Objective To screen biomarkers for forensic identification of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by non-targeted metabolomic studies on changes of urine metabolites in rats with AMI.Methods The rat models of the sham surgery group,AMI group and hyperlipidemia+acute myocardial infarction (HAMI) group were established.Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was used to analyze the changes of urine metabolic spectrometry in AMI rats.Principal compo-nent analysis,partial least squares-discriminant analysis,and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis were used to screen differential metabolites.The MetaboAnalyst database was used to analyze the metabolic pathway enrichment and access the predictive ability of differential metabolites.Results A total of 40 and 61 differential metabolites associated with AMI and HAMI were screened,respec-tively.Among them,22 metabolites were common in both rat models.These small metabolites were mainly concentrated in the niacin and nicotinamide metabolic pathways.Within the 95% confidence in-terval,the area under the curve (AUC) values of receiver operator characteristic curve for N8-acetyl-spermidine,3-methylhistamine,and thymine were greater than 0.95.Conclusion N8-acetylspermidine,3-methylhistamine,and thymine can be used as potential biomarkers for AMI diagnosis,and abnormal metabolism in niacin and nicotinamide may be the main causes of AMI.This study can provide reference for the mechanism and causes of AMI identification.

Objective To monitor the antifungal resistance of clinical isolates of Candida spp.in the East China region.Methods MALDI-TOF MS or molecular methods were used to re-identify the strains collected from January 2018 to December 2022.Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed using the broth microdilution method.The susceptibility test results were interpreted according to the breakpoints of 2022 Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)documents M27 M44s-Ed3 and M57s-Ed4.Results A total of 3 026 strains of Candida were collected,65.33％of which were isolated from sterile body sites,mainly from blood(38.86％)and pleural effusion/ascites(10.21％).The predominant species of Candida were Candida albicans(44.51％),followed by Candida parapsilosis complex(19.46％),Candida tropicalis(13.98％),Candida glabrata(10.34％),and other Candida species(0.79％).Candida albicans showed overall high susceptibility rates to the 10 antifungal drugs tested(the lowest rate being 93.62％).Only 2.97％of the strains showed dose-dependent susceptibility(SDD)to fluconazole.Candida parapsilosis complex had a SDD rate of 2.61％and a resistance rate of 9.42％to fluconazole,and susceptibility rates above 90％to other drugs.Candida glabrata had a SDD rate of 92.01％and a resistance rate of 7.99％to fluconazole,resistance rates of 32.27％and 48.24％to posaconazole and voriconazole non-wild-type strains(NWT),respectively,and susceptibility rates above 90％to other drugs.Candida tropicalis had resistance rates of 29.55％and 26.24％to fluconazole and voriconazole,respectively,resistance rates of 76.60％and 21.99％to posaconazole and echinocandins non-wild-type strains(NWT),and a resistance rate of 2.36％to echinocandins.Conclusions The prevalence and species distribution of Candida spp.in the East China region are consistent with previous domestic and international reports.Candida glabrata exhibits certain degree of resistance to fluconazole,while Candida tropicalis demonstrates higher resistance to triazole drugs.Additionally,echinocandins resistance has emerged in Candida albicans,Candida glabrata,Candida tropicalis,and Candida parapsilosis.

Deficiencies in the clearance of peripheral amyloid β (Aβ) play a crucial role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous studies have shown that the ability of blood monocytes to phagocytose Aβ is decreased in AD. However, the exact mechanism of Aβ clearance dysfunction in AD monocytes remains unclear. In the present study, we found that blood monocytes in AD mice exhibited decreases in energy metabolism, which was accompanied by cellular senescence, a senescence-associated secretory phenotype, and dysfunctional phagocytosis of Aβ. Improving energy metabolism rejuvenated monocytes and enhanced their ability to phagocytose Aβ in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, enhancing blood monocyte Aβ phagocytosis by improving energy metabolism alleviated brain Aβ deposition and neuroinflammation and eventually improved cognitive function in AD mice. This study reveals a new mechanism of impaired Aβ phagocytosis in monocytes and provides evidence that restoring their energy metabolism may be a novel therapeutic strategy for AD.
Animals ; Mice ; Alzheimer Disease ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; Monocytes ; Cognition ; Energy Metabolism ; Phagocytosis

