1.Expression characteristics of OPG/RANKL/RANK and the relationship with fibrosis in myocardial tissues of rats with chronic heart failure
Xin YANG ; Xue-kun CAI ; Ze-long WU ; An-tao CHEN ; Zi-hao CHEN ; Xuan XIE ; Jia-kang OU ; Zhao-qi HUANG
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2025;41(1):71-75
Objective To study the expression characteristics of osteoprotegerin(OPG)/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand(RANKL)/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB(RANK)system and the relationship with fibrosis in myocardial tissues of rats with chronic heart failure.Methods SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group(12 rats)and model group.In sham-operation group,surgical thread was passed through the abdominal aorta without constricting it after laparotomy;in model group,establish the heart failure model by abdominal aorta coarctation.The successful model rats were randomly divided into model 1 week(12 rats),model 2 weeks(11 rats),model 4 weeks(11 rats),model 8 weeks(11 rats)and model 12 weeks groups(11 rats).The end point of the study is at week 12.The contents of hydroxyproline(HYP),total myocardial collagen and collagen volume fraction(CVF)were compaired in all proups.The expression levels of OPG,RANKL and RANK proteins in cardiomyocytes were determined by Western blot.Results The contents of HYP in sham-operation,model 1 week,model 2 weeks,model 4 weeks,model 8 weeks and model 12 weeks group were(0.25±0.04),(0.37±0.05),(0.45±0.04),(0.60±0.05),(0.82±0.10)and(1.03±0.07)μg·mg-1;the total myocardial collagen contents were(1.87±0.31),(2.73±0.38),(3.36±0.31),(4.47±0.37),(6.08±0.74)and(7.67±0.49)μg·mg-1;the CVF were(1.95±0.23)%,(2.40±0.25)%,(3.65±0.25)%,(5.43±0.29)%,(6.97±0.36)%and(9.38±0.49)%;the relative expression levels of OPG protein were 0.64±0.07,0.80±0.07,1.02±0.07,1.32±0.11,2.13±0.12 and 2.84±0.16;the relative expression levels of RANKL protein were 0.71±0.08,1.06±0.07,1.53±0.07,2.62±0.12,4.46±0.14 and 6.11±0.16;the relative expression levels of RANK protein were 0.30±0.05,0.45±0.05,0.63±0.06,0.98±0.07,1.43±0.10 and 1.63±0.10.With the extention of time,the above indexs of all model groups were significantly higher than those in the sham-operation group(all P<0.05).There were positive linear correlation between the relative expression levels of OPG,RANKL,RANK protein and the levels of CVF and total contents in cardiomyocytes of rats with chronic heart failure(allP<0.01).Conclusions In the process of chronic heart failure,the expression of OPG/RANKL/RANK axis is obviously enhanced,in which the up-regulation of RANKL level is most obvious.The expression level of OPG/RANKL/RANK is positively correlated with CVF and total myocardial collagen content.
