Correlation of DNA Damage Repair Gene FANCI with Prognosis and Immune Infiltration of Hepatocellular Carcinoma / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

ObjectiveTo evaluate the expression level of DNA damage repair gene FANCI in hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） and its relationship with prognosis， clinical stage and immune infiltration. MethodsIn this study， TCGA， GTEx， TIMER2.0， HPA database and qRT-PCR， western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to analyze the expression of FANCI in HCC and its correlation with different clinical stages； Kaplan-Meier Plotter database was used to explore the relationship between FANCI and the prognosis of HCC； the TISIDB database was used to analyze the relationship between FANCI and immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoints in HCC； the STRING database was used to detect the protein binding with FANCI； the TCGA and GTEx databases were used for GO and KEGG enrichment analysis； Cell experiments were used to explore the role of FANCI in HCC. ResultsCompared with normal tissues， the mRNA and protein expression levels of FANCI in tumor tissues were up-regulated （P<0.001）； and HCC patients with high expression of FANCI had poor prognosis （P<0.001）； the expression of FANCI in tumor tissues was positively correlated with the number of activated CD4+ T cells， the number of Th2 cells and the expression of immune checkpoints， and B-cell and macrophage infiltration was significantly lower in the FANCI high expression group （P<0.01）； GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that FANCI-related genes were enriched in various biological processes such as amino acid transmembrane transporter activity； Cell experiments showed that knockdown of FANCI could inhibit the proliferation， invasion and migration of HCC （P<0.05）. ConclusionsFANCI is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues， which may play a role in suppressing anti-tumor immunity and acting on pathways such as amino acid transmembrane transport， and is associated with poor prognosis. The proliferation， invasion and migration ability of hepatocellular carcinoma are inhibited after knocking down FANCI.

Diagnosis and treatment analysis of renal pelvic hemangioma / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Renal pelvic hemangioma is a rare benign tumor, presenting with intermittent, total, painless, gross hematuria, accompanied by low back pain, abdominal pain or other symptoms in some cases. Four cases of pyelonephric hemangioma were treated, which were misdiagnosed as malignancy before surgery. For middle-aged patients with intermittent hematuria, if the imaging data cannot rule out renal pelvic hemangioma, it is recommended to perform renoscopy, renal artery angiography or renal puncture biopsy. For patients diagnosed with renal pelvic hemangioma, either partial nephrectomy, ureteroscopic cauterization, or selective renal artery embolization can achieve good results.

Study of altered brain metabolism and connectivity in temporal lobe epilepsy / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To explore the abnormal brain metabolic pattern and connectivity in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients.Methods:18F-FDG PET images of 75 patients diagnosed as drug resistant unilateral TLE from January 2014 to December 2016 in Huashan Hospital of Fudan University were collected retrospectively, including 41 (22 males, 19 females, age (28.4±8.7) years) left TLE (LTLE) and 34 (13 males, 21 females, age (28.5±8.8) years) right TLE (RTLE). Forty-four healthy controls (24 males, 20 females, age (31.2±6.2) years) were also enrolled. The cerebral glucose metabolism in TLE patients and the controls were analyzed with statistical parametric mapping (SPM) 12. The brain connectivity based on glucose metabolism were analyzed with bilateral hippocampus and amygdala as seeds. Permutation test with 1 000 permutations was used to analyze data. Results:Compared to control group, in both LTLE and RTLE groups, hypometabolism was found in affected hippocampus, amygdala, insula and temporal gyrus and hypermetabolism was observed in health hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdala, lenticular nucleus and thalamus. In addition, hypometabolism was also found in affected superior/middle frontal gyrus and hypermetabolism was also found in bilateral frontal-orbital gyrus, bilateral cerebellum, affected lenticular nucleus and thalamus in LTLE group. In both TLE groups, affected seeds exhibited increased connectivity with affected superior frontal gyrus, lingual gyrus, fusiform gyrus, superior/middle temporal gyrus and temporal pole (all P<0.05); affected seeds exhibited increased connectivity with health superior frontal gyrus ( P=0.005), lingual gyrus ( P=0.018) and transverse temporal gyrus ( P=0.016) in RTLE group in addition. Besides, affected seeds exhibited decreased connectivity with bilateral default mode network (DMN) (all P<0.05), affected caudate nucleus ( P=0.015) and health thalamus ( P=0.008), in a uniform distribution pattern in LTLE group, and with bilateral cerebral cortex in an irregular distribution pattern in RTLE group (all P<0.05). In LTLE group, health seeds exhibited more increased connections with superior ( P=0.005)/middle frontal gyrus ( P=0.042), health hippocampus ( P=0.038), parahippocampal gyrus ( P=0.019), amygdala ( P=0.038), posterior cingulate gyrus ( P=0.004), and bilateral fusiform gyrusand ( P=0.048) compared with RTLE group; while, in RTLE group, health seeds exhibited more decreased connections with health superior ( P=0.047), inferior frontal gyrus ( P<0.001), orbital frontal gyrus ( P<0.001) and rectus gyrus ( P=0.016) compared with LTLE group. Conclusion:Altered brain glucose metabolism and connectivity pattern are found and will elucidate the underlying metabolic pattern of TLE.

