OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects and mechanism of Wenpi tongluo kaiqiao formula （WPTL） against neuronal necroptosis in Alzheimer’s disease （AD） mice based on the Z-DNA binding protein 1 （ZBP1）/mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein （MLKL） signaling pathway. METHODS Forty APP/PS1 transgenic AD mice were randomly divided into model group， WPTL low-dose （WPTL-L） group （10.4 g/kg， calculated by the raw medicine）， WPTL high-dose （WPTL-H） group （20.8 g/kg， calculated by the raw medicine） and donepezil hydrochloride group （3 mg/kg）， with 10 mice in each group； another 10 C57BL/6J mice were selected as normal control group. Intragastric administration， once a day， for 30 consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after the last administration， Morris water maze test was performed to evaluate learning and memory abilities； the pathological morphology of hippocampal tissues was observed； the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-4 （IL-4） were determined； the expressions of amyloid precursor protein （APP）， Tau protein， and ZBP1/MLKL signaling pathway-related proteins in hippocampal tissues were detected； the positive expression of phosphorylated receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 （p-RIPK3） in the neurons of hippocampal tissues and mRNA expression of ZBP1 were measured in hippocampal tissues. RESULTS Compared with normal control group， the escape latency of mice in model group was prolonged significantly on day 3 to 5 （P＜0.05）， the times of crossing platform reduced significantly （P＜0.05）， and obvious pathological changes were observed in the hippocampal tissue. The level of TNF- α， the expressions of APP， p-Tau and ZBP1， the phosphorylation levels of RIPK1， RIPK3 and MLKL， the fluorescence intensity of p-RIPK3 as well as the mRNA expression of ZBP1 were significantly increased （P＜0.05）， while the serum level of IL-4 was decreased significantly （P＜0.05）. Compared with model group， above indexes were reversed significantly in administration groups （P＜0.05）， and pathological damage of hippocampal tissue was alleviated. CONCLUSIONS WPTL can inhibit the ZBP1/MLKL signaling pathway， reduce neuronal necroptosis in AD mice， and inhibit inflammatory responses， thereby improving learning and spatial memory abilities in AD mice.

AIM:To investigate the mechanism by which the Z-DNA-binding protein 1(ZBP1)/receptor-in-teracting protein kinase 1(RIPK1)/mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein(MLKL)pathway modulates the necroptosis of neurons in a mouse model of Alzheimer disease(AD).METHODS:Thirty mice were randomly divided into three groups:normal control(NC)group,APP/PS1 model(MOD)group,and necroptosis inhibitor necrostatin-1(Nec-1)group,each with 10 mice.The learning and memory capacities of mice were assessed using the Morris water maze assays.The pathological morphology of hippocampal tissue was examined based on the HE staining assay.The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-10(IL-10)in serum samples were measured by ELISA.The phosphory-lation of amyloid precursor protein(APP),Tau protein and the expression levels of proteins related to the ZBP1/RIPK1/MLKL pathway in hippocampal tissue were measured by Western blot.Immunofluorescence analysis was performed to de-tect the positive expression of p-RIPK1,while the mRNA level of ZBP1 was measured by RT-qPCR.RESULTS:Com-pared with NC group,the escape latency of mice in the MOD group was significantly longer(P<0.05),the number of crossing platforms was reduced(P<0.05),and the arrangement of hippocampal neurons was disordered accompanied with nuclear condensation.The concentration of TNF-α in serum was increased,whereas the concentration level of IL-10 was decreased(P<0.05).The expression levels of APP,p-Ttau and ZBP1 proteins in the hippocampal tissue and the ratios of p-RIPK1/RIPK1,p-RIPK3/RIPK3 and p-MLKL/MLKL were significantly upregulated(P<0.05).Similarly,the positive expression level of p-RIPK1 and the mRNA level of ZBP1 in hippocampal tissue were significantly upregulated(P<0.05).Compared with the MOD group,the cognitive function of AD mice,pathological damage of hippocampal tissue,and the levels of TNF-α and IL-10 in serum were reversed in the Nec-1 group(P<0.05).Moreover,the Nec-1 treatment signifi-cantly downregulated the expression levels of the above proteins(P<0.05),and the positive expression of p-RIPK1 and the mRNA level of ZBP1 were significantly decreased(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:The ZBP1/RIPK1/MLKL pathway is involved in the occurrence of neuronal necroptosis and the pathological process of AD mice.Inhibition of this pathway sig-nificantly ameliorates cognitive dysfunction and neuroinflammatory responses in AD mice.