This study aims to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on neuroinflammation in AD mice and explore the mechanisms of neuroinflammation regulated by the blood-brain barrier,lipopolysaccharide(LPS)displacement,and glial cell activation.Twenty 3-month-old male APP/PS1 double transgenic mice were used,which were randomly divided into a sedentary group(SE-AD)and an aerobic exercise group(Run-AD),and 10 3-month-old male C57BL/6 mice were used as the control group(WT).The Run-AD group underwent 12 weeks of aerobic training.The results of the water maze showed that aerobic exercise improved the learning and memory capacity of AD mice(P＜0.05).The results of H&E stai-ning and Nissl staining showed that aerobic exercise reduced necrotic cells and inflammatory cell infiltra-tion in the cerebral cortex,as well as nuclear condensation in the CA1 and GD regions of the hippocam-pus(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and increased the area of Nissl bodies in the cerebral cortex and hippocam-pal CA3 and DG regions.Western blotting and ELISA results showed that aerobic exercise increased the expression of Occludin,ZO-1 and Claudin-5 proteins in the brain(P＜0.01),and decreased the levels of LPS in the brain(P＜0.01).The qRT-PCR results exhibited that aerobic exercise decreased the ex-pression of TLR4,MyD88,NF-κB,IL-1β,and TNF-α mRNA(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).The results of immunofluorescence staining revealed that aerobic exercise reduced the fluorescence area of brain IL-1βand TNF-α proteins(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),as well as the fluorescence area of Iba-1,GFAP,and TLR4 proteins in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).There was a high degree of overlap between Iba-1 and TLR4 fluorescence in the cerebral cortex,and GFAP was localized around Iba-1.In summary,aerobic exercise attenuates neuroinflammation in AD mice by protecting the blood-brain barrier,reducing the displacement of LPS,and subsequently weakening the immune activation of microglia to regulate the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway to alleviate neuroinflammation.

This article takes as its starting point the gradual postponement of the statutory retirement age outlined in the"State Council's Measures on Gradually Delaying the Legal Retirement Age,"issued on September 13,2024.An actuarial model is constructed to evaluate the effect of this policy on the sustainability of the employees'medical insurance pooling fund and associated fiscal responsibility.Based on these findings,relevant policy recommendations are proposed.The results indicate that,in the absence of a retirement delay policy,the employees'medical insurance pooling fund will be depleted by 2043,with total fiscal responsibility amounting to CNY 17 261.38 billion over the projection period.If all individuals retire in accordance with the stipulated policy,the depletion of the fund is delayed by four years,and overall fiscal responsibility decreases by 46.97%.Further analysis incorporating flexible retirement choices reveals that variations in individual willingness to delay retirement have relatively minor effects on both fund sustainability and fiscal responsibility compared to full compliance with the policy.Conclusion:While the implementation of the gradual retirement age extension policy contributes to enhancing the sustainability of the employees'medical insurance pooling fund and alleviating fiscal responsibility,long-term financial viability remains at risk.

Objective To explore the relationship between the expression levels of serum long chain non coding RNA Kinectin 1 antisense RNA 1(LncRNA KTN1-AS1)and retinoblastoma binding protein 4(RBBP4)with postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients.Methods From May 2018 to May 2021,119 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent surgical treatment in our hospital were included as the study group.They were separated into an occurrence group(n=51)and a non occurrence group(n=68)based on whether there was recurrence or metastasis during a 3-year follow-up.Additionally,100 patients with benign esophageal tumors treated at the same stage were selected as the control group.ELISA method was applied to detect the expression levels of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4.Multivariate Logistic regression was applied to analyze the influencing factors of postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients.ROC curve was applied to analyze the predictive value of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4 for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients.Results The expression levels of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4 in the study group were obviously higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The expression levels of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4,and the proportions of mucosal/submucosal infiltration depth,and low differentiation degree and proportion of lymph node metastasis in the occurrence group were obviously higher than those in the non occurrence group(P＜0.05).Serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1,RBBP4,proportion of lymph node metastasis,degree of differentiation,and depth of infiltration were influencing factors for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients(P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of the combined prediction of serum LncRNA KTN1 AS1 and RBBP4 for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients was 0.912,which was better than their individual predictions(Zcombination LncRNA KTN1 AS1=2.470,Zcombination-RBBp4=1.994,P=0.014,P=0.046),the sensitivity and specificity of the combined prediction were 90.20％and 85.29％,respectively.Conclusion The expression levels of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4 in esophageal cancer patients are obviously increased,which is closely related to postoperative recurrence and metastasis.The combined detection of the two has good predictive value for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in patients.

