1.Huayu Mingmu Prescription Downregulates PI3K/Akt/mTOR-HIF-1α/VEGFA Signaling Pathway to Intervene in Retinal Angiogenesis of DR Rats
Xiaoqiu MA ; Lei ZHAO ; Huimin ZHOU ; Fanghui ZHENG ; Guoqing YANG ; Tao ZUO ; Xiande MA
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(8):78-87
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Huayu Mingmu prescription on retinal angiogenesis and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR)-hypoxia inducible factor-1α/vascular endothelial growth factor A (HIF-1α/VEGFA) signaling pathway in diabetic retinopathy (DR) rats. MethodsSixty-four SPF-grade male SD rats were used in the study. Eleven rats were randomly selected as the normal group, while the remaining 53 rats were fed a high-sugar, high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneal injection to establish a type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rat model. DR model evaluation was performed after 12 weeks of diabetes. The rats were then divided into model, low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose groups of Huayu Mingmu prescription (9.29, 18.57, 37.14 g·kg-1), and a calcium dobesilate group (0.16 g·kg-1), with 10 rats in each group. The rats were orally administered the corresponding doses of Huayu Mingmu prescription and calcium dobesilate. The normal and model groups received equal volumes of physiological saline via gavage for 8 consecutive weeks. Retinal vascular changes were observed through fundus photography, and pathological changes in retinal tissue were evaluated using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Retinal microvascular pathological changes were examined through retinal vascular network preparation and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. Immunofluorescence (IF) was used to detect the expression of VEGFA and angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) in retinal tissue. Western blot was employed to detect the protein expression of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, HIF-1α, VEGFA, and VEGFR2 in retinal tissue. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to assess the mRNA expression of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, HIF-1α, VEGFA, and VEGFR2 in retinal tissue. ResultsCompared with the normal group, the model group exhibited significant pathological changes in retinal tissue, including the appearance of acellular capillaries, as well as significant endothelial cell (E) proliferation and pericyte (P) loss (P<0.01). The E/P was significantly elevated (P<0.01). Protein and mRNA expression levels of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, HIF-1α, VEGFA, and VEGFR2 in retinal tissue were significantly increased (P<0.01), and the expression of Ang-2 protein was significantly elevated (P<0.01). In contrast, retinal tissue in the treatment groups showed alleviated pathological changes, with reduced endothelial cell proliferation and pericyte loss (P<0.05, P<0.01). Among the treatment groups, the high-dose Huayu Mingmu prescription and the calcium dobesilate group exhibited a decreased E/P (P<0.01). Protein and mRNA expression levels of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, HIF-1α, VEGFA, and VEGFR2 in retinal tissue were significantly reduced (P<0.05, P<0.01), and the expression of Ang-2 protein was significantly decreased (P<0.01). ConclusionHuayu Mingmu prescription can intervene in retinal neovascularization in DR rats, delay the progression of DR, and its mechanism may be related to antagonizing the PI3K/Akt/mTOR-HIF-1α/VEGFA signaling pathway.
