Background: High-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) is a chromatin-binding protein involved in arthritis, ischemia, sepsis, atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, meningitis, and cancer. HMGB1 exhibits dual roles in cancer, acting as either a tumor suppressor or oncoprotein depending on context. Objective: This research aimed to elucidate HMGB1’s functional significance in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Methods: We overexpressed HMGB1 in cSCC cell lines using recombinant adenovirus and examined its effects on cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell migration. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed elevated HMGB1 expression levels in cSCC tissue relative to normal epidermis. To assess the influence of HMGB1, we employed recombinant adenoviruses expressing HMGB1 to transduce SCC cell lines (SCC12 and SCC13). Enhanced HMGB1 expression significantly promoted cellular proliferation and colony formation capacity.Notably, HMGB1 overexpression elevated the levels of proliferation regulators, including P63, SOX2, CDK4 and CDK6. Furthermore, HMGB1 overexpression substantially enhanced tumor invasiveness, accompanied by upregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers. Mechanistically, overexpression of HMGB1 enhanced transforming growth factor-β signaling by increasing phosphorylation of SMAD2/3, the key mediators of EMT. Conclusion These data imply that HMGB1 acts as a tumor-promoting factor in cSCC.

Objective:To investigate the impact of bundled management of late-pregnancy induction strategies on induction time and maternal and perinatal clinical outcomes.Methods:This was a historical control study, including 61 pregnant women before the implementation of the bundled management strategies for induction protocol in September 2024, and 78 pregnant women after the implementation in December 2024, who received regular prenatal check-ups and finally admitted to Peking University Third Hospital for elective induction of labor at term. The rate of successful induction, the rate of reaching active phase, induction to labor length, duration of labor, hospital stay, and adverse maternal and preinatal outcomes and other information were compared between two groups. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting the rates of successful labor induction and reaching active phase. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted for induction to labor length and duration of labor, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the impact of the bundled management strategies for induction strategies on the above indicators.Results:(1) Compared with the group before implementation, the group after implementation had a shorter induction to labor length (median: 47.4 vs 35.1 h), a shorter duration of labor (median: 14.0 vs 10.5 h), and a shorter hospital stay (median: 6 vs 4 d). The rate of successful induction increased [87% (53/61) vs 97% (76/78)], and the rate of reaching active phase increased [70% (43/61) vs 86% (67/78)]; the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). (2) Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the implementation of the bundled management strategies promoted successful induction ( OR=7.299, 95% CI: 1.189-44.800; P=0.032) and reaching active phase ( OR=2.640, 95% CI: 1.003-6.951; P=0.049). A pre-pregnancy body mass index<18.5 kg/m2 promoted successful induction ( OR=9.142, 95% CI: 1.154-72.423; P=0.036). (3) Kaplan-Meier curve analysis indicated that compared with the group before the implementation, the group after the implementation had a significantly shorter induction to labor length ( χ2=13.883, P<0.001) and a shorter duration of labor ( χ2=5.72, P=0.017). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that the implementation of the bundled management strategies for induction protocol was a protective factor for shortening induction to labor length ( HR=1.806, 95% CI: 1.186-2.749; P=0.006) and duration of labor ( HR=1.677, 95% CI: 1.066-2.637; P=0.025). A cervical Bishop score >3 at admission was a protective factor for shortening the induction to labor length ( HR=1.627, 95% CI: 1.110-2.384; P=0.013), and parity was a protective factor for shortening the duration of labor ( HR=3.370, 95% CI: 1.806-6.288; P<0.001). Conclusions:By the implementation of the bundled management strategies for induction protocol, it is possible to promote successful induction of labor and reaching the active phase for pregnant women undergoing induction. This approach also shortens induction to labor length and the duration of labor, without increasing the risk of maternal and perinatal complications.

