Salvia miltiorrhiza is a perennial herb of the genus Salvia(Lamiaceae). As one of the earliest medicinal plants to undergo molecular biology research, it has gradually become a model plant for molecular biology of medicinal plants. With the gradual analysis of the genome of S. miltiorrhiza and the biosynthetic pathways of its main active components tanshinone and salvianolic acids, the transcriptional regulation mediated by transcription factors and related regulatory proteins has gradually become a new research focus. Due to the lack of scientific and unified naming of transcription factors and different research indexes in different literature, this paper systematically sorted out the transcription factors in different literature with the genomes of DSS3 from selfing for three generations and bh2-7 from selfing for six generations as reference. In total, 73 transcription factors and related regulatory proteins belonging to 13 gene families were identified. The effects of overexpression or gene silencing experiments on tanshinone and salvianolic acids were also analyzed. This study unified the identified transcription factors, which laid a foundation for further constructing the regulatory networks of secondary metabolites and insect or stress resistance and improving the quality of medicinal materials by using global transcriptional regulation engineering.
Salvia miltiorrhiza/chemistry* ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Abietanes/metabolism*

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between changes in intestinal toxicity and compositional alterations of Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix(commonly known as Langdu) before and after milk processing, and to explore the detoxification mechanism of milk processing. Mice were intragastrically administered the 95% ethanol extract of raw Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix, milk-decocted(milk-processed), and water-decocted(water-processed) Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix. Fecal morphology, fecal water content, and the release levels of inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-1β(IL-1β) in different intestinal segments were used as indicators to evaluate the effects of different processing methods on the cathartic effect and intestinal inflammatory toxicity of Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix. LC-MS/MS was employed to analyze the small-molecule components in the raw product, the 95% ethanol extract of the milk-processed product, and the milky waste(precipitate) formed during milk processing, to assess the impact of milk processing on the chemical composition of Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix. The results showed that compared with the blank group, both the raw and water-processed Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix significantly increased the fecal morphology score, fecal water content, and the release levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in various intestinal segments(P<0.05). Compared with the raw group, all indicators in the milk-processed group significantly decreased(P<0.05), while no significant differences were observed in the water-processed group, indicating that milk, as an adjuvant in processing, plays a key role in reducing the intestinal toxicity of Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix. Mass spectrometry results revealed that 29 components were identified in the raw product, including 28 terpenoids and 1 acetophenone. The content of these components decreased to varying extents after milk processing. A total of 28 components derived from Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix were identified in the milky precipitate, of which 27 were terpenoids, suggesting that milk processing promotes the transfer of toxic components from Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix into milk. To further investigate the effect of milk adjuvant processing on the toxic terpenoid components of Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix, transmission electron microscopy(TEM) was used to observe the morphology of self-assembled casein micelles(the main protein in milk) in the milky precipitate. The micelles formed in casein-terpenoid solutions were characterized using particle size analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy. TEM observations confirmed the presence of casein micelles in the milky precipitate. Characterization results showed that with increasing concentrations of toxic terpenoids, the average particle size of casein micelles increased, fluorescence intensity of the solution decreased, the maximum absorption wavelength in the UV spectrum shifted, and significant changes occurred in the infrared spectrum, indicating that interactions occurred between casein micelles and toxic terpenoid components. These findings indicate that the cathartic effect of Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix becomes milder and its intestinal inflammatory toxicity is reduced after milk processing. The detoxification mechanism is that terpenoid components in Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix reassemble with casein in milk to form micelles, promoting the transfer of some terpenoids into the milky precipitate.
Animals ; Mice ; Milk/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Male ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology* ; Intestines/drug effects* ; Interleukin-1beta/immunology* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Female

AIM To establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous content determination of gallic acid,protocatechuic acid,morroniside,loganin,sweroside,paeoniflorin,hypericin,astragalin,salvianolic acid B,salvianolic acid A,epimedin C and icariin in Bushen Huoxue Sanjie Capsules.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 30℃thermostatic Agilent 5 TC-C18 column(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile-0.1%phosphoric acid flowing at 1.0 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelength was set at 240 nm.RESULTS Twelve constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(r≥0.999 8),whose average recoveries were 97.11%-101.14%with the RSDs of 0.60%-2.65%.CONCLUSION This simple,accurate and reproducible method can be used for the quality control of Bushen Huoxue Sanjie Capsules.

