1.Effect and mechanism of compatibility of Astragali Radix-Puerariae Lobatae Radix on ferroptosis in T2DM insulin resistance rats
Shuang WEI ; Feng HAO ; Wenchun ZHANG ; Zhangyang ZHAO ; Ji LI ; Dongwei HAN ; Huan XING
China Pharmacy 2025;36(1):57-63
OBJECTIVE To explore the effect and potential mechanism of the compatibility of Astragali Radix-Puerariae Lobatae Radix on ferroptosis of liver cells in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) insulin resistance (IR) rats. METHODS Sixty male SD rats were randomly divided into control group (12 rats) and modeling group (48 rats). The modeling group was fed with a high- fat diet for 4 consecutive weeks and then given a one-time tail vein injection of 1% streptozotocin to establish T2DM IR model. The model rats were randomly divided into model group, the compatibility of Astragali Radix-Puerariae Lobatae Radix group [QG group, 4.05 g/(kg·d), intragastric administration], ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 group [Fer-1 group, 5 mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection, once every other day], the compatibility of Astragali Radix-Puerariae Lobatae Radix+ferroptosis inducer erastin group [QG+erastin group, 4.05 g/(kg·d) by intragastric administration+erastin 10 mg/(kg·d), intraperitoneal injection]. After 4 weeks of intervention, serum fasting blood glucose (FBG) and fasting insulin (FINS) were measured in each group of rats, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and the natural logarithm of insulin action index(IAI) were calculated; the serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT), Fe2+ and Fe content, glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, NADP+/NADPH ratio and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined. The pathological morphology of its liver tissue was observed; the protein expressions of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1), long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 3 (ACSL3), ACSL4, ferritin mitochondrial (FTMT), and cystine/glutamate anti-porter (xCT) in the liver tissue of rats were detected. RESULTS Compared with control group, the liver cells in the model group of rats showed disordered arrangement, swelling, deepened nuclear staining, and more infiltration of inflammatory cells, as well as a large number of hepatocyte vacuoles and steatosis; FBG (after medication), the levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, AST, ALT, FINS, MDA and ROS, HOMA-IR, Fe2+ and Fe content, NADP+/NADPH ratio and protein expression of ACSL4 were significantly increased or up-regulated, while the levels of HDL-C, GSH and SOD, IAI, protein expressions of GPX4, FTH1, ACSL3, FTMT and xCT were significantly reduced or down-regulated (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, both QG group and Fer-1 group showed varying degrees of improvement in pathological damage of liver tissue and the levels of the above indicators, the differences in the changes of most indicators were statistically significant (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Compared with QG group, the improvement of the above indexes of QG+erastin group had been reversed significantly (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS The compatibility decoction of Astragali Radix-Puerariae Lobatae Radix can reduce the level of FBG in T2DM IR rats, and alleviate IR degree, ion overload and pathological damage of liver tissue. The above effects are related to the inhibition of ferroptosis.
2.Correlation between brain white matter lesions and insulin resistance in non-diabetic elderly individuals based on magnetic resonance imaging
Mei LI ; Fang YUAN ; Xizi XING ; Feng XIE ; Hua ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Radiological Health 2025;34(1):96-101
Objective To investigate the relationship between brain white matter lesions (WML) and triglyceride glucose (TyG) index in non-diabetic elderly individuals based on magnetic resonance imaging. Methods A total of 523 non-diabetic elderly individuals aged ≥ 60 years were selected from Jinan, Shandong Province, China from June 2018 to December 2019. According to the quartiles of TyG index, there were 133 participants in the first quartile (Q1) group, 127 in the second quartile (Q2) group, 132 in the third quartile (Q3) group, and 131 in the fourth quartile (Q4) group. All participants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate paraventricular, deep, and total WML volumes, as well as Fazekas scores. Results Compared with Q1, Q2, and Q3 groups, Q4 group showed significant increase in periventricular, deep, and total WML volumes (P < 0.05). The proportion of participants with a Fazekas score ≥ 2 in the periventricular, deep, and total WML was higher in the Q4 group compared with the Q1 and Q2 groups (P < 0.05). The proportion of participants with a Fazekas score ≥ 2 in deep WML was higher in Q4 group than in Q3 group (P < 0.05). TyG index was significantly positively correlated with periventricular, deep, and total WML volumes (r = 0.401, 0.405, and 0.445, P < 0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors, TyG index was still significantly positively correlated with periventricular, deep, and total WML volumes (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that compared with Q1 group, the risk of Fazekas score ≥ 2 in periventricular WML was 1.950-fold (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.154-3.294, P = 0.013) in Q3 group and 3.411-fold (95% CI: 1.984-5.863, P < 0.001) in Q4 group, the risk of Fazekas score ≥ 2 in total WML was 2.529-fold (95%CI: 1.444-4.430, P = 0.001) in Q3 group and 4.486-fold (95%CI: 2.314-8.696, P < 0.001) in Q4 group. The risk of Fazekas score ≥ 2 in deep WML was 2.953-fold (95%CI: 1.708-5.106, P < 0.001) in Q4 group compared with Q1 group. Conclusion Increased TyG index is an independent risk factor for WML in non-diabetic elderly individuals.
