Objective: To evaluate the bone repair effect of 3D-printed magnesium (Mg)-loaded polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds in a rat skull defect model. Methods: PCL scaffolds mixed with Mg microparticles were prepared by using 3D printing technology, as were pure PCL scaffolds. The surface morphologies of the two scaffolds were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the surface elemental composition was analyzed via energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The physical properties of the scaffolds were characterized through contact angle measurements and an electronic universal testing machine. This study has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee. A critical size defect model was established in the skull of 15 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, which were divided into the PCL group, PCL-Mg group, and untreated group, with 5 rats in each group. Micro-CT scanning was performed to detect and analyze skull defect healing at 4 and 8 weeks after surgery, and samples from the skull defect area and major organs of the rats were obtained for histological staining at 8 weeks after surgery. Results: The scaffolds had a pore size of (480 ± 25) μm, a fiber diameter of (300 ± 25) μm, and a porosity of approximately 66%. The PCL-Mg scaffolds contained 1.0 At% Mg, indicating successful incorporation of Mg microparticles. The contact angle of the PCL-Mg scaffolds was 68.97° ± 1.39°, indicating improved wettability compared to that of pure PCL scaffolds. Additionally, compared with that of pure PCL scaffolds, the compressive modulus of the PCL-Mg scaffolds was (57.37 ± 8.33) MPa, demonstrating enhanced strength. The PCL-Mg group exhibited the best bone formation behavior in the skull defect area compared with the control group and PCL group at 4 and 8 weeks after surgery. Moreover, quantitative parameters, such as bone volume (BV), bone volume/total volume (BV/TV), bone surface (BS), bone surface/total volume (BS/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular number (Tb.N) and bone mineral density (BMD), of skull defects were better than those in the other groups, indicating the best bone regeneration effect. H&E, Goldner, and VG staining revealed more mineralized new bone formation in the PCL-Mg group than in the other groups, and H&E staining of the major organs revealed good biosafety of the material. Conclusion PCL-Mg scaffolds can promote the repair of bone defects and have clinical potential as a new scaffold material for the repair of maxillofacial bone defects.

Objective To investigate the osteogenic properties of a methacrylated gelatin(GelMA)/bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)composite hydrogel applied to the skull defect area of rats and to provide an experi-mental basis for the development of bone regeneration biomaterials.Methods This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Nanjing University.A novel photocurable composite biohydrogel was developed by constructing photoinitiators[lthium phenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphinate,LAP],GelMA,and BMSCs.The surface morphology and elemental composition of the gel were examined using scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX).The compressive strength of the gel was evaluated using an electronic universal testing ma-chine.After in vitro culture for 1,2,and 5 days,the proliferation of the BMSCs in the hydrogels was assessed using a CCK-8 assay,and their survival and morphology were examined through confocal microscopy.A 5 mm critical bone de-ficiency model was generated in a rat skull.The group receiving composite hydrogel treatment was referred to as the Gel-MA/BMSCs group,whereas the untreated group served as the control group.At the 4th and 8th weeks,micro-CT scans were taken to measure the bone defect area and new bone index,while at the 8th week,skull samples from the defect ar-ea were subjected to H&E staining,van Gieson staining,and Goldner staining to evaluate the quality of bone regenera-tion and new bone formation.Results SEM observed that the solidified GelMA showed a 3D spongy gel network with uniform morphology,the porosity of GelMA was 73.41％and the pore size of GelMA was(28.75±7.13)μm.EDX results showed that C and O were evenly distributed in the network macroporous structure of hydrogel.The hydrogel compres-sion strength was 152 kPa.On the 5th day of GelMA/BMSCs culture,the cellular morphology transitioned from oval to spindle shaped under microscopic observation,accompanied by a significant increase in cell proliferation(159.4％,as determined by the CCK-8 assay).At 4 weeks after surgery,a 3D reconstructed micro-CT image revealed a minimal re-duction in bone defect size within the control group and abundant new bone formation in the GelMA/BMSCs group.At 8 weeks after surgery,no significant changes were observed in the control group's bone defect area,with only limited evi-dence of new bone growth;however,substantial healing of skull defects was evident in the GelMA/BMSCs group.Quan-titative analysis at both the 4-and 8-week examinations indicated significant improvements in the new bone volume(BV),new bone volume/total bone volume(BV/TV),bone surface(BS),and bone surface/total bone volume(BS/TV)in the GelMA/BMSCs group compared to those in the control group(P＜0.05).Histological staining showed continuous and dense formation of bone tissue within the defects in the GelMA/BMSCs group and only sporadic formation of new bone,primarily consisting of fibrous connective tissue,at the defect edge in the control group.Conclusion Photocur-ing hydrogel-based stem cell therapy exhibits favorable biosafety profiles and has potential for clinical application by inducing new bone formation and promoting maturation within rat skull defects.

