1.Oxidative Stress-related Signaling Pathways and Antioxidant Therapy in Alzheimer’s Disease
Li TANG ; Yun-Long SHEN ; De-Jian PENG ; Tian-Lu RAN ; Zi-Heng PAN ; Xin-Yi ZENG ; Hui LIU
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(10):2486-2498
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline, functional impairment, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. It represents the most prevalent form of dementia among the elderly population. Accumulating evidence indicates that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD. Notably, elevated levels of oxidative stress have been observed in the brains of AD patients, where excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause extensive damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA, ultimately compromising neuronal structure and function. Amyloid β‑protein (Aβ) has been shown to induce mitochondrial dysfunction and calcium overload, thereby promoting the generation of ROS. This, in turn, exacerbates Aβ aggregation and enhances tau phosphorylation, leading to the formation of two pathological features of AD: extracellular Aβ plaque deposition and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). These events ultimately culminate in neuronal death, forming a vicious cycle. The interplay between oxidative stress and these pathological processes constitutes a core link in the pathogenesis of AD. The signaling pathways mediating oxidative stress in AD include Nrf2, RCAN1, PP2A, CREB, Notch1, NF‑κB, ApoE, and ferroptosis. Nrf2 signaling pathway serves as a key regulator of cellular redox homeostasis, exerts important antioxidant capacity and protective effects in AD. RCAN1 signaling pathway, as a calcineurin inhibitor, and modulates AD progression through multiple mechanisms. PP2A signaling pathway is involved in regulating tau phosphorylation and neuroinflammation processes. CREB signaling pathway contributes to neuroplasticity and memory formation; activation of CREB improves cognitive function and reduce oxidative stress. Notch1 signaling pathway regulates neuronal development and memory, participates in modulation of Aβ production, and interacts with Nrf2 toco-regulate antioxidant activity. NF‑κB signaling pathway governs immune and inflammatory responses; sustained activation of this pathway forms “inflammatory memory”, thereby exacerbating AD pathology. ApoE signaling pathway is associated with lipid metabolism; among its isoforms, ApoE-ε4 significantly increases the risk of AD, leading to elevated oxidative stress, abnormal lipid metabolism, and neuroinflammation. The ferroptosis signaling pathway is driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, and the subsequent release of lipid peroxidation products and ROS exacerbate oxidative stress and neuronal damage. These interconnected pathways form a complex regulatory network that regulates the progression of AD through oxidative stress and related pathological cascades. In terms of therapeutic strategies targeting oxidative stress, among the drugs currently used in clinical practice for AD treatment, memantine and donepezil demonstrate significant therapeutic efficacy and can improve the level of oxidative stress in AD patients. Some compounds with antioxidant effects (such asα-lipoic acid and melatonin) have shown certain potential in AD treatment research and can be used as dietary supplements to ameliorate AD symptoms. In addition, non-drug interventions such as calorie restriction and exercise have been proven to exerted neuroprotective effects and have a positive effect on the treatment of AD. By comprehensively utilizing the therapeutic characteristics of different signaling pathways, it is expected that more comprehensive multi-target combination therapy regimens and combined nanomolecular delivery systems will be developed in the future to bypass the blood-brain barrier, providing more effective therapeutic strategies for AD.
2.Spatial-temporal Dynamics of Tuberculosis and Its Association with Meteorological Factors and Air Pollution in Shaanxi Province, China.
Heng Liang LYU ; Xi Hao LIU ; Hui CHEN ; Xue Li ZHANG ; Feng LIU ; Zi Tong ZHENG ; Hong Wei ZHANG ; Yuan Yong XU ; Wen Yi ZHANG
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(7):867-872
3.Research Progress on the Prognostic Evaluation of MRD in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2024;32(2):625-629
Acute myeloid leukemia(AML)is a highly heterogeneous group of malignant tumors in the blood system.Although many AML patients have achieved survive for a long time through chemotherapy and targeted therapy combined with/without HSCT,but some of them still be difficult to achieve remission or early relapse after remission.Therefore,refining risk stratification and achieving individualized treatment based on prognostic indicators is of great significance.As the research on prognostic indicators of AML deepens increasingly,the prognostic stratification has been continuously improved,from the MICM typing index to the comprehensive evaluation of biological disease characteristics such as MRD.This article reviews the development of prognostic indicators for AML and the research progress of MRD on AML prognosis evaluation to better identify patients with different risks and formulate and implement accurate diagnosis and treatment programs.
