Exploring the transformative impact of traditional Chinese medicine on depression:Insights from animal models

Depression,a prevalent and complex mental health condition,presents a significant global health burden.Depression is one of the most frequent mental disorders;deaths from it account for 14.3%of people worldwide.In recent years,the integration of complementary and alternative medicine,including traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),has gained attention as a potential avenue for addressing depression.This comprehensive review critically assesses the efficacy of TCM interventions in alleviating depressive symptoms.An in-depth look at different research studies,clinical trials,and meta-analyses is used in this review to look into how TCM practices like herbal formulations,acupuncture,and mindbody practices work.The review looks at the quality of the evidence,the rigor of the methods,and any possible flaws in the current studies.This gives us an idea of where TCM stands right now in terms of treating depression.This comprehensive review aims to assess the efficacy of TCM interventions in alleviating depressive symptoms.In order to learn more about their possible healing effects,the study also looks into how different types of TCM work,such as herbal formulas,acupuncture,and mind-body practices.

HHO optimized support vector machine classifier for traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation of diabetic retinopathy

AIM:To develop a classifier for traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome differentiation of diabetic retinopathy(DR),using optimized machine learning algorithms,which can provide the basis for TCM objective and intelligent syndrome differentiation.METHODS:Collated data on real-world DR cases were collected.A variety of machine learning methods were used to construct TCM syndrome classification model,and the best performance was selected as the basic model.Genetic Algorithm(GA)was used for feature selection to obtain the optimal feature combination.Harris Hawk Optimization(HHO)was used for parameter optimization,and a classification model based on feature selection and parameter optimization was constructed.The performance of the model was compared with other optimization algorithms.The models were evaluated with accuracy,precision,recall,and F1 score as indicators.RESULTS:Data on 970 cases that met screening requirements were collected.Support Vector Machine(SVM)was the best basic classification model.The accuracy rate of the model was 82.05%,the precision rate was 82.34%,the recall rate was 81.81%,and the F1 value was 81.76%.After GA screening,the optimal feature combination contained 37 feature values,which was consistent with TCM clinical practice.The model based on optimal combination and SVM(GA_SVM)had an accuracy improvement of 1.92%compared to the basic classifier.SVM model based on HHO and GA optimization(HHO_GA_SVM)had the best performance and convergence speed compared with other optimization algorithms.Compared with the basic classification model,the accuracy was improved by 3.51%.CONCLUSION:HHO and GA optimization can improve the model performance of SVM in TCM syndrome differentiation of DR.It provides a new method and research idea for TCM intelligent assisted syndrome differentiation.

An interpretability model for syndrome differentiation of HBV-ACLF in traditional Chinese medicine using small-sample imbalanced data

Objective Clinical medical record data associated with hepatitis B-related acute-on-chronic liver failure(HBV-ACLF)generally have small sample sizes and a class imbalance.However,most machine learning models are designed based on balanced data and lack interpretability.This study aimed to propose a traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)diagnostic model for HBV-ACLF based on the TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment theory,which is clinically interpretable and highly accurate.Methods We collected medical records from 261 patients diagnosed with HBV-ACLF,including three syndromes:Yang jaundice(214 cases),Yang-Yin jaundice(41 cases),and Yin jaundice(6 cases).To avoid overfitting of the machine learning model,we excluded the cases of Yin jaundice.After data standardization and cleaning,we obtained 255 relevant medical records of Yang jaundice and Yang-Yin jaundice.To address the class imbalance issue,we employed the oversampling method and five machine learning methods,including logistic regression(LR),support vector machine(SVM),decision tree(DT),random forest(RF),and extreme gradient boosting(XGBoost)to construct the syndrome diagnosis models.This study used precision,F1 score,the area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve(AUC),and accuracy as model evaluation metrics.The model with the best classification performance was selected to extract the diagnostic rule,and its clinical significance was thoroughly analyzed.Furthermore,we proposed a novel multiple-round stable rule extraction(MRSRE)method to obtain a stable rule set of features that can exhibit the model’s clinical interpretability.Results The precision of the five machine learning models built using oversampled balanced data exceeded 0.90.Among these models,the accuracy of RF classification of syndrome types was 0.92,and the mean F1 scores of the two categories of Yang jaundice and Yang-Yin jaundice were 0.93 and 0.94,respectively.Additionally,the AUC was 0.98.The extraction rules of the RF syndrome differentiation model based on the MRSRE method revealed that the common features of Yang jaundice and Yang-Yin jaundice were wiry pulse,yellowing of the urine,skin,and eyes,normal tongue body,healthy sublingual vessel,nausea,oil loathing,and poor appetite.The main features of Yang jaundice were a red tongue body and thickened sublingual vessels,whereas those of Yang-Yin jaundice were a dark tongue body,pale white tongue body,white tongue coating,lack of strength,slippery pulse,light red tongue body,slimy tongue coating,and abdominal distension.This is aligned with the classifications made by TCM experts based on TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment theory.Conclusion Our model can be utilized for differentiating HBV-ACLF syndromes,which has the potential to be applied to generate other clinically interpretable models with high accuracy on clinical data characterized by small sample sizes and a class imbalance.

