1.Application of balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration in treatment of liver cirrhosis complications
Lixia XIN ; Hongbin ZHU ; Xiao LIU ; Chunqing ZHANG
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(2):452-456
Gastric variceal rupture and bleeding and hepatic encephalopathy are common and life-threatening complications in decompensated cirrhosis. As a minimally invasive interventional technique, balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) has made significant progress in the clinical management of gastric varices and hepatic encephalopathy in recent years. This article systematically reviews the technical principles, indications (e.g., isolated gastric varices and refractory hepatic encephalopathy), clinical efficacy (an acute hemostasis rate of 85% — 95%, a 1-year rebleeding rate of <15%, and an improvement rate of 60% — 80% for hepatic encephalopathy), and safety (including complications such as renal impairment and elevated portal vein pressure) of BRTO. Meanwhile, this article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of BRTO and conventional treatment modalities (e.g., transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and endoscopic treatment) and reviews the latest technological improvements in recent years, such as coil-assisted retrograde transvenous obliteration and plug-assisted retrograde transvenous obliteration. Future research should focus on the precision of patient selection (e.g., stratification based on hemodynamic parameters), the optimization of embolic materials (e.g., application of new biodegradable embolic agents), and the development of individualized treatment regimens, so as to improve efficacy and reduce the risk of complications.
2.Association between key air pollutant combinations and respiratory disease hospitalizations in Hefei from 2019 to 2024
Xiangguo LIU ; Linling YU ; Yu ZHU ; Changchun XIAO
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2026;43(3):293-301
Background Air pollution is a major environmental factor threatening respiratory health. Different pollutants exhibit varying degrees of lag effects on respiratory diseases, and synergistic effects may exist among multiple pollutants. There is an urgent need to identify the key air pollutants influencing respiratory diseases and their interactive effects at specific lags. Objective To identify key pollutants affecting hospital admissions for respiratory diseases, to analyze their lag effect characteristics, and to quantify the impact of multi-pollutant synergistic effects on respiratory disease admissions. Methods Daily air pollution data, meteorological data, and respiratory disease hospitalization records were collected from multiple national monitoring stations in Hefei City from 2019 to 2024. A two-stage analytical framework was employed. First, a distributed lag model (DLM) was used to construct pollutant lag matrices, followed by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression to select key variables among fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3). Second, a generalized additive model (GAM) was established, incorporating product interaction terms and excess relative risk (ERI) to quantitatively assess synergistic effects among the selected pollutants. Results Through LASSO regression, 24 pollutant lag terms with non-zero coefficients were identified, among which NO2, PM2.5, and SO2 accounted for 66.7% of the total positive effects and exhibited distinct lag patterns. Exposure to NO2 showed acute risk, with a relative risk of 1.040 (95%CI: 1.023, 1.057) at lag0. Conversely, PM2.5 and SO2 exhibited delayed effects, with peak impacts observed at lag7 (RR=1.012, 95%CI:
3.Peyton's Four-Step Teaching Method for Intestinal Ultrasound Training: Efficacy and Practical Implications
Zihan NIU ; Xiaoyan ZHANG ; Zhaojue WANG ; Qingli ZHU ; Mengsu XIAO ; Li MA ; Yudi HE ; Wenbo LI
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2026;17(2):591-596
To evaluate the application value of the Peyton four-step teaching method in the standardized training of intestinal ultrasound and compare it with traditional teaching methods, so as to provide an optimized approach for clinical ultrasound training. Participants from the Department of Ultrasound at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between September 2024 and March 2025 were randomly assigned to either the traditional group or Peyton group. The traditional group followed the conventional "lecture- demonstration-practice" model, while the Peyton group implemented the standardized "demonstration-deconstruction-comprehension-execution" four-step approach. All training focused on standard intestinal ultrasound scanning techniques. After the training, the operational skills were independently evaluated by the instructors. To verify the reproducibility of the teaching method, the participants in traditional teaching group received additional Peyton method training after the initial assessment and underwent a second evaluation. A total of 18 participants were included in this study, with 9 in the traditional teaching group and 9 in the Peyton teaching group. Participants in the Peyton group demonstrated significantly higher scores than those in the traditional group at every anatomical site assessed (all The Peyton four-step method is significantly more effective than traditional teaching in improving residents' intestinal ultrasound skills, demonstrating its suitability as the preferred approach for standardized training programs.
