1.The Histone Methyltransferase EZH2 is Downregulated in the Terminal Differentiation of Cardiomyocytes
Wan-Yi ZHANG ; Wan-Lei ZHANG ; Yuan-Yuan LIU ; Ling-Er DING ; Qi-Kai TANG ; Zhen-Hang LI ; Hao-Ying YANG ; Tao LI
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(3):415-425
Enhancer of zeste homolog 2(EZH2)is a histone methyltransferase It mediates trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3,thereby facilitating the epigenetic silencing of downstream genes.In conjunc-tion with SUZ12,EED,and other components,it constitutes the polycomb repressive complex 2(PRC2)complex.While EZH2 is intricately involved in cellular proliferation and cardiac development,the chan-ges in its expression during cardiac terminal differentiation remain elusive.In this study,we employed differential gene expression analysis of embryonic and adult myocardial cells using the GEO database,and found that EZH2 is highly expressed in embryonic myocardium,but is present at very low levels in adult myocardium(P<0.0001).Conversely,the expression changes of PRC2 members SUZ12 and EED are not as pronounced.Online analysis through the Tabula Muris database indicates that under physiological conditions,various cell subpopulations in the adult mouse heart exhibit negligible expression of EZH2.Immunohistochemical staining of mouse cardiac tissues shows that EZH2 is highly expressed in embryonic and neonatal myocardium but declines progressively from the first day after birth(P<0.0001),becoming almost undetectable by the third day.Western blotting further confirms the rapid disappearance of EZH2 expression post-birth(P<0.05),with EZH1 compensating for the downregulation of EZH2 to maintain H3K27me3 modification levels.Additionally,using the P19 teratocarcinoma stem cell model for cardio-myocyte differentiation,it is observed that EZH2 is significantly upregulated during the transition from cardiac progenitor cells to spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes,correlating with the expression of the cardiomyocyte transcription factor Gata4(P<0.01).Targeted degradation of EZH2 using the small mole-cule drug MS1943 significantly inhibits the proliferation of induced cardiomyocytes,as evidenced by 5-e-thynyl-2'-deoxyuridine(EdU)incorporation assays(P<0.01),and RT-qPCR reveals a marked in-crease in the expression of the proliferation inhibitor CDKN1A(P<0.01).In summary,the high expres-sion of EZH2 in embryonic myocardial cells is associated with enhanced cell proliferation.The rapid loss of EZH2 expression postnatally correlates with the loss of proliferative capacity in cardiomyocytes,mark-ing it as a key indicator of cardiac terminal differentiation.
2.Evodiamine modulation of FOXM1 expression promotes apoptosis in colon cancer resistant cells HCT8/5-FU
Jing MA ; Di-long CHEN ; Yuan-yuan WAN ; Jia-ming HE ; An CHEN ; Yun-ying LI ; Hui-min WANG ; Jing LI
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(1):35-43
Aim To study the effect of evodiamine(EVO)regulating forkhead box protein Ml(FOXM1)on the proliferation and apoptosis of colorectal cancer-resistant cells HCT8/5-FU.Methods CCK-8 assay and EdU assay were used to detect the effect of EVO on cell proliferation ability.Clone formation assay was employed to detect the effect of EVO on the clone for-mation ability of cells.Flow cytometric counting was applied to detect apoptosis.Western blot was utilized to detect the expression of cellular Bcl-2,Bax,FOXM1,β-catenin,c-MYC,and CyclinD1;Molecular docking was used to explore the EVO-FOXM1 interac-tion.Nude mouse transplant tumor model was estab-lished to validate the effect of EVO on HCT8/5-FU cells in vivo.Results CCK-8 assay showed that EVO inhibited the proliferation of HCT8/5-FU cells in a time-and concentration-dependent manner.EdU assay found that the newly proliferated cells in the EVO-trea-ted group were significantly reduced.The results of the clone formation assay showed that EVO inhibited the clone-forming ability of HCT8/5-FU cells.Flow cyto-metric counting found that apoptosis rate of the cells in the EVO group significantly increased.Western blot showed that FOXM1 and β-catenin were significantly highly expressed in HCT8/5-FU cells,and EVO down-regulated the expression of FOXM1,β-cateniin,c-MYC,CyclinD1,and Bcl-2,and up-regulated the ex-pression of Bax.Molecular docking revealed strong in-teractions between EVO and FOXM1.The in vivo ex-perimental results demonstrated that EVO exerted a substantial inhibitory effect on the growth of subcutane-ously implanted HCT8/5-FU xenograft tumors and regulated the expression of related proteins.HE stai-ning revealed significant nuclear consolidation and fragmentation of tumor cells in the EVO group.Con-clusions The findings suggest that EVO could sup-press the activation of the Wnt signaling pathway through a mechanism involving the downregulation of FOXM1 protein expression,thus inhibiting the prolifer-ation of HCT8/5-FU cells and induce their apoptosis.
