Background and aims The mechanism of cholestatic liver injury (CLI) is unclear, and effective therapies are lacking. While peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) agonists show potential hepatoprotective effect and pyroptosis is implicated in hepatocellular damage, how PPARα activation mitigates lithocholic acid (LCA)-induced pyroptosis remains unknown. Methods The hepatoprotective effect of PPARα agonists was evaluated in a mouse model of intrahepatic cholestasis induced by LCA. Liver injury was assessed via serum biochemistry, hematoxylin and eosin and TUNEL staining, and electron microscopy. Pyroptosis pathways were analyzed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and co-immunoprecipitation. Results Combined morphological, histopathological, and biochemical analyses confirmed that PPARα activation protects against CLI. Compared with LCA treatment alone, PPARα activation significantly attenuated the elevation of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), the increased TUNEL-positive cells, and the formation of hepatocyte membrane pores. Mechanistically, PPARα activation suppressed both NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis and apoptosis protease-activating factor-1 (APAF-1)/CASPASE-3/GSDME-mediated pyroptosis. Furthermore, PPARα agonist pretreatment inhibited activation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) signaling pathways. Conclusions PPARα protects against LCA-induced CLI by inhibiting both NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis associated with NF-κB and APAF-1/CASPASE-3/GSDME-mediated pyroptosis associated with the FOXO1 signaling pathway.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical effectiveness and safety of Xiaozhong Zhitong Mixture （消肿止痛合剂） combined with antibiotic bone cement in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer （DFU） with damp-heat obstructing syndrome. MethodsA total of 72 DFU patients with damp-heat obstructing syndrome were randomly assigned to treatment group （36 cases） and the control group （36 cases）. Both groups received standard treatment and topical antibiotic bone cement for ulcer wounds， while the treatment group received oral Xiaozhong Zhitong Mixture （50 ml per time， three times daily） in additionally. Both groups underwent daily wound dressing changes for 21 consecutive days. Ulcer healing rate， serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， interleukin-1 beta （IL-1β）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， C-reactive protein （CRP）， and white blood cell （WBC） count were observed before and after treatment， and visual analog scale （VAS） scores for wound pain， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores， and the DFU Healing Scale （DMIST scale） were also compared. Liver and kidney function were evaluated before and after treatment， and adverse events such as allergic reactions， worsening ulcer pain were recorded. ResultsTotally 35 patients in the treatment group and 33 in the control group were included in the final analysis. The ulcer healing rate in the treatment group was （87.93±9.34）%， significantly higher than （81.82±12.02）% in the control group （P = 0.035）. Compared to pre-treatment levels， both groups showed significant reductions in serum CRP， WBC， MDA， IL-1β， and TNF-α levels， with an increase in SOD level （P＜0.05）. TCM syndrome scores， VAS， and DMIST scores also significantly decreased in both groups （P＜0.05）， with greater improvements in the treatment group （P＜0.05）. No significant adverse reactions were observed in either group during treatment. ConclusionXiaozhong Zhitong Mixture combined with antibiotic bone cement has significant advantages in promoting DFU healing， reducing inflammatory response， and alleviating oxidative stress in DFU patients with damp-heat obstructing syndrome， with good safety for DFU patients with damp-heat obstructing syndrome.

