OBJECTIVE The emergence of evolving variants of Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has fostered the need for change of newer and adaptive treatments for these infections.During the COVID-19 pandemic and persists,traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)herbs exhibit significant bioactivity and therapeutic effect.This study is aimed to evaluate the efficacy of four TCM preparations on 28-day mortality risk of patients and changes of the laboratory indicators.METHODS The retrospective cohort study included patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to the Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine from December 15,2022 to January 15,2023,and those died within 48 hours of admission or cannot be tracked for outcomes were excluded.The pri-mary outcome was survival status in 28 days(death or survival)starting from the day of admission.The second outcomes were labora-tory indicators,including absolute lymphocyte count,lactate dehydrogenase,creatinine,and blood urea nitrogen.Binary logistic re-gressions were used to estimate the effect of TCM preparations on the primary and secondary outcomes in main analysis.Meanwhile,heterogeneity and robustness of results from main analysis were assessed by subgroup analyses and multiple sensitivity analyses.RESULTS 1 816 eligible patients were included in analysis dataset,including 573 patients received standard care(control group)and 1 243 patients received TCM preparations(hospital preparation group).The 28-day mortality rate of hospital preparation group was lower than that of control group(4.75%vs.14.83%),and the difference was statistically significant(χ2=54.666,P<0.001).The risk of 28-day mortality was 0.535 times lower in the hospital preparation group as compared with the control group(OR=0.46,95%CI:0.305-0.708,P<0.001)showed by multivariable binary logistic regressions.Subgroup analyses showed that taking TCM preparations reduced the 28-day mortality risk.Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the results of the main analysis for primary outcomes were robust.For secondary outcomes,the risk of abnormal absolute lymphocyte counts at discharge in the hospital prepara-tion group decreased by 0.284 times(OR=0.703,95%CI:0.515-0.961,P=0.027).CONCLUSION Compared with standard of care,taking four hospital preparations including Kanggan Heji,Feining Heji,Qishen Gubiao Keli,and Qianghuo Qushi Qingwen Heji decreased risk of 28-day mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients.TCM therapy achieves adequate therapeutic effects in COVID-19.

AIM:To investigate the effects of Xiaoyao-Kang'ai-Jieyu formula(XYKAJY)-containing serum on the co-culture of BV2 and HT22 cells from mice with breast cancer-related depression(BCRD).METHODS:The op-timal concentration of XYKAJY-containing serum was determined using mouse HT22 cells.In vitro co-culture model of mouse HT22 and BV2 cells was established through incubation with 4T1 cell supernatant and 200 μmol/L corticosterone.The cells were then divided into control group,model group,blank serum group,positive drug serum group,5%XY-KAJY-containing serum group,10%XYKAJY-containing serum group,15%XYKAJY-containing serum group and 20%XYKAJY-containing serum group.Alterations in HT22 cell viability was detected by CCK8 assay.The concentration level of interleukin-1β(IL-1β),IL-6 and IL-18 in the cell supernatant was quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent as-say(ELISA).Flow cytometry was conducted to assess the apoptosis rate of HT22 cells and quantify the expression levels of adhesion molecule CD11b on the surface of BV2 cells.Immunofluorescence was performed to determine the expression of neuron-specific enolase(NSE),synapsin 1(Syn1)and postsynaptic density protein 95(PSD95)in HT22 cells,and that of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)in BV2 cells.RESULTS:Treatment with XYKAJY-containing serum down-regulated CD11b expression level in BV2 cells(P<0.01),and reduced the release of IL-1β,IL-6 and IL-18(P<0.01).Moreover,it significantly improved the viability of HT22 cells(P<0.01),enhanced cell morphology integrity,and reduced the apoptosis rate(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:These findings indicated that XYKAJY-containing serum im-proved the function of mouse HT22 neurons by regulating the polarization phenotype of mouse BV2 cells and alleviating neuroinflammatory-induced toxicity.

