1.Predicting Hepatic Fibrosis Risk in Wilson's Disease: Development and Validation of Prognostic Model Integrating TCM Syndromes and Modern Biomarkers
Jiafeng ZHOU ; Meixia WANG ; Zhuang TAO ; Shuai KANG ; Gang WANG ; Rui WANG ; Wenming YANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(18):197-207
ObjectiveTo analyze the influencing factors of hepatic fibrosis in patients with Wilson's disease (WD) and to develop and validate a predictive model for hepatic fibrosis in WD that integrates traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes and modern biomarkers, thus providing a basis for early identification of high-risk populations and medical intervention. MethodsThe clinical data of 220 WD patients diagnosed in the Department of Encephalopathy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine between January 2010 and December 2024 were retrospectively collected. Through a random number table, patients were assigned into a training set (154 patients) and a validation set (66 patients) in a 7∶3 ratio. Univariate COX regression, LASSO regression analysis, and multivariate COX regression analysis were performed to identify independent influencing factors for hepatic fibrosis in WD patients, and a clinical prediction model was established based on these factors. The discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility of the model were evaluated based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA), respectively. ResultsA total of 220 patients were included. The syndrome of combined phlegm and stasis, triglycerides (TG), laminin (LN), and male gender were identified as independent risk factors for hepatic fibrosis in WD patients, while TCM intervention and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were protective factors. The C-index indicated excellent discriminative ability (training set: 3-year AUC=0.908, 5-year AUC=0.869, 7-year AUC=0.829; validation set: 3-year AUC= 0.898, 5-year AUC=0.780, 7-year AUC=0.743). Calibration curves showed good consistency. DCA demonstrated the clinical net benefit probabilities across different risk thresholds at various time points. ConclusionThe predictive model established in this study has high accuracy and can be conveniently used for the early identification and risk prediction of hepatic fibrosis in patients with WD.
2.Causal relationship between gut microbiota and viral pneumonia and the mediating role of metabolites:a Mendelian randomization study
Ya-Xuan DU ; Han-Bing JI ; Jie DING ; Jia-Rui BAI ; Xiao-Ling YANG ; Xiao-Man GUO ; Hai-Tao DU
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2025;50(11):1398-1406
Objective To investigate the causal relationship between gut microbiota and viral pneumonia,as well as the underlying mechanisms,using two-sample and two-step Mendelian randomization(MR)approaches,thereby providing novel insights for the prevention and treatment of viral pneumonia.Methods All data were obtained from publicly available genome-wide association studies(GWAS)pooled datasets,including gut microbiota data from the MiBioGen Consortium and the Netherlands Microbiome Project,viral pneumonia data from the FinnGen R10 database,and plasma metabolome data from the publicly available GWAS Catalog.Instrumental variables(IVs)were extracted according to the predefined threshold values.MR analyses were conducted using inverse variance weighting(IVW),MR-Egger,weighted median(WME),weighted mode(WM),and Bayesian-weighted Mendelian randomization(BWMR)methods.Reverse MR analysis was performed to determine whether there was a reverse association.Two-step MR analysis was used to explore the potential mediating role of plasma metabolites,and a series of sensitivity analyses were performed to test the stability of the results.Results Among 196 gut microbiota taxa from the MiBioGen consortium GWAS,11 taxa were associated with viral pneumonia.An increase in the abundance of 4 taxa increased the risk of viral pneumonia,while an increase in the abundance of 7 taxa had a protective effect against viral pneumonia.Among the 207 gut microbiota taxa from the Dutch Microbiome Project GWAS data,10 taxa were associated with viral pneumonia,with 6 risk-increasing and 4 protective taxa identified.Mediation analysis results showed that the causal effect of Defluviitaleaceae on viral pneumonia(OR=0.708,95%CI 0.540-0.929,P=0.013)was mediated to some extent by the N6-acetyllysine levels,with a mediation ratio of 18.4%.Sensitivity analyses did not reveal significant heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy.Conclusions Specific gut microbiota are causally associated with viral pneumonia and show potential differences across different populations;the protective effect of Defluviitaleaceae against viral pneumonia may be mediated by the N6-acetyllysine levels.Targeting metabolites may become a potential therapeutic approach for viral pneumonia.
