1.Identification of differential genes in systemic sclerosis and prediction of traditional Chinese medicine
Shuang FENG ; Yangfang TAI ; Shengxiao ZHANG ; Peifeng HE ; Chaoyue ZHENG ; Lingjing CHENG ; Teng KONG ; Xiangfei SUN ; Qi YU ; Xuechun LU
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(1):107-115,中插1-中插2
Objective:The differentially expressed genes(DEGs)and activated signaling pathways in systemic sclerosis(SSc)were screened by bioinformatics methods,and Chinese medicines for potential treatment of SSc were explored,providing a new theoretical basis for the study of SSc and the screening of potential markers.Methods:The data sets GSE58095,GSE130953,GSE33463 and GSE58613 were selected from GEO database and divided into skin group and peripheral blood group according to the sample source.The DEGs of SSc patients was analyzed by R language,and the Wayne diagram was drawn to take the intersection of the two groups.Metascape was used for GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis,and STRING and Cytoscape were used for protein interaction network analysis to find key pathways and hub genes.The core genes were mapped to the medical on-tology information retrieval platform,and related Chinese medicines for SSc treatment were screened.The effective components of Chi-nese medicines were obtained through TCMSP and HERB databases,and the target letters of active ingredients were obtained through swiss database.The"drug-active ingredient-target"network was constructed by Cytoscape.Results:Total 218 DEGs were identified from the skin group of patients with SSc,and 283 DEGs were screened from peripheral blood of patients with SSc.Among them,there were 7 DEGs co-upregulated in skin and peripheral blood,namely ISG15,LGALS3BP,BST2,C1QB,IFI27,CEACAM1 and FBP1.CAMK2N1 was up-regulated in skin but down-regulated in peripheral blood,ARG1 was down-regulated in skin but up-regulated in pe-ripheral blood.GO and KEGG analysis of SSc DEGs showed that these genes were significantly enriched in inflammatory response,he-moglobin complex,immune receptor activity and extracellular matrix.The results of protein interaction network suggest that more than 10 genes such as COL1A1,CTGF12,IL1B,IFNG and JUN may be potential markers of SSc and core genes of therapeutic targets.The potential Chinese medicines screened for SSc treatment include ginseng,sanguisorba,convolvula,wolfberry,safflower,etc.The main components of these herbs were β-sitosterol,quercetin,kaempferol,stigmasterol,luteolin,sitosterol,Spinasterol,and the target were AKR1B1,AR,CYP1B1,XDH,etc.Conclusion:This study uses bioinformatics to screen out core genes that may be potential markers and therapeutic targets for SSc,which is expected to be a new target for the early diagnosis and mechanism research of SSc.Meanwhile,the mapped Chinese medicine and its effective components can provide ideas for the research and development of Chinese medicine compounds for the treatment of SSc.
2.Identification of differential genes in systemic sclerosis and prediction of traditional Chinese medicine
Shuang FENG ; Yangfang TAI ; Shengxiao ZHANG ; Peifeng HE ; Chaoyue ZHENG ; Lingjing CHENG ; Teng KONG ; Xiangfei SUN ; Qi YU ; Xuechun LU
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(1):107-115,中插1-中插2
Objective:The differentially expressed genes(DEGs)and activated signaling pathways in systemic sclerosis(SSc)were screened by bioinformatics methods,and Chinese medicines for potential treatment of SSc were explored,providing a new theoretical basis for the study of SSc and the screening of potential markers.Methods:The data sets GSE58095,GSE130953,GSE33463 and GSE58613 were selected from GEO database and divided into skin group and peripheral blood group according to the sample source.The DEGs of SSc patients was analyzed by R language,and the Wayne diagram was drawn to take the intersection of the two groups.Metascape was used for GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis,and STRING and Cytoscape were used for protein interaction network analysis to find key pathways and hub genes.The core genes were mapped to the medical on-tology information retrieval platform,and related Chinese medicines for SSc treatment were screened.The effective components of Chi-nese medicines were obtained through TCMSP and HERB databases,and the target letters of active ingredients were obtained through swiss database.The"drug-active ingredient-target"network was constructed by Cytoscape.Results:Total 218 DEGs were identified from the skin group of patients with SSc,and 283 DEGs were screened from peripheral blood of patients with SSc.Among them,there were 7 DEGs co-upregulated in skin and peripheral blood,namely ISG15,LGALS3BP,BST2,C1QB,IFI27,CEACAM1 and FBP1.CAMK2N1 was up-regulated in skin but down-regulated in peripheral blood,ARG1 was down-regulated in skin but up-regulated in pe-ripheral blood.GO and KEGG analysis of SSc DEGs showed that these genes were significantly enriched in inflammatory response,he-moglobin complex,immune receptor activity and extracellular matrix.The results of protein interaction network suggest that more than 10 genes such as COL1A1,CTGF12,IL1B,IFNG and JUN may be potential markers of SSc and core genes of therapeutic targets.The potential Chinese medicines screened for SSc treatment include ginseng,sanguisorba,convolvula,wolfberry,safflower,etc.The main components of these herbs were β-sitosterol,quercetin,kaempferol,stigmasterol,luteolin,sitosterol,Spinasterol,and the target were AKR1B1,AR,CYP1B1,XDH,etc.Conclusion:This study uses bioinformatics to screen out core genes that may be potential markers and therapeutic targets for SSc,which is expected to be a new target for the early diagnosis and mechanism research of SSc.Meanwhile,the mapped Chinese medicine and its effective components can provide ideas for the research and development of Chinese medicine compounds for the treatment of SSc.