The enlightenment of artificial intelligence large-scale model on the research of intelligent eye diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine

Eye diagnosis is a method for inspecting systemic diseases and syndromes by observing the eyes.With the development of intelligent diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM);artificial intelligence(AI)can improve the accuracy and efficiency of eye diagnosis.However;the research on intelligent eye diagnosis still faces many challenges;including the lack of standardized and precisely labeled data;multi-modal information analysis;and artificial in-telligence models for syndrome differentiation.The widespread application of AI models in medicine provides new insights and opportunities for the research of eye diagnosis intelli-gence.This study elaborates on the three key technologies of AI models in the intelligent ap-plication of TCM eye diagnosis;and explores the implications for the research of eye diagno-sis intelligence.First;a database concerning eye diagnosis was established based on self-su-pervised learning so as to solve the issues related to the lack of standardized and precisely la-beled data.Next;the cross-modal understanding and generation of deep neural network models to address the problem of lacking multi-modal information analysis.Last;the build-ing of data-driven models for eye diagnosis to tackle the issue of the absence of syndrome dif-ferentiation models.In summary;research on intelligent eye diagnosis has great potential to be applied the surge of AI model applications.

Thoughts on the system construction of digital Chinese medicine

Digital Chinese medicine refers to a comprehensive system that utilizes unified scientific technologies to fully explore and reproduce human phenomenology, patterns of physical changes, and related human experiences. It encompasses the acquisition, storage, and processing of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) data, information.

Protocol to study the effects of AMPK-mTOR/PINK-Parkin dual signaling pathways on the formation of coronary heart disease showing blood stasis symptom pattern based on traditional Chinese medicine theory of“heart governing blood and vessels”

In this study,we aim to combine gene transfection techniques with the modeling methods previously employed by the research group to deeply investigate the corresponding theories of traditional Chinese medicine regarding“myocardial energy metabolism”and“aortic thrombosis”.Our goal is to elucidate the biological mechanism underlying the occurrence and development of coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome from the perspectives of“heart and vessels”and“Qi(in traditional Chinese medicine,it refers to the most fundamental and subtle substances that constitute the human body and maintain life activities.At the same time,it also has the meaning of physiological function.In terms of traditional Chinese medicine,Qi and different words are used together to express different meanings)and blood”.The research content is divided into four modules as follows:1.establishment of an animal model of coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome through fibrinogen overexpression.2.Investigation of the mitochondrial quality control system in coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome under fibrinogen overexpression.3.Study of platelet autophagy in coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome under fibrinogen overexpression.4.Examination of the relationship between the AMPK-mTOR pathway and metabolism in platelet autophagy of coronary heart disease with blood stasis syndrome under fibrinogen overexpression.Ninety-six Sprague Dawley rats will be randomly assigned to the following groups:control group,model group,fibrinogen group and adeno-associated virus group.All rats will undergo a 14-week model construction process,and modern molecular biology methods will be employed to evaluate the model and examine relevant research indicators.The obtained data will be analyzed according to a predefined statistical analysis plan.

