BACKGROUND:With the continuous advancement of medical technology,stem cell therapy has been used to treat a variety of diseases,including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. OBJECTIVE:To review the research progress of stem cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,and prospect the development trend of this field. METHODS:PubMed,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),and WanFang Data were searched for articles published from 1995 to 2024 using the key words"amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,mesenchymal stem cells,neural stem/progenitor cells,pluripotent stem cells."A total of more than 1 700 articles were retrieved,and 58 articles were finally included in this review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that affects lower motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord and upper motor neurons in the motor cortex.The related research of stem cells in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has become a research hotspot.In this review,we summarize the application of different types of stem cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research,including mesenchymal stem cells,neural stem progenitor cells,and induced pluripotent stem cells,and evaluate the key points of preclinical research such as stem cell source,cell volume,stem cell modification methods,and drug delivery routes,which lays the foundation for the future application of stem cell therapy.

OBJECTIVE: Based on the PTEN-induced hypothetical kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin pathway, the effect of acupuncture pretreatment on the expression of mitochondrial autophagy-related proteins in gastrocnemius muscle tissue of rats with exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) was observed, and the underlying mechanism of acupuncture pretreatment for the prevention and treatment of EIMD was explored. METHODS: Of 88 SD male rats, aged 6 weeks, 8 rats were randomly selected as a blank group, and the remaining 80 rats were randomized into a model group and an acupuncture pretreatment group, with 40 rats in each group. Either the model group or the acupuncture pretreatment group was subdivided randomly into 5 subgroups with 8 rats in each one according to the time points of sample collection, 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after modeling. An intermittent downhill running centrifugal exercise was carried out on an animal experimental treadmill to establish the EIMD model in the model group and the acupuncture pretreatment group. The rats in the acupuncture pretreatment group received acupuncture at "Guanyuan" (CV6) and bilateral "Zusanli" (ST36), once a day for 20 min each time, for 7 consecutive days before EIMD model preparation. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of gastrocnemius muscle tissue in each group. The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in serum were detected by ELISA. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of PINK1, Parkin, sequestosome 1 (p62) and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3B (LC3B) in rat gastrocnemius muscle tissue. Real-time PCR was adopted to detect the mRNA expression of PINK1, Parkin, p62 and LC3B in rat gastrocnemius muscle tissue. RESULTS: Compared with the blank group, the mitochondria of gastrocnemius muscles showed obvious swelling in the 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h model subgroups , autophagosomes were formed in the 12 h and 24 h model subgroups, and the mitochondrial morphology returned to normal gradually in the 72 h model subgroup. The serum MDA contents of rats in 5 model subgroups increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). The contents of SOD and CAT in the subgroups of 0 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein and mRNA expression levels of PINK1, Parkin and LC3B in gastrocnemius muscle tissue of rats in 0 h, 12 h and 24 h subgroups were elevated (P<0.01); and the protein and mRNA expression levels of p62 in the 0 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h subgroups were reduced (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the model subgroup at the same time point, the myofibril damage and the degree of mitochondrial swelling were mild in each acupuncture pretreatment subgroup, and the numbers of autophagosomes were fewer. The contents of MDA in the acupuncture pretreatment subgroups decreased at 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h (P<0.05, P<0.01). The contents of SOD and CAT in the 12 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroup increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein and mRNA expression levels of PINK1 and Parkin in the 0 h, 12 h, and 24 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroups decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05). The protein and mRNA expression levels of LC3B in the 12 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroup decreased (P<0.01), and that of p62 in the 0 h and 24 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroups increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). CONCLUSION The intermittent downhill running centrifugal exercise induces the excessive mitochondrial autophagy. Acupuncture pretreatment may attenuate EIMD, and the underlying mechanism is related to the regulation of PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway expression, reducing oxidative stress damage in skeletal muscle cells, and inhibiting mitochondrial autophagy overactivation.
