The incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) continues to rise, and there are no effective drugs to treat it. The immune microenvironment plays an important role in the development of ICC and is currently a research hotspot. Icaritin (ICA) is an innovative traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. It is considered to have potential immunoregulatory and anti-tumor effects, which is potentially consistent with the understanding of "Fuzheng" in the treatment of tumor in traditional Chinese medicine. However, whether ICA can be used to treat ICC has not been reported. Therefore, in this study, sgp19/kRas, an in situ ICC mouse model with intact immune system, was selected to evaluate the efficacy of ICA in the treatment of ICC in vivo for the first time, and the effects of ICA on the tumor immune microenvironment of ICC mice were analyzed by flow cytometry. This experiment was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Capital Medical University (approval number: AEEI-2023-138). In this study, sgp19/kRas ICC mouse model was treated with oral gavage of 100 mg·kg^-1 ICA. We found that ICA significantly inhibited tumor growth and tumor cell proliferation in the sgp19/kRas ICC mouse model after 3 weeks of treatment. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that ICA treatment markedly reduced the proportion of M2 macrophages and increased the number of CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells. In vitro experiments demonstrated that ICA promoted macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype while inhibiting polarization towards the M2 phenotype. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis suggested that ICA enhanced Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) expression, influencing macrophage nitric oxide metabolism synthesis pathways and receptor-related activities, thereby regulating macrophage polarization. In summary, this study demonstrates that ICA treatment significantly delays tumor progression in sgp19/kRas ICC mouse models. Mechanistically, ICA may achieve its anti-ICC effects by upregulating TLR9 receptor expression levels, promoting macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype, and altering the tumor immune microenvironment.

Objective To construct and identify an organoid model of human placental site trophoblastic tumor(PSTT).Methods The tumor cells were obtained by digesting and separating the PSTT tissues and then embedded in Matrigel.The organoids were cultured in the specific organoid medium.The histological morphology of the organoid model was observed by HE staining and the expression levels of the PSTT specific markers[human placental prolactin(HPL),human leukocyte antigen-G(HLA-G)and placental alkaline phosphatase(PLAP)]were detected by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence,so as to evaluate the consistency between the organoid model and the PSTT tissue.Meanwhile,the morphology and forming efficiency of the constructed model were observed under a microscope after primary culture,passage generation and cryopreservation to evaluate its potential application as an organoid model in basic and clinical translational research of PSTT.Results The constructed organoid model could proliferate stably,growing from small microspheres into compact solid spheres or spheres with follicle-like structures,and could passage after fully grown in 7-10 days.The cell state remained stable after passage,frozen storage and recovery.HE staining showed that the morphology of the cells in the organoids was similar to that of the primary PSTT tumor cells,and immunofluorescence staining showed that the organoids highly expressed HLA-G and lowly expressed β-HCG,indicating that the constructed organoid model mainly contained intermediate trophoblast.Conclusion The adult-derived PSTT organoid(ADPO)models were successfully established.

Objective:The study takes the Youth Research Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) as an example, analyzes the development and management optimization strategy of such research project in a children′s hospital, to provide reference for the training of pediatric young talents.Methods:Personnel interview and questionnaire survey were adopted to analyze the common characteristics of project application and approval, trend of change, demand and bottleneck challenges of the NSFC Youth Research Project from 2016 to 2022.Results:The total number of approved project were increasing while the rate of the bids fluctuated, and the distribution of department, gender and age are not balanced, full-time scientific research personnel, male, young age and other factors have the advantages of being approved. Five influential factors, including scientific research accomplishment, supporting conditions, research foundation, methods & skills, and scientific research atmosphere and environment, were identified as necessary components of getting funded. The survey also founded that two thirds of the needs run through the whole application process that from the topic selection, nurtured seed-funding, team-building and proposal development.Conclusions:This study puts forward a management plan for youth scientific research projects in children′s hospital from three aspects that including hospital, department and individual. The management department should strengthen the transformation from " full application" to " effective application" , at the same time, more attention should be paid to the selection, training and resource allocation to further optimize the training strategy of youth talents.

Objective:This study aims to explore the satisfaction and influencing factors of scientific research incentive mechanisms for young medical staff in a children′s hospital in Beijing, and to provide references for the management department to develop relevant incentive strategies.Methods:A satisfaction questionnaire survey of scientific research incentive mechanisms was carried out during April and May, 2022. Collected data were analyzed by rank sum test and ordered logistic regression.Results:The level of overall satisfaction of 339 young medical staffs was 81.42%. The satisfaction rate of incentive factors was 80.50% and hygiene factors was 77.51%.According to the findings, there were significant differences in educational backgrounds, professional titles and job types, hygiene factors, and incentive factors ( P<0.05). The contributing factors of the job satisfaction were professional title, hygiene factors and incentive factors. Conclusions:The overall satisfaction with the incentive work of the young research staff surveyed was relatively at high-level. It is necessary to improve tailed hygiene factors to meet the characteristics young medical staff, such as setting up full-time scientific research working hours, exploring the establishment of diversified of scientific research sharing mechanisms to increase the utilization of the scientific research platform. It is important to enhance incentive factors to establish a long-term incentive mechanism for young personnel, such as setting up interdisciplinary research projects, exploring the establishment of a recommendation mechanism for outstanding young talents, in order to provide them with more opportunities for further intensive training.

