1.Effect of Different Fermentation Conditions on Fungal Community and Chemical Composition of Aurantii Fructus
Zhihong YAN ; Xiumei LIU ; Qiuyan GUAN ; Yonggui SONG ; Zhifu AI ; Genhua ZHU ; Yuhui PING ; Ming YANG ; Qin ZHENG ; Huanhua XU ; Dan SU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(11):254-262
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of different fermentation methods and times on the fungal flora and chemical composition of Aurantii Fructus, in order to obtain the optimal fermentation conditions and flora structure, and to ensure the stability and controllability of the fermented varieties. MethodsScanning electron microscopy was used to observe and analyze the colony characteristics on the surface of Aurantii Fructus under different fermentation conditions. Internal transcribed spacer 2(ITS2) high-throughput sequencing, combined with fungal community diversity analysis and fungal community structure analysis, were used to obtain the fungal flora microbial categories of Aurantii Fructus under the conditions of traditional pressure-shelf fermentation and non-pressure-shelf natural fermentation for 7, 14, 21 d(numbered Y1-Y3 for the former, and numbered F1-F3 for the latter), respectively. At the same time, the chemical components in the fermentation process were detected by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS), combined with principal component analysis(PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) and compound retention time, parent ions, characteristic fragment ions and other information, the differential compounds between the different fermentation samples were screened and identified. ResultsThe analysis of fungal community diversity showed that the dominant flora did not change at different fermentation time points in the traditional pressure-shelf fermentation method, while in the non-pressure-shelf natural fermentation method, there was a significant difference with the fermentation process, and at the genus level, the dominant genus of samples Y1, Y2, Y3 and F2 was Aspergillus, while the dominant genera of samples F1 and F3 were both Rhizopus. This indicated that the microbial growth environment provided by the traditional fermentation method was more stable, and the microbial community structure was more stable, which was more conducive to the stable and controllable fermentation process and fermented products. A total of 155 compounds were identified by compositional analysis, including 70 flavonoids, 38 coumarins, 10 alkaloids, 34 organic acids and 3 other compounds. After fermentation, two new components of ribalinine and pranferin were produced. Different fermentation conditions also brought about differences in chemical composition, multivariate statistical analysis obtained 26 differential compounds under two different fermentation methods, mainly including flavonoids, organic acids and coumarins. Comprehensively, the microbial community structure of samples fermented by the traditional pressure-shelf method of Aurantii Fructus for 14 d was stable, the species richness was high and the overall content of differential compounds was high, which was the optimal processing condition. ConclusionCompared with non-pressure-shelf natural fermentation, the traditional method has obvious advantages in terms of the stability of the microbial community structure and the content of chemical compounds, and the optimal condition is 14 days of fermentation. This study is helpful to promote the quality stability and fermentation bioavailability of fermented products of Aurantii Fructus, as well as to provide an experimental basis for the further improvement of the quality control methods of this variety.