Quality control of the multi-centre clinical trial on PET/CT brain imaging / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Multi-centre clinical trials on PET/CT brain imaging are complex to organize and require careful co-ordination and management. This article describes considerations, which are necessary when designing and starting a multi-centre clinical trial on PET/CT brain imaging, based on guidelines and multi-center clinical brain imaging studies, providing references for further studies.

Clinical analysis of 32 cases of temporal lobe epilepsy treated by microsurgery under intraoperative cortical EEG monitoring / 中国综合临床

Objective:To investigate the effect of microsurgery by modified pterional approach in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy under intraoperative cortical encephalon electricity graph (EEG) monitoring.Methods:The clinical data of 32 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy who were admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery of Shangqiu First People's Hospital from January 2012 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, all patients underwent microsurgical resection of epileptogenic foci by modified pterional approach under cortical EEG monitoring.Results:The postoperative follow-up was from half a year to 6 years. According to the Tan's classification, 25 cases (78.1%(25/32)) of seizures disappeared completely, 3 cases (9.4%(3/32)) of seizures decreased by more than 75%, and 4 cases (12.5%(4/32)) of seizures decreased by more than 50%. Isotropic hemianopia occurred in 1 case (3.1%) after operation, and there was no operative death.Conclusion:Microsurgical resection of epileptogenic foci through modified pterional approach under intraoperative cortical EEG monitoring was a safe and effective method for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Effects of curcumin on memory follicular T cells in obese mice with colitis / 药学学报

This study evaluated the regulatory effect of curcumin on memory follicular T cells (mTf) in obese mice with ulcerative colitis on the basis of determining its effective treatment of ulcerative colitis in obese mice. Forty male leptin mutant (ob/ob) mice were randomly divided into control group, control + curcumin group, dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) group and DSS + curcumin group, with 10 mice in each group. Mice in the DSS group and the DSS + curcumin group were induced by DSS to establish chronic ulcerative colitis model, and mice in the control + curcumin group and the DSS + curcumin group were given curcumin (200 mg·kg-1·d-1) by intragastric administration. Mice were sacrificed under anesthesia, and colon mass index, colon length and other conditions were observed in each group. Pathological injury of colonic was performed after HE staining. The levels of memory follicular helper T cells (mTfh) and memory follicular regulatory T cells (mTfr) in spleen of mice were detected by flow cytometry. The expression levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interleukin-17A (IL-17A) in colon tissue were detected by ELISA. The results showed that curcumin significantly increased the body weight and colon length of obese mice with colitis, and decreased the colon weight, colon mass index and pathological score (P < 0.05). Curcumin significantly reduced the levels of central memory follicular T cells (cmTf), mTfh1, mTfh17 cells and the content of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17A (P < 0.01). The levels of effector memory follicular T cells (emTf) and mTfr and the content of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Therefore, curcumin may treat colitis in obese mice by regulating the balance of mTf cell subsets.