Objective:To investigate the impact of bundled management of late-pregnancy induction strategies on induction time and maternal and perinatal clinical outcomes.Methods:This was a historical control study, including 61 pregnant women before the implementation of the bundled management strategies for induction protocol in September 2024, and 78 pregnant women after the implementation in December 2024, who received regular prenatal check-ups and finally admitted to Peking University Third Hospital for elective induction of labor at term. The rate of successful induction, the rate of reaching active phase, induction to labor length, duration of labor, hospital stay, and adverse maternal and preinatal outcomes and other information were compared between two groups. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting the rates of successful labor induction and reaching active phase. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted for induction to labor length and duration of labor, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the impact of the bundled management strategies for induction strategies on the above indicators.Results:(1) Compared with the group before implementation, the group after implementation had a shorter induction to labor length (median: 47.4 vs 35.1 h), a shorter duration of labor (median: 14.0 vs 10.5 h), and a shorter hospital stay (median: 6 vs 4 d). The rate of successful induction increased [87% (53/61) vs 97% (76/78)], and the rate of reaching active phase increased [70% (43/61) vs 86% (67/78)]; the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). (2) Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the implementation of the bundled management strategies promoted successful induction ( OR=7.299, 95% CI: 1.189-44.800; P=0.032) and reaching active phase ( OR=2.640, 95% CI: 1.003-6.951; P=0.049). A pre-pregnancy body mass index<18.5 kg/m2 promoted successful induction ( OR=9.142, 95% CI: 1.154-72.423; P=0.036). (3) Kaplan-Meier curve analysis indicated that compared with the group before the implementation, the group after the implementation had a significantly shorter induction to labor length ( χ2=13.883, P<0.001) and a shorter duration of labor ( χ2=5.72, P=0.017). Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that the implementation of the bundled management strategies for induction protocol was a protective factor for shortening induction to labor length ( HR=1.806, 95% CI: 1.186-2.749; P=0.006) and duration of labor ( HR=1.677, 95% CI: 1.066-2.637; P=0.025). A cervical Bishop score >3 at admission was a protective factor for shortening the induction to labor length ( HR=1.627, 95% CI: 1.110-2.384; P=0.013), and parity was a protective factor for shortening the duration of labor ( HR=3.370, 95% CI: 1.806-6.288; P<0.001). Conclusions:By the implementation of the bundled management strategies for induction protocol, it is possible to promote successful induction of labor and reaching the active phase for pregnant women undergoing induction. This approach also shortens induction to labor length and the duration of labor, without increasing the risk of maternal and perinatal complications.

The incomplete degradation of tumour cells by macrophages(Mφ)is a contributing factor to tumour progression and metastasis,and the degradation function of Mφ is mediated through phagosomes and lysosomes.In our preliminary experiments,we found that overactivation of NADPH oxidase 2(NOX2)reduced the ability of Mφ to degrade engulfed tumour cells.Above this,we screened out liquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch,which can significantly inhibit NOX2 activity and inhibit tumours,to elucidate that suppressing NOX2 can enhance the ability of Mφ to degrade tumour cells.We found that the tumour environment could activate the NOX2 activity in Mφ phagosomes,causing Mφ to produce excessive reactive oxygen species(ROS),thus prohibiting the formation of phagolysosomes before degradation.Conversely,inhibiting NOX2 in Mφ by liquiritin can reduce ROS and promote phagosome-lysosome fusion,therefore improving the enzymatic degradation of tumour cells after phagocytosis,and subse-quently promote T cell activity by presenting antigens.We further confirmed that liquiritin down-regulated the expression of the NOX2 specific membrane component protein gp91 phox,blocking its binding to the NOX2 cytoplasmic component proteins p67 phox and p47 phox,thereby inhibiting the activity of NOX2.This study elucidates the specific mechanism by which Mφ cannot degrade tumour cells after phagocytosis,and indicates that liquiritin can promote the ability of Mφ to degrade tumour cells by suppressing NOX2.

