The vasculature plays a critical role in homeostasis and health as well as in the development and progression of a wide range of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases (and their complications), chronic inflammatory diseases, ophthalmic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. As such, the growth of the vasculature mediates normal development and physiology, as well as disease, when pathologically induced vessels are morphologically and functionally altered owing to an imbalance of angiogenesis-stimulating and angiogenesis-inhibiting factors. This review offers an overview of the angiogenic process and discusses recent findings that provide additional interesting nuances to this process, including the roles of intussusception and angiovasculogenesis, which may hold promise for future therapeutic interventions. In addition, we review the methodology, including those of in vitro and in vivo assays, which has helped build the vast amount of knowledge on angiogenesis available today and identify important remaining knowledge gaps that should be bridged through future research.
Animals ; Signal Transduction/physiology* ; Humans ; Neovascularization, Pathologic/physiopathology* ; Neovascularization, Physiologic/physiology* ; Models, Animal ; Angiogenesis

The present study aimed to explore whether hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) improved hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) in rats by inhibiting aerobic glycolysis-pyroptosis. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into normal group, normal+NaHS group, hypoxia group, and hypoxia+NaHS group, with 6 rats in each group. The control group rats were placed in a normoxic (21% O₂) environment and received daily intraperitoneal injections of an equal volume of normal saline. The normal+NaHS group rats were placed in a normoxic environment and intraperitoneally injected with 14 μmol/kg NaHS daily. The hypoxia group rats were placed in a hypoxia chamber, and the oxygen controller inside the chamber maintained the oxygen concentration at 9% to 10% by controlling the N₂ flow rate. An equal volume of normal saline was injected intraperitoneally every day. The hypoxia+NaHS group rats were also placed in an hypoxia chamber and intraperitoneally injected with 14 μmol/kg NaHS daily. After the completion of the four-week modeling, the mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) of each group was measured using right heart catheterization technique, and the right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI) was weighed and calculated. HE staining was used to observe pathological changes in lung tissue, Masson staining was used to observe fibrosis of lung tissue, and Western blot was used to detect protein expression levels of hexokinase 2 (HK2), pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), pyruvate kinase isozyme type M2 (PKM2), nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), GSDMD-N-terminal domain (GSDMD-N), Caspase-1, interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 in lung tissue. ELISA was used to detect contents of IL-1β and IL-18 in lung tissue. The results showed that, compared with the normal control group, there were no significant changes in all indexes in the normal+NaHS group, while the hypoxia group exhibited significantly increased mPAP and RVHI, thickened pulmonary vascular wall, narrowed lumen, increased collagen fibers, up-regulated expression levels of aerobic glycolysis-related proteins (HK2 and PKM2), up-regulated expression levels of pyroptosis-related proteins (NLRP3, GSDMD-N, Caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18), and increased contents of IL-1β and IL-18. These changes of the above indexes in the hypoxia group were significantly reversed by NaHS. These results suggest that H₂S can improve rat HPH by inhibiting aerobic glycolysis-pyroptosis.
Animals ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Male ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/metabolism* ; Glycolysis/drug effects* ; Hydrogen Sulfide/therapeutic use* ; Hypoxia/complications* ; Rats ; Pyroptosis/drug effects*

Cemental tear is a rare and indetectable condition unless obvious clinical signs present with the involvement of surrounding periodontal and periapical tissues. Due to its clinical manifestations similar to common dental issues, such as vertical root fracture, primary endodontic diseases, and periodontal diseases, as well as the low awareness of cemental tear for clinicians, misdiagnosis often occurs. The critical principle for cemental tear treatment is to remove torn fragments, and overlooking fragments leads to futile therapy, which could deteriorate the conditions of the affected teeth. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and subsequent appropriate interventions are vital for managing cemental tear. Novel diagnostic tools, including cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), microscopes, and enamel matrix derivatives, have improved early detection and management, enhancing tooth retention. The implementation of standardized diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols, combined with improved clinical awareness among dental professionals, serves to mitigate risks of diagnostic errors and suboptimal therapeutic interventions. This expert consensus reviewed the epidemiology, pathogenesis, potential predisposing factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cemental tear, aiming to provide a clinical guideline and facilitate clinicians to have a better understanding of cemental tear.
Humans ; Dental Cementum/injuries* ; Consensus ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Tooth Fractures/therapy*

