1.Mechanism of puerarin in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis based on network pharmacology and animal experimental verification
Yue Gao ; Fang Tang ; Wukai Ma ; Weiya Lan ; Zong Jiang ; Zexu Jin
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2025;60(1):22-31
Objective :
To investigate the mechanism of puerarin in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA) by network pharmacology and animal experiments.
Methods :
Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmcolog Database(TCMSP) and SwissTargetPrediction database were used to collect puerarin targets, and the targets of RA were obtained from GeneCards database and OMIM database. The PPI network was established by Cytoscape 3.7.2 software. Gene ontology(GO) function and Kyotoencyclopedia of genes(KEGG) enrichment analysis were performed through the Metascape database. RA rat-collagen-induced arthritis(CIA) model was reproduced using type Ⅱ collagen emulsion, 49 Wistar rats were randomly assigned to seven groups: control group, CIA model group, low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose puerarin group, methotrexate group, Tripterysium Glycosides Tablets group. Except for the control group, the other groups were given continuous gavage for 28 days after the CIA in rats model were prepared. The redness and swelling of the joints and ankle joint pathological changes were observed in each group. Western blot was used to detect the expression of Glycogen synthase kinase3β(GSK-3β), beta-catenin(β-catenin) proteins in the synovium. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR) was used to detect the expression of GSK-3β, β-catenin and c-Myc mRNA in the synovium.
Results :
Puerarin had 134 targets genes, RA had 5 821 target genes, and there were 102 overlapping target genes of puerarin and RA. It involved 184 signaling pathways, including JAK-STAT signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, et al. The results of animal experiments showed that after the intervention of M-puerarin and MTX, the symptoms of redness and swelling of the hind foot were alleviated, the inflammatory cell infiltration in the synovium of the joint was significantly reduced, and the damage of cartilage and bone tissue was reduced. Compared with CIA group, the expressions of GSK-3β, β-catenin protein and GSK-3β, β-catenin and c-Myc mRNA in synovial tissue of rats after M-puerarin intervention decreased(P<0.05).
Conclusion
Puerarin has the characteristic of multi-components, multi-targets and multi-pathway intervention in RA. Puerarin may alleviate synovial hyperplasia, reduce articular cartilage erosion and bone destruction in CIA in rats by inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
2.Application and prospect of artificial intelligence and population pharmacokinetics in personalized medication after organ transplantation
Shuai HE ; Huiying ZONG ; An’an LI ; Penglin ZHOU ; Rui GAO ; Xichao WU ; Yanjiao ZHU ; Yan LI
China Pharmacy 2025;36(14):1813-1818
Artificial intelligence (AI) and population pharmacokinetics (PPK) technologies have demonstrated significant potential in the personalized medication of immunosuppressants after organ transplantation, enabling precise prediction of drug dosages. This article provides a comprehensive review of the application status of AI and PPK in the individualized administration of immunosuppressants after organ transplantation, focuses on monitoring blood drug concentration, predicting efficacy/adverse reactions, and establishing individualized dosing models for organ transplant recipients after immunosuppressant administration, and analyzes and compares the application characteristics of different methods in different organ transplant patients as well as the integration and future development of AI and PPK technologies. AI and PPK technologies can not only significantly reduce the dependence on human resources, but also greatly improve the level of individualized treatment of immunosuppressants after organ transplantation, and reduce the discomfort and burden caused by frequent blood concentration monitoring to patients.
3.Research progress on the lipid-lowering mechanisms and clinical application of GLP-1 receptor agonists
Yanjiao ZHU ; Rui GAO ; Huiying ZONG ; An’an LI ; Penglin ZHOU ; Shuai HE ; Xichao WU ; Yan LI
China Pharmacy 2025;36(20):2615-2620
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a novel class of antidiabetic drugs that also possess lipid- lowering and cardiovascular protective effects, with liraglutide and semaglutide being their representative medications. Based on a systematic literature search, this review summarizes the lipid-lowering mechanisms by which liraglutide and semaglutide exert direct effects on the liver and kidney (regulating autophagy, key lipid metabolism pathways, reverse cholesterol transport, etc.), direct actions on adipose tissue (affecting adipocyte proliferation and differentiation, expression of lipid metabolism proteins, and gene transcription), activation of sympathetic pathways through the central nervous system, and modulation of the gut microbiota. Additionally, it summarizes the clinical evidence of their lipid-lowering effects in populations with type 2 diabetes mellitus, overweight individuals, and others. These findings indicate that GLP-1 receptor agonists exert lipid-lowering effects by acting on multiple tissues or systems, providing crucial evidence for further elucidating the molecular mechanisms of these drugs in lipid regulation and exploring potential new ideas for their clinical applications.
