Objective: To characterize longitudinal trajectories of testicular development in boys and breast development in girls, so as to provide reference data for understanding patterns of pubertal sexual maturation. Methods: Based on the Shanghai Pudong New Area Cohort Study on Growth, Development and Health in Children and Adolescents, a baseline survey was conducted in 2020 using a mult stage cluster random sampling method. A total of 2 184 children who completed all follow ups during the primary school period from 13 elementary schools in Pudong New Area,Shanghai,with annual follow ups during 2021-2025. Testicular volume and Tanner stage of breast development were assessed by professional physicians using standardized visual inspection and palpation. The age distribution of testicular volume and breast development was fitted by using cumulative link mixed models and Turnbull s nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation method. Results: Median ages for testicular volumes of 2, 3, 4 and 5 mL in boys were 7.07, 9.24, 10.29, and 11.57 years old, respectively. Median ages for Tanner breast stages Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, and Ⅴ in girls were 8.55 , 10.17, 11.18, and 13.78 years old, respectively. Based on overweight and obesity, stratified analysis showed that earlier pubertal onset among overweight/obesity children, and the key milestones for pubertal initiation were testicular volume reaching 4 mL in boys and breast Tanner II in girls for 10.29, 10.83; 8.18, 9.00 years. Conclusion Overweight and obesity are associated with earlier pubertal initiation,but there are certain gender and developmental stage specific patterns.

Gorham-Stout disease(GSD) is a rare osteolytic disorder characterized by spontaneous and progressive osteolysis, along with abnormal angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, with no new bone formation. We present a case of a 15-year-old female admitted due to " recurrent right leg pain for 5 years, 11 months after undergoing right femoral fracture surgery". Through comprehensive integration of the patient's clinical phenotype, laboratory tests, imaging findings, pathological examinations, and molecular biological test results, GSD was considered highly likely. A multidisciplinary treatment approach was conducted, including a combination of zoledronic acid and sirolimus to inhibit osteolysis, along with rehabilitation training and orthopedic intervention, providing a personalized and comprehensive treatment strategy.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder primarily caused by pathogenic variants in the TSC1 or TSC2 genes. It is characterized by multisystem hamartomatous lesions and neuropsychiatric manifestations. Here we report a young male patient with TSC involving multiple organs, caused by a heterozygous frameshift mutation in TSC2 (c.2071delC, p.Arg691Alafs^*7). The patient initially presented with classic facial angiofibromas and hypomelanotic macules, and subsequently developed psychiatric and behavioral disturbances with auditory hallucinations. Neuroimaging revealed an intracranial mass lesion, which was confirmed as a subependymal giant cell astrocytoma on postoperative histopathology following surgery performed at an outside institution. After admission, the patient underwent a comprehensive diagnostic workup, and multidisciplinary treatment evaluation revealed extensive multisystem involve-ment, including the nervous system, skin, kidneys, lungs, heart, eyes, pancreas, liver and bones. Combined with relevant literature, this article discusses the molecular mechanisms, clinical phenotypes, and comprehensive management of TSC, in order to provide a reference for the standardized and individualized management of this disease.

Diabetic nephropathy（DN） is a common and severe microvascular complication of diabetes. In recent years， the classical herbal formula Shenqi dihuang decoction has demonstrated unique advantages in the clinical treatment of DN. This article conducts a systematic review of the mechanisms of action and clinical applications of Shenqi dihuang decoction in the treatment of DN. It reveals that the mechanism by which this formula improves DN involves multi-target synergistic regulation. For instance, Shenqi dihuang decoction exerts multiple pharmacological effects by regulating signaling pathways including phosphatidy linostiol 3-kinase/protein kinase B， AMP-activated protein kinase/silent information regulator 1/forkhead box O1， and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 pathways.These effects include regulating glucose and lipid metabolism， inhibiting oxidative stress， reducing inflammation， improving insulin resistance， modulating cell death （apoptosis/autophagy/ferroptosis/pyroptosis）， and preventing renal fibrosis. Existing clinical studies indicate that Shenqi dihuang decoction and its modified formulas， alone or in combination with other therapeutic methods， can significantly improve glucose and lipid metabolism， reduce proteinuria， and delay renal function decline in patients with DN. These effects are superior to those of Western medicines such as irbesartan， valsartan， and empagliflozin， and the treatment demonstrates good safety. Future research should leverage systems biology and artificial intelligence technologies to further elucidate the integrated mechanisms in the treatment of DN by Shenqi dihuang decoction， thereby advancing the precision and standardization of its clinical application.

