Direct compression is an ideal method for tablet preparation, but it requires the powder's high functional properties. The functional properties of the powder during compression directly affect the quality of the tablet. 15 parameters such as Py, FES-8KN, FES-12KN, FES-16KN, CR-8KN, CR-12KN, and CR-16KN were used as the characteristic variables in this paper. Unsupervised learning methods like principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and factor analysis were applied to analyze and classify the compression behavior data of 36 traditional Chinese medicine powders. The results showed that both different dimensionality reduction classification methods could effectively differentiate the compression behavior characteristics of 36 traditional Chinese medicine compound powders. The hierarchical cluster analysis results showed a better agreement with the actual compression phenomena of the powders, where group 1 was high elasticity and low compressibility, group 2 was easily compressed and hard to break, group 3 was excellent compressibility and compactibility. This study is expected to provide references and ideas for predicting the behavior of traditional Chinese medicine powders and the screening of tablet formulations.

Biomolecular condensates are formed through phase separation of biomacromolecules such as proteins and RNAs. These condensates exhibit liquid-like properties that can futher transition into more stable material states. They form complex internal structures via multivalent weak interactions, enabling precise spatiotemporal regulations. However, the use of inconsistent and non-standardized terminology has become increasingly problematic, hindering academic exchange and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the terminology related to biomolecular condensates in order to clarify concepts, promote interdisciplinary cooperation, enhance research efficiency, and support the healthy development of this field.

ObjectiveTraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutes a valuable cultural heritage and an important source of antitumor compounds. Poria (Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf), the dried sclerotium of a polyporaceae fungus, was first documented in Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica and has been used therapeutically and dietarily in China for millennia. Traditionally recognized for its diuretic, spleen-tonifying, and sedative properties, modern pharmacological studies confirm that Poria exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antitumor activities. Pachymic acid (PA; a triterpenoid with the chemical structure 3β-acetyloxy-16α-hydroxy-lanosta-8,24(31)-dien-21-oic acid), isolated from Poria, is a principal bioactive constituent. Emerging evidence indicates PA exerts antitumor effects through multiple mechanisms, though these remain incompletely characterized. Neuroblastoma (NB), a highly malignant pediatric extracranial solid tumor accounting for 15% of childhood cancer deaths, urgently requires safer therapeutics due to the limitations of current treatments. Although PA shows multi-mechanistic antitumor potential, its efficacy against NB remains uncharacterized. This study systematically investigated the potential molecular targets and mechanisms underlying the anti-NB effects of PA by integrating network pharmacology-based target prediction with experimental validation of multi-target interactions through molecular docking, dynamic simulations, and in vitro assays, aimed to establish a novel perspective on PA’s antitumor activity and explore its potential clinical implications for NB treatment by integrating computational predictions with biological assays. MethodsThis study employed network pharmacology to identify potential targets of PA in NB, followed by validation using molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, MM/PBSA free energy analysis, RT-qPCR and Western blot experiments. Network pharmacology analysis included target screening via TCMSP, GeneCards, DisGeNET, SwissTargetPrediction, SuperPred, and PharmMapper. Subsequently, potential targets were predicted by intersecting the results from these databases via Venn analysis. Following target prediction, topological analysis was performed to identify key targets using Cytoscape software. Molecular docking was conducted using AutoDock Vina, with the binding pocket defined based on crystal structures. MD simulations were performed for 100 ns using GROMACS, and RMSD, RMSF, SASA, and hydrogen bonding dynamics were analyzed. MM/PBSA calculations were carried out to estimate the binding free energy of each protein-ligand complex. In vitro validation included RT-qPCR and Western blot, with GAPDH used as an internal control. ResultsThe CCK-8 assay demonstrated a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect of PA on NB cell viability. GO analysis suggested that the anti-NB activity of PA might involve cellular response to chemical stress, vesicle lumen, and protein tyrosine kinase activity. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis suggested that the anti-NB activity of PA might involve the PI3K/AKT, MAPK, and Ras signaling pathways. Molecular docking and MD simulations revealed stable binding interactions between PA and the core target proteins AKT1, EGFR, SRC, and HSP90AA1. RT-qPCR and Western blot analyses further confirmed that PA treatment significantly decreased the mRNA and protein expression of AKT1, EGFR, and SRC while increasing the HSP90AA1 mRNA and protein levels. ConclusionIt was suggested that PA may exert its anti-NB effects by inhibiting AKT1, EGFR, and SRC expression, potentially modulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. These findings provide crucial evidence supporting PA’s development as a therapeutic candidate for NB.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of the modified Huangan Lipi Decoction(mainly composed of Sclerotium Poriae Pararadicis,Paeoniae Radix Alba,Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma,Polygalae Radix,Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma,and Curcumae Radix)combined with acupuncture at Sifeng(EX-UE10)points in the treatment of children with tic disorders(TD).Methods Seventy cases of TD children with spleen deficiency and liver hyperactivity syndrome were randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group,with 35 cases in each group.The control group was treated with conventional western medicine of Tiapride Hydrochloride Tablets,while the treatment group was treated with the combination of the modified Huangan Lipi Decoction and acupuncture at Sifeng points.Both groups were treated for 8 weeks.The changes of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale(YGTSS)item scores of tic muscle group,tic frequency,tic intensity,complexity and interference degree as well as their total scores in the two groups were observed before and after treatment.Moreover,the clinical efficacy and safety in the two groups were evaluated.Results(1)After 8 weeks of treatment,the total effective rate of the treatment group was 88.57%(31/35),and that of the control group was 68.57%(24/35).The intergroup comparison showed that the total effective rate(tested by chi-square test)and the overall therapeutic efficacy(tested by rank-sum test)of the treatment group were significantly superior to those of the control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,the YGTSS item scores of tic muscle group,tic frequency,tic intensity,complexity and interference degree as well as their total scores in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment(P＜0.01),and the effect on lowering the above scores of the treatment group was significantly superior to that of the control group,the differences being all statistically significant(P＜0.01).(3)During the treatment,the incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment group was 2.86%(1/35)and that in the control group was 8.57%(3/35).The intergroup comparison showed that the incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment group tended to be lower than that of the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(P＞0.05).Conclusion Modified Huangan Lipi Decoction combined with acupuncture at Sifeng points exert certain effect in the treatment of TD children with spleen deficiency and liver hyperactivity syndrome,and its efficacy is superior to that of the western medicine Tiapride Hydrochloride Tablets.

