1.Predictive screening,activity evaluation and quantitative analysis of hepatoprotective constituents from Thesium chinense Turcz.
Li LI ; Xuechun CHENG ; Xiuping ZHUANG ; Peng ZHOU ; Baoqing ZHANG ; Xin WANG
China Pharmacy 2026;37(19):2522-2528
OBJECTIVE To provide an experimental basis for quality control, clinical application and development of hepatoprotective drugs derived from Thesium chinense Turcz.METHODS Network pharmacology was adopted to predict and screen potential hepatoprotective constituents and their action targets of T. chinense Turcz. A liver-injured model of transgenic zebrafish Tg ( fabp10a : dsRed ) with fluorescent-labeled liver was induced by 4 mmol/L isoniazid. The relative liver fluorescence area and relative fluorescence intensity of zebrafish larvae, as well as the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glutathione (GSH) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were taken as indexes to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of potential active constituents. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the contents of hepatoprotective active constituents in 17 batches of T. chinense Turcz. medicinal materials from different producing areas.RESULTS Four potential hepatoprotective constituents including kaempferol-3- O -glucorhamnoside (KOG), kaempferol-3,7-di- O -glucoside (KDG), buddleoside (BUD) and apigenin-5- O -neohesperidoside (AON) were screened out via network pharmacology, and their core targets involved mitogen-activated protein kinase 1, nuclear factor-κB subunit 1, etc. Pharmacodynamic verification results showed that 25 μmol/L KOG, BUD, AON and 50 μmol/L KDG could significantly increase the relative liver fluorescence area and relative fluorescence intensity of liver-injured model larvae ( P <0.05), reduce the levels of AST, ALT and IL-6 ( P <0.05), and elevate the GSH level ( P <0.05). Content determination results indicated that KOG could be detected in all 17 batches of T. chinense Turcz. medicinal materials, with contents ranging from 0.097 0 to 8.082 0 mg/g;KDG, AON and BUD were not detected in partial batches of samples, and their contents in detectable batches were 0.019 3-0.123 2 mg/g, 0.018 4-0.109 1 mg/g and 0.385 1-1.189 3 mg/g, respectively.CONCLUSIONS KOG, KDG, AON and BUD in T.chinense Turcz. may be its potential hepatoprotective active constituents. Among them, KOG can be detected in T.chinense Turcz. medicinal materials from different producing areas with relatively high content, which can be used as the main marker constituent for evaluating the hepatoprotective effect of T.chinense Turcz.
2.Visualization analysis on research literature about acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for post-stroke depression based on CiteSpace
Xiaoyu CHEN ; Caifeng ZHU ; Bingyuan ZHOU ; Xuechun DING ; Chi WANG ; Le CHENG
International Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;47(3):387-393
Objective:To understand the research hotspots and research trends of Chinese literature about acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for post-stroke depression (PSD).Methods:Research literature on the treatment of post-stroke depression with acupuncture and moxibustion was retrieved from CNKI, Wanfang Data, and Chongqing VIP from January 1,2002 to August 31,2023. CiteSpace 6.1.R6 software was used to visually analyze the authors, research institutions and key words.Results:A total of 734 articles were included. Wang Zhen, Xiao Wei and Zhang Xianbao (the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine) published the most articles (12 articles each). The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine had the largest number of articles (32 articles), and the inter-agency cooperation was mainly based on TCM colleges and their affiliated hospitals. In addition to the search terms, the keywords with higher frequency were efficacy observation, acupuncture and medicine, nerve function, etc., and 10 representative keyword clusters were obtained. The acupoints with high frequency were Baihui, Neiguan, Taichong, etc., and 13 common acupuncture methods and acupoint combinations used in different acupuncture methods were obtained, as well as 8 representative acupoint clusters. The main treatment methods were acupuncture, acupuncture and moxibustion, fluoxetine and so on.Conclusions:The research hotspots of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of PSD mainly lie in the observation of the efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion, the study of the mechanism, and the summary of the experience of famous experts. The research trend is to explore how to use acupuncture and moxibustion, medicine, music and other combined treatment to improve clinical symptoms and improve the overall quality of life of patients.
3.Rules of moxibustion for low back pain by ZHOU Meisheng based on data mining and knowledge graph technology.
Chi WANG ; Caifeng ZHU ; Jiayu ZHANG ; Bingyuan ZHOU ; Xiaoyu CHEN ; Le CHENG ; Miaomiao XIE ; Xuechun DING
Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion 2025;45(6):823-833
OBJECTIVE:
To analyze the rules of moxibustion for low back pain by ZHOU Meisheng by using data mining and knowledge graph technology.
