Matrine has various pharmacological effects,including antitumor,anti-inflammatory,and antibacterial effects,which is an adjuvant drug widely used in clinical cancer chemotherapy.However,due to the fact that matrine is both an active and toxic component of Chinese materia medica,its clinical safety is particularly important.This article reviewed the research progress in the pharmacological effects of matrine from the aspects of anti-inflammatory,anticancer,antibacterial and antiviral,cardiovascular protection,neuroprotection,liver and kidney protection,and detoxification.It also summarized its toxicity and clinical application research,aiming to provide reference for the rational use of matrine.

Objective To systematically evaluate the effect of virtual shopping on cognitive function of patients with mild cognitive impairment. Methods PubMed,EMBASE,Cochrane Library,Web of Science,and CNKI were searched for literatures on virtual shopping,mild cognitive impairment,and cognitive function published from database inception to Sep. 2023. The literatures were screened and the data were extracted in strict accordance with the inclusion criteria,and the Review Manager 5.3 was used for meta-analysis. Results A total of 12 randomized controlled trials involving 382 patients with mild cognitive impairment were included. Meta analysis showed that compared with traditional cognitive rehabilitation training,virtual shopping could improve the comprehensive cognitive function,executive function,attention and abilities of daily living of patients with mild cognitive impairment (all P<0.05),but had no significant effects on the memory,language,or visuospatial ability (all P>0.05). Conclusion Virtual shopping is beneficial for improving the comprehensive cognitive function,executive function,attention and abilities of daily living of patients with mild cognitive impairment.

N1-methyladenosine(m1A)RNA methylation is critical for regulating mRNA translation;however,its role in the development,progression,and immunotherapy response of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC)remains largely unknown.Using Tgfbr1 and Pten conditional knockout(2cKO)mice,we found the neoplastic transformation of oral mucosa was accompanied by increased m1A modification levels.Analysis of m1A-associated genes identified TRMT61A as a key m1A writer linked to cancer progression and poor prognosis.Mechanistically,TRMT61A-mediated tRNA-m1A modification promotes MYC protein synthesis,upregulating programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1)expression.Moreover,m1A modification levels were also elevated in tumors treated with oncolytic herpes simplex virus(oHSV),contributing to reactive PD-L1 upregulation.Therapeutic m1A inhibition sustained oHSV-induced antitumor immunity and reduced tumor growth,representing a promising strategy to alleviate resistance.These findings indicate that m1A inhibition can prevent immune escape after oHSV therapy by reducing PD-L1 expression,providing a mutually reinforcing combination immunotherapy approach.

Cancer stem cell-like cells (CSCs) play an integral role in the heterogeneity, metastasis, and treatment resistance of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) due to their high tumor initiation capacity and plasticity. Here, we identified a candidate gene named LIMP-2 as a novel therapeutic target regulating HNSCC progression and CSC properties. The high expression of LIMP-2 in HNSCC patients suggested a poor prognosis and potential immunotherapy resistance. Functionally, LIMP-2 can facilitate autolysosome formation to promote autophagic flux. LIMP-2 knockdown inhibits autophagic flux and reduces the tumorigenic ability of HNSCC. Further mechanistic studies suggest that enhanced autophagy helps HNSCC maintain stemness and promotes degradation of GSK3β, which in turn facilitates nuclear translocation of β-catenin and transcription of downstream target genes. In conclusion, this study reveals LIMP-2 as a novel prospective therapeutic target for HNSCC and provides evidence for a link between autophagy, CSC, and immunotherapy resistance.
Humans ; Autophagy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta/metabolism* ; Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology* ; Neoplastic Stem Cells/pathology* ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck/pathology* ; Lysosome-Associated Membrane Glycoproteins

