Exercise, as a non-pharmacological intervention, holds a pivotal role in metabolic regulation, neuroplasticity, and immune homeostasis maintenance. However, human exercise studies are constrained by ethical limitations in tissue sampling, especially for key organs such as muscles and the brain. Meanwhile, rodent models like mice exhibit physiological differences in exercise patterns and metabolic rates from human. Despite these challenges, approximately 70% of human and mouse genes are conserved, providing a molecular basis for cross-species comparisons. This paper leverages the GEPREP database, which integrates human and mouse exercise transcriptomic data from multiple platforms, to conduct a comprehensive cross-species analysis of exercise-induced gene expression patterns. We employ a stringent data standardization process, including the conversion of orthologous genes and the filtering of low-expressing genes, to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the analysis. A mixed-effects model is utilized to assess differential gene expression across multiple cohorts, identifying genes that are significantly upregulated or downregulated in response to exercise. The analysis reveals a complex pattern of gene expression, with a significant number of genes showing conserved responses between humans and mice, particularly in acute aerobic exercise, where genes such as ATF3, PPARGC1A, and ANKRD1 are commonly upregulated. These genes are implicated in muscle stress response, metabolic regulation, and muscle adaptation, highlighting the shared molecular pathways activated by exercise across species. However, the study also uncovers substantial species-specific differences in gene expression, especially in chronic aerobic exercise, where the number of divergently regulated genes increases. These differences suggest that while some fundamental biological processes are conserved, the specific regulatory mechanisms and gene expression patterns can vary significantly between humans and mice. Functional enrichment analysis further reveals that conserved genes are involved in muscle development, inflammation regulation, and energy metabolism, while species-specific genes are associated with ion transport, extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, and muscle contraction, indicating the multifaceted impact of exercise on skeletal muscle function. The findings emphasize the importance of considering species-specific differences when interpreting results from animal models and translating them to human health applications. The study highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of the molecular underpinnings of exercise-induced adaptations and underscores the value of cross-species comparative analyses in uncovering the evolutionary and functional basis of these responses. Future research should focus on integrating multi-omics data and expanding the analysis to include other tissues to provide a more comprehensive view of the systemic effects of exercise. Additionally, the development of species-specific gene editing models and the validation of key genes in exercise physiology will further enhance our understanding of the evolutionary logic behind exercise interventions. This study not only provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of exercise-induced adaptations but also underscores the necessity of validating findings from animal models in human cohorts to ensure the reliability and applicability of translational research in exercise science. By addressing these aspects, the study aims to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical applications, ultimately contributing to the development of personalized exercise prescriptions and interventions that can effectively promote health and prevent diseases.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the research on NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3(NLRP3) inflammasome inhibitors in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. The NLRP3 inflammasome is integral to the innate immune response, and its abnormal activation can lead to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokine, consequently facilitating the progression of various pathological conditions. Therefore, investigating the pharmacological inhibition pathway of the NLRP3 inflammasome represents a promising strategy for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has not approved drugs targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome for clinical use due to concerns regarding liver toxicity and gastrointestinal side effects associated with chemical small molecule inhibitors in clinical trials. Natural small molecule compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and alkaloids are ubiquitously found in animals, plants, and other natural substances exhibiting pharmacological activities. Their abundant sources, intricate and diverse structures, high biocompatibility, minimal adverse reactions, and superior biochemical potency in comparison to synthetic compounds have attracted the attention of extensive scholars. Currently, certain natural small molecule compounds have been demonstrated to impede the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome via various action mechanisms, so they are viewed as the innovative, feasible, and minimally toxic therapeutic agents for inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the treatment of both acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Hence, this study systematically examined the effects and potential mechanisms of natural small molecule compounds derived from traditional Chinese medicine on the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes at their initiation, assembly, and activation stages. The objection is to furnish theoretical support and practical guidance for the effective clinical application of these natural small molecule inhibitors.
NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism* ; Inflammasomes/metabolism* ; Inflammation/drug therapy* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Biological Products/therapeutic use* ; Drug Discovery ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy and safety of Juan Bi Pill (JBP) in treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: From February 2017 to May 2018, 115 participants from 4 centers were randomly divided into JBP group (57 cases) and placebo group (58 cases) in a 1:1 ratio using a random number table method. Participants received a dose of JBP (4 g, twice a day, orally) combined with methotrexate (MTX, 10 mg per week) or placebo (4 g, twice a day, orally) combined with MTX for 12 weeks. Participants were required with follow-up visits at 24 and 48 weeks, attending 7 assessment visits. Participants were undergo disease activity assessment 7 times (at baseline and 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 weeks) and safety assessments 6 times (at baseline and 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 weeks). The primary endpoint was 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP). The secondary endpoints included American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for 20% and 50% improvement (ACR20/50), Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI), clinical disease activity index (CDAI), visual analog scale (VAS), Short Form-36 (SF-36) score, Medial Outcomes Study (MOS) sleep scale score, serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), tender joint count, swollen joint count, and morning stiffness. The adverse reactions were observed during the treatment. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of treatment, DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP scores in both groups were lower than before treatment (both P<0.01), while the remission rate of DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP and low disease activity of JBP group were higher than those in the placebo group (both P<0.01). JBP demonstrated better efficacy on ACR20 and ACR50 compliance rate at 12 and 48 weeks comparing to placebo (all P<0.05). The CDAI and HAQ-DI score, pain VAS and global VAS change of RA patients and physicians, the serum ESR and CRP levels, and the number of tenderness and swelling joints were lower than before treatment at 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 weeks in both groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the reduction of above indices in the JBP group was more obvious than those in the placebo group at 12 weeks (ESR and CRP, both P<0.05) or at 12 and 48 weeks (all P<0.01). There was no difference in adverse reactions between the 2 groups during treatment (P=0.75). CONCLUSION JBP combined with MTX could effectively reduce disease activity in patients with RA in active stage, reduce the symptoms of arthritis, and improve the quality of life, while ensuring safety, reliability, and fewer adverse effects. (Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT02885597).
Humans ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Methotrexate/adverse effects* ; Female ; Double-Blind Method ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Adult ; Antirheumatic Agents/adverse effects* ; Aged

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL), a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is classified as an independent subtype of extranodal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification (Turner et al., 2010). The 5th edition of the World Health Organization (WHO 2022) classification of hematolymphoid tumors retains this subtype (Alaggio et al., 2022). IVLBCL, which is characterized by neoplastic lymphocyte proliferation within the lumen of small blood vessels, tends to invade organs, such as the nervous system, skin, bone marrow (BM), and lung (D'Angelo et al., 2019; Satoh et al., 2019; Vásquez et al., 2019; Fukami et al., 2020).
Humans ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/drug therapy* ; Vascular Neoplasms/therapy*

In recent decades, the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout has increased dramatically due to lifestyle changes. The drugs currently recommended for hyperuricemia are associated with adverse reactions that limit their clinical use. In this study, we report that berberine (BBR) is an effective drug candidate for the treatment of hyperuricemia, with its mechanism potentially involving the modulation of gut microbiota and its metabolite, succinic acid. BBR has demonstrated good therapeutic effects in both acute and chronic animal models of hyperuricemia. In a clinical trial, oral administration of BBR for 6 months reduced blood uric acid levels in 22 participants by modulating the gut microbiota, which led to an increase in the abundance of Bacteroides and a decrease in Clostridium sensu stricto_1. Furthermore, Bacteroides fragilis was transplanted into ICR mice, and the results showed that Bacteroides fragilis exerted a therapeutic effect on uric acid similar to that of BBR. Notably, succinic acid, a metabolite of Bacteroides, significantly reduced uric acid levels. Subsequent cell and animal experiments revealed that the intestinal metabolite, succinic acid, regulated the upstream uric acid synthesis pathway in the liver by inhibiting adenosine monophosphate deaminase 2 (AMPD2), an enzyme responsible for converting adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to inosine monophosphate (IMP). This inhibition resulted in a decrease in IMP levels and an increase in phosphate levels. The reduction in IMP led to a decreased downstream production of hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid. BBR also demonstrated excellent renoprotective effects, improving nephropathy associated with hyperuricemia. In summary, BBR has the potential to be an effective treatment for hyperuricemia through the gut-liver axis.