2.Effect of Different Fermentation Conditions on Fungal Community and Chemical Composition of Aurantii Fructus
Zhihong YAN ; Xiumei LIU ; Qiuyan GUAN ; Yonggui SONG ; Zhifu AI ; Genhua ZHU ; Yuhui PING ; Ming YANG ; Qin ZHENG ; Huanhua XU ; Dan SU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(11):254-262
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of different fermentation methods and times on the fungal flora and chemical composition of Aurantii Fructus, in order to obtain the optimal fermentation conditions and flora structure, and to ensure the stability and controllability of the fermented varieties. MethodsScanning electron microscopy was used to observe and analyze the colony characteristics on the surface of Aurantii Fructus under different fermentation conditions. Internal transcribed spacer 2(ITS2) high-throughput sequencing, combined with fungal community diversity analysis and fungal community structure analysis, were used to obtain the fungal flora microbial categories of Aurantii Fructus under the conditions of traditional pressure-shelf fermentation and non-pressure-shelf natural fermentation for 7, 14, 21 d(numbered Y1-Y3 for the former, and numbered F1-F3 for the latter), respectively. At the same time, the chemical components in the fermentation process were detected by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS), combined with principal component analysis(PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) and compound retention time, parent ions, characteristic fragment ions and other information, the differential compounds between the different fermentation samples were screened and identified. ResultsThe analysis of fungal community diversity showed that the dominant flora did not change at different fermentation time points in the traditional pressure-shelf fermentation method, while in the non-pressure-shelf natural fermentation method, there was a significant difference with the fermentation process, and at the genus level, the dominant genus of samples Y1, Y2, Y3 and F2 was Aspergillus, while the dominant genera of samples F1 and F3 were both Rhizopus. This indicated that the microbial growth environment provided by the traditional fermentation method was more stable, and the microbial community structure was more stable, which was more conducive to the stable and controllable fermentation process and fermented products. A total of 155 compounds were identified by compositional analysis, including 70 flavonoids, 38 coumarins, 10 alkaloids, 34 organic acids and 3 other compounds. After fermentation, two new components of ribalinine and pranferin were produced. Different fermentation conditions also brought about differences in chemical composition, multivariate statistical analysis obtained 26 differential compounds under two different fermentation methods, mainly including flavonoids, organic acids and coumarins. Comprehensively, the microbial community structure of samples fermented by the traditional pressure-shelf method of Aurantii Fructus for 14 d was stable, the species richness was high and the overall content of differential compounds was high, which was the optimal processing condition. ConclusionCompared with non-pressure-shelf natural fermentation, the traditional method has obvious advantages in terms of the stability of the microbial community structure and the content of chemical compounds, and the optimal condition is 14 days of fermentation. This study is helpful to promote the quality stability and fermentation bioavailability of fermented products of Aurantii Fructus, as well as to provide an experimental basis for the further improvement of the quality control methods of this variety.
3. Progress and prospect of inhaled biological agents in asthma
Guanghui LI ; Jing HUANG ; Min ZHU ; Yakun WAN ; Zhihong CHEN ; Rui ZHAO
Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2024;29(4):406-414
More than 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, and the incidence is increasing year by year. As one of the most common chronic diseases, asthma is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease with complex triggering mechanisms and strong heterogeneity. With the in-depth study of physiological and pathological mechanisms, therapeutic small molecule and hormone drugs have been introduced to control and treat most patients, but about 5% - 10% of patients still suffer from various subtypes of difficult to control and treat asthma, that is, severe asthma. In the past decade, with the rapid development of bio-pharmaceutical research, protein and antibody have become the key drugs for the treatment of severe asthma with high efficacy, high specificity and high safety. However, biological drugs are usually administered by injection, they cannot be noninvasive and directly delivered into the lung to quickly absorb and take effect. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the introduction of inhaled biologics with quick effectiveness, convenience, economy and safety in clinical. The review summarizes the existing small molecule, hormone and biological therapy drugs, and summarizes the development of inhalable biological agents of asthma, and analyzes the future prospects of the inhalable biological drugs, which is designed to deepen the perception of the direction of the inhalable biological drugs research, and update the information of the field, in order to provide reference for the development of more inhalable biologics.
4.Hemodynamic study of personalized Stanford type B aortic dissection based on computational fluid dynamics
Shiqi WANG ; Lingyun WANG ; Zhihong LIN ; Peng ZHU ; Qian YANG ; Jianghua CHEN
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2024;31(04):594-599
Objective To establish a personalized Stanford type B aortic dissection numerical simulation model, and using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation to obtain the hemodynamic behavior and law of the type B aortic dissection at different stages of development. Methods Based on the theory of three-dimensional model reconstruction, we used CT images of a patient with type B aortic dissection in the Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University, relevant medical image processing software to reconstruct a personalized aortic three-dimensional model, and CFD to reconstruct the model which was simulated in fluid mechanics. Results The three-dimensional reconstruction model could intuitively observe the changing trend of the false cavity at different stages of the dissection development. Through fluid mechanics simulation, the blood flow rate, pressure, wall shear stress, vascular wall Von Mises stress and other parameters at different stages of the dissection development were obtained. Conclusion The hemodynamic behavior and law of relevant parameters in the development stage of aortic dissection are analyzed. The combination of the values of relevant parameters and clinical medical detection and diagnosis can well predict the development of the disease, and finally provide more theories and methods for the scientific diagnosis of aortic dissection.
