Approximately 20% to 30% of the global workforce is engaged in shift work. As a significant cause of circadian disruption, shift work is closely associated with an increased risk for periodontitis. Nevertheless, how shift work-related circadian disruption functions in periodontitis remains unknown. Herein, we employed a simulated shift work model constructed by controlling the environmental light-dark cycles and revealed that shift work-related circadian disruption exacerbated the progression of experimental periodontitis. RNA sequencing and in vitro experiments indicated that downregulation of the core circadian protein brain and muscle ARNT-like protein 1 (BMAL1) and activation of the Gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated pyroptosis were involved in the pathogenesis of that. Mechanically, BMAL1 regulated GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis by suppressing NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome signaling through modulating nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1 (NR1D1), and inhibiting Gsdmd transcription via directly binding to the E-box elements in its promoter. GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis accelerated periodontitis progression, whereas downregulated BMAL1 under circadian disruption further aggravated periodontal destruction by increasing GSDMD activity. And restoring the level of BMAL1 by circadian recovery and SR8278 injection alleviated simulated shift work-exacerbated periodontitis via lessening GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis. These findings provide new evidence and potential interventional targets for circadian disruption-accelerated periodontitis.
Pyroptosis/physiology* ; ARNTL Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Animals ; Periodontitis/etiology* ; Mice ; Phosphate-Binding Proteins/metabolism* ; Shift Work Schedule/adverse effects* ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Male ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gasdermins

Drug development remains a critical issue in the field of biomedicine. With the rapid advancement of information technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the advent of the big data era, AI-assisted drug development has become a new trend, particularly in predicting drug-target associations. To address the challenge of drug-target prediction, AI-driven models have emerged as powerful tools, offering innovative solutions by effectively extracting features from complex biological data, accurately modeling molecular interactions, and precisely predicting potential drug-target outcomes. Traditional machine learning (ML), network-based, and advanced deep learning architectures such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs), graph convolutional networks (GCNs), and transformers play a pivotal role. This review systematically compiles and evaluates AI algorithms for drug- and drug combination-target predictions, highlighting their theoretical frameworks, strengths, and limitations. CNNs effectively identify spatial patterns and molecular features critical for drug-target interactions. GCNs provide deep insights into molecular interactions via relational data, whereas transformers increase prediction accuracy by capturing complex dependencies within biological sequences. Network-based models offer a systematic perspective by integrating diverse data sources, and traditional ML efficiently handles large datasets to improve overall predictive accuracy. Collectively, these AI-driven methods are transforming drug-target predictions and advancing the development of personalized therapy. This review summarizes the application of AI in drug development, particularly in drug-target prediction, and offers recommendations on models and algorithms for researchers engaged in biomedical research. It also provides typical cases to better illustrate how AI can further accelerate development in the fields of biomedicine and drug discovery.

Objective : To investigate the factors affecting the outcome of high-risk human papillomavirus ( HR- HPV) infection in patients with normal cervix examined by colposcopy in Hefei area and the relationship between persistent HR-HPV infection and cervical cytology． Methods : Data of colposcopy patients were collected from 478 HR-HPV infected patients with normal cervix through colposcopy．Their age，number of sexual partners，contracep- tive methods and other relevant basic information were recorded．Vaginal interferon use，HR-HPV infection at year 1 and year 2，and cervical liquid-based cytology test ( LCT) results were tracked，univariate and multivariate ana- lyses were performed based on basic information，and ROC curves were plotted． Results : The HR-HPV clearance rate at 1 year was 59. 41% ，and the clearance rate at 2 years was 66. 75%．The other 12 types of infection ( 31， 33，35，39，45，51，52，56，58，59，66，68) were more common than the 16 and 18 types．Univariate and mult- ivariate analyses showed that age＞50 years，number of sexual partners ≥2，and history of cervical conectomy in- creased the risk of persistent HR-HPV infection ( χge = 21. 676，P ＜0. 001; χumber of sexual partners = 8. 262，P =0. 004; χistory of cervical conectomy = 11. 267，P = 0. 001 ) ． The risk of HR-HPV infection was significantly lower when condom or vaginal interferon was used ( χondom use = 10. 885，P = 0. 001; χnterferon use = 4. 099，P = 0. 043) ．The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of combined diagnosis of HR-HPV persistent infection was higher than that of single diagnosis，and the AUC of combined diagnosis was 0. 737．Persistent HR-HPV infection was an independent risk factor for abnormal LCT，and the AUC predicted by the model was 0. 755．No cancer was found in patients with persistent HR-HPV infection for 2 years，and the proportion of abnormal LCT was higher than that in patients with negative HR-HPV．The difference was statistically significant ( χ2 = 39. 64，P＜0. 001) ． Conclusion The combined ROC model constructed for patients＞50 years old，with multiple sexual partners，history of cervical surgery， no vaginal interferon use，and no condom use has certain value in predicting persistent HR-HPV infection，and per- sistent HR-HPV infection has predictive value in predicting LCT abnormalities．

