Aim To explore the role and mechanism of epimedokoreanin B(EKB)in HepaRG cell pyroptosis through endoplasmic reticulum stress and NLRP1-me-diated pyroptosis pathway.Methods The effect of EKB on the viability of HepaRG cells at different con-centrations was determined by MTT assay,and the cell growth status was recorded by Incucyte.Four groups of HepaRG cells were set up.The control group was cul-tured with complete medium for 24 h;the drug admin-istration group was cultured with three concentration gradients of 6.25,12.5 and 25 μmol·L-1 of EKB for 24 h.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins and pyroptosis-related proteins in the cells of each group.Results HepaRG cells showed cytotoxicity at a concentration of 6.25 μmol·L-1 for 24 h,and the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)was 12.41 μmol·L-1.Incucyte recordings of the cell growth status showed that the cells in the control group were in good growth status,and the vesicular pyropto-sis cells appeared in the different concentrations of EKB and the cells swelled and ruptured after 24 h.Western blot showed that the protein expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins pERK,eIF-2α,ATF-4,GRP78,and CHOP significantly in-creased in HepaRG cells at 25 μmol·L-1 of EKB compared with the control group.The proteins of the classical pathway of cellular pyroptosis mediated by NLRP1,caspase-1,cleaved caspase-1,GSDMD,GS-DMD-N significantly increased in HepaRG cells.Con-clusion EKB administration induces HepaRG cell py-roptosis,and EKB activates HepaRG cells to undergo endoplasmic reticulum stress and activates the NLRP1/caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis pathway.

Objective Prepubertal mice are administered subcutaneously with letrozole sustained-release pellets behind the neck and treated with a high-fat diet to establish a mouse model of polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS).The liver transcriptomes of the model mice are compared with those of the placebo control mice to investigate the underlying mechanisms of liver involvement in the pathogenesis of PCOS.Methods A customized 2 mg dose of letrozole sustained-release pellets with a 40-day release period was used.The control placebo and letrozole pellets were implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal cervical region of 3-4-week-old C57BL/6J mice(8 mice per group)to establish the control group and letrozole-induced PCOS model group.Both groups were treated with a high-fat diet starting the day after administration.The modeling period lasted for 5 weeks,during which body weight and 24-hour food intake were monitored in each group every week.When samples were collected,liver weight was recorded.Pathological changes in ovarian and hepatic tissues were examined by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining,while hepatic lipid deposition was observed by Oil Red O staining.The extent of macrophage infiltration in the liver was evaluated via F4/80 immunohistochemical staining,and hepatic fibrosis levels were observed by Masson's trichrome staining.Transcriptomic sequencing was performed to analyze differentially expressed genes(DEGs)in liver tissues between the control and model groups,followed by enrichment analysis of significant DEGs.Quantitative real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR(qPCR)was subsequently used to validate the expression of significant DEGs in liver tissues of both groups.Results Compared with the control group,the model group which received subcutaneous letrozole sustained-release pellets combined with a high-fat diet exhibited significantly increased body weight(P＜0.001),prominent polycystic ovarian morphology,and significantly decreased liver-to-body weight ratio(P＜0.05).However,no significant changes were observed in absolute liver weight(P＞0.05),hepatic histomorphology,or lipid deposition.Transcriptome sequencing identified 119 upregulated and 217 downregulated DEGs in the liver tissues of letrozole-treated mice,which were predominantly enriched in pathways related to cholesterol and steroid biosynthesis,steroid hormone metabolism,and inflammatory responses.qPCR validation demonstrated that mRNA expression of HSD3B2 and HMGCR was significantly upregulated in liver(P＜0.01),while mRNA expression of IL4,CCL2 and COL1A1 was downregulated(P＜0.05)in the model group compared with the control group.However,Masson's trichrome staining and F4/80 immunohistochemical analysis showed no significant changes in hepatic fibrosis or macrophage infiltration.Conclusion Subcutaneous administration of letrozole sustained-release pellets combined with a high-fat diet successfully establishes a mouse model of PCOS.The model mice exhibited significant changes in hepatic gene expression.Liver may contribute to PCOS pathogenesis through regulating cholesterol and steroid metabolism.

