ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism by which Wumeiwan suppresses the development and progression of colorectal cancer（CRC） through the regulation of fatty acid metabolic reprogramming， thereby providing new experimental evidence for the prevention and treatment of CRC. MethodsA total of 120 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the blank group， model group， Wumeiwan high-， medium-， and low-dose groups（54， 27， 13.5 g·kg^-1）， and the mesalazine group（0.01 g·kg^-1）， with 20 mice in each group. Except for the blank group， all mice were subjected to azoxymethane（AOM）/dextran sulfate sodium（DSS） treatment to establish an inflammation-associated CRC model. One week after AOM injection， mice in the treatment groups received intragastric administration of the designated drugs， while the blank and model groups received an equal volume of purified water， continuing until 20 d after the intervention endpoint. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe colonic histopathological alterations， and immunohistochemistry for vascular endothelial growth factor（VEGF） was performed to evaluate neovascularization and tumor invasion. Metabolomics combined with Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） and metabolite set enrichment analysis（MSEA） was applied to identify key CRC-related metabolic pathways， which were further validated by transcriptomic Gene Ontology（GO） enrichment and gene heatmap analysis. Subsequently， Western blot was performed to determine the expression levels of core proteins in these pathways， and immunofluorescence was used to analyze their localization and co-expression patterns in tissues， thereby elucidating the mechanism of Wumeiwan from multiple biological dimensions. ResultsCompared with the blank group， mice in the model group exhibited a significant decrease in body weight and a significant increase in the disease activity index（DAI） score（P<0.05）， with pronounced colonic mucosal damage accompanied by aggravated tumor invasion. Compared with the model group， Wumeiwan intervention markedly improved body weight loss and reduced DAI score， attenuated mucosal injury， and significantly decreased VEGF expression level（P<0.05）. Multi-omics analysis revealed that differential metabolites and genes across groups were commonly enriched in fatty acid metabolism， fatty acid biosynthesis， and other lipid-related pathways. Relative to the blank group， the model group showed significant upregulation levels of fatty acid synthesis-related genes， including sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1（SREBP1）， fatty acid synthase（FASN）， stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1（SCD1）， as well as saturated fatty acids（P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， treatment with Wumeiwan significantly reduced the expression of key genes involved in fatty acid metabolic pathways， including SREBP1， FASN， and SCD1（P<0.05）. Western blot results further confirmed that proteins in this pathway were significantly elevated in the model group， whereas they were markedly downregulated following Wumeiwan treatment（P<0.05）. Immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated enhanced co-localization of SREBP1 with the cancer-associated fibroblast（CAF） marker α-smooth muscle actin（SMA） in the model group， whereas this co-localization signal was attenuated after Wumeiwan intervention（P<0.05）. ConclusionWumeiwan can improve survival outcomes and alleviate colonic pathological damage in CRC mice， its therapeutic mechanism may be closely associated with the regulation of fatty acid metabolic reprogramming mediated by the SREBP1/FASN/SCD1 signaling pathway.