3.Status of Clinical Practice Guideline Information Platforms
Xueqin ZHANG ; Yun ZHAO ; Jie LIU ; Long GE ; Ying XING ; Simeng REN ; Yifei WANG ; Wenzheng ZHANG ; Di ZHANG ; Shihua WANG ; Yao SUN ; Min WU ; Lin FENG ; Tiancai WEN
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2025;16(2):462-471
Clinical practice guidelines represent the best recommendations for patient care. They are developed through systematically reviewing currently available clinical evidence and weighing the relative benefits and risks of various interventions. However, clinical practice guidelines have to go through a long translation cycle from development and revision to clinical promotion and application, facing problems such as scattered distribution, high duplication rate, and low actual utilization. At present, the clinical practice guideline information platform can directly or indirectly solve the problems related to the lengthy revision cycles, decentralized dissemination and limited application of clinical practice guidelines. Therefore, this paper systematically examines different types of clinical practice guideline information platforms and investigates their corresponding challenges and emerging trends in platform design, data integration, and practical implementation, with the aim of clarifying the current status of this field and providing valuable reference for future research on clinical practice guideline information platforms.
4.Establishment and stress analysis of a finite element model for adolescent cervical disc herniation
Yuxin ZHAO ; Liang LIANG ; Feng JIN ; Yangyang XU ; Zhijie KANG ; Yuan FANG ; Yujie HE ; Xing WANG ; Haiyan WANG ; Xiaohe LI
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2025;29(3):448-454
BACKGROUND:Cervical disc herniation can cause pain in the neck and shoulder area,as well as radiating pain in the upper limbs.The incidence rate is increasing year by year and tends to affect younger individuals.Fully understanding the biomechanical characteristics of the cervical spine in adolescents is of great significance for preventing and delaying the onset of cervical disc herniation in this age group. OBJECTIVE:To reconstruct cervical spine models for both healthy adolescents and adolescent patients with cervical disc herniation utilizing finite element analysis techniques,to analyze the motion range of the C1-T1 cervical vertebrae as well as the biomechanical characteristics of the annulus fibrosus,nucleus pulposus,endplates,and the cartilage of the small joints. METHODS:A normal adolescent's cervical spine and an adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation were selected in this study.The continuous scan cervical spine CT raw image data were imported into Mimics 21.0 in DICOM format.The C1-T1 vertebrae were reconstructed separately.Subsequently,the established models were imported into the 3-Matic software for disc reconstruction.The perfected models were then imported into Hypermesh software for meshing of the vertebrae,nucleus pulposus,annulus fibrosus,and ligaments,creating valid geometric models.After assigning material properties,the final models were imported into ABAQUS software to observe the joint motion range of the C1-C7 cervical vertebrae segments under different conditions,and to analyze the biomechanical characteristics of the annulus fibrosus,nucleus pulposus,endplates,and small joint cartilage of each cervical spine segment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)In six different conditions,the joint motion range of the C1 vertebra in the cervical spine models of both normal adolescent and adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation was higher than that of the other vertebrae.Additionally,the joint motion range of each cervical spine segment in normal adolescent was greater than that in adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation.(2)In the cervical spine model of normal adolescent,the maximum stress values in the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus were found on the left side during C2-3 flexion conditions(0.43 MPa and 0.17 MPa,respectively).In the cervical spine model of adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation,the maximum stress values were found on the left side during C7-T1 flexion conditions(0.54 MPa and 0.18 MPa,respectively).(3)In the cervical spine model of normal adolescent,the maximum stress value on the endplate was found on the left side of the upper endplate of C3 during flexion conditions(1.46 MPa).In the model of adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation,the maximum stress value on the endplate was found on the left side of the lower endplate of C7 during flexion conditions(1.32 MPa).(4)In the cervical spine model of normal adolescent,the maximum stress value in the small joint cartilage was found in the C2-3 left rotation conditions(0.98 MPa).In adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation,the stress in the small joint cartilage significantly increased under different conditions,especially in C1-2,with the maximum stress found during left flexion(3.50 MPa).(5)It is concluded that compared to normal adolescent,adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation exhibits altered cervical curvature and a decrease in overall joint motion range in the cervical spine.In adolescent with cervical disc herniation,there is a significant increase in stress on the annulus fibrosus,nucleus pulposus,and endplates in the C7-T1 segment.The stress on the left articular cartilage of the C1-2 is notable.Abnormal cervical curvature may be the primary factor causing these stress changes.
