1.Mechanism of Shengmai Injection Against Cerebral Ischemia Based on Proteomics
Jingtong LIU ; Shaowei HU ; Mengli CHANG ; Jing XU ; Qingqing CAI ; Xinghong LI ; Liying TANG ; Huanhuan WANG ; Hongwei WU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(9):57-67
ObjectiveTo evaluate pharmacological effects of Shengmai injection(SMI)on cerebral ischemia and study its neuroprotective mechanism. MethodsMale specific pathogen-free (SPF) Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a sham group, a model group, a low-dose SMI group(3 mL·kg-1), a middle-dose SMI group(6 mL·kg-1), a high-dose SMI group(12 mL·kg-1), and a Ginaton group(4 mL·kg-1)according to the random number table method, with 12 rats in each group. The rat model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion(MCAO/R)was prepared via the suture method. The administration groups were intraperitoneally injected with corresponding concentrations of SMI or Ginaton injection after reperfusion, which was conducted for 3 consecutive days. The sham group and model group were administered the equivalent volume of physiological saline. The pharmacological effects of SMI on brain injury in MCAO/R rats were evaluated by neurological function scores, cerebral infarction area, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, Nissl staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining, and Western blot. The dominant link and key protein of SMI treating cerebral injury were explored using proteomic analysis. The related mechanisms of SMI were further validated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot, and chloride ion fluorescence probe with oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation(OGD/R)-treated PC12 cells and MCAO/R rats. ResultsCompared with the sham group, the model group showed significantly increased neurological function scores, cerebral infarction area, neuronal apoptosis rate, and expression levels of apoptosis related proteins (P<0.05, P<0.01)and significantly decreased density of Nissl bodies and neurons(P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the SMI groups exhibited significantly decreased neurological function scores, cerebral infarction area, neuronal apoptosis rate, and expression levels of apoptosis related proteins (P<0.05, P<0.01)and significantly increased density of Nissl bodies and neurons (P<0.05). The proteomic analysis results showed that oxidative stress and inflammatory response were important processes of SMI intervening in MCAO/R injury, and the chloride intracellular channel protein 1 (CLIC1) was one of key proteins in its action network. The levels of representative indicators of oxidative stress and inflammatory response in the MCAO/R rats of the SMI groups were significantly reduced, compared with those in the model group(P<0.05, P<0.01), and the expression levels of CLIC1 and downstream NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) decreased (P<0.01). In addition, the experimental results based on the OGD/R PC12 cells showed that SMI significantly increased the cell survival rate(P<0.01) and significantly decreased the intracellular chloride ion concentration(P<0.05). ConclusionSMI has neuroprotective effects. Oxidative stress and inflammatory response are key processes of SMI intervening in MCAO/R injury. The potential mechanism is closely related to the regulation of CLIC1.
2.Development and validation of a multidisciplinary risk assessment scale for immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated myocarditis
Yanan DAI ; Yuan LIU ; Yuchen XU ; Qingqing CAI ; Yan WANG ; Yuhong ZHOU ; Leilei CHENG ; Junbo GE
Chinese Journal of Clinical Medicine 2025;32(4):561-567
Objective To develop a risk assessment scale for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-associated myocarditis based on multidisciplinary collaboration, and to evaluate its diagnostic performance. Methods Based on multidisciplinary cooperation, integrating clinical experience from oncology and cardiology, literature data, and patient conditions, a risk assessment scale for ICI-associated myocarditis was developed. A total of 101 patients with malignancies who received immunotherapy at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, from October 2020 to October 2024 were included as the validation cohort. Patients were stratified into low-risk (0-1 point), medium-risk (2-4 points), and high-risk (≥5 points) groups based on their scale scores. The association between pretictive risk stratifications and actual assessment results was assessed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The predictive value of the scale for ICI-associated myocarditis was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Agreement between the scale scores and actual assessment results was assessed using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient. Results Based on the scale pretictive results, 28(27.7%), 8(7.9%), 65(64.4%) patients were at low risk, medium risk, and high risk for ICI-related myocarditis, respectively; however, 46(45.5%), 8(7.9%), 47(46.5%) were at low risk, medium risk, and high risk actually. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the cumulative incidence of ICI-related myocarditis in the high-risk group was significantly higher than that in the medium- and low-risk groups (P<0.05). In the multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards model, the ICI-related myocarditis risk in high-risk group was about 4 times that in the low-risk group. ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the average area under the curve (AUC) for predicting ICI-related myocarditis was 0.81, with an accuracy of 0.74. The Cohen’s Kappa coefficient was 0.55, indicating moderate agreement. In the actual high-risk group, no patient was predicted to be at low risk; in the actual low-risk group, 16 patients were predicted to be at high risk. Conclusions This risk assessment scale for ICI-associated myocarditis shows high predictive performance. It provides oncologists with a simple yet effective multidisciplinary diagnostic reference tool, potentially enhancing early identification of ICI-associated myocarditis.