The incomplete degradation of tumour cells by macrophages (Mϕ) is a contributing factor to tumour progression and metastasis, and the degradation function of Mϕ is mediated through phagosomes and lysosomes. In our preliminary experiments, we found that overactivation of NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) reduced the ability of Mϕ to degrade engulfed tumour cells. Above this, we screened out liquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch, which can significantly inhibit NOX2 activity and inhibit tumours, to elucidate that suppressing NOX2 can enhance the ability of Mϕ to degrade tumour cells. We found that the tumour environment could activate the NOX2 activity in Mϕ phagosomes, causing Mϕ to produce excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus prohibiting the formation of phagolysosomes before degradation. Conversely, inhibiting NOX2 in Mϕ by liquiritin can reduce ROS and promote phagosome-lysosome fusion, therefore improving the enzymatic degradation of tumour cells after phagocytosis, and subsequently promote T cell activity by presenting antigens. We further confirmed that liquiritin down-regulated the expression of the NOX2 specific membrane component protein gp91 phox, blocking its binding to the NOX2 cytoplasmic component proteins p67 phox and p47 phox, thereby inhibiting the activity of NOX2. This study elucidates the specific mechanism by which Mϕ cannot degrade tumour cells after phagocytosis, and indicates that liquiritin can promote the ability of Mϕ to degrade tumour cells by suppressing NOX2.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of astragaloside Ⅳ on systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)mice.Methods A total of 40 female spontaneous MRL/lpr SLE model mice were randomly divided into five groups:model group,Prednisone group,astragaloside Ⅳ group,astragaloside Ⅳ+CHPG[nuclear factor KappaB(NF-κB)pathway activator]group and astragaloside Ⅳ+Nigerian[NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing protein 3(NLRP3)activator]group,with eight mice in each group.Eight female MRL/MpJ mice were used as normal group.During the administration,the body mass was weighted.After administration,the spleen,thymus and kidney were weighted,and the organ index was calculated.The 24-hour urinary protein level in urine samples,the biochemical indexes of creatinine(SCr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),autoantibodies[antinuclear antibody(ANA),anti-double-stranded DNA(dsDNA)antibody,anti-snRNP/Sm antibody]and inflammatory mediators[interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-18]in blood samples were detected.The pathological damage of renal tissue was observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining,and the fibrosis of renal tissue was observed by Masson staining.The expressions of NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway-related proteins in kidney and spleen tissues were detected by Western Blot.Results Compared with the model group,the body mass of mice in prednisone group and astragaloside Ⅳ group increased,the spleen index,thymus index and kidney index were decreased,the serum levels of ANA antibody,anti-dsDNA antibody and anti-snRNP/Sm antibody were decreased,the levels of SCr,BUN and 24-hour urine protein were decreased,the levels of IL-1 βand IL-18 wrere decreased,the ratios of p-p65/p65,p-IKBα/IKBα,cleaved caspase-1/pro caspase-1 and the relative expression of NLRP3 protein in kidney and spleen tissues were decreased(all P＜0.05),and the pathological damage and fibrosis of renal tissue in SLE mice were alleviated,there being no significant difference between the two administration groups(P＞0.05).NF-κB activator and NLRP3 inflammasome activator eliminated the improvement of astragaloside Ⅳ on the above indexes in SLE mice to a certain extent.Conclusion Astragaloside Ⅳ can improve the immune function of SLE mice,reduce renal injury and inflammatory response,and its mechanism may be related to its inhibition of the activation of NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

Objective To explore preemptive analgesic effect of preoperative intramural tramadol injection in percutaneous kyphoplasty(PKP)of vertebrae following local anesthesia.Methods From August 2019 to June 2021,118 patients with thora-co lumbar osteoporotic fractures were treated and divided into observation group and control group,with 59 patients in each gruop.In observation group,there were 26 males and 33 females,aged from 57 to 80 years old with an average of(67.69±4.75)years old;14 patients on T11,12 patients on T12,18 patients on L1,15 patients on L2;tramadol with 100 mg was injected intramuscularly half an hour before surgery in observation group.In control group,there were 24 males and 35 females,aged from 55 to 77 years old with an average of(68.00±4.43)years old;19 patients on T11,11 patients on T12,17patients on L1,12 patients on L2;the same amount of normal saline was injected intramuscularly in control group.Observation indicators included operation time,intraoperative bleeding,visual analogue scale(VAS)evaluation and recording of preoperative(T0),intraoper-ative puncture(T1),and working cannula placement(T2)between two groups of patients,at the time of balloon dilation(T3),when the bone cement was injected into the vertebral body(T4),2 hours after the operation(T5),and the pain degree at the time of discharge(T6);adverse reactions such as dizziness,nausea and vomiting were observed and recorded;the record the patient's acceptance of repeat PKP surgery.Results All patients were successfully completed PKP via bilateral pedicle ap-proach,and no intravenous sedative and analgesic drugs were used during the operation.There was no significant difference in preoperative general data and VAS(T0)between two groups(P＞0.05).There was no significant difference in operation time and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups(P＞0.05).VAS of T1,T2,T3,T4 and T5 in observation group were all lower than those in control group(P＜0.05),and there was no significant difference in T6 VAS(P＞0.05).T6 VAS between two groups were significantly lower than those of T0,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).There was no signifi-cant difference in incidence of total adverse reactions between two groups(P＞0.05).There was a statistically significant differ-ence in the acceptance of repeat PKP surgery(P＜0.05).Conclusion Half an hour before operation,intramuscular injection of tramadol has a clear preemptive analgesic effect for PKP of single-segment thoracolumbar osteoporotic fracture vertebral body under local anesthesia,which could increase the comfort of patients during operation and 2 hours after operation,and improve patients satisfaction with surgery.