4.Modified Sini Powder in treating mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder in patients with syndrome of liver depression transforming into fire: a single-center, randomized, double-blind, dose-controlled trial.
Jia-Xin XU ; Hong-Jun YANG ; Hong-Wei WU ; Li-Jun MAO ; Jian-Xin WANG ; Zong-Liang YU ; Yang ZHAO ; Xiao-Nan HAO ; Rui GAO
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(14):4063-4070
A single-center, randomized, double-blind, dose-controlled trial of modified Sini Powder in treating mild to moderate generalized anxiety disorder(GAD) in the patients with syndrome of liver depression transforming into fire was conducted at Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. A total of 80 patients with mild to moderate GAD and the syndrome of liver depression transforming into fire were included. Patients were assigned by the central randomization system at a ratio of 3∶1 into an observation group(n=60, receiving a conventional-dose of granules of modified Sini Powder) and a control group(n=20, receiving low-dose granules with the active ingredients being 50% of that in observation group). Assessments were conducted before treatment(baseline), after 2 weeks of introduction, after 2/4/8 weeks of treatment, and after 4 weeks of follow-up. The results were summarized as follows. In terms of primary outcome indicators, the observation group(62.2%) showed higher total response rate than the control group(26.6%)(P<0.05), and greater Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA) score reduction after 8 weeks of treatment(P<0.05). In terms of secondary outcome indicators, the HAMA score(somatic anxiety score), traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndrome scores, Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI) scale, and clinical global impression(CGI) scale score in the observation group showed a significant compared to the control group at each visit points(P<0.05). Adverse events occurred in 10 cases, including 9(16.9%) cases in the observation group and 1(6.6%) case in the control group. No adverse reaction was observed. In conclusion, conventional-dose modified Sini Powder demonstrated superior efficacy and favorable safety for mild and moderate GAD in the patients with the syndrome of liver depression transforming into fire over low-dose treatment.
Humans
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Male
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Female
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Adult
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Middle Aged
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Double-Blind Method
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*
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Anxiety Disorders/drug therapy*
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Treatment Outcome
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Young Adult
;
Powders
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Aged
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Liver/drug effects*
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder
5.The protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT1 ameliorates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by suppressing RIPK1-mediated necroptosis and apoptosis.
Tengfei LIU ; Gan HUANG ; Xin GUO ; Qiuran JI ; Lu YU ; Runzhe ZONG ; Yiquan LI ; Xiaomeng SONG ; Qingyi FU ; Qidi XUE ; Yi ZHENG ; Fanshuo ZENG ; Ru SUN ; Lin CHEN ; Chengjiang GAO ; Huiqing LIU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(8):4014-4029
Receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) plays an essential role in regulating the necroptosis and apoptosis in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the regulation of RIPK1 kinase activity after cerebral I/R injury remains largely unknown. In this study, we found the downregulation of protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) was induced by cerebral I/R injury, which negatively correlated with the activation of RIPK1. Mechanistically, we proved that PRMT1 directly interacted with RIPK1 and catalyzed its asymmetric dimethylarginine, which then blocked RIPK1 homodimerization and suppressed its kinase activity. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition or genetic ablation of PRMT1 aggravated I/R injury by promoting RIPK1-mediated necroptosis and apoptosis, while PRMT1 overexpression protected against I/R injury by suppressing RIPK1 activation. Our findings revealed the molecular regulation of RIPK1 activation and demonstrated PRMT1 would be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of ischemic stroke.
