ObjectiveTo preliminarily explore the active components and target pathways of Angelicae Sinensis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma （ASR-PR） herb pair in the treatment of simple obesity through network pharmacology and molecular docking， and to verify and investigate its mechanism of action via animal experiments. MethodsThe chemical constituents and targets of ASR and PR were predicted using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）. Targets related to simple obesity were identified by retrieving the GeneCards， Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase （PharmGKB）， and DisGeNET databases. The intersection of drug and disease targets was used to construct an active component-target network using Cytoscape software. This network was imported into the STRING database to construct a protein-protein interaction （PPI） network， and topological analysis was conducted to identify core genes. Gene Ontology （GO） analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis and mapping were performed using the DAVID database and the Microbioinformatics platform. AutoDock 1.5.7 software was used to perform molecular docking between the top five active components and core targets. An animal model of simple obesity was established by feeding C57BL/6J mice a high-fat diet. The mice were administered ASR （2.06 g·kg^-1）， PR （2.06 g·kg^-1）， or ASR-PR （4.11 g·kg^-1） for 10 weeks， while the model group received an equal volume of purified water by gavage. After the administration period， the mice were sacrificed to measure body fat weight and serum levels of total cholesterol （TC）， triglycerides （TG）， high-density lipoprotein （HDL）， and low-density lipoprotein （LDL）. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe histopathological sections of liver and adipose tissue. Serum levels of leptin， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the mRNA expression levels of epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR） and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） in liver tissue were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultsNetwork pharmacology and molecular docking results indicated that the treatment of simple obesity by ASR-PR may involve the regulation of protein expression of core targets EGFR and STAT3 by its main components MOL009760 （Siberian glycoside A_qt）， MOL003889 （methyl protodioscin_qt）， MOL009766 （resveratrol）， MOL006331 （4′，5-dihydroxyflavone）， and MOL004941 （baicalin）， thereby modulating the PI3K/Akt and JAK/STAT signaling pathways. The animal experiment results showed that compared with the normal group， the model group had significantly increased body weight， body fat weight， and serum levels of TG， TC， TNF-α， IL-6， and leptin （P<0.01）. EGFR mRNA expression was significantly elevated （P<0.05）， while STAT3 mRNA expression was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. Histological analysis revealed disordered hepatic architecture in the model group， with pronounced lipid vacuoles， cytoplasmic loosening， lipid accumulation， and steatosis. Adipocytes in white adipose tissue （WAT） and brown adipose tissue （BAT） of the model group exhibited markedly increased diameters， reduced cell counts per unit area， and irregular morphology. Compared with the model group， the ASR-PR group significantly reduced body weight， body fat weight， serum TC， IL-6， TNF-α， leptin levels， and EGFR mRNA expression （P<0.01）. TG levels were also significantly decreased （P<0.05）， while STAT3 mRNA expression was significantly increased （P<0.01）. Histopathological improvements included reduced size and number of hepatic lipid vacuoles and restoration of liver cell morphology toward that of the normal group. The diameter of adipocytes significantly decreased， and the number of adipocytes per unit area increased. ConclusionASR-PR may regulate the expression of key target proteins such as EGFR and STAT3 via its core active components， modulate the PI3K/Akt and JAK/STAT signaling pathways， repair damaged liver and adipose tissues， and thereby alleviate the progression of obesity in mice.

