Medicinal plants are a valuable source of essential medicines and herbal products for healthcare and disease therapy. Compared with chemical synthesis and extraction, the biosynthesis of natural products is a very promising alternative for the successful conservation of medicinal plants, and its rapid development will greatly facilitate the conservation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants. Here, we summarize the advances in strategies and methods concerning the biosynthesis and production of natural products of medicinal plants. The strategies and methods mainly include genetic engineering, plant cell culture engineering, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology based on multiple "OMICS" technologies, with paradigms for the biosynthesis of terpenoids and alkaloids. We also highlight the biosynthetic approaches and discuss progress in the production of some valuable natural products, exemplifying compounds such as vindoline (alkaloid), artemisinin and paclitaxel (terpenoids), to illustrate the power of biotechnology in medicinal plants.

BACKGROUND:Compared with traditional two-dimensional culture,three-dimensional microtissue culture can show greater advantages.However,more favorable cultivation methods in three-dimensional culture still need to be further explored. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the cell behavior of microtissue and its ability to promote cartilage formation under two three-dimensional culture methods. METHODS:Cartilage-derived microcarriers were prepared by chemical decellularization and tissue crushing.DNA quantification and nuclear staining were used to verify the success of decellularization,and histological staining was used to observe the matrix retention before and after decellularization.The microcarriers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and CCK-8 assay.Cartilage-derived microtissues were constructed by combining cartilage-derived microcarriers with human adipose mesenchymal stem cells through three-dimensional static culture and three-dimensional dynamic culture methods.The cell viability and chondrogenic ability of the two groups of microtissues were detected by scanning electron microscopy,live and dead staining,and RT-qPCR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Cartilage-derived microcarriers were successfully prepared.Compared with before decellularization,the DNA content significantly decreased after decellularization(P<0.001).Scanning electron microscope observation showed that the surface of the microcarrier was surrounded by collagen,maintaining the characteristics of the natural extracellular matrix of cartilage cells.CCK-8 assay indicated that microcarriers had no cytotoxicity and could promote cell proliferation.(2)Scanning electron microscopy and live and dead staining results showed that compared with the three-dimensional static group,the three-dimensional dynamic group had a more extended morphology of microtissue cells,and extensive connections between cells and cells,between cells and matrix,and between matrix.(3)The results of RT-qPCR showed that the expressions of SOX9,proteoglycan,and type Ⅱ collagen in microtissues of both groups were increased at 7 or 14 days.The relative expression levels of each gene in the three-dimensional dynamic group were significantly higher than those in the three-dimensional static group at 14 days(P<0.05).At 21 days,the three-dimensional static group had significantly higher gene expression compared with the three-diomensional dynamic group(P<0.001).(4)The results showed that compared with three-dimensional static culture microtissue,three-dimensional dynamic culture microtissue could achieve higher expression of chondrogen-related genes in a shorter time,showing better cell viability and chondrogenic ability.

Objective:To explore the value of mitoxantrone hydrochloride injection for tracing in endoscopic thyroidectomy (ETE) via anterior chest approach for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) .Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients undergoing ETE via anterior chest approach for PTC admitted to Beijing Longfu Hospital (Medical Treatment Combination with Peking Union Medical College Hospital) from Sep. 2022 to Mar. 2024. The patients were divided into two groups: the control group (without tracer) and the tracer group (with mitoxantrone hydrochloride injection for tracing). All surgeries were performed by the same thyroid surgical team. Baseline, postoperative pathologies and complications were compared between the 2 groups.Results:A total of 25 patients (13 in the control group and 12 in the tracer group) were included in this study, and the average dissection of unilateral central region lymph nodes in the tracer group was 7.4±4.6, significantly more than in the control group (2.4±1.9) ( P=0.004). There were no instances of mistakenly resected parathyroid gland in the postoperative pathology or accidental injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve in either group. The incidence of transient hypocalcemia did not significantly different between the two groups ( P=0.503). However, the incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism in the tracer group was 1 (1/12,8.3%), significantly lower than in the control group 4 (4/13,30.8%) ( P=0.009). The tracer group exhibited more impressive levels in parathyroid hormone (5.4±8.1) pg/mL compared to the control group (20.0±11.1) pg/mL ( P=0.001) .The total volume of postoperative drainage in the tracer group (142.9±71.7) mL was more than that of the control group (87.7±38.8) mL ( P=0.030). But It did not affect the extubation time in either group ( P=0.610). No residual tracer was observed at the skin puncture site in the tracer group after 2 weeks. Conclusions:Mitoxantrone hydrochloride injection for tracing as tracer in ETE via breast approach can increase the number of pathological lymph nodes dissection in cervical central region. Combined with negative development, identifying and protecting the function of parathyroid glands show feasible and potential application value to improve the safety of thyroidectomy. The use of mitoxantrone hydrochloride injection for tracer has the risk of increased exudation from the surgical area, but does not affect the time to remove the drain.

