ObjectiveBased on non-targeted metabolomics， to analyze the regulation of endogenous differential metabolites in serum of type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM） rats by Fuling Yunhua granules， and to clarify the metabolic pathways through which this granules exerted its effect on improving T2DM. MethodSeventy SD rats， half male and half female， were randomly divided into the control group， model group， and high， medium， low dose groups of Fuling Yunhua granules（20.70， 10.35， 5.18 g·kg^-1 in raw drug amount） and the positive drug group（pioglitazone hydrochloride tablets， 8.1 mg·kg^-1）. Except for the control group， other groups were fed with high-sugar and high-fat diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin（STZ） to establish a T2DM rat model. After successful modeling， the treatment groups were administered the corresponding drugs by gavage， and the control group and model group were treated with an equal volume of saline by gavage， once/d， for 28 d. Fasting blood glucose（FBG） and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c（GHbA1c） levels were measured in all groups of rats during the administration period， and hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe the pathomorphological changes in the pancreatic tissues of rats at the end of the administration period. The endogenous metabolite levels in rat serum were detected by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-linear ion trap-electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS）， and the data were processed using principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA）. Differential metabolites were identified by the Human Metabolome Database（HMDB） and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG）， and screened for differential metabolites with variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1， P<0.05， and fold change（FC）<0.6 or FC>1. And the metabolic pathway enrichment analysis of the screened differential metabolites was performed by MetaboAnalyst 5.0， then the screened differential metabolites were diagnosed and evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic（ROC） curves. ResultCompared with the control group， the FBG level of rats in the model group increased significantly（P<0.01）， the GHbA1c content tended to increase， but the difference was not statistically significant， and the pancreatic tissue of rats was obviously damaged， the number of pancreatic islets decreased， and the pancreatic β-cells were obviously reduced， atrophied and enlarged. Compared with the model group， the FBG levels of rats in the high dose group of Fuling Yunhua granules and the positive drug group were significantly reduced after 2 weeks of administration（P<0.05， P<0.01）， the GHbA1c content of rats in the high dose group of Fuling Yunhua granules was significantly reduced（P<0.05）， and the pancreatic tissue lesions of rats in the different dose groups of Fuling Yunhua granules were reduced. The results of non-targeted metabolomics showed that 46 differential metabolites were significantly changed in the model group compared with the blank group. Pathway enrichment analysis found that T2DM mainly affected biological processes including biosynthesis of primary bile acid， D-amino acid metabolism， steroid hormone biosynthesis， and glycerophospholipid metabolism in rats. Compared with the model group， the levels of 8 differential metabolites in the high dose group of Fuling Yunhua granules were significantly adjusted， and the pathway enrichment analysis found that D-amino acid metabolism， retinol metabolism， glycine， serine and threonine metabolism， tryptophan metabolism and other metabolic pathways were mainly involved. ROC curves further analysis revealed that the four characteristic differential markers of 11-cis-retinol， D-piperidinic acid， D-serine， and p-cresol sulfate had high diagnostic value for the treatment of T2DM with Fuling Yunhua granules. ConclusionFuling Yunhua granules can improve the symptoms of T2DM rats by regulating the amino acid metabolic and retinol metabolic pathways through the modulation of endogenous differential metabolites.

Objective:To investigate the associations of onset age, diabetes duration, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels with ischemic stroke risk in type 2 diabetes patients.Methods:The participants were from Comprehensive Research on the Prevention and Control of the Diabetes in Jiangsu Province. The study used data from baseline survey from December 2013 to January 2014 and follow-up until December 31, 2021. After excluding the participants who had been diagnosed with stroke at baseline survey and those with incomplete information on onset age, diabetes duration, and HbA1c level, a total of 17 576 type 2 diabetes patients were included. Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate the hazard ratio ( HR) and 95% CI of onset age, diabetes duration, and HbA1c level for ischemic stroke. Results:During the median follow-up time of 8.02 years, 2 622 ischemic stroke cases were registered. Multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model showed that a 5-year increase in type 2 diabetes onset age was significantly associated with a 5% decreased risk for ischemic stroke ( HR=0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.99). A 5-year increase in diabetes duration was associated with a 5% increased risk for ischemic stroke ( HR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10). Higher HbA1c (per 1 standard deviation increase: HR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.13-1.21) was associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke. Conclusion:The earlier onset age of diabetes, longer diabetes duration, and high levels of HbA1c are associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke in type 2 diabetes patients.

