1.Decision-making behavior in patients with depressive disorder and its relationship with depressive and anxiety symptoms
Yuxiang WANG ; Luoya ZHANG ; Maomao ZHANG ; Juan DENG ; Yanjie PENG ; Xiaotong CHENG ; Kezhi LIU ; Wei LEI ; Jing CHEN
Sichuan Mental Health 2025;38(1):22-27
BackgroundPatients with depressive disorder often exhibit impaired decision-making functions. However, the relationship between decision-making abilities and depressive and anxiety symptoms in these patients remains unclear. ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics of decision-making behavior in patients with depressive disorder, and to analyze its relationship with clinical symptoms. MethodsA total of 48 patients diagnosed with depressive disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) were recruited from the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from October 2020 to May 2023. Concurrently, 52 healthy individuals matched for age and gender were recruited from Luzhou as the control group. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used for assessment, and decision-making behavior was evaluated using Probabilistic Reversal Learning (PRL) task. Indicators assessed included the number of trials to criterion, perseverative errors, win-stay rate and lose-shift rate. Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between BDI and BAI scores and PRL task indicators. ResultsThe depression group showed a significantly higher lose-shift rate compared with the control group (t=3.684, P<0.01). There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in trials to criterion, perseverative errors and win-stay rate (t=0.329, 0.132, 0.609, P>0.05). In depression group, BDI and BAI scores were positively correlated with the win-stay rate(r=0.450, 0.398, P<0.01). ConclusionPatients with depressive disorder are more likely to change their decision-making strategies following negative outcomes. Furthermore, the severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms is associated with a greater propensity to maintain existing decisions after receiving positive feedback. [Funded by 2019 Joint Project of Luzhou Science and Technology Bureau-Southwest Medical University (number, 2019LZXNYDJ39]
2.Multidimensional Analysis of Mechanisms of Nuciferine Against Cerebral Ischemia Based on Transcriptomic Data
Yingying QIN ; Peng LI ; Sha CHEN ; Yan LIU ; Jintang CHENG ; Qingxia XU ; Guohua WANG ; Jing ZHOU ; An LIU ; Chang CHEN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(9):184-191
ObjectiveStudies have shown that nuciferine has anti-cerebral ischemia effect, but the specific mechanism of action has not been elaborated. Based on the transcriptome results, the pharmacological mechanism of nuciferine against cerebral ischemia was analyzed from multiple dimensions including tissue, cell, pathological process, biological process and signaling pathway. MethodsThirty SD rats were randomly divided into the sham group, model group and nuciferine group(40 mg·kg-1) according to weight. Except for the sham group, the model of middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) was established by thread embolization method after 30 min of administration in the other two groups. Twenty-four hours after surgery, transcriptome sequencing was used to detect the gene expression profiles in the cortex penumbra of rat cerebral tissue, and gene ontology(GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed for differentially expressed genes. The mechanismof nuciferine against cerebral ischemia was analyzed from 5 dimensions of tissue, cell, pathological process, biological process and signaling pathway by the transcriptome-based multi-scale network pharmacology platform(TMNP). ResultsTranscriptome sequencing and gene quantitative analysis showed that 667 genes were significantly reversed by nuciferine. Further enrichment analysis of KEGG and GO suggested that the pathways of nuciferine involved regulating stress response, ion transport, cell proliferation and differentiation, and synaptic function. TMNP research found that at the tissue level, nuciferine could significantly improve the cerebral tissue injury caused by ischemia. At the cellular and pathological levels, nuciferine could play an anti-cerebral ischemia role by improving the state of various nerve cells, mobilizing immune cells, regulating inflammation. And at the level of biological processes and signaling pathways, nuciferine mainly acted on the processes such as vascular remodeling, inflammation-related signaling pathways, and synaptic signaling. ConclusionCombined with the results of transcriptome sequencing, gene quantitative analysis and TMNP, the mechanism of nuciferine against cerebral ischemia may be related to processes such as intervening in stress response and inflammation, affecting vascular remodeling and regulating synaptic function. These results can provide a basis and reference for further study of the pharmacological mechanism of nuciferine against cerebral ischemia.
