Mitochondrial dysfunction in chondrocytes is a key pathogenic factor in osteoarthritis (OA), but directly modulating mitochondria in vivo remains a significant challenge. This study is the first to verify a correlation between mitochondrial dysfunction and the downregulation of the FOXO3 gene in the cartilage of OA patients, highlighting the potential for regulating mitophagy via FOXO3 gene modulation to alleviate OA. Consequently, we developed a chondrocyte-targeting CRISPR/Cas9-based FOXO3 gene-editing tool (FoxO3) and integrated it within a nanoengineered 'truck' (NETT, FoxO3-NETT). This was further encapsulated in injectable hydrogel microspheres (FoxO3-NETT@SMs) to harness the antioxidant properties of sodium alginate and the enhanced lubrication of hybrid exosomes. Collectively, these FoxO3-NETT@SMs successfully activate mitophagy and rebalance mitochondrial function in OA chondrocytes through the Foxo3 gene-modulated PINK1/Parkin pathway. As a result, FoxO3-NETT@SMs stimulate chondrocytes proliferation, migration, and ECM production in vitro, and effectively alleviate OA progression in vivo, demonstrating significant potential for clinical applications.

The advancement of tissue clearing technology has significantly propelled neuroscience research. Nevertheless, the fluorescent proteins used in traditional transgenic mouse strains were not specifically optimized for tissue clearing procedures, resulting in a substantial decrease in fluorescent intensity after clearing. In this study, we developed the Ci1 reporter mouse strain (where Ci stands for the Chinese Institute for Brain Research, CIBR) based on the bright red fluorescent protein mScarlet. The Ci1 reporter exhibits no fluorescence leakage in various organs or tissue types and can be readily crossed with multiple tissue-specific Cre lines. Compared to the Ai14 mouse strain, the Ci1 reporter strain demonstrates lower non-specific leakage, stronger fluorescence intensity in different tissues, and better preservation of fluorescence following tissue clearing treatment. The creation of the Ci1 reporter provides a more effective tool for both neuroscience and other biomedical research applications.
Animals ; Luminescent Proteins/metabolism* ; Mice, Transgenic ; Mice ; Red Fluorescent Protein ; Brain/metabolism* ; Genes, Reporter ; Fluorescence

Objective:To investigate the effect of oxidized-low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) on contrast-induced renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis and its mechanism.Methods:Human renal proximal tubular epithelial HK-2 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into four groups using the random number table method, including a control group, an ox-LDL group (50 μg/ml ox-LDL), an iohexol group (100 mg I/ml iohexol) and an ox-LDL+iohexol group (50 μg/ml ox-LDL+100 mg I/ml iohexol). Apoptosis rates were detected using the in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling assay. Western blotting was used to detect the level of apoptosis by evaluating the presence of cleaved cysteine aspartic acid specific protease-3 (cleaved Caspase-3) protein. Mitochondrial membrane potential was detected using the JC-1 method. Mitochondrial/cytoplasmic cytochrome C (Cyt C) levels were detected by Western blotting to assess mitochondrial damage. Western blotting was used to detect the levels of the mitochondrial fission-related dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) and the mitochondrial fusion-related optic atrophy protein 1 (OPA1) to evaluate mitochondrial fusion/fission. Independent sample t test and one-way analysis of variance were used for data analysis. Results:The apoptosis rate [(30.12±3.19)%] and the relative expression of cleaved Caspase-3 protein (0.34±0.07) in the iohexol group were higher than those in the control group [(4.77±1.68)%, 0.23±0.05] ( P<0.05, 0.01). The apoptosis rate [(48.81±4.96)%] and the relative expression of cleaved Caspase-3 protein (0.53±0.05) in the ox-LDL+iohexol group were higher than those in the iohexol group (both P<0.01). The mitochondrial membrane potential (1.61±0.15) and mitochondrial/cytoplasmic Cyt C ratio (1.09±0.14) in the iohexol group were lower than those in the control group (6.15±0.52 and 3.09±0.45) (both P<0.01). The mitochondrial membrane potential (0.27±0.01) and the mitochondrial/cytoplasmic Cyt C ratio (0.24±0.04) in the ox-LDL+iohexol group were lower than those in the iohexol group (both P<0.01). The relative expression of Drp1 protein in the iohexol group (0.49±0.05) was higher than that in the control group (0.29±0.03), the relative expression of long OPA1 protein (0.24±0.03) was lower than that of the control group (0.40±0.03) (both P<0.01). The relative expression of Drp1 protein in the ox-LDL+iohexol group (0.64±0.02) was higher than that in the iohexol group, the relative expression of long OPA1 protein (0.07±0.02) was lower than that in the iohexol group (both P<0.01). Conclusions:ox-LDL can exacerbate contrast-induced renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis, and its mechanism may be due to an imbalance in mitochondrial fusion and division caused by the contrast agent, leading to the increase mitochondrial damage.

