Homo- or heterodimeric compounds that affect dimeric protein function through interaction between monomeric moieties and protein subunits can serve as valuable sources of potent and selective drug candidates. Here, we screened an in-house dimeric natural product collection, and panepocyclinol A (PecA) emerged as a selective and potent STAT3 inhibitor with profound anti-tumor efficacy. Through cross-linking C712/C718 residues in separate STAT3 monomers with two distinct Michael receptors, PecA inhibits STAT3 DNA binding affinity and transcription activity. Molecular dynamics simulation reveals the key conformation changes of STAT3 dimers upon the di-covalent binding with PecA that abolishes its DNA interactions. Furthermore, PecA exhibits high efficacy against anaplastic large T cell lymphoma in vitro and in vivo, especially those with constitutively activated STAT3 or STAT3^Y640F. In summary, our study describes a distinct and effective di-covalent modification for the dimeric compound PecA to disrupt STAT3 function.

The chemical components of Carthami Flos were investigated by using macroporous resin, silica gel column chromatography, reversed-phase octadecylsilane(ODS) column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). The planar structures of the compounds were established based on their physicochemical properties and ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis), infrared(IR), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(HR-ESI-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectroscopic technology. The absolute configurations were determined by comparing the calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism(ECD). Six flavonoid C-glycosides were isolated from the 30% ethanol elution fraction of macroporous resin obtained from the 95% ethanol extract of Carthami Flos, and identified as saffloquinoside F(1), 5-hydroxysaffloneoside(2), iso-5-hydroxysaffloneoside(3), isosafflomin C(4), safflomin C(5), and vicenin 2(6). Among these, the compounds 1 to 3 were new chalcone C-glycosides. The compounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 could significantly increase the viability of H9c2 cardiomyocytes damaged by oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation(OGD/R) at a concentration of 50 μmol·L~(-1), showing their good cardioprotective activity.
Glycosides/pharmacology* ; Flowers/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Carthamus tinctorius/chemistry* ; Chalcones/pharmacology* ; Animals

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is a non-invasive sonodynamic therapy that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clinical use. Clinical trials have demonstrated that LIPUS ameliorates mild-to-moderate erectile dysfunction without adverse events. Histological analysis of the corpus cavernosum suggests that the therapeutic benefits of LIPUS may be attributed to alleviation of fibrosis, enhanced neovascularization, and promotion of innervation. Further investigations have revealed that LIPUS facilitates cavernous tissue repair through non-thermal mechanisms, including a cavitation effect, acoustic streaming, mass transfer enhancement, and direct mechanical stimulation. Mechanobiological transduction triggers molecular signaling cascades within endogenous cavernous cells, thereby stimulating cell proliferation, angiogenesis, extracellular matrix remodeling, and stem cell differentiation. Although LIPUS has the potential to induce cavernous rehabilitation in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, further investigations are necessary to elucidate the mechanisms via which LIPUS regulates each type of cavernous cell to determine the optimal parameters for this innovative therapy.
Male ; Humans ; Erectile Dysfunction/therapy* ; Ultrasonic Therapy/methods* ; Penis/pathology* ; Ultrasonic Waves

The chemical constituents of Commiphora myrrha was investigated by column chromatography on silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic methods including UV, IR, MS, NMR, as well as ECD calculation. Seven compounds were isolated from the dichloromethane-soluble fraction of C. myrrha and their structures were identified as(1S,2R,4S,5R,8S)-guaiane-2-hydroxy-7(11),10(15)-dien-6-oxo-12,8-olide(1), commipholide E(2), myrrhterpenoid H(3), myrrhterpenoid I(4), myrrhterpenoid E(5), 2α-methoxy-8α-hydroxy-6-oxogermacra-1(10),7(11)-dien-8,12-olide(6), 8,12-epoxy-1α,9α-hydroxy-eudesma-7,11-diene-6-dione(7). Compound 1 was a new compound and named myrrhterpenoid P. Compound 7 was isolated from Commiphora genus for the first time. Compounds 2, 5, and 6 significantly inhibited nitric oxide(NO) production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, with IC_(50) values of(49.67±4.16),(40.80±1.27),(47.22±0.87) μmol·L~(-1), respectively [indomethacin as the positive control, with IC_(50) value of(63.92±2.60) μmol·L~(-1)].
Commiphora/chemistry* ; Animals ; Mice ; Resins, Plant/chemistry* ; Sesquiterpenes/isolation & purification* ; Molecular Structure ; Nitric Oxide ; Macrophages/metabolism* ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology*

