1.Arginine Metabolic Disorder in Heart Failure Rats: Analysis Based on Targeted Metabolomics and Bioinformatics
Zeyu LI ; Xiaoqing WANG ; Zhengyu FANG ; Yurou ZHAO ; He XIAO ; Penghaobang LIU ; Haiming ZHANG ; Chunyan LIU ; Yanhong HU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(10):229-237
ObjectiveThis study systematically analyzed the arginine metabolic dysregulation in the rat model of heart failure (HF), providing a modern scientific basis for elucidating the pathogenesis of HF and offering new insights for the prevention and treatment of HF with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). MethodsA thoracotomy was performed to ligate the left anterior descending coronary artery of rats, which induced acute myocardial ischemia and thus led to the development of post-myocardial infarction heart failure. The rats were divided into a sham surgery group and a model group, with eight rats in each group. Serum targeted metabolomics analysis was performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-TQ-S), and the spatial distribution of metabolites in cardiac tissue was observed using airflow-assisted desorption electrospray ionizationmass spectrometry imaging (AFADESI-MSI). Targets associated with HF and arginine metabolism were screened from databases including GeneCards and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and enrichment analysis of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and Gene Ontology (GO) was performed. Finally, molecular docking was conducted to verify the binding between core metabolic components and key targets, and potential TCMs were predicted based on the core pathways and targets. ResultsCompared with the sham surgery group, the levels of arginine and citrulline in the serum of model rats were significantly decreased (P<0.01), while those of proline, ornithine, creatine, creatinine and glutamate were significantly increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). Cardiac mass spectrometry imaging showed a decreased abundance of arginine in the local myocardial tissue. Bioinformatics analysis identified 24 core functional targets, such as the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1), 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A (HTR2A), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and enrichment analysis indicated that these targets were significantly involved in the calcium signaling pathway, neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, and phosphatidylinositol signaling pathway. Molecular docking confirmed strong binding activities between arginine, citrulline and HTR2A, as well as between creatine, creatinine and EGFR. Based on pathway-target prediction, potential TCM interventions, such as ginseng and magnolia, were identified. ConclusionThis study revealed characteristic arginine metabolic disorder in HF, and the core targets of HF were closely associated with the phosphatidylinositol signaling pathway. It provides a modern biological interpretation of the pathogenesis of HF in TCM from the perspectives of metabolites and signaling pathways, and offers valuable insights for targeted therapy of HF and the development of TCM.
2.Arginine Metabolic Disorder in Heart Failure Rats: Analysis Based on Targeted Metabolomics and Bioinformatics
Zeyu LI ; Xiaoqing WANG ; Zhengyu FANG ; Yurou ZHAO ; He XIAO ; Penghaobang LIU ; Haiming ZHANG ; Chunyan LIU ; Yanhong HU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(10):229-237
ObjectiveThis study systematically analyzed the arginine metabolic dysregulation in the rat model of heart failure (HF), providing a modern scientific basis for elucidating the pathogenesis of HF and offering new insights for the prevention and treatment of HF with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). MethodsA thoracotomy was performed to ligate the left anterior descending coronary artery of rats, which induced acute myocardial ischemia and thus led to the development of post-myocardial infarction heart failure. The rats were divided into a sham surgery group and a model group, with eight rats in each group. Serum targeted metabolomics analysis was performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-TQ-S), and the spatial distribution of metabolites in cardiac tissue was observed using airflow-assisted desorption electrospray ionizationmass spectrometry imaging (AFADESI-MSI). Targets associated with HF and arginine metabolism were screened from databases including GeneCards and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and enrichment analysis of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and Gene Ontology (GO) was performed. Finally, molecular docking was conducted to verify the binding between core metabolic components and key targets, and potential TCMs were predicted based on the core pathways and targets. ResultsCompared with the sham surgery group, the levels of arginine and citrulline in the serum of model rats were significantly decreased (P<0.01), while those of proline, ornithine, creatine, creatinine and glutamate were significantly increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). Cardiac mass spectrometry imaging showed a decreased abundance of arginine in the local myocardial tissue. Bioinformatics analysis identified 24 core functional targets, such as the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1), 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A (HTR2A), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and enrichment analysis indicated that these targets were significantly involved in the calcium signaling pathway, neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, and phosphatidylinositol signaling pathway. Molecular docking confirmed strong binding activities between arginine, citrulline and HTR2A, as well as between creatine, creatinine and EGFR. Based on pathway-target prediction, potential TCM interventions, such as ginseng and magnolia, were identified. ConclusionThis study revealed characteristic arginine metabolic disorder in HF, and the core targets of HF were closely associated with the phosphatidylinositol signaling pathway. It provides a modern biological interpretation of the pathogenesis of HF in TCM from the perspectives of metabolites and signaling pathways, and offers valuable insights for targeted therapy of HF and the development of TCM.