5.BMSC-Exo alleviates depression-like behaviors in mice by inducing hippocampal energy metabolism and microangiogenesis
Weijia HU ; Lili CAI ; Xiaolan ZHU ; Yifeng LUO ; Zhihong CAO ; Yuefeng LI
Chinese Journal of Neuromedicine 2024;23(1):2-9
Objective:To investigate the effect of bone mesenchymal stem cells derived exosomes (BMSC-Exo) on improving hippocampal microangiogenesis, energy metabolism, and behaviors in depression mouse models.Methods:(1) Mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were isolated and cultured to extract BMSC-Exo; BMSC-Exo morphology was observed by transmission electron microscopy, BMSC-Exo particle diameter ranges were determined by Zetaview analyzer, and expressions of CD9 and CD63 in BMSC-Exo were detected by Western blotting. (2) Depression models were established in 2 mice by chronic unforeseeable mild stress (CUMS); 24 h after stereotaxic injection of phosphate buffer solution (PBS) or DiR labeled BMSC-Exo, BMSC-Exo uptake was detected by in vivo imaging system. (3) Thirty-six mice were randomly divided into control group, model group and BMSC-Exo group ( n=12); CUMS was used to establish depression models in the latter 2 groups; brain stereotaxic injection of 1 μL BMSC-Exo was given to mice in the BMSC-Exo group after modeling, and same amount of PBS was given to the control group; behaviors were observed by forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and open field test (OFT); hippocampal microvascular length and number were detected by alkaline phosphatase staining; energy metabolism in the hippocampus was detected by micro positron emission tomography/computed tomography (mPET/CT); glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) expression in the hippocampus was detected by Western blotting. Results:(1) BMSC-Exo had a typical disk-like vesicle-like structure with particle size of (100.5±1.4) nm; Western blotting confirmed that CD9 and CD63 expressed in BMSC-Exo. (2) In vivo imaging showed no fluorescence in the brain and liver after PBS injection, but obvious local fluorescence after BMSC-Exo injection. (3) Compared with the control group, the model group and BMSC-Exo group had significantly longer rest time in FST and TST and shorter movement distance and time in the central region of OFT ( P<0.05); compared with the model group, BMSC-Exo group had significantly shorter rest time in FST and TST and longer movement distance and time in the central region of OFT ( P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the model group and BMSC-Exo group had significantly decreased standard uptake value (SUV) of regions of interest, microvascular length and number, and GLUT1 expression in the hippocampus ( P<0.05); compared with the model group, the BMSC-Exo group had significantly higher SUV, microvascular length and number, and GLUT1 expression in the hippocampus ( P<0.05). Positive correlations were noted between hippocampal microvascular length and SUV and between microvascular number and SUV in the 3 groups ( r=0.540, P<0.001; r=0.600, P<0.001). Conclusion:BMSC-Exo could promote microangiogenesis energy metabolism in the hippocampus to improve depression-like behaviors in depression mouse models.
6.Progress and prospect of inhaled biological agents in asthma
Guanghui LI ; Jing HUANG ; Min ZHU ; Rui ZHAO ; Yakun WAN ; Zhihong CHEN
Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2024;29(4):406-414
More than 300 million people world-wide suffer from asthma,and the incidence is in-creasing year by year.As one of the most common chronic diseases,asthma is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease with complex triggering mechanisms and strong heterogeneity.With the in-depth study of physiological and pathological mech-anisms,therapeutic small molecule and hormone drugs have been introduced to control and treat most patients,but about 5%-10%of patients still suffer from various subtypes of difficult to control and treat asthma,that is,severe asthma.In the past decade,with the rapid development of bio-pharmaceutical research,protein and antibody have become the key drugs for the treatment of se-vere asthma with high efficacy,high specificity and high safety.However,biological drugs are usually administered by injection,they cannot be noninva-sive and directly delivered into the lung to quickly absorb and take effect.Therefore,there is an ur-gent need for the introduction of inhaled biologics with quick effectiveness,convenience,economy and safety in clinical.The review summarizes the existing small molecule,hormone and biological therapy drugs,and summarizes the development of inhalable biological agents of asthma,and ana-lyzes the future prospects of the inhalable biologi-cal drugs,which is designed to deepen the percep-tion of the direction of the inhalable biological drugs research,and update the information of the field,in order to provide reference for the develop-ment of more inhalable biologics.