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of incorporating simple bedside indicators into death predictive model for elderly critically ill patients based on interpretability machine learning algorithms, providing a new scheme for clinical disease assessment. METHODS: Elderly critically ill patients aged ≥ 65 years who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Tacheng People's Hospital of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture from June 2017 to May 2020 were retrospectively selected. Basic parameters including demographic characteristics, basic vital signs and fluid intake and output within 24 hours after admission, as well acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), Glasgow coma score (GCS) and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) were also collected. According to outcomes in hospital, patients were divided into survival group and death group. Four datasets were constructed respectively, namely baseline dataset (B), including age, body temperature, heart rate, pulse oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, mean arterial pressure, urine output volume, infusion volume, and crystal solution volume; B+APACHE II dataset (BA), B+GCS dataset (BG), and B+SOFA dataset (BS). Then three machine learning algorithms, Logistic regression (LR), extreme gradient boosting (XGboost) and gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) were used to develop the corresponding mortality predictive models within four datasets. The feature importance histogram of each prediction model was drawn by SHapley additive explanation (SHAP) method. The area under curve (AUC), accuracy and F1 score of each model were compared to determine the optimal prediction model and then illuminate the nomogram. RESULTS: A total of 392 patients were collected, including 341 in the survival group and 51 in the death group. There were statistically significant differences in heart rate, pulse oxygen saturation, mean arterial pressure, infusion volume, crystal solution volume, and etiological distribution between the two groups. The top three causes of death were shock, cerebral hemorrhage, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Among the 12 prognostic models trained by three machine learning algorithms, overall performance of prognostic models based on B dataset was behind, whereas the LR model trained by BA dataset achieved the best performance than others with AUC of 0.767 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.692-0.836], accuracy of 0.875 (95%CI was 0.837-0.903) and F1 score of 0.190. The top 3 variables in this model were crystal solution volume with first 24 hours, heart rate and mean arterial pressure. The nomogram of the model showed that the total score between 150 and 230 were advisable. CONCLUSION The interpretable machine learning model including simple bedside parameters combined with APACHE II score could effectively identify the risk of death in elderly patients with critically illness.
Humans ; Critical Illness ; Machine Learning ; Aged ; Algorithms ; Intensive Care Units ; Retrospective Studies ; APACHE ; Prognosis ; Organ Dysfunction Scores ; Hospital Mortality ; Male ; Female

Objective To screen the targets related to the metabolic enzymes involved in the cholesterol synthesis pathway that inhibits the polarization of macrophages towards M1 phenotype,and verify the intervention effects and underlying mechanisms in colorectal cancer cells.Methods Mouse colorectal cancer MC38 cells were divided into control group(si-NC)and experimental groups(the expression of enzymes in cholesterol synthesis pathway was interfered with siRNA for corresponding targets).RT-qPCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of corresponding targets in MC38 cells after transfection.After peritoneal macrophages were extracted from male C57BL/6 mice(6 weeks old,weighing 13～18 g),the macrophages were then treated with the conditioned media of MC38 cells transfected with different siRNAs for 48 h.RT-qPCR was employed to detect the mRNA levels of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in the macrophages so as to evaluate the effect of the culture media on the M1 polarization.MC38 cells were divided into control groups(OE-NC and sh-NC),farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1(FDFT1)overexpression group(OE-FDFT1)and FDFT1 knockdown