OBJECTIVE: To explore the neuroprotective effects of Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction (XFZYD) based on in vivo and metabolomics experiments. METHODS: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) was induced via a controlled cortical impact (CCI) method. Thirty rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (10 for each): sham, CCI and XFZYD groups (9 g/kg). The administration was performed by intragastric administration for 3 days. Neurological functions tests, histology staining, coagulation and haemorheology assays, and Western blot were examined. Untargeted metabolomics was employed to identify metabolites. The key metabolite was validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: XFZYD significantly alleviated neurological dysfunction in CCI model rats (P<0.01) but had no impact on coagulation function. As evidenced by Evans blue and IgG staining, XFZYD effectively prevented blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption (P<0.05, P<0.01). Moreover, XFZYD not only increased the expression of collagen IV, occludin and zona occludens 1 but also decreased matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which protected BBB integrity (all P<0.05). Nine potential metabolites were identified, and all of them were reversed by XFZYD. Adenosine was the most significantly altered metabolite related to BBB repair. XFZYD significantly reduced the level of equilibrative nucleoside transporter 2 (ENT2) and increased adenosine (P<0.01), which may improve BBB integrity. CONCLUSIONS XFZYD ameliorates BBB disruption after TBI by decreasing the levels of MMP-9 and COX-2. Through further exploration via metabolomics, we found that XFZYD may exert a protective effect on BBB by regulating adenosine metabolism via ENT2.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Blood-Brain Barrier/metabolism* ; Brain Injuries, Traumatic/metabolism* ; Adenosine/metabolism* ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats

This study aims to observe the effects of different doses of Astragali Radix on the expression of glucagon(GLP-1) in se-rum and glucagon receptor(GLP-1R) in cartilage tissue in rats with knee osteoarthritis(KOA), explore the effect of Astragali Radix on the inflammation and apoptosis of KOA by regulating GLP-1/GLP-1R signaling axis, and investigate the mechanism of its action in alleviating KOA. Forty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into six groups: blank group, model group, low-, medium-, and high-dose Astragali Radix groups(3.125, 6.25, and 12.5 g·kg~(-1)), and glucosamine sulfate group(0.1 g·kg~(-1)). Except for the blank group, rats in other groups were injected with sodium iodoacetate(MIA) into the knee joint to establish KOA models. After successful modeling, the rats were continuously treated for five weeks. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to detect the levels of GLP-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α), and interleukin-1β(IL-1β) in rat serum. Pathological examination was utilized to observe the pathological changes in knee joint cartilage. The mRNA levels of TNF-α and MMP13 in knee joint cartilage were detected by qRT-PCR, and the protein expression levels of GLP-1R, MMP13, and caspase-8 in knee joint cartilage were detected by Western blot. The expression of GLP-1R and MMP13 in the knee joint was detected by immunohistochemistry. Tunel staining was used to observe the apoptosis of chondrocytes in the knee joint. The above experimental results showed that Astragali Radix may raise the serum levels of GLP-1, reduce serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1, and decrease the relative mRNA expression of TNF-α and MMP13 through the GLP-1/GLP-1R axis. It thus activated GLP-1R, reduced the protein expression of MMP13 and caspase-8 in cartilage, and regulated their related signaling pathways to improve inflammation and apoptosis, so as to protect cartilage and improve KOA.
Animals ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/genetics* ; Rats ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Glucagon-Like Peptide 1/metabolism* ; Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor/metabolism* ; Astragalus propinquus/chemistry* ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 13/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Astragalus Plant/chemistry* ; Apoptosis/drug effects*

Chikusetsusaponin IVa (CsIVa) is a natural active monomer of triterpene saponins in the Chinese herbal medicine of Panax japonicus, which has anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and other effects. However, its function and mechanism in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) remain unclear. This study investigated the inhibitory effect and mechanisms of CsIVa on the proliferation of triple negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. In this study, we found that CsIVa could significantly inhibit the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells and eliminate its potential toxic effect on normal breast cells (MCF-10A). The transcriptome sequencing results showed that the inhibition of proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells by CsIVa was closely related to cell cycle and the pathway regulating cell cycle. Further studies confirmed that CsIVa blocked the cell cycle in G2/M phase by down-regulating the expression of cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), cyclin B1 and up-regulating the expression of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21). Moreover, CsIVa can block cell cycle through inhibiting PI3K/AKT signal pathway. In conclusion, CsIVa regulates the expression of cell cycle related proteins (p21, CDK1, cyclin B1) via inhibiting the activity of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, blocks TNBC cell cycle, and thus exerts its anti-tumor activity.