ObjectiveTo preliminarily explore the active components and target pathways of Angelicae Sinensis Radix-Polygonati Rhizoma （ASR-PR） herb pair in the treatment of simple obesity through network pharmacology and molecular docking， and to verify and investigate its mechanism of action via animal experiments. MethodsThe chemical constituents and targets of ASR and PR were predicted using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）. Targets related to simple obesity were identified by retrieving the GeneCards， Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase （PharmGKB）， and DisGeNET databases. The intersection of drug and disease targets was used to construct an active component-target network using Cytoscape software. This network was imported into the STRING database to construct a protein-protein interaction （PPI） network， and topological analysis was conducted to identify core genes. Gene Ontology （GO） analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis and mapping were performed using the DAVID database and the Microbioinformatics platform. AutoDock 1.5.7 software was used to perform molecular docking between the top five active components and core targets. An animal model of simple obesity was established by feeding C57BL/6J mice a high-fat diet. The mice were administered ASR （2.06 g·kg^-1）， PR （2.06 g·kg^-1）， or ASR-PR （4.11 g·kg^-1） for 10 weeks， while the model group received an equal volume of purified water by gavage. After the administration period， the mice were sacrificed to measure body fat weight and serum levels of total cholesterol （TC）， triglycerides （TG）， high-density lipoprotein （HDL）， and low-density lipoprotein （LDL）. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe histopathological sections of liver and adipose tissue. Serum levels of leptin， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the mRNA expression levels of epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR） and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） in liver tissue were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultsNetwork pharmacology and molecular docking results indicated that the treatment of simple obesity by ASR-PR may involve the regulation of protein expression of core targets EGFR and STAT3 by its main components MOL009760 （Siberian glycoside A_qt）， MOL003889 （methyl protodioscin_qt）， MOL009766 （resveratrol）， MOL006331 （4′，5-dihydroxyflavone）， and MOL004941 （baicalin）， thereby modulating the PI3K/Akt and JAK/STAT signaling pathways. The animal experiment results showed that compared with the normal group， the model group had significantly increased body weight， body fat weight， and serum levels of TG， TC， TNF-α， IL-6， and leptin （P<0.01）. EGFR mRNA expression was significantly elevated （P<0.05）， while STAT3 mRNA expression was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. Histological analysis revealed disordered hepatic architecture in the model group， with pronounced lipid vacuoles， cytoplasmic loosening， lipid accumulation， and steatosis. Adipocytes in white adipose tissue （WAT） and brown adipose tissue （BAT） of the model group exhibited markedly increased diameters， reduced cell counts per unit area， and irregular morphology. Compared with the model group， the ASR-PR group significantly reduced body weight， body fat weight， serum TC， IL-6， TNF-α， leptin levels， and EGFR mRNA expression （P<0.01）. TG levels were also significantly decreased （P<0.05）， while STAT3 mRNA expression was significantly increased （P<0.01）. Histopathological improvements included reduced size and number of hepatic lipid vacuoles and restoration of liver cell morphology toward that of the normal group. The diameter of adipocytes significantly decreased， and the number of adipocytes per unit area increased. ConclusionASR-PR may regulate the expression of key target proteins such as EGFR and STAT3 via its core active components， modulate the PI3K/Akt and JAK/STAT signaling pathways， repair damaged liver and adipose tissues， and thereby alleviate the progression of obesity in mice.

Objective To observe the role of dried tangerine peel in Yigong Powder improves iron metabolism and promotes red blood cell generation in anemia of chronic disease (ACD).Methods With a two-by-two factorial design,the Yigong Powder was divided into dried tangerine peel and Chenpi absent Decoction. According to the random number table method,32 zymosan-induced generalized inflammation (ZIGI) mice were randomly divided into the model group,the dried tangerine peel group,the Chenpi absent Decoction group,and the Yigong Powder group. The dried tangerine peel group,Chenpi absent Decoction group and the Yigong Powder group were given dried tangerine peel(3.083 g/kg),Chenpi absent Decoction(12.33g/kg),and Yigong Powder(15.413g/kg)by gavage to the corresponding group of mice. The model group was given an equal amount of physiological saline by gavage,and treated continuously for 7 days. After the completion of administration,the body weight of each group of mice was recorded. The hemoglobin content of each group of mice was detected using a fully automatic cell counter,the serum iron content was detected using colorimetry,the serum ferritin content was detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA),and the spleen index was calculated. The liver tissue inflammatory factors interleukin-1β (IL-1β),interleukin-6 (IL-6),tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),interferon-γ (IFN-γ),interleukin-4 (IL-4),and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels were detected using Luminex method. The mRNA expressions of liver tissue hepcidin gene (HAMP) and membrane iron transporter ( Fpn) were detected using real-time fluorescence PCR method. Results Dried tangerine peel and Chenpi absent Decoction both showed interactive effects in regulating hemoglobin,serum iron,serum ferritin content,improving spleen index,and regulating the mRNA expressions of HAMP,Fpn,as well as IL-1β and IFN-γ (P<0.05). Compared with the model group,dried tangerine peel significantly increased hemoglobin,serum iron content,and Fpn mRNA expression in ZIGI model mice,while decreasing ferritin content,spleen index,HAMP mRNA expression,and the levels of IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,and IFN-γ (P<0.05). Chenpi absent Decoction significantly increased serum iron content and Fpn mRNA expression in ZIGI model mice,while reducing spleen index,ferritin content,HAMP mRNA expression,and the levels of IL-1β and IFN-γ、IL-4 (P<0.05). Conclusion The effects of dried tangerine peel on inflammatory factors (IL-6 and TNF-α) and Fpn may play a key role in the improvement effects of Yigong Powder on ACD and iron metabolism.

