OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) rs1801133 and γ-glutamyl hydrolase (GGH) rs11545078 gene polymorphisms on plasma concentrations and toxicity following high-dose methotrexate (MTX) therapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). METHODS: Children with ALL treated at the Xuzhou Children's Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from January 2021 to April 2024 were selected for this study. Genotypes of MTHFR rs1801133 and GGH rs11545078 were determined using multiplex polymerase chain reaction. MTX plasma concentrations were measured by enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique, and toxicity was graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0. The relationships between MTHFR rs1801133 and GGH rs11545078 genotypes and both MTX plasma concentrations and associated toxicities were analyzed. RESULTS: In the low-risk ALL group, the MTHFR rs1801133 genotype was associated with increased MTX plasma concentrations at 72 hours (P<0.05). In the intermediate- to high-risk group, the MTHFR rs1801133 genotype was associated with increased MTX plasma concentrations at 48 hours (P<0.05), and the GGH rs11545078 genotype was associated with increased MTX plasma concentrations at 48 hours (P<0.05). In the intermediate- to high-risk group, the MTHFR rs1801133 genotype was associated with the occurrence of reduced hemoglobin (P<0.05), and the GGH rs11545078 genotype was associated with the occurrence of thrombocytopenia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Detection of MTHFR rs1801133 and GGH rs11545078 genotypes can be used to predict increased MTX plasma concentrations and the occurrence of toxic reactions in high-dose MTX treatment of ALL, enabling timely interventions to enhance safety.
Humans ; Methotrexate/toxicity* ; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)/genetics* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/blood* ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; gamma-Glutamyl Hydrolase/genetics* ; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic/adverse effects* ; Infant ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Adolescent ; Genotype ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of single-balloon and double-balloon enteroscopy in diagnosing pediatric small bowel diseases and assess the diagnostic efficacy of computed tomography enterography (CTE) for small bowel diseases using enteroscopy as the reference standard. METHODS: Clinical data from 576 children who underwent enteroscopy at Hunan Children's Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023 were retrospectively collected. The children were categorized based on enteroscopy type into the single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) group (n=457) and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) group (n=119), and the clinical data were compared between the two groups. The sensitivity and specificity of CTE for diagnosing small bowel diseases were evaluated using enteroscopy results as the standard. RESULTS: Among the 576 children, small bowel lesions were detected by enteroscopy in 274 children (47.6%).There was no significant difference in lesion detection rates or complication rates between the SBE and DBE groups (P>0.05), but the DBE group had deeper insertion, longer procedure time, and higher complete small bowel examination rate (P<0.05). The complication rate during enteroscopy was 4.3% (25/576), with 18 cases (3.1%) of mild complications and 7 cases (1.2%) of severe complications, which improved with symptomatic treatment, surgical, or endoscopic intervention. Among the 412 children who underwent CTE, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing small bowel diseases were 44.4% and 71.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS SBE and DBE have similar diagnostic efficacy for pediatric small bowel diseases, but DBE is preferred for suspected deep small bowel lesions and comprehensive small bowel examination. Enteroscopy in children demonstrates relatively good overall safety. CTE demonstrates relatively low sensitivity but comparatively high specificity for diagnosing small bowel diseases.
Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Double-Balloon Enteroscopy/statistics & numerical data* ; Single-Balloon Enteroscopy/statistics & numerical data* ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Operative Time ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/statistics & numerical data* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Intestine, Small/surgery* ; Intestinal Diseases/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between serum chloride levels and prognosis in patients with hepatic coma in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: We analyzed 545 patients with hepatic coma in the ICU from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. Associations between serum chloride levels and 28-day and 1-year mortality rates were assessed using restricted cubic splines (RCSs), Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves, and Cox regression. Subgroup analyses, external validation, and mechanistic studies were also performed. RESULTS: A total of 545 patients were included in the study. RCS analysis revealed a U-shaped association between serum chloride levels and mortality in patients with hepatic coma. The KM curves indicated lower survival rates among patients with low chloride levels (< 103 mmol/L). Low chloride levels were independently linked to increased 28-day and 1-year all-cause mortality rates. In the multivariate models, the hazard ratio ( HR) for 28-day mortality in the low-chloride group was 1.424 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.041-1.949), while the adjusted hazard ratio for 1-year mortality was 1.313 (95% CI: 1.026-1.679). Subgroup analyses and external validation supported these findings. Cytological experiments suggested that low chloride levels may activate the phosphorylation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, promote the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and reduce neuronal cell viability. CONCLUSION Low serum chloride levels are independently associated with increased mortality in patients with hepatic coma.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Intensive Care Units ; Prognosis ; Chlorides/blood* ; Aged ; Coma/blood* ; Adult

