ObjectiveTo study the regulatory effect of the partial sequence within the 3’ untranslated region （3’UTR） of slit guidance ligand 1 （Slit1） （Slit1-3’UTR） on the fibrotic phenotypes of cardiac fibroblasts （CFs） and its potential mechanism. MethodsThe adenovirus vector was used to overexpress the 1526nt sequence of Slit1-3’UTR in ICR neonatal mouse CFs （mCFs）. The expression of fibrosis-related genes in mCFs， such as collagen type 1 alpha1（COL1A1）， collagen type 3 alpha3 （COL3A1） and alpha smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） were detected by Western blot assay. The effect of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt on the proliferation and migration of mCFs was assessed by EdU staining and Trans-well assays. Angiotensin Ⅱ （Ang Ⅱ） was used to treat mCFs， and the impact of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt on the fibrotic phenotypes of Ang Ⅱ-induced mCFs was evaluated. After overexpression of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt， miR-34a-5p mimic was transfected into mCFs， followed by actinomycin D treatment to detect the mRNA stability of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt， and the levels of miR-34a-5p and its target gene SIRT1（si-SIRT1） in mCFs were determined. The effects of miR-34a-5p and small interfering RNA targeting SIRT1 on the Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt-mediated regulation of fibrotic phenotypes were also determined. ResultsAdenovirus-mediated overexpression of Slit 1-3’UTR 1526nt was achieved in mCFs. Overexpression of Slit 1-3’UTR 1526nt markedly inhibited the expression of the fibrosis-related genes， proliferation and migration of mCFs and fibrotic phenotypes of Ang Ⅱ. The results of actinomycin D assay showed that miR-34a-5p inhibited the stability of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt in mCFs， while the level of miR-34a-5p was reduced in mCFs with overexpression of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt. Transfection of miR-34a-5p promoted the fibrotic phenotypes， and reversed the inhibitory effect of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt on the fibrotic phenotypes of mCFs. Overexpression of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt significantly increased the level of miR-34a-5p target gene SIRT1 in mCFs. Transfection of miR-34a-5p and si-SIRT1 consistently reversed the inhibitory effects of Slit1-3’UTR 1526nt on the fibrotic phenotypes of mCFs. ConclusionSlit1-3’UTR1526nt inhibits the fibrotic phenotypes of mCFs by binding to miR-34a-5p and increasing the expression of its target gene of SIRT1.

Objective To investigate the impact of emodin(EM)on vascular endothelial cell injury in rats with diabetes macroangiopathy by regulating hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α)/vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)signaling pathway.Methods SD rats were divided into blank group and modeling group,the rats in the modeling group were fed with high fat and high sugar combined with N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester to build the diabetes macroangiopathy model,and the blank group was fed with ordinary diet.The vascular endothelial cells successfully isolated from the thoracic aorta of rats in blank group and modeling group were named control group and model group,respectively.The vascular endothelial cells in the modeling group were divided into model group,dimethyloxallyl glycine(DMOG)group(10 μmol·L-1DMOG),combined group(80 mg·L-1EM+10 μmol·L-1 DMOG)and experimental-L,-M,-H groups(20,40,80 mg·L-1 EM).The apoptosis of rat vascular endothelial cells was detected by flow cytometry;Western blot was applied to detect the expression of HIF-1αand VEGF proteins in rat vascular endothelial cells.Results The apoptosis rates of vascular endothelial cells in experimental-M,-H groups,DMOG group,combined group,model group and control group were(10.18±0.36)％,(6.28±0.20)％,(24.96±1.18)％,(12.36±0.49)％,(18.76±0.68)％and(4.59±0.26)％;HIF-1α protein levels were 0.96±0.07,0.78±0.06,2.03±0.12,1.05±0.13,1.58±0.12 and 0.69±0.05;VEGF protein levels were 0.59±0.05,0.23±0.02,0.98±0.06,0.63±0.04,0.86±0.07 and 0.11±0.01.The above indexes in the model group were compared with the control,DMOG,experimental-M and experimental-H groups,and the above indexes in the combined group were compared with the experimental-H group,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion EM may inhibit HIF-1α/VEGF pathway to improve vascular endothelial cell injury in rats with diabetes macroangiopathy.

