AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 3% diquafosol sodium eye drops in children wearing orthokeratology lenses and with dry eye disease(DED)or at risk of DED.METHODS: Randomized controlled trials. Children with DED or at risk of DED were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either 3% diquafosol sodium eye drops 6 times daily or a blank control at Chongqing Aier Children's Eye Hospital from November 2023 to November 2024. The primary endpoint was the change in the Dry Eye Questionnaire-5(DEQ-5)score from baseline at 12 wk. Secondary assessments included non-invasive breakup time(NIBUT), tear meniscus height, Schirmer's test, corneal fluorescein staining score, and axial length.RESULTS: A total of 80 participants(80 eyes)were enrolled(40 in each group), the average age of the participants was 11.11±1.88 years, with 43 females(54%)and 37 males(46%), and all completed the trial. After 12 wk, the DEQ-5 scores for the diquafosol sodium group and the blank control group were 1.88±2.02 and 2.88±2.79, respectively(P=0.079). The diquafosol sodium group demonstrated a significant improvement in DEQ-5 dryness symptom scores(-0.33±0.66 vs. 0.05±0.81, P=0.023)and NIBUT(6.18±3.73 vs. -1.09±4.40 s, P<0.001)at 12 wk. Additionally, the diquafosol sodium group showed no axial length elongation, in contrast to the blank control group, which exhibited elongation(0.00±0.08 vs. 0.05±0.10 mm, P=0.013). No other significant differences were found in the secondary endpoints. No adverse events occurred during the trial.CONCLUSION: Although no statistically significant improvements were noted in the overall DEQ-5 scores, the 3% diquafosol sodium eye drops significantly improved dryness symptoms and NIBUT when compared to the blank control group.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to find the identified and validated clinical biomarker data building upon a clinical study of early-phase phase Ⅱ and investigate the correlation analysis of Huanglian Jiedu Wan on syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" based on a machine learning model. Additionally， the effective prediction of clinical biomarker values for the main symptoms of the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome was assessed. MethodsA total of 229 patients meeting the inclusion criteria for "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome were randomly divided into the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group. Syndrome score transition matrices were constructed for the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group based on three main symptoms of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome， such as oral ulcers， sore throat， and gum swelling and pain. Data from the patients with these three syndromes were also integrated for an overall analysis. The corresponding syndrome score transition matrices were further constructed to visualize symptom change trends of the patients in the two groups via heatmaps. Based on the identified and validated clinical biomarkers related to inflammation， oxidative stress， and energy metabolism in the early phase， Spearman correlation analysis was employed to analyze and evaluate the associations between clinical biomarkers and syndrome improvement. Key clinical biomarkers reflecting the effect of Huanglian Jiedu Wan were screened through the comparison of differences between groups. An extreme gradient boosting （XGBoost） algorithm was used to develop a prediction model for main symptom classification， with classification performance evaluated through 10-fold cross-validation. Feature importance analysis was applied to identify variables with the greatest contribution to the prediction result. ResultsThe syndrome transition matrix results indicated that the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group showed a superior effect to the placebo group in improving oral ulcers， sore throat， and overall symptoms， with significant effects observed especially in sore throat and overall symptom analyses （P<0.01）. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that several clinical biomarkers positively correlated with "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome and its main symptom improvement， were also called "heat-related biomarkers"， including succinic acid， α-ketoglutaric acid， glycine， lactic acid， adenosine monophosphate （AMP）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interferon-γ （IFN-γ）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and so on. Conversely， clinical biomarkers negatively correlated with symptom severity， were also called "heat-clearing related biomarkers" after administration of Huanglian Jiedu Wan， including malic acid， fumaric acid， cis-aconitic acid， adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH）， IL-1β， IL-4， IL-8， succinic acid， and citric acid. The XGBoost classification model using all 52 biomarkers as variables achieved an average test accuracy of 0.754 and an average F1 score of 0.777. Feature importance analysis identified the scores of glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 were the highest in all the variables， with importance scores of 0.081 and 0.080， respectively. After screening out 14 key variables and optimizing the