The Huangdi Neijing proposes the " using bitter herbs to nourish or purge" theory to guide clinical prescription and formulation of herbal remedies based on the physiological characteristics and functions of the five zang viscera, along with the properties and flavors of medicinal herbs. This study explored diabetic kidney disease pathogenesis and treatment based on the " using bitter herbs to nourish or purge" theory. Kidney dryness is a key pathological factor in diabetic kidney disease, and the disharmony of kidney dryness is an essential aspect of its pathogenesis. Strengthening is the primary therapeutic principle, and kidney dryness is a persistent factor throughout the occurrence and progression of diabetic kidney disease. In the early stage, the pathogenesis involves heat-consuming qi and injuring yin, leading to kidney dryness. In the middle stage, the pathogenesis manifests as qi deficiency and blood stasis in the collaterals, resulting in turbidity owing to kidney dryness. In the late stage, the pathogenesis involves yin and yang deficiency, with kidney dryness and disharmony. This study proposes the staging-based treatment based on the " need for firmness" characteristic of the kidney. The aim is to provide new insights for clinical diagnosis and treatment in traditional Chinese medicine by rationally using pungent, bitter, and salty medicinal herbs to nourish and moisturize the kidney. This approach seeks to promote precise syndrome differentiation and personalized treatment for different stages of diabetic kidney disease, thereby enhancing clinical efficacy.

ObjectiveTo analyze the metabolomic characteristics of platelets in fibrinogen（FIB） overexpression rats of coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome（CHD-BSS）， explore potential biomarkers， and investigate the mechanism of FIB overexpression on CHD-BSS. MethodsSD rats were randomly divided into BSS group and BSS+FIB overexpression group（BSS+FIB group）， with 10 rats in each group. Both the BSS+FIB group and the BSS group were fed a high-fat diet combined with oral administration of vitamin D₃ and subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol， but rats in the BSS+FIB group were overexpressed with FIB during the initial modeling stage by transfection with adeno-associated virus（AAV）. The overexpression level of FIB in rat liver and plasma samples was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real time PCR）， as well as the expression level of liver FIB A（FGA） mRNA. The characteristics of metabolites in rat platelet samples were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbital trap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS）， and the differential metabolites between groups were screened by principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA）， and the enriched pathways were analyzed. The accuracy of potential biomarkers in the diagnosis of CHD-BSS was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic（ROC） curve. The expression of autophagy related proteins phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate（AMP） activated protein kinase（p-AMPK）/AMPK， phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin（p-mTOR）/mTOR， microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3（LC3） Ⅱ/Ⅰ and p62 in platelets were detected by Western blot. ResultsCompared with the BSS group， the expression levels of FIB in liver and plasma samples of the BSS+FIB group were significantly increased（P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the expression level of FIB mRNA in the liver was remarkably increased（P<0.01）， indicating successful overexpression of FIB. Platelet metabolomics results showed significant differences in metabolic profiles between the BSS+FIB group and the BSS group， and a total of 25 significantly enriched metabolic pathways and 8 metabolites involved in these metabolic pathways， among which uric acid， guanosine and ribose 1-phosphate levels were up-regulated， while adenosine diphosphate（ADP）， AMP， guanosine diphosphate（GDP）， adenylosuccinate and norepinephrine levels were down-regulated. The diagnostic ability analysis of differential metabolites showed that all 8 differential metabolites had good diagnostic ability， with an area under the curve（AUC）>0.85. Western blot results showed that compared with the BSS group， the expression levels of p-mTOR/mTOR and p62 proteins in platelets of the BSS+FIB group was significantly reduced（P<0.01）， while the expression levels of p-AMPK/AMPK and LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ proteins were increased， but the difference was not statistically significant. ConclusionOverexpression of FIB can change the metabolic characteristics of CHD-BSS rat model， involving multiple aspects such as vascular endothelial injury， platelet activation and myocardial function damage. Among them， overexpression of FIB may enhance the occurrence of platelet autophagy， thereby inducing platelet activation and promoting thrombus formation.