Objective To investigate the role of caspase-1-medicated canonical pyroptosis pathway in chlorogenic acid(CGA)treatment of acute kidney injury(AKI)in mice.Method Twenty-four C57Bl/6J mice were randomized into sham-operated group,cecal ligation and puncture(CLP)group,CLP+dexamethasone group(CLP+DXM group),and CLP+CGA group(n=6)and subjected to either sham operation(laparotomy only)or CLP.After modeling the mice received intravenous infusion of 10 mg/kg normal saline(in sham and CLP groups),1 μg/kg dexamethasone or 15 mg/kg of chlorogenic acid for 6 h delivered using an intravenous pump.Eight hours after the infusion,renal morphology and histology,renal cell apoptosis,and the renal function parameters such as urea nitrogen(BUN),creatinine(Scr),and kidney injury molecule 1(KIM-1)were compared among the 4 groups;the 7-day survival rates of the mice were recorded,and the expressions of NLRP3 inflammasomes and key proteins of the caspase-1 pathway in the renal tissue were detected.Results CGA treatment significantly improved the 7-day survival rate,reduced renal pathologies of the septic mice(P<0.05),and lowered the levels of BUN,Scr,KIM-1,NLRP3 inflammasome and expressions of key proteins of the caspase-1 pathway.Conclusion CGA alleviates AKI in mice with CLP-induced sepsis by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasomes and the caspase-1 signaling pathway.

Background::The conversion of adenosine (A) to inosine (I) through deamination is the prevailing form of RNA editing, impacting numerous nuclear and cytoplasmic transcripts across various eukaryotic species. Millions of high-confidence RNA editing sites have been identified and integrated into various RNA databases, providing a convenient platform for the rapid identification of key drivers of cancer and potential therapeutic targets. However, the available database for integration of RNA editing in hematopoietic cells and hematopoietic malignancies is still lacking.Methods::We downloaded RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data of 29 leukemia patients and 19 healthy donors from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and RNA-seq data of 12 mouse hematopoietic cell populations obtained from our previous research were also used. We performed sequence alignment, identified RNA editing sites, and obtained characteristic editing sites related to normal hematopoietic development and abnormal editing sites associated with hematologic diseases.Results::We established a new database, "REDH", represents RNA editome in hematopoietic differentiation and malignancy. REDH is a curated database of associations between RNA editome and hematopoiesis. REDH integrates 30,796 editing sites from 12 murine adult hematopoietic cell populations and systematically characterizes more than 400,000 edited events in malignant hematopoietic samples from 48 cohorts (human). Through the Differentiation, Disease, Enrichment, and knowledge modules, each A-to-I editing site is systematically integrated, including its distribution throughout the genome, its clinical information (human sample), and functional editing sites under physiological and pathological conditions. Furthermore, REDH compares the similarities and differences of editing sites between different hematologic malignancies and healthy control.Conclusions::REDH is accessible at http://www.redhdatabase.com/. This user-friendly database would aid in understanding the mechanisms of RNA editing in hematopoietic differentiation and malignancies. It provides a set of data related to the maintenance of hematopoietic homeostasis and identifying potential therapeutic targets in malignancies.

Molecular imprinting is a biomimetic technique that simulates the specific recognition of biological macromolecules such as antibody. Based on molecular imprinting and high-specificity affinity analysis,the biomimetic imprinting affinity analysis (BIA) possesses many advantages such as high sensitivity,strong tolerance,good specificity and low cost,and thus,it has shown excellent prospects in food safety detection,pharmaceutical analysis and environmental pollution monitoring. In this review,the construction methods of recognition interfaces for BIA were summarized,including bulk polymerization,electro-polymerization and surface molecular imprinting. The application of molecularly imprinted polymers in different analysis methods,such as radiolabeled affinity analysis,enzyme-labeled affinity analysis,fluorescence-labeled affinity analysis,chemiluminescence affinity analysis and electrochemical immunosensor was mainly discussed. Furthermore,the challenges and future development trends of BIA in practical application were elucidated. This review might provide new reference ideas and technical supports for the further development of BIA technique.