Objective To develop a health belief model(HBM)based adolescent alcohol-related cognition scale to measure adolescent alcohol-related cognition and test its reliability and validity.Methods The adolescents'alcohol-related cognitive scale was developed based on HBM model.By using purposive sampling,three general high schools in Qingpu District,Shanghai were selected.One-third of the classes from grades 10 and 11 in each school were randomly selected,and the students from these classes were surveyed as the research subjects.Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to analyze its reliability(internal consistency reliability and combination reliability)and validity(structural validity,convergent validity,discriminative validity and criterion validity).Results A total of 970 questionnaires were collected,of which 948 were valid,with an effective rate of 97.7%.The adolescents'alcohol-related cognitive scale contained 22 items.Five common factors were extracted from exploratory factor analysis,including perceived susceptibility,perceived severity,perceived benefits,perceived obstacles,and self-efficacy.The cumulative variance contribution rate reached 83.89%.The results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the overall fit of the model.The average variance extracted value(AVE)of each dimension was greater than 0.5,and the convergent validity of the model was ideal.The AVE square root of each dimension of the scale was greater than its correlation coefficient,indicating good discrimination validity.Cronbach's α coefficient of the total volume table was 0.892,indicating good overall reliability.Conclusion The adolescents'alcohol-related cognitive scale developed in this study has good reliability and validity,which can be used to measure adolescents'alcohol-related perceptions.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.

To compare the impact of the scrotal vs inguinal orchidopexy approach on the testicular function of infants with cryptorchidism, a randomized controlled trial was conducted involving boys who were 6-12 months old at surgery and were diagnosed with clinically palpable, inguinal undescended testis. Between June 2021 and December 2021, these boys at Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital (Fuzhou, China) and Fujian Children's Hospital (Fuzhou, China) were enrolled. Block randomization with a 1:1 allocation ratio was employed. The primary outcome was testicular function assessed by testicular volume, serum testosterone, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), and inhibin B (InhB) levels. Secondary outcomes included operative time, amount of intraoperative bleeding, and postoperative complications. Among 577 screened patients, 100 (17.3%) were considered eligible and enrolled in the study. Of the 100 children who completed the 1-year follow-up, 50 underwent scrotal orchidopexy and 50 underwent inguinal orchidopexy. The testicular volume, serum testosterone, AMH, and InhB levels in both groups increased markedly after surgery (all P < 0.05), but there were no apparent differences between groups at 6 months and 12 months after operation (all P > 0.05). No differences between the scrotal and inguinal groups were noted regarding the operative time ( P = 0.987) and amount of intraoperative bleeding ( P = 0.746). The overall complication rate (2.0%) of the scrotal group was slightly lower than that of the inguinal group (8.0%), although this difference was not statistically significant ( P > 0.05). Both scrotal and inguinal orchiopexy exerted protective effects on testicular function in children with cryptorchidism, with similar operative status and postoperative complications. Scrotal orchiopexy is an effective alternative to inguinal orchiopexy in children with cryptorchidism.
Female ; Pregnancy ; Male ; Infant ; Humans ; Child ; Cryptorchidism/surgery* ; Orchiopexy ; Scrotum/surgery* ; Postoperative Complications ; Anti-Mullerian Hormone ; Testosterone

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of T2 mapping in the assessment of myocardial changes and prognosis in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. A total of 30 patients with acute STEMI admitted to Tianjin First Central Hospital from January 2021 to March 2022 were enrolled as the experimental group. At the same time, 30 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers and outpatients with non-specific chest pain with no abnormalities in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) examination were selected as the control group. CMR was performed within 2 weeks after the diagnosis of STEMI, as the initial reference. A plain CMR review was performed 6 months later (chronic myocardial infarction, CMI). Plain scanning includes film sequence (CINE), T2 weighted short tau inversion recovery (T2-STIR), native-T1 mapping, and T2 mapping. Enhanced scanning includes first-pass perfusion, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), and post-contrast T1 mapping. Quantitative myocardial parameters were compared between the two groups, before and after STEMI myocardial infarction. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of native-T1 before myocardial contrast enhancement and T2 values in differentiating STEMI and CMI after 6 months. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, heart rate and body mass index (BMI) between the two groups, which were comparable. The native-T1 value, T2 value and extracellular volume (ECV) were significantly higher than those in the control group [native-T1 value (ms): 1 434.5±165.3 vs. 1 237.0±102.5, T2 value (ms): 48.3±15.6 vs. 21.8±13.1, ECV: (39.6±13.8)% vs. (22.8±5.0)%, all P < 0.05]. In the experimental group, 12 patients were re-examined by plain CMR scan 6 months later. After 6 months, the high signal intensity on T2-STIR was still visible, but the range was smaller than that in the acute phase, and the native-T1 and T2 values were significantly lower than those in the acute phase [native-T1 value (ms): 1 271.0±26.9 vs. 1 434.5±165.3, T2 value (ms): 34.2±11.2 vs. 48.3±15.6, both P < 0.05]. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of native-T1 and T2 values in differentiating acute STEMI from CMI was 0.71 and 0.80, respectively. When native-T1 cut-off value was 1 316.0 ms, the specificity was 100% and the sensitivity was 53.3%; when T2 cut-off value was 46.7 ms, the specificity was 100% and the sensitivity was 73.8%. CONCLUSIONS The T2 mapping is a non-invasive method for the diagnosis of myocardial changes in patients with acute STEMI myocardial infarction, and can be used to to evaluate the clinical prognosis of patients.
Humans ; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/diagnosis* ; Contrast Media ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine/methods* ; Gadolinium ; Myocardium/pathology* ; Myocardial Infarction ; Predictive Value of Tests