Inhibiting the death receptor 3(DR3)signaling pathway in group 3 innate lymphoid cells(ILC3s)pre-sents a promising approach for promoting mucosal repair in individuals with ulcerative colitis(UC).Paeoniflorin,a prominent component of Paeonia lactiflora Pall.,has demonstrated the ability to restore barrier function in UC mice,but the precise mechanism remains unclear.In this study,we aimed to delve into whether paeoniflorin may promote intestinal mucosal repair in chronic colitis by inhibiting DR3 signaling in ILC3s.C57BL/6 mice were subjected to random allocation into 7 distinct groups,namely the control group,the 2％dextran sodium sulfate(DSS)group,the paeoniflorin groups(25,50,and 100 mg/kg),the anti-tumor necrosis factor-like ligand 1A(anti-TL1A)antibody group,and the IgG group.We detected the expression of DR3 signaling pathway proteins and the proportion of ILC3s in the mouse colon using Western blot and flow cytometry,respectively.Meanwhile,DR3-overexpressing MNK-3 cells and 2％ DSS-induced Rag1-/-mice were used for verification.The results showed that paeoniflorin alleviated DSS-induced chronic colitis and repaired the intestinal mucosal barrier.Simultaneously,paeoniflorin inhibited the DR3 signaling pathway in ILC3s and regulated the content of cytokines(interleukin-17A,granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor,and interleukin-22).Alternatively,paeoniflorin directly inhibited the DR3 signaling pathway in ILC3s to repair mucosal damage indepen-dently of the adaptive immune system.We additionally confirmed that paeoniflorin-conditioned me-dium(CM)restored the expression of tight junctions in Caco-2 cells via coculture.In conclusion,paeoniflorin ameliorates chronic colitis by enhancing the intestinal barrier in an ILC3-dependent manner,and its mechanism is associated with the inhibition of the DR3 signaling pathway.

The disorder of group 3 innate lymphoid cells(ILC3)subgroup,such as the predominance of NCR-ILC3 but the deple-tion of NCR+ILC3,is unfavorable to damaged intestinal barrier repair,which leads to the prolongations and obstinacy of ulcerative colitis(UC).Our previous studies had shown that luteolin promoted NCRILC3 differentitating into NCR+ILC3 to improving the de-pletion of NCR+ILC3 in UC mice,while the mechanism is unclear.This article aimed to explore the underlying mechanism of luteolin enhancing the proportion NCR+ILC3.UC mice model was established with 2％DSS and Notch signaling was blocked,then luteolin was used to intervene.The results showed that the effect of luteolin on ameliorating disease symptoms in UC mice,including inhibit-ing the weight loss,reducing the pathological damage of colon mucosa,etc.,was diminished with blocking Notch signaling pathway.In addition,luteolin increased the proportion of NCR+ILC3,NCR+MNK3 and IL-22+ILC3,decreased intestinal permeability,pro-moted mucin secretion,and promoted ZO-1 and Occludin expression,the above effect of luteolin was neutralized by Notch inhibitor LY-411575.Luteolin activated the abnormally blocked Notch signaling pathway in UC mice.And molecular docking predicted the af-finity of luteolin for RBPJ to be-7.5 kcal·mol-1 in mouse,respectively;the affinity of luteolin for Notchl and RBPJ was respectively scored to be-6.4 kcal·mol-1 and-7.7 kcal·mol-1 homo sapiens.These results proved that luteolin is positive for enhancing the propor-tion of NCR+ILC3 via Notch signaling,and it provides a basis for targeting NCR+ILC3 for restoring intestinal barrier function to alle-viating ulcerative colitis.

This study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of CPD1, a novel phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, on renal interstitial fibrosis after unilateral renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (UIRI). Male BALB/c mice were subjected to UIRI, and treated with CPD1 once daily (i.g, 5 mg/kg). Contralateral nephrectomy was performed on day 10 after UIRI, and the UIRI kidneys were harvested on day 11. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE), Masson trichrome and Sirius Red staining methods were used to observe the renal tissue structural lesions and fibrosis. Immunohistochemical staining and Western blot were used to detect the expression of proteins related to fibrosis. HE, Sirius Red and Masson trichrome staining showed that CPD1-treated UIRI mice had lower extent of tubular epithelial cell injury and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) in renal interstitium compared with those in the fibrotic mouse kidneys. The results from immunohistochemistry and Western blot assay indicated significantly decreased protein expressions of type I collagen, fibronectin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) after CPD1 treatment. In addition, CPD1 dose-dependently inhibited the expression of ECM-related proteins induced by transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) in normal rat kidney interstitial fibroblasts (NRK-49F) and human renal tubular epithelial cell line (HK-2). In summary, the novel PDE inhibitor, CPD1, displays strong protective effects against UIRI and fibrosis by suppressing TGF-β signaling pathway and regulating the balance between ECM synthesis and degradation through PAI-1.
Animals ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Rats ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; Fibrosis ; Kidney ; Kidney Diseases ; Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors ; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1