group(sh-FDFT1).RT-qPCR was applied to detect the mRNA expression of FDFT1,and Western blotting was conducted to measure the protein level of FDFT1.C57BL/6 mice were subjected randomly to construct a subcutaneous tumor-bearing model and a model of intraperitoneal metastatic tumor(n=5)respectively.The growth of tumor mass was then measured.Flow cytometry was used to observe the proliferation and apoptosis of MC38 cells,and Trans well assay to detect migration ability of MC38 cells.Five C57BL/6 macrophage-depleted mice(established with injection of clodronate liposome suspension through tail vein)received intraperitoneal implantation to construct a metastasis model,and then the obtained tumor masses were then weighted.Results Compared with MC38 cells after si-NC transfection,the mRNA levels of corresponding targets in MC38 cells in the experimental groups were significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Significant increases were found in the mRNA levels of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α of the macrophages with FDFT1 interference than the control cells(P＜0.05).There were no statistical differences in the proliferation,apoptosis and migration of MC38 cells in the control group(OE-NC and sh-NC)and the cells of the FDFT1 overexpression group and FDFT1 knockdown group(P＞0.05).In both the subcutaneous tumor-bearing model and the model of intraperitoneal metastatic tumor,the mass weight was significantly heavier in the OE-FDFT1 group than the OE-NC group(P＜0.01),and was notably smaller in the sh-FDFT1 group than the sh-NC group(P＜0.01).For the macrophage-depleted mouse tumor model,no remarkable change was observed in the tumor weight between the OE-FDFT1 group and the OE-NC group as well as the sh-FDFT1 group and the sh-NC group.Conclusion FDFT1,the metabolic enzyme in the cholesterol synthesis pathway of colorectal cancer tumor cells,is a potential target for tumor immunotherapy targeting macrophages,which promotes tumor progression by regulating macrophages.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the intervention effect and its potential mechanism of Yifei xuanfei jiangzhuo formula by inhibiting mitochondrial fission in a vascular dementia(VaD)model rats.METHODS VaD rat model was established by bilateral common carotid artery ligation.The experimental animals were randomly divided into sham operation group(SHAM),model group(MOD),Yifei xuanfei jiangzhuo formula low-dose group(YFXF-L),Yifei xuanfei jiangzhuo formula high-dose group(YFXF-H),and Donepezil hydrochloride group(positive control),with 9 animals in each group.After 30 days of intervention,the spatial learning memory ability was assessed by Morris water maze experiment;HE staining was used to observe histopathological changes in CA1 area of hippocampus;ELISA was used to detect the levels of serum inflammatory factors[interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-4];Western blot was used to detect the expressions of heat shock protein 90(HSP90)/mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein(MLKL)/dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1)pathway-related proteins,mitochondrial fusion proteins(MFN1,MFN2),and adenosine triphosphate synthase 5A(ATP5A)in hippocampal tissues.The immunohistochemistry was used to detect the level of phosphorylated MLKL(p-MLKL);real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was adopted to detect mRNA expressions of HSP90,MFN1,MFN2 and ATP5A.RESULTS Compared with SHAM group,the escape latency of rats in the MOD group was significantly prolonged,the number of crossing the platform was significantly reduced,and the hippocampal tissues showed typical neuronal damage characteristics,the positive expression level of p-MLKL and the serum level of IL-1β significantly increased,while the serum level of IL-4 significantly decreased,the protein and mRNA expression of HSP90,as well as the protein expressions of p-MLKL/MLKL and p-Drp1(Ser616)/Drp1 were all significantly increased in hippocampal tissue,the protein and mRNA expressions of MFN1,MFN2 and ATP5A,and protein expression of p-Drp1(Ser637)/Drp1 were all significantly decreased(P＜0.05).After the intervention of Yifei xuanfei jiangzhuo formula,above indicators in each treatment group were all significantly reversed(P＜0.05).CONCLUSIONS Yifei xuanfei jiangzhuo formula may alleviate neuronal damage and neuroinflammatory responses in VaD rats by regulating the HSP90/MLKL/Drp1 signaling pathway,inhibiting mitochondrial fission,thereby maintaining mitochondrial dynamic balance and improving mitochondrial function.