2.Effect of miR-129-3p mimetic on bone loss in tail-suspended mice
Yi WU ; Zi-dong AN ; Yong-jie PANG ; Li-qiang WANG ; Xin-yang WANG ; Yu-hai GAO ; Xue-yan LI ; Ke-ming CHEN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(4):703-709
Aim To study whether intravenous injec-tion of miR-129-3p mimetic(agomir)can resist bone loss caused by hind limb disuse,and to provide new i-deas for preventing bone loss in microgravity environ-ment.Methods Forty-eight C57BL/6J male mice were randomly divided into the control group(CON),tail suspension model group(TS),tail suspension+miR-129-3p agomir administration group(miRNA)and tail suspension+miR-129-3p negative sequence agomir control group(NC).The miRNA group was given 4 mg·kg-1 miR-129-3p agomir by intravenous injection into the medial canthus twice a week.The NC agomir group were consistent with those in the miR-129-3p agomir group,and the CON and TS groups were given only equal volumes of normal saline.After four weeks,all mice were sacrificed and samples were collected.Micro-CT scan of femur,three-point femur bending test,serum bone metabolism index detection,oxidative stress index detection and osteogenesis-related protein expression analysis in bone tissue were per-formed.Results After four weeks,the number of tra-becular bone in the TS group was significantly re-duced,and Tb.BMD,Tb.Th,Tb.N,Tb.BS/TV and Tb.BV/TV were significantly lower than those in the CON group(P<0.01).While Tb.Sp TS group was significantly higher than the CON group(P<0.05),the maximum load and flexural strength of the femur significantly decreased(P<0.01),the content of ser-um bone formation index PINP was significantly lower than that of the CON group(P<0.01),and the con-tent of bone resorption index CTX-I was significantly higher than that of the CON group(P<0.01),the content of serum oxidative damage indexes 8-iso-PGF2α and 8-OHdG significantly increased(P<0.01),and the expression of osteogenesis-related pro-teins in bone tissue markedly decreased(P<0.01).However,the increase or decrease of all indexes in miRNA group was significantly lower than that in TS group.Conclusions miR-129-3p mimetic can signifi-cantly reduce bone loss caused by hind limb disuse.This experiment provides a new idea and method for preventing bone loss in microgravity environment.
3.PD-L1 inhibits and regulates liver CD8+IFN-γ+ T cells to damage liver function and participate in atherosclerosis
Xiao LIU ; Xin WU ; Zi-yi ZHEN ; Jia-ying ZHANG ; Qi LI ; Chang CHEN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(4):638-645
Aim To study the effect of anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody on high-fat diet-induced athero-sclerosis in ApoE-/-mice.Methods Twenty-four ApoE-/-mice were randomly divided into the normal group,high-fat group,and high-fat+anti-PD-L1 mAb group.After 70 days,the blood samples were harves-ted.Blood vessels(aortic root to abdominal aorta)and liver from each groups were stained with Oil Red O.Hematoxylin-eosin staining(HE)was employed to vis-ualize structural changes in liver.Enzyme-linked im-munosorbent assay(ELISA)was applied to detect the serum levels of total cholesterol(CHO),triglyceride(TG),high-density lipoprotein(HDL-c),low-density lipoprotein(LDL-c)and inflammatory factors(IFN-γ,TNF-α,IL-1 β).Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of lymphocytes(CD4 and CD8).RT-PCR was utilized to assess the expressions of IFN-γ,TNF-α,IL-1 β,CD4 and CD8 in liver.Results Compared with the high-fat group,the treatment with anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody promoted vascular wall and liver lipid accumulation,and also up-regulated serum and liver content of cholesterol(CHO),triglyceride(TG)and high-density lipoprotein(HDL-c).Treatment with anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody up-regulated the con-tent of alanine aminotransferase(GPT)and aspartate aminotransferase(GOT)in serum and liver,but not al-kaline phosphatase(AKP).ELISA test indicated that treatment with anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody stimu-lated the serum level of IFN-γ,TNF-α and IL-1 β.Fur-thermore,the mRNA level of IFN-γ,TNF-α and IL-1 βin liver was also up-regulated after treatment with anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody.With flow cytometry,we observed that treatment with anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody promoted hepatic CD8+T and CD8+IFN-γ+T cell activation,but had no effect on CD4+IFN-γ+T cell activation under high-fat feeding conditions.Con-clusions Anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody adminis-tered under high-fat feeding conditions can damage liv-er function and aggravate atherosclerosis by activating liver CD8+IFN-γ+T cells.