Objective:To investigate the effects of stimulator of interferon gene (STING) on ferroptosis mediated by acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) in mouse dendritic cells (DCs) under sepsis, providing a basis for improving the dysregulation of immune response in sepsis caused by factors such as wound infection.Methods:This study was an experimental research. The mouse DC line DC2.4 in the logarithmic growth phase (with passages 3-10) were divided into lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation 0 h (unstimulated) group, LPS stimulation 6 h group, LPS stimulation 12 h group, LPS stimulation 18 h group, and LPS stimulation 24 h group according to the random number table (the same grouping method below), which were cultured with 1 μg/mL LPS (the same concentration below) for the corresponding time. The protein expressions of phosphorylated STING (p-STING), STING, and ACSL4 in cells were determined by Western blotting. DC2.4 successfully transfected with lentivirus containing STING gene small interfering RNA (hereinafter referred to as siSTING) were divided into siSTING+phosphate buffer solution (PBS) group and siSTING+LPS group. DC2.4 successfully transfected with empty lentivirus were divided into empty vector+PBS group and empty vector+LPS group. After being stimulated with PBS or LPS and cultured for 24 hours, the protein expressions of p-STING, STING, and ACSL4 in cells were determined as above. Cell lipid peroxidation degrees were observed using the lipid peroxidation assay kit, and cell apoptosis rates were detected using flow cytometry. The sample numbers in the above cell experiments were all 3. Eighty male C57BL/6J mice aged 6 to 8 weeks were divided into sham surgery+normal saline (NS) group, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)+NS group, sham surgery+C-176 group, and CLP+C-176 group, with 20 mice in each group. Mice in the two C-176 groups were intraperitoneally injected with C-176, while mice in the two NS groups were intraperitoneally injected with an equivalent volume of NS. One hour later, sham surgery was performed on the mice in the two sham surgery groups, and CLP surgery was performed on the mice in the two CLP groups to establish a sepsis model. At 24 h post-surgery, 10 mice from each group were sacrificed to extract spleen DCs, and protein expression, lipid peroxidation, and apoptosis rates were detected as above ( n=3). Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe pathological damage in the heart, liver, lung, and kidney tissue. The remaining 10 mice in each group were observed for survival within 7 days after surgery. Results:The protein expressions of p-STING, STING, and ACSL4, as well as the p-STING/STING ratio in DC2.4 in LPS stimulation 24 h group were significantly higher than those in LPS stimulation 0 h group ( P<0.05). After 24 h of culture, the protein expressions of p-STING, STING, and ACSL4 in DC2.4 in siSTING+LPS group and empty vector+PBS group were significantly lower than those in empty vector+LPS group ( P<0.05); the lipid peroxidation degrees of DC2.4 in siSTING+LPS group and empty vector+PBS group were weaker than those in empty vector+LPS group. The apoptosis rates of DC2.4 in empty vector+PBS group, empty vector+LPS group, siSTING+PBS group, and siSTING+LPS group were (15.7±3.0)%, (37.8±2.9)%, (13.1±2.1)%, and (20.6±1.8)%, respectively. The apoptosis rates of DC2.4 in empty vector+PBS group and siSTING+LPS group were significantly lower than that in empty vector+LPS group ( P<0.05). At 24 h post-surgery, the protein expressions of p-STING and ACSL4, and the p-STING/STING ratio in spleen DCs of mice in CLP+NS group were significantly higher than those in sham surgery+NS group and CLP+C-176 group ( P<0.05); the protein expression of STING in spleen DCs of mice in CLP+NS group was significantly higher than that in sham surgery+NS group ( P<0.05); the lipid peroxidation degrees of spleen DCs of mice in CLP+C-176 group and sham surgery+NS group were weaker than that in CLP+NS group. The apoptosis rates of spleen DCs of mice in sham surgery+NS group and CLP+C-176 group were significantly lower than that in CLP+NS group ( P<0.05), and the apoptosis rate of spleen DCs of mice in CLP+C-176 group was significantly higher than that in sham surgery+C-176 group ( P<0.05). Pathological tissue damage in the heart, liver, lung, and kidney of mice in CLP+NS group was significantly worse than that in sham surgery+NS group, while such damage in the above organs of mice in CLP+C-176 group was significantly alleviated compared with that in CLP+NS group. The survival ratio of mice in CLP+NS group within 7 days after surgery was significantly lower than that in sham surgery+NS group ( χ2=8.30, P<0.05). Conclusions:Under sepsis, STING activation in mouse DCs is significant, which enhances ACSL4-mediated ferroptosis. Inhibiting STING activation can significantly reduce ACSL4-mediated ferroptosis level in mouse DCs under sepsis, thereby improving the survival rate of septic mice.

