1.Effects of Huanglian Jiedutang on Neutrophil Infiltration in Brain of MCAO Mice via Regulation of Chemokine Expression in Exosomes
Haojia ZHANG ; Kai WANG ; Zijin SUN ; Chunyu WANG ; Wei SHAO ; Kunjing LIU ; Liyang DONG ; Dan CHEN ; Wenxiu XU ; Chuanzun WANG ; Wen WANG ; Changxiang LI ; Xueqian WANG ; Fafeng CHENG ; Qingguo WANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(8):42-53
ObjectiveTo investigate whether Huanglian Jiedutang can inhibit neutrophil infiltration in the brains of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mice by regulating the expression of neutrophil-related chemokines in exosomes, thereby achieving therapeutic effects. MethodsA total of 130 male specific pathogen-free (SPF) C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups: Sham-operated group, MCAO model group, Huanglian Jiedutang group (6 g·kg-1), and Ginaton group (21.6 mg·kg-1), with 10 mice in the Ginaton group and 40 mice in each of the remaining three groups. Mice in the Huanglian Jiedutang group and the Ginaton group were administered the corresponding drugs by oral gavage once daily at a volume of 0.15 mL·(10 g)-1 for 7 consecutive days, while the sham-operated and model groups received an equal volume of saline via the same route. After 7 days, MCAO surgery was performed. The distal and proximal ends of the right common carotid artery (CCA) were ligated, a small incision was made between the two ligatures, and a silicone rubber-coated monofilament with a rounded tip was inserted into the lumen to occlude the CCA. The filament was left in place for 1 h to establish a focal cerebral ischemia model. At 24 h after modeling, mice were evaluated. Neurological function was assessed using the Longa score. Cerebral infarct volume was measured by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Cerebral blood flow was observed by laser speckle imaging. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and Nissl staining were used to observe pathological changes in brain tissues. Exosomes were isolated from mouse plasma and brain tissues by ultracentrifugation and molecular size exclusion and identified by electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and protein blotting. Long-chain RNA libraries of exosomes were constructed and sequenced. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression of inflammatory factors and neutrophil-related chemokines in exosomes from plasma and brain tissues of each group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the protein expression of inflammatory factors and neutrophil-related chemokines in exosomes from brain tissues of each group. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of the neutrophil-specific protein myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the brains of mice in each group. ResultsCompared with the sham-operated group, the model group showed decreased neurological function scores (P<0.01), obvious cerebral infarction (P<0.01), reduced cerebral blood flow (P<0.01), neuronal necrosis in the brain, and decreased numbers of Nissl bodies (P<0.01). The mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, MPO, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL10, CCL2, and CCL3 in exosomes from plasma and brain tissues were significantly increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein expression levels of IL-1β, MPO, CXCL2, and CXCL10 in exosomes from brain tissues were increased (P<0.05, P<0.01), and MPO-positive rates and mean optical density values in brain tissues were elevated (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the Huanglian Jiedutang group and the Ginaton group showed increased neurological function scores (P<0.05), reduced cerebral infarct volume (P<0.01), restored cerebral blood flow (P<0.01), reduced necrotic cells in the brain, and increased numbers of Nissl bodies (P<0.01). In the Huanglian Jiedutang group, the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, MPO, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL10, CCL2, and CCL3 in exosomes from plasma and brain tissues were decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein expression levels of IL-1β, MPO, CXCL2, and CXCL10 in exosomes from brain tissues were reduced (P<0.05, P<0.01), and MPO-positive rates and mean optical density values in brain tissues were decreased (P<0.01). ConclusionHuanglian Jiedutang can effectively regulate the expression of neutrophil-related chemokines in exosomes from plasma and brain tissues of MCAO mice, thereby reducing neutrophil infiltration in the brain and achieving therapeutic effects.
