1.Mechanism of Mingshi Prescription in Regulating Opn4-dopamine Axis to Inhibit Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Delay Myopia Progression
Baohua LI ; Zefeng KANG ; Lulu WANG ; Xin YAN ; Jianquan WANG ; Xinyue HOU ; Bobiao NING ; Shanshan YE ; Mengyu LIU ; Yipeng SHI ; Danyu LI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(18):58-67
ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism by which Mingshi prescription regulates the retinal melanopsin-dopamine (Opn4-DA) axis in myopic mice to inhibit endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in the retina and sclera, thereby delaying axial elongation associated with myopia. MethodsSixty 4-week-old male SPF-grade C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a normal group, a form-deprived myopia group (FDM group), an intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells ablation group (ipRGCs group), a Mingshi Prescription group (MSF group, 5.2 g·kg-1), and an ipRGCs + MSF group (5.2 g·kg-1). Except for the normal group, all other groups underwent FDM modeling. Additionally, the ipRGCs and ipRGCs + MSF groups received retinal ipRGC ablation. Three weeks after modeling, the MSF and ipRGCs + MSF groups were administered Mingshi prescription via continuous gavage for six weeks. After refraction and axial length were measured in all mice, eyeballs were collected along with retinal and scleral tissues. Pathological and morphological changes in the retina, choroid, and sclera were observed using periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. Western blot was employed to detect the relative protein expression levels of dopamine D1 receptor (DRD1), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) in the retina, and CHOP and GRP78 in the sclera. Real-time PCR was used to detect the relative mRNA expression of Opn4, CHOP, and GRP78 in the retina, and CHOP and GRP78 in the sclera. Immunofluorescence staining (IF) was performed to detect the expression of Opn4 and DRD1 in retinal tissues. ResultsCompared with the normal group, the FDM group showed a significant myopic shift in refraction (P<0.05) and a significant increase in axial length (P<0.05). The retinal layers were thinner, the number of ganglion cells was reduced, and collagen fibers in the sclera were loosely arranged with evident gaps. Opn4 and DRD1 protein and mRNA expression in the retina were significantly decreased (P<0.05), while CHOP and GRP78 protein and mRNA expression in both retinal and scleral tissues were significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with the FDM group, the ipRGCs group exhibited further increases in myopic refraction and axial length (P<0.05), more pronounced thinning and looseness in the retinal, choroidal, and scleral layers, lower expression of Opn4 and DRD1 protein and mRNA in the retina (P<0.05), and higher expression of CHOP and GRP78 protein and mRNA in the retina and sclera (P<0.05). Compared with the FDM group, the MSF group showed significantly reduced refractive error and axial length (P<0.05), with improved cellular number, arrangement, and thickness in ocular tissues, increased Opn4 and DRD1 protein and mRNA expression in the retina (P<0.05), and reduced CHOP and GRP78 protein and mRNA expression in both retina and sclera (P<0.05). Similarly, the ipRGCs + MSF group showed significant improvements in terms of the above items compared with the ipRGCs group (P<0.05). ConclusionMingshi Prescription delays myopic axial elongation and refractive progression by regulating the Opn4-DA axis in the retina of myopic mice, thereby inhibiting ER stress in the retina and sclera. This intervention promotes Qi and blood nourishment of the eyes, softens the fascia, and restores ocular rhythm.
2.Regulatory role of PI3K/AKT pathway in diabetic retinopathy
Baohua LI ; Zefeng KANG ; Xinyue HOU ; Jianquan WANG ; Man SONG ; Danyu LI ; Mengyu LIU ; Xin YAN
International Eye Science 2024;24(9):1426-1431
Diabetic retinopathy(DR)is one of the major complications of diabetes mellitus, characterized by neurodegeneration and microangiopathy. Currently, the treatment of DR is mainly focused on the management of late complications and has not achieved the desired clinical outcome. Evidence suggests that the PI3K/AKT pathway, as one of the important intracellular signaling pathways during the cell cycle, is involved in the whole process of DR pathogenesis. This article focuses on the structural composition, activation and blocking pathways, conduction pathways, regulatory mechanisms and biological functions of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway to review its role in DR and to explore the potential of targeting the PI3K/AKT pathway for the treatment of DR.
