1.The Role of Prefrontal Cortex in Social Behavior
Gan-Jiang WEI ; Ling WANG ; Jing-Nan ZHU ; Xiao WANG ; Yu-Ran ZANG ; Chen-Guang ZHENG ; Jia-Jia YANG ; Dong MING
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2024;51(1):82-93
Social behavior is extremely important for the physical and mental health of individuals, their growth and development, and for social development. Social behavioral disorders have become a typical clinical representation of a variety of psychiatric disorders and have serious adverse effects on the development of individuals. The prefrontal cortex, as one of the key areas responsible for social behavior, involves in many advanced brain functions such as social behavior, emotion, and decision-making. The neural activity of prefrontal cortex has a major impact on the performance of social behavior. Numerous studies demonstrate that neurons and glial cells can regulate certain social behaviors by themselves or the interaction which we called neural microcircuits; and the collaboration with other brain regions also regulates different types of social behaviors. The prefrontal cortex (PFC)-thalamus projections mainly influence social dominance and social preference; the PFC-amygdala projections play a key role in fear behavior, emotional behavior, social exploration, and social identification; and the PFC-nucleus accumbens projections mainly involve social preference, social memory, social cognition, and spatial-social associative learning. Based on the above neural mechanism, many studies have focused on applying the non-invasive neurostimulation to social deficit-related symptoms, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) and focused ultrasound stimulation (FUS). Our previous study also investigated that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation can improve the social behavior of mice and low-intensity focused ultrasound ameliorated the social avoidance behavior of mice by enhancing neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex. In this review, we summarize the relationship between neurons, glial cells, brain projection and social behavior in the prefrontal cortex, and systematically show the role of the prefrontal cortex in the regulation of social behavior. We hope our summarization will provide a reference for the neural mechanism and effective treatment of social disorders.
2.Preparation and in vitro evaluation of hemoglobin-paclitaxel dual loaded liposomes for improving tumor hypoxia resistance
Xunyi YOU ; Kehui ZHU ; Jing XIAO ; Jiakang WU ; Shifan ZHENG ; Along ZHANG ; Rui ZHONG ; Hong WANG ; Ye CAO ; Jiaxin LIU
Chinese Journal of Blood Transfusion 2024;37(3):297-303
【Objective】 To prepare liposomes encapsulate hemoglobin and paclitaxel(LEHP)to improve tumor hypoxia resistance. 【Methods】 LEHP were prepared by thin-film method, and the particle size, Zeta potential and polydispersity were investigated by nanoparticle size analyzer, and encapsulation efficiency was investigated by high performance liquid chromatography, and the interaction between the liposomes and tumor cells was evaluated by in vitro cell experiments. 【Results】 The optimal preparation conditions of LEHP was as follows: total phospholipid 36 mM, DPPC∶Dope∶cholesterol molar ratio 7∶2∶1, paclitaxel 3 mg, hydrated with 3 mg·mL-1 Hb-PBS for 30 min at room temperature; The average particle size was (189.17±8.22) nm, polydispersity was 0.14±0.023, paclitaxel encapsulation efficiency was (58.27±2.55)%, hemoglobin content was (0.63±0.05) mg·mL-1. In vitro cell experiments, the killing effect of LEHP was about 1.5 times that of LEP, about 1.2 times that of LEP, and ROS production was about 1.8 times that of LEP. 【Conclusion】 The preparation conditions of LEHP was optimized, and cell experiments showed that LEHP can promote tumor cell apoptosis by improving hypoxia and increasing ROS production, which is expected to provide a safe and effective new method for drug resistance caused by tumor hypoxia.