Objective To develop a portable medical oxygen purity analyzer capable of real-time detection of multi-compo-nent gases in medical oxygen or aviation oxygen to ensure the safety of oxygen consumption.Methods The portable medical oxygen purity analyzer with STM3F103RC as the main controller involved in a management module,an oxygen detection module,a carbon monoxide/chlorine detection module,a flow/carbon dioxide detection module and a dew point detection module as its hardware components,which had its human-machine interface programmed with DGUS supervision,control and data acquisition(SCADA)software and system program developed with C language under Keil MDK environment.The performance verification of the analyzer developed was carried out in terms of oxygen detection error and stability and errors for measuring carbon monoxide,chlorine and carbon dioxide.Results The analyzer showed high precision when used to detect oxygen with high volume fraction,with long-term stability and the absolute error restrained within±0.1％;the erros for measuring carbon monoxide,chlorine and carbon dioxide were all limited within±5％FS to meet the desired requirements.Condusion The portable medical oxygen purity analyzer developed with high precision,stability and portability can be used for detection of medical oxygen and aviation oxygen.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(3):36-40]

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in healthcare facilities in major regions of China in 2023.Methods Clinical isolates collected from 73 hospitals across China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2023 Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints.Results A total of 445199 clinical isolates were collected in 2023,of which 29.0％ were gram-positive and 71.0％ were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species (excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi) (MRSA,MRSE and MRCNS) was 29.6％,81.9％ and 78.5％,respectively.Methicillin-resistant strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents than methicillin-susceptible strains (MSSA,MSSE and MSCNS).Overall,92.9％ of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 91.4％ of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis had significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 93.1％ in the isolates from children and and 95.9％ in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 15.0％ for most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,22.5％ and 23.6％ of which were resistant to imipenem and meropenem,respectively .Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.6％ to 10.0％.The resistance rate to imipenem and meropenem was 21.9％ and 17.4％ for Pseudomonas aeruginosa,respectively,and 67.5％ and 68.1％ for Acinetobacter baumannii,respectively.Conclusions Increasing resistance to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still observed in clinical bacterial isolates.However,the prevalence of important crabapenem-resistant organisms such as crabapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a slightly decreasing trend.This finding suggests that strengthening bacterial resistance surveillance and multidisciplinary linkage are important for preventing the occurrence and development of bacterial resistance.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in healthcare facilities in major regions of China in 2023.Methods Clinical isolates collected from 73 hospitals across China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2023 Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints.Results A total of 445199 clinical isolates were collected in 2023,of which 29.0％ were gram-positive and 71.0％ were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species (excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi) (MRSA,MRSE and MRCNS) was 29.6％,81.9％ and 78.5％,respectively.Methicillin-resistant strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents than methicillin-susceptible strains (MSSA,MSSE and MSCNS).Overall,92.9％ of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 91.4％ of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis had significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 93.1％ in the isolates from children and and 95.9％ in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 15.0％ for most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,22.5％ and 23.6％ of which were resistant to imipenem and meropenem,respectively .Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.6％ to 10.0％.The resistance rate to imipenem and meropenem was 21.9％ and 17.4％ for Pseudomonas aeruginosa,respectively,and 67.5％ and 68.1％ for Acinetobacter baumannii,respectively.Conclusions Increasing resistance to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still observed in clinical bacterial isolates.However,the prevalence of important crabapenem-resistant organisms such as crabapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a slightly decreasing trend.This finding suggests that strengthening bacterial resistance surveillance and multidisciplinary linkage are important for preventing the occurrence and development of bacterial resistance.

