Receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) functions as a key regulator in inflammation and cell death and is involved in mediating a variety of inflammatory or degenerative diseases. A number of allosteric RIPK1 inhibitors (RIPK1i) have been developed, and some of them have already advanced into clinical evaluation. Recently, selective RIPK1i that interact with both the allosteric pocket and the ATP-binding site of RIPK1 have started to emerge. Here, we report the rational development of a new series of type-II RIPK1i based on the rediscovery of a reported but mechanistically atypical RIPK3i. We also describe the structure-guided lead optimization of a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable RIPK1i, 62, which exhibits extraordinary efficacies in mouse models of acute or chronic inflammatory diseases. Collectively, 62 provides a useful tool for evaluating RIPK1 in animal disease models and a promising lead for further drug development.

Objective:To further improve the understanding of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), we retrospectively analyzed and summarized the clinical characteristics, treatment status, and survival status of patients with PNH in Zhejiang Province.Methods:This study included 289 patients with PNH who visited 20 hospitals in Zhejiang Province. Their clinical characteristics, comorbidity, laboratory test results, and medications were analyzed and summarized.Results:Among the 289 patients with PNH, 148 males and 141 females, with a median onset age of 45 (16-87) years and a peak onset age of 20-49 years (57.8% ). The median lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) level was 1 142 (604-1 925) U/L. Classified by type, 70.9% (166/234) were classical, 24.4% (57/234) were PNH/bone marrow failure (BMF), and 4.7% (11/234) were subclinical. The main clinical manifestations included fatigue or weakness (80.8%, 235/289), dizziness (73.4%, 212/289), darkened urine color (66.2%, 179/272), and jaundice (46.2%, 126/270). Common comorbidities were hemoglobinuria (58.7% ), renal dysfunction (17.6% ), and thrombosis (15.0% ). Moreover, 82.3% of the patients received glucocorticoid therapy, 70.9% required blood transfusion, 30.7% used immunosuppressive agents, 13.8% received anticoagulant therapy, and 6.3% received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The 10-year overall survival (OS) rate was 84.4% (95% CI 78.0% -91.3% ) . Conclusion:Patients with PNH are more common in young and middle-aged people, with a similar incidence rate between men and women. Common clinical manifestations include fatigue, hemoglobinuria, jaundice, renal dysfunction, and recurrent thrombosis. The 10-year OS of this group is similar to reports from other centers in China.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hypomethylating agents (HMA) in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) .Methods:A total of 409 MDS patients from 45 hospitals in Zhejiang province who received at least four consecutive cycles of HMA monotherapy as initial therapy were enrolled to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HMA. Mann-Whitney U or Chi-square tests were used to compare the differences in the clinical data. Logistic regression and Cox regression were used to analyze the factors affecting efficacy and survival. Kaplan-Meier was used for survival analysis. Results:Patients received HMA treatment for a median of 6 cycles (range, 4-25 cycles) . The complete remission (CR) rate was 33.98% and the overall response rate (ORR) was 77.02%. Multivariate analysis revealed that complex karyotype ( P=0.02, OR=0.39, 95% CI 0.18-0.84) was an independent favorable factor for CR rate. TP53 mutation ( P=0.02, OR=0.22, 95% CI 0.06-0.77) was a predictive factor for a higher ORR. The median OS for the HMA-treated patients was 25.67 (95% CI 21.14-30.19) months. HMA response ( P=0.036, HR=0.47, 95% CI 0.23-0.95) was an independent favorable prognostic factor, whereas complex karyotype ( P=0.024, HR=2.14, 95% CI 1.10-4.15) , leukemia transformation ( P<0.001, HR=2.839, 95% CI 1.64-4.92) , and TP53 mutation ( P=0.012, HR=2.19, 95% CI 1.19-4.07) were independent adverse prognostic factors. There was no significant difference in efficacy and survival between the reduced and standard doses of HMA. The CR rate and ORR of MDS patients treated with decitabine and azacitidine were not significantly different. The median OS of patients treated with decitabine was longer compared with that of patients treated with azacitidine (29.53 months vs 20.17 months, P=0.007) . The incidence of bone marrow suppression and pneumonia in the decitabine group was higher compared with that in the azacitidine group. Conclusion:Continuous and regular use of appropriate doses of hypomethylating agents may benefit MDS patients to the greatest extent if it is tolerated.