ObjectiveAs a common lifestyle habit, alcohol consumption has a controversial association with the onset of Parkinson’s disease (PD). To demonstrate the correlation between alcohol consumption and PD and to identify associated genes, we integrated findings from clinical surveys, genomics, transcriptomics, and animal experiments. MethodsWe investigated the alcohol consumption rates (including both before and after disease onset) among 244 PD patients in China and 177 PD patients from the U.S. NHANES database. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed using genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for three alcohol-related traits and seven PD-related datasets from the MRC IEU OpenGWAS database. Transcriptomic data from the substantia nigra of PD patients were obtained from three GEO datasets (GSE7621, GSE20141, and GSE49036) to analyze RIT2 gene transcription. Finally, three groups of animal experiments (water/20% ethanol/20% liquor, with 4 C57BL/6J mice per group) were conducted to examine changes in brain RIT2 gene expression and transcriptomic profiles following alcohol consumption. ResultsThe alcohol consumption rates among PD patients in China and the U.S. (9%-18.87%) were significantly lower than the general population rates of 15%-45% in their respective regions (P<0.001), suggesting a possible negative association between alcohol consumption and PD. Subsequently, in 21 bidirectional MR analyses using 3 alcohol-related GWAS datasets and 7 PD-related GWAS datasets, the forward MR analyses (alcohol intake as exposure, PD as outcome) yielded 12 negative associations (OR_IVW<1) and 9 positive associations (OR_IVW>1). Among these, only two negative associations reached statistical significance: alcohol intake frequency (OR_IVW=0.75, 95% CI: 0.60-0.93, P=0.010) and alcohol consumption (OR_IVW=0.20, 95% CI: 0.05-0.83, P=0.026). The forward MR analysis (alcohol intake→PD) identified 235 SNPs, annotated to 316 genes, while the reverse MR analyses (PD→alcohol intake) identified 37 SNPs, annotated to 53 genes. Notably, only the RIT2 gene appeared in both the forward and reverse MR analyses (alcohol intake→PD: rs28597806, rs8083110; PD→alcohol intake: rs4588066). RIT2 is selectively expressed in the human brain (FPKM: 5.259±2.103), with low or no expression in peripheral tissues (FPKM: <1). Analysis of three human substantia nigra transcriptomic datasets revealed a decreasing trend in RIT2 gene expression in PD patients (GSE20141 array signal: 3.49±1.23 vs. 2.33±0.87, P=0.044). Animal experiments demonstrated that administration of 20% ethanol or 20% liquor (approximately 8% ethanol) stimulated a >2-fold upregulation of RIT2 gene expression in the mouse brain. Furthermore, transcriptomic sequencing revealed that the two alcohol-treated groups exhibited 96 (20% ethanol vs. water control) and 4 (20% liquor vs. water control) differentially expressed genes, respectively, indicating that low-dose alcohol consumption can achieve RIT2 upregulation while minimizing impact on other brain genes. In addition to its anti-infective effects, low-dose alcohol consumption primarily influences signaling pathways related to neurodegenerative diseases such as PD and Prion diseases. ConclusionAlcohol consumption is generally considered as a harmful lifestyle habit. However, some studies have also shown a lower risk of mortality among individuals who consume low doses of alcohol (100 g/week of ethanol) or drink occasionally. Currently, one of the research focuses on alcohol consumption is whether the human body can benefit from low-dose alcohol intake. This study provides new evidence supporting a negative association between alcohol consumption and PD, and for the first time, through MR analysis, identifies the RIT2 gene as a potential mediator of the effect of alcohol consumption on PD. RIT2 is selectively expressed in the human brain. Building upon existing evidence indicating downregulated RIT2 gene expression in PD pathogenesis, our experiments confirm that low-dose alcohol consumption can upregulate RIT2 expression in the brain. In brief, alcohol consumption may suppress the pathogenesis of PD by upregulating RIT2 expression in the substantia nigra. China is facing a serious problem of population aging. This study offers important insights for long-term PD prevention and treatment strategies, with the aim of benefiting more potential PD patients through lifestyle modifications, thereby improving the quality of life of the aging population and reducing the economic burden on healthcare.

Objective To gain insights into the biological characteristics of different populations of Culex tritaeniorhynchus within and around the Yellow Sea wetland from the perspective of the occurrence of resistance, we investigated the levels of resistance to deltamethrin and kdr gene mutation in the wetland and its peripheral areas. Methods Specimens were collected from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus populations at two monitoring sites in the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area, and also from two populations in Yancheng City and the Liuhe District of Nanjing, and the resistance of these mosquitoes to deltamethrin was determined using the CDC biotest bottle method. For each concentration of deltamethrin assessed, a random subset of exposed specimens was selected for amplification of the kdr gene fragment, followed by Sanger sequencing to identify and analyze resistance-associated mutations. Results The LC50 levels of deltamethrin among mosquitoes from the four populations in Luhe, Yancheng, the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and the Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area were 2.048 5, 7.798 2, 3.473 3, and 17.695 5 mg/mL, respectively, with corresponding concentrations of deltamethrin ranging from 0.005 to 5.000,0.050 to 50.000,0.050 to 25.000 and 0.050 to 50.000 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the ranges of the KT50 values were 11.76-107.43, 67.05-216.30,29.77-107.43 and 28.40-329.51 min; the 1-h knockdown rates were 34.58%-99.15%, 9.52%-43.80%, 55.09%-73.01%, and 10.09%-68.07%; and the 24-h mortality rates were 12.15%-67.52%,9.52%-79.56%,13.17%-82.21%, and 11.01%-78.99%, respectively. With respect to kdr gene mutation, we assayed a total of 63,70,59, and 57 mosquitoes for the four populations, for which we detected L1014F mutation frequencies of 14.29%, 35.00%, 20.34%, and 31.58%, respectively, with a majority of these mutations being heterozygous for resistance. In addition, five adult mosquitoes were identified has having synonymous mutations at site 1011[i. e. , AAT(asparagine)mutation to AAC(asparagine)]. Conclusions Our findings revealed the clear resistance of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus to deltamethrin in the Yancheng region of the Yellow Sea wetland, and the resistance phenotype and kdr frequency of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment were comparable to those of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment, thereby indicating that the resistance of different populations of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was homogeneous under the pressure of different insecticide selection within and around the wetland. However, the underlying mechanisms need to be further studied.

