1.Toxic Mechanism, Risk Evaluation, and Regulatory Policies of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from Senecionis Scandentis Herba: A Review
Weili CHEN ; Shengxuan LI ; Linying QIN ; Xiangle MENG ; Yu DONG ; Long CHENG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(21):330-338
ObjectiveTo summarize the research results on the toxic mechanism and the relevant regulatory policies at home and abroad of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), the main toxic components, in Senecionis Scandentis Herba, thereby providing insights into the clinical use and scientific regulation of Senecionis Scandentis Herba. MethodsMultiple Chinese and English databases including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Elsevier, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, and VIP were searched, with "Senecio," "PSenecio scandens," and "pyrrolizidine alkaloids" as search terms. The relevant articles published from 1959 to 2025 were retrieved and analyzed, and 79 articles were finally selected for review. ResultsThe chemical components of Senecionis Scandentis Herba include alkaloids, flavonoids, volatile oils, sesquiterpenes, jacaranone derivatives, and organic acids, among which alkaloids are the most toxic components, followed by jacaranone derivatives. PAs are metabolized into highly active pyrrole derivatives in the liver, which can cause serious adverse reactions such as sinusoidal obstruction syndrome and DNA damage. The content of PAs varies significantly due to the origin, harvest period, and medicinal parts. There have been reports of clinical liver injury caused by preparations containing Senecionis Scandentis Herba, and some preparations have a daily intake of PAs exceeding the international safety threshold. Currently, international organizations have set limited standards for PAs, while China only controls the content of adonifoline, and the supervision is not yet perfect. ConclusionAlthough Senecionis Scandentis Herba has medicinal value, its PAs have significant toxicological properties. This is a problem that cannot be ignored and needs to be overcome in the use of Senecionis Scandentis Herba. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the quality control of raw materials, establish a more comprehensive limited standard for PAs, and optimize the medication strategy in combination with traditional Chinese medicine theory to ensure the safety of clinical medication.
2.Toxic Mechanism, Risk Evaluation, and Regulatory Policies of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from Senecionis Scandentis Herba: A Review
Weili CHEN ; Shengxuan LI ; Linying QIN ; Xiangle MENG ; Yu DONG ; Long CHENG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(21):330-338
ObjectiveTo summarize the research results on the toxic mechanism and the relevant regulatory policies at home and abroad of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), the main toxic components, in Senecionis Scandentis Herba, thereby providing insights into the clinical use and scientific regulation of Senecionis Scandentis Herba. MethodsMultiple Chinese and English databases including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Elsevier, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, and VIP were searched, with "Senecio," "PSenecio scandens," and "pyrrolizidine alkaloids" as search terms. The relevant articles published from 1959 to 2025 were retrieved and analyzed, and 79 articles were finally selected for review. ResultsThe chemical components of Senecionis Scandentis Herba include alkaloids, flavonoids, volatile oils, sesquiterpenes, jacaranone derivatives, and organic acids, among which alkaloids are the most toxic components, followed by jacaranone derivatives. PAs are metabolized into highly active pyrrole derivatives in the liver, which can cause serious adverse reactions such as sinusoidal obstruction syndrome and DNA damage. The content of PAs varies significantly due to the origin, harvest period, and medicinal parts. There have been reports of clinical liver injury caused by preparations containing Senecionis Scandentis Herba, and some preparations have a daily intake of PAs exceeding the international safety threshold. Currently, international organizations have set limited standards for PAs, while China only controls the content of adonifoline, and the supervision is not yet perfect. ConclusionAlthough Senecionis Scandentis Herba has medicinal value, its PAs have significant toxicological properties. This is a problem that cannot be ignored and needs to be overcome in the use of Senecionis Scandentis Herba. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the quality control of raw materials, establish a more comprehensive limited standard for PAs, and optimize the medication strategy in combination with traditional Chinese medicine theory to ensure the safety of clinical medication.