Further evidence is needed to explore the impact of high-altitude environments on the neurologic function of neonates.Non-invasive techniques such as cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy and amplitude-integrated electroencephalography can provide data on cerebral oxygenation and brain electrical activity.This study will conduct multiple cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy and amplitude-integrated electroencephalography monitoring sessions at various time points within the first 3 days postpartum for healthy full-term neonates at different altitudes.The obtained data on cerebral oxygenation and brain electrical activity will be compared between different altitudes,and corresponding reference ranges will be established.The study involves 6 participating centers in the Chinese High Altitude Neonatal Medicine Alliance,with altitude gradients divided into 4 categories:800 m,1 900 m,2 400 m,and 3 500 m,with an anticipated sample size of 170 neonates per altitude gradient.This multicenter prospective cohort study aims to provide evidence supporting the impact of high-altitude environments on early brain function and metabolism in neonates.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(4):403-409]

Objective To monitor the antifungal resistance of clinical isolates of Candida spp.in the East China region.Methods MALDI-TOF MS or molecular methods were used to re-identify the strains collected from January 2018 to December 2022.Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed using the broth microdilution method.The susceptibility test results were interpreted according to the breakpoints of 2022 Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)documents M27 M44s-Ed3 and M57s-Ed4.Results A total of 3 026 strains of Candida were collected,65.33％of which were isolated from sterile body sites,mainly from blood(38.86％)and pleural effusion/ascites(10.21％).The predominant species of Candida were Candida albicans(44.51％),followed by Candida parapsilosis complex(19.46％),Candida tropicalis(13.98％),Candida glabrata(10.34％),and other Candida species(0.79％).Candida albicans showed overall high susceptibility rates to the 10 antifungal drugs tested(the lowest rate being 93.62％).Only 2.97％of the strains showed dose-dependent susceptibility(SDD)to fluconazole.Candida parapsilosis complex had a SDD rate of 2.61％and a resistance rate of 9.42％to fluconazole,and susceptibility rates above 90％to other drugs.Candida glabrata had a SDD rate of 92.01％and a resistance rate of 7.99％to fluconazole,resistance rates of 32.27％and 48.24％to posaconazole and voriconazole non-wild-type strains(NWT),respectively,and susceptibility rates above 90％to other drugs.Candida tropicalis had resistance rates of 29.55％and 26.24％to fluconazole and voriconazole,respectively,resistance rates of 76.60％and 21.99％to posaconazole and echinocandins non-wild-type strains(NWT),and a resistance rate of 2.36％to echinocandins.Conclusions The prevalence and species distribution of Candida spp.in the East China region are consistent with previous domestic and international reports.Candida glabrata exhibits certain degree of resistance to fluconazole,while Candida tropicalis demonstrates higher resistance to triazole drugs.Additionally,echinocandins resistance has emerged in Candida albicans,Candida glabrata,Candida tropicalis,and Candida parapsilosis.

In mass spectrometry-based proteomics experiments,achieving high-throughput and efficientproteolytic digestion is crucial to ensure optimal protein cleavage and enhance the depth of protein identi-fication (including the number of identified proteins and the coverage of protein amino acid sequences) .Trypsin is the most widely used protease in mass spectrometry-based proteomics due to its ability to spe-cifically cleave the carboxyl terminus of arginine and lysine.However,it was found that Trypsin has some missed enzymatic efficiency for the cleavage of lysine residues.Therefore,in actual proteomics sample preparation,a combination of Trypsin and LysC will be used to ensure adequate cleavage of lysine resi-dues.Our study revealed that the commonly employed LysC-Trypsin tandem cleavage method exerts an impact on the enzymatic cleavage of protein samples by Trypsin due to the subsequent cleavage of Trypsin by initially added LysC.Consequently,we adjusted the order of LysC and Trypsin tandem digestion,with Trypsin cleavage being performed first followed by the addition of LysC to target any missed lysine resi-dues.We comprehensively compared and analyzed three distinct sequential digestion methods,namely Trypsin-Trypsin (T-T),LysC-Trypsin (L-T),and Trypsin-LysC (T-L),in terms of their effects on pro-tein sample preparation quality.The results demonstrated that the Trypsin-LysC sequential digestion ap-proach not only minimizes missed protein lysine/arginine cleavage sites without increasing experimental costs,at the same time yielding peptides with a moderate amino acid sequence length.The use of Tryp-sin-LysC digestion enhances the adsorption and separation of peptide samples in RP-HPLC,as well as improves the depth of protein detection and amino acid sequence coverage during tandem mass spectrome-try analysis.This research work offers a novel technical solution and serves as a valuable reference for proteome sample preparation.

