The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious disease caused by the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which has led to serious worldwide economic burden. Due to the continuous emergence of variants, vaccines and monoclonal antibodies are only partial effective against infections caused by distinct strains of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, it is still of great importance to call for the development of broad-spectrum and effective small molecule drugs to combat both current and future outbreaks triggered by SARS-CoV-2. Cathepsin L (CatL) cleaves the spike glycoprotein (S) of SARS-CoV-2, playing an indispensable role in enhancing virus entry into host cells. Therefore CatL is one of the ideal targets for the development of pan-coronavirus inhibitor-based drugs. In this study, a CatL enzyme inhibitor screening model was established based on fluorescein labeled substrate. Two CatL inhibitors IMB 6290 and IMB 8014 with low cytotoxicity were obtained through high-throughput screening, the half inhibition concentrations (IC₅₀) of which were 11.53 ± 0.68 and 1.56 ± 1.10 μmol·L^-1, respectively. SDS-PAGE and cell-cell fusion experiments confirmed that the compounds inhibited the hydrolysis of S protein by CatL in a concentration-dependent manner. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) detection showed that both compounds exhibited moderate binding affinity with CatL. Molecular docking revealed the binding mode between the compound and the CatL active pocket. The pseudovirus experiment further confirmed the inhibitory effects of IMB 8014 on the S protein mediated entry process. In vitro pharmacokinetic evaluation indicated that the compounds had relatively good drug-likeness properties. Our research suggested that these two compounds have the potential to be further developed as antiviral drugs for COVID-19 treatment.

Transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) is a cell surface protease widely present in the human body. It is involved in the infection of various viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and in the cell invasion, tumor growth and metastasis processes of prostate cancer. This study used Boc-Gln-Ala-Arg-AMC as the fluorescent substrate to determine the cleavage activity of TMPRSS2 towards SARS-CoV-2 S protein. Then cell-based screening model for TMPRSS2 inhibitors was established in Vero E6 cells overexpressing TMPRSS2 (Vero E6/TMPRSS2). Seven compounds exhibiting TMPRSS2 inhibitory activities with low toxicity were obtained through high-throughput screening (HTS) from natural and synthetic compound pure product library of National Center for Screening Novel Microbial Drugs. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has shown that the obtained inhibitors could bind to TMPRSS2 with moderate affinity in a dose dependent manner. Cell-cell fusion experiments have shown that the obtained inhibitors can inhibit the occurrence of S protein mediated cell-cell fusion by inhibiting TMPRSS2 cleavage of SARS-CoV-2 S protein in a concentration dependent manner. Preliminary pseudovirus experiment showed that the inhibitors may reduce the pseudovirus infection into Opti-HEK-293T-ACE2 cells to varying degrees. In a word, this study successfully established a cell-based HTS model for TMPRSS2 inhibitor and preliminarily confirmed that the seven screened inhibitors possessed in vitro anti-TMPRSS2 activities, providing new structural scaffolds for the development of new drugs against SARS-CoV-2.

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of "Trichosanthis Fructus-Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus" (GX) on phlegm and blood stasis syndrome (PBSS) rats combining the methods of network pharmacology and experimental verification. Animal experiment ethical requirements were approved by the Ethical Committee Experimental Animal Center of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine (grant number: AHUCM-rats-2021070). Based on the HPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis and database, 69 chemical constituents of GX and 163 targets of GX for the treatment of phlegm and blood stasis-related cardiovascular diseases were obtained. Then, key targets such as serine/threonine kinase 1 (Akt1), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 6 (IL6), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), cellular tumor antigen p53 (Tp53) were screened. Pathway analysis showed that the targets of GX in the treatment of phlegm and blood stasis-relate cardiovascular diseases were mainly involved in PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, sphingolipid metabolism, platelet activation, hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), ras-proximate-1 (rap1) and other signaling pathways. In addition, molecular docking analysis showed that apigenin, cucurbitacin D, linolenic acid and kaempferol and other key components had potential binding ability with Akt1, TNF, IL6, VEGFA and Tp53. In the animal experiments, compared to the phlegm and blood stasis syndrome group, GX could significantly improve the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score, blood lipid, vascular endothelial structure disorders and reduce serum endothelin-1 (ET-1) level, increase serum nitric oxide (NO) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) levels, which could restore aortic endothelial function. In addition, the expression of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in aorta could be significantly reduced, which could improve the vascular endothelial injury of aorta. Western blot revealed that GX could significantly decrease the phosphorylation levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and Akt in aorta. This study revealed the mechanism of GX in treatment of phlegm and blood stasis-relate cardiovascular diseases is consistent with the characteristics of multiple ingredients, multiple targets and multiple pathways. In addition, this study also clarified that the reversal of pathological of phlegm and blood stasis syndrome rats may be related to GX inhibiting PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which could improve vascular inflammation and vascular endothelial function injury.