3.Role of Innate Trained Immunity in Diseases
Chuang CHENG ; Yue-Qing WANG ; Xiao-Qin MU ; Xi ZHENG ; Jing HE ; Jun WANG ; Chao TAN ; Xiao-Wen LIU ; Li-Li ZOU
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):119-132
The innate immune system can be boosted in response to subsequent triggers by pre-exposure to microbes or microbial products, known as “trained immunity”. Compared to classical immune memory, innate trained immunity has several different features. Firstly, the molecules involved in trained immunity differ from those involved in classical immune memory. Innate trained immunity mainly involves innate immune cells (e.g., myeloid immune cells, natural killer cells, innate lymphoid cells) and their effector molecules (e.g., pattern recognition receptor (PRR), various cytokines), as well as some kinds of non-immune cells (e.g., microglial cells). Secondly, the increased responsiveness to secondary stimuli during innate trained immunity is not specific to a particular pathogen, but influences epigenetic reprogramming in the cell through signaling pathways, leading to the sustained changes in genes transcriptional process, which ultimately affects cellular physiology without permanent genetic changes (e.g., mutations or recombination). Finally, innate trained immunity relies on an altered functional state of innate immune cells that could persist for weeks to months after initial stimulus removal. An appropriate inducer could induce trained immunity in innate lymphocytes, such as exogenous stimulants (including vaccines) and endogenous stimulants, which was firstly discovered in bone marrow derived immune cells. However, mature bone marrow derived immune cells are short-lived cells, that may not be able to transmit memory phenotypes to their offspring and provide long-term protection. Therefore, trained immunity is more likely to be relied on long-lived cells, such as epithelial stem cells, mesenchymal stromal cells and non-immune cells such as fibroblasts. Epigenetic reprogramming is one of the key molecular mechanisms that induces trained immunity, including DNA modifications, non-coding RNAs, histone modifications and chromatin remodeling. In addition to epigenetic reprogramming, different cellular metabolic pathways are involved in the regulation of innate trained immunity, including aerobic glycolysis, glutamine catabolism, cholesterol metabolism and fatty acid synthesis, through a series of intracellular cascade responses triggered by the recognition of PRR specific ligands. In the view of evolutionary, trained immunity is beneficial in enhancing protection against secondary infections with an induction in the evolutionary protective process against infections. Therefore, innate trained immunity plays an important role in therapy against diseases such as tumors and infections, which has signature therapeutic effects in these diseases. In organ transplantation, trained immunity has been associated with acute rejection, which prolongs the survival of allografts. However, trained immunity is not always protective but pathological in some cases, and dysregulated trained immunity contributes to the development of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Trained immunity provides a novel form of immune memory, but when inappropriately activated, may lead to an attack on tissues, causing autoinflammation. In autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis, trained immunity may lead to enhance inflammation and tissue lesion in diseased regions. In Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, trained immunity may lead to over-activation of microglial cells, triggering neuroinflammation even nerve injury. This paper summarizes the basis and mechanisms of innate trained immunity, including the different cell types involved, the impacts on diseases and the effects as a therapeutic strategy to provide novel ideas for different diseases.
