ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of action of Jiedu Huayu granules in improving liver injury in mice with acute liver failure （ALF） by observing its effect on a mouse model of ALF after prophylactic administration， and to provide a basis for clinical medication. MethodsA total of 60 specific pathogen-free male C57BL/6J mice were divided into normal group， model group， Jiedu Huayu granules group （JDHY group）， and farnesoid X receptor （FXR） agonist （GW4064） group using a random number table， with 15 mice in each group. The model of ALF was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of D-galactosamine combined with lipopolysaccharide. The mice in the JDHY group were given prophylactic administration of 0.3 g/mL drug solution of Jiedu Huayu granules by gavage for 3 days before modeling， those in the normal group and the model group were given 0.9% NaCl solution by gavage， and those in the GW4064 group were given intraperitoneal injection of GW4064 for 3 consecutive days before modeling. The mice were sacrificed after modeling， and serum and liver tissue samples were collected. A veterinary automatic biochemical analyzer was used to measure the serum levels of total bilirubin （TBil）， total bile acids （TBA）， gamma-glutamyl transferase （GGT）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， and aspartate aminotransferase （AST） in mice from each group； HE staining was used to observe liver pathological changes； RT-PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression levels of FXR， fibroblast growth factor 15 （FGF15）， fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 （FGFR4）， small heterodimer partner （SHP）， and bile salt export pump （BSEP） in mice， and Western blot was used to measure the protein expression levels of FXR， FGF15， FGFR4， SHP， and BSEP. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between groups， and the Dunett method was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group had significant increases in the serum levels of TBil， ALT， AST， TBA， and GGT （all P<0.01）， and compared with the model group， the JDHY group and the GW4064 group had significant reductions in the serum levels of TBil， ALT， AST， TBA， and GGT （all P <0.01）. HE staining showed that compared with the model group， the JDHY group and the GW4064 group had milder pathological injury， a reduction in the area of hepatocyte necrosis， and alleviation of cellular swelling and edema. Compared with the normal group， the model group had significant reductions in the mRNA and protein expression levels of FXR， FGF15， FGFR4， SHP， and BSEP in liver tissue （all P <0.01）， and compared with the model group， the JDHY group and the GW4064 group had significant increases in the mRNA and protein expression levels of FXR， FGF15， FGFR4， SHP， and BSEP in liver tissue （all P <0.05）. ConclusionJiedu Huayu granules may alleviate liver injury in mice with ALF through the FXR/SHP axis.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of action and potential biomarkers of Jiangzhi Qingshen capsules in the treatment of dyslipidaemia based on clinical lipid metabolomics.Methods 30 patients with dyslipidaemia from Zhengzhou Hospital of Chinese Medicine were collected as the test group,and their lipid levels before and after taking Jiang Zhi Qing Shen capsule for 12 weeks were compared.Another 30 healthy patients were enrolled in the physical examination department of Zhengzhou Hospital of Chinese Medicine,and metabolomics investigation was carried out on plasma samples of the test group before and after the treatment as well as those of the healthy patients by LC-MS/MS technology.The differences between the groups were compared by multivariate statistical analysis,and the potential biomarkers were identified by HMDB and lipidblast databases,so as to clarify the possible pathways and targets for the treatment of mild dyslipidaemia by Jiangzhi Qingshen capsules.Results Jiangzhi Qingshen capsules could improve patients' blood lipid level,BMI and abdominal circumference significantly(P<0.05).And metabolomics results showed that 29 lipid metabolites in the plasma of the treated patients were dialled back,which involved cholesterol metabolism,fat digestion and absorption,glycerol-phospholipid metabolism and other biological processes.Conclusion The efficacy of Jiangzhi Qingshen capsules in treating dyslipidaemia was confirmed,and its mechanism of action might be related to the regulation of lipid metabolism.Metabolites such as acylcarnitine(Acar),phosphatidylethanolamine(PE)and phosphatidylcholine(PC)were expected to be used as the biomarkers of dyslipidaemia,so as to provide objective scientific basis for the lipid-lowering capsule,and to facilitate the promotion of its application.