BACKGROUND:Currently,exercise therapy is an effective non-pharmacological treatment for low back pain,and exercise therapy can maintain lumbar spine stabilization through mechanical-chemical coupling between bones and muscles,but there is no clear description of the research progress and optimal treatment protocols for exercise therapy to relieve chronic non-specific lower back pain through mechanical-chemical coupling. OBJECTIVE:To review the research progress related to the influence of paravertebral muscles on lumbar spine stabilization during exercise therapy through mechanical-chemical coupling,which in turn relieves chronic non-specific lower back pain,as well as the current optimal treatment protocols of exercise therapy for chronic non-specific lower back pain. METHODS:Literature searches were performed in WanFang database,CNKI,VIP,Web of Science,and PubMed database,with search terms of"chronic non-specific low back pain,lumbar spine stabilization,paravertebral muscles,exercise therapy"in Chinese and English.Relevant literature published from database inception to January 2024 was searched and 93 articles were included for final summarization. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Exercise therapy can act on the paravertebral muscles and bones through appropriate mechanical stimulation and produce corresponding changes.Exercise therapy is an important intervention for chronic non-specific lower back pain as it improves the quality of the paravertebral muscles,primarily through mechanical-chemical coupling,and thus maintains lumbar spine stabilization for better relief of chronic non-specific lower back pain.However,there are no clear reports on the exact effective protocols for exercise therapy to treat chronic non-specific lower back pain through lumbar spine stabilization.The development of an individualized exercise program is particularly important for the treatment and prognosis of chronic non-specific low back pain.Muscle mass and bone mass of the same individual are closely related,and imaging assessment of paravertebral muscle mass and quantity is important for disease detection and intervention.

ObjectiveTo explore the biological mechanism of bone loss caused by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) through transcriptomic analysis, and to provide new insights into regulating perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) applications and the prevention of hazards affecting bone health. MethodsMouse embryonic osteoblast precursor cells (MC3T3-E1) were exposed to 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μmol·L^-¹ PFOA for 24 hours to assess the effects on cell viability and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and to determine the critical concentration of PFOA toxicity. The transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) induced by PFOA. Gene ontology (GO) analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were conducted to identify significantly affected gene pathways. Additionally, Seahorse XF metabolic phenotyping and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to validate the key pathways. ResultsExposure to 10 and 100 μmol·L^-¹ PFOA significantly reduced the cell viability and ALP activity of MC3T3-E1 cells. Therefore, the results of transcriptomic analysis for 10 μmol‧L^-1 PFOA exposure found that a total of 80 DEGs were identified, including 32 upregulated genes and 48 downregulated genes. According to GO analysis, PFOA mainly affected cellular components such as mitochondrion and nucleus, molecular functions involving GTPase activity and GTP binding, as well as biological process related to mRNA processing. GSEA identified the downregulation of the β-oxidation of fatty acid pathway in mitochondria. Metabolic phenotyping reserches showed that PFOA indeed reduced mitochondrial aerobic respiration capacity and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, and the ratio of ATP production from cellular aerobic respiration to glycolysis was significantly decreased as well. The mRNA expression of glucose metabolism-related genes (GK, G6PD, and CS), as well as fatty acid metabolism-related genes (CPT1A and CPT2), were significantly downregulated. ConclusionPFOA reduces bone formation by inhibiting energy metabolism and β-oxidation of fatty acid pathways in osteoblasts, whihc lays the foundation for revealing the mechanism of PFOA exposure induced bone loss.

OBJECTIVE To study the improvement effects of arbutin on myocardial fibrosis （MF） model rats and its mechanism. METHODS The network pharmacology was used to predict the potential target of arbutin in improving MF and molecular docking was used to validated. Totally 50 SD rats were given isoprenaline subcutaneously （5 mg/kg， once a day， for 14 consecutive days） to induce the MF model. Modeled rats were randomly divided into model group， captopril group （9 mg/kg）， arbutin low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups （50， 100， 200 mg/kg）， with 10 rats in each group. Another 10 healthy rats were included as normal group. Each group was given the corresponding drugs， once a day， for 28 consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after the final administration， electrocardiograms and heart-related indexes [heart weight index （HWI）， left ventricular weight index （LVWI）] of rats were detected； the levels of creatine kinase （CK）， lactate dehydrogenase （LDH）， N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide （NT-proBNP） and type Ⅰ collagen （Col Ⅰ） and Col Ⅲ were detected in myocardial tissue of rats； the pathological changes of myocardial tissue were observed， and protein and mRNA expressions of adenosine deaminase （ADA） and adenosine kinase （ADK） were detected in the myocardial tissue of rats. RESULTS The results of network pharmacology showed that the main targets of arbutin improving MF were ADA and ADK. The results of molecular docking showed that arbutin bind stably with ADA and ADK. The results of experimental verification showed that compared with model group， the amplitude of ST and T waves in electrocardiogram were improved in administration groups， and the symptoms of atrial flutter were alleviated； HWI （except for arbutin medium-dose group）， LVWI， the levels of CK， LDH， NT-proBNP， Col Ⅰ and Col Ⅲ in the myocardial tissue of rats were decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； the degree of myocardial fibrosis in rats decreased； protein and mRNA expressions of ADA and ADK in the myocardial tissue were significantly increased （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Arbutin can improve cardiac fibrosis and cardiac function of MF model rats， the mechanism of which may be associated with up-regulating protein and mRNA expressions of ADA and ADK，influencing the nucleotide metabolism and collagen generation. zhangminghao@hactcm.edu.cn