parameters， model performance improved to an average accuracy of 0.758 and an F1 score of 0.798. Feature importance analysis further determined that the glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 showed obvious changes after screening the variables， confirming the good syndrome prediction ability of the model constructed by these key clinical biomarkers. ConclusionThis study systematically elucidates the correlation between syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers of Huanglian Jiedu Wan in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome. An XGBoost classification model based on key clinical biomarkers is successfully established， achieving effective prediction of the symptoms related to the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome such as oral ulcers and sore throat and providing a new insight for objective identification of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to find the identified and validated clinical biomarker data building upon a clinical study of early-phase phase Ⅱ and investigate the correlation analysis of Huanglian Jiedu Wan on syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" based on a machine learning model. Additionally， the effective prediction of clinical biomarker values for the main symptoms of the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome was assessed. MethodsA total of 229 patients meeting the inclusion criteria for "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome were randomly divided into the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group. Syndrome score transition matrices were constructed for the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group and the placebo group based on three main symptoms of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome， such as oral ulcers， sore throat， and gum swelling and pain. Data from the patients with these three syndromes were also integrated for an overall analysis. The corresponding syndrome score transition matrices were further constructed to visualize symptom change trends of the patients in the two groups via heatmaps. Based on the identified and validated clinical biomarkers related to inflammation， oxidative stress， and energy metabolism in the early phase， Spearman correlation analysis was employed to analyze and evaluate the associations between clinical biomarkers and syndrome improvement. Key clinical biomarkers reflecting the effect of Huanglian Jiedu Wan were screened through the comparison of differences between groups. An extreme gradient boosting （XGBoost） algorithm was used to develop a prediction model for main symptom classification， with classification performance evaluated through 10-fold cross-validation. Feature importance analysis was applied to identify variables with the greatest contribution to the prediction result. ResultsThe syndrome transition matrix results indicated that the Huanglian Jiedu Wan group showed a superior effect to the placebo group in improving oral ulcers， sore throat， and overall symptoms， with significant effects observed especially in sore throat and overall symptom analyses （P<0.01）. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that several clinical biomarkers positively correlated with "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome and its main symptom improvement， were also called "heat-related biomarkers"， including succinic acid， α-ketoglutaric acid， glycine， lactic acid， adenosine monophosphate （AMP）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interferon-γ （IFN-γ）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and so on. Conversely， clinical biomarkers negatively correlated with symptom severity， were also called "heat-clearing related biomarkers" after administration of Huanglian Jiedu Wan， including malic acid， fumaric acid， cis-aconitic acid， adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH）， IL-1β， IL-4， IL-8， succinic acid， and citric acid. The XGBoost classification model using all 52 biomarkers as variables achieved an average test accuracy of 0.754 and an average F1 score of 0.777. Feature importance analysis identified the scores of glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 were the highest in all the variables， with importance scores of 0.081 and 0.080， respectively. After screening out 14 key variables and optimizing the parameters， model performance improved to an average accuracy of 0.758 and an F1 score of 0.798. Feature importance analysis further determined that the glutamic acid in saliva and IL-6 showed obvious changes after screening the variables， confirming the good syndrome prediction ability of the model constructed by these key clinical biomarkers. ConclusionThis study systematically elucidates the correlation between syndrome improvement and clinical biomarkers of Huanglian Jiedu Wan in the treatment of "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome. An XGBoost classification model based on key clinical biomarkers is successfully established， achieving effective prediction of the symptoms related to the "excess heat-toxicity" syndrome such as oral ulcers and sore throat and providing a new insight for objective identification of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes.