OBJECTIVE: To study the in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of the polysaccharide of Alocasia cucullata (PAC) and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: B16F10 and 4T1 cells were cultured with PAC of 40 µg/mL, and PAC was withdrawn after 40 days of administration. The cell viability was detected by cell counting kit-8. The expression of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 proteins were detected by Western blot and the expressions of ERK1/2 mRNA were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A mouse melanoma model was established to study the effect of PAC during long-time administration. Mice were divided into 3 treatment groups: control group treated with saline water, positive control group (LNT group) treated with lentinan at 100 mg/(kg·d), and PAC group treated with PAC at 120 mg/(kg·d). The pathological changes of tumor tissues were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The apoptosis of tumor tissues was detected by TUNEL staining. Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 protein expressions were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expressions of ERK1/2, JNK1 and p38 mRNA were detected by qRT-PCR. RESULTS: In vitro, no strong inhibitory effects of PAC were found in various tumor cells after 48 or 72 h of administration. Interestingly however, after 40 days of cultivation under PAC, an inhibitory effect on B16F10 cells was found. Correspondingly, the long-time administration of PAC led to downregulation of Bcl-2 protein (P<0.05), up-regulation of Caspase-3 protein (P<0.05) and ERK1 mRNA (P<0.05) in B16F10 cells. The above results were verified by in vivo experiments. In addition, viability of B16F10 cells under long-time administration culture in vitro decreased after drug withdrawal, and similar results were also observed in 4T1 cells. CONCLUSIONS Long-time administration of PAC can significantly inhibit viability and promote apoptosis of tumor cells, and had obvious antitumor effect in tumor-bearing mice.
Mice ; Animals ; Alocasia/metabolism* ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Caspase 3/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism*

