Chemotherapy is an important treatment for tumors， but most patients experience varying degrees of chemotherapy- induced myelosuppression. Four properties theory of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has unique advantages in improving chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression. The monomers from TCM with different properties and flavors， such as cold-natured （e.g. Scutellaria baicalensis， Rhus chinensis）， cool-natured （e.g. Ligustrum lucidum， Ophiopogon japonicus）， warm-natured （e.g. Panax ginseng， Epimedium brevicornu， Curcuma longa， Angelica sinensis）， hot-natured （e.g. Cinnamomum cassia， Aconitum carmichaeli）， and neutral-natured （e. g. donkey-hide gelatin， Lycium barbarum， Rhodiola rosea， fungi）， can exert anti- myelosuppressive effects by reducing damage to hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells， improving the bone marrow hematopoietic microenvironment， inhibiting the oxidative stress response， regulating signaling pathways， so as to ultimately repaire inflammatory damage and improve hematopoietic function， thereby playing an anti-myelosuppressive role.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of Xujiang Xie's bloodletting therapy combined with Qingyan Lige decoction on acute pharyngitis with lung-stomach heat accumulation. METHODS: A total of 88 patients with acute pharyngitis of lung-stomach heat accumulation were randomly divided into an observation group (44 cases, 4 cases dropped out) and a control group (44 cases, 4 cases dropped out). The control group was treated with oral Qingyan Lige decoction, 150 mL each time, twice a day for 6 continuous days. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, Xujiang Xie's bloodletting therapy was applied at bilateral Shaoshang (LU11), Shangyang (LI1), and Erjian (EX-HN6) in the observation group, 0.1-0.5 mL of bloodletting per site, once every other day for 3 times in total. The TCM symptom and sign score, complete blood count (white blood cell [WBC] count, neutrophilic granulocyte percentage [NE%]), inflammation indexes (serum levels of C-reactive protein[CRP], interleukin[IL]-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α) and immune indexes (？？, ？？, ？？) of the two groups were observed before treatment and after 6 days of treatment, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated. RESULTS: After 6 days of treatment, the sore throat scores, redness and swelling scores of pharyngeal mucosa and uvula, pharyngeal dry and burning scores, hyperemia scores of posterior pharyngeal lymphoid follicles, chill and fever scores, total scores of TCM symptom and sign, WBC count, NE%, CRP, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and ？？ in both groups were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), the above indexes in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.001). After 6 days of treatment, the levels of ？？ and ？？ in both groups were increased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), and the above indexes in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.001). The total effective rate of the observation group was 95.0% (38/40), which was higher than 90.0% (36/40) in the control group (P<0.001). CONCLUSION Xujiang Xie's bloodletting therapy combined with Qingyan Lige decoction could improve the symptoms in patients with acute pharyngitis of lung-stomach heat accumulation, inhibit inflammatory response and improve immune function.