Objective To investigate the correlation between sleep duration and chest pain in the Chinese population.Methods A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data on chest pain and sleep duration from 7942 participants in the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS).Among them,1239 had chest pain and 6703 did not;2645 were aged>65 years and 5297 were aged≤65 years.All participants were categorized into three groups based on sleep duration:≤6 h(n=3123),6-8 h(n=2959),and>8 h(n=1860).Differences in characteristics such as gender,age,marital status,education level,diabetes,and hypertension were compared across these groups.Multivariate logistic regression analysis,curve fitting,and threshold effect analysis were further employed to explore the correlation between sleep duration and chest pain.Results A total of 7942 participants were finally included in the study.Among the three groups with sleep duration>8 h,6-8 h and≤6 h,the incidences of chest pain were 12.6%,13.0%,and 19.8%,respectively.Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that with the increase in sleep duration,the incidence of chest pain showed a decreasing trend[odds ratio(OR)=0.88,95%confidence interval(CI)0.86-0.91,P<0.001].Curve fitting and threshold effect analysis indicated a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and the risk of chest pain.In the population aged≤65 years,the inflection point for sleep duration was 8.5 h,beyond which the risk of chest pain did not decrease;in the population aged>65 years,the inflection point was 7.7 h,beyond which the risk of chest pain significantly increased(P<0.05).Conclusions There is a U-shape relationship between sleep duration and the risk of chest pain.In the age group≤65 years old,8.5 h is the turning point;in the population>65 years old,7.7 h is the turning point.When the sleep duration is below the turning point,prolonging the sleep time can help reduce the risk of chest pain.It is recommended to maintain an appropriate sleep duration of 6-8 h to reduce the risk of chest pain.

Objective To comparatively analyze the clinical characteristics of primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia(PBMAH)and adrenal cortisol-producing Adenoma(CPA),and enhance the understanding of two diseases.Methods The clinical data of 85 PBMAH patients(PBMAH group)and 195 CPA patients(CPA group)diagnosed at Department of Endocrinology,the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital,from September 2014 to August 2024 were retrospectively analyzed.The demographic characteristics,comorbidities,biochemical indicators,adrenocorticotropic hormone-cortisol(ACTH-F)levels,and adrenal imaging features and treatment conditions were compared between the two groups.Results(1)General characteristics:Compared with CPA group,PBMAH group had older age at diagnosis and a higher proportion of male patients.(2)Clinical characteristics:Compared with CPA group,PBMAH group had a longer disease duration,a higher proportion of subclinical Cushing's syndrome(CS),and a higher proportion of hypertension,impaired glucose tolerance/diabetes,bone mass reduction or osteoporosis,with higher serum potassium levels,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.01).(3)Hormone levels:Both PBMAH and CPA groups showed ACTH-F rhythm disorder,significantly increased cortisol levels and suppressed ACTH.Compared with PBMAH group,CPA group had stronger autonomous cortisol secretion ability,manifested by increased midnight serum cortisol(F0:00),16:00 serum cortisol(F16:00),24-hour urinary free cortisol(24 h UFC)levels and lower 8:00 serum ACTH(ACTH8:00)and 16:00 serum ACTH(ACTH16:00)(P<0.01).After low-dose dexamethasone suppression test(LDDST),CPA group showed lower suppression rates of ACTH and cortisol,and higher proportions of paradoxical elevation in serum cortisol and 24 h UFC compared with PBMAH(P<0.01).Conclusions PBMAH has a longer disease course and higher proportions of comorbid metabolic disorders than CPA,mostly manifested as subclinical Cushing's syndrome.CPA has stronger autonomous cortisol secretion ability,with cortisol less likely to be suppressed after LDDST and more obvious paradoxical elevation of cortisol and 24 h UFC.