Objective To observe the changes of cervical sagittal parameters of digital radiography(DR)at bilateral oblique position of cervical spine in patients with neck type cervical spondylopathy(NTCS)after cervical rotation and lifting manipulations,and to evaluate the clinical significance of cervical sagittal parameters in assessing the efficacy of NTCS by combining the pain score of visual analogue scale(VAS).Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out in 36 NTCS patients admitted to the outpatient clinic of the Tuina Department of Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from November 2020 to May 2021.According to the treatment method,the patients were divided into the trial group and the control group,with 18 patients in each group.The trial group was treated with cervical rotation and lifting manipulations,and the control group was treated with cervical vertebra traction.The two groups were treated once every other day for 2 continuous weeks.The changes of VAS pain score and sagittal parameters of DR such as sagittal vertical axis of cervical vertebra 2-7(C2-7 SVA),the T1 slope(T1S),neck tilt(NT),and thoracic inlet angle(TIA)in the two groups were observed before and after treatment.Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between VAS scores of pain level and cervical sagittal parameters.Results(1)Before treatment,there was no statistically significant difference in the VAS pain scores between the two groups(P＞0.05).After treatment,the VAS pain scores in the two groups were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the decrease of the scores in the trial group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(2)Before treatment,there was no statistically significant difference in the values of cervical sagittal parameters of C2-7 SVA,T1S,NT,and TIA between the two groups(P＞0.05).After treatment,the C2-7 SVA,T1S,and TIA of the trial group were significantly improved compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),but the improvement of NT was not obvious(P＞0.05);the cervical sagittal parameters of the control group were not significantly improved compared with those before treatment(P＞0.05).The intergroup comparison showed that the improvement of C2-7 SVA,T1S,and TIA in the trial group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),while the difference in NT between the two groups after treatment was not statistically significant(P＞0.05).(3)The results of Spearman correlation analysis showed that before treatment,VAS pain score had no correlation with C2-7 SVA,T1S,NT,and TIA(P＞0.05),C2-7 SVA was negatively correlated with NT(r=-0.502,P＜0.05),and T1S was positively correlated with NT(r=0.601,P＜0.05).After treatment,VAS pain score was negatively correlated with C2-7 SVA(r=-0.362,P＜0.05)and positively correlated with TIA(r=0.476,P＜0.05),C2-7 SVA was positively correlated with NT(r=0.928,P＜0.05),and T1S was positively correlated with TIA(r=0.623,P＜0.05).Conclusion Both cervical rotation and lifting manipulations and cervical traction can relieve the pain and adjust cervical sagittal parameters in the patients with NTCS,but cervical rotation and lifting manipulations are more effective in treating NTCS.And there may be a correlation between the VAS scores of pain level and cervical sagittal parameters in patients with NTCS.

The genomic characteristics and cellular tropism of a Mangshi virus(MSV)isolated in China were investigated,thereby establishing a robust foundation for further research on the evolution and pathogenicity of MSV.The genome sequence of MSV strain V301/YNJH/2019 was obtained by next-generation sequencing,followed by phylogenetic tree construction and rearrangement assessment using software IQtree,RPD4,and Simplot.Viral proliferation was assessed in C6/36(Aedes albop-ictus),Vero(African green monkey kidney),and BHK(baby hamster kidney)cells.An initial epidemiological investigation of MSV in local cattle and goats was conducted using the serum neutralization test.The genome of MSV strain V301/YNJ H/2019 was 20623 bp in length,encompassing 12 segments of double-stranded RNA(Seg-1 to Seg-12).Sequence analysis confirmed genomic rearrangement of the Seg-1 and Seg-11 sequences,ex-hibiting high similarity to MSV isolated from lake sediment in China in 2022,while Seg-2 to Seg-10 and Seg-12 were most closely related to a MSV strain isolated from mosquitoes in China in 2013.The virus efficiently proliferated and induced sig-nificant cytopathic effects(CPE)in both C6/36 and BHK cells,but limited replication and no observable CPE in Vero cells.No detectable neutralizing antibodies against MSV were detected in 20 goat serum samples collected in Mangshi,while 2 of 20 bo-vine serum samples were positive with neutralizing antibody titers of 1:128 and 1:54.Whole genome sequencing revealed re-assortment events of the V301/YNJH/2019 strain,which is capable of infecting C6/36,BHK,and Vero cells.MSV infection was confirmed in cattle in Mangshi.

Objective:To investigate whether stress hyperglycemia (SH) is an independent risk factor for the occurrence and mortality of sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE).Methods:From August 2016 to October 2021, sepsis patients admitted to the ICU of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital were selected as the study subjects. According to whether they developed to SH (RBG>11.1 mmol/L) within 7 days of enrollment, the pat ients were divided into the SH group and the non-SH group for analysis. Logistic regression was used to analyze whether SH was an independent risk factor for SAE occurrence, and ROC curve was used to analyze the predictive value of SH to SAE. Kaplan-Meier curve was used to compare the 90-day survival of SAE patients with or without SH. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of 28-day and 90-day death in SAE patients.Results:A total of 183 sepsis patients were included, including 62 patients in the SH group and 121 in the non-SH group. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that SH was an independent risk factor for SAE ( OR=4.452, 95% CI: 2.021-9.808, P <0.001). ROC curve demonstrated that SH could accurately predict SAE (AUC=0.831; Sensitivity=78.4%; Specificity=76.8%; and Yoden index=0.553). Kaplan-Meier curve demonstrated that the 90-day survival of SAE patients with SH significantly declined (log-rank test: P<0.01). Cox regression analysis suggested that SH was a risk factor for death at day 28 and day 90 in SAE patients (28 d, HR=2.272, 95% CI: 1.212-4.260, P=0.010; 90 d, HR=2.456, 95% CI: 1.400-4.306, P<0.01). Conclusions:SH is an independent risk factor for SAE and can predict SAE occurrence. SH significantly reduces 90-day survival and increase mortality at 28 and 90 days in SAE patients.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic and early-warning value of laboratory test indicators for sepsis-induced myocardial injury (SIMD).Methods:The clinical data of 183 patients with sepsis admitted to the Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from August 2016 to October 2020 were collected. The patient's age, gender, past medical history, vital signs and pathogen culture results were extracted. Cardiac function, blood routine, liver function, renal function, inflammatory factors, coagulation function, APACHE Ⅱ and SOFA scores were recorded at enrollment and 72 h after admission. SIMD was defined as cTnT ≥300 pg/mL and NT-proBNP ≥1243 pg/mL twice in 72 h intervals between enrolled cases, and the early-warning factors of patients with SIMD were analyzed. The differences in various indicators between the two groups were compared, and Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the diagnostic efficacy of cTnT and NT-proBNP combined for SIMD, and the correlation between PCT/PLT ratio and the occurrence of SIMD.Results:Among 250 patients, 67 patients were excluded for lack of the main indicators, and 183 patients (including 62 patients with history of cardiac disease) were enrolled finally. Among 183 patients with sepsis, 105 patients (57.38%) with cTNT ≥300 pg/mL and NT-proBNP ≥1 243 pg/mL, were diagnosed as myocardial injury; after excluding 62 patients with history of cardiac disease, 59 patients (48.76%) with cTNT ≥300 pg/mL and NT-proBNP ≥1 243 pg/mL were diagnosed as myocardial injury. Logistic regression analysis showed that increased PCT/PLT ratio ( OR=1.585, 95% CI: 1.124-2.237, P=0.009) was an independent risk factor for early-warning of SIMD. The PCT/PLT ratio ( OR= 1.850, 95% CI: 1.103-3.102, P=0.020) could stably predict the occurrence of SIMD in patients without previous history of heart disease. ROC curve analysis showed that PCT/PLT ratio could effectively predict the occurrence of SIMD (AUC=0.693, 95% CI: 0.617-0.769, P<0.001), the optimal cut-off value was 0.177 (sensitivity: 65.7%, specificity: 66.7%). The PCT/PLT ratio was still effective in predicting the occurrence of SIMD after excluding patients with previous history of heart disease (AUC=0.733, 95% CI: 0.643-0.823, P<0.001), and the optimal cut-off value was 0.429 (sensitivity: 55.9%, specificity: 83.9%). Conclusions:The combination of cTnT and NT-proBNP has certain diagnostic value for SIMD, and the PCT/PLT ratio could warn the occurrence of SIMD.

