Objective To investigate the regulatory mechanism of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in different types of mitral valvular disease (MVD) with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods From August 2011 to August 2012, patients with moderate to severe MVD accompanied by AF who required mitral valve replacement at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, were included. Based on echocardiographic results, patients were divided into two groups: a mitral regurgitation (MR) with AF (MR-AF) group and a mitral stenosis (MS) with AF (MS-AF) group. Left atrial tissue samples were collected during surgery. Techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting were used to detect key molecules in the TGF-β1/JNK pathway. Results Sixteen patients were enrolled. There were 8 patients in the MR-AF group, including 5 males and 3 females, with an average age of (41.38±11.19) years; and 8 patients in the MS-AF group, including 6 males and 2 females, with an average age of (43.12±5.30) years. The left atrial volume load was higher in MR-AF patients, while the left atrial pressure load was higher in MS-AF patients. In MS-AF patients, the relative expression levels of MAPK9, JUN, CASP3, BAX, and BCL2 mRNA in left atrial tissues were significantly upregulated. The serum TGF-β1 protein level and the relative expression levels of p-JNK, p-c-Jun, and Caspase-3 proteins in the left atrial tissues of the MR-AF group were higher. Myocardial cell damage was more severe in the MS-AF group, and the protein expression level of Bcl-2 was higher. Conclusion Different MVD have distinct hemodynamic characteristics. The myocardium of the left atrium in MR-AF patients is more prone to apoptosis, possibly through the activation of the TGF-β1/JNK signaling pathway.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most established and versatile mammalian expression system for the large-scale production of recombinant therapeutic proteins, owing to their genetic stability, adaptability to serum-free suspension culture, and ability to perform human-like post-translational modifications. More than 70% of biologics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rely on CHO-based production platforms, underscoring their central role in modern biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Despite these advantages, CHO systems continue to face three persistent bottlenecks that limit their potential for high-yield, reproducible, and cost-efficient production: excessive metabolic burden during high-density culture, heterogeneity of glycosylation patterns, and progressive loss of long-term expression stability. This review provides an integrated analysis of recent advances addressing these challenges and proposes a forward-looking framework for constructing intelligent and sustainable CHO cell factories. In terms of metabolic regulation, excessive lactate and ammonia accumulation disrupts energy balance and reduces recombinant protein synthesis efficiency. Optimization of culture parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, osmolarity, and glucose feeding can effectively alleviate metabolic stress, while supplementation with modulators including sodium butyrate, baicalein, and S-adenosylmethionine promotes specific productivity (qP) by modulating apoptosis and chromatin structure. Furthermore, genetic engineering strategies—such as overexpression of MPC1/2, HSP27, and SIRT6 or knockout of Bax, Apaf1, and IGF-1R—have demonstrated significant improvements in cell viability and product yield. The combination of multi-omics metabolic modeling with artificial intelligence (AI)-based prediction offers new opportunities for building self-regulating CHO systems capable of dynamic adaptation to environmental stress. Regarding glycosylation uniformity, which determines therapeutic efficacy and immunogenicity, gene editing-based glycoengineering (e.g., FUT8 knockdown or ST6Gal1 overexpression) has enabled the humanization of CHO glycan profiles, minimizing non-human sugar residues and enhancing drug stability. Process-level strategies such as galactose or manganese co-feeding and fine control of temperature or osmolarity further allow rational regulation of glycosyltransferase activity. Additionally, in vitro chemoenzymatic remodeling provides a complementary route to construct human-type glycans with defined structures, though industrial applications remain constrained by cost and scalability. The integration of model-driven process design and AI feedback control is expected to enable real-time prediction and correction of glycosylation deviations, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency in continuous biomanufacturing. Long-term expression stability, another critical challenge, is often impaired by promoter silencing, chromatin condensation, and random genomic integration. Molecular optimization—such as the use of improved promoters (CMV, EF-1α, or CHO endogenous promoters), Kozak and signal peptide refinement, and incorporation of chromatin-opening elements (UCOE, MAR, STAR)—helps maintain durable transcriptional activity, while site-specific integration systems including