1.Research progress on role of tRNA-derived small RNA in neuropsychiatric disorders
Shuai CHU ; Ting-ting WU ; Qing-xiao HONG ; Wei-sheng CHEN ; Wen-hua ZHOU ; Hui-fen LIU ; Hai-hang YU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(2):219-225
Transfer-RNA derived small RNA(tsRNA),a re-cently discovered class of non-coding RNA,is produced by ma-ture tRNA or tRNA precursor through the mediation of specific endonucleases.By regulating gene expression at the transcrip-tional and post transcriptional levels and acting as an epigenetic regulator,tsRNA plays an important role in the physiological and pathological processes of many organisms.Therefore,it has gradually become a research hotspot in biomedicine and attracted widespread attention.Moreover,there is increasing evidence that tsRNA is involved in the occurrence and development of many neuropsychiatric diseases through participating in stress re-sponse,cell proliferation and apoptosis,neural development,synaptic plasticity,neuroinflammation and immune regulation,epigenetic regulation,RNA processing,and protein translation regulation.This article mainly discusses the generation,classifi-cation and biological functions of tsRNA,and elaborates on the role and possible mechanisms of tsRNA in neurodevelopment and neuropsychiatric disorders,thereby further revealing the poten-tial of tsRNA as a reliable biomarker and therapeutic target for neuropsychiatric disorders.
2.Relationship Between CMTM4 Expression and Clinicopathological Features in Cervical Cancer and the Study of Mechanism
Jian-Hui LIU ; Jing ZHOU ; Hai-Yan WANG ; An-Qi YANG ; Xiao-Ying A ; Jia-Liang WANG ; Qing-Fen MU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(2):296-304
Abnormal expression of CMTM4 protein is closely related to tumour occurrence,development and prognosis.Although the important role of CMTM4 in tumours has been gradually manifested,its spe-cific mechanism of action in cervical cancer remains unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between CMTM4 expression and clinicopathological features in cervical cancer and study its mechanism.Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of CMTM4 in cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues,and it was found that CMTM4 was significantly under-ex-pressed in cervical cancer tissues(P<0.001).The chi-square test analysed the relationship between high and low CMTM4 expression and the clinical and pathological characteristics of cervical cancer pa-tients and results found that CMTM4 expression was correlated with the number of births,HPV infection status,pathological type,FIGO stage and lymph node metastasis.Data from Western blot and RT-qPCR found that CMTM4 protein and mRNA levels in HaCaT cells were significantly higher than that of C-33A cells,HeLa cells,U14 cells,and HT-3 cells.Among them,the most significant change in CMTM4 ex-pression was observed in C-33A cells,so the C-33A cell line was selected for subsequent overexpression experiments.CCK-8 analysis found that the proliferation ability of C-33A cervical cancer cells in the pcDNA-CMTM4 group was significantly lower than that in the pcDNA-NC group(P<0.001).Flow cy-tometry and Western blot results indicated that CMTM4 overexpression promoted apoptosis(P<0.001),significantly increased Bax(P<0.001)and cleaved caspase 3(P<0.05)protein levels,and significant-ly decreased Bcl-2 protein level(P<0.01).Western blot results further found that CMTM4 overexpres-sion significantly reduced the protein levels of p-PI3K(P<0.001)and p-AKT(P<0.01),but did not affect the protein levels of PI3K and AKT(P>0.05).The above findings indicated that CMTM4 gene expression was down-regulated in cervical cancer,and CMTM4 overexpression inhibited cervical cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway.Therefore,CMTM4 may be used as a biological marker for screening cervical cancer.
3.Visual detection of neurovascular coupling in mouse brain based on two-photon imaging
Xiao-fen ZHOU ; Ya-xian ZHAO ; Run ZHOU ; Wen-bin HE ; Zhao ZHANG ; Shi-feng CHU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(10):1991-1997
Aim To establish a simple and practical method for visualizing neurovascular coupling in the mouse barrel cortex in vivo.Methods Male C57BL/6J mice received stereotaxic in-jections of pAAV-hSyn-jGCaMP7s-WPRE into the barrel cortex to monitor neuronal activity.Three weeks post-injection,a crani-al window was implanted,and TRITC-Dextran 155 ku was ad-ministered intravenously to visualize the vasculature and blood flow dynamics.A custom-built whisker stimulator was used to e-voke controlled neuronal excitation.Two-photon microscopy was employed to monitor neuronal and vascular responses to whisker stimulation in real-time.Results Neuronal calcium signals and plasma signals were clearly observed using two-photon microsco-py.Whisker stimulation led to a significant increase in neuronal calcium signals in the barrel cortex,indicating effective neuronal activation.This neuronal excitation was accompanied by a syn-chronous increase in blood vessel diameter,blood flow velocity and overall blood flow.Conclusions This study successfully establishes a three-dimensional visualization framework(spatial,temporal,and functional)for in vivo visualization of neurovascu-lar coupling in the mouse barrel cortex,which provides a useful tool for investigating the pathophysiological mechanisms of neuro-vascular dysfunction and evaluating the efficacy of potential ther-apies.