3.Effects of olanzapine and risperidone on sensory gating inhibitory deficits and cognitive impairment in first-episode schizophrenia
Jiawen HUO ; Junjiao PING ; Shuyi ZHENG ; Jing WAN ; Jie ZHANG ; Jianli ZHU ; Jiali LUO ; Ying ZHANG ; Rui LI ; Aoxiang LUO ; Tingyun JIANG
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 2025;34(5):438-444
Objective:To investigate the impact of olanzapine and risperidone on the cognitive function, sensory gating function and clinical symptoms of patients with first-episode schizophrenia(FES).Additionally, to analyze the correlation between sensory gating inhibitory deficits and cognitive impairment in FES patients.Methods:A total of 71 FES patients were selected in the Third People's Hospital of Zhongshan City from March 2023 to March 2024, and 60 healthy controls were recruited during the same period.The FES patients were divided into olanzapine group and risperidone group by random number table.Olanzapine group was treated with variable doses of olanzapine(10-20 mg/d), and risperidone group was treated with variable doses of risperidone(3-6 mg/d).The MATRICS consensus cognitive battery(MCCB) was used to evaluate the cognitive function of the patients, P50 index was measured by auditory paired condition-stimulus paradigm, and the efficacy was evaluated by positive and negative syndrome scale(PANSS) score reduction rate before and after 6 weeks of treatment.Healthy controls were assessed cognitive function only once with P50.SPSS 25.0 software was used for data processing. Perform statistical analysis using paired sample t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, independent sample t-test, Mann Whitney U test, χ2 test and generalized linear model. Results:Before treatment, the S2 amplitude of FES (1.74 (0.91, 2.79) μV) was higher than that of healthy controls (1.70 (1.04, 2.71) μV) (Wald χ2=4.483, P=0.034), the S2/S1 ratio of FES (0.58 (0.43, 0.78)) was higher than that of healthy controls (0.41 (0.31, 0.57)) (Wald χ2=10.909, P=0.001), and the difference of FES amplitude of S1-S2 was (1.22 (0.43, 1.92) μV) was lower than that of healthy controls (2.23 (1.54, 3.07) μV) (Wald χ2=17.679, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in PANSS, MCCB and P50 between olanzapine group and risperidone group before treatment (all P>0.05). After treatment, there was no significant difference in response rate between the two groups ( χ2=0.059, P=0.808), the PANSS scores were lower than those before treatment, the MCCB test results were higher than those before treatment (both P<0.05), and the P50 results were not statistically significant different compared with those before treatment (both P>0.05). The generalized linear model showed that the S1, S2 amplitude of the P50 had positive impact on the connection test score in the MCCB test ( β=0.466, P=0.020; β=0.879, P=0.009), other indicators were not found to have an impact on the test scores of the MCCB test (all P>0.05). Conclusion:Olanzapine and risperidone can significantly improve the cognitive function of FES, but the improvement of sensory gating deficits is limited. The pathogenic mechanism of sensory gating inhibitory deficits in FES may be different from that of cognitive dysfunction.
