1. Exploration and Practice of a Generative AI-assisted Four-dimensional Integration Platform of “Teaching, Learning, Evaluation, and Research” for The Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Courses
Pan CHEN ; Yang XI ; Xiao-Feng JIN ; De-Sen SUN ; Qiang CHEN ; Jun-Ming GUO
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(3):789-800
ObjectiveBiochemistry and Molecular Biology, a discipline that elucidates life phenomena at the molecular level, serves as a core foundational course in medical education. It provides the theoretical basis for studying other basic and clinical medical subjects, as well as for understanding pathogenesis, disease diagnosis, and treatment. However, its complex content and highly abstract concepts have posed a dual challenge to traditional teaching models: “inefficient instruction” and “inadequate learning outcomes”. Within limited classroom hours, how to engage students and stimulate their intrinsic motivation, and how to help them recognize, understand, and develop a passion for biochemistry from the perspective of the discipline’s essence, have long been key focuses of curriculum research. MethodsUsing the lipid metabolism chapter as an example, this study employs “Rain Classroom”, a generative artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted platform, to support education in four dimensions: teaching, learning, evaluation, and research. In teaching, it assists instructors through virtual experiments, lesson preparation support, knowledge mapping, and assignment design. For learning, it serves as an intelligent study assistant for students, providing automated assignment review, enabling educational resource sharing, and facilitating personalized learning pathways. In evaluation, the platform automates assignment grading, analyzes student performance data, and offers diagnostic feedback and teaching recommendations. In research, it aids educators in collecting and analyzing teaching data, as well as searching for and summarizing relevant literature. ResultsThe results indicate that an educational model integrating teacher-led instruction, student-centered learning, and generative AI assistance significantly enhances teaching quality, students’ self-directed learning abilities, and knowledge mastery. Furthermore, with the support of generative AI, curriculum-based ideological education—focusing on cutting-edge disciplinary advances and topical medical issues—helps cultivate students’ medical spirit of “honoring life and healing the wounded”, thereby fostering the establishment of appropriate professional values. Finally, while generative AI presents both opportunities and challenges for higher education, this study also analyzes potential risks in its teaching applications, emphasizing the need for both instructors and students to avoid over-reliance and to ensure that technological tools consistently serve the fundamental goals of education. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that integrating generative AI, specifically via the “Rain Classroom” platform, can effectively enhance biochemistry education. By supporting teaching, learning, evaluation, and research, this approach improves both educational effectiveness and student outcomes. It also facilitates the incorporation of cutting-edge knowledge and professional ethics, nurturing a patient-centered mindset. Additionally, the study addresses potential implementation risks to ensure that such technological tools remain aligned with the core purpose of education.
2.Engineered Bacteriophages for The Treatment of Multidrug-resistant Bacterial Infections
Yu-Ying CHEN ; Chun-Mei HUANG ; Jin-Zhi PAN ; De-Liang LIU ; Yang ZHOU ; Gui-Qin DAI ; Peng-Fei ZHAO ; Hong-Zhou LU ; Ming-Bin ZHENG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(6):1581-1596
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections have emerged as a serious challenge of global public health crisis. The overuse and misuse of conventional antibiotics have dramatically accelerated the emergence, evolution and worldwide spread of drug-resistant bacterial strains, necessitating urgent exploration of novel antibacterial strategies. Bacteriophages serve as natural bacterial predators offering distinct advantages including high host specificity, autonomous self-replication capabilities and cost-effective large-scale production. However, wild-type phages present significant clinical limitations due to their narrow host ranges, susceptibility to rapid immune clearance and poor penetration of bacterial biofilms, which severely restrict their therapeutic applications. The convergence of synthetic biology, nanotechnology and advanced gene editing technologies has accelerated the development of engineered bacteriophage platforms, providing programmable, scalable and clinically translatable pathways to overcome these inherent biological constraints. Here, we systematically delineate four fundamental strategies for engineered bacteriophage