Objective To investigate the effect of erioside E on myocardial injury after myocardial infarction(MI)by regulating hypoxia-inducible factor-2α(HIF-2α)-mediated pyroptosis of cardiomyocytes and its possible mechanism.Methods Thirty rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group,MI group,and erioside E group,with 10 rats in each group.Cardiomyocytes H9C2 were cultured and divided into control group,hypoxia group,erioside E group and HIF-2α overexpression group.Masson staining was used to observe myocardial fibrosis and infarct size.The protein expressions of HIF-2α,NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD were detected by Western blotting.RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expressions of HIF-2α,NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD.EdU kit was used to detect the proliferation of cardiomyocytes.The expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD proteins in cardiomyocytes were detected by immunofluorescence staining.Results Compared with the sham-operation group,the myocardial fibrosis level and infarct size were significantly increased in the MI group(P＜0.05),and the protein expressions of HIF-2α,pyroptosis-related proteins of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD in myocardial tissue were increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the MI group,the level of myocardial fibrosis and infarct size were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),the protein expression of HIF-2α in myocardial tissue was increased,and the protein expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD were decreased in the erioside E group(P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,the hypoxia group had a significant reduction in the proliferation of cardiomyocytes and significant increase in the mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-2α,NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD(P＜0.05).Compared with the hypoxia group,the proliferation ability of cardiomyocytes was significantly increased,and the expressions of HIF-2α,NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD mRNA in cardiomyocytes were decreased in the erioside E group(P＜0.05),while the protein expression of HIF-2α in cardiomyocytes was increased in the HIF-2αoverexpression group.The protein expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD were significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Erioside E can improve myocardial injury by upregulating HIF-2α to inhibit myocardial pyroptosis.

Objective To investigate the effect of erioside E on myocardial injury after myocardial infarction(MI)by regulating hypoxia-inducible factor-2α(HIF-2α)-mediated pyroptosis of cardiomyocytes and its possible mechanism.Methods Thirty rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group,MI group,and erioside E group,with 10 rats in each group.Cardiomyocytes H9C2 were cultured and divided into control group,hypoxia group,erioside E group and HIF-2α overexpression group.Masson staining was used to observe myocardial fibrosis and infarct size.The protein expressions of HIF-2α,NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD were detected by Western blotting.RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expressions of HIF-2α,NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD.EdU kit was used to detect the proliferation of cardiomyocytes.The expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD proteins in cardiomyocytes were detected by immunofluorescence staining.Results Compared with the sham-operation group,the myocardial fibrosis level and infarct size were significantly increased in the MI group(P＜0.05),and the protein expressions of HIF-2α,pyroptosis-related proteins of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD in myocardial tissue were increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the MI group,the level of myocardial fibrosis and infarct size were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),the protein expression of HIF-2α in myocardial tissue was increased,and the protein expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD were decreased in the erioside E group(P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,the hypoxia group had a significant reduction in the proliferation of cardiomyocytes and significant increase in the mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-2α,NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD(P＜0.05).Compared with the hypoxia group,the proliferation ability of cardiomyocytes was significantly increased,and the expressions of HIF-2α,NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD mRNA in cardiomyocytes were decreased in the erioside E group(P＜0.05),while the protein expression of HIF-2α in cardiomyocytes was increased in the HIF-2αoverexpression group.The protein expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1 and GSDMD were significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Erioside E can improve myocardial injury by upregulating HIF-2α to inhibit myocardial pyroptosis.

Objective To search for independent predictive factors of diabetic kidney disease(DKD)in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM),construct and validate an optional machine learning(ML)model for the risk of DKD.Methods A total of 528 patients with T2DM,hospitalized in the Endocrinology Department of Chengde Central Hospital from October 2019 to September 2020,were selected as the study objects,and patients were randomly divided into a training set(370 cases),and a validation set(158 cases).The training set was divided into the DKD group(89 cases)and the non-DKD group(281 cases)according to whether DKD existed.The general data and diagnostic examination of patients were performed by univariate analysis,in which variables with statistical differences were used to screen the best predictors by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression analysis.The best predictors were used to establish eight ML algorithms by three cross-validation methods,including Logistic regression(LR),K-nearest neighbor(KNN),support vector machine(SVM),decision tree(DT),random forest(RF),naive Bayes(NB),artificial neural network(ANN),and extreme gradient lift(XGBoost).The optimal prediction model was selected by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve,Delong test and GiViTI calibration curve.Decision curve analysis(DCA)was used to evaluate the clinical practicability of the model.Results Age,alanine aminotransferase,creatinine,triglyceride,cystatin C,25-hydroxy vitamin D and monocyte count were independent predictive factors of DKD.Eight ML models were established based on the above 7 predictors,and the ANN model performed best in the 8 ML models.The GiViTiI calibration curve indicated that the model had good accuracy(P＞0.05),and the DCA showed that the prediction model curve had clinical practical value in the threshold probability range of 0.027-0.612.Conclusion In this study,the ANN model constructed in this study to predict the risk of DKD is helpful for early discrimination of high-risk T2DM patients with DKD.

[Objective] To explore the characteristics of lifestyle behaviors and mental health status among blood donors in Guangzhou, and to investigate the correlation between donation frequency and these factors. [Methods] A cross-sectional study was conducted among 13 042 whole blood donors from 17 street blood donation sites of Guangzhou Blood Center from May to August 2020. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the characteristics of lifestyle behaviors and mental health status among blood donors in Guangzhou. Ordinal multinomial logistic regression model was used to analyze the correlation between donation frequency and these factors. [Results] It was found that some of 13 042 blood donors had unhealthy habits, such as 6.8% (698/10 214，2 828 missing values) had severe tobacco dependence, 30.6% (3 997/13 042) had low exercise levels, 38.8%（5 056/13 042）had poor sleep quality, and 2.2% (271/12 159，883 missing values) had alcohol dependence. In addition, 2.8% (364/13 042) and 1.3% (172/13 042) of the donors may have moderate to severe depression and anxiety symptoms, respectively. The results of the ordinal multinomial logistic regression model showed that exercise level was significantly negatively correlated with the degree of depression and anxiety among blood donors. With the decrease in exercise level, the possibility of depression and anxiety among donors increased significantly. BMI, household income, education level, marital status, donation frequency, alcohol consumption and smoking had no significant correlation with the mental health status of donors. [Conclusion] Improving the exercise habits of blood donors may help enhance their mental health level. It is recommended that blood station staff strengthen the content of exercise when providing health education to blood donors to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It also suggests that there may be a certain degree of under-diagnosis of mental health problems in the process of health consultation before blood donation, and conducting more comprehensive and effective mental health assessments for blood donors is recommended.

The prevalence and recurrence rate of depressive disorder are high, while the recognition and cure rate are low. Early intervention can improve the quality of life of patients with depression. In clinical practice, it has been found that psychological treatments can effectively improve the symptoms and prognosis of depression.Cognitive behavior therapy(CBT) has been widely used in the treatment of depression, however, its mechanisms are still unclear. In this paper, the neuroimaging studies of patients with depression before and after CBT were summarized, and the structural or functional changes of different brain regions in patients with depression before and after CBT were described. The findings suggest that CBT improved depressive symptoms by increasing gray matter volume, activation level, and functional connectivity strength in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, reducing activation levels in the amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus, and restoring abnormal brain network activity or functional connectivity. Larger gray matter volume in anterior cingulate gyrus and higher activation levels in hippocampus and amygdala before treatment can effectively predict the effect of CBT in depressed patients. In the future, machine learning could be combined with brain imaging data to more accurately predict the effectiveness of CBT in treating depression.

