1.Macrophage autophagy in lung diseases:two-sided effects
Huijuan YOU ; Shuzhen WU ; Rong RONG ; Liyuan CHEN ; Yuqing ZHAO ; Qinglu WANG ; Xiaowei OU ; Fengying YANG
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(6):1516-1526
BACKGROUND:Macrophages play a key role in the occurrence and progression of lung diseases,and autophagy plays an important role in maintaining environmental homeostasis and functional stability in macrophages.It has been suggested that macrophage autophagic activity has two sides in lung inflammatory diseases.OBJECTIVE:To summarize the relationship between macrophage autophagy and lung diseases,thereby providing reference for exploring the prevention and treatment strategies of lung inflammatory diseases by targeting macrophage autophagy.METHODS:Literature retrieval was performed in CNKI and PubMed for relevant literature published from database inception to September 2024.The search terms were"macrophage autophagy,efferocytosis,macrophage polarization,acute lung injury,pneumonia,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,pulmonary fibrosis,asthma"in Chinese and English,respectively.The search results were included or excluded based on the selection criteria,and 100 papers that met the criteria were finally included in the review.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The obstruction of autophagy flow will induce the polarization imbalance of macrophages and impair their efferocytosis,resulting in the increase of M1 macrophages and aggravating inflammation.(2)The judgment of autophagic activity should be based on whether the autophagy flow is smooth or not,and it is essential to evaluate the degradation ability of autophagy.Some studies failed to comprehensively detect the degradation ability of autophagy lysosomes to assess whether the autophagy flow is unobtrusive.As a result,the so-called two-sided view of pulmonary macrophage autophagy in pulmonary inflammatory diseases in such studies is actually related to the one-sided judgment of autophagy activity.(3)The pathological manifestations vary across different pulmonary diseases and even at different stages of the same disease.Activation of macrophage autophagy plays a positive role in regulating pulmonary inflammatory homeostasis in conditions such as acute lung injury,infectious pneumonia,mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,early-stage pulmonary fibrosis,and secondary asthma.However,in the severe fibrotic stage of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the progressive stage of pulmonary fibrosis,the activation of pulmonary macrophage autophagy aggravates pulmonary fibrosis,reflecting the dual nature of macrophage autophagy.In allergic asthma,autophagy is activated in lung-resident macrophages but suppressed in infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages from circulation.The former is closely related to airway stenosis,and the latter aggravates pneumonia disorders.Therefore,identifying the types and progression stages of lung diseases,along with accurately assessing autophagic activity,is crucial for future investigations into the relationship between macrophage autophagy and disease pathogenesis,thereby facilitating the development of therapeutic strategies in the future.
2.Mechanism of Shenfu Xiongze Prescription in Regulating Autophagy Level to Intervene in Myocardial Remodeling in Rats via AMPK/mTOR Signaling Pathway
Xueqing WANG ; Wei ZHONG ; Liangliang PAN ; Caihong LI ; Man HAN ; Xiaowei YANG ; Yuanwang YU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(2):136-144
ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism by which the Shenfu Xiongze prescription regulates autophagy in rats with myocardial remodeling through the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. MethodsA rat model of myocardial remodeling induced by isoprenaline (ISO) was established. Rats were divided into the blank group,the model group,the low-,medium-, and high-dose groups of Shenfu Xiongze prescription,and the captopril group, 6 rats in each group. Except for the blank group,the rat model of myocardial remodeling was established in the other groups by intraperitoneal injection of 2.5 mg·kg-1 ISO for 3 consecutive weeks. At the same time of modeling, the low-,medium-, and high-dose groups of Shenfu Xiongze prescription were administered the corresponding doses of Shenfu Xiongze prescription solution (8.4,16.8,and 33.6 g·kg-1),and the captopril group was administered captopril solution (25 mg·kg-1). As for the blank group and the model group, the same volume of normal saline was given. The treatment was continued for 3 weeks. Echocardiography was used to observe the cardiac structure and function,and the heart weight index was detected. Masson staining and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining were used to observe the pathological morphology changes of myocardial tissue. