The aim of this investigation was to determine the optimal storage medium for testicular hypothermic transportation and identify the ideal concentration for the application of the protective agent 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA). Furthermore, this study aimed to explore the underlying mechanism of the protective effects of 5-ALA. First, we collected and stored mouse testicular fragments in different media, including Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS; n = 5), Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/Nutrient Mixture F-12 (DMEM/F12; n = 5), and alpha-minimum essential medium (αMEM; n = 5). Storage of testicular tissue in HBSS preserved the integrity of testicular morphology better than that in the DMEM/F12 group ( P < 0.05) and the αMEM group ( P < 0.01). Testicular fragments were subsequently placed in HBSS with various concentrations of 5-ALA (0 [control], 1 mmol l -1 , 2 mmol l -1 , and 5 mmol l -1 ) to determine the most effective concentration of 5-ALA. The 2 mmol l -1 5-ALA group ( n = 3) presented the highest positive rate of spermatogonial stem cells compared with those in the control, 1 mmol l -1 , and 5 mmol l -1 5-ALA groups. Finally, the tissue fragments were preserved in HBSS with control ( n = 3) and 2 mmol l -1 5-ALA ( n = 3) under low-temperature conditions. A comparative analysis was performed against fresh testes ( n = 3) to elucidate the underlying mechanism of 5-ALA. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) for WikiPathways revealed that the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was downregulated in the 2 mmol l -1 5-ALA group compared with that in the control group (normalized enrichment score [NES] = -1.57, false discovery rate [FDR] = 0.229, and P = 0.019). In conclusion, these data suggest that using 2 mmol l -1 5-ALA in HBSS effectively protected the viability of spermatogonial stem cells upon hypothermic transportation.
Male ; Animals ; Testis/cytology* ; Aminolevulinic Acid/pharmacology* ; Mice ; Organ Preservation/methods* ; Organ Preservation Solutions/pharmacology* ; Cryopreservation/methods*

Objective To investigate the protective effect of placental mesenchymal stem cells(P-MSCs)on pancreatic trauma(PT)in rats.Methods Sixty healthy adult male SD rats were randomly divided into control group,pancreatic trauma group(inject 1 ml of PBS solution locally in the pancreatic injury area and around the trauma area),and P-MSCs group[inject 1 ml of P-MSCs(1×106/ml)locally in the pancreatic injury area and around the trauma area],with 20 rats in each group.The pancreatic trauma rat model was established using a traumatic pressure of 400 kPa.Five rats were sacrificed at 1,3,5,and 7 d after modeling in each group,and serum and pancreatic tissue were collected.HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of pancreatic tissue and pathological scores were performed.The ELISA method was used to measure the concentrations of serum amylase(AMS),lipase(LPS),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),IL-10,and transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1),as well as the activities of myeloperoxidase(MPO)and superoxide dismutase(SOD)in pancreatic tissue.The TUNEL method was used to observe the level of apoptosis in pancreatic tissue was observed by the TUNEL method.Results Compared with control group,pancreatic trauma group and P-MSCs group showed significant differences after pancreatic trauma,including the generation of peritoneal fluid increased(P<0.05),the ratio of pancreas to body weight and the total score of pancreatic tissue pathological damage increased(P<0.05),and serum levels of AMS,LPS,TNF-α,IL-6,and MPO activity increased early and showed a decreasing trend over time(P<0.05),while anti-inflammatory factors IL-10 and SOD activity showed an increasing trend over time(P<0.01),level of TGF-β1 in the early decline showed an upward trend over time(P<0.01),and the apoptosis index(AI)significantly increased(P<0.001).Compared with pancreatic trauma group,P-MSCs group showed an improvement in the overall morphology of pancreatic tissue,the generation of peritoneal fluid decreased(P<0.001),the pancreas to body weight ratio and the total score of pancreatic tissue pathological damage decreased(P<0.05),and serum levels of AMS,LPS,IL-6,TNF-α and MPO activity returned to normal levels faster(P<0.05);and the rate of anti-inflammatory factors IL-10,TGF-β1 and SOD activity elevation increased(P<0.05),the AI increased(P<0.001).Conclusion P-MSCs can achieve therapeutic effects on pancreatic trauma in rats by promoting pancreatic tissue repair,reducing local and systemic inflammation,improving tissue oxidative stress,and enhancing pancreatic acinar cell apoptosis.