2.Effects of Huanglian Jiedutang on Neutrophil Infiltration in Brain of MCAO Mice via Regulation of Chemokine Expression in Exosomes
Haojia ZHANG ; Kai WANG ; Zijin SUN ; Chunyu WANG ; Wei SHAO ; Kunjing LIU ; Liyang DONG ; Dan CHEN ; Wenxiu XU ; Chuanzun WANG ; Wen WANG ; Changxiang LI ; Xueqian WANG ; Fafeng CHENG ; Qingguo WANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(8):42-53
ObjectiveTo investigate whether Huanglian Jiedutang can inhibit neutrophil infiltration in the brains of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mice by regulating the expression of neutrophil-related chemokines in exosomes, thereby achieving therapeutic effects. MethodsA total of 130 male specific pathogen-free (SPF) C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups: Sham-operated group, MCAO model group, Huanglian Jiedutang group (6 g·kg-1), and Ginaton group (21.6 mg·kg-1), with 10 mice in the Ginaton group and 40 mice in each of the remaining three groups. Mice in the Huanglian Jiedutang group and the Ginaton group were administered the corresponding drugs by oral gavage once daily at a volume of 0.15 mL·(10 g)-1 for 7 consecutive days, while the sham-operated and model groups received an equal volume of saline via the same route. After 7 days, MCAO surgery was performed. The distal and proximal ends of the right common carotid artery (CCA) were ligated, a small incision was made between the two ligatures, and a silicone rubber-coated monofilament with a rounded tip was inserted into the lumen to occlude the CCA. The filament was left in place for 1 h to establish a focal cerebral ischemia model. At 24 h after modeling, mice were evaluated. Neurological function was assessed using the Longa score. Cerebral infarct volume was measured by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Cerebral blood flow was observed by laser speckle imaging. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and Nissl staining were used to observe pathological changes in brain tissues. Exosomes were isolated from mouse plasma and brain tissues by ultracentrifugation and molecular size exclusion and identified by electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and protein blotting. Long-chain RNA libraries of exosomes were constructed and sequenced. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression of inflammatory factors and neutrophil-related chemokines in exosomes from plasma and brain tissues of each group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the protein expression of inflammatory factors and neutrophil-related chemokines in exosomes from brain tissues of each group. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of the neutrophil-specific protein myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the brains of mice in each group. ResultsCompared with the sham-operated group, the model group showed decreased neurological function scores (P<0.01), obvious cerebral infarction (P<0.01), reduced cerebral blood flow (P<0.01), neuronal necrosis in the brain, and decreased numbers of Nissl bodies (P<0.01). The mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, MPO, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL10, CCL2, and CCL3 in exosomes from plasma and brain tissues were significantly increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein expression levels of IL-1β, MPO, CXCL2, and CXCL10 in exosomes from brain tissues were increased (P<0.05, P<0.01), and MPO-positive rates and mean optical density values in brain tissues were elevated (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the Huanglian Jiedutang group and the Ginaton group showed increased neurological function scores (P<0.05), reduced cerebral infarct volume (P<0.01), restored cerebral blood flow (P<0.01), reduced necrotic cells in the brain, and increased numbers of Nissl bodies (P<0.01). In the Huanglian Jiedutang group, the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, MPO, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL10, CCL2, and CCL3 in exosomes from plasma and brain tissues were decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein expression levels of IL-1β, MPO, CXCL2, and CXCL10 in exosomes from brain tissues were reduced (P<0.05, P<0.01), and MPO-positive rates and mean optical density values in brain tissues were decreased (P<0.01). ConclusionHuanglian Jiedutang can effectively regulate the expression of neutrophil-related chemokines in exosomes from plasma and brain tissues of MCAO mice, thereby reducing neutrophil infiltration in the brain and achieving therapeutic effects.
