1.Exploring Mechanism of Luoshi Neiyi Prescription in Treating Endometriosis Based on Ferroptosis and Serum Metabolomics
Haixia PAN ; Yingqiao ZHONG ; Ting MAO ; Ziyi DENG ; Meilin WU ; Lei HUANG ; Siyang CHEN ; Yong GUO ; Ying ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(20):201-212
ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which Luoshi Neiyi prescription treats endometriosis (EMs) through regulating ferroptosis, and to screen key metabolites and analyze their association with ferroptosis. MethodsClinical samples of normal endometrium from patients without EMs and eutopic and ectopic endometrium from EMs patients (10 cases each) were collected and divided into control group, eutopic group, and EMs group. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed to observe ectopic lesions of EMs. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was adopted to determine the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), ferrous ion (Fe2+), GPX4 and glutathione (GSH) in endometrial tissues, as well as serum levels of Fe2+, GPX4 and GSH. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression of SLC7A11, GPX4, transferrin receptor (TFR) and ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1). In the in vitro experiment, primary stromal cells were isolated from ectopic lesions of EMs patients. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to determine the optimal concentration of drug-containing serum for intervention. The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured, and Real-time PCR was applied to detect ferroptosis-related indicators. In the animal experiments, an EM rat model was established, and the rats were randomly assigned to the sham operation group, EMs group, low-dose Luoshi Neiyi Formula group (7.87 g·kg-1), high-dose Luoshi Neiyi prescription group (15.74 g·kg-1), and danazol group (42 mg·kg-1). Untargeted metabolomics detection and pathway enrichment analysis were conducted on serum samples from patients and rats. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between differential metabolites and ferroptosis indicators. The correlations between differential metabolites in patient endometrium and serum and key ferroptosis indicators (GPX4, Fe2+, MDA, GSH) as well as ferroptosis-related mRNAs (GPX4, SLC7A11, FTH1) were analyzed, and correlation heatmaps were generated accordingly. ResultsCompared with normal eutopic endometrium, ectopic lesions in EMs patients showed glandular disorganization and stromal fibrosis. In ectopic endometrium, the contents of MDA, ROS, and Fe2+ decreased, while GPX4 level increased, and the mRNA expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 was upregulated (P<0.05, P<0.01). In serum, the levels of GPX4 and Fe2+ were elevated, whereas the GSH level declined, suggesting abnormalities in ferroptosis-related pathways in ectopic lesions (P<0.05, P<0.01). After intervention with Luoshi Neiyi prescription-containing serum, the intracellular ROS level in ectopic endometrial stromal cells was elevated, the mRNA expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 was downregulated, and TFR mRNA expression was upregulated (P<0.05, P<0.01). Metabolomics analysis revealed 1104 and 198 differential metabolites in EMs patients and EMs rats, respectively, compared with their corresponding control groups, and both low-dose and high-dose Luoshi Neiyi prescription were found to regulate this metabolic disturbance, with the core regulatory pathways mainly involving arginine and proline metabolism. Correlation analysis showed that the glycerophospholipids including PI(16∶0/17∶0) and PI[18∶2(9Z,12Z)] were negatively correlated with GPX4 and positively correlated with MDA, while 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was positively correlated with GPX4, SLC7A11, and FTH1 q<0.05). ConclusionLuoshi Neiyi prescription may systematically ameliorate disease-associated metabolic dysregulation via modulation of the serum arginine and proline metabolism pathway, and may regulate ferroptosis in ectopic lesions through a mechanism potentially linked to the serum glycerophospholipid and steroid metabolism pathways. Collectively, these findings provide experimental evidence for the clinical application of Luoshi Neiyi prescription.
