ObjectiveTo explore the regulatory effect and mechanism of Danggui Shaoyaosan combined with Yinchenhaotang on lipid metabolism in the mouse model of type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） complicated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease （MASLD） based on network pharmacology and animal experiments. MethodsTwenty-four MKR transgenic diabetic mice were randomly allocated into 4 groups： Model， low-dose （12.6 g·kg^-1） Chinese medicine （concentrated decoction of Danggui Shaoyaosan combined with Yinchenhaotang）， high-dose （25.2 g·kg^-1） Chinese medicine， and Western medicine （metformin， 0.065 g·kg^-1）. Six FVB mice were used as the normal group. All groups were treated for 6 consecutive weeks. The mice in the drug treatment groups were administrated with corresponding agents by gavage， and those in the normal group and model group received the same volume of distilled water. Fasting blood glucose， body weight， liver weight， glucose tolerance， liver function indicators， blood lipid levels， and pathological changes in the liver were evaluated for each group. Network pharmacology was employed to analyze the targets and pathways of Danggui Shaoyaosan combined with Yinchenhaotang in the treatment of T2DM complicated with MASLD. Molecular biological techniques were used to verify the enriched key targets. ResultsCompared with the model group， each treatment group showed reduced fasting blood glucose， body weight， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， and liver weight （P<0.01）. The high-dose Chinese medicine group was superior to the low-dose group in reducing low-density lipoprotein （LDL）， increasing high-density lipoprotein （HDL）， and recovering glucose tolerance （AUC） and ALT （P<0.05）， with the effect similar to that of the Western medicine group. Morphologically， Chinese medicine groups showed reduced lipid accumulation and alleviated pathological damage in the liver tissue， with the high-dose group demonstrating more significant changes. Network pharmacology results showed that Danggui Shaoyaosan combined with Yinchenhaotang may exert therapeutic effects through multiple targets such as fatty acid synthase （FAS）， acetyl-CoA carboxylase （ACC）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， MYC oncogene （MYC）， and interleukin-1β （IL-1β）. Western blot showed that compared with the model group， the treatment groups demonstrated down-regulated protein levels of FAS and ACC （P<0.01） and up-regulated protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α （PGC-1α） and UCP1 （P<0.01）. Compared with the low-dose Chinese medicine group， the high-dose Chinese medicine group exhibited down-regulated protein levels of FAS and ACC and up-regulated protein levels of PGC-1α and UCP1 （P<0.05）. ConclusionDanggui Shaoyaosan combined with Yinchenhaotang has the effect of ameliorating T2DM complicated with MASLD and can improve the liver lipid metabolism by up-regulating the protein levels of Fas and ACC and down-regulating the protein levels of PGC-1α and UCP1.

Based on the etiology and clinical diagnostic criteria of type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM）， identification and typing of treatment from the perspective of traditional Chinese and western medicine， the criteria for evaluating the clinical compatibility of traditional Chinese and western medicine in animal models of T2DM were set up. The literature was reviewed to sort out and analyze the existing commonly used modeling methods， summarize the mechanism， compare the advantages and disadvantages， and calculate the consistency between the animal model and the clinical symptoms， syndromes， and indicators from the perspective of traditional Chinese and western medicine. The authors found that spontaneous animal models and high-fat diets combined with multiple low-dose streptozotocin （STZ） induction models were more in line with modern medical pathogenesis of T2DM. However， it fails to form some special syndromes required for traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） research. In addition， there are many methods of combining the etiology and pathogenesis of TCM， which can be divided into three categories： intervention carried out by drug administration， behavioral stimulation， or environmental changes according to TCM， or use of hormones according to clinical evidence and combination of the two methods mentioned above. All of them can successfully establish different types of animal models. However， different methods of establishing syndrome models have their own advantages and disadvantages， and there is no unified standard for the stability and evaluation of syndrome models. As for the clinical consistency criteria of traditional Chinese and western medicine established in this paper， the animal model with 100% consistency has not been calculated due to the conditions of incomplete symptoms and syndromes described in the studies and different selection indicators. Consequently， the establishment of a simple， easy-to-use， and affordable T2DM animal model with both traditional Chinese and western medicine disease characteristics and the improvement of the Chinese and western medicine evaluation system for different evidence types are of great significance for the future development of TCM research on T2DM.