Objective To explore the efficiency and safety of trans-sheath intraluminal forceps biopsy under digital subtraction angiography(DSA)guidance for assisting diagnosis of pulmonary artery obstructive diseases.Methods Data of 16 patients who underwent trans-sheath intraluminal forceps biopsy for pulmonary artery obstructive diseases were retrospectively analyzed,and the clinical manifestations were recorded.The technical success of biopsy was defined as tissue obtained met the needs of pathology diagnosis.For patients with malignant pathology results,the final diagnosis was malignant,for those with benign pathology results after biopsy and no obvious changes after 6-month or longer follow-up,or benign pathology results after surgical resection,the final diagnosis was benign,otherwise was no clear diagnosis.The operation time,technical success rate,diagnostic efficiency,complications and changes of pulmonary artery pressure before and after the biopsy were observed.Results Among 16 patients,9 complained of intermittent chest tightness,4 complained of chest pain with chest tightness,2 complained of chest pain but 1 denied any symptoms.The lesions located in the left lung in 10 cases and in the right lung in 6 cases,all with enhanced CT showed filling defects of the involved branch of pulmonary artery.Totally 16 trans-sheath intraluminal forceps biopsies were performed in 16 patients,with an average operation time of(31.02±6.02)min and technical success rate of 100%.Malignant tumors were finally diagnosed in 10 cases,including 1 case of lung cancer with false-negative biopsy result,while biopsy correctly diagnosed benign lesions in the other 6 cases.Transient worsening chest pain with chest tightness occurred in 2 cases and relieved after symptomatic treatments.No statistically significant difference of pulmonary artery pressure was found before([53.38±14.28]mmHg)and after([53.69±14.15]mmHg)biopsy(P＞0.05).Conclusion DSA-guided trans-sheath intraluminal forceps biopsy was relatively safe and valuable for assisting diagnosis of pulmonary artery obstructive diseases.

Objective To explore how to further improve the quality of home pharmacy services under the background of aging. Methods The development history of home pharmacy service in our country in recent years was summarized, and the current status and limitations of home-based pharmacy service were analyzed. Results Our country's home-based pharmacy service has gradually matured and standardized from the early stage of independent exploration in various regions, but its quality improvement is still restricted by multiple bottlenecks. It is recommended to increase the popularity of pharmacy services, broaden the promotion channels for rational drug use, and optimize the allocation of pharmacists. etc. to be improved. Conclusion It is of great significance to improve the quality of home-based pharmacy services for home-based patients in the community, and it requires the joint efforts of multiple parties to improve it.

Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) represents a variety of sensorineural deafness conditions characterized by abnormal inner hair cells and/or auditory nerve function, but with the preservation of outer hair cell function. ANSD represents up to 15% of individuals with hearing impairments. Through mutation screening, bioinformatic analysis and expression studies, we have previously identified several apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) mitochondria-associated 1 (AIFM1) variants in ANSD families and in some other sporadic cases. Here, to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms underlying each AIFM1 variant, we generated AIF-null cells using the clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system and constructed AIF-wild type (WT) and AIF-mutant (mut) (p.‍T260A, p.‍R422W, and p.‍R451Q) stable transfection cell lines. We then analyzed AIF structure, coenzyme-binding affinity, apoptosis, and other aspects. Results revealed that these variants resulted in impaired dimerization, compromising AIF function. The reduction reaction of AIF variants had proceeded slower than that of AIF-WT. The average levels of AIF dimerization in AIF variant cells were only 34.5%‍‒‍49.7% of that of AIF-WT cells, resulting in caspase-independent apoptosis. The average percentage of apoptotic cells in the variants was 12.3%‍‒‍17.9%, which was significantly higher than that (6.9%‍‒‍7.4%) in controls. However, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) treatment promoted the reduction of apoptosis by rescuing AIF dimerization in AIF variant cells. Our findings show that the impairment of AIF dimerization by AIFM1 variants causes apoptosis contributing to ANSD, and introduce NADH as a potential drug for ANSD treatment. Our results help elucidate the mechanisms of ANSD and may lead to the provision of novel therapies.
Humans ; Apoptosis Inducing Factor/metabolism* ; NAD/metabolism* ; Dimerization ; Apoptosis