2.Exploring Mechanism of Luoshi Neiyi Prescription in Treating Endometriosis Based on Ferroptosis and Serum Metabolomics
Haixia PAN ; Yingqiao ZHONG ; Ting MAO ; Ziyi DENG ; Meilin WU ; Lei HUANG ; Siyang CHEN ; Yong GUO ; Ying ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(20):201-212
ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which Luoshi Neiyi prescription treats endometriosis (EMs) through regulating ferroptosis, and to screen key metabolites and analyze their association with ferroptosis. MethodsClinical samples of normal endometrium from patients without EMs and eutopic and ectopic endometrium from EMs patients (10 cases each) were collected and divided into control group, eutopic group, and EMs group. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed to observe ectopic lesions of EMs. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was adopted to determine the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), ferrous ion (Fe2+), GPX4 and glutathione (GSH) in endometrial tissues, as well as serum levels of Fe2+, GPX4 and GSH. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression of SLC7A11, GPX4, transferrin receptor (TFR) and ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1). In the in vitro experiment, primary stromal cells were isolated from ectopic lesions of EMs patients. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to determine the optimal concentration of drug-containing serum for intervention. The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured, and Real-time PCR was applied to detect ferroptosis-related indicators. In the animal experiments, an EM rat model was established, and the rats were randomly assigned to the sham operation group, EMs group, low-dose Luoshi Neiyi Formula group (7.87 g·kg-1), high-dose Luoshi Neiyi prescription group (15.74 g·kg-1), and danazol group (42 mg·kg-1). Untargeted metabolomics detection and pathway enrichment analysis were conducted on serum samples from patients and rats. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between differential metabolites and ferroptosis indicators. The correlations between differential metabolites in patient endometrium and serum and key ferroptosis indicators (GPX4, Fe2+, MDA, GSH) as well as ferroptosis-related mRNAs (GPX4, SLC7A11, FTH1) were analyzed, and correlation heatmaps were generated accordingly. ResultsCompared with normal eutopic endometrium, ectopic lesions in EMs patients showed glandular disorganization and stromal fibrosis. In ectopic endometrium, the contents of MDA, ROS, and Fe2+ decreased, while GPX4 level increased, and the mRNA expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 was upregulated (P<0.05, P<0.01). In serum, the levels of GPX4 and Fe2+ were elevated, whereas the GSH level declined, suggesting abnormalities in ferroptosis-related pathways in ectopic lesions (P<0.05, P<0.01). After intervention with Luoshi Neiyi prescription-containing serum, the intracellular ROS level in ectopic endometrial stromal cells was elevated, the mRNA expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 was downregulated, and TFR mRNA expression was upregulated (P<0.05, P<0.01). Metabolomics analysis revealed 1104 and 198 differential metabolites in EMs patients and EMs rats, respectively, compared with their corresponding control groups, and both low-dose and high-dose Luoshi Neiyi prescription were found to regulate this metabolic disturbance, with the core regulatory pathways mainly involving arginine and proline metabolism. Correlation analysis showed that the glycerophospholipids including PI(16∶0/17∶0) and PI[18∶2(9Z,12Z)] were negatively correlated with GPX4 and positively correlated with MDA, while 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was positively correlated with GPX4, SLC7A11, and FTH1 q<0.05). ConclusionLuoshi Neiyi prescription may systematically ameliorate disease-associated metabolic dysregulation via modulation of the serum arginine and proline metabolism pathway, and may regulate ferroptosis in ectopic lesions through a mechanism potentially linked to the serum glycerophospholipid and steroid metabolism pathways. Collectively, these findings provide experimental evidence for the clinical application of Luoshi Neiyi prescription.
3.Prediction and Prognosis for Immunotherapy of Intra-tumoral Interleukins Expression Patterns in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
Simin ZHONG ; Dongdong ZHANG ; Shuyue GUO ; Yikai ZHANG ; Siyang LIU ; Zhenyi JIN
Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Medical Sciences) 2024;45(4):557-566
[Objective]To identify the relationship between tumor tissue interleukins(ILs)and non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients with poor response to immune checkpoint blockade(ICB)therapy,and to investigate the differ-ential expression of ILs in tumor of NSCLC patients as well as its effect on ICB response and prognosis.[Methods]A total of 61 patients diagnosed with NSCLC and treated with ICB were retrospectively collected from the data of a previous study.We obtained transcriptome sequencing data from tumor tissues and survival data of the patients before ICB treatment.Us-ing bioinformatics methods,we screened for ILs that significantly affected the efficacy and prognosis of ICB treatment.We evaluated the efficacy of ICB treatment using progressive-free survival(PFS)and assessed the prognosis using overall sur-vival(OS).The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and ROC curve were used to analyze the predictive effect and efficacy of ILs on the efficacy and prognosis of ICB in NSCLC patients.[Results]The results of the univariate Cox regression analysis in our study showed that nine ILs were found to be associated with OS of NSCLC patients treated with ICB at a significance level of P<0.1.Further multivariate analysis revealed that high expression of IL-11,IL-17D,and IL-36A was significant-ly associated with poor prognosis in these patients(P<0.05).The results from the Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between the high expression of IL-17D and both PFS and OS in NSCLC patients.Specifically,patients with IL-17D high expression had a median PFS of 3.1 months compared with 6.5 months in low ex-pression patients[95%confidence interval(CI)(1.178,3.655),P=0.009].Similarly,the median OS was 9.8 months in the high expression group versus 21.8 months in the low expression group[95%CI(1.116,4.392),P=0.018].ROC curve showed that the prediction performance was favorable[AUCPFS=0.702,95%CI(0.562,0.842),P=0.027;AU-COS=0.684,95%CI(0.550,0.818),P=0.014].Although IL-11 and IL-36A alone were not significant predictors of PFS and OS in NSCLC patients,the median PFS and OS were notably shortened to 2.2 months(P=0.003)and 3.0 months(P<0.001),respectively,when high expression of IL-11 and IL-36A was combined with high expression of IL-17D.The ROC curve analysis demonstrated an improvement in prediction efficiency for both PFS and OS in NSCLC patients[AUCPFS=0.748,95%CI(0.615,0.880),P=0.007;AUCOS=0.703,95%CI(0.573,0.833),P=0.007].[Conclu-sion]The results suggest that high expression of IL-11,IL-17D,and IL-36A is associated with a higher risk of disease progression which correlates to poor PFS and OS in NSCLC patients.