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Male ; Female ; Pharyngitis/drug therapy* ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Bloodletting ; Young Adult ; Lung/drug effects* ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Interleukin-6 ; Adolescent ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Acute Disease/therapy* ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: Immunosuppression is closely related to the pathogenesis of sepsis, but the underlying mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we aimed to examine the role of the Sterile Alpha Motif, Src Homology 3 domain and nuclear localization signal 1 (SAMSN1) in sepsis and elucidate its potential molecular mechanism in sepsis induced immunosuppression. METHODS: RNA sequencing databases were used to validate SAMSN1 expression in sepsis. The impact of SAMSN1 on sepsis was verified using gene knockout mice. Flow cytometry was employed to delineate how SAMSN1 affects immunity in sepsis, focusing on immune cell types and T cell functions. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9)-mediated gene editing in RAW264.7 macrophages enabled interrogation of SAMSN1 's regulatory effects on essential macrophage functions, including cell proliferation and phagocytic capacity. The mechanism of SAMSN1 in the interaction between macrophages and T cells was investigated using the RAW264.7 cell line and primary cell lines. RESULTS: SAMSN1 expression was significantly increased in patients with sepsis and was positively correlated with sepsis mortality. Genetic deletion of Samsn1 in murine sepsis model improved T cell survival, elevated T cell cytolytic activity, and activated T cell signaling transduction. Concurrently, Samsn1 knockout augmented macrophage proliferation capacity and phagocytic efficiency. In macrophage, SAMSN1 binds to Kelch-like epichlorohydrin-associated protein 1 (KEAP1), causing nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) to dissociate from the KEAP1-NRF2 complex and translocate into the nucleus. This promotes the transcription of the coinhibitory molecules CD48/CD86/carcinoembryonic antigen related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1), which bind to their corresponding receptors natural killer cell receptor 2B4/CD152/T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (TIM3) on the surface of T cells, inducing T-cell exhaustion. CONCLUSIONS SAMSN1 deletion augmented adaptive T cell immunity and macrophage phagocytic-proliferative dual function. Furthermore, it mediates the KEAP1-NRF2 axis, which affects the expression of coinhibitory molecules on macrophages, leading to T-cell exhaustion. This novel immunosuppression mechanism potentially provides a candidate molecular target for sepsis immunotherapy.
Animals ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism* ; Mice ; Macrophages/immunology* ; Sepsis/metabolism* ; Kelch-Like ECH-Associated Protein 1/genetics* ; T-Lymphocytes/immunology* ; Humans ; Signal Transduction/physiology* ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Mice, Knockout ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Male ; Flow Cytometry ; T-Cell Exhaustion

ObjectiveTo analyze the distribution characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome elements in different risk populations of heart failure complicated with type 2 diabetes. MethodsClinical data of 675 type 2 diabetes patients were retrospectively collected. Lasso-multivariate Logistic regression was used to construct a clinical prediction nomogram model. Based on this， 441 non-heart failure patients were divided into a low-risk group （325 cases） and a high-risk group （116 cases） according to the median risk score of heart failure complicated with type 2 diabetes. TCM diagnostic information （four diagnostic methods） was collected for both groups， and factor analysis was applied to summarize the distribution of TCM syndrome elements in different risk populations. ResultsLasso-multivariate Logistic regression analysis identified age， disease duration， coronary heart disease， old myocardial infarction， arrhythmia， absolute neutrophil count， activated partial thromboplastin time， and α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase as independent risk factors for heart failure complicated with type 2 diabetes. These were used as final predictive factors to construct the nomogram model. Model validation results showed that the area under the curve （AUC） of the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve for the modeling group and validation group were 0.934 and 0.935， respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test （modeling group P = 0.996， validation group P = 0.121） indicated good model discrimination. Decision curve analysis showed that the curves for All and None crossed in the upper right corner， indicating high clinical utility. The low-risk and high-risk groups each obtained 14 common factors. Preliminary analysis revealed that the main disease elements in the low-risk group were