1.Strategic Optimization of CHO Cell Expression Platforms for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing
Rui-Ming ZHANG ; Meng-Lin LI ; Hong-Wei ZHU ; Xing-Xiao ZHANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(2):327-341
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most established and versatile mammalian expression system for the large-scale production of recombinant therapeutic proteins, owing to their genetic stability, adaptability to serum-free suspension culture, and ability to perform human-like post-translational modifications. More than 70% of biologics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rely on CHO-based production platforms, underscoring their central role in modern biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Despite these advantages, CHO systems continue to face three persistent bottlenecks that limit their potential for high-yield, reproducible, and cost-efficient production: excessive metabolic burden during high-density culture, heterogeneity of glycosylation patterns, and progressive loss of long-term expression stability. This review provides an integrated analysis of recent advances addressing these challenges and proposes a forward-looking framework for constructing intelligent and sustainable CHO cell factories. In terms of metabolic regulation, excessive lactate and ammonia accumulation disrupts energy balance and reduces recombinant protein synthesis efficiency. Optimization of culture parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, osmolarity, and glucose feeding can effectively alleviate metabolic stress, while supplementation with modulators including sodium butyrate, baicalein, and S-adenosylmethionine promotes specific productivity (qP) by modulating apoptosis and chromatin structure. Furthermore, genetic engineering strategies—such as overexpression of MPC1/2, HSP27, and SIRT6 or knockout of Bax, Apaf1, and IGF-1R—have demonstrated significant improvements in cell viability and product yield. The combination of multi-omics metabolic modeling with artificial intelligence (AI)-based prediction offers new opportunities for building self-regulating CHO systems capable of dynamic adaptation to environmental stress. Regarding glycosylation uniformity, which determines therapeutic efficacy and immunogenicity, gene editing-based glycoengineering (e.g., FUT8 knockdown or ST6Gal1 overexpression) has enabled the humanization of CHO glycan profiles, minimizing non-human sugar residues and enhancing drug stability. Process-level strategies such as galactose or manganese co-feeding and fine control of temperature or osmolarity further allow rational regulation of glycosyltransferase activity. Additionally, in vitro chemoenzymatic remodeling provides a complementary route to construct human-type glycans with defined structures, though industrial applications remain constrained by cost and scalability. The integration of model-driven process design and AI feedback control is expected to enable real-time prediction and correction of glycosylation deviations, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency in continuous biomanufacturing. Long-term expression stability, another critical challenge, is often impaired by promoter silencing, chromatin condensation, and random genomic integration. Molecular optimization—such as the use of improved promoters (CMV, EF-1α, or CHO endogenous promoters), Kozak and signal peptide refinement, and incorporation of chromatin-opening elements (UCOE, MAR, STAR)—helps maintain durable transcriptional activity, while site-specific integration systems including Cre/loxP, Flp/FRT, φC31, and CRISPR/Cas9 can enable single-copy, position-independent gene insertion at genomic safe-harbor loci, ensuring stable, predictable expression. Collectively, this review highlights a paradigm shift in CHO system optimization driven by the convergence of genome editing, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence. The transition from empirical optimization to rational, data-driven design will facilitate the development of programmable CHO platforms capable of autonomous regulation of metabolic flux, glycosylation fidelity, and transcriptional activity. Such intelligent cell factories are expected to accelerate the transformation from laboratory-scale research to industrial-scale, high-consistency, and economically sustainable biopharmaceutical manufacturing, thereby supporting the next generation of efficient and customizable biologics manufacturing.
