OBJECTIVES: To investigate the dynamic changes in serum microRNA-15b (miR-15b) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in preterm infants with mild or moderate-to-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), as well as their value in assessing short-term neurodevelopment. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the medical data of 156 preterm infants with BPD who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from January 2020 to February 2023. According to the severity of BPD, they were divided into a mild group (n=88) and a moderate-to-severe group (n=68). Serum levels of miR-15b and VEGF were measured on postnatal days 1, 7, 14, and 28. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess the dynamic changes in serum levels of miR-15b and VEGF. The mediating effect of VEGF between miR-15b and short-term neurological development was tested and analyzed using the stepwise regression method and the Bootstrap method. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. RESULTS: In the mild group, there was a significant reduction in the serum level of miR-15b and a significant increase in VEGF over time (P<0.05), while in the moderate-to-severe group, there was a significant increase in miR-15b and a significant reduction in VEGF over time (P<0.05). Serum miR-15b and VEGF levels were important factors influencing neurodevelopmental outcomes, showing independent correlations (P<0.001). The mediating effect analysis indicated that miR-15b indirectly affected short-term neurodevelopment by inhibiting VEGF expression [indirect effect: -0.705 (95%CI: -1.178 to -0.372)], with the indirect effect accounting for 54.36% of the total effect. CONCLUSIONS There are different changing trends in serum levels of miR-15b and VEGF in preterm infants with mild and moderate-to-severe BPD. miR-15b primarily influences neurodevelopment through VEGF.
Humans ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/physiopathology* ; MicroRNAs/blood* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/blood* ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature/blood* ; Female ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Child Development ; Nervous System/growth & development*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictive value of endothelial activation and stress index (EASIX) for the prognosis of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted to assess prognosis and compare the clinical features of patients diagnosed with MCL who were admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from January 2010 to June 2023, had therapeutic indications and received standard treatment. RESULTS: A total of 66 patients were included and divided into high EASIX group and low EASIX group, according to a cutoff value of 0.97 determined by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that prealbumin <0.2 g/L, high EASIX, and ECOG PS score ≥2 were independent risk factors influencing overall survival (OS) in MCL patients. The median OS of patients in the high and low EASIX group was 13.0 and 37.5 months, and the median progression-free survival was 8.8 and 26.0 months, respectively. The proportions of patients with ECOG PS score ≥2 and prealbumin <0.2 g/L at onset significantly increased in the high EASIX group compared to those in the low EASIX group. CONCLUSION At the time of initial diagnosis, EASIX can serve as an independent prognostic indicator impacting OS in patients with MCL. Furthermore, patients in the high EASIX group experience a poorer prognosis and shorter survival duration compared with those in the low EASIX group.
Humans ; Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell/pathology* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; ROC Curve

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious respiratory disease that has been prevalent since December 2019. Chinese medicine (CM) has demonstrated its unique advantages in the fight against COVID-19 in the areas of disease prevention, improvement of clinical symptoms, and control of disease progression. This review summarized the relevant material components of CM in the treatment of COVID-19 by searching the relevant literature and reports on CM in the treatment of COVID-19 and combining with the physiological and pathological characteristics of the novel coronavirus. On the basis of sorting out experimental methods in vivo and in vitro, the mechanism of herb action was further clarified in terms of inhibiting virus invasion and replication and improving related complications. The aim of the article is to explore the strengths and characteristics of CM in the treatment of COVID-19, and to provide a basis for the research and scientific, standardized treatment of COVID-19 with CM.
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; SARS-CoV-2/drug effects* ; COVID-19/therapy* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Antiviral Agents/pharmacology* ; Animals

Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain damage poses a high risk of death or lifelong disability, yet effective treatments remain elusive. Here, we demonstrated that miR-100-5p levels in the lesioned cortex increased after HI insult in neonatal mice. Knockdown of miR-100-5p expression in the brain attenuated brain injury and promoted functional recovery, through inhibiting the cleaved-caspase-3 level, microglia activation, and the release of proinflammation cytokines following HI injury. Engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing neuron-targeting rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) and miR-100-5p antagonists (RVG-EVs-Antagomir) selectively targeted brain lesions and reduced miR-100-5p levels after intranasal delivery. Both pre- and post-HI administration showed therapeutic benefits. Mechanistically, we identified protein phosphatase 3 catalytic subunit alpha (Ppp3ca) as a novel candidate target gene of miR-100-5p, inhibiting c-Fos expression and neuronal apoptosis following HI insult. In conclusion, our non-invasive method using engineered EVs to deliver miR-100-5p antagomirs to the brain significantly improves functional recovery after HI injury by targeting Ppp3ca to suppress neuronal apoptosis.
Animals ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Extracellular Vesicles/metabolism* ; Mice ; Recovery of Function/physiology* ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain/therapy* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Antagomirs/administration & dosage* ; Male ; Animals, Newborn ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Brain Injuries/metabolism* ; Glycoproteins ; Peptide Fragments ; Viral Proteins

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) is a severe dose-limiting adverse event of chemotherapy. Presently, the mechanism underlying the induction of CIPN remains unclear, and no effective treatment is available. In this study, through metabolomics analyses, we found that nab-paclitaxel therapy markedly increased serum serotonin [5-hydroxtryptamine (5-HT)] levels in both cancer patients and mice compared to the respective controls. Furthermore, nab-paclitaxel-treated enterochromaffin (EC) cells showed increased 5-HT synthesis, and serotonin-treated Schwann cells showed damage, as indicated by the activation of CREB3L3/MMP3/FAS signaling. Venlafaxine, an inhibitor of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake, was found to protect against nerve injury by suppressing the activation of CREB3L3/MMP3/FAS signaling in Schwann cells. Remarkably, venlafaxine was found to significantly alleviate nab-paclitaxel-induced CIPN in patients without affecting the clinical efficacy of chemotherapy. In summary, our study reveals that EC cell-derived 5-HT plays a critical role in nab-paclitaxel-related neurotoxic lesions, and venlafaxine co-administration represents a novel approach to treating chronic cumulative neurotoxicity commonly reported in nab-paclitaxel-based chemotherapy.
Paclitaxel/toxicity* ; Animals ; Albumins/adverse effects* ; Serotonin/metabolism* ; Mice ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Venlafaxine Hydrochloride/therapeutic use* ; Neurotoxicity Syndromes/metabolism* ; Middle Aged ; Schwann Cells/metabolism* ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases/drug therapy* ; Antineoplastic Agents

JMJD1C (Jumonji Domain Containing 1C), a member of the lysine demethylase 3 (KDM3) family, is universally required for the survival of several types of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells with different genetic mutations, representing a therapeutic opportunity with broad application. Yet how JMJD1C regulates the leukemic programs of various AML cells is largely unexplored. Here we show that JMJD1C interacts with the master hematopoietic transcription factor RUNX1, which thereby recruits JMJD1C to the genome to facilitate a RUNX1-driven transcriptional program that supports leukemic cell survival. The underlying mechanism hinges on the long N-terminal disordered region of JMJD1C, which harbors two inseparable abilities: condensate formation and direct interaction with RUNX1. This dual capability of JMJD1C may influence enhancer-promoter contacts crucial for the expression of key leukemic genes regulated by RUNX1. Our findings demonstrate a previously unappreciated role for the non-catalytic function of JMJD1C in transcriptional regulation, underlying a mechanism shared by different types of leukemias.
Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit/genetics* ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/pathology* ; Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases/chemistry* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic ; Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating/genetics* ; Cell Line, Tumor

