1.Production of GTKO pigs and kidney xenotransplantation from pigs to rhesus macaques
Yan WANG ; Yue CHANG ; Chang YANG ; Taiyun WEI ; Xiaoying HUO ; Bowei CHEN ; Jiaoxiang WANG ; Heng ZHAO ; Jianxiong GUO ; Hongfang ZHAO ; Xiong ZHANG ; Feiyan ZHU ; Wenmin CHENG ; Hongye ZHAO ; Kaixiang XU ; Ameen Jamal MUHAMMAD ; Zhendi WANG ; Hongjiang WEI
Organ Transplantation 2025;16(4):526-537
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			Objective To explore the construction of α-1,3-galactosyltransferase (GGTA1) gene-knockout (GTKO) Diannan miniature pigs and the kidney xenotransplantation from pigs to rhesus macaques, and to assess the effectiveness of GTKO pigs. Methods The GTKO Diannan miniature pigs were constructed using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system and somatic cell cloning technology. The phenotype of GTKO pigs was verified through polymerase chain reaction, Sanger sequencing and immunofluorescence staining. Flow cytometry was used to detect antigen-antibody (IgM) binding and complement-dependent cytotoxicity. Kidney xenotransplantation was performed from GTKO pigs to rhesus macaques. The humoral immunity, cellular immunity, coagulation and physiological indicators of the recipient monkeys were monitored. The function and pathological changes of the transplanted kidneys were analyzed using ultrasonography, hematoxylin-eosin staining, immunohistochemical staining and immunofluorescence staining. Results Single-guide RNA (sgRNA) targeting exon 4 of the GGTA1 gene in Diannan miniature pigs was designed. The pGL3-GGTA1-sgRNA1-GFP vector was transfected into fetal fibroblasts of Diannan miniature pigs. After puromycin selection, two cell clones, C59# and C89#, were identified as GGTA1 gene-knockout clones. These clones were expanded to form cell lines, which were used as donor cells for somatic cell nuclear transfer. The reconstructed embryos were transferred into the oviducts of trihybrid surrogate sows, resulting in 13 fetal pigs. Among them, fetuses F04 and F11 exhibited biallelic mutations in the GGTA1 gene, and F04 had a normal karyotype. Using this GTKO fetal pig for recloning and transferring the reconstructed embryos into the oviducts of trihybrid surrogate sows, seven surviving piglets were obtained, all of which did not express α-Gal epitope. The binding of IgM from the serum of rhesus monkey 20# to GTKO pig PBMC was reduced, and the survival rate of GTKO pig PBMC in the complement-dependent cytotoxicity assay was higher than that of wild-type pig. GTKO pig kidneys were harvested and perfused until completely white. After the left kidney of the recipient monkey was removed, the pig kidney was heterotopically transplanted. Following vascular anastomosis and blood flow restoration, the pig kidney rapidly turned pink without hyperacute rejection (HAR). Urine appeared in the ureter 6 minutes later, indicating successful kidney transplantation. The right kidney of the recipient was then removed. Seven days after transplantation, the transplanted kidney had good blood flow, the recipient monkey's serum creatinine level was stable, and serum potassium and cystatin C levels were effectively controlled, although they increased 10 days after transplantation. Seven days after transplantation, the levels of white blood cells, lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils in the recipient monkey increased, while platelet count and fibrinogen levels decreased. The activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time and prothrombin time remained relatively stable but later showed an upward trend. The recipient monkey survived for 10 days. At autopsy, the transplanted kidney was found to be congested, swollen and necrotic, with a small amount of IgG deposition in the renal tissue, and a large amount of IgM, complement C3c and C4d deposition, as well as CD68+ macrophage infiltration. Conclusions The kidneys of GTKO Diannan miniature pigs may maintain normal renal function for a certain period in rhesus macaques and effectively overcome HAR, confirming the effectiveness of GTKO pigs for xenotransplantation.
