1.Multifaceted mechanisms of Danggui Shaoyao San in ameliorating Alzheimer's disease based on transcriptomics and metabolomics.
Min-Hao YAN ; Han CAI ; Hai-Xia DING ; Shi-Jie SU ; Xu-Nuo LI ; Zi-Qiao XU ; Wei-Cheng FENG ; Qi-Qing WU ; Jia-Xin CHEN ; Hong WANG ; Qi WANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(8):2229-2236
This study explored the potential therapeutic targets and mechanisms of Danggui Shaoyao San(DSS) in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease(AD) through transcriptomics and metabolomics, combined with animal experiments. Fifty male C57BL/6J mice, aged seven weeks, were randomly divided into the following five groups: control, model, positive drug, low-dose DSS, and high-dose DSS groups. After the intervention, the Morris water maze was used to assess learning and memory abilities of mice, and Nissl staining and hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining were performed to observe pathological changes in the hippocampal tissue. Transcriptomics and metabolomics were employed to sequence brain tissue and identify differential metabolites, analyzing key genes and metabolites related to disease progression. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR) was employed to validate the expression of key genes. The Morris water maze results indicated that DSS significantly improved learning and cognitive function in scopolamine(SCOP)-induced model mice, with the high-dose DSS group showing the best results. Pathological staining showed that DSS effectively reduced hippocampal neuronal damage, increased Nissl body numbers, and reduced nuclear pyknosis and neuronal loss. Transcriptomics identified seven key genes, including neurexin 1(Nrxn1) and sodium voltage-gated channel α subunit 1(Scn1a), and metabolomics revealed 113 differential metabolites, all of which were closely associated with synaptic function, oxidative stress, and metabolic regulation. RT-qPCR experiments confirmed that the expression of these seven key genes was consistent with the transcriptomics results. This study suggests that DSS significantly improves learning and memory in SCOP model mice and alleviates hippocampal neuronal pathological damage. The mechanisms likely involve the modulation of synaptic function, reduction of oxidative stress, and metabolic balance, with these seven key genes serving as important targets for DSS in the treatment of AD.
Animals
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Alzheimer Disease/genetics*
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Male
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*
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Mice
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Metabolomics
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Transcriptome/drug effects*
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Maze Learning/drug effects*
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Hippocampus/metabolism*
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Humans
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Disease Models, Animal
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Memory/drug effects*
2.Effects of Xiaozhong Zhitong Mixture (消肿止痛合剂) on Angiogenesis and the Dll4/Notch1 Signaling Pathway in Wound Tissue of Diabetic Foot Ulcer Model Rats
Xiao HAN ; Tao LIU ; Yuan SONG ; Jie CHEN ; Jiaxuan SHEN ; Jing QIAO ; Hengjie WANG ; Lewen WU ; Yazhou ZHAO
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;66(16):1695-1703
ObjectiveTo investigate the potential machanism of Xiaozhong Zhitong Mixture (消肿止痛合剂, XZM) in the treatment of diabetes foot ulcer (DFU). MethodsFifty SD rats were randomly divided into blank group, model group, XZM group, inhibitor group, XZM plus inhibitor group (combination group), with 10 rats in each group. Except for the blank group, rats were fed with high-sugar, high-fat, high-cholesterol diet, intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin, and subjected to skin defect to establish DFU model. After successful modeling, the XZM group and the combination group were given 1 ml/(100 g·d)of XZM by gavage, while the blank group, model group, and inhibitor group were all given an equal volume of 0.9% sodium chloride injection by gavage. Thirty minutes later, the inhibitor group and the combination group were intraperitoneally injected