Background and Objectives: Osteoblasts are derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) and playimportant role in bone remodeling. While our previous studies have investigated the cell subtypes and heterogeneity in osteoblasts and BMMSCs separately, cell-to-cell communications between osteoblasts and BMMSCs in vivo in humans have not been characterized. The aim of this study was to investigate the cellular communication between human primary osteoblasts and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Methods: and Results: To investigate the cell-to-cell communications between osteoblasts and BMMSCs and identifynew cell subtypes, we performed a systematic integration analysis with our single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) transcriptomes data from BMMSCs and osteoblasts. We successfully identified a novel preosteoblasts subtype which highly expressed ATF3, CCL2, CXCL2 and IRF1. Biological functional annotations of the transcriptomes suggested that the novel preosteoblasts subtype may inhibit osteoblasts differentiation, maintain cells to a less differentiated status and recruit osteoclasts. Ligand-receptor interaction analysis showed strong interaction between mature osteoblasts and BMMSCs. Meanwhile, we found FZD1 was highly expressed in BMMSCs of osteogenic differentiation direction. WIF1 and SFRP4, which were highly expressed in mature osteoblasts were reported to inhibit osteogenic differentiation. We speculated that WIF1 and sFRP4 expressed in mature osteoblasts inhibited the binding of FZD1 to Wnt ligand in BMMSCs, thereby further inhibiting osteogenic differentiation of BMMSCs. Conclusions Our study provided a more systematic and comprehensive understanding of the heterogeneity of osteogenic cells. At the single cell level, this study provided insights into the cell-to-cell communications between BMMSCs and osteoblasts and mature osteoblasts may mediate negative feedback regulation of osteogenesis process.

Animals ; Monkeypox/drug therapy* ; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use* ; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases/therapeutic use* ; Macaca fascicularis

Objective: To evaluate the impact of empagliflozin on peak oxygen uptake (VO₂peak) in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF). Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, consecutive HFmrEF patients admitted to the Department of Cardiology of China-Japan Friendship Hospital from September 2019 to October 2020 were screened, and randomly assigned to empagliflozin group (EG) or conventional group (CG) using a random number table. The enrolled patients were treated according to the guidelines, and patients in the empagliflozin group received additional empagliflozin (10 mg, once a day, orally) on top of the conventional treatment. The primary end points were VO₂peak at 6 months after treatment, and the secondary end points included other parameters of cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), 6-minute walking distance, N-terminal B-type pro-natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level, and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) score. Results: A total of 112 patients were included (mean age 69 (57, 78) years, 84 male (75.0%)). There were 55 cases in CG group and 57 cases in EG group. There were no significant differences in baseline data including age, sex, body mass index, left ventricular ejection fraction, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, estimated glomerular filtration rate, glycosylated hemoglobin, hemoglobin, NT-proBNP, daily dose of tolasemi, combined medication, CPET parameters, the proportion of New York Heart Association heart function Ⅲ/Ⅳ, history of coronary heart disease, history of hypertension, history of diabetes (all P>0.05). At 6 months after treatment, VO₂peak was significantly higher in EG group than in CG group(P=0.023). VE/VCO₂ slope was significantly lower in EG group than in CG group(P=0.034). Oxygen uptake efficiency slope was significantly higher in EG group than in CG group(P=0.038). The level of NT-proBNP was significantly lower in EG group than in CG group(P=0.020). Six-minute walking distance was significantly higher in EG group than in CG group(P=0.037). KCCQ score was significantly higher in EG group than in CG group(P=0.048). Exercise oscillatory ventilation decreased in both groups (1 case in each group, P>0.05). Conclusion: Empagliflozin can significantly improve VO₂peak in patients with HFmrEF.
Aged ; Benzhydryl Compounds ; Glucosides ; Heart Failure/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Male ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Oxygen/therapeutic use* ; Peptide Fragments ; Stroke Volume/physiology* ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left ; Ventricular Function, Left