancer and role in upregulating GDF15 expression and promoting cancer cachexia
Yuting TAN ; Linyu WU ; Yuwei PAN ; Shiyin PENG ; Rui XUE ; Xianfeng LI ; Zhaole CHU ; Biying LIU ; Ke LI ; Xuan ZHANG ; Bin WANG
Journal of Army Medical University 2025;47(11):1165-1176
Objective To identify the enhancer landscape marked by histone H3K27ac modifications in diffuse-type gastric cancer(DGC)tissues,and to elucidate the epigenetic remodeling mechanisms by which active enhancers regulate cachexia-related genes.Methods Gastric mucosal tissue samples were collected from Department of Gastroenterology of Army Medical Center of PLA during January 2022 to March 2023,including 10 normal gastric mucosa tissues(Normal group),10 DGC tissues diagnosed with cachexia(DGC group),and 10 organoids derived from DGC tissues(Organoid group).Using H3K27ac chromatin targeting cleavage and tagmentation(CUT&Tag)technology,genomic modification regions were captured to screen specific active enhancers and their potential target genes in DGC tissues.CRISPR-dCas9 gene editing technology was used to intervene with the enhancers,and the expression of target genes was detected with Western blotting and qRT-PCR.Sixteen female SPF-grade BALB/c Nude mice(6~8 weeks old,weighing 18~21 g)were utilized to establish an orthotopic xenograft tumor model using the human diffuse-type gastric cancer cell line MKN45.Cachexia-related phenotypes were evaluated in 3 groups:normal group(n=4),silencing group(n=6),and control group(n=6).Results Significant differential enhancer regions were identified between DGC and normal gastric mucosa tissues.DGC tissues exhibited a marked increase in enhancer abundance(P<0.05)and signal intensity when compared with the normal counterparts.Integrated analysis of transcriptome data revealed that some of these active enhancers up-regulated the expression of GDF15,a cachexia-associated target gene in DGC.Targeted silencing of the active enhancer of GDF15 using CRISPR/dCas9-KRAB plasmid technology resulted in a significant reduction in GDF15 expression at both mRNA levels(P<0.05)and protein.Results from orthotopic transplantation experiments of DGC demonstrated that silencing of active enhancers alleviated the cachexia phenotype in nude mice(P<0.05).Conclusion DGC exhibits enhancer remodeling,which regulates the expression of the cachexia-associated gene GDF15,and thereby contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of cancer cachexia.
3.Corylifol A ameliorates Lewis lung carcinoma induced cachexia in mice
Nan LI ; Rui-qin ZHANG ; Ke YU ; Qiong-sen WANG ; Xiao CHEN ; Xiong-wen ZHANG ; Xuan LIU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(9):1672-1679
Aim To investigate the therapeutic effects of corylifol A(CYA)on Lewis lung carcinoma(LLC)cachexia mice and its ameliorating effects on myotube atrophy induced by LLC cell-conditioned medium(LLC CM)in vitro,and to explore the mechanisms.Methods The cancer cachexia was induced by subcu-taneous inoculation of LLC cells to C57BL/6J mice.The effects of CYA(10,20 mg·kg-1·d-1,i.p.)on the cachexia symptoms and survival time of cachexia mice were observed.The effects of 2.5 or 5 μmol·L-1 CYA on myotube atrophy of C2C12 induced by LLC CM were observed.The effects of CYA on its pos-sible target the serine/threonine-protein kinase TAO1(TAOK1)and downstream signaling pathways were detected using Western blot.The influence of TAOK1 knockout on the ameliorating effects of CYA on myo-tube atrophy was observed.Results CYA could sig-nificantly prolong the survival time of tumor-bearing mice and ameliorate the muscle atrophy associated with LLC.The effects of CYA on myotube atrophy are relat-ed to its regulation of TAOK1.The effects of CYA could be reduced by knockout of TAOK1.Conclusions CYA improves the survival of LLC cachexia mice and ameliorates the related skeletal muscle atrophy.The mechanism of CYA is related to its inhibition on TAOK1 and downstream signaling pathways.
4.Banxia Xiexin Decoction reshapes tryptophan metabolism to inhibit progression of colon cancer.
