A growing body of research points out that gut microbiota plays a key role in tumor immunotherapy. By optimizing the composition of intestinal microbiota, it is possible to effectively improve immunotherapy resistance and enhance its therapeutic effect. This article comprehensively analyzes the mechanism of intestinal microbiota influencing tumor immunotherapy resistance, expounds the current strategies for targeted regulation of intestinal microbiota, such as traditional Chinese medicine and plant components, fecal microbiota transplantation, probiotics, prebiotics and dietary therapy, and explores the potential mechanisms of these strategies to improve patients' resistance to tumor immunotherapy. At the same time, the article also briefly discusses the prospects and challenges of targeting intestinal microbiota to improve tumor immunotherapy resistance, which provides a reference for related research to help the strategy research of reversing tumor immunotherapy resistance.

As an important part of Chinese traditional culture， the processing technology of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） carries the wisdom of TCM for thousands of years， and its process is complex and rigorous. With the popularization of modern production technology， traditional processing techiques are facing the dual pressures from technological innovation and production standardization under the perspective of intangible cultural heritage. The modernization of TCM processing technology is an inevitable trend for industrial upgrading， but it cannot be separated from the foundation of traditional skills and ignore the core concepts and cultural values it embodies. Therefore， by analyzing the core characteristics of TCM processing technology and its differences with modern production， this paper discusses the establishment of a synergistic innovation mechanism between traditional techniques and modern technologies， the promotion of joint research and development between scientific research institutes and the industry， the strengthening of standardization of processing techniques， and the enhancement of social education and industry training to improve the recognition and inheritance of processing techniques in order to achieve the goal of innovation and protection of TCM processing technologies in the context of modernization， and to promote the high-quality development of the TCM processing industry.

The inheritance, innovation, and development of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) need to be based on Chinese medicinal materials. The TCM seed industry is the source of TCM production, which is related to the stable supply and quality safety of TCM. This paper summarizes the basic situation of the TCM seed industry and introduces relevant policies and regulations to TCM seeds in the seed industry and the TCM field. At present, the Management Measures of TCM Seeds and Seedlings has not yet promulgated, and TCM seeds are classified as non-major crops in the category of crops for management. This paper also describes the current situation of TCM seed and seedling system construction, which is in the development stage, from six aspects, including the construction of TCM seed industry technical support system; the establishment of TCM seed standard; the construction of germplasm resource preservation system; TCM seed testing, variety registration, and variety protection; production and management of TCM seeds; TCM seed supervision. According to the development status of the TCM seed industry, four problems are put forward, including imperfect systems and standards relevant to TCM seeds, insufficient supervision and law enforcement regarding TCM seeds, insufficient policy measures and capital investment to promote the development of the industry, and the industry's falling into a low-level cycle.Accordingly, four suggestions are provided, including improving laws, regulations, and policies, perfecting standards and norms,strengthening supervision and law enforcement, and promoting support system construction, in order to boost the high-quality development of the TCM seed industry.
Seeds/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry*

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of Chinese medicine (CM) Lianhua Qingwen Granule (LHQW) and Jingyin Gubiao Prescription (JYGB) in asymptomatic or mild patients with Omicron infection in the shelter hospital. METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted in the largest shelter hospital in Shanghai, China, from April 10, 2022 to May 30, 2022. A total of 56,244 asymptomatic and mild Omicron cases were included and divided into 4 groups, i.e., non-administration group (23,702 cases), LHQW group (11,576 cases), JYGB group (12,112 cases), and dual combination of LHQW and JYGB group (8,854 cases). The length of stay (LOS) in the hospital was used to assess the effectiveness of LHQW and JYGB treatment on Omicron infection. RESULTS: Patients aged 41-60 years, with nadir threshold cycle (C_T) value of N gene <25, or those fully vaccinated preferred to receive CM therapy. Before or after propensity score matching (PSM), the multiple linear regression showed that LHQW and JYGB treatment were independent influence factors of LOS (both P<0.001). After PSM, there were significant differences in LOS between the LHQW/JYGB combination and the other groups (P<0.01). The results of factorial design ANOVA proved that the LHQW/JYGB combination therapy synergistically shortened LOS (P=0.032). CONCLUSIONS Patients with a nadir C_T value <25 were more likely to accept CM. The LHQW/JYGB combination therapy could shorten the LOS of Omicron-infected individuals in an isolated environment.
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; China/epidemiology* ; Hospitalization ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Length of Stay ; Young Adult ; Aged

