The Role of Key Molecules of Pyroptosis in Liver Damage of Rats With Exertional Heat Stroke.

This study is aimed at investigating the role of key molecular elements involved in pyroptosis in liver injury caused by exertional heat stroke (EHS). We established a model of EHS-induced liver injury in Sprague-Dawley rats, with a control group (receiving no treatment) for comparison and 12 rats in each group. Alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels in the blood were detected.

Deep learning uncovers histological patterns of YAP1/TEAD activity related to disease aggressiveness in cancer patients.

Over the last decade, Hippo signaling has emerged as a major tumor-suppressing pathway. Its dysregulation is associated with abnormal expression of and -family genes. Recent works have highlighted the role of YAP1/TEAD activity in several cancers and its potential therapeutic implications.

Genetic Variation for Wild Populations of the Rare and Endangered Plant Based on Double-Digest Restriction Site-Associated DNA Sequencing.

is an endangered tree species, and detecting its genetic diversity can reveal the mechanisms of endangerment, providing references for the conservation of genetic resources. Samples of 137 trees across seven populations within Fujian Province were collected and sequenced using double-digest restriction site-associated DNA (ddRAD-seq). A total of 3,687,189 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, and 15,158 high-quality SNPs were obtained after filtering.

Preparation of Ethosome Gel with Total Flavonoids from (L.) Willd. for the Treatment of Vitiligo.

(L.) Willd. is a traditional medicinal herb in Chinese medicine, extensively used by various ethnic groups due to the numerous advantages derived from its total flavonoids.

Activation of osteoblast ferroptosis by risperidone accelerates bone loss in mice models of schizophrenia.

Background: Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent regulatory cell death, which plays an essential role in bone loss. This study investigated whether the mechanism of risperidone (RIS)-induced bone loss is related to ferroptosis.

Methods: The schizophrenia mice were induced by administering MK-801.

Casticin reduces rosacea-related inflammation by inhibiting mast cell activation via Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X2.

Background: Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by persistent erythema, papules, and pustules, mainly on the skin of the face. Rosacea is difficult to treat; therefore, identifying new treatments is crucial. Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X2 (MRGPRX2)-mediated mast cell (MC) activation is essential in the pathogenesis of rosacea.

Tetramethylpyrazine promotes osteo-angiogenesis during bone fracture repair.

Background: Nonunion following a long bone fracture has gained a lot of attention due to the dreadful impact on the life quality of tremendous patients. Recent data have demonstrated the important involvement of angiogenesis in improving fracture healing. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is an active component of Chinese herbal medicine with various biological activities including pro-angiogenesis property.

Choroidal thickening and retinal dopamine increase in mice at high altitude.

The mechanisms underlying the low incidence of myopia at high altitudes remain unclear. Choroidal thickness and the dopaminergic system have been shown to be closely associated with myopia development. This study aimed to investigate the effects of high altitude exposure on choroidal thickness and the dopaminergic system.

CD137 agonism enhances anti-PD1 induced activation of expanded CD8 T cell clones in a neoadjuvant pancreatic cancer clinical trial.

Successful pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) immunotherapy requires therapeutic combinations that induce quality T cells. Tumor microenvironment (TME) analysis following therapeutic interventions can identify response mechanisms, informing design of effective combinations. We provide a reference single-cell dataset from tumor-infiltrating leukocytes (TILs) from a human neoadjuvant clinical trial comparing the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-secreting allogeneic PDAC vaccine GVAX alone, in combination with anti-PD1 or with both anti-PD1 and CD137 agonist.

CDK8 mediated inflammatory microenvironment aggravates osteoarthritis progression.

Introduction: Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 8 (CDK8), a CDK family member, regulates the development of inflammatory processes through transcriptional activation. The involvement of CDK8 in osteoarthritis (OA) progression is not yet understood.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate whether CDK8, through its transcriptional regulatory functions, collaborates with NF-κB in chondrocytes to regulate the transcription of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) genes, thereby exacerbating the inflammatory microenvironment in the progression of osteoarthritis (OA), and to explore the specific mechanisms involved.