Objective To investigate the role of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells(PNEC)and γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA)in patients with pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors(PNET).Methods The pathological specimens of 29 cases of PNET treated in the eighth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from October 2018 to January 2022 were collected.The morphological characteristics were observed by HE staining,and the expression levels of synaptophysin(Syn),chromogranin A(CgA),CD56,Ki-67,CD86 and CD163 were observed by immunohistochemical staining.Calcitonin gene-related peptide(CGRP)and glutamic acid decarboxylase(GAD)65/67 in different types of PNETs were detected by double antibody immunofluorescence co-staining,and the correlation between GAD65/67 positive PNEC and macrophage polarization was analyzed.Results The results of HE staining showed that all four types of PNET tissues had neuroendocrine(NE)characteristics:rosette structure and organ nesting or palisade pattern,but they were different,and the proportion of mitotic cells from low to high was typical carcinoid(TC),atypical carcinoid(AC),large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma(LCNEC)and small cell lung cancer(SCLC).The results of immunohistochemical staining showed that the positive expression rate of Syn and CgA and the positive degree of Syn,CgA and CD56 in carcinoid(TC and AC)were significantly higher than those in LCNEC and SCLC(P＜0.05).The Ki-67 indices of the four types of PNET are:TC＜5%,AC 5%-20%,LCNEC and SCLC＞75%respectively.The number of PNEC in carcinoid was significantly higher than that in LCNEC,SCLC and paratumoral tissues(P＜0.05),but there was no significant difference in the number of PNEC between LCNEC and SCLC and para-tumor tissues(P＞0.05).The results of immunofluorescence staining showed that the number of GAD65/67 positive cells co-expressing GAD65/67 in 95%PNEC was significantly higher than that in LCNEC,SCLC and para-tumor tissues(P＜0.05),but there was no significant difference between LCNEC and SCLC GAD65/67 positive cells and para-tumor tissues(P＞0.05).The results of immunohistochemical staining also showed that the number of CD86 positive M1 macrophages was significantly higher than that of CD163 positive M2 macrophages in para-tumor tissues(P＜0.05),while M2 macrophages were significantly more than M1 macrophages in AC,LCNEC and SCLC(P＜0.01).Correlation analysis showed that the number of GAD65/67 positive PNEC cells in PNET was negatively correlated with the number of CD163 positive M2 macrophages in tumor stroma(r=-0.6336,P=0.0174).Conclusions PNEC is the main source of GABA in lung tissue and plays an immunomodulatory role in the lung,which may be involved in the progression of PNET.

ObjectiveHuman Ku70 protein mainly involves the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair of double-stranded DNA breaks (DSB) through its DNA-binding properties, and it is recently reported having an RNA-binding ability. This paper is to explore whether Ku70 has RNA helicase activity and affects miRNA maturation. MethodsRNAs bound to Ku protein were analyzed by RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (RIP-seq) and bioinfomatic anaylsis. The expression relationship between Ku protein and miRNAs was verified by Western blot (WB) and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays. Binding ability of Ku protein to the RNAs was tested by biolayer interferometry (BLI) assay. RNA helicase activity of Ku protein was identified with EMSA assay. The effect of Ku70 regulated miR-124 on neuronal differentiation was performed by morphology analysis, WB and immunofluorescence assays with or without Zika virus (ZIKV) infection. ResultsWe revealed that the Ku70 protein had RNA helicase activity and affected miRNA maturation. Deficiency of Ku70 led to the up-regulation of a large number of mature miRNAs, especially neuronal specific miRNAs like miR-124. The knockdown of Ku70 promoted neuronal differentiation in human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and SH-SY5Y cells by boosting miR-124 maturation. Importantly, ZIKV infection reduced the expression of Ku70 whereas increased expression of miR-124 in hNPCs, and led to morphologically neuronal differentiation. ConclusionOur study revealed a novel function of Ku70 as an RNA helicase and regulating miRNA maturation. The reduced expression of Ku70 with ZIKV infection increased the expression of miR-124 and led to the premature differentiation of embryonic neural progenitor cells, which might be one of the causes of microcephaly.