AIM:This study aims to examine the ependymin-related protein 1(EPDR1)expression in various tissues from wild-type C57BL/6 mice and type 2 diabetes(db/db)mice.The impact of EPDR1 on lipid accumulation in al-pha mouse liver 12(AML12)hepatocytes was also investigated.METHODS:Western blot was used to detect EPDR1 protein expression in the heart,liver,spleen,lung,kidney,gastrocnemius,brown adipose and brain tissues of C57BL/6 mice.Western blot and immunohistochemical(IHC)staining were also used to compare EPDR1 protein expression in the liver,gastrocnemius muscle,heart and kidney tissues of db/db and C57BL/6 mice.To develop an AML12 cell lipid deposi-tion model,palmitic acid(PA)+oleic acid(OA)was used,and the cells were transfected with adenovirus overexpressing EPDR1 or treated with exogenous recombinant EPDR1 protein(rEPDR1).ELISA was conducted to determine intracellu-lar triglyceride(TG)content,and oil red O staining was employed to assess the effect of EPDR1 on lipid accumulation in AML12 cells.RESULTS:Western blot and IHC staining results revealed that EPDR1 was widely expressed in various tis-sues of wild-type mice,with the liver exhibiting the highest protein expression level.However,EPDR1 expression was down-regulated in the liver,gastrocnemius muscle,heart and kidney tissues in diabetic db/db mice compared with wild-type mice.Oil red O staining revealed that overexpression of EPDR1 in AML12 liver cells or rEPDR1 treatment led to re-duced lipid accumulation.Furthermore,the TG content significantly decreased compared with the model group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:EPDR1 is expressed in various tissues of wild-type mice,but showed diminished expression in the liver tissues of diabetic mice.Nevertheless,enhancing the expression of EPDR1 can aid in reducing lipid accumula-tion in hepatocytes.These findings provide an experimental foundation for further exploration of the role of EPDR1 in the development of fatty liver in diabetic liver tissue.

Objective:To compare the efficacy of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and modified-endoscopic mucosal resection (M-EMR) for G1 rectal neuroendocrine tumors (RNETs) .Methods:Data of 121 patients with pathologically confirmed G1 RNETs treated with ESD ( n=105) or M-EMR ( n=16) in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from January 2017 to September 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The complete resection rate, complication incidence, hospital stay, treatment cost and other indicators of the two groups were compared by using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Results:There were significant differences in tumor number ( χ2=8.76, P=0.003), tumor invasion depth ( χ2=6.96, P=0.008), utilization of metal clips [82.9% (87/105) VS 93.8% (15/16), χ2=8.78, P=0.003], number of metal clips ( χ2=8.41, P=0.016), hemostasis using hot clamp [78.1% (82/105) VS 18.7% (3/16), χ2=20.64, P<0.001], traction procedure [2.9% (3/105) VS 18.7% (3/16), χ2=4.45, P=0.035] and treatment cost (17 568.6 ± 8 911.0 yuan VS 8 120.8±1 528.2 yuan, t=3.65, P<0.001) between the ESD group and the M-EMR group. After verifying the stability of the results using IPTW sensitivity analysis, there was still significant difference in the treatment cost ( t=2.07, P<0.001). Conclusion:Both ESD and M-EMR demonstrate comparable efficacy in treating G1 RNETs; however, M-EMR exhibites lower treatment costs.

Background/Aims: Previous studies have shown that diet and physical activity can influence constipation. However, the combined effect of diet and physical activity on constipation remains unclear. Methods: Constipation was defined based on stool consistency and frequency, while overall diet quality was assessed using Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 scores. Participants were categorized into low (metabolic equivalent [MET]-min/wk < 500) and high physical activitygroups (MET-min/wk ≥ 500). The association between diet and constipation across physical activity groups was analyzed using surveylogistic regression and restricted cubic splines. Results: Higher HEI-2015 scores were associated with reduced constipation risk in the high physical activity group when constipation was defined by stool consistency (odds ratio [OR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97-0.99). However, in the low physical activity group, increased HEI-2015 scores did not significantly affect constipation risk (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.97-1.05). Similar results were found when constipation was defined based on stool frequency. In the high physical activity group, increased HEI-2015 scores were significantly associated with a reduced constipation risk (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.98). Conversely, in the low physical activity group, increased HEI-2015 scores did not affect the risk of constipation (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.90-1.03). Conclusions Our findings suggest that a higher HEI-2015 score is negatively associated with constipation among individuals with high physical activity levels but not among those with low physical activity levels. This association was consistent when different definitions of constipation were used. These results highlight the importance of combining healthy diet with regular physical activity to alleviate constipation.

Objective:To detect the status of PIK3CA in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) , and to analyze the relationships between PIK3CA mutation and clinical features and its impact on prognosis.Methods:From January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018, 50 patients with primary TNBC admitted to Xinxiang Central Hospital of Henan Province were collected. The PIK3CA mutation status was detected, and the relationships between PIK3CA mutation and clinical characteristics of patients with TNBC and its impact on prognosis were analyzed.Results:PIK3CA gene mutation was detected in 9 of 50 TNBC patients, with a mutation frequency of 18.0%. H1047R mutation was found in 4 cases, E545K mutation in 3 cases and E542K mutation in 2 cases. PIK3CA gene mutation was not associated with age ( χ2=3.55, P=0.060) , tumor location ( χ2=1.01, P=0.315) , tumor size ( χ2<0.01, P>0.999) , lymph node status ( χ2=0.76, P=0.385) , clinical stage ( χ2=0.65, P=0.420) , Ki-67 value ( χ2<0.01, P>0.999) , P53 status ( χ2=0.02, P=0.894) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) status ( χ2=1.65, P=0.200) . Prognostic analysis showed that 3-year disease-free survival rates of wild-type PIK3CA patients was significantly higher than that of mutant PIK3CA patients (80.5% vs. 11.1%, χ2=28.23, P<0.001) . Conclusion:The frequency of PIK3CA gene mutation is higher in TNBC patients. There is no correlation between PIK3CA mutation and clinicopathologic features in TNBC patients. PIK3CA gene mutation may be significantly associated with poor prognosis of TNBC patients.

