1.Protective effect of the active component DMDD from Averrhoa carambola root on myocardial injury in diabetic mice and its correlation with the NCOA4/FTH1/ATG8 axis
Yongxin CHEN ; Yuxuan LI ; Kailei GU ; Jiajun YOU ; Xiaohan SUN ; Jing MA ; Yanping ZHOU ; Xiaojie WEI
China Pharmacy 2026;37(9):1141-1147
OBJECTIVE To investigate the protective effect of 2-dodecyl-6-methoxy-2,5-diene-1,4-cyclohexanedione (DMDD), an active component from Averrhoa carambola root, on myocardial injury in diabetic mice based on the nuclear receptor coactivator 4/ferritin heavy chain 1/autophagy-related protein 8 (NCOA4/FTH1/ATG8) axis. METHODS The successfully modeled diabetic mice were randomly divided into model group and DMDD low-, medium-, and high-dose (12.5, 25, 50 mg/kg) groups, while an additional non-modeled control group was established, with 6 mice in each group. Each group received the corresponding drug solution or an equal volume of normal saline intragastically once daily for 21 consecutive days. After the administration, the levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) were measured. Myocardial pathological changes, degree of fibrosis, and myocardial cell ultrastructure were observed. Myocardial cell death index and NCOA4 protein positive index were detected. The protein expression levels of NCOA4, FTH1, ATG8, solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11), and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) in cardiac tissue were measured. RESULTS Compared with model group, each DMDD group showed significant alleviation of cardiac pathological injury and varying degrees of improvement in the myocardial cell ultrastructure. The FBG and serum LDH and CK-MB levels, the myocardial cell death index and NCOA4 protein positive index,the protein expression levels of NCOA4, FTH1, and ATG8 in cardiac tissue were significantly decreased ( P <0.001), while the protein expression levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4 were significantly increased ( P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS DMDD can reduce blood glucose levels, alleviate myocardial histopathological injury, and inhibit cell death in diabetic mice. The mechanism is associated with inhibiting excessive activation of the NCOA4/FTH1/ATG8 axis and reducing ferritinophagy.
2.Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Gene Mutation May Reduce the Risk of Rupture of Intracranial Aneurysm in Chinese Han Population
Xiheng CHEN ; Siming GUI ; Dachao WEI ; Dingwei DENG ; Yudi TANG ; Jian LV ; Wei YOU ; Jia JIANG ; Jun LIN ; Huijian GE ; Peng LIU ; Yuhua JIANG ; Lixin MA ; Yunci WANG ; Ming LV ; Youxiang LI
Journal of Stroke 2025;27(2):237-249
Background:
and Purpose Ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RIA) are associated with a mortality rate of up to 40% in the Chinese population, highlighting the critical need for targeted treatment interventions for at-risk individuals. Although the impact of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene mutations on susceptibility to intracranial aneurysms (IA) is well documented, the potential connection between ALDH2 rs671 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and RIA remains unexplored. Given the increased prevalence of ALDH2 gene mutations among Chinese Han individuals, it is clinically relevant to investigate the link between ALDH2 rs671 SNP and IA rupture.
Methods:
A prospective study was conducted on 546 patients diagnosed with IA to investigate the association between ALDH2 rs671 SNP and the risk of IA rupture.
Results:
The ALDH2 rs671 SNP (ALDH2*2) was significantly more prevalent in patients with unruptured IA (UIA) than in those with RIA (32.56% vs. 18.58%, P=0.004). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that people with the ALDH2 mutation (ALDH2*1/*2 and ALDH2*2/*2 gene type) had a significantly reduced odds ratio (OR=0.49; 95% confidence level [CI] 0.27–0.88; P=0.018) for RIAs. Age-specific subgroup analysis indicated that the ALDH2 mutation provided a stronger protective effect in individuals aged 60 years and above with IA compared to those under 60 years old (OR=0.38 vs. OR=0.52, both P<0.05).
Conclusion
The incidence of RIA was significantly higher in individuals with a normal ALDH2 gene (ALDH2*1/*1) than in those with an ALDH2 rs671 SNP (ALDH2*1/*2 or ALDH2*2/*2). ALDH2 rs671 SNP may serve as a protective factor against RIA in the Chinese Han population.
