OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of metformin （Met） on liver injury in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis （NASH） rats by regulating the PI3K/AKT/PDGF signaling pathway. METHODS NASH model was constructed by feeding rats with a high- glucose and high-fat diet， and assigned into Model group， Met low-dose group （Met-L group， 100 mg/kg）， Met medium-dose group （Met-M group， 200 mg/kg）， Met high-dose group （Met-H group， 400 mg/kg）， and high dose of Met+PI3K activator group （Met-H+740 Y-P group， 400 mg/kg Met+50 mg/kg 740 Y-P）， with 12 rats in each group. Another 12 rats were regarded as the Control group. Each group of rats was orally administered/injected with the corresponding medication once a day for 6 consecutive weeks. The changes in body weight and liver index of rats were recorded and analyzed. The pathological damage [evaluation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score （NAS）]， lipid deposition （calculation of the proportion of oil red O-positive staining area）， and fibrosis （calculation of collagen deposition score） were observed in liver tissue of rats. The levels of inflammatory factors [interleukin-6 （IL-6） and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）] in serum and liver tissue， the levels of serum lipid metabolism indicators [total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）] and liver function indicators [aspartate aminotransferase （AST） and alanine Δ 基金项目 武汉市知识创新专项项目（No.2022020801010588）； aminotransferase （ALT）] were measured. The expression levels of PI3K/AKT/PDGF signaling pathway-related proteins and Caspase-3 in liver tissue of rats were determined. RESULTS Compared with the Control group， body weight， liver index， the levels of serum lipid metabolism indicators and liver function indicators， the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in serum and liver tissue， the NAS， the proportion of oil red O-positive staining area， the collagen deposition fraction， and the levels of phosphorylated PI3K and AKT proteins， as well as the expression levels of PDGF and Caspase-3 proteins in liver tissue， were all significantly increased （P＜0.05）. The liver tissue showed severe pathological damage， characterized by an abundance of lipid droplets and pronounced collagen deposition. After the intervention with Met， the aforementioned quantitative indicators and pathological changes in rats were significantly improved in a dose- dependent manner （P＜0.05）. 740 Y-P could reverse the improvement effects of high dose of Met on the above indexes of rats （P＜ 0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Met can improve liver damage， and alleviate inflammatory reactions and liver fibrosis of NASH rats， the mechanism of which may be associated with inhibiting PI3K/AKT/PDGF signaling pathway.

To summarize the clinical experience of Professor LIU Shangyi in treating pruritus vulvae. It is believed that women have the physiological characteristics of liver and kidney as the root， and their pubic area is easily attacked by wind-dampness pathogenic qi， so the core mechanism of pruritus vulvae is proposed as wind-dampness accumulation and deficiency of liver and kidney. The core treatment method is to dispel wind-dampness and nourish the liver and kidneys， and modify the Danggui Decoction （当归饮子） to form a self-prescribed Yinyang Formula （阴痒方） as the basic prescription to treat pruritus vulvaen.

BACKGROUND:Synthetic polymers,such as polypropylene and polyester,used for the treatment of abdominal wall defects not only lack biodegradability and bioactivity but also fail to meet the demands of complex and irregular wounds.Therefore,finding bioactive materials with low immunogenicity and good histocompatibility has become a hot spot in the repair of abdominal wall defects. OBJECTIVE:To prepare methacryloyl modified dermal extracellular matrix hydrogel and explore its potential application in abdominal wall defect. METHODS:(1)The porcine dermis was acellular with 0.25%trypsin and 1%Triton X-100 in turn to obtain the dermal extracellular matrix.After pepsin digestion and methacrylic anhydride modification,the methacrylated dermal extracellular matrix hydrogel was formed by photocrosslinking.The microscopic morphology of the hydrogel was observed by scanning electron microscope,and its rheological properties,swelling properties and other physical and chemical properties were tested.(2)Mice fibroblasts(L929)were inoculated into methacrylated dermal extracellular matrix hydrogel to detect the cell compatibility.(3)Totally 12 SD rats were randomly divided into two groups(n=6)to create abdominal wall defect model with peritoneum preserved.The defect site of the polypropylene group was filled with polypropylene material,and the hydrogel group was filled with methacrylated dermal extracellular matrix hydrogel.The wound skin of both groups was covered with polypropylene material.The wound healing was observed and histological analysis was carried out. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Enzymatic hydrolysis had a good decellularization effect on porcine dermis after decellularization,and the original glycosaminoglycans and collagen were well retained.Scanning electron microscope observation revealed that the dermal extracellular matrix hydrogel presented loose and porous structure.The aperture was between 70 and 120 μm.The swelling ratio was(16.88±3.24)%and the water absorption was(94.24±1.11)%.The rheological property test showed that the methacrylated dermal extracellular matrix hydrogel was stable and had shear thinning characteristics,with injectability.(2)CCK-8 assay and live/dead staining showed that methacrylated dermal extracellular matrix hydrogel had good cell compatibility.(3)The results of animal experiments showed that the skin wound healing rate of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group at 7,10,and 14 days after operation(P<0.05).Hematoxylin-eosin and Masson staining of skin and muscle tissue exhibited that compared with the polypropylene group,the skin wound epithelialization,hair follicle formation,collagen fiber arrangement,and neovascularization were better in the hydrogel group 14 days after surgery.The skin wound new tissue structure was similar to the normal tissue at 28 days after surgery,and scar hyperplasia was less.A small amount of muscle regeneration was observed on day 28 after operation.(4)The results show that the methacrylated dermal extracellular matrix hydrogel can promote wound skin healing and muscle tissue regeneration in rats with abdominal wall defect.