3.Mechanism of disidin domain receptor 1 regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of glioma cells
Kai-tao ZHAO ; Jun-li LIANG ; Rong-jun YANG ; Dong HUANG ; Rui MIAO
Journal of Regional Anatomy and Operative Surgery 2025;34(6):484-488
Objective To explore the regulatory effect and mechanism of disidin domain receptor 1(DDR1)on the proliferation and apoptosis of glioma cells.Methods The expression levels of DDR1 in human glioma cells and normal glial cells were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot.Glioma cells U251 with stable overexpression and knockdown of DDR1 were constructed by lentivirus infection,the proliferation ability of the stable cell line was detected by CCK-8 assay,and the apoptosis ability was detected by flow cytometry.Western blot was used to detect the activation of related pathways in stable cell lines and explore the regulatory mechanism of DDR1.Results The results of qRT-PCR and Western blot showed that the expression level of DDR1 in human glioma cell U251 was higher than those in human glioma cell U87 and normal glial cell HEB.Therefore,the U251 cell line was selected for subsequent experiments.CCK-8 assay showed that overexpression of DDR1 promote the proliferation of glioma cells,while knockdown of DDR1 inhibit the proliferation of glioma cells.The results of flow cytometry showed that overexpression of DDR1 inhibit the apoptosis of glioma cells,while knockdown of DDR1 induce the apoptosis of glioma cells.Western blot results showed that overexpression of DDR1 activate the PI3K/AKT pathway,while knockdown of DDR1 inhibit the activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway.Conclusion DDR1 can enhance the proliferation ability of glioma cells and inhibit their apoptosis by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway,promoting the development of glioma cells.Therefore,DDR1 may become a potential target for the treatment of glioma.
4.Mechanism of ultrafine garlic powder in improving mouse atherosclerosis and dyslipidemia
Ning-ning SHAO ; Jian-ming YANG ; Yao-guang WANG ; Tao ZHANG ; Xiao-ming ZHAO ; Jin-rui DONG
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(7):1376-1381
Aim To investigate the mechanism of ultra-fine garlic powder(UGP)in ameliorating dyslipidemia and aortic inflammation and fibrosis in atherosclerotic(AS)mice.Methods A 10-week ApoE-/-mouse AS model was constructed,cardiac index was meas-ured,and aortic histopathological changes were ob-served by oil red O staining.Serum inflammatory factor levels were detected by ELISA,and the expression of JNK,NF-κB,ERK and their phosphorylated proteins were detected by Western blot.Results Cardiac in-dex and other indicators as well as aortic lesions were worsened in the AS group,as compared with the normal control group.Compared with the AS group,the UGP treatment group and the traditional garlic grinding pow-der(TGP)treatment group significantly decreased total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),low-density lipo-protein cholesterol(LDL-C),atherosclerosis index(AI1,AI2),and coronary cardiac index and restored high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)levels,and the area of aortic lesions,inflammation and fibrosis were significantly improved,and at the same time,sig-nificantly inhibited the expression of TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-6,as well as the expression of p-JNK,p-NF-κB and p-ERK proteins.The therapeutic effect of the UGP group was superior to that of the TGP group.Conclu-sion UGP can significantly inhibit the formation of aortic endothelial AS plaques,reduce the levels of in-flammation and fibrosis,and regulate blood lipids in a-orta of AS mice.
5.Identification and analysis of the host proteins interacting with the virulence-asso-ciated factor MGF300-4L of African swine fever virus
Jing LAN ; Rui LUO ; Ruojia HUANG ; Zhanhao LU ; Yuan SUN ; Tao WANG ; Yuying YANG ; Huaji QIU
Chinese Journal of Veterinary Science 2025;45(10):2102-2109
The MGF300-4L protein of African swine fever virus(ASFV),a virulence-associated fac-tor,degrades IKKβ through the chaperone-mediated autophagy and enhances the stability of IKBαto suppress the generation of IL-1β and TNF-α regulated by the NF-κB signaling pathway.To iden-tify the host proteins interacting with MGF300-4L,PK-15 cells were transfected with the eukary-otic plasmid expressing MGF300-4L and analyzed using immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry(IP-MS)to identify the host proteins that interact with MGF300-4L.Additionally,gene ontology(GO)and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were conducted.Furthermore,molecular docking a-nalysis,co-immunoprecipitation,and laser confocal microscopy assays were performed to validate the host proteins interacting with MGF300-4L.The IP-MS analysis identified 145 host proteins that potentially interact with MGF300-4L.Subsequent GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analy-ses revealed that these proteins are predominantly involved in metabolic,cellular,and innate immune responses.Through molecular docking prediction,co-immunoprecipitation assay,and laser confocal microscopy,we identified the interaction between MGF300-4L and STAT1.This study provides critical insights into the mechanisms underlying the interactions between MGF300-4L and the host proteins.