qi deficiency （175 cases， 53.85%）， dampness （118 cases， 36.31%）， and heat （118 cases， 36.31%）， with the primary locations in the spleen （125 cases， 38.46%） and lungs （99 cases， 30.46%）. In the high-risk group， the main disease elements were yang deficiency （73 cases， 62.93%）， blood stasis （68 cases， 58.62%）， and heat （49 cases， 42.24%）， with the primary locations in the kidney （84 cases， 72.41%） and heart （70 cases， 60.34%）. ConclusionThe overall disease characteristics in different risk populations of type 2 diabetes patients with heart failure are a combination of deficiency and excess， with deficiency being predominant. Deficiency and heat are present throughout. The low-risk population mainly shows qi deficiency with dampness and heat， related to the spleen and lungs. The high-risk population shows yang deficiency with blood stasis and heat， related to the kidneys and heart.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection among blood donors in Hunan Province from 2022 to 2024. Methods: A total of 1 830 342 blood donors from 14 prefecture-level blood centers in Hunan Province over the past three years were screened for anti-HTLV-Ⅰ/Ⅱ using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Initially reactive samples were further tested with Line Immunoassay (LIA )/MP-Western blot and RT-PCR nucleic acid test for confirmation. Blood donors confirmed positive for HTLV were tracked and followed up. Results: From 2022 to 2024, the initial ELISA reactive rate for anti-HTLV-I/II among blood donors in Hunan Province was 1.36 per 10 000 (249/1 830 342). The confirmed positive rate was 0.20 per 10 000 (37/1 830 342), accounting for 14.86% of the initially reactive donors. The follow-up success rate for confirmed HTLV-positive blood donors was only 18.92%, while that for HTLV-indeterminate donors was 54.17%. Conclusion: The confirmed HTLV infection rates in Yueyang, Loudi, Shaoyang, Yiyang, and Zhuzhou cities were higher than the provincial (0.20 per 10 000). Chenzhou, Yongzhou, Zhangjiajie, and Xiangxi were identified as low prevalence areas, with an infection rate of 0. The overall follow-up success rate was low, indicating significant difficulties and bottlenecks in follow-up work. The comprehensive screening for HTLV and follow-up studies in Hunan provide valuable data to further improve blood safety testing strategies and risk warning mechanisms.

Objective : To explore the impacts and fundamental mechanisms of the PU. 1 inhibitor DB2313 on the immune function in MRL/lpr mice. Methods: A total of thirty MRL/lpr lupus mice were randomly distributed into three separate groups : the model control group , the PU. 1 inhibitor DB2313 treatment group ( administered at a dose of 17 mg/kg) , and the positive drug control Telitacicept (TACI_Ig) group (administered at a dose of 7. 5 mg/ kg) . Furthermore , a group of ten BALB/c mice were assigned as the normal group. The DB2313 administration group was treated with intraperitoneal injections of the drug on three occasions per week , while the TACI_Ig group received subcutaneous injections every second day; both treatment protocols were maintained for a duration of five weeks. Both the control group and the model group were administered intraperitoneal injections of a volume of saline that was equivalent across groups. After the drug was given , mice were sacrificed by dislocation after orbital vein blood collection. The thymus and spleen were aseptically excised , individually weighed , and subsequently utilized to compute the thymus index and spleen index. The relative distribution of T lymphocyte subsets within the spleen was ascertained through flow cytometry. Serum concentrations of anti_nuclear antibodies ( ANA) and antidouble_stranded DNA antibodies were quantified using an enzyme_linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) . The levels of inflammatory factors interleukin_6 (IL_6) , tumor necrosis factor_α (TNF_α) , interferon_γ(IFN_γ) were meas ured by CBA method. Hematoxylin and eosin ( HE) staining was employed to examine pathological alterations in the spleen. The expression of PU. 1 and IL_9 in spleen tissue was detected using immunohistochemistry. Additionally , the expression level of PU. 1 protein in the spleen tissue was ascertained through Western blot analysis. Results: The administration of DB2313 significantly ameliorated spleen lesions in MRL/lpr mice and decreased the levels of anti_ds_DNA , ANA , TNF_α , IL_6 , and IFN_γ . It also reduced the proportion of total T cells , TFH cells , Th17 cells , and Th9 cells in the mouse spleen , while increasing the proportion of Treg cells. Furthermore , it lowered the level of PU. 1 protein in the spleen. Immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that DB2313 treatment significantly diminished the expression of PU. 1 and IL_9 in spleen tissue. Conclusion The PU. 1 inhibitor DB2313 can improve spleen lesions in MRL/lpr mice and slow the progression of the disease , and its mechanism is related to the regulation of immune cell functions.