with 5 mg/(kg·d) of Notch1 inhibitor DAPT. All groups were treated once a day. After 14 days of administration, the skin tissue from the dorsal foot of the blank group rats and wound tissue from the other groups were collected. The pathological changes of granulation tissue in the wound were detected using hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining. The microvascular density (MVD) in wounds was detected through immunohistochemical staining. Real time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein levels of Notch1 homolog (Notch1), Delta-like ligand 4 (Dll4), Delta-like ligand 4 (VEGF), and angiopoietin 2 (Ang-2), respectively. ResultsHistological results showed that the epidermal structure in the dorsal foot skin tissue of the rats in the blank group was intact. In the wound tissue of the model group, the epidermis exhibited excessive keratinization, vacuolar cytoplasm, and a large number of inflammatory cells infiltrating the tissue, while in the XZM group, a large amount of scab formation was observed in the epidermis, with no significant inflammatory cell infiltration and a noticeable increase in fibroblasts. In the combination group and the inhibitor group, partial epidermal scab formation was observed in the wound tissue with a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration. Compared to those in the blank group, the MVD in the wound tissue increased in the model group, as well as the mRNA expression and protein levels of Notch1 and Dll4, while VEGFA and Ang-2 mRNA expression and protein levels significantly decreased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared to those in the model group, the MVD in the wound tissue of all medication groups significantly increased, and the mRNA and protein levels of Notch1 and Dll4 decreased, while VEGFA and Ang-2 mRNA expression and protein levels increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared to the XZM group, the inhibitor group and the combination group showed decreased MVD in wound tissue, increased Notch1 and Dll4 mRNA and protein levels, and decreased expression of VEGFA and Ang-2 mRNA and proteins (P<0.05 or P<0.01). ConclusionXZM can effectively promote wound healing in DFU rats, and its mechanism of action may be related to the inhibition of Dll4/Notch1 signaling pathway in the wound tissue, therey promoting angiogenesis.
3.Should couples with a low total progressively motile sperm count in the first intrauterine insemination cycle continue this treatment?
Zheng WANG ; Yuan-Yuan WANG ; Shuo HUANG ; Hai-Yan WANG ; Rong LI ; Ben Willem MOL ; Jie QIAO
Asian Journal of Andrology 2025;27(6):757-762
This study aimed to investigate the associations between the post-wash total progressively motile sperm count (TPMSC) in the first intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycle and pregnancy outcomes of the second IUI cycle. Data were retrieved from the clinical database at the Reproductive Center of Peking University Third Hospital (Beijing, China) between January 2011 and December 2022. Couples were included in this retrospective cohort study if they had unexplained or mild male factor infertility and were treated with IUI for two consecutive cycles using the same protocol. A total of 8290 couples were included in the analysis. The mean ± standard deviation (s.d.) age of women was 32.0 ± 3.5 years. We categorized groups based on the post-wash TPMSC (×10 6 ) levels in the first IUI cycle: group 1 (0 < TPMSC < 1, n = 1290), group 2 (1 ≤ TPMSC < 2, n = 863), group 3 (2 ≤ TPMSC < 3, n = 800), group 4 (3 ≤ TPMSC < 4, n = 783), group 5 (4 ≤ TPMSC < 5, n = 1541), group 6 (5 ≤ TPMSC < 6, n = 522), group 7 (6 ≤ TPMSC < 7, n = 547), group 8 (7 ≤ TPMSC < 8, n = 175), group 9 (8 ≤ TPMSC < 9, n = 556), group 10 (9 ≤ TPMSC < 10, n = 192), and group 11 (TPMSC ≥ 10), n = 1021). The primary outcome was live birth rate of the second IUI cycle. Live birth rates were 7.9%, 5.8%, 7.6%, 7.4%, 7.3%, 8.4%, 7.5%, 7.4%, 8.8%, 8.9%, and 7.6% in each group, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in clinical pregnancy rates or live birth rates between any groups and those with the post-wash TPMSC <1 × 10 6 . In an IUI program for unexplained and mild male factor infertility, the post-wash TPMSC in the first IUI cycle was not significantly associated with the live birth rate in the second IUI cycle.