Research indicates that microbe activity within the human body significantly influences health by being closely linked to various diseases. Accurately predicting microbe-disease interactions (MDIs) offers critical insights for disease intervention and pharmaceutical research. Current advanced AI-based technologies automatically generate robust representations of microbes and diseases, enabling effective MDI predictions. However, these models continue to face significant challenges. A major issue is their reliance on complex feature extractors and classifiers, which substantially diminishes the models' generalizability. To address this, we introduce a novel graph autoencoder framework that utilizes decoupled representation learning and multi-scale information fusion strategies to efficiently infer potential MDIs. Initially, we randomly mask portions of the input microbe-disease graph based on Bernoulli distribution to boost self-supervised training and minimize noise-related performance degradation. Secondly, we employ decoupled representation learning technology, compelling the graph neural network (GNN) to independently learn the weights for each feature subspace, thus enhancing its expressive power. Finally, we implement multi-scale information fusion technology to amalgamate the multi-layer outputs of GNN, reducing information loss due to occlusion. Extensive experiments on public datasets demonstrate that our model significantly surpasses existing top MDI prediction models. This indicates that our model can accurately predict unknown MDIs and is likely to aid in disease discovery and precision pharmaceutical research. Code and data are accessible at: https://github.com/shmildsj/MDI-IFDRL.

To promote the development of extracellular vesicles of herbal medicine especially the establishment of standardization, led by the National Expert Committee on Research and Application of Chinese Herbal Vesicles, research experts in the field of herbal medicine and extracellular vesicles were invited nationwide with the support of the Expert Committee on Research and Application of Chinese Herbal Vesicles, Professional Committee on Extracellular Vesicle Research and Application, Chinese Society of Research Hospitals and the Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Chinese Herbal Vesicles. Based on the collation of relevant literature, we have adopted the Delphi method, the consensus meeting method combined with the nominal group method to form a discussion draft of "Consensus statement on research and application of Chinese herbal medicine derived extracellular vesicles-like particles (2023)". The first draft was discussed in online and offline meetings on October 12, 14, November 2, 2022 and April and May 2023 on the current status of research, nomenclature, isolation methods, quality standards and research applications of extracellular vesicles of Chinese herbal medicines, and 13 consensus opinions were finally formed. At the Third Academic Conference on Research and Application of Chinese Herbal Vesicles, held on May 26, 2023, Kewei Zhao, convenor of the consensus, presented and read the consensus to the experts of the Expert Committee on Research and Application of Chinese Herbal Vesicles. The consensus highlights the characteristics and advantages of Chinese medicine, inherits the essence, and keeps the righteousness and innovation, aiming to provide a reference for colleagues engaged in research and application of Chinese herbal vesicles at home and abroad, decode the mystery behind Chinese herbal vesicles together, establish a safe, effective and controllable accurate Chinese herbal vesicle prevention and treatment system, and build a bridge for Chinese medicine to the world.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has a promising future in the treatment of ocular diseases due to its high efficiency, specificity, and low toxicity in inhibiting the expression of target genes and proteins. However, due to the unique anatomical structure of the eye and various barriers, delivering nucleic acids to the retina remains a significant challenge. In this study, we rationally design PACD, an A-B-C type non-viral vector copolymer composed of a hydrophilic PEG block (A), a siRNA binding block (B) and a pH-responsive block (C). PACDs can self-assemble into nanosized polymeric micelles that compact siRNAs into polyplexes through simple mixing. By evaluating its pH-responsive activity, gene silencing efficiency in retinal cells, intraocular distribution, and anti-angiogenesis therapy in a mouse model of hypoxia-induced angiogenesis, we demonstrate the efficiency and safety of PACD in delivering siRNA in the retina. We are surprised to discover that, the PACD/siRNA polyplexes exhibit remarkable intracellular endosomal escape efficiency, excellent gene silencing, and inhibit retinal angiogenesis. Our study provides design guidance for developing efficient nonviral ocular nucleic acid delivery systems.