Aim To investigate the effect of ACSL4 on the malignant biological behavior of esophageal cancer cells and gefitinib resistance by regulating FASN,and to explore the related mechanism.Methods Thirty-five fresh esophageal cancer tissues and adjacent nor-mal tissues,and 30 esophageal cancer tissues with ge-fitinib resistance were collected.The expressions of ACSL4 and FASN were detected by qRT-PCR and im-munohistochemistry.The expression levels of ACSL4 and FASN in human normal esophageal cells HET-1 A,esophageal cancer cell lines ECA109,EC9706,TE-1 and TE-1/GR were detected by qRT-PCR.Cells in each group were constructed by liposome transfection technique,and the drug resistance and proliferation a-bility of cells were detected by cloning and CCK-8 as-say,cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry,cell invasion ability was detected by Transwell,and EMT pathway protein expression was detected by Western blot.Results Compared with adjacent normal tis-sues,the expression of ACSL4 and FASN genes in cancer tissues increased,and there was a positive corre-lation.The expression of ACSL4 significantly increased in ECA109,EC9706 and TE-1 cells compared with HET-1 A cells.With the increase of gefitinib concen-tration,the expression of ACSL4 in TE-1 cells gradually increased,and the expression of ACSL4 in TE-1/GR cells was higher than that of TE-1.Compared with the control group and the si-NC group,the cell proliferation and invasion ability of si-ACSL4 group decreased,the number of apoptosis increased,the expression of E-Cadherin increased,and the expression of N-Cadherin,Vimentin and β-catenin decreased.The response ex-periment showed that compared with the si-ACSL4 group and the si-ACSL4+oe-NC group,the cells in the si-ACSL4+oe-FASN group increased drug resistance,increased proliferation and invasion ability,decreased apoptosis number and decreased expression of E-Cad-herin.The expressions of N-Cadherin,Vimentin and β-catenin increased.Conclusions By down-regulating the expression of FASN,ACSL4 reverses the resistance of esophageal cancer TE-1/GR cells to gefitinib and in-hibits the proliferation,invasion and accelerates apopto-sis of TE-1/GR cells,which may be related to the regu-lation of EMT signaling pathway.

Objective To explore the effect of rituximab on cellular immunity and cytokines in children with new-onset steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome(SSNS).Methods Clinical data of 60 children with new-onset SSNS treated at Xuzhou Children's Hospital from December 2021 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Children were allocated according to rituximab use into a control group(no rituximab)and an observation group(rituximab).The relapse rate,T-lymphocyte subsets and cytokines before and after treatment,and the incidence of adverse reactions were compared between groups.Results The relapse rate was lower in the observation group than in the control group(27%vs 73%,P<0.05).After treatment,CD3+and CD4+T-lymphocyte counts,the CD4+/CD8+ratio,and serum interleukin-2 increased in the observation group and were higher than in the control group(P<0.05).Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels decreased after treatment in the observation group and were lower than in the control group(P<0.05).After treatment,CD8+T-lymphocyte counts decreased,interferon-γ increased,and interleukin-10 decreased in both groups,with no significant differences between the two groups(P>0.05).The incidence of adverse reactions did not differ significantly between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusions Rituximab can reduce the relapse rate in children with new-onset nephrotic syndrome and shows good safety.Its therapeutic effect is achieved by regulating the number and function of T cells and by modulating the anti-inflammatory effects of cytokines.

Aim To explore the role and mechanism of epimedokoreanin B(EKB)in HepaRG cell pyroptosis through endoplasmic reticulum stress and NLRP1-me-diated pyroptosis pathway.Methods The effect of EKB on the viability of HepaRG cells at different con-centrations was determined by MTT assay,and the cell growth status was recorded by Incucyte.Four groups of HepaRG cells were set up.The control group was cul-tured with complete medium for 24 h;the drug admin-istration group was cultured with three concentration gradients of 6.25,12.5 and 25 μmol·L-1 of EKB for 24 h.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins and pyroptosis-related proteins in the cells of each group.Results HepaRG cells showed cytotoxicity at a concentration of 6.25 μmol·L-1 for 24 h,and the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)was 12.41 μmol·L-1.Incucyte recordings of the cell growth status showed that the cells in the control group were in good growth status,and the vesicular pyropto-sis cells appeared in the different concentrations of EKB and the cells swelled and ruptured after 24 h.Western blot showed that the protein expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins pERK,eIF-2α,ATF-4,GRP78,and CHOP significantly in-creased in HepaRG cells at 25 μmol·L-1 of EKB compared with the control group.The proteins of the classical pathway of cellular pyroptosis mediated by NLRP1,caspase-1,cleaved caspase-1,GSDMD,GS-DMD-N significantly increased in HepaRG cells.Con-clusion EKB administration induces HepaRG cell py-roptosis,and EKB activates HepaRG cells to undergo endoplasmic reticulum stress and activates the NLRP1/caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis pathway.