4.Discussion on the Manual Therapy for Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy Based on the Classification of Tendons,Joints,Bones and Marrow
Yong-Jin LI ; Fang-Zheng LIN ; Shu-Dong CHEN ; Ji-Heng ZHAN ; Yu HOU ; Ji QI ; Xiao-Long ZENG ; Zi-Bo GAO ; Ding-Kun LIN
Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;41(10):2596-2600
Cervical spondylotic radiculopathy(CSR)is a condition caused by the degeneration of cervical intervertebral discs and facet joints,primarily manifesting as the pain,sensory abnormalities,and motor dysfunction in the cervical nerve innervation area of neck,shoulder,and upper limb.For the treatment of CSR,tendon-bone syndrome differentiation in traditional Chinese medicine often faces the issues of conceptual confusion and non-standard syndrome differentiation.Based on the traditional tendon-bone syndrome differentiation and by integrating modern anatomical insights,Professor LIN Ding-Kun,an esteemed scholar of Traditional Chinese Medicine,proposed a classification system for the cervical spine that includes the categories of tendons,joints,bones and marrow.This paper explored the thoughts of Professor LIN for the tendon-bone syndrome differentiation of CSR,summarized the targets of manual therapy,and proposed the four kinds of pathological changes such as tendon overstrain,joint dislocation,bone lesion,and marrow injury,as well as the four techniques of traditional Chinese medicine manipulations,i.e.relaxation of tendons,reduction of joints,protection of marrow,and treatment of bones.The aim is to improve the syndrome-differentiation and treatment for CSR with orthopedic and traumatologic manipulations,and to provide reference for clinical practice.
5. Effect of menthol, a transient receptor potential melastatin-8 channel activator, on pulmonary arterial hypertensive rats
Hao-Heng GTU ; Zhuang LI ; Jian-Qin YANG ; Wen-Bin FENG ; Xiao-Qing LIU ; Zi-Jian ZHAO ; Yun-Ping MU ; Fang-Hong LI ; Bin LI
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2023;39(4):700-706
Aim To investigate the effects of menthol, a transient receptor potential melastatin-8 channel activator, on treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in PAH model rats caused by monocrotaline (MCT). Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups randomly (control group, MCT group, MCT + menthol 1 mg • kg
6. Effect of a novel phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, CPD1, on paraquat-induced lung fibrosis in rats
Jie GAO ; Jian WU ; Jie GAO ; Jing ZHANG ; Jian WU ; Jian-Qin YANG ; Hao-Heng QIU ; Zi-Jian ZHAO ; Fang-Hong LI ; Yun-Ping MU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2023;39(6):1136-1142
Aim To investigate the effects of CPD1, a novel phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, on lung pathological phenotype and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of alveolar epithelial cells in lung fibrosis model rats caused by paraquat (PQ). Methods Lung fibrosis model was constructed by a single intraperitoneal injection of PQ (30 mg·kg
7.Ligustroflavone mediates the resistance of non-small cell lung cancer to osimertinib by arresting G1/S phase
Tian LI ; Ting WANG ; Bao-juan XING ; Zi-heng HE ; Jiao CHEN ; Xue-ting CAI ; He CUI ; Peng CAO
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2023;58(11):3349-3353
Natural products are an important source for the development of antitumor lead compounds, but the pharmacological effects and regulatory mechanisms of natural products in osimertinib resistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are not well understood. The natural product ligustroflavone was used as the research object to analyze its efficacy in osimertinib-resistant NSCLC cells by cell proliferation assay and cell cycle detection. The potential targets of ligustroflavone in osimertinib-resistant NSCLC cells were screened by public databases and bioinformatics, molecular docking and microscale thermophoresis were used to identify the interaction between privet and target molecules. Western blot was used to detect the effect of privet on the target molecules and their downstream pathways. Ligustroflavone reduced the proliferation of osimertinib-resistant NSCLC cells, and could arrest the cell cycle. Cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) was the potential target of ligustroflavone in osimertinib-resistant NSCLC cells. Ligustroflavone inhibited the activation of CDK6-Rb axis. Together, ligustroflavone could regulate osimertinib resistance in NSCLC cells by binding cell cyclin-related molecules. This study provides a theoretical basis for the targeted drug resistance of NSCLC with natural products, and also provides a new idea for the development of clinical drug combination.