3.Construction and validation of a risk prediction model for lean metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
Jiayi QIN ; Xueqian ZHOU ; Xiangyong MENG ; Wensheng CHEN
Journal of Army Medical University 2025;47(9):969-979
Objective To investigate the risk factors for the occurrence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease(MASLD)in lean individuals and construct a risk prediction model.Methods Based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(NHANES)database in the United States(from January 2017 to March 2020),1 123 adult individuals were included in this study.Then the participants were randomly divided into a training set(n=561)and a validation set(n=562)through simple random sampling.Data on their demographics,anthropometrics,lifestyle,underlying diseases,and laboratory test results were collected.LASSO regression analysis was used to screen potential variables in the training set,and multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify independent risk factors for lean MASLD.Based on these risk factors,a prediction model for lean MASLD was constructed(LMPM).To evaluate the clinical value of the LMPM,it was compared with two commonly used prediction models for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,the fatty liver index(FLI)and the hepatic steatosis index(HSI).The performance of the model was evaluated and internally validated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC),net reclassification index(NRI),integrated discrimination improvement(IDI),calibration curve,decision curve,and clinical impact curve.Results Age,waist circumference,and triglycerides(TG)were identified as independent risk factors for the development of MASLD in lean individuals.The LMPM,constructed based on these indicators,demonstrated good discriminative ability in both the training and validation sets,with AUC values of 0.86(95%CI:0.82~0.89)and 0.81(95%CI:0.77~0.85),respectively,which were significantly better than those of FLI[training set:AUC=0.83(95%CI:0.79~0.87);validation set:AUC=0.74(95%CI:0.70~0.79)]and HSI[training set:AUC=0.71(95%CI:0.66~0.76);validation set:AUC=0.71(95%CI:0.65~0.76)].Compared with FLI and HSI,the LMPM showed improvements in NRI and IDI in both the training and validation sets.The calibration curve demonstrated its high accuracy,and both the decision curve analysis and the clinical impact curve analysis indicated that the LMPM provided greater clinical benefits.Conclusion Age,waist circumference,and TG are independent risk factors for lean MASLD.Based on these factors,a prediction model,named LMPM,is developed to assess the risk of MASLD in lean individuals,which exhibits good predictive performance and has certain guiding significance for the timely identification of high-risk populations.
4.The mechanism and application prospects of mitochondrial quality control in osteoarthritis
Liang WANG ; Yinshuan DENG ; Tao QU ; Chaoming DA ; Yunfei HE ; Rui LIU ; Weimin NIU ; Weishun YAN ; Zhen CHEN ; Shuo LI ; Zhiyun YANG ; Binbin GUO ; Xueqian LAI
Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2025;30(2):282-288
Osteoarthritis(OA)is a common joint disease in clinical practice,and cartilage damage is a typical pathological change.The pathogenesis of OA is complex,and various adverse factors can lead to the occurrence of OA.Mitochondria are im-portant organelles within cells and play important roles in cellular physiological and pathological activ-ities.Mitochondrial quality control is an important regulatory mechanism in the body to maintain nor-mal mitochondrial structure and function,mainly including mitochondrial biogenesis,mitochondrial dynamics,mitochondrial autophagy,mitochondrial oxidative stress,and other forms.The imbalance of mitochondrial quality control in chondrocytes is closely related to the occurrence and development of osteoarthritis,and regulating the balance of mi-tochondrial quality control is a potential therapeu-tic point for osteoarthritis.The author reviewed rel-evant research literature in recent years to provide a review of the relationship between mitochondrial quality control and the occurrence and develop-ment of osteoarthritis,in order to provide new ideas and directions for the research and diagnosis and treatment strategies of osteoarthritis.
5.Relationship between childhood trauma and anxiety symptom among high school students
Yuerui LIN ; Xueqian ZHANG ; Yajing ZHANG ; Lina CHEN ; Yixuan DONG ; Huaqing LIU
Chinese Mental Health Journal 2025;39(7):617-623
Objective:To explore the relationship between childhood trauma and anxiety symptom among high school students,as well as the mediating role of social support and the moderating role of stressful life events.Methods:A total of 3 075 high school students were selected.The Short Form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire(CTQ-SF),Social Support Rate Scale(SSRS),Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist(ASLEC)and Chinese Secondary School Students Anxiety Scale(CSSAS)were used to assess the levels of child-hood trauma,social support,stressful life events,and anxiety symptom severity.The SPSS PROCESS 3.3 macropro-gram was used to test the mediating effect and moderated mediation effect.Results:The CTQ-SF scores were posi-tively correlated with CSSAS scores(r=0.26,P<0.001).The SSRS scores and the subjective support(S2)scores and availability of support(S3)scores in the SSRS played partial mediating effects between CTQ-SF scores and CSSAS scores.The mediating effects were 0.11(95%CI:0.09-0.12,P<0.001),0.08(95%CI:0.06-0.09,P<0.001),0.04(95%CI:0.03-0.06,P<0.001)respectively,which accounted for 44.00%,32.00%,16.00%of the total effect respectively.The ASLEC scores moderated the relationship between CTQ-SF scores and CSSAS scores(β=0.02,P=0.044),and the relationship between SSRS scores and CSSAS scores(β=0.08,P<0.001).Conclusion:Among high school students,social support and the subjective support and availability of support in so-cial support play partial mediating effects between childhood trauma and anxiety symptom,and stressful life events moderates the relationship between childhood trauma,social support and anxiety symptom.