Cre/loxP, Flp/FRT, φC31, and CRISPR/Cas9 can enable single-copy, position-independent gene insertion at genomic safe-harbor loci, ensuring stable, predictable expression. Collectively, this review highlights a paradigm shift in CHO system optimization driven by the convergence of genome editing, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence. The transition from empirical optimization to rational, data-driven design will facilitate the development of programmable CHO platforms capable of autonomous regulation of metabolic flux, glycosylation fidelity, and transcriptional activity. Such intelligent cell factories are expected to accelerate the transformation from laboratory-scale research to industrial-scale, high-consistency, and economically sustainable biopharmaceutical manufacturing, thereby supporting the next generation of efficient and customizable biologics manufacturing.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most established and versatile mammalian expression system for the large-scale production of recombinant therapeutic proteins, owing to their genetic stability, adaptability to serum-free suspension culture, and ability to perform human-like post-translational modifications. More than 70% of biologics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rely on CHO-based production platforms, underscoring their central role in modern biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Despite these advantages, CHO systems continue to face three persistent bottlenecks that limit their potential for high-yield, reproducible, and cost-efficient production: excessive metabolic burden during high-density culture, heterogeneity of glycosylation patterns, and progressive loss of long-term expression stability. This review provides an integrated analysis of recent advances addressing these challenges and proposes a forward-looking framework for constructing intelligent and sustainable CHO cell factories. In terms of metabolic regulation, excessive lactate and ammonia accumulation disrupts energy balance and reduces recombinant protein synthesis efficiency. Optimization of culture parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, osmolarity, and glucose feeding can effectively alleviate metabolic stress, while supplementation with modulators including sodium butyrate, baicalein, and S-adenosylmethionine promotes specific productivity (qP) by modulating apoptosis and chromatin structure. Furthermore, genetic engineering strategies—such as overexpression of MPC1/2, HSP27, and SIRT6 or knockout of Bax, Apaf1, and IGF-1R—have demonstrated significant improvements in cell viability and product yield. The combination of multi-omics metabolic modeling with artificial intelligence (AI)-based prediction offers new opportunities for building self-regulating CHO systems capable of dynamic adaptation to environmental stress. Regarding glycosylation uniformity, which determines therapeutic efficacy and immunogenicity, gene editing-based glycoengineering (e.g., FUT8 knockdown or ST6Gal1 overexpression) has enabled the humanization of CHO glycan profiles, minimizing non-human sugar residues and enhancing drug stability. Process-level strategies such as galactose or manganese co-feeding and fine control of temperature or osmolarity further allow rational regulation of glycosyltransferase activity. Additionally, in vitro chemoenzymatic remodeling provides a complementary route to construct human-type glycans with defined structures, though industrial applications remain constrained by cost and scalability. The integration of model-driven process design and AI feedback control is expected to enable real-time prediction and correction of glycosylation deviations, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency in continuous biomanufacturing. Long-term expression stability, another critical challenge, is often impaired by promoter silencing, chromatin condensation, and random genomic integration. Molecular optimization—such as the use of improved promoters (CMV, EF-1α, or CHO endogenous promoters), Kozak and signal peptide refinement, and incorporation of chromatin-opening elements (UCOE, MAR, STAR)—helps maintain durable transcriptional activity, while site-specific integration systems including Cre/loxP, Flp/FRT, φC31, and CRISPR/Cas9 can enable single-copy, position-independent gene insertion at genomic safe-harbor loci, ensuring stable, predictable expression. Collectively, this review highlights a paradigm shift in CHO system optimization driven by the convergence of genome editing, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence. The transition from empirical optimization to rational, data-driven design will facilitate the development of programmable CHO platforms capable of autonomous regulation of metabolic flux, glycosylation fidelity, and transcriptional activity. Such intelligent cell factories are expected to accelerate the transformation from laboratory-scale research to industrial-scale, high-consistency, and economically sustainable biopharmaceutical manufacturing, thereby supporting the next generation of efficient and customizable biologics manufacturing.