7.Prevalence of out-of-hospital prevalence of carbapenem-resistance genes and influences of antibiotics with different antibacte-rial mechanisms on the genes spread
Lanlan FENG ; Jinhui TAN ; Ping ZHAO ; Zhihong XU ; Yihua ZHU ; Xiang CHEN
Chinese Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science 2024;42(8):567-573
Objective To analyze the distribution of carbapenem-resistant strains and the transmission mode of resistance genes in the bacteria strains from urinary system of the individuals outside hospitals,and further explore the impacts of the antibiotics with different antibacterial mechanisms on the conjugation transfer of resistant plasmids.Methods The imipenem-resistant strains from 991 non-re-petitive urine samples of healthy individuals were screened for determining the carbapenem-resistance genotypes.Using the multilocus sequence typing(MLST)method,the main carbapenem-resistant strains were classified to determine the phylogenetic relationship be-tween different sequence types(STs)and reveal the transmission mode of resistance genes in the individuals outside hospitals.The conjugation experiment was used to analyze the effects of different sub-inhibitory concentrations of ampicillin,ciprofloxacin,and genta-micin on the conjugation efficiency of resistant plasmids in the bacteria of donor and/or recipient at different times.Results A total of 18 non-repetitive carbapenem-resistant strains(1.82%,18/991)were detected in healthy individuals outside hospitals,among which Escherichia coli(E.coli)(44.44%,8/18)was the main strain with main genotype being blaKPC-2(7/8).MLST showed that the 7 strains of E.coli with blaKPC-2 genotype belonged to ST-10,ST-101,ST-131,ST-405,ST-410,ST-1193,and ST-2562,respectively.Homologous clustering analysis showed that the type of the 7 E.coli strains exhibited high diversity.The range of joint efficiency was(1.59±0.20)× 10-4 to(4.01±1.31)× 10-4.The highest conjugation efficiency was observed in the donor bacteria treated with 1/8 of MIC of antibiotics for 9 hours,and the conjugation efficiency most significantly increased compared to the group without antibiotic treat-ment.Three antibiotics with different mechanisms of action could all improve conjugation efficiency,among which ampicillin exhibited the most significant improvement.Conclusion In this study,the genotype of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli(CREC)was mainly blaKPC-2 with a main mode of horizontal transmission.Antibiotics with sub-inhibitory concentrations could promote the conjugation transfer of the resistant plasmid.There may be significant differences in the effects of antibiotics with different mechanisms of action and different antibiotic stress conditions on the conjugation efficiency.
8.Comparison of Direct and Extraction Immunoassay Methods With Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Measurement of Urinary Free Cortisol for the Diagnosis of Cushing’s Syndrome
Danni MU ; Jiadan FANG ; Songlin YU ; Yichen MA ; Jin CHENG ; Yingying HU ; Ailing SONG ; Fang ZHAO ; Qi ZHANG ; Zhihong QI ; Kui ZHANG ; Liangyu XIA ; Ling QIU ; Huijuan ZHU ; Xinqi CHENG
Annals of Laboratory Medicine 2024;44(1):29-37
Background:
Twenty-four-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) measurement is the initial diagnostic test for Cushing’s syndrome (CS). We compared UFC determination by both direct and extraction immunoassays using Abbott Architect, Siemens Atellica Solution, and Beckman DxI800 with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, we evaluated the value of 24-hr UFC measured by six methods for diagnosing CS.
