1.Role of SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodeling Complex in Tumor Drug Resistance
Gui-Zhen ZHU ; Qiao YE ; Yuan LUO ; Jie PENG ; Lu WANG ; Zhao-Ting YANG ; Feng-Sen DUAN ; Bing-Qian GUO ; Zhu-Song MEI ; Guang-Yun WANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):20-31
Tumor drug resistance is an important problem in the failure of chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy, which is a complex process involving chromatin remodeling. SWI/SNF is one of the most studied ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes in tumorigenesis, which plays an important role in the coordination of chromatin structural stability, gene expression, and post-translation modification. However, its mechanism in tumor drug resistance has not been systematically combed. SWI/SNF can be divided into 3 types according to its subunit composition: BAF, PBAF, and ncBAF. These 3 subtypes all contain two mutually exclusive ATPase catalytic subunits (SMARCA2 or SMARCA4), core subunits (SMARCC1 and SMARCD1), and regulatory subunits (ARID1A, PBRM1, and ACTB, etc.), which can control gene expression by regulating chromatin structure. The change of SWI/SNF complex subunits is one of the important factors of tumor drug resistance and progress. SMARCA4 and ARID1A are the most widely studied subunits in tumor drug resistance. Low expression of SMARCA4 can lead to the deletion of the transcription inhibitor of the BCL2L1 gene in mantle cell lymphoma, which will result in transcription up-regulation and significant resistance to the combination therapy of ibrutinib and venetoclax. Low expression of SMARCA4 and high expression of SMARCA2 can activate the FGFR1-pERK1/2 signaling pathway in ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma cells, which induces the overexpression of anti-apoptosis gene BCL2 and results in carboplatin resistance. SMARCA4 deletion can up-regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by activating YAP1 gene expression in triple-negative breast cancer. It can also reduce the expression of Ca2+ channel IP3R3 in ovarian and lung cancer, resulting in the transfer of Ca2+ needed to induce apoptosis from endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria damage. Thus, these two tumors are resistant to cisplatin. It has been found that verteporfin can overcome the drug resistance induced by SMARCA4 deletion. However, this inhibitor has not been applied in clinical practice. Therefore, it is a promising research direction to develop SWI/SNF ATPase targeted drugs with high oral bioavailability to treat patients with tumor resistance induced by low expression or deletion of SMARCA4. ARID1A deletion can activate the expression of ANXA1 protein in HER2+ breast cancer cells or down-regulate the expression of progesterone receptor B protein in endometrial cancer cells. The drug resistance of these two tumor cells to trastuzumab or progesterone is induced by activating AKT pathway. ARID1A deletion in ovarian cancer can increase the expression of MRP2 protein and make it resistant to carboplatin and paclitaxel. ARID1A deletion also can up-regulate the phosphorylation levels of EGFR, ErbB2, and RAF1 oncogene proteins.The ErbB and VEGF pathway are activated and EMT is increased. As a result, lung adenocarcinoma is resistant to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). Although great progress has been made in the research on the mechanism of SWI/SNF complex inducing tumor drug resistance, most of the research is still at the protein level. It is necessary to comprehensively and deeply explore the detailed mechanism of drug resistance from gene, transcription, protein, and metabolite levels by using multi-omics techniques, which can provide sufficient theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of poor tumor prognosis caused by mutation or abnormal expression of SWI/SNF subunits in clinical practice.