2.Expression and prognostic value of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 in patients with cirrhotic ascites and intra-abdominal infection
Feng WEI ; Xinyan YUE ; Xiling LIU ; Huimin YAN ; Lin LIN ; Tao HUANG ; Yantao PEI ; Shixiang SHAO ; Erhei DAI ; Wenfang YUAN
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(5):914-920
ObjectiveTo analyze the expression level of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) in serum and ascites of patients with cirrhotic ascites, and to investigate its correlation with clinical features and inflammatory markers and its role in the diagnosis of infection and prognostic evaluation. MethodsA total of 110 patients with cirrhotic ascites who were hospitalized in The Fifth Hospital of Shijiazhuang from January 2019 to December 2020 were enrolled, and according to the presence or absence of intra-abdominal infection, they were divided into infection group with 72 patients and non-infection group with 38 patients. The patients with infection were further divided into improvement group with 38 patients and non-improvement group with 34 patients. Clinical data and laboratory markers were collected from all patients. Serum and ascites samples were collected, and ELISA was used to measure the level of TREM-1. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. A Spearman correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between indicators. A multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the influencing factors for the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic ascites and infection. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic efficacy of each indicator, and the Delong test was used for comparison of the area under the ROC curve (AUC). ResultsThe level of TREM-1 in ascites was significantly positively correlated with that in serum (r=0.50, P<0.001). Compared with the improvement group, the non-improvement group had a significantly higher level of TREM-1 in ascites (Z=-2.391, P=0.017) and serum (Z=-2.544, P=0.011), and compared with the non-infection group, the infection group had a significantly higher level of TREM-1 in ascites (Z=-3.420, P<0.001), while there was no significant difference in the level of TREM-1 in serum between the two groups (P>0.05). The level of TREM-1 in serum and ascites were significantly positively correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), white blood cell count, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (r=0.288, 0.344, 0.530, 0.510, 0.534, 0.454, 0.330, and 0.404, all P<0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that when PCT, CRP, and serum or ascitic TREM-1 were used in combination for the diagnosis of cirrhotic ascites with infection, the AUCs were 0.715 and 0.740, respectively. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that CRP (odds ratio [OR]=1.019, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.001 — 1.038, P=0.043) and serum TREM-1 (OR=1.002, 95%CI: 1.000 — 1.003, P=0.016) were independent risk factors for the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic ascites and infection, and the combination of these two indicators had an AUC of 0.728 in predicting poor prognosis. ConclusionThe level of TREM-1 is closely associated with the severity of infection and prognosis in patients with cirrhotic ascites, and combined measurement of TREM-1 and CRP/PCT can improve the diagnostic accuracy of infection and provide support for prognostic evaluation.
3.A novel TNKS/USP25 inhibitor blocks the Wnt pathway to overcome multi-drug resistance in TNKS-overexpressing colorectal cancer.
Hongrui ZHU ; Yamin GAO ; Liyun LIU ; Mengyu TAO ; Xiao LIN ; Yijia CHENG ; Yaoyao SHEN ; Haitao XUE ; Li GUAN ; Huimin ZHAO ; Li LIU ; Shuping WANG ; Fan YANG ; Yongjun ZHOU ; Hongze LIAO ; Fan SUN ; Houwen LIN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2024;14(1):207-222
Modulating Tankyrases (TNKS), interactions with USP25 to promote TNKS degradation, rather than inhibiting their enzymatic activities, is emerging as an alternative/specific approach to inhibit the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Here, we identified UAT-B, a novel neoantimycin analog isolated from Streptomyces conglobatus, as a small-molecule inhibitor of TNKS-USP25 protein-protein interaction (PPI) to overcome multi-drug resistance in colorectal cancer (CRC). The disruption of TNKS-USP25 complex formation by UAT-B led to a significant decrease in TNKS levels, triggering cell apoptosis through modulation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Importantly, UAT-B successfully inhibited the CRC cells growth that harbored high TNKS levels, as demonstrated in various in vitro and in vivo studies utilizing cell line-based and patient-derived xenografts, as well as APCmin/+ spontaneous CRC models. Collectively, these findings suggest that targeting the TNKS-USP25 PPI using a small-molecule inhibitor represents a compelling therapeutic strategy for CRC treatment, and UAT-B emerges as a promising candidate for further preclinical and clinical investigations.