Objective To explore the relationship between the expression levels of serum long chain non coding RNA Kinectin 1 antisense RNA 1(LncRNA KTN1-AS1)and retinoblastoma binding protein 4(RBBP4)with postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients.Methods From May 2018 to May 2021,119 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent surgical treatment in our hospital were included as the study group.They were separated into an occurrence group(n=51)and a non occurrence group(n=68)based on whether there was recurrence or metastasis during a 3-year follow-up.Additionally,100 patients with benign esophageal tumors treated at the same stage were selected as the control group.ELISA method was applied to detect the expression levels of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4.Multivariate Logistic regression was applied to analyze the influencing factors of postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients.ROC curve was applied to analyze the predictive value of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4 for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients.Results The expression levels of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4 in the study group were obviously higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The expression levels of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4,and the proportions of mucosal/submucosal infiltration depth,and low differentiation degree and proportion of lymph node metastasis in the occurrence group were obviously higher than those in the non occurrence group(P＜0.05).Serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1,RBBP4,proportion of lymph node metastasis,degree of differentiation,and depth of infiltration were influencing factors for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients(P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of the combined prediction of serum LncRNA KTN1 AS1 and RBBP4 for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in esophageal cancer patients was 0.912,which was better than their individual predictions(Zcombination LncRNA KTN1 AS1=2.470,Zcombination-RBBp4=1.994,P=0.014,P=0.046),the sensitivity and specificity of the combined prediction were 90.20％and 85.29％,respectively.Conclusion The expression levels of serum LncRNA KTN1-AS1 and RBBP4 in esophageal cancer patients are obviously increased,which is closely related to postoperative recurrence and metastasis.The combined detection of the two has good predictive value for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in patients.

This study aims to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on neuroinflammation in AD mice and explore the mechanisms of neuroinflammation regulated by the blood-brain barrier,lipopolysaccharide(LPS)displacement,and glial cell activation.Twenty 3-month-old male APP/PS1 double transgenic mice were used,which were randomly divided into a sedentary group(SE-AD)and an aerobic exercise group(Run-AD),and 10 3-month-old male C57BL/6 mice were used as the control group(WT).The Run-AD group underwent 12 weeks of aerobic training.The results of the water maze showed that aerobic exercise improved the learning and memory capacity of AD mice(P＜0.05).The results of H&E stai-ning and Nissl staining showed that aerobic exercise reduced necrotic cells and inflammatory cell infiltra-tion in the cerebral cortex,as well as nuclear condensation in the CA1 and GD regions of the hippocam-pus(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and increased the area of Nissl bodies in the cerebral cortex and hippocam-pal CA3 and DG regions.Western blotting and ELISA results showed that aerobic exercise increased the expression of Occludin,ZO-1 and Claudin-5 proteins in the brain(P＜0.01),and decreased the levels of LPS in the brain(P＜0.01).The qRT-PCR results exhibited that aerobic exercise decreased the ex-pression of TLR4,MyD88,NF-κB,IL-1β,and TNF-α mRNA(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).The results of immunofluorescence staining revealed that aerobic exercise reduced the fluorescence area of brain IL-1βand TNF-α proteins(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),as well as the fluorescence area of Iba-1,GFAP,and TLR4 proteins in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).There was a high degree of overlap between Iba-1 and TLR4 fluorescence in the cerebral cortex,and GFAP was localized around Iba-1.In summary,aerobic exercise attenuates neuroinflammation in AD mice by protecting the blood-brain barrier,reducing the displacement of LPS,and subsequently weakening the immune activation of microglia to regulate the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway to alleviate neuroinflammation.

AIM To explore the clinical effects of Supplemented Buyang Huanwu Decoction on postoperative patients with lumbar vertebral fracture complicated with spinal cord injury due to Qi Deficiency and Blood Stasis Pattern.METHODS One hundred and twenty patients were randomly assigned into control group(60 cases)for 6-week intervention of conventional treatment,and observation group(60 cases)for 6-week intervention of both Supplemented Buyang Huanwu Decoction and conventional treatment.The changes in clinical effects,TCM syndrome scores,spinal cord conduction signals(SEP amplitude,MEP amplitude),serum neurotrophic factors(NGF,IGF-1,BDNF),coagulation and inflammatory indices(PT,APTT,TNF-α,IL-1 β)and incidence of adverse reactions were detected.RESULTS The observation group demonstrated higher total effective rate than the control group(P＜0.05).After the treatment,the two groups displayed decreased TCM syndrome scores,TNF-α,IL-1β(P＜0.05),increased spinal cord conduction signals,coagulation and inflammatory indices(P＜0.05),and shortened PT,APTT(P＜0.05),especially for the observation group(P＜0.05).No significant difference in incidence of adverse reactions was found between the two groups(P＞0.05).CONCLUSION For the patients with lumbar vertebral fracture complicated with spinal cord injury due to Qi Deficiency and Blood Stasis Pattern,Supplemented Buyang Huanwu Decoction can safely and effectively promote neurological function recovery.

