Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), characterized by fatty acid overload, secondary chronic inflammation, and fibrosis, has become the most prevalent chronic liver disease globally. While no effective pharmacotherapy exists for MAFLD, mitigating inflammatory responses represents a promising approach to preventing the progression from steatosis to severe steatohepatitis. The NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, which detects endogenous danger and stress signals, has emerged as a significant target for inflammatory disease treatment, as transcriptional inactivation of its components demonstrates the therapeutic potential for MAFLD. Natural products targeting NLRP3 inflammasome activation have shown promising efficacy in MAFLD therapy. This review synthesizes the current understanding of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and therapeutic targets for NLRP3 homeostasis. Additionally, natural products reported to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome for MAFLD improvement are categorized according to their mechanisms of action. The review also addresses limitations and future directions regarding natural products targeting NLRP3 inflammasome in MAFLD treatment. Enhanced understanding of NLRP3 inflammasome activation mechanisms in MAFLD and the identification of novel natural products supported by mechanistic research will significantly advance MAFLD treatment.
Humans ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/immunology* ; Inflammasomes/metabolism* ; Biological Products/therapeutic use* ; Animals ; Fatty Liver/immunology*

OBJECTIVE To analyze the differential chemical composition of Olibanum of different origins and to provide some references for the identification of Olibanum origin and the quality standards.METHODS The chemical compositions of Olibanum were analyzed by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS.Multivariate statistical methods were used to analyze Olibanum and processed products to screen the differential compounds in Olibanum of different origins.RESULTS Using positive and negative ion scanning modes,a total of 108 compounds were identified in Olibanum.The compounds were mainly terpenes,among which triterpenes were the highest.And through multivariate statistical analysis,it was found that there were significant differences in the chemical compositions of Olibanum of different regions,with a total of 34 differential compounds;furthermore,specific compounds unique to Olibanum from other sources were identified.CONCLUSION Different regions of Olibanum could be distinguished based on their differential chemical composi-tions.This study could serve as a basis for identifying different origins of Olibanum,and also provide experimental data for subsequent research on the pharmacological substance basis of Olibanum.

Objective:To share our experience of single-port transoral Da Vinci robotic surgery for laryngeal and pharyngeal benign tumors.Methods:Three patients aged over 18 years and diagnosed respectively with epiglottic cyst, aryepiglottic fold cyst and thyroglossal duct cyst at tongue base were included who received operations in Hainan Hospital of Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (Boao Research Hospital of Hainan) between August 1, 2023 and April 10, 2024. There were 1 male and 2 females, with an average age of 59 years old. The clinical diagnosis of these 3 patients was respectively epiglottic cyst, aryepiglottic fold cyst and thyroglossal duct cyst at tongue base. Intraoperative conversion rate, blood loss, operation time, hospital stay, pain score and swallowing function score were analyzed.Results:All three patients successfully underwent the operations with the single-port Da Vinci robotic system. The clean-contaminated resection rate of the tumors was 100%. The conversion rate was nil. The blood loss was 0-7 ml. The operation time was 5-30 minutes. There were no adverse events such as loosening of teeth and soft tissue abrasions of pharyngeal side wall. The rate of oral feeding within 24 hours after surgery was 100%. No postoperative coughing, bleeding, or dyspnea occurred. The average length of hospital stay was 3.7 days. The VAS score decreased 3 days after surgery compared to 1 day after surgery. The swallowing function recovered 1 month after surgery.Conclusion:The single-port transoral robotic surgery for laryngeal and pharyngeal benign lesions is safe and efficient, with fewer complications.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the differential chemical composition of Olibanum of different origins and to provide some references for the identification of Olibanum origin and the quality standards.METHODS The chemical compositions of Olibanum were analyzed by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS.Multivariate statistical methods were used to analyze Olibanum and processed products to screen the differential compounds in Olibanum of different origins.RESULTS Using positive and negative ion scanning modes,a total of 108 compounds were identified in Olibanum.The compounds were mainly terpenes,among which triterpenes were the highest.And through multivariate statistical analysis,it was found that there were significant differences in the chemical compositions of Olibanum of different regions,with a total of 34 differential compounds;furthermore,specific compounds unique to Olibanum from other sources were identified.CONCLUSION Different regions of Olibanum could be distinguished based on their differential chemical composi-tions.This study could serve as a basis for identifying different origins of Olibanum,and also provide experimental data for subsequent research on the pharmacological substance basis of Olibanum.