2.Dingchan Granule (定颤颗粒) for Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation with Syndrome of Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis:A Randomized,Double-Blinded,Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial
Xiaozhen CHENG ; Xingjuan CHEN ; Weina LI ; Lu XIAO ; Yunhan WANG ; Yun XU ; Yueyue NIU ; Ling FENG
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;66(12):1233-1240
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical effectiveness and safety of Dingchan Granule (定颤颗粒) for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with syndrome of qi stagnation and blood stasis. MethodsUsing a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled study method, 90 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome were divided into 45 cases each in the treatment group and the control group. Both groups were given conventional western medicine treatment, and the treatment group was additionally treated with Dingchan Granule, while the control group was treated with Dingchan Granule placebo, both of which were taken orally for 8 g each time twice a day. Both groups were treated for 8 weeks. We compared the clinical effectiveness, the improvement of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptoms and the recovery rate of atrial fibrillation between the two groups. We compared the number and duration of atrial fibrillation episodes, TCM symptoms score, atrial fibrillation symptom classification, 24-hour average ventricular rate, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), anxiety index, depression index before and after treatment, and evaluated the safety of the two groups. ResultsThe total clinical effectiveness rate in the treatment group was 82.22% (37/45), which was better than 60.00% (27/45) in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate of TCM syndrome effectiveness in the treatment group was 88.89% (40/45), which was better than 66.67% (30/45) in the control group (P<0.05); and the rate of atrial fibrillation regression in the treatment group was 26.67% (12/45), better than 6.67% (3/45) in the control group (P<0.05). The number and duration of atrial fibrillation episodes in both groups were significantly decreased (P<0.01), and the number and duration of atrial fibrillation episodes in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.01). The TCM syndrome scores of both groups after treatment were significantly lower than before treatment (P<0.01), and the scores of the treatment group was lower than those of the control group (P<0.05). The severity of atrial fibrillation symptoms and the grading of atrial fibrillation symptoms in both groups after treatment were improved (P<0.01), and the degree of symptom improvement in the treatment group was better than that in the control group (P<0.01). The 24-hour average ventricular rate of both groups after treatment was significantly lower (P<0.01). The PSQI, anxiety index and depression index of the treatment group were all lower than before treatment (P<0.01), while the PSQI and anxiety index of the control group were both lower than before treatment (P<0.01 or P<0.05), the PSQI, anxiety index and depression index of the treatment group being lower than those of the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). No adverse events occurred in both groups, and no abnormalities were observed in blood, urine, stool routine, liver and kidney function, and coagulation function indexes. ConclusionDingchan Granule for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome can alleviate clinical symptom, improve TCM symptom scores, increase atrial fibrillation recovery rate, stabilise the average ventricular rate, and significantly improve the quality of sleep, alleviate the anxiety and depression, with a good safety profile.
3.Electroacupuncture Promotes Functional Recovery after Facial Nerve Injury in Rats by Regulating Autophagy via GDNF and PI3K/mTOR Signaling Pathway.
Jun-Peng YAO ; Xiu-Mei FENG ; Lu WANG ; Yan-Qiu LI ; Zi-Yue ZHU ; Xiang-Yun YAN ; Yu-Qing YANG ; Ying LI ; Wei ZHANG
Chinese journal of integrative medicine 2024;30(3):251-259
OBJECTIVE:
To explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in promoting recovery of the facial function with the involvement of autophagy, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway.
METHODS:
Seventy-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into the control, sham-operated, facial nerve injury (FNI), EA, EA+3-methyladenine (3-MA), and EA+GDNF antagonist groups using a random number table, with 12 rats in each group. An FNI rat model was established with facial nerve crushing method. EA intervention was conducted at Dicang (ST 4), Jiache (ST 6), Yifeng (SJ 17), and Hegu (LI 4) acupoints for 2 weeks. The Simone's 10-Point Scale was utilized to monitor the recovery of facial function. The histopathological evaluation of facial nerves was performed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The levels of Beclin-1, light chain 3 (LC3), and P62 were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Additionally, IHC was also used to detect the levels of GDNF, Rai, PI3K, and mTOR.
RESULTS:
The facial functional scores were significantly increased in the EA group than the FNI group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). HE staining showed nerve axons and myelin sheaths, which were destroyed immediately after the injury, were recovered with EA treatment. The expressions of Beclin-1 and LC3 were significantly elevated and the expression of P62 was markedly reduced in FNI rats (P<0.01); however, EA treatment reversed these abnormal changes (P<0.01). Meanwhile, EA stimulation significantly increased the levels of GDNF, Rai, PI3K, and mTOR (P<0.01). After exogenous administration with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA or GDNF antagonist, the repair effect of EA on facial function was attenuated (P<0.05 or P<0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
EA could promote the recovery of facial function and repair the facial nerve damages in a rat model of FNI. EA may exert this neuroreparative effect through mediating the release of GDNF, activating the PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway, and further regulating the autophagy of facial nerves.