Inner Mongolia autonomous region of China and Mongolia are the primary regions where Chinese and Mongolian medicine and its medicinal plant resources are distributed. In this study, 133 families, 586 genera, and 1 497 species of medicinal plants in Inner Mongolia as well as 62 families, 261 genera, and 467 species of medicinal plants in Mongolia were collected through field investigation, specimen collection and identification, and literature research. And the species, geographic distribution, and influencing factors of the above medicinal plants were analyzed. The results revealed that there were more plant species utilized for medicinal reasons in Inner Mongolia than in Mongolia. Hotspots emerged in Hulunbuir, Chifeng, and Tongliao of Inner Mongolia, while there were several hotspots in Eastern province, Sukhbaatar province, Gobi Altai province, Bayankhongor province, Middle Gobi province, Kobdo province, South Gobi province, and Central province of Mongolia. The interplay of elevation and climate made a non-significant overall contribution to the diversity of plant types in Inner Mongolia and Mongolia. The contribution of each factor increased significantly when the vegetation types of Inner Mongolia and Mongolia were broadly divided into forest, grassland and desert. Thus, the distribution of medicinal plant resources and vegetation cover were jointly influenced by a variety of natural factors such as topography, climate and interactions between species, and these factors contributed to and constrained each other. This study provided reference for sustainable development and rational exploitation of medicinal plant resources in future.
Humans ; Plants, Medicinal ; Mongolia ; Climate ; Medicine, Mongolian Traditional ; China

Carthami Flos, as a traditional blood-activating and stasis-resolving drug, possesses anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory pharmacological activities. Flavonoid glycosides are the main bioactive components in Carthamus tinctorius. Glycosyltransferase deserves to be studied in depth as a downstream modification enzyme in the biosynthesis of active glycoside compounds. This study reported a flavonoid glycosyltransferase CtUGT49 from C. tinctorius based on the transcriptome data, followed by bioinformatic analysis and the investigation of enzymatic properties. The open reading frame(ORF) of the gene was 1 416 bp, encoding 471 amino acid residues with the molecular weight of about 52 kDa. Phylogenetic analysis showed that CtUGT49 belonged to the UGT73 family. According to in vitro enzymatic results, CtUGT49 could catalyze naringenin chalcone to the prunin and choerospondin, and catalyze phloretin to phlorizin and trilobatin, exhibiting good substrate versatility. After the recombinant protein CtUGT49 was obtained by hetero-logous expression and purification, the enzymatic properties of CtUGT49 catalyzing the formation of prunin from naringenin chalcone were investigated. The results showed that the optimal pH value for CtUGT49 catalysis was 7.0, the optimal temperature was 37 ℃, and the highest substrate conversion rate was achieved after 8 h of reaction. The results of enzymatic kinetic parameters showed that the K_m value was 209.90 μmol·L~(-1) and k_(cat) was 48.36 s~(-1) calculated with the method of Michaelis-Menten plot. The discovery of the novel glycosyltransferase CtUGT49 is important for enriching the library of glycosylation tool enzymes and provides a basis for analyzing the glycosylation process of flavonoid glycosides in C. tinctorius.
Carthamus tinctorius/chemistry* ; Phylogeny ; Flavonoids/analysis* ; Glycosides/analysis* ; Glycosyltransferases/genetics* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; Chalcones

OBJECTIVE: To establish a simple, low-cost and time-saving method for primary culture of mature white adipocytes from mice. METHODS: Mature white adipocytes were isolated from the epididymis and perirenal area of mice for primary culture using a modified mature adipocyte culture method or the ceiling culture method. The morphology of the cultured mature adipocytes was observed using Oil Red O staining, and the cell viability was assessed with CCK8 method. The expression of PPARγ protein in the cells was detected with Western blotting, and the mRNA expressions of CD36, FAS, CPT1A and FABP4 were detected using RT-qPCR. RESULTS: Oil Red O staining showed a good and uniform morphology of the adipocytes in primary culture using the modified culture method, while the cells cultured using the ceiling culture method exhibited obvious morphological changes. CCK8 assay showed no significant difference in cell viability between freshly isolated mature white adipocytes and the cells obtained with the modified culture method. Western blotting showed that the freshly isolated adipocytes and the cells cultured for 72 h did not differ significantly in the expression levels of PPARγ protein (P=0.759), which was significantly lowered in response to treatment with GW9662 (P < 0.001). GW9662 treatment of the cells upregulated mRNA expressions of CD36 (P < 0.001) and CPT1A (P=0.003) and down-regulated those of FAS (P=0.001) and FABP4 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION We established a convenient and time-saving method for primary culture mature white adipocytes from mice to facilitate further functional studies of mature adipocytes.
Male ; Mice ; Animals ; Adipocytes, White/metabolism* ; PPAR gamma/metabolism* ; RNA, Messenger ; Cell Differentiation ; 3T3-L1 Cells