2.Strategic Optimization of CHO Cell Expression Platforms for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing
Rui-Ming ZHANG ; Meng-Lin LI ; Hong-Wei ZHU ; Xing-Xiao ZHANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(2):327-341
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most established and versatile mammalian expression system for the large-scale production of recombinant therapeutic proteins, owing to their genetic stability, adaptability to serum-free suspension culture, and ability to perform human-like post-translational modifications. More than 70% of biologics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rely on CHO-based production platforms, underscoring their central role in modern biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Despite these advantages, CHO systems continue to face three persistent bottlenecks that limit their potential for high-yield, reproducible, and cost-efficient production: excessive metabolic burden during high-density culture, heterogeneity of glycosylation patterns, and progressive loss of long-term expression stability. This review provides an integrated analysis of recent advances addressing these challenges and proposes a forward-looking framework for constructing intelligent and sustainable CHO cell factories. In terms of metabolic regulation, excessive lactate and ammonia accumulation disrupts energy balance and reduces recombinant protein synthesis efficiency. Optimization of culture parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, osmolarity, and glucose feeding can effectively alleviate metabolic stress, while supplementation with modulators including sodium butyrate, baicalein, and S-adenosylmethionine promotes specific productivity (qP) by modulating apoptosis and chromatin structure. Furthermore, genetic engineering strategies—such as overexpression of MPC1/2, HSP27, and SIRT6 or knockout of Bax, Apaf1, and IGF-1R—have demonstrated significant improvements in cell viability and product yield. The combination of multi-omics metabolic modeling with artificial intelligence (AI)-based prediction offers new opportunities for building self-regulating CHO systems capable of dynamic adaptation to environmental stress. Regarding glycosylation uniformity, which determines therapeutic efficacy and immunogenicity, gene editing-based glycoengineering (e.g., FUT8 knockdown or ST6Gal1 overexpression) has enabled the humanization of CHO glycan profiles, minimizing non-human sugar residues and enhancing drug stability. Process-level strategies such as galactose or manganese co-feeding and fine control of temperature or osmolarity further allow rational regulation of glycosyltransferase activity. Additionally, in vitro chemoenzymatic remodeling provides a complementary route to construct human-type glycans with defined structures, though industrial applications remain constrained by cost and scalability. The integration of model-driven process design and AI feedback control is expected to enable real-time prediction and correction of glycosylation deviations, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency in continuous biomanufacturing. Long-term expression stability, another critical challenge, is often impaired by promoter silencing, chromatin condensation, and random genomic integration. Molecular optimization—such as the use of improved promoters (CMV, EF-1α, or CHO endogenous promoters), Kozak and signal peptide refinement, and incorporation of chromatin-opening elements (UCOE, MAR, STAR)—helps maintain durable transcriptional activity, while site-specific integration systems including Cre/loxP, Flp/FRT, φC31, and CRISPR/Cas9 can enable single-copy, position-independent gene insertion at genomic safe-harbor loci, ensuring stable, predictable expression. Collectively, this review highlights a paradigm shift in CHO system optimization driven by the convergence of genome editing, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence. The transition from empirical optimization to rational, data-driven design will facilitate the development of programmable CHO platforms capable of autonomous regulation of metabolic flux, glycosylation fidelity, and transcriptional activity. Such intelligent cell factories are expected to accelerate the transformation from laboratory-scale research to industrial-scale, high-consistency, and economically sustainable biopharmaceutical manufacturing, thereby supporting the next generation of efficient and customizable biologics manufacturing.
3.A case of paragonimiasis in a child with pericardial effusion
Rui YI ; Qiong ZHANG ; Qi-lin LUO
Acta Parasitologica et Medica Entomologica Sinica 2026;33(1):72-74
The child, male,11 years old, Han nationality, student of Qiandongnan Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, visited the General Hospital of Hunan Medical University on October 1,2024 due to“cough, chest tightness for 10 days and pericardial effusion was found for 8 days.”The child has a history of eating raw crabs. Admission examination: shortness of breath, slightly cyanotic lips, mild trifoveal symptoms, low heart sound, and routine blood showed significant eosinophil elevation. Serological examination showed that pulmonary fluke antibody IgG was positive, chest and abdomen CT and cardiac ultrasound showed a large amount of pericardial effusion, medium pleural effusion on the right side with lower right lung insufficiency, small pleural effusion on the left side, small effusion on the abdominal cavity, three-point Slight reflux of the valve. Considering that it is a clinical diagnosis case of complication flukesomyces disease, the child was given a praziquantel tablet,25 mg/kg,3 times a day, for 3 consecutive days. The treatment was treated at the above dose for 1 week interval for 1 course of treatment, and 3 courses were given. After three months, the child recovered well after the follow-up visit. The child did not complain of special discomfort, and the CT showed a small amount of effusion.
