Through network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, combined with in vitro experiment verification, we explored the mechanism of action of Porana racemosa Roxb. (PRA) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and provided a modern pharmacological basis for the treatment of RA by PRA. The potential target of chemical components in the analyzed moth rattan was predicted by Swiss Target Prediction database; OMIM, GeneCards, TTD and Disgenet databases were used to search the disease targets of RA; the protein interaction (PPI) network and medicine-composition-target network were constructed using STRING database and Cytoscape software; GO (gene ontology) functional enrichment and KEGG (kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes) pathway analysis were carried out using DAVID database, and molecular docking software was used to dock the potentially active ingredients of PRA and core targets; finally, MH7A cells were selected for cell viability, scratch healing and mRNA expression level analysis of key genes to explore the effects of PRA and their potentially active ingredients on the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of MH7A cells. In this study, a total of 628 potentially active ingredient targets, 1 890 RA targets and 235 intersection targets were identified. It was screened that the potentially active ingredients of RA treatment by PRA were ethylcaffeate, N-p-coumaroyltyramine, 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, methyl ester and so on, and the core targets involved tumor necrosis factor (TNF), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) and so on. 1 200 GO entries and 166 KEGG pathway entries were obtained from the enrichment analysis; molecular docking results showed that N-p-coumaroyltyramine and ethylcaffeate had good binding activity with TNF, MMP9, cysteine-aspartate protease 3 (CASP3), PTGS2, B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) proteins. In vitro experiments showed that PRA, ethylcaffeate and N-p-coumaroyltyramine could inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of MH7A cells, up-regulate the expression of apoptosis-related gene CASP3 mRNA, and down-regulate the expression of MMP9, PTGS2 and BCL2 mRNA, and it can also down-regulate the expression of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (AKT) mRNA and PI3K and p-AKT proteins. This study preliminarily revealed that the treatment of RA by PRA may be related to proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and regulation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of bear bile powder (BBP) on acute lung injury (ALI) and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: The chemical constituents of BBP were analyzed by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). After 7 days of adaptive feeding, 50 mice were randomly divided into 5 groups by a random number table (n=10): normal control (NC), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), dexamethasone (Dex), low-, and high-dose BBP groups. The dosing cycle was 9 days. On the 12th and 14th days, 20 µL of Staphylococcus aureus solution (bacterial concentration of 1 × 10^-7 CFU/mL) was given by nasal drip after 1 h of intragastric administration, and the mice in the NC group was given the same dose of phosphated buffered saline (PBS) solution. On the 16th day, after 1 h intragastric administration, 100 µL of LPS solution (1 mg/mL) was given by tracheal intubation, and the same dose of PBS solution was given to the NC group. Lung tissue was obtained to measure the myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, the lung wet/dry weight ratio and expressions of CD14 and other related proteins. The lower lobe of the right lung was obtained for pathological examination. The concentrations of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-6, tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α ) and IL-1β in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and the number of neutrophils was counted. The colonic contents of the mice were analyzed by 16 sRNA technique and the contents of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were measured by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). RESULTS: UPLC-MS revealed that the chemical components of BBP samples were mainly tauroursodeoxycholic acid and taurochenodeoxycholic acid sodium salt. BBP reduced the activity of MPO, concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, and inhibited the expression of CD14 protein, thus suppressing the activation of NF-κB pathway (P<0.05). The lung histopathological results indicated that BBP significantly reduced the degree of neutrophil infiltration, cell shedding, necrosis, and alveolar cavity depression. Moreover, BBP effectively regulated the composition of the intestinal microflora and increased the production of SCFAs, which contributed to its treatment effect (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS BBP alleviates lung injury in ALI mouse through inhibiting activation of NF-κB pathway and decreasing expression of CD14 protein. BBP may promote recovery of ALI by improving the structure of intestinal flora and enhancing metabolic function of intestinal flora.
Animals ; Acute Lung Injury/pathology* ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Ursidae ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Bile/chemistry* ; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors/metabolism* ; Powders ; Male ; Lung/drug effects* ; Mice ; Peroxidase/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Cytokines/metabolism*

AIM To establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous content determination of gallic acid,protocatechuic acid,morroniside,loganin,sweroside,paeoniflorin,hypericin,astragalin,salvianolic acid B,salvianolic acid A,epimedin C and icariin in Bushen Huoxue Sanjie Capsules.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 30℃thermostatic Agilent 5 TC-C18 column(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile-0.1%phosphoric acid flowing at 1.0 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelength was set at 240 nm.RESULTS Twelve constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(r≥0.999 8),whose average recoveries were 97.11%-101.14%with the RSDs of 0.60%-2.65%.CONCLUSION This simple,accurate and reproducible method can be used for the quality control of Bushen Huoxue Sanjie Capsules.

