Tripterygium wilfordii is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb belonging to the genus Tripterygium in the Celastraceae family， which has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying， dispelling wind and dampness， and invigorating blood circulation to relieve pain， and is used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis， glomerulonephritis， nephrotic syndrome， lupus erythematosus， scabies， and stubborn tinea. Its chemical composition is diverse. Among them， triptolide（TP） is one of the main active and toxic components of T. wilfordii. It has significant biological activities such as anti-inflammation， anti-tumor， and immunosuppression. However， it causes serious adverse reactions such as liver and kidney function damage and reproductive system disorders. At the same time， TP has poor water solubility and low bioavailability， and the enhancement of bioavailability by increasing the dosage undoubtedly improves the exposure of the drug in non-target organs， leading to the occurrence of adverse reactions， and these largely limit the clinical application of TP. Based on this， this article extracted relevant data from the Web of Science， PubMed， and China National Knowledge Infrastructure（CNKI） databases， summarized the research on the adverse reactions of TP in recent years， and reviewed the progress of toxicity reduction research from the perspectives of structural modification， novel drug delivery systems， and compatibility. Structural modification can precisely alter the chemical structure of TP， reduce the activity of its toxic groups， and retain its biological activity while fundamentally reducing the occurrence of adverse reactions. New drug delivery systems can achieve targeted delivery of TP， increase its concentration in target organs， and reduce its exposure in non-target organs， thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy and reducing adverse effects. In addition， the combination of TP with Chinese medicine compound， single-flavored Chinese medicine or monomer can reduce the adverse effects of TP and enhance the efficacy to different degrees， which is of clinical value. This paper systematically explains attenuation research from the above three perspectives， aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the full utilization of biological activity and drug development of TP.

Objective:To explore the characteristics of SMN1 gene variants and carry out functional verification for two children with Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Methods:Two male children with complicated SMA diagnosed at the Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Institute of Pediatrics respectively in July 2021 and April 2022 due to delayed or retrograde motor development were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data of the children were collected. Primary culture of skin fibroblasts was carried out, and peripheral blood samples were collected from both children and their parents. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, combined long-range PCR and nested PCR, and Sanger sequencing were carried out to detect the copy number and variants of the SMN1 gene. Absolute quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to determine the transcriptional level of the SMN gene, expression of the SMN protein, and the number of functional SMN protein complexes (gems body), respectively. This study was approved by Medical Ethics Committee of the Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Institute of Pediatrics (Ethics No. SHERLLM2021009). Results:Child 1, a 1-year-old boy, was clinically diagnosed with type 1 SMA. Child 2, a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy, was clinically diagnosed with type 3 SMA. Both children were found to harbor a paternally derived SMN1 deletion and a maternally derived SMN1 gene variant, namely c. 824G>T (p.Gly275Val) and c. 884A>T (p.*295Leu). Compared with the normal controls and carriers, the levels of full-length SMN1 transcripts in their peripheral blood and skin fibroblast cell lines were significantly decreased ( P<0.05), and the levels of SMN protein normalized to that of β-actin, and the numbers of gems bodies in the primary fibroblast cells were also significantly lower ( P<0.05). Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, both variants were classified as likely pathogenic (PS3+ PM3+ PM5+ PP3; PS3+ PM3+ PM4+ PP3). Following the diagnosis, both children had received nusinersen treatment. Although their motor function was improved, child 1 still died at the age of 2 due to severe pulmonary infection. The walking ability of child 2 was significantly improved, and his prognosis appeared to be good. Conclusion:Two cases of clinically complicated SMA have been confirmed by genetic testing and experimental studies, which has provided a reference for their accurate treatment.