4.Establishment of a high-risk medication list and preventive and therapeutic measures for drug-induced hypofi-brinogenemia based on the Delphi method
Xiao WEN ; Le CAI ; Ning LIU ; Ao GAO ; Man ZHU
China Pharmacy 2026;37(7):848-853
OBJECTIVE To establish a high-risk medication list and preventive and therapeutic measures for drug-induced hypofibrinogenemia, and to provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of this condition. METHODS By integrating domestic and international case reports, retrospective case-control studies, and spontaneous adverse drug reaction reporting databases, 19 domestically marketed high-risk drugs for drug-induced hypofibrinogenemia were identified. Based on the clinical characteristics and mechanisms of these drugs, relevant risk factors were systematically reviewed, and existing treatment options were summarized, leading to the preliminary development of recommended preventive and therapeutic measures. A two-round Delphi consultation was conducted to evaluate, revise, and ultimately reach consensus on the preliminary findings, using a mean importance score of ≥3.5 points for indicators and a coefficient of variation <0.3 as screening criteria. RESULTS The coefficient of expert authority for both rounds of expert consultation was 0.904. In the first round, the Kendall coordination coefficients (Kendall’s W ) for the high-risk medication list and the proposed preventive and therapeutic measures were 0.390 and 0.223 ( P <0.05), respectively. In the second round, the Kendall’s W were 0.227 and 0.200 ( P <0.05), respectively. After two rounds of expert consultation and discussion, 11 high-risk drugs for drug-induced hypofibrinogenemia, represented by hemocoagulase and certain anti-infective agents, were ultimately identified, along with 5 preventive and therapeutic measures spanning the entire process of “pre-medication assessment, intra-medication monitoring, and bleeding event management”. CONCLUSIONS This study has established a scientific and reliable high-risk medication list, and corresponding preventive and therapeutic measures for drug-induced hypofibrinogenemia, providing a theoretical basis and practical support for the early identification, stratified management, and precise intervention of this condition.
5.Strategic Optimization of CHO Cell Expression Platforms for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing
Rui-Ming ZHANG ; Meng-Lin LI ; Hong-Wei ZHU ; Xing-Xiao ZHANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(2):327-341
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most established and versatile mammalian expression system for the large-scale production of recombinant therapeutic proteins, owing to their genetic stability, adaptability to serum-free suspension culture, and ability to perform human-like post-translational modifications. More than 70% of biologics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rely on CHO-based production platforms, underscoring their central role in modern biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Despite these advantages, CHO systems continue to face three persistent bottlenecks that limit their potential for high-yield, reproducible, and cost-efficient production: excessive metabolic burden during high-density culture, heterogeneity of glycosylation patterns, and progressive loss of long-term expression stability. This review provides an integrated analysis of recent advances addressing these challenges and proposes a forward-looking framework for constructing intelligent and sustainable CHO cell factories. In terms of metabolic regulation, excessive lactate and ammonia accumulation disrupts energy balance and reduces recombinant protein synthesis efficiency. Optimization of culture parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, osmolarity, and glucose feeding can effectively alleviate metabolic stress, while supplementation with modulators including sodium butyrate, baicalein, and S-adenosylmethionine promotes specific productivity (qP) by modulating apoptosis and chromatin structure. Furthermore, genetic engineering strategies—such as overexpression of MPC1/2, HSP27, and SIRT6 or knockout of Bax, Apaf1, and IGF-1R—have demonstrated significant improvements in cell viability and product yield. The combination of multi-omics metabolic modeling with artificial intelligence (AI)-based prediction offers new opportunities for building self-regulating CHO systems capable of dynamic adaptation to environmental stress. Regarding glycosylation uniformity, which determines therapeutic efficacy and immunogenicity, gene editing-based glycoengineering (e.g., FUT8 knockdown or ST6Gal1 overexpression) has enabled the humanization of CHO glycan profiles, minimizing non-human sugar residues and enhancing drug stability. Process-level strategies such as galactose or manganese co-feeding and fine control of temperature or osmolarity further allow rational regulation of glycosyltransferase activity. Additionally, in vitro chemoenzymatic remodeling provides a complementary route to construct human-type glycans with defined structures, though industrial applications remain constrained by cost and scalability. The integration of model-driven process design and AI feedback control is expected to enable real-time prediction and correction of glycosylation deviations, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency in continuous biomanufacturing. Long-term expression stability, another critical challenge, is often impaired by promoter silencing, chromatin condensation, and random genomic integration. Molecular optimization—such as the use of improved promoters (CMV, EF-1α, or CHO endogenous promoters), Kozak and signal peptide refinement, and incorporation of chromatin-opening elements (UCOE, MAR, STAR)—helps maintain durable transcriptional activity, while site-specific integration systems including Cre/loxP, Flp/FRT, φC31, and CRISPR/Cas9 can enable single-copy, position-independent gene insertion at genomic safe-harbor loci, ensuring stable, predictable expression. Collectively, this review highlights a paradigm shift in CHO system optimization driven by the convergence of genome editing, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence. The transition from empirical optimization to rational, data-driven design will facilitate the development of programmable CHO platforms capable of autonomous regulation of metabolic flux, glycosylation fidelity, and transcriptional activity. Such intelligent cell factories are expected to accelerate the transformation from laboratory-scale research to industrial-scale, high-consistency, and economically sustainable biopharmaceutical manufacturing, thereby supporting the next generation of efficient and customizable biologics manufacturing.
