This study aimed to investigate the effect of saltwater stir-fried Plantaginis Semen(SPS) on renal fibrosis in rats and decipher the underlying mechanism. Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into control, model, losartan potassium, and low-, medium-, and high-dose(15, 30, and 60 g·kg~(-1), respectively) SPS groups. Rats in other groups except the control group were subjected to unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO) to induce renal fibrosis, and the modeling and gavage lasted for 14 days. After 14 consecutive days of treatment, the levels of serum creatinine(Scr) and blood urea nitrogen(BUN) in rats of each group were determined by an automatic biochemical analyzer. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) and Masson staining were used to evaluate pathological changes in the renal tissue. Western blot and immunofluorescence assay were conducted to determine the protein levels of fibronectin(FN), collagen Ⅰ, vimentin, and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) in the renal tissue. The mRNA levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)-associated transcription factors including twist family bHLH transcription factor 1(TWIST1), snail family transcriptional repressor 1(SNAI1), and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1(ZEB1), as well as inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-6(IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), were determined by RT-qPCR. Human renal proximal tubular epithelial(HK2) cells exposed to transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) for the modeling of renal fibrosis were used to investigate the inhibitory effect of SPS on EMT. Network pharmacology and Western blot were employed to explore the molecular mechanism of SPS in alleviating renal fibrosis. The results showed that SPS significantly reduced Scr and BUN levels and alleviated renal injury and collagen deposition in UUO rats. Moreover, SPS notably down-regulated the protein levels of FN, collagen Ⅰ, vimentin, and α-SMA as well as the mRNA levels of SNAI1, ZEB1, TWIST1, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the kidneys of UUO rats and TGF-β-treated HK-2 cells. In addition, compared with Plantaginis Semen without stir-frying with saltwater, SPS showed increased content of specific compounds, which were mainly enriched in the mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK) signaling pathway. SPS significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase(ERK) and p38 MAPK in the kidneys of UUO rats and TGF-β-treated HK2 cells. In conclusion, SPS can alleviate renal fibrosis by attenuating EMT through inhibition of the MAPK signaling pathway.
Animals ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Male ; Rats ; Fibrosis/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Kidney Diseases/pathology* ; Kidney Tubules/pathology* ; Humans

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) capable of clearing heat and removing toxin is most commonly used in clinical practice and has the effect of removing fire-heat and toxin. Studies have shown that most of the Ilex plants have the effect of clearing heat and removing toxin, among which the varieties of I. cornuta, I. pubescens, I. rotunda, I. latifolia, and I. chinensis are most widely used. These plants generally contain triterpenoids and their glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, and other chemical components, especially pentacyclic triterpenoids. According to their skeletons, pentacyclic triterpenoids can be divided into the oleanane type, the ursane type, the lupinane type, etc. Among them, ursane-type components are the most abundant, and 136 species have been found so far. These components have been proved to have pharmacological effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, hypolipidemic, anti-thrombosis, cardiomyocyte-protective, antibacterial, and hepatoprotective effects. Therefore, this paper systematically reviews the domestic and foreign literature on Ilex plants with a focus on the research progress on pentacyclic triterpenoids and their pharmacological activities, aiming to provide reference for the development of TCM resources with the effect of clearing heat and removing toxin.
Ilex/chemistry* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Pentacyclic Triterpenes/pharmacology* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Animals

Objective To develop nurses'knowledge,attitude and practice questionnaire on medication management for patients with dysphagia,and test its reliability and validity.Methods Based on the evidence-based summary of the best evidence of medication management for patients with dysphagia,guided by the the-ory of knowledge,attitude and practice,the basic dimensions and item pool of the questionnaire were deter-mined through group discussion,Delphi expert consultation and pre-investigation.In order to revise the ques-tionnaire,437 nurses from 10 tertiary hospitals in Jiangsu Province were conveniently selected for investigation,and the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were tested according to the survey results.Results The nurses'knowl-edge,attitude and practice questionnaire on medication management for patients with dysphagia included 43 items in three dimensions.The three dimensions were analyzed by exploratory factors,and six common factors with characteristic roots>1 were extracted.Two factors were extracted from the knowledge dimension,and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 74.958%,One factor was extracted from the attitude dimen-sion,and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 77.655%.Three factors were extracted from the prac-tice dimension,and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 72.274%.The factor load of each item was 0.618-0.902,Cronbach's α coefficient of the total questionnaire was 0.949,and the test-retest reliability was 0.909.The overall content validity coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.922,and the content validity coeffi-cient for each item was 0.800-1.000.Conclusion The nurses'knowledge,attitude and practice questionnaire on medication management for patients with dysphagia developed in this study has good reliability and validi-ty,and could be used as an effective tool to evaluate the status quo of nurses'medication management for pa-tients with dysphagia.

