1.Applications of Vaterite in Drug Loading and Controlled Release
Xiao-Hui SONG ; Ming-Yu PAN ; Jian-Feng XU ; Zheng-Yu HUANG ; Qing PAN ; Qing-Ning LI
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):162-181
Currently, the drug delivery system (DDS) based on nanomaterials has become a hot interdisciplinary research topic. One of the core issues is drug loading and controlled release, in which the key lever is carriers. Vaterite, as an inorganic porous nano-material, is one metastable structure of calcium carbonate, full of micro or nano porous. Recently, vaterite has attracted more and more attention, due to its significant advantages, such as rich resources, easy preparations, low cost, simple loading procedures, good biocompatibility and many other good points. Vaterite, gained from suitable preparation strategies, can not only possess the good drug carrying performance, like high loading capacity and stable loading efficiency, but also improve the drug release ability, showing the better drug delivery effects, such as targeting release, pH sensitive release, photothermal controlled release, magnetic assistant release, optothermal controlled release. At the same time, the vaterite carriers, with good safety itself, can protect proteins, enzymes, or other drugs from degradation or inactivation, help imaging or visualization with loading fluorescent drugs in vitro and in vivo, and play synergistic effects with other therapy approaches, like photodynamic therapy, sonodynamic therapy, and thermochemotherapy. Latterly, some renewed reports in drug loading and controlled release have led to their widespread applications in diverse fields, from cell level to clinical studies. This review introduces the basic characteristics of vaterite and briefly summarizes its research history, followed by synthesis strategies. We subsequently highlight recent developments in drug loading and controlled release, with an emphasis on the advantages, quantity capacity, and comparations. Furthermore, new opportunities for using vaterite in cell level and animal level are detailed. Finally, the possible problems and development trends are discussed.
2.Progress on antisense oligonucleotide in the field of antibacterial therapy
Jia LI ; Xiao-lu HAN ; Shi-yu SONG ; Jin-tao LIN ; Zhi-qiang TANG ; Zeng-ming WANG ; Liang XU ; Ai-ping ZHENG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2025;60(2):337-347
With the widespread use of antibiotics, drug-resistant bacterial infections have become a significant threat to human health. Finding new antibacterial strategies that can effectively control drug-resistant bacterial infections has become an urgent task. Unlike small molecule drugs that target bacterial proteins, antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) can target genes related to bacterial resistance, pathogenesis, growth, reproduction and biofilm formation. By regulating the expression of these genes, ASO can inhibit or kill bacteria, providing a novel approach for the development of antibacterial drugs. To overcome the challenge of delivering antisense oligonucleotide into bacterial cells, various drug delivery systems have been applied in this field, including cell-penetrating peptides, lipid nanoparticles and inorganic nanoparticles, which have injected new momentum into the development of antisense oligonucleotide in the antibacterial realm. This review summarizes the current development of small nucleic acid drugs, the antibacterial mechanisms, targets, sequences and delivery vectors of antisense oligonucleotide, providing a reference for the research and development of antisense oligonucleotide in the treatment of bacterial infections.
3.Analyzing the influencing factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in passenger drivers
Xinyang YU ; Yingfei XIANG ; Yonglin LUO ; Meifang XU ; Xiao YIN ; Min YANG ; Huiqing CHEN ; Shijie HU
China Occupational Medicine 2025;52(2):155-159
Objective To investigate the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in passenger drivers and its influencing factors. Methods A total of 951 passenger drivers in Guangdong Province were selected as the research subjects using the judgmental sampling method. A Musculoskeletal Injury Questionnaire was employed to assess the prevalence of WMSDs in the past year. Results The prevalence of WMSDs in passenger drivers was 41.11%. The result of multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that married drivers had a higher risk of WMSDs than single drivers (P<0.05). The lower the frequency of physical exercise, the longer the driving time per week, the longer the continuous driving time, the more restricted the driving working space, the poorer the foot comfort during driving, and the more affected the normal meal, the higher the risk of WMSDs (all P<0.05). The risk of WMSDs in drivers with sleep time ≤ 8.0 h/d was higher than that in drivers with sleep time > 8.0 h/d (P<0.01), and the risk of WMSDs in drivers with the same posture for a long time on the shoulder was higher than that in drivers without this poor working posture (P<0.01). Conclusion WMSDs were prevalent among passenger drivers, which was associated with demographic and adverse ergonomic factors. Intervention on lifestyle and adverse ergonomic factors could further reduce the risk of WMSDs of passenger drivers.