3.Effects of Sustained Fatigue on Passive and Active Biomechanical Characteristics of the Knee
Xiangfei KONG ; Hongdan WANG ; Zizhan LIAN ; Jie YAO ; Yubo FAN
Journal of Medical Biomechanics 2024;39(3):457-462,468
Objective To investigate the effect of sustained fatigue on the passive and active biomechanical characteristics of the knee.Methods Twenty-seven healthy university students were recruited to perform a fatigue experiment using an isokinetic dynamometer.The fatigue experiment included three fatigue cycles with more than 30 sustained quadriceps submaximal voluntary isometric contractions per cycle.The maximum passive torque,mean maximum voluntary contraction(MVC)torque,integrated electromyography of the vastus lateralis and biceps femoris,and co-contraction index(CI)during different fatigue cycles were compared.Results The maximum passive torque decreased significantly only after the 3rd fatigue cycle(P<0.05).The mean MVC torque and integrated electromyography of the vastus lateralis and biceps femoris decreased significantly during the 1st,2nd,and 3rd fatigue cycles(P<0.05).However,the Cl did not change significantly(P>0.05).Conclusions Sustained fatigue intervention with 90-fold isometric contraction training of the quadriceps significantly affected the active and passive biomechanical properties of the knee.After fatigue intervention,the resistance of the knee joint to passive flexion and extension decreased.With fatigue intervention,the active contraction ability of the quadriceps decreased,and the activation of the quadriceps femoris and hamstring muscles also decreased;however,the co-contraction level of the two muscle groups remained unchanged.This mild muscle group co-contraction pattern is beneficial for maintaining a benign mechanical loading environment in the knee joints.These results help us understand the active and passive biomechanical properties of knee joints after fatigue.
4.Protein-based Bioinformatics Analysis of Cervical Cancer Related Genes
Lingjing CHENG ; Hetong LI ; Shengxiao ZHANG ; Hongqi LIU ; Qi YU ; Chaoyue ZHENG ; Shuang FENG ; Teng KONG ; Xiangfei SUN ; Peifeng HE ; Xiaoping LYU
Journal of Medical Informatics 2023;44(12):47-54
Purpose/Significance To explore the characteristics and clinical significance of differentially expressed genes closely re-lated to HPV E6/E7 by using bioinformatics.Method/Process The cervical tissue and clinical information of cervical cancer in TCGA and GTEx of UCSC are used as the training set.The expression profile chip GSE63514 related to cervical cancer in GEO is used as the validation set.Firstly,the limma package of R software is used to screen DEGs of tumor and normal samples,and Venn map of genes re-lated to E6/E7 protein in MigDB is made.Survival analysis is performed by survival kit and verified by ROC and protein expression lev-els.Secondly,key genes are obtained by copy number variation and methylation correlation.Finally,the specific co-expression network is constructed and enrichment analysis and immune infiltration analysis are performed.Result/Conclusion There are 101 differentially expressed genes related to HPV E6/E7 protein,and three genes are found to have significance after screening,namely E2F1,MCM4 and PCNA.At the same time,it is found that the genes in the specific coexpression network are significantly enriched in the DNA replication and chromosome organization pathways.Immune correlation analysis shows that key genes are significantly associated with CD4 T cells,B cells and neutrophils.DNA replication,chromosome organization,etc.,are the molecular mechanisms and key genes significantly related to the development of cervical squamous cell carcinoma and HPV E6/E7 encoded proteins.