4.Application trends of blood flow restriction training in clinical rehabilitation
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2024;28(2):258-262
BACKGROUND:The use of blood flow restriction training in clinical rehabilitation is becoming more common,in part due to technological advances and increased interest in research and medicine. OBJECTIVE:To explore the global trend and development prospects of clinical rehabilitation-related blood flow restriction training application,identify research gaps,and propose future research directions. METHODS:Web of Science,PubMed,and Elsevier were searched for literature related to clinical rehabilitation using blood flow restriction training published from 2001 to 2022.A total of 515 articles were included for further review.Bibliometrics,exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis were used to reveal the emerging research fields and topics. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:First of all,the overall research trend of the number of published articles shows a steady rise.The United States is the main research area in this field,and universities contribute the most to journals.Secondly,a core group of authors,led by Loenneke JP,Abe T and Dankel SJ,has been formed,with less collaboration among highly productive authors.Finally,research on blood flow restriction training focuses on skeletal muscle rehabilitation,cognitive functional activity,and chronic disease rehabilitation in clinical rehabilitation,with particular attention to the application of blood flow restriction in the recovery of symptoms such as muscle atrophy,knee pain,and joint effusion after anterior cruciate reconstruction surgery.Theoretical research on low-pressure blood flow restriction that is effective in relieving musculoskeletal symptoms has been hot in recent years,which can systematically guide the musculoskeletal rehabilitation in clinical practice.In the future,clinicians will extend follow-up periods,register larger and more diverse sample sizes,and use randomization techniques to determine appropriate prescribing indications for rehabilitating patients,ensure clinical safety,and quantitatively analyze and develop rehabilitation protocols with the maximum effect at the minimum effective dose for different clinical populations.
5.Association between regional white matter hyperintensity burden and cognitive impairment in Parkinson′s disease patients
Huimin CHEN ; Wen SU ; Meimei ZHANG ; Tao FENG ; Yilong WANG
Chinese Journal of Neurology 2024;57(2):157-163
Objective:To investigate the association between regional white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes and cognitive impairment in Parkinson′s disease (PD) patients.Methods:The consecutive samples of PD cohort between October 2018 and August 2019 from the Department of Movement Disorders, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic and disease profiles, three-dimensional brain magnetic resonance imaging data were collected. Cognition was evaluated by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and mood was evaluated by Hamilton Anxiety Scale and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). According to the MMSE score, patients were divided into PD with dementia group and PD without dementia group. WMH volume was automatically calculated using unidentified bright objects detector pipeline based on anatomical autonomic labeling atlas. Firstly, demographic and disease profiles, and WMH total volume were compared between groups with and without dementia. Then, partial correlation analysis [false discovery rate (FDR) corrected] and principal component (PC) regression analysis were used to assess the association between regional WMH volumes and the MMSE score.Results:Compared with PD without dementia group, PD with dementia group showed significantly higher WMH volume [5 125 (2 727, 13 718) mm 3vs 3 214 (1 959, 7 205) mm 3, Z=-2.256, P=0.024]. After adjusting for age, low density lipoprotein, cholesterol, and HAMD score, partial correlation analysis (FDR corrected) showed that WMH volumes in the right calcarine ( r=-0.204, PFDR-corrected=0.034), the right fusiform ( r=-0.180, PFDR-corrected=0.046), the right lingual ( r=-0.146, PFDR-corrected=0.047), the left middle temporal ( r=-0.168, PFDR-corrected=0.047), the left inferior parietal lobes ( r=-0.145, PFDR-corrected=0.047) and the right inferior parietal lobes ( r=-0.148, PFDR-corrected=0.047) were significantly associated with MMSE score. PC regression analysis demonstrated that MMSE score was significantly associated with PC2 ( B=-0.632, 95% CI -1.222--0.041, P=0.036), PC13 ( B=-1.384, 95% CI -2.155--0.613, P=0.001), and PC14 ( B=-0.913, 95% CI -1.599--0.227, P=0.009); PC2, PC13 and PC14 were mainly composed of temporo-parieto-occipital WMHs in the posterior brain, and the related WMH components accounted for 9.668% of WMH variance. Conclusions:The posterior WMH burden may be associated with cognitive impairment in PD patients. However, WMH burden may not be the main contributor to cognitive impairment in PD patients.