4.A new carrier of targeted drugs for bladder cancer: metal nanoparticles
Xiao YU ; Shenghan XU ; Bo CHEN ; Qiang WANG
Journal of Modern Urology 2025;30(2):174-179
The current clinical treatment of bladder cancer (BCa) is mainly surgical treatment,supplemented by postoperative chemotherapy and immunotherapy.However,due to the lack of specificity,targeting and other reasons,the therapeutic effect is not satisfactory.In recent years,it has been found that metal nanoparticles (MNPs) prepared by gold,silver,and so on,as bladder infusion drugs or drug carriers,can not only accurately target BCa cells,but also have high stability and drug release rate,thereby reducing the side-effects of chemotherapy drugs.Based on domestic and foreign studies,this paper reviews the progress of MNPs in the treatment of BCa,including gold,silver,copper and other MNPs,and prospects the trend of bladder perfusion combined with nanomedical drugs.
5.Adolescent Smoking Addiction Diagnosis Based on TI-GNN
Xu-Wen WANG ; Da-Hua YU ; Ting XUE ; Xiao-Jiao LI ; Zhen-Zhen MAI ; Fang DONG ; Yu-Xin MA ; Juan WANG ; Kai YUAN
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(9):2393-2405
ObjectiveTobacco-related diseases remain one of the leading preventable public health challenges worldwide and are among the primary causes of premature death. In recent years, accumulating evidence has supported the classification of nicotine addiction as a chronic brain disease, profoundly affecting both brain structure and function. Despite the urgency, effective diagnostic methods for smoking addiction remain lacking, posing significant challenges for early intervention and treatment. To address this issue and gain deeper insights into the neural mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence, this study proposes a novel graph neural network framework, termed TI-GNN. This model leverages functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to identify complex and subtle abnormalities in brain connectivity patterns associated with smoking addiction. MethodsThe study utilizes fMRI data to construct functional connectivity matrices that represent interaction patterns among brain regions. These matrices are interpreted as graphs, where brain regions are nodes and the strength of functional connectivity between them serves as edges. The proposed TI-GNN model integrates a Transformer module to effectively capture global interactions across the entire brain network, enabling a comprehensive understanding of high-level connectivity patterns. Additionally, a spatial attention mechanism is employed to selectively focus on informative inter-regional connections while filtering out irrelevant or noisy features. This design enhances the model’s ability to learn meaningful neural representations crucial for classification tasks. A key innovation of TI-GNN lies in its built-in causal interpretation module, which aims to infer directional and potentially causal relationships among brain regions. This not only improves predictive performance but also enhances model interpretability—an essential attribute for clinical applications. The identification of causal links provides valuable insights into the neuropathological basis of addiction and contributes to the development of biologically plausible and trustworthy diagnostic tools. ResultsExperimental results demonstrate that the TI-GNN model achieves superior classification performance on the smoking addiction dataset, outperforming several state-of-the-art baseline models. Specifically, TI-GNN attains an accuracy of 0.91, an F1-score of 0.91, and a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.83, indicating strong robustness and reliability. Beyond performance metrics, TI-GNN identifies critical abnormal connectivity patterns in several brain regions implicated in addiction. Notably, it highlights dysregulations in the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex, consistent with prior clinical and neuroimaging findings. These regions are well known for their roles in emotional regulation, reward processing, and impulse control—functions that are frequently disrupted in nicotine dependence. ConclusionThe TI-GNN framework offers a powerful and interpretable tool for the objective diagnosis of smoking addiction. By integrating advanced graph learning techniques with causal inference capabilities, the model not only achieves high diagnostic accuracy but also elucidates the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction. The identification of specific abnormal brain networks and their causal interactions deepens our understanding of addiction pathophysiology and lays the groundwork for developing targeted intervention strategies and personalized treatment approaches in the future.