4.KAP Investigation and Influential Factor Analysis on the Risk of Medication Safety Among Pregnant and Lactating Women in Certain Areas of Hubei Province
Ying ZHANG ; Sijie HE ; Maoying XIA ; Shasha ZHANG ; Li WAN
Herald of Medicine 2025;44(2):341-348
Objective To investigate the knowledge,attitude,and practice(KAP)related to medication use among pregnant and lactating women in Hubei province,to comprehend the specific requirements of pregnant and lactating women for pharmaceutical assistance,to assess the critical stages in the process of medication,and to furnish factual backing for devising a secure medication education framework tailored to pregnant and lactating women.Methods Through a multi-center study design,with pregnant and lactating women as the research subjects,a questionnaire survey was carried out to gather fundamental information and assess their knowledge,attitude,and practices towards medication use.Data analysis involved utilizing one-way analysis of variance,non-parametric tests,and multiple linear regression.Results A total of 548 valid questionnaires were collected.The average scores for knowledge,practice and attitude among pregnant and lactating women were(58.26±30.68),(52.18±22.32),and(46.60±14.66)points,respectively.Overall,the scores for medication knowledge and behavior were good,while the attitude scores were passable.These results suggest that pregnant and lactating women have a certain level of understanding about safe medication practices and hold a positive attitude towards receiving medication education.However,there are still potential safety hazards in their daily medication behavior.The results of multiple linear regression indicate that age,educational level,and occupation are the main factors influencing the knowledge,attitude,and practice of medication use among pregnant and lactating women.Conclusions Pregnant and lactating women require urgent education on the safe use of medication.It is recommended that targeted drug education should be carried out based on the knowledgegaps and medication misconceptions of different objects.Additionally,it is crucial to effectively utilize new media platforms,such as WeChat official accounts and channels,and to engage in offline scientific outreach activities,such as offering free consultations and giving lectures on rational drug use.This will provide pregnant and lactating women with convenient and practical educational content on safe medication.
5.The Histone Methyltransferase EZH2 is Downregulated in the Terminal Differentiation of Cardiomyocytes
Wan-Yi ZHANG ; Wan-Lei ZHANG ; Yuan-Yuan LIU ; Ling-Er DING ; Qi-Kai TANG ; Zhen-Hang LI ; Hao-Ying YANG ; Tao LI
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(3):415-425
Enhancer of zeste homolog 2(EZH2)is a histone methyltransferase It mediates trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3,thereby facilitating the epigenetic silencing of downstream genes.In conjunc-tion with SUZ12,EED,and other components,it constitutes the polycomb repressive complex 2(PRC2)complex.While EZH2 is intricately involved in cellular proliferation and cardiac development,the chan-ges in its expression during cardiac terminal differentiation remain elusive.In this study,we employed differential gene expression analysis of embryonic and adult myocardial cells using the GEO database,and found that EZH2 is highly expressed in embryonic myocardium,but is present at very low levels in adult myocardium(P<0.0001).Conversely,the expression changes of PRC2 members SUZ12 and EED are not as pronounced.Online analysis through the Tabula Muris database indicates that under physiological conditions,various cell subpopulations in the adult mouse heart exhibit negligible expression of EZH2.Immunohistochemical staining of mouse cardiac tissues shows that EZH2 is highly expressed in embryonic and neonatal myocardium but declines progressively from the first day after birth(P<0.0001),becoming almost undetectable by the third day.Western blotting further confirms the rapid disappearance of EZH2 expression post-birth(P<0.05),with EZH1 compensating for the downregulation of EZH2 to maintain H3K27me3 modification levels.Additionally,using the P19 teratocarcinoma stem cell model for cardio-myocyte differentiation,it is observed that EZH2 is significantly upregulated during the transition from cardiac progenitor cells to spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes,correlating with the expression of the cardiomyocyte transcription factor Gata4(P<0.01).Targeted degradation of EZH2 using the small mole-cule drug MS1943 significantly inhibits the proliferation of induced cardiomyocytes,as evidenced by 5-e-thynyl-2'-deoxyuridine(EdU)incorporation assays(P<0.01),and RT-qPCR reveals a marked in-crease in the expression of the proliferation inhibitor CDKN1A(P<0.01).In summary,the high expres-sion of EZH2 in embryonic myocardial cells is associated with enhanced cell proliferation.The rapid loss of EZH2 expression postnatally correlates with the loss of proliferative capacity in cardiomyocytes,mark-ing it as a key indicator of cardiac terminal differentiation.