ObjectiveTo construct an animal model of respiratory syncytial virus（RSV）-infected pneumonia suitable for preclinical studies. MethodsThe virulence of RSV to the four cell lines was observed by cytopathic effect （CPE）， and 50% tissue culture infective dose（TCID₅₀） was calculated. Twenty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into a normal group and a model group. Six BALB/c-hIGF1R mice served as the humanized IGF1R model group. Except for the normal group， the other groups received intranasal RSV infection on days 1 and 3 to establish a viral pneumonia model. The efficacy of establishing an RSV-induced pneumonia animal model based on humanized insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor （IGF1R） mice was evaluated by measuring organ indices， peripheral blood lymphocyte percentages， pulmonary pathology and imaging， and pulmonary viral load. Additionally， ten BALB/c mice served as normal group， and thirty-two BALB/c-hIGF1R mice were randomly assigned to humanized IGF1R model group， ribavirin group （82.5 mg·kg^-¹·d^-¹）， and high and low dose groups of Lianhua Qingwen （3.3 mg·kg^-¹·d^-¹ ， 1.65 mg·kg^-¹·d^-¹）， with 8 mice per group. The viral load in lung tissue was measured after ribavirin and Lianhua Qingwen intervention， and the model was applied to the evaluation of anti-RSV drugs. ResultsIn the lungs of the humanized IGF1R model group， large solid and diffuse ground-glass shadows were seen， and the lung volume was significantly increased （P<0.01）. The lung index was significantly increased （P<0.01）， and both the spleen index and thymus index were significantly decreased （P<0.01）. The percentages of CD3⁺ and CD4⁺T cells were significantly decreased （P<0.05）， and there was a large amount of inflammation and stasis in the perivascular area of the lung tissue， which was predominantly characterized by lymphocytes. The endothelium of blood vessels was partially detached， with a small number of eosinophils. After infecting BALB/c-hIGF1R mice with RSV， the expression of viral nucleic acids in the lung tissue of the mice was significantly increased， with significant differences compared with the normal group （P<0.01）. The expression of viral nucleic acids in the ribavirin group and the high and low dose groups of Lianhua Qingwen was significantly reduced， with significant differences compared with the normal group （P<0.01）. ConclusionHumanized IGF1R mice are more susceptible to respiratory SVC， and the animal model of RSV-infected pneumonia based on humanized IGF1R mice was successfully constructed， which is suitable for the evaluation of anti-RSV drugs.

ObjectiveTo explore the effects of the Tibetan medicine Sanwei Doukoutang （SWDK） on cognitive dysfunction in mice suffering from Alzheimer's disease （AD） and its related mechanism. MethodsFifty SPF 5 × FAD mice were randomly divided into model group， total ginsenoside group（0.04 g·kg^-1）， high-， medium-， and low-dose groups of SWDK （32.60， 16.30， 8.15 g·kg^-1）， with 10 mice in each group， and ten wild-type mice of the same age were used as the normal group， male and female in 1∶1. Gavage administration was performed once daily for 8 weeks. The Morris water maze test and contextual fear memory experiment were used to observe learning and memory function. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was utilized to observe the changes in the pathomorphology of brain tissue in mice. The levels of synaptophysin （SYP） and postsynaptic dense substance 95 （PSD95） in mice serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The positive expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor（BDNF） in the dentate gyrus （DG） region of mouse brain tissue was observed by immunohistochemistry （IHC）. The protein levels of BDNF， Wnt family member 3A（Wnt3a）， and β-catenin were detected in the hippocampus of mice by Western blot. ResultsCompared with the normal group of mice， the model group of mice had significantly more complex swimming routes and lower swimming speed （P<0.01）， significantly lower percentage of time spent in the target quadrant （P<0.01）， and a significantly lower percentage of freezing time （P<0.05）. The number of neurons in the hippocampal region of mice was obviously reduced and unevenly arranged. The levels of SYP and PSD95（P<0.01） in the serum of mice were reduced， and the positive expression of BDNF in the DG region of the brain tissue of mice was reduced. The levels of hippocampal BDNF， Wnt3a， and β-catenin proteins in the hippocampus of mice were obviously reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the mice in the SWDK group and the total ginsenoside group had significantly shorter swimming routes， the high- and medium- dose SWDK groups significantly higher swimming speeds （P<0.01）， significantly higher percentage of time spent in the target quadrant （P<0.01）， obviously higher percentage of Freezing time （P<0.05）， and obviously more neurons in the hippocampal region of the mice with tighter arrangement. The mice had elevated levels of serum SYP （P<0.05， P<0.01）， PSD95 （P<0.01）， increased BDNF-positive cells in the DG region of brain tissue， and obviously elevated levels of BDNF， Wnt3a， and β-catenin proteins in the hippocampus of mice （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionSWDK can significantly improve the cognitive dysfunction of AD mice， and its mechanism may be related to regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway， which promotes BDNF expression and thereby enhances synaptic plasticity， allowing neuronal signaling to be restored.