3.Relationship between GLI1 expression and tumor immune infiltration and clinical prognosis of gastric cancer
Wen-Shuai ZHU ; Jing-Guo SUN ; Yi LU ; Mu-Hua LUAN ; Xiao-Li MA ; Yan-Fei JIA
Chinese Journal of Current Advances in General Surgery 2024;27(1):8-13
Objective:To investigate the correlation between the expression of GLI1 and im-mune invasion and clinical prognosis in gastric cancer.To study the effect of GLI1 expression on drug resistance in gastric cancer.Methods:The expression difference of GLI1 in gastric cancer and normal tissues was analyzed by using TCGA database,and the effect of clinical features and GLI1 gene ex-pression level on prognosis of patients with gastric cancer was analyzed.The correlation between GLI1 gene expression and tumor immune cell infiltration in gastric cancer tissues was analyzed to explore its influence on drug resistance of chemotherapy drugs and targeted drugs.Clinical samples were collect-ed to analyze the difference of GLI1 expression in gastric cancer and paracancer tissues.Results:The expression of GLI1 in gastric cancer tissues was 1.7 times that in normal tissues,and the overall sur-vival and disease-free survival of patients with high expression are shorter than those with low ex-pression(P<0.05).The interstitial score,immune score and abundance of immunoinfiltrating cells were higher in the high expression of GLI1 in gastric cancer tissues.High expression of GLI1 reduces drug sensitivity and is positively correlated with the expression of immune checkpoint markers PDCD1(P<0.05).GLI1 expression was significantly increased in patients with subdifferentiated gastric cancer.Conclusions:GLI1 expression is associated with the prognosis and immune infiltration of patients with gastric cancer,and it may lead to poor prognosis of patients by regulating chemotherapy resis-tance,which may be a potential therapeutic target and molecular marker for gastric cancer.
4.Expression and in vitro activity of a neutralizing antibody against West Nile virus that reduces antibody-dependent enhancement
Xiangjun HAO ; Nan CHEN ; Wanlu ZHU ; Jing WANG ; Guojiang CHEN ; Chunxia QIAO ; Xinying LI ; Beifen SHEN ; Jiannan FENG ; Lihui CHAI ; He XIAO
Chinese Journal of Microbiology and Immunology 2024;44(1):44-49
Objective:To establish an antibody expression system to reduce the antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) effect of target antibody.Methods:Site-directed mutagenesis was used to mutate the 234 and 235 sites of the Fc region of the mammalian cell antibody expression vector-L234A and L235A to establish the antibody expression vector pFRT-IgG1κ-FcM. An antibody Wt-WNV with significant ADE effect obtained in previous work was selected and expressed by the pFRT-IgG1κ-FcM system to obtain mutant antibody FcM-WNV. The binding ability of FcM-WNV to target antigen West Nile virus envelope protein-DⅢ (WNV E-DⅢ) was detected by ELISA, and the its binding ability to human high-affinity IgG Fc receptor hFcγRⅠ (hCD64 ) was analyzed by flow cytometry. The neutralizing activity of FcM-WNV in vitro was detected by pseudovirus infection of host cells (BHK21 and K562). Results:The expression levels of FcM-WNV and Wt-WNV were comparable, and FcM-WNV could recognize and bind to WNVE-DIII in a concentration-dependent manner. Compared with Wt-WNV, the binding ability of FcM-WNV to hCD64 was significantly weakened, showing a significant decrease in fluorescence intensity. Consistent with the previous experimental results, Wt-WNV at a concentration of 5 μg/ml significantly enhanced the infection of K562 by WNV pseudovirus, while FcM-WNV at a concentration of 5 μg/ml could effectively block pseudovirus infection in both K562 and BHK21 cells.Conclusions:The established antibody expression system can effectively reduce the ADE effect of the target antibody.
5.Research progress on protein engineering technology and its application in the synthesis biology of medicinal natural products
Xiao-yan SUN ; Jing-jing CHEN ; Tian-jiao CHEN ; Ting GONG ; Jin-ling YANG ; Ping ZHU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(6):1601-1615
Natural products are important sources of drug discovery. However, the traditional methods of extraction and isolation, as well as chemical synthesis for obtaining natural products are associated with issues such as operational complexity, high costs, low efficiency, and environmental pollution. Constructing microbial cell factories through synthetic biology methods to produce medicinal natural products has the advantages of high efficiency, low cost, and environmental protection. Nevertheless, the scope and yield improvement of the products are limited by the limitations of enzymes in microbial cell factories. Protein engineering is considered one of the most effective approaches to overcome these limitations. This article introduces commonly used methods of protein engineering technology and summarizes its specific applications in improving enzyme performance, modifying the enzymatic environment, and promoting the development of synthetic biology tools in the field of pharmaceutical natural product synthesis. Furthermore, it analyzes the current bottlenecks and challenges in protein engineering and looks forward to its future application prospects, offering insights for the development and practical use of protein engineering technology.