Survival outcomes and prognostic factors of patients with salvage surgery for hypopharyngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective: To investigate the survival outcomes and prognostic factors of patients with salvage surgery for hypopharyngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed, including 26 patients treated in Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital between January 2010 and December 2015. All patients were males, aged 48-83 years, of whom 8 cases were local residual after radiotherapy alone, 8 cases were local recurrence after postoperative radiotherapy, 2 cases were residual of cervical lymph nodes after radiotherapy alone, 2 cases were recurrence of cervical lymph nodes after radiotherapy alone, 2 cases were recurrence of cervical lymph nodes after postoperative radiotherapy and 4 cases were recurrence of tracheal stoma. The salvage operations included: local resection, local resection with neck dissection, simple neck dissection, tumor resection of tracheostomy, and additional repair according to the defect. Chi square test was used for recurrence and metastasis analysis, Kaplan-Meier method for survival analysis, Log-rank test for univariate analysis, and Cox regression model for multivariate analysis. Results: The complication rate of salvage surgery was 23.1% (6/26). The recurrence rate was 65.4% (17/26) and the distant metastasis rate was 42.3% (11/26) in the 5-year follow-up after salvage surgery. Patient's age and tumor invasion extent were correlated with recurrence. Initial treatment, tumor persistence or recurrence after radiotherapy, recurrence location and tumor invasion extent were correlated with distant metastasis (all P<0.05). Overall, 3 year and 5 year survival rates were 42.3% and 23.1% respectively. Age, recurrence location, surgical margin and tumor invasion extent were related to prognosis (χ²=6.56, 10.68, 9.32, and 7.90 respectively, all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that surgical margin and tumor invasion extent were independent risk factors for prognosis (OR (95%CI) = 3.19 (1.03-9.84), 14.37 (2.46-84.08), both P<0.05). Conclusion: Salvage surgery is the first choice for patients with recurrence after radiotherapy for hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Safe surgical margin should be ensured, especially in tumors invading muscle, bone tissue or lymph node capsule.

Characteristics of fusion gene expression in acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中华病理学杂志

Objective: To analyze the genetic landscape of 52 fusion genes in patients with de novo acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and to investigate the characteristics of other laboratory results. Methods: The fusion gene expression was retrospectively analyzed in the 1 994 patients with de novo ALL diagnosed from September 2016 to December 2020. In addition, their mutational, immunophenotypical and karyotypical profiles were investigated. Results: In the 1 994 patients with ALL, the median age was 12 years (from 15 days to 89 years). In the panel of targeted genes, 15 different types of fusion genes were detected in 884 patients (44.33%) and demonstrated a Power law distribution. The frequency of detectable fusion genes in B-cell ALL was significantly higher than that in T-cell ALL (48.48% vs 18.71%), and fusion genes were almost exclusively expressed in B-cell ALL or T-cell ALL. The number of fusion genes showed peaks at<1 year, 3-5 years and 35-44 years, respectively. More fusion genes were identified in children than in adults. MLL-FG was most frequently seen in infants and TEL-AML1 was most commonly seen in children, while BCR-ABL1 was dominant in adults. The majority of fusion gene mutations involved signaling pathway and the most frequent mutations were observed in NRAS and KRAS genes. The expression of early-stage B-cell antigens varied in B-cell ALL patients. The complex karyotypes were more common in BCR-ABL1 positive patients than others. Conclusion: The distribution of fusion genes in ALL patients differs by ages and cell lineages. It also corresponds to various gene mutations, immunophenotypes, and karyotypes.

Application of image fusion biopsy based on PSMA PET in prostate cancer / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Prostate biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of prostate cancer. Positron emission tomography (PET) of prostate-specific membrane antigen is a new imaging technology, which has high clinical value in the detection of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer. It also has high recognition ability for local recurrence and lymph node metastasis. Targeted prostate biopsy guided by PSMA PET can improve the detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer, help guide the selection of prostate cancer bone biopsy lesions, plan the needle path, and improve the success rate of bone biopsy in patients with mCRPC. However, prospective randomized controlled studies are still needed to explore the feasibility of PSMA PET in targeted biopsy of prostate cancer.