Objective:To investigate the expression and significance of PD-1/PD-L1 in MDS blast cells,T lymphocyte cell subsets and Treg cells.Methods:Eighty-eight MDS patients and 19 AML patients were collectd as the study subjects,and Iron deficiency anemia and healthy bone marrow donors were used as control group.The expression of PD-1/PD-L1 in MDS/AML blast cells,T lymphocyte cell subsets and Treg cells was detected by flow cytometry,and the expression level of Th1/Th2/Th17-related cytokines in peripheral serum was detected.Results:The expression of PD-1/PD-L1 in blast cells,T lymphocyte cell subsets and Treg cells in low risk MDS group were lower than that in control group,medium and high risk MDS group and AML group(all P＜0.01),and Th1/Th17 type cytokines were dominant.The expression of PD-1/PD-L1 in blast cells,T lymphocyte cell subsets and Treg cells of intermediate and high risk MDS group and AML group were higher than that of control group and low risk MDS group(all P＜0.01),and Th2 type and Treg type(IL-10、TGF-β)cytokines were dominant.After treatment,the differences of PD-1/PD-L1 expression were not statisticatly significant in blast cells,T lymphocyte cell subsets and Treg cells between the MDS remission group and the control group(all P＞0.05).The expression of PD-1/PD-L1 in blast cells,T lymphocyte cell subsets and Treg cells in MDS non-remission group were significantly higher than that in remission group and control group(all P＜0.01).Conclusion:The high expression of PD-1/PD-L1,dominance of Treg(IL-10、TGF-β)and Th2-related cytokines and inhibition of effector T lymphocyte cells in patients with MDS is conducive to tumor cell proliferation and immune escape,which may promote the progression of MDS disease.

Objective To investigate the effect of osimertinib combined with aspirin on the survival pe-riod of the advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR)mutation.Methods Sixty lung adenocarcinoma patients with EGFR mutation in advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)first diagnosed in Banan District Second People's Hospital of from August 2020 to October 2021 were selected as the study subjects and divided into the observation group and control group by the random number table method,30 cases in each group.The observation group adopted osimertinib combined with aspi-rin,and the control used osimertinib merely.The overall response rate(ORR),disease control rate(DCR),progression-free survival(PFS),overall survival(OS)and the adverse reactions occurrence were compared between the two groups.Results ORR and DCR after 3,6,12 months medication in the observation group were higher than those in the control group,but the differences were not statistically significant(P＞0.05).Compared with the control group,PFS and OS in the observation group were longer,and the differences were statistically significant[14.9(11.8,17.2)m vs.10.5(8.9,12.5)m;24.1(19.5,27.4)m vs.18.1(16.1,21.1)m,P＜0.05].In addition,PFS and OS in male and female patients with brain metastasis,EGER19 and 21 ex-on mutation in the observation group were longer than those in the control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in overall and≥Ⅲ degree adverse reactions between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Osimertinib combined with aspirin could prolong PFS and OS of the advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with EGFR mutation without increasing the risk of adverse reactions.

Circular RNA (circRNA) is involved in tumor progression. CircPVT1 is an oncogene that is abnormally expressed and correlated with a variety of tumors. It can regulate tumors' malignant behavior and affect the survival and prognosis of patients. This article reviews research on the regulatory roles of circPVT1 in tumors to provide references for accurate treatment.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Gegen Qinliantang （GQL） on vulnerable plaque of atherosclerosis based on the macrophage pyroptosis mediated by nuclear factor （NF）-κB/NOD-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3）/cysteine-aspartic acid protease （Caspase）-1 pathway. MethodA total of 12 normal C57BL/6CNC mice were used as the control group， and 60 ApoE^-/- mice of the same line were randomized into 5 groups： model group， low-dose， medium-dose， and high-dose GQL groups （GQL-D， GQL-Z， GQL-G groups， respectively）， and western medicine group. The control group and model group were given （ig） equal volume sterile distilled， and GQL-D， GQL-Z， GQL-G and western medicine groups received （ig） corresponding concentration of drugs for 8 weeks. Aortic plaques were observed based on hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining. Serum levels of interleukin （IL）-1β and IL-18 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， protein levels of macrophage mannose receptor （CD206）/apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD （ASC） and CD206/NLRP3 by double-labeling immunofluorescence， and C-terminal gasdermin D （GSDMD）， N-terminal GSDMD， NLRP3， pro-cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1 （pro-Caspase-1） and NF-κB p65 by Western blot. ResultCompared with the control group， model group demonstrated serious pathological changes， rise of the levels of serum IL-1β and IL-18 and tissue ASC， NLRP3， C-terminal GSDMD， N-terminal GSDMD， pro-Caspase-1， and NF-κB p65， and decrease of CD206 level （P<0.05）. As compared with model group， the administration groups showed alleviation of the lesions in aortic wall， decrease in levels of serum IL-1β and IL-18 and tissue ASC， NLRP3， C-terminal GSDMD， N-terminal GSDMD， pro-Caspase-1， and NF-κB p65， and rise of CD206 level， with significant difference between some groups （P<0.05）. ConclusionGegen Qinliantang alleviates vulnerable plaque of atherosclerosis by regulating NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathway and further relieving macrophage pyroptosis.

