1.Construction of Saikosaponin D Multifunctional Liposomes and Evaluation of Its Anti-liver Cancer Efficacy and Targeting
Kun YU ; Guochun YANG ; Yaliang JIANG ; Yunting XIAO ; Congxian WANG ; Qionge SUN ; Ziyue LI ; Yikun SHANG ; Yu MAO ; Xin CHENG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(9):205-216
ObjectiveTo construct a multifunctional liposomal delivery system by replacing cholesterol(Chol) in conventional liposomes with saikosaponin D(SSD) and modifying with poloxamer 407(P407) for co-delivery of curcumin(Cur). The system was evaluated for in vivo tumor targeting and inhibitory effects on mouse subcutaneous solid tumors. MethodsSingle-factor and orthogonal tests combined with information entropy weighting were used to optimize the formulation process of the liposome with encapsulation efficiency and absolute Zeta potential as indexes, and validation studies and liposomal characterization were performed. A subcutaneous solid tumor model was established by injecting H22 hepatocellular carcinoma cells subcutaneously into the dorsal surface of the right forelimb of mice. DiR-loaded traditional Chol liposomes(P407-DiR-Chol-LPs, PDCL) and novel SSD-based liposomes(P407-DiR-SSD-LPs, PDSL) were prepared by the optimized formulation process, and tail vein injection was performed to investigate the impact of SSD on liposome tumor targeting with small animal in vivo imaging. Mice were randomly divided into eight groups, including blank group, model group, free doxorubicin(DOX) group(2 mg·kg-1), free Cur group(8 mg·kg-1), free SSD group(10 mg·kg-1), P407-Cur-Chol-LPs(PCCL) group, P407-SSD-LPs(PSL) group, and P407-Cur-SSD-Lps(PCSL) group. Treatments were administered intraperitoneally every other day for seven doses. Antitumor efficacy and biocompatibility were evaluated by monitoring body weight change, organ indices, tumor volume and mass, relative tumor proliferation rate(T/C), and tumor growth inhibition rate(TGI). Histopathological analysis of liver, kidney, and tumor tissues was performed using hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. Serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase(AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), and creatinine(Crea)in mice were quantified by fully automated biochemical analyzer. ResultsOrthogonal test yielded optimal ratios of Cur, SSD, and P407 to soybean phosphatidylcholine(SPC) as 1∶25, 1∶20, and 1∶4. The optimized PCSL exhibited spherical morphology with a particle size of 179.15 nm, a Zeta potential of -47.25 mV, and an encapsulation efficiency of 96.40%. Its in vitro release profile conformed to first-order kinetics, demonstrating excellent storage stability and hemocompatibility. In vivo imaging revealed that the fluorescence signal in tumor tissues and the fluorescence intensity ratio between tumors and organs were significantly higher in the PDSL group than in the PDCL group(P<0.05, P<0.01). Among the treatment groups, PCSL group showed superior efficacy over free Cur group, free SSD group, PCCL group, and PSL group, with TGI>40% and T/C<60%, indicating pronounced anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effects(P<0.05, P<0.01). Histopathology and serum biochemistry indicated minimal hepatorenal toxicity and improved hepatic and renal function in PCSL-treated mice. ConclusionReplacing Chol with SSD in preparing multifunctional drug delivery systems not only stabilizes liposomes but also yields superior anti-hepatocellular carcinoma efficacy, achieving the effect of drug-excipient integration. Co-delivery of Cur via this system can be used for treating subcutaneous solid tumors in hepatocellular carcinoma, providing new insights and technical approaches for anti-hepatocellular carcinoma research and the meridian-guiding and messenger-directing theory in traditional Chinese medicine.
