1.Reshaping “Cerebellar Inhibition”: Mechanistic Insights and Precision Medicine Perspectives for rTMS in Machado-Joseph Disease
Ya-Zhen HAN ; Jie ZHOU ; Yu-Chao CHEN ; Zhong-Ming GAO ; Xian-Wei CHE
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(2):505-510
Machado-Joseph disease, or spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), represents the most common autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia worldwide. Despite its progressive and debilitating nature, disease-modifying therapies remain elusive. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has emerged as a promising non-invasive intervention; however, its clinical application has been hindered by inconsistent protocols and a lack of mechanistic understanding. A recent landmark study published in Brain Stimulation by Chen et al. addressed these challenges by combining a high-dose intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) protocol with concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation-electroencephalography (TMS-EEG). This commentary provides an in-depth analysis of their findings, highlighting the restoration of cerebello-cortical inhibition (CBI) as a key therapeutic mechanism. Furthermore, we discuss the broader implications of this work, proposing that future translational research should integrate accelerated iTBS (aiTBS) paradigms, cortical response measurements (CRM), and individualized neuro-navigation to establish a new era of precision neuromodulation for ataxia.
2.Reshaping “Cerebellar Inhibition”: Mechanistic Insights and Precision Medicine Perspectives for rTMS in Machado-Joseph Disease
Ya-Zhen HAN ; Jie ZHOU ; Yu-Chao CHEN ; Zhong-Ming GAO ; Xian-Wei CHE
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(2):505-510
Machado-Joseph disease, or spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), represents the most common autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia worldwide. Despite its progressive and debilitating nature, disease-modifying therapies remain elusive. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has emerged as a promising non-invasive intervention; however, its clinical application has been hindered by inconsistent protocols and a lack of mechanistic understanding. A recent landmark study published in Brain Stimulation by Chen et al. addressed these challenges by combining a high-dose intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) protocol with concurrent transcranial magnetic stimulation-electroencephalography (TMS-EEG). This commentary provides an in-depth analysis of their findings, highlighting the restoration of cerebello-cortical inhibition (CBI) as a key therapeutic mechanism. Furthermore, we discuss the broader implications of this work, proposing that future translational research should integrate accelerated iTBS (aiTBS) paradigms, cortical response measurements (CRM), and individualized neuro-navigation to establish a new era of precision neuromodulation for ataxia.
3.Chinese expert consensus on emergent treatment of hypothermia(2025 edition)
Wei CHEN ; Lei HE ; Ming YIN ; Tao WAN ; You-Qing TANG ; Ai-Ping WANG ; Yang LI ; Wan-Xian YU
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2025;50(6):641-655
Hypothermia is a clinical syndrome characterized by core body temperature<35℃,caused by significant heat loss from body surface in cold environment.As a systemic cold injury,it can be lethal if treatment is delayed.Emergent diagnosis and treatment of hypothermia are expected to improve the prognosis of patients.In 2005,the U.S.Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine(USARIEM)issued guidelines for the prevention and management of cold injuries,but there has been no corresponding standard in China.Therefore,Emergency Branch of Chinese Medical Rescue Association,Emergency Medical Equipment Society of China Association of Medical Equipment,Integrated Rehabilitation Medical Branch of Chinese Medical Rescue Association,and Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Working Committee of Chinese Aging Well Association jointly developed the Chinese Expert Consensus on Emergent Treatment of Hypothermia(2025 edition).The consensus covers the pathophysiology,etiology and epidemiology,diagnosis and severity grading,prehospital treatment,and in-hospital treatment of hypothermia,including 15 recommendations in total,aiming to provide guidance for the relevant clinical rescue work.
4.Medication rules of Astragali Radix in ancient Chinese medical books based on "disease-medicine-dose" pattern.