ObjectiveTo predict the potential targets and mechanism of Jingfang mixture in the treatment of H1N1 influenza and provide references for clinical application of Jingfang mixture. MethodThe active components and targets of Jingfang mixture against H1N1 influenza were screened out by Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform（TCMSP），SwissTargetPrediction， and TargetNet. The targets of H1N1 influenza were obtained from GeneCards，Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， and DisGeNET and standardized by UniProt KB. The intersection targets were obtained by Venny 2.1.0. The "drug-component-target" network was constructed with Cytoscape 3.2.1 and analyzed for the topological attributes. The intersection targets were uploaded to STRING 11.5 to obtain the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network. Gene Ontology （GO） enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） analysis were carried out by Metascape. Finally，the top active components ranked by degree were docked to the core targets by Autodock vina and visually analyzed by PyMOL. Balb/c female rats were used for experimental verification. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe the pathological changes in lung tissues. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）was used to detect the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α），interleukin-10（IL-10）， and interleukin-17（IL-17）. Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels in lung tissues. ResultThere were 144 active components in Jingfang mixture. A total of 421 target genes of Jingfang mixture and 2 956 targets of H1N1 influenza were identified，including 199 common targets. Topological analysis showed that the core components of Jingfang mixture against H1N1 influenza included quercetin，luteolin， and kaempferol，and the core targets included prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2（PTGS2），estrogen receptor alpha（ESR1），inducible nitric oxide synthase 2（iNOS2），peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ（PPARγ），and cyclooxygenase-1（PTGS1）. GO enrichment yielded 697 items in biological process （BP） （P<0.01）， 59 items in molecular function （MF）（P<0.01）， and 21 items in cellular component （CC） （P<0.01）. A total of 132 signaling pathways （P<0.01） were obtained by KEGG enrichment analysis， including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases（PI3K）/protein kinase B（Akt） signaling pathway and mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAPK） signaling pathway，most of which were related to the regulation of immune inflammation. Molecular docking showed that the binding energy of the active components of Jingfang mixture to the core targets was less than -5.0 kcal·mol^-1，indicating good binding activity. HE staining showed that the lung tissues were significantly improved after drug intervention，and Real-time PCR and Western blot showed that Jingfang mixture could reduce the mRNA and protein expression of PI3K and Akt in lung tissues. ConclusionJingfang mixture can play an anti-viral effect against the influenza A virus through multiple components，multiple targets， and multiple pathways. The active components quercetin，luteolin， and kaempferol may control the inflammation and regulate immunity on the PI3K/Akt，MAPK， and other signaling pathways by acting on targets such as PTGS2，ESR1，iNOS2，PPARγ， and PTGS1.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread throughout the world. In this study, we aimed to identify the risk factors for severe COVID-19 to improve treatment guidelines. METHODS: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted on 313 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Patients were classified into two groups based on disease severity (nonsevere and severe) according to initial clinical presentation. Laboratory test results and epidemiological and clinical characteristics were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to detect potential risk factors associated with severe COVID-19. RESULTS: A total of 289 patients (197 nonsevere and 92 severe cases) with a median age of 45.0 (33.0, 61.0) years were included in this study, and 53.3% (154/289) were male. Fever (192/286, 67.1%) and cough (170/289, 58.8%) were commonly observed, followed by sore throat (49/289, 17.0%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that patients who were aged ≥ 65 years (OR: 2.725, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.317-5.636; P = 0.007), were male (OR: 1.878, 95% CI: 1.002-3.520, P = 0.049), had comorbid diabetes (OR: 3.314, 95% CI: 1.126-9.758, P = 0.030), cough (OR: 3.427, 95% CI: 1.752-6.706, P < 0.001), and/or diarrhea (OR: 2.629, 95% CI: 1.109-6.231, P = 0.028) on admission had a higher risk of severe disease. Moreover, stratification analysis indicated that male patients with diabetes were more likely to have severe COVID-19 (71.4% vs. 28.6%, χ2 = 8.183, P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS The clinical characteristics of those with severe and nonsevere COVID-19 were significantly different. The elderly, male patients with COVID-19, diabetes, and presenting with cough and/or diarrhea on admission may require close monitoring to prevent deterioration.
Adult ; COVID-19/pathology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Cough ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diarrhea ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Aim To evaluate the antichlamydial activity of our previously synthesized sixteen 1, 2-disubstituted pyrroles in vitro, providing candidate for the development of novel agents against Chlamydia. Methods Firstly, the inhibitory effect of compounds on the generation of infectious progeny EBs at different concentrations was analyzed for Chlamydia trachomatis L2 (Ct L2), C. muridarum (Nigg II strain, known as MoPn) and C. pneumonia (Cpn AR39). The IC