Incomplete concerted evolution of nrDNA ITS in Lycium / 药学学报

In this study, nrDNA ITS sequences of Lycium cultivars were sequenced and used to test the existence of incomplete concerted evolution and pseudogenes. Together with 44 ITS sequences retrieved from GenBank, the pattern of base substitutions, GC content, 5.8S conserved motifs, the minimum free energy of secondary structures, nucleotide diversity and phylogenetic relationship of the samples were analyzed. While 83 of the 144 sequences were identified as pseudogenes, the results suggested a high degree of polymorphism and putative pseudogenes in Lycium, suggesting an incomplete concerted evolution of the ITS region. ITS polymorphism and pseudogene of Lycium were systematically tested for the first time. This research provides a references for ITS sequence to be used in the study of Lycium germplasm resources and DNA barcode identification.

Application of Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry in Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine：A Comprehensive Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， which owns abundant chemical components and complex action pathways， has been widely recognized in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Some analysis methods have been emerged in order to ensure the quality of TCM and to develop new TCM drugs. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry （MALDI-MS） is a soft ionization mass spectrometric technique with the advantages of high throughput， high sensitivity， low cost and so on. It provides technical support for the molecular level study on TCM. At present， this technique has been used in the field of composition analysis and metabonomics research of TCM， and plays an important role in the identification of Chinese herbal medicines， real-time molecular screening and the construction of metabolic network pathway of active ingredients. Among them， the selection of appropriate matrix and sample preparation technology is the key to ensure the detection effect of MALDI-MS. With the development and optimization of new matrix， the continuous improvement of sample preparation technology and the combination of MALDI-MS with various analytical methods will greatly improve the detection effect. Based on this， this paper discusses the application of MALDI-MS in TCM， including high-throughput detection of active ingredients in TCM， monitoring of the original medicines and their metabolites in vivo， and in situ visualization and characterization of tissue distribution information of active ingredients in TCM. It also discusses the application prospect and existing problems of MALDI-MS in TCM， so as to provide technical support for the identification of active ingredients in TCM， drug utilization and metabolism.

Effect of Mankuining Decoction on Expression of Inflammatory Factors and Intestinal Flora in Mice with Ulcerative Colitis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect and the possible mechanism of Mankuining decoction on dextran sulfate sodium （DSS）-induced ulcerative colitis （UC） in mice. MethodA total of 90 male SPF C57BL/6 mice were randomly classified into normal group， model group， mesalazine group （0.266 g·kg-1）， and high-， and medium-， low-dose （20， 10， 5 g·kg-1） Mankuining decoction groups， with 15 rats in each group. Mice， except the normal group， drank 3% DSS solution for 7 days to induce UC， and administration （ig） started on the day of modeling. The model group and the normal group were given equivalent amount of 0.9% normal saline once a day for 7 days. The general conditions of mice were recorded every day and the disease activity index （DAI） was calculated. On the 8th day， mice were killed by cervical dislocation. All the colons and feces were collected. The length of colon was recorded， and the histopathological changes of colon were observed based on hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. The content of inflammatory factors in colon was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the changes of intestinal flora in mouse feces were determined based on 16SrRNA sequencing. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group had severe colon damage， reduction in colon length （P<0.01）， increase in DAI （P<0.01）， decrease in interleukin-10 （IL-10） and transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1） in colon（P<0.01）， rise of interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-17α （IL-17α）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in colon （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and decrease in abundance and diversity of intestinal flora. Compared with the model group， mesalazine and high-， medium-， low-dose Mankuining decoction alleviated the colon injury， recovered the length of colon （P<0.01）， decreased DAI （P<0.01）， increased IL-10 and TGF-β1 in colon （P<0.01）， and decreased IL-1β， IL-6， IL-17α， and TNF-α in colon （P<0.01）. Moreover， they raised the abundance and diversity of intestinal flora compared with the model group， as manifested by the increase in the abundance of Firmicutes， Akkermansia， Dubosiella， and Blautia and the decrease in the abundance of Bacteroidetes， Muribaculaceae， Clostridia_UCG-014， and Alistipes. ConclusionMankuining decoction has definite effect in treating UC mice， and the effect is positively correlated with the concentration. In addition， different concentration has different influence on the structure of flora. The mechanism is the likelihood that it alleviates the disorder of intestinal flora to restore intestinal immune balance and further promote the recovery of colonic mucosa.