Yi-Fang JIANG ; Yu-Qing HUANG ; Heng-Zhou LAI ; Xue-Ke LI ; Liu-Yi LONG ; Feng-Ming YOU ; Qi-Xuan KUANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(5):1310-1320
This study explores the effect and mechanism of Banxia Xiexin Decoction(BXD) in inhibiting colon cancer progression by reshaping tryptophan metabolism. Balb/c mice were assigned into control, model, low-dose BXD(BXD-L), and high-dose BXD(BXD-H) groups. Except the control group, the other groups were subcutaneously injected with CT26-Luc cells for the modeling of colon cancer, which was followed by the intervention with BXD. Small animal live imaging was employed to monitor tumor growth, and the tumor volume and weight were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining was used to observe the pathological changes in mouse tumors. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect Ki67 expression in tumors. Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry were used to detect the infiltration and number changes of CD3~+/CD8~+ T cells in the tumor tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was employed to measure the levels of interferon-gamma(IFN-γ) and interleukin-2(IL-2) in tumors. Targeted metabolomics was employed to measure the level of tryptophan(Trp) in the serum, and the Trp content in the tumor tissue was measured. Western blot and RT-qPCR were employed to determine the protein and mRNA levels, respectively, of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1(IDO1), MYC proto-oncogene, and solute carrier family 7 member 5(SLC7A5) in the tumor tissue. Additionally, a co-culture model with CT26 cells and CD8~+ T cells was established in vitro and treated with the BXD-containing serum. The cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay was used to examine the viability of CT26 cells. The content of Trp in CT26 cells and CD8~+ T cells, as well as the secretion of IFN-γ and IL-2 by CD8~+ T cells, was measured. RT-qPCR was used to determine the mRNA levels of MYC and SLC7A5 in CT26 cells. The results showed that BXD significantly inhibited the tumor growth, reduced the tumor weight, and decreased the tumor volume in the model mice. In addition, the model mice showed sparse arrangement of tumor cells, varying degrees of patchy necrosis, and downregulated expression of Ki67 in the tumor tissue. BXD elevated the levels of IFN-γ and IL-2 in the tumor tissue, while upregulating the ratio of CD3~+/CD8~+ T cells and lowering the levels of Trp, IDO1, MYC, and SLC7A5. The co-culture experiment showed that BXD-containing serum reduced Trp uptake by CT26 cells, increased Trp content in CD8~+T cells, enhanced IL-2 and IFN-γ secretion of CD8~+T cells, and down-regulated the mRNA levels of MYC and SLC7A5 in CT26 cells. In summary, BXD can inhibit the MYC/SLC7A5 pathway to reshape Trp metabolism and adjust Trp uptake by CD8~+ T cells to enhance the cytotoxicity, thereby inhibiting the development of colon cancer.
Animals
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Tryptophan/metabolism*
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Colonic Neoplasms/pathology*
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Mice
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*
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Mice, Inbred BALB C
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Humans
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Cell Line, Tumor
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Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase/metabolism*
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Female
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Disease Progression
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Cell Proliferation/drug effects*
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Proto-Oncogene Mas
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Male
5.Inhibitory effect of phillyrin on myocardial fibrosis in diabetes mellitus rats by activating PI3K/AKT/eNOS signaling pathway
Xuan KE ; Yuanheng ZHANG ; Dongsheng LI ; Long YAN ; Bei WAN
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(8):1873-1878
Objective:To study the inhibitory effect of phillyrin(PN)on myocardial fibrosis in diabetes mellitus(DM)rats and its mechanism.Methods:Sixty SD rats were randomly assigned:control group,DM group,low-dose PN group(10 mg/kg),high-dose PN group(30 mg/kg)and LY294002 group(PN 30 mg/kg+PI3K inhibitor 100 mg/kg),with 12 rats in each group,DM model was constructed by streptozotocin.After 8 weeks of drug intervention,FBG was measured with a blood glucose meter,the LVFS,LVEF,LVPWT and E/A were measured by echocardiography;HE staining and Masson staining were used to changes of myocardium,and the CVF was measured;ELISA was used to detect the Vaspin,TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 in myocardium;Western blot was used to detect the expressions of α-SMA,FSP-1,CD31,COL1,PI3K,p-PI3K,AKT,p-AKT,eNOS and p-eNOS in myocardium.Results:Compared with the control group,the myocardial cells in DM group were swollen,gaps were enlarged,and collagen fibers were in-creased,the levels of FBG,CVF,Vaspin,TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6,α-SMA,FSP-1 and COL1 were increased obviously,the levels of LVFS,LVEF,LVPWT,E/A,CD31,p-PI3K/PI3K,p-AKT/AKT,p-eNOS/eNOS were reduced obviously(P<0.05).Compared with the DM group,the swelling of myocardial cells,the normal gap,and the decrease of collagen fibers in the low-dose and high-dose PN groups were reduced,the levels of FBG,CVF,Vaspin,TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6,α-SMA,FSP-1 and COL1 were decreased obviously,the LVFS,LVEF,LVPWT,E/A,CD31,levels of p-PI3K/PI3K,p-AKT/AKT,p-eNOS/eNOS were increased obviously(P<0.05).LY294002,AKT/eNOS pathway inhibitor,obviously weakened the relieving effect of PN on myocardial fibrosis in DM rats.Conclu-sion:PN may improve cardiac function,reduce myocardial fibrosis and inhibit endothelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation(EndMT)in DM rats by activating PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway.
