Aim To investigate the therapeutic effect of the MW-9 on ulcerative colitis(UC)and reveal the underlying mechanism, so as to provide a scientific guidance for the MW-9 treatment of UC. Methods The model of lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells was established. The effect of MW-9 on RAW264.7 cells viability was detected by MTT assay. The levels of nitric oxide(NO)in RAW264.7 macrophages were measured by Griess assay. Cell supernatants and serum levels of inflammatory cytokines containing IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β were determined by ELISA kits. Dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)-induced UC model in mice was established and body weight of mice in each group was measured. The histopathological damage degree of colonic tissue was assessed by HE staining. The protein expression of p-p38, p-ERK1/2 and p-JNK was detected by Western blot. Results MW-9 intervention significantly inhibited NO release in RAW264.7 macrophages with IC50 of 20.47 mg·L-1 and decreased the overproduction of inflammatory factors IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α(P<0.05). MW-9 had no cytotoxicity at the concentrations below 6 mg·L-1. After MW-9 treatment, mouse body weight was gradually reduced, and the serum IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α levels were significantly down-regulated. Compared with the model group, MW-9 significantly decreased the expression of p-p38 and p-ERK1/2 protein. Conclusions MW-9 has significant anti-inflammatory activities both in vitro and in vivo, and its underlying mechanism for the treatment of UC may be associated with the inhibition of MAPK signaling pathway.

The purpose of this study was to enrich the genomic information and provide a basis for further development and utilization of Polygonatum kingianum. The fresh rhizome of P. kingianum was used as the experimental material, and the full-length transcriptome was sequenced by PacBio Sequel platform. The final measured polymerase reads were 1 120 485, with a total of 77.73 GB of data. In NR database, 41 864 homologous sequence alignments were aligned to 5 species; 40 506 were annotated in the KOG database and classified into 26 categories based on their functionality; 69 060 GO annotated 32 functional groups divided into 3 categories: cellular components, molecular functions, and biological processes; 45 779 annotations were added to 145 metabolic pathways in the KEGG database. Among them, there are 127 identified transcripts related to polysaccharide synthesis in the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis metabolic pathway, 144 in the starch and sucrose metabolic pathway, 85 in the amino acid sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolic pathway, and 69 in the fructose and mannose metabolic pathway. In addition, 1 781 transcription factors were detected, distributed in 37 transcription factor families; 180 293 SSR loci were detected, among which single base repeats accounted for the most, accounting for 30.48% of all base repeats, and at least five base repeats, accounting for only 0.14% of single base repeats. The results of this study provide important data supporting for enriching the genomic information of P. kingianum and exploring its effective biosynthetic pathway.

Aim To investigate the mechanisms of Ke-chuanting granules(KCT)inhibiting the IL-33/ILC2s pathway and pathogenic T cells to intervene in allergic airway inflammation.Methods Network pharmacolo-gy was utilized to analyze the potential targets and mechanisms of KCT-treated asthma.Allergic asthma models were induced in mice using OVA.Lung histo-pathology was conducted to observe injury changes.ELISA and quantitative PCR were utilized to measure key inflammatory factors and their mRNA expression levels in Th2-type asthma.Western blot was used to detect the phosphorylation levels of relevant proteins in the MAPK pathway.Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the proportions of ILC2s,Th1,Th 17,Th2 and Treg cells.Results Network pharmacology iden-tified 227 main active components and 143 key targets of KCT in treating asthma,primarily enriched in signa-ling pathways such as MAPK and IL-17.Further vali-dation experiments demonstrated that KCT significantly alleviated lung inflammatory injury in asthmatic mice,reduced the number of B cells,production of I L-4,TNF-α and TGF-β,downregulated JNK phosphoryla-tion levels in lung tissue,as well as mRNA levels of Il-33,Bcl11b,Rorα,Tcf-7,Jun,Mapk3 and Mapk14.KCT intervention reduced the numbers of ILC2s and Th 17 cells in lungs and spleens of mice,and inhibited Th2 cell infiltration in lungs.Conclusions KCT ex-hibits therapeutic effects on allergic airway inflamma-tion in asthma,closely associated with the inhibition of the IL-33/ILC2s pathway,pathogenic T cell subsets,and JNK-MAPK signaling pathway.