BACKGROUND:Aging of human body may be due to the senescence and depletion of various stem cells in the body.Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells have important physiological functions and have shown certain therapeutic effects on various diseases.It is of great significance to study the senescence and mechanism of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells.OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells exhibit senescence phenotypes with increasing donor age,and further determine whether endogenous retrovirus drives the senescence of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells,offering a novel reference for the investigation of stem cell senescence mechanism.METHODS:The senescence of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells at different ages was characterized by flow cytometry,β-galactosidase staining,qPCR,western blotting,and EdU fluorescence imaging.Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells and cell culture supernatant were collected from donors of different ages.The content of human endogenous retrovirus was detected by qPCR.Furthermore,highly sensitive droplet digital PCR was used to detect the expression of endogenous retrovirus-like particles in the cell culture supernatant.The content of endogenous retrovirus in bone marrow plasma samples of different ages was detected by ELISA.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells exhibited obvious senescence with increasing age,including significant morphological changes,increased proportion of β-galactosidase positive cells,increased expression of senescence markers P16 and P21 protein,decreased expression of LMNB1 protein,and reduced cell proliferation ability.There was no significant difference in the content of endogenous retrovirus in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells at different ages,almost no endogenous retrovirus-like particles in the cell culture supernatant.There was no significant difference in endogenous retrovirus-like particles detected in bone marrow plasma samples at different ages.These findings indicate that human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells have normal physiological senescence with increasing age,but the mechanism of senescence is not mediated by abnormal activation of endogenous retroviruses,which may have a more complex driving mechanism.

ObjectiveTo explore the efficacy and mechanism of Euphorbia humifusa on acute kidney injury （AKI） based on network pharmacology， molecular docking and experimental verification. MethodsThe active components and targets of E. humifusa were retrieved from TCMSP and SwissTargetPrediction database， and the AKI targets were screened by GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man（OMIM） databases. The drug targets and disease targets were intersected to construct a protein-protein interaction network， and the intersection targets were subjected to gene ontology （GO） and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes （KEGG） enrichment analysis. Discover Studio software was used to verify the molecular docking of key components and core targets. Gentamicin （GM） was used to induce AKI rat model. Control group， model group， verapamil （16 mg·kg^-1） group， E. humifusa extract （18， 54， 162 mg·kg^-1·d^-1） group and E. humifusa 70% ethanol extract （423 mg·kg^-1） group were continuously administered for 14 days. Urine volume was detected 24 h after modeling and administration. Serum creatinine （SCr）， Blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， 24-hour urine protein （24 hUTP） and uric acid （UA） content； the contents of malondialdehyde （MDA）， glutathione （GSH）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， carbon monoxide synthase （NOS） and lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） in kidney were measured. The levels of interleukin （IL）-6 and tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α in serum were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） kit. The pathological changes of renal tissue were detected by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） and Masson staining. Western blot was used to detect the expression of PI3K/protein kinase B（Akt）/NF-κB signaling pathway-related proteins. ResultsIn this study， 13 active components such as kaempferol， luteolin， apigenin， gallic acid and quercetin were screened and identified from E. humifusa. Through bioinformatics analysis， these components and AKI have a total of 289 targets， of which 62 are core targets， including Akt1， TNF， tumor protein p53（TP53） and IL-1β. These targets are mainly involved in the regulation of biological processes such as NF-κB signaling pathway， HIF-1 signaling pathway， TNF signaling pathway， PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAPK） signaling pathway. In animal experiments， we successfully constructed a GM-induced AKI model in rats. Compared with the model group， E. humifusa extract could significantly reduce the levels of 24 hUTP， BUN and SCr in rats （P<0.01）， indicating its improvement effect on renal function. In addition， the extract of E. humifusa also significantly reduced LDH activity and MDA content in rat kidney tissue （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and significantly increased SOD， NOS activity and GSH content （P<0.05）， indicating that the extract of E. humifusa has the potential of anti-oxidation and protection of renal function. Further analysis of inflammatory factors showed that the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in serum of rats treated with E. humifusa extract were significantly decreased （P<0.01）， indicating that E. humifusa extract had anti-inflammatory effects. In addition， the extract of E. humifusa can also regulate the protein expression of PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway， which further confirmed its mechanism of reducing GM-induced AKI. ConclusionThe extract of E. humifusa has a significant therapeutic effect on acute kidney injury through its multi-component and multi-target mechanism. Its effect is reflected in improving renal function， anti-oxidation， anti-inflammation and regulating immune response. These findings provide a scientific basis for the application of E. humifusa in the treatment of acute kidney injury， and point out the direction for future drug development and clinical research.