Humans
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Female
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Male
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Pregnancy
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Adult
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Retrospective Studies
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Sperm Count
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Pregnancy Rate
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Sperm Motility/physiology*
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Insemination, Artificial/methods*
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Pregnancy Outcome
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Infertility, Male/therapy*
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Insemination, Artificial, Homologous
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Live Birth
4.Clinical study on prenatal prediction scoring formula of vaginal delivery after a single cesarean section
Shuangshuang XU ; Qiao WANG ; Yuan MAO ; Jie LI
China Modern Doctor 2025;63(20):11-13
Objective To establish a prenatal prediction scoring formula for evaluating the risk of vaginal trial delivery after cesarean section.The formula will guide the selection of delivery methods.Methods A total of 240 cases of vaginal trial delivery after cesarean section delivered in the Affiliated Women and Children's Hospital of Ningbo University from January 2019 to December 2020 were selected as subjects.According to the final mode of delivery,they were divided into two groups:successful group(n=202)and failed group(n=38).Single factor analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the influencing factors of vaginal delivery after cesarean section.Based on these,prediction scoring formula was established.Results The success rate was 84.2%.The rate of uterine rupture was 0.99%.Overall prediction accuracy of the Logistic regression prediction formula was 83.8%,and fit degree of the formula was good(x2=8.828,P=0.357).The area under the curve was 0.798.Conclusion History of vaginal delivery,thickness of the lower segment of uterus and induced labor are independent influencing factors for vaginal delivery after cesarean section.The prediction scoring formula established by these three factors has good prediction efficiency and high accuracy.
5.Oroxylin A induces apoptosis in Ishikawa cell line of endometrial cancer via PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
Huan-huan ZHAO ; Yu-qian JIAO ; Ruo-qi QIAO ; Xue BAI ; Na WANG ; Yun-jie TIAN ; Wen-ling FAN ; Li LI ; Su-wen SU ; Yan FU ; Hui ZHANG ; Hong-fang YANG
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(3):555-560
Aim To investigate the effect of oroxylin A(OA)on apoptosis in Ishikawa cell line of endometrial cancer and the underlying mechanism through the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/AKT)signaling pathway.Methods Ishikawa cells were treated with different concentrations of OA(0,4,8,10,12,and 20 μmol·L-1)for 24 h-72 h,the cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay,apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry,and the protein ex-pression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax),PI3K/AKT,recombinant cytochrome P450 1B1(CYP1B1),and catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT)were detected by Western blot technique.Results OA inhibited the prolifera-tion of Ishikawa cells in a concentration-and time-de-pendent manner.Compared with the blank control group,the expression of Bax protein increased signifi-cantly,while the expression of Bcl-2 protein decreased significantly with the increase of OA concentration.The expression of COMT protein increased significant-ly,while the expression of CYP1B1 protein decreased significantly.PI3K/AKT:IGF-1(PI3 K agonist)sup-plementation reversed the effect,the expression of COMT protein significantly decreased,and the expres-sion of CYP1B1 protein significantly increased.Con-clusions OA exerts anti-tumor effects in Ishikawa cells of endometrial cancer,which may be related to cell apoptosis mediated by the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
6.Construction of Surgical Pharmaceutical Risk Management Index System by Delphi Method and Analytic Hierarchy Process
Xiaojuan WANG ; Rui ZHANG ; Yuqing CAO ; Yi ZHANG ; Lijuan QIAO ; Jie HAO ; Shuzhang DU
Herald of Medicine 2025;44(5):823-828
Objective To construct a surgical pharmaceutical risk management index system and then to enhance surgi-cal pharmaceutical service quality.Methods Literature research and consulting pharmaceutical experts were used to collect relevant data and construct initial scale items.The Delphi expert consultation method was used to revise and improve indicators with 20 experts,after 2 rounds of inquiry improvement.The analytic hierarchy process(AHP)was used to calculate the weight of each indicator,finally forming the surgical pharmaceutical risk management index system.Results The final construction of the scale entries includes four dimensions,14 second-grade indexes,and 71 third-grade indexes.The questionnaire response rates were 100.00%,while the authority coefficient of experts was 0.832.In the consultation,the harmony coefficients of the first,second,and third indicators were 0.743,0.491,and 0.277,respectively.The AHP was used to determine the weights of indicators,and the re-sult passed the consistency test.The professional factors and pharmacist factors of the first indicators are large in weight.Con-clusion The constructed surgical pharmaceutical risk management index system is scientific and practical,which can provide a reference for the clinical work of surgeons and maximize the risk of avoidance.
7.An alkyne and two phenylpropanoid derivants from Carthamus tinctorius L.