To explore the pharmacogenomic markers that affect the platinum-based chemotherapy response in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), we performed a two-cohort of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including 34 for WES-based and 433 for microarray-based analyses, as well as two independent validation cohorts. After integrating the results of two studies, the genetic variations related to the platinum-based chemotherapy response were further determined by fine-mapping in 838 samples, and their potential functional impact were investigated by eQTL analysis and in vitro cell experiments. We found that a total of 68 variations were significant at P < 1 × 10^-3 in cohort 1 discovery stage, of which 3 SNPs were verified in 262 independent samples. A total of 541 SNPs were significant at P < 1 × 10^-4 in cohort 2 discovery stage, of which 8 SNPs were verified in 347 independent samples. Comparing the validated SNPs in two GWAS, ADCY1 gene was verified in both independent studies. The results of fine-mapping showed that the G allele carriers of ADCY1 rs2280496 and C allele carriers of rs189178649 were more likely to be resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy. In conclusion, our study found that rs2280496 and rs189178649 in ADCY1 gene were associated the sensitivity of platinum-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the characteristics of immune function of healthy full-term infants at the age of 3 months, and to analyze the relationship of immune function with feeding pattern and sex. METHODS: A total of 84 healthy full-term infants born in four hospitals in Beijing and Hohhot, China were prospectively recruited. Their feeding patterns remained unchanged within 4 months after birth. They were divided into a breast-feeding group and a milk powder feeding group according to their feeding patterns. At the age of 3 months after birth, peripheral venous blood samples of the two groups were collected to evaluate cellular immunity and humoral immunity and perform routine blood test. The laboratory indices were compared between infants with different feeding patterns and sexes. RESULTS: Compared with the milk powder feeding group, the breast-feeding group had significantly lower proportion of T cell second signal receptor CD28, immunoglobulin M, and proportion and absolute count of neutrophils ( CONCLUSIONS Sex has no significant effect on the proportion of lymphocyte subsets in 3-month-old full-term infants, but feeding patterns are associated with the proportion of CD28
Breast Feeding ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Female ; HLA-DR Antigens ; Humans ; Infant ; Lymphocyte Activation ; Male ; Prospective Studies

"Kidney essence" is a profound concept in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine. But its biological basis is unknown until now, resulting in the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese drugs on reinforcing kidney for supplementing essence hard to be evaluated. This study aimed, to explore the potential biological basis and mechanism of traditional Chinese drugs of reinforcing kidney for supplementing essence on diseases related to deficiency of kidney essence through network pharmacology analysis on the intersection of targets of drugs and diseases. The targets for ingredients in Rehmanniae radix praeparata (RRP), Polygoni multiflori radix praeparata (PMRP) and Polygonati rhizome (PR) were gathered from TCMSP and TCMID database. Osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, anemia, infertility and oligospermia targets were collected from OMIM and DisGeNET database. Drug-compound-target-disease (DCTD) network was established with Cytoscape 3.6.1 software, then Clue GO and DAVID database was used to acquire the annotation about GO terms and signaling pathways. Natural aging mice, an acknowledged syndrome model of deficiency of kidney essence, and RRP were used to verify the predictive targets by Western blot analysis. All animal experiments were conducted in accordance with the international guidelines and regulations for the care and use of animals. DCTD network showed that the intersection of drugs and diseases included 175 common targets. After topology analysis, 71 key were screened out targets which were associated with GO annotation exhibited that biological processes (including transcription regulation, RNA metabolism regulation, and DNA-dependent transcription regulation), cell composition (including nuclear lumen, organelle lumen, and membrane closure lumen), molecular function (including transcription regulation, transcription factor activity, and enzyme binding), and signaling pathway (including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), erythropoietin (EPO) and other signaling pathways. In natural aging mice, the expressions of HIF-1α, growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (GRB2), MAPK3, signal transducer and activator of transcription 5A (STAT5A), transcription factor AP-1 (JUN) and proto-oncogene c-Fos (FOS) in EPO pathway were significantly decreased. RRP significantly reversed the decrease of the above targets. Above all, these results indicated that the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese drugs of reinforcing kidney for supplementing essence on deficiency of kidney essence may be related to the regulation of nuclear transcriptional activity and EPO signaling pathway.