4.Key technology and equipment development status of first-aid robotics
Zhen-bao WANG ; Zi-jian WANG ; Xin-xi XU ; Xin LIU ; Tao CHENG ; Pei-peng LIU ; Xiu-guo ZHAO ; Chen SU
Chinese Medical Equipment Journal 2025;46(3):96-114
The development status of the key technologies of first-aid robotics was introduced in autonomous system,embo-died intelligence,digital twins,large artificial intelligence model and autonomous unmanned medical treatment.The present situation in first-aid robotics equipment was reviewed for first-aid diagnosis,treatment,assistance and transportation.The development trends of the key technology and equipment of first-aid robotics were analyzed.It was pointed out the involve-ment of big model-based embodied intelligence technology and digital twins technology in first aid might provide new pers-pectives for the application and advancement of specialized first-aid robotics.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(3):96-114]
5.Advances in DNA methylation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and depression
Zi-yun LIAO ; Meng-yu WANG ; Jing-yi QIAO ; Run ZHANG ; Pei-dong LIU ; Xin-wang CHEN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(5):825-829
Depression is a heterogeneous mental disorder in which the interaction between genetic susceptibility and environ-mental factors plays a key role in its pathogenesis.Although the specific mechanisms of the disease still need to be thoroughly studied and elucidated,there is now a broad consensus that epi-genetic markers have a central influence on its mechanism of ac-tion.DNA methylation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BD-NF)is not only regarded as a promising epigenetic biomarker of pathology,but may also help predict the efficacy of antidepres-sants.In this paper we reviewed the gene structure of BDNF and its DNA methylation regulation mechanism,and also analyzed the changes of DNA methylation of this factor in depression pa-tients and animal models,aiming to provide new ideas and theo-retical support for clinical research.
6.Evaluation of a deep learning-driven centerline extraction algorithm for optimizing the diagnosis of the"gray zone"in noninvasive coronary fractional flow reserve
Zi-qiang GUO ; Xi WANG ; Zi-nuan LIU ; Yi-pu DING ; Ran XIN ; Dong-kai SHAN ; Jun GUO ; Yun-dai CHEN ; Jun-jie YANG
Chinese Journal of Interventional Cardiology 2025;33(6):312-318
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the minimum-cost-path-based CT angiography-derived fractional flow reserve(MCP-FFR)and the deep learning-driven CT angiography-derived fractional flow reserve(DeepCL-FFR),and to particularly explore the potential value of the DeepCL algorithm in improving diagnostic accuracy within the"gray zone."Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 151 coronary vessels from 109 patients with coronary artery disease,who were hospitalized at the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army between January 2020 and June 2021.Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman plots were employed to assess the correlation and agreement of the two CT-FFR methods with invasive FFR.A CT-FFR range of 0.70-0.80 was defined as the diagnostic"gray zone."The accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,and negative predictive value for detecting hemodynamic abnormalities were calculated and analyzed.The DeLong test was used to compare the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves(AUC)between the two CT-FFR calculation methods.Results Both CT-FFR methods exhibited a positive correlation with invasive FFR(MCP-FFR:r=0.75,P<0.001;DeepCL-FFR:r=0.86,P<0.001)and showed good agreement(MCP-FFR:mean difference=0.010,P=0.351;DeepCL-FFR:mean difference=-0.003,P=0.772).Both DeepCL-FFR(AUC 0.97,95%CI 0.94-0.99)and MCP-FFR(AUC 0.92,95%CI 0.88-0.97)demonstrated favorable diagnostic performance for detecting hemodynamic abnormalities(P=0.122).In the"gray zone"for hemodynamic abnormality,the diagnostic accuracy of MCP-FFR was 68.8%,whereas DeepCL-FFR increased it to 89.7%.DeepCL-FFR also exhibited superior diagnostic performance(AUC 0.89,95%CI 0.73-0.99)within the"gray zone,"which was significantly higher than that of MCP-FFR(AUC 0.71,95%CI 0.54-0.87)(P<0.001).Conclusions The deep learning-driven coronary centerline extraction algorithm,DeepCL,demonstrates superior diagnostic performance in CT-FFR for detecting hemodynamic abnormalities,particularly by significantly improving diagnostic accuracy in the"gray zone."