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
2.Expert Consensus on Clinical Application of Ruyi Zhenbaowan
Ming CHEN ; Jingling CHANG ; Shangquan WANG ; Gejia ZHONG ; Qiang DENG ; Hongxia CHEN ; Qien LI ; Yaming LIN ; Zujian XU ; Changkuan FU ; Yuer HU ; Yanming XIE ; Yuanyuan LI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(16):173-183
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			Osteoarthritis (OA) and stroke are common clinical diseases that reduce patients' quality of life and place a burden on families and society. Ruyi Zhenbaowan, a classic prescription in Tibetan medicine, have the functions of clearing heat, awakening the brain and opening orifices, relaxing tendons and promoting meridian circulation, and eliminating yellow water. Clinically, they are used to treat osteoarthritis, post-stroke sequelae, neuropathic pain, and other related conditions. Modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated their anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and nerve-repairing effects. However, current research remains insufficient regarding the appropriate indications, timing, and efficacy of this medicine in treating relevant diseases. To enhance clinicians' understanding of this medicine and promote its standardized and rational clinical use, a panel of national experts, including clinical specialists, Tibetan medicine practitioners, pharmacologists, and methodologists, formulated this consensus based on clinical experience and evidence-based practice. The Cochrane systematic review framework, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system, and the nominal group method were employed to generate seven graded recommendations and 19 consensus-based suggestions. These recommendations clearly define the key points in the clinical application of Ruyi Zhenbaowan, including therapeutic indications, dosage and administration, treatment duration, and medication safety. The consensus specifically addresses the clinical efficacy, appropriate timing of administration, dosage strategies, treatment cycles, and combination medication strategies for treating osteoarthritis and stroke and provides an overview of safety considerations. The aim is to provide standardized guidance for hospitals and healthcare institutions nationwide to ensure the rational application of Ruyi Zhenbaowan in the treatment of osteoarthritis and stroke, reduce medication-related risks, and further leverage its clinical advantages. This consensus has been approved and issued by the China Association of Chinese Medicine, with the standard number GS/CACM 369-2024. 
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
3.Construction and Functional Validation of GTKO/hCD55 Gene-Edited Xenotransplant Donor Pigs
Jiaoxiang WANG ; Lu ZHANG ; Shuhan CHEN ; Deling JIAO ; Heng ZHAO ; Taiyun WEI ; Jianxiong GUO ; Kaixiang XU ; Hongjiang WEI
Laboratory Animal and Comparative Medicine 2025;45(4):379-392
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			Objective To develop GTKO (α-1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knockout, GTKO)/hCD55 (human CD55) gene-edited xenotransplant donor pigs and verify their function. Methods In this study, CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated nuclease 9), PiggyBac transposon technology and somatic cell nuclear transfer technology were used to construct GTKO/hCD55 gene-edited Diannan miniature pigs. The phenotype and function of GTKO/hCD55 pigs were analyzed by Sanger sequencing, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, bisulfite sequencing, antigen-antibody binding assays, and complement-dependent cytotoxicity assays. Results After transfection of PX458 and PiggyBac gene editing vectors into wild-type fetal pig fibroblasts, 48 single-cell colonies were obtained through puromycin drug screening. Two single-cell colonies were selected for somatic cell nuclear transfer, resulting in two fetal pigs at 33 days of gestation. The GGTA1(α-1,3-galactosyltransferase) genotypes of fetal pig F01 were -17 bp and wild type (WT), while the GGTA1 genotypes of fetal pig F02 were -26 bp/+2 bp and -3 bp. The hCD55 mRNA expression levels of both fetal pigs were significantly higher than those of WT pigs (P<0.01). The fetal pig F02 was selected as the donor cell source for recloning, 11 surviving piglets were obtained, all identified as GTKO/hCD55 gene-edited pigs. These pigs showed absence of α-Gal antigen expression, but weak or no expression of hCD55 was observed. Methylation analysis of the hCD55 gene's CpG island showed hypermethylation in kidney tissue lacking hCD55 expression, whereas it was not methylated or partially methylated in kidney tissue expressing hCD55. Moreover, codon optimization of the CpG island of the hCD55 gene to reduce CG content could achieve stable expression of the hCD55 gene. In addition, antigen-antibody binding experiment showed that the amount of human IgM binding to GTKO/hCD55 gene-edited pig fibroblasts was significantly lower than that of WT pigs (P<0.01). Complement-dependent cytotoxicity experiment showed that the survival rate of fibroblasts in GTKO/hCD55 pigs was significantly higher than that in WT pigs (P<0.01). Conclusion This study demonstrates the successful generation of GTKO/hCD55 gene-edited xenotransplant donor pigs. Methylation-induced gene silencing of the hCD55 gene can be effectively avoided by reducing the CG content of the CpG island through codon optimization. This study provides a reference for the development of xenotransplant donor pigs and guides subsequent research on xenotransplantation. 