Animals ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/genetics* ; Male ; Rats ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Mitophagy ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Muscular Diseases/physiopathology* ; Signal Transduction

Metastasis serves as an indicator of malignancy and is a biological characteristic of carcinomas. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a key role in the promotion of tumor invasion and metastasis and in the enhancement of tumor cell aggressiveness. Prostaglandin E synthase 3 (p23) is a cochaperone for heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). Our previous study showed that p23 is an HSP90-independent transcription factor in cancer-associated inflammation. The effect and mechanism of action of p23 on lung cancer metastasis are tested in this study. By utilizing cell models in vitro and mouse tail vein metastasis models in vivo, the results provide solid evidence that p23 is critical for promoting lung cancer metastases by regulating downstream CXCL1 expression. Rather than acting independently, p23 forms a complex with RNA-binding motif protein 14 (RBM14) to facilitate EMT progression in lung cancer. Therefore, our study provides evidence for the potential role of the RBM14-p23-CXCL1-EMT axis in the metastasis of lung cancer.

Elemene is widely recognized as an effective anti-cancer compound and is routinely administered in Chinese clinical settings for the management of several solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, its detailed molecular mechanism has not been adequately demonstrated. In this research, it was demonstrated that elemene effectively curtailed NSCLC growth in the patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model. Mechanistically, employing high-throughput screening techniques and subsequent biochemical validations such as microscale thermophoresis (MST), microRNA-145-5p (miR-145-5p) was pinpointed as a critical target through which elemene exerts its anti-tumor effects. Interestingly, elemene serves as a binding stabilizer for miR-145-5p, demonstrating a strong binding affinity (dissociation constant (K _D) = 0.39 ± 0.17 μg/mL) and preventing its degradation both in vitro and in vivo, while not interfering with the synthesis of the primary microRNA transcripts (pri-miRNAs) and precursor miRNAs (pre-miRNAs). The stabilization of miR-145-5p by elemene resulted in an increased level of this miRNA, subsequently suppressing NSCLC progression through the miR-145-5p/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 3 (MAP3K3)/nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB) pathway. Our findings provide a new perspective on revealing the interaction patterns between clinical anti-tumor drugs and miRNAs.

Methods: From September 3, 2018, to March 23, 2024, participants with essential hypertension (receiving antihypertensive medication treatment, hypertension group) and normal blood pressure (control group) were recruited from the Cardiology Department of Shanghai Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Coronary Care Unit of Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, the Physical Examination Center of Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Gaohang Community Health Service Center. This study employed the propensity score matching (PSM) method to reduce study participants selection bias. Spectral information in the facial visible light spectrum of the subjects was collected using a flame spectrometer, and the spectral chromaticity values were calculated using the equal-interval wavelength method. The study analyzed the differences in spectral reflectance across various facial regions, including the entire face, forehead, glabella, nose, jaw, left and right zygomatic regions, left and right cheek regions as well as differences in parameters within the Lab color space between the two subject groups. Feature selection was conducted using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, followed by the application of various machine learning algorithms, including logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), Naïve Bayes (NB), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB). The reduced-dimensional dataset was split in a 7 : 3 ratio to establish a classification and assessment model for facial coloration related to primary hypertension. Additionally, model fusion techniques were applied to enhance the predictive power. The performance of the models was evaluated using metrics including the area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy. Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) was used to interpret the outcomes of the models. Results: A total of 114 participants were included in both hypertension and control groups. Reflectance analysis across the entire face and eight predefined areas revealed that the hypertensive group exhibited significantly higher reflectance of corresponding color light in the blue-violet region (P < 0.05) and a lower reflectance in the red region (P < 0.05) compared with control group. Analysis of Lab color space parameters across the entire face and eight predefined areas showed that hypertensive group had significantly lower a and b values than control group (P < 0.05). LASSO regression analysis identified a total of 18 facial color features that were highly correlated with hypertension, including the a values of the chin and the right cheek, the reflectance at 380 nm and at 780 nm of the forehead. The results of the multi-model classification showed that the RF classification model was the most effective, with an AUC of 0.74 and an accuracy of 0.77. The combined model of RF + LR + SVM outperformed a single model in their classification performance, achieving an AUC of 0.80 and an accuracy of 0.76. SHAP model visualization results indicated that the top three contributors to ideal prediction results based on the characteristics from the facial spectrum were the reflectance at 380 nm across the entire face and of the nose as well as the a value of the chin. Conclusion Within the same age group, patients with essential hypertension exhibited significant and regular changes in facial color and facial spectral reflectance parameters after the administration of antihypertensive drugs. Furthermore, facial reflectance indicators, such as the overall reflectance at 380 nm and the a value of the chin, could offer valuable references for clinically assessing the drug efficacy and health status of patients with essential hypertension.