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of type Ⅰ collagen (Collagen Ⅰ),type Ⅲ collagen (Collagen Ⅲ),and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) proteins in myocardial tissue was determined by immunohistochemistry. Autophagy was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The mRNA expression of Collagen Ⅰ,Collagen Ⅲ,α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA),LC3,yeast Atg6 homolog protein (Beclin-1),AMPK,and mTOR in myocardial tissue was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). The protein expression of Collagen Ⅰ,α-SMA,transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1),LC3,Beclin-1,p62, phosphorylation(p)-AMPK,p-mTOR,AMPK,and mTOR was detected by Western blot. ResultsCompared with the normal group,rats in the model group exhibited significantly decreased values of ejection fraction (EF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (FS) (P<0.01), significantly increased values of left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVIDd) and left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVIDs) (P<0.01). Additionally, the model group also showed increased degrees of inflammatory infiltration and fibrosis of myocardial tissue, significantly elevated levels of serum IL-6 and BNP (P<0.01), significantly increased mRNA and protein levels of Collagen Ⅰ,Collagen Ⅲ,α-SMA,and mTOR (P<0.01),and markedly decreased mRNA and protein levels of LC3,Beclin-1,and AMPK (P<0.05,P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the low-,medium-, and high-dose groups of Shenfu Xiongze prescription presented significantly elevated EF and FS values (P<0.01) and lowered LVIDd and LVIDs (P<0.05). In these groups, the inflammation and fibrosis were alleviated significantly. They also exhibited decreased serum levels of IL-6 and BNP (P<0.01), significantly reduced protein expression of Collagen Ⅰ, α-SMA, TGF-β1, p62, and p-mTOR (P<0.01), significantly decreased mRNA expression of Collagen Ⅰ, Collagen Ⅲ, α-SMA, and mTOR (P<0.01), and significantly increased mRNA and protein levels of LC3, Beclin-1, and AMPK (P<0.05,P<0.01). ConclusionThe Shenfu Xiongze prescription can improve the myocardial remodeling induced by ISO in rats by regulating the autophagy level,enhance cardiac function,and reduce inflammatory and fibrotic levels. This effect may be achieved through the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway.
3.A-to-I RNA editing of miR-411 attenuates post-infarction cardiac fibrosis via dual targeting of TGFBR2 and CD44
Suling DING ; Zhiwei ZHANG ; Xiyang YANG ; Dili SUN ; Jianfu ZHU ; Xiaowei ZHU ; Xiangdong YANG ; Junbo GE
Chinese Journal of Clinical Medicine 2026;33(1):191-192
Objective To explore the functional impact of A-to-I editing in the seed region of miR-411 during post-myocardial infarction (MI) fibrosis and elucidate its therapeutic potential. Methods Integrating GEO database with myocardial RNA-seq data from MI mouse models, we identified dynamic A-to-I RNA editing in small noncoding RNAs across MI progression (1 day to 8 weeks post-MI). Four miRNAs exhibited differential editing rates between MI and controls, with miR-411 showing progressive editing enhancement at seed region position 4 (P<0.01). This editing event was validated in both murine MI models and human heart failure specimens. Results The A-to-I editing ratio change of the 4th nucleotide in the seed region of miR-411 mainly occurs in cardiac fibroblasts rather than cardiomyocytes, and the editing at this site depends on ADAR2 rather than ADAR1. Edited miR-411 (ED-miR-411) diverged from wild-type miR-411 (WT-miR-411) in suppressing collagen-related pathways (extracellular matrix [ECM]-receptor interaction, collagen-containing ECM, ECM organization; P<0.01) in cardiac fibroblasts. Mechanistically, dual-luciferase assays confirmed ED-miR-411 directly targeted the 3′UTR and suppressed expression of type Ⅱ transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta receptor (TGFBR2) and CD44, which were key drivers of TGF-β-mediated fibroblast activation. ED-miR-411 overexpression blunted TGF-β-induced collagen synthesis and myofibroblast proliferation (P<0.05). In vivo, intramyocardial delivery of ED-miR-411 mimics at 1 week post-MI reduced fibrosis by 40% and improved ejection fraction by 15% (P<0.01 vs controls), whereas WT-miR-411 showed no therapeutic effect. Conclusions A-to-I editing of miR-411 emerges as an endogenous anti-fibrotic mechanism by repressing TGFBR2 and CD44, thereby disrupting TGF-β signaling and ECM dysregulation. Our findings highlight ED-miR-411 as a novel RNA-based therapeutic candidate to mitigate post-infarction cardiac remodeling.
