In traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)clinical practice,nocturia is usually treated from the perspective of regulating the kidney and bladder.After analyzing the zang-fu organ extraordinary connection theory proposed by Li Chan,an physician in Ming Dynasty,which highlights the extraordinary connection of qi between the kidney and triple energizer as well as the lung and bladder,this article proposes that the pathogenesis of nocturia can be summarized accordingly as"deficiency-cold of lung qi failing in warming and then leading to the disordered opening and closing of bladder,"and"decline of vital gate fire in the kidney resulting in the disordered qi transformation of the triple energizer".The treatment of nocturia can be conducted by warming lung and transforming qi to regulate bladder function with the modified use of Gancao Ganjiang Decoction plus Suoquan Pills,or by tonifying kidney and warming yang to promote triple-energizer qi transformation with the modified use of Jingui Shenqi Pills.The differentiation and treatment of nocturia guided by the zang-fu organ extraordinary connection theory expands the understanding of its pathogenesis and treatment approaches,and will provide new ideas for its clinical practice.

Background::The ability to generate functional hepatocytes without relying on donor liver organs holds significant therapeutic promise in the fields of regenerative medicine and potential liver disease treatments. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) activator (CRISPRa) is a powerful tool that can conveniently and efficiently activate the expression of multiple endogenous genes simultaneously, providing a new strategy for cell fate determination. The main purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of applying CRISPRa for hepatocyte reprogramming and its application in the treatment of mouse liver fibrosis.Method::The differentiation of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) into functional induced hepatocyte-like cells (iHeps) was achieved by utilizing the CRISPRa synergistic activation mediator (SAM) system, which drove the combined expression of three endogenous transcription factors— Gata4, Foxa3, and Hnf1a—or alternatively, the expression of two transcription factors, Gata4 and Foxa3. In vivo, we injected adeno-associated virus serotype 6 (AAV6) carrying the CRISPRa SAM system into liver fibrotic Col1a1-Cre ER; Cas9 fl/fl mice, effectively activating the expression of endogenous Gata4 and Foxa3 in fibroblasts. The endogenous transcriptional activation of genes was confirmed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and RNA-seq, and the morphology and characteristics of the induced hepatocytes were observed through microscopy. The level of hepatocyte reprogramming in vivo is detected by immunofluorescence staining, while the improvement of liver fibrosis is evaluated through Sirius red staining, alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) immunofluorescence staining, and blood alanine aminotransferase (ALT) examination. Results::Activation of only two factors, Gata4 and Foxa3, via CRISPRa was sufficient to successfully induce the transformation of MEFs into iHeps. These iHeps could be expanded in vitro and displayed functional characteristics similar to those of mature hepatocytes, such as drug metabolism and glycogen storage. Additionally, AAV6-based delivery of the CRISPRa SAM system effectively induced the hepatic reprogramming from fibroblasts in mice with live fibrosis. After 8 weeks of induction, the reprogrammed hepatocytes comprised 0.87% of the total hepatocyte population in the mice, significantly reducing liver fibrosis. Conclusion::CRISPRa-induced hepatocyte reprogramming may be a promising strategy for generating functional hepatocytes and treating liver fibrosis caused by hepatic diseases.