This study aims to explore the effect of "Trichosanthis Fructus-Allii Macrostemonis" combination(GX) on the activation of NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3(NLRP3) inflammasome, the release of inflammatory cytokines, and the level of autophagy in RAW264.7 macrophage damaged by lipopolysaccharide(LPS), and the mechanism of GX against inflammatory response in macrophages. To be specific, LPS was used to induce the injury of RAW264.7 cells. Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8) assay was employed to measure the survival rate of cells, and Western blot to detect the protein expression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein(ASC), cysteine-aspartic acid protease(caspase)-1, interleukin(IL)-18, IL-1β, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3(LC3)-Ⅱ, and selective autophagy junction protein p62/sequestosome 1 in RAW264.7 macrophages. ELISA was used to measure the levels of IL-18 and IL-1β in RAW264.7 cells. Transmission electron microscopy was applied to observe the number of autophagosomes in RAW264.7 cells. Immunofulourescence staining was used to detect the expression of LC3-Ⅱ and p62 in RAW264.7 cells. The result showed that GX significantly reduced the protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 in RAW264.7 cells, significantly increased the protein expression of LC3Ⅱ, decreased the expression of p62, significantly inhibited the secretion of IL-18 and IL-1β, significantly increased the number of autophagosomes, significantly enhanced the immunofluorescence of LC3Ⅱ, and reduced the immunofluorescence of p62. Furthermore, 3-methyladenine(3-MA) could reverse the inhibitory effect of GX on NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 and reduce the release of IL-18 and IL-1β. In summary, GX can increase of the autophagy activity of RAW264.7 and inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, thereby reducing the release of inflammatory cytokines and suppressing inflammatory response in macrophages.
Inflammasomes/metabolism* ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism* ; Interleukin-18/metabolism* ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Macrophages ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Caspase 1/metabolism* ; Autophagy ; Interleukin-1beta/metabolism*

The awake prone position plays an important role in the treatment of hypoxemia and the improvement of respiratory distress symptoms in non-intubated patients. It is widely used in clinical practice because of its simple operation, safety, and economy. To enable clinical medical staff to scientifically and normatively implement prone position for awake patients without intubation, the committees of consensus formulation, guided by evidence-based methodology and Delphi method, conducted literature search, literature quality evaluation and evidence synthesis around seven topics, including indications and contraindications, evaluation, implementation, monitoring and safety management, termination time, complication prevention and health education of awake prone position. After two rounds of expert letter consultation, Expert consensus on implementation strategy of awake prone positioning for non-intubated patients in China (2023) was formulated, and provide guidance for clinical medical staff.
Humans ; Consensus ; Prone Position ; Wakefulness ; China ; Dyspnea

OBJECTIVE: To compare minimally invasive and traditional Chevron osteotomy in treating patients with mild to moderate hallux valgus. METHODS: Clinical data of 36 patients (36 feet) with mild to moderate hallux valgus from January 2019 to February 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, and divided into minimally invasive osteotomy(minimally invasive group) and traditional Chevron osteotomy(traditional group). There were 16 patients in minimally invasive group, including 1 male and 15 females, aged from 36 to 60 years old with an average of(49.0±9.5) years old;9 were mild and 7 were moderate according to Mann classification;treated with minimally invasive osteotomy with hollow screw fixation. There were 20 patients(20 feet) in traditional group, including 2 males and 18 females, aged from 38 to 65 years old with an average of(50.0±9.2) years old;11 were mild and 9 were moderate according to Mann classification;treated with traditional Chevron osteotomy. Hallux valgus angle (HVA), intermetatarsal angle (IMA) before and after operation at 12 months bewteen two groups were observed and compared, and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) forefoot score and visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after operation at 6 weeks and 12 months between two groups were compared. RESULTS: Thirty-six patiens were followed up from 14 to 30 months with an average of (21.00±5.77) months. All incisions were healed well at stageⅠwithout infection. There were no significant differences in HVA, IMA, AOFAS forefoot scores and VAS before and after operation at 12 months between two groups(P>0.05). However, AOFAS forefoot scores and VAS of minimally invasive group was significantly better than that of traditionl group at 6 weeks after operation (P<0.05). Postoperative HVA, IMA, AOFAS forefoot scores and VAS at 12 months bewteen two groups were improved better than that of preoperation(P<0.05). CONCLUSION Compared with traditional Chevron osteotomy, minimally invasive osteotomy has less trauma and quicker recovery. Both of them has similar clinical effects, and could receive satisfactory clinical effects, while treatment of minimally invasive osteotomy should pain attention to learning curve.
Adult ; Aged ; Bunion ; Female ; Hallux Valgus/surgery* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteotomy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Transparency Ecosystem for Research and Journals in Medicine (TERM) working group summarized the essential recommendations that should be considered to review and publish a high-quality guideline. These recommendations from editors and reviewers included 10 components of essential requirements: systematic review of existing relevant guidelines, guideline registration, guideline protocol, stakeholders, conflicts of interest, clinical questions, systematic reviews, recommendation consensus, guideline reporting and external review. TERM working group abbreviates them as PAGE (essential requirements for Publishing clinical prActice GuidelinEs), and recommends guideline authors, editors, and peer reviewers to use them for high-quality guidelines.
Humans ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