3.Current status of brucellosis control programmes and Chinese path based on the One Health concept: a review
Kaihui ZHANG ; Fang LUO ; Lei XIU ; Yongzhi WANG ; Jia WANG ; Jingjing LI ; Jian LI ; Wei HU
Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control 2026;38(4):369-378
Brucellosis is one of the most widespread zoonoses globally, which poses serious threats to both global public health and development of animal husbandry. Conventional brucellosis control measures suffer problems of surveillance coordination, regional joint prevention, and policy implementation, which are insufficient to address the challenges of ecological risks and crosshost transmission. The One Health approach allocates interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaborations to achieve systemic health of humans, animals, and environments, which provides new insights into brucellosis control programmes. This review describes the pathogenic biological characteristics, global epidemiological landscape, and transmission ecology of brucellosis, evaluates the main limitations of current control strategies, summarizes the experiences from successful One Health practices across countries at different stages of development, and proposes the brucellosis control strategy based on the One Health concept with adaptations to the current epidemiology of brucellosis in China, so as to provide the theoretical evidence and practical framework for the national brucellosis control programmes in China, thereby facilitating the effective control and the ultimate elimination of brucellosis.
4.Quality evaluation of Zhachong-13 pills based on the content determination of 12 components combined with multivariate statistical analysis
Wei ZHANG ; Qian ZHANG ; Tuya BAI ; Xinkui LI ; Yuxia HU ; Mengdi ZHANG ; Jing LIU ; Fang WANG ; Jun LI
China Pharmacy 2026;37(19):2509-2515
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the quality of Zhachong-13 pills.METHODS The contents of agarotetrol, costunolide, hypaconitine, dehydrocostus lactone, mesaconitine, aconitine, liquiritigenin, glycyrrhizic acid, ellagic acid, liquiritin, corilagin, and gallic acid in 18 batches of samples were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method. Cluster analysis (CA) was performed using the Microbioinformatics online analysis platform. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were performed using SIMCA 14.1 software. Random forest, extremely randomized trees, and extreme gradient boosting machine learning models were constructed using the SPSSAU online analysis platform. The comprehensive quality of the samples was evaluated by the entropy weight-technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method.RESULTS The contents of the above 12 components were 104.331-694.382, 652.217-1 085.075, 6.051-130.980, 612.174-1 417.179, 1.018-32.239, 0.953-24.967, 65.552-652.239, 2 019.412-5 385.807, 52.867-4 990.450, 156.307-883.180, 10.142-475.722, and 1 102.863-4 826.396 μg/g, respectively. The results of CA and PCA showed that the 18 batches of samples were divided into two categories: S1-S6, S10-S15 were grouped into one category, while S7-S9 and S16-S18 were grouped into another category. The OPLS-DA results showed that the variable importance in projection values of mesaconitine, glycyrrhizic acid, liquiritin, ellagic acid, hypaconitine, liquiritigenin, agarotetrol, gallic acid, and dehydrocostus lactone were greater than 1. The results of the three machine learning models showed that ellagic acid and hypaconitine had relatively large differential contributions. The entropy weight-TOPSIS results showed that the overall quality of samples from manufacturer B was superior to that of the other four manufacturers.CONCLUSIONS The established method is stable and feasible, and can be used to evaluate the quality of Zhachong-13 pills, in combination with multivariate statistical analysis. Ellagic acid and hypaconitine are differential markers that affect its quality.