Triptolide （TP）， the core active component of the traditional Chinese medicine Tripterygium wilfordii ， exhibits remarkable pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory， immunosuppressive and anti-tumor effects， and holds broad application prospects in the treatment of major diseases such as autoimmune diseases and malignant tumors. However， TP has a narrow therapeutic window and causes multi-organ toxicities including liver， kidney and reproductive toxicities， which severely restrict its safe clinical application and new drug development. Therefore， toxicity reduction and efficacy enhancement has become a core scientific problem urgently to be solved in this field. This paper systematically reviews the four core strategies for TP toxicity reduction and efficacy enhancement， including structural modification， dosage form improvement， herbal compatibility， and external therapies of traditional Chinese medicine. Among them， structural modification optimizes the toxic and efficacy characteristics of TP from the molecular structure level， with typica l derivatives including （5 R ）-5-hydroxy triptolide， ZT01， PG490-88， etc. Dosage form modification achieves toxicity reduction and efficacy enhancement via targeted and sustained-controlled drug release of diverse delivery systems. It includes triptolide preparations such as nanoparticles， liposomes， microemulsion gels and liquid crystals， possessing favorable clinical transformation potential. The herbal compatibility and external therapies of traditional Chinese medicine conform to the holistic view of traditional Chinese medicine and have a profound clinical application foundation， but their mechanisms of action are insufficiently elucidated， and they lack unified standardized specifications and high-quality evidence-based proof. In the future， we should rely on multi-omics technology to elucidate the toxic and efficacy mechanisms， integrate technologies to optimize preparations， improve the evaluation system and promote clinical transformation.

BACKGROUND:Aging of human body may be due to the senescence and depletion of various stem cells in the body.Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells have important physiological functions and have shown certain therapeutic effects on various diseases.It is of great significance to study the senescence and mechanism of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells.OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells exhibit senescence phenotypes with increasing donor age,and further determine whether endogenous retrovirus drives the senescence of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells,offering a novel reference for the investigation of stem cell senescence mechanism.METHODS:The senescence of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells at different ages was characterized by flow cytometry,β-galactosidase staining,qPCR,western blotting,and EdU fluorescence imaging.Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells and cell culture supernatant were collected from donors of different ages.The content of human endogenous retrovirus was detected by qPCR.Furthermore,highly sensitive droplet digital PCR was used to detect the expression of endogenous retrovirus-like particles in the cell culture supernatant.The content of endogenous retrovirus in bone marrow plasma samples of different ages was detected by ELISA.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells exhibited obvious senescence with increasing age,including significant morphological changes,increased proportion of β-galactosidase positive cells,increased expression of senescence markers P16 and P21 protein,decreased expression of LMNB1 protein,and reduced cell proliferation ability.There was no significant difference in the content of endogenous retrovirus in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells at different ages,almost no endogenous retrovirus-like particles in the cell culture supernatant.There was no significant difference in endogenous retrovirus-like particles detected in bone marrow plasma samples at different ages.These findings indicate that human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells have normal physiological senescence with increasing age,but the mechanism of senescence is not mediated by abnormal activation of endogenous retroviruses,which may have a more complex driving mechanism.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) presents with a diverse range of symptoms that can affect the skin, bones, eyes, central nervous system, and other organs. This article reports the diagnosis and treatment process of a patient with NF1 complicated by bilateral severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. Genetic testing revealed a heterozygous variant of NF1 NM_ 000267.3: c.4054_ 4058del(p.Ser1352LeufsTer20, supporting the diagnosis of NF1. After thorough evaluation, a right cochlear implantation was performed, yielding satisfactory postoperative results. This case suggests that NF1 patients may exhibit phenotypic heterogeneity and atypicality, providing a reference for clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of such patients.

