OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Tongmai Hypoglycemic Capsule (THC) on myocardium injury in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) rats. METHODS: A total of 24 Sprague Dawley rats were fed for 4 weeks with high-fat and high-sugar food and then injected with streptozotocin intraperitoneally for the establishment of the DCM model. In addition, 6 rats with normal diets were used as the control group. After modeling, 24 DCM rats were randomly divided into the model, L-THC, M-THC, and H-THC groups by computer generated random numbers, and 0, 0.16, 0.32, 0.64 g/kg of THC were adopted respectively by gavage, with 6 rats in each group. After 12 weeks of THC administration, echocardiography, histopathological staining, biochemical analysis, and Western blot were used to detect the changes in myocardial structure, oxidative stress (OS), biochemical indexes, protein expressions of myocardial fibrosis, and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related faactor 2 (Nrf2) element, respectively. RESULTS: Treatment with THC significantly decreased cardiac markers such as creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase-MB, etc., (P<0.01); enhanced cardiac function indicators including heart rate, ejection fraction, cardiac output, interventricular septal thickness at diastole, and others (P<0.05 or P<0.01); decreased levels of biochemical indicators such as fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, aspartate transaminase, (P<0.05 or P<0.01); and decreased the levels of myocardial fibrosis markers α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and collagen I (Col-1) protein (P<0.01), improved myocardial morphology and the status of myocardial interstitial fibrosis. THC significantly reduced malondialdehyde levels in model rats (P<0.01), increased levels of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione (P<0.01), and significantly increased the expression of Nrf2, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1, heme oxygenase-1, and superoxide dismutase 2 proteins in the left ventricle of rats (P<0.01). CONCLUSION THC activates the Nrf2 signaling pathway and plays a protective role in reducing OS injury and cardiac fibrosis in DCM rats.
Animals ; Diabetic Cardiomyopathies/physiopathology* ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Fibrosis ; Male ; Capsules ; Hypoglycemic Agents/therapeutic use* ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism* ; Rats ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/drug therapy*

Glioblastoma multiforme(GBM)is a grade 4 glioma with the highest malignancy and invasiveness in the central nervous system,accounting for approximately 30％of all tumors in the central nervous system.Due to the unclear pathogenesis of GBM,there is currently no specific target for the treatment of GBM.Temozolomide(TMZ)is the only first-line chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of GBM,but suffers from a low drug response rate and high susceptibility to drug resistance.Therefore,the development of new targets and novel GBM therapeutic agents is an urgent clinical problem.Pentraxin 3(PTX3),a member of the pentameric protein superfamily,has been shown to have a promotive effect on a variety of tumors.Increasing evidences showed that PTX3 played a crucial role in the progression of GBM.PTX3 can promote the proliferation,migration and invasion ability of GBM cells,increase the angiogenesis ability in the GBM microenvironment and malignant progression of GBM.In the article,the structure,physiological function,expression regulation,role and mechanism of PTX3 in GBM were mainly reviewed,with a view to provide guidance for PTX3 as a potential drug target for the treatment of GBM.

Glioblastoma multiforme(GBM)is a grade 4 glioma with the highest malignancy and invasiveness in the central nervous system,accounting for approximately 30％of all tumors in the central nervous system.Due to the unclear pathogenesis of GBM,there is currently no specific target for the treatment of GBM.Temozolomide(TMZ)is the only first-line chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of GBM,but suffers from a low drug response rate and high susceptibility to drug resistance.Therefore,the development of new targets and novel GBM therapeutic agents is an urgent clinical problem.Pentraxin 3(PTX3),a member of the pentameric protein superfamily,has been shown to have a promotive effect on a variety of tumors.Increasing evidences showed that PTX3 played a crucial role in the progression of GBM.PTX3 can promote the proliferation,migration and invasion ability of GBM cells,increase the angiogenesis ability in the GBM microenvironment and malignant progression of GBM.In the article,the structure,physiological function,expression regulation,role and mechanism of PTX3 in GBM were mainly reviewed,with a view to provide guidance for PTX3 as a potential drug target for the treatment of GBM.

Chronic subdural hematoma is one of the common central nervous system diseases in middle-aged and elderly people,and the incidence is increasing year by year.Drill and drain surgery is recognized as one of the effective ways to treat chronic subdural hematoma.However,there still exists a non-negligible recurrence after surgery.In addition,with the aging of the population,senior patients may have many underlying diseases.Therefore,the risk of surgery is high and some patients even have contraindications to surgery due to the long-term use of anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs.In recent years,some progress has been made in the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma,such as oral atorvastatin can promote the absorption of chronic subdural hematoma,small-dose dexamethasone is used in the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma,neuroendoscopy-assisted treatment of segregated chronic subdural hematoma,and middle meningeal artery embolization surgery to reduce the recurrence of chronic subdural hematoma patients.Meanwhile,with the development of imaging,Computed Tomography(CT)and Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI)have made some progress in the diagnosis of chronic subdural hematoma.