6.Reducing language barriers, promoting information absorption, and communication using fanyi
Difei WANG ; Guannan CHEN ; Lin LI ; Shaodi WEN ; Zijing XIE ; Xiao LUO ; Li ZHAN ; Shuangbin XU ; Junrui LI ; Rui WANG ; Qianwen WANG ; Guangchuang YU
Chinese Medical Journal 2024;137(16):1950-1956
Interpreting genes of interest is essential for identifying molecular mechanisms, but acquiring such information typically involves tedious manual retrieval. To streamline this process, the fanyi package offers tools to retrieve gene information from sources like National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), significantly enhancing accessibility. Additionally, understanding the latest research advancements and sharing achievements are crucial for junior researchers. However, language barriers often restrict knowledge absorption and career development. To address these challenges, we developed the fanyi package, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI)-driven online translation services to accurately translate among multiple languages. This dual functionality allows researchers to quickly capture and comprehend information, promotes a multilingual environment, and fosters innovation in academic community. Meanwhile, the translation functions are versatile and applicable beyond biomedicine research to other domains as well. The fanyi package is freely available at https://github.com/YuLab-SMU/fanyi.
7.Dynamic changes of neuronal cells at different time points following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats
Xu-Huan ZOU ; Rui LAN ; Xue-Qin FU ; Wei-Wei WANG ; Man-Man WANG ; Chen TANG ; Shuang LIU ; Hong-Yu LI ; Xiao-Ming SHEN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(6):1056-1066
Aim To investigate the dynamic changes of neuronal cells at different time points following acute cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by establishing a model of brain ischemia-reperfusion injury.Methods Thirty male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were ran-domly divided into six groups:sham group and cere-bral ischemia-reperfusion injury(IR)groups at differ-ent time points.Focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model was established using the middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)technique.The Longa sco-ring method was used to assess neurobehavioral scores in rats.After successful model preparation,routine paraffin sections were made,and TUNEL staining and immunohistochemistry staining with NeuN antibody were performed to observe cell apoptosis and neuronal cell survival,respectively.Immunohistochemistry stai-ning was also performed to investigate the changes in glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)as a marker for astrocytes,ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1(IBA-1)as a marker for microglia,and CD31 as a marker for endothelial cells at different time points.Results No significant changes were observed in neu-ronal cells of the sham group at different time points.In the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury groups,cell apoptosis was activated at IR3h and increased in quan-tity with morphological damage as time progressed.Ne-uN+neurons showed signs of ischemic injury after IR3h,with abnormal cell morphology.From 12 h,Ne-uN+neurons decreased in a time-dependent manner and reached their peak severity at 24 h.GFAP+astro-cytes decreased significantly after IR3h,while poorly labeled GFAP+astrocytes increased at IR 6 h and al-most disappeared in the infarcted area at 24 h and 48 h.The number of IBA-1+microglia-positive cells de-creased at IR3h,and their volume increased at IR6h.Microglial cell death was observed in the infarcted area at IR12h.CD31+endothelial cells around the infarc-ted cortex and striatum increased significantly after IR3h and persisted until 48 h.Conclusions After cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury,the number of ap-optotic cells increases with the prolongation of time,and NeuN+neurons exhibit the most severe damage at 24 h.GFAP+astrocytes and microglial cells gradually die over time.The number of CD31+endothelial cells increases significantly around the infarcted cortex and striatum after 3 h of reperfusion and persists until 48 h.