Sesquiterpenes are natural terpenoids with 15 carbon atoms in the basic skeleton, which mainly exist in plant volatile oil and have important physiological and medicinal value. Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) is a kind of monooxygenase encoded by supergene family, which is one of the largest gene families in plants. It is involved in the synthesis and metabolism of terpenoids, alkaloids and other secondary metabolites. In the process of terpene biosynthesis, CYP450 participates in the post-modification stage of terpenes by introducing functional groups such as hydroxyl, carboxyl and carbonyl, which plays an important role in enriching the diversity of terpenes. The CYP450 enzymes involved in sesquiterpene synthesis and their substrate catalytic specificity mechanisms have been partially investigated. In this paper, the biosynthetic pathway of plant sesquiterpenes, the structure and classification of CYP450 enzymes were briefly introduced, and the CYP450 enzymes involved in sesquiterpene biosynthesis were summarized, in order to provide a reference for intensive study of the role of CYP450 enzymes in the synthesis of sesquiterpenoids.

The effect of porcine SIRT5 on replication of foot and mouth disease virus type O(FMDV-O)and the underlying regulatory mechanism were investigated.Western blot and RT-qPCR analyses were employed to monitor expression of endoge-nous SIRT5 in PK-15 cells infected with FMDV-O.Three pairs of SIRT5-specific siRNAs were synthesized.Changes to SIRT5 and FMDV-O protein and transcript levels,in addition to virus copy numbers,were measured by western blot and RT-qPCR analyses.PK-15 cells were transfected with a eukaryotic SIRT5 expression plasmid.Western blot and RT-qPCR analyses were used to explore the impact of SIRT5 overexpression on FMDV-O replication.Meanwhile,RT-qPCR analysis was used to detect the effect of SIRT5 overexpression on the mRNA expression levels of type I interferon-stimulated genes induced by SeV and FMDV-O.The results showed that expression of SIRT5 was up-regulated in PK-15 cells infected with FMDV-O and siRNA interfered with SIRT5 to inhibit FMDV-O replication.SIRT5 overexpression promoted FMDV-O replication.SIRT5 over-expression decreased mRNA expression levels of interferon-stimulated genes induced by SeV and FMDV-O.These results suggest that FMDV-O infection stimulated expression of SIRT5 in PK-15 cells,while SIRT5 promoted FMDV-O rep-lication by inhibiting production of type I interferon-stimula-ted genes.These findings provide a reference to further ex-plore the mechanism underlying the ability of porcine SIRT5 to promote FMDV-O replication.

Obｊective To investigate the protective mechanism of tricholoma matsutake polysaccharides(TMP) against 1-methy-4-pehnyl-pyridine ion (MPP

