Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic interstitial lung disease, is characterized by aberrant wound healing, excessive scarring and the formation of myofibroblastic foci. Although the role of alternative splicing (AS) in the pathogenesis of organ fibrosis has garnered increasing attention, its specific contribution to pulmonary fibrosis remains incompletely understood. In this study, we identified an up-regulation of serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 7 (SRSF7) in lung fibroblasts derived from IPF patients and a bleomycin (BLM)-induced mouse model, and further characterized its functional role in both human fetal lung fibroblasts and mice. We demonstrated that enhanced expression of Srsf7 in mice spontaneously induced alveolar collagen accumulation. Mechanistically, we investigated alternative splicing events and revealed that SRSF7 modulates the alternative splicing of pyruvate kinase (PKM), leading to metabolic dysregulation and fibroblast activation. In vivo studies showed that fibroblast-specific knockout of Srsf7 in conditional knockout mice conferred resistance to bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Importantly, through drug screening, we identified lomitapide as a novel modulator of SRSF7, which effectively mitigated experimental pulmonary fibrosis. Collectively, our findings elucidate a molecular pathway by which SRSF7 drives fibroblast metabolic dysregulation and propose a potential therapeutic strategy for pulmonary fibrosis.

Objective To analyze the clinical significance of elevated CHMP2B expression in pancreatic cancer,and to explore the oncogenic mechanism of CHMP2B in pancreatic cancer.Methods A transcriptomic analysis conducted on the GEPIA website revealed CHMP2B expression in over 20 types of malignant tumors.The relation-ship between CHMP2B expression and disease-free survival and overall survival of pancreatic cancer was analyzed.The correlation between CHMP2B,MAP1LC3B and P62 expression was analyzed by TCGA database.The overex-pression plasmid of CHMP2B factor was transfected with Lipofectamine 2000 in MIA PaCa-2 cells,and the overex-pression of CHMP2B factor in MIA PaCa-2 was verified by Western blot.The effect of overexpression of CHMP2B on tumorigenic ability of MIA PaCa-2 cells was verified by clonal formation experiment.The effect of overexpression of CHMP2B on proliferation,migration and invasion of MIA PaCa-2 cells was verified by CCK-8 and Transwell ex-periments.The localization of CHMP2B factor was detected by immunofluorescence staining.The correlation be-tween CHMP2B,MAP1LC3B and P62 expression was analyzed by TCGA database.The expression of MAP1LC3B and P62 in CHMP2B overexpression was verified by qPCR.Results The expression of CHMP2B factor increased in pancreatic cancer(P＜0.01).Overexpression of CHMP2B factor was associated with overall survival and dis-ease-free survival(P＜0.01).The high expression of CHMP2B promoted the tumorigenesis of MIA PaCa-2 cells in pancreatic cancer,and also promoted the proliferation,migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer.Immunofluo-rescence staining showed that CHMP2B was distributed in both nucleus and cytoplasm and correlated with vesicle secretion.Moreover,CHMP2B was positively correlated with the expression of autophagy marker MAP1LC3B while inhibiting the expression of P62.Conclusion The high expression of CHMP2B in clinical pancreatic cancer tissue samples is consistent with the high expression in vitro pancreatic cancer cell lines.CHMP2B is localized in both nu-cleus and cytoplasm,involving in vesicle transport and lysosomal autophagy.In the pancreatic cancer cell line MIA PaCa-2,CHMP2B is positively correlated with the expression of autophagy marker MAP1LC3B and inhibits the ex-pression of P62.It is concluded that CHMP2B is related to autophagy in promoting the malignant degree of pancre-atic cancer.CHMP2B meets the high nutritional metabolic requirements of pancreatic cancer cells by regulating ve-sicular transport and autophagy,thus promoting the malignant biological behavior of pancreatic cancer.

Objective To discuss the evaluation basis of the clinical rational use of Dahuang Zhechong Capsule and to establish its rationality evaluation criterion to promote the sensible use of Dahuang Zhechong Capsule.Methods The rationality evaluation criterion for Dahuang Zhechong Capsule was formulated by referring to the package insert,treatment guidelines,and other literature.According to the criterion,270 outpatient prescriptions using Dahuang Zhechong Capsule in Xiyuan Hospital,China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences were reviewed from January to June 2020.The indication,usage and dosage,drug combination,and repeated administration were analyzed.The pharmaceutical intervention was performed to address the problems found in the prescription reviews,and 328 outpatient prescriptions using Dahuang Zhechong Capsule in October 2020 were reevaluated.Results The irrational use rate of Dahuang Zhechong Capsule from January to June 2020 was 42.22％(114 cases),including 108(40％)cases of inappropriate indications,five(1.85％)cases of improper usage and dosage,and one(0.37％)case of inappropriate administration route.However,the pharmaceutical intervention in October 2020 remarkably reduced the irrational use rate of Dahuang Zhechong Capsule(4.27％,14 cases),all of which were inappropriate indications.Conclusion Dahuang Zhechong Capsule is being used irrationally;therefore,establishing an evaluation criterion is required.The specific situation of irrational drug use can be identified by prescription review according to its rationality evaluation criterion to manage its clinical use better and promote its rational use.