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
4.Establishment and verification of a detection method for the cytotoxic activity of human cascade-primed immune cell injection against non-small cell lung cancer
ZHOU Qiao1 ; LI Meiling1 ; CHEN Zhigang2 ; WANG Zhuang1 ; SHANG Sunyulin1 ; XU Qiuling1 ; ZHU Yanping1 ; ZHANG Yili1
Chinese Journal of Cancer Biotherapy 2025;31(8):862-869
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			[摘  要]  目的:构建绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)/萤光素酶(Luc)双荧光标记的肿瘤细胞株,建立人链式激活免疫细胞制剂对非小细胞肺癌细胞杀伤活性的检测方法,并进行初步验证。方法: 通过HLA高分辨分型筛选出HLA-A、HLA-B、HLA-C基因型别为纯合子且相应等位基因的分布频率高于2.500%的非小细胞肺癌细胞系作为细胞模型,采用携带有GFP和Luc基因的重组慢病毒感染原始细胞株而获得GFP、Luc稳定表达的细胞系作为靶细胞。通过效应细胞与靶细胞共培养,并优化靶细胞前处理步骤、共培养时间、效靶比等参数,建立人链式激活免疫细胞制剂对非小细胞肺癌杀伤活性的检测方法,并进行专属性、精密度验证。结果:通过HLA高分辨分型,成功筛选出高频等位基因HLA‑A*11:01:01(20.893%)、HLA‑B*52:01:01(2.991%)、HLA‑C*12:02:02(3.139%)的非小细胞肺癌(HCC827)细胞株作为细胞模型。通过慢病毒载体成功构建GFP/Luc双荧光标记的HCC827细胞株,GFP阳性率达 96%。重组慢病毒滴度为1.83 × 10⁷ TU/mL。效靶比为5∶1、10∶1、15∶1、20∶1时,各组间杀伤活性差异显著(P < 0.05),且杀伤活性随培养时间延长显著升高(P <0.000 1)。经综合评估后确认最优参数效靶比为10∶1,共培养时间为72 h。方法学验证表明,建立的方法专属性强;重复性变异系数为0.80%~1.86%;精密度变异系数为1.00%~1.58%,方差分析显示差异无统计学意义(P > 0.05),说明方法重复性良好。结论: 成功建立了人链式激活免疫细胞制剂对非小细胞肺癌杀伤活性的检测方法并验证成功,该方法有助于人链式激活免疫细胞制剂在细胞免疫治疗有效性评价中发挥重要作用。 
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
5.Efficacy and safety of CDK4/6 inhibitors combined with endocrine therapy for HR+/HER2− advanced or metastatic breast cancer: A network meta-analysis
Yanjiao PU ; Hui LI ; Wei CHEN ; Xueyu DUAN ; Chunmei CHEN ; Rui WU ; Xuechang WANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(06):830-838
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			Objective  To compare the efficacy and safety of different cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) combined with endocrine therapy (ET) for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2−) advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Methods  Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on CDK4/6i for the treatment of HR+/HER2− metastatic or advanced breast cancer were retrieved from databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and SinoMed, with the search period ranging from database inception to August 2023. Bayesian network meta-analysis was conducted using R 4.2.0 software. Results  A total of 18 RCTs from 25 articles, involving 8 031 patients and 11 treatment regimens, were included. There was no significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) among different CDK4/6i+ET combinations. The highest cumulative probability for PFS was observed with dalpiciclib (DAL)+fulvestrant (FUL), while ribociclib (RIB)+FUL ranked first for OS. In terms of efficacy, abemaciclib (ABE)+aromatase inhibitors (AI) and ABE+FUL ranked first in objective response rate and clinical benefit rate, respectively. Regarding safety, statistically significant difference in grade 3-4 adverse events was observed among certain types of CDK4/6i (P<0.05). Conclusion  Current evidence suggests that CDK4/6i+ET is superior to ET alone for the treatment of HR+/HER2− advanced/metastatic breast cancer. Different CDK4/6i+ET combinations demonstrate comparable or similar efficacy; however, the incidence of adverse reactions is higher with combination therapy. Treatment regimens should be selected based on individual conditions.
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
6.Research progress on the molecular mechanism and therapeutic targets of ferroptosis in acute kidney injury
Yang ZHANG ; Fanyi HE ; Kongchun SUN ; Rui YANG ; Xuezhi YU ; Ling ZHANG ; Ruixiang CHEN ; Baochun SHEN
Organ Transplantation 2025;16(2):315-321
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common and severe nephropathy syndromes in clinical practice and also one of the most common serious complications after organ transplantation, with high incidence and fatality. Iron is an essential trace element in the body. Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death induced by the accumulation of iron-mediated lipid peroxidation, and its occurrence is closely related to iron metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and multiple signaling pathways. Recent studies have shown that ferroptosis plays a key role in the occurrence and development of AKI and provides therapeutic targets for AKI. This article summarizes the regulatory mechanism of ferroptosis and its role in AKI, as well as the compounds that play an important role in the prevention and treatment of AKI by inhibiting ferroptosis, providing new ideas for the future treatment and research of AKI.