AIM:To investigate the mechanism by which the Z-DNA-binding protein 1(ZBP1)/receptor-in-teracting protein kinase 1(RIPK1)/mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein(MLKL)pathway modulates the necroptosis of neurons in a mouse model of Alzheimer disease(AD).METHODS:Thirty mice were randomly divided into three groups:normal control(NC)group,APP/PS1 model(MOD)group,and necroptosis inhibitor necrostatin-1(Nec-1)group,each with 10 mice.The learning and memory capacities of mice were assessed using the Morris water maze assays.The pathological morphology of hippocampal tissue was examined based on the HE staining assay.The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-10(IL-10)in serum samples were measured by ELISA.The phosphory-lation of amyloid precursor protein(APP),Tau protein and the expression levels of proteins related to the ZBP1/RIPK1/MLKL pathway in hippocampal tissue were measured by Western blot.Immunofluorescence analysis was performed to de-tect the positive expression of p-RIPK1,while the mRNA level of ZBP1 was measured by RT-qPCR.RESULTS:Com-pared with NC group,the escape latency of mice in the MOD group was significantly longer(P<0.05),the number of crossing platforms was reduced(P<0.05),and the arrangement of hippocampal neurons was disordered accompanied with nuclear condensation.The concentration of TNF-α in serum was increased,whereas the concentration level of IL-10 was decreased(P<0.05).The expression levels of APP,p-Ttau and ZBP1 proteins in the hippocampal tissue and the ratios of p-RIPK1/RIPK1,p-RIPK3/RIPK3 and p-MLKL/MLKL were significantly upregulated(P<0.05).Similarly,the positive expression level of p-RIPK1 and the mRNA level of ZBP1 in hippocampal tissue were significantly upregulated(P<0.05).Compared with the MOD group,the cognitive function of AD mice,pathological damage of hippocampal tissue,and the levels of TNF-α and IL-10 in serum were reversed in the Nec-1 group(P<0.05).Moreover,the Nec-1 treatment signifi-cantly downregulated the expression levels of the above proteins(P<0.05),and the positive expression of p-RIPK1 and the mRNA level of ZBP1 were significantly decreased(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:The ZBP1/RIPK1/MLKL pathway is involved in the occurrence of neuronal necroptosis and the pathological process of AD mice.Inhibition of this pathway sig-nificantly ameliorates cognitive dysfunction and neuroinflammatory responses in AD mice.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism of Yifei xuanfei jiangzhuo formula （YFXF） against vascular dementia （VD）. METHODS The differentially expressed genes of YFXF （YDEGs） were obtained by network pharmacology. High-risk genes were screened from YDEGs by using the nomogram model. The optimal machine learning models in generalized linear， support vector machine， extreme gradient boosting and random forest models were screened based on high-risk genes. VD model rats were established by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion， and were randomly divided into model group and YFXF group （12.18 g/kg， by the total amount of crude drugs）， and sham operation group was established additionally， with 6 rats in each group. The effects of YFXF on behavior （using escape latency and times of crossing platform as indexes）， histopathologic changes of cerebral cortex， and the expression of proteins related to the secreted phosphoprotein 1 （SPP1）/phosphoinositide 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （aka Akt） signaling pathway and the mRNA expression of SPP1 in cerebral cortex of VD rats were evaluated. RESULTS A total of 6 YDEGs were obtained， among which SPP1， CCL2， HMOX1 and HSPB1 may be high-risk genes of VD. The generalized linear model based on high-risk genes had the highest prediction accuracy （area under the curve of 0.954）. Compared with the model group， YFXF could significantly shorten the escape latency of VD rats， significantly increase the times of crossing platform （P＜0.05）； improve the pathological damage of cerebral cortex， such as neuronal shrinkage and neuronal necrosis； significantly reduce the expressions of SPP1 protein and mRNA （P＜0.05）， while significantly increase the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS VD high-risk genes SPP1， CCL2， HMOX1 and HSPB1 may be the important targets of YFXF. YFXF may play an anti-VD role by down-regulating the protein and mRNA expressions of SPP1 and activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Objective: To explore the associations of physical activity and sleep quality with anxiety and depressive symptoms in college students, in order to provide empirical support and theoretical guidance for mental health intervention among college students. Methods: From March to April 2023, 2 099 college students from universities in 6 different provinces were selected by a convenient sampling method. Physical activity, sleep quality, anxiety and depressive symptoms were evaluated by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQSF), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) and the Anxiety SelfRating Scale (SAS), respectively. Descriptive statistics and Logistic regression models were used to analyze the data. Results: The reporting rates of lowintensity, moderateintensity, and highintensity physical activity among college students were 30.3%, 45.3%, and 24.4%, respectively. Moreover, among the participants, anxiety was detected in 21.6% and depressive symptoms in 39.9%, while 62.3% experienced poor sleep quality. Compared with males, females exhibited a lower proportion of highintensity physical activity (22.3% vs 42.8%), while reported higher proportions of moderateintensity (48.1% vs 40.8%) and lowintensity physical activity (29.5% vs 16.4%). Additionally, the proportion of females reporting poor sleep quality (65.0%) was higher than that of males (58.0%) (χ2=110.15, 10.70, P<0.05). The proportion of girls (43.8%) with depressive sypmtoms was higher than that of boys (33.9%) (χ2=20.48, P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that high physical activity was negatively correlated with anxiety and depression (OR=0.45, 0.33), poor sleep quality was positively correlated with anxiety and depressive symptoms (OR=3.89, 3.94) (P<0.01).The interaction effect between high physical activity and good sleep quality was associated with the reduction of anxiety and depression among college students (OR=0.14, 0.08, P<0.01). Conclusions Physical activity and sleep quality are associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms among college students. The interventions for mental health problems such as depression and anxiety among college students should aim to improve physical activity and sleep quality.