Objective:To analyze the factors influencing the poor effect of short-term electrical spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).Methods:The medical records of PHN patients of either sex, aged 40-85 yr, of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification Ⅰ or Ⅱ, who received short-term electrical spinal cord stimulation from July 2017 to July 2022, were retrospectively collected. The therapeutic effect was evaluated using the modified MacNab criteria at 3 months after operation, and the patients were divided into good efficacy group (excellent and good efficacy) and poor efficacy group (fair and poor efficacy). General information, disease course, lesion site, complicated diseases, ossification of the yellow ligament in the diseased spinal segment, severity of pain in the herpetic stage, standard antiviral therapy in the herpetic stage (for more than 7 days) and use of neurotrophic drugs in the herpetic stage (for more than 7 days) were collected. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to screen the influencing factors for the poor effect of electrical spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of PHN.Results:A total of 168 patients were eventually enrolled, among which 69 had poor curative effect, and the rate of poor curative effect was 41.1%. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the patient′s age ( OR=2.230, P=0.015), course of disease ( OR=2.191, P=0.027), complication with diabetes mellitus( OR=8.859, P=0.010), ossification of ligamentum flavum at the same segment ( OR=6.602, P=0.019), severity of pain in the herpetic stage ( OR=5.788, P=0.038) and non-standard antiviral therapy in the herpetic stage ( OR=6.765, P=0.021) were the influencing factors for the poor effect of electrical spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of PHN. Conclusions:Age, course of disease, complication with diabetes mellitus, ossification of ligamentum flandum at the same segment, severity of pain in the herpetic stage and non-standard antiviral therapy in the herpetic stage are the factors influencing the poor effect of short-term electrical spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of PHN.

Background Pneumoconiosis is the most serious occupational disease in China, and silicosis accounts for about half of it. Any intervention effect of physical exercise as the key and core of lung rehabilitation training on silicosis is still unclear. Objective To explore potential intervention effect of physical exercise on silicotic mice. Methods Forty SPF C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into four groups, 10 in each group, including a control group, a physical exercise group, a silicosis model group, and a silicosis model + physical exercise intervention group. Silicotic mouse model was established by using 50 μL SiO₂ suspension (200 mg·mL⁻¹). A treadmill was used to prepare mice receiving physical exercise at 0° inclination, 12.3 m·min⁻¹, 60 min·d⁻¹, 5 d·week⁻¹ for 4 weeks. Pathological morphology of lung tissues was evaluated after hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining; deposition of collagen in lung tissues was evaluated after Van Gieson (VG) staining; expression of p-protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) was detected by immunofluorescence staining; expressions of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors (p21) and p-p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (p38) were detected by immunohistochemistry. The protein expressions of endoplasmic reticulum stress signal factors [p-inositol-requiring enzyme-1α (p-IRE-1α), p-PERK, and p-eukaryotic initiation factor-2α (p-eIF-2α)], senescence signal factors (p-p53, p21, and p16), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal factors [p-p38, p-extracellular regulated protein kinases (p-ERK), and p-stress-activated protein kinase (p-JNK)] were detected by Western blotting. Results After designed acute SiO₂ exposure, the images of micro computed tomography (CT) showed high density shadows in lung tissues of the silicotic mice and less shadows in lung tissues of the physical exercise intervention mice. After HE staining, the proportions of silicotic nodule area in lung tissues was (18.67±3.89) % in the silicosis model group, and significantly decreased to (8.78±1.05) % in the silicosis model + physical exercise intervention group (P<0.05). After VG staining, the proportion of collagen fiber area of lung tissues was (10.37±2.18) % in the silicosis model group, and significantly decreased to (4.35±0.89) % in the silicosis model + physical exercise intervention group (P<0.05). The results of immunofluorescence staining showed that in the silicosis model group, the expression of p-PERK increased at the location of silicotic nodules, while in the silicotic model + physical exercise intervention group, the expression of p-PERK decreased. The immunohistochemical staining results showed that the expression of p21 and p-p38 increased in the lung tissues of the silicosis model group; the expression of p21 and p-p38 decreased in the lung tissues of the silicosis model + physical exercise intervention group. The results of Western blotting showed that compared with the control group, the expression levels of p-IRE-1α (0.11±0.03), p-PERK (0.95±0.40), p-eIF-2α (3.53±0.91), p-p53 (1.78±0.07), p21 (1.98±0.10), p16 (1.26±0.17), p-p38 (0.41±0.09), p-ERK (0.42±0.05), and p-JNK (3.20±1.23) of the silicosis model group were all upregulated (P<0.05). Compared with the silicosis model group, the expression levels of p-IRE-1α (0.03±0.01), p-PERK (0.31±0.12), p-eIF-2α (0.30±0.06), p-p53 (0.76±0.08), p21 (0.18±0.11), p16 (0.70±0.24), p-p38 (0.03±0.00), p-ERK (0.19±0.03), and p-JNK (0.46±0.21) of the silicosis model + physical exercise intervention group were downregulated (P<0.05). Conclusion Physical exercise may alleviate pulmonary fibrosis in silicotic mice, and inhibit abnormal expressions of endoplasmic reticulum stress signal, MAPK signal, and senescent signal.