5.USP29 alleviates the progression of MASLD by stabilizing ACSL5 through K48 deubiquitination
Sha HU ; Zhouxiang WANG ; Kun ZHU ; Hongjie SHI ; Fang QIN ; Tuo ZHANG ; Song TIAN ; Yanxiao JI ; Jianqing ZHANG ; Juanjuan QIN ; Zhigang SHE ; Xiaojing ZHANG ; Peng ZHANG ; Hongliang LI
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2025;31(1):147-165
Background/Aims:
Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a chronic liver disease characterized by hepatic steatosis. Ubiquitin-specific protease 29 (USP29) plays pivotal roles in hepatic ischemiareperfusion injury and hepatocellular carcinoma, but its role in MASLD remains unexplored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to reveal the effects and underlying mechanisms of USP29 in MASLD progression.
Methods:
USP29 expression was assessed in liver samples from MASLD patients and mice. The role and molecular mechanism of USP29 in MASLD were assessed in high-fat diet-fed and high-fat/high-cholesterol diet-fed mice and palmitic acid and oleic acid treated hepatocytes.
Results:
USP29 protein levels were significantly reduced in mice and humans with MASLD. Hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis were significantly exacerbated by USP29 deletion and relieved by USP29 overexpression. Mechanistically, USP29 significantly activated the expression of genes related to fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) under metabolic stimulation, directly interacted with long-chain acyl-CoA synthase 5 (ACSL5) and repressed ACSL5 degradation by increasing ACSL5 K48-linked deubiquitination. Moreover, the effect of USP29 on hepatocyte lipid accumulation and MASLD was dependent on ACSL5.
Conclusions
USP29 functions as a novel negative regulator of MASLD by stabilizing ACSL5 to promote FAO. The activation of the USP29-ACSL5 axis may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for MASLD.
6.The application of spectrogram in the evaluation of postoperative articulation characteristics under nasal endoscopy
Xuelai LIU ; Zhiji CHEN ; Hengxin LIU ; Hongyan FANG ; Yaqin HU ; Xiaoxiao LI ; Hongjiang CHEN
Journal of Audiology and Speech Pathology 2025;33(2):124-129
Objective To study the objective changes and effects of speech characteristics in patients with nasal endoscopic surgery,and to analyze the relationship between surgery and changes in vocal tract structure.Methods A prospective study was conducted on 45 patients who underwent nasal endoscopic surgery from June 2023 to December 2023.Among them,13 patients underwent nasal septum deviation correction surgery and/or nasal polypectomy and/or turbinate shaping surgery group(G1 group),11 patients underwent simple sinus opening surgery group(G2 group),and 21 patients underwent nasal sinus opening+nasal septum deviation correction surgery and/or nasal polypectomy and/or nasal turbinate shaping surgery group(G3 group).Spectrogram detection was completed before and 1 month after surgery.Nasal resistance(Refft value),acoustic indicators resonance peak frequency(F1-F4),bandwidth(B1-B4),difference between F1 amplitude and nasal murmur resonance peak amplitude(A1-P0),and difference between F1 and nasal murmur resonance peak amplitude(A1-P1)under different sound tasks(oral vowels,nasal vowels,and phrases and short sentences containing nasal vowels)were analyzed.Results After surgery,there was no significant change in the acoustic indicators in any of the groups,and the Refft value significantly decreased.The change in the resonance peak of oral vowels was not significant,but the bandwidth significantly decreased.A1-P1 in each group showed an upward trend after surgery,while A1-P0 showed a downward trend after surgery.Among them,A1-P1 in G1 group showed a significant increase compared to preoperative levels in/ma/,/na/,/mi/,and/ni/,and A1-P0 showed a significant decrease in/ma/and/na/compared to preoperative levels.There were statisti-cally significant differences in A1-P0 between G2 group and preoperative group in both/ma/and/na/.The A1-P1 levels in G3 group showed significant differences compared to preoperative levels in/mi/and/ni/,and A1-P0 showed significant differences compared to preoperative levels in/ma/and/na/.Conclusion Nasal endoscopic surgery may have a measurable impact on the patient's speech.The spectrogram can be used to evaluate the postoperative pronuncia-tion characteristics of nasal endoscopy,with A1-P1 being a better measurement indicator for high vowels/i/and A1-P0 being a better measurement indicator for non high vowels/a/.