Objective:To investigate serum levels of retinol-binding protein 4(RBP4)and cystatin C(CysC)in pa-tients with coronary heart disease(CHD)and their association with intestinal flora.Methods:A total of 97 CHD patients admitted in our Department of Critical Care Medicine from December 2019 to December 2020 were treated as CHD group,another 99 healthy subjects undergoing physical examination simultaneously were regarded as control group.Serum levels of RBP4 and CysC,positive rates and number of intestinal flora were compared between two groups.With serum mean levels of RBP4 and CysC in CHD patients as critical value,they were divided into serum RBP4 high level group(RBP4≥35.97 ng/ml,n=53)and low level group(RBP4＜35.97 ng/ml,n=44),serum CysC high level group(CysC≥ 1.49 ng/ml,n=49)and low level group(CysC＜1.49 ng/ml,n=48).Number of intestinal flora were compared between different level subgroups,and Pearson method was used to analyze the asso-ciation of RBP4,CysC levels with flora number.Results:Compared with control group,there were significant rise in RBP4 and CysC levels,and significant reductions in culture positive rates and flora numbers of Bifidobacterium,Firmicutes,Lactobacillus and Proteus(P＜0.001 all),and significant rise in culture positive rates and flora numbers of Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli in CHD group(P＜0.001 all).Compared with RBP4 low level group,there were significant reductions in flora numbers of Bifidobacterium,Firmicutes,Lactobacillus and Proteus,and signifi-cant rise in flora numbers of Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli in RBP4 high level group(P＜0.001 all);com-pared with CysC low level group,there were significant reductions in flora numbers of Bifidobacterium,Firmicutes,Lactobacillus and Proteus,and significant rise in flora numbers of Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli in CysC high level group(P＜0.001 all).Pearson correlation analysis indicated that RBP4 level was significant inversely correla-ted with flora numbers of Bifidobacterium,Firmicutes,Lactobacillus and Proteus(r=-0.626～-0.482,P＜0.001 all),and significant positively correlated with flora numbers of Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli(r=0.302,0.337,P＜0.01 both);CysC level was significant inversely correlated with flora numbers of Bifidobacteri-um,Firmicutes,Lactobacillus and Proteus(r=-0.621～-0.502,P＜0.001 all),and significant positively corre-lated with flora numbers of Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli(r=0.308,0.340,P＜0.01 both).Conclusion:Se-rum levels of RBP4 and CysC increase in CHD patients,and they are closely related to the composition of intestinal flora.

Objective To explore the mechanism which drives nimbolide(NIM)in treating acute pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus(S.auteus).Methods A mouse model of acute pneumonia caused by S.auteus was constructed through endotracheal intubation.After NIM treatment,the survival rate was observed,the amount of bacteria in the lung was tested by plate culture,and the expression of inflammatory cytokines in the lung tissues was detected with ELISA.After primary cultured peritoneal macrophages(PM)were infected with S.auteus,the effect of NIM on the expression of inflammatory cytokines and activation of inflammatory pathway were studied with ELISA and Western blotting,respectively.The effect of RNF114 knockdown by lentiviral shRNA infection on inflammation responses in PM was explored with ELISA and Western blotting.Results Acute infection of S.auteus in the lung could cause acute death in the mice,while NIM treatment significantly improved the survival rate and down-regulated the levels of inflammatory cytokines in the lung.However,it had no effect on the lung colonization of S.auteus in the short term.The results of in vitro experiments indicated that NIM may regulate RNF114 function to down-regulate the phosphorylation level of ERK,inhibit the activation of MAPK pathway,and thus suppress the expression of inflammatory cytokines.Conclusion NIM may inhibit the activation of MAPK pathway by regulating the function of RNF114,and thus suppress the expression of inflammatory cytokines in the lung,and finally inhibit the death of mice with acute pulmonary hyperinflammation caused by S.auteus.