Peritoneal fibrosis(PF)is an important reason that restricts long-term treatment of peritoneal dialysis(PD).Based on the theory of collateral disease,PF is considered to be an abdominal collateral disease,with dampness as the main pathogenic factor,and collateral qi deficiency and stagnation,toxicity and blood stasis as the core pathogenesis.The peritoneum is chronically exposed to an inflammatory microenvironment induced by non-biocompatible peritoneal dialysis fluid,reflecting the pathogenic mechanism of dampness-induced pathology.The resultant pathological processes,including damage of peritoneal mesothelial cells,accumulation of inflammatory mediators and metabolic products,and angiogenesis—elucidate the scientific connotation of dampness impairing collaterals and inducing deficiency,toxicity,and stasis.On this basis,the treatment principles of invigorating qi,detoxifying,resolving stasis and unblocking collaterals were proposed,and the Qixue Huazheng prescription was formed with Astragalus as the main ingredient and Centella asiatica and Ligusticum wallichii as the compatibility,which provides a reference for the prevention and treatment of PD-relat-ed PF by traditional Chinese medicine.

OBJECTIVE The emergence of evolving variants of Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has fostered the need for change of newer and adaptive treatments for these infections.During the COVID-19 pandemic and persists,traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)herbs exhibit significant bioactivity and therapeutic effect.This study is aimed to evaluate the efficacy of four TCM preparations on 28-day mortality risk of patients and changes of the laboratory indicators.METHODS The retrospective cohort study included patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to the Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine from December 15,2022 to January 15,2023,and those died within 48 hours of admission or cannot be tracked for outcomes were excluded.The pri-mary outcome was survival status in 28 days(death or survival)starting from the day of admission.The second outcomes were labora-tory indicators,including absolute lymphocyte count,lactate dehydrogenase,creatinine,and blood urea nitrogen.Binary logistic re-gressions were used to estimate the effect of TCM preparations on the primary and secondary outcomes in main analysis.Meanwhile,heterogeneity and robustness of results from main analysis were assessed by subgroup analyses and multiple sensitivity analyses.RESULTS 1 816 eligible patients were included in analysis dataset,including 573 patients received standard care(control group)and 1 243 patients received TCM preparations(hospital preparation group).The 28-day mortality rate of hospital preparation group was lower than that of control group(4.75%vs.14.83%),and the difference was statistically significant(χ2=54.666,P<0.001).The risk of 28-day mortality was 0.535 times lower in the hospital preparation group as compared with the control group(OR=0.46,95%CI:0.305-0.708,P<0.001)showed by multivariable binary logistic regressions.Subgroup analyses showed that taking TCM preparations reduced the 28-day mortality risk.Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the results of the main analysis for primary outcomes were robust.For secondary outcomes,the risk of abnormal absolute lymphocyte counts at discharge in the hospital prepara-tion group decreased by 0.284 times(OR=0.703,95%CI:0.515-0.961,P=0.027).CONCLUSION Compared with standard of care,taking four hospital preparations including Kanggan Heji,Feining Heji,Qishen Gubiao Keli,and Qianghuo Qushi Qingwen Heji decreased risk of 28-day mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients.TCM therapy achieves adequate therapeutic effects in COVID-19.

Peritoneal fibrosis(PF)is an important reason that restricts long-term treatment of peritoneal dialysis(PD).Based on the theory of collateral disease,PF is considered to be an abdominal collateral disease,with dampness as the main pathogenic factor,and collateral qi deficiency and stagnation,toxicity and blood stasis as the core pathogenesis.The peritoneum is chronically exposed to an inflammatory microenvironment induced by non-biocompatible peritoneal dialysis fluid,reflecting the pathogenic mechanism of dampness-induced pathology.The resultant pathological processes,including damage of peritoneal mesothelial cells,accumulation of inflammatory mediators and metabolic products,and angiogenesis—elucidate the scientific connotation of dampness impairing collaterals and inducing deficiency,toxicity,and stasis.On this basis,the treatment principles of invigorating qi,detoxifying,resolving stasis and unblocking collaterals were proposed,and the Qixue Huazheng prescription was formed with Astragalus as the main ingredient and Centella asiatica and Ligusticum wallichii as the compatibility,which provides a reference for the prevention and treatment of PD-relat-ed PF by traditional Chinese medicine.

