1.Elevated SLC3A2 Expression Promotes the Progression of Gliomas and Enhances Ferroptosis Resistance through the AKT/NRF2/GPX4 Axis
Yuqian ZHENG ; Shaolong ZHOU ; Yiran TAO ; Zimin SHI ; Xiang LI ; Xudong FU ; Jian MA ; Weihua HU ; Wulong LIANG ; Xinjun WANG
Cancer Research and Treatment 2026;58(1):71-94
Purpose:
The aim of this study is to determine the impact of solute carrier family 3 member 2 (SLC3A2) on the malignant phenotype of gliomas and its role in regulating ferroptosis sensitivity.
Materials and Methods:
The malignant phenotype of glioma was assessed by cell proliferation assay, colony formation assay, EdU assay, wound healing, and Transwell experiments. We further validated the impact of reduced SLC3A2 expression on the sensitivity to ferroptosis in glioma cells through Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, flow cytometry, western blotting, and transmission electron microscopy. Western blot was used to explore how SLC3A2 affects glioma sensitivity to ferroptosis through the AKT/NF-E2-related factor 2 (NRF2)/glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) axis. By establishing a subcutaneous xenograft tumor model in BALB/c-nude mice, we investigated the growth of tumors following the knockout of SLC3A2 in glioma cells.
Results:
Downregulation of SLC3A2 suppressed the malignant phenotype of glioma by blocking the cell cycle and epithelial-mesenchymal transition processes. On the other hand, loss of SLC3A2 not only downregulated SLC7A11 but also prevented the activation of the AKT/NRF2/GPX4 axis. These lead to increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides, ultimately enhancing the susceptibility of glioma to ferroptosis.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that SLC3A2 is an oncogene in gliomas, promoting their occurrence and development. It plays a critical role in ferroptosis resistance through the AKT/NRF2/GPX4 axis.
2.Material Basis of Entada phaseoloides Against Neuropathic Pain Based on in vitro Chemical Profiling and in vivo Absorbed Constituents
Sensen LI ; Hanxue WU ; Yuanbin LI ; Limin ZHAO ; Xiaohui SU ; Hui XIONG ; Weihua MA ; Chao WANG ; Zhaochen MA ; Na LIN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(18):88-97
ObjectiveTo systematically characterize the in vitro chemical constituents of Entada phaseoloides and its absorbed prototype compounds and metabolites in a neuropathic pain (NP) model, thereby elucidating the potential pharmacological material basis underlying its analgesic activity. MethodsUltra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) was used to analyze the constituents of the 80% methanol extract of E. phaseoloides. Thirty-six mice were divided into a blank group, low-, medium-, and high-dose E. phaseoloides extract groups (25, 50, and 100 mg·kg-1, respectively), an aspirin group (400 mg·kg-1), and a morphine group (10 mg·kg-1), with six mice in each group. The tail-flick threshold was measured. Twenty-four mice were randomly divided into a blank group and low-, medium-, and high-dose E. phaseoloides extract groups (25, 50, and 100 mg·kg-1, respectively), with six mice in each group, and motor coordination was evaluated. A spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model was established in mice. Twenty-four mice were randomly divided into a sham-operated (Sham) group, an SNL group, an SNL + E. phaseoloides extract group (750 mg·kg-1), and an SNL + pregabalin group (20 mg·kg-1), with 6 mice in each group. Mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia were evaluated. Behavioral assessments were combined to determine the optimal onset time of the analgesic effect, and plasma samples were collected at this time point. Absorbed components and metabolites were systematically identified based on accurate mass, MS/MS fragmentation patterns, retention time, and comparisons with literature data and reference standards. Meanwhile, network pharmacology, target similarity analysis, and molecular docking validation were integrated to evaluate the potential effects of absorbed components on disease intervention. ResultsCompared with the blank group, the high-dose E. phaseoloides extract group and morphine group showed significantly increased pain response thresholds (P<0.01), without affecting motor coordination in normal mice. Compared with the Sham group, the SNL group exhibited significantly decreased thresholds for mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia (P<0.01). Compared with the SNL group, the SNL + E. phaseoloides extract group and SNL + pregabalin group showed significantly increased thresholds for mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia (P<0.01). The analgesic effect of E. phaseoloides was most significant at 2 h after administration. A total of 70 constituents were identified in vitro, and 22 prototype compounds and 29 metabolites were detected in plasma. The targets of the absorbed components were mainly enriched in biological processes associated with pain signal perception and transmission and showed a high degree of overlap with disease genes related to neuropathic pain. In addition, multiple components exhibited strong binding energies with core pain-related targets. Based on integrated analysis of in vitro content, plasma exposure levels, and target associations, ketanthamide A-β-D-pyranoside and ketengzide were identified as the most representative pharmacologically active substances responsible for the analgesic effect. ConclusionThis study systematically elucidates the material basis of E. phaseoloides intervention in neuropathic pain from three aspects, including chemical constituent characteristics, in vivo behavioral characteristics, and potential targets, providing important theoretical foundations and experimental support for further studies on its pharmacological mechanism and analgesic drug development.
