1.Oxidative Stress-related Signaling Pathways and Antioxidant Therapy in Alzheimer’s Disease
Li TANG ; Yun-Long SHEN ; De-Jian PENG ; Tian-Lu RAN ; Zi-Heng PAN ; Xin-Yi ZENG ; Hui LIU
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(10):2486-2498
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline, functional impairment, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. It represents the most prevalent form of dementia among the elderly population. Accumulating evidence indicates that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD. Notably, elevated levels of oxidative stress have been observed in the brains of AD patients, where excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause extensive damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA, ultimately compromising neuronal structure and function. Amyloid β‑protein (Aβ) has been shown to induce mitochondrial dysfunction and calcium overload, thereby promoting the generation of ROS. This, in turn, exacerbates Aβ aggregation and enhances tau phosphorylation, leading to the formation of two pathological features of AD: extracellular Aβ plaque deposition and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). These events ultimately culminate in neuronal death, forming a vicious cycle. The interplay between oxidative stress and these pathological processes constitutes a core link in the pathogenesis of AD. The signaling pathways mediating oxidative stress in AD include Nrf2, RCAN1, PP2A, CREB, Notch1, NF‑κB, ApoE, and ferroptosis. Nrf2 signaling pathway serves as a key regulator of cellular redox homeostasis, exerts important antioxidant capacity and protective effects in AD. RCAN1 signaling pathway, as a calcineurin inhibitor, and modulates AD progression through multiple mechanisms. PP2A signaling pathway is involved in regulating tau phosphorylation and neuroinflammation processes. CREB signaling pathway contributes to neuroplasticity and memory formation; activation of CREB improves cognitive function and reduce oxidative stress. Notch1 signaling pathway regulates neuronal development and memory, participates in modulation of Aβ production, and interacts with Nrf2 toco-regulate antioxidant activity. NF‑κB signaling pathway governs immune and inflammatory responses; sustained activation of this pathway forms “inflammatory memory”, thereby exacerbating AD pathology. ApoE signaling pathway is associated with lipid metabolism; among its isoforms, ApoE-ε4 significantly increases the risk of AD, leading to elevated oxidative stress, abnormal lipid metabolism, and neuroinflammation. The ferroptosis signaling pathway is driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, and the subsequent release of lipid peroxidation products and ROS exacerbate oxidative stress and neuronal damage. These interconnected pathways form a complex regulatory network that regulates the progression of AD through oxidative stress and related pathological cascades. In terms of therapeutic strategies targeting oxidative stress, among the drugs currently used in clinical practice for AD treatment, memantine and donepezil demonstrate significant therapeutic efficacy and can improve the level of oxidative stress in AD patients. Some compounds with antioxidant effects (such asα-lipoic acid and melatonin) have shown certain potential in AD treatment research and can be used as dietary supplements to ameliorate AD symptoms. In addition, non-drug interventions such as calorie restriction and exercise have been proven to exerted neuroprotective effects and have a positive effect on the treatment of AD. By comprehensively utilizing the therapeutic characteristics of different signaling pathways, it is expected that more comprehensive multi-target combination therapy regimens and combined nanomolecular delivery systems will be developed in the future to bypass the blood-brain barrier, providing more effective therapeutic strategies for AD.
2.Generalized Functional Linear Models: Efficient Modeling for High-dimensional Correlated Mixture Exposures.
Bing Song ZHANG ; Hai Bin YU ; Xin PENG ; Hai Yi YAN ; Si Ran LI ; Shutong LUO ; Hui Zi WEIREN ; Zhu Jiang ZHOU ; Ya Lin KUANG ; Yi Huan ZHENG ; Chu Lan OU ; Lin Hua LIU ; Yuehua HU ; Jin Dong NI
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(8):961-976
OBJECTIVE:
Humans are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals and other factors that can affect their health. Analysis of these mixture exposures presents several key challenges for environmental epidemiology and risk assessment, including high dimensionality, correlated exposure, and subtle individual effects.