Objective : To establish an interleukin-1β (Il-1β) induced inflammatory model of rat articular chondro- cytes (ACs) , and to investigate the relationship between the expression of lysine acetyltransferase 7 (KAT7) under inflammatory stimulation and the senescence of ACs. Methods: Primary ACs were obtained by digestion of rat knee cartilage with collagenase type Ⅱ and identified. The inflammatory model of ACs was induced by IL-1β . KAT7 was over-expressed or knocked down in ACs by adeno-associated virus infection or small interfering RNA transfection , respectively. A negative control group was set up. Transwell assay was used to detect cell migration ability. Senes- cent cells were stained with senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) . Western blot ( WB) was used to detect the protein expression levels of KAT7 , collagen type II (Col Ⅱ ) , matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13) , tumor protein p53 (p53) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21) . The cells of negative control group and KAT7 over-expression group were performed for RNA sequencing , and WB was used to verify the related signaling pathways obtained by Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. Results: Compared with the control group , the SA-β-Gal staining was enhanced , the protein expression of Col Ⅱ decreased , the pro- tein expression of MMP13 and p53 increased , the cell migration ability decreased , and the expression of KAT7 also increased in the ACs of rats after IL-1β stimulation. Compared with the negative control group , the SA-β-Gal stai- ning was enhanced , the protein expression of Col Ⅱ decreased , the protein expression of MMP13 , p53 and p21 in- creased , and the cell migration ability decreased in the KAT7 over-expression group. Compared with the negative control group , the SA-β-Gal staining was weakened , the protein expression of Col Ⅱ increased , the protein expres- sion of MMP13 , p53 and p21 decreased , and the cell migration ability was enhanced in the KAT7 knockdown inflammatory model of ACs. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway was activated. Compared with the negative control group , the relative protein ex⁃pression levels of phosphorylated protein kinase B (p⁃AKT)/AKT and phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamy⁃cin (p⁃mTOR)/mTOR in KAT7 over⁃expression group increased. The relative protein expression levels of p ⁃AKT/AKT and p ⁃mTOR/mTOR in KAT7 knockdown cells decreased. Conclusion Rat ACs with high expression of KAT7 exhibit senescence and osteoarthritis phenotype , and the mechanism may be related to the activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway by KAT7.

Objective To explore the impacts and fundamental mechanisms of the PU.1 inhibitor DB2313 on the immune function in MRL/lpr mice.Methods A total of thirty MRL/lpr lupus mice were randomly distributed into three separate groups:the model control group,the PU.1 inhibitor DB2313 treatment group(administered at a dose of 17 mg/kg),and the positive drug control Telitacicept(TACI-Ig)group(administered at a dose of 7.5 mg/kg).Furthermore,a group of ten BALB/c mice were assigned as the normal group.The DB2313 administration group was treated with intraperitoneal injections of the drug on three occasions per week,while the TACI-Ig group received subcutaneous injections every second day;both treatment protocols were maintained for a duration of five weeks.Both the control group and the model group were administered intraperitoneal injections of a volume of sa-line that was equivalent across groups.After the drug was given,mice were sacrificed by dislocation after orbital vein blood collection.The thymus and spleen were aseptically excised,individually weighed,and subsequently uti-lized to compute the thymus index and spleen index.The relative distribution of T lymphocyte subsets within the spleen was ascertained through flow cytometry.Serum concentrations of anti-nuclear antibodies(ANA)and anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies were quantified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The lev-els of inflammatory factors interleukin-6(IL-6),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interferon-γ(IFN-γ)were meas-ured by CBA method.Hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining was employed to examine pathological alterations in the spleen.The expression of PU.1 and IL-9 in spleen tissue was detected using immunohistochemistry.Addition-ally,the expression level of PU.1 protein in the spleen tissue was ascertained through Western blot analysis.Re-sults The administration of DB2313 significantly ameliorated spleen lesions in MRL/lpr mice and decreased the levels of anti-ds-DNA,ANA,TNF-α,IL-6,and IFN-γ.It also reduced the proportion of total T cells,TFH cells,Th17 cells,and Th9 cells in the mouse spleen,while increasing the proportion of Treg cells.Furthermore,it low-ered the level of PU.1 protein in the spleen.Immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that DB2313 treatment sig-nificantly diminished the expression of PU.1 and IL-9 in spleen tissue.Conclusion The PU.1 inhibitor DB2313 can improve spleen lesions in MRL/lpr mice and slow the progression of the disease,and its mechanism is related to the regulation of immune cell functions.