【Objective】 To observe the effects of hsa-miR-124-3p.1 in inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT）， migration and invasion of human gastric cancer cells induced by transforming growth factor β1 （TGF-β1） by targeting tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 （TRAF6）. 【Methods】 A total of 43 gastric cancer tissues and 43 normal para-carcinoma tissues were collected. The human gastric mucosal epithelial cells GES-1 and gastric cancer cells （NCI-N87， MGC-803， BGC-823， SGC-7901， and MKN-45） were cultured. The expressions of miR-124-3p.1 and TRAF6 in tissues and cells were detected by fluorescent quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The targeted relationship between miR-124-3p.1 and TRAF6 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene system assay. SGC-7901 cell lines with miR-124-3p.1 and TRAF6 overexpression were constructed. The cells were induced by TGF-β1. The invasion and migration abilities of the cells were evaluated by Transwell chamber assay and scratch test. 【Results】 Compared with normal para-carcinoma tissues and normal gastric mucosal cells， the expression of miR-124-3p.1 was downregulated， while the expressions of TRAF6 mRNA and protein were upregulated in gastric cancer tissues and cells （P<0.05）. Compared with control group， expression of E-cadherin in cells was downregulated， expressions of N-cadherin and Vimentin were upregulated， invasion and migration rates of cells were increased in TGF-β1 group （P<0.05）. Compared with TGF-β1 group， after cells were transfected with miR-124-3p.1 mimic， the expression of E-cadherin was upregulated， the expressions of N-cadherin and Vimentin were down-regulated， and invasion and migration rates of cells were decreased （P<0.05）. Compared with miR-124-3p.1 mimic group， invasion and migration rates of cells were increased in TGF-β1+mimic+TRAF6 group， expressions of TRAF6， N-cadherin and Vimentin were up-regulated， and the expression of E-cadherin was down-regulated （P<0.05）. 【Conclusion】 hsa-miR-124-3p.1 is lowly expressed in gastric cancer. Overexpression of miR-124-33p.1 can inhibit EMT， cell invasion and migration induced by TGF-β1. And the action mechanism may be related to the downregulated expression of TRAF6.

Objectives To explore the dose-response relationship between low-dose ionizing radiation and thyroid hormone levels of radiation medical workers and provide theoretical basis for occupational health protection to this population. Methods Using a prospective cohort study design, we collected health examination reports on employees that worked on jobs with occupational exposure to radiation at hospital with individually dose monitoring data for 1 237 workers. The effective cumulative radiation dose was divided into three groups: 0～2.586 mSv, 2.586～3.757 mSv, 3.758～31.272 mSv by the interquartile range. The low-dose group was used as a reference to compare the changes in thyroid hormones of medical workers in different cumulative radiation dose groups. The generalized linear models and restricted cubic spline model were used to examine the association and dose-response relationship between the cumulative effective dose and changing thyroid hormones. Results There were statistically significant differences in changing thyroxine (T4) and Free triiodothyronine (FT3) levels among three different dose groups of 1237 subjects (P < 0.05). The results of generalized linear models analysis revealed that 2.586～3.757 mSv was a significant risk factors of changing T4, with β of 3.514 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.900～6.128) after adjusting for gender, age, working duration, occupation, medical level and smoking, while the association with changing FT3 was not observed (P > 0.05). The restrictive cubic spline (RCS) model analysis indicated a non-linear dose-response correlation between cumulative radiation dose with changing T4 (P = 0.023). Conclusion Long-term exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation could induce the thyroid damage among medical occupational population. And there is a dose-response relationship between cumulative radiation dose and changing thyroxine.