3.Study on Quantitative Evaluation Method of Balance Ability in Cancer Patients Based on Gait Features.
Junjie LIU ; Xu ZHOU ; Chao YU ; Qingqing CAO ; Zhiming YAO ; Wanqiu ZHANG ; Ling ZHANG ; Wanqing YAO ; Ning LIN
Chinese Journal of Medical Instrumentation 2025;49(4):369-374
The importance of gait assessment in the rehabilitation of cancer patients is gradually being recognized. However, quantitative analysis of balance ability in cancer patients is still limited. A total of 102 cancer patients meeting the inclusion criteria were recruited from Hefei Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Their balance ability was evaluated using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Gait data were collected by an electronic walkway and an IMU sensor system, including spatial-temporal and kinematic gait features such as step length, cadence, support time, and range of motion. Recursive feature elimination was used for feature selection. Ridge, Elastic Net, SVR, RF, and AdaBoost models were used to predict balance ability scores. Five-fold cross-validation was used to evaluate the performance of these models. Results show that the SVR model achieves the best performance with fifteen features (RMSE=3.22, R 2=0.91), followed by Ridge (RMSE=3.63, R 2=0.89). A method for evaluating balance ability based on gait features is proposed, providing a quantitative tool for personalized rehabilitation interventions in cancer patients.
Humans
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Postural Balance
;
Neoplasms/rehabilitation*
;
Gait
;
Gait Analysis
;
Biomechanical Phenomena
;
Female
4.The application of surgical robots in head and neck tumors.
Xiaoming HUANG ; Qingqing HE ; Dan WANG ; Jiqi YAN ; Yu WANG ; Xuekui LIU ; Chuanming ZHENG ; Yan XU ; Yanxia BAI ; Chao LI ; Ronghao SUN ; Xudong WANG ; Mingliang XIANG ; Yan WANG ; Xiang LU ; Lei TAO ; Ming SONG ; Qinlong LIANG ; Xiaomeng ZHANG ; Yuan HU ; Renhui CHEN ; Zhaohui LIU ; Faya LIANG ; Ping HAN
Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery 2025;39(11):1001-1008
5.High YEATS2 expression promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastric cancer cells by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
Xuening JIANG ; Qingqing HUANG ; Ying XU ; Shunyin WANG ; Xiaofeng ZHANG ; Lian WANG ; Yueyue WANG ; Lugen ZUO
Journal of Southern Medical University 2025;45(11):2416-2426
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate YEATS2 expression in gastric cancer (GC), its prognostic value, and its regulatory role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of GC cells.
METHODS:
YEATS2 expression in GC was analyzed using publicly available databases. Paired GC and adjacent tissues were collected from 100 patients undergoing radical surgery for immunohistochemical detection of YEATS2 expression, and its correlations with the patients' clinicopathological parameters and Ki67 expression were analyzed. The prognostic value of YEATS2 was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis, Cox regression and ROC curves, and its regulatory mechanisms were analyzed using KEGG enrichment analysis. In cultured GC cell lines (HGC-27 and AGS), the effect of YEATS2 knockdown and overexpression on migration, invasion and EMT of the cells were examined with scratching assay, Transwell assay and Western blotting.