7.Discovery of FAM3 A-targeting Small Molecule Agents Using Integrated Virtual Screening and SPR Technology
Zi-Shuo XU ; Chao SHI ; Zhang-Xin CHEN ; Zhe-Yong XUE ; Li-Xin HUANG ; Zhen-Zhan CHANG
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(11):1711-1718
Family with sequence similarity 3 member A(FAM3A),a novel mitochondrial protein,plays a pivotal role in hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism by enhancing ATP synthesis and secretion and mod-ulating the ATP-P2 receptor-Akt signaling pathway.Dysregulation of FAM3A is closely associated with the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)and type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).In this study,targeting FAM3A as a therapeutic candidate,we conducted virtual screening to identify 47 small-molecule compounds with potential binding activity.Surface plasmon resonance(SPR)analysis re-vealed three compounds exhibiting high binding affinity to FAM3 A.Further structural characterization of the FAM3A-compound complexes,combined with intermolecular interaction analysis,elucidated the binding mode of the lead compound Index 2(taxifolin)to FAM3A at atomic resolution.These findings provide critical insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying ligand-FAM3A interactions and deliver valuable chemical scaffolds for the development of therapeutics targeting NAFLD and T2DM.This work establishes a foundation for advancing drug discovery efforts focused on FAM3A-mediated metabolic disor-ders.
8.Feasibility study of using clinical trial individual-level data sample bank as external control to support drug and device development:taking transcatheter aortic valve replacement device as an example
Xiao-ying LIN ; Chi-lie DANZENG ; Duo-er WANG ; Ying-xuan ZHU ; Ye LU ; Fan GAO ; Yuan-xin LI ; Meng-zhu SU ; Zi-long ZHANG ; Min CHEN ; Qi-ze LI ; Ru JIANG ; Yan-yan ZHAO ; Yang WANG
Chinese Journal of Interventional Cardiology 2025;33(8):459-466
Objective To explore the feasibility and corresponding implementation methods of constructing a sample resource bank based on individual-level data of completed clinical trials and using it to construct external controls for drug/device clinical trials.Methods Taking the pre-marketing clinical trial of transcatheter active valve replacement(TAVR)for the treatment of aortic valve stenosis as an example,the individual-level databases of multiple trials were standardized to form a sample bank.The original data of any trial in the sample bank were selected as the experimental group,and the remaining samples were selected as the control group.The potential confounding was handled by using the propensity score matching and stratification methods to clarify the process of constructing external controls based on the sample bank of individual-level data of clinical trials.Results This study included individual-level data of single-group trials of 4 TAVR devices,with a total of 569 subjects(59.2%male).The number of subjects in Trials 1 to 4 was 120,120,163,and 166,respectively.Propensity score matching enabled the matching of 113,117,125,and 147 subjects with comparable or similar characteristics from individual-level data from other trials,respectively,demonstrating a high matching success rate.The PS score distribution plot after stratification showed that the proportions of subjects in the experimental and control groups in strata 1 to 5 in scheme 1 were 4/103,11/103,22/92,32/87,and 51/64,respectively.For all constructed external controlled trials,a certain number of control samples with similar baseline characteristics to the experimental groups were distributed within each propensity score stratum.The results of the simulation test also reflected the potential differences between different devices in the 12-month all-cause mortality rate.Conclusions The sample bank constructed with individual-level data from clinical trials,as a high-quality data source,can serve as a source of external control for single-arm trials in the same field,and as a useful supplement to the external control scenario of real-world evidence to support drug and device development.At the same time,targeted research on research methods and bias control measures in related fields is also needed.