development. Chemical modification utilizes reactive functional groups such as amino, carboxyl and thiol moieties on capsid proteins through esterification, amidation or click chemistry reactions to achieve precise drug conjugation and surface functionalization. In vivo editing encompasses ultraviolet or chemical mutagenesis for random mutation induction, homologous recombination for targeted genetic alterations, recombineering methodologies including electroporation-mediated bacteriophage recombination engineering, and CRISPR-Cas systems for precise genome editing to enable exact genetic reconstruction and host range reprogramming. In vitro synthesis leverages genome engineering platforms where intact phage genomes are transferred into yeast or host bacteria to facilitate highly efficient homologous recombination, enabling large DNA fragment assembly and cross-gene host range expansion without bacterial toxicity constraints. Directed evolution combines artificial selection through mutation library screening with rational design approaches involving chimeric receptor binding protein construction or site-specific mutagenesis, effectively balancing the discovery of unknown adaptive pathways with targeted host specificity modification. Moreover, we comprehensively discuss therapeutic applications across diverse clinical scenarios. Engineered bacteriophage effectively disrupt bacterial biofilms through sophisticated functionalized delivery platforms including nanozyme-conjugated phages, phage-liposome nanoconjugates and bio-responsive hydrogels, demonstrating significantly enhanced bactericidal efficiency compared to unmodified free phages. These bioengineered vectors attenuate bacterial virulence and resensitize pathogens to antibiotics by delivering CRISPR-Cas systems or base editors to disrupt critical virulence factors such as pili, capsule synthesis machineries and quorum sensing systems, or by inactivating antibiotic resistance determinants including beta-lactamase genes. As an intelligent nanomedicine delivery platform, engineered bacteriophage enable precise pathogen elimination an through photocatalytic reactive oxygen species generation, immunomodulatory interventions, or controlled release of antibacterial drugs. Furthermore, oral administration of engineered bacteriophage facilitates microbiota modulation, which selectively eliminate intestinal pathogens while preserve beneficial commensal microbiota, thereby restoring microbial community balance and preventing complications associated with dysbiosis. Finally, we critically analyze persistent challenges including host strain matching complexity, evolution of bacterial resistance mechanisms, pharmacokinetic optimization requirements, optimal administration route selection, large-scale production quality control standards and clinical dosing determination protocols. Through multidisciplinary integration of synthetic biology, infectious disease medicine and immunology, future translational medicine studies of bacteriophage should establish comprehensive technical platforms encompassing rapid phage screening, intelligent rational design, rigorous in vivo evaluation and standardized clinical validation processes, ultimately advancing engineered bacteriophage from laboratory innovations to clinically approved therapeutics for effectively combating MDR bacterial infections.
3.The role of bile acid dynamics in inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
Si-Rui Yu ; Run Sun ; Mei-Ya Shi ; Mei Yang ; Kun Chen ; Qiong Pan ; Ling Zhao ; Ming-Yue Wu ; Jin Chai
Liver Research 2026;10(1):35-50
The prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is higher among individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than in the general population. Emerging evidence indicates that the development of MASLD in patients with IBD may occur independently of traditional metabolic risk factors, suggesting a unique pathophysiological mechanism distinct from conventional MASLD pathways. Bile acids (BAs), which act as critical signaling molecules in enterohepatic circulation, play an essential role in maintaining gastrointestinal homeostasis through bidirectional gut–liver axis communication. These molecules are increasingly recognized as pivotal regulators in the progression of both MASLD and IBD. While previous studies have characterized the dynamics of BA in blood or fecal samples under both conditions, a comprehensive understanding of their metabolic profiles and the associated interactions within the gut–liver axis is still lacking. This review synthesizes current evidence from studies employing BA metabolomics to investigate IBD and MASLD. By focusing on BA signatures, we summarize conserved alterations between these two conditions and their potential mechanisms of disease progression. Our review advances understanding of BA-mediated pathways in IBD and MASLD, providing a foundation for assessing their roles in contributing to the pathogenesis of MASLD in patients with IBD.