Network Pharmacology Approach to Investigate the Preventive Mechanism of Hunan Expert Group Recommended Chinese Medicine Prevention No.2 Prescription Against COVID-19

Objective To explore the possible preventive mechanism of Hunan expert group recommended Chinese medicine prescription of No.2(Pre-No.2)against coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)by network pharmacology method.Methods The target proteins of effective components and active compounds in Pre-No.2 were screened by searching the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP).A component-target-disease interaction network of Pre-No.2 was constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.2,gene ontology(GO)analysis,and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG)analysis of target protein pathway by DAVID.Results A total of 163 compounds and 278 target protein targets in Pre-No.2 were collected from the TCMSP database.Kaempferol,wogonin,7-methoxy-2-methyl isoflavone,formononetin,isorhamnetin,and licochalcone A were the most frequent targets in the regulatory network.GO enrichment analysis showed that Pre-No.2 regulated response to virus,viral processes,humoral immune responses,defense responses to virus and viral entry into host cells.KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the formula regulated the NF-κB signaling pathway,B cell receptor signaling pathway,viral carcinogenesis,T cell signaling pathway and FcγR-mediated phagocytosis signaling pathway.Conclusions Pre-No.2 may play a preventive role against COVID-19 through regulation of the Toll-like signaling,T cell signaling,B cell signaling and other signaling pathways.It may regulate the immune system to protect against anti-influenza virus.

Adsorption,in vitro digestion and human gut microbiota regulation characteristics of three Poria cocos polysaccharides

Poria cocos(PC)is a famous traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and a widely used healthcare ingredient,which has antiobesity,enhancing immunity and improving sleep effects.Traditionally,only water-soluble poria polysaccharide(WSP)is extracted and applied for clinical application,while insoluble polysaccharide(alkali-soluble poria polysaccharide,ASP)is discarded as herb residue.However,the whole PC has also been historically utilized as functional herbal food.Considering the beneficial role of dietary fiber and the traditional use of PC,ASP may also contribute substantially to the therapy function of PC.Compared to WSP,little attention has been paid to ASP and ASP modified product carboxymethyl poria polysaccharide(CMP)which has been used as an antitumor adjuvant drug.In this study,the oil,cholesterol,metal ions and polyphenols adsorption ability,in vitro simulated digestive and the gut microbiota fermentation characteristics of WSP,ASP and CMP were studied to evaluate the functional values of three P.cocos polysaccharides(PCPs).The results showed that all three PCPs had good adsorption capacity on cholesterol,polyphenols and metal ions(Cd^(2+)/Zn^(2+)/Mg^(2+)),among which ASP showed the highest capacity than WSP and CMP.The adsorption capacity of all three PCPs on heavy metal ions(Cd^(2+)/Zn^(2+))was stronger than that of non-heavy metal ions(Mg^(2+));The in vitro digestibility of all three PCPs was very low,but WSP was slightly higher than ASP and CMP;Moreover,the indigestible residue of all three PCPs could improve the richness and diversity of gut microbiota,among which ASP had the greatest influence.In general,ASP and CMP could significantly promote the proliferation of some probiotics and inhibit the growth of some harmful bacteria.The gut microbiota diversity of CMP was reduced,but the richness of probiotics,especially Parabacteroides distasonis was significantly enhanced compared with the ASP group,and the growth of harmful bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae was inhibited after CMP treatment.The short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)analysis results showed that all three PCPs could significantly promote the production of acetic acid,propionic acid and the total acid content compared with blank control group,and SCFAs producing activity was positively correlated with the proliferative capacity of probiotics.Taken together,the good adsorption characteristics and gut microbiota regulatory activity of ASP may lay foundation for its lipid-lowering and immune-improving function.Additionally,the probiotic effect of CMP and ASP indicated that except for only use the water extract of PC in clinic,CMP and ASP also can be used in healthcare to take full advantage of this valuable medicine.