Craniovertebral junction malformation is a congenital malformation located in the foramen magnum and upper cervical spine, including bone and nerve malformation, resulting in motor and sensory disorders, cerebellar and lower cranial nerves, etc. The evaluation methods of clinical symptoms and efficacy of craniovertebral junction malformation are important for the surgical indications and effects, mainly including the evaluation of clinical symptoms and the quality of life. At present, the commonly used methods in clinical work and literature are the Japanese orthopaedic association scores, visual analogue scales, 36-item short-form health survey, etc. Most of these clinical evaluations are not aimed at craniovertebral junction diseases but focus on the description of a certain type of clinical symptoms. Chicago Chiari outcome scale and syringomyelia outcome scale of Xuanwu hospital are dedicated to Craniovertebral junction malformation, but more clinical studies are needed to prove their effectiveness. Based on the literature reports, this article reviewed the previous clinical evaluation methods of craniovertebral junction malformation and discusses their applications and limitations.

Craniovertebral junction malformation is a congenital malformation located in the foramen magnum and upper cervical spine, including bone and nerve malformation, resulting in motor and sensory disorders, cerebellar and lower cranial nerves, etc. The evaluation methods of clinical symptoms and efficacy of craniovertebral junction malformation are important for the surgical indications and effects, mainly including the evaluation of clinical symptoms and the quality of life. At present, the commonly used methods in clinical work and literature are the Japanese orthopaedic association scores, visual analogue scales, 36-item short-form health survey, etc. Most of these clinical evaluations are not aimed at craniovertebral junction diseases but focus on the description of a certain type of clinical symptoms. Chicago Chiari outcome scale and syringomyelia outcome scale of Xuanwu hospital are dedicated to Craniovertebral junction malformation, but more clinical studies are needed to prove their effectiveness. Based on the literature reports, this article reviewed the previous clinical evaluation methods of craniovertebral junction malformation and discusses their applications and limitations.

Pulmonary fibrosis(PF)is a chronic progressive end-stage lung disease.However,the mechanisms un-derlying the progression of this disease remain elusive.Presently,clinically employed drugs are scarce for the treatment of PF.Hence,there is an urgent need for developing novel drugs to address such diseases.Our study found for the first time that a natural source of Prismatomeris connata Y.Z.Ruan(Huang Gen,HG)ethyl acetate extract(HG-2)had a significant anti-PF effect by inhibiting the expression of the transforming growth factor beta 1/suppressor of mothers against decapentaplegic(TGF-β1/Smad)pathway.Network pharmacological analysis suggested that HG-2 had effects on tyrosine kinase phosphorylation,cellular response to reactive oxygen species,and extracellular matrix(ECM)disassembly.Moreover,mass spec-trometry imaging(MSI)was used to visualize the heterogeneous distribution of endogenous metabolites in lung tissue and reveal the anti-PF metabolic mechanism of HG-2,which was related to arginine biosyn-thesis and alanine,asparate and glutamate metabolism,the downregulation of arachidonic acid meta-bolism,and the upregulation of glycerophospholipid metabolism.In conclusion,we elaborated on the relationship between metabolite distribution and the progression of PF,constructed the regulatory metabolic network of HG-2,and discovered the multi-target therapeutic effect of HG-2,which might be conducive to the development of new drugs for PF.

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a gas signaling molecule with versatile bioactivities; however, its exploitation for disease treatment appears challenging. This study describes the design and characterization of a novel type of H₂S donor-drug conjugate (DDC) based on the thio-ProTide scaffold, an evolution of the ProTide strategy successfully used in drug discovery. The new H₂S DDCs achieved hepatic co-delivery of H₂S and an anti-fibrotic drug candidate named hydronidone, which synergistically attenuated liver injury and resulted in more sufficient intracellular drug exposure. The potent hepatoprotective effects were also attributed to the H₂S-mediated multipronged intervention in lipid peroxidation both at the whole cellular and lysosomal levels. Lysosomal H₂S accumulation and H₂S DDC activation were facilitated by the hydrolysis through the specific lysosomal hydrolase, representing a distinct mechanism for lysosomal targeting independent of the classical basic moieties. These findings provided a novel pattern for the design of optimally therapeutic H₂S DDC and organelle-targeting functional molecules.