Rats
;
Male
;
Animals
;
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
;
Electroacupuncture
;
Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/metabolism*
;
Facial Nerve Injuries/therapy*
;
Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism*
;
Beclin-1
;
Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
;
Signal Transduction
;
TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism*
;
Autophagy
;
Mammals/metabolism*
4.International comparative analysis of innovation recognition and price management of new drugs from the perspective of national healthcare security
Kaifeng MAO ; Jie YU ; Linning WANG ; Yun LU ; Feng CHANG
China Pharmacy 2024;35(15):1801-1806
OBJECTIVE To provide reference for the improvement of the price system of innovative drugs in China. METHODS Based on the current situation of innovative drug healthcare management in China, innovation recognition and price management of innovative drugs in typical countries or regions were compared and analyzed, and the suggestions were put forward to improve the price system of innovative drugs in China. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS Taiwan of China, Japan, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom have different practices in recognition and grading of drug innovation, differentiated pricing and subsequent price management. However, the mainstream practice is to identify and grade drugs mostly based on clinical value, differentiate pricing based on the grading, and carry out risk-sharing agreement or active price adjustment to manage the price. Based on the comparative analysis, it is suggested that China should further clarify the connotation and classification of innovation in the management of innovative drugs, apply a variety of pricing methods to promote differentiated management of innovative drugs, explore the introduction of risk-sharing agreements, and further build an active drug price adjustment mechanism to improve the price system of innovative drugs in China.
5.Treatment of Palpitations Based on the Theory of "Wind and Fire Inciting Each Other"
Yun XU ; Xingjuan CHEN ; Lu XIAO ; Yiru WU ; Ling FENG
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;65(15):1617-1620
By combing the physiological characteristics of wind and fire, the article makes it clear that wind and fire are evils, and external wind is easy to attack and even worse when it encounters fire; burnt and moving fire evils set off internal winds; and the incitement of each other can lead to the occurrence of palpitations. From the perspective of the theory of "wind and fire inciting each other", the clinical diagnosis and treatment of palpitation is discussed, which clarifies that there is an internal and external distinction between wind and fire, and there is an internal and external distinction between the real and the imaginary, which should be carefully distinguished in the diagnosis and treatment of palpitation. In the treatment, wind medicine can be skillfully applied to drive away the wind evil to calm the internal and external, and it is also necessary to clearly identify the source of the fire evil and properly choose the corresponding treatment for the fire evil in order to extinguish the burnt fire. As the positive qi exists and the evil will not dry up, we should not forget to take care of the heart in the treatment. An example of a medical case is attached in order to provide new ideas for the clinical treatment of palpitation.
6.Application of MXenes in Tumor Therapy
Mei-Qing LIU ; Lu ZHAO ; Yun-Feng BAI ; Feng FENG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2024;51(2):328-344
MXenes is an emerging two-dimensional (2D) material, which was composed of layered transition metal carbides and/or nitrides, have attracted enormous attention in the past decade since their innovative discovery by Gogotsi and Barsoum in 2011. The general formula of MXenes is Mn+1XnTx (n=1-4), where M represents transition metal elements (such as Ti, Nb, Ta, etc.), X represents carbon and/or nitrogen, and Tx represents surface terminations (such as —OH, —F, =O, etc.). In recent years, MXenes have been widely applied in the biological field due to their high biocompatibility, abundant surface groups, good conductivity and photothermal properties. Due to the strong absorption of laser in the near infrared region, strong X-ray attenuation ability and surface easily modified by various molecules or nanoparticles, MXenes have been used as photothermal agents and contrast agents in the tumor therapy and tumor diagnosis. This paper reviews the application of MXenes and MXenes-based composites in tumor therapy and active targeting tumor therapy. According to the modal of action on tumor cells, it was divided into monotherapy, bimodal therapy and trimodal therapy. Among them, the monotherapy mainly used the photothermal properties of MXenes for photothermal therapy, studies have found that MXenes QDs can be used for chemodynamic therapy. In addition, sonodynamic therapy can also be achieved by loading the sonosensitizers on the surface of MXenes. Bimodal therapy and trimodal therapy are mainly used to load anticancer drugs, photosensitizers, metal particles and other substances on the surface of MXenes to achieve combination therapy. In contrast to the limited treatment efficacy and possible side effects arising from monotherapy, the development of bimodal therapy and trimodal therapy may harbor the collective merits of respective individual treatments and give rise to much higher anticancer efficacy at lower dosage of therapeutic agents administered, thus avoiding high-dose-induced side effects. The combined use of multiple treatments displayed superior advantages over monotherapy in producing an improved therapy outcome. According to the modal of entry into tumor cells, it was divided into passive targeting and active targeting. Active targeting therapy was mainly divided into homologous targeting therapy and targeting agents targeting therapy. The strategy of homologous targeting therapy was to coat MXenes with tumor cell membrane and increased the uptake of MXenes by tumor cells. Targeting agents targeting therapy used targeting agents to specifically bind to the receptors on the surface of tumor cells, subsequently, the precise uptake of MXenes by tumor cells was achieved. Finally, the current challenges and future development trends of MXenes in preparation technology and tumor therapy are discussed.