6.Strategic Optimization of CHO Cell Expression Platforms for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing
Rui-Ming ZHANG ; Meng-Lin LI ; Hong-Wei ZHU ; Xing-Xiao ZHANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(2):327-341
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most established and versatile mammalian expression system for the large-scale production of recombinant therapeutic proteins, owing to their genetic stability, adaptability to serum-free suspension culture, and ability to perform human-like post-translational modifications. More than 70% of biologics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rely on CHO-based production platforms, underscoring their central role in modern biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Despite these advantages, CHO systems continue to face three persistent bottlenecks that limit their potential for high-yield, reproducible, and cost-efficient production: excessive metabolic burden during high-density culture, heterogeneity of glycosylation patterns, and progressive loss of long-term expression stability. This review provides an integrated analysis of recent advances addressing these challenges and proposes a forward-looking framework for constructing intelligent and sustainable CHO cell factories. In terms of metabolic regulation, excessive lactate and ammonia accumulation disrupts energy balance and reduces recombinant protein synthesis efficiency. Optimization of culture parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, osmolarity, and glucose feeding can effectively alleviate metabolic stress, while supplementation with modulators including sodium butyrate, baicalein, and S-adenosylmethionine promotes specific productivity (qP) by modulating apoptosis and chromatin structure. Furthermore, genetic engineering strategies—such as overexpression of MPC1/2, HSP27, and SIRT6 or knockout of Bax, Apaf1, and IGF-1R—have demonstrated significant improvements in cell viability and product yield. The combination of multi-omics metabolic modeling with artificial intelligence (AI)-based prediction offers new opportunities for building self-regulating CHO systems capable of dynamic adaptation to environmental stress. Regarding glycosylation uniformity, which determines therapeutic efficacy and immunogenicity, gene editing-based glycoengineering (e.g., FUT8 knockdown or ST6Gal1 overexpression) has enabled the humanization of CHO glycan profiles, minimizing non-human sugar residues and enhancing drug stability. Process-level strategies such as galactose or manganese co-feeding and fine control of temperature or osmolarity further allow rational regulation of glycosyltransferase activity. Additionally, in vitro chemoenzymatic remodeling provides a complementary route to construct human-type glycans with defined structures, though industrial applications remain constrained by cost and scalability. The integration of model-driven process design and AI feedback control is expected to enable real-time prediction and correction of glycosylation deviations, ensuring batch-to-batch consistency in continuous biomanufacturing. Long-term expression stability, another critical challenge, is often impaired by promoter silencing, chromatin condensation, and random genomic integration. Molecular optimization—such as the use of improved promoters (CMV, EF-1α, or CHO endogenous promoters), Kozak and signal peptide refinement, and incorporation of chromatin-opening elements (UCOE, MAR, STAR)—helps maintain durable transcriptional activity, while site-specific integration systems including Cre/loxP, Flp/FRT, φC31, and CRISPR/Cas9 can enable single-copy, position-independent gene insertion at genomic safe-harbor loci, ensuring stable, predictable expression. Collectively, this review highlights a paradigm shift in CHO system optimization driven by the convergence of genome editing, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence. The transition from empirical optimization to rational, data-driven design will facilitate the development of programmable CHO platforms capable of autonomous regulation of metabolic flux, glycosylation fidelity, and transcriptional activity. Such intelligent cell factories are expected to accelerate the transformation from laboratory-scale research to industrial-scale, high-consistency, and economically sustainable biopharmaceutical manufacturing, thereby supporting the next generation of efficient and customizable biologics manufacturing.