4.Macrophage autophagy in lung diseases:two-sided effects
Huijuan YOU ; Shuzhen WU ; Rong RONG ; Liyuan CHEN ; Yuqing ZHAO ; Qinglu WANG ; Xiaowei OU ; Fengying YANG
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2026;30(6):1516-1526
BACKGROUND:Macrophages play a key role in the occurrence and progression of lung diseases,and autophagy plays an important role in maintaining environmental homeostasis and functional stability in macrophages.It has been suggested that macrophage autophagic activity has two sides in lung inflammatory diseases.OBJECTIVE:To summarize the relationship between macrophage autophagy and lung diseases,thereby providing reference for exploring the prevention and treatment strategies of lung inflammatory diseases by targeting macrophage autophagy.METHODS:Literature retrieval was performed in CNKI and PubMed for relevant literature published from database inception to September 2024.The search terms were"macrophage autophagy,efferocytosis,macrophage polarization,acute lung injury,pneumonia,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,pulmonary fibrosis,asthma"in Chinese and English,respectively.The search results were included or excluded based on the selection criteria,and 100 papers that met the criteria were finally included in the review.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The obstruction of autophagy flow will induce the polarization imbalance of macrophages and impair their efferocytosis,resulting in the increase of M1 macrophages and aggravating inflammation.(2)The judgment of autophagic activity should be based on whether the autophagy flow is smooth or not,and it is essential to evaluate the degradation ability of autophagy.Some studies failed to comprehensively detect the degradation ability of autophagy lysosomes to assess whether the autophagy flow is unobtrusive.As a result,the so-called two-sided view of pulmonary macrophage autophagy in pulmonary inflammatory diseases in such studies is actually related to the one-sided judgment of autophagy activity.(3)The pathological manifestations vary across different pulmonary diseases and even at different stages of the same disease.Activation of macrophage autophagy plays a positive role in regulating pulmonary inflammatory homeostasis in conditions such as acute lung injury,infectious pneumonia,mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,early-stage pulmonary fibrosis,and secondary asthma.However,in the severe fibrotic stage of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the progressive stage of pulmonary fibrosis,the activation of pulmonary macrophage autophagy aggravates pulmonary fibrosis,reflecting the dual nature of macrophage autophagy.In allergic asthma,autophagy is activated in lung-resident macrophages but suppressed in infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages from circulation.The former is closely related to airway stenosis,and the latter aggravates pneumonia disorders.Therefore,identifying the types and progression stages of lung diseases,along with accurately assessing autophagic activity,is crucial for future investigations into the relationship between macrophage autophagy and disease pathogenesis,thereby facilitating the development of therapeutic strategies in the future.
5.Correlation between triglyceride-glucose index and hyperuricemia in males with normal fasting blood glucose levels
Jing XUE ; Xiaowei WEI ; Suying XIA ; Weibo ZHAO ; Lintao SHI ; Jinyi SHI ; Haiying JIA ; Yueying YANG ; Xiao YANG ; Aihong WANG
Chinese Journal of Diabetes 2025;33(3):205-209
Objective To explore the correlation between triglyceride-glucose(TyG)index and hyperuricemia in men with normal fasting blood glucose(FPG)levels.Methods A total of 309 men with normal FPG who participated in a health examination at the Ninth Medical Center of the People's Liberation Army General Hospital in April 2024 were enrolled in this study.All the subjects were divided into the normal uric acid(NUA,n=218)group and the hyperuricemia(HUA,n=91)group according to serum uric acid(SUA)levels.Results Scr,TG,weight,SBP,DBP,BMI,ALT,AST,γ-GGT,and TyG index were higher in the HUA group than in the NUA group(P<0.05).Pearson and Spearman correlation analysis showed that SUA were positively correlated with Scr,eGFR,TG,weight,SBP,DBP,BMI,ALT,AST,γ-GGT and TyG(P<0.05),and negatively correlated with HDL-C(P<0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors,TyG index remained an important influencing factor for HUA.ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve of TyG index predicting hyperuricemia in men with normal FPG was 0.665,with an cutoff value of 8.45.Conclusions TyG index in men with normal FPG are influencing factors for hyperuricemia,indicating that hyperuricemia has a close association with insulin resistance,and is an important component of metabolic syndrome.