OBJECTIVE To understand the current status of research on traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） human resources， and to provide a reference for expanding research ideas on TCM human resources and promoting the construction of TCM talents. METHODS From January 1， 2000 to December 31， 2022， literature related to TCM human resources was collected from the three major databases of CNKI， Wanfang and VIP. Using CiteSpace 5.8 R3 software， visualization analysis was performed for the literature in terms of publication time， journal sources， authors， institutions and areas， funding， research content， keywords， etc. RESULTS A total of 324 literature related to TCM human resources in China were included， and the number of literature issued showed an upward trend， with an annual average of 14.09 literature； 161 kinds of journals were involved， core journals accounted for 18.21% of the total publication volume； a total of 23 authors had published 2 or more literature， with a total of 55 literature published （16.98%）； a total of 416 institutions were involved， mainly schools （66.83%）； 60.49% of the literature were supported by the fund. The majorities of 324 literature were survey studies （170 literature）， and most of them used self-designed questionnaires （55 literature）； the high-frequency keywords included talent training， human resources， TCM， etc. The keywords were clustered into 7 categories， such as “human resources“”talent training“”TCM industry“”TCM services“”talent training models” “fairness” and “TCM talents”. The main problems described in the literature included insufficient talent， lack of reasonable distribution of regional structure， lack of reasonable plans for talent training， and insufficient professional knowledge and abilities. Continuously cultivating high-level talents and improving employment conditions in areas with severe human resource loss were the corresponding countermeasures proposed in the literature. CONCLUSIONS The research on TCM human resources starts late but has developed rapidly overall， and the quality of research needs to be improved； the structure of research team is single and unevenly distributed geographically； there is a structural imbalance in the allocation of human resources， as well as problems such as a shortage of professional talents， low levels of education and training and incomplete development systems.

Objective:To investigate the factors associated with delay in anticoagulant therapy in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and its effect on outcome.Methods:Patients with CVST admitted to Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University from January 2010 to August 2021 were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were divided into early anticoagulation group and late anticoagulation group by the median time interval from first symptom to initiation of anticoagulation. The modified Rankin Scale was used for outcome assessment at 90 d after onset. 0-2 scores were defined as good outcome and 3-6 were defined as poor outcome. Demographic and clinical data were compared for the early versus late anticoagulation group and for the good versus poor outcome groups. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent influencing factors of delay in anticoagulation and the correlation of delay in anticoagulation with poor outcome. Results:A total of 131 patients were included, their age was 40.07±15.11 years old, and 68 (51.91%) were male. Of these, 65 patients (49.62%) were in the early anticoagulation group and 14 (10.69%) were in the poor outcome group. Compared with the late anticoagulation group, the early anticoagulation group had a significantly higher proportion of patients with seizures and brain parenchymal damage as well as higher D-dimer levels on admission, while the proportion of patients with visual impairment/papilloedema was significantly lower (all P<0.05). Compared with the good outcome group, the poor outcome group had significantly higher proportions of patients with seizures, dyskinesia, impaired consciousness, low Glasgow Coma Scale score, and brain parenchymal damage as well as higher D-dimer, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, sites of thrombus involvement were more common in the superior sagittal and straight sinuses, and significantly lower proportions of patients with headache and lower albumin levels on admission (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that visual impairment/papilloedema (odds ratio [ OR] 0.119, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 0.030-0.473; P=0.002) and brain parenchymal damage ( OR 1.341, 95% CI 1.042-1.727; P=0.023) were independently associated with a delay in anticoagulation treatment, and a delay in anticoagulation treatment ( OR 6.102, 95% CI 1.185-30.504; P=0.030) and D-dimer level on admission ( OR 1.299, 95% CI 1.141-1.480; P<0.001) were the independent predictors of poor outcome in patients with CVST. Conclusions:Visual impairment/papilloedema and absence of brain parenchymal damage on cranial imaging are the independent risk factors for delay in anticoagulation in patients with CVST. The delay in anticoagulation is strongly associated with the poor outcome in patients with CVST.

Objective:To observe the efficacy of apatinib combined with first-line chemotherapy and maintenance therapy of only apatinib in patients with extensive small-cell lung cancer.Methods:The clinical data of 56 newly diagnosed patients with extensive small-cell lung cancer in the Fifth People′s Hospital of Dalian City from January 2018 to June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 27 patients (experimental group) were treated with first-line chemotherapy combined with apatinib, and 29 patients (control group) were treated with first-line chemotherapy alone. In experimental group, the expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-2 1 day before chemotherapy and 1 day after chemotherapy were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method. Response evaluation criteria in solid tumor (RECIST) was used to evaluate the efficacy. The occurrence of adverse reaction was recorded. The patients were followed up for 12 to 24 months, and progression-free survival and 1-year survival were recorded.Results:The objective response rate, median progression-free survival time and 1-year survival rate in experimental group were significantly higher than those in control group: 81.5% (22/27) vs. 55.2% (16/29), 10.5 months vs. 8.5 months and 81.5% (22/27) vs. 55.2% (16/29), and there were statistical differences ( P<0.05); there was no statistical difference in disease control rate between 2 groups ( P>0.05). In experimental group, the patients with complete response and partial response after chemotherapy were classified as effective subgroup (22 cases), and the patients with stationary disease and progressive disease were classified as ineffective subgroup (5 cases). There were no statistical difference in VEGF and VEGFR-2 before chemotherapy between 2 subgroups ( P>0.05). The VEGF and VEGFR-2 in effective subgroup were significantly lower than those in ineffective subgroup: (275.34 ± 16.15) ng/L vs. (330.24 ± 23.21) ng/L and (89.35 ± 4.34) ng/L vs. (112.34 ± 5.45) ng/L, and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01). There were no uncontrollable adverse reactions in 2 groups, and there was no statistical difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between 2 groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Application of apatinib in first-line therapy and maintenance therapy for patients with extensive small-cell lung cancer can improve clinical efficacy and survival benefit with controllable adverse reactions.

The combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy motivates a potent immune system by triggering immunogenic cell death (ICD), showing great potential in inhibiting tumor growth and improving the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (ITM). However, the therapeutic effectiveness has been restricted by inferior drug bioavailability. Herein, we reported a universal bioresponsive doxorubicin (DOX)-based nanogel to achieve tumor-specific co-delivery of drugs. DOX-based mannose nanogels (DM NGs) was designed and choosed as an example to elucidate the mechanism of combined chemo-immunotherapy. As expected, the DM NGs exhibited prominent micellar stability, selective drug release and prolonged survival time, benefited from the enhanced tumor permeability and prolonged blood circulation. We discovered that the DOX delivered by DM NGs could induce powerful anti-tumor immune response facilitated by promoting ICD. Meanwhile, the released mannose from DM NGs was proved as a powerful and synergetic treatment for breast cancer in vitro and in vivo, via damaging the glucose metabolism in glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Overall, the regulation of tumor microenvironment with DOX-based nanogel is expected to be an effectual candidate strategy to overcome the current limitations of ICD-based immunotherapy, offering a paradigm for the exploitation of immunomodulatory nanomedicines.

Aberrant activation of oncogenic signaling pathways in tumors can promote resistance to the antitumor immune response. However, single blockade of these pathways is usually ineffective because of the complex crosstalk and feedback among oncogenic signaling pathways. The enhanced toxicity of free small molecule inhibitor combinations is considered an insurmountable barrier to their clinical applications. To circumvent this issue, we rationally designed an effective tumor microenvironment-activatable prodrug nanomicelle (PNM) for cancer therapy. PNM was engineered by integrating the PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PF-04691502 (PF) and the broad spectrum CDK inhibitor flavopiridol (Flav) into a single nanoplatform, which showed tumor-specific accumulation, activation and deep penetration in response to the high glutathione (GSH) tumoral microenvironment. The codelivery of PF and Flav could trigger gasdermin E (GSDME)-based immunogenic pyroptosis of tumor cells to elicit a robust antitumor immune response. Furthermore, the combination of PNM-induced immunogenic pyroptosis with anti-programmed cell death-1 (αPD-1) immunotherapy further boosted the antitumor effect and prolonged the survival time of mice. Collectively, these results indicated that the pyroptosis-induced nanoplatform codelivery of PI3K/mTOR and CDK inhibitors can reprogram the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and efficiently improve checkpoint blockade cancer immunotherapy.

Objective　To compare the clinical symptoms,laboratory and imaging results of neurosyphilis patients with and without general paresis of insane (GPI),and to analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with GPI and find the indexes that can help to realize early diagnosis.Method　A total of 104 patients with neurosyphilis were admitted from the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University from January 1,2010 to December 31,2021,including 59 patients with GPI and 45 patients without GPI.The demographic data,clinical manifestations,laboratory and imaging results were collected and compared.Result　There were significant differences of the cerebrospinal fluid protein,neutrophil count and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR),the number of patients with limb weakness between these two groups.Cerebrospinal fluid protein≥755 mg/L、NLR ≥ 2.82 and absence of limb weakness were independent risk factors of GPI,and the binary logistic regression model including the risk factors can predict GPI.Conclusion　Neurosyphilis patients with GPI often show cognitive decline or/and psychiatric symptoms.NLR≥2.8,cerebrospinal fluid protein≥755 mg/L and clinical symptoms without limb weakness are predictors of GPI.When clinicians find neurosyphilis patients present with such characters,It is suggested to assess their cognitive function and mental symptoms and carry out intervention early,which is helpful to slow down or even reverse the occurrence of cognitive disability in patients with neurosyphilis.