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
7.Effect and mechanism of Sanqi danshen tablets in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Yutian LEI ; Dan FENG ; Xinli CHEN ; Yuan YANG ; Hui WU
China Pharmacy 2025;36(6):674-679
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			OBJECTIVE To investigate the potential mechanism of Sanqi danshen tablets in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS Core targets of Sanqi danshen tablets in the treatment of NAFLD were explored by network pharmacological methods. Gene ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were also performed. Based on the results obtained from network pharmacological studies, using SD rats as subjects, the NAFLD model was induced by feeding them high-fat diet. The effects of Sanqi danshen tablets on pathological changes such as lipid droplet vacuoles and lipid accumulation in the liver tissue of NAFLD rats, as well as its impact on relative indicators of lipid metabolism, inflammatory responses and oxidative stress, were investigated. RESULTS A total of 20 core targets for the treatment of NAFLD with Sanqi danshen tablets were screened, primarily involved in GO functions such as biological regulation, cellular membrane and binding, and enriched in signaling pathways related to inflammatory responses, oxidative stress and lipid metabolism. Compared with the model group, lipid droplet vacuoles were reduced significantly in low-dose, medium-dose, high-dose groups of Sanqi danshen tablets and positive control (simvastatin) group, the number of lipid droplets decreased significantly and the color became lighter. The contents of total cholesterol, triglyceride (except for medium- dose group of Sanqi danshen tablets), aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, tumor necrosis factor-α (except for low-dose group of Sanqi danshen tablets), interleukin-17 (except for Sanqi danshen tablets groups) and malondialdehyde (except for low- dose group of Sanqi danshen tablets) in liver tissue were significantly decreased, while the content of superoxide dismutase was significantly increased (P<0.01 or P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Sanqi danshen tablets exert anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and lipid metabolism regulating effects by influencing the levels of inflammation, oxidative stress and lipids metabolism-related indicators, thereby improving NAFLD in rats.
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
8.Analysis of abnormal ALT in blood donors in five Zang autonomous prefectures of Qinghai Province, China: characteristics and screening strategies
Yingnan DANG ; ; Rong TANG ; Liqin HUANG ; Hailin WU ; Tingting CHEN ; Shengju LI ; Yanli SUN ; Xin ZHENG ; Yanxia LI ; Xianlin YE ; Jinfeng ZENG
Chinese Journal of Blood Transfusion 2025;38(4):502-507
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			[Objective] To investigate the factors associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities in multi-ethnic blood donors across five Zang autonomous prefectures in the plateau regions of Qinghai Province, and to provide evidence for ensuring blood safety and formulating screening strategies. [Methods] A retrospective analysis was performed on the ALT abnormal test results of blood donors in the Zang autonomous prefectures of Qinghai from 2022 to 2024. The correlations between ALT levels and factors including gender, age, altitude, and infectious markers were investigated. [Results] The overall ALT unqualified rate among blood donors in this region was 9.01%. Significant differences in ALT levels were observed across genders and age groups (P<0.05). Variations in ALT abnormality rates were also noted among different plateau regions (P<0.05). Overall, ALT values exhibited an increasing trend with rising altitude. The average ALT unqualified rates were 11.19% in Zang donors, 7.96% in Han donors, and 4.79% in donors from other ethnic groups (P<0.05). No statistically significant association was observed between ALT abnormality and the presence of HBV/HCV infectious markers (P>0.05). [Conclusion] In the plateau areas of Qinghai, multi-ethnic blood donors have a relatively high ALT levels and ALT unqualified rates, showing distinct regional characteristics. ALT elevation in voluntary blood donors is related to non-pathological factors such as gender, age, and dietary habits, but not to infectious indicators.