In recent years, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) have increased incidence and mortality, and most GIST is caused by the activation mutation of the c-KIT gene. Therefore, c-KIT has become a promising therapeutic target of GIST. At present, the drugs approved for the treatment of GIST including imatinib, sunitinib, regorafenib and ripretinib, are mostly prone to developing resistance and accompanied by various degrees of adverse reactions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new c-KIT inhibitors to solve the problem of resistance. In this study, we investigated the anti-tumor effect of a novel c-KIT inhibitor PN17-1 on gastrointestinal stromal tumor GIST-882 cells in vitro. We found that PN17-1 significantly inhibited the proliferation, colony formation and migration ability of GIST-882 cells, and significantly downregulated the protein expression levels of p-c-KIT and its downstream signals p-AKT, p-STAT5 and p-ERK in GIST-882 cells. In addition, PN17-1 induced apoptosis in GIST-882 cells, and the apoptosis may be mainly related to the mitochondrial-dependent endogenous pathway. In conclusion, the novel c-KIT inhibitor PN17-1 is a promising anti-GIST drug, and this study provides new ideas for further development of c-KIT inhibitors in the future.

Aim To investigate the dynamic changes of neuronal cells at different time points following acute cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by establishing a model of brain ischemia-reperfusion injury.Methods Thirty male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were ran-domly divided into six groups:sham group and cere-bral ischemia-reperfusion injury(IR)groups at differ-ent time points.Focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model was established using the middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)technique.The Longa sco-ring method was used to assess neurobehavioral scores in rats.After successful model preparation,routine paraffin sections were made,and TUNEL staining and immunohistochemistry staining with NeuN antibody were performed to observe cell apoptosis and neuronal cell survival,respectively.Immunohistochemistry stai-ning was also performed to investigate the changes in glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)as a marker for astrocytes,ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1(IBA-1)as a marker for microglia,and CD31 as a marker for endothelial cells at different time points.Results No significant changes were observed in neu-ronal cells of the sham group at different time points.In the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury groups,cell apoptosis was activated at IR3h and increased in quan-tity with morphological damage as time progressed.Ne-uN+neurons showed signs of ischemic injury after IR3h,with abnormal cell morphology.From 12 h,Ne-uN+neurons decreased in a time-dependent manner and reached their peak severity at 24 h.GFAP+astro-cytes decreased significantly after IR3h,while poorly labeled GFAP+astrocytes increased at IR 6 h and al-most disappeared in the infarcted area at 24 h and 48 h.The number of IBA-1+microglia-positive cells de-creased at IR3h,and their volume increased at IR6h.Microglial cell death was observed in the infarcted area at IR12h.CD31+endothelial cells around the infarc-ted cortex and striatum increased significantly after IR3h and persisted until 48 h.Conclusions After cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury,the number of ap-optotic cells increases with the prolongation of time,and NeuN+neurons exhibit the most severe damage at 24 h.GFAP+astrocytes and microglial cells gradually die over time.The number of CD31+endothelial cells increases significantly around the infarcted cortex and striatum after 3 h of reperfusion and persists until 48 h.