Lin-qing QIAO ; Ge-ge XIA ; Ying-jie LI ; Wen-xuan ZHAO ; Yan-zhi WANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2025;60(1):185-190
The chemical constituents from the
8.Changes in the body shape and ergonomic compatibility for functional dimensions of desks and chairs for students in Harbin during 2010-2024
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(3):315-320
Objective:
To analyze the change trends in the body shape indicators and proportions of students in Harbin from 2010 to 2024, and to investigate ergonomic compatibility of functional dimensions of school desks and chairs with current student shape indicators, so as to provide a reference for revising furniture standards of desks and chairs.
Methods:
Between September and November of both 2010 and 2024, a combination of convenience sampling and stratified cluster random sampling was conducted across three districts in Harbin, yielding samples of 6 590 and 6 252 students, respectively. Anthropometric shape indicators cluding height, sitting height, crus length, and thigh length-and their proportional changes were compared over the 15-year period. The 2024 data were compared with current standard functional dimensions of school furniture. The statistical analysis incorporated t-test and Mann-Whitney U- test.
Results:
From 2010 to 2024, average height increased by 1.8 cm for boys and 1.5 cm for girls; sitting height increased by 1.5 cm for both genders; crus length increased by 0.3 cm for boys and 0.4 cm for girls; and thigh length increased by 0.5 cm for both genders. The ratios of sitting height to height, and sitting height to leg length increased by less than 0.1 . The difference between desk chair height and 1/3 sitting height ranged from 0.4-0.8 cm. Among students matched with size 0 desks and chairs, 22.0% had a desk to chair height difference less than 0, indicating that the desk to chair height difference might be insufficient for taller students. The differences between seat height and fibular height ranged from -1.4 to 1.1 cm; and the differences between seat depth and buttock popliteal length ranged from -9.8 to 3.4 cm. Among obese students, the differences between seat width and 1/2 hip circumference ranged from -20.5 to -8.7 cm, while it ranged from -12.2 to -3.8 cm among non obese students.
Conclusion
Current furniture standards basically satisfy hygienic requirements; however, in the case of exceptionally tall and obese students, ergonomic accommodations such as adaptive seating allocation or personalized adjustments are recommended to meet hygienic requirements.
9.Role of SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodeling Complex in Tumor Drug Resistance
Gui-Zhen ZHU ; Qiao YE ; Yuan LUO ; Jie PENG ; Lu WANG ; Zhao-Ting YANG ; Feng-Sen DUAN ; Bing-Qian GUO ; Zhu-Song MEI ; Guang-Yun WANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):20-31
Tumor drug resistance is an important problem in the failure of chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy, which is a complex process involving chromatin remodeling. SWI/SNF is one of the most studied ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes in tumorigenesis, which plays an important role in the coordination of chromatin structural stability, gene expression, and post-translation modification. However, its mechanism in tumor drug resistance has not been systematically combed. SWI/SNF can be divided into 3 types according to its subunit composition: BAF, PBAF, and ncBAF. These 3 subtypes all contain two mutually exclusive ATPase catalytic subunits (SMARCA2 or SMARCA4), core subunits (SMARCC1 and SMARCD1), and regulatory subunits (ARID1A, PBRM1, and ACTB, etc.), which can control gene expression by regulating chromatin structure. The change of SWI/SNF complex subunits is one of the important factors of tumor drug resistance and progress. SMARCA4 and ARID1A are the most widely studied subunits in tumor drug resistance. Low expression of SMARCA4 can lead to the deletion of the transcription inhibitor of the BCL2L1 gene in mantle cell lymphoma, which will result in transcription up-regulation and significant resistance to the combination therapy of ibrutinib and venetoclax. Low expression of SMARCA4 and high expression of SMARCA2 can activate the FGFR1-pERK1/2 signaling pathway in ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma cells, which induces the overexpression of anti-apoptosis gene BCL2 and results in carboplatin resistance. SMARCA4 deletion can