In black tea,theaflavins (TFs) are one important class of substances that determine sensory quality and have significant medicinal activities. In addition to the four kinds of common TFs,there may be many other theaflavin analogues (TFAs) with similar chemical structures in tea,but the study on them is very limited. Based on the characteristic sub-structure,mass spectrometry (MS) and MS/MS information,a method for screening and annotation of TFAs from the complex ultra high performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS) data was proposed in this work. By analyzing the oxidation and polymerization process of a few TFs,the theoretical reaction model of TFs were summarized,which was used to calculate the precursor ion values of potential TFAs. Meanwhile,the diagnostic fragmentation ions and neutral loss of TFAs according to the fragmentation pathways obtained from chemical standards or documented in literatures were summarized. As a result,36 kinds of compounds were successfully annotated based on the calculated precursor ion values and the MS fragmentation patterns,among which 6 kinds of compounds were reported for the first time in tea. In vitro synthesis experiments were carried out to verified the annotation results. Based on the results of quantitation of 36 kinds of TFAs,a partial least squares-discriminant analysis model was used to investigate the changes of these components during black tea manufacturing. The results indicated that these novel TFAs could be used to effectively distinguish the black tea samples before and after fermentation.

Purpose::Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common functional injuries observed in trauma patients. However, certain trauma medications may exacerbate renal injury. Therefore, the early detection of trauma-related AKI holds paramount importance in improving trauma prognosis.Methods::Qualified datasets were selected from public databases, and common differentially expressed genes related to trauma-induced AKI and hub genes were identified through enrichment analysis and the establishment of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Additionally, the specificity of these hub genes was investigated using the sepsis dataset and conducted a comprehensive literature review to assess their plausibility. The raw data from both datasets were downloaded using R software (version 4.2.1) and processed with the "affy" package19 for correction and normalization.Results::Our analysis revealed 585 upregulated and 629 downregulated differentially expressed genes in the AKI dataset, along with 586 upregulated and 948 downregulated differentially expressed genes in the trauma dataset. Concurrently, the establishment of the PPI network and subsequent topological analysis highlighted key hub genes, including CD44, CD163, TIMP metallopeptidase inhibitor 1, cytochrome b-245 beta chain, versican, membrane spanning 4-domains A4A, mitogen-activated protein kinase 14, and early growth response 1. Notably, their receiver operating characteristic curves displayed areas exceeding 75%, indicating good diagnostic performance. Moreover, our findings postulated a unique molecular mechanism underlying trauma-related AKI. Conclusion::This study presents an alternative strategy for the early diagnosis and treatment of trauma-related AKI, based on the identification of potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Additionally, this study provides theoretical references for elucidating the mechanisms of trauma-related AKI.

Background: Advances in blood biomarker discovery have enabled the improved diagnosis and prognosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most branched-chain amino acids, except isoleucine (Ile), are correlated with both mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD. Therefore, this study investigated the association between serum Ile levels and MCI/AD. Methods: This study stratified 700 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database into four diagnostic groups: cognitively normal, stable MCI, progressive MCI, and AD. Analysis of covariance and chi-square analyses were used to test the demographic data. Receiver operating curve analyses were used to calculate the diagnostic accuracy of different biomarkers and were compared by MedCalc 20. Additionally, Cox proportional hazards models were used to measure the ability of serum Ile levels to predict disease conversion. Finally, a linear mixed-effects model was used to evaluate the associations between serum Ile levels and cognition, brain structure, and metabolism. Results: Serum Ile concentration was decreased in AD and demonstrated significant diagnostic efficacy. The combination of serum Ile and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) phosphorylated tau (P-tau) improved the diagnostic accuracy in AD compared to total tau (T-tau) alone. Serum Ile levels significantly predicted the conversion from MCI to AD (cutoff value of 78.3 μM). Finally, the results of this study also revealed a correlation between serum Ile levels and the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale Q4. Conclusions Serum Ile may be a potential biomarker of AD. Ile had independent diagnostic efficacy and significantly improved the diagnostic accuracy of CSF P-tau in AD. MCI patients with a lower serum Ile level had a higher risk of progression to AD and a worse cognition assessment.