Based on the etiology and clinical diagnostic criteria of type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM）， identification and typing of treatment from the perspective of traditional Chinese and western medicine， the criteria for evaluating the clinical compatibility of traditional Chinese and western medicine in animal models of T2DM were set up. The literature was reviewed to sort out and analyze the existing commonly used modeling methods， summarize the mechanism， compare the advantages and disadvantages， and calculate the consistency between the animal model and the clinical symptoms， syndromes， and indicators from the perspective of traditional Chinese and western medicine. The authors found that spontaneous animal models and high-fat diets combined with multiple low-dose streptozotocin （STZ） induction models were more in line with modern medical pathogenesis of T2DM. However， it fails to form some special syndromes required for traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） research. In addition， there are many methods of combining the etiology and pathogenesis of TCM， which can be divided into three categories： intervention carried out by drug administration， behavioral stimulation， or environmental changes according to TCM， or use of hormones according to clinical evidence and combination of the two methods mentioned above. All of them can successfully establish different types of animal models. However， different methods of establishing syndrome models have their own advantages and disadvantages， and there is no unified standard for the stability and evaluation of syndrome models. As for the clinical consistency criteria of traditional Chinese and western medicine established in this paper， the animal model with 100% consistency has not been calculated due to the conditions of incomplete symptoms and syndromes described in the studies and different selection indicators. Consequently， the establishment of a simple， easy-to-use， and affordable T2DM animal model with both traditional Chinese and western medicine disease characteristics and the improvement of the Chinese and western medicine evaluation system for different evidence types are of great significance for the future development of TCM research on T2DM.

BACKGROUND:Indolepropionic acid has been shown to reduce diabetes-induced central nervous system inflammation.However,there is a lack of research on whether to inhibit microglia M1 polarization for the treatment of spinal cord injury. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the mechanism of indolepropionic acid inhibition of microglial cell M1 polarization for the treatment of spinal cord injury through cell and animal experiments. METHODS:(1)In vitro experiments:BV2 cell viability was assessed using the CCK-8 assay to determine optimal concentrations of indolepropionic acid.Subsequently,BV2 cells were categorized into control group,administration group(50 μmol/L indolepropionic acid),lipopolysaccharide group(100 ng/mL lipopolysaccharide),and treatment group(100 ng/mL lipopolysaccharide + 50 μmol/L indolepropionic acid).Nitric oxide content was quantified using the Griess method.Real-time quantitative PCR and western blot assay were employed to measure mRNA and protein levels of pro-inflammatory factors.Cell immunofluorescence staining was conducted to assess inducible nitric oxide synthase expression.The Seahorse assay was employed to assess glycolytic stress levels in BV2 cells.(2)In vivo experiments:30 SD rats were randomly divided into three groups:sham surgery group,spinal cord injury group,and indolepropionic acid group.Motor function recovery in rats after spinal cord injury was assessed using BBB scoring and the inclined plane test.Immunofluorescence staining of spinal cord tissue was conducted to evaluate the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in microglial cells.ELISA was employed to measure protein expression levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α in spinal cord tissue. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)In vitro experiments:Indolepropionic acid exhibited significant suppression of BV2 cell viability when its concentration exceeded 50 μmol/L.Indolepropionic acid achieved this by inhibiting the activation of the nuclear factor κB signaling pathway,thereby suppressing the mRNA and protein expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines(interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α),as well as the M1 polarization marker,inducible nitric oxide synthase,in BV2 cells.Additionally,indolepropionic acid notably reduced the glycolytic level in BV2 cells induced by lipopolysaccharides.(2)In vivo experiments:Following indolepropionic acid intervention in spinal cord injury rats,there was a noticeable increase in BBB scores and the inclined plane test angle.There was also a significant decrease in the number of M1-polarized microglial cells in spinal cord tissue,accompanied by a marked reduction in the protein expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines(interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α).(3)These results conclude that indolepropionic acid promotes functional recovery after spinal cord injury by improving the inflammatory microenvironment through inhibition of microglia M1 polarization.

