OBJECTIVE: The present study evaluated the effects of deep acupuncture at Weizhong acupoint (BL40) on bladder function and brain activity in a rat model of overactive bladder (OAB), and investigated the possible mechanisms around the acupuncture area that initiate the effects of acupuncture. METHODS: Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups, comprising a control group, model group, group treated with deep acupuncture at BL40, group treated with shallow acupuncture at BL40, group treated with acupuncture at non-acupoint next to BL40, and group treated with acupuncture at Xuanzhong (GB39). Urodynamic evaluation was used to observe the urination, and functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to observe the brain activation. The mechanism of acupuncture at BL40 in regulating bladder function was explored by toluidine blue staining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the mechanism was verified by stabilizing mast cells (MCs) or blocking tibial nerve. RESULTS: Deep acupuncture at BL40 significantly increased the intercontraction interval in OAB rats and enhanced the mean amplitude of low frequency fluctuation of primary motor cortex (M1), periaquaductal gray matter (PAG), and pontine micturition center (PMC). It also increased the zero-lag functional connectivity between M1 and PAG and between PAG and PMC. Shallow acupuncture at BL40 and acupuncture at non-acupoint or GB39 had no effect on these indexes. Further studies suggested that deep acupuncture at BL40 increased the number and degranulation rate of MCs as well as the contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine, substance P, and histamine in the tissues around BL40. Blocking the tibial nerve by lidocaine injection or inhibiting MC degranulation by sodium cromoglycate injection obstructed the effects of acupuncture on restoring urinary function and modulating brain activation in OAB rats. CONCLUSION Deep acupuncture at BL40 may be more effective for inhibiting OAB by promoting degranulation of MCs around the acupoint and stimulating tibial nerve, thereby regulating the activation of the brain area that controls the lower urinary tract. Please cite this article as: Liu X, Zhang CY, Du XY, Li SS, Wang YQ, Zheng Y, Deng HZ, Fang XQ, Li JY, Wang ZQ, Xu SF, Mi YQ. Acupuncture at Weizhong (BL40) attenuates acetic acid-induced overactive bladder in rats by regulating brain neural activity through the modulation of mast cells and tibial nerves. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(1): 46-55.
Animals ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive/physiopathology* ; Mast Cells/physiology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Female ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Acupuncture Points ; Rats ; Brain/physiopathology* ; Tibial Nerve/physiopathology* ; Acetic Acid ; Urinary Bladder/physiopathology*

OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies seen in clinic and requires novel treatment options. Morin is a natural flavonoid extracted from the flower stalk of a highly valuable medicinal plant Prunella vulgaris L., which exhibits an anti-cancer effect in multiple types of tumors. However, the therapeutic effect and underlying mechanism of morin in treating GC remains elusive. The study aims to explore the therapeutic effect and underlying molecular mechanisms of morin in GC. METHODS: For in vitro experiments, the proliferation inhibition of morin was measured by cell counting kit-8 assay and colony formation assay in human GC cell line MKN45, human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line AGS, and human gastric epithelial cell line GES-1; for apoptosis analysis, microscopic photography, Western blotting, ubiquitination analysis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, flow cytometry, and RNA interference technology were employed. For in vivo studies, immunohistochemistry, biomedical analysis, and Western blotting were used to assess the efficacy and safety of morin in a xenograft mouse model of GC. RESULTS: Morin significantly inhibited the proliferation of GC cells MKN45 and AGS in a dose- and time-dependent manner, but did not inhibit human gastric epithelial cells GES-1. Only the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK was able to significantly reverse the inhibition of proliferation by morin in both GC cells, suggesting that apoptosis was the main type of cell death during the treatment. Morin induced intrinsic apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in GC cells, which mainly relied on B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) associated agonist of cell death (BAD) but not phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced protein 1. The upregulation of BAD by morin was due to blocking the ubiquitination degradation of BAD, rather than the transcription regulation and the phosphorylation of BAD. Furthermore, the combination of morin and BCL-2 inhibitor navitoclax (also known as ABT-737) produced a synergistic inhibitory effect in GC cells through amplifying apoptotic signals. In addition, morin treatment significantly suppressed the growth of GC in vivo by upregulating BAD and the subsequent activation of its downstream apoptosis pathway. CONCLUSION Morin suppressed GC by inducing apoptosis, which was mainly due to blocking the ubiquitination-based degradation of the pro-apoptotic protein BAD. The combination of morin and the BCL-2 inhibitor ABT-737 synergistically amplified apoptotic signals in GC cells, which may overcome the drug resistance of the BCL-2 inhibitor. These findings indicated that morin was a potent and promising agent for GC treatment. Please cite this article as: Wang Y, Sun XY, Ma FQ, Ren MM, Zhao RH, Qin MM, Zhu XH, Xu Y, Cao ND, Chen YY, Dong TG, Pan YF, Zhao AG. Morin inhibits ubiquitination degradation of BCL-2 associated agonist of cell death and synergizes with BCL-2 inhibitor in gastric cancer cells. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(3): 320-332.
Humans ; Flavonoids/therapeutic use* ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology* ; Animals ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Ubiquitination/drug effects* ; Mice ; Drug Synergism ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; Flavones