RESULTS:
YEATS2 was significantly overexpressed in GC tissues with a positive correlation with Ki67 (P<0.05). High YEATS2 expression was associated with elevated CEA (≥5 μg/L), CA19-9 (≥37 kU/L), T3-4 stage, and N2-3 stage (all P<0.05). Patients with high YEATS2 expression had significantly reduced 5-year survival (P<0.001); ROC analysis showed that YEATS2 expression levels had a sensitivity of 80.00% and a specificity of 66.67% for predicting patient survival (P<0.05). Cox regression identified high YEATS2 as an independent risk factor for poor postoperative 5-year survival outcome of GC patients (HR: 1.675, 95%CI: 1.013-2.771; P=0.045). KEGG enrichment analysis suggested involvement of YEATS2 in EMT in GC and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. In cultured GC cells, YEATS2 overexpression significantly promoted cell migration and invasion, upregulated the expressions of vimentin, N-cadherin, Wnt and active β-catenin, and downregulated E-cadherin expression, and these changes were obviously suppressed by treatment with XAV-939 (a Wnt/β-catenin inhibitor).
CONCLUSIONS
High YEATS2 expression activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling to promote EMT in GC and is correlated with poor prognosis of GC patients.
Humans
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Stomach Neoplasms/pathology*
;
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
;
Wnt Signaling Pathway
;
Cell Line, Tumor
;
Prognosis
;
Cell Movement
;
Male
;
Female
;
beta Catenin/metabolism*
6.Interleukin-33 Knockout Promotes High Mobility Group Box 1 Release from Astrocytes by Acetylation Mediated by P300/CBP-Associated Factor in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.
Yifan XIAO ; Liyan HAO ; Xinyi CAO ; Yibo ZHANG ; Qingqing XU ; Luyao QIN ; Yixuan ZHANG ; Yangxingzi WU ; Hongyan ZHOU ; Mengjuan WU ; Mingshan PI ; Qi XIONG ; Youhua YANG ; Yuran GUI ; Wei LIU ; Fang ZHENG ; Xiji SHU ; Yiyuan XIA
Neuroscience Bulletin 2025;41(7):1181-1197
High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), when released extracellularly, plays a pivotal role in the development of spinal cord synapses and exacerbates autoimmune diseases within the central nervous system. In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a condition that models multiple sclerosis, the levels of extracellular HMGB1 and interleukin-33 (IL-33) have been found to be inversely correlated. However, the mechanism by which IL-33 deficiency enhances HMGB1 release during EAE remains elusive. Our study elucidates a potential signaling pathway whereby the absence of IL-33 leads to increased binding of P300/CBP-associated factor with HMGB1 in the nuclei of astrocytes, upregulating HMGB1 acetylation and promoting its release from astrocyte nuclei in the spinal cord of EAE mice. Conversely, the addition of IL-33 counteracts the TNF-α-induced increase in HMGB1 and acetylated HMGB1 levels in primary astrocytes. These findings underscore the potential of IL-33-associated signaling pathways as a therapeutic target for EAE treatment.
Animals
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Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental/metabolism*
;
Astrocytes/metabolism*
;
Interleukin-33/metabolism*
;
HMGB1 Protein/metabolism*
;
Acetylation
;
Mice, Knockout
;
Mice, Inbred C57BL
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p300-CBP Transcription Factors/metabolism*
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Mice
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Spinal Cord/metabolism*
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Cells, Cultured
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Female
;
Signal Transduction
7.The novel combination of astragaloside IV and formononetin protects from doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy by enhancing fatty acid metabolism.
Xinyue YU ; Zhaodi HAN ; Linling GUO ; Shaoqian DENG ; Jing WU ; Qingqing PAN ; Liuyi ZHONG ; Jie ZHAO ; Hui HUI ; Fengguo XU ; Zunjian ZHANG ; Yin HUANG
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2025;23(10):1171-1182
Astragali Radix (AR), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy against various diseases, including cardiovascular conditions, over centuries of use. While doxorubicin serves as an effective chemotherapeutic agent against multiple cancers, its clinical application remains constrained by significant cardiotoxicity. Research has indicated that AR exhibits protective properties against doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy (DIC); however, the specific bioactive components and underlying mechanisms responsible for this therapeutic effect remain incompletely understood. This investigation seeks to identify the protective bioactive components in AR against DIC and elucidate their mechanisms of action. Through network medicine analysis, astragaloside IV (AsIV) and formononetin (FMT) were identified as potential cardioprotective agents from 129 AR components. In vitro experiments using H9c2 rat cardiomyocytes revealed that the AsIV-FMT combination (AFC) effectively reduced doxorubicin-induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner, with optimal efficacy at a 1∶2 ratio. In vivo, AFC enhanced survival rates and improved cardiac function in both acute and chronic DIC mouse models. Additionally, AFC demonstrated cardiac protection while maintaining doxorubicin's anti-cancer efficacy in a breast cancer mouse model. Lipidomic and metabolomics analyses revealed that AFC normalized doxorubicin-induced lipid profile alterations, particularly by reducing fatty acid accumulation. Gene knockdown studies and inhibitor experiments in H9c2 cells demonstrated that AsIV and FMT upregulated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) and PPARα, respectively, two key proteins involved in fatty acid metabolism. This research establishes AFC as a promising therapeutic approach for DIC, highlighting the significance of multi-target therapies derived from natural herbals in contemporary medicine.