6.Effects of olanzapine and risperidone on sensory gating inhibitory deficits and cognitive impairment in first-episode schizophrenia
Jiawen HUO ; Junjiao PING ; Shuyi ZHENG ; Jing WAN ; Jie ZHANG ; Jianli ZHU ; Jiali LUO ; Ying ZHANG ; Rui LI ; Aoxiang LUO ; Tingyun JIANG
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 2025;34(5):438-444
Objective:To investigate the impact of olanzapine and risperidone on the cognitive function, sensory gating function and clinical symptoms of patients with first-episode schizophrenia(FES).Additionally, to analyze the correlation between sensory gating inhibitory deficits and cognitive impairment in FES patients.Methods:A total of 71 FES patients were selected in the Third People's Hospital of Zhongshan City from March 2023 to March 2024, and 60 healthy controls were recruited during the same period.The FES patients were divided into olanzapine group and risperidone group by random number table.Olanzapine group was treated with variable doses of olanzapine(10-20 mg/d), and risperidone group was treated with variable doses of risperidone(3-6 mg/d).The MATRICS consensus cognitive battery(MCCB) was used to evaluate the cognitive function of the patients, P50 index was measured by auditory paired condition-stimulus paradigm, and the efficacy was evaluated by positive and negative syndrome scale(PANSS) score reduction rate before and after 6 weeks of treatment.Healthy controls were assessed cognitive function only once with P50.SPSS 25.0 software was used for data processing. Perform statistical analysis using paired sample t-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, independent sample t-test, Mann Whitney U test, χ2 test and generalized linear model. Results:Before treatment, the S2 amplitude of FES (1.74 (0.91, 2.79) μV) was higher than that of healthy controls (1.70 (1.04, 2.71) μV) (Wald χ2=4.483, P=0.034), the S2/S1 ratio of FES (0.58 (0.43, 0.78)) was higher than that of healthy controls (0.41 (0.31, 0.57)) (Wald χ2=10.909, P=0.001), and the difference of FES amplitude of S1-S2 was (1.22 (0.43, 1.92) μV) was lower than that of healthy controls (2.23 (1.54, 3.07) μV) (Wald χ2=17.679, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in PANSS, MCCB and P50 between olanzapine group and risperidone group before treatment (all P>0.05). After treatment, there was no significant difference in response rate between the two groups ( χ2=0.059, P=0.808), the PANSS scores were lower than those before treatment, the MCCB test results were higher than those before treatment (both P<0.05), and the P50 results were not statistically significant different compared with those before treatment (both P>0.05). The generalized linear model showed that the S1, S2 amplitude of the P50 had positive impact on the connection test score in the MCCB test ( β=0.466, P=0.020; β=0.879, P=0.009), other indicators were not found to have an impact on the test scores of the MCCB test (all P>0.05). Conclusion:Olanzapine and risperidone can significantly improve the cognitive function of FES, but the improvement of sensory gating deficits is limited. The pathogenic mechanism of sensory gating inhibitory deficits in FES may be different from that of cognitive dysfunction.