Objective:To analyze the influencing factors of mood state of common rheumatic (rheumatoid arthritis; systemic lupus erythematosus; ankylosing spondylitis) patients and find out the common characteristics of patients with negative emotions, so as to identify and treat rheumatic patients with anxiety and depression in clinical practice.Methods:A total of 205 patients with rheumatism (83 with rheumatoid arthritis, 74 with systemic lupus erythematosus, 48 with ankylosing spondylitis) admitted to the Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University from April to May 2023 were included. The general condition and POMS of patients were collected. All patients were divided into 3 groups of low-TMD/ middle-TMD/ high-TMD(TMD≤90 scores; 90 scores105 scores). The χ2 test was used for categorical variables, and the continuous variables were tested for normal distribution. If they followed a normal distribution, the independent sample t test (for homogeneous variance) or the Welch′s t test (for unequal variance) was used for comparison between the two groups, and one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups; if they did not follow a normal distribution, the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between groups. Patients with TMD>90 scores were defined as the negative emotion group. Gender, age, education level, economic income status, and TMD were included in the two-step cluster analysis (TCA) to obtain three cluster groups and analyze the differences between the groups. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors. Results:The study found that patients with rheumatic diseases with low serum albumin levels ( F=6.26, P=0.003), low education level ( χ2=8.36, P=0.015), low economic level ( χ2=15.59, P<0.001), short disease course ( H=28.01, P<0.001), and high disease activity ( χ2=56.93, P<0.001) had higher TMD scores, which was not related to the type of disease ( χ2=4.81, P=0.090). The negative mood group had a higher proportion of females (57.6% vs. 73.4%, χ2=5.16, P=0.023), a shorter course of disease [24(12, 48) months vs. 48(24, 93) months, Z=13.58, P<0.001], and a lower serum albumin [(42.2±4.0) g/L vs. (44.0±3.4)g/L, t=-14.09, P=0.002], low level of education ( χ2=9.04, P=0.029), low level of income ( χ2=10.29, P=0.036), high disease activity ( χ2=61.91, P<0.001). The results of cluster analysis indicated that the above factors were significantly different among the three cluster groups except the course of disease. It is noteworthy that age ( F=19.25, P<0.001) and serum albumin ( F=5.64, P=0.004) had the lowest value and the highest TMD score ( F=5.64, P<0.001). Regression analysis showed that gender, disease course and disease activity were related factors to the occurrence of negative emotions, and high disease activity was a risk factor [ OR(95% CI) =26.58(4.53, 156.09), P<0.001]. Men [ OR(95% CI)=0.20 (0.08, 0.50), P=0.001) and the course of [ OR(95% CI)=0.99 (0.98, 1.00), P=0.007) as the protective factors. Conclusion:Male, serum albumin level, education level, income level, disease course and disease activity were the main factors affecting the mood state of patients with rheumatism, in which high disease activity was the risk factor, male and long disease course were the protective factors.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of action and potential biomarkers of Jiangzhi Qingshen capsules in the treatment of dyslipidaemia based on clinical lipid metabolomics.Methods 30 patients with dyslipidaemia from Zhengzhou Hospital of Chinese Medicine were collected as the test group,and their lipid levels before and after taking Jiang Zhi Qing Shen capsule for 12 weeks were compared.Another 30 healthy patients were enrolled in the physical examination department of Zhengzhou Hospital of Chinese Medicine,and metabolomics investigation was carried out on plasma samples of the test group before and after the treatment as well as those of the healthy patients by LC-MS/MS technology.The differences between the groups were compared by multivariate statistical analysis,and the potential biomarkers were identified by HMDB and lipidblast databases,so as to clarify the possible pathways and targets for the treatment of mild dyslipidaemia by Jiangzhi Qingshen capsules.Results Jiangzhi Qingshen capsules could improve patients' blood lipid level,BMI and abdominal circumference significantly(P<0.05).And metabolomics results showed that 29 lipid metabolites in the plasma of the treated patients were dialled back,which involved cholesterol metabolism,fat digestion and absorption,glycerol-phospholipid metabolism and other biological processes.Conclusion The efficacy of Jiangzhi Qingshen capsules in treating dyslipidaemia was confirmed,and its mechanism of action might be related to the regulation of lipid metabolism.Metabolites such as acylcarnitine(Acar),phosphatidylethanolamine(PE)and phosphatidylcholine(PC)were expected to be used as the biomarkers of dyslipidaemia,so as to provide objective scientific basis for the lipid-lowering capsule,and to facilitate the promotion of its application.

