OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism of cordycepin in delaying the transformation from acute kidney injury （AKI） to chronic kidney disease （CKD） （short for “AKI-CKD”）. METHODS Network pharmacology and bioinformatics were used to analyze and predict the signaling pathways of cordycepin in delaying AKI-CKD progression and its relationship with the ferroptosis pathway. Cell experiments were performed to verify the predicted results. Human renal tubular epithelial HK-2 cells were divided into blank group， cordycepin group， model group， and H 2 O 2 +cordycepin group. Except for the blank group and cordycepin group， all other groups were treated with 150 μmol/L H 2 O 2 for 72 h to induce persistent oxidative stress injury in cells. After 72 h of cordycepin （40 μmol/L） intervention， the protein and mRNA expression levels of glutathione peroxidase 4 （GPX4）， long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 4 （ACSL4），nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2（Nrf2）， and heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1） in cells were detected. Furthermore， the Nrf2 inhibitor ML385 was added on the basis of H 2 O 2 +cordycepin to verify the role of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. RESULTS Network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis showed that there were 42 overlapping genes related to AKI-CKD and ferroptosis that interact with cordycepin ferroptosis， among which 38 were annotated as ferroptosis-related genes. HO-1 and Nrf2 might be important targets for cordycepin to inhibit ferroptosis. The binding energies of cordycepin with Nrf2 and HO-1 proteins were －8.5 and －6.7 kcal/mol， respectively. Cell experiments showed that compared with the model group， the protein and mRNA expression levels of GPX4， Nrf2 and HO-1 were significantly increased （ P ＜0.05），while the protein and mRNA expression levels of ACSL4 were significantly decrease d （ P ＜0.05） in the H 2 O 2 +cordycepin group. After the addition of the Nrf2 inhibitor ML385， the effects of cordycepin on the above proteins and mRNA were significantly reversed （ P ＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Cordycepin can inhibit ferroptosis by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway， reduce persistent oxidative stress injury of renal tubular epithelial cells， and delay the progression of AKI-CKD.

To investigate the correlation between vitamin D nutritional status and insulin resistance in pubertal adolescents.

Purpose: The prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is extremely poor, and systemic therapy is currently the mainstream treatment. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib combined with anti–programmed cell death-1 antibodies and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (triple therapy) in patients with HCC and PVTT. Materials and Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included patients with HCC and PVTT who received triple therapy, were aged between 18 and 75 years, classified as Child-Pugh class A or B, and had at least one measurable lesion. The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rates, and disease control rates were analyzed to assess efficacy. Treatment-related adverse events were analyzed to assess safety profiles. Results: During a median follow-up of 11.23 months (range, 3.07 to 34.37 months), the median OS was greater than 24 months, and median PFS was 12.53 months. The 2-year OS rate was 54.9%. The objective response rate and disease control rate were 69.8% (74/106) and 84.0% (89/106), respectively; 20.8% (22/106) of the patients experienced grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events and no treatment-related deaths occurred. The conversion rate to liver resection was 31.1% (33/106), with manageable postoperative complications. The median OS was not reached in the surgery group, but was 19.08 months in the non-surgery group. The median PFS in the surgery and non-surgery groups were 20.50 and 9.00 months, respectively. Conclusion Triple therapy showed promising survival benefits and high response rates in patients with HCC and PVTT, with manageable adverse effects.