3.Efficacy analysis of a novel inguinal tourniquet for compression hemostasis
Peng-Fei LIU ; Hao SUN ; Meng-Jie DOU ; Ya-Hua LIU ; Shao-Bin CHAI ; Si-Yu CHEN ; Fa-Qin LYU ; Wei CHEN
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2025;50(6):688-694
Objective To assess the efficacy of a novel inguinal tourniquet in healthy individuals and to investigate the relationship between localized inguinal compression and femoral artery blood flow occlusion.Methods A self-controlled study was conducted.From November 9 to November 30,2024,11 volunteers were recruited at the Third Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital.Three compression methods--finger pressure,a novel groin tourniquet,and a SAM junction tourniquet(SJT)—were applied bilaterally to the inguinal region until distal blood flow signals disappeared.Each compression method was tested in 22 trials with a 5-minute interval between operations.Differences in hemostatic efficacy between bilateral inguinal regions and across compression methods were compared.Subsequently,the novel tourniquet was incrementally pressurized in 120 mmHg multiples using an integrated pressure device to analyze trends in popliteal artery blood flow velocity.Observational indicators included the internal pressure of the tourniquet pressurization device,peak systolic velocity(PSV)of popliteal artery,inguinal surface pressure magnitude,inguinal surface pressure distribution,and pain scores(assessed using a single-dimensional numerical rating scale).Results No statistically significant difference was observed in the minimum pressure required to occlude femoral artery blood flow bilaterally(P>0.05).The success rates of femoral artery blood flow occlusion at the inguinal region were 100%for the novel inguinal tourniquet,SJT,and finger pressure.The novel inguinal tourniquet induced the highest pain scores,ranging from 5 to 8.A significant reduction in PSV of popliteal artery was noted when the intra-tourniquet pressure reached 360 mmHg and 480 mmHg(P<0.05),with a 95%hemostasis efficacy observed within the range of 360-600 mmHg.No significant association was observed between the recovery of popliteal artery blood flow after limb movement and inguinal pressure distribution(P>0.05).The PSV of popliteal artery exhibited the strongest negative correlation with the average pressure within the inguinal compression area(r=-0.79,P<0.001),with a linear regression fitting line of y=69.69-0.13x(P<0.001,R2=0.58).Conclusions The novel inguinal tourniquet effectively occludes femoral artery blood flow within a pressure range of 360-600 mmHg,accompanied by moderate-to-severe pain.Its hemostatic mechanism mainly relies on increasing the mean pressure within the inguinal compression area.
4.Research progress on activation and blocking of cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway
Yu-Qi LIU ; Yu-Ru WANG ; Wen-Yue JIA ; Yu-Meng ZHANG ; Yang LIU ; Hui-Qin HAO
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2025;50(11):1469-1477
The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway(CAP)is a neuroimmunoregulatory pathway that has attracted much attention in recent years.This pathway releases acetylcholine(ACh)by activating the vagus nerve.The binding of ACh to α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor receptors on the surface of macrophages can inhibit the release of proinflammatory factors,so as to effectively regulate the inflammatory response in the body.CAP plays a key role in suppressing excessive inflammatory responses and maintaining immune balance,providing a potential therapeutic pathway for a variety of inflammatory immune diseases.Research progress on the physiological function of CAP and its activation and blocking methods are reviewed in this paper,in order to provide new methods and ideas for treatment of inflammation-related diseases and exploring therapeutic drugs targeting CAP pathway.
5.Evaluation and Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Reform of Teaching Mode in Health Statistics by Postgraduate Students
Liping HE ; Xiaoxiao SONG ; Wei CHANG ; Qiong MENG ; Zhen YU ; Jieyu HE ; Hongrui ZHAO ; Jiabi QIN
Journal of Kunming Medical University 2025;46(8):136-146
Objective To investigate the effectiveness of the curriculum design and teaching mode reform in Health Statistics through the assessment by postgraduate students so as to enhance the teaching performance of the course.Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among the postgraduate students of grade 2023 at a certain medical university.The survey covered such aspects as students'mastery and application of the course learning content,their evaluation and satisfaction with the course,etc.Descriptive approaches were employed to analyze and summarize the data.Results Students achieved a good command of theoretical knowledge and its application.They highly evaluated the teacher,the course content and its practicality,demonstrated a strong interest in learning,expressed a high level of satisfaction with the course,and manifested a strong willingness to continue studying the course.The learning of the course met the expectations of the students.The final exam scores in the later stage of curriculum reform(78.60±10.58)was higher than that before the reform(75.78±7.97,P<0.05);the excellent rate after the reform was 53.6%,which was higher than the 33.5%before the reform(P<0.05).Conclusion The construction of a course system that integrates knowledge,skills the mixed teaching mode of case-based teaching and the combination of theory and statistical software package operation are beneficial for enhancing postgraduate students'learning and application of the course in health statistics.It also strengthens the design and training of course application aspects for students in clinical medicine and dental medicine disciplines.