7.TXNIP gene knockout ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by regulating carbon flux of fatty acid synthesis and fatty acid oxidation
Jun-nan ZHAO ; Ai-yun LI ; Wan-zhen SU ; Xiao-xiao YIN ; Tong LI ; Xiang-ying JIAO
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(8):1524-1530
Aim To investigate the effect of thioredox-in-interacting protein(TXNIP)on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).Methods Littermate male wild(WT)mice and TXNIP gene whole-body knock-out(KO)mice were randomly divided into two groups:(1)normal diet(ND)group,and(2)The high-fat group,which was fed a high-fat diet(HFD)containing 60%fat for 12 weeks.Serum lipid-related indexes,liver injury indicators and hepatic fat content were detected using commercial kits.The protein lev-els of TXNIP,SLC25A1,SLC13A5,ACLY,CPT1a and PPARα were detected by Western blot.The gene ex-pressions of SLC25A1,SLC13A5 and ACLY were de-tected by RT-PCR.Results High fat diet increased TXNIP protein expression in the liver tissue.Compared with WT-HFD mice,the biochemical indexes in the se-rum and the liver of KO-HFD mice were improved.There was no significant difference in mRNA and pro-tein levels of SLC25A1 between the four groups of mice.For SLC13A5 and ACLY,the mRNA and protein levels of WT-HFD mice were up-regulated compared with WT mice,and these alterations were significantly restored in KO-HFD mice.Besides,compared with WT mice,the protein expressions of the fatty acid oxidation-related protein PPARα and CPT1a proteins in WT-HFD mice decreased,while the protein expressions of PPARα and CPT1 a in KO-HFD mice were significantly enhanced.Conclusion TXNIP gene knockout can improve hepatic steatosis and delay the progression of NAFLD by inhibiting the carbon flux of fatty acid syn-thesis and promoting fatty acid oxidation.
8.Expert Consensus on the Ethical Requirements for Generative AI-Assisted Academic Writing
You-Quan BU ; Yong-Fu CAO ; Zeng-Yi CHANG ; Hong-Yu CHEN ; Xiao-Wei CHEN ; Yuan-Yuan CHEN ; Zhu-Cheng CHEN ; Rui DENG ; Jie DING ; Zhong-Kai FAN ; Guo-Quan GAO ; Xu GAO ; Lan HU ; Xiao-Qing HU ; Hong-Ti JIA ; Ying KONG ; En-Min LI ; Ling LI ; Yu-Hua LI ; Jun-Rong LIU ; Zhi-Qiang LIU ; Ya-Ping LUO ; Xue-Mei LV ; Yan-Xi PEI ; Xiao-Zhong PENG ; Qi-Qun TANG ; You WAN ; Yong WANG ; Ming-Xu WANG ; Xian WANG ; Guang-Kuan XIE ; Jun XIE ; Xiao-Hua YAN ; Mei YIN ; Zhong-Shan YU ; Chun-Yan ZHOU ; Rui-Fang ZHU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(6):826-832
With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence(GAI)technologies,their widespread application in academic research and writing is continuously expanding the boundaries of sci-entific inquiry.However,this trend has also raised a series of ethical and regulatory challenges,inclu-ding issues related to authorship,content authenticity,citation accuracy,and accountability.In light of the growing involvement of AI in generating academic content,establishing an open,controllable,and trustworthy ethical governance framework has become a key task for safeguarding research integrity and maintaining trust within the academic community.This expert consensus outlines ethical requirements across key stages of AI-assisted academic writing-including topic selection,data management,citation practices,and authorship attribution.It aims to clarify the boundaries and ethical obligations surrounding AI use in academic writing,ensuring that technological tools enhance efficiency without compromising in-tegrity.The goal is to provide guidance and institutional support for building a responsible and sustainable research ecosystem.
9.Identification and Potential Clinical Utility of Common Genetic Variants in Gestational Diabetes among Chinese Pregnant Women
Claudia Ha-ting TAM ; Ying WANG ; Chi Chiu WANG ; Lai Yuk YUEN ; Cadmon King-poo LIM ; Junhong LENG ; Ling WU ; Alex Chi-wai NG ; Yong HOU ; Kit Ying TSOI ; Hui WANG ; Risa OZAKI ; Albert Martin LI ; Qingqing WANG ; Juliana Chung-ngor CHAN ; Yan Chou YE ; Wing Hung TAM ; Xilin YANG ; Ronald Ching-wan MA
Diabetes & Metabolism Journal 2025;49(1):128-143
Background:
The genetic basis for hyperglycaemia in pregnancy remain unclear. This study aimed to uncover the genetic determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and investigate their applications.