2.Improved YOLOv8 algorithm-based detection of pulmonary nodules in CT images
Chinese Medical Equipment Journal 2025;46(8):1-10
Objective To propose an improved YOLOv8 algorithm based on polarized self-attention(PSA)and deformable attention(DAT)so as to enhance the detection of pulmonary nodules in CT images.Methods A basic framework was established with a YOLOv8 model consisting of a backbone network(Backbone),a neck module(Neck)and a head module(Head).PSA was introduced into the end of the spatial pyramid pooling-fast(SPPF)of Backbone to construct a YOLOv8-PSA algorithm,and DAT was involved in the medium-scale feature layer P4 in Head to form a YOLOv8-DAT algorithm.The YOLOv8-PSA and YOLOv8-DAT algorithms were trained and validated using the CT image dataset of pulmonary nodules from public platforms,and compared with the original YOLOv8 algorithm for the detection of pulmonary nodule lesions in CT images.Results When used for pulmonary module detection of CT images,the YOLOv8-DAT algorithm had the mean average precision(mAP)in case of intersection over union threshold of 0.5(mAP50),mAP in case of intersection over union threshold of 0.5 to 0.95(mAP50-95)and precision ratio being 0.918,0.588 and 0.960 respectively,which gained advantages over the YOLOv8-PSA algorithm with mAP50,mAP50-95 and precision ratio being 0.914,0.583 and 0.945 respectively,and over the original YOLOv8 algorithm with mAP50,mAP50-95 and precision ratio being 0.911,0.564 and 0.952 respectively.Conclusion The YOLOv8-DAT algorithm detects pulmonary modules in CT images effectively,and facilitates early screening and diagnosis of pulmonary modules clinically.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(8):1-10]
3.Symptoms and quality of life benefits of successful percutaneous coronary intervention in left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease patients with diabetes
Bo-da ZHU ; Tian-tong YU ; Peng HAN ; Bo-hui ZHANG ; Xi ZHANG ; Ping YUAN ; Gang WANG ; Yi YANG ; Hui-li ZHU ; Pan-pan SUN ; Tong-tong LI ; Shuai ZHAO ; Cheng-xiang LI ; Kun LIAN
Chinese Journal of Interventional Cardiology 2025;33(2):93-100
Objective To investigate whether successful percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)could improve symptoms and quality of life(QOL)in left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease patients with diabetes.Methods Patients with left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease who underwent PCI in the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from April 2018 to May 2021 were consecutively enrolled and subdivided into 2 groups:diabetes and no diabetes.Detailed baseline characteristics,symptoms,including dyspnea and angina,assessed with the Rose dyspnea scale(RDS),Seattle angina questionnaire(SAQ),the European quality of life-5 dimensions(EQ-5D)and 12-item short-form health survey(SF-12)questionnaire respectively,procedural details,and 1 month and 1 year follow-up data were collected.Results Among 440 left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease patients,disease was present in 176(40.00%),who had more hypertension,peripheral artery disease,and LCX lesion(all P<0.05).The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)and all-cause mortality were similar between the two groups(both P>0.05)at 1 month follow-up,while all-cause mortality in diabetes patients was significantly higher than those without diabetes at 1 year follow-up(P=0.013).Low left ventricular ejection fraction was an independent risk factor for MACE and all-cause mortality at 1 month and 1 year follow-up after successful revascularization(all P<0.05).Most importantly,symptoms,including dyspnea and angina,and QOL were markedly improved regardless of diabetes both at 1 month and 1 year follow-up(all P<0.05).Diabetes patients showed improved dyspnea and QOL at similar degree to the non-diabetes patients(all P>0.05)and a more significantly relieved angina(P=0.013).Additionally,the number of chronic total occlusion(CTO)per patient was identified as an independent risk factor of dyspnea(OR 0.723,95%CI 0.525~0.997,P=0.048)and angina relief(OR 0.686,95%CI 0.473~0.995,P=0.047),and the contrast volume(OR 0.995,95%CI 0.992~0.999,P=0.008)as an independent risk factor of QOL improvement in diabetic patients.Conclusions Successful PCI is beneficial for relieving symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with diabetes who have left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease.