Animals
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Doxorubicin/adverse effects*
;
Saponins/administration & dosage*
;
Isoflavones/pharmacology*
;
Rats
;
Cardiomyopathies/prevention & control*
;
Mice
;
Fatty Acids/metabolism*
;
Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism*
;
Triterpenes/administration & dosage*
;
Male
;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*
;
Humans
;
Cardiotonic Agents/administration & dosage*
;
Mice, Inbred C57BL
;
Cell Line
;
Astragalus Plant/chemistry*
;
Astragalus propinquus
8.Progress in research of epidemiology of drowning both at home and abroad
Qingqing LUO ; Yuan GAO ; Shujun WU ; Guozhang XU
Chinese Journal of Epidemiology 2024;45(8):1177-1184
Drowning is a common and serious injury worldwide, especially for children and young people. Drowning occurs frequently, resulting in heavy health and economic burdens to society. This paper summarizes the progress in the research of the epidemiology of drowning both at home and abroad, including the epidemiological characteristics, risk factors and intervention measures. Through analysis on existing research literature, it is found that there are large differences in the incidence characteristics of drowning in different regions. Men and children are at high risk for drowning. Age, being man, rural environment, lack of supervision, alcohol consumption, and underlying diseases are risk factors for drowning. It is suggested to pay more attention to the problem of drowning, improve people's awareness of drowning, take appropriate intervention measures and strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration to prevent and control the incidence of drowning.
9.Progress in research of incidence of aortic dissection and risk factors
Siyi ZHU ; Ni LI ; Qingqing LUO ; Guofeng SHAO ; Guozhang XU
Chinese Journal of Epidemiology 2024;45(9):1315-1320
The incidence rate of aortic dissection (AD) is low, but it is highly fatal in the acute phase. Miss diagnosis and misdiagnosis can occur occasionally, resulting the miss of the best intervention time. Research on the epidemiological characteristics and of AD and related risk factors can identify high-risk groups, make screening and diagnosis as soon as possible and effectively control the changeable risk factors to reduce the incidence of AD and improve the outcome of AD cases. This paper summarizes the progress in research of the epidemiological characteristics of AD and related risk factors in order to promote early prevention and diagnosis of AD, improve the AD case management and intervention level.
10.Analysis of EGFR and KRAS mutation status and prognosis-related factors in lung adenosquamous cell carcinoma patients with surgical resection
Shuonan XU ; Jianfei ZHU ; Qingqing ZHANG
Cancer Research and Clinic 2024;36(6):429-434
Objective:To investigate the driver gene mutation status and prognostic influencing factors in patients with operable lung adenosquamous carcinoma (LASC).Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted. Clinical and pathologic data were retrospectively collected from patients with LASC who underwent surgical treatment at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University from January 2008 to December 2018, and the patients' surgically resected specimens were sequenced for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Kirsten rat sarcoma (KRAS) genes. The distribution of driver gene EGFR and KRAS mutations in patients was analyzed, and the differences in the distribution of mutations among patients stratified by clinical factors were compared; disease-free survival (DFS) of patients stratified by clinical factors was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the comparison between groups was performed by the log-rank test.Results:A total of 106 patients were included, including 64 (60.4%) males and 42 (39.6%) females, aged (58±10) years old. Patients with EGFR and KRAS gene mutations accounted for 38.7% (41/106), of which 33.0% (35/106) were patients with EGFR mutations and 5.7% (6/106) were patients with KRAS mutations. The EGFR mutation loci included 19del, L858R, L861Q and 20in, and the KRAS mutation loci included G12A, G12D, G12C and G12V. Patients aged ≤65 years old, female, with lesions in the lower lobe of the left lung, non-squamous cell carcinoma as the main pathological component, and with a smoking index of <400 were more likely to have EGFR and KRAS gene mutations, but the differences were not statistically significant (all P>0.05), and there was no statistically significant difference in the proportions of patients with EGFR and KRAS gene mutations among patients with different TNM stages, T stages and N stages (all P > 0.05). The median follow-up time was 51 months (range: 14-96 months). The difference