7.Differential component analysis between Fructus Tritici Levis and Triticum aestivum based on qualitative and quantitative methods
Xuejiao LI ; Yu HU ; Yun CHEN ; Juan SHANG ; Zhenyang LI ; Yunhua FENG ; Jiandong ZOU ; Weifeng YAO ; Su LU ; Meijuan XU
China Pharmacy 2024;35(11):1296-1302
OBJECTIVE To analyze the compositional differences between Fructus Tritici Levis and Triticum aestivum, and to provide reference for identification and quality control of both. METHODS Twenty batches of Fructus Tritici Levis and three batches of T. aestivum were collected, and their fingerprints were acquired by high-performance liquid chromatography and the similarities were evaluated by the Evaluation System of Similarity of Chromatographic Fingerprints of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2012 version). Cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were performed to analyze the difference of Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum from different regions, and the differential components were screened. The contents of the six identified components in Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum were determined. RESULTS The similarities of the fingerprints of Fructus Tritici Levis ranged from 0.928 to 0.996, and the relative similarities of T. aestivum with Fructus Tritici Levis ranged from 0.761 to 0.773. A total of 19 common peaks were calibrated, and six components including linolenic acid, linoleic acid, 5-heptadecylresorcinol, 5-nonadodecylresorcinol, 5- heneicosylresorcinol, and 5-tricosylresorcinol were identified. The results of CA and PCA showed that Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum could be clearly distinguished; the distribution of Fructus Tritici Levis from Anhui province was relatively concentrated. The results of OPLS-DA showed that linolenic acid, linoleic acid, and other six unknown compounds were the differential components between Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum. The average contents of the six identified components in Fructus Tritici Levis were 0.100 9, 1.094 0, 0.005 1, 0.030 9, 0.098 2,and 0.024 8 mg/g, respectively; the contents of linolenic acid and linoleic acid in Fructus Tritici Levis were significantly higher than those in T. aestivum (P<0.05).CONCLUSIONS The established qualitative and quantitative methods are simple and reliable, and can be used for the identification and quality evaluation of Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum. The identified differential components, such as linolenic acid and linoleic acid, can also provide clues for the differentiation and pharmacological study of Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum.
8.Differential component analysis between Fructus Tritici Levis and Triticum aestivum based on qualitative and quantitative methods
Xuejiao LI ; Yu HU ; Yun CHEN ; Juan SHANG ; Zhenyang LI ; Yunhua FENG ; Jiandong ZOU ; Weifeng YAO ; Su LU ; Meijuan XU
China Pharmacy 2024;35(11):1296-1302
OBJECTIVE To analyze the compositional differences between Fructus Tritici Levis and Triticum aestivum, and to provide reference for identification and quality control of both. METHODS Twenty batches of Fructus Tritici Levis and three batches of T. aestivum were collected, and their fingerprints were acquired by high-performance liquid chromatography and the similarities were evaluated by the Evaluation System of Similarity of Chromatographic Fingerprints of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2012 version). Cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were performed to analyze the difference of Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum from different regions, and the differential components were screened. The contents of the six identified components in Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum were determined. RESULTS The similarities of the fingerprints of Fructus Tritici Levis ranged from 0.928 to 0.996, and the relative similarities of T. aestivum with Fructus Tritici Levis ranged from 0.761 to 0.773. A total of 19 common peaks were calibrated, and six components including linolenic acid, linoleic acid, 5-heptadecylresorcinol, 5-nonadodecylresorcinol, 5- heneicosylresorcinol, and 5-tricosylresorcinol were identified. The results of CA and PCA showed that Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum could be clearly distinguished; the distribution of Fructus Tritici Levis from Anhui province was relatively concentrated. The results of OPLS-DA showed that linolenic acid, linoleic acid, and other six unknown compounds were the differential components between Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum. The average contents of the six identified components in Fructus Tritici Levis were 0.100 9, 1.094 0, 0.005 1, 0.030 9, 0.098 2,and 0.024 8 mg/g, respectively; the contents of linolenic acid and linoleic acid in Fructus Tritici Levis were significantly higher than those in T. aestivum (P<0.05).CONCLUSIONS The established qualitative and quantitative methods are simple and reliable, and can be used for the identification and quality evaluation of Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum. The identified differential components, such as linolenic acid and linoleic acid, can also provide clues for the differentiation and pharmacological study of Fructus Tritici Levis and T. aestivum.