Optimization of Agrobacterium-Mediated Genetic Transformation System of Armillaria gallica / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo optimize the existing genetic transformation system of Armillaria gallica to improve the transformation efficiency and lay a foundation for the follow-up research on Armillaria molecular marker-assisted breeding and gene function. MethodThe genetically transformed plasmid pH101-PAgGPD-GFP-TrpC was constructed，transformed into Escherichia coli，amplified， and cultured，and the plasmid was extracted. The extracted plasmid was transformed into four different agrobacteria LBA4404，EHA105，GV3101，and AGL-1，respectively. The transformed agrobacteria were used for impregnating A. gallica，and the agrobacteria with the highest conversion rate were screened out. Then the agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system of A. gallica was optimized from the type and concentration of antibiotics，co-culture time，concentration of bacterial solution， and impregnation method. The phenotype profiles of A. gallica under different conditions were observed using Synbiosis ProtoCol 3. ResultThe optimized genetic transformation conditions of A. gallica were as follows： the Agrobacterium strain of EHA105 at absorbance A600 nm=0.6， the co-culture time of 2 d， the infection mode of negative pressure impregnation for 10 min， the primary screening medium of PDA medium containing 400 mg·L-1 cefotaxime sodium and 10 mg·L-1 hygromycin，and the secondary screening medium of PDA medium containing 12 mg·L-1 hygromycin. ConclusionIn this study，the existing genetic transformation system of A. gallica was optimized，and there was a significant difference in the transformation rate before and after optimization （P<0.05）. After optimization，the transformation efficiency of A. gallica was about 4.33%，which was about eight times higher than that before optimization.

Analysis of Key Problems and Suggestions on Textual Research of Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

This paper systematically combs and analyzes the existing research related to the textual research of famous classical formulas， summarizes the problems and deficiencies of the current research， and puts forward the key points and suggestions of the textual research of famous classical formulas， so as to provide reference for the research related to the textual research of famous classical formulas. This paper discusses from the perspectives of paying attention to the similarities and differences of ancient and modern drug textual research connotation， paying attention to the comprehensive utilization of multi-dimensional information， paying attention to the combing and textual research of different key links of drug historical evolution， paying attention to the combing of the evolution of modern scientific name textual research， paying attention to the textual research principle of respecting the ancient but not sticking to it， and paying attention to the basic knowledge of philology， and puts forward the current situation， problems and countermeasures of formula textual research to herbal textual research based on the in-depth summary and analysis of the results， absorbs the advantages of previous scholars， supplements the shortcomings of previous research， and forms a unique research system according to the characteristics of famous classical formulas. That is， pay attention to the context of historical changes and cross-sectional analysis. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the historical changes of different key links such as the origin， authentic production areas， medicinal parts and processing， the reasonable key information of famous classical formula drugs in different periods was given by fully absorbing the research results of modern times and combining the current productivity and cognitive level， laying a foundation for the development of famous classical formulas.

Molecular cloning and functional characterization of an isoflavone glucosyltransferase from Pueraria thomsonii / 中国天然药物

Pueraria thomsonii has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Isoflavonoids are the principle pharmacologically active components, which are primarily observed as glycosyl-conjugates and accumulate in P. thomsonii roots. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the glycosylation processes in (iso)flavonoid biosynthesis have not been thoroughly elucidated. In the current study, an O-glucosyltransferase (PtUGT8) was identified in the medicinal plant P. thomsonii from RNA-seq database. Biochemical assays of the recombinant PtUGT8 showed that it was able to glycosylate chalcone (isoliquiritigenin) at the 4-OH position and glycosylate isoflavones (daidzein, formononetin, and genistein) at the 7-OH or 4'-OH position, exhibiting no enzyme activity to flavonones (liquiritigenin and narigenin) in vitro. The identification of PtUGT8 may provide a useful enzyme catalyst for efficient biotransformation of isoflavones and other natural products for food or pharmacological applications.