Background and Aims:The repair of giant incisional hernia is challenging,as closing the significant defect in the abdominal wall can lead to life-threatening complications like abdominal compartment syndrome(ACS).Botulinum toxin type A(BTA)can temporarily relax the abdominal wall muscles,facilitating defect repair,while preoperative progressive pneumoperitoneum(PPP)can increase intra-abdominal volume,reducing intra-abdominal pressure caused by hernia content reintegration.Combining BTA with PPP for the preoperative preparation of giant incisional hernia repair may have a complementary effect.This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical value of combining BTA and PPP in the repair of giant abdominal incisional hernia. Methods:The clinical data of 213 patients with giant abdominal incisional hernia treated at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from December 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.Two weeks after receiving combined BTA and PPP treatment,changes in bilateral abdominal wall muscle,intra-abdominal adhesions,abdominal circumference,abdominal cavity volume,and hernia sac volume ratio were assessed using CT.Intraoperative details,incidence of complications,and postoperative follow-up outcomes were recorded. Results:Following combined BTA and PPP treatment,CT scan showed a significant extension of bilateral lateral abdominal wall muscles towards the midline in all 213 patients,with an average increase of 2.45(1.53-3.29)cm on the left side and 2.54(1.68-3.40)cm on the right side;muscle thickness was reduced by an average of 0.84(0.64-1.00)cm on the left and 0.82(0.62-1.05)cm on the right,the average distance between viscera and the abdominal wall increased to(7.52±1.78)cm,with a mean increase of 6.1(4.2-6.9)cm;the mean increase in abdominal cavity volume was 1 802(1 494.98-2 316.26)mL,and the hernia sac volume ratio decreased by an average of 9％(6％-12％),all changes were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Post-PPP CT scan revealed no abdominal adhesions in 18 patients(8.45％),while 195 patients(91.55％)had varying degrees of adhesions,including 39 cases(18.31％)of sheet adhesions and 156 cases(73.24％)of mixed adhesions.Adhesions mainly consisted of omentum and intestinal tissues in 59.15％of cases.There were 43 cases(20.19％)of grade Ⅰ complications during the BTA-PPP process,including abdominal pain(28 cases),shoulder pain(9 cases),subcutaneous emphysema(6 cases),and dyspnea(3 cases).Dyspnea improved with oxygen therapy,while other complications required no special intervention.All 213 patients successfully underwent laparoscopic incisional hernia repair without conversion to open surgery or organ resection for volume reduction.Fascial closure was achieved in 209 cases(98.12％),with 4 cases(1.88％)having incomplete defect closure.The average time for adhesiolysis was 28(11.00-44.50)min,with a total operative time of 178.0(132.50-255.00)min and an average blood loss of 20(10-30)mL.The median intra-abdominal pressure(IAP)after operation was between 10 mmHg(9.00-12.00 mmHg),Among them,47 cases(22.07％)had IAP exceeding 12 mmHg,and after implementing proactive measures such as diuresis and diachoresis to reduce intra-abdominal contents,the IAP in these patients decreased to below 12 mmHg.No severe complications such as skin flap necrosis or ACS were observed.There were no deaths within postoperative 30 d,and during a follow-up period of 26(16.50-33.00)months,13 cases(6.10％)had surgical site events,including infections in 5 cases(2.35％),seromas in 7 cases(3.29％),and hematoma in 1 case(0.47％),with no hernia recurrence. Conclusion:The combination of BTA and PPP not only aids in identifying abdominal wall adhesion areas,improving preoperative surgical planning and enhancing surgical safety,but also significantly increases abdominal cavity volume and extends lateral abdominal wall muscles,facilitating the closure of giant incisional hernia defects and reducing the incidence of severe postoperative complications like ACS.This approach is worthy of clinical promotion.

