Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive loss of dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), primarily manifesting as motor dysfunctions such as resting tremor, muscle rigidity, and bradykinesia. According to the classical model of basal ganglia motor control, approximately half of the medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the striatum are D1-MSNs, which constitute the direct pathway. These neurons express D₁-dopamine receptor (D₁R) and substance P, and they mainly participate in the selection, initiation, and execution of movements. The other half are D2-MSNs, which constitute the indirect pathway. These neurons express D₂-dopamine receptor (D₂R) and adenosine 2A receptors and are involved in inhibiting unnecessary movements or terminating ongoing movements, thereby adjusting movement sequences to perform more precise motor behaviors. The direct pathway in the striatum modulates the activity of motor cortex neurons by exciting D1-MSNs through neurotransmitters such as glutamate (Glu), allowing the motor cortex to send signals more freely to the motor system, thus facilitating the generation and execution of specific motor behaviors. Studies using D1-Cre and D2-Cre mice with neurons labeled for D₁R and D₂R have shown that both types of neurons are involved in the execution of movements, with D1-MSNs participating in movement initiation and D2-MSNs in inhibiting actions unrelated to the target movement. These findings suggest that the structural and functional plasticity of D1-MSNs and D2-MSNs in the basal ganglia circuitry enables motor learning and behavioral regulation. Additionally, when SNpc DA neurons begin to degenerate, D1-MSNs are initially affected but do not immediately cause motor impairments. In contrast, when D2-MSNs undergo pathological changes, they are first activated by upstream projecting neurons, leading to the inhibition of most motor behaviors and resulting in motor dysfunction. Therefore, it is hypothesized that motor impairments such as bradykinesia and initiation difficulties are more closely related to the functional activity of D2-MSNs. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway has been identified as a critical modulator in the pathophysiology of PD. Recent findings indicate that Erk/MAPK signaling pathway can mediate DA and Glu signaling in the central nervous system, maintaining normal functional activity of striatal MSNs and influencing the transmission of motor control signals. Within this complex regulatory network, the Erk/MAPK signaling pathway plays a key role in transmitting motor information to downstream neurons, regulating normal movements, avoiding unnecessary movements, and finely tuning motor behaviors. Our laboratory’s previous research found that 4 weeks of aerobic exercise intervention improved motor dysfunction in PD mice by inhibiting the Erk1/2 signaling upstream of striatal MSNs, primarily involving the Erk1/2 signaling in D2-MSNs rather than D1-MSNs. This review summarizes the neurobiological mechanisms of Erk/MAPK signaling pathway in D2-MSNs for the prevention and treatment of motor dysfunction in PD. By exploring the role of this signaling pathway in regulating motor abnormalities and preventing motor dysfunction in the central nervous system of PD, this review provides new theoretical perspectives for related mechanistic research and therapeutic strategies.

Objective To develop a diagnostic model combining the CT angiography(CCTA)-derived myocardial radiomics signatures with the CT-derived fractional flow reserve(CT-FFR)based on coronary CCTA and investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the hybrid model for hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease(CAD).Methods The patients presenting stable angina pectoris,diagnosed with CAD,and clinically referred for CCTA examination and invasive coronary angiography were prospectively recruited.Radiomics features of the left ventricular myocardium were extracted from the three main perfusion territories demarcated according to the coronary blood supply.The extracted features were first selected by the minimum redundancy maximum relevance feature ranking method.A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Logistic regression algorithm with leave-one-out cross-validation was then employed to construct a radiomics model.The CT-FFR value was generated for each blood vessel.The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve(AUC_ROC),sensitivity,and specificity were adopted to evaluate the performance of each model against the reference standard invasive coronary angiography/FFR.Results A total of 70 patients[42 men and 28 women;(61±10) years old] were included in this study and complemented CCTA examination,with 175 vessels and the corresponding myocardial territories undergoing invasive coronary angiography/FFR.A total of 1 656 specific radiomics parameters were extracted,from which 14 features were selected to establish the radiomics model.The AUC_ROC,sensitivity,and specificity were 0.797(95%CI=0.732-0.861),77.1%,and 73.7%for the radiomics model,0.892(95%CI=0.841-0.943),81.4%,and 88.8%for the CT-FFR model,and 0.928(95%CI=0.890-0.965),83.3%,and 88.4%for the hybrid model,respectively.The hybrid model outperformed the radiomics model and CT-FFR alone(P=0.040).Conclusions The radiomics signatures of the vessel-related myocardium from CCTA could provide incremental value to the diagnostic performance of CT-FFR and improve vessel-specific ischemia detection.The hybrid model combining CT-FFR with radiomics signatures is potentially feasible for improving the diagnostic accuracy for hemodynamically significant CAD.