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, usually result from atherosclerosis, has the highest mortality rate globally. Lipid metabolism disorder is the main cause of atherosclerotic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which not only lead to acute diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, acute pancreatitis, but also chronic kidney disease. In recent years, the advancement of gene therapy technologies has provided novel means for lipid metabolism study, and has also made it possible to cure patients with congenital lipid metabolism abnormalities. Adeno-associatd virus has a wide host range, high safety, low immunogenicity, and especially the ability of long-term stable expression in vivo, making it the preferred delivery tool for gene therapy of monogenic genetic diseases. Alipogene triprivec, also known as Glybera, was approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2012. It is the first gene therapy drug that uses recombinant AAV1 vector to directly deliver a highly active LPL protein S447X mutant to muscle cells for the treatment of patients with hereditary LPL deficiency. To enhance the targeted transduction efficiency of AAV carriers, recombinantAAV8.TBG.hLDLR utilizes the tissue tropsim of AAV8 to liver, meanwhile utilizes a liver specific thyroxine binding globulin promoter to control gene transcription, thereby achieving liver cell specific high expressionof human low-density lipoprotein receptors (LDLR). In patients with familial hypercholesterolemia,AAV8.TBG.hLDLR treatment effectively lower the level of plasma LDL for a long time, thus preventing the occurrence of atherosclerosis.Proprotein convert subunit kexin 9 (PCSK9) is secreted by liver cells. PCSK9 binds and transports LDLR to lysosomes for degradation, preventing the circulation and regeneration of LDLR, leading to accelerated degradation of LDLR and finally resulting in the accumulation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma. Using AAV to deliver Cas9 of Staphylococcus aureus and gRNA targeting the Pcsk9 gene can knock out Pcsk9 in mouse liver, leading to a long-term significant decrease in plasma cholesterol levels in mice. Hepatocyte specific angiopoietin related protein 3 (Angptl3) is an endogenous inhibitor of LPL. Using the AAV9 mediated AncBE4max system and the dCas9 mediated single base gene editing system to introduce early termination codons, the knockout of Angptal3 in liver cells was achieved with an average knockout efficiency of 63.3%. After 2-4 weeks of administration in mice, the Angptl3 protein was completely undetectable in the peripheral blood, and serum triglycerides and total cholesterol decreased by 58% and 61%, respectively. Ring finger containing protein 130 (RNF130) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase. Research has shown that overexpression of RNF130 using AAV2/8 leads to ubiquitination degradation and redistribution of LDLR on the cell membrane, significantly reducing LDLR expression on liver cells and increasing plasma LDLC levels, while knocking out Rnf130 gene using the AAV-CRISPR system results in the opposite effect. This AAV mediated RNF130 function study proves that RNF130 is a posttranslational regulatory protein of LDLR and plays an important role in the regulation of serum LDLC. As mentioned above, recently, various lipid-lowering gene therapy drugs carried by different serotypes of adeno-associated virus have been applied in clinic or are undergoing clinical trials, and adeno-associated virus has emerging to be an important tool for lipid metabolism research.This article reviews the new progress of adeno-associated virus vectors in lipid metabolism study and lipid-lowering gene therapy.