6.Tonifying kidney and activating blood therapy for the treatment of diabetic erectile dysfunction:A systematic review and meta-analysis
Mao-ke CHEN ; Ke-cheng LI ; Jun-long FENG ; Xiang-fa LIN ; Wen-xuan DONG ; Zi-xiang GAO ; Hua-nan ZHANG ; Hui CHEN ; Ji-sheng WANG ; Bin WANG
National Journal of Andrology 2025;31(9):832-840
Objective:To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Tonifying kidney and activating blood thera-py for the treatment of diabetic mellitus erectile dysfunction.Methods:China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Data,VIP,Chinese Biomedical Database(CBM),PubMed,Cochrane Library,Embase and Web of Science were searched from incep-tion until October 20th of 2024,for randomized controlled trials of Tonifying kidney and activating blood therapy for the treatment of dia-betic erectile dysfunction.Literature screening,quality evaluation,and data extraction were carried out in accordance with relevant standards.The software of RevMan5.4 was used for the analysis of publication bias.And meta-analysis was conducted to assess the im-pact of this therapy on IIEF-5,total effective rate,adverse reactions.The evidence levels according to the analysis results were evalua-ted.Results:Totally 19 RCTs were included,involving 1 612 patients.The result of meta-analysis indicated that Tonifying kidney and activating blood therapy had advantages on the improvement of IIEF-5 scores(MD=3.59,95%CI[2.14,5.03],P<0.01),total effective rate(OR=4.30,95%CI[3.29,5.32],P<0.000 01).However,there was no statistically significant difference in the inci-dence of adverse reactions(OR=0.98,95%CI[0.48,2.01],P=0.96)between the two groups.Conclusions:Tonifying kidney and activating blood therapy can improve the clinical efficacy and IIEF-5 score for the patients with diabetic erectile dysfunction.But considering the limited quantity of included studies,more high-quality studies still be needed to validate the therapeutic effect.
7.Inhibitory effect of phillyrin on myocardial fibrosis in diabetes mellitus rats by activating PI3K/AKT/eNOS signaling pathway
Xuan KE ; Yuanheng ZHANG ; Dongsheng LI ; Long YAN ; Bei WAN
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(8):1873-1878
Objective:To study the inhibitory effect of phillyrin(PN)on myocardial fibrosis in diabetes mellitus(DM)rats and its mechanism.Methods:Sixty SD rats were randomly assigned:control group,DM group,low-dose PN group(10 mg/kg),high-dose PN group(30 mg/kg)and LY294002 group(PN 30 mg/kg+PI3K inhibitor 100 mg/kg),with 12 rats in each group,DM model was constructed by streptozotocin.After 8 weeks of drug intervention,FBG was measured with a blood glucose meter,the LVFS,LVEF,LVPWT and E/A were measured by echocardiography;HE staining and Masson staining were used to changes of myocardium,and the CVF was measured;ELISA was used to detect the Vaspin,TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 in myocardium;Western blot was used to detect the expressions of α-SMA,FSP-1,CD31,COL1,PI3K,p-PI3K,AKT,p-AKT,eNOS and p-eNOS in myocardium.Results:Compared with the control group,the myocardial cells in DM group were swollen,gaps were enlarged,and collagen fibers were in-creased,the levels of FBG,CVF,Vaspin,TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6,α-SMA,FSP-1 and COL1 were increased obviously,the levels of LVFS,LVEF,LVPWT,E/A,CD31,p-PI3K/PI3K,p-AKT/AKT,p-eNOS/eNOS were reduced obviously(P<0.05).Compared with the DM group,the swelling of myocardial cells,the normal gap,and the decrease of collagen fibers in the low-dose and high-dose PN groups were reduced,the levels of FBG,CVF,Vaspin,TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6,α-SMA,FSP-1 and COL1 were decreased obviously,the LVFS,LVEF,LVPWT,E/A,CD31,levels of p-PI3K/PI3K,p-AKT/AKT,p-eNOS/eNOS were increased obviously(P<0.05).LY294002,AKT/eNOS pathway inhibitor,obviously weakened the relieving effect of PN on myocardial fibrosis in DM rats.Conclu-sion:PN may improve cardiac function,reduce myocardial fibrosis and inhibit endothelial mesenchymal transdifferentiation(EndMT)in DM rats by activating PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway.