AIM:To investigate the effects of Xiaoyao-Kang'ai-Jieyu formula(XYKAJY)-containing serum on the co-culture of BV2 and HT22 cells from mice with breast cancer-related depression(BCRD).METHODS:The op-timal concentration of XYKAJY-containing serum was determined using mouse HT22 cells.In vitro co-culture model of mouse HT22 and BV2 cells was established through incubation with 4T1 cell supernatant and 200 μmol/L corticosterone.The cells were then divided into control group,model group,blank serum group,positive drug serum group,5%XY-KAJY-containing serum group,10%XYKAJY-containing serum group,15%XYKAJY-containing serum group and 20%XYKAJY-containing serum group.Alterations in HT22 cell viability was detected by CCK8 assay.The concentration level of interleukin-1β(IL-1β),IL-6 and IL-18 in the cell supernatant was quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent as-say(ELISA).Flow cytometry was conducted to assess the apoptosis rate of HT22 cells and quantify the expression levels of adhesion molecule CD11b on the surface of BV2 cells.Immunofluorescence was performed to determine the expression of neuron-specific enolase(NSE),synapsin 1(Syn1)and postsynaptic density protein 95(PSD95)in HT22 cells,and that of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)in BV2 cells.RESULTS:Treatment with XYKAJY-containing serum down-regulated CD11b expression level in BV2 cells(P<0.01),and reduced the release of IL-1β,IL-6 and IL-18(P<0.01).Moreover,it significantly improved the viability of HT22 cells(P<0.01),enhanced cell morphology integrity,and reduced the apoptosis rate(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:These findings indicated that XYKAJY-containing serum im-proved the function of mouse HT22 neurons by regulating the polarization phenotype of mouse BV2 cells and alleviating neuroinflammatory-induced toxicity.

Objective To observe the effect of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)on the apoptosis of rat peritoneal mesothelium cells(PMCs)induced by high glucose peritoneal dialysis fluid(PDF),and to explore its possible molecular mechanism.Methods The primary BMSCs and PMCs were extracted and identified.Apoptosis of PMCs was induced by high glucose PDF.Cell supernatant from BMSCs after 24 h of culture was collected as the conditioned medium(BMSCs-CM).PMCs were co-cultured with BMSCs by conditioned media or Transwell chambers.PMCs were randomly divided into the control group,the PDF group and the PDF+BMSCs-CM group.The viability of PMCs was measured by CCK-8 in each group.The depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by JC-1 method.TUNEL staining was used to detect cell apoptosis.Western blot assay was used to detect the expression levels of apoptosis related proteins B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2 associated X protein(Bax),Cleaved cysteine aspartase-3(Cleaved Caspase-3)and pathway related protein serine/threonine protein kinase(Raf),mitogen-activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase(MEK),extracellular-signal regulated protein kinase(ERK)and their phosphorylated proteins in each group.Results Compared with the control group,the proliferative activity and mitochondrial membrane potential of PMCs were decreased in the PDF group,while the apoptosis rate and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2,Cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3,p-Raf/Raf,p-MEK/MEK and p-ERK/ERK were increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the PDF group,the proliferative activity and mitochondrial membrane potential of PMCs were increased in the PDF+BMSCs-CM group,while the apoptosis rate and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2,Cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3,p-Raf/Raf,p-MEK/MEK and p-ERK/ERK were decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusion BMSCs can reduce the apoptosis of PMCs induced by high glucose PDF,and its mechanism maybe related to inhibiting the activation of Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway.

Parkinson's disease(PD)is the second most common neurodegenerative disease,mainly due to the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra(SN)of the midbrain,resulting in motor dysfunction.Dental stem cells(DSCs)are derived from the cranial neural crest which can be easily harvested.DSCs coming from the cranial neural crest have excellent proliferation and differentiation ability,and can promote nerve repair and regeneration.DSCs can secrete new dopamine neurons and secrete a large number of neurotro-phic factors(NTFs)to improve the neural function,and also inhibit the neuroinflammatory response through immune modulation.DSCs can effectively alleviate the motor dysfunction in rats with PD and play an important role in R&D of regenerative medicine.