Evaluation of genetic diversity of ginseng fruit color germplasm resources: based on SSR analysis / 中国中药杂志

Illumina Xten was employed for shallow sequencing of Panax ginseng(ginseng) samples, MISA for screening of SSR loci, and Primer 3 for primer design. Polymorphic primers were screened from 180 primers. From the successfully amplified polymorphic primers, 15 primers which featured clear peak shape, good polymorphism, and ease of statistics were selected and used to evaluate the genetic diversity and germplasm resources of 36 ginseng accessions with different fruit colors from Jilin province. The results showed that red-fruit ginseng population had high genetic diversity with the average number of alleles(N_a) of 1.031 and haploid genetic diversity(h) of 0.172. The neighbor-joining cluster analysis demonstrated that the germplasms of red-fruit and yellow-fruit ginseng populations were obviously intermixed, and pick-fruit ginseng germplasms clustered into a single clade. The results of STRUCTURE analysis showed high proportion of single genotype in pick-fruit ginseng germplasm and abundant genotypes in red-fruit and yellow-fruit ginseng germplasms with obvious germplasm mixing. AMOVA revealed that genetic variation occurred mainly within populations(62.00%, P<0.001), and rarely among populations(39%, P<0.001), but homogenization was obvious among different populations. In summary, pink-fruit ginseng population may contain rare genotypes, which is the basis for breeding of high-quality high-yield, and multi-resistance varieties, genetic improvement of varieties, and sustainable development and utilization of ginseng germplasm resources.

Review of genetic diversity and breed identification of black-bone silky fowl / 中国中药杂志

Black-bone silky fowl, sweet, pungent, and hot-natured, is one of the valuable domesticated birds with special economic value in China's genebank of poultry breed, which has a long history of medicinal and edible uses. It has the effects of tonifying liver and kidney, replenishing Qi and blood, nourishing yin, clearing heat, regulating menstruation, invigorating spleen, and securing essence. Therefore, it has remarkable efficacy of enhancing physical strength, tonifying blood, and treating diabetes and gynecological diseases. Various local black-bone silky fowl breeds have been generated due to the differences in environmental conditions, breed selection, and rearing conditions in different areas of China, which are mainly concentrated in Taihe, Wan'an, and Ji'an in Jiangxi province and Putian, Jinjiang, and Yongchun in Fujian province. The indigenous chicken breeds in China have different body sizes, appearance, coat colors, etc. The complex lineages lead to extremely unstable genetic traits. The diverse breeds similar in appearance result in the confusion in the market of silky fowl breeds. With the rapid development of molecular biological technology, the genetics of black-bone silky fowls has been intensively studied. This article reviews the research progress of the germplasm resources, genetic diversity, and breed identification of black-bone silky fowl in China at the morphology, chromosome, protein, and DNA levels. Further, it introduces the principles, application status, and limitations of DNA markers such as mitochondrial DNA, microsatellite markers, and SNPs. This review provides a theoretical basis for the mining of elite trait genes and the protection and utilization of local black-bone silky fowl germplasm resources in China.