Objective This study conducted molecular biological identification of the viruses carried by Culex pipiens pallens specimens collected in Shunyi District, Beijing in 2023, and observed the changes in the infection rate of the viruses carried by Cx. pipiens pallens at different collection times. Methods Cx. pipiens pallens were collected using carbon dioxide mosquito traps. The mosquito samples were ground in batches and analyzed by molecular biology technologies. The virus infection rate at different collection times was analyzed statistically. Results 17 strains of Culex pipiens pallens densovirus(CppDNV)were identified from Cx. pipiens pallens samples collected in Shunyi District, Beijing, in 2023. The nucleotide sequence analysis of the virus genome coding region showed that CppDNV was a single-stranded DNA virus with a total length of 3 335 nt, encoding 2 non-structural proteins(NS1, NS2)and 1 capsid protein(VP). The nucleotide(amino acid)sequence lengths of the three proteins were 2 376 nt(791 aa),1 092 nt(363 aa)and 1 071 nt(356 aa), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that CppDNV was located in genus Brevihamaparvovirus. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in infection rates across collection times(χ2=4.429, P=0.194). Conclusions CppDNV was identified in Cx. pipiens pallens in Beijing, and it was stably maintained in this natural population.

AIM:To investigate the current status of astigmatism and its associated factors among children and adolescents from kindergarten through senior high school in Yangpu District, Shanghai, and to provide scientific evidence for the prevention and control of refractive errors.METHODS:A cluster sampling method was employed. From September to November 2024, students from 14 randomly selected schools in Yangpu District, Shanghai, were enrolled as study subjects. Autorefraction and ocular biometry were performed under non-cycloplegic conditions, and questionnaire surveys were administered. Comparisons of astigmatism degree, detection rate, and axis were made across age groups, educational stages, and sexes. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with astigmatism.RESULTS:A total of 7 233 students aged 4-18 y were enrolled including 3 731 males, 3 502 females, with the mean age 10.13±4.18 y, astigmatism -0.76±0.82 D, and the detection rate(≤-1.00 D)was 29.23%. Both the degree and detection rate of astigmatism were correlated with age and educational stage, peaking in senior high school, with the most pronounced changes observed during primary school. Besides age, astigmatic refractive power was influenced by spherical equivalent(β=0.105, P<0.001), mean keratometry(β=-0.118, P<0.001), sex(with boys as the reference, girls: β=0.054, P<0.001), frequent sustained near work for 30-40 min(with “almost never” as the reference, β=-0.030, P=0.038), preterm birth(β=-0.023, P=0.044), maternal myopia(β=-0.028, P=0.020), and homework completion time on rest days(β=-0.035, P=0.041). The detection rate of astigmatism was associated with maternal myopia(OR=1.130, P=0.039), male sex(OR=0.773, P<0.001), shorter sleep duration on school days(OR=0.909, P=0.028), shorter sleep duration on rest days(OR=0.937, P=0.046), preterm birth(OR=1.382, P=0.012), frequent excessive head lowering(OR=1.216, P=0.045), homework completion time on rest days(OR=1.043, P=0.046), higher spherical equivalent(OR=0.891, P<0.001), and higher mean keratometry(OR=1.188, P<0.001).CONCLUSION:The degree and detection rate of astigmatism among children and adolescents from kindergarten to senior high school in Yangpu District, Shanghai are correlated with educational stage, and primary school may represent a critical period for astigmatism prevention and control. Male sex, maternal myopia, preterm birth, high-intensity near work, and insufficient sleep and other factors may be associated with the onset and progression of astigmatism. It is recommended that education and health departments strengthen visual health screening during primary school, while promoting behavioral interventions such as scientific eye-use habits and adequate sleep across different educational stages to delay the onset and progression of astigmatism.