In view of the few studies on the influence of Armillaria spp. infection on the content of the chemical components in different parts of Polyporus umbellatus sclerotia, this study determined the biomass of P. umbellatus sclerotia and the contents of ergosterol, polyporusterone A, polyporusterone B and polysaccharide in the separated cavity wall of the sclerotia and the uninfected part of the sclerotia in different harvesting years under the conditions of A. gallica and A. mellea infection respectively. According to the difference of content and dynamic changes of the polysaccharide and the steroid substances, the superior Armillaria sp. was screened to obtain the best harvest years of P. umbellatus. Using HPLC and UV-VIS spectrophotometry methods, the contents of ergosterol, polyporusterone A, polyporusterone B and polysaccharide in P. umbellatus sclerotia infected by the two Armillaria spp. in different years were determined. In addition, the differentially expressed genes related to P. umbellatus polysaccharide synthesis were screened according to the transcriptomic data of different parts of P. umbellatus after A. mellea infection. With the increase of years, the biomass of sclerotia infected by different Armillaria spp. had significant differences, and there were significant differences in the four components of sclerotia. The four components of the separated cavity wall of the sclerotia were significantly higher than those of the uninfected part. The best harvest time was the third year after cultivation. Transcriptomic analysis showed that the infection of Armillaria spp. could significantly promote polysaccharide synthesis, which provided a basis for polysaccharide content determination at the molecular level. The study clarified the influence of different Armillaria spp. infection on the accumulation of chemical components of P. umbellatus sclerotia, laying a foundation for exploring the symbiosis mechanism and provided a scientific clue for screening superior Armillaria sp. and guiding the artificial cultivation of P. umbellatus sclerotia.

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and osteoporosis (OP) are two very common metabolic diseases. A growing body of experimental evidence supports a pathophysiological link between MAFLD and OP. MAFLD is often associated with the development of OP. Rutaecarpine (RUT) is one of the main active components of Chinese medicine Euodiae Fructus. Our previous studies have demonstrated that RUT has lipid-lowering, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic effects, and can improve the OP of rats. However, whether RUT can improve both fatty liver and OP symptoms of MAFLD mice at the same time remains to be investigated. In this study, we used C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 4 months to construct a MAFLD model, and gave the mice a low dose (5 mg·kg^-1) and a high dose (15 mg·kg^-1) of RUT by gavage for 4 weeks. The effects of RUT on liver steatosis and bone metabolism were then evaluated at the end of the experiment [this experiment was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (approval number: IMB-20190124D₃03)]. The results showed that RUT treatment significantly reduced hepatic steatosis and lipid accumulation, and significantly reduced bone loss and promoted bone formation. In summary, this study shows that RUT has an effect of improving fatty liver and OP in MAFLD mice.

OBJECTIVE: Acupuncture therapies are known for their effectiveness in treating a variety of gastric diseases, although the mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully understood. This study tested the effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) at acupoints Zhongwan (RN12) and Weishu (BL21) for managing gastric motility disorder (GMD) and investigated the underlying mechanisms involved. METHODS: A GMD model was used to evaluate the impact of EA on various aspects of gastric function including the amplitude of gastric motility, electrogastrogram, food intake, and the rate of gastric emptying. Immunofluorescence techniques were used to explore the activation of spinal neurons by EA, specifically examining the presence of cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)-positive neurons and fibers emanating from acupoints RN12 and BL21. The stimulation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic neurons in the spinal dorsal horn, the inhibition of sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the spinal lateral horn, and their collective effects on the activity of sympathetic nerves were examined. RESULTS: EA at RN12 and BL21 significantly improved gastric motility compromised by GMD. Notably, EA activated spinal neurons, with CTB-positive neurons and fibers from RN12 and BL21 being detectable in both the dorsal root ganglia and the spinal dorsal horn. Further analysis revealed that EA at these acupoints not only stimulated GABAergic neurons in the spinal dorsal horn but also suppressed sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the spinal lateral horn, effectively reducing excessive activity of sympathetic nerves triggered by GMD. CONCLUSION EA treatment at RN12 and BL21 effectively enhances gastric motility in a GMD model. The therapeutic efficacy of this approach is attributed to the activation of spinal neurons and the modulation of the spinal GABAergic-sympathetic pathway, providing a neurobiological foundation for the role of acupuncture in treating gastric disorders. Please cite this article as: Zhang MT, Liang YF, Dai Q, Gao HR, Wang H, Chen L, Huang S, Wang XY, Shen GM. A spinal neural circuit for electroacupuncture that regulates gastric functional disorders. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(1): 56-65.
Electroacupuncture ; Animals ; Male ; Acupuncture Points ; Stomach Diseases/physiopathology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Rats ; Gastric Emptying ; Neurons ; Spinal Cord ; Stomach/physiopathology*