6.Characterization of rhinovirus in patients with respiratory tract infection in Mianyang, 2021—2022
Yue GONG ; Ming PAN ; Guo CHEN ; Qinqin SONG ; Yanhai WANG ; Chen GAO ; Zhiqiang XIA ; Lulu WANG ; Qian CHENG ; Kexin ZONG ; Jun HAN
Chinese Journal of Experimental and Clinical Virology 2024;38(3):279-285
Objective:To understand the prevalence and characteristics of Rhinovirus (HRV) infection in influenza-like Illness (ILIs) patients in Mianyang, Sichuan province, China.Methods:Throat swabs were collected from patients of ILIs in sentinel hospitals in Mianyang during 2021—2022. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect 16 common pathogens. The VP4/VP2 coding region genes of HRV positive samples were amplified by nest PCR. The phylogeny, consistency and amino acid variation of different serotypes were analyzed and compared with reference sequences from GenBank database.Results:A total of 332 ILIs′ samples were collected with a virus detection rate of 58.73% (195/332) in Mianyang. Among them, 23 samples (23/332) were HRV-positive, and 18 VP4/VP2 sequences of HRV strains were successfully amplified. It was found that 13 HRV serotypes were detected in ILIs samples in Mianyang, which belonged to three genotypes, namely HRV-A (12 strains), HRV-B (5 strains) and HRV-C (1 strain).Conclusions:HRV was one of the pathogens of ILIs cases in Mianyang during 2021—2022, with HRV-A types as the dominant strains.
7.Comparison of female levator ani muscles stiffness assessment using different array probe shear wave elastography
Zhen ZONG ; Mengyu LI ; Hui MA ; Feng GAO
China Modern Doctor 2024;62(23):73-77
Objective To assess the feasibility of sound touch elastography(STE)and sound touch quantify(STQ)in convex transducer and linear transducer for female levator ani muscles stiffness assessment.Methods A total of 69 healthy volunteers underwent STE and STQ examinations of the right levator ani muscles at three different locations(anterior,middle,and posterior)during rest,contraction,and stretch states.The study analyzed the success rate,variability,and measurements(Young's modulus)of the detection techniques,as well as assessed the inter-operator and intra-operator consistency.Results Both convex transducer STE and linear transducer STQ techniques exhibited higher overall success rates and lower variability in detecting the middle segment of the levator ani muscles compared to convex transducer STQ and linear transducer STE techniques,with statistically significant differences(all P<0.05).There was statistically significant difference in the measurements of levator ani muscles detected by convex transducer STQ technique and linear transducer STE technique(P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the measurements of levator ani muscles detected by convex transducer STE technique and linear transducer STQ technique(P>0.05).The inter-operator and intra-operator consistency of convex transducer STE and linear transducer STQ technology were determined to be 0.869,0.919,0.772,0.850,respectively.Conclusion Both convex transducer STE and linear transducer STQ techniques demonstrate high success rates and low variability in assessing levator ani muscles stiffness,and there was no significant difference in the measurements of them,they were suitable for clinical promotion widely.
8.Effects of bundled cognitive-behavior intervention in postoperative patients with glioma
Bo GAO ; Xuerong ZONG ; Tingting TIAN ; Mengmeng LI ; Wei WANG ; Bo LI
Chinese Journal of Modern Nursing 2024;30(23):3195-3200
Objective:To explore the effectiveness of bundled cognitive-behavior intervention in postoperative patients with glioma.Methods:From January 2022 to June 2023, convenience sampling was used to select 95 patients with glioma who underwent surgical treatment at the Neurosurgery Department of Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University as subjects. The patients were divided into an observation group and a control group based on the order of enrollment. The control group received routine medical nursing intervention, while the observation group received bundled cognitive-behavior intervention on the basis of control group. The scores of the Chinese-Strategies Used by People to Promote Health (C-SUPPH), Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were compared between two groups of patients at different time points before and after intervention.Results:Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that there were intergroup, time, and interaction effects between the C-SUPPH, SF-36, SAS, and SDS scores of the two groups, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). At 1, 3, and 6 months after discharge, the C-SUPPH and SF-36 scores in observation group were lower than those in control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). At 3 and 6 months after discharge, the SAS and SDS scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05) . Conclusions:Bundled cognitive-behavior intervention can increase the self-management efficacy of postoperative glioma patients, improve their quality of life, and alleviate their anxiety and depression.