Objective To investigate the causal relationship between gut microbiota and viral pneumonia,as well as the underlying mechanisms,using two-sample and two-step Mendelian randomization(MR)approaches,thereby providing novel insights for the prevention and treatment of viral pneumonia.Methods All data were obtained from publicly available genome-wide association studies(GWAS)pooled datasets,including gut microbiota data from the MiBioGen Consortium and the Netherlands Microbiome Project,viral pneumonia data from the FinnGen R10 database,and plasma metabolome data from the publicly available GWAS Catalog.Instrumental variables(IVs)were extracted according to the predefined threshold values.MR analyses were conducted using inverse variance weighting(IVW),MR-Egger,weighted median(WME),weighted mode(WM),and Bayesian-weighted Mendelian randomization(BWMR)methods.Reverse MR analysis was performed to determine whether there was a reverse association.Two-step MR analysis was used to explore the potential mediating role of plasma metabolites,and a series of sensitivity analyses were performed to test the stability of the results.Results Among 196 gut microbiota taxa from the MiBioGen consortium GWAS,11 taxa were associated with viral pneumonia.An increase in the abundance of 4 taxa increased the risk of viral pneumonia,while an increase in the abundance of 7 taxa had a protective effect against viral pneumonia.Among the 207 gut microbiota taxa from the Dutch Microbiome Project GWAS data,10 taxa were associated with viral pneumonia,with 6 risk-increasing and 4 protective taxa identified.Mediation analysis results showed that the causal effect of Defluviitaleaceae on viral pneumonia(OR=0.708,95%CI 0.540-0.929,P=0.013)was mediated to some extent by the N6-acetyllysine levels,with a mediation ratio of 18.4%.Sensitivity analyses did not reveal significant heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy.Conclusions Specific gut microbiota are causally associated with viral pneumonia and show potential differences across different populations;the protective effect of Defluviitaleaceae against viral pneumonia may be mediated by the N6-acetyllysine levels.Targeting metabolites may become a potential therapeutic approach for viral pneumonia.

Objective The study aims to investigate the impact of microRNA-874-3p(miR-874-3p)regulation of plakophilin 3(PKP3)on the malignant biological behavior of lung adenocarcinoma cells and its underlying mechanism.Methods Immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry were used to detect the expression of PKP3 in lung adenocarcinoma tissue microarray and lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 cells respectively,and the relationship between PKP3 and clinicopathological features of lung adenocarcinoma patients was analyzed.Select lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549,the experiment was divided into A549 cell group(blank control group),miR-NC group(transfected with miR-NC)and miR-mimics group(transfected with miR-874-3p mimics),sh-NC group(control group transfected with PKP3 silencing plasmid),sh-PKP3 group(transfected with PKP3 silencing plasmid),miR+pcDNA-PKP3 group(transfected with miR-874-3P mimics+pcDNA-PKP3,rescue group)and miR+pcDNA-NC group(transfected with miR-874-3p mimics+pcDNA-NC).The proliferation,invasion,migration and apoptosis of cells in each group were detected.ENCORI database was used to predict the upstream gene of PKP3,and dual luciferase assay was used to detect the targeting relationship between miR-874-3p and PKP3.MAPK/mTOR pathway-related proteins were detected by Western blotting.Results The expression of PKP3 in lung adenocarcinoma tissue was significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues.The high expression of PKP3 was related to clinical stage,tumor size,and lymph node metastasis(P＜0.05).Compared with the human normal lung epithelial cells(BEAS-2B),the expression of PKP3 in A549 cells increased significantly,and the expression of miR-874-3p decreased(P＜0.05).Overexpression of miR-874-3p decreased the PKP3 expression level(P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,both overexpression of miR-874-3p and silenced PKP3 inhibited the cloning and invasion ability of A549 cells,caused cell cycle arrest,and decreased the expression levels of cyclin dependent kinase 4(CDK4),cyclin D1,cyclin E1 proteins in A549 cells(P＜0.05).The expressions of Bax protein and Caspase-3 protein were up-regulated(P＜0.05),and apoptosis increased.Overexpression of PKP3 could reverse the biological behavior of overexpression of miR-874-3p.Overexpression of miR-874-3p and silencing of PKP3 significantly decreased the expressions of P38 MAPK and mTOR phosphorylated proteins.Conclusion MiR-874-3p can negatively regulate PKP3 expression and inhibit the malignant biological behavior of A549 cells through MAPK/mTOR pathway.

On the 110th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Medical Association, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations and high respect. During the past 110 years, the Chinese Medical Association has protected the health of the people in the years of war, and promoted the vigorous development of the medical cause in the new era. The Chinese Medical Association has always been brave in building the tide of medical development, prospering academia and benefiting the people. On this occasion, the author summarized the development process, practice and achievements of the Chinese College of Intraoperative Ultrasound in Hepatobiliary Surgery. Since its establishment, the Chinese College of Intraoperative Ultrasound in Hepatobiliary Surgery has always been committed to promoting the precise and intelligent development of hepatobiliary surgery. It has been constantly deepening its efforts in academic research, technological innovation, personnel training and other aspects, and injecting continuous power into the vigorous deve-lopment of hepatobiliary surgery in China.