Objective The potential mechanism of curcumin(CUR)combined with berberine(BBR)in improving drug-induced liver injury(DILI)was preliminarily predicted by a method of in vivo experiment in combination with network pharmacology.Methods The animal model was established by acetaminophen(APAP)-induced DILI and the levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT)and aspartate aminotransferase(AST)were detected in serum of mice.The network pharmacological approach was used to collect related targets of CUR,BBR,and DILI;Wayne mapping was carried out to screen intersection targets,followed by establishment of a protein-protein interaction(PPI)network of CUR-BBR-DILI.Functional enrichment analysis of gene ontology(GO)and pathway enrichment analysis of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)were conducted finally.Results The in vivo experimental results showed that the combination of CUR and BBR can significantly reduce the serum ALT and AST levels in mice,which is better than administration alone;Network pharmacology experiment results exhibited that 291 related targets of CUR and 208 related targets of BBR were collected by PharmMapper database,and 904 related targets of DILI were collected by Genecards database;77 intersection targets were screened by Venny 2.1.0 database;52 gene functions and 20 signal pathways possibly in connection with the improvement of DILI via drug combination were obtained by GO and KEGG analysis,respectively;nine of the top ten core targets according to degree in PPI network were enriched to PI3K/AKT signaling pathway,which were in order as follows:SRC,EGFR,HSP90AA1,IGF1,HRAS,MAPK14,ESR1,CASP3,and PTK2.Conclusion DILI might be synergistically improved by CUR combined BBR through multi-target and multi-pathway manner,providing a theoretical basis for the elucidation of the mechanism of drug combination against DILI.

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of yang deficiency syndrome on the progression to end-point events of diabetic kidney disease （DKD）. MethodsA retrospective study among patients with stage Ⅳ DKD admitted to Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine from September 1st， 2016 to September 30th， 2021 was conducted. Data on the patients' general information， clinical indicators including duration of diabetes， duration of proteinuria， history of smoking and drinking， hemoglobin （HGB）， fasting blood glucose （FBG）， albumin （ALB）， serum creatinine （Scr）， urea nitrogen （BUN）， uric acid （UA）， cholesterol （TC） ， triglycerides （TG）， low-density lipoprotein （LDL）， 24-hour urine protein quantification （24h-UTP） and estimated glomerular filtration rate （eGFR）， and TCM syndromes including symptoms， tongue and pulse， and syndrome scores were collected. The patients were divided into exposure group （yang-deficiency group） and non-exposure group （non-yang-deficiency group）. The general information， clinical indicators and incidence rates of end-point events were compared， and the impact of yang deficiency syndrome on the end-point events of stage Ⅳ DKD was analyzed. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method， and multivariate Cox proportional risk models were used to identify independent predictors of end-point events. ResultsA total of 160 patients with stage Ⅳ DKD were included in the study， including 43 cases of yang deficiency syndrome and 117 cases of non-yang deficiency syndrome. Compared to those in the non-yang deficiency group， the waist circumference， BUN and the incidence of end-point events in the yang deficiency group were significantly higher （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Spearman correlation analysis showed that yang deficiency syndrome was positively correlated with incidence of end-point events of stage Ⅳ DKD （r = 0.167， P = 0.035）. Furthermore， 24h-UTP and BUN levels were also positively correlated with end-point events in stage Ⅳ DKD patients （P＜0.01）， while ALB and HGB levels were negatively correlated （P＜0.01）. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that yang deficiency syndrome was associated with an increased risk of end-point events （Log Rank P = 0.011）. Moreover， 24h-UTP levels ≥3500 mg， BUN level ≥8 mmol/L， ALB level ＜30 g and HGB level ＜11 g were all associated with the increase of the risk of end-point events （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that yang deficiency syndrome was an independent risk factor for patients with stage Ⅳ DKD to progress into end-point events （HR = 2.36， 1.32 to 4.21； P = 0.004）， as well as 24h-UTP ≥ 3500 mg， BUN ≥ 8 mmol/L， HGB＜11 g and ALB＜30 g （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionsFor stage Ⅳ DKD， patients with yang deficiency syndrome are more likely to have end-point events， which is an independent risk factor for the progression into end-point events.