4.Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv3641c inhibits macrophage type Ⅰ interferon responses and promotes intracellular survival in macrophages
Wen JIN ; Min GENG ; Su-jie HU ; Xin-yang ZHANG ; Wen-qin LI ; Cheng-kun ZHENG ; Xin-an JIAO ; Xiang CHEN ; Zheng-zhong XU
Chinese Journal of Zoonoses 2025;41(4):385-391
This study was aimed at investigating the immunoregulatory function of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv3641c gene in modulating host type Ⅰ interferon responses.The shuttle plasmid pMV261 was used to construct Rv3641c overexpression recombinant Mycobacterium smegmatis,and the biological characteristics of the recombinant bacteria were analyzed to explore the effect of Rv3641c on the growth curve,colony morphology and stress resistance of Mycobacterium.Subsequently,RAW264.7 cells were infected with Rv3641c overexpressing Mycobacterium smegmatis,and the transcriptional expression of genes related to the inhibition of type I inter-feron pathway was determined by RT-PCR.The expression level of IFN-βprotein was determined by ELISA,and the intracellular sur-vival level was determined.As a result,the recombinant rMS::pMV261-Rv3641c was successfully constructed.The results of biologi-cal characteristics analysis showed that Rv3641c did not affect the growth of mycobacteria,but significantly changed the colony mor-phology of mycobacteria and improved its resistance to H2O2.The results of recombinant bacteria infection experiments showed that Rv3641c significantly down-regulated the transcription levels of IFN-α,IFN-βand downstream ISGs genes CXCL10,IFIT2 and IL-1β in host cells,and Rv3641c significantly down-regulated the transcription levels of IFN-α,IFN-βand downstream ISGs genes CXCL10,IFIT2 and IL-1βin host cells.The results of intracellular colonization experiments showed that the intracellular mycobacte-ria in the overexpression recombinant bacteria infection group were significantly higher than those in the empty vector group,indicat-ing that Rv3641c could promote the intracellular surviv al of mycobacteria.In summary,the Rv3641c gene of M.tuberculosis can inhibit the host type I interferon response and promote the intracellular survival of M.tuberculosis,which provides a new idea for further explor-ing the immune escape function of M.tuberculosis and the discovery of new targets for anti-tuberculosis drugs.
5.Prediction of pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy by multi-phase enhanced CT radiomics model
Tianxin CHENG ; Hongwei WU ; Zhixiang WANG ; Piao YAN ; Xiaoyang LI ; Zhenhao LIU ; Kuinan TONG ; Kun LIU ; Hui XU ; Zhenghan YANG
Journal of Practical Radiology 2025;41(4):603-607
Objective To compare the ability of single-phase,dual-phase,and triphasic models in forecasting postoperative pancreatic fistula(POPF)after pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD)using radiomics based on triphasic enhanced CT.Methods A total of 181 patients who underwent multi-phase enhanced CT prior to PD were retrospectively selected,and the collection phase included non-contrast,arterial phase(AP),and equilibrium phase(EP).3D Slicer software was utilized to segment the region of interest(ROI)for the postoperative pancreatic remnant on each phase.Radiomics feature extraction was performed using R software,followed by feature selection through least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression with five-fold cross-validation to prevent model overfitting.The effective features selected were combined in a weighted linear manner to obtain a Radiomics score(Radscore).The patients were divided into training set and test set in a 7︰3 ratio.Logistic regression was employed to construct seven POPF prediction models(three single-phase,three dual-phase,and one triphasic models)based on different phase combinations.The diagnostic performance of the models was evaluated using the area under the curve(AUC)of receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve,accuracy(ACC),sensitivity(SEN),and specificity(SPE).The DeLong test was applied to compare the differences in AUC among different models.Results After LASSO regression,24 effective features associated with POPF were selected from different phases.In the test set,the triphasic model exhibited the highest AUC and ACC(AUC=0.76,ACC=0.808).The calibration curve demonstrated the strongest agreement between the estimated probabilities and observed probabilities for the triphasic model.The decision curve analysis(DCA)curve indicated that the triphasic model had the largest threshold range with a higher net benefit.Conclusion Compared with single-phase and dual-phase models,the triphasic model based on enhanced CT provides better prediction of POPF after PD,aiding clinical decision-making and improve prognosis.