ObjectiveTo construct an animal model of respiratory syncytial virus（RSV）-infected pneumonia suitable for preclinical studies. MethodsThe virulence of RSV to the four cell lines was observed by cytopathic effect （CPE）， and 50% tissue culture infective dose（TCID₅₀） was calculated. Twenty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into a normal group and a model group. Six BALB/c-hIGF1R mice served as the humanized IGF1R model group. Except for the normal group， the other groups received intranasal RSV infection on days 1 and 3 to establish a viral pneumonia model. The efficacy of establishing an RSV-induced pneumonia animal model based on humanized insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor （IGF1R） mice was evaluated by measuring organ indices， peripheral blood lymphocyte percentages， pulmonary pathology and imaging， and pulmonary viral load. Additionally， ten BALB/c mice served as normal group， and thirty-two BALB/c-hIGF1R mice were randomly assigned to humanized IGF1R model group， ribavirin group （82.5 mg·kg^-¹·d^-¹）， and high and low dose groups of Lianhua Qingwen （3.3 mg·kg^-¹·d^-¹ ， 1.65 mg·kg^-¹·d^-¹）， with 8 mice per group. The viral load in lung tissue was measured after ribavirin and Lianhua Qingwen intervention， and the model was applied to the evaluation of anti-RSV drugs. ResultsIn the lungs of the humanized IGF1R model group， large solid and diffuse ground-glass shadows were seen， and the lung volume was significantly increased （P<0.01）. The lung index was significantly increased （P<0.01）， and both the spleen index and thymus index were significantly decreased （P<0.01）. The percentages of CD3⁺ and CD4⁺T cells were significantly decreased （P<0.05）， and there was a large amount of inflammation and stasis in the perivascular area of the lung tissue， which was predominantly characterized by lymphocytes. The endothelium of blood vessels was partially detached， with a small number of eosinophils. After infecting BALB/c-hIGF1R mice with RSV， the expression of viral nucleic acids in the lung tissue of the mice was significantly increased， with significant differences compared with the normal group （P<0.01）. The expression of viral nucleic acids in the ribavirin group and the high and low dose groups of Lianhua Qingwen was significantly reduced， with significant differences compared with the normal group （P<0.01）. ConclusionHumanized IGF1R mice are more susceptible to respiratory SVC， and the animal model of RSV-infected pneumonia based on humanized IGF1R mice was successfully constructed， which is suitable for the evaluation of anti-RSV drugs.

ObjectiveTo explore the effects of the Tibetan medicine Sanwei Doukoutang （SWDK） on cognitive dysfunction in mice suffering from Alzheimer's disease （AD） and its related mechanism. MethodsFifty SPF 5 × FAD mice were randomly divided into model group， total ginsenoside group（0.04 g·kg^-1）， high-， medium-， and low-dose groups of SWDK （32.60， 16.30， 8.15 g·kg^-1）， with 10 mice in each group， and ten wild-type mice of the same age were used as the normal group， male and female in 1∶1. Gavage administration was performed once daily for 8 weeks. The Morris water maze test and contextual fear memory experiment were used to observe learning and memory function. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was utilized to observe the changes in the pathomorphology of brain tissue in mice. The levels of synaptophysin （SYP） and postsynaptic dense substance 95 （PSD95） in mice serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The positive expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor（BDNF） in the dentate gyrus （DG） region of mouse brain tissue was observed by immunohistochemistry （IHC）. The protein levels of BDNF， Wnt family member 3A（Wnt3a）， and β-catenin were detected in the hippocampus of mice by Western blot. ResultsCompared with the normal group of mice， the model group of mice had significantly more complex swimming routes and lower swimming speed （P<0.01）， significantly lower percentage of time spent in the target quadrant （P<0.01）， and a significantly lower percentage of freezing time （P<0.05）. The number of neurons in the hippocampal region of mice was obviously reduced and unevenly arranged. The levels of SYP and PSD95（P<0.01） in the serum of mice were reduced， and the positive expression of BDNF in the DG region of the brain tissue of mice was reduced. The levels of hippocampal BDNF， Wnt3a， and β-catenin proteins in the hippocampus of mice were obviously reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the mice in the SWDK group and the total ginsenoside group had significantly shorter swimming routes， the high- and medium- dose SWDK groups significantly higher swimming speeds （P<0.01）， significantly higher percentage of time spent in the target quadrant （P<0.01）， obviously higher percentage of Freezing time （P<0.05）， and obviously more neurons in the hippocampal region of the mice with tighter arrangement. The mice had elevated levels of serum SYP （P<0.05， P<0.01）， PSD95 （P<0.01）， increased BDNF-positive cells in the DG region of brain tissue， and obviously elevated levels of BDNF， Wnt3a， and β-catenin proteins in the hippocampus of mice （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionSWDK can significantly improve the cognitive dysfunction of AD mice， and its mechanism may be related to regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway， which promotes BDNF expression and thereby enhances synaptic plasticity， allowing neuronal signaling to be restored.