Atrial Fibrillation/complications* ; Humans ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/complications* ; Pulmonary Veins

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), one of the dominating constituents of tumor microenvironment, are important contributors to cancer progression and treatment resistance. Therefore, regulation of TAMs polarization from M2 phenotype towards M1 phenotype has emerged as a new strategy for tumor immunotherapy. Herein, we successfully initiated antitumor immunotherapy by inhibiting TAMs M2 polarization via autophagy intervention with polyethylene glycol-conjugated gold nanoparticles (PEG-AuNPs). PEG-AuNPs suppressed TAMs M2 polarization in both in vitro and in vivo models, elicited antitumor immunotherapy and inhibited subcutaneous tumor growth in mice. As demonstrated by the mRFP-GFP-LC3 assay and analyzing the autophagy-related proteins (LC3, beclin1 and P62), PEG-AuNPs induced autophagic flux inhibition in TAMs, which is attributed to the PEG-AuNPs induced lysosome alkalization and membrane permeabilization. Besides, TAMs were prone to polarize towards M2 phenotype following autophagy activation, whereas inhibition of autophagic flux could reduce the M2 polarization of TAMs. Our results revealed a mechanism underlying PEG-AuNPs induced antitumor immunotherapy, where PEG-AuNPs reduce TAMs M2 polarization via induction of lysosome dysfunction and autophagic flux inhibition. This study elucidated the biological effects of nanomaterials on TAMs polarization and provided insight into harnessing the intrinsic immunomodulation capacity of nanomaterials for effective cancer treatment.

Objective:To characterize the histopathological subtypes and their clinicopathological parameters of gender and onset age by common, rare and sparse primary esophageal malignant tumors (PEMT).Methods:A total of 272 437 patients with PEMT were enrolled in this study, and all of the patients were received radical surgery. The clinicopathological information of the patients was obtained from the database established by the State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment from September 1973 to December 2020, which included the clinical treatment, pathological diagnosis and follow-up information of esophagus and gastric cardia cancers. All patients were diagnosed and classified by the criteria of esophageal tumor histopathological diagnosis and classification (2019) of the World Health Organization (WHO). The esophageal tumors, which were not included in the WHO classification, were analyzed separately according to the postoperative pathological diagnosis. The χ 2 test was performed by the SPSS 25.0 software on count data, and the test standard α=0.05. Results:A total of 32 histopathological types were identified in the enrolled PEMT patients, of which 10 subtypes were not included in the WHO classification. According to the frequency, PEMT were divided into common (esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, ESCC, accounting for 97.1%), rare (esophageal adenocarcinoma, EAC, accounting for 2.3%) and sparse (mainly esophageal small cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, etc., accounting for 0.6%). All the common, rare, and sparse types occurred predominantly in male patients, and the gender difference of rare type was most significant (EAC, male∶ female, 2.67∶1), followed with common type (ESCC, male∶ female, 1.78∶1) and sparse type (male∶ female, 1.71∶1). The common type (ESCC) mainly occurred in the middle thoracic segment (65.2%), while the rare type (EAC) mainly occurred in the lower thoracic segment (56.8%). Among the sparse type, malignant melanoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma were both predominantly located in the lower thoracic segment (51.7%, 66.7%), and the others were mainly in the middle thoracic segment.Conclusion:ESCC is the most common type among the 32 histopathological types of PEMT, followed by EAC as the rare type, and esophageal small cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma as the major sparse type, and all of which are mainly occur in male patients. The common type of ESCC mainly occur in the middle thoracic segment, while the rare type of EAC mainly in the lower thoracic segment. The mainly sparse type of malignant melanoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma predominately occur in the lower thoracic segment, and the remaining sparse types mainly occur in the middle thoracic segment.