Methods:
We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for GDM in Chinese women (464 cases and 1,217 controls), followed by de novo replications in an independent Chinese cohort (564 cases and 572 controls) and in silico replication in European (12,332 cases and 131,109 controls) and multi-ethnic populations (5,485 cases and 347,856 controls). A polygenic risk score (PRS) was derived based on the identified variants.
Results:
Using the genome-wide scan and candidate gene approaches, we identified four susceptibility loci for GDM. These included three previously reported loci for GDM and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at MTNR1B (rs7945617, odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.38 to 1.96]), CDKAL1 (rs7754840, OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.58), and INS-IGF2-KCNQ1 (rs2237897, OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.79), as well as a novel genome-wide significant locus near TBR1-SLC4A10 (rs117781972, OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.62; Pmeta=7.6×10-9), which has not been previously reported in GWAS for T2DM or glycaemic traits. Moreover, we found that women with a high PRS (top quintile) had over threefold (95% CI, 2.30 to 4.09; Pmeta=3.1×10-14) and 71% (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.71; P=0.0220) higher risk for GDM and abnormal glucose tolerance post-pregnancy, respectively, compared to other individuals.
Conclusion
Our results indicate that the genetic architecture of glucose metabolism exhibits both similarities and differences between the pregnant and non-pregnant states. Integrating genetic information can facilitate identification of pregnant women at a higher risk of developing GDM or later diabetes.
10.Identification and Potential Clinical Utility of Common Genetic Variants in Gestational Diabetes among Chinese Pregnant Women
Claudia Ha-ting TAM ; Ying WANG ; Chi Chiu WANG ; Lai Yuk YUEN ; Cadmon King-poo LIM ; Junhong LENG ; Ling WU ; Alex Chi-wai NG ; Yong HOU ; Kit Ying TSOI ; Hui WANG ; Risa OZAKI ; Albert Martin LI ; Qingqing WANG ; Juliana Chung-ngor CHAN ; Yan Chou YE ; Wing Hung TAM ; Xilin YANG ; Ronald Ching-wan MA
Diabetes & Metabolism Journal 2025;49(1):128-143
Background:
The genetic basis for hyperglycaemia in pregnancy remain unclear. This study aimed to uncover the genetic determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and investigate their applications.
Methods:
We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for GDM in Chinese women (464 cases and 1,217 controls), followed by de novo replications in an independent Chinese cohort (564 cases and 572 controls) and in silico replication in European (12,332 cases and 131,109 controls) and multi-ethnic populations (5,485 cases and 347,856 controls). A polygenic risk score (PRS) was derived based on the identified variants.
Results:
Using the genome-wide scan and candidate gene approaches, we identified four susceptibility loci for GDM. These included three previously reported loci for GDM and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at MTNR1B (rs7945617, odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.38 to 1.96]), CDKAL1 (rs7754840, OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.58), and INS-IGF2-KCNQ1 (rs2237897, OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.79), as well as a novel genome-wide significant locus near TBR1-SLC4A10 (rs117781972, OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.62; Pmeta=7.6×10-9), which has not been previously reported in GWAS for T2DM or glycaemic traits. Moreover, we found that women with a high PRS (top quintile) had over threefold (95% CI, 2.30 to 4.09; Pmeta=3.1×10-14) and 71% (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.71; P=0.0220) higher risk for GDM and abnormal glucose tolerance post-pregnancy, respectively, compared to other individuals.
Conclusion
Our results indicate that the genetic architecture of glucose metabolism exhibits both similarities and differences between the pregnant and non-pregnant states. Integrating genetic information can facilitate identification of pregnant women at a higher risk of developing GDM or later diabetes.

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