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells have reshaped the treatment landscape of hematological malignancies, offering a potentially curative option for patients. Despite these major milestones in the field of immuno-oncology, growing experience with CAR-T cells has also highlighted several limitations of this strategy. The production process of CAR-T cells is complex, time-consuming, and costly, thus leading to poor drug accessibility. The potential carcinogenic risk of viral transfection systems remains a matter of controversy. Treatment-related side effects, such as cytokine release syndrome, can be life-threatening. And the biggest challenge is the inadequate efficacy related to poor infiltration and retention of CAR-T cells in tumor tissues and impaired T cell activation caused by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Innovative strategies are urgently needed to address these problems, and nanomedicine offers good solutions to these challenges. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of recent advancements in the application of nanomaterials to enhance CAR-T cell therapy. We examine the role of innovative nanoparticle-based delivery systems in the production of CAR-T cells, with a particular focus on polymeric delivery systems and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Furthermore, we explore various strategies for delivering immune stimulators, which significantly enhance the efficacy of CAR-T cells by modulating T cell viability and functionality or by reprogramming the immunosuppressive TME. In addition, we discuss several novel therapeutic approaches aimed at mitigating the adverse effects associated with CAR-T therapies. Finally, we offer an integrated perspective on the future challenges and opportunities facing CAR-T therapies.
Humans ; Nanomedicine/methods* ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/metabolism* ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods* ; T-Lymphocytes/immunology* ; Nanoparticles/chemistry* ; Animals

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, which increases the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC). In the pathophysiology of IBD, ubiquitination/deubiquitination plays a critical regulatory function. Josephin domain containing 2 (JOSD2), a deubiquitinating enzyme, controls cell proliferation and carcinogenesis. However, its role in IBD remains unknown. Colitis mice model developed by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) or colon tissues from individuals with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease showed a significant upregulation of JOSD2 expression in the macrophages. JOSD2 deficiency exacerbated the phenotypes of DSS-induced colitis by enhancing colon inflammation. DSS-challenged mice with myeloid-specific JOSD2 deletion developed severe colitis after bone marrow transplantation. Mechanistically, JOSD2 binds to the C-terminal of inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 (IMPDH2) and preferentially cleaves K63-linked polyubiquitin chains at the K134 site, suppressing IMPDH2 activity and preventing activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and inflammation in macrophages. It was also shown that JOSD2 knockout significantly exacerbated increased azoxymethane (AOM)/DSS-induced CRC, and AAV6-mediated JOSD2 overexpression in macrophages prevented the development of colitis in mice. These outcomes reveal a novel role for JOSD2 in colitis through deubiquitinating IMPDH2, suggesting that targeting JOSD2 is a potential strategy for treating IBD.

As activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) play a central role in fibrogenesis, they have become key target cells for anti-fibrotic treatment. Nevertheless, the therapeutic efficiency is constrained by the exosomes they secrete, which are linked to energy metabolism and continuously stimulate the activation of neighboring quiescent hepatic stellate cells (qHSCs). Herein, an intercellular communication interference strategy is designed utilizing paeoniflorin (PF) loaded and hyaluronic acid (HA) coated copper-doped ZIF-8 (PF@HA-Cu/ZIF-8, PF@HCZ) to reduce energy-related exosome secretion from aHSCs, thus preserving neighboring qHSCs in a quiescent state. Simultaneously, the released copper and zinc ions disrupt key enzymes involved in glycolysis to reduce bioenergy synthesis in aHSCs, thereby promoting the reversion of aHSCs to a quiescent state and further decreasing exosome secretion. Therefore, PF@HCZ can effectively sustain both aHSCs and qHSCs in a metabolically dormant state to ultimately alleviate liver fibrosis. The study provides an enlightening strategy for interrupting exosome-mediated intercellular communication and remodeling the energy metabolic status of HSCs with boosted antifibrogenic activity.