4.Progress of galectin-3 as an inflammatory signal in ulcerative colitis
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(7):1211-1216
Ulcerative colitis(UC)is a chronic inflammatory dis-ease of the colon and rectum with an unclear etiology.Early di-agnosis and effective treatment of UC are still urgent challenges that need to be addressed in clinical practice.More and more studies have found that galectin-3 is involved in the occurrence and development of UC,which may become a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of UC.Galectin-3,widely expressed in colonic epithelial cells and immune cells,can regulate intestinal immunity and play an important role in the occurrence and de-velopment of inflammation.This article provides a brief intro-duction to the structure and function of galectin-3,and summari-zes and discusses the expression changes and roles of galectin-3 in UC.At present,most literature reports believe that galectin-3 plays a pro-inflammatory role in UC,but there are still some re-ports that hold the opposite view.This article analyzes the rea-sons for this controversy and provides a reference for further de-termining whether galectin-3 may become a diagnostic indicator and therapeutic target for UC.
5.Experience in diagnosis and treatment of acute Stanford type A aortic dissection involving coronary arteries
Jie CHEN ; JiaHao PAN ; Cong NIE ; Xiaolong MA ; Jiawen LUO ; Fei CHEN ; Ming WU ; Anxing HOU ; Qing ZHOU ; Wenwu ZHOU
Journal of Chinese Physician 2025;27(8):1130-1134
Objective:To analyze the anatomical characteristics and surgical management measures of acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (AAD) involving coronary arteries, and to preliminarily explore the clinical efficacy of different coronary artery treatment techniques.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 42 patients who underwent surgery for AAD involving coronary arteries in Hunan Provincial People′s Hospital from January 2022 to May 2025. They were divided into the MI group (14 cases) and the nMI group (28 cases) according to whether they had acute myocardial infarction before surgery. The clinical data such as the actual surgical methods and mortality in the two groups were summarized.Results:Among 294 surgeries, 42 cases (14.3%) had definite coronary artery involvement, including 14 cases in the MI group and 28 cases in the nMI group; 1 case had bilateral coronary artery involvement and 41 cases had right coronary artery involvement. Regarding injury types: 16 cases were of the coronary trunk compression type, 12 cases were of the sinus intimal tear neal to ostium type, and 14 cases were of the coronary trunk intimal type. There was no statistically significant difference in the types of coronary artery involvement between the two groups ( P>0.05). There were 18 cases of Sun′s procedure with preserved aortic sinus and aortic valve, 7 cases of Bentall procedure without bypass, and 17 cases of Bentall procedure plus bypass. There was no statistically significant difference in the surgical plans between the two groups ( P>0.05). There were 4 deaths within 30 days (2 cases in each group). Conclusions:AAD involving coronary arteries is a critical condition, and accurate diagnosis is somewhat difficult. Myocardial ischemia is not significantly associated with the type of coronary artery involvement. The surgical plan depends on the type of coronary artery involvement. The classification method in this study is conducive to selecting appropriate surgical methods and improving surgical prognosis.
6.Modulation of microglia by traditional Chinese medicine improves post-stroke depression
Qi LI ; Jing GAO ; Ming ZHANG ; Xu ZHANG ; Yachen FENG ; Rui PAN ; Chunxiao WANG ; Qiongdi REN
The Journal of Practical Medicine 2025;41(18):2945-2952
Post-stroke depression(PSD),a common stroke complication characterized by depressed mood and diminished interest,severely affects patients'recovery and quality of life.Microglial abnormal activation and polarization play key roles in PSD pathogenesis,closely associated with neuroinflammation and imbalance in neu-rotransmitter metabolism.In contrast,traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)demonstrates unique multi-target and multi-level mechanisms:regulating microglial function,ameliorating post-stroke neuroinflammatory environments,and promoting neuroplasticity,thereby potentially alleviating PSD symptoms.This review summarizes TCM's effects on microglial activation/polarization states and its therapeutic advances in PSD,providing novel perspectives and strategies for clinical management.