Human physiological indicators have become an important standard for assessing health in modern society.Traditional detection methods often require a separate laboratory,complex operation process and long detection time,so it is urgent to develop portable,fast and accurate on-site detection technologies for bioanalysis.Point-of-care testing(POCT),which differs from traditional laboratory testing,can realize the rapid in situ detection of biomarkers without the complicated analytical process of the laboratory.Smartphones,which are an essential tool in our daily life,not only have independent operating systems and built-in storage functions,but also have high-definition cameras,which have great application potential in POCT visualization.The combination of various biosensing technologies and smartphones has developed into a new direction in the field of POCT.This review mainly introduced the research progress of smartphone-based visual biosensors in POCT in recent years,including colorimetric sensors,fluorescence sensors,chemiluminescence sensors and electrochemiluminescence sensors.Finally,the problems faced by smart-phone-based visual biosensors in the application of POCT were summarized,and their future development was prospected.

Liver size is regulated by circadian clock and exhibits a diurnal rhythm. Pregnane X receptor (PXR) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), members of nuclear receptor superfamily, are important regulators of liver size. We previously demonstrated that mPXR agonist pregnenolone 16α-carbonitrile (PCN) and mPPARα agonist pirinixic acid (WY-14643) promoted liver enlargement and liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. However, whether PXR or PPARα activation-induced liver enlargement exhibits diurnal rhythm with normal liver diurnal oscillations remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the diurnal rhythm of PXR or PPARα activation-induced liver enlargement. Male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with corn oil, PCN or WY-14643 for three days, and liver samples were weighed and collected at various time points for analysis. The animal experiment protocol was reviewed and approved by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Sun Yat-sen University (approval No. SYSU-IACUC-2023-001613, SYSU-IACUC-2023-001783). The results showed that PXR or PPARα activation at various time points significantly induced liver enlargement, and liver size maintained normal diurnal oscillations during PXR or PPARα activation-induced hepatomegaly, without significant effects on the expression of core clock genes. This study reveals PXR or PPARα activation-induced liver enlargement exhibits diurnal rhythm with normal liver diurnal oscillations, and provides novel data for nuclear receptor-induced liver enlargement and liver diurnal rhythm.

Aim To explore the effects of Huannao Yicong decoction(HYD)on the learning and memory ability and brain iron metabolism in APP/PS1 mice and the correlation of HAMP knockout mice and APP/PS1 double transgenic model mice.Methods The ex-periment was divided into five groups,namely,HAMP-/-group(6-month HAMP gene knockout mice),APP/PS1 group(6-month APP/PS1-double-transgenic mice),HAMP-/-+HYD,APP/PS1+HYD,and negative control group(6-month C57BL/6J mice),with six mice in each group.The dose was ad-ministered(13.68 g·kg-1 weight),and the other groups received distilled water for gavage once a day for two months.After the administration of the drug,the mice in each group were tested for learning and memory in the Morris water maze;Biochemical detec-tion was performed to detect iron ion content in each mouse brain;Western blot and RT-qPCR were carried out to analyze hippocampal transferrin(TF),transfer-rin receptor1(TFR1),membrane iron transporter1(FPN1)divalent metal ion transporter 1(DMT1)and β-amyloid protein(Aβ)protein and mRNA expression levels in each group.Results Compared with the normal group,both HAMP-/-mice and APP/PS1 mice had reduced the learning and memory capacity,in-creased iron content in brain tissue,Aβ protein ex-pression increased in hippocampus of HAMP-/-group and APP/PS1 group mice(P＜0.01),the protein and mRNA expression of TF,TFR1 and DMT1 increased in hippocampal tissues of HAMP-/-and APP/PS1 groups(P＜0.01),and the FPN1 protein and mRNA expres-sion decreased(P＜0.01).Compared with the HAMP-and APP/PS1 groups,respectively,HAMP-/-+HYD group and APP/PS1+HYD group had improved learning and memory ability,decreased iron content,decreased Aβ protein expression(P＜0.01),decreased TF,TFR1,DMT1 protein and mR-NA expression(P＜0.01),and increased expression of FPN1 protein and mRNA(P＜0.01).Conclusions There is some association between HAMP-/-mice and APP/PS1 mice,HYD can improve the learning and memory ability of HAMP-/-and APP/PS1 mice and reduce the Aβ deposition.The mechanism may be related to the regulation of TF,TFR1,DMT1,FPN1 expression and improving brain iron overload.