8.Corylifol A ameliorates Lewis lung carcinoma induced cachexia in mice
Nan LI ; Rui-qin ZHANG ; Ke YU ; Qiong-sen WANG ; Xiao CHEN ; Xiong-wen ZHANG ; Xuan LIU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(9):1672-1679
Aim To investigate the therapeutic effects of corylifol A(CYA)on Lewis lung carcinoma(LLC)cachexia mice and its ameliorating effects on myotube atrophy induced by LLC cell-conditioned medium(LLC CM)in vitro,and to explore the mechanisms.Methods The cancer cachexia was induced by subcu-taneous inoculation of LLC cells to C57BL/6J mice.The effects of CYA(10,20 mg·kg-1·d-1,i.p.)on the cachexia symptoms and survival time of cachexia mice were observed.The effects of 2.5 or 5 μmol·L-1 CYA on myotube atrophy of C2C12 induced by LLC CM were observed.The effects of CYA on its pos-sible target the serine/threonine-protein kinase TAO1(TAOK1)and downstream signaling pathways were detected using Western blot.The influence of TAOK1 knockout on the ameliorating effects of CYA on myo-tube atrophy was observed.Results CYA could sig-nificantly prolong the survival time of tumor-bearing mice and ameliorate the muscle atrophy associated with LLC.The effects of CYA on myotube atrophy are relat-ed to its regulation of TAOK1.The effects of CYA could be reduced by knockout of TAOK1.Conclusions CYA improves the survival of LLC cachexia mice and ameliorates the related skeletal muscle atrophy.The mechanism of CYA is related to its inhibition on TAOK1 and downstream signaling pathways.
9.Association of hippocampal subfield volumes and cross-domain associative memory impairment in patients with schizophrenia
Zhao-lin ZHAI ; Di CHANG ; Xuan LI ; Chang LU ; Yu-ke DONG ; Yan WANG ; Chun-hong SHAO ; Qing KANG ; Deng-tang LIU
Fudan University Journal of Medical Sciences 2025;52(6):775-782
Objective To investigate the possible association between cross-domain associative memory(AM)impairment and hippocampal subfield volumes in patients with schizophrenia(SCZ).Methods We enrolled 28 SCZ patients from Shanghai Mental Health Center,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine,and 28 healthy controls(HCs)between 2019 and 2021.Based on an innovative AM paradigm and automated segmentation,3D-T1 weighted data of the objects were processed with PhiPipe and FreeSurfer.Differences in subfield volums between the two groups were analyzed using ANCOVA,while their relationship with AM scores was assessed using Pearson correlation.Results SCZ patients exhibited significantly poorer AM performance across three conditions compared with HCs.Marginally significant reductions were observed in the total volume of bilateral hippocampus,encompassing both the hippocampal head and body.Significant volume reductions were identified in the bilateral presubiculum and parasubiculum.The volumes of bilateral presubiculum head(r=0.273,P=0.042),parasubiculum(r=0.397,P=0.002),and CA1 head(r=0.382,P=0.004)exhibited positive correlations with cross-domain AM performance.Conclusion The bilateral presubiculum and parasubiculum,as hippocampal subregions significantly associated with cross-modal AM deficits in SCZ,may play a crucial role in the pathology of AM.
10.Association of hippocampal subfield volumes and cross-domain associative memory impairment in patients with schizophrenia
Zhao-lin ZHAI ; Di CHANG ; Xuan LI ; Chang LU ; Yu-ke DONG ; Yan WANG ; Chun-hong SHAO ; Qing KANG ; Deng-tang LIU
Fudan University Journal of Medical Sciences 2025;52(6):775-782
Objective To investigate the possible association between cross-domain associative memory(AM)impairment and hippocampal subfield volumes in patients with schizophrenia(SCZ).Methods We enrolled 28 SCZ patients from Shanghai Mental Health Center,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine,and 28 healthy controls(HCs)between 2019 and 2021.Based on an innovative AM paradigm and automated segmentation,3D-T1 weighted data of the objects were processed with PhiPipe and FreeSurfer.Differences in subfield volums between the two groups were analyzed using ANCOVA,while their relationship with AM scores was assessed using Pearson correlation.Results SCZ patients exhibited significantly poorer AM performance across three conditions compared with HCs.Marginally significant reductions were observed in the total volume of bilateral hippocampus,encompassing both the hippocampal head and body.Significant volume reductions were identified in the bilateral presubiculum and parasubiculum.The volumes of bilateral presubiculum head(r=0.273,P=0.042),parasubiculum(r=0.397,P=0.002),and CA1 head(r=0.382,P=0.004)exhibited positive correlations with cross-domain AM performance.Conclusion The bilateral presubiculum and parasubiculum,as hippocampal subregions significantly associated with cross-modal AM deficits in SCZ,may play a crucial role in the pathology of AM.

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