Objective:To share our experience of single-port transoral Da Vinci robotic surgery for laryngeal and pharyngeal benign tumors.Methods:Three patients aged over 18 years and diagnosed respectively with epiglottic cyst, aryepiglottic fold cyst and thyroglossal duct cyst at tongue base were included who received operations in Hainan Hospital of Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (Boao Research Hospital of Hainan) between August 1, 2023 and April 10, 2024. There were 1 male and 2 females, with an average age of 59 years old. The clinical diagnosis of these 3 patients was respectively epiglottic cyst, aryepiglottic fold cyst and thyroglossal duct cyst at tongue base. Intraoperative conversion rate, blood loss, operation time, hospital stay, pain score and swallowing function score were analyzed.Results:All three patients successfully underwent the operations with the single-port Da Vinci robotic system. The clean-contaminated resection rate of the tumors was 100%. The conversion rate was nil. The blood loss was 0-7 ml. The operation time was 5-30 minutes. There were no adverse events such as loosening of teeth and soft tissue abrasions of pharyngeal side wall. The rate of oral feeding within 24 hours after surgery was 100%. No postoperative coughing, bleeding, or dyspnea occurred. The average length of hospital stay was 3.7 days. The VAS score decreased 3 days after surgery compared to 1 day after surgery. The swallowing function recovered 1 month after surgery.Conclusion:The single-port transoral robotic surgery for laryngeal and pharyngeal benign lesions is safe and efficient, with fewer complications.

A retrospective analysis was made on clinical data of a case of familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia (FDH) treated at Hebei Children′s Hospital in August 2021.The patient, female, 4 years and 2 months old, was diagnosed with growth retardation.Genetic sequencing of the child and her immediate family revealed a heterozygous mutation, c.725G>A(p.R242H) in exon 7 of the albumin gene, which confirmed the diagnosis of FDH.The growth and development of the girl were monitored regularly.Early identification and diagnosis of FDH can prevent misdiagnosis or improper antithyroid medication from affecting children′s growth and development, and growth hormone therapy is effective for children with FDH who are slow growing.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of medroxyprogesterone acetate(MA)plus metformin as the primary fertility-sparing treatment for atypical endometrial hyperplasia(AEH)and early-stage grade 1 endometrial adenocarcinoma(G1 EAC)and the recurrence rate after treatment.Methods Sixty patients(aged 20-42 years)with AEH and/or grade 1 EAC limited to the endometrium were enrolled prospectively and randomized into two groups(n=30)to receive oral MA treatment at the daily dose of 160 mg(control)or MA plus oral metformin(850 mg,twice a day)for at least 6 months.The treatment could extend to 12 months until a complete response(CR)was achieved,and follow-up hysteroscopy and curettage were performed every 3 months.For all the patients who achieved CR,endometrial expressions of IGFBP-rP1,p-Akt and p-AMPK were detected immunohistochemically.Results A total of 58 patients completed the treatment.After 9 months of treatment,23(76.7%)patients in the combined treatment group and 20(71.4%)in the control group achieved CR;two patients in the control group achieved CR after converting to the combined treatment.The recurrence rate did not differ significantly between the control group and combined treatment group(30.0%vs 22.7%,P>0.05).Ten(35.7%)patients in the control group experienced significant weight gain of 5.7±6.1 kg,while none of the patients receiving the combined treatment exhibited significant body weight changes.Compared with the control group,the patients receiving the combined treatment showed enhanced endometrial expressions of IGFBP-rP1 and p-AMPK with lowered p-Akt expression.Conclusion Metformin combined with MA may provide an effective option for fertility-sparing treatment of AEH and grade 1 stage IA EAC,and the clinical benefits of metformin for controlling MA-induced weight gain and promoting endometrial expressions of IGFBP-rP1 and p-AMPK while inhibiting p-Akt expression warrants further study.