OBJECTIVE To explore the mechanism of Cinnamomi Cortex in the treatment of depression based on the network pharmacology method, and to verify the experimental results according to the results. METHODS The potential active components of Cinnamomi Cortex were screened by using the Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Database Analysis Platform(TCMSP) and literatures related to the active components of Cinnamomi Cortex. The target of action of the active ingredients obtained by screening was predicted; the disease targets of depression were obtained from the DisGeNet database; the STRING database protein-protein interaction was used to construct PPI network; Gene Ontology(GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis for key targets through DAVID database. Based on the results of network pharmacology, the solid self-microemulsion of Cinnamomi Cortex oil was used as a reagent to establish a chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) depression mice model, and the experimental verification was carried out by measuring the expression levels of neurotransmitters and inflammatory factors in mice. RESULTS A total of 22 active ingredients and 186 potential targets were obtained through screening. A total of 275 GO items were obtained by GO enrichment analysis, including 222 for biological processes, 18 for cellular composition, and 35 for molecular functions. A total of 96 signaling pathways were obtained from KEGG enrichment. The results of network pharmacology indicated that the antidepressant mechanism of Cinnamomi Cortex was related to neurotransmitter components and inflammatory response. The results of animal experiments indicated that Cinnamomi Cortex oil solid self-microemulsion could improve hippocampal damage caused by CUMS, and make neurons in the hippocampus neatly arranged and cell structure intact. At the same time, it could effectively increase the expression levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT), NE and DA in the brain of CUMS mice(P<0.05), and reduce the expression levels of serum IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α(P<0.05). The results of animal experiments were consistent with the results of network pharmacology. CONCLUSION The antidepressant activity of Cinnamomi Cortex has the characteristics of multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway. Regulating the expression levels of neurotransmitters and inflammatory factors is an important way of its action, which provides a basis for the in-depth study of the antidepressant mechanism of Cinnamomi Cortex.

Objective To explore whether indoor light-assisted therapy can rapidly improve depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with depression,as well as the safety of indoor-light-assisted therapy.Methods From September 2021 to December 2022,patients with depression were recruited from the Mental Health Center of the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University.According to the random number table method,patients were divided into test group and control group.The test group was treated with light therapy 30 minutes from 7:30 am to 8:00 am daily for 2 weeks in addition to antidepressant therapy.Antidepressant therapy was continued after completion of light therapy and patients were followed up for 2 weeks.The control group was treated with regular antidepressants throughout the four-week trial.Hamilton depression scale(HAMD17)and the Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA)were used to assess the clinical symptoms at the baseline and the end of every week of treatment.Safety was evaluated using patient adverse events,anterior segment photography and visual testing.Results A total of 80 patients were enrolled,including 40 in the test group and 40 in the control group.The data of dropped were processed for missing values and then included in the statistical analysis.At the 1st(20.0％vs.0.0％)and 2nd(45.0％vs.17.5％)weekend of treatment,the response rate in the test group was significantly higher than that in the control group.There was an interaction between the time point and the group in HAMD17 total score(F=9.66,P<0.01).The scores of HAMD17 at the end of every week in the test group were significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0.05).There were significant differences in the reduction rate of total score in HAMD17[33.3％(25.0％,43.3％)vs.13.9％(9.9％,19.8％)]and HAMA[22.4％(16.5％,35.3％)vs.14.2％(4.4％,26.9％)]between the two groups(P<0.05).Incidences of adverse effect were not significantly different between the two groups(12.5％vs.10.0％,P=1.00).There were no severe adverse events or mania was reported in the test group and the eye examination showed no abnormality.Conclusion Compared with antidepressant therapy alone,indoor light therapy combined with antidepressant can quickly improve depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with depression,shorten the duration of depression treatment,and has good safety.

Cranio-cervical junction (CVJ) anomalies encompass a spectrum of bone,soft tissue,and neural structural abnormalities,including basilar invagination,platybasia,atlantoaxial dislocation,tonsillar herniation,and occipito-cervical fusion.Given the frequent coexistence of these anomalies and the intricate anatomical variations involved,precise imaging techniques and evaluation parameters are crucial for accurate disease characterization and treatment assessment.Since the 1930s,various parameters,such as the McRae line,Chamberlain line,Wackenheim line,and clivo-axial angle,have been widely employed for evaluating basilar invagination and platybasia.The advent of MRI and CT has further expanded the repertoire of parameters,including sagittal tilt,coronal tilt,medullary spinal angle,and intricate multi-axis evaluation systems.In this review,we summarize the relevant imaging parameters and their corresponding measurement techniques from previous literature,emphasizing high-sensitivity,consistent,and evidence-based parameters.This study aims to provide valuable insights for the imaging evaluation of CVJ anomalies.