9.Mechanism of dioscin inhibiting apoptosis in HT22 cells after OGD/R
Zi-xin CHEN ; Zhi-hui CHEN ; Wen-chuan LUO ; Feng-lin RAO ; Mei HUANG ; Ya-ping CHEN ; Li-hong NAN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(2):277-283
Aim To investigate the neuroprotective effect of dioscin(DIO)on hippocampal neurons(HT22)after oxygen glucose deprivation/reoxygen-ation(OGD/R)and its possible mechanism.Methods HT22 cells were treated with 0,2.5,5,10,20,40,80,160,and 320 mg·L-1DIO for 24 h,and the cell proliferation rate was detected by CCK-8 method.The concentration that was non-toxic to HT 2 2 cells was se-lected for subsequent experiments.After OGD for 2 h,HT22 cells were randomly divided into the OGD/R group,1.25,2.5,and 5 mg·L-1DIO group,and posi-tive control group.HT22 cells were taken as the con-trol group.After drug intervention for 24 h,the cell proliferation rate was detected by CCK-8 method;the LDH release was detected by colorimetry;the cell ap-optosis rate was detected by TUNEL method;the ex-pression of proteins related to PARP-1/AIF pathway and caspase pathway was detected by Western blot.Results DIO intervention significantly upregulated the expression of AIF protein in mitochondria and PAR protein in nucleus of HT22 cells after OGD/R,and sig-nificantly downregulated the release of LDH,neuronal apoptosis rate,total protein expression of AIF and PAR,PARP-1,AIF in nucleus and protein expression of PAR protein in mitochondria,while the expression of Bax and caspase-3 proteins was not significantly differ-ent from that in the OGD/R group.Conclusion DIO can alleviate the apoptosis of HT22 cells induced by OGD/R by regulating the expression and translocation of proteins related to the PARP-1/AIF pathway,thus playing a neuroprotective role.
10.Expression characteristics of OPG/RANKL/RANK and the relationship with fibrosis in myocardial tissues of rats with chronic heart failure
Xin YANG ; Xue-kun CAI ; Ze-long WU ; An-tao CHEN ; Zi-hao CHEN ; Xuan XIE ; Jia-kang OU ; Zhao-qi HUANG
The Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2025;41(1):71-75
Objective To study the expression characteristics of osteoprotegerin(OPG)/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand(RANKL)/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB(RANK)system and the relationship with fibrosis in myocardial tissues of rats with chronic heart failure.Methods SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group(12 rats)and model group.In sham-operation group,surgical thread was passed through the abdominal aorta without constricting it after laparotomy;in model group,establish the heart failure model by abdominal aorta coarctation.The successful model rats were randomly divided into model 1 week(12 rats),model 2 weeks(11 rats),model 4 weeks(11 rats),model 8 weeks(11 rats)and model 12 weeks groups(11 rats).The end point of the study is at week 12.The contents of hydroxyproline(HYP),total myocardial collagen and collagen volume fraction(CVF)were compaired in all proups.The expression levels of OPG,RANKL and RANK proteins in cardiomyocytes were determined by Western blot.Results The contents of HYP in sham-operation,model 1 week,model 2 weeks,model 4 weeks,model 8 weeks and model 12 weeks group were(0.25±0.04),(0.37±0.05),(0.45±0.04),(0.60±0.05),(0.82±0.10)and(1.03±0.07)μg·mg-1;the total myocardial collagen contents were(1.87±0.31),(2.73±0.38),(3.36±0.31),(4.47±0.37),(6.08±0.74)and(7.67±0.49)μg·mg-1;the CVF were(1.95±0.23)%,(2.40±0.25)%,(3.65±0.25)%,(5.43±0.29)%,(6.97±0.36)%and(9.38±0.49)%;the relative expression levels of OPG protein were 0.64±0.07,0.80±0.07,1.02±0.07,1.32±0.11,2.13±0.12 and 2.84±0.16;the relative expression levels of RANKL protein were 0.71±0.08,1.06±0.07,1.53±0.07,2.62±0.12,4.46±0.14 and 6.11±0.16;the relative expression levels of RANK protein were 0.30±0.05,0.45±0.05,0.63±0.06,0.98±0.07,1.43±0.10 and 1.63±0.10.With the extention of time,the above indexs of all model groups were significantly higher than those in the sham-operation group(all P<0.05).There were positive linear correlation between the relative expression levels of OPG,RANKL,RANK protein and the levels of CVF and total contents in cardiomyocytes of rats with chronic heart failure(allP<0.01).Conclusions In the process of chronic heart failure,the expression of OPG/RANKL/RANK axis is obviously enhanced,in which the up-regulation of RANKL level is most obvious.The expression level of OPG/RANKL/RANK is positively correlated with CVF and total myocardial collagen content.

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