Objective:To explore the serum interleukin (ILs) expression profiles and peripheral blood inflammatory index characteristics in patients with diabetic retinopathy of different severity.Methods:A retrospective selection was made of 543 patients with diabetic retinopathy who were treated in the Xi′an Ai′er Ancient City Eye Hospital from January 2021 to December 2023. According to the severity of retinopathy, they were divided into the non-proliferative retinopathy group ( n=409) and the proliferative retinopathy group ( n=134). Differences in basic clinical data, serum ILs expression profiles (IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17), and peripheral blood inflammatory indices [neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI)] between the two groups were compared. Logistic regression analysis was used to screen risk factors for the severity of diabetic retinopathy. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of risk factors in predicting proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Results:The duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the proportion of patients with poor adherence to blood glucose control drugs, the proportion of patients with combined ocular symptoms, serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, as well as NLR, SII, and SIRI in the proliferative retinopathy group were higher than those in the non-proliferative retinopathy group, while the IL-10 level was lower (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, and NLR were important risk factors for the severity of diabetic retinopathy, and IL-10 was an important protective factor (all P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve for the combined prediction of the severity of diabetic retinopathy by IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, and NLR was 0.928(95% CI: 0.870-0.986). Conclusions:Higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, NLR and lower level of IL-10 in patients with diabetic retinopathy are important risk factors for the severity of the disease. Early intervention to reduce the inflammatory level in patients with diabetic retinopathy may help prevent disease progression.

Objective:To analyze the differences in clinicopathological features between non-elderly and elderly patients with melanoma, and to identify risk factors for prognosis in elderly patients with melanoma.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical and pathological data collected from non-elderly (aged < 60 years) and elderly (aged ≥ 60 years) patients with melanoma, who were confirmedly diagnosed according to clinical manifestations and histopathological findings at the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from January 2008 to December 2023. The differences in clinical and pathological characteristics between the two groups were analyzed using the chi-square test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The relationship between clinicopathological variables and overall survival was analyzed using a Cox regression model.Results:A total of 233 patients with cutaneous melanoma were included, with the age being 60.3 ± 14.7 years, and the number of patients was highest in the age group of 60 - 69 years. There were 102 cases (43.8%) in the < 60 years old group and 131 cases (56.2%) in the ≥ 60 years old group. Compared with the < 60 years old group, the ≥ 60 years old group showed a significant increase in the proportion of patients with active tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes ( P = 0.040), proportion of those with Ki-67 index ≥ 30% ( P = 0.010), and Charlson comorbidity index ( P = 0.002), but a significant decrease in the proportion of patients with BRAF/KIT/NRAS mutations ( P = 0.003), proportion of those receiving surgical treatment ( P = 0.034), and proportion of those receiving adjuvant therapy ( P = 0.042). There was a significant difference in the overall survival between the two groups (log-rank test, χ2 = 6.10, P = 0.014). The gender, metastasis status, presence or absence of ulceration, distant metastasis status, American Joint Committee on Cancer staging, Charlson comorbidity index, and Breslow thickness were important prognostic indicators affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that males ( P = 0.015, HR = 4.622, 95% CI: 1.352 - 15.798), presence of distant metastasis ( P = 0.013, HR = 9.844, 95% CI: 4.621 - 59.763), and Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 3 ( P = 0.038, HR = 3.149, 95% CI: 1.067 - 9.294) were independent risk factors affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma. Conclusions:Compared with the non-elderly patients with melanoma, a higher Ki-67 index, a higher Charlson comorbidity index, less surgical treatment, and less adjuvant therapy were more common in the elderly patients with melanoma. Males, the presence of distant metastasis, and Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 3 appeared to be independent risk factors affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma.