Intrinsic "self-consistent" phenomenon based on holistic view of traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

The fundamental principle of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is holism, and it is crucial for TCM to address the key issue of the "holistic view" of Chinese herbal medicine. While the overall regulatory effects of Chinese herbal medicine have been widely recognized, the holistic internal logic of individual ingredients of Chinese herbal medicines require further clarification. In order to comprehensively understand the mechanism of action of Chinese herbal medicine, this paper combined the holistic view of Chinese herbal medicine with differentiation thinking to explore the intrinsic logical relationships within Chinese herbal medicine. Starting from the perspective of the coexistence of multiple components in Chinese herbal medicine, this paper systematically examined the "self-consistent" phenomenon within single Chinese herbal medicine. This phenomenon refers to the consistent or opposing actions of various components in terms of their physical and chemical properties, pharmacokinetic effects, biological effects, flavors and properties, and TCM efficacy. The paper summarized various logical relationships of syndrome differentiation exhibited by the same Chinese herbal medicine, analyzed the underlying reasons, and focused on analyzing external factors affecting the "self-consistent" phenomenon in the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine, aiming to better elucidate the theoretical basis of the pharmacological effects of Chinese herbal medicine, further enrich the scientific connotation of the holistic view of Chinese herbal medicine, and provide theoretical guidance for the preparation process, compatibility patterns, and formulation design of Chinese herbal medicine.

Morin induces autophagy and apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells through Akt/mTOR/STAT3 pathway / 中国中药杂志

This study investigated the effect and mechanism of morin in inducing autophagy and apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells through the protein kinase B(Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)/signal transducer and activator of transcription protein 3(STAT3) pathway. Human hepatocellular carcinoma SK-HEP-1 cells were stimulated with different concentrations of morin(0, 50, 100, 125, 200, and 250 μmol·L~(-1)). The effect of morin on the viability of SK-HEP-1 cells was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8). The effect of morin on the proliferation and apoptosis of SK-HEP-1 cells was investigated using colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and BeyoClick~(TM) EdU-488 with different concentrations of morin(0, 125, and 250 μmol·L~(-1)). The changes in the autophagy level of cells treated with morin were examined by transmission electron microscopy and autophagy inhibitors. The impact of morin on the expression levels of proteins related to the Akt/mTOR/STAT3 pathway was verified by Western blot. Compared with the control group, the morin groups showed decreased viability of SK-HEP-1 cells in a time-and concentration-dependent manner, increased number of apoptotic cells, up-regulated expression level of apoptosis marker PARP, up-regulated phosphorylation level of apoptosis-regulating protein H2AX, decreased number of positive cells and the colony formation rate, an upward trend of expression levels of autophagy-related proteins LC3-Ⅱ, Atg5, and Atg7, and decreased phosphorylation levels of Akt, mTOR, and STAT3. These results suggest that morin can promote apoptosis, inhibit proliferation, and induce autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and its mechanism of action may be related to the Akt/mTOR/STAT3 pathway.

Inhibitory effect and molecular mechanism of sinomenine on human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to investigate the effect and molecular mechanism of sinomenine on proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and combination with inhibitors in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells and SK-HEP-1 cells. The effect of sinomenine on the growth ability of HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells were investigated by CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, and BeyoClick~(TM) EdU-488 staining. The effect of sinomenine on DNA damage was detected by immunofluorescence assay, and the effect of sinomenine on apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells was clarified by Hoechst 33258 staining and CellEvent~(TM) Cystein-3/7Green ReadyProbes~(TM) reagent assay. Cell invasion assay and 3D tumor cell spheroid invasion assay were performed to investigate the effect of sinomenine on the invasion ability of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro. The effect of sinomenine on the regulation of protein expression related to the protein kinase B(Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3) signaling pathway in HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells was examined by Western blot. Molecular docking was used to evaluate the strength of affinity of sinomenine to the target cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3(caspase-3) and STAT3, and combined with CCK-8 assay to detect the changes in cell viability after combination with STAT3 inhibitor JSI-124 in combination with CCK-8 assay. The results showed that sinomenine could significantly reduce the cell viability of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in a concentration-and time-dependent manner, significantly inhibit the clonogenic ability of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and weaken the invasive ability of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro. In addition, sinomenine could up-regulate the cleaved level of poly ADP-ribose polymerase(PARP), a marker of apoptosis, and down-regulate the protein levels of p-Akt, p-mTOR, and p-STAT3 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Molecular docking results showed that sinomenine had good affinity with the targets caspase-3 and STAT3, and the sensitivity of sinomenine to hepatocellular carcinoma cells was diminished after STAT3 was inhibited. Therefore, sinomenine can inhibit the proliferation and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells and induce apoptosis, and the mechanism may be attributed to the activation of caspase-3 signaling and inhibition of the Akt/mTOR/STAT3 pathway. This study can provide a new reference for the in-depth research and clinical application of sinomenine and is of great significance to further promote the scientific development and utilization of sinomenine.