Objective This study reports on the obligatory parasitism of water mites Arrenurus sp. on Anopheles messeae at the Manzhouli Port, Inner Mongolia, China. Methods Duing July 2024, a survey on the mosquito diversity was conducted at the Manzhouli Port. Captured mosquitoes and their ectoparasites were identified to species level. Results A total of 1840 adult mosquitoes were collected, representing species from three genera: Culex(Cx. modestus, Cx. pipiens pallens), Aedes(Ae. dorsalis, Ae. flavidorsalis, Ae. flavescens), and Anopheles (An. messeae). Among all the mosqutioes specimens,3 out of 150 captured An. messeae were found to carry ectoparasitic mites, with number of 2,4,27 mites separately. Morphological and molecular identification reached the same result as water mites(Hydrachnidiae, Hydracrina). COI gene sequence showed 94% similarity with the closest species Arrenurus truncatellus. Conlusions Literature review suggests water mites are host-specific parasitism of mosquito species and herein with the first record of Arrenurus sp. parasiting on An. Messeae in the most high-latitude region globally.

The auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) gene family is an important regulator for plant growth hormone signaling, involved in plant growth, development, as well as response to environmental stresses. In the present study, we identified SmIAA7 which is potentially associated with Salvia miltiorrhiza leaf development through comparatively analyzed the transcriptome data from different pinnate leaves. SmIAA7 was successfully isolated from S. miltiorrhiza using the specific primers. Then subsequent bioinformatic analysis, prokaryotic expression and purification, subcellular localization, and induction expression analysis under auxin and abiotic stress were performed. The full-length of SmIAA7 contained an ORF of 684 bp encoding a protein of 227 amino acid with a molecular weight of 25.3 kD. Conserved domain analysis showed that SmIAA7 contains the conserved Aux_IAA domain (pfam02309). Sequence analysis and phylogenetic tree analysis results indicated SmIAA7 was phylogenetically close to IAA7 and IAA14 from other plants, suggesting SmIAA7 involved in plant growth and development as well as response to environmental stresses. The prokaryotic expression vector pET28a-SmIAA7 was constructed and SmIAA7 recombinant protein was successfully expressed in E. coli Rosetta (DE3) strain. Subcellular localization experiment demonstrated that SmIAA7 localized in the nucleus of plant cells. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR results showed that the expression level of SmIAA7 was upregulated in response to auxin. Drought, low temperature, and salt stress significantly increased the transcript level of SmIAA7 gene. This study lays a foundation for further elucidating the role of SmIAA7 in leaf development, signal transduction, and stress defense in S. miltiorrhiza.

Sesamol is a fat-soluble natural polyphenol compound found in sesame seeds and sesame oil,which is widely used in food.Sesamol can effectively scavenge free radicals in the body,reduce oxidative stress,and protect cells from damage,therefore it plays an important role in the prevention of cardiovas-cular disease,cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.It has been widely studied for its various pharma-cological functions such as antioxidant,antibacterial,anti-inflammatory,neuroprotective,cardioprotec-tive,immunomodulatory and antitumor.In recent years,sesamol,as a safe and non-toxic chemical sub-stance,has received extensive attention in the field of tumor research and is expected to be used as a clinical drug for tumor therapy in the future.In this paper,through the collection and analysis of relevant literature on sesamol at home and abroad,we reviewed the biological functions of sesamol in antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,antibacterial,regulating energy metabolism,cardiovascular protection,and neuropro-tection,etc.as well as its mechanism of action.Furthermore,this review also focused on the role of ses-amol in regulating cellular energy metabolism,inducing apoptosis,blocking the cell cycle,modifying ep-igenetic modifications,promoting cellular autophagy,inhibiting angiogenesis,reducing the tolerance of chemotherapeutic drugs,and so on.In addition,this paper also focused on the anti-tumor effects of sesa-mol by regulating cell energy metabolism,inducing cell apoptosis,modulating epigenetic modification,promoting cell autophagy,inhibiting angiogenesis,and reducing the tolerance of chemotherapeutic drugs,etc.This review aims to provide a new theoretical basis for the development of tumor therapeutic drugs.