4.Effect and mechanism of Jingangteng capsules in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease based on gut microbiota and metabolomics
Shiyuan CHENG ; Yue XIONG ; Dandan ZHANG ; Jing LI ; Zhiying SUN ; Jiaying TIAN ; Li SHEN ; Yue SHEN ; Dan LIU ; Qiong WEI ; Xiaochuan YE
China Pharmacy 2025;36(11):1340-1347
OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect and mechanism of Jingangteng capsules in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS Thirty-two SD rats were randomly divided into normal group and modeling group. The modeling group was fed a high-fat diet to establish a NAFLD model. The successfully modeled rats were then randomly divided into model group, atorvastatin group[positive control, 2 mg/(kg·d)], and Jingangteng capsules low- and high-dose groups [0.63 and 2.52 mg/(kg·d)], with 6 rats in each group. The pathological changes of the liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and oil red O staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to determine the serum levels of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-18. 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing and metabolomics techniques were applied to explore the effects of Jingangteng capsules on gut microbiota and metabolisms in NAFLD rats. Based on the E-mail:591146765@qq.com metabolomics results, Western blot analysis was performed to detect proteins related to the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)/NOD-like receptor family protein 3 (NLRP3) signaling pathway in the livers of NAFLD rats. RESULTS The experimental results showed that Jingangteng capsules could significantly reduce the serum levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, AST, ALT, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-18, while increased the level of HDL-C, and alleviated the hepatic cellular steatosis and inflammatory infiltration in NAFLD rats. They could regulate the gut microbiota disorders in NAFLD rats, significantly increased the relative abundance of Romboutsia and Oscillospira, and significantly decreased the relative abundance of Blautia (P<0.05). They also regulated metabolic disorders primarily by affecting secondary bile acid biosynthesis, fatty acid degradation, O-antigen nucleotide sugar biosynthesis, etc. Results of Western blot assay showed that they significantly reduced the phosphorylation levels of NF-κB p65 and NF-κB inhibitor α, and the protein expression levels of NLRP3, caspase-1 and ASC (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Jingangteng capsules could improve inflammation, lipid accumulation and liver injury in NAFLD rats, regulate the disorders of gut microbiota and metabolisms, and inhibit NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway. Their therapeutic effects against NAFLD are mediated through the inhibition of the NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway.
5.Construction and application of the "Huaxi Hongyi" large medical model
Rui SHI ; Bing ZHENG ; Xun YAO ; Hao YANG ; Xuchen YANG ; Siyuan ZHANG ; Zhenwu WANG ; Dongfeng LIU ; Jing DONG ; Jiaxi XIE ; Hu MA ; Zhiyang HE ; Cheng JIANG ; Feng QIAO ; Fengming LUO ; Jin HUANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(05):587-593
Objective To construct large medical model named by "Huaxi HongYi"and explore its application effectiveness in assisting medical record generation. Methods By the way of a full-chain medical large model construction paradigm of "data annotation - model training - scenario incubation", through strategies such as multimodal data fusion, domain adaptation training, and localization of hardware adaptation, "Huaxi HongYi" with 72 billion parameters was constructed. Combined with technologies such as speech recognition, knowledge graphs, and reinforcement learning, an application system for assisting in the generation of medical records was developed. Results Taking the assisted generation of discharge records as an example, in the pilot department, after using the application system, the average completion times of writing a medical records shortened (21 min vs. 5 min) with efficiency increased by 3.2 time, the accuracy rate of the model output reached 92.4%. Conclusion It is feasible for medical institutions to build independently controllable medical large models and incubate various applications based on these models, providing a reference pathway for artificial intelligence development in similar institutions.
6.Human ESC-derived vascular cells promote vascular regeneration in a HIF-1α dependent manner.
Jinghui LEI ; Xiaoyu JIANG ; Daoyuan HUANG ; Ying JING ; Shanshan YANG ; Lingling GENG ; Yupeng YAN ; Fangshuo ZHENG ; Fang CHENG ; Weiqi ZHANG ; Juan Carlos Izpisua BELMONTE ; Guang-Hui LIU ; Si WANG ; Jing QU
Protein & Cell 2024;15(1):36-51
Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α), a core transcription factor responding to changes in cellular oxygen levels, is closely associated with a wide range of physiological and pathological conditions. However, its differential impacts on vascular cell types and molecular programs modulating human vascular homeostasis and regeneration remain largely elusive. Here, we applied CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing of human embryonic stem cells and directed differentiation to generate HIF-1α-deficient human vascular cells including vascular endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), as a platform for discovering cell type-specific hypoxia-induced response mechanisms. Through comparative molecular profiling across cell types under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, we provide insight into the indispensable role of HIF-1α in the promotion of ischemic vascular regeneration. We found human MSCs to be the vascular cell type most susceptible to HIF-1α deficiency, and that transcriptional inactivation of ANKZF1, an effector of HIF-1α, impaired pro-angiogenic processes. Altogether, our findings deepen the understanding of HIF-1α in human angiogenesis and support further explorations of novel therapeutic strategies of vascular regeneration against ischemic damage.