Clinical Features of Coccidioidomycosis:Analysis of 33 Chinese Cases / 中国医学科学院学报

Objective To summarize the characteristics of Chinese coccidioidomycosis cases, improve the diagnosis and treatment of this disease and prevent misdiagnosis as well as therapeutic error.Methods Search in databases including Medline,Wanfang,and CNKI using "Coccidioidomycosis" and "China" as index words yielded 23 articles that reported a total of 32 Chinese coccidioidomycosis cases.In addition,one patient with disseminated coccidioidomycos was treated in our center in April 2016.The demographic data,site of infection,clinical manifestations,past medical history,exposure history,imaging and laboratory findings,and pathological features of these 33 patients were analyzed.Results Among these 33 patients,7(21.2%)had visited an epidemic area and 6(18.2%)were immunocompromised.The disease involved the respiratory system,skin,bone,central nervous system,cornea,and stomach in 24,6,3,2,1,and 1 patients,respectively.Eight patients (24.2%) had multiple system involvement,and three of them died.The imaging findings included pulmonary nodules(=14),mediastinal lymphadenopathy(=5),solid shadow(=4),cavity(=4),pleural effusion(=3),multiple plaques(=2)and masses(=2).Coccidiolys cysts were detected in the affected tissues(=28)or in pus,exudate or pleural smear(=3);in addition,coccidioides mycelium and spores were found in the sputum,pus,and tissue cultures in 4 cases,among whom only 2 cases were confirmed by serological examination.The treatments included triazoles(=20),systemic or local administration of amphotericin B(=13),surgical resection of the lesion(=8),and intravenous gamma globulin(=1).Five patients died,among whom three had underlying diseases that caused immunosuppression and one was an infant.The prognoses were relatively good in the remaining patients.Conclusions Early diagnosis and proper treatment can achieve good prognosis in coccidioidomycosis patients.Multi-system involvement and immunosuppression are risk factors for poor prognosis of coccidioidomycosis.For these patients,adequate and full-course medication may prevent rapid disease progression.

Effect of Transsphenoidal Adenectomy on Glucose Tolerance Status in Patients with Growth Hormone-secreting Pituitary Adenoma / 中国医学科学院学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of transsphenoidal adenectomy on glucose tolerance status in patients with growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary adenoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical data of 105 patients with GH-secreting pituitary adenoma who underwent transsphenoidal adenectomy in our department in 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. The glucose tolerance status, GH level, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) level before and after surgery were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among these 105 patients, the blood glucose tolerance status included normal glucose tolerance (NGT) in 47 cases (44.8%), early carbohydrate metabolism disorders (ECMDs) in 26 cases (24.8%), and diabetes mellitus (DM) in 32 cases (30.5%) before surgery. After the surgery, the fasting blood glucose (P=0.006, P=0.017) and postprandial blood glucose (P=0.000, P=0.000) in the ECMDs and DM groups were significantly improved. Also, the random GH (P=0.001, P=0.004, P=0.001), nadir GH (P=0.000, P=0.001, P=0.001), and IGF-1 (P=0.005, P=0.000, P=0.000) significantly decreased during the follow-up period in NGT, ECMDs and DM groups. Compared with ECMDs and DM groups, the decrease in fasting blood glucose (P=0.029, P=0.000), postprandial blood glucose (P=0.003, P=0.000), and serum IGF-1 (P=0.048, P=0.000) were more significant in DM group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Transsphenoidal adenectomy can improve the blood glucose, GH, and IGF-1 levels in patients with growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma. Meanwhile,the surgery has a better effect in improving the glucose tolerance status and IGF-1 in patients with preoperatively confirmed DM.</p>

Risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome and sleep hypopnea in patients with growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the risk factors contributing to the development of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and sleep hypopnea (SH) in patients with growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma (GHPA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 85 patients with GHPA recruited strictly according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria underwent sleep monitoring overnight. Clinical manifestations, laboratory data and magnet resonance images were collected for analysis of the risk factors of GHPA and SH using binary logistic regression analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The prevalence rate of OSAHS was 62.4% (53/85), and that of SH was 75.3% (64/85) in the recruited patients with GHPA. Regression analysis showed that age (OR=1.107) and BMI (OR=1.166) were the risk factors for OSAHS, and BMI (OR=1.334) was the risk factor of SH.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Ageing and an increased BMI are independent risk factors for OSAHS and SH in patients with GHPA. Preoperative sleep monitoring should be routinely conducted to ensure early diagnosis of OSAHS and SH, and patients with GHPA should be advised to control their body weight to lower the mortality associated with the respiratory system.</p>