Aim To observe the effects of Wenfei Jiangzhuo formula(WFJZF)on rats with vascular de-mentia and investigate its possible mechanism of ac-tion.Methods Thirty-six healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into the sham group,model group,donepezil group,and low-dose,medium-dose and high-dose groups of Wenfei Jiangzhuo formula,with six rats per group.Except for the sham group,the other groups were prepared as VaD models,and each group was gavaged with the corresponding drugs after suc-cessful modeling,and tests were performed after three weeks of treatment.Behavioral,hippocampal CA1 area morphology,neural dendrites and mitochondrial chan-ges were observed in all groups of rats,and phospho-glycerate mutase 5(PGAM5),dynamics-related pro-teins1(Drp1),opticatrophyprotein-1(OPA1),and other proteins were detected in each group.Results Compared with the sham group,rats in the model group and each intervention group had prolonged es-cape latency(P＜0.05),a shorter number of travers-als across the platforms(P＜0.05),a sparse morphol-ogy of hippocampal neurons,a reduction in the number of secondary dendritic spines,and a rupture of the out-er membrane of the mitochondria;the expression of the PGAM5 and Drp1 proteins in hippocampal tissues was elevated(P＜0.05),and the expression of the OPA1 and Mfn1/2 protein expression decreased(P＜0.05);compared with the model group,donepezil group and Wenfei Jiangzhuo formula high-dose group of rats had shorter evasion latency(P＜0.05),increased number of times to traverse the platform(P＜0.05),increased number of hippocampal neurons,tightly packed,more secondary dendritic structures,and reduced mitochon-drial damage;the expression of PGAM5 and Drp1 pro-teins was reduced(P＜0.05),and the expression of OPA1 and Mfn1/2 proteins was elevated(P＜0.05).Conclusions Wenfei Jiangzhuo formula can regulate the PGAM5-Drp1 signaling axis to improve the balance of mitochondrial homeostasis,thus improving the cog-nitive condition of the brain and exerting cerebroprotec-tive effects.

Objective:To assess the prevalence and type of tissue prolapse (TP) occurring after endovascular treatment (ET), investigate the association between TP types and plaque morphological characteristics before ET, and observe in-stent neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) using optical coherence tomography (OCT).Methods:Patients who underwent carotid artery stenting and received pre- and post-ET OCT assessment at Jinling Hospital between July 2018 and December 2019 were collected. Baseline plaque characteristics and TP features were evaluated using OCT. The TPs were classified into two categories: smooth TP (STP) and irregular and/or high attenuated TP (I/HTP). The association between I/HTP and plaque characteristics was analyzed, while NIH feature was also summarized.Results:A total of 29 patients were included in the study, of whom 23 patients (79.3%) presented with TP. Among these 23 patients, 9 were classified as I/HTP and 14 were classified as STP. Compared with STP, I/HTP was more commonly observed in lipid-rich plaques (7/9 vs 2/14, P=0.007), and lesions with cap rupture (7/9 vs 4/14, P=0.036). Additionally, the longitudinal length of TP appeared to be longer in cases with I/HTP compared to those with STP [3.0 (1.5, 4.6) mm vs 1.1 (0.7, 3.2) mm, Z=1.294, P=0.201]. Six patients underwent OCT follow-up for a mean duration of 6.7 months, of whom 3 patients with I/HTP showed severe heterogeneous NIH (50.1%-61.8%), while 1 patient with STP and 2 patients without TP only demonstrated mild NIH. Conclusions:The study observed that I/HTP was commonly found in plaques with larger lipid core and/or cap rupture, and suggested a potential relationship between I/HTP and NIH. These preliminary findings obtained from a limited sample should be verified by prospective large-scale studies.