TRIM32(tripartite motif protein 32,TRIM32)plays an important role in cell differentiation and proliferation and is involved in a variety of biological processes,including signal transduction,apop-tosis,and gene expression regulation.In the previous study,our group found that TRIM32 knockout mice are less susceptible to methamphetamine(MA)addiction.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of silencing TRIM32 by siRNA(small interfering RNA)transfection on the apoptosis of neuronal cells caused by MA addiction and its mechanism.In this paper,the expression of TRIM32 was silenced by siRNA in PC 12 cells,and subgroups were established:the normal control group,MA-treated group,TRIM32-silencing group,and TRIM32-silenceing+MA-treated group.The apoptosis of cells in each group was detected using in situ terminal deoxynucleotyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labe-ling assay(TUNEL staining),and the results showed that the percentage of cells in the TRIM32-silence-ing+MA-treated group was lower than the MA-treated group(P＜0.01),indicating that TRIM32 silen-cing could inhibit MA-induced apoptosis.We also detected the changes of mitochondrial membrane po-tential in each group,which was increased in the TRIM32-silenceing+MA-treated group compared with the MA treatment group(P＜0.05),indicating that TRIM32 silencing could regulate the MA-induced de-crease in mitochondrial membrane potential.The results of cellular immunofluorescence and Western blotting showed that the protein levels of cystatinase-3(caspase-3),cleaved-caspase-3(cleaved-caspase-3),and cytochrome c(Cyt-C)were significantly down-regulated in the TRIM32-silencing+MA-treated group compared with the MA-treated group(P＜0.01)and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)and phospho-protein kinase B(p-AKT)were significantly up-regulated(P＜0.01),suggesting that silencing of TRIM32 to inhibit apoptosis may be achieved by modulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.On the basis of this in-depth study,the PI3K/AKT inhibitor LY294002 was added to the experiment,and the results confirmed that LY294002 could partially block apoptosis by silencing TRIM32(P＜0.05),which further confirmed that TRIM32 silencing inhibited MA through activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling.In conclusion,silencing TRIM32 could inhibit the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway triggered by MA addic-tion,thus exerting a neuroprotective effect,and the mechanism may be related to the PI3K/AKT signa-ling pathway.

Objective:To observe the genetic variation of SH2B3 in patients with myeloid neoplasms.Methods:The results of targeted DNA sequencing associated with myeloid neoplasms in the Department of Hematology,Xuanwu Hospital,Capital Medical University from November 2017 to November 2022 were retrospectively analyzed,and the patients with SH2B3 gene mutations were identified.The demographic and clinical data of these patients were collected,and characteristics of SH2B3 gene mutation,co-mutated genes and their correlations with diseases were analyzed.Results:The sequencing results were obtained from 1 005 patients,in which 19 patients were detected with SH2B3 gene mutation,including 18 missense mutations(94.74％),1 nonsense mutation(5.26％),and 10 patients with co-mutated genes(52.63％).Variant allele frequency(VAF)ranged from 0.03 to 0.66.The highest frequency mutation was p.Ile568Thr(5/19,26.32％),with an average VAF of 0.49,involving 1 case of MDS/MPN-RS(with SF3B1 mutation),1 case of MDS-U(with SF3B1 mutation),1 case of aplastic anemia with PNH clone(with PIGA and KMT2A mutations),2 cases of MDS-MLD(1 case with SETBP1 mutation).The other mutations included p.Ala567Thr in 2 cases(10.53％),p.Arg566Trp,p.Glu533Lys,p.Met437Arg,p.Arg425Cys,p.Glu314Lys,p.Arg308*,p.Gln294Glu,p.Arg282Gln,p.Arg175Gln,p.Gly86Cys,p.His55Asn and p.Gln54Pro in 1 case each.Conclusion:A wide distribution of genetic mutation sites and low recurrence of SH2B3 is observed in myeloid neoplasms,among of them,p.Ile568Thr mutation is detected with a higher incidence and often coexists with characteristic mutations of other diseases.