6.Influencing factors of adaptive ability development of children aged 2 - 6 in China
Jiayin CUI ; Ruili LI ; Lihong WANG ; Xiaoguo ZHENG ; Huimin YANG ; Liqi ZHU ; Shuling GUO ; Lu ZHAO ; Wenhua ZHAO ; Zhenyu YANG ; Qian ZHANG ; Yuying WANG ; Tao XU ; Bowen CHEN
Chinese Journal of Child Health Care 2024;32(3):280-285
【Objective】 To investigate the development of adaptability in children aged 2 - 6, and to explore its influencing factors, so as to provide reference for promoting the development of adaptability in young children. 【Methods】 Data were from the National Nutrition and Health Systematic Survey for Children in China, and 3 319 children aged 2 - 6 and their parents from 28 sites across 14 provinces were recruited in this study.The Development Scale for Children Aged 0 - 6 years (WS/T 580-2017) was used to measure the developmental quotient of children′s adaptive ability, and a survey questionnaire was used to collect relevant information about children and their parents. 【Results】 Among 3 319 children aged 2 - 6, the proportion of slightly low or low level of adaptability, moderate adaptability development, good and excellent adaptability development was 7.68%,66.25% and 26.06%, respectively.The proportion of children aged 5 - 6 with good and excellent adaptability was lower in 3-year-old and 4-year-old groups (χ2=59.29, P<0.05).Multiple stepwise linear regression showed that children′s gender (β=0.06), gestational age of birth (β=-0.05), only child (β=-0.04), left-behind child (β=-0.04), the main caregiver (β=-0.06), and the education level of parents (β=0.09, 0.10), whether parents actively pay attention to children′s emotions (β=-0.06) and whether children play with homemade toys (β=-0.04) were the influencing factors of children′s adaptive development quotient.Girls, full-term children, only children, non-left-behind children, children with parents as main caregivers, parents with a high level of education, parents who often take the initiative to pay attention to children′s emotions, and children who play with homemade toys had a higher level of adaptability development quotient. 【Conclusions】 The development level of adaptability in children aged 2 - 6 in China is mostly above the average level and is related to multiple factors.Targeted intervention work can be carried out on relevant factors in order to promote the development of children′s adaptability.
7.Deep Learning-Based Key Frame Recognition Algorithm for Adrenal Vascular in X-Ray Imaging
Huimin TAO ; Miao HUANG ; Cong LIU ; Yongtian LIU ; Zhihua HU ; Lili TAO ; Shuping ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Medical Instrumentation 2024;48(2):138-143
Adrenal vein sampling is required for the staging diagnosis of primary aldosteronism,and the frames in which the adrenal veins are presented are called key frames.Currently,the selection of key frames relies on the doctor's visual judgement which is time-consuming and laborious.This study proposes a key frame recognition algorithm based on deep learning.Firstly,wavelet denoising and multi-scale vessel-enhanced filtering are used to preserve the morphological features of the adrenal veins.Furthermore,by incorporating the self-attention mechanism,an improved recognition model called ResNet50-SA is obtained.Compared with commonly used transfer learning,the new model achieves 97.11%in accuracy,precision,recall,F1,and AUC,which is superior to other models and can help clinicians quickly identify key frames in adrenal veins.
8.Pathological classification of oral cancer based on multi-instance network and two-level attention
Huimin JIANG ; Liming FANG ; Long TAO
Chinese Journal of Medical Physics 2024;41(8):946-952
To address the problems of the low accuracy of pathological classification caused by the large size of pathological data and the high cost of labeling,a pathological classification algorithm for oral cancer is designed based on multi-instance network and two-level attention module,which takes losses at the instance level and image block level into account.A retrospective analysis is conducted on 186 cases of oral cancer(126 cases of squamous cell carcinoma and 60 cases of adenocarcinoma)in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,the First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College,and the digital pathological sections are divided into training set,verification set and test set.The foreground and background segmentations are performed on the pathological image,and the noise is removed from the background.ResNet50 is used to extract features from the segmented pathological images,and the features are input into the first-level attention network to obtain the attention score and loss based on image block.Then,the image blocks are sorted according to the attention score,and the reset labels are input into the second-level attention network to obtain the loss based on the instance level.The loss of the two-level attention is taken as the total loss of the model,and the prediction result is obtained by training the final network.The experimental results show that the multi-instance network using two-level attention achieves an accuracy of 78.95%and AUC of 0.8430,demonstrating superior performance than the baseline models.