Objective:To analyze and summarize the clinical and genetic features of Noonan syndrome (NS) caused by mutations in the leucine zipper-like transcription regulator 1 ( LZTR1) gene. Methods:The retrospective study analyzed a patient who was examined at the Center of Prenatal and Hereditary Disease Diagnosis, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University in January 2021 because of fetal nuchal translucency thickening and a previous history of problematic pregnancies. Subsequently, the patient was diagnosed with Noonan syndrome (NS) through whole exome sequencing. Using keywords such as "Noonan syndrome," "Leucine zipper-like transcription regulator 1", and " LZTR1", clinical and genetic characteristics of NS derived from LZTR1 mutations were summarized by extracting relevant literature from China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Yiigle, PubMed and Web of Science, covering from January 2013 to October 2022. Descriptive analysis was applied to the data. Results:(1) Case report: WES and Sanger sequencing showed the existence of the biallelic variants of LZTR1 gene c.842C>T and c.2248G>A in the fetus (Ⅱ-3) and the proband (Ⅱ-2) that inherited from the father and the mother, respectively. Based on the typical special facial appearance and short stature in the proband indicative of NS, the fetus and the proband were diagnosed with autosomal recessive inheritance (AR) NS. The pregnant woman terminated her pregnancy at 22 weeks due to severe edema of the fetus. At the age of three, the proband exhibited typical craniofacial features and short stature characteristics of NS when presented to our hospital. The proband received regular follow-ups in the pediatrics department of other hospitals, where recombinant human growth hormone was used to improve his height. He attended kindergarten at age four and can communicate and play with other children normally. (2) Literature review: 95 cases of NS associated with LZTR1 mutations have been retrieved and included. When including the fetus and the proband of this case, the total reached 97 cases, involving 79 different mutation sites. Forty-three cases (44.3%) were AR, and 54 (55.7%) were autosomal dominant inheritance (AD). Missense mutation was the most prevalent type of mutation, whereas nonsense mutation and frameshift mutation were more common in biallelic variants. Across all cases, the clinical manifestations encompassed multiple systems, primarily characterized by craniofacial dysmorphia, skeletal deformities, heart defects, and short stature. Developmental delay, learning disabilities, and mental retardation of varying degrees may accompany these symptoms. Eighteen cases described antenatal phenotypes, with 16 of them reporting biallelic AR variants. Ultrasound findings of 18 prenatal cases revealed 11 cases of fetal NT thickening, seven cases of cystic hygroma, four cases of fetal pericardium or pleural effusion, two cases of severe fetal edema, and 11 cases of cardiovascular defects. Conclusions:NS induced by LZTR1 mutations is an autosomal dominant or recessive inherited genetic syndrome with a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes. The severity of the disease varies among children with the same genotype. NS should be considered when prenatal ultrasound indicates nonspecific manifestations, such as fetal NT thickening, cervical lymphatic hydrops, polyhydramnios, fetal edema, and congenital heart defects. Prenatal identification is crucial for evaluating the prognosis of children and assisting families in making clinical decisions.