The pharmaceutical manufacturing model is gradually changing from intermittent manufacturing to continuous manufacturing and intelligent manufacturing. This paper briefly reviewed the supervision and research progress in continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing in China and abroad and described the definition and advantages of continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing. The continuous manufacturing of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) at the current stage was summarized in the following three terms: the enhancement of the continuity of intermittent manufacturing operations, the integration of continuous equipment to improve physical continuity between units, and the application of advanced process control strategies to improve process continuity. To achieve continuous manufacturing of TCM, the corresponding key technologies, such as material property characterization, process modeling and simulation, process analysis technology, and system integration, were analyzed from the process and equipment, respectively. It was proposed that the continuous manufacturing equipment system should have the characteristics of high speed, high response, and high reliability, "three high(H~3)" for short. Considering the characteristics and current situation of TCM manufacturing, based on the two dimensions of product quality control and production efficiency, a maturity assessment model for continuous manufacturing of TCM, consisting of operation continuity, equipment continuity, process continuity, and quality control continuity, was proposed to provide references for the application of continuous manufacturing technology for TCM. The implementation of continuous manufacturing or the application of key continuous manufacturing technologies in TCM can help to systematically integrate advanced pharmaceutical technology elements and promote the uniformity of TCM quality and the improvement of production efficiency.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Reproducibility of Results ; China ; Quality Control ; Pharmaceutical Preparations

Abstract: Objective　To analyze the clinical characteristics of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia and improve the diagnosis and treatment skills of clinicians on this disease. Methods The clinical data of thirty-nine Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia cases detected by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) from September 2020 to January 2022 at the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Results There was a history of poultry exposure in 89.7%(35 cases) of the patients. The most common clinical manifestations were high fever (92.3%, 36), cough (76.9%,30), muscle soreness (48.7%,19), headache (38.5%,15), etc. Laboratory examinations showed 76.9% of patients had a normal leukocyte count, and 76.9% had decreased lymphocyte count, often accompanied by elevated C-reactive protein (100%), procalcitonin (97.4%), interleukin-6 (95.8%), interleukin-10 (95.8%), alanine aminotransferase (74.4%), and aspartate aminotransferase (84.6%). Univariate analysis indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the levels of aspartate transaminase, blood urea nitrogen, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin between severe pneumonia patients and non-severe pneumonia patients（P<0.05）. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that an elevated blood urea nitrogen (OR=4.899) had guiding significance for predicting the occurrence of severe pneumonia. Bronchoscopy examination showed no abnormalities in 53.6% of the patients. The imaging manifestations of pulmonary lesions were mainly lobar pneumonia (61.5%) and air bronchograms (94.9%). Therapeutically, it was sensitive to tetracyclines, macrocyclic lactones, and fluoroquinolones. A total of 84.6%(33 cases) of the patients were cured and discharged from the hospital at the end of the treatment. Conclusion Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia is a zoonotic disease that can be detected by mNGS. An elevated blood urea nitrogen level has guiding significance for predicting the occurrence of severe pneumonia. Empirically-selected regimens based on doxycycline are effective for the treatment of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia.

Humans ; Aortic Valve/surgery* ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; Calcinosis/surgery* ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement ; Heart Valve Prosthesis

Humans ; Aortic Valve/surgery* ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/surgery* ; Calcinosis/surgery* ; Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement ; Heart Valve Prosthesis