Objective: To analyze and compare therapy responses, outcomes, and incidence of severe hematologic adverse events of flumatinib and imatinib in patients newly diagnosed with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) . Methods: Data of patients with chronic phase CML diagnosed between January 2006 and November 2022 from 76 centers, aged ≥18 years, and received initial flumatinib or imatinib therapy within 6 months after diagnosis in China were retrospectively interrogated. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to reduce the bias of the initial TKI selection, and the therapy responses and outcomes of patients receiving initial flumatinib or imatinib therapy were compared. Results: A total of 4 833 adult patients with CML receiving initial imatinib (n=4 380) or flumatinib (n=453) therapy were included in the study. In the imatinib cohort, the median follow-up time was 54 [interquartile range (IQR), 31-85] months, and the 7-year cumulative incidences of CCyR, MMR, MR(4), and MR(4.5) were 95.2%, 88.4%, 78.3%, and 63.0%, respectively. The 7-year FFS, PFS, and OS rates were 71.8%, 93.0%, and 96.9%, respectively. With the median follow-up of 18 (IQR, 13-25) months in the flumatinib cohort, the 2-year cumulative incidences of CCyR, MMR, MR(4), and MR(4.5) were 95.4%, 86.5%, 58.4%, and 46.6%, respectively. The 2-year FFS, PFS, and OS rates were 80.1%, 95.0%, and 99.5%, respectively. The PSM analysis indicated that patients receiving initial flumatinib therapy had significantly higher cumulative incidences of CCyR, MMR, MR(4), and MR(4.5) and higher probabilities of FFS than those receiving the initial imatinib therapy (all P<0.001), whereas the PFS (P=0.230) and OS (P=0.268) were comparable between the two cohorts. The incidence of severe hematologic adverse events (grade≥Ⅲ) was comparable in the two cohorts. Conclusion: Patients receiving initial flumatinib therapy had higher cumulative incidences of therapy responses and higher probability of FFS than those receiving initial imatinib therapy, whereas the incidence of severe hematologic adverse events was comparable between the two cohorts.
Adult ; Humans ; Adolescent ; Imatinib Mesylate/adverse effects* ; Incidence ; Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Pyrimidines/adverse effects* ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome ; Benzamides/adverse effects* ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Chronic-Phase/drug therapy* ; Aminopyridines/therapeutic use* ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors/therapeutic use*

Insufficient catalytic efficiency of flavonoid 6-hydroxylases in the fermentative production of scutellarin leads to the formation of at least about 18% of by-products. Here, the catalytic mechanisms of two flavonoid 6-hydroxylases, CYP82D4 and CYP706X, were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemical calculations. Our results show that CYP82D4 and CYP706X have almost identical energy barriers at the rate-determining step and thus similar reaction rates, while the relatively low substrate binding energy of CYP82D4 may facilitate product release, which is directly responsible for its higher catalytic efficiency. Based on the study of substrate entry and release processes, the catalytic efficiency of the L540A mutation of CYP82D4 increased by 1.37-fold, demonstrating the feasibility of theoretical calculations-guided engineering of flavonoid 6-hydroxylase. Overall, this study reveals the catalytic mechanism of flavonoid 6-hydroxylases, which may facilitate the modification and optimization of flavonoid 6-hydroxylases for efficient fermentative production of scutellarin.
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System/metabolism* ; Apigenin ; Glucuronates

Uric acid (UA) is the final product of purine metabolism in human body,and its metabolic disorder will induce hyperuricemia (HUA).The occurrence and development of HUA are associated with a variety of pathological mechanisms such as oxidative stress injury,activation of inflammatory cytokines,and activation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.These mechanisms directly or indirectly affect the bioavailability of endogenous nitric oxide (NO).The decrease in NO bioavailability is common in the diseases with high concentration of UA as an independent risk factor.In this review,we summarize the mechanisms by which high concentrations of UA affect the endogenous NO bioavailability,with a focus on the mechanisms of high-concentration UA in decreasing the synthesis and/or increasing the consumption of NO.This review aims to provide references for alleviating the multisystem symptoms and improving the prognosis of HUA,and lay a theoretical foundation for in-depth study of the correlations between HUA and other metabolic diseases.
Humans ; Nitric Oxide ; Uric Acid ; Hyperuricemia ; Biological Availability ; Cytokines