HPLC Fingerprint with Multi-components Analysis for Quality Consistency Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Si-Mo-Tang Oral Liquid Preparation

Si-Mo-Tang（SMT） oral liquid preparation, a traditional Chinese medicine, was prepared from four crude herbal drugs, Fructus Aurantii Submaturus, Radix Aucklandiae, Semen Arecae and Radix Linderae Aggregatae. A combinative method using HPLC fingerprint and quantitative analysis was developed and validated for quality consistency evaluation of SMT. Individual HPLC chromatograms were evaluated against the mean chromatogram generated via a similarity evaluation computer program. Data from chromatographic fingerprints were also processed with principal component analysis（PCA） and hierarchical cluster analysis（HCA）. Additionally, six components （naringin, isonaringin, hesperidin, neohesperidin, norisoboldine and potassium sorbate） in SMT were simultaneously determined to interpret the quality consistency. For fingerprint analysis, 20 peaks were selected as the characteristic peaks to evaluate the similarities of 26 SMT collected from different manufacturers. Among the 20 characteristic peaks, 10 peaks were assigned to be naringin, hesperidin, neohesperidin, isonaringin, neoeriocitrin, tangeretin, nobiletin, norisoboldine, 5-（ethoxymethyl）furan-2-carbaldehyde and potassium sorbate, respectively. The results of similarity analysis, PCA and HCA, indicate that the samples from different manufacturers were consistent with each other in composition. The results from the quantitative data show that the contents of six compounds were significantly different in SMT oral liquid preparations from different manufacturers. The combinative method of chromatographic fingerprint with quantitative analysis developed here offered an efficient way for the quality consistency evaluation of the traditional Chinese medicine SMT.

International expert consensus on clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine formula granules

Guided by the theory of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),TCM formula granules are made through the optimal process of extraction,concentration,drying,and granulation by combining modern new preparation technologies and pharmaceutical technologies.TCM formula granules are stable,safe,convenient,and effective.Compared with TCM decoction pieces,TCM formula granules can achieve the full process control of its industry chain from field to workshop and standardize the management of the origin of medicinal materials,processing of decoction pieces,processing technology,quality inspection,sales,and products distribution.TCM formula granules can partially replace Chinese patent medicines.Only available for around 800 common varieties of TCM,TCM formula granules cannot replace decoction pieces for many types which are not commonly used in clinical practice.A large number of formula granules are used in clinical and animal studies so that investigators no longer need to extract and control the quality of TCM decoction pieces.How to improve the production process,establish the quality standard,perfect the regulatory system,and expand the clinical application are the problems we need to solve as soon as possible for the better development of formula granules.

Establishment and Evaluation of a Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury with the Pathopattern of Qi-Deficiency and Blood-Stasis in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Objective To establish a rat model of Spinal Cord Injury(SCI)with the pathopattern of Qi-deficiency and Blood-stasis(QDBS)in Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM),and then assess its feasibility.Methods Swimming exhaustion method and Rubrospinal Tract(RST)transection were combined to establish arat model of SCI with pathopattern of QDBS in TCM.Macroscopic representation,including the body weight,food intake and tongue scores,was recorded.Behavioristics was scored with spontaneous vertical exploration test.Hemorrheology was analyzed using hemorheological analyzer and morphology of spinal cord was observed.The feasibility of the model was confirmed on the basis of the reversion caused by administration of Bu Yang Huan Wu Decoction(BYHWD).Results The findings in the QDBS group were consistent with the symptoms of QDBS syndrome,including reduced body weight,food intake,and forelimb utilization rate and increased tongue scores.However,the corresponding findings in the BYHWD group were superior to those in the QDBS group after35d(P<0.05).In comparison with the control group,the QDBS group showed higher whole blood viscosity and hematocrit values(P<0.05)and a lower red blood cell(RBC)deformability index(P<0.05),while the corresponding findings in the BYHWD group were close to those in the control group.An eminence or induration appeared in the injured spinal cord,which was suspected to be vacuoles or a scar.Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that the R/T ratio in the BYHWD group was higher than that in the QDBS group(P<0.05).Conclusion Swimming exhaustion method combined with RST transection operation can successfully establish a rat model of SCI with pathopattern of QDBS.