Deep learning-based lymph node metastasis status predicts prognosis from muscle-invasive bladder cancer histopathology.

Purpose: To develop a deep learning (DL) model based on primary tumor tissue to predict the lymph node metastasis (LNM) status of muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), while validating the prognostic value of the predicted aiN score in MIBC patients.

Methods: A total of 323 patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used as the training and internal validation set, with image features extracted using a visual encoder called UNI. We investigated the ability to predict LNM status while assessing the prognostic value of aiN score.

Enzyme-assisted Rosa davurica mitigates UV-induced skin photodamage by modulating apoptosis through Nrf2/ARE and MAPK/NF-κB pathways.

Exposure to UV irradiation results in abnormal, extensive apoptosis of skin cells. This excessive cell death can promote inflammation and alter the microenvironment, increasing the risk of skin cancer. Despite extensive research, few materials are effective at simultaneously protecting against both UVA and UVB irradiation.

Plantaginis Herba attenuates adriamycin-induced nephropathy: Molecular mechanism insights by integrated transcriptomic and experimental validation.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The Chinese herbal Plantaginis Herba (PL) is one of the most widely used plants for both medicinal and dietary purposes. Plantaginis Herba is the main medicine used in a traditional Chinese prescription called Cheqiancao decoction, and it is known for its liver and kidney protective properties.

Aim Of The Study: The aim of the present study was to explore the interventions and mechanisms of PL in ADR nephropathy by performing an integrated analysis of in vitro and in vivo experiments.

TAX1BP1 regulates the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells in ischemia/reperfusion injury via the NF-kB/PMAIP1 signaling pathway.

Background: The pathogenesis of acute kidney injury (AKI) is not fully understood. Tax1-binding protein 1 (TAX1BP1) modulates inflammation and apoptosis through the NF-kB signaling pathway, however, its specific role in ischemic AKI remains unclear.

Methods: We injected a TAX1BP1 overexpression plasmid into the tail vein of male C57BL/6 mice, followed by clamping the bilateral renal arteries to induce AKI.

Pathomics-based machine learning models for predicting pathological complete response and prognosis in locally advanced rectal cancer patients post-neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: insights from two independent institutional studies.

Background: Accurate prediction of pathological complete response (pCR) and disease-free survival (DFS) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) is essential for formulating effective treatment plans. This study aimed to construct and validate the machine learning (ML) models to predict pCR and DFS using pathomics.

Method: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 294 patients who received NCRT from two independent institutions.

Vitexin alleviates MNNG-induced chronic atrophic gastritis via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The dried fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge (Hawthorn in Chinese) is a traditional medicine used in China, Japan and Korea for thousands of years. Hawthorn is documented in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, as a folk medicine that is used to eliminate food, strengthen the stomach, move qi and dissipate blood stasis, treat stagnation of meat and food, gastric distention and fullness, and has anti-inflammatory effects. Vitexin, a flavonoid glycoside, is an important biologically active compound derived from Hawthorn, with significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

["Shugan Tiaoshen" needling improves depression after ischemic stroke by regulating AMPK-dependent autophagy].

Objectives: To observe the effect of "Shugan Tiaoshen"(soothing the liver and regulating the mental activities) needling on the expressions of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and autophagy-related proteins in the prefrontal cortex of rats with depression after ischemic stroke (post-stroke depression), in order to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of post-stroke depression behaviors.

Methods: A total of 60 male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation (control), stroke, post-stroke depression, inhibitor, acupuncture, and acupuncture + inhibitor groups. The post-stroke depression model was established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery and reperfusion (MCAO/R), combined with chronic unpredictable mild stimulation (CUMS).

Dextran Sulfate-Modified and pH-Responsive Nanoprobes for Magnetic Resonance/Fluorescence Dual-Modality Imaging of Vulnerable Plaques.