6.The activity and mechanism of action of a novel Candida albicans biofilm inhibitor IMB-H12
Dan LI ; Xiao-hong ZHU ; Cong BIAN ; Yuan-juan WEI ; Wen-jing SHI ; Yan LI ; Li-jie YUAN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(4):948-956
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7.Clinical Observation on Chaihu Shugansan Combined with Xuanfu Daizhetang in Treating Barrett's Esophagus with Liver-stomach Disharmony
Xiao WANG ; Xiaosu WANG ; Bingduo ZHOU ; Guangsu XIONG ; Qi YU ; Ji SUN ; Yun ZHOU ; Yi JING ; Shengliang ZHU ; Li LI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(24):10-17
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Chaihu Shugansan combined with Xuanfu Daizhetang (CHSG-XFDZ) in the management of Barrett's esophagus (BE) with liver-stomach disharmony. MethodA randomized, parallel, controlled, double-blind clinical trial was conducted. BE patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomized into an observation group and a control group, with 34 patients in each group. The observation group was treated with CHSG-XFDZ combined with omeprazole capsules, and the control group was treated with CHSG-XFDZ mimetic combined with omeprazole capsules. Both groups were treated for 12 weeks. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scores, response rate, BE lesion area, BE pathological changes, and bile acid profile were taken as the indicators to jointly evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of the two groups. ResultA total of 62 patients who completed the trial were included for statistical analysis, including 32 in the observation group and 30 in the control group. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline demographics or disease characteristics between two groups, which suggested that the two groups were comparable. The total response rate in the observation group was 93.7% (30/32), which was higher than that (60.0%, 18/30) in the control group (χ2=24.766, P<0.05). After treatment, the response rate regarding the pathological changes in the observation group was 62.5% (20/32), which was higher than that (23.3%, 7/30) in the control group (χ2=10.270, P<0.05). The response rate regarding the BE lesion area change in the observation group was 21.9% (7/32), which had no statistically significant difference from that (6.7%, 2/30) in the control group, which indicated that the advantages of the two regimens were not obvious in terms of reducing the area of BE lesions. Compared with the control group after treatment, the observation group regulated the bile acid profile, which pointed out the direction for further exploring the mechanism of CHSG-XFDZ in treating BE. Neither group showcased adverse reactions with clinical significance during the treatment period. ConclusionCHSG-XFDZ outperformed the control group in terms of alleviating TCM symptoms, ameliorating pathological changes, and improving the bile acid profile in the BE patients with liver-stomach disharmony. It demonstrates certain potential in reducing the lesion area. This formula is safe and effective in treating BE patients with liver-stomach disharmony and deserves further clinical research and widespread application.
8.Investigation on thermodynamics and kinetics of puerarin sodium chelate
Wei JIANG ; Jun-xiao ZHU ; Hui CHEN ; Jing-wen ZHANG ; Jian-jun ZHANG ; Yuan GAO ; Shuai QIAN ; Yuan-feng WEI
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(9):2648-2658
Tablets represent the most widely used oral solid dosage form in the pharmaceutical industry. Puerarin monohydrate (PUEM), a solid form of the natural antihypertensive drug puerarin, is commercially available. However, the low solubility of PUEM poses a significant challenge for the development of its tablet dosage form. In this study, we successfully prepared the sodium chelates of puerarin (PUE-Na·7H2O) using reactive crystallization techniques. The crystal structure of PUE-Na·7H2O was analyzed using single crystal technology, which revealed the structural characteristics of its metal chelate. Our thermodynamic studies demonstrated that the formation of PUE-Na·7H2O involved the simultaneous deprotonation of PUE and the chelation of PUE- and Na+. This reaction process was spontaneous and exothermic (Δ
9.Various arginine configurations-modified chitosan hydrogels promote skin wound repair
Jing DENG ; Tinghua LI ; Hai ZHU ; Xiao YANG ; Jun CAO ; Xiangdong ZHU
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2024;28(10):1497-1504
BACKGROUND:Clinical skin wound healing continues to be a significant concern,and tissue repair research has moved to the forefront with the development of biomaterials with immunomodulatory properties.Therefore,it is crucial to research wound dressings that have immunomodulatory properties. OBJECTIVE:To prepare chitosan hydrogels that have been modified by arginine with different configurations and assess their capacity to speed up wound healing in a rat animal model. METHODS:(1)In vitro trial:Chitosan modified by pure L-arginine,pure D-arginine,and L-arginine and D-arginine was synthesized by EDC/NHS system,which was then crosslinked with aldehyde-modified four-arm polyethylene glycol.Different chitosan-based hydrogels(CS-L,CS-D,and CS-DL)were finally formed via the Schiff base reaction.Three kinds of hydrogel extracts were co-cultured with fibroblasts respectively.Hydrogel cytocompatibility was assessed using the CCK-8 assay and live/dead staining.The effect of hydrogel on the migration capacity of fibroblasts was assessed by using a scratch test.Three kinds of hydrogels were incubated with rat erythrocyte suspension respectively to evaluate the hemocompatibility of the hydrogels.The hydrogel extract was co-cultured with RAW264.7 macrophages to test the hydrogels'capacity to enhance macrophage NO generation and polarize macrophage phenotype.