To explore the absorption mechanism of APS-Ⅱ in vivo by establishing M cell model. First, Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) was divided into two different molecular weight polysaccharides APS-I ( > 2 000 kDa) and APS-II (10 kDa) by ultrafiltration, and APS-II (10 kDa) was prepared and fluorescently labeled. Meanwhile, M cell model was constructed by Caco-2 cells and Raji cells. The M cell model was treated with transport inhibitors to explore the transport of APS-Ⅱ on M cells. The results show that FITC has been successfully labeled to the end of APS-Ⅱ, and the M cell model was successfully constructed, which found that APS-Ⅱ could be transported by M cells, and four transport inhibitors of 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl) amiloride (EIPA), genistein, dynasore and nocodazole indicated that APS-II may enter cells through clathrin and caveolin-mediated endocytosis.

This experiment aims to study the taste-masking effects of different kinds of corrigent used individually and in combination on ibuprofen oral solution, in order to optimize the taste-masking formulation. Firstly, a wide range of corrigent and the mass fractions were extensively screened using electronic tongue technology. Subsequently, a combination of sensory evaluation, analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-fuzzy mathematics evaluation, and Box-Behnken experimental design were employed to comprehensively assess the taste-masking effects of different combinations of corrigent on ibuprofen oral solution, optimize the taste-masking formulation, and validate the results. The study received ethical approval from the Review Committee of the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (ethical code: 2024BZYLL0102). The results showed that corrigent fractions and types were screened separately through single-factor experiments. Subsequently, a Box-Behnken response surface design combined with AHP and fuzzy mathematics evaluation was used to fit a functional model: Z = 688.310 11 - 3 023.722 22X₁ - 11.477 00X₂ + 62.721 67X₃ + 14.600 00X₁X₂ - 179.666 67X₁X₃ - 3.152 00X₂X₃ + 4 031.111 11X₁² + 0.525 28X₂² + 9.772 00X₃². This model is stable and reliable, determining the optimal taste-masking formulation to be 3.9 g·L^-1 of stevioside, 100 g L^-1 of xylitol, and 30 g L^-1 of methyl-β-cyclodextrin. The comprehensive score of the verification test is 88.14, with a relative RSD of 0.39%, indicating the feasibility of this model. This study achieved the improvement of the taste of ibuprofen oral solution through a combination of objective and subjective methods. Three types of corrigent were identified for enhancing drug taste, leading to the selection of the optimal taste-masking formulation for ibuprofen oral solution. This significantly enhanced the taste of the original formulation, improved patient compliance, and offered a new approach to mitigating the undesirable taste of formulations.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a crucial role in maintaining the homeostasis of the brain's internal environment, which poses challenges to the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Drug carriers can aid in the delivery of therapeutic agents across the BBB to exert their pharmacological effects. The article reviewed the pathways for drug delivery across the BBB, the intracerebral fate and the classification of drug carriers and focuses on the functions and characteristics of liposomes, exosomes, apoptotic bodies, cell-penetrating peptides, and cell-targeting peptides. The review will provide an outlook on the future and challenge of research in the field of drug delivery across the BBB.

Tumor brings great threat to human public health. In recent years, incidence rate and mortality of tumor were rapidly increased in the world. Anti-tumor therapies have undergone the development of cytotoxic therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Among them, tumor immunotherapy is rapidly developed and becomes an important anti-tumor therapy in recent years, although it also brings some related side effects. Tumor microenvironment (TME) is composed of immune cells, vascular vessels, fibroblasts, the extracellular matrix, etc. TME significantly affects the efficacy of immunotherapy. Macrophages in the TME are named as tumor associated macrophages (TAMs). Recently, increasing studies have shown that TAMs play an important role in the regulation of tumor immunity, especially in tumor immune surveillance and immune escape. Currently, more and more anti-tumor immunotherapy strategies targeting TAMs are at the development stage. Based on the important role of TAMs in the TME and their potential as therapeutic targets in tumor immunotherapy, we first reviewed the subtypes and functions of TAMs, as well as the roles of TAMs in tumors. Furthermore, we summarized the research progress on anti-tumor strategies targeting TAMs and the current status of drug targeting TAMs. The current review will provide new ideas and novel insights for tumor immunotherapy.

Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. It is very hard to treat pancreatic cancers for their high heterogeneity, complex tumor microenvironment, and drug resistance. Currently, gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel, capecitabine and FOLFIRINOX are standard chemotherapy for resectable or advanced metastatic pancreatic cancer. Considering the limited efficacy and toxic side effects of chemotherapy, targeted and immune drugs have gradually attracted attention and made some progress. In this article, we systematically reviewed the chemotherapeutic drugs, targets and related targeted drugs, and immunotherapy drugs for pancreatic cancer.

High myopia is a state of refractive error with myopia over -6.00D. High myopia is typically accompanied by multiple fundus lesions, thus making patients with high myopia suffer from varying degrees of impairment in visual function. As an emerging auxiliary way in ophthalmology, optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)can efficiently and non-invasively obtain microvascular stratified images of the retina and choroid and quantitatively analyze blood flow signals. Since the advent of OCTA, there have been numerous studies observing fundus changes in those with high myopia through OCTA. In this paper, some studies in which OCTA is applied to obtain retinal and choroidal thickness from patients with high myopia are reviewed, with a view to revealing the correlation between high myopia and the parameters such as retinal thickness, choroidal thickness, vessel density and the area of the foveal avascular zone and providing novel ideas to deeply investigate the mechanism of high myopia and delay the occurrence and development of high myopia.