The aim of this paper was to observe the changes of EPO in rats with chronic renal failure and low immunity induced by adenine and to investigate the reversal effect of Yougui Yin(YGY)and exogenous EPO.SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group(n=20)and adenine-model group(n=90).The adenine-model group rats were given with adenine 150 mg·kg~(-1)for 14days by gavage administration,and then randomly divided into 8 groups as follows:model group(n=20),YGY groups(10,20,40 g·kg~(-1),10 in each group),rh EPO group(500,1 000,1 500 IU·kg~(-1),10 in each group),and Guilu Erxian Gao 10 g·kg~(-1)group(positive control group,n=10).From the 15th day,every group except normal control group received 150 mg·kg~(-1)adenine by gavage administration once every two days to maintain the model.Meanwhile,the rats in each YGY group and Guilu Erxian Gao group received corresponding drugs by gavage administration once a day for 30 days.The rats in rh EPO groups were subcutaneously injected with rh E-PO once every 3 days for 30 days.On day 46,rats were anesthetized to take blood and then sacrificed.The serum levels of creatinine,urea,glandular hormone,immunoglobulin,complement and interleukin,the proportion of T cells in the spleen,the killing rate of NKcells and the proliferative capacity of spleen cells were measured.Western blot was used to detect the key proteins in JAK2-STAT5 and NF-κB pathways mediated by EPO in kidney and spleen.As compared with the normal control group,the serum levels of CREA and UREA were increased significantly and the serum levels of ACTH,T and T3 were decreased significantly in the model group rats,indicating that the functions of kidney,adrenal gland,gonad and thyroid in rats were decreased.At the same time,the serum levels of Ig A,Ig G,Ig M,C3,C4,IL-2 and IL-6 were significantly decreased,the proportion of CD4~+,CD4~+/CD8~+T cell subsets,the killing rate of NK cell and the proliferation ability of spleen lymphocyte in spleen of the model group rats were significantly declined,indicating that the immune function of model group rats was decreased,and the model of kidney deficiency immunodeficiency was successfully constructed.As compared with the model group,both YGY and rh EPO significantly reduced serum levels of CREA and UREA,significantly increased serum levels of ACTH,T,T3,T4,Ig A,Ig G,Ig M,C3,C4,IL-2,and IL-6,increased the proportion of CD4~+,CD4~+/CD8~+T cell subsets,the killing rate of NK cell and the proliferation ability of spleen lymphocyte in spleen.YGY could significantly increase the content of EPO in serum.Both YGY and rh EPO could regulate the expression of EPOR,p-JAK2/JAK2,STAT5,NF-κB p50,NF-κB p65 and NF-κB IκB of EPO-mediated JAK2-STAT5 and NF-κB pathways in kidney and spleen.EPO is an important factor in the chronic renal failure and low immunity induced by adenine in rats.Exogenous EPO and YGY have significant reversal effects for the model rats.The mechanism of YGY may be related to the up-regulation of EPO in serum and regulating the expression of key proteins in EPO-mediated JAK2-STAT5 and NF-κB pathways in kidney and spleen.The mechanism of exogenous EPO may be related to regulating the expression of the key proteins in EPO-mediated JAK2-STAT5 and NF-κB pathways in kidney and spleen.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Signal Transduction