As one of the most common malignant tumors， digestive system tumors exhibit an increase in the incidence and mortality year by year. Its pathogenesis is complex， making it difficult to carry out early prevention. Autophagy is a process in which cells use lysosomes to degrade their organelles and macromolecules to maintain cellular homeostasis under the regulation of autophagy-related genes. Cellular autophagy has a dual regulatory effect on the tumor microenvironment， which always affects the occurrence and development of digestive system tumors. Therefore， the effect and mechanism of action of cellular autophagy on digestive system tumors have become a hot topic in tumor therapy in recent years. Meanwhile， the remarkable research results of targeted autophagy drugs indicate that cellular autophagy may become an important target for anti-digestive system tumors. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has been widely used in the comprehensive treatment of digestive system tumors with good efficacy. A variety of active ingredients in TCM， such as flavonoids， glycosides， terpenoids， quinones， and alkaloids， can increase the expression of autophagy-associated proteins microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 （LC3）Ⅱ/Ⅰ， autophagy-related gene （ATG）5， ATG7， inhibit the expression of autophagy-related protein p62 ， and induce autophagy in digestive system tumor cells， thereby exerting the anti-digestive system tumor effect. By summarizing the research results in recent years on the modulation of cell autophagy by active ingredients in TCM to fight against digestive system tumors， this paper analyzed the relevant signaling pathways， regulatory factors， and functional characteristics of cell autophagy modulation， so as to elucidate the mechanism by which active ingredients of TCM induce autophagy and to provide ideas and references for clinical application.

As one of the most common malignant tumors， digestive system tumors exhibit an increase in the incidence and mortality year by year. Its pathogenesis is complex， making it difficult to carry out early prevention. Autophagy is a process in which cells use lysosomes to degrade their organelles and macromolecules to maintain cellular homeostasis under the regulation of autophagy-related genes. Cellular autophagy has a dual regulatory effect on the tumor microenvironment， which always affects the occurrence and development of digestive system tumors. Therefore， the effect and mechanism of action of cellular autophagy on digestive system tumors have become a hot topic in tumor therapy in recent years. Meanwhile， the remarkable research results of targeted autophagy drugs indicate that cellular autophagy may become an important target for anti-digestive system tumors. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has been widely used in the comprehensive treatment of digestive system tumors with good efficacy. A variety of active ingredients in TCM， such as flavonoids， glycosides， terpenoids， quinones， and alkaloids， can increase the expression of autophagy-associated proteins microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 （LC3）Ⅱ/Ⅰ， autophagy-related gene （ATG）5， ATG7， inhibit the expression of autophagy-related protein p62 ， and induce autophagy in digestive system tumor cells， thereby exerting the anti-digestive system tumor effect. By summarizing the research results in recent years on the modulation of cell autophagy by active ingredients in TCM to fight against digestive system tumors， this paper analyzed the relevant signaling pathways， regulatory factors， and functional characteristics of cell autophagy modulation， so as to elucidate the mechanism by which active ingredients of TCM induce autophagy and to provide ideas and references for clinical application.