3.Lanosterol Synthase Deficiency in Photoreceptor Leads to Age-related Retinal Degeneration via Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Oxidative Stress
Haohan YANG ; Shuxi LUO ; Haiqi CHEN ; Weihua LI ; Ling ZHAO
Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Medical Sciences) 2026;47(4):656-669
ObjectiveTo investigate whether photoreceptor-specific knockout of lanosterol synthase (Lss) induces age-related retinal degeneration and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. MethodsPhotoreceptor-specific Lss knockout mice (Lssflox/flox; Rho-Cre, CKO) models were established. Retinal structure and function were assessed at 1, 4, and 8 months of age using fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), scotopic electroretinogram (ERG) and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The mouse photoreceptor cell line 661W served as an in vitro model. Lss was knocked down via siRNA, followed by analyses including Seahorse XF mitochondrial stress test, JC-1, MitoSOX Red and DCFH-DA probes to evaluate mitochondrial function and oxidative stress, glycolytic rate assay for glycolysis ability, RT-qPCR for inflammatory factors, γH2AX immunofluorescence for double-strand DNA damage detection, and transcriptome sequencing to identify differentially expressed genes and enriched pathways. ResultsCompared with controls, 1-month-old CKO mice showed no abnormalities. Mild fundus lesions appeared at 4 months. By 8 months, CKO mice exhibited significant thinning of the outer nuclear layer, disorganization of the inner/outer segment structure, and markedly reduced amplitudes of the dark-adapted ERG a- and b-waves (P<0.05). Transcriptome analysis revealed 1 842 differentially expressed genes (826 up-regulated, 1 016 down-regulated), with Lss being the most significantly downregulated gene; these genes significantly enriched in sterol biosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, aerobic electron transport chain, and ATP synthesis (P<0.05). In 661W cells, knockdown of Lss significantly reduced mitochondrial basal respiration (P=0.006), ATP production (P=0.015), maximal respiration (P<0.001), and spare respiratory capacity (P<0.001), while basal glycolysis (P=0.005) and compensatory glycolysis (P=0.028) were increased. These changes were accompanied by mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization (P<0.001), elevated mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels (P<0.001), and increased total ROS levels (P=0.013). Additionally, the mRNA expression of inflammatory factors, including Ccl2 (P=0.004), Ccl5 (P=0.012), Cxcl1 (P<0.001), Cxcl5 (P<0.000 1), Tgfb (P=0.008), Hgf (P<0.000 1) and Mmp3 (P=0.003) was significantly upregulated. Moreover, γH2AX fluorescence intensity was increased (P=0.002). ConclusionsPhotoreceptor-specific Lss deficiency induces mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and cellular inflammation, ultimately leading to age-dependent retinal degeneration. This study provides novel mechanistic insights and potential therapeutic targets for hereditary and age-related retinal degenerative diseases.
4.KG-CNNDTI: a knowledge graph-enhanced prediction model for drug-target interactions and application in virtual screening of natural products against Alzheimer's disease.
Chengyuan YUE ; Baiyu CHEN ; Long CHEN ; Le XIONG ; Changda GONG ; Ze WANG ; Guixia LIU ; Weihua LI ; Rui WANG ; Yun TANG
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2025;23(11):1283-1292
Accurate prediction of drug-target interactions (DTIs) plays a pivotal role in drug discovery, facilitating optimization of lead compounds, drug repurposing and elucidation of drug side effects. However, traditional DTI prediction methods are often limited by incomplete biological data and insufficient representation of protein features. In this study, we proposed KG-CNNDTI, a novel knowledge graph-enhanced framework for DTI prediction, which integrates heterogeneous biological information to improve model generalizability and predictive performance. The proposed model utilized protein embeddings derived from a biomedical knowledge graph via the Node2Vec algorithm, which were further enriched with contextualized sequence representations obtained from ProteinBERT. For compound representation, multiple molecular fingerprint schemes alongside the Uni-Mol pre-trained model were evaluated. The fused representations served as inputs to both classical machine learning models and a convolutional neural network-based predictor. Experimental evaluations across benchmark datasets demonstrated that KG-CNNDTI achieved superior performance compared to state-of-the-art methods, particularly in terms of Precision, Recall, F1-Score and area under the precision-recall curve (AUPR). Ablation analysis highlighted the substantial contribution of knowledge graph-derived features. Moreover, KG-CNNDTI was employed for virtual screening of natural products against Alzheimer's disease, resulting in 40 candidate compounds. 5 were supported by literature evidence, among which 3 were further validated in vitro assays.
Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy*
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Biological Products/therapeutic use*
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Humans
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Neural Networks, Computer
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Machine Learning
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Drug Discovery/methods*
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Algorithms
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Drug Evaluation, Preclinical/methods*
5.Active monitoring and analysis of hypoglycemia in hospitalized diabetic patients
Lu LIN ; Luchuan ZHAN ; Shuting ZHANG ; Yongjie LI ; Xiaojuan ZHANG ; Laiyou WANG ; Weihua LAI
Chongqing Medicine 2025;54(8):1870-1876,1882
Objective To explore the active monitoring strategies for hypoglycemia in hospitalized dia-betic patients,as well as their clinical symptom characteristics and influencing factors.Methods A retrospec-tive search was conducted on all inpatients in a tertiary hospital in 2023.The hospital's electronic medical re-cord system was manually retrieved through the inpatient numbers of the patients.Adult inpatients with dia-betes who experienced hypoglycemia were included as the research subjects,and the general conditions and possible hypoglycemia-related risk factors were collected.Embed the hypoglycemic electronic trigger program in China Hospital Pharmacovigilance System(CHPS),reviewed the original medical records of patients with positive trigger triggering,and calculated the positive predictive value(PPV).Searched for the number of hy-poglycemic adverse reaction cases voluntarily reported by this hospital during the same period from National Adverse Reaction Monitoring System and compared with the actual number of hypoglycemic cases discovered.Patients with suspected drug-induced hypoglycemia were divided into the symptomatic group and the asymp-tomatic group based on whether they presented hypoglycemia-related symptoms.Multivariate logistic regres-sion analysis was applied to analyze the influencing factors.Results A total of 1 001 adult hospitalized diabet-ic patients with hypoglycemia were included in the study.Among them,725 cases were suspected of drug-in-duced hypoglycemia,and 495 cases were suspected of hypoglycemia caused by drug interactions.After manual review,131 cases of drug-induced hypoglycemia patients had clinical symptoms,and hypoglycemic adverse re-action events should be reported,PPV of this trigger for symptomatic hypoglycemia was 18.1%(131/725).However,the number of hypoglycemic adverse reactions spontaneously reported through National Adverse Reaction Monitoring System by this hospital during the same period was 4 cases,and the reporting rate was only 3.1%(4/131).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that aging and grade 2 hypoglycemia were risk factors for the occurrence of related symptoms in patients with suspected drug-induced hypoglycemia(P<0.05),while surgery,type 2 glucosuria,unclassified diabetes,and the use of insulin secretagogues were protective factors(P<0.05).Conclusion Drug-induced hypoglycemia dominates among hospitalized diabetic patients,and age,hypoglycemia grade,inpatient department using insulin secretagogues,diabetes diagnosis and classification are closely related to the occurrence of clinical hypoglycemia-related symptoms.Active monito-ring through CHPS can effectively increase the detection rate and reporting rate of hypoglycemic adverse e-vents in hospitalized diabetic patients.
6.Effect of different leukocyte filters on filtration of erythrocyte suspensions
Heshan TANG ; Yan ZANG ; Zhanshan ZHA ; Weihua HUANG ; Jinqi LI ; Baohua QIAN ; Fei GUO
Journal of Navy Medicine 2025;46(9):911-917
Objective To compare the filtration effects of different models of leukocyte filters on erythrocyte suspensions,so as to provide a reference for the selection of leukocyte filters in clinic.Methods The erythrocyte suspensions prepared by Department of Blood Transfusion of The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University were used for filtration.The test was categorized into three groups based on the model of leukocyte filters,namely,AKTT-type(group Ⅰ),STTB-type(group Ⅱ),and STTA-type(groupⅢ).Each group was randomly assigned 8 bags of erythrocyte suspensions(specification 2U)with hematocrit≤55%and 10 bags of erythrocyte suspensions(specification 2U)with hematocrit>55%,and leukapheresis was applied.The quality indexes of the blood were detected before and after filtration,and the experimental data were comprehensively analyzed to evaluate the leukocyte filtration effect of various filters.Results When the hematocrit of the filtered erythrocyte suspensions was≤55%,there were significant differences in the platelet count after filtration(F=49.94,P<0.001)and filtration time(F=73.45,P<0.001)between groups,and the two indexes in group Ⅰ were superior to those in groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ.When the hematocrit of the filtered erythrocyte suspensions was>55%,there were significant differences in the platelet count after filtration(F=160.69,P<0.000 1),filtration time(F=366.09,P<0.000 1),residual leukocytes(F=4.28,P<0.05),and hemolytic rate(F=8.16,P<0.01)between groups.The platelet count after filtration and filtration time in group I were superior to those in group II and III.The indexes of residual leukocyte and hemolytic rate in groups I and II were superior to those in group III.Conclusion In order to ensure the safety and effectiveness of erythrocyte suspension transfusion,AKTT-type filter can be chosen to perform leukocyte filtration,which can further lower the blood transfusion complications.