Objective To observe the effect of Danshen injection (DSI) on pulmonary fibrosis in silicosis mice, and to analyze the differential metabolic pathway on pulmonary fibrosis in silicosis using DSI by urine metabolomics. Methods The specific pathogen free C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group, silicosis model group, DSI prevention group and DSI treatment group. The mice in the last three groups were given 1 mL silica suspension with a mass concentration of 50 g/L by the one-time non-exposed tracheal method, and the mice in the control group were not given any treatment. Subsequently, mice in the DSI prevention group and the DSI treatment group were given intraperitoneal injection of DSI with a dose of 5 mL/kg body weight from 24 hours after exposure to dust and from the 29th day after exposure to dust, respectively, once per day until the 56th day after exposure. Mice in the other two groups were not treated. After DSI intervention, the lung histopathological changes of mice in all groups were evaluated. The components of mouse urine metabolites were analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-fight mass spectrometry method. Human Metabolome Database was used to screen the potential differential metabolites (DMs). The related metabolic pathways were analyzed using MetaboAnanlyst 5.0 Web analytics platform. Results The result of hematoxylin-eosin staining and Van Gieson staining of mouse lung tissues showed that the pulmonary alveolar structure destroyed, typical fibrotic nodules appeared, collagen fiber deposition increased, and clumpy accumulation in the silicosis model group, compared with the control group. Compared with the silicosis model group, the degree of pulmonary alveolar inflammation and fibrosis in the lung tissues of mice in the DSI prevention group was obviously reduced to close to the control group, while pulmonary alveolar inflammation and fibrosis in the lung tissues of mice in the DSI treatment group were also reduced, although the outcome was not as good as that in the DSI prevention group. The result of urine metabolomics analysis identified four DMs in the model group and control group, seven DMs were identified in the DSI prevention group and silicosis model group, seven DMs were identified in the DSI treatment group and silicosis model group. A total of three DMs pathways related to pulmonary fibrosis in silicosis model group and the protective effect of DSI prevention group were identified, including D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, folic acid biosynthesis and metabolism, pantothenate and succinyl coenzyme A biosynthesis pathways (all P<0.01). Conclusion DSI treatment in any time point can interfere the process of pulmonary fibrosis in the silicosis mice, while the interference is more effective in the DSI group treated right after dust-exposure. DSI interferes with the urinary metabolism pathway of silicosis mice, and the D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, folic acid biosynthesis and metabolism, pantothenate and succinyl coenzyme A biosynthesis pathways may participate in the inhibiting process of early pulmonary fibrosis in silicosis mice by DSI.

AIM To explore the clinical effects of comprehensive treatment regimen of traditional Chinese medicine on patients with refractory rhinosinusitis.METHODS One hundred and sixty-four patients were randomly assigned into control group(82 cases)for 3-month intervention of comprehensive treatment regimen of western medicine(Physiological Seawater Nasal Spray,Budesonide Nasal Spray,Clarithromycin Tablets),and observation group(82 cases)for 3-month intervention of comprehensive treatment regimen of traditional Chinese medicine(Xinzhi Tongqiao Granules,Xinbai Nasal Fumigation Powder,acupuncture of sphenopalatine ganglion).The changes in clinical effects,subjective disease indices(clinical symptom scores,SNOT-20 score,Lung Meridian Heat Accumulation Syndrome score),objective disease indices(Lund-Kennedy score,T&T olfactory score,MTT,MTR),inflammatory indices(LTC4,IL-17a,IL-33,ECP),immune indices(CD4+,CD8+,Treg,Th17,CD4+/CD8+,Th17/Treg)and safety indices were detected.RESULTS The observation group demonstrated higher total control rate than the control group(P＜0.05).After the treatment and at 3-month follow-up,the two groups displayed decreased clinical symptom scores,inflammatory indices,CD8+,Th17,Th17/Treg,SNOT-20 score,Lung Meridian Heat Accumulation Syndrome score,Lund-Kennedy score,T&T olfactory score(P＜0.05),increased CD4+,Treg,CD4+/CD8+,MTR(P＜0.05),and shortened MTT(P＜0.05),especially for the observation group(P＜0.05).No obvious adverse reactions were observable in the two groups.CONCLUSION For the patients with refractory rhinosinusitis,the comprehensive treatment regimen of traditional Chinese medicine can safely and effectively improve inflammatory responses,immune functions and mucociliary motor functions,repair the status and functions of nasal mucosa,alleviate subjective and objective symptoms,and enhance life quality.

The identification of the components absorbed in serum of platycosides in total saponins fraction of Platycodonis Radix is great significance, but there are still great challenges. In this study, 8 types of 44 primordial components from Platycodon saponins were firstly identified using the ultra-performance liquid chromatography-linear ion trap electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS) equipped with the software of Compound Discoverer 3.2 and Trace finder 2.1. Then, the platycosides and their deglycosylated metabolites were used as the template molecules to construct the intestinal microbiota mediated method to identify the primary components and the prototypes in serum. As results, 57 components originating from 44 prototypes of platycosides were identified from drug-containing plasma. Those compounds consist of 12 prototypes of platycosides and 45 metabolites, while the prototypes in serum are also deglycosylated metabolites of other platycosides. The results showed that the intestinal microbiota mediated method could be applied to identify the metabolites of platycosides in total saponins fraction of Platycodonis Radix; and reveal the potential existing forms of prototypes of platycosides in plasma; In addition, it could clearly illustrate the one to many and many to one network of the prototypes and metabolites of platycosides. All animal protocols were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No.JZLLSC-202100322).