Objective:We conducted a real-world multi-center clinical study with a large sample size to comprehensively evaluate the performance of three commercial hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen assays. The study aimed to evaluate the performance for their use in HCV infection screening, and to provide clues for further improving the sensitivity and specificity of the assays.Methods:Key performance indicators including the lower limit of detection (LOD), diagnostic sensitivity, and specificity of three HCV antigen assays (the Architect, Laibo, and ChemClin HCV core antigen assays) were evaluated using commercial seroconversion panels reflecting early HCV infection and clinical routine serum samples of outpatients and inpatients from 3 tertiary hospitals from January 2018 to April 2022. Factors that affect the performance indicators were further investigated.Results:The window period for detecting HCV infection with the three antigen assays was equal to or slightly longer than that of the RNA assay, but all are shorter than that of the anti-HCV assay. There was a good linear positive correlation between HCV core antigen and HCV RNA levels in treatment naive patients with hepatitis C ( r=0.90, P<0.01). For the most common genotype 1b strain in China, the LOD of the three HCV assays were equivalent to 531 IU/ml (Architect), 3,698 IU/mL (Laibo), and 4,624 IU/mL (ChemClin) HCV RNA, respectively. Due to the skewed distribution of HCV RNA levels in treatment-naive hepatitis C patients, more than 95% of the patients had viral loads higher than 6 166 IU/ml. Therefore, the three HCV antigens assays still maintained a satisfactory diagnostic sensitivity (94.33%-99.40%). Among 54 immunodeficient patients (leukemia patients) with HCV infection, 9% (5/54) had negative anti-HCV results, while the HCV antigen assays found all these infectors. Through further experiments, we revealed the amino acid polymorphism in the core region of genotype 3 strain impaired the sensitivity of all three HCV antigen assays. In addition, the sensitivity of the two domestic assays was impaired by anti-HCV antibodies in the serum. The specificity of HCV antigen assays for diagnosing hepatitis C is 99.94% to 99.98%. The rheumatoid factors, autoantibodies, and other unknown interference substances can lead to a small number of low level, "false positive" antigen results. Conclusions:HCV core antigen assay may be used as a satisfactory approach of infection screening, especially for the immunodeficient patents. However, the sensitivity and specificity of the assays are influenced by multiple factors, which should be further improved.

Ionizing radiation can induce the death of lymphatic endothelial cells, leading to structural damage, dysfunction, and reduction of lymphatic vessels, which poses a negative impact on radiotherapy. However, it can also induce tumor cells and tumor-infiltrated immune cells to secrete various cytokines and promote tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis, which favors anti-tumor therapy and improve anti-tumor immunity. Studying the changes in lymphatic vessels after ionizing radiation may be a way to explore the synergistic anti-tumor effects of radiotherapy and immunotherapy. This review summarized the morphological changes in lymphatics after ionizing radiation, the molecular mechanisms for the effects of ionizing radiation on lymphatic vessels, and the clinical value of lymphatic changes after ionizing radiation, aiming to provide ideas for the study of the effects of ionizing radiation on lymphatic vessels.

This article summarizes and analyzes the reported synthetic routes of brivudine in patent and literature.2′-Deoxyuridine was employed as starting material, affording brivudine through iodization, heck coupling, hydrolysis, decarboxylation, bromination and recrystallization.After optimization of reaction conditions of each step, a synthetic route suitable for industrial production was achieved with simple synthetic process, high yield and excellent purity.

Objective:To observe the results of electroacupuncture (EA) on the resuscitation of a rat model of asphyxia cardiac arrest (CA). And to explore its effect on the neurologic deficits and hemodynamic instability of post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS).Methods:A total of 107 male SD rats were randomly divided into sham, CA, and EA groups. Each group received arterial catheterization and tracheal intubation. The sham group was not induced asphyxia. Asphyxial cardiac arrest was established by endotracheal tube clamping. Rats in the CA group received basic respiratory support and fluid resuscitation in return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and rats in the EA group received EA at Baihui based on the treatment of CA group after ROSC, with a dense-dispersed wave at frequencies of 4-20 Hz, while the current intensity was adjusted minimum to induce a twitch of the scalp, the course of treatment was 30 minutes. The baseline data, hemodynamics after ROSC, neurological deficit score (NDS), pathological changes of brain tissue, and levels of serum biomarker were recorded and compared among the three groups. The 72-hour survival of rats was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival curve. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the pathological changes of necrotic neurons in the hippocampal CA1 region of rat brain. Meanwhile, Nissl staining and TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) were used to detect cell apoptosis and injury.Results:Compared with the CA group, the mean arterial pressure (MAP) in the EA group increased significantly at 15 minutes after ROSC [mmHg (1 mmHg≈0.133 kPa): 125.00 (94.00, 136.25) vs. 92.00 (72.00, 122.50), P < 0.05]. There was no significant difference in the NDS score between the EA group and the sham group. Still, the NDS score of the rats in the CA group at 6 hours after ROSC were significantly lower than that in the sham group (46.00±10.61 vs. 80.00±0.00, P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that EA did not improve the 72-hour survival rate of rats (100% in the sham group, 25% in the CA group, and 30% in the EA group, P > 0.05). The analysis by TUNEL showed that the apoptosis rate of neurons in CA1 region of the hippocampus in EA group at 6 hours after ROSC was significantly lower than that in CA group [(62.84±2.67)% vs. (71.29±3.70)%, P < 0.05]. Compared with the CA group, the level of serum S100 calcium binding protein B (S100B) in the EA group at 6 hours after ROSC was significantly lower (ng/L: 19.30±13.87 vs. 132.28±31.67, P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) between these two groups. Conclusions:In the present study, EA at Baihui can stabilize the hemodynamic, moreover, it has a particular neuroprotective effect on PCAS rats. Still, EA at Baihui does not reduce the systemic inflammatory response and improve the survival rate of rats, and its mechanism remains to be verified in further research.