Humans
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Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism*
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Endothelial Cells/metabolism*
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Transcription Factors/metabolism*
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Gene Expression Regulation
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Hypoxia/metabolism*
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Cell Hypoxia/physiology*
7.Effect of type of carrier material on the in vitro properties of solid dispersions of progesterone
Jing-nan QUAN ; Yi CHENG ; Jing-yu ZHOU ; Meng LI ; Zeng-ming WANG ; Nan LIU ; Zi-ming ZHAO ; Hui ZHANG ; Ai-ping ZHENG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(3):735-742
This study investigated the effect of different carrier materials on the
8.Estimation of genotoxicity threshold induced by acute exposure to neodymium nitrate in mice using benchmark dose
Junli LIU ; Yu DING ; Xueqing CHENG ; Zhengli YANG ; Kelei QIAN ; Jing XU ; Yiyun FAN ; Dongsheng YU ; Zhiqing ZHENG ; Jun YANG ; Ning WANG ; Xinyu HONG
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024;41(4):425-430
Background The benchmark dose (BMD) method calculates the dose associated with a specific change in response based on a specific dose-response relationship. Compared with the traditional no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) method, the BMD method has many advantages, and the 95% lower confidence limit of benchmark dose lower limit (BMDL) is recommended to replace NOAEL in deriving biological exposure limits. No authority has yet published any health-based guideline for rare earth elements. Objective To evaluate genotoxicity threshold induced by acute exposure to neodymium nitrate in mice using BMD modeling through micronucleus test and comet assay. Methods SPF grade mice (n=90) were randomly divided into nine groups, including seven neodymium nitrate exposure groups, one control group (distilled water), and one positive control group (200 mg·kg−1 ethyl methanesulfonate), 10 mice in each group, half male and half female. The seven dose groups were fed by gavage with different concentrations of neodymium nitrate solution (male: 14, 27, 39, 55, 77, 109, and 219 mg·kg−1; female: 24, 49, 69, 97, 138, 195, and 389 mg·kg−1) twice at an interval of 21 h. Three hours after the last exposure, the animals were neutralized by cervical dislocation. The bone marrow of mice femur was taken to calculate the micronucleus rate of bone marrow cells, and the liver and stomach were taken for comet test. Results The best fitting models for the increase of polychromatophil micronucleus rate in bone marrow of female and male mice induced by neodymium nitrate were the exponential 4 model and the hill model, respectively. The BMD and the BMDL of female mice were calculated to be 31.37 mg·kg−1 and 21.90 mg·kg−1, and those of male mice were calculated to be 58.62 mg·kg−1 and 54.31 mg·kg−1, respectively. The best fitting models for DNA damage induced by neodymium nitrate in female and male mouse hepatocytes were the exponential 5 model and the exponential 4 model, respectively, and the calculated BMD and BMDL were 27.15 mg·kg−1 and 11.99 mg·kg−1 for female mice, and 16.28 mg·kg−1 and 10.47 mg·kg−1 for male mice, respectively. The hill model was the best fitting model for DNA damage of gastric adenocytes in both female and male mice, and the calculated BMD and BMDL were 36.73 mg·kg−1 and 19.92 mg·kg−1 for female mice, and 24.74 mg·kg−1 and 14.08 mg·kg−1 for male mice, respectively. Conclusion Taken the micronucleus rate of bone marrow cells, DNA damage of liver cells and gastric gland cells as the end points of genotoxicity, the BMDL of neodymium nitrate is 10.47 mg·kg−1, which can be used as the threshold of genotoxic effects induced by acute exposure to neodymium nitrate in mice.