Objective Prepubertal mice are administered subcutaneously with letrozole sustained-release pellets behind the neck and treated with a high-fat diet to establish a mouse model of polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS).The liver transcriptomes of the model mice are compared with those of the placebo control mice to investigate the underlying mechanisms of liver involvement in the pathogenesis of PCOS.Methods A customized 2 mg dose of letrozole sustained-release pellets with a 40-day release period was used.The control placebo and letrozole pellets were implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal cervical region of 3-4-week-old C57BL/6J mice(8 mice per group)to establish the control group and letrozole-induced PCOS model group.Both groups were treated with a high-fat diet starting the day after administration.The modeling period lasted for 5 weeks,during which body weight and 24-hour food intake were monitored in each group every week.When samples were collected,liver weight was recorded.Pathological changes in ovarian and hepatic tissues were examined by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining,while hepatic lipid deposition was observed by Oil Red O staining.The extent of macrophage infiltration in the liver was evaluated via F4/80 immunohistochemical staining,and hepatic fibrosis levels were observed by Masson's trichrome staining.Transcriptomic sequencing was performed to analyze differentially expressed genes(DEGs)in liver tissues between the control and model groups,followed by enrichment analysis of significant DEGs.Quantitative real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR(qPCR)was subsequently used to validate the expression of significant DEGs in liver tissues of both groups.Results Compared with the control group,the model group which received subcutaneous letrozole sustained-release pellets combined with a high-fat diet exhibited significantly increased body weight(P＜0.001),prominent polycystic ovarian morphology,and significantly decreased liver-to-body weight ratio(P＜0.05).However,no significant changes were observed in absolute liver weight(P＞0.05),hepatic histomorphology,or lipid deposition.Transcriptome sequencing identified 119 upregulated and 217 downregulated DEGs in the liver tissues of letrozole-treated mice,which were predominantly enriched in pathways related to cholesterol and steroid biosynthesis,steroid hormone metabolism,and inflammatory responses.qPCR validation demonstrated that mRNA expression of HSD3B2 and HMGCR was significantly upregulated in liver(P＜0.01),while mRNA expression of IL4,CCL2 and COL1A1 was downregulated(P＜0.05)in the model group compared with the control group.However,Masson's trichrome staining and F4/80 immunohistochemical analysis showed no significant changes in hepatic fibrosis or macrophage infiltration.Conclusion Subcutaneous administration of letrozole sustained-release pellets combined with a high-fat diet successfully establishes a mouse model of PCOS.The model mice exhibited significant changes in hepatic gene expression.Liver may contribute to PCOS pathogenesis through regulating cholesterol and steroid metabolism.

Objective To explore the effect of rituximab on cellular immunity and cytokines in children with new-onset steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome(SSNS).Methods Clinical data of 60 children with new-onset SSNS treated at Xuzhou Children's Hospital from December 2021 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Children were allocated according to rituximab use into a control group(no rituximab)and an observation group(rituximab).The relapse rate,T-lymphocyte subsets and cytokines before and after treatment,and the incidence of adverse reactions were compared between groups.Results The relapse rate was lower in the observation group than in the control group(27%vs 73%,P<0.05).After treatment,CD3+and CD4+T-lymphocyte counts,the CD4+/CD8+ratio,and serum interleukin-2 increased in the observation group and were higher than in the control group(P<0.05).Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels decreased after treatment in the observation group and were lower than in the control group(P<0.05).After treatment,CD8+T-lymphocyte counts decreased,interferon-γ increased,and interleukin-10 decreased in both groups,with no significant differences between the two groups(P>0.05).The incidence of adverse reactions did not differ significantly between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusions Rituximab can reduce the relapse rate in children with new-onset nephrotic syndrome and shows good safety.Its therapeutic effect is achieved by regulating the number and function of T cells and by modulating the anti-inflammatory effects of cytokines.