METHODS:
We proposed a novel statistical approach, the generalized functional linear model (GFLM), to analyze the health effects of exposure mixtures. GFLM treats the effect of mixture exposures as a smooth function by reordering exposures based on specific mechanisms and capturing internal correlations to provide a meaningful estimation and interpretation. The robustness and efficiency was evaluated under various scenarios through extensive simulation studies.
RESULTS:
We applied the GFLM to two datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In the first application, we examined the effects of 37 nutrients on BMI (2011-2016 cycles). The GFLM identified a significant mixture effect, with fiber and fat emerging as the nutrients with the greatest negative and positive effects on BMI, respectively. For the second application, we investigated the association between four pre- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and gout risk (2007-2018 cycles). Unlike traditional methods, the GFLM indicated no significant association, demonstrating its robustness to multicollinearity.
CONCLUSION
GFLM framework is a powerful tool for mixture exposure analysis, offering improved handling of correlated exposures and interpretable results. It demonstrates robust performance across various scenarios and real-world applications, advancing our understanding of complex environmental exposures and their health impacts on environmental epidemiology and toxicology.
Humans
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Environmental Exposure/analysis*
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Linear Models
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Nutrition Surveys
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Environmental Pollutants
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Body Mass Index
3.Role of Hedgehog signaling pathway in muscle bone symbiosis in osteo-sarcopenia
Yan-Dong LIU ; Qiang DENG ; Zhong-Feng LI ; Ran-Dong PENG ; Yu-Rong WANG ; Jia-Ming LI ; Ping-Yi MA ; Jian-Qiang DU
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2024;40(16):2433-2437
This article elaborates on the complex cross-talk and close relationship between muscles and bones involved in this disease,as well as its pathogenesis.It also summarizes that the difficulty of its treatment lies in the need to simultaneously consider both muscles and bones.And elaborated on the key role of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in embryonic development,tissue morphology establishment,and human tissue regeneration and repair.Investigated the remodeling effect of the Hedgehog signaling pathway on skeletal muscle from three aspects:Proliferation and differentiation of muscle stem cells,precursor cell and muscle fiber generation,inhibition of inflammation,and regulation of immunity;this article elucidates the role of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in bone reconstruction from two aspects.
4.Construction and characterization of lpxC deletion strain based on CRISPR/Cas9 in Acinetobacter baumannii
Zong-ti SUN ; You-wen ZHANG ; Hai-bin LI ; Xiu-kun WANG ; Jie YU ; Jin-ru XIE ; Peng-bo PANG ; Xin-xin HU ; Tong-ying NIE ; Xi LU ; Jing PANG ; Lei HOU ; Xin-yi YANG ; Cong-ran LI ; Lang SUN ; Xue-fu YOU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(5):1286-1294
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are major outer membrane components of Gram-negative bacteria. Unlike most Gram-negative bacteria,
5.MTHFD2 Is a Negative Regulatory Molecule for the Formation of Heterotypic Cell-in-Cell Structures
Peng-Fei FENG ; Chen-Yu LIU ; Yi-Nuo HUANG ; Zhuo-Ran SUN ; Yang-Yi ZHANG ; Hong-Yan HUANG ; Chen-Xi WANG ; Xiao-Ning WANG
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2024;40(6):819-826
Heterotypic cell-in-cell structures(heCICs)mediate unique non-autonomous cell death,which are widely involved in a variety of important pathological processes,such as tumorigenesis,pro-gression and clinical prognosis.Methylenetetrahydrofolata dehydrogenase 2(MTHFD2),one of the key enzymes of one-carbon metabolism,is highly expressed in a variety of tumor cells.In this study,in order to investigate the effect of MTHFD2 on the formation of heCICs,liver cancer cells and immune cells were first labeled separately by live cell dyes,and the heCIC model was established by using fluorescence mi-croscopy for cell imaging and analysis.After transiently knocking down MTHFD2 in cells by RNAi,we found that the ability of PLC/PRF/5 and Hep3B to form heCICs with immune cells was significantly in-creased(all P<0.01).MTHFD2 recombinant expression plasmid was constructed by the homologous re-combination method,and MTHFD2 overexpression cell lines were further constructed.Then,the effect of MTHFD2 overexpression on the ability to form heCICs was detected by co-culturing the overexpression cell lines with immune cells.The results showed that the rate of heCIC formation was significantly re-duced after overexpression of MTHFD2(all P<0.001).In conclusion,this study demonstrated that MTHFD2 is a negative regulator of heCIC formation,providing a research basis for targeting MTHFD2 to promote heCIC formation and enhance the in-cell killing of immune cells.