Objective: To investigate the influencing factors of HBV intrauterine transmission and their interaction effects by integrating logistic regression model and Chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID) decision tree model. Methods: A total of 689 pairs of HBsAg-positive mothers and their neonates in the obstetrics department of the Third People's Hospital of Taiyuan from 2007 to 2013 were enrolled, and the basic information of mothers and their neonates were obtained by questionnaire survey and medical record review, such as the general demographic characteristics, gestational week and delivery mode. HBV DNA and HBV serological markers of the mothers and newborns were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay respectively. The CHAID decision tree model and unconditional logistic regression analysis were used to explore the factors influencing HBV intrauterine transmission in neonates of HBsAg-positive mothers. Results: Among the 689 neonates, the incidence of HBV intrauterine transmission was 11.47% (79/689). After adjusted for confounding factors, the first and second logistic multivariate analysis showed that cesarean delivery was a protective factor for HBV intrauterine transmission (OR=0.25, 95%CI: 0.14-0.43; OR=0.27, 95%CI: 0.15-0.46); both models indicated that maternal HBeAg positivity and HBV DNA load ≥2×10⁵ IU/ml before delivery were risk factors of HBV intrauterine transmission (OR=3.89, 95%CI: 2.32-6.51; OR=3.48, 95%CI: 2.12-5.71), respectively. The CHAID decision tree model screened three significant factors influencing HBV intrauterine transmission, the most significant one was maternal HBeAg status, followed by delivery mode and maternal HBV DNA load. There were interactions between maternal HBeAg status and delivery modes, as well as delivery mode and maternal HBV DNA load before delivery. The rate of HBV intrauterine transmission in newborns of HBeAg-positive mothers by vaginal delivery increased from 19.08% to 29.37%; among HBeAg-positive mothers with HBV DNA ≥2×10⁵ IU/ml, the rate of HBV intrauterine transmission increased to 33.33% in the newborns by vaginal delivery. Conclusions: Maternal HBeAg positivity,maternal HBV DNA ≥2×10⁵ IU/ml and vaginal delivery could be risk factors for HBV intrauterine transmission in newborns. Interaction effects were found between maternal HBeAg positivity and vaginal delivery, as well as vaginal delivery and high maternal HBV DNA load. Logistic regression model and the CHAID decision tree model can be used in conjunction to identify the high-risk populations and develop preventive strategies accurately.
DNA, Viral/genetics* ; Decision Trees ; Female ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical ; Logistic Models ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology*

Objective: To investigate the type, length, and CG loci of HBV DNA CpG islands in HBsAg positive maternal C genotype and its relationship with intrauterine HBV transmission, so as to provide a new perspective for the study of intrauterine transmission of HBV. Methods: From June 2011 to July 2013, HBsAg-positive mothers and their newborns who delivered in the obstetrics and gynecology department of the Third People's Hospital of Taiyuan were collected. Epidemiological data were collected through face-to-face questionnaires and electronic medical records. Serum HBV markers and serum HBV DNA were detected by electrochemiluminescence and quantitative fluorescence PCR, respectively. Intrauterine transmission of HBV was determined by positive HBsAg and/or HBV DNA in femoral venous blood before injection of HBV vaccine/Hepatitis B immunoglobulin within 24 h of birth. A total of 22 mothers and their newborns with HBV DNA load ≥10⁶ IU/ml in intrauterine transmission were selected as the intrauterine transmission group, and 22 mothers with HBV DNA load ≥10⁶ IU/ml without intrauterine transmission were chosen as the control group by random seed method. The distribution prediction of CpG islands of HBV DNA in 39 mothers with genotype C by HBV DNA sequencing was analyzed. Results: Among 39 mothers with HBV C genotype, 19 were in the intrauterine transmission group, and 20 were in the control group. The HBV DNA of 39 patients with genotype C traditional CpG island Ⅱ and Ⅲ, while the control group had traditional CpG island Ⅰ and novel CpG island Ⅳ and Ⅴ. The length of CpG island Ⅱ and Ⅲ and the number of CG loci of CpG island Ⅱ in the intrauterine transmission group differed from those in the control group (P<0.05). The CpG island Ⅱ length ≥518 bp and the number of CG loci ≥40 in the intrauterine transmission group (11/19) were significantly higher than those in the control group (2/20) (P<0.05). The length of CpG island Ⅱ and the number of CG loci in the X gene promoter region (Xp region) were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). In the HBV intrauterine transmission group, most of maternal (12/19) HBV DNA CpG island Ⅱ completely covered the Xp region, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (5/20), and the number of HBV DNA Xp region CG loci was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusions: The distribution of maternal C genotype HBV DNA CpG islands is related to intrauterine transmission. The length of CpG island Ⅱ and the number of CG sites may increase the risk of intrauterine transmission of HBV.
Biomarkers ; CpG Islands ; DNA, Viral/genetics* ; Female ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious

Animals ; Schistosoma japonicum ; Colitis, Ulcerative