6.Design and Development of Diagnosis Related Group(DRG)
Kaihua GAO ; Lü XUAN ; Yu HOU ; Jie LUO ; Ming LU ; Qinghong LI ; Hongquan YANG ; Xianchen MENG ; Xiaowei ZHU ; Mu HU ; Jing YANG
Chinese Health Economics 2025;44(4):46-49
In July 2024,the Diagnosis Related Groups(DRG)2.0 is released based on the Notice from the National Healthcare Security Administration on Issuing the DRG 2.0 and Deepening the Relevant Work.Compared with DRG 1.1,version 2.0 was established based on a wider range of suggestions regarding the Adjacent Diagnosis Related Groups(ADRG),Major Comorbidity or Complication(MCC),and Comorbidity or Complication(CC)from various institutions.A list of disease diagnoses and surgical operations that are not used as grouping rules was compiled,and grouping efficacy was further improved by upgrading the algorithms for MCC and CC with the help of AI.Meanwhile,it is necessary to pay more attention to the number of cases of ADRG,the better methods to list the MCC/CC,the suggestions of various doctors and continuously standardize the data and update the grouping scheme of DRG.
7.Hyaluronic acid scaffold combined with adipose-derived stem cells
Aoshuang QIN ; Chen YANG ; Xin CUI ; Gejia MA ; Xiaowei GUO ; Xuchuan ZHOU ; Bin LIU
The Journal of Practical Medicine 2025;41(7):991-996
Objective This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of hyaluronic acid(HA)scaffold combined with adipose-derived stem cells(ADSCs)in chronic wound healing of lower limbs and explore its applica-tion potential in promoting chronic wound healing.Methods A total of 50 patients were included in this study.They were divided into study and control groups according to the random number table method.There were 25 cases in each of the two groups of patients.HA and ADSCs were mixed in a 1:1 ratio and evenly injected into the wound base and the subcutaneous tissue around the wound at a rate of 0.1 ml/cm3.In the control group,ADSCs were only injected into the wound base and subcutaneous tissue around the wound.The infection rate,treatment satisfaction,wound healing rate,visual analogue score(VAS),and wound quantitative score were compared between the two groups at 7 days,14 days,and 28 days.Results The infection rate in the study group was lower than that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Moreover,at 14 days and 28 days after treatment,the wound healing rate in the study group was higher than that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).On the 7th,14th,and 28th days after treatment,the VAS scores and the wound quantitative scores were lower than those in the control group,and the difference was statisti-cally significant(P<0.05).Furthermore,the treatment satisfaction rate in the research group(92%)was higher than that in the control group(80%).Conclusion HA scaffold combined with ADSCs could promote the healing of chronic wounds in lower limbs,reduce infection rate,and relieve wound pain,which provides a new idea for the treatment of chronic wounds.
8.Analysis of the Path to Improve the Efficiency of Medical Resource Allocation in Chinese Medicine Hospitals under the Perspective of fsQCA Configuration
Xueyun TIAN ; Zhixin WANG ; Yiru ZHOU ; Yan JIANG ; Liying ZHAO ; Jie ZHOU ; Zi YANG ; Xiaowei MAN
Chinese Hospital Management 2025;45(1):41-45
Objective To explore the optimisation path of medical resource allocation efficiency improvement in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospitals under the synergistic effect of multiple factors,so as to provide powerful support for the balanced development of medical resources in TCM hospitals.Methods The comprehensive efficiency of resource allocation in TCM hospitals in 31 provinces (cities and districts) of China obtained by Data Envelopment Analysis was taken as the outcome variable,and with the help of Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis,it examined the configurations of efficient medical resource allocation,considering the following conditional variables:per capital Regional GDP,the proportion of fiscal allocation revenue to total income,the ratio of TCM practicing (assistant) physicians to all practicing (assistant) physicians,the average length of hospital stay for discharged patients,the number of total diagnosis and treatments per thousand population,and the number of hospital beds per thousand population.Results By analyzing the conditional patterns of efficient allocation of medical resources in TCM hospitals,three equivalent driving paths can be summarized,which are comprehensive service capacity,TCM advantage and hospitalization driving paths.Conclusion The overall level of medical resource allocation efficiency of TCM hospitals in China needs to be improved.In the future,efforts should be made to improve the comprehensive service capacity and operational efficiency of hospitals,give full play to the advantages of TCM,build a high-quality TCM talent team,reasonably shorten the average hospital stay,and improve the utilization efficiency of hospital beds.