Objective:To analyze the occurrence of concomitant gene mutations in cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia(CN-AML)patients with CEBPA mutation and its impact on the clinical characteristics and prognosis of the patients.Methods:151 newly diagnosed patients with CN-AML in the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from June 2013 to June 2020 were analyzed retrospectively.34 common genetic mutations associated with hematologic malignancies were detected by next-generation sequencing technology.The occurrence of concomitant gene mutations in patients with CEBPA positive and negative groups was compared,and the correlation between concomitant mutations in different functional groups and the clinical characteristics and prognosis of CN-AML patients with CEBPA mutation was analyzed.Results:In 151 patients with CN-AML,55(36.42％)were positive for CEBPA mutation(including 36 cases of CEBPAdm and 19 cases of CEBPAsm),of which 41(74.55％)had co-mutations with other genes.The main mutated genes were GATA2(25.45％,14/55),TET2(21.82％,12/55),FLT3(20.00％,11/55),NRAS(12.73％,7/55)and WT1(9.09％,9/55),etc.Some cases had two or more concomitant gene mutations.Grouping the mutant genes according to their functions showed that CEBPA+group had lower mutation rates of histone methylation(P=0.002)and chromatin modification genes(P=0.002,P=0.033),and higher mutation rates of transcription factors(P=0.037)than CEBPA-group.In 55 patients with CEBPA+CN-AML,the platelet count at diagnosis in signaling pathway gene mutation-positive group was lower than that in the mutation-negative group(P=0.005),the proportion of bone marrow blasts in transcription factor mutation-positive group was higher than that in the mutation-negative group(P=0.003),and the onset age in DNA methylation gene mutation-positive group and chromatin modifier mutation-positive group was older than that in the mutation-negative group,respectively(P=0.002,P=0.008).DFS of CEBPA+CN-AML patients in signaling pathway gene mutation group was shorter than that in signaling pathway gene mutation-negative group(median DFS:12 months vs not reached)(P=0.034).Compared with DNA methylation gene mutation-negative group,CEBPA+CN-AML patients with DNA methylation gene mutation had lower CR rate(P=0.025)significantly shorter OS and DFS(median OS:20 months vs not reached,P=0.006;median DFS:15 months vs not reached,P=0.049).OS in patients with histone methylation gene mutation was significantly shorter than that in the histone methylation gene mutation-negative group(median OS:12 months vs 40 months)(P=0.008).Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors showed that the proportion of bone marrow blasts(P=0.046),concomitant DNA methylation gene mutation(P=0.006)and histone methylation gene mutation(P=0.036)were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis.Conclusion:CN-AML patients with CEBPA mutation have specific concomitant gene profile,and the concomitant mutations of different functional genes have a certain impact on the clinical characteristics and prognosis of the patients.

Objective To investigate the role of caspase-1-medicated canonical pyroptosis pathway in chlorogenic acid(CGA)treatment of acute kidney injury(AKI)in mice.Method Twenty-four C57Bl/6J mice were randomized into sham-operated group,cecal ligation and puncture(CLP)group,CLP+dexamethasone group(CLP+DXM group),and CLP+CGA group(n=6)and subjected to either sham operation(laparotomy only)or CLP.After modeling the mice received intravenous infusion of 10 mg/kg normal saline(in sham and CLP groups),1 μg/kg dexamethasone or 15 mg/kg of chlorogenic acid for 6 h delivered using an intravenous pump.Eight hours after the infusion,renal morphology and histology,renal cell apoptosis,and the renal function parameters such as urea nitrogen(BUN),creatinine(Scr),and kidney injury molecule 1(KIM-1)were compared among the 4 groups;the 7-day survival rates of the mice were recorded,and the expressions of NLRP3 inflammasomes and key proteins of the caspase-1 pathway in the renal tissue were detected.Results CGA treatment significantly improved the 7-day survival rate,reduced renal pathologies of the septic mice(P<0.05),and lowered the levels of BUN,Scr,KIM-1,NLRP3 inflammasome and expressions of key proteins of the caspase-1 pathway.Conclusion CGA alleviates AKI in mice with CLP-induced sepsis by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasomes and the caspase-1 signaling pathway.