7.Nafamostat Mesylate Alleviates Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in a Rat Model Through HMGB1 Modulation:An Omics Analysis-Based Study of the Protective Effect and the Mechanisms Involved
Yuxuan WU ; Hongqian LI ; Linfeng LIU ; Yu WANG ; Bo CHEN ; Jiang LIU ; Jianhua QIN ; Santao OU ; Weihua WU
Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences) 2025;56(1):175-182
Objective To investigate the organ protective role and the underlying mechanism of nafamostat mesylate(NM)in a renal ischemia-reperfusion injury(RIRI)model.Methods A total of 21 healthy male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly assigned to 3 groups(n=7 in each group),including the sham operation group(Sham group),the RIRI group,and the NM intervention group(NM group).The RIRI and NM groups underwent ischemia-reperfusion injury(IRI)modeling.The NM group was given an intraperitoneal injection of NM at 0.75 mg/kg before modeling.Venous blood and renal tissue samples were then collected from the rats 24 hours after modeling.The levels of serum creatinine,cystatin C,and serum inflammatory factors were determined using the serum samples.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining and TUNEL stainings were performed on the renal tissues to evaluate the damage of the renal tissues.The localization and expression of HMGB1 were analyzed by immunofluorescence and Western blotting,respectively.Single-cell RNA sequencing of the nuclei was performed to obtain the single-cell transcriptome of the kidneys from the rats in the RIRI and the NM groups and to acquire the RIRI cell profile.The cells were annotated according to the cell marker genes to explore the cell type composition in the disease model and the functional status of immune cells between the groups.Results 1)Compared with those of the Sham group,the levels of cystatin C,creatinine,and inflammatory factors in the RIRI and NM groups were significantly increased,and the expression levels in the NM group were lower than those in the RIRI group(P<0.05).Compared with those of the RIRI group,the tubular injury score and apoptosis rate in the NM group were significantly decreased(P<0.05),but those of both the NM and RIRI groups were higher than those of the sham group.Compared with that in the RIRI group,the expression of HMGB1 in the NM group was significantly decreased(P<0.05),but the expression levels in both the RIRI and NM groups were higher than that in the sham group.Immunofluorescence showed that there was increased cytoplasmic expression of HMGB1 in both the NM and RIRI groups,with the increase being more prominent in the RIRI group.2)A total of 13 major cell populations were identified through the single-nucleus sequencing results.The proportion of tubular cells in the NM group was higher,with the HMGB1 gene being highly expressed in the damaged proximal convoluted tubular cells.The proportion of the polarized Macro3 cell subpopulation in the macrophages in the NM group was lower compared to that in the RIRI group.Conclusion NM may play a protective role in a rat model of RIRI,and its underlying mechanisms may be related to the regulation of the functional abnormalities of HMGB1-mediated macrophages.