Objective:The haplotypes of Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) can be divided into centromeric and telomeric ones. As the terminal gene at the centromeric end, KIR3DP1 plays an important role in stabilizing the haplotype structure. This study aimed to analyze the distribution of KIR3DP1 gene haplotypes among Han Chinese population in Zhejiang in order provide a basis for further analyzing the role of KIR3DP1 in the KIR haplotypes. Methods:A total of 166 unrelated blood donors from Zhejiang were collected (Blood donation period: March 2020 to August 2020), and genotyping was performed by next-generation sequencing based on exon capture. The copy number and allelic frequency of the KIR3DP1 gene and the distribution of centromeric haplotypes were statistically analyzed. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Zhejiang Blood Center (Ethics No.: 2023-001). Results:The KIR3DP1 gene was positive for all individuals but with different copy numbers. Among these, 4 cases (2.4%) had only 1 copy, 156 cases (94.0%) had 2 copies, and 6 cases (3.6%) had 3 copies. A total of 10 KIR3DP1 alleles were found in the population, which could be classified into the KIR3DP1*001-L type, KIR3DP1*003-L type, and KIR3DP1 full deletion type. The KIR3DP1*003-L type allele was linked to the Cen- A01 and Cen- B01 types, and the KIR3DP1*001-L type allele and the KIR3DP1 deletion type were only present in the Cen- B02 type haplotype. Conclusion:This study has derived a high-resolution distribution map of the KIR3DP1 gene in the Han population from Zhejiang, and found that the KIR3DP1 alleles showed different linkage with the centromeric haplotypes, which has provided a basis for further studying the role of KIR3DP1 in genetic immunity.

BACKGROUND: The primary limitation to kidney transplantation is organ shortage. Recent progress in gene editing and immunosuppressive regimens has made xenotransplantation with porcine organs a possibility. However, evidence in pig-to-human xenotransplantation remains scarce, and antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is a major obstacle to clinical applications of xenotransplantation. METHODS: We conducted a kidney xenotransplantation in a brain-dead human recipient using a porcine kidney with five gene edits (5GE) on March 25, 2024 at Xijing Hospital, China. Clinical-grade immunosuppressive regimens were employed, and the observation period lasted 22 days. We collected and analyzed the xenograft function, ultrasound findings, sequential protocol biopsies, and immune surveillance of the recipient during the observation. RESULTS: The combination of 5GE in the porcine kidney and clinical-grade immunosuppressive regimens prevented hyperacute rejection. The xenograft kidney underwent delayed graft function in the first week, but urine output increased later and the single xenograft kidney maintained electrolyte and pH homeostasis from postoperative day (POD) 12 to 19. We observed AMR at 24 h post-transplantation, due to the presence of pre-existing anti-porcine antibodies and cytotoxicity before transplantation; this AMR persisted throughout the observation period. Plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment mitigated the AMR. We observed activation of latent porcine cytomegalovirus toward the end of the study, which might have contributed to coagulation disorder in the recipient. CONCLUSIONS 5GE and clinical-grade immunosuppressive regimens were sufficient to prevent hyperacute rejection during pig-to-human kidney xenotransplantation. Pre-existing anti-porcine antibodies predisposed the xenograft to AMR. Plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin were safe and effective in the treatment of AMR after kidney xenotransplantation.
Transplantation, Heterologous/methods* ; Kidney Transplantation/methods* ; Heterografts/pathology* ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/administration & dosage* ; Graft Survival/immunology* ; Humans ; Animals ; Sus scrofa ; Graft Rejection/prevention & control* ; Kidney/pathology* ; Gene Editing ; Species Specificity ; Immunosuppression Therapy/methods* ; Plasma Exchange ; Brain Death ; Biopsy ; Male ; Aged