Objective To establish a rapid and convenient UPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of tamoxifen and its active metabolite endoxifen in plasma of patients with breast cancer.Methods With diazepam as the internal standard,the plasma sample was precipitated with acetonitrile and methanol-acetonitrile was used as mobile phase.The samples were separated by chromatographic column ZORBAX Eclipse plus C18(18 μm,2.1 mm x50 mm)and scanned by electrospray ion source and positive ion multiple reaction monitoring mode.The ion channels were detected as tamoxifen m/z 372.0→72.1,endoxifen m/z 374.0→58.2 and diazepam m/z 285→192.9.Results The linearity of tamoxifen and endoxifen were good in the concentration range of 1-500 ng·mL-1(R2=0.999 5)and 0.5-250 ng·mL-1,respectively(R2=0.999 9).The intra-day and inter-day precision of low,medium and high quality control concentrations were all less than 10％.Tamoxifen and endoxifen were stable at low temperature and stable after repeated freeze-thaw.Conclusion The experimental results show that the method meets the requirements of biological sample analysis,and the sample treatment is simple,specific,and can be used for the accurate and rapid determination of tamoxifen and indoloxifen in human plasma.

Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides in the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression.Methods An open,single-arm,multi-center design was adopted in our study.Adult patients with mild and moderate depression who had received acute treatment of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides were enrolled and continue to receive Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules for 24 weeks,the dose remained unchanged during continuation treatment.The remission rate,recurrence rate,recurrence time,and the change from baseline to endpoint of Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA),Clinical Global Impression-Severity(CGI-S)and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale(ASEX)were evaluated.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was reported.Results The scores of HAMD-17 at baseline and after treatment were 6.60±1.87 and 5.85±4.18,scores of HAMA were 6.36±3.02 and 4.93±3.09,scores of CGI-S were 1.49±0.56 and 1.29±0.81,scores of ASEX were 15.92±4.72 and 15.57±5.26,with significant difference(P＜0.05).After continuation treatment,the remission rate was 54.59％(202 cases/370 cases),and the recurrence rate was 6.49％(24 cases/370 cases),the recurrence time was(64.67±42.47)days.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was 15.35％(64 cases/417 cases).Conclusion Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules can be effectively used for the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression,and are well tolerated and safe.

Objective To investigate the effects of medullary differentiation-2(MD-2)in obesity-induced myocardial injury by regulating adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase(AMPK)activity.Methods The obese mice model was established by feeding high-fat feed.The wild-type and MD-2 gene knockout mice were randomly divided into wild-type(WT)-control group(fed normally),WT-model group(fed with high-fat diet),knockout(KO)-control group(fed normally)and KO-model group(fed with high-fat diet)with 8 mice in each group.At week 16,creatine kinase-MB(CK-MB)and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)were measured by reagent kits;the left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)and left ventricular fraction shortening(LVFS)were measured with ultrasonic apparatus;the pathological changes in myocardial tissue were observed by hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining and Masson staining;the protein expression of phosphorylation AMPK(p-AMPK)was measured by Western blot.Results HE staining and Masson staining results revealed significant necrosis and fibrosis of the myocardial tissue in WT-model group,while the degrees of necrosis and fibrosis in KO-model group were significantly reduced.The LVEF values of the WT-control group,WT-model group,KO-control group and KO-model group were(83.98±7.58)％,(52.03±4.91)％,(76.42±3.89)％and(73.71±4.22)％,respectively;the LVFS values of each group were(53.61±8.51)％,(24.56±3.76)％,(48.14±5.00)％and(44.07±3.74)％,respectively;the CK-MB values of each group were(49.83±15.49),(83.75±11.90),(54.03±18.66)and(66.85±12.98)U·L-1,respectively;the LDH values of each group were(12.24±3.20),(27.90±6.10),(13.55±3.55)and(15.53±2.58)U·L-1,respectively;the relative expression levels of p-AMPK in each group were 221.31±88.76,46.29±10.07,148.66±32.02 and 161.49±78.11.Compared with WT-control group,the above indicators in WT-model group,compared with WT-model group,the above indicators in KO-model group,the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion MD-2 mediates high-fat feed induced myocardial injury in obese mice by inhibiting AMPK activity.