Genomic studies of cancer cell alterations,such as mutations,copy number variations(CNVs),and translocations,greatly promote our understanding of the genesis and development of cancers.However,the 3D genome architecture of cancers remains less studied due to the complexity of cancer genomes and technical difficulties.To explore the 3D genome structure in clin-ical lung cancer,we performed Hi-C experiments using paired normal and tumor cells harvested from patients with lung cancer,combining with RNA sequenceing analysis.We demonstrated the feasibility of studying 3D genome of clinical lung cancer samples with a small number of cells(1×104),compared the genome architecture between clinical samples and cell lines of lung cancer,and identified conserved and changed spatial chromatin structures between normal and cancer sam-ples.We also showed that Hi-C data can be used to infer CNVs and point mutations in cancer.By integrating those different types of cancer alterations,we showed significant associations between CNVs,3D genome,and gene expression.We propose that 3D genome mediates the effects of cancer genomic alterations on gene expression through altering regulatory chromatin structures.Our study highlights the importance of analyzing 3D genomes of clinical cancer samples in addition to cancer cell lines and provides an integrative genomic analysis pipeline for future larger-scale studies in lung cancer and other cancers.

Objective: To investigate the value of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT imaging and cardiac MRI (CMR) in the diagnosis of radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) in Beagle models. Methods: Twenty-four normal male Beagle dogs (1-year old) were randomly divided into control group and irradiated groups (3-month, 6-month and 12-month after radiation). The left anterior myocardium of Beagle dogs in irradiated groups was irradiated locally with a single dose of 20 Gy X-ray. Cardiac ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging and CMR were performed on all dogs, and the mean standardized uptake value (SUV_mean) and the area of lesions with increased ¹⁸F-FDG uptake were obtained. After imaging examinations were finished, dogs were sacrificed and their hearts were taken out to perform Masson staining and electron microcopy. One-way analysis of variance was used for data analysis. Results: There was basically no uptake in myocardium in control group. The myocardium showed increased uptake of ¹⁸F-FDG in the irradiated groups. The SUV_mean of myocardium in 3-month, 6-month and 12-month after radiation groups and control group were 5.90±1.31, 4.66±2.21, 3.21±0.82 and 1.13±0.21, respectively (F=11.81, P<0.05). The area with increased ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the irradiated groups decreased progressively with the prolongation of irradiation time (F=195.74, P<0.01). The reduction in myocardial perfusion and myocardial fibrosis were observed by CMR early at 6-month after irradiation. Compared with the control group, the 6-month and 12-month after radiation groups had increased end diastolic volume (EDV) and end systolic volume (ESV; F=15.479 and 16.908, both P<0.01), and decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; F=63.715, P<0.01). The progressive aggravation of myocardial fibrosis was displayed in irradiated groups by Masson staining. The mitochondria degeneration, swelling and the count reduction in irradiated groups were observed by electron microscopy. Conclusions The increased ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the irradiated myocardium may predict the risk of RIHD. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging can detect RIHD earlier than CMR.