Objective:To explore the the application and outcomes of microscopic vocal cord shortening with retrodisplacement of anterior commissure in voice feminization surgery.Methods:We conducted a retrospective analysis of 296 patients(including 3 cases of pseudohermaphroditism and 293 transgender women)who underwent this procedure at the Voice Center of Nanjing Tongren Hospital of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery between November 2014 and August 2023. The patients, aged 18-50 years (mean age of 28.3±14.5) underwent feminizing laryngoplasty via transoral microsurgery, involving resection of the superficial lamina propria of the anterior vocal cords and subglottic tissues of the anterior commissure, followed by vocal ligament plication to achieve vocal cords shortening and anterior commissure retrodisplacement. Patients adhered to a1-month voice rest postoperatively and subsequently underwent speech rehabilitation training. Subjective/objective voice analyses, aerodynamic evaluations, and stroboscopic examinations were performed at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively to assess the effectiveness of voice feminization.Results:All surgeries were performed successfully and 94.3% (279/296) of the patients reported satisfaction at the end of the one-year follow-up. For effective cases, fundamental frequency (F 0) increased by 57.42±16.72 Hz compared to baseline. Postoperative acoustic/aerodynamic parameters and stroboscopic findings of vocal cord mucosal wave motion remained within normal ranges. These results indicated that this voice feminization surgery combined with postoperative pronunciation training achieved natural and feminine vocal characteristics. Conclusion:The combination of vocal cord shortening and anterior commissure retrodisplacement, along with postoperative pronunciation training, represents an effective surgical strategy for achieving a natural feminine voice.

AIM To establish a UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for analyzing the toxic material basis of 95％ethanol cold soaked ultrasonic extract(EC),95％ethanol heated reflux extract(EH)and water decoction extract(WD)from Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 25 ℃ thermostatic agilent ZORBAX RRHD StableBond C18 column(2.1 mm×150 mm,1.8 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of methanol-0.2％formic acid flowing at 0.30 mL/min,and heated electrospray ion source was adopted in positive and negative ion scanning.Compounds were identified by Compound Discover 3.3 software combined with the database and related literature,and the main differential components were screened by Heatmap cluster analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis.RESULTS 72 compounds were identified(22 phloroglucinols,19 flavonoids,8 phenylpropanoids,6 terpenoids and 17 other components).The main toxic differential components were phloroglucinols such as flavaspidic acid AB,didemethylpseudoaspidin AA and filixic acid PBP,flavonoids such as(-)-epicatechin,(-)-epigallocatechin,cianidanol,and other compounds such as indole-3-carboxaldehyde.CONCLUSION This method can rapidly,effectively and comprehensively characterize the main chemical composition of D.crassirhizoma,and provide a reference for the study of its pharmacological mechanism.

Nigella sativa L. seeds have been traditionally utilized in Chinese folk medicine for centuries to treat vitiligo. This study revealed that the ethanolic extract of Nigella sativa L. (HZC) enhances melanogenesis and mitigates oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence and dysfunction in melanocytes. In accordance with established protocols, the ethanol fraction from Nigella sativa L. seeds was extracted, concentrated, and lyophilized to evaluate its herbal effects via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays, tyrosinase activity evaluation, measurement of cellular melanin contents, scratch assays, senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Western blot analysis for expression profiling of experimentally relevant proteins. The results indicated that HZC significantly enhanced tyrosinase activity and melanin content while notably increasing the protein expression levels of Tyr, Mitf, and gp100 in B16F10 cells. Furthermore, HZC effectively mitigated oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence, improved melanocyte condition, and rectified various functional impairments associated with melanocyte dysfunction. These findings suggest that HZC increases melanin synthesis in melanocytes through the activation of the MAPK, PKA, and Wnt signaling pathways. In addition, HZC attenuates oxidative damage induced by H₂O₂ therapy by activating the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2-antioxidant response element (Nrf2-ARE) pathway and enhancing the activity of downstream antioxidant enzymes, thus preventing premature senescence and dysfunction in melanocytes.
Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Melanocytes/cytology* ; Cellular Senescence/drug effects* ; Nigella sativa/chemistry* ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; Seeds/chemistry* ; Mice ; Animals ; Melanins/metabolism* ; Monophenol Monooxygenase/metabolism* ; Humans