PK2/PKR1 signaling pathway participates in geniposide protection against diabetic nephropathy in mice / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to investigate the effects of geniposide(GP) on the expression of prokineticin(PK2) and prokineticin receptor 1(PKR1) in db/db mice with diabetic nephropathy(DN), so as to explore how the PK2 signaling pathway participated in the pathological changes of DN and whether GP exerted the therapeutic effect through this signaling pathway. Male mice were randomly divided into four groups, namely db/m, db/db, db/db+GP, and db/m+GP groups, with five in each group. The mice in the db/db+GP and db/m+GP groups were gavaged with 150 mg·kg~(-1) GP for eight successive weeks. Afterwards, all the mice were sacrificed and the renal tissues were embedded. The morphological changes in glomerulus and renal tubules were observed by Masson and PAS staining. The expression levels of PK2, PKR1, and Wilm's Tumor Protein 1(WT_1) in podocytes were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the protein expression levels of PK2 and PKR1 in mouse kidney by Western blot. The morphological results showed serious glomerular and tubular fibrosis(Masson), high glomerular and tubular injury score(PAS), increased glomerular mesangial matrix, thickened basement membrane, exfoliated brush border of renal tubules, decreased WT_1 in glomerular podocytes, and massive loss of podocytes in the db/db group. After administration with GP, the glomerular and tubular fibrosis was alleviated, accompanied by improved glomerular basement membrane and renal tubule brush edge, and up-regulated WT_1. As revealed by further protein detection, in the db/db group, the expression levels of PK2 and PKR1 and p-Akt/Akt ratio declined, whereas the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 rose. Ho-wever, PKR2 and p-ERK/ERK ratio did not change significantly. After administration with GP, the PK2 and PKR1 expression was elevated, and p-Akt/Akt ratio was increased. There was no obvious change in PKR2, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, or p-ERK/ERK ratio. All these have demonstrated that GP improves the renal damage in DN mice, and PK2/PKR1 signaling pathway may be involved in such protection, which has provided reference for clinical treatment of DN with GP.

Processing technology of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix unearthed from tomb of Haihunhou in the Western Han Dynasty / 中国中药杂志

With the rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou in the Western Han Dynasty as the re-ference, the present study evaluated the quality of Rehmanniae Radix and investigated the processing technology of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix to lay the foundation for the research on rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix products. With catalpol and rehmannioside D as the investigation indexes, the quality and grade of Rehmanniae Radix from different producing areas were evaluated with the methods in 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. UPLC method was established for the determination of catalpol and rehmannioside D in the rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix. The effects of steaming time, the amount of supplementary rice, and steaming times in the rice-steamed processing on the quality of products were investigated by L_9(3~4) orthogonal test and multi-index comprehensive balance scoring method combined with the content of catalpol and rehmannioside D and appearance characteristics. At last, the stability of the processing technology was tested. The results showed that the optimal processing technology for rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix was as follows: Rehmanniae Radix and rice(200 g∶4 g) were steamed twice at atmospheric pressure, four hours each time. The mass fractions of catalpol and rehmannioside D were 0.184% and 0.335%, respectively, and the character score was 6.5. The processing conditions are reaso-nable, stable, and feasible. It can provide a basis for the restoration of the ancient rice-steamed processing technology and references for the development of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix products in the future.

Chinese medicinal materials industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan period: trends and development suggestions / 中国中药杂志

This study steps through the future perspectives and gives the development suggestions of Chinese medicinal materials(CMM) industry by presenting the characteristics and open problems during the 13 th Five-Year Plan period. The development of CMM industry presents the following trends:(1)the development of Dao-di herbs speeds up with the increasing demand for high-quality CMM;(2)the mismatch between supply and demand is aggravating, which presses for supply-side structural reform;(3)ecological planting will become the core mode of production and bolster rural revitalization;(4)the demand for CMM with both medical and edible values keeps growing, and the antibiotic-free feed policy brings significant opportunities;(5)the "Internet Plus CMM" wave emerges, which promotes the construction of traceability system. Finally, we put forward the following suggestions for the sustainable development of CMM industry:(1)optimizing the layout for the production of Dao-di herbs according to local conditions;(2)strengthening the commercialization of the seeds and the breeding, multiplication, and extension of CMM to accelerate the realization of specialized seed production, mechanized seed processing, localized variety layout, and county-based unified seed supply;(3)ensuring the safety of pesticide use and accelerating the registration of special pesticides;(4)promoting both theoretical and practical research on ecological production of CMM;(5)publicizing the demonstration and popularization of CMM traceability system. Overall, significant progress has been achieved in the CMM industry during the 13 th Five-Year Plan period, and this industry is in a critical stage of high-quality development, facing both challenges and opportunities.