6.Research Progress of New State of Pharmaceutical Substance of the Proton Pump Inhibitors
Kun HU ; Wenwen WANG ; Cheng XING ; Zhaolin GAO ; Li ZHANG ; Yang LYU
Herald of Medicine 2025;44(6):874-881
Currently,the first-generation of proton pump inhibitors(PPIs)commonly utilized in clinical practice for the treatment of peptic ulcer include omeprazole,lansoprazole,and pantoprazole,and the second generation include rabeprazole and esomeprazole.The predominant mode of PPI administration is oral,which poses numerous challenges in clinical settings owing to their poor solubility,susceptibility to gastric acid degradation,short half-life,and limited stability.This article presents a comprehensive review of studies exploring the novel states of these five PPIs,include polymorphism,co-crystal drugs,and nanodrugs.Furthermore,it summarizes the advancements in research aimed at modifying the physicochemical properties of these drugs through innovative solid states,thereby enhancing their bioavailability and stability.This work offers a new perspective for researchers endeavoring to develop new states of pharmaceutical substances that incorporate PPIs.
7.The Role of β-catenin in Hypoxia-reoxygenation Injury of Human Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells
Bo JIANG ; Gang XU ; Guan-cheng XIAO ; Kun-lin XIE ; Chen LI
Progress in Modern Biomedicine 2025;25(9):1478-1487
Objective:To investigate the changes and effects of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway during hypoxia-reoxygenation in human renal tubular epithelial(HK-2)cells.Methods:HK-2 cells were randomly divided into control group(Control),model group(Model),model+interference empty vector group(Model+NC),and model+interference group(Model+Si-β-catenin).Cells in the control group were cultured routinely.Cells in the Model group were intervened with hypoxia for 6 hours and reoxygenation for 2 hours to construct a hypoxia-reoxygenation model.HK-2 cells in the Model+NC group and the Model+Si-β-catenin group were transfected with β-catenin interference empty vector and β-catenin interference vector respectively,and then a hypoxia-reoxygenation model was constructed.After corresponding interventions,cells were collected.The apoptosis of cells in each group was detected by flow cytometry.The expression of matrix metalloproteinase-7(MMP-7)and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA)was detected by immunofluorescence.The expression level of Wnt pathway-related proteins was detected by Western blotting.Results:Compared with that in the control group,the apoptosis rate of cells in the Model group was significantly up-regulated,and there was no significant difference in cell apoptosis between the Model group,the Model+NC group and the Model+Si-β-catenin group.The results of WB detection showed that there was no significant difference in the expression of GSK-3β protein in the cells among the control group,the model group,the model+NC group and the model+Si-β-catenin group.Compared with that in the control group,the expression of p-GSK-3β protein in the Model group was significantly up-regulated,while there was no significant difference in the expression of p-GSK-3βprotein between the Model group,the Model+NC group and the Model+Si-β-catenin group.The results of immunofluorescence detection showed that MMP-7 and α-SMA in the Model group were significantly increased compared with that in the control group,while there was no significant difference between the Model group and the Model+NC group.Compared with the Model+NC group,MMP-7 and α-SMA in the Model+Si-β-catenin group were significantly down-regulated.Conclusion:The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is activated in HK-2 cells during hypoxia-reoxygenation and promotes the expression of fibrosis-related proteins.Inhibiting β-catenin can improve its fibrosis induction level.
8.Simultaneous content determination of twelve constituents in Anshen Buxin Liuwei Pills by HPLC-MS/MS and their chemical pattern recognition
Cheng-dong LIU ; Jun LI ; Qian ZHANG ; Jing LIU ; Jing-kun LU ; Xin DONG ; Yuan-hong LIAO ; Yue-wu WANG
Chinese Traditional Patent Medicine 2025;47(9):2834-2840
AIM To establish an HPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous content determination of dehydrodiisoeugenol,eugenol,costiolactone,dehydrocostiolactone,quercetin,isorhamnetin,luteolin,caffeic acid,gallic acid,protocatechuic acid,ellagic acid and kaempferol in Anshen Buxin Liuwei Pills,and to make chemical pattern recognition.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 35 ℃ thermostatic Shim-pack GST-HP C18 column(2.1 mm × 100 mm,3 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of methanol-water(containing 0.1%formic acid)flowing at 0.25 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and electron spray ionization source was adopted in positive and negative ion scanning with multiple reaction monitoring mode.Subsequently,cluster analysis,principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least square-discriminant analysis were performed.RESULTS Twelve constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(r≥0.999 0),whose average recoveries were 95.38%-105.00%with the RSDs of 1.91%-5.14%.Thirteen batches of samples were clustered into 3 types,ellagic acid,dehydrocodenolactone,dehydrodiisoeugenol,protocatechuic acid,gallic acid,quercetin and kaempferol were taken as potential quality differential markers.CONCLUSION This accurate,sensitive,stable and reproducible method can be used for the quality control and evaluation of Anshen Buxin Liuwei Pills.