7.Study on the safety and efficacy of micro-perfusion device for preserving isolated porcine limbs
Pengkai LI ; Zhaodi MI ; Shen LI ; Man YUAN ; Xiwei PENG ; Jia LÜ ; Sice WANG ; Zhibo JIA ; Xiangyu SONG ; Yixuan ZHU ; Chonghui LI ; Moling XIAO ; Wenjing XU ; Jiang PENG
Organ Transplantation 2026;17(3):422-431
Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a self-developed micro-normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) system (micro-perfusion device) for preserving isolated porcine limbs. Methods Five healthy Landrace pigs were selected, and their left and right forelimbs were randomly divided into the NMP group and static cold storage (SCS) group. The NMP group was perfused with the self-developed micro-perfusion device and polymerized hemoglobin perfusate for 32 hours at normothermia, while the SCS group was preserved at 4 ℃. Hemodynamic parameters such as perfusion pressure and flow were monitored. The pH value, partial pressure of oxygen (PO2), lactic acid (Lac), creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the perfusate were measured. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to assess the muscle tissue structure, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling was employed to evaluate muscle cell apoptosis, and immunohistochemistry staining was applied to detect the expressions of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6. A mixed-effects model was used to analyze the effects of time and treatment methods on tissue structure, cell apoptosis and inflammatory factors. Results The device could stably maintain a perfusion pressure of (69±15) mmHg and a flow rate of (117±42) mL/min. The pH value and electrolytes of the perfusate were generally stable, with PO2 maintained at a high level. Lac was maintained at 5.38(3.81, 6.45) mmol/L, while CK and LDH increased over time. After 32 hours of perfusion in the NMP group, both the myocyte spacing and apoptosis rate were better than those in the SCS group. Mixed-effects model analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in the effects of NMP treatment and SCS treatment on myocyte spacing and apoptosis rate per unit time (both P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in TNF-α and IL-6 between the two groups, and mixed-effects model analysis showed no statistically significant differences in the effects of NMP treatment and SCS treatment on TNF-α and IL-6 per unit time (both P > 0.05). Conclusions The micro-perfusion device used in this study may achieve 32-hour normothermic preservation in a porcine limb amputation model, maintain basic metabolism and ionic homeostasis, reduce muscle structural damage and cell apoptosis without inducing additional inflammatory responses. This technology is expected to significantly extend the time window for replantation of amputated limbs in disaster rescue and long-distance transportation, providing an important technical basis for clinical translation and subsequent replantation research.
8.Correlations between coronary stenosis severity and cardiac function and exercise tolerance
Xingguo ZHU ; Zhenglong XIAO ; Lei ZHUANG ; Liangchen MA ; Shouling MI
Chinese Journal of Clinical Medicine 2026;33(1):83-87
Objective To explore the correlations of the severity degrees of coronary stenosis with cardiac function and exercise tolerance. Methods A total of 112 patients who underwent coronary angiography in Cardiology Department of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University between October 2024 and January 2025 were enrolled. According to the imaging results, the Gensini score was calculated, and the patients were divided into three groups based on the scores: mild group (<20 points, n=42), moderate group (20-40 points, n=43), and severe group (>40 points, n=27). The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level and its abnormal elevation ratio, 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), and grip strength were compared among the groups. The correlations between Gensini score and various indicators were analyzed using multivariate linear regression. And the multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the related factors of severe coronary stenosis. Results The 6MWD and LVEF values in the severe group were lower than those in the mild and moderate groups (P<0.01), while the NT-proBNP level and its abnormal elevation ratio in the severe group were higher than those in the mild group (P<0.05). The Gensini score was negatively correlated with 6MWD (β=−0.965, P<0.01), and positively correlated with NT-proBNP level and its abnormal elevation ratio (β=0.015, P<0.001; β=0.003, P=0.037). 6MWD and diabetes were independent related factors of severe coronary stenosis (OR=0.956, P<0.001; OR=5.701, P=0.038). Conclusions The cardiac function and exercise tolerance in patients with severe coronary stenosis decrease, 6MWD is helpful of recognizing severe coronary stenosis population.