Glycogen synthase 1 (GYS1) is the rate-limiting enzyme responsible for glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle, heart, brain, and other extrahepatic tissues, playing a central role in systemic energy homeostasis. The human GYS1 gene maps to chromosome 19q13.33, comprises 16 exons, and encodes a 737-amino-acid polypeptide that is highly conserved across mammals. GYS1 activity is subject to multilayered and precisely coordinated regulation. At the transcriptional level, the GYS1 promoter contains a hypoxia response element (HRE) that mediates HIF-1α-dependent induction under low-oxygen conditions, as well as a muscle-specific enhancer harboring MEF2 and MyoD binding sites that confers tissue-restricted expression. At the post-translational level, a hierarchical phosphorylation cascade serves as the primary activity switch: glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) sequentially phosphorylates four C-terminal serine residues following casein kinase II priming, while protein kinase A (PKA) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) provide parallel inhibitory inputs at both N- and C-terminal sites. Dephosphorylation and reactivation are mediated by protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) through tissue-specific glycogen-targeting regulatory subunits such as PPP1R3A and PPP1R3B, which anchor PP1 to glycogen particles and direct its activity toward GYS1. The allosteric activator glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) binds at the dimer interface, simultaneously enhancing catalytic efficiency and promoting dephosphorylation susceptibility, thereby establishing a feed-forward activation loop that couples substrate availability to glycogen synthesis. Beyond phosphorylation, GYS1 is regulated by ubiquitination (mediated by the E3 ligase PJA1), acetylation, O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification, and SUMOylation, which collectively modulate protein stability, subcellular localization, and protein-protein interactions. Epigenetic mechanisms, including CpG island methylation and histone acetylation dynamics, govern chromatin accessibility at the GYS1 locus, while muscle-specific microRNAs such as miR-1 and miR-206 fine-tune GYS1 expression at the post-transcriptional level. Dysregulation of GYS1 has been identified as a central pathogenic driver in a spectrum of human diseases. In inherited glycogen storage disorders—including Lafora disease, adult polyglucosan body disease (APBD), and Pompe disease—loss of upstream regulatory control leads to GYS1 hyperactivation and the accumulation of structurally abnormal or excessive glycogen, resulting in progressive neurodegeneration, myopathy, and multiorgan dysfunction. In type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), impaired insulin signaling through the PI3K-AKT-GSK3β axis maintains GYS1 in a hyperphosphorylated inactive state in skeletal muscle, compromising postprandial glucose disposal and exacerbating hyperglycemia. In oncology, GYS1 exhibits context-dependent roles across multiple cancer types. In hepatocellular carcinoma, FMO2⁺ cancer-associated fibroblasts stabilize GYS1 by competitively inhibiting PJA1-mediated ubiquitination, and stabilized GYS1 subsequently activates NF‑κB/CCL19 signaling to promote tertiary lymphoid structure formation and enhance anti-PD-1 immunotherapy responsiveness. In clear cell renal cell carcinoma, GYS1 promotes tumor progression through non-canonical NF‑κB pathway activation via the scaffold protein RPS27A. In triple-negative breast cancer, GYS1 has been identified as a trigger of disulfidptosis and an activator of NF-κB signaling through non-enzymatic facilitation of IκBα degradation. In colorectal cancer, mitochondrial fission deficiency drives AMPK-dependent GYS1 upregulation and glycogen accumulation as a compensatory survival mechanism, while in cervical cancer, GYS1-maintained glycogen reserves fuel the pentose phosphate pathway to generate NADPH for ROS clearance, thereby conferring cisplatin resistance in cancer stem cells. Therapeutic strategies targeting GYS1 have gained substantial momentum across these disease contexts. For glycogen storage disorders, antisense oligonucleotides, small interfering RNAs (e.g., ABX1100), and small-molecule inhibitors (e.g., MZ-101) have demonstrated preclinical and early clinical efficacy in reducing pathological glycogen accumulation. For T2DM, pharmacological activation of GYS1 through GSK3β inhibition or enhancement of PP1-mediated dephosphorylation is being explored to restore insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis. In cancer, GYS1-directed interventions—including targeted silencing to sensitize tumors to chemotherapy and immune microenvironment modulation to enhance immunotherapy—represent emerging precision oncology approaches. This review provides a comprehensive and integrated account of GYS1 gene structure, tissue-specific distribution, regulatory networks, and pathogenic roles in metabolic disorders and malignancies, with the aim of establishing a theoretical framework for the development of GYS1-targeted precision therapies.