This study was aimed at investigating the pathogenic and molecular characteristics of Klebsiella pneumoniae(KP)in fecal samples of diarrhea cases in a district of Beijing.Fecal samples from diarrhea cases in an outpatient department in a district of Beijing from 2018 to 2021 were collected,and used for isolation and culture of KP.The KP strains isolated strains were subjected to drug resistance phenotype testing and whole-genome sequencing.Multilocus sequence typing and whole-genome phyletic evolution analysis were performed on the sequencing results.The cases'epidemiological and clinical characteristics were analyzed.From 2018 to 2021,1 103 fecal samples were collected and detected.The total detection rate of KP was 10.43％(115/1 103),and the infection rate of KP mixed with other diarrhea-causing pathogens was 42.61％(49/115).The positivity rate was slightly high(12.47％,61/489)a-mong females and was highest in young adults 16-45 years of age.Small peaks were observed in January,April to May,and August to September.The gastrointestinal symptoms in cases were mainly nausea and watery stool,and the suspicious food was unknown.Ampicillin,tetracycline,and sulfafurazole were the top three antibiotics to which these 115 KP strains showed resistance,and 29 strains were resistant to multiple antibiotics.The strains were divided into 72 sequence types,among which ST23 was dominant.According to the phylogenetic tree,the strains were divided into four main branches,among which 14 ST23 strains had a very close genetic relationship with the highly virulent NTUH-K2044 reference strain.KP infection persisted in fecal samples from diarrhea cases in the district of Beijing.Women and young adults were particularly susceptible.The drug resistance of KP strains in this region was very serious,and the ST types were diverse.Moreover,the ST23 pathogenic strains were closely related to high virulence strains.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease associated with abnormal copper metabolism in the brain,which leads to misfolding and aggregation of α-synuclein-copper complexes,which is an important pathological sign of Parkinson's disease.Copper metabolism,i.e.,cellular metabolic processes involving copper ions,is closely related to the pathogenesis of α-synuclein aggregation,dopamine metabolism,mitochondrial dysfunction,oxidative stress,and ferroptosis in Parkinson's disease.In this review,we summarize the molecular metabolic mechanism of copper toxicity by studying the pathological role of copper metabolism in Parkinson's disease,to support our further understanding of the mechanism of action and drug development.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of thalassemia gene types in children in Liuzhou,Guangxi.Methods:A total of 822 children suspected thalassemia aged from 1 day to 14 years who were admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to April 2022 were collected.Gap-PCR and PCR combined with reverse dot blot hybridization were used to detect α-and β-thalassemia genes.Results:Among 822 children,561 thalassemia carriers were detected,with a detection rate of 68.25％.Among them,303 cases were detected with α-thalassemia,and the most common genotype was--SEA/αα(163 cases),followed by-α3.7/αα(37 cases)and αcsα/αα(26 cases),44 cases with HbH disease.240 cases were detected with β-thalassemia,with a detection rate of 29.20％,and the most common genotype was βCD41-42/β N(112 cases),followed by βCD17/βN(75 cases)and βIVS-Ⅱ-654/β N(11 cases),11 cases with moderate to severe β-thalassemia.18 cases were detected with α β-thalassemia,with a detection rate of 2.19％,and--SEA/αα complex βCD41-42/βN was the most common genotype(4 cases).In Zhuang and Han populations,the detection ratio of-α3.7α/αα in α-thalassemia was the same(both 12.50％).While,the other main types such as--SEA/αα,αCSα/αα and-α4.2α/αα had certain differences.In β-thalassemia,CD41-42 and CD17 were the main genotypes detected in Han and Zhuang.Conclusion:In Liuzhou of Guangxi autonomous region,α-thalassemia is the main type in children,with a detection rate of 68.25％,and--SEA/αα is the most common genotype in mild thalassemia,followed by βCD41-42/βN.The detection rate of moderate to severe α-and β-thalassemia is relatively high.There are certain differences in the distribution of thalassemia among different ethnic groups.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D[25(OH)D]levels and the plasma atherogenic index(AIP)in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods:In our study, we recruited 848 elderly in patients with T2DM who were admitted to the Department of Geriatrics at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, China, between January 2020 and December 2022.We measured serum levels of 25(OH)D, total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), and calculated the atherogenic index of plasma(AIP)as log[TG/HDL-C].The patients were then categorized into two groups based on their AIP values: the atherogenic phenotype group(case group, AIP ≥ 0.06, 523 cases)and the non-atherogenic phenotype group(control group, AIP<0.06, 325 cases), using an AIP value of 0.06 as the cut-off point.We collected and compared clinical data from both groups, and conducted Pearson correlation analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis.Results:In the case group, body mass index(BMI), fasting blood glucose(FBG), glycated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c), uric acid, TC, TG, and LDL-C levels were significantly higher than those in the control group(all P<0.01), while HDL-C and 25(OH)D levels were significantly lower(all P<0.01).AIP showed a negative correlation with 25(OH)D( r=-0.271, P<0.001).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that excluding other factors, vitamin D deficiency posed a risk for AIP( OR=2.294, 95% CI: 1.419-3.708, P=0.001). Conclusions:The level of serum 25(OH)D in elderly patients with T2DM is correlated with AIP, and vitamin D deficiency serves as an independent risk factor for AIP in this population.