A 2-year-and-10-month-old boy presented with multiple masses in the neck and chest for over 3 months.The child had a history of unstable walking,with hard lumps visible at the injury sites after falls,which would resolve on their own.Following a recent injury,a mass was discovered in the posterior neck,protruding above the skin surface and accompanied by limited joint movement.Gradually,new masses were found on the left side of the neck,back near the scapular lower angle,in the scapular fossa,and along the left axillary midline.Magnetic resonance imaging examination showed diffuse low signal on T1-weighted images and high signal on T2-weighted images in the bilateral posterior neck and back muscles two months ago.A CT scan revealed muscle swelling,with areas of patchy low density and multiple nodular high-density ossifications within some muscles.Genetic testing results indicated a mutation in the ACVR1 gene,leading to the final diagnosis of progressive ossifying myositis in this patient.This article summarizes the etiology,diagnosis,and treatment of one case of progressive ossifying myositis,providing a reference for clinicians.

Objective The causes of bleeding after endoscopic duodenal papilloma resection were analyzed and discussed,and the prediction model of nomogram was established.Methods A total of 233 patients who underwent endoscopic duodenal papilloma resection in our hospital from January 2018 to December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed,and they were divided into bleeding group(n=31 cases)and non-bleeding group(n=202 cases)according to whether postoperative bleeding occurred.The clinical data of the two groups were compared,the independent risk factors for postoperative bleeding were analyzed by multi-factor logistic regression,the risk nomogram prediction model was constructed,and the Bootstrap method was used for 1000 repeated samples to carry out internal verification.Results Anticoagulant drugs(OR=9.063,95％CI:2.132-38.525),lesion diameter ≥2 cm(OR=2.802,95％CI:1.073-7.321),intraoperative fragment resection(OR=27.653,95％CI:3.055～619.174)and pancreatic complications(OR=6.859,95％CI:1.930～24.377)were independent risk factors for postoperative bleeding after endoscopic duodenal papilloma resection(P＜0.05).A risk prediction nomogram model was constructed according to the Logistic regression analysis results.The samples were repeatedly sampled 1000 times through Bootstrap method for internal verification.The area under the ROC curve was 0.850,and the 95％CI was 0.780-0.913,indicating good differentiation ability of the model.Calibration curve analysis indicated that the prediction probability of postoperative bleeding predicted by the nomogram prediction model was in good agreement with the actual probability of postoperative bleeding,and Hosmer-Lemeshow showed good goodness of fit(x2=3.304 9,P=0.913 8).Conclusion Taking anticoagulant drugs,lesion diameter ≥2 cm,intraoperative segmentary resection,and postoperative combination of pancreas were independent risk factors for bleeding after endoscopic duodenal papilloma resection.A nomogram prediction model was established to help clinical assessment of postoperative bleeding risk in patients and improve decision-making basis for early prevention.

Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides in the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression.Methods An open,single-arm,multi-center design was adopted in our study.Adult patients with mild and moderate depression who had received acute treatment of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides were enrolled and continue to receive Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules for 24 weeks,the dose remained unchanged during continuation treatment.The remission rate,recurrence rate,recurrence time,and the change from baseline to endpoint of Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA),Clinical Global Impression-Severity(CGI-S)and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale(ASEX)were evaluated.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was reported.Results The scores of HAMD-17 at baseline and after treatment were 6.60±1.87 and 5.85±4.18,scores of HAMA were 6.36±3.02 and 4.93±3.09,scores of CGI-S were 1.49±0.56 and 1.29±0.81,scores of ASEX were 15.92±4.72 and 15.57±5.26,with significant difference(P＜0.05).After continuation treatment,the remission rate was 54.59％(202 cases/370 cases),and the recurrence rate was 6.49％(24 cases/370 cases),the recurrence time was(64.67±42.47)days.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was 15.35％(64 cases/417 cases).Conclusion Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules can be effectively used for the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression,and are well tolerated and safe.