4.RXRα modulates hepatic stellate cell activation and liver fibrosis by targeting CaMKKβ-AMPKα axis.
Lijun CAI ; Meimei YIN ; Shuangzhou PENG ; Fen LIN ; Liangliang LAI ; Xindao ZHANG ; Lei XIE ; Chuanying WANG ; Huiying ZHOU ; Yunfeng ZHAN ; Gulimiran ALITONGBIEKE ; Baohuan LIAN ; Zhibin SU ; Tenghui LIU ; Yuqi ZHOU ; Zongxi LI ; Xiaohui CHEN ; Qi ZHAO ; Ting DENG ; Lulu CHEN ; Jingwei SU ; Luoyan SHENG ; Ying SU ; Ling-Juan ZHANG ; Fu-Quan JIANG ; Xiao-Kun ZHANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(7):3611-3631
Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the primary fibrogenic cells in the liver, and their activation plays a crucial role in the development and progression of hepatic fibrosis. Here, we report that retinoid X receptor-alpha (RXRα), a unique member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, is a key modulator of HSC activation and liver fibrosis. RXRα exerts its effects by modulating calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase β (CaMKKβ)-mediated activation of AMP-activated protein kinase-alpha (AMPKα). In addition, we demonstrate that K-80003, which binds RXRα by a unique mechanism, effectively suppresses HSC activation, proliferation, and migration, thereby inhibiting liver fibrosis in the CCl4 and amylin liver NASH (AMLN) diet animal models. The effect is mediated by AMPKα activation, promoting mitophagy in HSCs. Mechanistically, K-80003 activates AMPKα by inducing RXRα to form condensates with CaMKKβ and AMPKα via a two-phase process. The formation of RXRα condensates is driven by its N-terminal intrinsic disorder region and requires phosphorylation by CaMKKβ. Our results reveal a crucial role of RXRα in liver fibrosis regulation through modulating mitochondrial activities in HSCs. Furthermore, they suggest that K-80003 and related RXRα modulators hold promise as therapeutic agents for fibrosis-related diseases.
5.Research progress on role of tRNA-derived small RNA in neuropsychiatric disorders
Shuai CHU ; Ting-ting WU ; Qing-xiao HONG ; Wei-sheng CHEN ; Wen-hua ZHOU ; Hui-fen LIU ; Hai-hang YU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(2):219-225
Transfer-RNA derived small RNA(tsRNA),a re-cently discovered class of non-coding RNA,is produced by ma-ture tRNA or tRNA precursor through the mediation of specific endonucleases.By regulating gene expression at the transcrip-tional and post transcriptional levels and acting as an epigenetic regulator,tsRNA plays an important role in the physiological and pathological processes of many organisms.Therefore,it has gradually become a research hotspot in biomedicine and attracted widespread attention.Moreover,there is increasing evidence that tsRNA is involved in the occurrence and development of many neuropsychiatric diseases through participating in stress re-sponse,cell proliferation and apoptosis,neural development,synaptic plasticity,neuroinflammation and immune regulation,epigenetic regulation,RNA processing,and protein translation regulation.This article mainly discusses the generation,classifi-cation and biological functions of tsRNA,and elaborates on the role and possible mechanisms of tsRNA in neurodevelopment and neuropsychiatric disorders,thereby further revealing the poten-tial of tsRNA as a reliable biomarker and therapeutic target for neuropsychiatric disorders.