5.Effect of DMARDs on differentially expressed genes in synovium of rheumatoid arthritis
Lingjing CHENG ; Shengxiao ZHANG ; Qi YU ; Chaoyue ZHENG ; Shuang FENG ; Teng KONG ; Xiangfei SUN ; Peifeng HE ; Xuechun LU
Chinese Journal of Rheumatology 2023;27(8):541-544,C8-4-C8-6,F3
Objective:To identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with the progression of synovitis in RA by using bioinformatics analysis and explore the effects of DMARDs such as methotrexate, tocilizumab and rituximab on the DEGs in RA synovium.Methods:RA expression profile microarray data GSE7307、GSE12021、GSE55457、GSE55235、GSE77298、GSE89408 were acquired from the public gene chip database (GEO), including 113 synovial tissue samples from RA and 70 healthy controls (HC). At the same time, synovial expression microarrays GSE45867, GSE24742 and GSE97165 after DMARDs treatment were obtained. These data included 8 samples treated with methotrexate, 12 treated with tocilizumab, 12 treated with rituximab and 19 treated with combined tDMARDs. R software was used to screen DEGs and Venn plots using gene ontology function enrichment and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway enrichment analysis. Hub genes were selected by STRING online analysis tool and Cytoscape software.Results:Compared with HC, 797 DEGs were up-regulated and 434 DEGs were down-regulated in the synovial tissue of RA. These DEGs were mainly enriched in T cell activation, immune response-activating cell surface receptor signaling pathway. Using Cytoscape and cytoHubba to obtain 5 sets of DEGs based on the STRING database model, the degree algorithm screened out 10 hub genes: LCK, SYK, PTPRC, HLA-DRA, LYN, NCAPG, TOP2A, JUN, CXCR4, CCNB1. Methotrexate treatment significantly up-regulated 20 DEGs and down-regulated 30 DEGs. Rituximab treatment up-regulated 100 DEGs and down-regulated 55 DEGs. Tocilizumab treatment up-regulated 91 DEGs and down-regulated 317 DEGs. These altered DEGs were enriched in regulating cell adhesion, leukocyte-cell adhesion, leukocyte transfer, and insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling pathways. It was worth noting that after treatment, a total of 306 high-expressing DEGs were down-regulated, and 36 low-expressing DEGs were up-regulated.Conclusion:LCK, insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling pathway, etc. are the responsible molecular mechanisms and key pivot genes for the occurrence and development of RA, and the treatment of DMARDs, which are closely related to the response of RA to the treatment of DMARDs.
6.Short-Term Changes of Graft Viscosity after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Zizhan LIAN ; Bin SUN ; Shanjiang YU ; Xiangfei KONG ; Yichen YAN ; Bin YANG ; Jie YAO
Journal of Medical Biomechanics 2023;38(3):E535-E541
Objective To study the short-term variation patterns of graft viscosity after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery. Methods Six male New Zealand rabbits were selected. The ACLR animal model of unilateral knee was made with Achilles tendon as the graft. The experimental rabbits were euthanized 15 days after ACLR surgery, with removal of the graft, healthy anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and Achilles tendon. The cross-sectional area and viscosity coefficient of the graft were measured, and the creep experiments were carried out under equilibrium conditions of 0.1 MPa and 1 MPa, respectively. The viscosity coefficent was calculated. Variation patterns of graft viscosity were summarize. The grafts were compared with healthy ACL. Results The cross-sectional area of the graft increased slowly within 15 days after ACLR surgery. The viscosity of ACL and graft changed nonlinearly. The viscosity coefficient was quite different under different stresses. The viscosity coefficient of the graft decreased with the time after ACLR surgery, which was more obviously under the condition of low stress. Conclusions The results are helpful to guide the implementation of early postoperative rehabilitation plan after ACLR surgery .
7.Two considerations about the current National Standard of Laboratory Animals
Qin LI ; Wenqing CHU ; Xiangfei KONG ; Yunlong CHENG
Chinese Journal of Comparative Medicine 2016;26(2):4-6
According the current National standard for laboratory animal, herpes B virus antibody must be tested and negative for all the breed/tested macaques,howere,in fact the positive rate is around 60-70% in breeding colony. Being the National Standard, if it is too far from the reality of the filed, weighing and changing should be made.Hardness/crispness degree of laboratory animal diet never been considered as a listed value in the National Standard for Laboratory Animal to identify the quality of diet.In fact, this index affects a lot about daily diet intake and physiological status of laboratory animals.Hereby, the authors suggest to take the index into the National Standard, to assess the quality of laboratory animal diet in a more comprehensive way.

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