Combinative Approaches of Chemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology for the Optimal Pharmaceutical Preparation of an Anti-arthritic Chinese Medicine Formulation QFJBT

Objective Qing Fu Juan Bi Tang(QFJBT)is an anti-arthritic Chinese medicine formula consisting of five herbs:Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata(Fu Zi,附子),Sinomenii Caulis(Qing Feng Teng,青风藤),Astragali Radix(Huang Qi,黄芪),Paeoniae Radix Alba(Bai Shao,白芍)and Moutan Cortex(Mu Dan Pi,牡丹皮),which have well-established histories of use for treatment of rheumatic and arthritic diseases.We intended to establish the optimized and standardized pharmaceutical procedures and manufacturing processes for the pilot production of QFJBT to develop it as a novel botanical drug product for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Methods The combinative approaches of chemical assessment,toxicological and pharmacological evaluation were explored to define the pharmaceutical preparation of QFJBT.Results The optimized and standardized pharmaceutical procedures and manufacturing processes for the pilot production of QFJBT were established in terms of greatest chemical contents of bioactive constituents,potent anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities,and favorable safety profile.Quality analysis of the pilot product of QFJBT by high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)demonstrated that the chromatographic fingerprint profiles of three batches of QFJBT were basically identical and the contents of four characteristic and bioactive markers were relatively consistent.General toxicological studies showed a favorable safety profile of QFJBT.The maximum tolerated single dose of QFJBT was determined in both sexes of rats to be 33.63 g/kg body weight which is equivalent to 346 times of clinical dose.In the chronic oral toxicity study,the results of laboratory investigation showed that QFJBT at doses of 3.89,6.80 and 9.72 g/kg body weight(equivalent to 40,70 and 100-fold clinical doses,respectively)caused no changes in all hematological parameters and blood biochemical parameters of rats.No mortality or specific toxic responses were observed in animals after three months of repeated dosing with QFJBT.Conclusion The optimized and standardized pharmaceutical and manufacturing processes for the production of QFJBT have been successfully screened and identified through established rigorous in-process controls.

Analysis of the hotspots and trends in traditional Chinese medicine immunomodulation research based on bibliometrics

Objective To analyze the intellectual structure,hotspots and trends of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)in immune regulation research.Methods The data were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection(WoSCC)and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI)and verified by two experienced TCM researchers.The time of literature retrieval is up to 2020.CiteSpace 5.7.R1 and Microsoft Excel 2016 were used for the statistical analysis and bibliometric diagrams,including the co-occurrence network of authors,institutions,countries,keywords,references,dual-map overlays of journals and citation bursts,etc.Results A total of 12270 publications related to TCM in immune regulation were included.The annual number of publications has increased in this field.There was close cooperation of countries and institutions,while the distribution of scholars was scattered.China was the core of the cooperation network.The dual-map overlays analysis of journals showed that core and marginal fields had increased.The keywords and references analysis showed that network pharmacology,metabolism and cancer were the most high-frequency keywords with high-intensity bursts.Conclusion TCM in immune regulation has attracted wider attention,with multi-country,multi-field,multi-disciplinary and multi-level research developing toward informatization.Network pharmacology,metabolism and cancer may be the focus of future research in this field.

Abstraction of Data Elements of Clinical Symptoms in Chinese Medicine

This report analyzes the existing problems in terminology referring to clinical symptoms of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)from the viewpoint of data sharing and elaborates the necessity of establishing a standard directory of clinical data elements of TCM.We evaluated the principles and methods of data element extraction according to the status quo of the clinical information system and characteristics of symptoms for TCM and consequently proposed a three-layer model for optimal extraction.