ObjectiveTo compare the clinical features of patients with hepatitis B virus （HBV）-related early-onset liver cancer and those with late-onset liver cancer， to assess the severity of the disease， and to provide a theoretical basis for the early diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for 695 patients who were diagnosed with HBV-related liver cancer for the first time in Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital， Guangzhou Medical University， from January 2019 to August 2023， among whom 93 had early-onset liver cancer （defined as an age of50 years for female patients and40 years for male patients） and 602 had late-onset liver cancer （defined as an age of ≥50 years for female patients and ≥40 years for male patients）. Related clinical data were collected， including demographic data， clinical symptoms at initial diagnosis， comorbidities， smoking history， drinking history， family history， routine blood test results， biochemical parameters of liver function， serum alpha-fetoprotein（AFP）， virological indicators， coagulation function， and imaging findings. The pan-inflammatory indices neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio （NLR）， platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio （PLR）， and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio （LMR） were calculated， as well as FIB-4 index， aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index （APRI）， S index， Model for End-Stage Liver Disease （MELD） score， Child-Turcotte-Pugh （CTP） score， albumin-bilirubin （AIBL） grade， and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer （BCLC） stage. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test were used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. ResultsThere were significant differences between the two groups in the proportion of male patients and the incidence rates of diabetes， hypertension， and fatty liver disease （χ²=6.357， 15.230， 11.467， and 14.204， all P0.05）， and compared with the late-onset liver cancer group， the early-onset liver cancer group had a significantly higher proportion of patients progressing to liver cancer without underlying cirrhosis （χ²=24.657， P0.001） and a significantly higher proportion of patients with advanced BCLC stage （χ²=6.172， P=0.046）. For the overall population， the most common clinical symptoms included abdominal distension， abdominal pain， poor appetite， weakness， a reduction in body weight， edema of both lower limbs， jaundice， yellow urine， and nausea， and 55 patients （7.9%） had no obvious symptoms at the time of diagnosis and were found to have liver cancer by routine reexamination， physical examination suggesting an increase in AFP， or radiological examination indicating hepatic space-occupying lesion； compared with the late-onset liver cancer group， the patients in the early-onset liver cancer group were more likely to have the symptoms of abdominal distension， abdominal pain， and jaundice （all P0.05）. Compared with the late-onset liver cancer group， the early-onset liver cancer group had a significantly larger tumor diameter （Z=2.845， P=0.034）， with higher prevalence rates of multiple tumors and intrahepatic， perihepatic， or distant metastasis （χ²=5.889 and 4.079， both P0.05）， and there were significant differences between the two groups in tumor location and size （χ²=3.948 and 11.317， both P0.05）. Compared with the late-onset liver cancer group， the early-onset liver cancer group had significantly lower FIB-4 index， proportion of patients with HBsAg ≤1 500 IU/mL， and levels of LMR and Cr （all P0.05）， as well as significantly higher positive rate of HBeAg and levels of log₁₀ HBV DNA， AFP， WBC， Hb， PLT， NLR， PLR， TBil， ALT， Alb， and TC （all P0.05）. ConclusionCompared with late-onset liver cancer， patients with early-onset liver cancer tend to develop liver cancer without liver cirrhosis and have multiple tumors， obvious clinical symptoms， and advanced BCLC stage， which indicates a poor prognosis.