(2)In vivo experiment:A total of 36 adult SD rats were divided into 4 groups with 9 rats in each group by the random number table method.Two full-layer skin defect wounds of 2 cm×2 cm were made on the back of each rat.Normal saline was added to the wounds of the control group,and corresponding hydrogel was added to the wounds of the CS-L,CS-D,and CS-DL groups,respectively,and then bandaged and fixed.The wound healing was observed regularly after operation.Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed at 3,10,and 21 days after operation.The samples were collected 10 days after operation and M2 macrophage immunofluorescence staining was performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)In vitro experiments:Under scanning electron microscopy,the three kinds of hydrogels exhibited obvious interpenetrating network structures with pore sizes ranging from 70-200 μm.The three kinds of hydrogels have good swelling performance,degradation performance,self-healing performance,and suitable mechanical strength.The three kinds of hydrogels had good cytocompatibility and hemocompatibility and could promote the migration of fibroblasts.All three kinds of hydrogels had the ability to promote the polarization of macrophages,and CS-D hydrogels had the strongest ability to promote the polarization of macrophages.CS-L hydrogel could significantly promote the production of NO in macrophages.(2)In vivo experiment:3 and 10 days after operation,the wound healing rate in the CS-L and CS-D groups was higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).After 21 days,the wound healing rate of the three hydrogel groups was higher than that of the control group.Hematoxylin-eosin staining displayed that a large number of inflammatory cells were infiltrated in the wound tissue of rats in all groups,accompanied by neovessels and fibroblasts 3 days after operation.10 days after operation,there was still more inflammatory cell infiltration in the wound of the control group,and the inflammation of the other three groups was improved,especially the decrease of inflammatory cells in the CS-D group was more obvious.21 days after operation,the wound epithelium of each group was well repaired,and there was basically no inflammatory cell infiltration in the CS-L and CS-D groups,while there was still a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration in the control group.Immunofluorescence staining revealed that the number of M2-type macrophages in the CS-D group was higher than that in the other three groups(P<0.05).(3)The results conclude that chitosan hydrogels modified by different configurations of arginine can promote wound healing through different mechanisms.
10.Transumbilical Single-port Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy by Conventional Instruments Without Uterine-lifting
Qizhou ZHU ; Zhongqing XIAO ; Shenggen LONG ; Lijun WANG ; Jing YANG ; Kuanyong SHU
Chinese Journal of Minimally Invasive Surgery 2024;24(2):98-101
Objective To investigate the application value of transumbilical single-port total laparoscopic hysterectomy by conventional instrument without uterine-lifting in the treatment of cervical lesions.Methods We selected 60 cases of total laparoscopic hysterectomy due to cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion(HSIL)or cervical cancer stage ⅠA1 from December 2021 to June 2023.According to the patients'preference,30 cases of single-port laparoscopy through the umbilicus and 30 cases of multi-port laparoscopy were performed,both using conventional instruments without uterine-lifting.The surgical indicators of the two groups were compared.Results No conversion to open surgery occurred in both groups,and no intraoperative injuries to the urinary system,bowel,or major blood vessels occurred.As compared with the multi-port group,the single-port group had significantly reduced amount of bleeding during surgery[(54.6±20.5)ml vs.(67.5±27.0)ml,P = 0.041],earlier anal exhaust time[(27.6±8.0)h vs.(32.2±9.0)h,P =0.040],and shorter total hospitalization time[(4.4±1.5)d vs.(5.1±1.2)d,P = 0.044].There were no significant differences in uterine weight,surgical time,and postoperative complications between the two group(P>0.05).The healing of the abdominal wall puncture wounds in both groups of patients were satisfied.There were no short-term complications related to the puncture device(such as puncture wound infection and bleeding)or long-term complications(such as umbilical hernia and incisional hernia).Conclusion Transumbilical single-port total laparoscopic hysterectomy without uterine-lifting presents advantages of less intraoperative bleeding,faster postoperative recovery,and almost no scarring,with complications similar to traditional laparoscopic surgery.

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