Objective:To explore the use of near-infrared autofluorescence probe (NIRAF-P) and its application in identifying parathyroid glands during surgery.Methods:A total of 68 patients undergoing thyroid surgery at Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Beijing Longfu Hospital between Dec. 2023 and Jun. 2024 were selected. During the operation, the near-infrared parathyroid gland detector was used to identify the parathyroid gland tissue to be tested, and histopathological examination was performed. The positive predictive value and accuracy of the near-infrared parathyroid gland detector were analyzed.Results:A total of 111 parathyroid glands were identified in 68 patients, and the positive predictive value and accuracy of the NIRAF-P were 95.5% and 94.6%, respectively.Conclusions:The NIRAF-P has high accuracy in identifying parathyroid glands. The standardized application of the NIRAF-P can help improve the efficiency of identifying parathyroid glands during surgery.

Background and objective Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths.Non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)is the most common pathological subtype,with adenocarcinoma being the predominant type.FAT atypical cadherin 1(FAT1)is a receptor-like protein with a high frequency of mutations in lung adenocarcinoma.The protein encoded by FAT1 plays a crucial role in processes such as cell adhesion,proliferation,and differentiation.This study aims to investigate the expression of FAT1 in lung adenocarcinoma and its relationship with immune infiltration.Methods Gene expression levels and relevant clinical information of 513 lung adenocarcinoma samples and 397 adjacent lung samples were obtained through The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and Genotype-Tissue Expression(GTEx)data.The mRNA expression levels of the FAT1 gene in lung adenocarcinoma tissues were analyzed,along with its association with the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients.Pathway enrichment analysis was conducted to explore the signaling pathways regulated by the FAT1 gene.Immu-noblotting was used to detect the differential expression of FAT1 in lung epithelial cells and various lung cancer cell lines,while immunohistochemistry was employed to assess FAT1 expression in lung cancer and adjacent tissues.Results FAT1 gene muta-tions were identified in 14%of lung adenocarcinoma patients.TCGA database data revealed significantly higher FAT1 mRNA expression in lung adenocarcinoma tissues compared to adjacent lung tissues.Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated lower survival rates in lung adenocarcinoma patients with higher FAT gene expression.Pathway enrichment analysis suggested the involve-ment of FAT1 in tumor development pathways,and its expression was closely associated with immune cell infiltration.Immu-nohistochemical validation demonstrated significantly higher expression of FAT1 in cancer tissues compared to adjacent lung tissues.Conclusion FAT1 mRNA is highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues,and elevated FAT1 mRNA expression is associated with poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma patients.FAT1 may serve as a potential biomarker for lung cancer.

Background and objective Transcription factor(TF)can bind specific sequences that either promotes or represses the transcription of target genes,and exerts important effects on tumorigenesis,migration,invasion.Staphylococcal nuclease-containing structural domain 1(SND1),which is a transcriptional co-activator,is considered as a promising target for tumor therapy.However,its role in lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD)remains unclear.This study aims to explore the role of SND1 in LUAD.Methods Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA),Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO),Clinical Pro-teomic Tumor Analysis Consortium(CPTAC),and Human Protein Atlas(HPA)database was obtained to explore the associa-tion between SND1 and the prognosis,as well as the immune cell infiltration,and subcellular localization in LUAD tissues.Furthermore,the functional role of SND1 in LUAD was verified in vitro.EdU assay,CCK-8 assay,flow cytometry,scratch assay,Transwell assay and Western blot were performed.Results SND1 was found to be upregulated and high expression of SND1 is correlated with poor prognosis of LUAD patients.In addition,SND1 was predominantly present in the cytoplasm of LUAD cells.Enrichment analysis showed that SND1 was closely associated with the cell cycle,as well as DNA replication,and chro-mosome segregation.Immune infiltration analysis showed that SND1 was closely associated with various immune cell popula-tions,including T cells,B cells,cytotoxic cells and dendritic cells.In vitro studies demonstrated that silencing of SND1 inhib-ited cell proliferation,invasion and migration of LUAD cells.Besides,cell cycle was blocked at G,phase by down-regulating SND1.Conclusion SND1 might be an important prognostic biomarker of LUAD and may promote LUAD cells proliferation and migration.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the main cause of cancer-related death globally. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is one of the important factors leading to the occurrence of lung cancer, but its mechanism has not been elucidated. This study intends to investigate the relationship between SNPs of CDH1, FANCB, APC genes and lung cancer genetic susceptibility. METHODS: The case-control study design was used. We collected blood samples from 270 lung cancer cases in the Department of Lung Cancer Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, as well as blood samples from 445 healthy volunteers as controls, and extracted genomic DNA for genotyping using the Taqman® SNP genotyping kit. The distribution of three SNP loci of CDH1 gene rs201141645, FANCB gene rs754552650 and APC gene rs149353082 in Chinese population was analyzed. Chi-square test and Logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between different genotypes and the risk of lung cancer. RESULTS: The distribution frequencies of AA, A/G and GG genotypes at rs754552650 of FANCB gene in the control group were 27.2%, 52.6% and 20.2%, respectively. The distribution frequencies of AA and A/G genotypes were 93.7% and 6.3% in the case group, respectively, and no GG genotype was detected. The A/G genotype of the rs754552650 locus of the FANCB gene was significantly different between the case group and the control group. Compared with the carriers of AA genotype, the individuals with FANCB rs754552650 A/G genotype had a lower risk of lung cancer (OR=0.035, 95%CI: 0.020-0.062, P<0.001). CDH1 gene rs201141645 A/C and CC genotypes only existed in the control group. In addition, only 1 sample was found to have APC rs149353082 genotype in the case group. CONCLUSIONS In the Chinese population, the lung cancer risk of the individuals with FANCB rs754552650 A/G genotype was significantly decreased.
Antigens, CD/genetics* ; Cadherins/genetics* ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group Proteins/genetics* ; Gene Frequency ; Genes, APC ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/genetics* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Objective:To monitor the cerebral vascular blood flow parameters in the early stage of simulated acute exposure to high altitude hypoxia by transcranial color Doppler (TCCD), and to evaluate the change trend of cerebral hemodynamics and cerebrovascular reactivity.Methods:Sixty-four healthy volunteers were selected to observe the changes of peak systolic flow velocity(Vs), end diastolic flow velocity(Vd), mean flow velocity(Vm), resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) of middle cerebral artery (MCA) 30 minutes after they quickly entered the simulated altitude of 4 500 meters. Combined with breath holding test, breath holding index (BHI) was used to evaluate cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), and subjects were divided into ≤30 years old group and >30 years old group, and the changes of CVR after hypoxia of the two groups were compared.Results:In the early stage of hypoxic environment, compared with baseline, SpO 2 decreased, heart rate increased, and blood flow velocity of middle cerebral artery(Vs, Vd, Vm) increased significantly, BHI showed a decreasing trend (all P<0.01). After hypoxia, the BHI rate of change in >30 years old was lower than that of the subjects ≤30 years old ( P<0.05). After breath holding, cerebral blood flow velocity increased significantly, PI and RI decreased significantly (all P<0.01). Conclusions:Cerebral blood flow is very sensitive to hypoxia. The application of TCCD technology can evaluate the trend of cerebral blood flow dynamics and cerebrovascular reserve capacity in real time and accurately, which is helpful to provide objective basis and research basis for the prevention and treatment of high altitude hypoxia.