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Yangxue Qingnao Pills (YXQNP) combined with amlodipine in treating patients with grade 1 hypertension. METHODS: This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. Adult patients with grade 1 hypertension of blood deficiency and Gan (Liver)-yang hyperactivity syndrome were randomly divided into the treatment or the control groups at a 1:1 ratio. The treatment group received YXQNP and amlodipine besylate, while the control group received YXQNP's placebo and amlodipine besylate. The treatment duration lasted for 180 days. Outcomes assessed included changes in blood pressure, Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome scores, symptoms and target organ functions before and after treatment in both groups. Additionally, adverse events, such as nausea, vomiting, rash, itching, and diarrhea, were recorded in both groups. RESULTS: A total of 662 subjects were enrolled, of whom 608 (91.8%) completed the trial (306 in the treatment and 302 in the control groups). After 180 days of treatment, the standard deviations and coefficients of variation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels were lower in the treatment group compared with the control group. The improvement rates of dizziness, headache, insomnia, and waist soreness were significantly higher in the treatment group compared with the control group (P<0.05). After 30 days of treatment, the overall therapeutic effects on CM clinical syndromes were significantly increased in the treatment group as compared with the control group (P<0.05). After 180 days of treatment, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, ankle brachial index and albumin-to-creatinine ratio were improved in both groups, with no statistically significant differences (P>0.05). No serious treatment-related adverse events occurred during the study period. CONCLUSIONS Combination therapy of YXQNP with amlodipine significantly improved symptoms such as dizziness and headache, reduced blood pressure variability, and showed a trend toward lowering urinary microalbumin in hypertensive patients. These findings suggest that this regimen has good clinical efficacy and safety. (Registration No. ChiCTR1900022470).
Humans ; Amlodipine/adverse effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Hypertension/complications* ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Adult ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Double-Blind Method ; Aged ; Antihypertensive Agents/adverse effects*

The oxytocin receptor (OXTR) has garnered increasing attention for its role in regulating both mature behaviors and brain development. It has been established that OXTR mediates a range of effects that are region-specific or period-specific. However, the current studies of OXTR expression patterns in mice only provide limited help due to limitations in resolution. Therefore, our objective was to generate a comprehensive, high-resolution spatiotemporal expression map of Oxtr mRNA across the entire developing mouse brain. We applied RNAscope in situ hybridization to investigate the spatiotemporal expression pattern of Oxtr in the brains of male mice at six distinct postnatal developmental stages (P7, P14, P21, P28, P42, P56). We provide detailed descriptions of Oxtr expression patterns in key brain regions, including the cortex, basal forebrain, hippocampus, and amygdaloid complex, with a focus on the precise localization of Oxtr⁺ cells and the variance of expression between different neurons. Furthermore, we identified some neuronal populations with high Oxtr expression levels that have been little studied, including glutamatergic neurons in the ventral dentate gyrus, Vgat⁺Oxtr⁺ cells in the basal forebrain, and GABAergic neurons in layers 4/5 of the cortex. Our study provides a novel perspective for understanding the distribution of Oxtr and encourages further investigations into its functions.
Animals ; Receptors, Oxytocin/metabolism* ; Male ; Brain/growth & development* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Neurons/metabolism* ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism* ; Animals, Newborn