Triggered by the vulnerability to atherosclerotic plaques, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have become a main reason for high mortality worldwide. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop functional molecular imaging modalities to improve the detection rate of vulnerable plaques. In this study, polyethyleneimine (PEI) was coated on the surface of mesoporous silica nanoprobes (MSN) loaded with GdO (MSN@GdO), followed by coupling the fluorescent dye carboxylated heptamethine cyanine (IR808), and then the dextran sulfate (DS) was modified on the surface of MSN@GdO@IR808 by electrostatic adsorption, to construct a targeted and pH-responsive magnetic resonance (MR)/near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRF) dual-modal nanoprobe (MSN@GdO@IR808@DS nanoparticles).

Effects of chronic cold stress and thermal stress on growth performance, hepatic apoptosis, oxidative stress, immune response and gut microbiota of juvenile hybrid sturgeon (Acipenser baerii ♀ × A. schrenkii ♂).

The current study was conducted to investigate the effects of chronic cold stress and thermal stress on the growth performance, hepatic oxidative status, immune response, apoptosis and gut microbiota in juvenile hybrid sturgeon. The fish (initial mean weight: 21.4 ± 0.

Interpretable multi-modal artificial intelligence model for predicting gastric cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy assessment is imperative for prognostication and clinical management of locally advanced gastric cancer. We propose an incremental supervised contrastive learning model (iSCLM), an interpretable artificial intelligence framework integrating pretreatment CT scans and H&E-stained biopsy images, for improved decision-making regarding neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We have constructed and tested iSCLM using retrospective data from 2,387 patients across 10 medical centers and evaluated its discriminative ability in a prospective cohort (132 patients; ChiCTR2300068917).

Shanyao regulates the PI3K/AKT/P21 pathway to promote oogonial stem cell proliferation and stemness restoration to alleviate premature ovarian insufficiency.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Shanyao (SY, yam, Rhizoma Dioscoreae, the dried rhizome of Dioscorea oppositifolia L.) was recorded in the Chinese pharmacopoeia and was often used in the treatment of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI).

Aim Of Study: To evaluate the efficacy of shanyao in cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced POI and explore its potential mechanism of action.

Levamisole Ameliorates Rheumatoid Arthritis by Downregulating the PI3K/Akt Pathway in SD Rats.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic chronic autoimmune disease characterized by a protracted course, high rates of morbidity, and disability yet lacks effective therapeutic modalities. Levamisole (LVM), an immunomodulatory drug, has been clinically reported for its potential in RA treatment, while its therapeutic mechanism toward RA remains to be elucidated. Hence, this study provides theoretical support for the application of LVM in the treatment of RA.

Zuogui pills ameliorate chemotherapy-induced ovarian aging by improving stemness, regulating cell cycle and reducing apoptosis of oogonial stem cells via the Notch1/Nrf2 pathway.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Zuogui Pills (ZGP) is a classic traditional Chinese herbal formula originating from the Ming Dynasty. It has been widely used in the treatment of kidney deficiency-related diseases, including ovarian aging.

Aim Of The Study: To investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of ZGP on ovarian aging induced by the chemotherapeutic agent cyclophosphamide (CTX), as well as its impact on the therapeutic target, oogonial stem cells (OSCs), involving the Notch1/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway.

IWR-1 attenuates the promotional effect of IL-36γ in a mouse model of psoriasis.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is essential for the regulation of adult stem cells, homeostasis, and tissue regeneration; however, the relationship between this pathway and interleukin (IL)-36γ in the pathogenesis of psoriasis remains unclear.

Methods: In this study, psoriasiform model mice were established using imiquimod (IMQ) induction.

Ampelopsis grossedentata tea alleviating liver fibrosis in BDL-induced mice via gut microbiota and metabolite modulation.

Liver fibrosis (LF) is a common sequela to diverse chronic liver injuries, leading to rising rates of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As the medicinal and edible homologous material, traditional teas have exhibited promising applications in the clinical management of liver fibrosis. Here, we generated a liver fibrosis mouse model to explore the potent therapeutic ability of Ampelopsis grossedentata (AG) tea on this condition by multi-omics analysis.