Taking chronic atrophic gastritis （CAG） as an example， the frontier technologies in data science have been introduced into the inheritance， innovation and development of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， providing reference for conducting real-world clinical research on specialized diseases of TCM. This paper put forward the construction of CAG data science system by elaborating the connotation of data science and its application value in TCM， and discussed the path to build CAG data science system， namely through "data acquisition-knowledge expression-knowledge reasoning" to establish CAG database， knowledge base and develop diagnosis platform differentiating diseases and syndromes. Besides， this paper analyzed the prospects of CAG data science in improving data governance ability and knowledge discovery efficiency， deepening the level of knowledge sharing， promoting interdisciplinary integration， and strengthening the integration process of industry， academia and research.

italic>Salvia apiana Jepson, commonly known as white sage, is a perennial sub-shrub of the Salvia genus in the Lamiaceae family with a long medicinal history. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of S. apiana was sequenced using PacBio HiFi third-generation sequencing technology. The physical map of the genome was constructed, and the sequence structure features, codon preference, and repetitive sequences were analyzed. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the chloroplast genome and phylogenetic evolution with closely related species within the same genus was conducted. The chloroplast genome of S. apiana was found to have a length of 151 701 bp (GenBank accession number: OR389048), with a typical quadripartite structure and a GC content of 38.06%. A total of 132 genes were annotated, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Among them, 17 genes contained introns, and 18 genes were present in duplicate copies. Codon preference analysis revealed a preference for codons ending with A or U. Analysis of repetitive structures in the S. apiana chloroplast genome identified 170 simple sequence repeat (SSR) sites and 65 scattered repeat sequences, with the majority of SSR sites composed of A and T. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete chloroplast genomes of 21 species within the same genus showed that S. apiana is most closely related to Salvia hispanica Ettling. ex Willk. & Lange, Salvia leucantha Cav., and Salvia tiliifolia Vahl. Comparative analysis of the chloroplast genomes revealed slight contraction and expansion of the inverted repeat (IR) boundaries in S. apiana, as well as multiple highly variable regions in the chloroplast genome sequence. This study establishes a method for de novo assembling the chloroplast genome of S. apiana using third-generation sequencing data and provides a comprehensive analysis of its chloroplast genome, which can serve as a theoretical basis for studies on chloroplast genetic engineering, genetic diversity analysis, molecular breeding, and species identification.

Objective China is among the 30 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis(TB)worldwide,and TB remains a public health concern.Kashgar Prefecture in the southern Xinjiang Autonomous Region is considered as one of the highest TB burden regions in China.However,molecular epidemiological studies of Kashgar are lacking. Methods A population-based retrospective study was conducted using whole-genome sequencing(WGS)to determine the characteristics of drug resistance and the transmission patterns. Results A total of 1,668 isolates collected in 2020 were classified into lineages 2(46.0%),3(27.5%),and 4(26.5%).The drug resistance rates revealed by WGS showed that the top three drugs in terms of the resistance rate were isoniazid(7.4%,124/1,668),streptomycin(6.0%,100/1,668),and rifampicin(3.3%,55/1,668).The rate of rifampicin resistance was 1.8%(23/1,290)in the new cases and 9.4%(32/340)in the previously treated cases.Known resistance mutations were detected more frequently in lineage 2 strains than in lineage 3 or 4 strains,respectively:18.6%vs.8.7 or 9%,P<0.001.The estimated proportion of recent transmissions was 25.9%(432/1,668).Multivariate logistic analyses indicated that sex,age,occupation,lineage,and drug resistance were the risk factors for recent transmission.Despite the low rate of drug resistance,drug-resistant strains had a higher risk of recent transmission than the susceptible strains(adjusted odds ratio,1.414;95%CI,1.023-1.954;P = 0.036).Among all patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis(DR-TB),78.4%(171/218)were attributed to the transmission of DR-TB strains. Conclusion Our results suggest that drug-resistant strains are more transmissible than susceptible strains and that transmission is the major driving force of the current DR-TB epidemic in Kashgar.