6.Causal relationship between insomnia and erectile dysfunction based on heart-kidney intersection theory:A two-sample Mendelian randomization study
Ze-rui QIU ; Guang-yang OU ; Heng-jie LIU ; Wen-tao MA ; Man-jie HUANG ; Neng WANG ; Jun ZHOU ; Qing ZHOU
National Journal of Andrology 2025;31(7):597-602
Objective:Previous studies have shown that insomnia is closely related to erectile dysfunction(ED).However,the causal relationship between them is still unclear.Mendelian randomization(MR)provides a new method for studying the relationship between the two,and the theory of heart-kidney interaction in TCM provides a new idea for exploring the causal relationship between them.Methods:Based on the statistical data collected by genome-wide association studies(GWAS),the causal relationship be-tween insomnia and ED was discussed by MR.Inverse variance weighted(IVW)is the main analysis method,and weighted median(WME),simple mode(SM),weighted mode(WM)and MR Egger method were the supplementary analysis to evaluate the causal effect.MR-Egger intercept test,Cochran Q test and leave-one-out method were used in sensitivity analysis to verify the reliability of MR results.Results:Thirty-nine SNPs significantly related to insomnia were finally included for MR analysis.The results of IVW method in MR analysis showed that insomnia had a significant causal relationship with the increased risk of ED(OR=3.111,95%CI=1.566-6.181,P=1.193 × 10-3).The results obtained by MR-Egger method,WME method,WM method and SM method were consistent with IVW method in the direction of effect.The sensitivity results suggested that the results of this study were robust.Conclusion:Our study reveals the causal relationship between insomnia and ED,which provides a new basis for future clinical practice and prevention and treatment of ED.
7.Bioequivalence study of propofol injectable emulsion in healthy Chinese volunteers
Shou-fei SUN ; Wen-xin LI ; Jiang-tao DONG ; Jing ZHANG ; Yan-jiao YANG ; Rui-xia LIU
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2025;41(1):86-90
Objective To evaluate the pharmacokinetics(PK)and pharmacodynamics(PD)of propofol injectable emulsion,and to assess the bioequivalence of test and reference formulations in healthy Chinese adult volunteers.Methods Thirty-two healthy Chinese adult volunteers were recruited and randomly assigned to a fasting.single-dose,two-period and double-crossover study.Propofol was given to eligible subjects at a speed of 30 μg·kg-1·min-1 for 30 min.The concentration of propofol in plasma was determined by avalidated high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometery(HPLC-MS/MS)method.The PK parameters of the two preparations were calculated.Bispectral index(BIS)was measured to calculate the PD parameters of two formulations.Adverse events during the trial were recorded.Results Thirty-one volunteers were included in the pharmacokinetic parameter set.The mean values of PK parameters of test andreference formulations were as follows:Cmax were(660.87±110.25)and(683.13±125.75)ng·mL-1;AUC0-t were(473.50±86.03)and(478.40±80.25)h·ng·mL-1;AUC0-∞ were(500.45±96.49)and(507.84±88.00)h·ng·mL-1;tmax were 0.47(0.25,0.53)and 0.50(0.40,0.54)h;t1/2 were(2.97±1.74)and(3.08±1.82)h.Thirty-one volunteers were included in the bioequivalence set.The 90%confidence intervals(CI)for the geometric mean ratios of Cmax,AUC0-t,AUC0-∞ were 92.64%-101.39%,96.43%-101.00%,95.67%-100.70%,respectively.The mean values of PD parameters of test and reference formulations were as follows:BISmin were(75.94±13.66)and(74.39±12.32);BISAUC0-60minwere 5 569.85±182.78 and 5 575.68±166.19;T-BISmin were 23.00 and 29.00 min,respectively.There were no serious adverse events.Conclusion Two formulations of propofol injectable emulsion were bioequivalent and both of them exhibited good safety.