Objective:To analyze the antigenicity and genetic characteristics of two strains of Eurasian avian H1N1 swine influenza virus (EAS-H1N1) isolated from 2 human cases found in Gansu province to provide scientific reference for disease prevention and control.Methods:Two cases of human infection with EAS-H1N1 discovered in Gansu province since February 2021 were analyzed for antigenicity and genome comparison, and their genome characteristics were analyzed using software such as Mega7.0.Results:Two human infections with EAS-H1N1 had related environmental exposure history. Two strains were obtained: A/Gansu-Xifeng/1143/2021 and A/Gansu-Xifeng/1194/2021. The two strains of HA, NA genes were all from the Eurasian avian H1N1 swine influenza virus, and are closely related to the human infection EAS-H1N1 virus in Hebei and Tianjin and the EAS-H1N1 virus isolated from the mink in Shandong; the HA receptor binding sites of 2 strains E190D and D225E mutations occurred in all spots, and there were no H274Y and N294S mutations in NA protein.Conclusions:Some important molecular mutations occurred in the genome of people infected with EAS-H1N1 virus in Gansu province, which may lead to increased virulence and potential human-to-human transmission. Strengthening the research and analysis of EAS-H1N1 gene characteristics will help to monitor the mutation and mutation of the virus at the molecular level and scientifically prevent and control the epidemic.

Objective: To explore mechanism of how nurse managers' transformational leadership affects patient satisfaction, and to examine the mediating role of nurses' psychological empowerment. Methods: A total of 140 nurses and 310 patients in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were surveyed. The Leadership Practice Inventory-other, the Psychological Empowerment Scale and two items from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey (Chinese version) were used to measure nurse-perceived nurse managers' transformational leadership behaviors, nurses' psychological empowerment and patient satisfaction. The descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were performed using the SPSS 20.0. software package, and the structure equation modeling was performed using the MPlus 7.0. Results: Higher frequencies of nurse managers adopting transformational leadership were associated with higher level of nurses' psychological empowerment (β=0.665, P < 0.05); higher level of nurses' psychological empowerment was associated with higher overall patient satisfaction (β=0.243, P < 0.05); nurses' psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between nurse managers' transformational leadership and patients' overall satisfaction (β=0.162, P=0.014); the effects of nurse managers' transformational leadership and nurses' psychological empowerment on patients' recommendation of hospital were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusions Nurse managers are encouraged to adopt transformational leadership, i.e., improving clinical and leadership skills, trying to be nurses' role model, solving problems at work, empowering and motivating nurses, thus to increase nurses' senses of empowerment, and to improve patient satisfaction eventually.