Ovulatory dysfunction (OD) is one of the main causes of infertility in women of childbearing age, which not only affects their reproductive ability, but also physical and mental health. Traditional treatment strategies have limited efficacies, and the emergence of biomedicines provides a promising alternative solution via the strategies of combining engineered design with modern advanced technology. This review explores the pathophysiological characteristics and related induction mechanisms of OD, and evaluates the current cutting-edge advances in its treatments. It emphasizes the potentials of biomedicines strategies such as hydrogels, nanoparticles and extracellular vesicles in improving therapeutic precision and efficacy. By mimicking natural physiological processes, and achieving controlled drug release, these advanced drug carriers are expected to address the challenges in ovarian microenvironment reprogramming, tissue repair, and metabolic and immune regulation. Despite the promising progress, there are still challenges in terms of biomedical complexity, differences between animal models and human physiology, and the demand for intelligent drug carriers in the therapy of OD. Future researches are mainly dedicated to developing precise personalized biomedicines in OD therapy through interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting the development of reproductive regenerative medicine.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of periodontitis induced by Prevotella nigrescens (Pn) combined with ligation on cognitive functions in mice. METHODS: Twenty-four C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group, ligation group, and ligation + Pn treatment (P+Pn) group. Experimental periodontitis was induced by silk ligation of the first molars followed by topical application of Pn for 6 weeks. After modeling, alveolar bone resorption was assessed using micro-CT and histological analysis. Learning and memory abilities of the mice were evaluated using open field test (OFT), novel object recognition test (NORT), and Morris water maze test (MWM). Seven weeks after the start of modeling, the mice were sacrificed for examining histopathological changes in the hippocampus using HE and Nissl staining. RESULTS: After 6 weeks of molar ligation, micro-CT revealed horizontal alveolar bone resorption and furcation exposure in the mice, and histological analysis showed apical migration of the junctional epithelium, epithelial ridge hyperplasia, and lymphocyte infiltration, and these changes were obviously worsened in P+Pn group. Alveolar bone height decreased significantly in both ligation groups compared to the control group. Cognitive tests showed that the mice in both of the ligation groups traveled shorter distances in OFT, showed reduced novel object preference in NORT, and exhibited longer escape latencies in MWM, and the mice in P+Pn group had significantly poorer performances in the tests. Histologically, obvious neuronal cytoplasmic degeneration, necrosis, nuclear pyknosis, vacuolation, and reduced Nissl bodies and viable neurons were observed in the hippocampal regions of the mice in the two ligation groups. CONCLUSIONS Pn infection aggravates alveolar bone destruction, accelerates necrosis and causes morphological abnormalities of neuronal cells in the hippocampus to reduce cognitive functions of mice with periodontitis.
Animals ; Periodontitis/microbiology* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Cognition ; Alveolar Bone Loss ; Hippocampus/pathology* ; Male ; Inflammation ; Maze Learning

Objective To explore the effectiveness of the OKR method in improving the efficiency of the whole process of critical value management,and to provide new ideas for the implementation of medical quality improvement in other medical insti-tutions.Methods A hospital in Tianjin was selected as the study object,which used the OKR method to reform the management of critical value since January 2024.The core goal of"improving the effectiveness of critical value management"was set,and the goal was broken down into quantitative key results such as"the rate of receiving the critical value system is over 95％"and"the rate of completing the standardised writing of medical records is up to 85％".Results After the reform,several quantitative key results,such as the completion rate of critical care medical record writing,the rate of standardised medical record writing,and the rate of overtime acceptance,were all better than before.Conclusion Through the OKR method to unify the whole hospital's strategic objectives,and the dynamic adjustment of the program based on data review,the hospital's critical value management efficiency has been significantly improved,effectively guaranteeing the safety of patients,and providing new perspectives and methods for the management of critical value in other medical institutions.

Objectives:QT interval prolongation during treadmill test exercise is one of the clinical feature of patients with long QT syndrome(LQTS).This study aimed to explore the feasibility and efficacy of treadmill exercise testing as an auxiliary diagnosis tool for LQTS in clinical practice.Methods:We enrolled normal healthy individuals,common cardiovascular disease patients,and clinically diagnosed or suspected LQTS patients,who underwent treadmill exercise test from July 2023 to July 2024 at Fuwai Hospital.A special treadmill exercise testing procedure was designed to record the QT interval correction(QTc)intervals of the twelve lead electrocardiogram at 6 time points when performing the exercise tablet,including supine,sitting,standing,peak exercise,and recovery at 1-minute and 4-minute.The differences in QTc intervals among healthy group,cardiovascular diseases group,and suspected LQTS group were compared.Results:A total of 80 cases were consecutively enrolled,including 37 normal healthy controls,25 patients with common cardiovascular disease,and 18 patients with suspected LQTS.The QTc intervals at 6 points did not differ significantly between normal healthy controls and patients with cardiovascular disease,with QTc intervals less than 480 ms at all measurement.For patients with suspected LQTS,67.7%(12/18)of these patients presented a QTc interval≥480 ms at the 4-minute during recovery period.Among them,5 cases were confirmed to have pathogenic gene mutations of LQTS by genetic testing(including 1 case with a lying electrocardiogram QTc interval of 489 ms diagnosed with LQTS 1 type and a QTc interval of 636 ms during the 4-minute recovery period after exercise);5 clinically diagnosed patients(negative or undetectable in genetic testing)with a Schwartz score≥4,and the remaining 2 patients had a Schwartz score of 3.The remaining 5/18 patients,include 2 patients with clinical Schwartz scores≥4 and 3 patients with clinical suspicion(Schwartz scores 2-3)had a 4 min QTc interval of 445-480 ms during exercise recovery.Another patient with clinical suspicion(Schwartz score 3)had a 4 min QTc interval of<445 ms during exercise recovery and a negative genetic test at a later stage.Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed a sensitivity of 83.3%and specificity of 98.4%for QTc interval≥482 ms during the 4-minute recovery period of exercise as the LQTS diagnostic cutoff.Conclusions:This study results suggest that this special treadmill exercise testing protocol is effective in identifying LQTS and has strong feasibility and generalizability for clinical practice.