4.GOLM1 promotes cholesterol gallstone formation via ABCG5-mediated cholesterol efflux in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis livers
Yi-Tong LI ; Wei-Qing SHAO ; Zhen-Mei CHEN ; Xiao-Chen MA ; Chen-He YI ; Bao-Rui TAO ; Bo ZHANG ; Yue MA ; Guo ZHANG ; Rui ZHANG ; Yan GENG ; Jing LIN ; Jin-Hong CHEN
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2025;31(2):409-425
Background/Aims:
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is a significant risk factor for gallstone formation, but mechanisms underlying MASH-related gallstone formation remain unclear. Golgi membrane protein 1 (GOLM1) participates in hepatic cholesterol metabolism and is upregulated in MASH. Here, we aimed to explore the role of GOLM1 in MASH-related gallstone formation.
Methods:
The UK Biobank cohort was used for etiological analysis. GOLM1 knockout (GOLM1-/-) and wild-type (WT) mice were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD). Livers were excised for histology and immunohistochemistry analysis. Gallbladders were collected to calculate incidence of cholesterol gallstones (CGSs). Biles were collected for biliary lipid analysis. HepG2 cells were used to explore underlying mechanisms. Human liver samples were used for clinical validation.
Results:
MASH patients had a greater risk of cholelithiasis. All HFD-fed mice developed MASH, and the incidence of gallstones was 16.7% and 75.0% in GOLM1-/- and WT mice, respectively. GOLM1-/- decreased biliary cholesterol concentration and output. In vivo and in vitro assays confirmed that GOLM1 facilitated cholesterol efflux through upregulating ATP binding cassette transporter subfamily G member 5 (ABCG5). Mechanistically, GOLM1 translocated into nucleus to promote osteopontin (OPN) transcription, thus stimulating ABCG5-mediated cholesterol efflux. Moreover, GOLM1 was upregulated by interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, we confirmed that IL-1β, GOLM1, OPN, and ABCG5 were enhanced in livers of MASH patients with CGSs.
Conclusions
In MASH livers, upregulation of GOLM1 by IL-1β increases ABCG5-mediated cholesterol efflux in an OPN-dependent manner, promoting CGS formation. GOLM1 has the potential to be a molecular hub interconnecting MASH and CGSs.
5.Usefulness of intraoperative choledochoscopy in laparoscopic subtotal cholecystectomy for severe cholecystitis
Rui-Hui ZHANG ; Xiang-Nan WANG ; Yue-Feng MA ; Xue-Qian TANG ; Mei-Ju LIN ; Li-Jun SHI ; Jing-Yi LI ; Hong-Wei ZHANG
Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery 2025;29(2):192-198
Laparoscopic subtotal cholecystectomy (LSC) has been a safe and viable alternative to conversion to laparotomy in cases of severe cholecystitis. The objective of this study is to determine the utility of intraoperative choledochoscopy in LSC for the exploration of the gallbladder, cyst duct, and subsequent stone clearance of the cystic duct in cases of severe cholecystitis. A total of 72 patients diagnosed with severe cholecystitis received choledochoscopy-assisted laparoscopic subtotal cholecystectomy (CALSC). A choledochoscopy was performed to explore the gallbladder cavity and/or cystic duct, and to extract stones using a range of techniques. The clinical records, including the operative records and outcomes, were subjected to analysis. No LSC was converted to open surgery, and no bile duct or vascular injuries were sustained. All stones within the cystic duct were removed by a combination of techniques, including high-frequency needle knife electrotomy, basket, and electrohydraulic lithotripsy. A follow-up examination revealed the absence of residual bile duct stones, with the exception of one common bile duct stone, which was extracted via endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. In certain special cases, CALSC may prove to be an efficacious treatment for the management of severe cholecystitis. This technique allows for optimal comprehension of the situation within the gallbladder cavity and cystic duct, facilitating the removal of stones from the cystic duct and reducing the residue of the non-functional gallbladder remnant.
6.Mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Prevention and Treatment of Stroke by Regulating Ferroptosis: A Review
Mingyan WEI ; Shanze LI ; Rui HAN ; Qingbi LI ; Xingyi SUN ; Han ZHANG ; Lin LI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(12):313-321
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, ranking as the second leading cause of mortality globally and the primary cause of adult disability. Its pathological process involves complex cascade mechanisms, with high incidence and disability rates, posing a major threat to human health. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, more than 13 million new cases of stroke occur globally each year, resulting in direct medical costs and socioeconomic burdens amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. In recent years, breakthroughs in the study of programmed cell death mechanisms have provided new insights into stroke treatment. Among them, ferroptosis, a novel form of cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, has attracted widespread attention in the pathological process of stroke. Ferroptosis is closely associated with iron metabolism disorders, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation, and exhibits unique regulatory effects in key pathological processes of stroke, such as ischemia-reperfusion injury, disruption of the blood-brain barrier, and neuronal apoptosis. It plays an important role in post-stroke neurological damage. Chinese medicine, as an essential component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has demonstrated advantages in modulating ferroptosis and exerting neuroprotective effects. This review systematically summarizes current research on the neuroprotective mechanisms of Chinese medicine compound formulas and monomers through the regulation of ferroptosis pathways in post-stroke conditions, aiming to provide a basis for optimizing clinical treatment strategies and exploring new therapeutic approaches, and to offer new strategies and approaches for stroke treatment.