BACKGROUND:The number of hip fracture patients with dementia is increasing with an aging population,posing challenges for surgical treatment. OBJECTIVE:To determine the effect of dementia on postoperative complications in older patients with hip fractures. METHODS:Patients aged over 60 years old with hip fractures from 2000 to 2019 at Chinese PLA General Hospital were included.Dementia patients with a preexisting diagnosis of dementia at admission were identified.Each dementia patient was matched,for age±5 years,gender,and fracture type with 10 non-dementia patients.The differences in postoperative complications were compared between the two groups,including pneumonia,respiratory failure,gastrointestinal bleeding,urinary tract infection,surgical site infection,deep venous thrombosis,pulmonary embolism,angina pectoris,arrhythmia,heart failure,myocardial infarction,stroke,and death.The impact of dementia on major complications was evaluated using multivariate conditional logistic regression. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A total of 2 887 patients were included,of whom 125(4.3%)were dementia patients and matched with 1 243 non-dementia patients.The average age of dementia patients was(80.6±7.4)years;64.8%were female;53.6%were intertrochanteric fractures,and 46.4%were femoral neck fractures.Major complications occurred in 25(20.0%)patients with dementia and 123(9.9%)patients without dementia(P<0.01).The risk of major complications was 200.0 per 1 000 persons(95%CI,139.3-278.6)in dementia patients and 99.0 per 1 000 persons(95%CI,83.6-116.9)in non-dementia patients.Multivariate conditional logistic regression showed that a 2-fold risk of major postoperative complications after hip fracture surgery was found in dementia patients than in those without dementia(adjusted OR,2.11;95%CI,1.08-4.10).The results show that dementia is an independent risk factor for postoperative complications in elderly patients with hip fractures.Appropriate preoperative risk assessment and corresponding preventive and therapeutic measures should be given to this vulnerable population to mitigate postoperative complications.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of morin-induced autophagy in non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells based on mTOR/STAT3 signaling axis.Methods A549 cells were divided into blank group and 30,60,90,120 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups.After 24,48 and 72 hours of culture,the cell proliferation activity was detected by CCK-8 method,and the cell inhibition rate was calculated.A549 cells were divided into blank group and 30,90,150 μg·mL-1 morin groups.After 14 days of culture,the cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay.After 24 hours of culture,the cell proliferation ability was detected by BeyoClickTM EdU-488.Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry;acridine orange staining was used to detect cell autophagy;the formation of autophagosomes was observed by transmission electron microscopy.Western Blot was used to detect the expression levels of apoptosis,autophagy and mTOR/STAT3 signaling axis-related proteins in cells.A549 cells were divided into blank group,blank group + chloroquine(10 μg·mL-1)group,morin(30,150 μg·mL-1)group,morin(30,150 μg·mL-1)+ chloroquine(10 μg·mL-1)group.After 48 hours of intervention,the cell activity was detected by CCK-8 method,and the cell survival rate was calculated.Results Compared with the blank group,the inhibition rate of A549 cells in 60,90,120,150 μ g·mL-1 of morin group was significantly increased after 24 hours of intervention(P＜0.05,P＜0.001).The inhibition rates of A549 cells in 30,60,90,120 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups were significantly increased after 48 and 72 hours of intervention(P＜0.001).The number of A549 cell colonies and the number of green fluorescent proliferation positive cells in the 30,90,150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups were significantly decreased(P＜0.01,P＜0.001),the apoptosis rate was significantly increased(P＜0.01,P＜0.001),and the protein expression level of cleaved-PARP was significantly increased(P＜0.001).The protein expression levels of p-P38/P38 MAPK in A549 cells of 90 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups were significantly increased(P＜0.01,P＜0.001).Different degrees of orange fluorescence appeared in A549 cells of 30,90 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups,and the orange fluorescence of 90 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups was significant.Autophagosomes and autolysosomes appeared in the cytoplasm of A549 cells in 150 μg·mL-1 of morin group,respectively.The protein expression of LC3-Ⅱ in A549 cells of 150 μg·mL-1 of morin group was significantly up-regulated(P＜0.05).The protein expression of Atg16L1-Ⅱ in A549 cells of 90,150 μg·mL-1 of morin group was significantly up-regulated(P＜0.001),and the protein expressions of p-mTOR/mTOR and p-STAT3/STAT3 were significantly down-regulated(P＜0.001).Compared with the morin(150 μg·mL-1)group,the survival rate of A549 cells in the morin(150 μg·mL-1)+chloroquine(10 μg·mL-1)group was significantly increased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Morin can promote the apoptosis of A549 cells and induce autophagy in A549 cells,and the mechanism may be related to mTOR/STAT3 axis.