Jia-Lei CAO ; Lü-Yuan LIANG ; Yi-Hang LIU ; Zi-Ming XU ; Xuan WANG ; Wen-Xi WEI ; He-Jia WAN ; Xing-Hang LYU ; Wei-Xiao LI ; Yu-Xin ZHANG ; Bing-Qi WEI ; Xian-Qing REN
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(3):798-811
This study employed the "disease-medicine-dose" pattern to mine the medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) prescriptions containing Astragali Radix in ancient Chinese medical books, aiming to provide a scientific basis for the clinical application of Astragali Radix and the development of new medicines. The TCM prescriptions containing Astragali Radix were retrieved from databases such as Chinese Medical Dictionary and imported into Excel 2020 to construct the prescription library. Statical analysis were performed for the prescriptions regarding the indications, syndromes, medicine use frequency, herb effects, nature and taste, meridian tropism, dosage forms, and dose. SPSS statistics 26.0 and IBM SPSS Modeler 18.0 were used for association rules analysis and cluster analysis. A total of 2 297 prescriptions containing Astragali Radix were collected, involving 233 indications, among which sore and ulcer, consumptive disease, sweating disorder, and apoplexy had high frequency(>25), and their syndromes were mainly Qi and blood deficiency, Qi and blood deficiency, Yin and Yang deficiency, and Qi deficiency and collateral obstruction, respectively. In the prescriptions, 98 medicines were used with the frequency >25 and they mainly included Qi-tonifying medicines and blood-tonifying medicines. Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium were frequently used. The medicines with high frequency mainly have warm or cold nature, and sweet, pungent, or bitter taste, with tropism to spleen, lung, heart, liver, and kidney meridians. In the treatment of sore and ulcer, Astragali Radix was mainly used with the dose of 3.73 g and combined with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma to promote granulation and heal up sores. In the treatment of consumptive disease, Astragali Radix was mainly used with the dose of 37.30 g and combined with Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma to tonify deficiency and replenish Qi. In the treatment of sweating disorder, Astragali Radix was mainly used with the dose of 3.73 g and combined with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma to consolidate exterior and stop sweating. In the treatment of apoplexy, Astragali Radix was mainly used with the dose of 7.46 g and combined with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma to dispell wind and stop convulsions. Astragali Radix can be used in the treatment of multiple system diseases, with the effects of tonifying Qi and ascending Yang, consolidating exterior and stopping sweating, and expressing toxin and promoting granulation. According to the manifestations of different diseases, when combined with other medicines, Astragali Radix was endowed with the effects of promoting granulation and healing up sores, tonifying deficiency and Qi, consolidating exterior and stopping sweating, and dispelling wind and replenishing Qi. The findings provide a theoretical reference and a scientific basis for the clinical application of Astragali Radix and the development of new medicines.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/history*
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Humans
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Medicine, Chinese Traditional/history*
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History, Ancient
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Astragalus Plant/chemistry*
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China
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Astragalus propinquus
5.Digital identification of Cervi Cornu Pantotrichum based on HPLC-QTOF-MS~E and Adaboost.
Xiao-Han GUO ; Xian-Rui WANG ; Yu ZHANG ; Ming-Hua LI ; Wen-Guang JING ; Xian-Long CHENG ; Feng WEI
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(5):1172-1178
Cervi Cornu Pantotrichum is a precious animal-derived Chinese medicinal material, while there are often adulterants derived from animals not specified in the Chinese Pharmacopeia in the market, which disturbs the safety of medication. This study was conducted with the aim of strengthening the quality control of Cervi Cornu Pantotrichum and standardizing the medication. To achieve digital identification of Cervi Cornu Pantotrichum from different sources, a digital identification model was constructed based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-QTOF-MS~E) combined with an adaptive boosting algorithm(Adaboost). The young furred antlers of sika deer, red deer, elk, and reindeer were processed and then subjected to polypeptide analysis by UHPLC-QTOF-MS~E. Then, the mass spectral data reflecting the polypeptide information were obtained by digital quantification. Next, the key data were obtained by feature screening based on Gini index, and the digital identification model was constructed by Adaboost. The model was evaluated based on the recall rate, F_1 composite score, and accuracy. Finally, the results of identification based on the constructed digital identification model were validated. The results showed that when the Gini index was used to screen the data of top 100 characteristic polypeptides, the digital identification model based on Adaboost had the best performance, with the recall rate, F_1 composite score, and accuracy not less than 0.953. The validation analysis showed that the accuracy of the identification of the 10 batches of samples was as high as 100.0%. Therefore, based on UHPLC-QTOF-MS~E and Adaboost algorithm, the digital identification of Cervi Cornu Pantotrichum can be realized efficiently and accurately, which can provide reference for the quality control and original animal identification of Cervi Cornu Pantotrichum.