Objective To explore the potential role and underlying mechanism of the functionally uncharacterized gene Gm49394 on regulating β-cell apoptosis under diabetic conditions.Methods The expression and translational activity of Gm49394 in pancreatic β-cell lines and non-β-cell lines were validated using RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization(RNA-FISH),quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR),Western blotting,and immunofluorescence(IF)assay.The β-cell lines(NIT-1/Min6)with Gm49394 overexpression or knockdown were constructed.The proliferation,apoptosis,mitochondrial function,as well as oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress markers in these β-cell lines under physiological homeostasis or pathological stress conditions,such as high glucose(30 mmol/L),inflammation(10 ng/mL IFN-γ alone or combined with 10 ng/mL IL-6),and hydrogen peroxide(100 μmol/L H2O2)were detected by flow cytometry and Western blotting.Results RNA-FISH and qPCR indicated that Gm49394 was specifically expressed in pancreatic β-cell lines and up-regulated under high glucose or inflammatory stimulation.IF assay and Western blotting showed that Gm49394 had protein-coding activity.Flow cytometry and Western blotting identified that Gm49394 overexpression did not affect β-cell proliferation,but promoted β-cell apoptosis and increased reactive oxygen species(ROS)and mitochondrial superoxide(MitoSOX)levels in β cells under physiological homeostasis or pathological stress conditions(P<0.05).Under physiological conditions,Gm49394 knockdown failed to induce significant alterations on β-cell apoptosis,ROS,or MitoSOX levels.Under pathological stress conditions,Gm49394 knockdown significantly suppressed β-cell proliferation,apoptosis,as well as oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress(P<0.05).Conclusion Gm49394 may promote β-cell apoptosis via oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress.

By combining the origin and research progress of the combination of disease and syndrome, the core pathogenesis, this article explored the research ideas and methods of the core pathogenesis of TCM. It is found that modern TCM is mostly guided by the idea of classification-staging-syndrome differentiation, the main prescription of the main disease, the special prescription of the special disease, and the idea of "dynamic-fixed sequential". The tongue image syndrome differentiation method, clustering analysis method, drug test syndrome method, compound pathogenesis method, "evidence-based pathogenesis-syndrome treatment system" research model, and the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine theory were used to explore the core pathogenesis of TCM under the condition of disease. Combined with the advantages of modern medical disease differentiation and TCM syndrome differentiation, the individualized diagnosis and treatment methods of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine have been continuously improved, in order to solve the stage contradictions of different clinical stages, effectively delay the progression of the disease and improve the prognosis of the disease.

ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of omental wrapping technique for pancreaticojejunal anastomosis in preventing complications after pancreaticoduodenectomy. MethodsThis study was conducted according to the PRISMA guideline. English and Chinese databases including CNKI， Wanfang Data， VIP， CBM， the Cochrane Library， PubMed， Embase， and Web of Science were searched for clinical studies on omental wrapping technique for pancreaticojejunal anastomosis in preventing complications after pancreaticoduodenectomy published up to November 2022， and Stata 16 and Review Manager 5.4 were used to perform the meta-analysis. ResultsA total of 15 studies with 1 830 patients were included in this study. The meta-analysis showed that the omental wrapping group had a significantly lower overall incidence rate of postoperative pancreatic fistula （POPF） than the non-omental wrapping group （odds ratio ［OR］=0.30， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 0.22‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.41， P<0.001）， and the subgroup analysis showed that the omental wrapping group had a significantly lower incidence rate of grade B/C POPF than the non-omental wrapping group （OR=0.29， 95%CI： 0.21‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.39， P<0.001）. Compared with the non-omental wrapping group， the omental wrapping group had significantly lower incidence rates of postoperative bile leakage （OR=0.30， 95%CI： 0.16‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.56， P<0.001）， postoperative hemorrhage （OR=0.35， 95%CI： 0.24‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.53， P<0.001）， delayed gastric emptying （OR=0.45， 95%CI： 0.31‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.64， P<0.001）， abdominal infection （OR=0.55， 95%CI： 0.40‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.75， P<0.001）， reoperation （OR=0.31， 95%CI： 0.18‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.54， P<0.001）， and death within 30 days after surgery （OR=0.42， 95%CI： 0.22‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.80， P=0.009）， a significantly earlier time to diet （mean difference ［MD］=-0.98， 95%CI： -1.84 to -0.11， P=0.03）， and a significantly shorter length of postoperative hospital stay （MD=-2.44， 95%CI： -4.10 to -0.77， P=0.004）. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the time of operation （MD=-13.68， 95%CI： -28.31 to -0.95， P=0.07） and intraoperative blood loss （MD=-17.26， 95%CI： -57.55 to -23.03， P=0.40）. ConclusionOmental wrapping can reduce the incidence rates of postoperative complications such as pancreatic fistula， bile leakage， postoperative hemorrhage， abdominal infection， and delayed gastric emptying， improve the prognosis of patients， and shorten the length of hospital stay， without increasing surgical difficulty or time of operation.

Background and purpose:For patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer,trastuzumab treatment can prolong the overall survival and significantly improve the prognosis of patients.However,the reference original research trastuzumab(Herceptin?)is more expensive.Biosimilars have comparable efficacy and safety profiles while increasing patient access to treatment.This clinical trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy,pharmacokinetics,safety and immunogenicity of the trastuzumab biosimilar AK-HER2 compared to trastuzumab(Herceptin?)in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.Methods:This multi-center,randomised,double-blind phase Ⅲ clinical trial was conducted in 43 subcenters in China.This study complied with the research protocol,the ethical principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki and the quality management standards for drug clinical trials.It was approved by the hospital's medical ethics committee.The clinical trial registration agency is the State Food and Drug Administration(clinical trial approval number:2015L04224;clinical trial registration number:CTR20170516).Written informed consent was obtained from subjects before enrollment.Enrolled patients were randomly assigned to the AK-HER2 group and the control group,respectively receiving AK-HER2 or trastuzumab(initial loading dose 8 mg/kg,maintenance dose 6 mg/kg,every 3 weeks as a treatment cycle,total treatment time is 16 cycles)in combination with docetaxel(75 mg/m2,treatment duration is at least 9 cycles).The primary endpoint of this clinical trial was the objective response rate(ORR9)between the AK-HER2 group and the control group in the 9th cycle.Secondary efficacy endpoints included ORR16,disease control rate(DCR),clinical benefit rate(CBR),progression-free survival(PFS)and 1-year survival rate.In this study,100 subjects(AK-HER2 group to control group=1:1)were randomly selected for blood sample collection after the 6th cycle of medication,The collection time points were 45 minutes after infusion(the end of administration),4,8,24,72,120,168,336,and 504 hours after the end of administration.After collection,blood samples were analyzed by PK parameter set(PKPS).Other evaluation parameters included safety and immunogenicity assessment.Results:A total of 550 patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer were enrolled in this clinical trial between Sep.2017 and Mar.2021.In the AK-HER2 group(n=237),129 subjects in the experimental group achieved complete response(CR)or partial response(PR),and the ORR9 was 54.4%.There were 134 subjects in the control group(n=241)who achieved CR or PR,and the ORR9 was 55.6%.The ORR9 ratio between the AK-HER2 group and the control group was 97.9%[90%confidence interval(CI):85.4%-112.2%,P=0.784],which was not statistically significant.In all secondary efficacy endpoints,no statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups.We conducted a mean ratio analysis of pharmacokinetics(PK)parameters between the AK-HER2 group and the control group,and the results suggested that the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the two drugs are similar.The incidence of treatment emergent adverse event(TEAE)leading to drug reduction or suspension during trastuzumab treatment was 3.6%(10 cases)in the AK-HER2 group and 8.1%(22 cases)in the control group.There was statistically significant difference between the two groups(P=0.027).The incidence rate was significantly lower in the AK-HER2 group than in the control group,and there was no statistically significant difference among the other groups.The differences in the positive rates of anti-drug antibodies(ADA)and neutralizing antibodies(NAB)between groups were of no statistical significance(P=0.385 and P=0.752).Conclusion:In patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer,AK-HER2 was comparable to the trastuzumab(Herceptin?)in terms of drug efficacy,pharmacokinetics,safety and immunogenicity.