3.Knowledge map and visualization analysis of pulmonary nodule/early-stage lung cancer prediction models
Yifeng REN ; Qiong MA ; Hua JIANG ; Xi FU ; Xueke LI ; Wei SHI ; Fengming YOU
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(01):100-107
Objective To reveal the scientific output and trends in pulmonary nodules/early-stage lung cancer prediction models. Methods Publications on predictive models of pulmonary nodules/early lung cancer between January 1, 2002 and June 3, 2023 were retrieved and extracted from CNKI, Wanfang, VIP and Web of Science database. CiteSpace 6.1.R3 and VOSviewer 1.6.18 were used to analyze the hotspots and theme trends. Results A marked increase in the number of publications related to pulmonary nodules/early-stage lung cancer prediction models was observed. A total of 12581 authors from 2711 institutions in 64 countries/regions published 2139 documents in 566 academic journals in English. A total of 282 articles from 1256 authors were published in 176 journals in Chinese. The Chinese and English journals which published the most pulmonary nodules/early-stage lung cancer prediction model-related papers were Journal of Clinical Radiology and Frontiers in Oncology, respectively. Chest was the most frequently cited journal. China and the United States were the leading countries in the field of pulmonary nodules/early-stage lung cancer prediction models. The institutions represented by Fudan University had significant academic influence in the field. Analysis of keywords revealed that multi-omics, nomogram, machine learning and artificial intelligence were the current focus of research. Conclusion Over the last two decades, research on risk-prediction models for pulmonary nodules/early-stage lung cancer has attracted increasing attention. Prognosis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, nomogram, and multi-omics technologies are both current hotspots and future trends in this field. In the future, in-depth explorations using different omics should increase the sensitivity and accuracy of pulmonary nodules/early-stage lung cancer prediction models. More high-quality future studies should be conducted to validate the efficacy and safety of pulmonary nodules/early-stage lung cancer prediction models further and reduce the global burden of lung cancer.
4.Influence of neighborhood environment walkability on mortality of Chinese residents and its pathway
Mengxin CHEN ; Mengya LI ; Feiyun ZHANG ; Haibin MA ; Kai YOU ; Bo HU ; Wei LI
Basic & Clinical Medicine 2025;45(12):1632-1638
Objective To evaluate the association between self-reported neighborhood walkability environments and mortality in China.Methods The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study in China(PURE-China)recruited 47 931 participants aged 35-70 from 12 provinces in China between 2005 and 2009.Neighborhood environmental indicators were collected using the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale(NEWS)questionnaire,with higher scores indicating better walkable environments.The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality,using Cox fragile model to evaluate the association between community walkability and outcomes,as well as exploring mediating pathways.Results Of 35 490 participants included in this study,60%were female,with a mean(SD)age of 51.5(9.6)years.The median follow-up was 11.7 years.This study found an association between higher community walkability score and reduced risk of all-cause mortality,with the total score(HR=0.85;95%CI,0.80-0.89),land-use mix(HR=0.84;95%CI,0.79-0.88),and crime safety(HR=0.84;95%CI,0.80-0.89)showing the most significant associations.NEWS can affect long-term adverse outcomes through lifestyle.Conclusions In the Chinese population,favorable community walkability is associated with lower all-cause mortality risk,which may support policymakers to take actions to mitigate the adverse effects of poor community en-vironments on health.
5.Spicy food consumption and risk of vascular disease: Evidence from a large-scale Chinese prospective cohort of 0.5 million people.
Dongfang YOU ; Dianjianyi SUN ; Ziyu ZHAO ; Mingyu SONG ; Lulu PAN ; Yaqian WU ; Yingdan TANG ; Mengyi LU ; Fang SHAO ; Sipeng SHEN ; Jianling BAI ; Honggang YI ; Ruyang ZHANG ; Yongyue WEI ; Hongxia MA ; Hongyang XU ; Canqing YU ; Jun LV ; Pei PEI ; Ling YANG ; Yiping CHEN ; Zhengming CHEN ; Hongbing SHEN ; Feng CHEN ; Yang ZHAO ; Liming LI
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(14):1696-1704
BACKGROUND:
Spicy food consumption has been reported to be inversely associated with mortality from multiple diseases. However, the effect of spicy food intake on the incidence of vascular diseases in the Chinese population remains unclear. This study was conducted to explore this association.
METHODS:
This study was performed using the large-scale China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) prospective cohort of 486,335 participants. The primary outcomes were vascular disease, ischemic heart disease (IHD), major coronary events (MCEs), cerebrovascular disease, stroke, and non-stroke cerebrovascular disease. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the association between spicy food consumption and incident vascular diseases. Subgroup analysis was also performed to evaluate the heterogeneity of the association between spicy food consumption and the risk of vascular disease stratified by several basic characteristics. In addition, the joint effects of spicy food consumption and the healthy lifestyle score on the risk of vascular disease were also evaluated, and sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the reliability of the association results.