Objective:To analyze the influencing factors of mood state of common rheumatic (rheumatoid arthritis; systemic lupus erythematosus; ankylosing spondylitis) patients and find out the common characteristics of patients with negative emotions, so as to identify and treat rheumatic patients with anxiety and depression in clinical practice.Methods:A total of 205 patients with rheumatism (83 with rheumatoid arthritis, 74 with systemic lupus erythematosus, 48 with ankylosing spondylitis) admitted to the Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University from April to May 2023 were included. The general condition and POMS of patients were collected. All patients were divided into 3 groups of low-TMD/ middle-TMD/ high-TMD(TMD≤90 scores; 90 scores105 scores). The χ2 test was used for categorical variables, and the continuous variables were tested for normal distribution. If they followed a normal distribution, the independent sample t test (for homogeneous variance) or the Welch′s t test (for unequal variance) was used for comparison between the two groups, and one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups; if they did not follow a normal distribution, the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between groups. Patients with TMD>90 scores were defined as the negative emotion group. Gender, age, education level, economic income status, and TMD were included in the two-step cluster analysis (TCA) to obtain three cluster groups and analyze the differences between the groups. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors. Results:The study found that patients with rheumatic diseases with low serum albumin levels ( F=6.26, P=0.003), low education level ( χ2=8.36, P=0.015), low economic level ( χ2=15.59, P<0.001), short disease course ( H=28.01, P<0.001), and high disease activity ( χ2=56.93, P<0.001) had higher TMD scores, which was not related to the type of disease ( χ2=4.81, P=0.090). The negative mood group had a higher proportion of females (57.6% vs. 73.4%, χ2=5.16, P=0.023), a shorter course of disease [24(12, 48) months vs. 48(24, 93) months, Z=13.58, P<0.001], and a lower serum albumin [(42.2±4.0) g/L vs. (44.0±3.4)g/L, t=-14.09, P=0.002], low level of education ( χ2=9.04, P=0.029), low level of income ( χ2=10.29, P=0.036), high disease activity ( χ2=61.91, P<0.001). The results of cluster analysis indicated that the above factors were significantly different among the three cluster groups except the course of disease. It is noteworthy that age ( F=19.25, P<0.001) and serum albumin ( F=5.64, P=0.004) had the lowest value and the highest TMD score ( F=5.64, P<0.001). Regression analysis showed that gender, disease course and disease activity were related factors to the occurrence of negative emotions, and high disease activity was a risk factor [ OR(95% CI) =26.58(4.53, 156.09), P<0.001]. Men [ OR(95% CI)=0.20 (0.08, 0.50), P=0.001) and the course of [ OR(95% CI)=0.99 (0.98, 1.00), P=0.007) as the protective factors. Conclusion:Male, serum albumin level, education level, income level, disease course and disease activity were the main factors affecting the mood state of patients with rheumatism, in which high disease activity was the risk factor, male and long disease course were the protective factors.