5.Lactate Transferase Function of Alanyl-transfer t-RNA Synthetase and Its Relationship With Exercise
Ying-Ying SUN ; Zheng XING ; Feng-Yi LI ; Jing ZHANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(6):1337-1348
Lactylation (Kla), a protein post-translational modification characterized by the covalent conjugation of lactyl groups to lysine residues in proteins, is widely present in living organisms. Since its discovery in 2019, it has attracted much attention for its role in regulating major pathological processes such as tumorigenesis, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. By mediating core biological processes such as signal transduction, epigenetic regulation, and metabolic homeostasis, lactylation contributes to disease progression. However, the lactylation donor lactyl-CoA has a low intracellular concentration, and the specific enzyme catalyzing lactylation is not yet clear, which has become an urgent issue in lactate research. A groundbreaking study in 2024 found that alanyl-transfer t-RNA synthetase 1/2 (AARS1/2), members of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) family, can act as protein lysine lactate transferases, modifying histones and metabolic enzymes directly with lactate as a substrate, without relying on the classical substrate lactyl-CoA, promoting a new stage in lactate research. Although exercise significantly increases lactate levels in the body and can induce changes in lactylation in multiple tissues and cells, the regulation of lactylation by exercise is not entirely consistent with lactate levels. Research has found that high-intensity exercise can induce upregulation of lactate at 37 lysine sites in 25 proteins of adipose tissue, while leading to downregulation of lactate at 27 lysine sites in 22 proteins. The level of lactate is not the only factor regulating lactylation through exercise. We speculate that the lactate transferase AARS1/2 play an important role in the process of lactylation regulated by exercise, and AARS1/2 should also be regulated by exercise. This review introduces the molecular biology characteristics, subcellular localization, and multifaceted biological functions of AARS, including its canonical roles in alanylation and editing, as well as its newly identified lactate transferase activity. We detail the discovery of AARS1/2 as lactylation catalysts and the specific process of them as lactate transferases catalyzing protein lactylation. Furthermore, we discuss the pathophysiological significance of AARS in tumorigenesis, immune dysregulation, and neuropathy, with a focus on exploring the expression regulation and possible mechanisms of AARS through exercise. The expression of AARS in skeletal muscle regulated by exercise is related to exercise time and muscle fiber type; the skeletal muscle AARS2 upregulated by long-term and high-intensity exercise catalyzes the lactylation of key metabolic enzymes such as pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha subunit (PDHA1) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 (CPT2), reducing exercise capacity and providing exercise protection; physiological hypoxia caused by exercise significantly reduces the ubiquitination degradation of AARS2 by inhibiting its hydroxylation, thereby maintaining high levels of AARS2 protein and exerting lactate transferase function; exercise induced lactate production can promote the translocation of AARS1 cytoplasm to the nucleus, exert lactate transferase function upon nuclear entry, regulate histone lactylation, and participate in gene expression regulation; exercise induced lactate production promotes direct interactions between AARS and star molecules such as p53 and cGAS, and is widely involved in the occurrence and development of tumors and immune diseases. Elucidating the regulatory mechanism of exercise on AARS can provide new ideas for improving metabolic diseases and promote health through exercise.