ObjectiveTo explore the interaction between bruceoside B and gut microbiota and the inhibitory activity of its metabolites on human lung cancer A549 cells， and to explore the value of bruceoside B in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer（NSCLC）. MethodBruceoside B was co-incubated with the human gut microbiota under anoxic conditions in vitro， and ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） was used to analyze the metabolic transformation products. Cell counting kit-8（CCK-8） assay was performed to determine the effects of bruceoside B and its metabolites on the proliferation of human lung cancer A549 cells and the half inhibitory concentration（IC₅₀） was calculated. Five healthy male rats were gavaged with bruceoside B（2 mg·kg^-1） for 7 days after adaptive feeding. The feces of rats were collected before and after administration. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to assess gut microbiota. ResultBruceoside B was mainly metabolized to brusatol by human gut microbiota， the IC₅₀ of bruceoside B and the conversion product to A549 cells were 1 755.50， 19.57 μmol·L^-1， respectively， and the conversion product had a better activity at inhibiting A549 cells proliferation than bruceoside B. Additionally， The results of intestinal flora analysis showed no significant differences in α diversity and β diversity of gut microbiota after administration. In terms of species abundance， at the phylum level， bruceoside B decreased the relative abundance of Actinobacteriota and Proteobacteria， increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes， Patescibacteria and Cyanobacteria. At the genus level， bruceoside B decreased the relative abundance of Staphylococcus， Aerococcus and Psychrobacter， increased the relative abundance of Romboutsia， Lactobacillus， Clostridium sensu stricto 1， Norank-f-norank-o-Clostridia-UCG-014， Turicibacter， Allobaculum and Candidatus Saccharimonas. The results of functional prediction showed that the gut microbiota functional compositions were relatively stable. ConclusionBruceoside B can be deglycosylated by intestinal flora and converted into brusatol， with a significant increase in antitumor activity. The administration of bruceoside B will not cause significant changes in the structure and function of the intestinal flora， resulting in intestinal microecological balance disorders， and the administration appears to be beneficial to the intestinal flora of NSCLC patients.

Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and mutation spectrum of monogenic diseases in Chinese population through a large-scale,multicenter carrier screening.Methods This study was conducted among a total of 33 104 participants(16 610 females)from 12 clinical centers across China.Carrier status for 223 genes was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and different PCR methods.Results The overall combined carrier frequency was 55.58%for 197 autosomal genes and 1.84%for 26 X-linked genes in these participants.Among the 16 669 families,874 at-risk couples(5.24%)were identified.Specifically,584 couples(3.50%)were at risk for autosomal genes,306(1.84%)for X-linked genes,and 16 for both autosomal and X-linked genes.The most frequently detected autosomal at-risk genes included GJB2(autosomal recessive deafness type 1A,393 couples),HBA1/HBA2(α-thalassemia,36 couples),PAH(phenylketonuria,14 couples),and SMN1(spinal muscular atrophy,14 couples).The most frequently detected X-linked at-risk genes were G6PD(G6PD deficiency,236 couples),DMD(Duchenne muscular dystrophy,23 couples),and FMR1(fragile X syndrome,17 couples).After excluding GJB2 c.109G>A,the detection rate of at-risk couples was 3.91%(651/16 669),which was lowered to 1.72%(287/16 669)after further excluding G6PD.The theoretical incidence rate of severe monogenic birth defects was approximately 4.35‰(72.5/16 669).Screening for a battery of the top 22 most frequent genes in the at-risk couples could detect over 95%of at-risk couples,while screening for the top 54 genes further increased the detection rate to over 99%.Conclusion This study reveals the carrier frequencies of 223 monogenic genetic disorders in the Chinese population and provides evidence for carrier screening strategy development and panel design tailored to the Chinese population.In carrier testing,genetic counseling for specific genes or gene variants can be challenging,and the couples need to be informed of these difficulties before testing and provided with options for not screening these genes or gene variants.

Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and mutation spectrum of monogenic diseases in Chinese population through a large-scale,multicenter carrier screening.Methods This study was conducted among a total of 33 104 participants(16 610 females)from 12 clinical centers across China.Carrier status for 223 genes was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and different PCR methods.Results The overall combined carrier frequency was 55.58%for 197 autosomal genes and 1.84%for 26 X-linked genes in these participants.Among the 16 669 families,874 at-risk couples(5.24%)were identified.Specifically,584 couples(3.50%)were at risk for autosomal genes,306(1.84%)for X-linked genes,and 16 for both autosomal and X-linked genes.The most frequently detected autosomal at-risk genes included GJB2(autosomal recessive deafness type 1A,393 couples),HBA1/HBA2(α-thalassemia,36 couples),PAH(phenylketonuria,14 couples),and SMN1(spinal muscular atrophy,14 couples).The most frequently detected X-linked at-risk genes were G6PD(G6PD deficiency,236 couples),DMD(Duchenne muscular dystrophy,23 couples),and FMR1(fragile X syndrome,17 couples).After excluding GJB2 c.109G>A,the detection rate of at-risk couples was 3.91%(651/16 669),which was lowered to 1.72%(287/16 669)after further excluding G6PD.The theoretical incidence rate of severe monogenic birth defects was approximately 4.35‰(72.5/16 669).Screening for a battery of the top 22 most frequent genes in the at-risk couples could detect over 95%of at-risk couples,while screening for the top 54 genes further increased the detection rate to over 99%.Conclusion This study reveals the carrier frequencies of 223 monogenic genetic disorders in the Chinese population and provides evidence for carrier screening strategy development and panel design tailored to the Chinese population.In carrier testing,genetic counseling for specific genes or gene variants can be challenging,and the couples need to be informed of these difficulties before testing and provided with options for not screening these genes or gene variants.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and maternal and fetal prognosis of pregnant women with acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP). Methods: The clinical data of 86 AFLP pregnant women admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from September 2017 to August 2022 were collected, and their general data, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests and maternal and fetal outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. Results: (1) General information: the age of the 86 pregnant women with AFLP was (30.8±5.4) years, and the body mass index was (21.0±2.5) kg/m². There were 50 primiparas (58.1%, 50/86) and 36 multiparas (41.9%, 36/86). There were 64 singleton pregnancies (74.4%, 64/86) and 22 twin pregnancies (25.6%, 22/86). (2) Clinical characteristics: the main complaints of AFLP pregnant women were gastrointestinal symptoms, including epigastric pain (68.6%, 59/86), nausea (47.7%, 41/86), anorexia (46.5%, 40/86), vomiting (39.5%, 34/86). The main non-gastrointestinal symptoms were jaundice of skin and/or scleral (54.7%, 47/86), edema (38.4%, 33/86), fatigue (19.8%, 17/86), bleeding tendency (16.3%, 14/86), polydipsia or polyuria (14.0%, 12/86), skin itching (8.1%, 7/86), and 17.4% (15/86) AFLP pregnant women had no obvious symptoms. (3) Laboratory tests: the incidence of liver and kidney dysfunction and abnormal coagulation function in AFLP pregnant women was high, and the levels of blood ammonia, lactate dehydrogenase and lactic acid were increased, and the levels of hemoglobin, platelet and albumin decreased. However, only 24 cases (27.9%, 24/86) of AFLP pregnant women showed fatty liver by imageology examination. (4) Pregnancy outcomes: ① AFLP pregnant women had a high incidence of pregnancy complications, mainly including renal insufficiency (95.3%, 82/86), preterm birth (46.5%, 40/86), hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (30.2%, 26/86), gestational diabetes mellitus (36.0%, 31/86), fetal distress (24.4%, 21/86), pulmonary infection (23.3%, 20/86), disseminated intravascular coagulation (16.3%, 14/86), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (16.3%, 14/86), hepatic encephalopathy (9.3%, 8/86), and intrauterine fetal death (2.3%, 2/86). ② Treatment and outcome of AFLP pregnant women: the intensive care unit transfer rate of AFLP pregnant women was 66.3% (57/86). 82 cases were improved and discharged after treatment, 2 cases were transferred to other hospitals for follow-up treatment, and 2 cases (2.3%, 2/86) died. ③ Neonatal outcomes: except for 2 cases of intrauterine death, a total of 106 neonates were delivered, including 39 cases (36.8%, 39/106) of neonatal asphyxia, 63 cases (59.4%, 63/106) of neonatal intensive care unit admission, and 3 cases (2.8%, 3/106) of neonatal death. Conclusions: AFLP is a severe obstetric complication, which is harmful to mother and fetus. In the process of clinical diagnosis and treatment, attention should be paid to the clinical manifestations and laboratory tests of pregnant women, early diagnosis and active treatment, so as to improve maternal and fetal outcomes.