Objective To investigate the acute toxicology and intervention effect of Panacis Majoris Rhizoma on rats with chronic pharyngitis.Methods A single,maximum dose of Panacis Majoris Rhizoma(74.4 g·kg-1)was administered to Kunming mice to evaluate its toxicity,involving the assessment of the survival status of the mice,organ indices,morphological changes in major organs,blood routine,and biochemical indicators.SD rats were randomly divided into the control group,model group,prednisone group(6.25 mg·kg-1),and low-,medium-,and high-dose Panacis Majoris Rhizoma groups(0.58,1.16,and 2.32 g·kg-1).All rats received the corresponding drugs(or normal saline)via intragastric administration once daily for a duration of 30 days.Except the control group,chronic pharyngitis was induced in rats of the other groups by using β-hemolytic streptococcus.Following euthanasia,serum inflammatory levels of interleukin-6(IL-6),cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1),C-reactive protein(CRP),tumor necrosis factor(TNF-α),monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1),and prostaglandin E2(PGE2)were measured.Additionally,pharyngeal tissues were stained with HE and pathological characteristics were observed.Results Toxicological studies have demonstrated that the administration of Panacis Majoris Rhizoma resulted in significant increase in plasma alanine transaminase levels and spleen index of mice,along with corresponding tissue pathological alterations.Nevertheless,no noteworthy pathological changes were observed in other organs,and there were no notable changes in blood routine and plasma biochemical indicators.Pharmacodynamic investigations have revealed that Panacis Maioris Rhizoma effectively reduces the serum levels of inflammatory factors and improves pathological changes in pharyngeal tissues.Conclusion Panacis Maioris Rhizoma alleviated β-hemolytic streptococcus-induced CP by inhibiting inflammatory responses,and may show potential toxicity to the spleen.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with positive anti-SSA antibody.Methods:The data of patients with positive anti-SSA antibody hospitalized in Beijing Tiantan Hospital between December 2011 and May 2020 were retrieved. Patients who fulfilled the diagnosis of MS were enrolled. MS patients with negative anti-SSA antibody hospitalized in the same period were matched based on gender and age in a ratio of 1∶2. The clinical characteristics of MS patients with positive anti-SSA antibody and those with negative anti-SSA antibody were compared. We used SPSS 24.0 statistical software to perform data analysis. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine whether continuous variables conform to a normal distribution. The group differences of non-normal distribution of measurement data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test. Fisher exact probability method was used to compare the group differences of categorical variables. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:There were 785 hospitalized patients with anti-SSA positivity. Among these, a total of 7 patients (0.89%) were diagnosed as MS. Fourteen MS patients with negative anti-SSA antibody were included with matched sex and age. There was a statistical significant difference in the frequency of positive antinuclear antibody (ANA)and anti-Ro-52 antibody between MS patients with positive anti-SSA antibody and those with negative anti-SSA (6/7 vs. 0/14, P<0.001; 4/7 vs. 0/14, P=0.006, respectively). No statistical significant difference in other clinical features was detected between the two groups (P>0.05).Conclusion:The frequency of ANA and anti-Ro-52 antibody positivity is significantly higher in MS patients with positive anti-SSA antibody. Our results suggest the presence of positive anti-SSA antibody has no affect on clinical features of MS. The relationship between MS and anti-SSA positivity may be incidently coexisted.

Objective:To explore the association between polymorphisms of transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)signaling pathway and non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate(NSCL/P)among Asian populations,while considering gene-gene interaction and gene-environment interaction.Methods:A total of 1 038 Asian NSCL/P case-parent trios were ascertained from an international consortium,which conducted a genome-wide association study using a case-parent trio design to investigate the genes affec-ting risk to NSCL/P.After stringent quality control measures,343 single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)spanning across 10 pivotal genes in the TGF-β signaling pathway were selected from the original genome-wide association study(GWAS)dataset for further analysis.The transmission disequilibrium test(TDT)was used to test for SNP effects.The conditional Logistic regression models were used to test for gene-gene interaction and gene-environment interaction.Environmental factors collected for the study in-cluded smoking during pregnancy,passive smoking during pregnancy,alcohol intake during pregnancy,and vitamin use during pregnancy.Due to the low rates of exposure to smoking during pregnancy and al-cohol consumption during pregnancy(＜3％),only the interaction between maternal smoking during pregnancy and multivitamin supplementation during pregnancy was analyzed.The threshold for statistical significance was rigorously set at P=1.46 × 10-4,applying Bonferroni correction to account for multiple testing.Results:A total of 23 SNPs in 4 genes yielded nominal association with NSCL/P(P＜0.05),but none of these associations was statistically significant after Bonferroni's multiple test correction.How-ever,there were 6 pairs of SNPs rs4939874(SMAD2)and rs1864615(TGFBR2),rs2796813(TGFB2)and rs2132298(TGFBR2),rs4147358(SMAD3)and rs1346907(TGFBR2),rs4939874(SMAD2)and rs1019855(TGFBR2),rs4939874(SMAD2)and rs12490466(TGFBR2),rs2009112(TGFB2)and rs4075748(TGFBR2)showed statistically significant SNP-SNP interaction(P＜1.46 × 10-4).In contrast,the analysis of gene-environment interactions did not yield any significant results after being cor-rected by multiple testing.Conclusion:The comprehensive evaluation of SNP associations and interac-tions within the TGF-β signaling pathway did not yield any direct associations with NSCL/P risk in Asian populations.However,the significant gene-gene interactions identified suggest that the genetic architec-ture influencing NSCL/P risk may involve interactions between genes within the TGF-β signaling path-way.These findings underscore the necessity for further investigations to unravel these results and further explore the underlying biological mechanisms.