6.Exploration on the Mechanism of Shugan Zhixie Prescription in Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
Jinxue ZHANG ; Junhong LIU ; Lining SU ; Xueqian LAI ; Dan WANG ; Jiale CHEN ; Yajie CHEN ; Hongmei LI ; Yajing LI
Chinese Journal of Information on Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;32(12):39-45
Objective To investigate the mechanism of Shugan Zhixie Prescription in treating irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea(IBS-D)using network pharmacology;To validate the findings through in vivo experiments.Methods Active components and potential targets of Shugan Zhixie Prescription were identified via the TCMSP database.Disease targets for IBS-D were retrieved from GeneCards,DisGeNET and OMIM databases.The intersection of drugs and disease targets was taken,and the protein interaction network was constructed by using STRING database.GO and KEGG pathways were enriched to identify the key signaling pathways of Shugan Zhixie Prescription in the treatment of IBS-D.The rat model of liver depression and spleen deficiency type IBS-D was established by the method of abnormal hunger and satiety,restraint pinch stress and intestinal perfusion of acetic acid.The rats were intervened with low-,medium-and high-dosage of Shugan Zhixie Prescription respectively for 14 days.Serum contents of diamine oxidase(DAO),interleukin(IL)-8,and IL-18 were measured by ELISA.Protein expressions and mRNA expressions of relevant targets in colonic tissue were detected using Western blot and RT-qPCR.Results A total of 26 active components and 553 targets of Shugan Zhixie Prescription were obtained,and 1 930 targets of IBS-D disease were obtained,with 184 drug-disease intersection targets.The possible mechanism was related to NF-κB,AGE-RAGE,Th17 cell differentiation and other signaling pathways.Animal experiments demonstrated that Shugan Zhixie Prescription could significantly reduce defecation frequency,fecal water content,and inflammatory cytokine levels in model rats.It markedly decreased TLR4 and NF-κB protein expressions(P<0.01),while increased AQP3,AQP8 and Occludin protein expressions in colonic tissue(P<0.01,P<0.05).Conclusion Shugan Zhixie Prescription exerts therapeutic effects on IBS-D through multiple pathways and targets,and the mechanism may be related to inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway and promoting intestinal barrier repair.
7.Impact of donor characteristics on prognosis for myelodysplastic syndromes after haplo-identical transplantation: a retrospective study
Hong WANG ; Xueqian LI ; Qingyuan WANG ; Jiaqian QI ; Huiying QIU ; Chengcheng FU ; Xiaowen TANG ; Miao MIAO ; Ying WANG ; Suning CHEN ; Changgeng RUAN ; Depei WU ; Yue HAN
Chinese Journal of Hematology 2025;46(11):1026-1031
Objective:To evaluate the impact of donor characteristics on the prognosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients undergoing haplo-identical transplantation (HIDT) .Methods:A retrospective analysis of 203 MDS patients who received HIDT was conducted to evaluate how donor factors influenced transplant outcomes.Results:In MDS patients undergoing haploidentical transplantation, donors over 50 years were associated with higher EBV reactivation (2-year cumulative incidence 42.9% vs 22.0% for <50 years old; P=0.010). Female donors were linked to increased severe chronic GVHD compared with male donors (2-year incidence 11.9% vs 4.0% ; P=0.017). Additionally, 2-year overall survival (OS) was slightly lower with female donors than male donors (56.6% vs 69.7% ), but the difference was not statistically significant ( P=0.073). Donor-recipient blood type did not affect post-transplant OS or cumulative relapse rates. Donor-recipient kinship analysis revealed that child donors, compared to haploidentical sibling or parent donors, had lower rates of grade Ⅱ–Ⅳ acute GVHD (27.2% vs 45.7% vs 53.5%, P=0.007) and 2-year EBV reactivation (13.9% vs 29.3% vs 38.9%, P=0.001). For donors under 20 years, donor gender did not significantly affect 2-year OS ( P=0.913), relapse-free survival ( P=0.716), or 100-day incidence of grade Ⅱ–Ⅳ acute GVHD ( P=0.359) . Conclusion:For MDS patients undergoing HIDT, donors over 50 should be avoided. Male and child donors are preferred, while donor gender does not significantly affect outcomes if the donor is under 20 years old.