Objective To investigate the functional changes of oligodendrocytes in a mouse model of cognitive impairment induced by microwave radiation and the mechanism.Methods C57BL/6N male mice were exposed to S-band microwave at 2.856 GHz and 8 mW/cm2 for 15 min.The rectal temperature of mice was monitored by an optical fiber thermometer during microwave radiation.The changes of autonomous exploration behavior and learning and memory ability of mice on the 1st and 7th days after microwave radiation were detected via the open field test and novel object recognition test.Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression and distribution of neuroglia-2 proteoglycan(NG2)and myelin basic protein(MBP)in the hippocampus of mice on the 1st and 7th days after radiation.Clemastine fumarate,a drug that promoted the maturation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells was administered by gavage,and the expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)and fibroblast growth factor 2(FGF2)in hippocampal tissues were detected by radioimmunoassay at 1 and 7 days after radiation.The changes of myelin sheath structure an 1 and 7 days after radiation were observed by transmission electron microscopy.The effects of clemastine fumarate on learning and memory impairment induced by microwave exposure in mice were assessed via open field and new object recognition experiments.Results Under the experimental conditions,the rectal temperature in mice caused by microwave radiation increased by less than 1 ℃,which was within the thermal safety range of the body.The open field test showed that compared with the control group,the microwave radiation group didn't change significant in terms of movement speedon the 1st and 7th days,but the time spent exploring in the central area was significantly reducedon the 1st day after radiation(P＜0.05).In the novel object recognition test,the indexes of the mice on the 1st day were significantly reduced(P＜0.05),indicating that the anxiety like behavior and cognitive function of the mice were impaired after microwave radiation.Compared with the control group,the proportion of NG2+area in the hippocampus was significantly decreased(P＜0.05)in the microwave radiation group,while that of MBP+area hardly changed on the 1st day after microwave radiation(P＞0.05).The expression level of oligodendrocyte related BDNF in the hippocampus was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The myelin of the corpus callosum was broken,and the myelin g ratio was significantly increased(P＜0.05),suggesting that micro wave radiation could reduce the number of oligodendrocyte precursors and damage the secretion and myelin function of oligodendrocyte.Compared with the radiation group,the expression levels of BNDF and FGF2 in the radiation combined with clemastine fumarate group were up-regulated,the myelin g ratio was significantly decreased on the 1st day after radiation(P＜0.05),and the novel object recognition index was significantly increased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Pulsed microwave radiation below the body's fever threshold can cause cognitive dysfunction and other brain damage in mice.The impaired secretion and myelin function of oligodendrocytes and the decreased self-repair ability are the important mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction induced by microwave radiation.

Objective Viral encephalitis is an infectious disease severely affecting human health.It is caused by a wide variety of viral pathogens,including herpes viruses,flaviviruses,enteroviruses,and other viruses.The laboratory diagnosis of viral encephalitis is a worldwide challenge.Recently,high-throughput sequencing technology has provided new tools for diagnosing central nervous system infections.Thus,In this study,we established a multipathogen detection platform for viral encephalitis based on amplicon sequencing. Methods We designed nine pairs of specific polymerase chain reaction(PCR)primers for the 12 viruses by reviewing the relevant literature.The detection ability of the primers was verified by software simulation and the detection of known positive samples.Amplicon sequencing was used to validate the samples,and consistency was compared with Sanger sequencing. Results The results showed that the target sequences of various pathogens were obtained at a coverage depth level greater than 20×,and the sequence lengths were consistent with the sizes of the predicted amplicons.The sequences were verified using the National Center for Biotechnology Information BLAST,and all results were consistent with the results of Sanger sequencing. Conclusion Amplicon-based high-throughput sequencing technology is feasible as a supplementary method for the pathogenic detection of viral encephalitis.It is also a useful tool for the high-volume screening of clinical samples.

Objective To explore the neuroprotective effect of coenzyme Q10 and its possible mechanism in mice with chronic restraint stress(CRS).Methods Mouse models of CRS were treated with intraperitoneal injections of coenzyme Q10 at low,moderate and high doses(50,100 and 200 mg/kg,respectively,n=8),VX765(a caspase-1 specific inhibitor,50 mg/kg,n=8),or fluoxetine(10 mg/kg,n=8)on a daily basis for 4 weeks,and the changes in depression-like behaviors of the mice were assessed by sugar water preference test,forced swimming test and tail suspension test.The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)in the hippocampus of the mice was detected using immunohistochemistry,and the number of synaptic spines was determined with Golgi staining.Western blotting was performed to detect the changes in the expressions of GFAP and pyroptosis-related proteins in the hippocampus,and the colocalization of neurons and caspase-1 p10 was examined with immunofluorescence assay.Results Compared with the normal control mice,the mouse models of CRS showed significantly reduced sugar water preference and increased immobility time in forced swimming and tail suspension tests(P<0.05),and these depression-like behaviors were obviously improved by treatment with coenzyme Q10,VX765 or FLX.The mouse models showed a significantly decreased positive rate of GFAP and lowered GFAP protein expression in the hippocampus with obviously decreased synaptic spines,enhanced expressions of GSDMD-N,caspase-1 and IL-1β,and increased colocalization of neurons and caspase-1 p10(all P<0.05).All these changes were significantly ameliorated in the mouse models after treatment with Q10.Conclusion Coenzyme Q10 can alleviate depression-like behaviors in mice with CRS by down-regulating the pyroptosis signaling pathway.