BACKGROUND:In recent years,more and more studies have confirmed that ferroptosis of dopaminergic neurons is involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease,and verbascoside has been confirmed to have antioxidant,anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the protective effect of verbascoside on Erastin-induced ferroptosis of MN9D cells and its action mechanism. METHODS:MN9D cells were divided into control group,model group(20 μmol/L Erastin group),Erastin+1 μg/mL verbascoside group,Erastin+5 μg/mL verbascoside group,and Erastin+10 μg/mL verbascoside group.MN9D cells were cultured in a CO2 incubator for 24 hours,then pretreated with different mass concentrations of verbascoside for 8 hours,and induced with 20 μmol/L Erastin for 24 hours.The levels of reduced glutathione,superoxide dismutase,total iron ion,and malondialdehyde were detected by ELISA.The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase was detected by immunohistochemistry.The expressions of tyrosine hydroxylase,nuclear factor erythrocyte-2-associated factor 2,heme oxygenase-1,and glutathione peroxidase 4 were detected by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the control group,the levels of reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase were significantly decreased(P<0.05),and the levels of malondialdehyde and total iron ion were significantly increased in the model group(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the levels of reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase were significantly increased(P<0.05),and the levels of malondialdehyde and total iron ionized water were decreased in 1,5,10 μg/mL verbascoside groups(P<0.05).(2)Compared with the control group,the area of tyrosine hydroxylase positive cells in the model group was significantly reduced(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the area of tyrosine hydroxylase positive cells was significantly increased in 1,5,10 μg/mL verbascoside groups(P<0.05).(3)Compared with the control group,the protein expressions of tyrosine hydroxylase,nuclear factor erythrocyte-2-associated factor 2,heme oxygenase-1 and glutathione peroxidase 4 were significantly decreased in the model group(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the protein expression levels of tyrosine hydroxylase,nuclear factor erythrocyte-2-associated factor 2,heme oxygenase-1,and glutathione peroxidase 4 were significantly increased in 1,5,10 μg/mL verbascoside groups(P<0.05).The results suggested that verbascoside could inhibit Erastin-induced ferroptosis in MN9D cells,possibly by activating nuclear factor erythrocyte-2-associated factor 2/heme oxygenase-1/glutathione peroxidase 4 pathway.