9.Improved YOLOv5 algorithm-based research on CT image recognition and segmentation for cerebral hemorrhage
Cheng-kun HONG ; Tao YANG ; Li-yuan FU
Chinese Medical Equipment Journal 2025;46(5):1-8
Objective To modify the YOLOv5 algorithm with similarity attention mechanism(SimAM)to enhance the recognition and segmentation accuracy of CT images for cerebral hemorrhage.Methods A basic framework was established with a YOLOv5 algorithm consisting of a backbone network(Backbone),a neck module(Neck)and a head module(Head),and then SimAM was introduced at the end of Backbone to form a YOLOv5-Sim-B algorithm and at the end of Neck to construct a YOLOv5-Sim-N algorithm.The YOLOv5-Sim-B and YOLOv5-Sim-N algorithms were trained and validated using the CT image dataset for cerebral hemorrhage publicly available on the Kaggle competition platform,and compared with the traditional YOLOv5 algorithm for recognizing and segmenting cerebral hemorrhagic lesions in CT images.Results In case the value of IoU-T was 0.6,the mean average precision(mAP)was 0.967 for YOLOv5-Sim-B algorithm,0.960 for the YOLOv5-Sim-N algorithm and 0.964 for the traditional YOLOv5 algorithm during the recognition and segmentation of cerebral hemorrhagic lesions in CT images.Conclusion The proposed algorithm gains advantages in detection accuracy and robustness,and can efficiently identify and segment cerebral hemorrhage foci in CT images.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(5):1-8]
10.Real-world efficacy and safety of azvudine in hospitalized older patients with COVID-19 during the omicron wave in China: A retrospective cohort study.
Yuanchao ZHU ; Fei ZHAO ; Yubing ZHU ; Xingang LI ; Deshi DONG ; Bolin ZHU ; Jianchun LI ; Xin HU ; Zinan ZHAO ; Wenfeng XU ; Yang JV ; Dandan WANG ; Yingming ZHENG ; Yiwen DONG ; Lu LI ; Shilei YANG ; Zhiyuan TENG ; Ling LU ; Jingwei ZHU ; Linzhe DU ; Yunxin LIU ; Lechuan JIA ; Qiujv ZHANG ; Hui MA ; Ana ZHAO ; Hongliu JIANG ; Xin XU ; Jinli WANG ; Xuping QIAN ; Wei ZHANG ; Tingting ZHENG ; Chunxia YANG ; Xuguang CHEN ; Kun LIU ; Huanhuan JIANG ; Dongxiang QU ; Jia SONG ; Hua CHENG ; Wenfang SUN ; Hanqiu ZHAN ; Xiao LI ; Yafeng WANG ; Aixia WANG ; Li LIU ; Lihua YANG ; Nan ZHANG ; Shumin CHEN ; Jingjing MA ; Wei LIU ; Xiaoxiang DU ; Meiqin ZHENG ; Liyan WAN ; Guangqing DU ; Hangmei LIU ; Pengfei JIN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(1):123-132
Debates persist regarding the efficacy and safety of azvudine, particularly its real-world outcomes. This study involved patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to 25 hospitals in mainland China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause mortality during hospitalization, the proportion of patients discharged with recovery, time to nucleic acid-negative conversion (T NANC), time to symptom improvement (T SI), and time of hospital stay (T HS). Safety was also assessed. Among the 5884 participants identified, 1999 received azvudine, and 1999 matched controls were included after exclusion and propensity score matching. Azvudine recipients exhibited lower all-cause mortality compared with controls in the overall population (13.3% vs. 17.1%, RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90; P = 0.001) and in the severe subgroup (25.7% vs. 33.7%; RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88; P < 0.001). A higher proportion of patients discharged with recovery, and a shorter T NANC were associated with azvudine recipients, especially in the severe subgroup. The incidence of adverse events in azvudine recipients was comparable to that in the control group (2.3% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.170). In conclusion, azvudine showed efficacy and safety in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave in China.

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