Objective:To observe whether endothelial cells undergo pyroptosis in the inflammatory periodontal environment by using a model in vivo and in vitro, providing an experimental basis for indepth understanding of the underlying pathogenesis of periodontitis. Methods:According to the classification of periodontal diseases of 2018, gingival tissues were collected from periodontally healthy subjects and patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ, grade C periodontitis, who presented Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Department of Periodontology, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University from April to May 2022. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the expression level and distribution of gasdermin D (GSDMD), a hallmark protein of cell pyroptosis, in gingival tissues. Periodontitis models were established in each group by ligating the maxillary second molar teeth of three mice for 2 weeks (ligation group). The alveolar bone resorption was determined by micro-CT (mice without ligation treatment were used as the control group), and the colocalization of GSDMD and CD31 were quantitatively analyzed by immunofluorescence staining in gingival tissues of healthy and inflammatory mice. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured in vitro and treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) combined with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) at various concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/L, respectively, and the 0 mg/L group was set as the control group at the same time. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the morphology of HUVECs. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of gasdermin D-N terminal domains (GSDMD-N) protein and immunofluorescence cell staining was used to detect the expression and distribution of GSDMD. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect the proliferative ability of HUVECs, and propidium iodide (PI) staining was used to detect the integrity of cell membrane of HUVECs. Results:Immunohistochemistry showed that GSDMD in gingival tissues of periodontitis was mainly distributed around blood vessels and its expression level was higher than that in healthy tissues. Micro-CT showed that alveolar bone resorption around the maxillary second molar significantly increased in ligation group mice compared with control subjects ( t=8.88, P<0.001). Immunofluorescence staining showed significant colocalization of GSDMD with CD31 in the gingival vascular endothelial cells in mice of ligation group. The results of scanning electron microscopy showed that there were pores of different sizes, the typical morphology of pyroptosis, on HUVECs cell membranes in the inflammatory environment simulated by ATP combined with different concentrations of LPS, and 2.5 mg/L group showed the most dilated and fused pores on cell membranes, with the cells tended to lyse and die. Western blotting showed that the expression of GSDMD-N, the hallmark protein of cell pyroptosis, was significantly higher in 2.5 and 5.0 mg/L groups than that in the control group ( F=3.86, P<0.01). Immunofluorescence cell staining showed that the average fluorescence intensity of GSDMD in 2.5 mg/L group elevated the most significantly in comparison with that in the control group ( F=35.25, P<0.001). The CCK-8 proliferation assay showed that compared to the control group (1.00±0.02), 0.5 mg/L (0.52±0.07), 1.0 mg/L (0.57±0.10), 2.5 mg/L (0.58±0.04), 5.0 mg/L (0.55±0.04), 10.0 mg/L (0.61±0.03) groups inhibited cell proliferation ( F=39.95, P<0.001). PI staining showed that the proportion of positive stained cells was highest [(56.07±3.22)%] in 2.5 mg/L group ( F=88.24, P<0.001). Conclusions:Endothelial cells undergo significant pyroptosis in both in vivo and in vitro periodontal inflammatory environments, suggesting that endothelial cell pyroptosis may be an important pathogenic factor contributing to the pathogenesis of periodontitis.