RESULTS:
During a median follow-up time of 12.1 years, a total of 136,125 patients with vascular disease, 46,689 patients with IHD, 10,097 patients with MCEs, 80,114 patients with cerebrovascular disease, 56,726 patients with stroke, and 40,098 patients with non-stroke cerebrovascular disease were identified. Participants who consumed spicy food 1-2 days/week (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.95, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = [0.93, 0.97], P <0.001), 3-5 days/week (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = [0.94, 0.99], P = 0.003), and 6-7 days/week (HR = 0.97, 95% CI = [0.95, 0.99], P = 0.002) had a significantly lower risk of vascular disease than those who consumed spicy food less than once a week ( Ptrend <0.001), especially in those who were younger and living in rural areas. Notably, the disease-based subgroup analysis indicated that the inverse associations remained in IHD ( Ptrend = 0.011) and MCEs ( Ptrend = 0.002) risk. Intriguingly, there was an interaction effect between spicy food consumption and the healthy lifestyle score on the risk of IHD ( Pinteraction = 0.037).
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings support an inverse association between spicy food consumption and vascular disease in the Chinese population, which may provide additional dietary guidance for the prevention of vascular diseases.
Humans
;
Male
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Female
;
Prospective Studies
;
Middle Aged
;
Aged
;
Vascular Diseases/etiology*
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Risk Factors
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China/epidemiology*
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Adult
;
Proportional Hazards Models
;
Cerebrovascular Disorders/epidemiology*
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East Asian People
6.Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Gene Mutation May Reduce the Risk of Rupture of Intracranial Aneurysm in Chinese Han Population
Xiheng CHEN ; Siming GUI ; Dachao WEI ; Dingwei DENG ; Yudi TANG ; Jian LV ; Wei YOU ; Jia JIANG ; Jun LIN ; Huijian GE ; Peng LIU ; Yuhua JIANG ; Lixin MA ; Yunci WANG ; Ming LV ; Youxiang LI
Journal of Stroke 2025;27(2):237-249
Background:
and Purpose Ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RIA) are associated with a mortality rate of up to 40% in the Chinese population, highlighting the critical need for targeted treatment interventions for at-risk individuals. Although the impact of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene mutations on susceptibility to intracranial aneurysms (IA) is well documented, the potential connection between ALDH2 rs671 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and RIA remains unexplored. Given the increased prevalence of ALDH2 gene mutations among Chinese Han individuals, it is clinically relevant to investigate the link between ALDH2 rs671 SNP and IA rupture.
Methods:
A prospective study was conducted on 546 patients diagnosed with IA to investigate the association between ALDH2 rs671 SNP and the risk of IA rupture.
Results:
The ALDH2 rs671 SNP (ALDH2*2) was significantly more prevalent in patients with unruptured IA (UIA) than in those with RIA (32.56% vs. 18.58%, P=0.004). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that people with the ALDH2 mutation (ALDH2*1/*2 and ALDH2*2/*2 gene type) had a significantly reduced odds ratio (OR=0.49; 95% confidence level [CI] 0.27–0.88; P=0.018) for RIAs. Age-specific subgroup analysis indicated that the ALDH2 mutation provided a stronger protective effect in individuals aged 60 years and above with IA compared to those under 60 years old (OR=0.38 vs. OR=0.52, both P<0.05).
Conclusion
The incidence of RIA was significantly higher in individuals with a normal ALDH2 gene (ALDH2*1/*1) than in those with an ALDH2 rs671 SNP (ALDH2*1/*2 or ALDH2*2/*2). ALDH2 rs671 SNP may serve as a protective factor against RIA in the Chinese Han population.
7.Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Gene Mutation May Reduce the Risk of Rupture of Intracranial Aneurysm in Chinese Han Population
Xiheng CHEN ; Siming GUI ; Dachao WEI ; Dingwei DENG ; Yudi TANG ; Jian LV ; Wei YOU ; Jia JIANG ; Jun LIN ; Huijian GE ; Peng LIU ; Yuhua JIANG ; Lixin MA ; Yunci WANG ; Ming LV ; Youxiang LI
Journal of Stroke 2025;27(2):237-249
Background:
and Purpose Ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RIA) are associated with a mortality rate of up to 40% in the Chinese population, highlighting the critical need for targeted treatment interventions for at-risk individuals. Although the impact of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene mutations on susceptibility to intracranial aneurysms (IA) is well documented, the potential connection between ALDH2 rs671 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and RIA remains unexplored. Given the increased prevalence of ALDH2 gene mutations among Chinese Han individuals, it is clinically relevant to investigate the link between ALDH2 rs671 SNP and IA rupture.