6.Scientific connotation in processing of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma based on "interactions between excipients and herbal medicine and component transformation" dynamic processing.
Yi-Hang ZHAO ; Zhi-Wei WANG ; Lu-Ping YANG ; Xiao-Yu LIN ; Xin-Ru TAN ; Ran XU ; Zhi-Xia WANG ; Liu-Yang ZHANG ; An-Qi XU ; Hai-Min LEI ; Peng-Long WANG ; Xue-Mei HUANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2024;49(22):6129-6137
The processing of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is a core theory within TCM, embodying deep philosophical, cultural, and natural scientific wisdom. Among the various techniques, the "synergistic processing of medicinal materials and excipients" has garnered significant attention due to its uniqueness. This study explored the impact of the adjuvant Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma on the dynamic process of component transformation during the processing of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata using techniques such as acidic dye colorimetry, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, density functional theory(DFT), and molecular dynamics simulations(MDS). The research revealed that during processing, various alkaloid components in Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata exhibited different weak interactions with glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, affecting the transformation and content changes of alkaloid components such as aconitine, hypaconitine, and other diester-type alkaloids. This study, based on the dynamic process of "interactions between excipients and herbal medicine and component transformation", elucidated the intrinsic mechanism of processing of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and provided a reference for understanding the scientific principles underlying the excipient processing of TCM.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry*
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Aconitum/chemistry*
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Excipients/chemistry*
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Glycyrrhiza/chemistry*
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Tandem Mass Spectrometry
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Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
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Molecular Dynamics Simulation
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Alkaloids/chemistry*
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Glycyrrhizic Acid/chemistry*
7.Study on long-term morphological stability of three-dimensional-printed photosensitive resin dental models.
Rui GU ; Yi Peng WANG ; Wu Shuang YE ; Jing Yi SHAO ; Chao Ran XUE ; Ding BAI
Chinese Journal of Stomatology 2023;58(3):271-276
Objective: To study the long-term morphological stability of three-dimensional (3D) printed photosensitive resin dental models under natural light and dark conditions. Methods: Eighty sets of resin dental models were made by the desktop 3D printer from one digital standard model set, and randomly divided into two groups, namely natural light group (40 sets) and dark group (40 sets). All resin models were stored in sealed bags, with 4 model sets from each group randomly collected after 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21, 28, 40, 60, or 90 days of storage and 3D scanned using an optical model scanner. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) was calculated to represent the mean deviation of the difference between the digital standard model and the scanned resin model. Meanwhile, three linear indexes (the width between the canines, the width between the first molars, and the arch length) of the resin dental model were measured and compared with the corresponding values of the standard model. RMSE and the linear measurements between the digital standard model and the scanned resin models were compared between the natural light group and the dark group and among models from different time points. Results: Compared with the digital standard model, the RMSE values of 96.9% (155/160) resin dental models were less than 0.1 mm within 90-day storage. Also, at the same time point, there was no significant difference in the RMSE between the natural light group and the dark group (P>0.05). 75.0% (360/480) of the absolute values of the linear differences (differences in inter-canine width, intra-molar width, and arch length between the digital standard model and the scanned resin model) were within 0.2 mm, and about 0.1% (3/480) of the linear differences were greater than 0.5 mm, and all of the linear differences were within 0.6 mm. Conclusions: 3D-printed resin dental models can be stored stably under natural light and dark conditions for a long time.