up-regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by activating YAP1 gene expression in triple-negative breast cancer. It can also reduce the expression of Ca2+ channel IP3R3 in ovarian and lung cancer, resulting in the transfer of Ca2+ needed to induce apoptosis from endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria damage. Thus, these two tumors are resistant to cisplatin. It has been found that verteporfin can overcome the drug resistance induced by SMARCA4 deletion. However, this inhibitor has not been applied in clinical practice. Therefore, it is a promising research direction to develop SWI/SNF ATPase targeted drugs with high oral bioavailability to treat patients with tumor resistance induced by low expression or deletion of SMARCA4. ARID1A deletion can activate the expression of ANXA1 protein in HER2+ breast cancer cells or down-regulate the expression of progesterone receptor B protein in endometrial cancer cells. The drug resistance of these two tumor cells to trastuzumab or progesterone is induced by activating AKT pathway. ARID1A deletion in ovarian cancer can increase the expression of MRP2 protein and make it resistant to carboplatin and paclitaxel. ARID1A deletion also can up-regulate the phosphorylation levels of EGFR, ErbB2, and RAF1 oncogene proteins.The ErbB and VEGF pathway are activated and EMT is increased. As a result, lung adenocarcinoma is resistant to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). Although great progress has been made in the research on the mechanism of SWI/SNF complex inducing tumor drug resistance, most of the research is still at the protein level. It is necessary to comprehensively and deeply explore the detailed mechanism of drug resistance from gene, transcription, protein, and metabolite levels by using multi-omics techniques, which can provide sufficient theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of poor tumor prognosis caused by mutation or abnormal expression of SWI/SNF subunits in clinical practice.
10.Correlation between APTT mixing test results and inhibitor titers in patients with hemophilia A inhibitor
Tiantian WANG ; Yan CHENG ; Hehe WANG ; Cuicui QIAO ; Jie WANG ; Guangshang ZHONG ; Xiyuan WANG ; Xueqin ZHANG ; Yunhai FANG
Chinese Journal of Blood Transfusion 2025;38(9):1172-1176
Objective: To study the correlation between activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) mixing test results and the inhibitor titers in hemophilia A inhibitor-positive patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 41 patients with severe hemophilia A and inhibitors (and negative for lupus anticoagulant) were included from the hemophilia clinic of Shandong Blood Center from February 2022 to February 2024. All patients underwent APTT mixing test. The Rosner's index (RI, including the immediate RI and the RI after 2-hour water bath incubation [water bath 2h RI]), the time-dependent difference (Δ value), and the corrected percentage were calculated based on results of APTT mixing test. The median (interquartile range) of the corresponding indexes were calculated, and the ROC curves for identification of high inhibitor titers using the four indexes (the immediate RI, the water bath 2h RI, the Δ value, and the corrected percentage) were plotted, The correlations between APTT mixing test and inhibitor titers for coagulation factor Ⅷ (Factor Ⅷ, FⅧ) were investigated. Results: The median (lower quartile, upper quartile) of immediate RI, water bath 2h RI, Δ-value and corrected percentage for FⅧ inhibitor positive patients were 11.0 (5.4, 29.3)%, 45.0 (25.7, 75.0)%, 26.2 (7.6, 41.8) s, and 82.2 (58.5, 91.6)%, respectively. The median (lower quartile, upper quartile) of the immediate RI, water bath 2h RI, Δ-value and corrected percentage were 25.2 (13.0, 37.5)%, 64.1 (44.6, 72.6)%, 38.0 (14.3, 38.3) s, and 66.5 (50.1, 82.1)% for the high-titer inhibitor group, and 5.2 (4.2, 9.4)%, 17.9 (8.8, 28.0)%, 13.0 (7.6, 25.4) s, and 92.3 (88.0, 94.3)% for the low-titer inhibitor group. The AUCs of the ROC curves for discrimination between high and low titer inhibitor were: 0.9105 for immediate RI, 0.9118 for water bath 2h RI, 0.8873 for correcter percentage, and 0.6532 for Δ-value. Conclusion: High-titer inhibitors can be highly suspected in hemophiliac patients with an immediate RI >10% and a water bath 2h RI >45%, and the presence of low-titer inhibitors is suspected in patients with a 4-second < immediate RI <10% and a 13% < water bath 2h RI <45%.


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