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of quercetin (QUE)in improving lipid accumulation in hepatocytes by regulating lipolysis and lipophagy pathway.Methods The human hepatocyte cell line 5 (HHL-5)was induced by palmitic acid (PA)to establish a steatogenic hepatocyte model.Quercetin at different concentrations (5,10,20 and 40 μmol/L)has been utilized to interfere with HHL-5 cells for 24 h,and the experiment was divided into six groups:control group,PA group,PA+QUE5 group,PA+QUE10 group,PA+QUE20 groupand PA+QUE40 group.In order to determine the influence of lipophagy on QUE effect,3-methyladenine (3-MA)was used to block autophagy,and HHL-5 cells were divided into the control,PA,PA+QUE40,3-MA,PA+3-MA and PA+3-MA+QUE40 groups.The contents of triglyceride (TG),accumulations of lipid droplets,expression of lipolysis and lipophagy related molecules,and degree of co-localization,and expression level of substrate of autophagy P62 were detected in above 2 types of experimental groups.Results Compared with the control group,the TG content and the lipid accumulation were significantly increased,the protein levels,average fluorescence intensities and colocalization degree of lipolysis related molecules adipose triglycerides lipase(ATGL)and comparative gene identification-58(CGI58),and lipophagy related molecules Ras-related protein 7(RAB7)and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta (LC3β)were significantly decreased,while the expression of P62 was enhanced in HHL-5 cells in the PA group (all P<0.05 ).Compared with the PA group,the triglyceride content and the degree of lipid accumulation in the PA+QUE40 group were significantly decreased,and the protein expression level,average fluorescence intensity and co-localization degree of lipolysis and lipophagy related molecules were significantly increased,while P62 was significantly decreased (P<0.05).When 3-MA was added to the steatogenic hepatocytes to inhibit autophagy,the improvement effect of QUE on lipid accumulation and the regulation of lipolysis and liphagy related molecules in steatogenic hepatocytes were neutralized.Conclusion QUE alleviates lipid accumulation in HHL-5 cells by promoting the expression and interaction of molecules related to lipolysis and lipophagy pathways.However,these effects can be weakened by the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA.

Artificial vascular graft(AVG)fistula is widely used for hemodialysis treatment in patients with renal failure.However,it has poor elasticity and compliance,leading to stenosis and thrombosis.The ideal artificial blood vessel for dialysis should replicate the structure and components of a real artery,which is primarily maintained by collagen in the extracellular matrix(ECM)of arterial cells.Studies have revealed that in hepatitis B virus(HBV)-induced liver fibrosis,hepatic stellate cells(HSCs)become hyperactive and produce excessive ECM fibers.Furthermore,mechanical stimulation can encourage ECM secretion and remodeling of a fiber structure.Based on the above factors,we transfected HSCs with the hepatitis B viral X(HBX)gene for simulating the process of HBV infection.Subsequently,these HBX-HSCs were implanted into a polycaprolactone-polyurethane(PCL-PU)bilayer scaffold in which the inner layer is dense and the outer layer consists of pores,which was mechanically stimulated to promote the secretion of collagen nanofiber from the HBX-HSCs and to facilitate crosslinking with the scaffold.We obtained an ECM-PCL-PU composite bionic blood vessel that could act as access for dialysis after decellularization.Then,the vessel scaffold was implanted into a rabbit's neck arteriovenous fistula model.It exhibited strong tensile strength and smooth blood flow and formed autologous blood vessels in the rabbit's body.Our study demonstrates the use of human cells to create biomimetic dialysis blood vessels,providing a novel approach for creating clinical vascular access for dialysis.

Pien Tze Huang(PZH),a class-1 nationally protected traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),has been used to treat liver diseases such as hepatitis;however,the effect of PZH on the progression of sepsis is un-known.Here,we reported that PZH attenuated lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced sepsis in mice and reduced LPS-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages by inhibiting the acti-vation of mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)and nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)signalling.Mechanistically,PZH stimulated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)phosphory-lation to induce the expression of A20,which could inhibit the activation of NF-κB and MAPK signalling.Knockdown of the bile acid(BA)receptor G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1(TGR5)in macrophages abolished the effects of PZH on STAT3 phosphorylation and A20 induction,as well as the LPS-induced inflammatory response,suggesting that BAs in PZH may mediate its anti-inflammatory effects by acti-vating TGR5.Consistently,deprivation of BAs in PZH by cholestyramine resin reduced the effects of PZH on the expression of phosphorylated-STAT3 and A20,the activation of NF-κB and MAPK signalling,and the production of proinflammatory cytokines,whereas the addition of BAs to cholestyramine resin-treated PZH partially restored the inhibitory effects on the production of proinflammatory cytokines.Overall,our study identifies BAs as the effective components in PZH that activate TGR5-STAT3-A20 signalling to ameliorate LPS-induced sepsis.

Cancer still has elevated morbidity and mortality, which undoubtedly impacts the life quality of affected individuals. Remarkable advances have been made in cancer therapy, although the toxicities of traditional therapies remain an obvious challenge. Dahuang Zhechong Pill (DHZCP), developed by Zhongjing Zhang in the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber, represents an effective anticancer traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In this review, it was found that DHZCP is therapeutically utilized in liver, lung, gastric, pancreatic and other cancers in clinic. Pharmacological evidence showed that its anti-tumor mechanisms mainly involve induced cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and autophagy, as well as suppressed tumor cell proliferation, obstructed angiogenesis and metastasis, enhanced immunity, and reversal of multidrug resistance. The present review provides a solid basis for the clinical application of DHZCP and may promote the wide use of TCM in clinical antitumor application.