Objective To investigate the effect of Zuogui Jiangtang Jieyu Formula(左归降糖解郁方,ZJJF)on hippocampal neuron apoptosis in diabetic rats with depression and to ascertain whether its mechanism involves the regulation of JNK signaling pathway. Methods(i)A total of 72 specific pathogen-free(SPF)grade male Sprague Dawley(SD)rats were randomly divided into six groups,with 12 rats in each group:control,model,metformin(Met,0.18 g/kg)+fluoxetine(Flu,1.8 mg/kg),and the high-,medium-,and low-ZJJF dosages(ZJJF-H,20.52 g/kg;ZJJF-M,10.26 g/kg;ZJJF-L,5.13 g/kg)groups.All groups except control group were injected once via the tail vein with streptozotocin(STZ,38 mg/kg)combined with 28 d of chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS)to establish diabetic rat models with de-pression.During the CUMS modeling period,treatments were administered via gavage,with control and model groups receiving an equivalent volume of distilled water for 28 d.The effi-cacy of ZJJF in reducing blood sugar and alleviating depression was evaluated by measuring fasting blood glucose,insulin,and glycated hemoglobin levels,along with behavioral assess-ments,including the open field test(OFT),forced swim test(FST),and sucrose preference test(SPT).Hippocampal tissue damage and neuronal apoptosis were evaluated using hema-toxylin-eosin(HE)staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling(TUNEL)staining.Apoptosis-related proteins Bax,Bcl-2,caspase-3,and the ex-pression levels of JNK/Elk-1/c-fos signaling pathway were detected using Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR).(ii)To further elucidate the role of JNK signaling pathway in hippocampal neuronal apoptosis and the pharmacological ef-fects of ZJJF,an additional 50 SPF grade male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups,with 10 rats in each group:control,model,SP600125(SP6,a JNK antagonist,10 mg/kg),ZJJF(20.52 g/kg),and ZJJF(20.52 g/kg)+Anisomycin(Aniso,a JNK agonist,15 mg/kg)groups.Ex-cept for control group,all groups were established as diabetic rat models with depression,and treatments were administered via gavage for ZJJF and intraperitoneal injection for SP6 and Aniso for 28 d during the CUMS modeling period.Behavioral changes in rats were evaluated through the OFT,FST,and SPT,and hippocampal neuron damage and apoptosis were ob-served using HE staining,Nissl staining,TUNEL staining,and transmission electron mi-croscopy(TEM).Changes in apoptosis-related proteins and JNK signaling pathway in the hippocampal tissues of rats were also analyzed. Results(i)ZJJF significantly reduced the high blood glucose,insulin,and glycated he-moglobin levels in model rats(P<0.01).It increased autonomous activity and decreased de-spair-like behaviors(P<0.01),improved the pathological damage of hippocampal neurons,increased the number of neuronal nuclei(P<0.01),and reduced the number of mechanocytes,vacuolar cells,and apoptotic neurons(P<0.05,P<0.01,and P<0.01,respec-tively).ZJJF down-regulated the expression levels of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3(P<0.01),up-regulated the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2(P<0.01),and significantly inhibit-ed the overexpression of phosphorylated JNK(p-JNK),Elk-1,and c-fos(P<0.01).(ii)SP6 in-creased autonomous activity and reduced despair time in model rats(P<0.05),although it had no significant effects on sucrose preference(P>0.05).It increased the number of Nissl bodies in hippocampal neurons(P<0.01),reduced the protein expression levels of Bax(P<0.01)and caspase-3(P<0.05),and decreased the number of apoptotic neurons(P<0.05).SP6 also increased the expression level of Bcl-2(P<0.01),and inhibited the high expression levels of p-JNK,Elk-1,and c-fos(P<0.01,P<0.01,and P<0.05,respectively),suggesting that hip-pocampal neuronal apoptosis in diabetic rats with depression is associated with abnormal ac-tivation of JNK signaling pathway.Compared with ZJJF group,ZJJF+Aniso group showed a decrease in sucrose preference(P<0.05)and an increase in despair time(P<0.01)with more notable hippocampal neuronal damage.This group also exhibited a decrease in expression level(P<0.01)Bcl-2 and an increase in expression levels of Bax,caspase-3,p-JNK,Elk-1,and c-fos(P<0.01,P<0.05,P<0.05,P<0.01,and P<0.05,respectively),indicating that the antidepressant effects of ZJJF,its improvement of neuronal apoptosis,and regulation of JNK signaling molecules could all be reversed by a specific JNK agonist. Conclusion ZJJF exerts a significant hypoglycemic effect and ameliorates the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons by inhibiting the activation of JNK signaling pathway,which is a promising formula for the treatment of diabetic depression in clinical settings.