Animals
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Algorithms
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Antlers/chemistry*
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Boosting Machine Learning Algorithms
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Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods*
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Deer
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry*
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Mass Spectrometry/methods*
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Quality Control
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Reindeer
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Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods*
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Tissue Extracts/analysis*
6.Expression of VCAN and THBS2 proteins and their relationship with cancer-asso-ciated fibroblasts in papillary thyroid carcinoma
Yintong WU ; Yan FANG ; Wei PENG ; Shujing WANG ; Shan HUANG ; Xian WANG ; Hongzhen YU ; Qiang WU
Chinese Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology 2025;41(1):60-69
Purpose To investigate the expression of Versican(VCAN)and thrombospondin 2(THBS2)and their relationship with cancer-associated fibroblast(CAFs)and clinicopathological significance in papillary thyroid car-cinoma(PTC).Methods Bioinformatics analyses were performed using PTC single-cell sequencing data from the GEO and TCGA database.Weighted correlation network analysis identified CAFs-related genes,and enrichment analy-sis highlighted pivotal genes associated with CAFs;the expression of VCAN,THBS2,and α-SMA in 130 PTC tissue samples were detected by immunohistochemistry EnVision method.Masson staining evaluated tumor stromal fibrosis.Relationships between these markers,clinicopathological parameters,and CAF proliferation were analyzed.Results Bioinformatics analysis identified VCAN and THBS2 as core genes significantly associated with CAFs,and extracellular matrix-related pathways.The proliferation rate of CAFs in PTC was 83.1%(108/130),with positivity rate of 96.9%(126/130)for VCAN and 75.4%(98/130)for THBS2.The median mesenchymal fibrosis index was 32.4(inter-quartile range:22.7-50.0).High CAF proliferation correlated positively with lymph node metastasis(P<0.001),higher TNM stage(P<0.05),and specific histologic subtypes of PTC.Similarly,VCAN expression,THBS2 expres-sion,and the degree of PTC stromal fibrosis were positively correlated with lymph node metastasis(P<0.001,P<0.05,and P<0.001,respectively).Both THBS2 expression and the degree of PTC stromal fibrosis correlated with the histologic subtype of PTC.The percentage of tumor mesenchymal α-SMA-positive cells strongly correlated with the im-mune response score(IRS)of VCAN and THBS2(rs=0.713,P<0.001;rs=0.646,P<0.001).Additionally,the percentage of Masson-stained area was positively correlated with the percentage of tumor mesenchymal α-SMA-posi-tive cells,and the IRS of VCAN and THBS2(rs=0.892,P<0.001;rs=0.729,P<0.001;rs=0.616,P<0.001).Conclusion VCAN and THBS2 serve as potential markers for assessing invasiveness and lymph node metas-tasis of PTC.Their strong association with CAFs provides a basis for further investigation of the malignant biological be-havior of PTC.
7.Convolutional neural network-based diagnosis of the relationship between mandibular third molar and mandibular nerve canal
Jinping ZHANG ; Xian YU ; Yiming CHEN ; Zehui WANG ; Yu TAO ; Yi WEI ; Birong LI ; Bingzhen ZHU ; Juan ZHANG
STOMATOLOGY 2025;45(8):596-602
Objective To develop an automated system that can accurately determine the relationship between the mandibular third molar and the mandibular nerve canal from panoramic images.Methods A dataset consisting of 600 panoramic images of the oral cavi-ty was selected,and the positions of the mandibular third molar and the mandibular nerve canal were accurately labeled.We compared the research designed TI-YOLOv5 with PANet,Faster R-CNN,Mask R-CNN,ResNeSt-101,and the original YOLOv5 in image seg-mentation tasks,with evaluation metrics of AP and AP50.Results TI-YOLOv5 achieved AP(average precision)54.0%and AP5094.9%,an increase of 4.9 and 6.7 percentage points respectively compared to the original YOLOv5(AP 49.1%,AP50 88.2%),and surpassed other SOTA methods such as Mask R-CNN(AP 45.1%,AP50 84.2%).Conclusion TI-YOLOv5 is significantly superior to mainstream networks in automatic positioning and relationship classification of mandibular wisdom teeth and neural tubes,with high de-tection accuracy and discrimination accuracy,and can provide reliable technical support for preoperative risk assessment of mandibular wisdom tooth extraction.