7.Mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Prevention and Treatment of Stroke by Regulating Ferroptosis: A Review
Mingyan WEI ; Shanze LI ; Rui HAN ; Qingbi LI ; Xingyi SUN ; Han ZHANG ; Lin LI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(12):313-321
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, ranking as the second leading cause of mortality globally and the primary cause of adult disability. Its pathological process involves complex cascade mechanisms, with high incidence and disability rates, posing a major threat to human health. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, more than 13 million new cases of stroke occur globally each year, resulting in direct medical costs and socioeconomic burdens amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. In recent years, breakthroughs in the study of programmed cell death mechanisms have provided new insights into stroke treatment. Among them, ferroptosis, a novel form of cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, has attracted widespread attention in the pathological process of stroke. Ferroptosis is closely associated with iron metabolism disorders, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation, and exhibits unique regulatory effects in key pathological processes of stroke, such as ischemia-reperfusion injury, disruption of the blood-brain barrier, and neuronal apoptosis. It plays an important role in post-stroke neurological damage. Chinese medicine, as an essential component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has demonstrated advantages in modulating ferroptosis and exerting neuroprotective effects. This review systematically summarizes current research on the neuroprotective mechanisms of Chinese medicine compound formulas and monomers through the regulation of ferroptosis pathways in post-stroke conditions, aiming to provide a basis for optimizing clinical treatment strategies and exploring new therapeutic approaches, and to offer new strategies and approaches for stroke treatment.
8.Bibliographical cataloging for ancient TCM books
Hongtao LI ; Weina ZHANG ; Lin TONG ; Jingpeng DENG ; Qian ZHAO ; Honglei WANG ; Naiying LIU ; Mei SHI ; Qiang LIU ; Ying LIN ; Xiaohong ZHANG ; Lili FENG ; Mingrui ZHANG ; Yanqiu LUO ; Guangkun CHEN ; Yan DONG ; Bin LI ; Sihong LIU ; Bing LI ; Chen LI ; Meng LI ; Rui WANG ; He LU
International Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;47(6):729-740
With reference to the Information and Documentation-Resource Description (GB/T 3792-2021) and Bibliographical Description for Ancient Chinese Books (GB/T 3792.7-2008) and other cataloging standards and rules, drawing on the practical experience of cataloging ancient TCM books, Bibliographical Cataloging for Ancient TCM Books was formulated. This standard specifies the entry items and their order of ancient TCM books, cataloging identifier, cataloging text, cataloging information source, and cataloging item details. The standard can provide standardized and unified guiding principles and methods for the work of ancient TCM books, and promote the sharing and utilization of ancient TCM books.
9.Comparison of the diagnostic value of 3.0 T MRI HASTE sequence and high-frequency color Doppler ultrasound for high-risk placenta previa combined with placenta accreta
Yue ZHAO ; Xueyang HU ; Lin SUN ; Rui ZHANG ; Zhibao WANG
Journal of Navy Medicine 2025;46(1):38-42
Objective To compare the value of high-field strength MRI half-Fourier single shot turbo spin-echo(HASTE)sequence with high-frequency color Doppler ultrasound for the diagnosis of placenta previa combined with placenta accreta.Methods A total of 116 pregnant women with suspected high-risk placenta previa and placenta accreta who underwent cesarean section at The No.2 Hospital of Baoding from December 2019 to December 2022 were selected as research objects.All parturients took examinations of ultrasound and high-field MRI before surgery.Pathological diagnosis after cesarean section was used as the gold standard for analysis of the consistency between MRI and ultrasound results and pathological results.The value of HASTE sequence and high-frequency ultrasound in diagnosing placenta accreta was compared.Results Pathological results confirmed that 86 patients had high-risk placenta previa and placenta accreta.The positive predictive values of ultrasound,MRI,and ultrasound+MRI in diagnosis of high-risk placenta previa combined with placenta accreta were 93.51%,97.62%,and 98.81%,respectively.The negative predictive values were 64.10%,87.50%,and 90.63%,respectively.The accuracies were 83.62%,94.83%,and 96.55%,respectively.The sensitivities were 83.72%,95.35%,and 96.51%,respectively.The specificities were 83.33%,93.33%,and 96.67%,respectively.The Kappa values for consistency were 0.611,0.868,and 0.912,respectively.The accuracy of MRI in diagnosis of high-risk placenta previa combined with placenta accreta was higher than that of ultrasound(P<0.05).Conclusion 3.0 T MRI HASTE sequence has greater efficacy and higher accuracy in diagnosis of high-risk placenta previa combined with placenta accreta.