OBJECTIVE: To analyze 43 leukemia genes in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Yunnan province, and provide the basis for the diagnosis and treatment of children with ALL in this area. METHODS: The clinical data of 428 children with newly diagnosed ALL in Yunnan area from January 2015 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Multiple nested PCR technology was used to detect 43 common leukemia genes. RESULTS: Among the 428 children with ALL, 159 were positive for leukemia genes, with a positive rate of 37.15% (159/428), and a total of 15 leukemia genes were detected. Among the 159 leukemia gene-positive children, ETV6-RUNX1⁺ accounted for 25.79% (41/159), followed by E2A-PBX1⁺ and BCR-ABL⁺, accounting for 24.53% (39/159) and 23.27% (37/159) respectively. MLL⁺ accounted for 6.29% (10/159), WT1⁺ accounted for 4.40% (7/159), IKZF1 gene deletion and CRLF2⁺ accounted for 3.77% (6/159) respectively. The positive rate of MLL (46.15%) was the highest in ＜1-year old group, the positive rate of ETV6-RUNX1 (10.56%) was the highest in 1-10-year old group, and BCR-ABL⁺ rate (23.65%) was the highest in >10-year old group. The distribution of leukemia genes in different age groups was statistically significant (P <0.05). CONCLUSION The most common fusion gene of children with ALL in Yunnan is ETV6-RUNX1, followed by E2A-PBX1 and BCR-ABL.
Child ; Humans ; Infant ; Child, Preschool ; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion/genetics* ; Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/genetics* ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit/genetics* ; Retrospective Studies ; China ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy* ; Genotype

[Abstract] Objective To elucidate the important role of Nogo-A in climacteric neurodegeneration such as memory impairment by observing memory function and the expression of Nogo-A in hippocampus and striatum of rats under low estrogen condition. Methods Fouthy-five female SD rats were divided into sham operation group, ovariectomized group and ovariectomized estrogen treatment group with 15 rats in each group. Medication was given 2 weeks after ovariectomized. Estrogen treatment group was subcutaneously injected in groin with estrogen [25 μg/ (kg.d)] dissolved in sterile sesame oil. The sham operation group and the ovariectomized group were given the same amount of aseptic sesame oil. Samples were collected after 6 weeks of drug treatment. The difference of memory function of rats in three groups was observed by conditioned fear training experiment, and the expression of Nogo-A in hippocampus and striatum was observed by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Results Compared with the sham and estrogen treatment group, memory function in ovariectomized group decreased significantly and the number of Nogo-A positive neurons in hippocampus and striatum of ovariectomized rats was significantly higher than that of sham operation group (P < 0. 05). There was no difference between the estrogen treatment group and the sham operation group with the memory function and the Nogo-A expression (P > 0. 05). The result of immunoblotting was consistent with the above-mentioned immunohistochemical result. Conclusion The increased expression of Nogo-A in hippocampus and striatum under low estrogen condition may be one of the key reasons for memory impairment in climacteric women.

Hepatotoxicity induced by bioactive constituents in traditional Chinese medicines or herbs,such as bavachin(BV)in Fructus Psoraleae,has a prolonged latency to overt drug-induced liver injury in the clinic.Several studies have described BV-induced liver damage and underlying toxicity mechanisms,but little attention has been paid to the deciphering of organisms or cellular responses to BV at no-observed-adverse-effect level,and the underlying molecular mechanisms and specific indicators are also lacking during the asymptomatic phase,making it much harder for early recognition of hepatotoxicity.Here,we treated mice with BV for 7 days and did not detect any abnormalities in biochemical tests,but found subtle steatosis in BV-treated hepatocytes.We then profiled the gene expression of hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells at single-cell resolution and discovered three types of hepatocyte subsets in the BV-treated liver.Among these,the hepa3 subtype suffered from a vast alteration in lipid metabolism,which was characterized by enhanced expression of apolipoproteins,carboxylesterases,and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1(Scd1).In particular,increased Scd1 promoted monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFAs)syn-thesis and was considered to be related to BV-induced steatosis and polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFAs)generation,which participates in the initiation of ferroptosis.Additionally,we demonstrated that mul-tiple intrinsic transcription factors,including Srebf1 and Hnf4a,and extrinsic signals from niche cells may regulate the above-mentioned molecular events in BV-treated hepatocytes.Collectively,our study deciphered the features of hepatocytes in response to BV insult,decoded the underlying molecular mechanisms,and suggested that Scd1 could be a hub molecule for the prediction of hepatotoxicity at an early stage.