8.The mechanism and application prospects of mitochondrial quality control in osteoarthritis
Liang WANG ; Yinshuan DENG ; Tao QU ; Chaoming DA ; Yunfei HE ; Rui LIU ; Weimin NIU ; Weishun YAN ; Zhen CHEN ; Shuo LI ; Zhiyun YANG ; Binbin GUO ; Xueqian LAI
Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2025;30(2):282-288
Osteoarthritis(OA)is a common joint disease in clinical practice,and cartilage damage is a typical pathological change.The pathogenesis of OA is complex,and various adverse factors can lead to the occurrence of OA.Mitochondria are im-portant organelles within cells and play important roles in cellular physiological and pathological activ-ities.Mitochondrial quality control is an important regulatory mechanism in the body to maintain nor-mal mitochondrial structure and function,mainly including mitochondrial biogenesis,mitochondrial dynamics,mitochondrial autophagy,mitochondrial oxidative stress,and other forms.The imbalance of mitochondrial quality control in chondrocytes is closely related to the occurrence and development of osteoarthritis,and regulating the balance of mi-tochondrial quality control is a potential therapeu-tic point for osteoarthritis.The author reviewed rel-evant research literature in recent years to provide a review of the relationship between mitochondrial quality control and the occurrence and develop-ment of osteoarthritis,in order to provide new ideas and directions for the research and diagnosis and treatment strategies of osteoarthritis.
9.Research progress on early screening methods for occupational noise-induced hearing loss
Aihua LI ; Wenyan YU ; Hongyan YANG ; Weihong CAI ; Rui ZHANG ; Haijiang FENG ; Huaiying TAO ; Yixian MA ; Yan YE
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2025;42(11):1400-1404
Occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is an irreversible sensorineural hearing loss that severely endangers workers’ health, making early screening crucial. This article reviewed the research progress on early screening methods for occupational NIHL, introduced the testing mechanisms of three core screening methods—tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions, and extended high-frequency audiometry —and summarized their clinical application advantages and limitations. It is proposed that multimodal combined detection (e.g., the combination of tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions, and extended high-frequency audiometry) can significantly improve the accuracy and comprehensiveness of early screening. Meanwhile, future studies with prospective cohort design are encouraged to verify the long-term monitoring value of each method and to strengthen the joint development of screening technologies with cutting-edge approaches such as machine learning, in order to further improve screening efficiency and provide stronger protection for workers’ hearing health.
10.Features of tumor cells and microenvironment associated with recurrence risk of mesenchymal-subtype gastric cancer based on bulk RNA-seq and scRNA-seq
Yuwei PAN ; Yuting TAN ; Rui XUE ; Zhaole CHU ; Biying LIU ; Xianfeng LI ; Tao WANG ; Bin WANG ; Xuan ZHANG ; Yongtao YANG
Journal of Army Medical University 2025;47(5):443-452
Objective To analyze clinical characteristics of mesenchymal-subtype gastric cancer(Mes-GC)by integrating multi-omics data and explore the characteristics of tumor cells and microenvironment associated with the risk for recurrence.Methods Gastric tumor tissue samples were collected from the patients who visited Department of Gastroenterology of Army Medical Center of PLA from January 2022 to December 2023.Transcriptome and genome sequencing were applied for these tissue samples,including 19 cases of diffuse-type gastric cancer,22 cases of intestinal-type gastric cancer,and 23 cases of mixed-type gastric cancer patients.Bioinformatics analysis was employed to investigate the differences in clinical characteristics and tumor microenvironment between Mes-GC and non-mesenchymal-subtype gastric cancer(non-Mes-GC)by integrating data resources including The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA),Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO),and National Genomics Data Center(NGDC).Results Compared to non-Mes-GC patients,Mes-GC ones were characterized by later clinical stages,deeper tumor infiltration,and higher rates of lymph node metastasis.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis confirmed that Mes-GC patients were associated with shorter survival time,poor prognosis as well as increased risk of cancer recurrence(P<0.05).Single-cell RNA sequencing data revealed that tumor cells in Mes-GC showed higher expression levels of the genes related to stemness,metastasis(P<0.05),and epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT).And in the tumor microenvironment,there were significant more myeloid cells,smooth muscle cells,endothelial cells and fibroblasts,with the most pronounced elevation in the proportion of fibroblasts(P<0.05).Moreover,the patients with larger proportion of fibroblasts were associated with poorer prognosis.Conclusion Mes-GC tumor cells exhibit higher stemness and EMT characteristics,and stromal cells such as myeloid cells,endothelial cells,and fibroblasts are enriched in the tumor microenvironment.These features may be key factors contributing to poor prognosis and high recurrence rate of Mes-GC.

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