The ventral anterior (VA) nucleus of the thalamus is a major target of the basal ganglia and is closely associated with the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Notably, the VA receives direct innervation from the hypothalamic histaminergic system. However, its role in PD remains unknown. Here, we assessed the contribution of histamine to VA neuronal activity and PD motor deficits. Functional magnetic resonance imaging showed reduced VA activity in PD patients. Optogenetic activation of VA neurons or histaminergic afferents significantly alleviated motor deficits in 6-OHDA-induced PD rats. Furthermore, histamine excited VA neurons via H1 and H2 receptors and their coupled hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels, inward-rectifier K⁺ channels, or Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channels. These results demonstrate that histaminergic afferents actively compensate for Parkinsonian motor deficits by biasing VA activity. These findings suggest that targeting VA histamine receptors and downstream ion channels may be a potential therapeutic strategy for PD motor dysfunction.
Animals ; Histamine/metabolism* ; Male ; Oxidopamine/toxicity* ; Rats ; Ventral Thalamic Nuclei/physiopathology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Disease Models, Animal ; Parkinson Disease/metabolism* ; Neurons/physiology* ; Humans ; Optogenetics

Image 1.

OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies seen in clinic and requires novel treatment options. Morin is a natural flavonoid extracted from the flower stalk of a highly valuable medicinal plant Prunella vulgaris L., which exhibits an anti-cancer effect in multiple types of tumors. However, the therapeutic effect and underlying mechanism of morin in treating GC remains elusive. The study aims to explore the therapeutic effect and underlying molecular mechanisms of morin in GC. METHODS: For in vitro experiments, the proliferation inhibition of morin was measured by cell counting kit-8 assay and colony formation assay in human GC cell line MKN45, human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line AGS, and human gastric epithelial cell line GES-1; for apoptosis analysis, microscopic photography, Western blotting, ubiquitination analysis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, flow cytometry, and RNA interference technology were employed. For in vivo studies, immunohistochemistry, biomedical analysis, and Western blotting were used to assess the efficacy and safety of morin in a xenograft mouse model of GC. RESULTS: Morin significantly inhibited the proliferation of GC cells MKN45 and AGS in a dose- and time-dependent manner, but did not inhibit human gastric epithelial cells GES-1. Only the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK was able to significantly reverse the inhibition of proliferation by morin in both GC cells, suggesting that apoptosis was the main type of cell death during the treatment. Morin induced intrinsic apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in GC cells, which mainly relied on B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) associated agonist of cell death (BAD) but not phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced protein 1. The upregulation of BAD by morin was due to blocking the ubiquitination degradation of BAD, rather than the transcription regulation and the phosphorylation of BAD. Furthermore, the combination of morin and BCL-2 inhibitor navitoclax (also known as ABT-737) produced a synergistic inhibitory effect in GC cells through amplifying apoptotic signals. In addition, morin treatment significantly suppressed the growth of GC in vivo by upregulating BAD and the subsequent activation of its downstream apoptosis pathway. CONCLUSION Morin suppressed GC by inducing apoptosis, which was mainly due to blocking the ubiquitination-based degradation of the pro-apoptotic protein BAD. The combination of morin and the BCL-2 inhibitor ABT-737 synergistically amplified apoptotic signals in GC cells, which may overcome the drug resistance of the BCL-2 inhibitor. These findings indicated that morin was a potent and promising agent for GC treatment. Please cite this article as: Wang Y, Sun XY, Ma FQ, Ren MM, Zhao RH, Qin MM, Zhu XH, Xu Y, Cao ND, Chen YY, Dong TG, Pan YF, Zhao AG. Morin inhibits ubiquitination degradation of BCL-2 associated agonist of cell death and synergizes with BCL-2 inhibitor in gastric cancer cells. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(3): 320-332.
Humans ; Flavonoids/therapeutic use* ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology* ; Animals ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Ubiquitination/drug effects* ; Mice ; Drug Synergism ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; Flavones