Objective To use the Internet of things based early warning model of lung cancer to perform early lung cancer screening among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)patients in Lishui City.Methods Patients with COPD diagnosed in our hospital from July 2021 to June 2022 underwent plain chest CT,and the 300 patients who had lung nodules detected and agreed to participate in the study were completed with lung nodule target scan + two-and three-dimensional reconstruction to detect gene polymorphisms of CYP1A1,GST and XRCC1 and mirna130a and mir204-5p in peripheral blood.Asked to wear smart hand ring for 10 hours every day while awake from July 2022 to September 2022 to detect vital signs and exercise volume.Review lung nodule target scan + two three dimensional reconstruction in October 2022.If the nodules were larger than before,the patient was truthfully informed of the results.The patient and the specialist of our hospital discussed whether to carry out lung puncture for pathology.Patients with pathologically confirmed lung cancer were progression group and the rest were stable group.Results Totally 240 patients were in the stable group,48 patients were in the progression group,12 patients continued to follow-up after consultation by physicians.There were significant differences in adiposity,mean oximetry,nadir oximetry,forced vital capacity(FVC)predicted,exercise capacity,and lung nodule diameter between the two groups.The expression levels of peripheral mirna-130a,mirna-204-5p were significantly different between the two groups(P<0.001).There were significant differences in CYP1A1,GST,and XRCC1 genotypes in peripheral blood between stable and progressive patients.The areas under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were mean oxygen saturation(0.681),lowest oxygen saturation(0.735),FVC predicted(0.781),exercise(0.835),lung nodule length diameter(0.825),peripheral blood mirna-130a(0.796),mirna-204-5p(0.893).Conclusion The Internet of things based early warning model for lung cancer can be used for lung cancer screening among COPD patients.

Objective To analyze the efficacy of Astragalus membranaceus and Draba nemorosa in the treatment of chronic heart failure(CHF),the change of cardiac color ultrasound parameters and its predictive value for adverse end events.Methods A total of 92 patients with Qi-deficiency and blood-stasis combined with Shuiyin CHF treated in Wenzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from September 2019 to September 2021 were randomly selected and divided into two groups by random number table method,with 46 cases in each group.Patients in control group were received conventional Western medicine treatment,and patients in observation group were received the addition and subtraction treatment of Yiqi Huoxue Lishui prescription based on Astragalus membranaceus and Draba nemorosa.The clinical efficacy,TCM syndrome score,heart color ultrasound parameters and the incidence of adverse endpoint events within 6 months were compared between the two groups.Cardiac color doppler ultrasound parameters were compared between the occurrence group and the non-occurrence group,and receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn to analyze the predictive value of cardiac color Doppler ultrasound parameters for adverse end events.Results The total clinical effective rate of the observation group(95.65%)was higher than that of the control group(71.74%)(P<0.05).After treatment,palpitation,weakness,shortness of breath,lethargy and lip purple score in observation group were lower than those in control group(P<0.05).The left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD)and left arial diameters(LAD)of the observation group were lower than those of the control group after treatment(P<0.05).After treatment,the left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)of the observation group was higher than that of the control group(P<0.05);The incidence of adverse endpoint events within 6 months in the observation group(2.17%)was lower than that in the control group(19.57%)(P<0.05).The LVEDD and LAD in the adverse end point event group were higher than those in the without adverse end point event group(P<0.05),and the LVEF was lower than that in the without adverse end point event group(P<0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of LVEDD,LAD and LVEF combined to predict the occurrence of adverse endpoint events was 0.812,and the 95%CI confidence interval was 0.734-0.968;The sensitivity of combined detection(93.42%)was higher than that of single detection(71.52%,75.11%,79.62%)(P<0.05).The specificity of combined detection(82.27%)compared with that of single detection(70.19%,73.07%,77.28%)(P>0.05).Conclusion Supplementing qi and promoting blood circulation and rehydrating water based on Astragalus membranaceus and Draba nemorosa can effectively improve the cardiac function of CHF patients,alleviate symptoms such as palpitations and fatigue,and reduce the incidence of adverse endpoint events.In addition,the combined detection of cardiac ultrasound parameters can improve the prediction efficiency of adverse endpoint events,which has certain clinical value.

Iron is an indispensable nutritional element for human growth and development. It has a protective effect on cardiovascular. The changes and metabolism of iron can affect the physiological and pathological state of the body. Current research has confirmed that iron overload will promote the synthesis of cholesterol and increase lipid metabolism disorders. Lipid metabolic disorders in the body easily induce the occurrence and development of related metabolic diseases, and increase the hidden dangers of the outbreak of relevant risk factors. This article reviews iron and lipid metabolic and other metabolic diseases and natural products to prevent diseases through iron metabolic pathway, which aims to provide more powerful references for in-depth research on the mechanism of metabolic diseases and related diseases and target drug research and development.

With the development of information technology and the increasing demand for vaccination services among the people, it is a definite trend to enhance the quality of vaccination services through digitization. This article starts with a clear concept of digital services for vaccination, introduces the current development status in China and abroad, analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of existing models in leading regions, takes a glean from the summation, and proposes targeted solutions. This study suggests establishing a departmental coordination mechanism for data interconnection and sharing, formulating data standards and functional specifications, enhancing the functionalities of the immunization planning information system, strengthening data collection and analytical usage, and intensifying appointment management and science and health education to provide expert guidance for the construction of digital vaccination services across the country in the future.