Apnea test (AT) is a key step in the diagnosis of adult brain death, which provides important basis for the loss of brainstem function in patients with adult brain death. In recent years, with extensive development of adult brain death determination and organ donation transplantation, discussion and research of AT have been gradually promoted. In formulation of adult brain death criteria, countries have paid more attention to the standardization and normalization of AT implementation, and medical staffs have improved the AT implementation process. This article reviews the current AT implementation standards, conventional AT procedures and complications, modified AT exploration, AT implementation with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and treatments and auxiliary examinations after AT failure, in order to deepen the understanding and cognition of adult brain death determination physicians on AT, and promote AT development in a more standardized and orderly way.

Objective:To explore the distribution of the copy number of survival motor neuron gene 2 ( SMN2) and the transcript level of the full-length SMN2 ( fl-SMN2) transcript level in patients with type 1-3 spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and to evaluate their influences on disease severity, progression, and prognosis. Methods:It was a retrospective study involving 78 therapy-naive SMA patients with SMN1 gene homozygous deletion who were diagnosed and treated in the Capital Institute of Pediatrics from January 2019 to December 2021.Cross-sectional clinical data, including age at onset, motor milestones, and complications were recorded.They were followed up for monitoring motor function degeneration and survival.The copy number of SMN2 and the transcript level of fl-SMN2 were detected.Differences between groups were compared by the Student′s t-test or One- Way ANOVA or Chi- square test.Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for survival analysis, and Kendall′ s tau- c was performed to assess the correlation of these two biomarkers with SMA phenotypes, age at onset, motor milestones, and survival. Results:Of the 78 SMA patients, there were 17 cases (21.8%) of type 1, 34 cases(43.6%) of type 2, and 27 cases(34.6%) of type 3.Seven cases(41.2%) type 1 SMA patients died, with a median survival time of 11 months, and no deaths were observed in type 2 and type 3 SMA patients.There was a significant difference in the median age at onset among SMA patients with 2, 3, and 4 copies of SMN2 (1.8, 12.0, and 24.0 months, respectively; F=4.943, P=0.01). The mean transcript level of fl-SMN2 in type 1, 2 and 3 SMA patients were 196.25±68.79, 331.21±108.79 and 455.69±122.27, respectively ( F=37.154, P<0.001). The survival rate of SMA with 2 SMN2 copies at 1, 2, and 5 years were 50.5%, 0, and 0, respectively, and their median survival age was 7 months.The survival rate of SMA with 3 and 4 SMN2 copies at 5 years were 97.4% and 100.0%, respectively.Moreover, a negative correlation was observed between the transcript level of fl-SMN2 and phenotype severity ( Kendall′ s tau- c=-0.444, P<0.001), and the transcript level of fl-SMN2 of the survival group was much higher than that of the death group (342.93±125.74 vs.212.14±92.31). More copies of SMN2 and higher transcript level of fl- SMN2 indicated more motor function acquisitions (head control, sitting and walking) ( P<0.001). In addition, there was a significant difference in the transcription level of fl-SMN2 between the undegenerated group and the degenerated group in sitting and standing ( F=5.432, P=0.023 and F=4.315, P=0.047, respectively). Conclusions:Both the copy number of SMN2 and the transcript level of fl-SMN2 are correlated with SMA severity, survival, and motor milestones, serving as valuable biomarkers for evaluating phenotypic severity of SMA.The transcript level of fl-SMN2 s may play an important role in the degeneration of sitting and standing.