9.Effects of PIM1 Gene on Proliferation,Apoptosis and JAK2/STAT3 Signaling Pathway of Acute Myeloid Leukemia U937 Cells
Xin GAO ; Li-Jing CHU ; Zong-Hai YAN
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2024;32(3):663-669
Objective:To investigate the effects of the serine/threonine kinase family member 1(PIM1)gene on the proliferation and apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia(AML)U937 cells,and the regulation effect on Janus kinase 2(JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)pathway.Methods:Bone marrow mononuclear cells from newly diagnosed adult AML patients and patients with iron deficiency anemia were collected and PIM1 mRNA expression was detected by RT-qPCR.AML cell line U937 cells were divided into U937 group(U937 cells were cultured normally),Si-PIM1 group(U937 cells were transfected with low expression adenovirus vector containing PIM1 mRNA),Si-NC group(U937 cells were transfected with low expression adenovirus vector without PIM1 mRNA),coumermycin A1(CoA1)group(JAK2 activator CoA1 was added to U937 cells at a concentration of 20 μ mol/L),and Si-PIM1+CoA1 group(U937 cells were transfected with adenoviral vector containing low expression of PIM1 mRNA and added with CoA1 at a concentration of 20 μ mol/L).After culture for 24 h,the expressions of PIM1 mRNA and protein,JAK2/STAT3 pathway,cell cycle and apoptosis-related proteins in U937 cells were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot,the cell proliferation activity was detected by MTT assay,and flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle changes and apoptosis rate.Results:The PIM1 mRNA expression level in bone marrow mononuclear cells in AML patients was higher than that in patients with iron deficiency anemia(P<0.05).Compared with U937 group,PIM1 mRNA and protein,phosphorylated JAK2(p-JAK2)/JAK2,phosphorylated STAT3(p-STAT3)/STAT3,Cyclin D1,cyclin-dependent kinase 2(CDK2)protein,cell proliferation activity,S phase and G2/M phase proportions were decreased in Si-PIM1 group(all P<0.05),while p27,Caspase-3 protein,G0/G,phase proportion and apoptosis rate were increased(all P<0.05).However,the changes of above indicators in CoA1 group were just opposite to those in Si-PIM1 group,indicating that CoA1 could reverse the effect of Si-PIM1 on U937 cells.There were no significant differences in above indexes of U937 cells between U937 group,Si-PIM1+CoA1 group and Si-NC group(P>0.05).Conclusion:Knockdown of PIM1 gene expression can inhibit U937 cell proliferation and promote apoptosis,in order to alleviate ALM process,which may be related to the inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 pathway activation.
10.Establishment of a population pharmacokinetic model for linezolid in neonates with sepsis
Zong-Tai FENG ; Lian TANG ; Zu-Ming YANG ; Chu-Chu GAO ; Jia-Hui LI ; Yan CAI ; Lu-Fen DUAN
Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics 2024;26(11):1162-1168
Objective To establish the pharmacokinetic model of linezolid in neonates,and to optimize the administration regimen. Methods A prospective study was conducted among 64 neonates with sepsis who received linezolid as anti-infective therapy,and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure the plasma concentration of the drug. Clinical data were collected,and nonlinear mixed effects modeling was used to establish a population pharmacokinetic (PPK) model. Monte Carlo simulation and evaluation was performed for the optimal administration regimen of children with different features. Results The pharmacokinetic properties of linezolid in neonates could be described by a single-compartment model with primary elimination,and the population typical values for apparent volume of distribution and clearance rate were 0.79 L and 0.34 L/h,respectively. The results of goodness of fit,visualization verification,and the Bootstrap method showed that the model was robust with reliable results of parameter estimation and prediction. Monte Carlo simulation results showed that the optimal administration regimen for linezolid in neonates was as follows:6 mg/kg,q8h,at 28 weeks of gestational age (GA);8 mg/kg,q8h,at 32 weeks of GA;9 mg/kg,q8h,at 34-37 weeks of GA;11 mg/kg,q8h,at 40 weeks of GA. Conclusions The PPK model established in this study can provide a reference for individual administration of linezolid in neonates. GA and body weight at the time of administration are significant influencing factors for the clearance rate of linezolid in neonates.


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