7.Research progress on protective effect of cannabidiol on central nervous system diseases
Pan-pan LI ; Bao-qi WANG ; Xiao-ming SHEN ; Jie ZHANG ; Yu-min XU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(10):1818-1822
Cannabidiol(CBD),a natural,non-toxic,non-psy-choactive cannabinoid extracted from Cannabis sativa L,has a wide range of pharmacological activities,including anti-inflam-matory,antioxidant,immunomodulatory,analgesic,anti-tumor,anti-convulsant,anxiolytic effects.Recent studies have indica-ted that CBD may have potential neuroprotective effects in vari-ous models of central nervous system diseases.This paper re-views the experimental research progress of CBD in central nerv-ous system diseases and its possible neuroprotective mecha-nisms,aiming to provide references for its clinical application and new drug development.
8.Application values of plaque features and derived parameters based on coronary CT angiography in predicting major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with and without diabetes mellitus
Ming CHEN ; Fusheng OUYANG ; Xiyi HUANG ; Jialing PAN ; Liwen WANG ; Lanni ZHOU ; Qiugen HU ; Baoliang GUO
Chinese Journal of Diabetes 2025;33(3):167-172
Objective To compare the application value of coronary computed tomography angiography(CCTA)based plaque characteristics and computed tomography(CT)derived parameters in predicting future major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)between patients with and without diabetes mellitus.Methods A total of 425 patients who underwent CCTA in Shunde Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University from June 2016 to November 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were divided into DM group(n=120)and non-DM group(n=305)for follow-up.According to the occurrence of MACE during follow-up,patients were divided into DM group(n=81),DM+MACE group(n=39),non-DM group(n=39),non-DM group(n=244)and non-DM+MACE group(n=61).The differences in general characteristics,biochemical index and parameters in imaging were compared among the four groups.Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors for MACE in the two populations.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to analyze the difference in the predictive value of different plaque characteristics and CT-derived parameters for MACE.Results The levels of coronary artery calcification score(CACS),and the proportion of low-attenuation plaque(LAP)were higher in the DM+MACE group than in the DM group(P<0.05).The levels of positive reconstruction(PR),the proportion of antihypertensive drugs,CAD-RADS,CACS,residual cholesterol and apolipoprotein B were higher in the non-DM+MACE group than in the non-DM group(P<0.05).Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that CACS≥100(HR 2.151,95%CI 1.128~4.102,P=0.020)and LAP(HR 2.337,95%CI 1.032~5.290,P=0.042)were the influencing factors for MACE in patients with DM.PR(HR 124.305,95%CI 42.883~360.326,P<0.001)was the influencing factor for MACE in patients without DM.ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of CACS combined with LAP were 0.606,0.609 and 0.660 for predicting MACE in DM patients within 1,3 and 5 years respectively.The AUC of PR for predicting MACE were 0.862,0.927,and 0.806 in the non-DM population within 1,3,and 5 years respectively.The predictive value of CACS and LAP for MACE in the DM patients was stable during the 5 years,while the predictive value of PR for MACE in the non-DM population decreased significantly after 4 years.Conclusions The predictive values of different plaque characteristics and CT derived parameters for future MACE are different between population with and without diabetes.The combination of CACS and low-attenuation plaques can effectively evaluate the risk of MACE in diabetic patients,while PR has a higher predictive value for MACE in non-diabetic patients.