By conducting retrospective analysis, this study aim to investigate the resistance mechanism of quinolones in non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS). A total of 105 strains of NTS isolated from clinical specimens from the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University from May 2020 to February 2021 were used as research objects. VITEK2 Compact automatic identification drug sensitivity analysis system and serological test were used to identify the strains. The sensitivity of the strains to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and nalidixic acid was detected by AGAR dilution method. The whole genome of 105 strains of NTS was sequenced. Abricate and other softwares were used to analyze drug-resistant genes, including plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance gene (PMQR) and Quinolone resistance determination region (QRDR). Serotypes and ST types were analyzed using SISTR and MLST, and phylogenetic trees were constructed. The results showed that the NTS isolated in this region were mainly ST34 Salmonella typhimurium (53.3%). The drug sensitivity results showed that the drug resistance rates of NTS to ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and nalidixic acid were 30.4%, 1.9% and 22.0%, respectively, and the intermediate rates of ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin were 27.6% and 54.2%.A total of 46 (74.2%) of the 62 quinolone non-susceptible strains carried the PMQR gene, mainly qnrS1 (80.4%), followed by aac(6′)-Ib-cr(15.2%); there were 14 NTS and 8 NTS had gyrA and parC gene mutations, respectively. The gyrA was mutations at the amino acid position 87, Asp87Tyr, Asp87Asn, Asp87Gly, and Thr57Ser mutations were detected in parC. In conclusion, this study found that NTS had relatively high resistance to quinolones, carrying qnrS1 gene mainly resulted in decreased sensitivity of NTS to ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin, and gyrA:87 mutation mainly resulted in NTS resistance to Nalidixic acid; Salmonella typhimurium in clinical isolates showed clonal transmission and required further epidemiological surveillance.

Objective:To investigate the influence of varied oxygen (O 2) concentration environments on the phenotypic transformation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) and the mechanism of pulmonary hypertension. Methods:Primary rat PASMC were isolated and cultured through the process of enzymatic digestion. Following identification, the stable passaged PASMC were subjected to a 6-hour incubation in sealed containers with normal O 2 content (group C) and relative O 2 content comprising 55% (group H55), 75% (group H75), and 95% (group H95). mRNA and protein expression of α-Actin (α-SMA), smooth muscle 22α (SM22α), osteopontin (OPN), and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were measured using real-time quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. Results:The H55 group displayed no significant difference from the C group in terms of mRNA and relative protein expression levels for α-SMA, SM22α, OPN, and MMP-2 (all P>0.05). On the other hand, groups H75 and H95 exhibited a reduction in mRNA and relative protein expression of α-SMA and SM22α, along with an increase in mRNA and relative protein expression of OPN and MMP-2 when compared with both the C and H55 groups (all P<0.05). The H95 group showed a higher relative mRNA expression of MMP-2 as compared to the H75 group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Oxygen concentration environments of 75% or higher can serve as the foundation for the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension, essentially by inducing a phenotypic transformation in PASMC towards adopting a robust secretory function. This induction is contingent upon the concentration of oxygen present.