Objective:To delve into the intricate relationship between common genetic variations across the entire genome and the risk of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate(NSCL/P).Methods:Utilizing summary statistics data from genome-wide association studies(GW AS),a thorough investigation to evaluate the impact of common variations on the genome were undertook.This involved assessing single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)heritability across the entire genome,as well as within specific genomic regions.To ensure the robustness of our analysis,stringent quality control measures were applied to the GWAS summary statistics data.Criteria for inclusion encompassed the absence of missing values,a minor allele frequency≥1％,P-values falling within the range of 0 to 1,and clear SNP strand orientation.SNP meeting these stringent criteria were then meticulously included in our analy-sis.The SNP heritability of NSCL/P was calculated using linkage disequilibrium score regression.Addi-tionally,hierarchical linkage disequilibrium score regression to partition SNP heritability within coding re-gions,promoters,introns,enhancers,and super enhancers were employed,and the enrichment levels within different genomic regions using LDSC(v1.0.1)software were further elucidated.Results:Our study drew upon GWAS summary statistics data obtained from 806 NSCL/P trios,comprising a total of 2 418 individuals from the Chinese population.Following rigorous quality control procedures,490 593 out of 492 993 SNP were deemed suitable for inclusion in SNP heritability calculations.The observed SNP heritability of NSCL/P was 0.55(95％CI:0.28-0.82).Adjusting for the elevated disease pre-valence within our sample,the SNP heritability scaled down to 0.37(95％CI:0.19-0.55)based on the prevalence observed in the general Chinese population.Notably,our enrichment analysis unveiled significant enrichment of SNP heritability within enhancer regions(15.70,P=0.04)and super enhan-cer regions(3.18,P=0.03).Conclusion:Our study sheds light on the intricate interplay between common genetic variations and the risk of NSCL/P in the Chinese population.By elucidating the SNP heritability landscape across different genomic regions,we contribute valuable insights into the genetic basis of NSCL/P.The significant enrichment of SNP heritability within enhancer and super enhancer re-gions underscores the potential role of these regulatory elements in shaping the genetic susceptibility to NSCL/P.This paves the way for further research aimed at uncovering novel genetic pathogenic factors un-derlying NSCL/P pathogenesis.

Turner syndrome (TS) is a disease caused by the absence or structural abnormalities of the X chromosome, manifesting as a female phenotype. Main clinical characteristics of TS patients include short stature, primary ovarian insufficiency, and abnormalities in intellectual and neurocognitive functions. Sex hormone therapy, including estrogens and androgens, is primarily used to improve the endocrine and metabolic status of TS patients in clinical practice. Generally, TS patients exhibit an impaired profile in brain structure, cognition, mental health, and quality of life. And sex hormone therapy has an overall positive impact on the brain, cognition and mental health of TS patients, potentially rescuing the impaired phenotypes to a certain extent. Specifically, estrogen therapy can help normalize the brain development trajectory, improving cognitive processing speed, visual-spatial processing abilities and memory, and reducing negative behaviors. Testosterone therapy can improve working memory and severe mathematical learning disabilities, without increasing the risk of mental health masculinization. The above studies provide more evidence for sex hormone replacement therapy in TS patients. The effects of sex hormone therapy on the brain, cognition and mental health of TS patients were reviewed here, to highlight the importance of sex hormone therapy in TS patients.

Turner syndrome (TS) is a disease caused by the absence or structural abnormalities of the X chromosome, manifesting as a female phenotype. Main clinical characteristics of TS patients include short stature, primary ovarian insufficiency, and abnormalities in intellectual and neurocognitive functions. Sex hormone therapy, including estrogens and androgens, is primarily used to improve the endocrine and metabolic status of TS patients in clinical practice. Generally, TS patients exhibit an impaired profile in brain structure, cognition, mental health, and quality of life. And sex hormone therapy has an overall positive impact on the brain, cognition and mental health of TS patients, potentially rescuing the impaired phenotypes to a certain extent. Specifically, estrogen therapy can help normalize the brain development trajectory, improving cognitive processing speed, visual-spatial processing abilities and memory, and reducing negative behaviors. Testosterone therapy can improve working memory and severe mathematical learning disabilities, without increasing the risk of mental health masculinization. The above studies provide more evidence for sex hormone replacement therapy in TS patients. The effects of sex hormone therapy on the brain, cognition and mental health of TS patients were reviewed here, to highlight the importance of sex hormone therapy in TS patients.