METHODS:
Taking the medical cases of moxibustion for low back pain from ZHOU Meisheng's legacy manuscripts and existing works as the research objects, information on disease types, symptoms, tongue manifestations, pulse conditions, syndrome patterns, moxibustion methods and acupoints were collected. Frequency statistics and community analysis were conducted by the ancient and modern medical record cloud platform V 2.3.7, cluster analysis of high-frequency acupoints was performed by SPSS26.0, association rule analysis of high-frequency acupoints was performed by SPSS Modeler 18.0, and the generated linked data were imported into Cytoscape 3.9.1 for complex network analysis. Knowledge graph of moxibustion for low back pain by ZHOU Meisheng was constructed based on the results of data mining. The data storage and display of knowledge graph were realized through the Neo4j 3.5.25 graph database, and the Cypher query language was used for knowledge graph retrieval and discovery.
RESULTS:
A total of 219 medical cases were collected, involving 14 disease types, 85 related clinical symptoms, 5 related TCM syndrome types, and 6 moxibustion methods. The acupoints were mostly attributed to the governor vessel, the bladder meridian of foot-taiyang, non-meridian and non-acupoint areas. The core prescription of acupoints derived from complex network analysis included tender points, Shenshu (BL23), Jinsuo (GV8), Yinjiao (CV7), Yaoyangguan (GV3), Yanglingquan (GB34), which were largely coincides with high-frequency acupoints. Cluster analysis obtained 4 cluster combinations. Community analysis yielded 6 communities, each corresponding to different acupoints.The constructed knowledge graph contained 187 nodes and 696 relationships, by retrieving clinical elements related to low back pain, the disease-moxibustion association graph, disease-acupoint association graph, accompanying symptom-acupoint association graph and syndrome type-matching point association graph were obtained.
CONCLUSION
When treating low back pain with moxibustion, ZHOU Meisheng adopts the principle of promoting circulation, distinguishing diseases to determine the treatment, selecting acupoints according to the diseases, and matching points according to the symptoms.And taking tender points, Shenshu (BL23), Jinsuo (GV8), Yinjiao (CV7), Yaoyangguan (GV3), Yanglingquan (GB34) as core acupoints, combined with tenderness point selection, acupoint selection based on meridian and zangfu syndrome differentiation, "sunshine area" acupoint selection, yin-yang acupoint matching. Additionally, he skillfully employs special points, such as Zhongzhu (KI15) and ear tips, pays attention to the reform of moxibustion tools, and innovates the moxibustion techniques, using distinctive moxibustion tools and methods to treat low back pain.
Moxibustion/methods*
;
Humans
;
Data Mining
;
Low Back Pain/history*
;
Acupuncture Points
;
History, Ancient
;
Female
;
China
;
Male
;
Adult
;
Middle Aged
4.Identification of differential genes in systemic sclerosis and prediction of traditional Chinese medicine
Shuang FENG ; Yangfang TAI ; Shengxiao ZHANG ; Peifeng HE ; Chaoyue ZHENG ; Lingjing CHENG ; Teng KONG ; Xiangfei SUN ; Qi YU ; Xuechun LU
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(1):107-115,中插1-中插2
Objective:The differentially expressed genes(DEGs)and activated signaling pathways in systemic sclerosis(SSc)were screened by bioinformatics methods,and Chinese medicines for potential treatment of SSc were explored,providing a new theoretical basis for the study of SSc and the screening of potential markers.Methods:The data sets GSE58095,GSE130953,GSE33463 and GSE58613 were selected from GEO database and divided into skin group and peripheral blood group according to the sample source.The DEGs of SSc patients was analyzed by R language,and the Wayne diagram was drawn to take the intersection of the two groups.Metascape was used for GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis,and STRING and Cytoscape were used for protein interaction network analysis to find key pathways and hub genes.The core genes were mapped to the medical on-tology information retrieval platform,and related Chinese medicines for SSc treatment were screened.The effective components of Chi-nese medicines were obtained through TCMSP and HERB databases,and the target letters of active ingredients were obtained through swiss database.The"drug-active ingredient-target"network was constructed by Cytoscape.Results:Total 218 DEGs were identified from the skin group of patients with SSc,and 283 DEGs were screened from peripheral blood of patients with SSc.Among them,there were 7 DEGs co-upregulated in skin and peripheral blood,namely ISG15,LGALS3BP,BST2,C1QB,IFI27,CEACAM1 and FBP1.CAMK2N1 was up-regulated in skin but down-regulated in peripheral blood,ARG1 was down-regulated in skin but up-regulated in pe-ripheral blood.GO and KEGG analysis of SSc DEGs showed that these genes were significantly enriched in inflammatory response,he-moglobin complex,immune receptor activity and extracellular matrix.The results of protein interaction network suggest that more than 10 genes such as COL1A1,CTGF12,IL1B,IFNG and JUN may be potential markers of SSc and core genes of therapeutic targets.The potential Chinese medicines screened for SSc treatment include ginseng,sanguisorba,convolvula,wolfberry,safflower,etc.The main components of these herbs were β-sitosterol,quercetin,kaempferol,stigmasterol,luteolin,sitosterol,Spinasterol,and the target were AKR1B1,AR,CYP1B1,XDH,etc.Conclusion:This study uses bioinformatics to screen out core genes that may be potential markers and therapeutic targets for SSc,which is expected to be a new target for the early diagnosis and mechanism research of SSc.Meanwhile,the mapped Chinese medicine and its effective components can provide ideas for the research and development of Chinese medicine compounds for the treatment of SSc.