6.Effect of bioinformatics infrared liver disease therapeutic instrument on hepatic blood supply and liver fibrosis in patients with liver cirrhosis
Feng XING ; Lieming XU ; Changqing ZHAO
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(9):1829-1836
ObjectivesTo investigate the effect of the Bioinformatics Infrared Liver Therapeutic (BILT) instrument on portal vein blood flow, liver stiffness, and spleen stiffness in patients with liver cirrhosis, and to preliminarily explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of the BILT instrument. MethodsA total of 78 patients with compensated liver cirrhosis who attended the outpatient service or were hospitalized in Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from October 2017 to December 2021 were enrolled, among whom 68 patients completed the 12-week treatment and were randomly divided into BILT group and simulated instrument group, with 34 patients in each group. In addition to basic treatment, the patients in the BILT group received irradiation with the BILT instrument, while those in the simulated instrument group received irradiation with the simulated instrument, for 30 minutes each time, twice a day; the course of treatment was 12 weeks for both groups. The two groups were compared in terms of laboratory markers (liver function, renal function, and routine blood test results), liver and spleen ultrasound morphology, color Doppler blood flow detection (portal vein diameter, portal vein cross-sectional area, mean portal vein velocity, peak portal vein velocity, and mean portal vein flow), and liver/spleen stiffness measurement before and after treatment. The independent samples t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The paired samples correlation test was performed for the data before and after treatment within each group, and the paired samples t-test or the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed for data with significant correlations. ResultsThe paired samples correlation test showed no correlation in spleen attenuation parameter before and after treatment, suggesting that the results of spleen fat measured by FibroTouch could not be used for statistical analysis. After 12 weeks of treatment, compared with the control group, the treatment group had significantly greater increases in portal vein diameter, portal vein cross-sectional area, and mean portal vein flow and a significantly greater reduction in liver stiffness measurement (all P0.05). At week 0 before treatment and after 12 weeks of treatment, comparison of the immediate effect after 30 minutes of BILT irradiation showed that the treatment group had significant increases in portal vein diameter, portal vein cross-sectional area, mean portal vein velocity, and mean portal vein flow (all P0.05), while the control group showed no significant changes after irradiation (all P0.05); compared with the control group, the treatment group had significantly greater changes in all indicators except peak portal vein flow at week 0 (all P0.05). No adverse events were observed in either group. ConclusionThe BILT instrument can improve portal vein blood flow in the liver and alleviate liver stiffness/fibrosis in patients with liver cirrhosis.
7.Impact of Wenyang lishui formula on ventricular remodeling in rats with pulmonary hypertension-induced right heart failure
Sijian FENG ; Yan HUANG ; Aimin XING ; Mei YUAN ; Yafang LIU ; Weiming WANG
China Pharmacy 2025;36(20):2531-2536
OBJECTIVE To discuss the impact of Wenyang lishui formula on ventricular remodeling in rats with pulmonary hypertension-induced right heart failure (RHF) based on the Hippo/Yes-associated protein (YAP) signaling pathway. METHODS Ten rats were randomly selected as the control group. The remaining 63 rats were given a single intraperitoneal injection of monocrotaline to establish the pulmonary hypertension-induced RHF model. The 50 rats that successfully underwent the model establishment were randomly divided into the RHF group, low-dose group of Wenyang lishui formula (4.25 g/kg), high-dose group of the Wenyang lishui formula (17.00 g/kg), furosemide group (20 mg/kg), and high-dose group of Wenyang lishui formula+ Hippo/YAP signaling pathway activator group (17.00 g/kg of Δ Wenyang lishui formula+16 mg/kg of PY-60), with 10 rats in each group. The rats in each group were given the corresponding drug solution or normal saline by gavage or/andtail vein injection, once a day, for 4 consecutive weeks. During the experiment, the general conditions of the rats in each group were observed; after the last administration, the right ventricular diameter, right atrial diameter, end-diastolic volume, pulmonary artery blood flow acceleration time (PAAT) and its ratio to ejection time (ET) (PAAT/ET), pulmonary artery pressure and its ratio to pulmonary arterial flow velocity (pulmonary artery pressure/velocity) were measured. The plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide and angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang Ⅱ) were detected. The pathological changes of the right ventricular tissue were observed, and the collagen volume fraction, the phosphorylation levels of the large tumor suppressor 1/2 (LATS1/2) and YAP, and the protein expression of the transcriptional coactivator of PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) were also detected. RESULTS Compared with the RHF group, the rats in Wenyang lishui formula low-dose and high-dose groups showed improved hair color, movement, diet, and mental state. The atrophy of right ventricular myocardial cells, the increase of inflammatory cells, collagen deposition, and hypertrophy of myocardial fibers were significantly alleviated. The right ventricular internal diameter, right atrial internal diameter, end-diastolic volume, pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary artery pressure/velocity, the plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide and AngⅡ , collagen volume fraction, the phosphorylation level of YAP and protein expression of TAZ were significantly decreased, while the PAAT, PAAT/ET and the phosphorylation level of LATS1/2 were significantly increased (P<0.05). PY-60 could significantly reverse the improvement effects of high-dose Wenyang lishui formula on the above quantitative indicators (P< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Wenyang lishui formula can restore the right heart function of pulmonary hypertension-induced RHF rats, reduce their pulmonary artery pressure, alleviate the pathological changes in their cardiac tissues, and the above effects may be related to the activation of Hippo expression and the inhibition of YAP phosphorylation.