BACKGROUND:Mesenchymal stem cells are susceptible to senescence during in vitro expansion,which greatly hinders their application in vivo and in vitro.How to improve the replicative senescence of mesenchymal stem cells is an urgent problem to be solved in tissue engineering. OBJECTIVE:To determine whether vascular endothelial growth factor combined with basic fibroblast growth factor can improve the aging of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells caused by replicative passage. METHODS:Rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were extracted by whole bone marrow adhesion method.Passage 2 cells were selected as normal control group.Passage 7 and later algebraic cells were selected as aging model group.Vascular endothelial growth factor(50 μg/L),basic fibroblast growth factor(10 μg/L),and their combination were administered.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay.Cell senescence was observed by β-galactosidase activity staining.Cytoskeleton size and colony formation ability were observed by phalloidine staining and Giemsa staining,respectively,and the levels of senescence-related genes P16,P21,and P53 were detected by qRT-PCR.Gene expression levels of P16,P21,and P53 were tested by qRT-PCR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Vascular endothelial growth factor combined with basic fibroblast growth factor could promote the proliferation of aged bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells,which began to enter the plateau stage on day 9,and the absorbance value of the combined intervention group was significantly higher than that of the model group on day 9(P<0.05).(2)The phenotypic markers of the cells in the combined intervention group did not change,and the cell morphology changed from broad to slender.(3)Compared with the model group,the positive rate of β-galactosidase was significantly decreased(P<0.01);the number of nuclei increased(P<0.001);the total area of cytoskeleton increased(P<0.01);colony formation ability was enhanced(P<0.05);expression level of P16 was decreased(P<0.01)in the combined intervention group.These results indicate that vascular endothelial growth factor combined with basic fibroblast growth factor can improve the senescence of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells caused by replicative passage without changing the cell phenotype.

Objective To investigate the effects of long intergenic non-coding RNA 467(linc00467)on the proliferation,apoptosis and migration,invasion ability of endometrial carcinoma cells.Methods Human endometrial carcinoma cells HC1A,Ishikawa,KLE and RL-95-2 were cultured in vitro,the expression level of linc00467 in the four cells was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR).Endometrial carcinoma cell lines HEC-1A and Ishikawa with the highest linc00467 expression levels were selected for subsequent experiment.Two Iinc00467 lentivirus silencing expression vectors of sh-linc00467#1 and sh-linc00467#2,and empty lentivirus plasmids were constructed,respectively;the HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells in logarithmic growth phase were divided into sh-NC group,sh-linc00467#1 group,and sh-linc00467#2 group.The cells in the sh-NC group were transfected with empty lentivirus plasmids,the cells in the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group were transfected with sh-linc00467#1 and sh-linc00467#2,respectively;the relative expression level of linc00467 in cells of the three groups was detected by RT-qPCR,the proliferation ability of cells in the three groups was detected by 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine(EdU)assay and colony formation assay,the migration ability of cells in the three groups was detected by scratch assay,the invasion ability of cells in the three groups was detected by Transwell assay,and the cell apoptosis in the three groups was detected by flow cytometry.Results The relative expression level of linc00467 mRNA in HEC-1A cells was significantly higher than that in KLE and RL-95-2 cells(P＜0.05);the relative expression level of linc00467 mRNA in Ishikawa cells was significantly higher than that in KLE and RL-95-2 cells(P＜0.05);there was no statistically significant difference in the relative expression level of linc00467 mRNA between HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells(P＞0.05);the relative expression level of linc00467 mRNA in KLE cells was significantly lower than that in RL-95-2 cells(P＜0.05).The relative expression levels of linc00467 mRNA in HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells in the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group were significantly lower than those in the sh-NC group(P＜0.01);there was no statistically significant difference in the relative expression level of linc00467 mRNA in HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells between the sh-linc00467 # 1 group and the sh-linc00467#2 group(P＞0.05).The number of EdU positive HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells in the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group was significantly lower than that in the sh-NC group(P＜0.01);there was no statistically significant difference in the number of EdU positive HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells between the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group(P＞0.05).The number of cloned HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells in the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group was significantly lower than that in the sh-NC group(P＜0.01);there was no statistically significant difference in the number of cloned HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells between the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group(P＞0.05).The apoptosis rates of HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells in the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group were significantly higher than that in the sh-NC group(P＜0.01);there was no statistically significant difference in the apoptosis rates of HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells between the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467 #2 group(P＞0.05).The scratch healing rates of HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells in the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group were significantly lower than those in the sh-NC group(P＜0.01);there was no statistically significant difference in the scratch healing rates of HEC-1 A and Ishikawa cells between the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group(P＞0.05).The number of invasive cells of HEC-1 A and Ishikawa in the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group was significantly lower than that in the sh-NC group(P＜0.01);there was no statistically significant difference in the number of invasive cells of HEC-1 A and Ishikawa between the sh-linc00467#1 group and sh-linc00467#2 group(P＞0.05).Conclusion Down-regulation of linc00467 expression can inhibit the proliferation,migration and invasion,and promote apoptosis of endometrial carcinoma cells.

Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of serum cystatin C (CysC) and C1q tumor necrosis factor-related protein 9 (CTRP9) levels for diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME) in patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted.A total of 135 patients with type 2 diabetes, aged 45-75 years, who were treated in Gansu Provincial Hospital from April 2021 to April 2022 were included.According to DR grading standard, patients were divided into non-DR (NDR) group, non-proliferative DR (NPDR) group and proliferative DR (PDR) group, with 45 patients in each group.The DR patients were subdivided into DME group (51 cases) and non-DME group (39 cases).A total of 45 healthy subjects were selected as the normal control group.Fasting peripheral venous blood was collected to detect serum glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, CysC and CTRP9 levels.The expression of CysC and CTRP9 levels among different groups were compared.The independent influencing factors of DR and DME were evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis model.The diagnostic value of serum CysC and CTRP9 in DR and DME were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and the study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Gansu Provincial Hospital (No.2021-301).All patients were informed about the purpose and methods of the study and signed an informed consent form.Results:Serum CysC levels in normal control group, NDR group, NPDR group and PDR group were 0.74(0.67, 0.83), 1.03(0.85, 1.22), 1.40(0.98, 1.63) and 1.66(1.31, 1.85)mg/L, respectively, showing a gradually increasing trend, and the serum CTRP9 levels were (136.90±14.95), (120.23±16.31), (109.50±14.71) and (90.99±13.88)pg/ml, respectively, showing a gradually decreasing trend, with statistically significant overall comparison differences among groups ( Z=89.430, P<0.001; F=74.242, P<0.001), the comparison within groups was statistically significant (all at P<0.05).Compared with non-DME group, the serum CysC level was significantly increased and serum CTRP9 level was significantly decreased in DME group (both P<0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum CysC (odds ratio [ OR]=19.742, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 4.515-86.316, P<0.001) was the independent risk influencing factors for the occurrence of DR, and CTRP9 ( OR=0.937, 95% CI: 0.908-0.966, P<0.001) was a protective factor for the occurrence of DR.Serum CTRP9 level ( OR=0.838, 95% CI: 0.778-0.903, P<0.001) was a protective factor for DME.The ROC curve showed that the area under ROC curve (AUC) for serum CysC and CTRP9 levels alone and in combination for the diagnosis of DR in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated by DR were 0.798, 0.802 and 0.870, respectively.The cutoff values of serum CysC and CTRP9 levels to obtain the best diagnostic efficacy were 1.34 mg/L and 110.12 pg/ml, respectively.The AUC for serum CysC and CTRP9 level alone and in combination for the diagnosis of DME in DR patients were 0.682, 0.923 and 0.923, respectively.The cutoff value of serum CTRP9 level to obtain optimal diagnostic efficacy was 104.68 pg/ml. Conclusions:The enhanced expression of serum CysC level and reduced expression of serum CTRP9 level are the risk factors for the development of DR in type 2 diabetes patients.The decrease of serum CTRP9 level is one of the risk factors for the development of DME in DR patients.