6.Effects of Heixiaoyao Powder on neuroinflammation in APP/PS1 mice via ATP/P2X7R/NF-κB signaling pathway
Zhi-peng MENG ; Yu-jie LÜ ; Yun-yun HU ; Jiao YANG ; Yi-qin CHEN ; Hu-ping WANG
Chinese Traditional Patent Medicine 2025;47(1):51-57
AIM To investigate the effects of Heixiaoyao Powder on neuroinflammation in APP/PS1 transgenic mice.METHODS The 16-week-old male APP/PS1 transgenic mice were randomly divided into the model group,the BBG group(P2X7R specific antagonist,30 mg/kg)and high,medium and low dose Heixiaoyao Powder groups of(22.10,11.05,5.53 g/kg),in contrast to the male C57BL/6J mice of the same age and the same strain of the blank groups,with 12 mice in each group.When normal saline by gavage was dosed upon the blank group and the model group,and the other groups were treated with corresponding drug by gavage.After 90 days of administration,the mice had their learning and memory ability detected by Morris water maze test;their hippocampal pathological changes observed with HE staining;their MyD88 expression detected by immunofluorescence staining;their hippocampal levels of pro-inflammatory factors(TNF-α,IL-6),anti-inflammatory factors(IL-10),ATP and amyloid protein β(Aβ)detected by ELISA;their hippocampal mRNA expressions of P2X7R,TLR4,MyD88 and NF-κB-P65 detected by RT-qPCR method;and their hippocampal protein expressions of P2X7R,TLR4,MyD88,NF-κB-P65 and p-NF-κB-P65 detected by Western blot.RESULTS Compared with the blank group,the model group demonstrated prolonged escape latency and reduced frequency in crossing platform(P<0.01);decreased number of hippocampal neurons,deranged neurons,and darker cytoplasm staining;increased immunofluorescence expression of hippocampal MyD88(P<0.01);decreased IL-10 level(P<0.01);increased levels of TNF-α,IL-6,ATP and Aβ(P<0.01);increased mRNA and protein expressions ofP2X7R,TLR4 and MyD88(P<0.01),and increased protein expression of p-NF-κB-P65(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the groups intervened with Heixiaoyao Powder or BBG demonstrated shortened escape latency and increased frequency in crossing platform(P<0.01);more number of neatly arranged hippocampal neurons;increased hippocampal IL-10 level(P<0.01),decreased levels of TNF-α,IL-6,ATP and Aβ(P<0.05,P<0.01);decreased mRNA and protein expressions of P2X7R,TLR4 and MyD88(P<0.05,P<0.01);and decreased protein expression of p-NF-κB-P65(P<0.05,P<0.01).Except the low dose Heixiaoyao Powder group,the other treatment groups shared decreased immunofluorescence expression of MyD88(P<0.05,P<0.01).CONCLUSION Heixiaoyao Powder can significantly improve the learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 model mice,and its mechanism may lie in its function in alleviating cerebral neuroinflammation by reducing the abnormal Aβ aggregation via inhibiting the activation of ATP/P2X7R/NF-κB signaling pathway.
7.circHERC4_041 Inhibits the Fibrotic Phenotype of Cardiac Fibroblasts by Encoding Protein
Yuan GAO ; Chuan-Meng ZHOU ; Hua-Yan WU ; Ya WANG ; Ru-Shi WU ; Pei-Ying GUAN ; Jun-Tao FANG ; Jin-Dong XU ; Yu-Peng LIU ; Zhi-Qin HU ; Zhi-Xin SHAN
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(3):393-403
A mounting body of research suggests that circRNAs significantly contribute to the develop-ment of myocardial fibrosis.The microarray results of human circular RNA expression profile indicated that circHERC4_041 expression increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure,RT-qPCR a-nalysis confirmed that the myocardial expression level of circHERC4_041 in individuals with heart failure were considerably elevated compared to that in healthy organ donors.Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)confirmed that circHERC4_041 was abundant in the cytoplasm of human cardiomyocyte AC16.Overexpression of circHERC4_041 in mouse myocardial fibroblasts(mCFs)mediated by adenovirus in-hibited the expression of fibrosis-related proteins in mCFs.Experiments involving cell proliferation,wound healing,and Transwell assays demonstrated that overexpression of circHERC4_041 suppressed the growth and mobility of mCFs(P<0.001).Sequence analysis results suggested that circHERC4_041 con-tains potential ribosome entry sequence(IRES)and open reading frame(ORF).Western blot confirmed that circHERC4_041 could translate the 516 amino acid HERC4-516aa protein,which was mainly located in the cytoplasm of the cell.Cell functional experiments confirmed that circHERC4_041 inhibited the fi-brotic phenotype of mCFs by specifically translating HERC4-516aa(P<0.05).The specific interaction between HERC4-516aa and transglutaminase 2(TGM2)was confirmed by IP-MS screening and Co-IP i-dentification.Further results found that the degradation of TGM2 was promoted through proteasome path-way.The overexpression of TGM2 in mCFs facilitated by adenoviral vectors could counteract the suppres-sive effects of HERC4-516aa on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs.Therefore,this study confirmed that the HERC4-516aa protein translated by circHERC4_041 can specifically bind to TGM2 to inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of myocardial fibroblasts.