8.An overview of research based on intestinal microecology to explore musculoskeletal attenuation diseases
Yan-Dong LIU ; Qiang DENG ; Ran-Dong PENG ; Yu-Rong WANG ; Tie-Feng GUO ; Qian-Qian XIANG ; Jian-Qiang DU ; Ping-Yi MA
Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition 2023;30(5):309-314
Sarcopenia,osteoporosis and osteosarcoporosis,which belong to the same category of musculoskeletal unit disease,seriously impair the homeostasis of the musculoskeletal system in the aging process of the human body.In recent years,researchers have applied various emerging technologies to conduct multi-disciplinary,multi-level and multi-dimensional research on musculoskeletal decay disease,and have come to realized that the disease involves complex biochemical and mechanical crosstalk,and the intestinal microecology has also aroused great interest in this crosstalk because of its profound impact on musculoskeletal health.In view of this,this paper takes the close relationship between intestinal microecology and musculoskeletal decay disease as the starting point,and under the guidance of the overall concept,we deeply analyzes the mechanism and regulatory information behind this relationship,and on this basis,we excavates the potential therapeutic targets for musculoskeletal decay disease,so that we can provide new ideas and strategies for the management of the disease in the context of the musculoskeletal subunit.
9.Pharmacological inhibition of BAP1 recruits HERC2 to competitively dissociate BRCA1-BARD1, suppresses DNA repair and sensitizes CRC to radiotherapy.
Xin YUE ; Tingyu LIU ; Xuecen WANG ; Weijian WU ; Gesi WEN ; Yang YI ; Jiaxin WU ; Ziyang WANG ; Weixiang ZHAN ; Ruirui WU ; Yuan MENG ; Zhirui CAO ; Liyuan LE ; Wenyan QIU ; Xiaoyue ZHANG ; Zhenyu LI ; Yong CHEN ; Guohui WAN ; Xianzhang BU ; Zhenwei PENG ; Ran-Yi LIU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2023;13(8):3382-3399
Radiotherapy is widely used in the management of advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the clinical efficacy is limited by the safe irradiated dose. Sensitizing tumor cells to radiotherapy via interrupting DNA repair is a promising approach to conquering the limitation. The BRCA1-BARD1 complex has been demonstrated to play a critical role in homologous recombination (HR) DSB repair, and its functions may be affected by HERC2 or BAP1. Accumulated evidence illustrates that the ubiquitination-deubiquitination balance is involved in these processes; however, the precise mechanism for the cross-talk among these proteins in HR repair following radiation hasn't been defined. Through activity-based profiling, we identified PT33 as an active entity for HR repair suppression. Subsequently, we revealed that BAP1 serves as a novel molecular target of PT33 via a CRISPR-based deubiquitinase screen. Mechanistically, pharmacological covalent inhibition of BAP1 with PT33 recruits HERC2 to compete with BARD1 for BRCA1 interaction, interrupting HR repair. Consequently, PT33 treatment can substantially enhance the sensitivity of CRC cells to radiotherapy in vitro and in vivo. Overall, these findings provide a mechanistic basis for PT33-induced HR suppression and may guide an effective strategy to improve therapeutic gain.
10.Predilection site and risk factor of second primary cancer: A pan-cancer analysis based on the SEER database.
Shan XIONG ; Hengrui LIANG ; Peng LIANG ; Xiuyu CAI ; Caichen LI ; Ran ZHONG ; Jianfu LI ; Bo CHENG ; Feng ZHU ; Limin OU ; Zisheng CHEN ; Yi ZHAO ; Hongsheng DENG ; Zhuxing CHEN ; Zhichao LIU ; Zhanhong XIE ; Feng LI ; Jianxing HE ; Wenhua LIANG
Chinese Medical Journal 2023;136(12):1500-1502

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