8.Liquiritin improves macrophage degradation of engulfed tumour cells by promoting the formation of phagolysosomes via NOX2/gp91phox
Caiyi YANG ; Kehan CHEN ; Yunliang CHEN ; Xuting XIE ; Pengcheng LI ; Meng ZHAO ; Junjie LIANG ; Xueqian XIE ; Xiaoyun CHEN ; Yanping CAI ; Bo XU ; Qing WANG ; Lian ZHOU ; Xia LUO
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2025;15(5):1016-1032
The incomplete degradation of tumour cells by macrophages(Mφ)is a contributing factor to tumour progression and metastasis,and the degradation function of Mφ is mediated through phagosomes and lysosomes.In our preliminary experiments,we found that overactivation of NADPH oxidase 2(NOX2)reduced the ability of Mφ to degrade engulfed tumour cells.Above this,we screened out liquiritin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch,which can significantly inhibit NOX2 activity and inhibit tumours,to elucidate that suppressing NOX2 can enhance the ability of Mφ to degrade tumour cells.We found that the tumour environment could activate the NOX2 activity in Mφ phagosomes,causing Mφ to produce excessive reactive oxygen species(ROS),thus prohibiting the formation of phagolysosomes before degradation.Conversely,inhibiting NOX2 in Mφ by liquiritin can reduce ROS and promote phagosome-lysosome fusion,therefore improving the enzymatic degradation of tumour cells after phagocytosis,and subse-quently promote T cell activity by presenting antigens.We further confirmed that liquiritin down-regulated the expression of the NOX2 specific membrane component protein gp91 phox,blocking its binding to the NOX2 cytoplasmic component proteins p67 phox and p47 phox,thereby inhibiting the activity of NOX2.This study elucidates the specific mechanism by which Mφ cannot degrade tumour cells after phagocytosis,and indicates that liquiritin can promote the ability of Mφ to degrade tumour cells by suppressing NOX2.
9.Influence of NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome on the development and progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and the interventional effect of traditional Chinese medicine
Jinxue ZHANG ; Junhong LIU ; Jiale CHEN ; Dan WANG ; Lining SU ; Yajie CHEN ; Xueqian LAI ; Miaolei WANG ; Yajing LI
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(11):2365-2371
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic liver disease with the main pathological features of hepatic steatosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, and interstitial fibroplasia, and it is an important risk factor for liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is the core of innate immunity, and the abnormal activation of NLRP3 inflammasome is closely associated with the development and progression of NASH, which involves multiple links such as inflammatory response and oxidative stress. A large number of studies have shown that the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and TCM compound prescriptions can improve oxidative stress, regulate lipid metabolism, and alleviate liver inflammation by regulating NLRP3 inflammasome. TCM treatment applied in clinical practice has achieved a good therapeutic effect, while inflammasome is one of the key pathways or targets for TCM in improving NASH. This article reviews the mechanism of action of NLRP3 inflammasome in NASH and the research advances in TCM intervention of NLRP3 inflammasome, in order to provide ideas for the clinical TCM treatment of NASH, as well as reference targets and research directions for the research and development of new TCM drugs.
10.Research progresses on the mechanism of macrophages in tendon bone healing.
Liang WANG ; Yinshuan DENG ; Tao QU ; Chaoming DA ; Yunfei HE ; Rui LIU ; Weimin NIU ; Weishun YAN ; Zhen CHEN ; Shuo LI ; Zhiyun YANG ; Binbin GUO ; Xueqian LAI
Chinese Journal of Cellular and Molecular Immunology 2025;41(2):183-187
The connection between tendons and bones is called the tendon bone connection. With the continuous improvement of national sports awareness, excessive exercises and the related intensity are prone to damage the tendon bone connection. Tendon bone healing is a complex repair and healing process involving multiple factors, and good tendon bone healing is a prerequisite for its physiological function. The complexity of tendon bone structure also poses great challenges to the repair of tendon bone injuries. In recent years, researches have found that stem cells, growth factors, macrophages, and other factors are closely related to the healing process of tendon bone injuries, among which macrophages play an important role in the healing process. The authors reviewed relevant research literature in recent years and summarized the role of macrophages in tendon bone healing, in order to provide new ideas and directions for treatment strategies to promote tendon bone healing.
Humans
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Macrophages/metabolism*
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Wound Healing
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Animals
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Tendons/physiology*
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Bone and Bones/injuries*
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Tendon Injuries

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