5.Identification of differential genes in systemic sclerosis and prediction of traditional Chinese medicine
Shuang FENG ; Yangfang TAI ; Shengxiao ZHANG ; Peifeng HE ; Chaoyue ZHENG ; Lingjing CHENG ; Teng KONG ; Xiangfei SUN ; Qi YU ; Xuechun LU
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(1):107-115,中插1-中插2
Objective:The differentially expressed genes(DEGs)and activated signaling pathways in systemic sclerosis(SSc)were screened by bioinformatics methods,and Chinese medicines for potential treatment of SSc were explored,providing a new theoretical basis for the study of SSc and the screening of potential markers.Methods:The data sets GSE58095,GSE130953,GSE33463 and GSE58613 were selected from GEO database and divided into skin group and peripheral blood group according to the sample source.The DEGs of SSc patients was analyzed by R language,and the Wayne diagram was drawn to take the intersection of the two groups.Metascape was used for GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis,and STRING and Cytoscape were used for protein interaction network analysis to find key pathways and hub genes.The core genes were mapped to the medical on-tology information retrieval platform,and related Chinese medicines for SSc treatment were screened.The effective components of Chi-nese medicines were obtained through TCMSP and HERB databases,and the target letters of active ingredients were obtained through swiss database.The"drug-active ingredient-target"network was constructed by Cytoscape.Results:Total 218 DEGs were identified from the skin group of patients with SSc,and 283 DEGs were screened from peripheral blood of patients with SSc.Among them,there were 7 DEGs co-upregulated in skin and peripheral blood,namely ISG15,LGALS3BP,BST2,C1QB,IFI27,CEACAM1 and FBP1.CAMK2N1 was up-regulated in skin but down-regulated in peripheral blood,ARG1 was down-regulated in skin but up-regulated in pe-ripheral blood.GO and KEGG analysis of SSc DEGs showed that these genes were significantly enriched in inflammatory response,he-moglobin complex,immune receptor activity and extracellular matrix.The results of protein interaction network suggest that more than 10 genes such as COL1A1,CTGF12,IL1B,IFNG and JUN may be potential markers of SSc and core genes of therapeutic targets.The potential Chinese medicines screened for SSc treatment include ginseng,sanguisorba,convolvula,wolfberry,safflower,etc.The main components of these herbs were β-sitosterol,quercetin,kaempferol,stigmasterol,luteolin,sitosterol,Spinasterol,and the target were AKR1B1,AR,CYP1B1,XDH,etc.Conclusion:This study uses bioinformatics to screen out core genes that may be potential markers and therapeutic targets for SSc,which is expected to be a new target for the early diagnosis and mechanism research of SSc.Meanwhile,the mapped Chinese medicine and its effective components can provide ideas for the research and development of Chinese medicine compounds for the treatment of SSc.
6.Effect of DMARDs on differentially expressed genes in synovium of rheumatoid arthritis
Lingjing CHENG ; Shengxiao ZHANG ; Qi YU ; Chaoyue ZHENG ; Shuang FENG ; Teng KONG ; Xiangfei SUN ; Peifeng HE ; Xuechun LU
Chinese Journal of Rheumatology 2023;27(8):541-544,C8-4-C8-6,F3
Objective:To identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with the progression of synovitis in RA by using bioinformatics analysis and explore the effects of DMARDs such as methotrexate, tocilizumab and rituximab on the DEGs in RA synovium.Methods:RA expression profile microarray data GSE7307、GSE12021、GSE55457、GSE55235、GSE77298、GSE89408 were acquired from the public gene chip database (GEO), including 113 synovial tissue samples from RA and 70 healthy controls (HC). At the same time, synovial expression microarrays GSE45867, GSE24742 and GSE97165 after DMARDs treatment were obtained. These data included 8 samples treated with methotrexate, 12 treated with tocilizumab, 12 treated with rituximab and 19 treated with combined tDMARDs. R software was used to screen DEGs and Venn plots using gene ontology function enrichment and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway enrichment analysis. Hub genes were selected by STRING online analysis tool and Cytoscape software.Results:Compared with HC, 797 DEGs were up-regulated and 434 DEGs were down-regulated in the synovial tissue of RA. These DEGs were mainly enriched in T cell activation, immune response-activating cell surface receptor signaling pathway. Using Cytoscape and cytoHubba to obtain 5 sets of DEGs based on the STRING database model, the degree algorithm screened out 10 hub genes: LCK, SYK, PTPRC, HLA-DRA, LYN, NCAPG, TOP2A, JUN, CXCR4, CCNB1. Methotrexate treatment significantly up-regulated 20 DEGs and down-regulated 30 DEGs. Rituximab treatment up-regulated 100 DEGs and down-regulated 55 DEGs. Tocilizumab treatment up-regulated 91 DEGs and down-regulated 317 DEGs. These altered DEGs were enriched in regulating cell adhesion, leukocyte-cell adhesion, leukocyte transfer, and insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling pathways. It was worth noting that after treatment, a total of 306 high-expressing DEGs were down-regulated, and 36 low-expressing DEGs were up-regulated.Conclusion:LCK, insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling pathway, etc. are the responsible molecular mechanisms and key pivot genes for the occurrence and development of RA, and the treatment of DMARDs, which are closely related to the response of RA to the treatment of DMARDs.