Methods:
Residual 24-hr urine samples of 94 CS and 246 non-CS patients were collected.A laboratory-developed LC-MS/MS method was used as reference. UFC was measured by direct assays (D) using Abbott, Siemens, and Beckman platforms and by extraction assays (E) using Siemens and Beckman platforms. Method was compared using Passing–Bablok regression and Bland–Altman plot analyses. Cut-off values for the six assays and corresponding sensitivities and specificities were calculated by ROC analysis.
Results:
Abbott-D, Beckman-E, Siemens-E, and Siemens-D showed strong correlations with LC-MS/MS (Spearman coefficient r = 0.965, 0.922, 0.922, and 0.897, respectively), while Beckman-D showed weaker correlation (r = 0.755). All immunoassays showed proportionally positive bias. The areas under the curve were 0.975 for Abbott-D, 0.972 for LCMS/MS, 0.966 for Siemens-E, 0.948 for Siemens-D, 0.955 for Beckman-E, and 0.877 for Beckman-D. The cut-off values varied significantly (154.8–1,321.5 nmol/24 hrs). Assay sensitivity and specificity ranged from 76.1% to 93.2% and from 93.0% to 97.1%, respectively.
Conclusions
Commercially available immunoassays for measuring UFC show different levels of analytical consistency compared to LC-MS/MS. Abbott-D, Siemens-E, and Beckman-E have high diagnostic accuracy for CS.
9.Progress and prospect of inhaled biological agents in asthma
Guanghui LI ; Jing HUANG ; Min ZHU ; Rui ZHAO ; Yakun WAN ; Zhihong CHEN
Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2024;29(4):406-414
More than 300 million people world-wide suffer from asthma,and the incidence is in-creasing year by year.As one of the most common chronic diseases,asthma is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease with complex triggering mechanisms and strong heterogeneity.With the in-depth study of physiological and pathological mech-anisms,therapeutic small molecule and hormone drugs have been introduced to control and treat most patients,but about 5%-10%of patients still suffer from various subtypes of difficult to control and treat asthma,that is,severe asthma.In the past decade,with the rapid development of bio-pharmaceutical research,protein and antibody have become the key drugs for the treatment of se-vere asthma with high efficacy,high specificity and high safety.However,biological drugs are usually administered by injection,they cannot be noninva-sive and directly delivered into the lung to quickly absorb and take effect.Therefore,there is an ur-gent need for the introduction of inhaled biologics with quick effectiveness,convenience,economy and safety in clinical.The review summarizes the existing small molecule,hormone and biological therapy drugs,and summarizes the development of inhalable biological agents of asthma,and ana-lyzes the future prospects of the inhalable biologi-cal drugs,which is designed to deepen the percep-tion of the direction of the inhalable biological drugs research,and update the information of the field,in order to provide reference for the develop-ment of more inhalable biologics.
10.Progress and prospect of inhaled biological agents in asthma
Guanghui LI ; Jing HUANG ; Min ZHU ; Rui ZHAO ; Yakun WAN ; Zhihong CHEN
Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2024;29(4):406-414
More than 300 million people world-wide suffer from asthma,and the incidence is in-creasing year by year.As one of the most common chronic diseases,asthma is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease with complex triggering mechanisms and strong heterogeneity.With the in-depth study of physiological and pathological mech-anisms,therapeutic small molecule and hormone drugs have been introduced to control and treat most patients,but about 5%-10%of patients still suffer from various subtypes of difficult to control and treat asthma,that is,severe asthma.In the past decade,with the rapid development of bio-pharmaceutical research,protein and antibody have become the key drugs for the treatment of se-vere asthma with high efficacy,high specificity and high safety.However,biological drugs are usually administered by injection,they cannot be noninva-sive and directly delivered into the lung to quickly absorb and take effect.Therefore,there is an ur-gent need for the introduction of inhaled biologics with quick effectiveness,convenience,economy and safety in clinical.The review summarizes the existing small molecule,hormone and biological therapy drugs,and summarizes the development of inhalable biological agents of asthma,and ana-lyzes the future prospects of the inhalable biologi-cal drugs,which is designed to deepen the percep-tion of the direction of the inhalable biological drugs research,and update the information of the field,in order to provide reference for the develop-ment of more inhalable biologics.

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