Background: Chronic exposure to elevated levels of saturated fatty acids results in pancreatic β-cell senescence. However, targets and effective agents for preventing stearic acid-induced β-cell senescence are still lacking. Although melatonin administration can protect β-cells against lipotoxicity through anti-senescence processes, the precise underlying mechanisms still need to be explored. Therefore, we investigated the anti-senescence effect of melatonin on stearic acid-treated mouse β-cells and elucidated the possible role of microRNAs in this process. Methods: β-Cell senescence was identified by measuring the expression of senescence-related genes and senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining. Gain- and loss-of-function approaches were used to investigate the involvement of microRNAs in stearic acid-evoked β-cell senescence and dysfunction. Bioinformatics analyses and luciferase reporter activity assays were applied to predict the direct targets of microRNAs. Results: Long-term exposure to a high concentration of stearic acid-induced senescence and upregulated miR-146a-5p and miR- 8114 expression in both mouse islets and β-TC6 cell lines. Melatonin effectively suppressed this process and reduced the levels of these two miRNAs. A remarkable reversibility of stearic acid-induced β-cell senescence and dysfunction was observed after silencing miR-146a-5p and miR-8114. Moreover, V-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog A (Mafa) was verified as a direct target of miR-146a-5p and miR-8114. Melatonin also significantly ameliorated senescence and dysfunction in miR-146a-5pand miR-8114-transfected β-cells. Conclusion These data demonstrate that melatonin protects against stearic acid-induced β-cell senescence by inhibiting miR-146a- 5p and miR-8114 and upregulating Mafa expression. This not only provides novel targets for preventing stearic acid-induced β-cell dysfunction, but also points to melatonin as a promising drug to combat type 2 diabetes progression.

Objective:To analyze the long-term therapeutic effect of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) on the treatment of early gastric cancer (EGC).Methods:We retrospectively reviewed EGC patients who underwent ESD at Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS), from January 2009 to December 2016. The incidence rates of local recurrence, synchronous cancer and heterogeneous cancer were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze 5-years recurrence free survival (RFS) and 5-years disease special survival (DSS) of all patients.Results:A total of 255 EGC patients were enrolled in this study, included 175 differentiated early gastric cancer (D-EGC) patients and 80 undifferentiated early gastric cancer (UD-EGC) patients. Among them, 171 patients within the extended indication of ESD while 84 patients beyond the extended indication of ESD. Among the 225 patients, the incidence rates of local recurrence, synchronous cancer and heterogeneous cancer were 2.0%, 2.0% and 2.4%, respectively. The local recurrence rates of D-EGC group and UD-EGC group was 1.7% and 2.5%, respectively, without significant difference ( χ2=0.176, P=0.675). The incidence rates of synchronous and heterogenous cancer in the D-EGC group were 2.3% and 3.4%, higher than 1.2% and 0 of UD-EGC group, although there was no significant difference ( χ2=0.306, P=0.580 vs χ2=2.809, P=0.094). There were no significant differences in 5-years RFS (91.3% vs 95.9%, P=0.236) and 5-years DSS (100% vs 98.6%, P=0.156) between D-EGC group and UD-EGC group. Conclusions:The long-term outcome of ESD in the treatment of EGS is good. More attention should be paid to the occurrence of local recurrence and heterogeneous cancer in EGC patients undergo ESD. These patients still have a good long-tern outcome even undergoing ESD for more than once.