Gastrointestinal tumors （GTs）， including colorectal cancer， gastric cancer， liver cancer， pancreatic cancer， and esophageal cancer， are increasing in incidence worldwide and have become one of the major diseases threatening human health. Tumor stem cells （TSCs）， an undifferentiated subpopulation within tumor tissues， possess biological characteristics such as self-renewal， multidirectional differentiation， high tumorigenicity， and resistance to radiochemotherapy. They play an important role in the occurrence， progression， recurrence， and metastasis of GTs and have increasingly become a research hotspot in GT treatment. Although modern medicine has made remarkable progress， there remain many problems in therapeutic approaches targeting TSCs. In this context， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， with its favorable safety profile and multi-target mechanisms， has shown potential advantages and value in regulating TSCs. It can reduce TSC drug resistance， enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic agents， inhibit tumor growth and metastasis， and has shown unique advantages in improving the quality of life and prolonging the survival of GT patients. Studies have found that active components of Chinese medicine， such as terpenoids， polyphenols， flavonoids， glycosides， and quinones， and Chinese medicine compound formulas， including Zuojin pills， Sijunzi decoction， Biejiajian pills， and Xuanfu Daizhe decoction， can inhibit TSCs-related signaling pathways such as the Notch signaling pathway， the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway， the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway， and the Hippo signaling pathway. They also reduce the expression of TSC surface markers， including sex-determining region Y-box 2 （SOX2）， sex-determining region Y-box 9 （SOX9）， octamer-binding transcription factor 4 （OCT4）， prominin-1 （CD133）， cluster of differentiation 44 （CD44）， cluster of differentiation 24 （CD24）， and thyroid transmembrane protein 1 （CD90）， thereby hindering TSC differentiation， accelerating their metabolic processes， improving the tumor microenvironment， and consequently inhibiting GT growth. This study collects and analyzes recent research on the regulation of TSCs by TCM in the treatment of GT， aiming to provide a new theoretical basis for tumor therapy with TCM， expand its application in the comprehensive treatment of GT， and offer new therapeutic ideas and methods for clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Senescent human skin primary fibroblast (FB) models have been established for studying aging-related, proliferative, and inflammatory skin diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the transcriptome characteristics of human primary dermal FBs from children and the elderly with four senescence models. METHODS: Human skin primary FBs were obtained from healthy children (FB-C) and elderly donors (FB-E). Senescence models were generated by ultraviolet B irradiation (FB-UVB), D-galactose stimulation (FB-D-gal), atazanavir treatment (FB-ATV), and replication exhaustion induction (FB-P30). Flow cytometry, immunofluorescence staining, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, co-culturing with immune cells, and bulk RNA sequencing were used for systematic comparisons of the models. RESULTS: In comparison with FB-C, FB-E showed elevated expression of senescence-related genes related to the skin barrier and extracellular matrix, proinflammatory factors, chemokines, oxidative stress, and complement factors. In comparison with FB-E, FB-UVB and FB-ATV showed higher levels of senescence and expression of the genes related to the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and their shaped immune microenvironment highly facilitated the activation of downstream immune cells, including T cells, macrophages, and natural killer cells. FB-P30 was most similar to FB-E in terms of general transcriptome features, such as FB migration and proliferation, and aging-related characteristics. FB-D-gal showed the lowest expression levels of senescence-related genes. In comparisons with the single-cell RNA sequencing results, FB-E showed almost complete simulation of the transcriptional spectrum of FBs in elderly patients with atopic dermatitis, followed by FB-P30 and FB-UVB. FB-E and FB-P30 showed higher similarity with the FBs in keloids. CONCLUSIONS Each senescent FB model exhibited different characteristics. In addition to showing upregulated expression of natural senescence features, FB-UVB and FB-ATV showed high expression levels of senescence-related genes, including those involved in the SASP, and FB-P30 showed the greatest similarity with FB-E. However, D-galactose-stimulated FBs did not clearly present aging characteristics.
Humans ; Fibroblasts/drug effects* ; Cellular Senescence/physiology* ; Skin/metabolism* ; Child ; Transcriptome/genetics* ; Aged ; Ultraviolet Rays ; Cells, Cultured ; Galactose/pharmacology*

Objective To investigate the effects of periodontitis induced by Prevotella nigrescens(Pn)combined with ligation on cognitive functions in mice.Methods Twenty-four C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group,ligation group,and ligation+Pn treatment(P+Pn)group.Experimental periodontitis was induced by silk ligation of the first molars followed by topical application of Pn for 6 weeks.After modeling,alveolar bone resorption was assessed using micro-CT and histological analysis.Learning and memory abilities of the mice were evaluated using open field test(OFT),novel object recognition test(NORT),and Morris water maze test(MWM).Seven weeks after the start of modeling,the mice were sacrificed for examining histopathological changes in the hippocampus using HE and Nissl staining.Results After 6 weeks of molar ligation,micro-CT revealed horizontal alveolar bone resorption and furcation exposure in the mice,and histological analysis showed apical migration of the junctional epithelium,epithelial ridge hyperplasia,and lymphocyte infiltration,and these changes were obviously worsened in P+Pn group.Alveolar bone height decreased significantly in both ligation groups compared to the control group.Cognitive tests showed that the mice in both of the ligation groups traveled shorter distances in OFT,showed reduced novel object preference in NORT,and exhibited longer escape latencies in MWM,and the mice in P+Pn group had significantly poorer performances in the tests.Histologically,obvious neuronal cytoplasmic degeneration,necrosis,nuclear pyknosis,vacuolation,and reduced Nissl bodies and viable neurons were observed in the hippocampal regions of the mice in the two ligation groups.Conclusion Pn infection aggravates alveolar bone destruction,accelerates necrosis and causes morphological abnormalities of neuronal cells in the hippocampus to reduce cognitive functions of mice with periodontitis.