Surgery is the preferred treatment for resectable esophageal cancer, but in locally advanced esophageal cancer, the effect of surgery alone is not ideal, so surgery-based comprehensive treatment is the best option. Neoadjuvant therapy has become a standard treatment in the treatment of locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer. Neoadjuvant therapy includes neoadjuvant chemotherapy, radiochemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, etc. With the significant efficacy and acceptable toxicity of immunotherapy in the first-line and second-line treatment of advanced esophageal cancer, neoadjuvant immunotherapy has become a research hotspot of locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer. This article reviews the latest research progress and some limitations of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of LUO's Nephropathy Recipe Ⅲ(composed of Sargassum,Astragali Radix,Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma,Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata,calcined Ostreae Concha,Houttuyniae Herba,Schizonepetae Spica,etc.)combined with conventional western medicine in treating stage 3-5 non-dialysis chronic kidney disease(CKD)of spleen-kidney deficiency with turbidity-toxin-stasis obstruction type.Methods A total of 180 patients with stage 3-5 non-dialysis CKD of spleen-kidney deficiency with turbidity-toxin-stasis obstruction type were randomly divided into observation group and control group,with 90 cases in each group.The control group was given conventional western medicine for symptomatic treatment,and the observation group was treated with LUO's Nephropathy RecipeⅢon the basis of treatment for the control group.The course of treatment for the two groups covered one month.Before and after treatment,the levels of serum inflammatory factors,renal function indicators and urine protein parameters in the two groups were observed.After treatment,the clinical efficacy and safety of the two groups were evaluated.Results(1)After one month of treatment,the total effective rate in the observation group was 95.56%(86/90)and that in the control group was 81.11%(73/90).The intergroup comparison(tested by chi-square test)showed that the efficacy of the observation group was significantly superior to that of the control group(P＜0.01).(2)After treatment,the serum levels of inflammatory factors of transforming growth factor β1(TGF-β1),monocyte chemotactic protein 1(MCP-1),and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)in the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the decrease in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(3)After treatment,the levels of renal function indicators of blood urea nitrogen(BUN),serum creatinine(Scr),blood uric acid(UA),and cystatin C(Cys-C)in the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the decrease in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(4)After treatment,the levels of 24-hour urine protein quantification and urine microalbumin in the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the decrease in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(5)The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 4.44%(4/90),which was significantly lower than that of 15.56%(14/90)in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant between the two groups(P＜0.05).Conclusion LUO's Nephropathy Recipe Ⅲ combined with conventional western medicine exerts satisfactory efficacy in treating stage 3-5 non-dialysis CKD patients with spleen-kidney deficiency with turbidity-toxin-stasis obstruction syndrome type,and the therapy can significantly alleviate the inflammatory response,improve the renal function,decrease the urinary protein excretion of the patients,with high safety profile.

Human brain banks use a standardized protocol to collect,process and store post-mortem human brains and related tissues,along with relevant clinical information,and to provide the tissue samples and data as a resource to foster neuroscience research according to a standardized operating protocols(SOP).Human brain bank serves as the foundation for neuroscience research and the diagnosis of neurological disorders,highlighting the crucial rule of ensuring the consistency of standardized quality for brain tissue samples.The first version of SOP in 2017 was published by the China Human Brain Bank Consortium.As members increases from different regions in China,a revised SOP was drafted by experts from the China Human Brain Bank Consortium to meet the growing demands for neuroscience research.The revised SOP places a strong emphasis on ethical standards,incorporates neuropathological evaluation of brain regions,and provides clarity on spinal cord sampling and pathological assessment.Notable enhancements in this updated version of the SOP include reinforced ethical guidelines,inclusion of matching controls in recruitment,and expansion of brain regions to be sampled for neuropathological evaluation.

Objective To investigate the effects of liver-specific knockout of adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase α(AMPKα)on pancreatic function and glucose metabolism-related genes in mice.Methods AMPKα1/α2flox/flox mice were divided into blank group(common feed)and model group(60％high fat choline deficiency feet)with eight mice in each group,and another 8 AMPKα1/α2flox/flox/Alb-Cre+mice were divided into the knockout group(60％high fat choline deficiency feet).The kit detected the levels of blood lipids and liver function indexes.The differential genes in the mouse pancreas were detected by transcriptome sequencing.The expression of differential genes in mice was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting.Results The levels of triglyceride in the blank group,model group and knockout group were(0.94±0.11),(0.71±0.14)and(1.05±0.17)mmol·L-1;the levels of triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein were(1.62±0.07),(0.44±0.08)and(0.90±0.06)mmol·L-1;the levels of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase were(7.02±5.87),(15.60±3.15)and(22.70±2.14)U·L-1;the levels of glutamic pyruvic transaminase were(14.56±11.55),(48.64±15.84)and(75.40±11.96)U·L-1;the expression levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1(PCK1)mRNA were 1.00±0,1.37±0.25 and 0.31±0.18;the relative expression levels of PCK1 protein were 0.77±0.27,1.23±0.43 and 0.51±0.40,respectively.Significant differences existed in the above indexes between the knockout group and the model group(all P＜0.05).Conclusion PCK1 gene may be an essential gene mediating the effect of liver AMPKα on islet function.