3.Mingshi Formula (明视方) for Low Myopia in Children with Heart Yang Insufficiency Syndrome: A Multicentre, Double-Blind, Randomised Placebo-Controlled Study
Jianquan WANG ; Xinyue HOU ; Zefeng KANG ; Yingxin YANG ; Xinquan LIU ; Zhihua SHEN ; Xiaoyi YU ; Jing YAO ; Fengming LIANG ; Fengmei ZHANG ; Jingsheng YU ; Ningli WANG ; Man SONG ; Hongrui SUN ; Xin YAN
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;65(6):587-593
ObjectiveTo observe the effectiveness and safety of the Chinese herbal medicine Mingshi Granules (明视方颗粒) for low myopia in children with heart yang insufficiency. MethodsA multicentre, prospective, double-blind randomised controlled study was conducted, in which 290 children with low myopia from 8 centres were randomly divided into 145 cases in the treatment group and 145 cases in the control group, and the treatment group was given education, dispensing glasses, and Chinese herbal medicine Mingshi Granules, while the control group was given education, dispensing glasses, and granules placebo. Both Mingshi Granules and placebo granules were taken orally, 1 bag each time, twice daily, 4 weeks of oral intake and 2 weeks of rest as 1 course of treatment, a total of 4 courses of treatment (24 weeks). Equivalent spherical lenses, best naked-eye distance visual acuity, ocular axis, corneal curvature K1, adjustment amplitude, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scores, calculate the amount of progression of equivalent spherical lenses, were observed at the 12th and the 24th week of treatment, at the 36th week and 48th week of follow-up, resectively, the control rate of myopia progression was evaluated at the 24th week, and safety indexes were observed before treatment. ResultsThe amount of progression of equivalent spherical lenses was lower in the treatment group than in the control group at the 48-week follow-up (P<0.05). The control rate of myopia progression at 24 weeks after treatment in the treatment group was higher (57.60%, 72/125) than that in the control group (44.63%, 54/121) (P<0.05). The best naked-eye distance visual acuity at 36-week follow-up in the treatment group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Equivalent spherical lenses were significantly lower in both groups at all observation time points compared with pre-treatment (P<0.05), and were higher in the treatment group than in the control group at the 48-week follow-up (P<0.05). The ocular axes of both groups were significantly higher at each observation time point after treatment and at follow-up compared with before treatment (P<0.05). The amount of eye axis growth in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group at 24 weeks after treatment and at the 48-week follow-up (P<0.05). Corneal curvature K1 was significantly lower in the treatment group at the 24th week of treatment compared to pre-treatment (P<0.05). The magnitude of adjustment in the treatment group was significantly higher at the 36-week follow-up and at the 48-week follow-up than before treatment (P<0.05). The scores of white/dark complexion, white coating thin pulse, fatigue and total TCM symptom scores of children in both groups at the 12th, 24th, 36th and 48th weeks of follow-up were significantly lower than those before treatment (P<0.05); the scores of blurred vision at the 24th and 36th weeks of follow-up were significantly lower than those before treatment (P<0.05); and the scores of blurred vision in the treatment group at the 48th week of follow-up were signi-ficantly lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). In the treatment group, the score of fatigue was higher than that of the control group at the 36-week follow-up, and the score of blurred vision was lower than that of the control group at the 48-week follow-up (P<0.05). No adverse reactions or obvious abnormalities of the safety indexes were observed of the two groups during the treatment. ConclusionChinese herbal medicine Mingshi Granules showed the effect of controlling the progression of low myopia, improving the best naked eye distance visual acuity, slowing down the growth of the eye axis, improving some of the TCM symptoms, with good safety.
4.Development and application of regulatory T cells in corneal transplant rejection
Xin DU ; Ruijuan GUAN ; Zefeng KANG ; Ling LI ; Xin YAN ; Xiaoying ZHANG
International Eye Science 2024;24(8):1246-1249
Corneal transplantation is an effective treatment for corneal blindness, and it is the only hope for patients with corneal blindness. Cornea has no blood vessels and no lymphatic vessels, which is called immune privilege organ, so the success rate of corneal transplantation is significantly higher than that of other organ transplantation, but the rejection reaction after corneal transplantation is still the main reason for the failure of corneal transplantation. The directional movement of immune cells to lymphoid tissue and inflammatory sites is the mainly immune response after organ transplantation. And the regulatory T cells(Treg)play a key role in immune regulation, which can induce immune tolerance by regulating and inhibiting the activation of effector T cells and reduce the rejection reaction after corneal transplantation. In addition, this review also discussed the effectiveness of applying cordyceps sinensis extract FTY720 to enhance the function of Treg. Based on this, we briefly reviewed the sources, mechanism of action and treatment of Treg after corneal transplantation, so as to provide some reference for the subsequent clinical application transformation and basic research.