8.Analysis of Opportunistic Screening Results for Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer in Hubei Province from 2022 to 2023
Jiyu TUO ; Shuang YAO ; Yu QIN ; Yafen XIA ; Fandi MENG ; Min ZHANG
China Cancer 2025;34(4):272-278
[Purpose]To analyze the opportunistic screening results of upper gastrointestinal can-cer in Hubei Province from 2022 to 2023.[Methods]The data of upper gastrointestinal cancer opportunistic screening program in Hubei Province from January 1,2022 to December 31,2023 were summarized.The biopsy rate,positive lesion detection rate and early diagnosis rate were ana-lyzed.The differences in rates between/among different sexes,age groups and regions were com-pared by x2 test,trend x2 test.[Results]A total of 372 507 people were included in the oppor-tunistic screening of upper gastrointestinal cancer from 2022 to 2023.Among them,100 379 in-dividuals underwent biopsy histopathological examination,with a biopsy rate of 26.95%.A total of 4 678 positive cases(high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia,early-stage cancer and advanced can-cer)were detected in the opportunistic screening,with a positive lesion detection rate of 1.26%.The detection rates of positive lesion in the esophagus,cardia and stomach were 0.61%,0.07%and 0.58%,respectively.There were 721 cases of early upper gastrointestinal cancer(high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia,early-stage cancer),representing an early diagnosis rate of 15.41%.The early diagnosis rates for the esophagus,cardia and stomach were 14.53%,11.96%and 16.89%,respectively.[Conclusions]The implementation of opportunistic screening for upper gastrointesti-nal cancer is conducive to expanding the coverage of screening.It is necessary to strengthen stan-dardized and homogeneous training and complete high-quality endoscopic examination to improve the detection rate and early diagnosis rate of opportunistic screening program for upper gastroin-testinal cancer.
9.Weaving and Strengthening the Cancer Prevention and Control System,Creating a Model for Cancer Control in Hubei Province:Progress in Cancer Prevention and Control During the"323"Campaign in Hubei Province
Min ZHANG ; Jiyu TUO ; Shuang YAO ; Yu QIN ; Fandi MENG ; Yafen XIA ; Shaozhong WEI
China Cancer 2025;34(4):251-254
Malignant tumors,as chronic diseases that seriously affect human life and health,are one of the most serious public health problems worldwide in the 21st century.Hubei Province at-taches great importance to the prevention and control of chronic diseases such as cancer,and launched the"323"campaign in 2021.This paper reviews the progress of cancer prevention and control in the"323"campaign from 2021 to 2024 from the aspects of science popularization,tu-mor registration,cancer screening,standardized diagnosis and treatment,and grassroots capacity improvement,and explores the key points of cancer prevention and control work in Hubei Province in the next step.
10.Risk factors for stroke-associated pneumonia after endovasular treatment in acute anterior circulation ischemic stroke patients
Zhengwei CAI ; Xiaoge ZHANG ; Yang GAO ; Meng ZUO ; Lin DAI ; Yujie QIN ; Yu WANG
Journal of Army Medical University 2025;47(20):2506-2511
Objective To investigate the influencing factors for stroke-associated pneumonia(SAP)in acute ischemic stroke(AIS)patients after endovascular treatment(EVT).Methods A retrospective case-control trial was conducted on 426 AIS patients with large vessel occlusion(LVO)in anterior circulation admitted in the neurological departments from First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University and Zigong Third People's Hospital during January 2017 and April 2021.Based on SAP occurrence or not,they were divided into an SAP group and a non-SAP group.Demographic information(gender and age),TOAST stroke subtypes(large artery atherosclerosis type,cardiac embolism type,others),vascular risk factors(hypertension,hyperlipidemia,diabetes,atrial fibrillation,smoking,prior stroke history,smoking),and post-onset clinical data[dysphagia,LDL cholesterol,white blood cells,neutrophils,baseline and postoperative NIHSS scores,endovascular outcomes(mTICI grade 2b or 3),90-day good prognosis(mRS 0-1)]were collected and compared between the 2 groups.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed using the parameters with P<0.1 in univariate analysis as independent variables to investigate factors influencing SAP occurrence after EVT in AIS patients.Results Among the 426 participants,SAP occurred in 194 cases(45.5%).Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that admission white blood cell count(OR=1.125,95%CI:1.043~1.213,P=0.000 2),postoperative NIHSS score(OR=1.019,95%CI:1.001~1.037,P=0.041),and male(OR=1.687,95%CI:1.078~2.638,P=0.022)were associated with SAP occurrence after EVT in AIS patients.Conclusion Higher admission white blood cell count,elevated postoperative NIHSS score,and male gender are risk factors for SAP in AIS patients after EVT.These risk factors should be focused on clinical practice to control SAP incidence.

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