Senescence is an inevitable natural life process that involves structural and functional degeneration of tissues and organs. Recently, the process of skin aging has attracted much attention. Determining a means to delay or even reverse skin aging has become a research hotspot in medical cosmetology and anti-aging. Dysfunction in the epidermis and fibroblasts and changes in the composition and content of the extracellular matrix are common pathophysiological manifestations of skin aging. Reactive oxygen species and matrix metalloproteinases play essential roles in this process. Stem cells are pluripotent cells that possess self-replication abilities and can differentiate into multiple functional cells under certain conditions. These cells also possess a strong ability to facilitate tissue repair and regeneration. Stem cell transplantation has the potential for application in anti-aging therapy. Increasing studies have demonstrated that stem cells perform functions through paracrine processes, particularly those involving exosomes. Exosomes are nano-vesicular substances secreted by stem cells that participate in cell-to-cell communication by transporting their contents into target cells. In this chapter, the biological characteristics of exosomes were reviewed, including their effects on extracellular matrix formation, epidermal cell function, fibroblast function and antioxidation. Exosomes derived from stem cells may provide a new means to reverse skin aging.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) and its risk factors in very preterm infants (VPIs) during hospitalization in China. METHODS: A prospective multicenter study was performed on the medical data of 2 514 VPIs who were hospitalized in the department of neonatology in 28 hospitals from 7 areas of China between September 2019 and December 2020. According to the presence or absence of EUGR based on the evaluation of body weight at the corrected gestational age of 36 weeks or at discharge, the VPIs were classified to two groups: EUGR group (n=1 189) and non-EUGR (n=1 325). The clinical features were compared between the two groups, and the incidence of EUGR and risk factors for EUGR were examined. RESULTS: The incidence of EUGR was 47.30% (1 189/2 514) evaluated by weight. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher weight growth velocity after regaining birth weight and higher cumulative calorie intake during the first week of hospitalization were protective factors against EUGR (P<0.05), while small-for-gestational-age birth, prolonged time to the initiation of total enteral feeding, prolonged cumulative fasting time, lower breast milk intake before starting human milk fortifiers, prolonged time to the initiation of full fortified feeding, and moderate-to-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia were risk factors for EUGR (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS It is crucial to reduce the incidence of EUGR by achieving total enteral feeding as early as possible, strengthening breastfeeding, increasing calorie intake in the first week after birth, improving the velocity of weight gain, and preventing moderate-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in VPIs.
Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gestational Age ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Objective:To analyze the risk factors of bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in very preterm infants(VPI), and to provide scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of BPD in VPI.Methods:A prospective multicenter study was designed to collect the clinical data of VPI in department of neonatology of 28 hospitals in 7 regions from September 2019 to December 2020.According to the continuous oxygen dependence at 28 days after birth, VPI were divided into non BPD group and BPD group, and the risk factors of BPD in VPI were analyzed.Results:A total of 2 514 cases of VPI including 1 364 cases without BPD and 1 150 cases with BPD were enrolled.The incidence of BPD was 45.7%.The smaller the gestational age and weight, the higher the incidence of BPD( P<0.001). Compared with non BPD group, the average birth age, weight and cesarean section rate in BPD group were lower, and the incidence of male infants, small for gestational age and 5-minute apgar score≤7 were higher( P<0.01). In BPD group, the incidences of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome(NRDS), hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus, retinopathy of prematurity, feeding intolerance, extrauterine growth restriction, grade Ⅲ~Ⅳ intracranial hemorrhage, anemia, early-onset and late-onset sepsis, nosocomial infection, parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis were higher( P<0.05), the use of pulmonary surfactant(PS), postnatal hormone exposure, anemia and blood transfusion were also higher, and the time of invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, oxygen use and total hospital stay were longer( P<0.001). The time of starting enteral nutrition, cumulative fasting days, days of reaching total enteral nutrition, days of continuous parenteral nutrition, days of reaching 110 kcal/(kg·d) total calorie, days of reaching 110 kcal/(kg·d) oral calorie were longer and the breastfeeding rate was lower in BPD group than those in non BPD group( P<0.001). The cumulative doses of amino acid and fat emulsion during the first week of hospitalization were higher in BPD group( P<0.001). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that NRDS, invasive mechanical ventilation, age of reaching total enteral nutrition, anemia and blood transfusion were the independent risk factors for BPD in VPI, and older gestational age was the protective factor for BPD. Conclusion:Strengthening perinatal management, avoiding premature delivery and severe NRDS, shortening the time of invasive mechanical ventilation, paying attention to enteral nutrition management, reaching whole intestinal feeding as soon as possible, and strictly mastering the indications of blood transfusion are very important to reduce the incidence of BPD in VPI.