In recent years,mechanical thrombectomy has been the most important research progress in the treatment of acute cerebral infarction,especially the positive results of five endovascular therapy studies in 2015 has rewritten its clinical guidelines.However,the focus of these studies was mainly on the small vessel infarction(SVI),and the inclusion criteria of these studies include the following aspects:ASPECTS ≥6 points,Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score within 6 hours after stroke onset,the infarct volume＜70 mL within 6-24 hours after stroke onset,and the presence of image mismatch or the presence of mismatch between clinical condition and perfusion imaging.The above studies excluded patients with ASPECTS＜6 points or infarct volume ≥70 mL of large core infarction(LCI).With the continuous progress of the endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke(AIS),the mechanical thrombectomy therapy strategy has crossed from the"time window"to the"tissue window",meanwhile,the therapeutic goal of mechanical thrombectomy has also moved from treating SVI to a new era of treating LCI that has been a very hot topic recently.Whether endovascular treatment is beneficial for patients with LCI remains uncertain.This paper aims to make a comprehensive review concerning the relevant research progress in endovascular therapy for anterior circulation large core ischemic stroke,including the imaging determination and study inclusion criteria of LCI,the postoperative blood pressure management,and the factors influencing ineffective recanalization and prognosis.(J Intervent Radiol,2023,32:1256-1262)

Objective    To explore the therapeutic effect and safety of irreversible electroporation (IRE) ablation technique on esophageal cancer. Methods    An ECM830 electroporator was used for IRE treatment on esophageal cancer cells EC109 and KYSE30. According to the different electric field intensity, five groups were assigned: a control group, a 500 V/cm group, a 1 000 V/cm group, a 1 500 V/cm group, and a 2 000 V/cm group. After 24 h, methyl thiazolyltetrazolium (MTT) was used to detect the cell proliferation of each group. Western blotting was performed to evaluate the expression of apoptosis proteins in cells before or after IRE treatment. Eight healthy BALB/c nude mice were equally divided into two groups: a control group (n=4) and an IRE group (n=4). EC109 was used to establish subcutaneous transplantation tumors and subsequently the mice in the IRE group were treated with flat electrode. The weight and volume of tumors were measured after 14 days. Ten healthy New Zealand white rabbits were equally divided into two groups: a control group (n=5) and an IRE group (n=5). After exposing the abdominal cavity, the abdominal esophagus of the IRE group was treated with flat electrode. Seven days later, the esophagus was extracted for HE and Masson staining. Results    When the electric field intensity was low (500 V/cm), there was no change in esophageal cancer cells proliferation after IRE treatment compared to the control group (EC109: P=0.385, KYSE30: P=0.600). With the increase of electric field intensity, the influence of IRE on the proliferation of esophageal cancer cell gradually increased. When it reached 2 000 V/cm, there was basically no cell viability after IRE treatment (P<0.001). The results of Western blotting showed that the expression of cleaved caspase-3 increased after IRE treatment (P<0.01). Animal experiments indicated that the weight and volume of tumors in nude mice reduced (P<0.05) and the growth of tumors was slowed down after IRE treatment. In addition, the parenchymal cells of rabbit esophagus were largely damaged, while interstitial tissues such as fibers were well preserved. Conclusion    IRE ablation has the potential to inhibit the proliferation of esophageal cancer cell and slow down the tumor growth.What’s more, it is safe for the esophagus.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate transcription to control development and homeostasis in a variety of tissues and organs. However, their roles in the development of the cerebral cortex have not been well elucidated. Here, a bioinformatics pipeline was applied to delineate the dynamic expression and potential cis-regulating effects of mouse lncRNAs using transcriptome data from 8 embryonic time points and sub-regions of the developing cerebral cortex. We further characterized a sense lncRNA, SenZfp536, which is transcribed downstream of and partially overlaps with the protein-coding gene Zfp536. Both SenZfp536 and Zfp536 were predominantly expressed in the proliferative zone of the developing cortex. Zfp536 was cis-regulated by SenZfp536, which facilitates looping between the promoter of Zfp536 and the genomic region that transcribes SenZfp536. Surprisingly, knocking down or activating the expression of SenZfp536 increased or compromised the proliferation of cortical neural progenitor cells (NPCs), respectively. Finally, overexpressing Zfp536 in cortical NPCs reversed the enhanced proliferation of cortical NPCs caused by SenZfp536 knockdown. The study deepens our understanding of how lncRNAs regulate the propagation of cortical NPCs through cis-regulatory mechanisms.