6.Relationship Between CMTM4 Expression and Clinicopathological Features in Cervical Cancer and the Study of Mechanism
Jian-Hui LIU ; Jing ZHOU ; Hai-Yan WANG ; An-Qi YANG ; Xiao-Ying A ; Jia-Liang WANG ; Qing-Fen MU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(2):296-304
Abnormal expression of CMTM4 protein is closely related to tumour occurrence,development and prognosis.Although the important role of CMTM4 in tumours has been gradually manifested,its spe-cific mechanism of action in cervical cancer remains unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between CMTM4 expression and clinicopathological features in cervical cancer and study its mechanism.Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of CMTM4 in cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues,and it was found that CMTM4 was significantly under-ex-pressed in cervical cancer tissues(P<0.001).The chi-square test analysed the relationship between high and low CMTM4 expression and the clinical and pathological characteristics of cervical cancer pa-tients and results found that CMTM4 expression was correlated with the number of births,HPV infection status,pathological type,FIGO stage and lymph node metastasis.Data from Western blot and RT-qPCR found that CMTM4 protein and mRNA levels in HaCaT cells were significantly higher than that of C-33A cells,HeLa cells,U14 cells,and HT-3 cells.Among them,the most significant change in CMTM4 ex-pression was observed in C-33A cells,so the C-33A cell line was selected for subsequent overexpression experiments.CCK-8 analysis found that the proliferation ability of C-33A cervical cancer cells in the pcDNA-CMTM4 group was significantly lower than that in the pcDNA-NC group(P<0.001).Flow cy-tometry and Western blot results indicated that CMTM4 overexpression promoted apoptosis(P<0.001),significantly increased Bax(P<0.001)and cleaved caspase 3(P<0.05)protein levels,and significant-ly decreased Bcl-2 protein level(P<0.01).Western blot results further found that CMTM4 overexpres-sion significantly reduced the protein levels of p-PI3K(P<0.001)and p-AKT(P<0.01),but did not affect the protein levels of PI3K and AKT(P>0.05).The above findings indicated that CMTM4 gene expression was down-regulated in cervical cancer,and CMTM4 overexpression inhibited cervical cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway.Therefore,CMTM4 may be used as a biological marker for screening cervical cancer.
7.Visual detection of neurovascular coupling in mouse brain based on two-photon imaging
Xiao-fen ZHOU ; Ya-xian ZHAO ; Run ZHOU ; Wen-bin HE ; Zhao ZHANG ; Shi-feng CHU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(10):1991-1997
Aim To establish a simple and practical method for visualizing neurovascular coupling in the mouse barrel cortex in vivo.Methods Male C57BL/6J mice received stereotaxic in-jections of pAAV-hSyn-jGCaMP7s-WPRE into the barrel cortex to monitor neuronal activity.Three weeks post-injection,a crani-al window was implanted,and TRITC-Dextran 155 ku was ad-ministered intravenously to visualize the vasculature and blood flow dynamics.A custom-built whisker stimulator was used to e-voke controlled neuronal excitation.Two-photon microscopy was employed to monitor neuronal and vascular responses to whisker stimulation in real-time.Results Neuronal calcium signals and plasma signals were clearly observed using two-photon microsco-py.Whisker stimulation led to a significant increase in neuronal calcium signals in the barrel cortex,indicating effective neuronal activation.This neuronal excitation was accompanied by a syn-chronous increase in blood vessel diameter,blood flow velocity and overall blood flow.Conclusions This study successfully establishes a three-dimensional visualization framework(spatial,temporal,and functional)for in vivo visualization of neurovascu-lar coupling in the mouse barrel cortex,which provides a useful tool for investigating the pathophysiological mechanisms of neuro-vascular dysfunction and evaluating the efficacy of potential ther-apies.
8.Treatment and pharmaceutical care of a case of follicular lymphoma with persistent positive SARS-Cov-2
Jie-Qing ZHANG ; Xiao-Fen YE ; Qian-Zhou LYU ; Xiao-Yu LI ; Shu-Jing CHEN
Fudan University Journal of Medical Sciences 2024;51(4):632-637,642
SARS-CoV-2 has posed a significant threat to a subset of the patient population.The occurrence of hematological malignancies and tumor treatment can lead to immunosuppression in patients,which significantly increases the risk of serious complications,severe incidence and mortality after SARS-CoV-2 infection.The treatment of a patient with follicular lymphoma infected with SARS-CoV-2 was described in detail.The patient remained positive for RT-PCR tests during the hospitalization for nearly 90 days.After undergoing 5 rounds of antiviral treatment,along with glucocorticoid anti-inflammatory therapy,low-molecular-weight heparin for anticoagulation,antibiotics for infection control,and respiratory support through the use of a ventilator,the patient eventually obtained negative result of the RT-PCR test.Subsequently,the patient was successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation and discharged.By summarizing the treatment process of this case,we hoped to provide reference and experience for future clinical diagnosis and treatment.