4.Influence of bone microenvironment on regeneration process of tissue-engineered bone
Siyang ZHONG ; Qing LIAO ; Xingyu ZHOU ; Xianying LI ; Jingjing WEI ; Lin YANG
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2024;28(15):2452-2460
BACKGROUND:Bone tissue defects are one of the most common diseases in orthopedics,and the current treatments for this disease are inadequate.The development of tissue engineering brings new hope for bone defect repair:by regulating the release of bioactive substances and the process of vascularization and neurogenesis at the defect site,it can effectively improve the microenvironment of bone tissue and promote osseointegration,which is the most promising research idea for large-size bone defect repair. OBJECTIVE:To explore the research progress of regulating bone microenvironment changes in bone defect repair in recent years from the effects of bioactive substances,vascularization and neurotization on three aspects of bone microenvironment changes,and to provide new ideas and strategies for the treatment of large-size bone defects. METHODS:The search terms"bone tissue engineering,angiogenesis,neurotization,cytokines,bone morphogenetic protein,vascular endothelial growth factor,neuropeptides,bone microenvironment"in Chinese and English were used to search for articles on the influence of changes in the bone microenvironment and their application in bone tissue engineering published from January 1,2001 to December 31,2022 on CNKI,WanFang,Web of Science,Science Direct,and PubMed.Finally,109 articles were included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The bone microenvironment is essential for the induction of bone tissue stem cell growth and differentiation,and mainly consists of the extracellular matrix of the bone tissue seeds and the biochemical factors required for intercellular interactions,the local blood circulation network and the surrounding nerve tissue.(2)Bone defect repair is a continuous process divided into multiple phases that overlap and are mediated by multiple cytokines,and the same cytokine can have mutually synergistic or antagonistic effects in one or more healing phases.(3)Neovascular regeneration is key to initiating bone repair,as neovascularisation not only provides essential nutrients,osteoblasts and growth factors for bone repair,but is also a gateway for repair cells to enter the injury zone.(4)In addition to regulating the type,dose and timeliness of vascular-inducing factor release to achieve blood transport reconstruction.The study of differential release delivery systems of multiple factors and the application of gene transfer technology will be the future research direction to solve large bone defects.(5)Neuropeptides can bind to relevant receptors and act on specific signaling pathways to guide vascular growth and influence bone healing,bone regeneration and the balance between osteogenesis and osteolysis through a variety of pathways.(6)In the establishment of neuralized tissue-engineered bone,the role of changes in the bone tissue microenvironment and neuromodulation is bidirectional.Cytokines in the bone matrix can participate in neuronal signaling pathways through the blood-nerve barrier.Neuropeptides secreted by glial cells act on the bone microenvironment,affecting bone healing,bone regeneration and the balance between osteogenesis and osteolysis.(7)There are still many questions regarding the regulation of the bone microenvironment by bioactive substances and the processes of vascularization and neurogenesis,such as the rapid diffusion and degradation of cytokines in the body and their loss of activity,the temporal and spatial distribution of angiogenesis-related growth factors,and the establishment of neurogenesis through the body's feedback regulatory mechanism,which need to be improved by subsequent studies.
5.Correlation between oral health status and frailty of elderly people in Beijing community
Siyang XI ; Jingran ZHANG ; Xuejiao LIU ; Yu CAI ; Jianmin WANG ; Jia LIU ; Jinsheng ZHONG ; Yutong LI ; Guifang GUO
Chinese Journal of Modern Nursing 2022;28(24):3272-3277
Objective:To understand the oral health and frailty status of the elderly in the community in Beijing and analyze the correlation between the two, so as to provide a reference for the frailty management of the elderly in the community.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. Using the multi-stage stratified sampling method, a total of 241 community elderly people in 9 communities in Beijing from July to December 2021 were selected as the research objects. They were investigated using the general information questionnaire, Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and the Fried Frailty Phenotype. Univariate analysis and ordinal logistic regression analysis were used to explore the influencing factors of frailty among the elderly in the community. A total of 260 questionnaires were distributed in this study and 241 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 92.6%.Results:Among the 241 community elders, 115 (47.7%) were not frail, 92 (38.2%) were pre-frail and 34 (14.1%) were frail. Ordinal Logistic regression analysis showed that the number of teeth of 0-9, 10-19, dry mouth and incomplete or unrepaired restoration of missing teeth were risk factors for frailty among the elderly in the community ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:From the perspective of oral health, this study further analyzes the risk factors of frailty in the elderly in the community. Medical institutions and elderly care institutions at all levels can use oral health status as a screening item for the frailty risk of the elderly in the community, providing new ideas for the prevention and intervention of frailty in the community.

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