9.Development and validation of a nomogram model for preoperative prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma with microvascular invasion
Kangkang WAN ; Shubo PAN ; Liangping NI ; Qiru XIONG ; Shengxue XIE ; Longsheng WANG ; Tao LIU ; Haonan SUN ; Ju MA ; Huimin WANG ; Zongfan YU
Chinese Journal of Hepatobiliary Surgery 2023;29(8):561-566
Objective:To develop and validate a nomogram model for predicting microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on preoperative enhanced computed tomography imaging features and clinical data.Methods:The clinical data of 210 patients with HCC undergoing surgery in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from May 2018 to May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 172 males and 38 females, aged (59±10) years old. Patients were randomly divided into the training group ( n=147) and validation group ( n=63) by systematic sampling at a ratio of 7∶3. Preoperative enhanced computed tomography imaging features and clinical data of the patients were collected. Logistic regression was conducted to analyze the risk factors for HCC with MVI, and a nomogram model containing the risk factors was established and validated. The diagnostic efficacy of predicting MVI status in patients with HCC was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curves, decision curve analysis (DCA), and clinical impact curve (CIC) of the subjects in the training and validation groups. Results:The results of multifactorial analysis showed that alpha fetoprotein ≥400 μg/ml, intra-tumor necrosis, tumor length diameter ≥3 cm, unclear tumor border, and subfoci around the tumor were independent risk factors predicting MVI in HCC. A nomogram model was established based on the above factors, in which the area under the curve (AUC) of ROC were 0.866 (95% CI: 0.807-0.924) and 0.834 (95% CI: 0.729-0.939) in the training and validation groups, respectively. The DCA results showed that the predictive model thresholds when the net return is >0 ranging from 7% to 93% and 12% to 87% in the training and validation groups, respectively. The CIC results showed that the group of patients with predictive MVI by the nomogram model are highly matched with the group of patients with confirmed MVI. Conclusion:The nomogram model based on the imaging features and clinical data could predict the MVI in HCC patients prior to surgery.
10.Simultaneous or sequential onset of childhood absence epilepsy and childhood benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: a VEEG and clinical feature study
Huimin YIN ; Jiechuan REN ; Chao CHEN ; Tao CUI
Chinese Journal of Neuromedicine 2023;22(12):1206-1212
Objective:To analyze the video electroencephalogram (VEEG) and clinical features of simultaneous or sequential onset of childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) and childhood benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS).Methods:Seven patients with simultaneous or sequential onset of CAE and BECTS admitted to Neurology Center, Beijing Tiantan Hospital from January 2016 to July 2023 were chosen. The clinical features, VEEG, treatments and prognoses of these patients were retrospectively analyzed. PubMed database was searched for articles on simultaneous or sequential onset of CAE and BECTS from January 2002 to July 2023, and studies with 3 or more cases of simultaneous or sequential onset of CAE and BECTS were included. Clinical characteristics of these patients in various studies were compared.Results:(1) The mean onset age in these 7 patients was 6.28 years, ranged from 4 to 8 years. CAE was recorded in 2 patients without clinical manifestation of BECTS during the course of disease progression; simultaneous or sequential onset of CAE and BECTS was recorded in 5 patients. Of the 7 patients, 2 effectively accepted valproate sodium (VPA) monotherapy, and 5 required additional antiepileptic drugs. Although all patients had well-controlled seizures and no developmental delays, 3 had learning disabilities, 3 had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 2 had anxiety. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WAIS-III) showed that 1 patient had below average intelligence and 6 had average intelligence. VEEG of all 7 patients showed simultaneous or sequential absence seizures and centrotemporal spikes. (2) Four studies were included in PubMed database. Combined with our study, these 5 sutdies indicated significant differences in onset age in patients with simultaneous or sequential onset of CAE and BECTS ( P<0.05), but no significant differences in simultaneous VEEG manifestations occurred or not and disease comorbidities or not in CAE and BECTS patients ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Patients with simultaneous or sequential onset of CAE and BECTS have different onset age, good overall prognosis and good response to anti-epileptic drugs, and trend to have complicated cognitive impairment.

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