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Xiaonang Tiaojing decoction（XNTJD）in improving polycystic ovary syndrome with insulin resistance（PCOS-IR）model rats based on anti-Müllerian hormone（AMH）/AMH type Ⅱ receptor（AMHRⅡ）signaling pathway. MethodForty-eight adult female SD rats were randomly divided into the blank group， model group， XNTJD group（11.4 g·kg^-1·d^-1） and Diane-35 group（0.21 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， PCOS-IR model was established by high-fat and high-sugar diet combined with letrozole in rats of all groups except the blank group， rats in the administration groups were given the corresponding dose of drugs by gavage for 15 days with an interval of 1 d every 4 d， normal saline of the same volume was given to the blank group and the model group. Estrous cycle was recorded daily during treatment. At the end of treatment， body weight and Lee's index were recorded， AMH， luteinizing hormone（LH）， LH/follicle stimulating hormone（FSH）， testosterone（T）and estradiol（E₂）levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）， fasting plasma glucose（FPG）was measured by glucometer， fasting insulin（FINS） level was measured by radioimmunoassay（RIA）， and the insulin resistance index（HOMA-IR） and insulin sensitivity index（QUICKI）were calculated， triglyceride（TG）and total cholesterol（TC）levels were measured by automatic biochemical analyzer， hematoxylin-eosin（HE）staining was used to observe the morphological changes of the ovary， the levels of AMHRⅡ， bone morphogenetic protein-15（BMP-15）and Smad5 in ovarian tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry（IHC），Western blot was used to analyze the protein expression levels of AMHRⅡ， BMP-15 and Smad5. ResultCompared with the blank group， a large number of leukocytes were observed in the vaginal exfoliated cells of rats in the model group， mainly in diestrus， the levels of body weight， Lee's index， glucose-lipid metabolism indexes（FPG， FINS， HOMA-IR， TG， TC）， AMH and sex hormones（LH， LH/FSH， T）were significantly increased（P<0.01）， and QUICKI and E₂ levels were significantly decreased（P<0.01）， there were more cystic bulges on the ovarian surface， more wet weight， more atretic and cystic dilated follicles in the ovarian tissues， and the thickness of granulosa cell layer was reduced without oocytes， the expression level of AMHRⅡ protein in ovarian tissues was significantly increased（P<0.01）， and the expression levels of BMP-15 and Smad5 proteins were significantly decreased（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the exfoliated cells in the vagina of rats treated with XNTJD group showed keratinocytes from the 5^th to 6^th day of treatment， and a stable estrous cycle gradually appeared， body weight， Lee's index， glucose-lipid metabolism indexes（FPG， FINS， HOMA-IR， TG， TC）， AMH and sex hormones（LH， LH/FSH， T）levels were significantly decreased（P<0.05， P<0.01）， QUICKI and E₂ levels were significantly increased（P<0.01）， ovarian surface was smoother and lighter in wet weight， oocytes and mature follicles were observed in ovarian tissues， the thickness of granulosa cell layer increased and the morphology was intact， the expression levels of BMP-15 and Smad5 proteins were significantly increased（P<0.01）and the expression level of AMHRⅡ protein was significantly decreased（P<0.01）in ovarian tissues. ConclusionXNTJD may mediate the up-regulation of BMP-15 and Smad5 in ovarian tissues of PCOS-IR rats by down-regulating AMH/AMHRⅡ， thereby improving ovarian function， sex hormones and glucose-lipid metabolism levels in PCOS-IR rats.