9.Neural substrates for regulating self-grooming behavior in rodents
LI GUANQING ; LU CHANYI ; YIN MIAOMIAO ; WANG PENG ; ZHANG PENGBO ; WU JIALIANG ; WANG WENQIANG ; WANG DING ; WANG MENGYUE ; LIU JIAHAN ; LIN XINGHAN ; ZHANG JIAN-XU ; WANG ZHENSHAN ; YU YIQUN ; ZHANG YUN-FENG
Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B 2024;25(10):841-856
Grooming,as an evolutionarily conserved repetitive behavior,is common in various animals,including humans,and serves essential functions including,but not limited to,hygiene maintenance,thermoregulation,de-arousal,stress reduction,and social behaviors.In rodents,grooming involves a patterned and sequenced structure,known as the syntactic chain with four phases that comprise repeated stereotyped movements happening in a cephalocaudal progression style,beginning from the nose to the face,to the head,and finally ending with body licking.The context-dependent occurrence of grooming behavior indicates its adaptive significance.This review briefly summarizes the neural substrates responsible for rodent grooming behavior and explores its relevance in rodent models of neuropsychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases with aberrant grooming phenotypes.We further emphasize the utility of rodent grooming as a reliable measure of repetitive behavior in neuropsychiatric models,holding promise for translational psychiatry.Herein,we mainly focus on rodent self-grooming.Allogrooming(grooming being applied on one animal by its conspecifics via licking or carefully nibbling)and heterogrooming(a form of grooming behavior directing towards another animal,which occurs in other contexts,such as maternal,sexual,aggressive,or social behaviors)are not covered due to space constraints.
10.Mesalazine mediates TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway to alleviate lipopolysac-charide-induced colonic epithelial cell inflammation and apoptosis
Jing HOU ; Jianing LIU ; Ru FENG ; Wei LU ; Yun WANG ; Feng SU
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2024;40(3):524-529,533
Objective:To investigate effects of mesalazine(MS)on proliferation,apoptosis and inflammatory injury of cell model of ulcerative colitis(UC)induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS),as well as transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)/Smad signaling pathway effect in this study.Methods:Human colonic epithelial cells NCM-460 cultured in vitro were induced UC model by LPS,and divided into Con group(no treatment),LPS group(1 mg/L LPS),MS group(0.1,0.2,0.4 mg/L MS+1 mg/L LPS)and inhibitor group(10 μmol/L TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway inhibitor LY2109761+0.2 mg/L MS+1 mg/L LPS).Cell morphology,proliferation,apoptosis and levels of inflammatory factors and TGF-β1/Smad pathway-related markers were examined by inverted microscope,EdU assay,Hoechst 33258 staining,ELISA and Western blot.Results:LPS treatment highly induced cell proliferation rate and Smad7 pro-tein level compared with Con group,while apoptotic cells,inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-6,soluble interleukin-2 receptor(sIL-2R)release,as well as TGF-β1,p-Smad2,p-Smad3 protein expressions were increased;the above effects induced by LPS was reversed by MS in a dose-dependent manner(P<0.05).Compared with 0.2 mg/L MS group,NCM-460 cells proliferation rate and Smad7 expression were increased,while apoptotic cells,TNF-α and IL-6,sIL-2R releases,and TGF-β1,p-Smad2,p-Smad3 protein expressions were decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion:MS can attenuate LPS-induced apoptosis and inflammatory injury in NCM-460 cells,and this protection was possibly through suppressing TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway.

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