7.Influence of trimetazidine hydrochloride on plasma brain natriuretic peptide and 6min walking distance ;in aged patients with chronic congestive heart failure
Wei ZHANG ; Yong SHENG ; Xuechun SUN ; Biao CHENG
Chinese Journal of cardiovascular Rehabilitation Medicine 2014;23(2):179-182
Objective:To observe influence of trimetazidine on cardiac function in patients With chronic heart failure (CHF).Methods:According to number table method,a total of 70 CHF patients accorded With inclusion standards Were randomly and equally divided into trimetazidine group and routine treatment group.According to patient's condition,routine treatment group received digitalis,diuretics,angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors etc CHF routine freatment.Trimetazidine group additionally received trimetazidine based on routine treatment.The treat-ment period Was four Weeks.Plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP)level Was measured and patients received 6min Walking test (6MWT)before and after treatment.Results:Compared With before treatment,there Was significant decrease in plasma BNP level in tWo groups after treatment (P<0.01),compared With routine treatment group, there Was significant increase in decreasing amplitude of BNP level [(655.89±135.61)pg/ml vs.(715.60±181.22) pg/ml,P<0.05]in trimetazidine group;compared With before treatment,there Was significant increase in 6min Walking distance (6MWD)in tWo groups after treatment (P<0.01),compared With routine treatment group,there Was significant increase in increasing amplitude of 6MWD [(181.46±51.16)m vs.(226.06±65.18)m,P<0.01] in trimetazidine group.Conclusion:Treatment trimetazidine can significantly reduce plasma brain natriuretic peptide level and improve heart function based on routine treatment in patients With heart failure.
8.RNA Interference and its Applications in Cancer Therapy
Fuguo WU ; Yirong CHEN ; Xuechun WANG ; Li CHENG
Journal of International Oncology 2007;34(11):862-866
RNA interference(RNAi), a highly conserved process of post-transcriptional gene silencing, can be induced by small interfering double-stranded RNA that mediate sequence-specific mRNA degradation. In the past several years, RNAi has been widely used as both an experimental tool to study mammalian gene function and a potential therapeutic approach to treat human diseases. In addition, some new proteins which involve in RNAi pathway have been characterized in mammalian cells. Here, we summarize the various molecules in RNAi, mechanism of action, and the current therapeutic applications in cancers.
9.Protective effect of glycine on intestinal barrier of rats with obstructive jaundice
Xuechun ZHANG ; Xinsheng CHENG ; Xiaohong DU ; Weiguo WANG
Journal of Jilin University(Medicine Edition) 2006;0(03):-
Objective To explore the effect of glycine on the intestinal barrier of rats with obstructive jaundice.Methods The male Wistar rats weighing 220—260g were randomly assigned to three groups(n=20): sham operation group(A),common bile ligation gruop(B),common bile duct ligation plus glycine group(C).Except sham operation group(A),rat models with obstructive jaundice in the other groups were set up by double ligation of the common bile duct.The rats in group C was fed with 5% glycine solution for 5 d.From the second day after the operation,the rats in group C were fed according to the preoperative standard.On the 21th day after operation,the rats were killed and serum bilirubin(BIL) and the amount of nitric oxide(NO) in intestinal tissue were determined,the morphological changes of the intestine were observed,the villus height and mucosal thickness were measured.Results Compared with group A,the serum BIL and the amount of NO in intestinal tissue were increased and the villus height and mucosal thickness were reduced in group B(P0.05) compared with group A.Conclusion Glycine can decrease the level of NO in the intestinal tissue and improve the damaged intestinal barrier obviously.

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