in DFS among patients with different N stages was statistically significant ( P= 0.002), and the DFS of N 0 stage was better than that of N 1, N 2 and N 3 stages, and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The median DFS time of N 0, N 1 and N 2 stages was 44.4, 17.5 and 23.9 months, respectively, and the median DFS time of N 3 stage (1 case) was 8.7 months. Patients with different TNM stages had a tendency to have differences in DFS, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P = 0.060); the difference in DFS between patients with different pathological components was not statistically significant ( P = 0.177); patients without pleural invasion had a tendency to have better DFS than patients with pleural invasion, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P = 0.252). The difference in DFS between patients with and without driver gene EGFR and KRAS mutations was not statistically significant ( P = 0.809), and further subgroup analysis showed that the difference in DFS among mutated patients with different TNM stages was not statistically significant ( P = 0.684). Conclusions:The driver gene EGFR and KRAS mutations are more common in patients with early LASC; DFS may be related to TNM stage and N stage, but may not be related to the mutation status of EGFR and KRAS genes, the type of pathology, or whether or not the pleura is invaded.Objective To investigate the driver gene mutation status and prognostic influencing factors in patients with operable lung adenosquamous carcinoma (LASC). Methods A retrospective case series study was conducted. Clinical and pathologic data were retrospectively collected from patients with LASC who underwent surgical treatment at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University from January 2008 to December 2018, and the patients' surgically resected specimens were sequenced for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Kirsten rat sarcoma (KRAS) genes. The distribution of driver gene EGFR and KRAS mutations in patients was analyzed, and the differences in the distribution of mutations among patients stratified by clinical factors were compared; disease-free survival (DFS) of patients stratified by clinical factors was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the comparison between groups was performed by the log-rank test. Results A total of 106 patients were included, including 64 (60.4%) males and 42 (39.6%) females, aged (58±10) years old. Patients with EGFR and KRAS gene mutations accounted for 38.7% (41/106), of which 33.0% (35/106) were patients with EGFR mutations and 5.7% (6/106) were patients with KRAS mutations. The EGFR mutation loci included 19del, L858R, L861Q and 20in, and the KRAS mutation loci included G12A, G12D, G12C and G12V. Patients aged ≤65 years old, female, with lesions in the lower lobe of the left lung, non-squamous cell carcinoma as the main pathological component, and with a smoking index of <400 were more likely to have EGFR and KRAS gene mutations, but the differences were not statistically significant (all P>0.05), and there was no statistically significant difference in the proportions of patients with EGFR and KRAS gene mutations among patients with different TNM stages, T stages and N stages (all P > 0.05). The median follow-up time was 51 months (range: 14-96 months). The difference in DFS among patients with different N stages was statistically significant ( P= 0.002), and the DFS of N 0 stage was better than that of N 1, N 2 and N 3 stages, and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The median DFS time of N 0, N 1 and N 2 stages was 44.4, 17.5 and 23.9 months, respectively, and the median DFS time of N 3 stage (1 case) was 8.7 months. Patients with different TNM stages had a tendency to have differences in DFS, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P = 0.060); the difference in DFS between patients with different pathological components was not statistically significant ( P = 0.177); patients without pleural invasion had a tendency to have better DFS than patients with pleural invasion, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P = 0.252). The difference in DFS between patients with and without driver gene EGFR and KRAS mutations was not statistically significant ( P = 0.809), and further subgroup analysis showed that the difference in DFS among mutated patients with different TNM stages was not statistically significant ( P = 0.684). Conclusions The driver gene EGFR and KRAS mutations are more common in patients with early LASC; DFS may be related to TNM stage and N stage, but may not be related to the mutation status of EGFR and KRAS genes, the type of pathology, or whether or not the pleura is invaded.

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