Objective To study the effect of DNA methyltransferase 1(DNMT1)on sm-like protein-4(LSM4)in hepatocyte apoptosis in mice induced with Hcy.Methods 12 ApoE-/-mice were divided into two groups:normal diet(ND,n=6)and high methionine diet(HMD,n=6)groups.Normal hepatocytes of NCTC1469 were divided into a normal group(control,0 μL/L Hcy),Hcy intervention group(Hcy,100 μL/L Hcy),NC siRNA-transfected control group(si-NC group,0 μmol/L Hcy),LSM4 siRNA-transfected group(si-LSM4 group,0 μmol/L Hcy),DNMT1 siRNA-transfected group(si-DNMT1 group,0 μmol/L Hcy),NC siRNA-transfected Hcy intervention group(Hcy+si-NC group,100 μmol/L Hcy),LSM4 siRNA-transfected Hcy intervention group(Hcy+si-LSM4 group,100 μmol/L Hcy),and DNMT1 siRNA-transfected Hcy intervention group(Hcy+si-DNMT1 group,100 μmol/L Hcy).Analysis of the expression of LSM4 in various tissues was conducted using the NCBI database.Quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR)and Western blot were used to detect differences in LSM4 protein expression in mouse tissues(HMD and ND)and hepatocytes(control and Hcy).Western blot was used to detect the expression of Bcl2-associated X(Bax)and B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2).The cell apoptosis rate in the Control,Hcy,Hcy+si-NC,and Hcy+si-LSM4 groups were detected by flow cytometry.MethPrimer online software was used to analyze the CpG islands of LSM4 promoter region.The expression of LSM4 in the Hcy+si-DNMT1 group was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot.Results The expression of LSM4 in HMD,Hcy group was higher than that in the ND and Control group(P＜0.05).Bax protein expression was significantly higher,but Bcl-2 was significantly lower in Hcy group compared with those of the Control group(P＜0.05).The expression of Bax protein was significantly lower,but the level of Bcl-2 was significantly higher in the Hcy+si-LSM4 group compared with those in the Hcy+si-NC group(P＜0.05).The cell apoptosis rate in the Hcy group was higher than that in the Control group(P＜0.05),while the apoptosis rate in the Hcy+si-LSM4 group was lower than that in the Hcy+si-NC group(P＜0.05).MethPrimer database analysis showed that the promoter region of LSM4 was GC-rich,and there was one CpG island.Compared with the Hcy+si-NC group,the Hcy+si-DNMT1 group's expression of LSM4 protein was increased(P＜0.05).Conclusions DNMT1 regulates LSM4 hypomethylation to increase its expression,thereby promoting Hcy-induced apoptosis of mouse hepatocytes.