8.Investigation and Analysis of Deacclimatization in Tibetan College Students Upon First Visit to Low-Altitude Regions
Weihua ZHANG ; Kezhen HAN ; Li SHAO ; Chao YANG ; Kexin ZHAO ; Zhao JIANG
Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences) 2025;56(1):254-261
Objective To investigate the correlation between changes in physiological indicators and altitude,age,and sex among ethnic Tibetan college students living in Xizang on long-term basis upon their first ever visit to a low-altitude region,thereby providing health guidance for long-term residents of high-altitude regions when they visit low-altitude environments for the first time.Methods A cluster random sampling method was used to select 170 healthy first-year college students of Tibetan ethnicity(85 males and 85 females),from Xizang Minzu University.The participants did not have any respiratory,circulatory,or nervous system diseases,nor any family history of such conditions.Based on their responses to questionnaires and the monitoring data of their physiological indicators,an analysis was conducted to assess the incidence and duration of deacclimatization symptoms among these Tibetan college students during the first month after their arrival at a low-altitude region.In addition,the R programming language and the SPSS software were used to analyze the correlation between changes in blood pressure,heart rate,and body weight and the participants'age,sex,and the altitude of their long-term residence in Xizang before and after their arrival at a low-altitude region.Results Statistical analysis revealed that Tibetan college students experienced deacclimatization symptoms within the first week of their first ever visit to a low-altitude region,primarily characterized by dizziness,fatigue,and drowsiness.The incidence was 41.9%among female students and 22.5%among male students.Furthermore,after arriving at low-altitude region,the participants experience an initial decrease followed by a recovery in both blood pressure and heart rate.They gained an average of 1.5 kg in body mass compared with their initial measurements upon arrival in a low-altitude region.Significant differences in blood pressure,heart rate,and body mass were observed among Tibetan students of different sexes and altitudes of their long-term residence in Xizang after their arrival in a low-altitude region.Conclusion After arriving at a low-altitude region,Tibetan college students exhibit marked changes in physiological indicators,showing strong correlations between systolic blood pressure,body mass,etc.,and sex,altitude,and other parameters.
9.Effect of different culture time on immunomembrane proteins of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and their exosomes.
Shumin LUO ; Fang XU ; Pengpeng LU ; Yiyue WANG ; Chuanyun LI ; Weihua LI
Chinese Journal of Cellular and Molecular Immunology 2025;41(11):971-977
Objective To investigate how culture duration affects the expression of immune membrane proteins in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) and their exosomes (DEXs). Methods Human monocytes were induced with recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin 4 (IL-4) to differentiate into DCs and were subsequently matured with tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α). Exosomes were isolated by ultracentrifugation, and DEXs were identified by transmission electron microscopy and Amnis imaging flow cytometry, which were also used to quantify the expression of immune membrane proteins on DCs and DEXs. Results On the 10th day of culture, DCs displayed high surface expression of CD11c, CD80, CD86, major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I), and MHC-II. Expression peaked at day 18(CD11c: 78.66%±20.33%, CD80: 76.41%±10.02%, CD86: 96.43%±0.43%, MHC-I: 84.71%±2.96%, MHC-II: 80.01%±7.03%). After day 24, the overall expression showed a declining trend, with statistically significant differences observed for all markers except CD80 and MHC-II. By day 30, 80% of the DCs still expressed CD80, CD86, and MHC-II. The expression of immune membrane proteins on DEX surfaces also reached its peak on day 18, followed by an overall decline with prolonged culture time, with statistically significant differences observed for all markers except CD80. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between the expression levels of immune membrane proteins on DC and DEX surfaces (CD11c: r=0.98; CD80: r=0.65; CD86: r=0.82; MHC-I: r=0.86; MHC-II: r=0.93). Conclusion Human monocyte-derived DCs in vitro express high expression of immune membrane proteins and maintain stable expression over a specific period. The exosomes secreted by these cells similarly demonstrate high surface expression of immune membrane proteins, with temporal trends aligned with those of the parent DCs.
Humans
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Dendritic Cells/immunology*
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Exosomes/immunology*
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Monocytes/metabolism*
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Cells, Cultured
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Time Factors
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B7-1 Antigen/metabolism*
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Membrane Proteins/immunology*
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Cell Culture Techniques/methods*
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B7-2 Antigen/metabolism*
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Cell Differentiation
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CD11c Antigen/metabolism*
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Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor/pharmacology*
10.Research progress in the regulation of allergic rhinitis pathogenesis by the NRF2 pathway.
Qiqi LI ; Yunfang AN ; Tingting LI ; Jianjun ZHOU ; Weihua WANG
Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery 2025;39(8):775-780
In recent years,with the increase in environmental pollution,organisms are exposed to more internal and external oxidative stress factors than ever before.Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2,NRF2),as a core transcription factor in response to oxidative stress,maintains cellular redox homeostasis by inducing the expression of various antioxidant factors.The nasal cavity,as the "gateway" of the respiratory tract,is often accompanied by oxidative stress(oxidative stress,OS)damage,leading to the occurrence of allergic rhinitis(allergic rhinitis,AR).Recent studies have revealed some associations between the NRF2 signaling pathway and the mechanism of AR development.Activation of NRF2 provides a potential protective effect against AR,and some natural NRF2 activators have shown therapeutic potential in clinical experiments.Therefore,this article briefly reviews the relationship between NRF2 and AR,aiming to provide a new therapeutic target and perspective for the treatment of AR.
NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism*
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Humans
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Rhinitis, Allergic/metabolism*
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Signal Transduction
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Oxidative Stress

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