8.Effect of Suanzaoren Decoction on expression of ionotropic glutamate receptors and synaptic plasticity in hippocampus of anxiety rats.
Hong-Kun WANG ; Jin-Ming HE ; Yue-Heng YAN ; Zi-Hao WANG ; Ruo-Xuan LI ; Yan-Yan WANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2023;48(20):5583-5591
This study investigated the effect of Suanzaoren Decoction on the expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors(NMDAR) and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid receptors(AMPAR) in the hippocampus and synaptic plasticity in rats with conditioned fear-induced anxiety. The effect of Suanzaoren Decoction on rat behaviors were evaluated through open field experiment, elevated plus maze experiment, and light/dark box experiment. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure the levels of glutamate(Glu) and γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA) in the rat hippocampus. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR) and Western blot were employed to assess the gene and protein expression of ionotropic glutamate receptors in the hippocampal region. Transmission electron microscopy was utilized to observe the changes in the ultrastructure of synaptic neurons in the hippocampal region. Long-term potentiation(LTP) detection technique was employed to record the changes in population spike(PS) amplitude in the hippocampal region of mice in each group. The behavioral results showed that compared with the model group, the Suanzaoren Decoction group effectively increased the number of entries into open arms, time spent in open arms, percentage of time spent in open arms out of total movement time, number of entries into open arms out of total entries into both arms(P<0.01), and significantly increased the time spent in the light box and the number of shuttle crossings(P<0.01). There was an increasing trend in the number of grid crossings, entries into the center grid, and time spent in the center grid, indicating a significant anxiolytic effect. ELISA results showed that compared with the model group, the Suanzaoren Decoction group exhibited significantly reduced levels of Glu, Glu/GABA ratio(P<0.01), and significantly increased levels of GABA(P<0.01) in the rat hippocampus. Furthermore, Suanzaoren Decoction significantly decreased the gene and protein expression of NMDAR(GluN2B and GluN2A) and AMPAR(GluA1 and GluA2) compared with the model group. Transmission electron microscopy results demonstrated improvements in synapses, neuronal cells, and organelles in the hippocampal region of the Suanzaoren Decoction group compared with the model group. LTP detection results showed a significant increase in the PS amplitude changes in the hippocampal region of Suanzaoren Decoction group from 5 to 35 min compared with the model group(P<0.05, P<0.01). In conclusion, Suanzaoren Decoction exhibits significant anxiolytic effects, which may be attributed to the reduction in NMDAR and AMPAR expression levels and the improvement of synaptic plasticity.
Rats
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Mice
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Animals
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Receptors, Ionotropic Glutamate/metabolism*
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Hippocampus
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Neuronal Plasticity
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Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/genetics*
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Anxiety/genetics*
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gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
9.Prognostic Prediction Value and Biological Functions of Non-Apoptotic Regulated Cell Death Genes in Lung Adenocarcinoma.