8.Role of GLUT1-dependent glycolysis in attenuation of oxygen-glucose deprivation-reoxygenation injury by dexmedetomidine in HK-2 cells
Wei DING ; Wen-hui TAO ; Yu-le WU ; Jian-xiao WU ; Jing-yi GUO ; Li-fang XIE ; Bing-qian FAN ; Xue-song GU ; Yang LI ; Xian-wen HU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(3):444-450
Aim To evaluate the role of the glucose transporter protein 1(GLUT1)-dependent glycolytic in the attenuation of oxygen-glucose deprivation-reoxygen-ation(OGD/R)injury in HK-2 cells by dexmedetomi-dine(Dex).Methods C57/BL6 mice were random-ly divided into three groups(n=6),namely,sham operation group(Sham group),renal ischemia reper-fusion group(I/R group)and Dex group(I/R+Dex group).Serum creatinine(Cr)and urea nitrogen(BUN)were measured,while the levels of key glyco-lytic enzymes HK2,PFKFB3 and GLUT1 were meas-ured.HK-2 cells were cultured and randomised into seven groups(n=6),which was treated with OGD/R,overexpression or interference with GLUT1,Dex and glycolysis inhibitor 2-DG.CCK-8 and LDH activi-ty were used to detect cellular damage.Glycolysis lev-els were detected by lactate and ECAR.The inflamma-tory level was reflected by qRT-PCR for IL-6 and TNF-α.qRT-PCR and Western blot were performed to de-tect the levels of GLUT1,HK2,and PFKFB3.Results Dex significantly ameliorated kidney injury and HK-2 cell injury(P<0.05).Dex inhibited the OGD/R-induced rise in lactate and extracellular acidification rate(ECAR),as evidenced by suppression of the ex-pression of GLUT1,HK2 and PFKFB3(P<0.05).In vitro experiments showed that GLUT1 knockdown sig-nificantly improved OGD/R-induced cellular damage.Lactate,ECAR,glycolysis-related mRNAs and pro-teins were inhibited by GLUT1 knockdown(P<0.05).Significantly,there were no significant differ-ences in above indexes after Dex treatment based on GLUT1 knockdown.Overexpression of GLUT1 abroga-ted the protective effects of Dex,while reversing the inhibitory effects of Dex on the expression of GLUT1,HK2,and PFKFB3(P<0.05).Conclusions Dexmedetomidine attenuates OGD/R induced injury in HK-2 cells by inhibiting GLUT1-dependent glycolysis.
9.A Novel Mouse Model Unveils Protein Deficiency in Truncated CDKL5 Mutations.
Xue FENG ; Zi-Ai ZHU ; Hong-Tao WANG ; Hui-Wen ZHOU ; Ji-Wei LIU ; Ya SHEN ; Yu-Xian ZHANG ; Zhi-Qi XIONG
Neuroscience Bulletin 2025;41(5):805-820
Mutations in the cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 gene (CDKL5) cause a severe neurodevelopmental disorder, yet the impact of truncating mutations remains unclear. Here, we introduce the Cdkl5492stop mouse model, mimicking C-terminal truncating mutations in patients. 492stop/Y mice exhibit altered dendritic spine morphology and spontaneous seizure-like behaviors, alongside other behavioral deficits. After creating cell lines with various Cdkl5 truncating mutations, we found that these mutations are regulated by the nonsense-mediated RNA decay pathway. Most truncating mutations result in CDKL5 protein loss, leading to multiple disease phenotypes, and offering new insights into the pathogenesis of CDKL5 disorder.
Animals
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Disease Models, Animal
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Mice
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Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/deficiency*
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Mutation/genetics*
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Epileptic Syndromes/genetics*
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Humans
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Dendritic Spines/pathology*
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Spasms, Infantile/genetics*
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Male
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Seizures/genetics*
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
10.Phenotypic Function of Legionella pneumophila Type I-F CRISPR-Cas.
Ting MO ; Hong Yu REN ; Xian Xian ZHANG ; Yun Wei LU ; Zhong Qiu TENG ; Xue ZHANG ; Lu Peng DAI ; Ling HOU ; Na ZHAO ; Jia HE ; Tian QIN
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(9):1105-1119
OBJECTIVE:
CRISPR-Cas protects bacteria from exogenous DNA invasion and is associated with bacterial biofilm formation and pathogenicity.
METHODS:
We analyzed the type I-F CRISPR-Cas system of Legionella pneumophila WX48, including Cas1, Cas2-Cas3, Csy1, Csy2, Csy3, and Cas6f, along with downstream CRISPR arrays. We explored the effects of the CRISPR-Cas system on the in vitro growth, biofilm-forming ability, and pathogenicity of L. pneumophila through constructing gene deletion mutants.
RESULTS:
The type I-F CRISPR-Cas system did not affect the in vitro growth of wild-type or mutant strains. The biofilm formation and intracellular proliferation of the mutant strains were weaker than those of the wild type owing to the regulation of type IV pili and Dot/Icm type IV secretion systems. In particular, Cas6f deletion strongly inhibited these processes.
CONCLUSION
The type I-F CRISPR-Cas system may reduce biofilm formation and intracellular proliferation in L. pneumophila.
Legionella pneumophila/pathogenicity*
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CRISPR-Cas Systems
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Biofilms/growth & development*
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Phenotype
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Bacterial Proteins/metabolism*
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Gene Deletion

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