9.Mechanism of action of Qingre huatan huoxue decoction against atherosclerosis based on macrophage polarization
Huaping ZHONG ; Qicheng ZHU ; Zhengwei ZOU ; Zhengyi HE ; Heping XIE ; Xu CHEN ; Zhisheng DUAN ; Tian XIAO
China Pharmacy 2026;37(4):438-443
OBJECTIVE To explore the mechanism of action of Qingre huatan huoxue decoction against atherosclerosis (AS)based on macrophage polarization. METHODS Using atorvastatin served as the positive control, the drug-containing serum of the Qingre huatan huoxue decoction was prepared to treat RAW264.7 macrophages. Macrophage viability, apoptosis rate, and the fluorescence intensities of CD86 and CD206 were measured, along with the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Apolipoprotei n E-deficient (ApoE -/- ) mice (AS model mice) fed with a high-fat diet were randomly assigned to model group, atorvastatin group (2.6 mg/kg), and low-, medium- and high-dose groups of Qingre huatan huoxue decoction (90, 180, 360 mg/kg), respectively. C57BL/6J mice fed with a standard diet served as the normal control group, with 10 mice per group. The treatment group mice were administered the corresponding drugs intragastrically, once daily, for 8 consecutive weeks. Serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1β were measured in all groups. Lipid deposition in the aorta (assessed by the percentage of plaque in the entire aorta and aortic root) and morphological changes in the aortic root were observed. Expression levels of CD86 and CD206 in aortic tissue, as well as the protein expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), arginase-1 (Arg-1), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), phosphorylated AMPK (p-AMPK), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ) in aortic tissues were all detected. RESULTS Cell experiment results showed that, at concentrations of 5-100 μg/mL, the drug-containing serum of the Qingre huatan huoxue decoction significantly increased RAW264.7 cell viability ( P <0.05). The drug-containing serum of the Qingre huatan huoxue decoction at concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 μg/mL, along with atorvastatin, significantly reduced apoptosis rates, CD86 fluorescence intensity, and TNF-α and IL-1β levels in RAW264.7 cells, while markedly enhancing CD206 fluorescence intensity ( P <0.05). Animal experiment results showed that, compared with the model group, all dosage groups of Qingre huatan huoxue decoction and the atorvastatin group showed significantly reduced/down-regulated levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in serum, along with decreased aortic total and root plaque percentages, CD86 expression, and iNOS protein expression. CD206 expression and Arg-1, p-AMPK/AMPK, PPAR-γ protein expression were significantly up-regulated ( P <0.05). Pathological morphology of the aorta showed varying degrees of improvement. CONCLUSIONS The formula of Qingre huatan huoxue decoction exerts its anti-AS effects by regulating macrophage polarization, increasing the proportion of M2 macrophages, thereby effectively inhibiting AS plaque formation and reducing inflammatory responses.
10.Analysis of risk factors and construction of risk prediction model for batroxobin-related severe hypofibrinogenemia
Le CAI ; Yuqing ZHAO ; Jiazhu CUI ; Xiao WEN ; Daihong GUO ; Man ZHU
China Pharmacy 2026;37(4):462-467
OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors for batroxobin-related severe hypofibrinogenemia (HFIB) and construct a risk prediction model. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted on inpatients treated with batroxobin in the First Medical Center of a tertiary hospital from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2024. Patients were categorized into non-severe HFIB group and severe HFIB group based on the severity of HFIB. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the independent influencing factors for batroxobin-related severe HFIB. A nomogram was developed using the “rms” package in R 4.5 software. The predictive performance of the model was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Calibration was assessed via the Bootstrap resampling method, and goodness-of-fit was evaluated with the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. RESULTS A total of 1 472 patients were included in this study. Of these, 1 445 developed HFIB, yi elding an incidence of 98.17%. Furthermore, 895 were classified as severe HFIB, accounting for 60.80% of the cohort. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that increased age, high initial dose per 10 kg body weight, use of maintenance dose, and concomitant glucocorticoid use were independent risk factors for batroxobin-related severe HFIB, while high baseline fibrinogen (FIB) level was identified as a protective factor. The model demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.760 (95% CI: 0.735-0.785). The mean absolute error of the calibration curve was 0.006. The P value of the Hosmer-Lemeshow test was 0.609. CONCLUSIONS Batroxobin can rapidly and significantly reduce FIB levels and carries a risk of inducing severe HFIB. Patients with advanced age, high initial dose per 10 kg body weight, use of maintenance dose and concomitant glucocorticoid use had a higher risk of batroxobin-related severe HFIB, while high baseline FIB level had a lower risk of batroxobin-related severe HFIB. The risk prediction model developed based on these factors can be used to predict the likelihood of batroxobin-related severe HFIB.

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