In the outbreak of COVID-19,triage procedures based on epidemiology were implemented in a local hospital in Changsha to control the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and avoid healthcare-associated infection.This re-trospective study analyzed the data collected during the triage period and found that COVID-19 patients were en-riched 7 folds into the Section A designated for patients with obvious epidemiological history.On the other side,nearly triple amounts of visits were received at the Section B for patients without obvious epidemiological history.8 COVID-19 cases were spotted out of 247 suspected patients.More than 50％of the suspected patients were submi-tted to multiple rounds of nucleic acid analysis for SARS-CoV-2 infection.Of the 239 patients who were diagnosed as negative of the virus infection,188 were successfully revisited and none was reported as COVID-19 case.Of the 8 COVID-19 patients,3 were confirmed only after multiple rounds of nucleic acid analysis.Besides comorbidities,delayed sharing of epidemiological history added complexity to the diagnosis in practice.The triaging experience and strategy will be helpful for the control of infectious diseases in the future.

Aim To investigate the effects of scutellarein on the macrophage foam cell formation and cholesterol efflux, and the underlying mechanism. Methods THP-1 cells were differentiated with PMA, and the cell viability was detected by MTT assays. The effects of scutellarein on the cholesterol efflux and macrophage foam cell formation were evaluated by using NBD-la-beled cholesterol and the cholesterol detection kit. The effects of scutellarein on the activation of PPARγ-LXRα-ABCA1 signaling pathway were determined by molecular docking, ELISA, dual-luciferase reporter and Western blot. The effects of PPARγ knowdown on scutellarein-induced cholesterol efflux and inhibiting macrophage foaming were analyzed by siRNA interference. Results Scutellarein dose-dependently inhibited oxLDL-induced cholesterol accumulation, accelerated cholesterol efflux and significantly increased the protein expression of LXRα and ABCA1. At the same time, scutellarein could bind PPARγ and initiate its downstream LXRa-ABCAl signaling pathway. In addition, gene silencing of PPARγ not only significantly inhibited scutellarein-induced LXRα-ABCA1 signaling pathway and cholesterol efflux, but also reversed the inhibitory effect of scutellarein on macrophage foaming. Conclusions Scutellarein could promote the cholesterol efflux by activating PPARγ and initiating the downstream LXR-ABCA1 signaling pathway, thereby prevent the macrophage foam cell formation.

The high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) characteristic chromatogram of Xiaoer Ganmaoning Oral Liquid(oral liquid for short) was established. The medicinal materials corresponding to characteristic peaks, their index components and ranges of similarity with the reference chromatograms were clarified. The similarity between the characteristic chromatograms of 10 batches of the oral liquid and the reference chromatogram was higher than 0.994. Eighteen characteristic peaks were identified, which were derived from different medicinal materials including Scutellariae Radix, Arctii Fructus, Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, Gardeniae Fructus and Forsythiae Fructus. Further, 11 characteristic peaks were assigned by the comparison with reference substances as chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid A, isochlorogenic acid C, baicalin, baicalein, wogonin, scutellarin, forsythiaside A and arctiin. Also, the characteristic chromatogram of precipitate in the oral liquid was established, and the similarity between characteristic chromatograms of 10 batches of the precipitate and the reference chromatogram was higher than 0.940. The 14 characteristic peaks originating from the precipitate and those from the oral liquid were consistent in retention time, and the content of all index components in the precipitate was lower than 5% of that in the oral liquid. Moreover, the stability of precipitate during the accelerated stability test was explored with filtration and Matlab-based image sensory evaluation. The precipitate mass and precipitation degree both increased over the stability test duration significantly. The stability of the oral liquid was used as a model system in this study to establish the integrated quality control system which related to medicinal materials, preparations and precipitate with HPLC characteristic chromatograms and image sensory evaluation, which lays a foundation for the exploration of the quantity value transfer of the oral liquid.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Quality Control ; Scutellaria baicalensis/chemistry*

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features and differential diagnoses of paratesticular liposarcoma. Methods: The cases were collected from 2012-2020, from the archives of the Department of Pathology, Peking University Third Hospital, with diagnosis confirmed by histology, immunostaining and FISH tests. Results: Totally 19 patients were enrolled (including 11 in-hospital patients and 8 consultant cases). The patients aged 37-84 years (mean 57 years). The preoperative clinical diagnoses were spermatic cord/inguinal masses (nine patients), scrotal masses (seven patients), and inguinal hernia (three patients). Six lesions recurred after local resection, including one case extending from pelvic liposarcoma. Histologically, there were 10 cases of well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLPS) and nine cases of dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS). WDLPSs mostly showed the combined features of lipoma-like, inflammatory and sclerosing subtypes (six patients); the other four WDLPSs had pure lipoma-like subtype features. DDLPSs were low-grade (three patients) or high-grade (six patients), with the morphology resembling myxofibrosarcoma, inflammatory myofibroblastoma, spindle cell sarcoma, pleomorphic undifferentiated sarcoma and pleomorphic liposarcoma. Intense inflammatory cells infiltration was commonly observed in five WDLPSs and two DDLPSs. Ossification was observed in three tumors. Immunohistochemically, the tumors were positive for MDM2 (8/10) and CDK4 (10/10), which were expressed in lipo-differentiating cells, spindle cells in WDLPS, and in dediffferentiated components. S-100 was only expressed by lipocytes (10/10). CD34 expression was positive and diffuse in the stromal cells of WDLPSs and focal or diffuse in dedifferentiated areas (10/10). FISH tests with an MDM2 gene probe were positive (12/12). Conclusions: Paratesticular liposarcoma may be overlooked by both clinicians and pathologists. WDLPS and DDLPS predominate, showing various histologic divergences. The presence of amplification of the 12q14-q15 region (containing the MDM2 and CDK4 genes) is helpful for making the correct diagnosis.
Adult ; Genital Neoplasms, Male/surgery* ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Liposarcoma/surgery* ; Male ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2/genetics* ; Soft Tissue Neoplasms