Humans ; Beijing ; Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology*

An UHPLC-Q-exactive orbitrap MS method for the simultaneous determination of 19 chemical components in Qilong Zhuang'er oral liquid was established and the quality differences between different batches of samples was compared by chemometric analysis to provide a basis for the quality evaluation of the preparation. The contents of allantoin, L-proline, pyroglutamic acid, hordenine, adenosine, L-phenylalanine, guanosine, L-tryptophan, caffeic acid, calycosin-7-glucoside, verbascoside, isoacteoside, ononin, calycosin, 3-hydroxy-9,10-dimethoxyptercarpan, formononetin, atractylenolide III, atractylenolide II and astragaloside A were analyzed by cluster heat map, principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) using Hiplot platform and Markerlynx^XS software to comprehensively evaluate the quality difference of different batches of Qilong Zhuang'er oral liquid. The 19 chemical compounds showed good linearity in their respective concentration ranges (r ≥ 0.999). The RSD of precision, repeatability and stability (24 h) tests were all less than 1.94%. The average recovery was 97.24%-102.75% (RSD < 2.74%, n = 6). The 10 batches of samples were divided into two categories by cluster heat map and PCA analysis. 3-Hydroxy-9,10-dimethoxyptercarpan, atractylenolide III, calycosin, atractylenolide II, formononetin, allantoin and caffeic acid were identified as differential markers by PLS-DA. The established multi component quantitative method of Qilong Zhuang'er oral liquid combined with chemometric analysis can provide reference for the quality evaluation of the preparation.

Objective:To assess the performance of Al 18F-prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-BCH PET/CT in the detection and localization of early recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy. Methods:From July 2021 to July 2022, a cohort of 51 patients (age: 49-80(64.8±6.9) years) who underwent Al 18F-PSMA-BCH for biochemical recurrence with the prostate specific antigen (PSA) level less than 2 μg/L in Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were stratified into 4 groups (PSA<0.2 μg/L, 0.2 μg/L≤PSA<0.5 μg/L, 0.5 μg/L≤PSA<1 μg/L, 1 μg/L≤PSA<2 μg/L groups) according to different PSA levels. Lesions detected by Al 18F-PSMA-BCH PET/CT were recorded as prostate bed (including bed of seminal vesicles); pelvic, paraaortic, mediastinal/supraclavicular and axillary lymph nodes; bone lesions and visceral lesions. The detection rates among different groups were compared by Fisher exact test. Results:Of 51 patients, 30(58.8%) had evidence of abnormal uptake suggestive of recurrent prostate cancer, with 60.0%(18/30) had disease confined to the pelvis, including 26.7%(8/30) had prostate bed recurrence, 26.7%(8/30) had pelvic lymph nodes, 6.6%(2/30) had prostate bed recurrence with pelvic lymph nodes, while 40.0%(12/30) had extra pelvic disease. The detection rates of Al 18F-PSMA-BCH PET/CT in PSA<0.2 μg/L, 0.2 μg/L≤PSA<0.5 μg/L, 0.5 μg/L≤PSA<1 μg/L and 1 μg/L≤PSA<2 μg/L groups were 39.1%(9/23), 6/11, 8/9 and 7/8, respectively. There were no significant differences of detection rates between PSA<0.2 μg/L group and 0.2 μg/L≤PSA<0.5 μg/L group ( P=0.397) and also between 0.5 μg/L≤PSA<1 μg/L group and 1 μg/L≤PSA<2 μg/L group ( P=0.929). Conclusion:Al 18F-PSMA-BCH has a high detection rate for early recurrent prostate cancer, even at low PSA levels less than 0.2 μg/L.

This study aimed to explore the underlying framework and data characteristics of Tibetan prescription information. The information on Tibetan medicine prescriptions was collected based on 11 Tibetan medicine classics, such as Four Medical Canons(Si Bu Yi Dian). The optimal classification method was used to summarize the information structure of Tibetan medicine prescriptions and sort out the key problems and solutions in data collection, standardization, translation, and analysis. A total of 11 316 prescriptions were collected, involving 139 011 entries and 63 567 pieces of efficacy information of drugs in prescriptions. The information on Tibe-tan medicine prescriptions could be summarized into a "seven-in-one" framework of "serial number-source-name-composition-efficacy-appendix-remarks" and 18 expansion layers, which contained all information related to the inheritance, processing, origin, dosage, semantics, etc. of prescriptions. Based on the framework, this study proposed a "historical timeline" method for mining the origin of prescription inheritance, a "one body and five layers" method for formulating prescription drug specifications, a "link-split-link" method for constructing efficacy information, and an advanced algorithm suitable for the research of Tibetan prescription knowledge discovery. Tibetan medicine prescriptions have obvious characteristics and advantages under the guidance of the theories of "three factors", "five sources", and "Ro-nus-zhu-rjes" of Tibetan medicine. Based on the characteristics of Tibetan medicine prescriptions, this study proposed a multi-level and multi-attribute underlying data architecture, providing new methods and models for the construction of Tibetan medicine prescription information database and knowledge discovery and improving the consistency and interoperability of Tibetan medicine prescription information with standards at all levels, which is expected to realize the "ancient and modern connection-cleaning up the source-data sharing", so as to promote the informatization and modernization research path of Tibetan medicine prescriptions.
Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Knowledge Discovery ; Drug Prescriptions ; Databases, Factual ; Algorithms ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*