Coronary Angiography/methods* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Humans ; Hemodynamics ; Coronary Artery Disease/diagnostic imaging* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Radiomics ; Angina Pectoris/diagnostic imaging* ; China ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Coronary Vessels/diagnostic imaging*

Objective:To establish a mesenchymal stem cell(MSC)-based in vitro cell model for the evaluation of mouse bone marrow acute graft-versus-host disease(aGVHD).Methods:Female C57BL/6N mice aged 6-8 weeks were used as bone marrow and lymphocyte donors,and female BALB/c mice aged 6-8 weeks were used as aGVHD recipients.The recipient mouse received a lethal dose(8.0 Gy,72.76 cGy/min)of total body γ irradiation,and injected with donor mouse derived bone marrow cells(1× 107/mouse)in 6-8 hours post irradiation to establish a bone marrow transplantation(BMT)mouse model(n=20).In addition,the recipient mice received a lethal dose(8.0 Gy,72.76 cGy/min)of total body γ irradiation,and injected with donor mouse derived bone marrow cells(1 × 107/mouse)and spleen lymphocytes(2 × 106/mouse)in 6-8 hours post irradiation to establish a mouse aGVHD model(n=20).On the day 7 after modeling,the recipient mice were anesthetized and the blood was harvested post eyeball enucleation.The serum was collected by centrifugation.Mouse MSCs were isolated and cultured with the addition of 2％,5％,and 10％recipient serum from BMT group or aGVHD group respectively.The colony-forming unit-fibroblast(CFU-F)experiment was performed to evaluate the potential effects of serums on the self-renewal ability of MSC.The expression of CD29 and CD105 of MSC was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining.In addition,the expression of self-renewal-related genes including Oct-4,Sox-2,and Nanog in MSC was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR).Results:We successfully established an in vitro cell model that could mimic the bone marrow microenvironment damage of the mouse with aGVHD.CFU-F assay showed that,on day 7 after the culture,compared with the BMT group,MSC colony formation ability of aGVHD serum concentrations groups of 2％and 5％was significantly reduced(P＜0.05);after the culture,at day 14,compared with the BMT group,MSC colony formation ability in different aGVHD serum concentration was significantly reduced(P＜0.05).The immunofluorescence staining showed that,compared with the BMT group,the proportion of MSC surface molecules CD29+and CD 105+cells was significantly dereased in the aGVHD serum concentration group(P＜0.05),the most significant difference was at a serum concentration of 10％(P＜0.001,P＜0.01).The results of RT-qPCR detection showed that the expression of the MSC self-renewal-related genes Oct-4,Sox-2,and Nanog was decreased,the most significant difference was observed at an aGVHD serum concentration of 10％(P＜0.01,P＜0.001,P＜0.001).Conclusion:By co-culturing different concentrations of mouse aGVHD serum and mouse MSC,we found that the addition of mouse aGVHD serum at different concentrations impaired the MSC self-renewal ability,which providing a new tool for the field of aGVHD bone marrow microenvironment damage.