OBJECTIVE: Cassiae Semen (CS, Juemingzi in Chinese) has been used for thousands of years in ancient Chinese history for relieving constipation, improving liver function as well as preventing myopia. Here we aimed to elucidate the anti-steatosis effect and underlying mechanism of CS against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify the major components of CS water extract. Mice were fed with a high-fat and sugar-water (HFSW) diet to induce hepatic steatosis and then treated with CS. The anti-NAFLD effect was determined by measuring serum biomarkers and histopathology staining. Additionally, the effects of CS on cell viability and lipid metabolism in oleic acid and palmitic acid (OAPA)-treated HepG2 cells were measured. The expression of essential genes and proteins involved in lipid metabolism and autophagy signalings were measured to uncover the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: Five compounds, including aurantio-obtusin, rubrofusarin gentiobioside, cassiaside C, emodin and rhein were simultaneously identified in CS extract. CS not only improved the diet-induced hepatic steatosis in vivo, as indicated by decreased number and size of lipid droplets, hepatic and serum triglycerides (TG) levels, but also markedly attenuated the OAPA-induced lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. These lipid-lowering effects induced by CS were largely dependent on the inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FASN) and the activation of autophagy-related signaling, including AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), light chain 3-II (LC3-II)/ LC3-1 and autophagy-related gene5 (ATG5). CONCLUSION Our study suggested that CS effectively protected liver steatosis via decreasing FASN-related fatty acid synthesis and activating AMPK-mediated autophagy, which might become a promising therapeutic strategy for relieving NAFLD.

Objective:To explore the disturbance of metal element balance in mice after exposure to radon.Methods:Mice were randomly divided into control group, radon exposure of 30 WLM group, 60 WLM group and 120 WLM groups, with 10 mice in each group. After radon exposure with the cumulative dose, the lung function of mice was detected by a non-invasive pulmonary function testing instrument. Mice blood was taken from eyeballs. The lungs, heart, liver, kidney and spleen were also collected. HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of lung tissue. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to detect the content of metal elements, including essential trace elements in the body: chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), cobalt (Co), selenium (Se), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and potentially toxic elements: arsenic (As), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), aluminum (Al), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and silver (Ag).Results:Compared with the control group, lung ventilation function of the radon-exposed mice was decreased, alveolar structure was destroyed, and the contents of pulmonary metal elements Cr, Al, Pb, Sn( F=0.34, 0.66, 3.14, 1.16, P<0.05) and essential trace elements Mn, Cr, Zn, and Mo in the blood were decreased( F=0.65, 1.44, 0.97, 2.08, P<0.05), while the elements of Cu, Mo, Se and As in the lungs were increased( F=1.31, 1.26, 0.81, 2.04, P<0.05), and the element contents in other tissues also fluctuated. Conclusions:Inhalation of a certain cumulative dose of radon can reduce the lung ventilation function of mice and induce lung inflammation, as well reduce the content of essential trace elements in the lung and blood so that the content of metal elements in the body fluctuates.

Objective:To evaluate the barrier-free level of village clinics of a city in the aging era, for references in improving the barrier-free medical environment for the elderlies.Methods:The village dectors of 156 village clinics in 12 counties of a city were selected as the objects of a questionnaire survey from Dec.2020 to Jan.2021, with 6 evaluation indexes established, each set with 1-10 points. This questionnaires was used to survey the barrier-free construction levels of village clinics. The data were statistically analyzed by rank sum ratio and quadrant graph model.Results:The barrier-free buildings of such clinics scored 32.86 points in average. Among the six indexes, the barrier-free access and doors(7.21 points) scored the highest, and the barrier-free parking space(4.71points) and toilets(3.28 points) scored the lowest. All the counties of the city fell into four categories, including 2 counties with high degree of aging-high level of accessibility, 4 counties with low degree of aging-high level of accessibility, 4 counties with low degree of aging-low level of accessibility, and 2 counties with high degree of aging-low level of accessibility, according to the quadrant graph model built based on the aging degrees and the barrier-free levels of village clinics.Conclusions:The barrier-free level of the village clinics in a city needs to be further improved, and the barrier-free transformation of parking space and toilets should also be strengthened in the future. The government should take different measures in view of conditions of each county to improve the accessibility of village clinics and facilitate the health care-seeking of elderlies.