Objective To investigate the effect of Modified Renshen Wumei Decoction on the TLR4/MyD88/pNF-κBp65 signaling pathway and elucidate the potential mechanism by which this formula repairs the intestinal mucosal barrier in diarrheal rats.Methods Twelve rats were randomly selected from a total of 48 rats to serve as the blank control group(CK),while the remaining 36 rats were used to establish a disease model via a compound method.After 14 days of model preparation,the rats were randomly divided into three groups:the model group(MC),the western medicine group(MV),and the traditional Chinese medicine group(MRWD).Each of the four groups(including CK)received corresponding interventions for 7 days.The concentrations of serum diamine oxidase(DAO),D-lactic acid(D-Lac),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),IL-6,IL-10,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),mucin 2(MUC2),MUC4,MUC6,and colonic homogenate secretory immunoglobulin A(SIgA)were measured using ELISA.Additionally,the protein and gene expressions of colonic toll-like receptor 4(TLR4),myeloid differentiation primary response 88(MyD88),phosphorylated nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells p65(pNF-κBp65),occludin,claudin-1,and zonula occludens-1(ZO-1)were analyzed by Western blot and RT-PCR.Results(1)Intestinal mucosal injury markers:Compared with the blank group,the serum levels of DAO and D-Lac in the model group were significantly increased(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,both the Chinese medicine group and Western medicine group significantly decreased the serum levels of DAO(P<0.001),while the traditional Chinese medicine group also significantly reduced the serum levels of D-Lac(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the changes of DAO and D-Lac serum levels between the Chinese medicine group and Western medicine group(P>0.05).(2)Inflammatory indicators:Compared with the blank group,the model group exhibited significant upregulation of TLR4,MyD88,pNF-κ Bp65 protein and gene expression,as well as serum levels of IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α(P<0.05),along with a significant decrease in IL-10 serum levels(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,both the Chinese medicine group and Western medicine group significantly downregulated TLR4,MyD88,pNF-κBp65 protein and gene expression,as well as serum levels of IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α(P<0.05),and significantly upregulated IL-10 serum levels(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in serum levels of TLR4,MyD88,pNF-κBp65 protein,gene expression,and IL-1β,IL-6,IL-10,and TNF-α between the Chinese medicine group and Western medicine group(P>0.05).(3)Intestinal mucosal barrier factors:Compared with the blank group,the model group exhibited significant downregulation in MUC2,MUC6,SIgA content,as well as Claudin-1,ZO-1 protein and gene expression,and Occludin protein expression(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,both Chinese and Western medicine groups significantly upregulated the content of MUC2 and SIgA,as well as the protein and gene expression of Claudin-1 and ZO-1(P<0.05).The traditional Chinese medicine group also significantly increased the content of MUC6 and Occludin protein expression(P<0.05).No significant differ-ences were observed between the Chinese and Western medicine groups in terms of MUC2,MUC6,SIgA serum content,and Claudin-1 and ZO-1 gene expression(P>0.05).However,the Western medicine group showed better Claudin-1 protein expression than the Chinese medicine group(P<0.05),while the ZO-1 protein expression was higher in the traditional Chinese medicine group compared to the Western medicine group(P<0.05).Conclusion Modified Renshen Wumei Decoction exerts an intestinal mucosal barrier repair effect in diarrhea rats by modulating the TLR4/MyD88/pNF-κBp65 signaling pathway.

Thoracic anesthesia with spontaneous respiration represents a form of precision anesthesia meticulously customized to individual patients.Considering the more stringent requirements this anesthesia approach imposes on the regulation of respiratory function,the writing group of the"Consensus of Experts on the Management of Thoracic Anesthesia with Spontaneous Respiration"has formulated elaborate guidelines regarding indications and contraindications,preoperative evaluation,anesthesia implementation,common complications,and treatment strategies.This was accomplished by referencing relevant domestic and international literature and integrating it with actual clinical requirements.The objective is to standardize the rational application of this anesthesia method.

In modern society, sugary foods have become an integral part of many people′s lives. However, excessive sugar consumption has adverse effects on both overall health and oral health, serving as a contributing factor to the global increasing incidence in oral diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, obesity, and diabetes. In response to the health risks related to high-sugar diets, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Dental Federation (FDI) have proposed initiatives and recommendations, with various governments implementing different policies and strategies to reduce sugar intake. Chinese government has also taken proactive measures. The "Healthy China Action (2019-2030)" initiative introduced by the State Council in 2019 established a crucial benchmark in limiting the average daily intake of added sugar to 25 g per person forward to 2030. Experts from Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the field of oral health have meticulously examined the impacts of sugar reduction on oral health, as well as strategies, methods, and practical considerations related to reducing sugar intake through several meeting and wrote the "Expert consensus: reducing free-sugar for caries prevention", which was subsequently reviewed and revised based on the feedback from multiple stakeholders. They have conducted thorough analyses of global trends in sugar reduction and best practices to provide valuable insights to China for crafting effective policies and strategies on sugar reduction. This consensus mainly includes the classification of free sugars, the latest scientific evidence on dental caries, recommendations from WHO on sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, nutrition labeling, advertising, food reform, adjusting supply systems, education, and promotion strategies, as well as sugar reduction actions taken by various governments around the world. Combining the actual situation in China, policy recommendations and authoritative popular science knowledge on sugar reduction for caries prevention to public are proposed to advocate for experts in multiple fields to focus on sugar reduction for caries prevention, promote the work process, and provide the scientific basis for oral health educators.