7.The application of operation plan based on injury stress sequence in the treatment of degree Ⅲ and Ⅳ ankle fractures with Lange-Hansen classification of pronation and external rotation
Bing FANG ; Jie CHENG ; Guangfeng HU ; Xin ZHANG ; Yaozheng LI ; Wei REN
Journal of Clinical Surgery 2025;33(2):166-170
Objective To investigate the application of operation plan based on injury stress sequence in the treatment of degree Ⅲ and Ⅳ ankle fractures with Lange-Hansen classification of pronation and external rotation.Methods From May 2019 to May 2022,80 eligible patients of degree Ⅲand Ⅳ ankle fractures with Lange-Hansen classification were selected prospectively and randomely divided into 2 groups:40 patients in the study group were treated with surgical reduction according to the sequence of injury stress,and the other 40 patients in the control group were treated with traditional reduction sequence.The operative time,intraoperative blood loss,fracture healing time,full weight-bearing time,Ankle dorsoextension Angle,plantar flexion Angle,and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Association were compared between the two groups Society,AOFAS)Ankle and posterior foot function scores and complications.Results The surgical time[(44.80±5.12)min vs.(47.61±6.42)min]and surgical bleeding volume[(43.81±9.02)ml vs.(51.50±12.01)ml]between the study group and the control group were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Before surgery,there had no significant differences in ankle joint dorsiflexion angle,plantar flexion angle,AOFAS ankle and hind foot function score in 2 groups(all P>0.05).The ankle dorsiflexion angle at 3 months after surgery[(16.84±1.77)° vs.(15.50±1.65)°],plantar flexion angle at 3 months after surgery[(45.64±4.10)° vs.(42.58±3.86)°]and at 6 months after surgery[(52.38±3.03)°vs.(50.64±3.74)°],the maximum walking distance score[(3.50±0.64)vs.(3.16±0.60)],ground walking score[(2.06±0.56)vs.(1.72±0.48)]and ankle joint anteroposterior activity score at 3 months after surgery[(4.96±1.38)vs.(4.16±1.07)]of the study group were all higher than those in the control group(all P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in terms of fracture healing time,complete weight-bearing time,postoperative pain score,ankle joint function autonomous activity support score,abnormal gait score,maximum walking distance score at 6 months after surgery,ground walking score,ankle joint anterior and posterior activity score and surgical complications between 2 group(all P>0.05).Conclusion According to the sequence of injury stress,surgical reduction for the treatment of grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ ankle fractures of Lange-Hansen classification of middle pronation and external rotation can shorten the operation time and promote the early recovery of joint function.
8.Establishment of quantitative models for effective components in Yishen Xiezhuo Mixture
Zi-fang FENG ; Min-min HU ; Xiao-wei CHEN ; Wen-ming ZHANG ; Li-hong GU ; Ping QIN ; Yi PENG ; Zhen-hua BIAN ; Qing-you YANG ; Tu-lin LU
Chinese Traditional Patent Medicine 2025;47(10):3177-3184
AIM To establish the quantitative models for gallic acid,mononucleoside,loganin,resveratrol,and rhein in Yishen Xiezhuo Mixture.METHODS HPLC was adopted in the content determination of various effective components,after which the near-infrared spectroscopy(NIRS)data were collected in 128 batches of samples and pretreatment was conducted,competitive adaptive reweighting sampling(CARS)algorithm was used for screening wavelength,partial least square method(PLS)regression analysis was performed.RESULTS There were no significant differences between the predicted values obtained by PLS models and measured values obtained by HPLC for various effective components(P>0.05).CONCLUSION The quantitative models established by NIRS combined with chemometrics display good predictive performance,which can be used for the rapid determination of effective components in Yishen Xiezhuo Mixture,and provide a reference for the rapid monitoring of other traditional Chinese medicine preparations in production processes.