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
9.Neuromolecular Mechanisms of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation for The Improvement of Alzheimer’s Disease
Yuan YUAN ; Zhuang-Fei CHEN ; Yu FU
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(5):1179-1195
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common and severe dementias, severely affecting the physical and mental health and quality of life of patients and imposing a heavy burden on society. Recently, transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) has shown great potential for improving cognitive function in AD. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) are the two main forms of tES. The present review mainly summarizes the neuromolecular mechanisms of tDCS and tACS for the improvement of AD. Both techniques show similarities in exerting neuroprotective effects, improving cerebral blood flow to alleviate cerebrovascular dysfunction, affecting the state and function of astrocytes, affecting the levels of amyloid β‑protein (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) proteins, and affecting neuroplasticity. Specifically, tDCS improves neuronal status, inhibits neuronal apoptosis, improves cholinergic neurons and reduces oxidative stress, etc., and further exerts neuroprotective effects, but tACS mainly maintains the normal function of cholinergic neurons to exert the effects. For the alleviation of cerebrovascular dysfunction, tDCS has particular advantages in optimizing the neural vascular unit and improving the blood-brain barrier. For astrocytes, tDCS attenuates inflammatory responses by inhibiting their activation. In contrast, the effect of tACS on the activation state of microglial cells is still controversial for enhancement in AD mice and inhibition in patients. For Aβ levels, the effects of tDCS in AD patients are also inconclusive, but in AD rodents, tDCS may regulate molecular pathways related to Aβ production and degradation, thereby removing Aβ. In addition, tACS reduces p-tau levels in AD patients, but tDCS shows a trend toward reduction. In short, the effect of tES on Aβ and p-tau needs further investigation. Regarding neuroplasticity, tDCS improves cortical and synaptic plasticity, but tACS improves only synaptic plasticity. However, both techniques do not affect the molecular level associated with plasticity. On the other hand, this review has summarized some interesting findings of tES in non-AD rodents that may be relevant to the pathological mechanisms of AD. For neuroprotection, tDCS can promote neurogenesis, GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission, modulate neuroprotection-related signaling pathways, reduce oxidative stress, and protect hippocampal neurons. In addition, tDCS inhibits conversion of microglia to the M1 phenotype and promotes conversion to the M2 phenotype, thereby reducing neuroinflammation. Importantly, tDCS induces changes in molecular indices associated with synaptic plasticity. These findings in non-AD rodents provide a reference for understanding the potential effect and possible mechanism of tES in AD and for exploring new approaches to treat other diseases with similar pathological features. In addition, tES has shown some effects in AD rodents, such as tACS improving plasticity, that have not been studied in non-AD rodents. These effects suggest the particular complexity of the pathological mechanisms of AD, which should be considered when applying the results of tES studies in non-AD rodents to AD rodents. In conclusion, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the neuromolecular mechanisms of tES in AD research and highlights its promise as a non-invasive brain stimulation technique in the treatment of AD. Furthermore, tES will play an indispensable role in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders and in the study of brain function. 
		                        		
		                        		
		                        		
		                        	
10.Clinical Phenotype Identification and Validation of Patients with Sepsis in the Intensive Care Unit
Chao GONG ; Na YU ; Haoran CHEN
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2025;16(3):710-721
		                        		
		                        			
		                        			 To identify and validate the clinical phenotypes of patients with sepsis in the intensive care unit(ICU). We applied unsupervised machine learning algorithms (K-means clusteringand hierarchical clustering) to identify the phenotypes of sepsis patients in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Ⅳ (MIMIC-Ⅳ) 2.2 database, based on 89 clinical features including demographic characteristics, laboratory indicators and treatment measures on the first day in ICU. Then, supervised machine learning algorithms (lightweight gradient boosting machine) were used for the prediction of the patient's phenotypes, and were further combined with SHAP (Shapely Additive eXplanations) for the identification of important features. Finally, traditional statistical methods were used to validate the differences in clinical characteristics and clinical outcomes among the phenotypes. We identified three phenotypes in 22 517 sepsis patients. The phenotype 1 patients had the highest risk of death (28-day mortality of 46.4%), dominated by abnormal renal function and elevated disease severity scores, while the phenotype 3 patients had the lowest risk of death (28-day mortality of 11.2%), and the best neurological function score. Using interpretable machine learning, we identified six features (all the worst value on the first day) that showed good performance in phenotypic identification(AUC≥0.89) and phenotypic prognostic prediction (AUC≥0.74): anion gap, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, Glasgow Coma Scale score, prothrombin time, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score. The mortality risk of phenotype 3 patients was the lowest at 28 days, 60 days, 90 days, and 1 year after ICU discharge ( Using machine learning methods, we successfully identified three clinical phenotypes of sepsis patients with different clinical characteristics and prognosis and screened out six key clinical features, which are expected to play an important role in the phenotype classification and prognostic assessment of sepsis and are conducive to individualized treatment.
		                        		
		                        	
            
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