10.Effect and mechanism of betaine in reversing ABCB1 transporter-mediated multidrug resistance in chemotherapy of prostate cancer
Ya-Jie LI ; Hang ZHANG ; Li-Hong NIE ; Kang-Jie AN ; Yu-Xin YANG ; Guo-Lin TIAN ; Rui-Ning ZHAO
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2025;50(2):197-206
Objective To investigate the effect and mechnism of betaine(BET)in reversing chemotherapy resistance in prostate cancer(PCa)by inhibiting ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1(ABCB1).Methods The PCa chemotherapy-sensitive C4-2B cells were cultured,and the TaxR cells resistant to docetaxel(DTX)were established by gradient increase the concentration of DTX.The drug resistance of C4-2B and TaxR cells against DTX was assessed using CCK-8 and the colony formation experiment.Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to detect ABCB1 expression.The TaxR cells were divided into:(1)Control group,negative control group(NC),siABCB1-1 group(transfected with siABCB1-1),and siABCB1-2 group(transfected with siABCB1-2).Western blotting was used to detect the effect of small interfering RNA on silencing ABCB1,and CCK-8 was used to detect the differences in DTX resistance between each group.(2)Different concentrations of BET(0,100,200,400,600,800 mmol/L)groups.These groups were subjected to CCK-8 to detect cell viability,and Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of ABCB1.(3)Control group,DTX group(20 nmol/L DTX),BET group(200 mmol/L BET),and DTX+BET group(20 nmol/L DTX+200 mmol/L BET),flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis rate and cell cycle,and Western blotting to detect the protein expression of apoptosis-related proteins(Bcl2,BAX,c-caspase-3).(4)Control group,BET group(200 mmol/L BET),wortmannin(WM)group(100 μmol/L WM),and BET+WM group(200 mmol/L BET+100 μmol/L WM).Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of PI3K,Akt,and ABCB1.(5)Control group,BET group(200 mmol/L BET),and BAY group(10 μmol/L BAY),BAY+BET group(200 mmol/L BET+10 μmol/L BAY).Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of NF-κB p65,p-ikBα and ABCB1.Network pharmacology combined with transcriptome sequencing was used to predict the possible pathways for BET to reverse chemotherapy resistance.Results Compared with C4-2B cells,TaxR cells showed significantly increased resistance to DTX(P<0.01),and high expression of ABCB1(P<0.01).After silencing ABCB1 with siRNA,TaxR cells'resistance to DTX was significantly inhibited(P<0.01).The inhibition rate of TaxR cells treated with 200 mmol/L BET was less than 20%,and it significantly decreased the expression of ABCB1 protein in TaxR cells(P<0.05).Compared with control group,the combination of 200 mmol/L BET and 20 nmol/L DTX resulted in higher apoptosis rate and higher S stage cell ratio,lower expression of Bcl-2 protein and higher expression of BAX and c-caspase-3 proteins than the two drugs used alone(P<0.05).Compared with control group,the combination of 200 mmol/L BET and 100 μmol/L WM significantly down-regulated the protein expression of PI3K,Akt and ABCB1(P<0.01).The combination of 200 mmol/L BET and 10 μmol/L BAY significantly down-regulated the protein expression of NF-κB p65,p-ikBα and ABCB1(P<0.01).Conclusion BET may reverse TaxR cells'chemotherapy resistance by down-regulating ABCB1 expression through the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway.


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