9.Clinical characteristics and risk factors for death in patients with bloodstream infection in a three-A hospital
Xing JIN ; Zhaoxu YANG ; Li SHEN ; Xiaoyun LU ; Xiaowei MA
Chinese Journal of Nosocomiology 2025;35(12):1803-1808
OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical and microbiological characteristics of patients with bloodstream in-fection(BSI)and to summarize the risk factors for death in these patients.METHODS Clinical data of 528 patients with BSI admitted to Xijing Hospital,the Fourth Military Medical University from Jul.2018 to Feb.2023 were collected.The clinical characteristics,pathogens,antibacterial drug therapy and 28-day case-fatality rate of the pa-tients with BSI were analyzed.RESULTS Among the 528 patients with BSI,there were 139 patients with commu-nity-associated infection,69 patients with health care-associated infection,and 320 patients with hospital-associat-ed infection.The predominant pathogens isolated from patients with community-associated infection and health care-associated infection were Escherichia coli(53.96%and 42.03%,respectively),while Klebsiella pneumoni-ae was the main pathogen in patients with hospital-associated infection(24.38%),with a wide variety of major pathogens identified.The drug resistance profiles of E.coli and K.pneumoniae isolated from patients with health care-associated infection were similar to those isolated from patients with hospital-associated infection but were significantly low compared to those isolated from patients with community-associated infection.Compared to pa-tients with community-associated infection,those with health care-associated infection and hospital-associated in-fection had high 28-day case-fatality rates.Thrombocytopenia(HR=1.764,95%CI:1.275-2.440,P=0.001),hypoalbuminemia(HR=2.320,95%CI:1.595-3.374,P<0.001),coagulation dysfunction(HR=1.605,95%CI:1.141-2.258,P=0.007),procalcitonin>2.0 ng/ml(HR=3.747,95%CI:1.339-10.485,P=0.012),Charlson comorbidity index ≥5(HR=1.578,95%CI:1.110-2.244,P=0.011)and central ve-nous catheterization(HR=1.848,95%CI:1.322-2.583,P<0.001)were risk factors for 28-day mortality,while appropriate targeted antibacterial drug therapy(HR=0.399,95%CI:0.291-0.546,P<0.001)was a protective factor.CONCLUSION Antibacterial drug therapy for patients with health care-associated infection should be guided by their unique pathogens and resistance profiles,and individualized regimens should be devel-oped based on the site and source of infection,regional microbiological characteristics and disease severity to re-duce unnecessary use of antibacterial drug.
10.Effects of ACL Reconstruction in the Dominant or Nondominant Limb on Lower Limb Function and Biomechanics During Single-Leg Jump Landing
Boshi XUE ; Xiaowei YANG ; Xia WANG ; Zhipeng ZHOU ; Liangliang ZHENG
Journal of Medical Biomechanics 2025;40(4):939-947
Objective To determine the effect of limb dominance on landing biomechanics and lower limb functional outcomes in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction(ACLR).Methods Forty-nine participants were recruited and divided into the ACLR on dominant limb(ACLR-D)group,ACLR on nondominant limb(ACLR-ND)group and healthy control group.Single-leg jump landing,knee isokinetic muscle strength,Y balance,and single-leg hop distance were tested on both limbs of all participants.Kinematics and kinetics data during the single-leg jump landing were collected by an infrared motion capture system and a force platform,and knee joint muscle strength was collected using the isokinetic muscle strength testing system.Two-way mixed-design ANOVAs were used to observe the effects of limb and group on the outcomes of each test.Results The non-surgical limbs had greater knee valgus,knee external rotation angles and knee valgus moments during single-leg jump landing in the ACLR-D group compared with those in the ACLR-ND group,and the ACLR-D group had significantly smaller bilateral knee flexion angles than the control group.There were no differences in knee muscle strength,Y-balance composite scores and single-leg hop distance between ACLR-D and ACLR-ND groups,but the Y balance scores in the ACLR-ND group were smaller than those in the control group.Conclusions Limb dominance has no effects on knee muscle strength,dynamic postural control,and single-leg hop function in ACLR patients.The non-surgical limbs of ACLR-D patients are at a higher risk of ACL injury due to the presence of greater knee valgus and external rotation angles and knee valgus moments.

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