ObjectiveTo establish the quality standard for Fraxini Cortex（Fraxinus chinensis） dispensing granules based on standard decoction， and to provide a basis for the quality control of this dispensing granules. MethodHigh performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） specific chromatograms of 15 batches of Fraxini Cortex（F. chinensis） standard decoctions and 3 batches of Fraxini Cortex（F. chinensis） dispensing granules were established with the mobile phase of 0.1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution（A）-acetonitrile（B） for gradient elution（0-10 min， 12%-15%B； 10-30 min， 15%-32%B） and the detection wavelength of 220 nm. And similarity evaluation， cluster analysis and principal component analysis（PCA） were also carried out. HPLC quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker（QAMS） was established to determine the contents of the main components in the standard decoctions and dispensing granules. The contents of the corresponding components in Fraxini Cortex（F. chinensis） decoction pieces were also detected， and the transfer rates from decoction pieces to standard decoctions and dispensing granules were calculated. ResultThe similarities between specific chromatograms of 15 batches of Fraxini Cortex（F. chinensis） standard decoctions and 3 batches of Fraxini Cortex（F. chinensis） dispensing granules were all>0.9， and 7 common peaks were identified. The results of cluster analysis and PCA showed that there was some differences in the composition of different batches of standard decoctions， but did not show aggregation of origin. As the standard decoctions， the extract rate was 6.18%-11.62%， the contents of esculin， syringin， fraxin， esculetin， fraxetin， calceolarioside B were 44.92-103.51， 1.36-11.87， 33.26-90.73， 4.63-29.75， 2.40-16.86， 2.49-17.35 mg·g^-1， and the transfer rates from decoction pieces to standard decoction were 25.21%-42.54%， 52.57%-88.84%， 43.43%-79.45%， 49.15%-88.27%， 49.22%-72.69%， 27.66%-47.67%， respectively. The extract rates of Fraxini Cortex（F. chinensis） dispensing granules were 10.4%-10.7%， the transfer rates of the above six components from decoction pieces to dispensing granules were 42.76%-43.17%， 80.01%-80.90%， 59.59%-59.88%， 51.35%-52.67%， 60.50%-60.93%， 37.98%-38.37%， respectively， which were generally consistent with the transfer rates from decoction pieces to standard decoctions. ConclusionThe established quality control standard of Fraxini Cortex（F. chinensis） dispensing granules based on standard decoctions is reasonable and reliable， which can provide reference for the quality control and process research of this dispensing granules.

Objective: To investigate the associations between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. Consecutive patients diagnosed with PA and admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from October 2017 to April 2022 were enrolled. General information, blood routine, renal function, and other clinical data of the patients were collected. Based on the median NLR of the enrolled patients, NLR-1·1.73 m^-2. Multiple linear regression and multivariate logistic regression models, smooth curve fitting and threshold effect exploration were used to analyze the relationship between NLR and eGFR in PA patients, and stratified analysis and interaction tests were used to evaluate potential variables that may affect the correlation between NLR and eGFR. Results: This study finally included 743 PA patients, aged (50.3±10.4) years, 42.9% (319/743) were female, and the median NLR was 2.3. After adjusting for sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and other factors, multiple linear regression analysis showed that high NLR was negatively correlated with eGFR (β=-4.9, P=0.008), and multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that high NLR was associated with low eGFR (OR=3.1, P=0.002). In the corrected smooth curve, NLR is U-shaped correlation with eGFR, and the inflection point is at NLR=3.5. When the NLR was<3.5, the eGFR decreased with the increase of NLR (corrected β=-4.7, P<0.001); When the NLR was≥3.5, the eGFR increased with the increase of NLR (corrected β=5.8, P=0.031). The results of stratified analysis showed that there was an interaction between the association of NLR and eGFR with the presence or absence of hyperlipidemia (P interaction=0.017), and the correlation between NLR and eGFR was stronger in PA patients with hyperlipidemia. Conclusion: In the PA patients, there is a U-shaped relationship between NLR and eGFR, and higher NLR is associated with lower eGFR. PA patients with elevated NLR should undergo additional screening for chronic kidney disease and receive related preventive interventions.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Neutrophils ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Lymphocytes ; Hyperaldosteronism/diagnosis* ; Hyperlipidemias

Aim To predict the key targets and signaling pathways of Semiliquidambar cathayen. sis Chang (JLBFH) by network pharmacology and molecular docking,etc, then to explore the mechanism of JLBFH' s effect on inflammatory response to depression through reserpine-induced depression rat model. Methods The target of drug and disease was predicted by network pharmacological database, protein interaction network diagram was constructed, biofunctional enrichment and pathways were analyzed, and molecular docking prediction was performed by AGFR software. Based on reserpine-induced depression, the role of JLBFH in depression inflammation was verified by behavior, molecular biology and pathological examination, and so on. Results A total of 13 active ingredients were screened, 11 key targets of JLBFH modulation of depression were selected, and the bioenrichment results were mainly related to cognition, prominent plasticity regulation, etc. The pathways were mainly related to Rapl signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathways. The results of validation experiments showed that high and low doses of JLBFH extract significantly shortened the forced swimming immobility time in mice, markedly reduced the retention time in the circle of rats, increased serum levels of 5-HT and DA, decreased serum levels of IL-6, improved inflammatory infiltration in the prefrontal cortex, decreased brain tissue levels of IL-6,IL-1β ,TNF-α mRNA expression,and increased AKT1 mRNA expression in brain tissue. Conclusions The present study reveals that JLBFH can exert antidepressant effects through multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway, and the experimental validation results show that JLBFH can improve the d¬pression-like symptoms by improving the inflammatory response of depression through TOLL-like signaling pathway.