9.Analysis of therapeutic effect of single-hole VATS under non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery epidural anesthesia in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer
Ming DING ; Guoxiang RONG ; Zhongjun PAN
Tianjin Medical Journal 2025;53(4):411-415
Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods A total of 180 NSCLC patients were selected and matched by propensity score proximity matching method.Patients were divided into the group A,the group B,the group C and the group D,with 45 cases each.Patients in the group A underwent non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery epidural anesthesia with single operation hole operation,the group B underwent non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery epidural anesthesia with three operation holes,the group C underwent double-cavity tracheal intubation with general anesthesia with single operation hole operation and the group D underwent double-cavity tracheal intubation with three operation holes under general anesthesia.Anesthesia related indexes,surgical related indexes,CD3+,CD4+,CD4+/CD8+,1-second forced expiratory volume(FEV1),maximal voluntary ventilation(MVV),forced vital capacity(FVC)and complication rate of the 4 groups were compared 1 day before surgery and 1 month after surgery.Results The anesthetic preparation time,first anal exhaust time and first getting out of bed time were shorter in the group A and the group B than those in the group C and the group D,and the dosage of propofol and remifentanil was lower in the group A and the group B than that in the group C and the group D(P<0.05).Compared with the other 3 groups,the group A had the shortest postoperative drainage and hospital stay,and the highest CD3+,CD4+,CD4+/CD8+and FEV1,FVC and MVV at 1 month after surgery(P<0.05).One month after surgery,CD3+,CD4+,CD4+/CD8+,FEV1,FVC and MVV were lower than 1 day before surgery in the 4 groups.The total incidence of postoperative complications was lower in the group A than that of the other 3 groups(P<0.05).Conclusion Non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery with epidural anesthesia and single operation hole can improve the clinical efficacy of NSCLC patients,reduce the dosage of opioids and have good safety.
10.Mechanism of ACTG1 Downregulation Inhibits the Expression of Protein Associated to PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway and Promotes Gastric Cancer Cells Line HGC-27 Apoptosis
Shoumin LI ; Bingxue LAN ; Li PAN ; Ming SUN ; Miaomiao CUI ; Sixi WEI ; Hai HUANG
Journal of Modern Laboratory Medicine 2025;40(2):1-5
Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of actin gamma1(ACTG1)downregulation on apoptosis in gastric cancer cells line HGC-27.Methods Stable ACTG1 knockdown HGC-27 cell line was constructed by CRISPR/Cas9,ACTG1 knockdown was verified by DNA sequencing and Western blot,apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry,Western blot detected the expression level of apoptosis-related proteins Bcl2-associated X protein(Bax),B cell lymphoma 2 family protein(Bcl2)and PI3K/AKT signal pathway-related proteins AKT and p-AKT.Results HGC-27 cell lines with stable knockdown of ACTG1 were constructed,and the ACTG1 protein levels were decreased in the sgACTG1-1 and sgACTG1-2 groups compared with the Control group.Compared with the apoptosis rate in the Control group(6.54%±0.67%),cell apoptosis rate in the sgACTG1-1 and sgACTG1-2 groups(10.11%±0.46%,14.67%±0.17%)were significantly increased,the differences were statistically significant(t=-7.58,-20.28,all P<0.01).Compared the Control group,the Bax protein levels in the sgACTG1-1 and sgACTG1-2 groups(0.89±0.02,1.00±0.08 vs 0.71±0.03)were significantly increased(t=-8.14,-5.87),the level of Bcl2 protein(0.49±0.06,0.39±0.06 vs 0.65±0.07)were significantly decreased(t=3.09,5.35),the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Compared with the Control group,the AKT protein levels in the sgACTG1-1 and sgACTG1-2 groups(0.95±0.10,0.43±0.09 vs 1.17±0.06)and the P-AKT protein level(0.38±0.08,0.28±0.12 vs 0.70±0.14)were significantly decreased,the differences were statistically significant(t=3.20,12.13;3.44,3.85,all P<0.05).Conclusion Downregulation of ACTG1 inhibits the expression of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway related proteins AKT,p-AKT and promotes gastric cancer cells line HGC-27 apoptosis.


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