1.Oxidative Stress-related Signaling Pathways and Antioxidant Therapy in Alzheimer’s Disease
Li TANG ; Yun-Long SHEN ; De-Jian PENG ; Tian-Lu RAN ; Zi-Heng PAN ; Xin-Yi ZENG ; Hui LIU
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(10):2486-2498
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline, functional impairment, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. It represents the most prevalent form of dementia among the elderly population. Accumulating evidence indicates that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD. Notably, elevated levels of oxidative stress have been observed in the brains of AD patients, where excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause extensive damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA, ultimately compromising neuronal structure and function. Amyloid β‑protein (Aβ) has been shown to induce mitochondrial dysfunction and calcium overload, thereby promoting the generation of ROS. This, in turn, exacerbates Aβ aggregation and enhances tau phosphorylation, leading to the formation of two pathological features of AD: extracellular Aβ plaque deposition and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). These events ultimately culminate in neuronal death, forming a vicious cycle. The interplay between oxidative stress and these pathological processes constitutes a core link in the pathogenesis of AD. The signaling pathways mediating oxidative stress in AD include Nrf2, RCAN1, PP2A, CREB, Notch1, NF‑κB, ApoE, and ferroptosis. Nrf2 signaling pathway serves as a key regulator of cellular redox homeostasis, exerts important antioxidant capacity and protective effects in AD. RCAN1 signaling pathway, as a calcineurin inhibitor, and modulates AD progression through multiple mechanisms. PP2A signaling pathway is involved in regulating tau phosphorylation and neuroinflammation processes. CREB signaling pathway contributes to neuroplasticity and memory formation; activation of CREB improves cognitive function and reduce oxidative stress. Notch1 signaling pathway regulates neuronal development and memory, participates in modulation of Aβ production, and interacts with Nrf2 toco-regulate antioxidant activity. NF‑κB signaling pathway governs immune and inflammatory responses; sustained activation of this pathway forms “inflammatory memory”, thereby exacerbating AD pathology. ApoE signaling pathway is associated with lipid metabolism; among its isoforms, ApoE-ε4 significantly increases the risk of AD, leading to elevated oxidative stress, abnormal lipid metabolism, and neuroinflammation. The ferroptosis signaling pathway is driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, and the subsequent release of lipid peroxidation products and ROS exacerbate oxidative stress and neuronal damage. These interconnected pathways form a complex regulatory network that regulates the progression of AD through oxidative stress and related pathological cascades. In terms of therapeutic strategies targeting oxidative stress, among the drugs currently used in clinical practice for AD treatment, memantine and donepezil demonstrate significant therapeutic efficacy and can improve the level of oxidative stress in AD patients. Some compounds with antioxidant effects (such asα-lipoic acid and melatonin) have shown certain potential in AD treatment research and can be used as dietary supplements to ameliorate AD symptoms. In addition, non-drug interventions such as calorie restriction and exercise have been proven to exerted neuroprotective effects and have a positive effect on the treatment of AD. By comprehensively utilizing the therapeutic characteristics of different signaling pathways, it is expected that more comprehensive multi-target combination therapy regimens and combined nanomolecular delivery systems will be developed in the future to bypass the blood-brain barrier, providing more effective therapeutic strategies for AD.
2.Inhibition of glutaminolysis alleviates myocardial fibrosis induced by angiotensin II.
Pan-Pan WANG ; Hao-Miao BAI ; Si-Yu HE ; Zi-Qi XIA ; Mei-Jie LIU ; Jiong AN ; Jia-Heng ZHOU ; Chen-Han LI ; Wei ZHANG ; Xing ZHANG ; Xin-Pei WANG ; Jia LI
Acta Physiologica Sinica 2023;75(2):179-187
The present study was aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of glutaminolysis of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) in hypertension-induced myocardial fibrosis. C57BL/6J mice were administered with a chronic infusion of angiotensin II (Ang II, 1.6 mg/kg per d) with a micro-osmotic pump to induce myocardial fibrosis. Masson staining was used to evaluate myocardial fibrosis. The mice were intraperitoneally injected with BPTES (12.5 mg/kg), a glutaminase 1 (GLS1)-specific inhibitor, to inhibit glutaminolysis simultaneously. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect protein expression levels of GLS1, Collagen I and Collagen III in cardiac tissue. Neonatal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat CFs were treated with 4 mmol/L glutamine (Gln) or BPTES (5 μmol/L) with or without Ang II (0.4 μmol/L) stimulation. The CFs were also treated with 2 mmol/L α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) under the stimulation of Ang II and BPTES. Wound healing test and CCK-8 were used to detect CFs migration and proliferation respectively. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to detect mRNA and protein expression levels of GLS1, Collagen I and Collagen III. The results showed that blood pressure, heart weight and myocardial fibrosis were increased in Ang II-treated mice, and GLS1 expression in cardiac tissue was also significantly up-regulated. Gln significantly promoted the proliferation, migration, mRNA and protein expression of GLS1, Collagen I and Collagen III in the CFs with or without Ang II stimulation, whereas BPTES significantly decreased the above indices in the CFs. α-KG supplementation reversed the inhibitory effect of BPTES on the CFs under Ang II stimulation. Furthermore, in vivo intraperitoneal injection of BPTES alleviated cardiac fibrosis of Ang II-treated mice. In conclusion, glutaminolysis plays an important role in the process of cardiac fibrosis induced by Ang II. Targeted inhibition of glutaminolysis may be a new strategy for the treatment of myocardial fibrosis.
Rats
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Mice
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Animals
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Rats, Sprague-Dawley
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Angiotensin II/pharmacology*
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Fibroblasts
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Fibrosis
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Collagen/pharmacology*
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Collagen Type I/metabolism*
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RNA, Messenger/metabolism*
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Myocardium/pathology*
3.The status and influencing factors of domestic violence against married women in Wenzhou area
Li CHEN ; Wen-ting WU ; Li-jing WANG ; Zi-heng CHEN ; Ren PAN ; Yu-lan GU ; Yuan-zhi ZOU
Chinese Journal of Disease Control & Prevention 2019;23(10):1208-1212
Objective To investigate and analyze the prevalence, patterns and associated factors of domestic violence against married women in Wenzhou area. Methods a total of 705 married women took part in this cross-sectional study conducted in 2018. Conflict Tactics Scales and several short demographic questions were used in this study to collect basic information and the occurence of domestic violence within 12 months. Results Nearly 40% of married women experienced at least one incident of domestic violence during the past 12 months. 33.8% of respondents experiencing one episode of psychological violence in the past 12 months, followed by 19.5% experienced physical violence and 14.9%of sexual violence. The joint occurrence of multiple forms of violence was the most commonly reported features experiencing domestic violence. Some individual (education and Hukou), marital relationship (marital satisfaction, duration of marriage, marital autonomy marital models) and family (family model and sex roles) factors of the respondents, were negatively or positively associated with domestic violence against married women. Conclusion The results indicated that there was a high rate of domestic violence among married women in Wenzhou area. Accordingly, there is an obvious need of intervention and treatment activities to prevent and reduce the occurrence of domestic violence among the married women.

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