Hepatotoxicity induced by bioactive constituents in traditional Chinese medicines or herbs,such as bavachin(BV)in Fructus Psoraleae,has a prolonged latency to overt drug-induced liver injury in the clinic.Several studies have described BV-induced liver damage and underlying toxicity mechanisms,but little attention has been paid to the deciphering of organisms or cellular responses to BV at no-observed-adverse-effect level,and the underlying molecular mechanisms and specific indicators are also lacking during the asymptomatic phase,making it much harder for early recognition of hepatotoxicity.Here,we treated mice with BV for 7 days and did not detect any abnormalities in biochemical tests,but found subtle steatosis in BV-treated hepatocytes.We then profiled the gene expression of hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells at single-cell resolution and discovered three types of hepatocyte subsets in the BV-treated liver.Among these,the hepa3 subtype suffered from a vast alteration in lipid metabolism,which was characterized by enhanced expression of apolipoproteins,carboxylesterases,and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1(Scd1).In particular,increased Scd1 promoted monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFAs)syn-thesis and was considered to be related to BV-induced steatosis and polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFAs)generation,which participates in the initiation of ferroptosis.Additionally,we demonstrated that mul-tiple intrinsic transcription factors,including Srebf1 and Hnf4a,and extrinsic signals from niche cells may regulate the above-mentioned molecular events in BV-treated hepatocytes.Collectively,our study deciphered the features of hepatocytes in response to BV insult,decoded the underlying molecular mechanisms,and suggested that Scd1 could be a hub molecule for the prediction of hepatotoxicity at an early stage.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an intestinal organoid model that mimic acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) caused intestinal injuries by using aGVHD murine model serum and organoid culture system, and explore the changes of aGVHD intestine in vitro by advantage of organoid technology. METHODS: 20-22 g female C57BL/6 mice and 20-22 g female BALB/c mice were used as donors and recipients for bone marrow transplantation, respectively. Within 4-6 h after receiving a lethal dose (8.0 Gy) of γ ray total body irradiation, a total of 0.25 ml of murine derived bone marrow cells (1×10⁷/mice, n=20) and spleen nucleated cells (5×10⁶/mice, n=20) was infused to establish a mouse model of aGVHD (n=20). The aGVHD mice were anesthetized at the 7th day after transplantation, and the veinal blood was harvested by removing the eyeballs, and the serum was collected by centrifugation. The small intestinal crypts of healthy C57BL/6 mice were harvested and cultivated in 3D culture system that maintaining the growth and proliferation of intestinal stem cells in vitro. In our experiment, 5%, 10%, 20% proportions of aGVHD serum were respectively added into the organoid culture system for 3 days. The formation of small intestinal organoids were observed under an inverted microscope and the morphological characteristics of intestinal organoids in each groups were analyzed. For further evaluation, the aGVHD intestinal organoids were harvested and their pathological changes were observed. Combined with HE staining, intestinal organ morphology evaluation was performed. Combined with Alcian Blue staining, the secretion function of aGVHD intestinal organoids was observed. The distribution and changes of Lgr5⁺ and Clu⁺ intestinal stem cells in intestinal organoids were analyzed under the conditions of 5%, 10% and 20% serum concentrations by immunohistochemical stainings. RESULTS: The results of HE staining showed that the integrity of intestinal organoids in the 5% concentration serum group was better than that in the 10% and 20% groups. The 5% concentration serum group showed the highest number of organoids, the highest germination rate and the lowest pathological score among experimental groups, while the 20% group exhibited severe morphological destruction and almost no germination was observed, and the pathological score was the highest among all groups(t=3.668, 4.334,5.309,P<0.05). The results of Alican blue staining showed that the secretion function of intestinal organoids in serum culture of aGVHD in the 20% group was weaker than that of the 5% group and 10% of the organoids, and there was almost no goblet cells, and mucus was stainned in the 20% aGVHD serum group. The immunohistochemical results showed that the number of Lgr5⁺ cells of intestinal organoids in the 5% group was more than that of the intestinal organoids in the 10% aGVHD serum group and 20% aGVHD serum group. Almost no Clu⁺ cells were observed in the 5% group. The Lgr5⁺ cells in the 20% group were seriously injuried and can not be observed. The proportion of Clu⁺ cells in the 20% group significantly increased. CONCLUSION The concentration of aGVHD serum in the culture system can affect the number and secretion function of intestinal organoids as well as the number of intestinal stem cells in organoids. The higher the serum concentration, the greater the risk of organoid injury, which reveal the characteristics of the formation and functional change of aGVHD intestinal organoids, and provide a novel tool for the study of intestinal injury in aGVHD.