Hao-Ling LI ; Jun-Xian WANG ; Heng-Wen DAI ; Jun-Jie LIU ; Zi-Yang LIU ; Ming-Yuan ZOU ; Lei ZHANG ; Wen-Rui WANG
Chinese Medical Sciences Journal 2023;38(3):178-190
Objective To explore the potential biological functions and prognostic prediction values of non-apoptotic regulated cell death genes (NARCDs) in lung adenocarcinoma.Methods Transcriptome data of lung adenocarcinoma were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. We identified differentially expressed NARCDs between lung adenocarcinoma tissues and normal tissues with R software. NARCDs signature was constructed with univariate Cox regression analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression. The prognostic predictive capacity of NARCDs signature was assessed by Kaplan-Meier survival curve, receiver operating characteristic curve, and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Functional enrichment of NARCDs signature was analyzed with gene set variation analysis, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. In addition, differences in tumor mutational burden, tumor microenvironment, tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion score, and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity were analyzed between the high and low NARCDs score groups. Finally, a protein-protein interaction network of NARCDs and immune-related genes was constructed by STRING and Cytoscape software. Results We identified 34 differentially expressed NARCDs associated with the prognosis, of which 16 genes (ATIC, AURKA, CA9, ITGB4, DDIT4, CDK5R1, CAV1, RRM2, GAPDH, SRXN1, NLRC4, GLS2, ADRB2, CX3CL1, GDF15, and ADRA1A) were selected to construct a NARCDs signature. NARCDs signature was identified as an independent prognostic factor (P < 0.001). Functional analysis showed that there were significant differences in mismatch repair, p53 signaling pathway, and cell cycle between the high NARCDs score group and low NARCDs score group (all P < 0.05). The NARCDs low score group had lower tumor mutational burden, higher immune score, higher tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion score, and lower drug sensitivity (all P < 0.05). In addition, the 10 hub genes (CXCL5, TLR4, JUN, IL6, CCL2, CXCL2, ILA, IFNG, IL33, and GAPDH) in protein-protein interaction network of NARCDs and immune-related genes were all immune-related genes. Conclusion The NARCDs prognostic signature based on the above 16 genes is an independent prognostic factor, which can effectively predict the clinical prognosis of patients of lung adenocarcinoma and provide help for clinical treatment.
Humans
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Prognosis
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Apoptosis
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Regulated Cell Death
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Adenocarcinoma of Lung/genetics*
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Lung Neoplasms/genetics*
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Tumor Microenvironment
10.Inhibition of glutaminolysis alleviates myocardial fibrosis induced by angiotensin II.
Pan-Pan WANG ; Hao-Miao BAI ; Si-Yu HE ; Zi-Qi XIA ; Mei-Jie LIU ; Jiong AN ; Jia-Heng ZHOU ; Chen-Han LI ; Wei ZHANG ; Xing ZHANG ; Xin-Pei WANG ; Jia LI
Acta Physiologica Sinica 2023;75(2):179-187
The present study was aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of glutaminolysis of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) in hypertension-induced myocardial fibrosis. C57BL/6J mice were administered with a chronic infusion of angiotensin II (Ang II, 1.6 mg/kg per d) with a micro-osmotic pump to induce myocardial fibrosis. Masson staining was used to evaluate myocardial fibrosis. The mice were intraperitoneally injected with BPTES (12.5 mg/kg), a glutaminase 1 (GLS1)-specific inhibitor, to inhibit glutaminolysis simultaneously. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect protein expression levels of GLS1, Collagen I and Collagen III in cardiac tissue. Neonatal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat CFs were treated with 4 mmol/L glutamine (Gln) or BPTES (5 μmol/L) with or without Ang II (0.4 μmol/L) stimulation. The CFs were also treated with 2 mmol/L α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) under the stimulation of Ang II and BPTES. Wound healing test and CCK-8 were used to detect CFs migration and proliferation respectively. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to detect mRNA and protein expression levels of GLS1, Collagen I and Collagen III. The results showed that blood pressure, heart weight and myocardial fibrosis were increased in Ang II-treated mice, and GLS1 expression in cardiac tissue was also significantly up-regulated. Gln significantly promoted the proliferation, migration, mRNA and protein expression of GLS1, Collagen I and Collagen III in the CFs with or without Ang II stimulation, whereas BPTES significantly decreased the above indices in the CFs. α-KG supplementation reversed the inhibitory effect of BPTES on the CFs under Ang II stimulation. Furthermore, in vivo intraperitoneal injection of BPTES alleviated cardiac fibrosis of Ang II-treated mice. In conclusion, glutaminolysis plays an important role in the process of cardiac fibrosis induced by Ang II. Targeted inhibition of glutaminolysis may be a new strategy for the treatment of myocardial fibrosis.
Rats
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Mice
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Animals
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Rats, Sprague-Dawley
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Angiotensin II/pharmacology*
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Fibroblasts
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Fibrosis
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Collagen/pharmacology*
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Collagen Type I/metabolism*
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RNA, Messenger/metabolism*
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Myocardium/pathology*

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