8.Development and prospects of predicting drug polymorphs technology
Mei GUO ; Wen-xing DING ; Bo PENG ; Jin-feng LIU ; Yi-fei SU ; Bin ZHU ; Guo-bin REN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(1):76-83
Most chemical medicines have polymorphs. The difference of medicine polymorphs in physicochemical properties directly affects the stability, efficacy, and safety of solid medicine products. Polymorphs is incomparably important to pharmaceutical chemistry, manufacturing, and control. Meantime polymorphs is a key factor for the quality of high-end drug and formulations. Polymorph prediction technology can effectively guide screening of trial experiments, and reduce the risk of missing stable crystal form in the traditional experiment. Polymorph prediction technology was firstly based on theoretical calculations such as quantum mechanics and computational chemistry, and then was developed by the key technology of machine learning using the artificial intelligence. Nowadays, the popular trend is to combine the advantages of theoretical calculation and machine learning to jointly predict crystal structure. Recently, predicting medicine polymorphs has still been a challenging problem. It is expected to learn from and integrate existing technologies to predict medicine polymorphs more accurately and efficiently.
10.Fangji Fuling Decoction Alleviates Sepsis by Blocking MAPK14/FOXO3A Signaling Pathway.
Yi WANG ; Ming-Qi CHEN ; Lin-Feng DAI ; Hai-Dong ZHANG ; Xing WANG
Chinese journal of integrative medicine 2024;30(3):230-242
OBJECTIVE:
To examine the therapeutic effect of Fangji Fuling Decoction (FFD) on sepsis through network pharmacological analysis combined with in vitro and in vivo experiments.
METHODS:
A sepsis mouse model was constructed through intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS). RAW264.7 cells were stimulated by 250 ng/mL LPS to establish an in vitro cell model. Network pharmacology analysis identified the key molecular pathway associated with FFD in sepsis. Through ectopic expression and depletion experiments, the effect of FFD on multiple organ damage in septic mice, as well as on cell proliferation and apoptosis in relation to the mitogen-activated protein kinase 14/Forkhead Box O 3A (MAPK14/FOXO3A) signaling pathway, was analyzed.
RESULTS:
FFD reduced organ damage and inflammation in LPS-induced septic mice and suppressed LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis and inflammation in vitro (P<0.05). Network pharmacology analysis showed that FFD could regulate the MAPK14/FOXO signaling pathway during sepsis. As confirmed by in vitro cell experiments, FFD inhibited the MAPK14 signaling pathway or FOXO3A expression to relieve LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis and inflammation (P<0.05). Furthermore, FFD inhibited the MAPK14/FOXO3A signaling pathway to inhibit LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis in the lung tissue of septic mice (P<0.05).
CONCLUSION
FFD could ameliorate the LPS-induced inflammatory response in septic mice by inhibiting the MAPK14/FOXO3A signaling pathway.
Mice
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Animals
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Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14/metabolism*
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Wolfiporia
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Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology*
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Sepsis/complications*
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Signal Transduction
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Inflammation/drug therapy*
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Oxygen Radioisotopes

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