BACKGROUND: Red-cell transfusion is critical for surgery during the peri-operative period; however, the transfusion threshold remains controversial mainly owing to the diversity among patients. The patient's medical status should be evaluated before making a transfusion decision. Herein, we developed an individualized transfusion strategy using the West-China-Liu's Score based on the physiology of oxygen delivery/consumption balance and designed an open-label, multicenter, randomized clinical trial to verify whether it reduced red cell requirement as compared with that associated with restrictive and liberal strategies safely and effectively, providing valid evidence for peri-operative transfusion. METHODS: Patients aged >14 years undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery with estimated blood loss > 1000 mL or 20% blood volume and hemoglobin concentration <10 g/dL were randomly assigned to an individualized strategy, a restrictive strategy following China's guideline or a liberal strategy with a transfusion threshold of hemoglobin concentration <9.5 g/dL. We evaluated two primary outcomes: the proportion of patients who received red blood cells (superiority test) and a composite of in-hospital complications and all-cause mortality by day 30 (non-inferiority test). RESULTS: We enrolled 1182 patients: 379, 419, and 384 received individualized, restrictive, and liberal strategies, respectively. Approximately 30.6% (116/379) of patients in the individualized strategy received a red-cell transfusion, less than 62.5% (262/419) in the restrictive strategy (absolute risk difference, 31.92%; 97.5% confidence interval [CI]: 24.42-39.42%; odds ratio, 3.78%; 97.5% CI: 2.70-5.30%; P <0.001), and 89.8% (345/384) in the liberal strategy (absolute risk difference, 59.24%; 97.5% CI: 52.91-65.57%; odds ratio, 20.06; 97.5% CI: 12.74-31.57; P <0.001). No statistically significant differences were found in the composite of in-hospital complications and mortality by day 30 among the three strategies. CONCLUSION: The individualized red-cell transfusion strategy using the West-China-Liu's Score reduced red-cell transfusion without increasing in-hospital complications and mortality by day 30 when compared with restrictive and liberal strategies in elective non-cardiac surgeries. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01597232.
Humans ; Adult ; Postoperative Complications ; Erythrocyte Transfusion/adverse effects* ; Blood Transfusion ; Hospitals ; Hemoglobins/analysis*

ObjectiveBased on ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS^E） technique， we identified qualitatively the metabolites of aristolochic acid（AAs） in rat in order to analyze the metabolic differences between water extract of Aristolochiae fructus（AFE） and Aristolochic acid Ⅰ（AAⅠ）. MethodSD rats were selected and administered AFE（110 g·kg^-1·d^-1） or AAⅠ（5 mg·kg^-1·d^-1） by oral for 5 days， respectively. Serum， urine and feces were collected after administration. Through sample pretreatment， ACQUITY UPLC BEH C₁₈ column（2.1 mm×100 mm， 1.7 μm） was used with the mobile phase of 0.01% formic acid methanol（A）-0.01% formic acid water（B， containing 5 mmol·L^-1 ammonium acetate） for gradient elution（0-1 min， 10%B； 1-7 min， 10%-75%B； 7-7.2 min， 75%-95%B； 7.2-10.2 min， 95%B； 10.2-10.3 min， 95%-10%B； 10.3-12 min， 10%B） at a flow rate of 0.3 mL·min^-1. Positive ion mode of electrospray ionization（ESI⁺） was performed in the scanning range of m/z 100-1 200. In combination with UNIFI 1.9.4.053 system， the Pathway-MS^E was used to qualitatively analyze and identify the AAs prototype and related metabolites in biological samples（serum， urine and feces）， and to compare the similarities and differences of metabolites in rats in the subacute toxicity test between AFE group and AAⅠ group. ResultCompared with AAⅠ group， 6， 10， 13 common metabolites and 14， 20， 30 unique metabolites were identified in biological samples（serum， urine and feces） of AFE group， respectively. Moreover， the main AAs components always followed the metabolic processes of demethylation， nitrate reduction and conjugation. Compared with common metabolites in AAⅠ group， prototype components of AAⅠ in serum and most metabolic derivatives of AAⅠ［AAⅠa， aristolochic lactam Ⅰ（ALⅠ）a， 7-OHALⅠ and its conjugated derivatives］ in biological samples were significantly increased in AFE group（P<0.05， P<0.01）， except that the metabolic amount of ALⅠ in feces of AFE group was remarkably lowed than that of AAⅠ group（P<0.01）. In addition， a variety of special ALⅠ efflux derivatives were also identified in the urine and feces of the AFE group. ConclusionAlthough major AAs components in AFE all show similar metabolic rules as AAⅠ components in vivo， the coexistence of multiple AAs components in Aristolochiae Fructus may affect the metabolism of AAⅠ， and achieve the attenuating effect by increasing the metabolic effection of AAⅠ and ALⅠ.