Pregnancy ; Infant, Newborn ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; Premature Birth/epidemiology* ; Pregnancy Complications/diagnosis* ; Fatty Liver/diagnosis* ; Fetal Death ; Stillbirth

Objective:To investigate the changes in the morphology, structure and function of the bladders and their effects on the upper urinary tract dilatation(UUTD) after lumbosacral nerve transecting in rats.Methods:A total of 45 female SD rats were included, randomly divided into 3 groups with 15 rats in each group. Two groups were performed bilateral lumbar 6(L6) and cauda equina nerve shearing to establish neurogenic bladder(NB) model, which were nerve transected for 4 weeks(NB-4W) group and nerve transected for 12 weeks(NB-12W) group. Another group was performed bilateral L6 nerves and cauda equine exposing but not transecting, which was sham-operation (Sham) group. Cystometry and renal ultrasound examination were performed and rats in each group were killed to collect the kidney and bladder tissues in NB-4W group at 4 weeks, in Sham group and NB-12W group at 12 weeks after operation. HE, Masson staining, immunohistochemical staining and western blot were used to detect histological changes, expression of transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1) and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA).Results:All rats in NB-4W and NB-12W group showed acontractile detrusor. In the NB-4W and NB-12W group, the maximum cystometric capacity [(5.84±0.33) ml and (3.13±0.35) ml], the detrusor leak point pressure [(25.41±0.86) cm H 2O and (27.36±2.04) cm H 2O] (1 cm H 2O = 0.098 kPa), were significantly higher than those in the Sham group [(0.98±0.14) ml, (7.13±0.90) cm H 2O, both P<0.05]. Compliance in NB-4W group [(0.28±0.21) ml/cm H 2O] and NB-12W group [(0.17±0.12) ml/cm H 2O] were significantly lower than that of the Sham group [(0.34±0.26) ml/cm H 2O], and the compliance of NB-12W group was lower than that of NB-4W group significantly (all P<0.05). HE staining of the bladder showed that the inflammatory cell infiltration was obvious in the NB-4W and NB-12W group. Bladder collagen volume fractions in NB-4W group [(30.5±1.5) %] and NB-12W group [(45.2±3.8) %] were both higher than that of Sham group [(20.7±2.2) %, both P<0.05]. The expression of TGF-β1 and α-SMA in the bladder tissue of NB-4W group were higher than those of sham group, and that of NB-12W group were higher than NB-4W group. In NB-4W group and NB-12W group, 3 (20.0 %) and 7 (46.7 %) rats were found hydronephrosis, respectively. Additionally, HE staining showed that the degree of renal tubule injury and the number of inflammatory cell infiltration in the NB-4W and NB-12W group were higher than those in the Sham group. Masson staining showed that the volume fraction of collagen in kidneys of NB-4W and NB-12W group were (13.1±1.4) % and (21.6±1.9) %, respectively, which were significantly higher than that in sham operation group [(4.6±0.7) %, both P<0.05]. Conclusions:Bilateral L6 + cauda equina nerve transecting can induce NB with hydronephrosis in parts of rats. The degree of bladder fibrosis gradually increased with the time of nerve transection, and the incidence and severity of UUTD also increased with the time of nerve transection.