Methods:
A prospective study was conducted on 546 patients diagnosed with IA to investigate the association between ALDH2 rs671 SNP and the risk of IA rupture.
Results:
The ALDH2 rs671 SNP (ALDH2*2) was significantly more prevalent in patients with unruptured IA (UIA) than in those with RIA (32.56% vs. 18.58%, P=0.004). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that people with the ALDH2 mutation (ALDH2*1/*2 and ALDH2*2/*2 gene type) had a significantly reduced odds ratio (OR=0.49; 95% confidence level [CI] 0.27–0.88; P=0.018) for RIAs. Age-specific subgroup analysis indicated that the ALDH2 mutation provided a stronger protective effect in individuals aged 60 years and above with IA compared to those under 60 years old (OR=0.38 vs. OR=0.52, both P<0.05).
Conclusion
The incidence of RIA was significantly higher in individuals with a normal ALDH2 gene (ALDH2*1/*1) than in those with an ALDH2 rs671 SNP (ALDH2*1/*2 or ALDH2*2/*2). ALDH2 rs671 SNP may serve as a protective factor against RIA in the Chinese Han population.
8.Study on the correlation between the distribution of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome elements and salivary microbiota in patients with pulmonary nodules
Hongxia XIANG ; iawei HE ; Shiyan TAN ; Liting YOU ; Xi FU ; Fengming YOU ; Wei SHI ; Qiong MA ; Yifeng REN
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(05):608-618
Objective To analyze the differences in distribution of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome elements and salivary microbiota between the individuals with pulmonary nodules and those without, and to explore the potential correlation between the distribution of TCM syndrome elements and salivary microbiota in patients with pulmonary nodules. Methods We retrospectively recruited 173 patients with pulmonary nodules (PN) and 40 healthy controls (HC). The four diagnostic information was collected from all participants, and syndrome differentiation method was used to analyze the distribution of TCM syndrome elements in both groups. Saliva samples were obtained from the subjects for 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing to obtain differential microbiota and to explore the correlation between TCM syndrome elements and salivary microbiota in the evolution of the pulmonary nodule disease. Results The study found that in the PN group, the primary TCM syndrome elements related to disease location were the lung and liver, and the primary TCM syndrome elements related to disease nature were yin deficiency and phlegm. In the HC group, the primary TCM syndrome elements related to disease location were the lung and spleen, and the primary TCM syndrome elements related to disease nature were dampness and qi deficiency. There were differences between the two groups in the distribution of TCM syndrome elements related to disease location (lung, liver, kidney, exterior, heart) and disease nature (yin deficiency, phlegm, qi stagnation, qi deficiency, dampness, blood deficiency, heat, blood stasis) (P<0.05). The species abundance of the salivary microbiota was higher in the PN group than that in the HC group (P<0.05), and there was significant difference in community composition between the two groups (P<0.05). Correlation analysis using multiple methods, including Mantel test network heatmap analysis and Spearman correlation analysis and so on, the results showed that in the PN group, Prevotella and Porphyromonas were positively correlated with disease location in the lung, and Porphyromonas and Granulicatella were positively correlated with disease nature in yin deficiency (P<0.05). Conclusion The study concludes that there are notable differences in the distribution of TCM syndrome elements and the species abundance and composition of salivary microbiota between the patients with pulmonary nodules and the healthy individuals. The distinct external syndrome manifestations in patients with pulmonary nodules, compared to healthy individuals, may be a cascade event triggered by changes in the salivary microbiota. The dual correlation of Porphyromonas with both disease location and nature suggests that changes in its abundance may serve as an objective indicator for the improvement of symptoms in patients with yin deficiency-type pulmonary nodules.