Objectives: To construct a nomogram for prediction of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) lymph node metastasis based on inflammation-related markers,and to conduct its clinical verification. Methods: Clinical and pathological data of 858 ICC patients who underwent radical resection were retrospectively collected at 10 domestic tertiary hospitals in China from January 2010 to December 2018. Among the 508 patients who underwent lymph node dissection,207 cases had complete variable clinical data for constructing the nomogram,including 84 males,123 females,109 patients≥60 years old,98 patients<60 years old and 69 patients were pathologically diagnosed with positive lymph nodes after surgery. Receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn to calculate the accuracy of preoperative imaging examinations to determine lymph node status,and the difference in overall survival time was compared by Log-rank test. Partial regression squares and statistically significant preoperative variables were screened by backward stepwise regression analysis. R software was applied to construct a nomogram,clinical decision curve and clinical influence curve,and Bootstrap method was used for internal verification. Moreover,retrospectively collecting clinical information of 107 ICC patients with intraoperative lymph node dissection admitted to 9 tertiary hospitals in China from January 2019 to June 2021 was for external verification to verify the accuracy of the nomogram. 80 patients with complete clinical data but without lymph node dissection were divided into lymph node metastasis high-risk group and low-risk group according to the score of the nomogram among the 858 patients. Log-rank test was used to compare the overall survival of patients with or without lymph node metastasis diagnosed by pathology. Results: The area under the curve of preoperative imaging examinations for lymph node status assessment of 440 patients was 0.615,with a false negative rate of 62.8% (113/180) and a false positive rate of 14.2% (37/260). The median survival time of 207 patients used to construct a nomogram with positive or negative postoperative pathological lymph node metastases was 18.5 months and 27.1 months,respectively (P<0.05). Five variables related to lymph node metastasis were screened out by backward stepwise regression analysis,which were combined calculi,neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio,albumin,liver capsule invasion and systemic immune inflammation index,according to which a nomogram was constructed with concordance index(C-index) of 0.737 (95%CI: 0.667 to 0.806). The C-index of external verification was 0.674 (95%CI:0.569 to 0.779). The calibration prediction curve was in good agreement with the reference curve. The results of the clinical decision curve showed that when the risk threshold of high lymph node metastasis in the nomogram was set to about 0.32,the maximum net benefit could be obtained by 0.11,and the cost/benefit ratio was 1∶2. The results of clinical influence curve showed that when the risk threshold of high lymph node metastasis in the nomogram was set to about 0.6,the probability of correctly predicting lymph node metastasis could reach more than 90%. There was no significant difference in overall survival time between patients with high/low risk of lymph node metastasis assessed by the nomogram and those with pathologically confirmed lymph node metastasis or without lymph node metastasis (Log-rank test:P=0.082 and 0.510,respectively). Conclusion: The prediction accuracy of preoperative nomogram for ICC lymph node metastasis based on inflammation-related markers is satisfactory,which can be used as a supplementary method for preoperative diagnosis of lymph node metastasis and is helpful for clinicians to make personalized decision of lymph node dissection for patients with ICC.