5.Discussion on the"brain-eye"mechanism of myopia from the"theory of imbalance of the essence and tendon"
Danyu LI ; Zefeng KANG ; Xin YAN ; Hongrui SUN ; Baohua LI ; Mengyu LIU ; Xinyue HOU ; Hua PENG
Journal of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;47(7):971-976
Myopia is a significant global health issue,and its exact causes are still not fully understood,leaving a lack of effective and propaqable treatment options.The prevalence of myopia among children and adolescents in China remains high,posing challenges for prevention and control efforts.According to the"theory of imbalance of essence and tendon",an imbalance in the essential elements and tendons can impede the passage of eye essence and blood,resulting in delayed expansion and contraction of the eye meridians and tendons,leading to blurred vision.Modern research indicates that during the development of myopia,there are notable changes in the microstructure,activation range,and signaling of various brain regions,providing a biological basis for the"brain-eye"mechanism.Moreover,abnormal activity in the brain nucleus contributes to alterations in choroid blood flow and the impairment of eye muscle regulation,thereby accelerating the progression of myopia,this phenomenon represents the manifestation of the brain-eye imbalance.Consequently,strategies for myopia prevention and control should prioritize nourishing kidney essence,replenishing brain marrow,promoting liver and blood health,and softening the meridians.These measures aim to optimize the functioning of the brain and eyes,maintain the flexibility of eye tendons,enhance eye regulation,sustain the strength of eye tendons,and delay the advancement of eye axis growth and myopia.By enriching the scientific understanding of the appropriate application of traditional Chinese medicine techniques to prevent and control myopia through the brain,this research provides valuable insights for future explorations in this field.
6.Construction of human TCRP1 gene knockout chronic myeloid leukemia K562 cell line using CRISPR/Cas9 technology and its biological function detection
Xiaorong LIU ; Yan CHEN ; Zefeng XIN ; Huifeng ZHONG ; Siyu CAI ; Yunsheng CHEN
Journal of Chinese Physician 2023;25(8):1187-1193
Objective:To select human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell line K562 as the experimental object, and use lentivirus mediated CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to construct a stable CML cell line K562/TCRP1-KO that knocks out the tongue cancer resistance related protein 1 (TCRP1) gene; and through functional tests such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, and drug sensitivity, compare the phenotypic differences between K562/TCRP1-KO and control cells (K562/cas9-CTL), and preliminarily explore the possible mechanism of TCRP1 gene involvement in the pathogenesis of CML.Methods:The small guide RNA (sgRNA) targeting TCRP1 was designed at a specific location. After annealing, the oligonucleotide fragments were recombined with the linearized Cas9 expression vector, and the lentivirus packaging system was transfected into 293T cells. The purified virus was collected and infected with K562 cells. Positive polyclons were screened for puromycin pressure, and monoclonal K562/TCRP1-KO was further screened by limited dilution method. Stable cell lines were successfully knocked out by sanger sequencing and Western blot detection; Simultaneously, K562 cells transfected with lentiCRISPR vector were constructed as control cell lines (K562/cas9-CTL); Using cell counting method, cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) method, imatinib (IM) gradient dilution method, and flow cytometry cell proliferation, drug sensitivity, and apoptosis analysis were performed on K562/TCRP1-KO and K562/cas9-CTL, respectively.Results:The sgRNA-Cas9 recombinant plasmid vector for TCRP1 knockout was successfully constructed, and after transfection into 293T cells, TCRP1 knockout monoclonal cell lines were successfully screened using limited dilution method. Compared with K562/cas9-CTL cells, the proliferation ability of K562/TCRP1-KO cells was significantly reduced, IM drug sensitivity was significantly enhanced, and the process of cell apoptosis was significantly accelerated (all P<0.05). Conclusions:A CML cell line with TCRP1 knockout was successfully constructed using CRISPR/Cas9. TCRP1 may act as a cancer related gene to affect the proliferation, IM resistance, and apoptosis process of CML cells.