Objective:To analyze the long-term therapeutic effect of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) on the treatment of early gastric cancer (EGC).Methods:We retrospectively reviewed EGC patients who underwent ESD at Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS), from January 2009 to December 2016. The incidence rates of local recurrence, synchronous cancer and heterogeneous cancer were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze 5-years recurrence free survival (RFS) and 5-years disease special survival (DSS) of all patients.Results:A total of 255 EGC patients were enrolled in this study, included 175 differentiated early gastric cancer (D-EGC) patients and 80 undifferentiated early gastric cancer (UD-EGC) patients. Among them, 171 patients within the extended indication of ESD while 84 patients beyond the extended indication of ESD. Among the 225 patients, the incidence rates of local recurrence, synchronous cancer and heterogeneous cancer were 2.0%, 2.0% and 2.4%, respectively. The local recurrence rates of D-EGC group and UD-EGC group was 1.7% and 2.5%, respectively, without significant difference ( χ2=0.176, P=0.675). The incidence rates of synchronous and heterogenous cancer in the D-EGC group were 2.3% and 3.4%, higher than 1.2% and 0 of UD-EGC group, although there was no significant difference ( χ2=0.306, P=0.580 vs χ2=2.809, P=0.094). There were no significant differences in 5-years RFS (91.3% vs 95.9%, P=0.236) and 5-years DSS (100% vs 98.6%, P=0.156) between D-EGC group and UD-EGC group. Conclusions:The long-term outcome of ESD in the treatment of EGS is good. More attention should be paid to the occurrence of local recurrence and heterogeneous cancer in EGC patients undergo ESD. These patients still have a good long-tern outcome even undergoing ESD for more than once.

Objective To determine the mRNA levels of microRNA-223 (miR-223) and NLRP3 in-flammasome components [Nod-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) and caspase-1] in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to explore its clinical significance. Methods Real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the mRNAlevels of miR-223 and NLRP3 inflam-masome components in PBMCs from 35 SLE patients, 30 healthy controls and 20 SLE patients after treatment, and then their correlations with clinical and laboratory parameters [anti-double-stranded deoxyribon-ucleic acid (dsDNA) antibody, anti-nucleosome antibody (AnuA), erythrocyte sedi-mentation rate (ESR)] were evaluated. Data were analyzed using t test or x2 test and Pearson test was used for correlation analysis. Results Com-pared with healthy controls, mRNA levels of miR-223 and Caspase-1 were higher in the PBMCs from SLE patients [(1.17 ±0.15) vs (0.68 ±0.14), t=2.416, P=0.0186; (1.89 ±0.13) vs (1.32 ±0.13), t=3.123, P=0.0027], but the NLRP3 and ASC mRNA expression levels were in the opposite [(0.64 ±0.05) vs (0.98 ±0.06), t=4.442, P<0.01;(0.98±0.08) vs (1.32±0.12), t=2.391, P=0.0198]. Correlation analysis results showed that there was a negative correlation of mRNA levels between the miR-223 and NLRP3 (r=-0.7849, P<0.05), but the miR-223 had no correlation with ASC and caspase-1. The mRNA levels of miR-223 was positively correlated with anti-dsDNA antibody, SLEDAI and ESR (r=0.7035, 0.6923, 0.6873, all P values<0.05), but had no correlation with AnuA. After treatment, the mRNA expression of miR-223 and caspase-1 in PBMCs from SLE patients was significantly reduced [(1.30±0.22) vs (0.79±0.11), t=2.07, P=0.0453; (2.05±0.19) vs (1.50±0.11), t=2.471, P=0.0183], while the mRNA level of NLRP3 increased [(0.69 ±0.08) vs (0.94 ±0.07); t=2.445, P=0.0193]. There was no significant difference in the expression of miR-223 mRNA in PBMCs between lupus nephritis (LN) patients and SLE patients without renal impairment. Conclusion miR-223 and caspase-1 are highly ex-pressed in the PBMCs from patients with SLE, while the mRNA of NLRP3 and ASC is in low expression. The mRNA expression of miR-223 is negatively correlated with NLRP3 and disease activity. Expression of miR-223 mRNA decreases significantly after treatment. So miR-223 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.