Objective:To screen and analyze the prognostic protein biomarkers of DLBCL, and to explore their value in the prognostic evaluation.Methods:163 cases of confirmed DLBCLs from January 2011 to December 2016 were collected with their clinical, pathological and follow-up data, which were all from our hospital. The expression of protein markers were tested using immunohistochemical staining (IHC) . The immune phenotypes independent of the International Prognostic Index (IPI) that affect overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of DLBCL were explored by COX regression model, and the effect of their co-expression on the prognosis were also analyzed.Result:BCL6 negative (PFS: HR=1.652, 95% CI 1.030-2.649, P=0.037) , P53 positive (OS: HR=1.842, 95% CI 1.008-3.367, P=0.047) , and BCL2 strong positive expressions (S+) (OS: HR=2.102, 95% CI 1.249-3.537, P=0.005; PFS: HR=2.126, 95% CI 1.312-3.443, P=0.002) are adverse prognostic factors of DLBCL that are independent of IPI. BCL6 - (PFS: HR=2.042, 95% CI 1.021-4.081, P=0.043) , P53 + (OS: HR=3.069, 95% CI 1.244-7.569, P=0.015) and BCL2 S+ (OS: HR=2.433, 95% CI 1.165-5.082, P=0.018; PFS: HR=3.209, 95% CI 1.606-6.410, P=0.001) are adverse prognostic factors in the group of age≤60-year-old; in the group of IPI score 0-2, cases with BCL6 - (OS: HR=2.467, 95% CI 1.322-4.604, P=0.005; PFS: HR=2.248, 95% CI 1.275-3.965, P=0.005) and BCL2 S+ (PFS: HR=2.045, 95% CI 1.119-3.735, P=0.020) have worse prognosis. The co-expression of BCL6 - and BCL2 S+ has significant influence on prognosis of DLBCL ( P=0.005 and P<0.001) , in which BCL6 +/non-BCL2 S+ ( n=86) has the best prognosis[3-year-OS (71.6±4.9) %, 3-year-PFS (67.0±5.1) %], and BCL6 -/BCL2 S+ ( n=10) has the worst prognosis[3-year-OS (20.0±12.6) %, 3-year-PFS (10.0±9.5) %]; the co-expression of BCL6 - and P53 + has no significant influence on prognosis ( P=0.061 and P=0.089) , however, those cases with BCL6 +/P53 - ( n=98) often get better prognosis[3-year-OS (70.6±4.7) %, 3-year-PFS (64.6±4.9) %] than others; the co-expression of P53 + and BCL2 S+ has significant influence on prognosis of DLBCL ( P<0.001 and P<0.001) , and P53 +/BCL2 S+ ( n=5) has the worst prognosis (3-year-OS and 3-year-PFS are both 0) ; BCL2 S+ cases get shorter OS and PFS, regardless of the expression of BCL6 and P53. Conclusion:The expression and co-expression of BCL6 negative, P53 positive and BCL2 S+ have certain value in the prognostic evaluation of DLBCL, especially in the group of age≤60-year-old and IPI score 0-2.