7.Daratumumab combined with chemotherapy bridging to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation followed by daratumumab and lenalidomide maintenance therapy for primary plasma cell leukemia: report of one case and review of literature
Zefeng YANG ; Keqian SHI ; Renbin ZHAO ; Peng HU ; Xin GUAN ; Chaoran ZHANG ; Zengzheng LI ; Liqun YU
Journal of Leukemia & Lymphoma 2021;30(8):483-486
Objective:To observe the therapeutic efficacy and prognosis of daratumumab combined with chemotherapy bridging to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) followed by daratumumab and lenalidomide maintenance treatment for primary plasma cell leukemia (PCL).Methods:The clinical data of a patient with primary PCL admitted to the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province in January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, and relevant literatures were reviewed.Results:The patient was diagnosed with primary PCL and treated with daratumumab combined with BD (bortezomib + dexamethasone) for 1 course and BCDD (bortezomib + cyclophosphamide + liposomaldoxorubicin + dexamethasone) for two courses. The patient was treated with daratumumab combined with allo-HSCT after complete remission. The donor cells were successfully implanted and the chimerism rate of donor cells was 94.36% without acute graft-versus-host disease reaction. And then the patient received intermittent maintenance therapy of daratumumab combined with low dose lenalidomide after transplantation, and the current remission period after transplantation reached 4 months.Conclusions:Daratumumab combined with chemotherapy bridging to allo-HSCT followed by daratumumab and lenalidomide may improve the prognosis of primary PCL and prolong survival time.
8.Evaluation of the prognostic value of MIPSS70-plus in Chinese patients with primary myelofibrosis
Xin YAN ; Bing LI ; Tiejun QIN ; Shiqiang QU ; Lijuan PAN ; Junying WU ; Dan LIU ; Zhijian XIAO ; Zefeng XU
Chinese Journal of Hematology 2021;42(1):15-20
Objective:To evaluate the prognostic value of MIPSS70-plus in Chinese patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF) .Methods:A total of 113 Chinese patients with PMF were retrospectively analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method, Log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazard regression model were performed to evaluate the prognostic factors. The likelihood ratio test was used to evaluate the predictive power between MIPSS70-plus and DIPSS systems.Results:The median age of the Chinese patients was 55 (range: 20-70) years, including 71 males and 42 females. According to the standard of MIPSS70-plus system, 99 patients (79.6% ) had a favorable karyotype and 23 patients (20.4% ) had an unfavorable karyotype. JAK2V617F in 55.8% ( n=63) , CALR exon9 in 17.7% (including 15 CALR type 1 and 5 CALR type 2, n=20) , MPLW515 in 4.4% ( n=5) , and triple negative (no detectable JAK2, MPL, and CALR mutations) in 22.1% of patients in our cohort were found by target-specific next-generation sequencing approach. At least one high-molecular risk mutations were presented in 45.1% ( n=51) of patients, with ASXL1 in 38.9% ( n=44) , SRSF2 in 7.1% ( n=8) , IDH1/2 in 4.4% ( n=5) , and EZH2 in 3.5% ( n=4) of patients. A total of 28 patients (26.7% ) were in low risk, 20 (19.0% ) in intermediate risk, 41 (39.0% ) in high risk, and 16 (15.3% ) in very-high risk categories, which were delineated for the MIPSS70-plus model. A 2-year OS was 100% in low risk, 89.7% (95% CI 76.2% -100.0% ) in intermediate risk, 64.8% (95% CI 47.0% -82.6% ) in high risk, and 35.0% (95% CI 10.3% -59.7% ) in very-high risk categories, which had a significant difference ( P<0.001) . A significantly higher predictive power for survival of the MIPSS70-plus group was observed compared with the DIPSS group ( P=0.001, -2 log-likelihood ratios of 86.355 vs 95.990 for the MIPSS70-plus and DIPSS systems, respectively) . Conclusion:The MIPSS70-plus had significantly higher predictive power than the DIPSS.