Objective To study the effect of DNA methyltransferase 1(DNMT1)on sm-like protein-4(LSM4)in hepatocyte apoptosis in mice induced with Hcy.Methods 12 ApoE-/-mice were divided into two groups:normal diet(ND,n=6)and high methionine diet(HMD,n=6)groups.Normal hepatocytes of NCTC1469 were divided into a normal group(control,0 μL/L Hcy),Hcy intervention group(Hcy,100 μL/L Hcy),NC siRNA-transfected control group(si-NC group,0 μmol/L Hcy),LSM4 siRNA-transfected group(si-LSM4 group,0 μmol/L Hcy),DNMT1 siRNA-transfected group(si-DNMT1 group,0 μmol/L Hcy),NC siRNA-transfected Hcy intervention group(Hcy+si-NC group,100 μmol/L Hcy),LSM4 siRNA-transfected Hcy intervention group(Hcy+si-LSM4 group,100 μmol/L Hcy),and DNMT1 siRNA-transfected Hcy intervention group(Hcy+si-DNMT1 group,100 μmol/L Hcy).Analysis of the expression of LSM4 in various tissues was conducted using the NCBI database.Quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR)and Western blot were used to detect differences in LSM4 protein expression in mouse tissues(HMD and ND)and hepatocytes(control and Hcy).Western blot was used to detect the expression of Bcl2-associated X(Bax)and B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2).The cell apoptosis rate in the Control,Hcy,Hcy+si-NC,and Hcy+si-LSM4 groups were detected by flow cytometry.MethPrimer online software was used to analyze the CpG islands of LSM4 promoter region.The expression of LSM4 in the Hcy+si-DNMT1 group was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot.Results The expression of LSM4 in HMD,Hcy group was higher than that in the ND and Control group(P＜0.05).Bax protein expression was significantly higher,but Bcl-2 was significantly lower in Hcy group compared with those of the Control group(P＜0.05).The expression of Bax protein was significantly lower,but the level of Bcl-2 was significantly higher in the Hcy+si-LSM4 group compared with those in the Hcy+si-NC group(P＜0.05).The cell apoptosis rate in the Hcy group was higher than that in the Control group(P＜0.05),while the apoptosis rate in the Hcy+si-LSM4 group was lower than that in the Hcy+si-NC group(P＜0.05).MethPrimer database analysis showed that the promoter region of LSM4 was GC-rich,and there was one CpG island.Compared with the Hcy+si-NC group,the Hcy+si-DNMT1 group's expression of LSM4 protein was increased(P＜0.05).Conclusions DNMT1 regulates LSM4 hypomethylation to increase its expression,thereby promoting Hcy-induced apoptosis of mouse hepatocytes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Jianpi Jieyu Decoction (JJD) for treating patients with mild-to-moderate depression of Xin (Heart)-Pi (Spleen) deficiency (XPD) syndrome. METHODS: In this multi-center, randomized, controlled study, 140 patients with mild-to-moderate depression of XPD syndrome were included from Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Botou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from December 2017 to December 2019. They were randomly divided into JJD group and paroxetine group by using a random number table, with 70 cases in each group. The patients in the JJD group were given JJD one dose per day (twice daily at morning and evening, 100 mL each time), and the patients in the paroxetine group were given paroxetine (10 mg/d in week 1; 20 mg/d in weeks 2-6), both orally administration for a total of 6 weeks. The primary outcome was the change of 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) score at week 6 from baseline. The secondary outcomes included the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score, Traditional Chinese Medicine Symptom Scale (TCMSS), and Clinlcal Global Impression (CGI) scores at the 2nd, 4th, and 6th weekends of treatment, HAMD-17 response (defined as a reduction in score of >50%) and HAMD-17 remission (defined as a score of ⩽7) at the end of the 6th week of treatment. Adverse events (AEs) were also recorded. RESULTS: From baseline to week 6, the HAMD-17 scores decreased 10.2 ± 4.0 and 9.1 ± 4.9 points in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.689). The HAMD-17 response occurred in 60% of patients in the JJD group and in 50% of those in the paroxetine group (P=0.292); HAMD-17 remission occurred in 45.7% and 30% of patients, respectively (P=0.128). The differences of CGI scores at the 6th week were not statistically significant (P>0.05). There were significant differences in HAMD-17 scores between the two groups at 2nd and 4th week (P=0.001 and P=0.014). The HAMA scores declined 8.1 ± 3.0 and 6.9 ± 4.3 points from baseline to week 6 in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.905 between groups). At 4th week of treatment, there was a significant difference in HAMA between the two groups (P=0.037). TCMSS decreased 11.4 ± 5.1, and 10.1 ± 6.8 points in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.080 between groups). At the 6th week, the incidence of AEs in the JJD group was significantly lower than that in the paroxetine group (7.14% vs. 22.86%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION Compared with paroxetine, JJD was associated with a significantly lower incidence of AEs in patients with mild-to-moderate depression of XPD syndrome, with no difference in efficacy at 6 weeks. (Trial registration No. ChiCTR2000040922).
Humans ; Paroxetine/adverse effects* ; Spleen ; Anxiety ; Syndrome ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Treatment Outcome ; Double-Blind Method