Objective: To analyze the clinical epidemiological characteristics including composition of pathogens , clinical characteristics, and disease prognosis acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in Chinese children. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and laboratory data of 1 610 children <15 years of age with ABM in 33 tertiary hospitals in China from January 2019 to December 2020. Patients were divided into different groups according to age,<28 days group, 28 days to <3 months group, 3 months to <1 year group, 1-<5 years of age group, 5-<15 years of age group; etiology confirmed group and clinically diagnosed group according to etiology diagnosis. Non-numeric variables were analyzed with the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, while non-normal distrituction numeric variables were compared with nonparametric test. Results: Among 1 610 children with ABM, 955 were male and 650 were female (5 cases were not provided with gender information), and the age of onset was 1.5 (0.5, 5.5) months. There were 588 cases age from <28 days, 462 cases age from 28 days to <3 months, 302 cases age from 3 months to <1 year of age group, 156 cases in the 1-<5 years of age and 101 cases in the 5-<15 years of age. The detection rates were 38.8% (95/245) and 31.5% (70/222) of Escherichia coli and 27.8% (68/245) and 35.1% (78/222) of Streptococcus agalactiae in infants younger than 28 days of age and 28 days to 3 months of age; the detection rates of Streptococcus pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae were 34.3% (61/178), 14.0% (25/178) and 13.5% (24/178) in the 3 months of age to <1 year of age group; the dominant pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae and the detection rate were 67.9% (74/109) and 44.4% (16/36) in the 1-<5 years of age and 5-<15 years of age . There were 9.7% (19/195) strains of Escherichia coli producing ultra-broad-spectrum β-lactamases. The positive rates of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture and blood culture were 32.2% (515/1 598) and 25.0% (400/1 598), while 38.2% (126/330)and 25.3% (21/83) in CSF metagenomics next generation sequencing and Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen detection. There were 4.3% (32/790) cases of which CSF white blood cell counts were normal in etiology confirmed group. Among 1 610 children with ABM, main intracranial imaging complications were subdural effusion and (or) empyema in 349 cases (21.7%), hydrocephalus in 233 cases (14.5%), brain abscess in 178 cases (11.1%), and other cerebrovascular diseases, including encephalomalacia, cerebral infarction, and encephalatrophy, in 174 cases (10.8%). Among the 166 cases (10.3%) with unfavorable outcome, 32 cases (2.0%) died among whom 24 cases died before 1 year of age, and 37 cases (2.3%) had recurrence among whom 25 cases had recurrence within 3 weeks. The incidences of subdural effusion and (or) empyema, brain abscess and ependymitis in the etiology confirmed group were significantly higher than those in the clinically diagnosed group (26.2% (207/790) vs. 17.3% (142/820), 13.0% (103/790) vs. 9.1% (75/820), 4.6% (36/790) vs. 2.7% (22/820), χ²=18.71, 6.20, 4.07, all P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the unfavorable outcomes, mortility, and recurrence between these 2 groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The onset age of ABM in children is usually within 1 year of age, especially <3 months. The common pathogens in infants <3 months of age are Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae, and the dominant pathogen in infant ≥3 months is Streptococcus pneumoniae. Subdural effusion and (or) empyema and hydrocephalus are common complications. ABM should not be excluded even if CSF white blood cell counts is within normal range. Standardized bacteriological examination should be paid more attention to increase the pathogenic detection rate. Non-culture CSF detection methods may facilitate the pathogenic diagnosis.
Adolescent ; Brain Abscess ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Escherichia coli ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Meningitis, Bacterial/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Streptococcus agalactiae ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Subdural Effusion ; beta-Lactamases