9.Construction and evaluation of a "disease-syndrome combination" prediction model for pulmonary nodules based on oral microbiomics
Yifeng REN ; Shiyan TAN ; Qiong MA ; Qian WANG ; Liting YOU ; Wei SHI ; Chuan ZHENG ; Jiawei HE ; Fengming YOU
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(08):1105-1114
Objective To construct a "disease-syndrome combination" mathematical representation model for pulmonary nodules based on oral microbiome data, utilizing a multimodal data algorithm framework centered on dynamic systems theory. Furthermore, to compare predictive models under various algorithmic frameworks and validate the efficacy of the optimal model in predicting the presence of pulmonary nodules. Methods A total of 213 subjects were prospectively enrolled from July 2022 to March 2023 at the Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sichuan Cancer Hospital, and the Chengdu Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital. This cohort included 173 patients with pulmonary nodules and 40 healthy subjects. A novel multimodal data algorithm framework centered on dynamic systems theory, termed VAEGANTF (Variational Auto Encoder-Generative Adversarial Network-Transformer), was proposed. Subsequently, based on a multi-dimensional integrated dataset of “clinical features-syndrome elements-microorganisms”, all subjects were divided into training (70%) and testing (30%) sets for model construction and efficacy testing, respectively. Using pulmonary nodules as dependent variables, and combining candidate markers such as clinical features, lesion location, disease nature, and microbial genera, the independent variables were screened based on variable importance ranking after identifying and addressing multicollinearity. Missing values were then imputed, and data were standardized. Eight machine learning algorithms were then employed to construct pulmonary nodule risk prediction models: random forest, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, support vector machine, multilayer perceptron, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), VAE-ViT (Vision Transformer), GAN-ViT, and VAEGANTF. K-fold cross-validation was used for model parameter tuning and optimization. The efficacy of the eight predictive models was evaluated using confusion matrices and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and the optimal model was selected. Finally, goodness-of-fit testing and decision curve analysis (DCA) were performed to evaluate the optimal model. Results There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in demographic characteristics such as age and sex. The 213 subjects were randomly divided into training and testing sets (7 : 3), and prediction models were constructed using the eight machine learning algorithms. After excluding potential problems such as multicollinearity, a total of 301 clinical feature information, syndrome elements, and microbial genera markers were included for model construction. The area under the curve (AUC) values of the random forest, LASSO regression, support vector machine, multilayer perceptron, and VAE-ViT models did not reach 0.85, indicating poor efficacy. The AUC values of the XGBoost, GAN-ViT, and VAEGANTF models all reached above 0.85, with the VAEGANTF model exhibiting the highest AUC value (AUC=0.923). Goodness-of-fit testing indicated good calibration ability of the VAEGANTF model, and decision curve analysis showed a high degree of clinical benefit. The nomogram results showed that age, sex, heart, lung, Qixu, blood stasis, dampness, Porphyromonas genus, Granulicatella genus, Neisseria genus, Haemophilus genus, and Actinobacillus genus could be used as predictors. Conclusion The “disease-syndrome combination” risk prediction model for pulmonary nodules based on the VAEGANTF algorithm framework, which incorporates multi-dimensional data features of “clinical features-syndrome elements-microorganisms”, demonstrates better performance compared to other machine learning algorithms and has certain reference value for early non-invasive diagnosis of pulmonary nodules.
10.Design and establishment of a database for toxins and molecular mass spectra of drugs
Xuemeng LI ; Mengfan LI ; Junjie MA ; Bin XU ; Jie DU ; Wei YOU ; Jia CHEN ; Jianwei XIE ; Dongsheng ZHAO
Military Medical Sciences 2025;49(1):41-46
Objective To construct a database for molecular mass spectra of toxins and drugs in order to facilitate the management and retrieval of mass spectra for nerve agents,metabolites and other small molecules.Methods Requirement analysis and functional design were performed using software engineering methods.The Spec2Vec algorithm was used for vector representation of mass spectra,while SMILES molecular structures were vectorized using the extended connectivity fingerprint(ECFP).A data storage model integrating structured information and vector representations was established using the Milvus database.Similarity search of mass spectra and molecular structures was conducted via vector similarity comparison and the FlashEntropySearch algorithm.Results The constructed database of mass spectra encompassed over 400,000 entries from such sources as OCAD,NIST,MASSBANK,metabolic products,and natural products of TCM,which was capable of searching for similarities in mass spectra and molecular structures.On a standard server,similarity search of mass spectra took no more than 5 seconds,while that of molecular structures took no more than 1 second.Conclusion The system enables efficient management of complex mass spectra and provides rapid retrieval and comparison of mass spectra-related information through advanced vector indexing technology,offering robust data support and research tools for toxicology and pharmacology.

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