9.Relationship of miRNA-181b and prognostic factors of myelodysplastic syndrome and the prediction of target genes
Xin QIU ; Xiaofei AI ; Naibai CHANG ; Zefeng XU ; Liang SUN ; Shangyong NING ; Qi ZHOU ; Tiejun QIN ; Yun FAN
Journal of Leukemia & Lymphoma 2020;29(4):213-218
Objective:To investigate the correlation of miRNA-181b (miR-181b) and prognostic factors of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), to predict target gene and main biological functions of miR-181b, and to evaluate the risk prediction ability of miR-181b in MDS.Methods:The samples of 131 bone marrow in MDS patients who followed the criteria of World Health Organization (WHO) classification (2016) from the Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between January 2019 and September 2019 were collected, and the clinical data including routine blood test results, related gene test results of blood diseases were retrospectively analyzed. The expression levels of miR-181b in all bone marrow samples were detected by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). According to the international prognostic scoring system (IPSS), WHO classification-based prognostic scoring system (WPSS) and revised IPSS (IPSS-R), the patients were divided into different groups by the risk grade, and the expression differences of miR-181b in different risk groups were compared, and the correlation between the expressions of miR-181b and partial prognostic factors, including white blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb), platelet (Plt), absolute neutrophil count(ANC), myeloblast and gene mutations was analyzed. Bioinformatics online tool TargetScan was used to make target gene prediction and the potential function of miR-181b.Results:The expression levels of miR-181b was increased with the increasing risk of IPSS, WPSS and IPSS-R, and there were statistically significant differences in miR-181b expression levels of different risk groups in different scoring systems (all P < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between the expression level of miR-181b and the scores of the three prognostic scoring systems (r was 0.437, 0.368, 0.327; all P = 0.001); miR-181b expression was positively correlated with the proportion of bone marrow myeloblasts ( r = 0.450, P < 0.01) and was negatively correlated with Plt ( r = -0.199, P = 0.024). And miR-18b was not associated with WBC, Hb, ANC, and related gene mutations of blood diseases (all P > 0.05). A total of 1 363 potential target genes of miR-181b were predicted by using bioinformatics, and biological processes of these target genes were mainly enriched in transcription regulation, RNA metabolism regulation. Among them, 22 target genes were related to the hematological malignancies, including RUNX1, ASXL2, NRAS, ATM and KRAS, which have been previously confirmed to be related to MDS. The relative expression level [the median ( P25, P75)] of miR-181b in patients who had those hematological malignancies related to miR-181b target gene mutation (32 cases) was 1.33(0.63, 1.60), which was higher than that in patients without mutation (99 cases) [0.85 (0.49, 1.38)], and the difference was statistically significant ( Z = 2.285, P = 0.022). Conclusions:miR-181b has a correlation with the risk grade of prognostic scoring systems in MDS, and it may be involved in the molecular biology pathogenesis of MDS.
10.Genetic characteristics and prognostic values of RAS mutations in patients with myelofibrosis
Junying WU ; Bing LI ; Yujiao JIA ; Peihong ZHANG ; Zefeng XU ; Tiejun QIN ; Shiqiang QU ; Lijuan PAN ; Jinqin LIU ; Xin YAN ; Yudi ZHANG ; Jia CHEN ; Jingye GONG ; Zhijian XIAO
Chinese Journal of Hematology 2020;41(12):989-995
Objective:To explore the genetic characteristics, clinical features, and prognostic values of RAS mutations in patients with myelofibrosis (MF) .Methods:We analyzed 112-gene targeted sequencing data from 226 patients who had a diagnosis of either primary myelofibrosis (PMF) or post-polycythemia vera/post-essential thrombocythemia (post-PV MF and post-ET MF) from December 2011 to December 2019. A retrospective analysis of the genetic characteristics, clinical features, and prognosis of RAS mutations was performed.Results:Among 266 patients diagnosed PMF or post-PV/ET MF, RAS mutations were found in 14 (6.2%) cases, including 9 (4.0%) cases of NRAS mutations, 8 (3.5%) cases of KRAS mutations, and 3 (1.3%) cases of both NRAS and KRAS mutations. All of the NRAS mutations were located in codons 12 and 13. The median VAFs of RAS mutations were significantly lower than those of the driver mutations, confirming that they represent sub-clonal events that are acquired during the disease course. SETBP1, SRSF2, and MPL tended to be clustered with RAS mutations. Patients with RAS mutations had a higher number of additional oncogenic mutations (median, 3.36 vs 1.17, P<0.001) . RAS mutations had a statistically significant association with elevated monocyte cell counts ( P=0.003) , lower platelet counts ( P=0.026) , higher bone marrow blasts ( P=0.022) , splenomegaly ( P=0.005) , and very high-risk (VHR) karyotype abnormality percentage ( P=0.031) . In univariate analysis, the OS of patients with NRAS mutations were significantly inferior in the entire MF and PMF cohorts ( P=0.001, P=0.008) . In a multivariate model, NRAS retained an independent negative prognostic factor in PMF. Conclusion:RAS gene mutations were constantly related to elevated monocyte cell counts, lower platelet counts, higher bone marrow blasts, and VHR karyotype abnormality percentage that usually defined high-risk disease and often occurred as sub-clonal events. NRAS mutation is an independent poor prognostic factor in PMF.

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