8.Preliminary study on delaying aging induced thymus degeneration in SAMP6 mice with Bazi Bushen capsule
Zhao-Dong LI ; Yin-Xiao CHEN ; Bo-Yang GONG ; Zhe XU ; Zhi-Xian YU ; Yue-Xuan SHI ; Yan-Fei PENG ; Yu-Hong BIAN ; Yun-Long HOU ; Xiang-Ling WANG ; Shu-Wu ZHAO
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(6):1186-1192
Aim To explore the improvement effect of Bazi Bushen capsule on thymic degeneration in SAMP6 mice and the possible mechanism.Methods Twenty 12 week old male SAMP6 mice were randomly divided into the model group(SAMP6)and the Bazi Busheng capsule treatment group(SAMP6+BZBS).Ten SAMR1 mice were assigned to a homologous control group(SAMR1).The SAMP6+BZBS group was oral-ly administered Bazi Bushen capsule suspension(2.8 g·kg-1)daily,while the other two groups were orally administered an equal amount of distilled water.After nine weeks of administration,the morphology of the thymus in each group was observed and the thymus in-dex was calculated;HE staining was used to observe the structural changes of thymus tissue;SA-β-gal stai-ning was used to detect thymic aging;flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of thymic CD3+T cells in each group;Western blot was used to detect the levels of p16,Bax,Bcl-2,and cleaved caspase-3 proteins in thymus;immunofluorescence was applied to detect the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells in each group;ELISA was employed to detect IL-7 lev-els in thymus.Results Compared with the SAMP6 group,the thymic index of the SAMP6+BZBS group significantly increased(P<0.05);the disordered thy-mic structure was significantly improved;the positive proportion of SA-β-gal staining significantly decreased(P<0.01);the proportion of CD3+T cells apparently increased(P<0.05);the level of p16 protein signifi-cantly decreased(P<0.05);the level of Bcl-2 pro-tein significantly increased(P<0.05),while the lev-el of cleaved caspase-3 protein markedly decreased(P<0.05);the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells evidently increased;the level of IL-7 significantly increased(P<0.01).Conclusions Bazi Bushen capsule can delay thymic degeneration,inhibit cell ap-optosis in thymus and promote thymic cell development in SAMP6 mice,which may be related to increasing the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells and promoting IL-7 secretion.
9.Effect of Bushen Tongfu decoction on neuroinflammation in AD mice based on intestinal flora and metabolomics
Jie ZHANG ; Xu WANG ; Xiao-Yu SONG ; Si-Min LI ; Jian-Ping DUAN ; Yun-Min XU ; Min ZHAO
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(7):1258-1266
Aim To explore the mechanism of Bushen Tongfu decoction(BSTF)improving the learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 mice.Methods The APP/PS1 mice were administered by BSTF for eight weeks.The spatial learning and memory ability of all mice were detected by Morris water maze.The changes in the intestinal microbiota and gut metabolites of mice were detected by 16S rDNA and LC-MS/MS technolo-gy.Results Compared with the model group,the es-cape latency and swimming path in BSTF-H,BSTF-M and BSTF-L groups were shortened and the times of target crossings after removing the platform increased significantly(P<0.01).The 16S rDNA results showed that BSTF could increase the abundance of beneficial bacteria of Firmicutes and reduce the abun-dance of harmful bacteria of Bacteroidota in APP/PS1 mice.A total of 25 differential metabolites were identi-fied by LC-MS/MS,including sphingolipid metabo-lism,lysine metabolism and tyrosine metabolism.KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the therapeutic effect of BSTF was mainly through inflammation-related signaling pathways such as NF-κB pathways and Apelin pathways.Conclusions The mechanism of BSTF im-proving the learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 mice may be related to the improvement of intestinal flora composition,the effect of sphingolipid metabo-lism,lysine metabolism and tyrosine metabolism and the regulation of inflammation-related signaling path-ways such as NF-κB and Apelin pathways.
10.Research advances on pathogenesis and treatment of diabetic complications
Yun-Qi ZHANG ; Xiao-Yu XU ; Guo-Wei MA ; Xiao-Bo SUN ; Yun LUO
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(10):1808-1813
In recent decades,the prevalence of diabetes has been increasing year by year,and a series of complications caused by diabetes include diabetic cardiomyopathy,retinopathy,nephropa-thy,osteoporosis and neuropathy.The pathogenesis of these com-plications is still very unclear,and there is an urgent need for some therapeutic drugs to meet the clinical needs.In this re-view,we summarize the pathogenesis of various diabetic compli-cations in the past five years,the markers that have received more attention and the main therapeutic drugs,in order to pro-vide references for the drug research and development of diabetic complications.

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