9.CMTM4 Regulates the Differentiation and Immune Effects of MDSCs in Cervical Cancer
Hai-Yan WANG ; Jian-Hui LIU ; Xiao-Ying A ; Jia-Liang WANG ; Qing-Fen MU ; Jing ZHOU ; An-Qi YANG
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2024;40(12):1742-1750
The aberrant expression of CMTM4 protein has been implicated in tumorigenesis,develop-ment,and prognosis;however,its precise role and underlying mechanism in cervical cancer remain elu-sive.We aimed to investigate the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer and its regulatory effect and molecular mechanism on MDSCs differentiation and immune cell function.Firstly,immunohisto-chemical (IHC) staining and Western blot analysis were employed to assess the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer tumors and adjacent tissues.The results revealed a significant decrease in the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer tissues compared to adjacent tissues (P<0.01) .Differenti-ation of MDSCs in tumor samples from cervical cancer patients was assessed using flow cytometry,with CD45,CD11b,and Ly6G used as markers for M-MDSCs,and CD45,CD11b,and Ly6C used as mark-ers for G-MDSCs.The percentage of M-MDSCs and G-MDSCs in the blood of cervical cancer patients was significantly higher than that observed in healthy volunteers (P<0.01) .Furthermore,flow cytometry a-nalysis demonstrated that high expression of CMTM4 increased the proportion of CD3+CD4+T cells and CD3+CD8+T cells in the blood of cervical cancer patients (P<0.01),while also promoting the activa-tion ratio of Th1 and Th17 cells (P<0.05) .Conversely,it inhibited the activation ratio of Th2 and Treg cells (P<0.05 or P<0.01) .The percentage of CD8+PD-1+T cells and CD8+PD-L1+T cells within tumor tissues was determined by flow cytometry analysis which showed that high expression levels of CMTM4 suppressed their presence within tumor tissues (P<0.05) .The in vitro studies demonstrated that overexpression of CMTM4 in HeLa cells significantly suppressed the generation of MDSCs (P<0.01),while overexpression of PD-1 in HeLa cells further enhanced the generation of MDSCs (P<0.05) .Additionally,ELISA was employed to measure the levels of Th1,Th2,Th17,and Treg cyto-kines.It was observed that CMTM4 overexpression in HeLa cells reduced IL-10 secretion by T cells (P<0.01),but increased IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion (P<0.01),both of which were reversed by PD-1 overexpression (P<0.05 or P<0.01) .In conclusion,low expression of CMTM4 in cervical cancer leads to abnormal differentiation of MDSCs and immune escape of tumors.CMTM4 influences the activation of tumor T cells by regulating the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.Thus,CMTM4 may be a potential target for the treatment of cervical cancer.
10.Establishment of an indicator system for evaluation of entrustable professional activity of PICC specialist nurses
Xiaoqian ZHOU ; Fen WANG ; Suyun LI ; Fangli LIU ; Lianlian QU ; Xiao XIONG
Modern Clinical Nursing 2024;23(12):41-48
Objective To establish an indicator system for evaluation of entrustable professional activity(EPA)of PICC specialist nurses hence to provide a reference in evaluation of the post competency.Methods Through literature review and expert correspondence,two rounds of expert consultations were conducted with 18 PICC specialist nurses to determine the indicators for EPA evaluation.Results The effective recovery rate of the consultation questionnaires was 100.00%from the 2 rounds of expert consultations with the 18 PICC specialist nurses.In the second round of consultation,the expert authority coefficient was 0.94.The Kendall harmony coefficients for first-level secord-level and tertiary indicator were 0.388,0.257 and 0.159,respectively(all P<0.001).Four primary evaluative indicators were extracted,covering health assessment,professional skills operation,clinical nursing and teaching and research.In addition,4 first-level indicators(health assessment,professional skill operation,clinical nursing and teaching and scientific research),a total of 11 second-level indicators(mortal history collection,puncture site and catheter selection,occupational protection,specialist nursing operation technology,PICC venous safety assessment and management,first aid nursing skills,health guidance,educational consultation,communication and collaboration,teaching guidance,nursing scientific research application and professional development)and 47 tertiary indicators were included.All indicators scored between 4.56~5.00 for importance in the second round of consultation,between 4.50~4.94 for observability,and between 4.61~5.00 for reflecting the corresponding core competencies.Conclusion The EPA indicator system for evaluation of PICC specialist nurses is scientifically reliable and comprehensive.It can serve as an objective quantitative tool in evaluation of the post competency of PICC specialist nurses.

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