Mice ; Female ; Animals ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Stem Cells ; Organoids

Objective: To investigate the associations between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. Consecutive patients diagnosed with PA and admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from October 2017 to April 2022 were enrolled. General information, blood routine, renal function, and other clinical data of the patients were collected. Based on the median NLR of the enrolled patients, NLR-1·1.73 m^-2. Multiple linear regression and multivariate logistic regression models, smooth curve fitting and threshold effect exploration were used to analyze the relationship between NLR and eGFR in PA patients, and stratified analysis and interaction tests were used to evaluate potential variables that may affect the correlation between NLR and eGFR. Results: This study finally included 743 PA patients, aged (50.3±10.4) years, 42.9% (319/743) were female, and the median NLR was 2.3. After adjusting for sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and other factors, multiple linear regression analysis showed that high NLR was negatively correlated with eGFR (β=-4.9, P=0.008), and multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that high NLR was associated with low eGFR (OR=3.1, P=0.002). In the corrected smooth curve, NLR is U-shaped correlation with eGFR, and the inflection point is at NLR=3.5. When the NLR was<3.5, the eGFR decreased with the increase of NLR (corrected β=-4.7, P<0.001); When the NLR was≥3.5, the eGFR increased with the increase of NLR (corrected β=5.8, P=0.031). The results of stratified analysis showed that there was an interaction between the association of NLR and eGFR with the presence or absence of hyperlipidemia (P interaction=0.017), and the correlation between NLR and eGFR was stronger in PA patients with hyperlipidemia. Conclusion: In the PA patients, there is a U-shaped relationship between NLR and eGFR, and higher NLR is associated with lower eGFR. PA patients with elevated NLR should undergo additional screening for chronic kidney disease and receive related preventive interventions.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Neutrophils ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Lymphocytes ; Hyperaldosteronism/diagnosis* ; Hyperlipidemias

BACKGROUND: Immunotherapies such as adoptive immune cell infusion and immune-modulating agents are widely used for cancer treatment, and the concomitant symptoms, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or immune-related adverse events (irAEs), are frequently reported. However, clinical manifestations induced by mismatched donor granulocyte colony-stimulating factor mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cell (GPBMC) infusion in patients receiving microtransplant (MST) have not yet been well depicted. METHODS: We analyzed 88 cycles of mismatched GPBMC infusion in patients with acute myeloid leukemia receiving MST and 54 cycles of chemotherapy without GPBMC infusion as a comparison. Clinical symptoms and their correlation with clinical features, laboratory findings, and clinical response were explored. RESULTS: Fever (58.0% [51/88]) and chills (43.2% [38/88]) were the significant early-onset symptoms after GPBMC infusion. Patients possessing less human leukocyte antigen-matching loci with the donor or those with unrelated donors experienced more chills (3 [2-5] loci vs. 5 [3-5] loci, P  = 0.043 and 66.7% [12/18] vs. 37.1% [26/70], P  = 0.024). On the other hand, those with decreased CD4 + /CD8 + T-cell ratio developed more fever (0.8 [0.7-1.2] vs. 1.4 [1.1-2.2], P  = 0.007). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that younger patients experienced more fever (odds ratio [OR] = 0.963, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.932-0.995, P  = 0.022), while patients with younger donors experienced more chills (OR = 0.915, 95% CI: 0.859-0.975, P  = 0.006). Elevated ultra-sensitive C-reactive protein levels in the absence of cytokine storm were observed following GPBMC infusion, which indicated mild and transient inflammatory response. Although no predictive value of infusion-related syndrome to leukemia burden change was found, the proportion of host pre-treatment activated T cells was positively correlated with leukemia control. CONCLUSIONS Mismatched GPBMC infusion in MST induced unique infusion-related symptoms and laboratory changes, which were associated with donor- or recipient-derived risk factors, with less safety and tolerance concerns than reported CRS or irAEs.
Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/therapy* ; Unrelated Donors ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Graft vs Host Disease