9.Analysis of thickness changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer and associated risk factors in patients with Moyamoya disease
Shui-Qin CAO ; Xiao-Han HU ; Fang-Bing HAO ; Qing GUO ; Ran DING ; Hui LI ; Li-Li CHEN ; Li-Li ZHANG ; Ge LIANG
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2025;50(7):855-861
Objective To investigate the characteristics of thickness changes in peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer(pRNFL)and identify related risk factors in patients with Moyamoya disease(MMD).Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 150 MMD patients(150 eyes)aged 6-65 years admitted to the Neurosurgery Department of the Fifth Medical Center,Chinese PLA General Hospital from May 2016 to December 2023(observation group),and 150 age-matched healthy volunteers(150 eyes)from the hospital's ophthalmology outpatient department(control group).Both groups were subdivided into pediatric(≤18 years),young adult(18-40 years),and middle-aged(40-65 years)subgroups.The pRNFL thickness in four quadrants was measured by optical coherence tomography(OCT):superior(pRNFL-Sup),inferior(pRNFL-Inf),nasal(pRNFL-Nas),temporal(pRNFL-Tmp),and average thickness(pRNFL-Avg).General clinical data and pRNFL thickness were compared between two groups.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for pRNFL thinning in MMD patients.The cohort was randomly divided into training(n=210)and validation(n=90)sets at a 7:3 ratio.A predictive model for pRNFL thinning in MMD patients was constructed based on logistic regression results.Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC),and clinical utility was assessed via decision curve analysis.Results Compared with control group,MMD patients exhibited significantly reduced pRNFL-Avg,pRNFL-Sup,pRNFL-Tmp,and pRNFL-Inf thickness(P<0.05 or P<0.001),while pRNFL-Nas showed no significant difference(P>0.05).In the pediatric subgroup,pRNFL-Avg and pRNFL-Inf were thinner(P<0.05).In the young adult subgroup,pRNFL-Avg and pRNFL-Sup were reduced(P<0.001 or P<0.05).In the middle-aged subgroup,pRNFL-Avg,pRNFL-Sup,pRNFL-Inf,and pRNFL-Tmp were all thinner(P<0.05 or P<0.001).Multivariate logistic regression identified visual field defects(OR=15.28,95%CI 2.95-79.10),disease duration(OR=1.11,95%CI 1.05-1.18),and the number of involved cerebral vessels(OR=1.49,95%CI 1.01-2.22)as independent risk factors for pRNFL thinning.The predictive model achieved AUC of 0.94(95%CI 0.91-0.97)and 0.95(95%CI 0.91-0.99)in the training and validation sets,respectively.Decision curve analysis confirmed the model's favorable clinical net benefit.Conclusion Thinning of pRNFL was observed in Moyamoya disease patients with visual field defects,disease duration,and cerebral vascular involvement identified as independent risk factors for pRNFL atrophy.
10.Influencing factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among medical staff: a Bayesian network modeling analysis
Li HU ; Feiruo ZHANG ; Yongmei ZHAO ; Ning FANG ; Guixin YU ; Dan LIU ; Dongdong CAO ; Leihan XU ; Zihuan WANG ; Mingxiao GUO ; Yan YE
China Occupational Medicine 2025;52(6):631-636
Objective To understand the current situation and influencing factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in medical staff in Beijing City. Methods A total of 2 687 medical staff were selected as the research subjects using the multi-stage sampling method. The current situation of WMSDs and occupational stress, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and insomnia symptoms were investigated using the Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire, the Core Occupational Stress Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale, and the Self-Sleep Management Questionnaire. The Max-Min Hill-Climbing algorithm was used to construct a Bayesian network model to analyze the influencing factors and internal relationships of WMSDs and to conduct reasoning and prediction of the model. Results The prevalence of WMSDs among the research subjects was 88.9%. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify age, educational level, personal monthly income, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, insomnia symptoms, prolonged forward-head desk work, and prolonged static posture work to construct the Bayesian network model. The model consisted of nine nodes and eleven directed edges. Prolonged static posture work, prolonged forward-head desk work, and anxiety symptoms were directly related to WMSDs. Age and educational level were indirectly related to WMSDs through their influence on prolonged forward-head desk work. Depression symptoms were indirectly associated with WMSDs through their influence on anxiety symptoms. The model's prediction accuracy was 90.5%. Conclusion The prevalence of WMSDs among medical staff in Beijing City is relatively high. Prolonged static posture work, prolonged forward-head desk work, and anxiety symptoms may directly increase the risk of developing WMSDs.

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