Applying Chinese medicine (CM) is an important strategy for malignant tumor treatment in China. One of the significant characteristics of CM is to treat diseases based on syndrome differentiation. For Western medicine, it is of important clinical significance to formulate guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients based on the characteristics of disease differentiation. In Chinese clinical practice, the combination of disease differentiation and syndrome differentiation is an important feature for cancer treatment in the past. Currently, molecular profiling and genomic analysis-based precision medicine optimizes the anticancer drug design and holds the greatest success in treating cancer patients. Therefore, we want to know which populations of cancer patients can benefit more from CM treatment if the theory of precision medicine is applied to CM clinical practice. So, we developed a novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategy "disease-syndrome differentiation-genomic profiling-prescriptions" for cancer patients by CM syndrome differentiation and precision medicine. As a result, this strategy has greatly enhanced the anti-tumor efficacy of CM and improved clinical outcomes for cancer patients with some gene mutations. Our idea will hopefully establish a novel approach for the inheritance and innovation of CM.
Antineoplastic Agents ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neoplasms/therapy* ; Precision Medicine ; Syndrome

Objective: This study sought to investigate the impact of different obesity patterns on coronary microvascular function in male patients with non-obstructive coronary artery disease. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of male patients diagnosed with suspected coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) in the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University between December 2015 and August 2021. All patients underwent the one-day rest and stress ¹³N-ammonia positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging. Overall obesity was defined by body mass index (BMI) ≥28 kg/m² and abdominal obesity was defined by waist circumference ≥90 cm. Hyperemic myocardial blood flow (MBF)<2.3 ml·min^-1·g^-1 or coronary flow reserve (CFR)<2.5 were referred as CMD. All patients were grouped based on their BMI and waist circumference. MBF, CFR, the incidence of CMD, hemodynamic parameters, and cardiac function were compared among the groups. Results: A total of 136 patients were included. According to BMI and waist circumference, patients were categorized into 3 groups: control group (n=45), simple abdominal obesity group (n=53) and compound obesity group (n=38). Resting MBF did not differ between groups (F=0.02,P=0.994). Compared with the control group, hyperemic MBF was significantly lower in the simple abdominal obesity and compound obesity groups ((2.82±0.64) ml·min^-1·g^-1, (2.44±0.85) ml·min^-1·g^-1 and (2.49±0.71) ml·min^-1·g^-1, both P<0.05, respectively). Hyperemic MBF was comparable among the groups of patients with obesity (P=0.772). CFR was significantly lower in the simle abdominal obesity group compared with the control group (2.87±0.99 vs. 3.32±0.62,P=0.012). Compared with the control group, CFR tended to be lower in the compound obesity group (3.02±0.91 vs. 3.32±0.62,P=0.117). The incidence of CMD was significantly higher in both the simple abdominal obesity and compound obesity groups than in the control group (62.3%, 52.6% vs. 22.2%, both P<0.01, respectively). Waist circumference was an independent risk factor for male CMD (OR=1.057, 95%CI: 1.013-1.103, P=0.011). Conclusions: In male patients with non-obstructive coronary artery disease, abdominal obesity is associated with decreased coronary microvascular function. Male patients with simple abdominal obesity face the highest risk of CMD.
Humans ; Male ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Circulation/physiology* ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Retrospective Studies ; Obesity/epidemiology* ; Hyperemia

This study reviewed the concepts and properties of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and precision recall (PR) curve, and made suggestions on the application of two curves based on the prevalence in combination with the results of simulation data. This study demonstrated that the ROC curve and PR curve had different properties, which could reflect the performance of diagnostic methods from various aspects. These two curves should be selected with a consideration of prevalence and clinical scenarios. When the prevalence was less than 20%, especially less than 5%, the PR curve could be adopted.
Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures ; Humans ; Prevalence ; ROC Curve