Objective:To evaluate the fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous transhepatic forceps biopsy (PTFB) in the diagnosis of biliary strictures.Methods:Literatures on diagnosis of biliary strictures by PTFB published from January 2001 to August 2022 were obtained by searching the databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CKNI), Wanfang, VIP, and China Biology Medicine disc (CBM). Literature inclusion and exclusion criteria were established and the retrieved literature was screened. The quality of the included literature was evaluated using the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2). Statistical analysis was performed by using Meta-disc software and Stata software.Results:Eighteen articles involving 1 935 patients were finally included. The heterogeneity test suggested no threshold effect, but there was non-threshold heterogeneity in sensitivity and negative likelihood ratio due to other reasons, so a random-effects model was used, and a fixed-effects model were used for the remaining outcome indexes used due to low heterogeneity. The results showed that the pooled sensitivity of fluoroscopy-guided PTFB for the diagnosis of biliary strictures was 0.796 (95% CI: 0.776-0.814), the pooled specificity was 1.000 (95% CI: 0.985-1.000), the pooled positive likelihood ratio was 21.532 (95% CI: 11.281-41.098), the pooled negative likelihood ratio was 0.234(95% CI: 0.169-0.323), the pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 94.321(95% CI: 46.744-190.320), and the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.929. The pooled complication rate was 9.2% (95% CI: 6.4%-12.0%). Conclusion:Fluoroscopy-guided PTFB may be a superior diagnostic tool for biliary strictures.

Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) represents a variety of sensorineural deafness conditions characterized by abnormal inner hair cells and/or auditory nerve function, but with the preservation of outer hair cell function. ANSD represents up to 15％ of individuals with hearing impairments. Through mutation screening, bioinformatic analysis and expression studies, we have previously identified several apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) mitochondria-associated 1 (AIFM1) variants in ANSD families and in some other sporadic cases. Here, to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms underlying each AIFM1 variant, we generated AIF-null cells using the clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system and constructed AIF-wild type (WT) and AIF-mutant (mut) (p.T260A, p.R422W, and p.R451Q) stable transfection cell lines. We then analyzed AIF structure, coenzyme-binding affinity, apoptosis, and other aspects. Results revealed that these variants resulted in impaired dimerization, compromising AIF function. The reduction reaction of AIF variants had proceeded slower than that of AIF-WT. The average levels of AIF dimerization in AIF variant cells were only 34.5％?49.7％ of that of AIF-WT cells, resulting in caspase-independent apoptosis. The average percentage of apoptotic cells in the variants was 12.3％?17.9％, which was significantly higher than that (6.9％?7.4％) in controls. However, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) treatment promoted the reduction of apoptosis by rescuing AIF dimerization in AIF variant cells. Our findings show that the impairment of AIF dimerization by AIFM1 variants causes apoptosis contributing to ANSD, and introduce NADH as a potential drug for ANSD treatment. Our results help elucidate the mechanisms of ANSD and may lead to the provision of novel therapies.

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an underdiagnosed genetic heart disease worldwide. The management and prognosis of obstructive HCM (HOCM) and non-obstructive HCM (HNCM) are quite different, but it also remains challenging to discriminate these two subtypes. HCM is characterized by dysmetabolism, and myocardial amino acid (AA) metabolism is robustly changed. The present study aimed to delineate plasma AA and derivatives profiles, and identify potential biomarkers for HCM. METHODS: Plasma samples from 166 participants, including 57 cases of HOCM, 52 cases of HNCM, and 57 normal controls (NCs), who first visited the International Cooperation Center for HCM, Xijing Hospital between December 2019 and September 2020, were collected and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry based on targeted AA metabolomics. Three separate classification algorithms, including random forest, support vector machine, and logistic regression, were applied for the identification of specific AA and derivatives compositions for HCM and the development of screening models to discriminate HCM from NC as well as HOCM from HNCM. RESULTS: The univariate analysis showed that the serine, glycine, proline, citrulline, glutamine, cystine, creatinine, cysteine, choline, and aminoadipic acid levels in the HCM group were significantly different from those in the NC group. Four AAs and derivatives (Panel A; proline, glycine, cysteine, and choline) were screened out by multiple feature selection algorithms for discriminating HCM patients from NCs. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis in Panel A yielded an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.83 (0.75-0.91) in the training set and 0.79 (0.65-0.94) in the validation set. Moreover, among 10 AAs and derivatives (arginine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, proline, alanine, asparagine, creatine, tryptophan, ornithine, and choline) with statistical significance between HOCM and HNCM, 3 AAs (Panel B; arginine, proline, and ornithine) were selected to differentiate the two subgroups. The AUC values in the training and validation sets for Panel B were 0.83 (0.74-0.93) and 0.82 (0.66-0.98), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The plasma AA and derivatives profiles were distinct between the HCM and NC groups. Based on the differential profiles, the two established screening models have potential value in assisting HCM screening and identifying whether it is obstructive.
Humans ; Amino Acids ; Cysteine ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/diagnosis* ; Biomarkers ; Proline ; Arginine ; Ornithine ; Glycine ; Choline