9.Clinical observation of letrozole combined with methylprednisolone in the treatment of infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome resistant to clomiphene
Shan LIU ; Jing GUO ; Yalin CUI ; Yayu CHENG ; Wei DUAN
China Pharmacy 2024;35(9):1118-1122
OBJECTIVE To explore the effects of letrozole combined with methylprednisolone on clinical outcomes, ovarian reserve function, serum sex hormones, and safety in infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome resistant to clomiphene. METHODS The clinical data of 78 infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome resistant to clomiphene in the Department of Gynecology of Qingdao Central Hospital from February 2021 to January 2022 was analyzed retrospectively, and all patients were divided into control group (42 cases) and observation group (36 cases) based on the treatment methods. The control group took letrozole 5 mg/d orally on the 5th to 9th day of the menstrual cycle. Vaginal ultrasound was used to monitor the development of the endometrium and follicles; estradiol valerate was used to correct endometrial thickness, and measures such as inducing ovulation with follicle-stimulating hormone were taken to promote pregnancy. On the basis of treatment in the control group, the observation group began taking methylprednisolone orally at a dose of 4 mg/d starting from the third day of natural menstruation or withdrawal bleeding. Both groups were treated for 6 menstrual cycles. The ovulation and pregnancy within one year, serum levels of sex hormones [estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone] and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), ovulation indicators (follicle growth time, the number of ovulations, and the number of dominant follicles), and the occurrence of adverse drug reactions were compared between the two groups. RESULTS After treatment, the biochemical pregnancy rate (72.22%) and clinical pregnancy rate (47.22%) of the observation group were significantly higher than those of control group (47.62%, 19.05%); the serum levels of E2, LH, FSH, testosterone and AMH were significantly lower than the control group; the follicle growth time was significantly shorter than the control group; the number of ovulation and dominant follicles were significantly higher than the control group (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in ovulation rate (94.44% vs. 83.33%) and total incidence of adverse drug reactions (8.33% vs. 9.52%) between the observation group and the control group (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Compared with letrozole alone, the combination of letrozole and methylprednisolone can significantly improve the pregnancy rate, the sex hormone levels and ovarian reserve function in infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome resistant to clomiphene, with high safety profiles.
10.Related factors and equity of health status among floating population in China based on geographic information system analysis
Xiaohan LIU ; Fan YANG ; Xindi WANG ; Ning HUANG ; Taozhu CHENG ; Jing GUO
Journal of Peking University(Health Sciences) 2024;56(2):223-229
Objective:To understand the health status,influencing factors and spatial distribution of the Chinese floating population and to evaluate the health equity of the floating population.Methods:All the data were collected from the 2017 Migrant Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey in China,binary Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors that might affect the health of the floating population,and the concentration index method was used to evaluate the health equity of the floating population.Spa-tial autocorrelation analyses the spatial aggregation of health status and health equity.Results:The un-healthy rate of the floating population in China was 2.71%.Age and gender show a statistically signifi-cant impact on self-rated health;that is,as age increases,the self-rated health of the migrant population gradually deteriorates,and women are more likely to think that they are unhealthy.Fairness analysis shows that the concentration index of the floating population is 0.021 7,the urban household registration floating population is 0.021 6,and the rural household registration floating population is 0.021 9.It is shown that the fairness of the health status of the floating population is biased towards the high-income class,and the rural household registration floating population's health unfairness is greater than that of the urban household registration migration population.Moreover,Moran's i=0.211 for self-rated health and Moran's i=0.291 for the unhealthy rate indicate that self-rated health has a spatial aggregation trend.Moran's i=0.136 showed the characteristics of spatial clustering,and the two-week prevalence fairness of the floating population was mainly in the northern and southeastern coastal areas.Conclusion:In general,the health status of the floating population in China is relatively good.The main influencing factors of health included gender and age.The central tendency of health inequity is reflected in the south-east coastal and northern regions,which are characterized by poverty.Attention to spatial aggregation is not only helpful to analyze the reasons of floating population,but also to study the health differences between different regions and health-related factors,to improve the overall health level of the whole population.

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