OBJECTIVE To compare the chemical components contained in Artemisiae Scopariae Herba （ASH） standard decoction and its decoction pieces， and provide foundation of their pharmacological substances. METHODS ASH standard decoction and its decoction pieces were prepared； UFLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS method was used for the detection in the negative ion mode， and the total ion chromatogram was extracted by the PeakView 1.6 software. By comparing with reference substances， literature data， and online search of compound database such as PubChem， the chemical components contained in ASH standard decoction and its decoction pieces were identified and analyzed for the differences. RESULTS A total of 125 chemical components were identified in ASH standard decoction and its decoction pieces， including 50 organic acids， 39 flavonoids， 3 coumarins， 2 amino acids， 5 lignans， and 26 others. 3-methoxy-caffeic acid-4-O- β -D-glucoside， p-hydroxybenzoic acid， caffeic acid 4-O- glucoside， spiraeoside， and phenyl β-D-glucoside in ASH standard decoction were not detected in its decoction pieces， while 6′-6′ chlorogenic acid dimer， quercetin-5-glucoside， apigenin 7-methyl ether 5-（6″-malonylglucoside）， quercetin-3-O-arabinoside， 6″-caffeoylhyperin and 6-O-caffeoyl-D-glucoside in decoction pieces were not detected in the standard decoction. CONCLUSIONS Most components in ASH decoction pieces are transferred to its standard decoction， but a few components undergo chemical reactions in whole or in part during the boiling process， transforming into other or new components in the standard decoction.

With the increasing burden of hypertension in Chinese adults， the detection rate of hypertension among children and adolescents continued to rise， drawing increasing attention to the impact of pubertal timing on blood pressure. In recent years， many scholars have evaluated the association between pubertal development and blood pressure at different stages using various methods of assessing pubertal timing. To understand the correlation between pubertal timing and blood pressure in adolescents， this study reviews the associations between pubertal timing and blood pressure and their underlying mechanisms. The relationship between earlier female pubertal development and the risk of hypertension in adulthood shows positive， negative， and U-shaped correlations， with varying results. Earlier female pubertal development may lead to a higher detection rate of hypertension during adolescence. Most of the studies focus on the correlation between pubertal timing and adult blood pressure， with less research on adolescent blood pressure， indicating a need for further research to reveal underlying patterns.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of Shegan Mahuangtang and its pungent and bitter Chinese herbs on the expression of transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 （TRPV1） and bitter taste receptor 14 （TAS2R14） in the lung tissue of the rat model of cold asthma. MethodSeventy SD rats were randomized into 7 groups： normal， model， Shegan Mahuangtang， pungent Chinese herbs， bitter Chinese herbs （6.43 g·kg^-1）， dexamethasone （0.5 g·kg^-1）， and Guilong Kechuanning （10 g·kg^-1）. The rat model of cold asthma was established by intraperitoneal injection and subcutaneous injection of 10% ovalbumin （OVA） and aluminium hydroxide in the limbs， combined with 2% OVA atomization and cold （2-4 ℃） stimulation. The rats were treated with corresponding drugs by gavage and atomization， and the normal and model groups were treated with the same amount of normal saline for 3 weeks. After the last excitation， airway inflammation and cell proliferation were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE）， periodic acid-Schiff （PAS）， and Masson staining of the lung tissue. The levels of interleukin-5 （IL-5）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， thymic stromal lymphopoietin （TSLP）， and transforming growth factor-β₁ （TGF-β₁） in the serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The expression of TRPV1 and TAS2R14 was detected by immunofluorescence. The expression of TRPV1， TAS2R14， phospholipase Cβ₂ （PLCβ₂）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， and α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） in the lung tissue was determined by Western blot. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed decreased water intake， food intake， and body weight， increased airway inflammatory cell infiltration， goblet cell proliferation， tissue fibrosis and collagen deposition， elevated levels of IL-5， TNF-α， TSLP， and TGF-β₁ in the serum （P<0.01）， upregulated expression of TRPV1， PLCβ₂， and α-SMA， and downregulated expression of TAS2R14 and Bcl-2 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with model group， Shecgan Mahuangtang， pungent Chinese herbs， and bitter Chinese herbs increased the water intake， food intake， and body weight， reduced the inflammatory cell infiltration and goblet cell proliferation， alleviated tissue fibrosis and collagen deposition， lowered the levels of IL-5， TNF-α， TSLP， and TGF-β₁ in the serum （P<0.01）， downregulated the expression of TRPV1， PLCβ₂， and α-SMA， and upregulated the expression of TAS2R14 and Bcl-2 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionShegan Mahuangtang and its pungent and bitter Chinese herbs can reduce OVA-induced airway inflammation， downregulate the expression of TRPV1， PLCβ₂， and α-SMA， and upregulate the expression of TAS2R14 and Bcl-2 in asthmatic rats. Moreover， bitter Chinese herbs outperformed pungent Chinese herbs， and the combination of them enhanced the therapeutic effect. It is suggested that Shegan Mahuangtang and its pungent and bitter Chinese herbs may ameliorate the OVA-induced airway inflammation by inhibiting TRPV1 and activating TAS2R14.