The effects of Buyang Huanwu decoction combined with Western medicine in diabetic foot treatment:a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective:Systematically evaluate the effect of Buyang Huanwu decoction(BHD)combined with Western medicine(WM)in treating diabetic foot(DF).Methods:Randomized controlled trials that examined the effects of BHD on DF were collected from various databases,including CBM,PubMed,EMBASE,Web of Science,CNKI,Wanfang,and Weipu.Two researchers evaluated the quality of the literature and extracted relevant data,which was then analyzed using RevMan 5.3 for meta-analysis.The analysis was carried out in accordance with the 2020 PRISMA checklist.Results:The study analyzed 19 articles involving 1284 patients.According to the meta-analysis,BHD combined with WM improved clinical efficacy and reduced traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores,glycosylated hemoglobin,and fibrinogen levels in DF patients.Although the BHD combined with WM showed a trend towards reducing wound area,the difference was not significant.Additionally,the incidence of adverse reactions did not show a significant decrease with BHD combined with WM.Conclusion:The findings of the study indicated that the use of BHD combined with WM yielded better therapeutic outcomes than WM alone,supporting the recommendation of using BHD with WM for DF treatment.This approach is suggested for further clinical application and promotion.

Thoughts About Paths for Digitization of Traditional Chinese Medicine-Refined Data Elements

For digitalization of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),research is being conducted on objectivization of diagnosis and treatment,mathematical models of TCM theories,and application of modern information technology to digitize the vast amounts of existing information.However,the author believes that TCM practitioners should first conduct a systematic and comprehensive refined analysis on the knowledge of TCM and unify data elements used in computer intelligence to avoid ambiguity.Thus,we must overcome the epistemological constraints and carefully analyze the relationship among data elements to achieve systematic results and administer TCM appropriately.

Physical Therapy Modalities of Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction

The meibomian gland is a unique sebaceous gland located in the eyelid.Its main function is to secrete lipids and form the lipid layer of the tear film to delay the evaporation of waterborne tears,increase the surface tension of the tear film,and to lubricate the contact area of the eyelid and eyeball.Abnormal secretion of the meibomian gland is known as meibomian gland dysfunction(MGD),which has become the most important cause of evaporative dry eye disease(DED).The clinical pathophysiological process and underlying molecular mechanisms of MGD are not clear.As serious side effects may occur with the long-term use of hormonotherapy and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs)for the treatment of MGD,meibomian gland physiotherapy is considered the most effective and safest therapy for MGD.This review summarizes the physical therapy modalities of western medicine(WM)and traditiond Chinese medicine(TCM)for the treatment of MGD to provide optimal treatments for these patients and to further lay a foundation for mechanistic studies of MGD.

Icariin plus curcumol enhances autophagy through the mTOR pathway and promotes cathepsin B-mediated pyroptosis of prostate cancer cells

Objective:To examine the effect of icariin plus curcumol on prostate cancer cells PC3 and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.Methods:We employed the Cell Counting Kit 8 assay and colony formation assay to assess cell viability and proliferation.Autophagy expression was analyzed using monodansylcadaverine staining.Immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses were used to evaluate protein expressions related to autophagy,pyroptosis,and the mTOR pathway.Cellular damage was examined using the lactate dehydrogenase assay.Moreover,cathepsin B and NLRP3 were detected by co-immunoprecipitation.Results:Icariin plus curcumol led to a decrease in PC3 cell proliferation and an enhancement of autophagy.The levels of LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰand beclin-1 were increased,while the levels of p62 and mTOR were decreased after treatment with icariin plus curcumol.These changes were reversed upon overexpression of mTOR.Furthermore,3-methyladenine resulted in a decrease in inflammatory cytokines,pyroptosis-related protein levels,and lactate dehydrogenase concentration,compared to the icariin plus curcumol group.Inhibiting cathepsin B reversed the regulatory effects of icariin plus curcumol.Conclusions:Icariin plus curcumol demonstrates great potential as a therapeutic agent for castration-resistant prostate cancer by enhancing autophagy via the mTOR pathway and promoting pyroptosis mediated by cathepsin B.These findings provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic potential of icariin and curcumol for prostate cancer treatment.

Rapid discovery of a novel “green” and natural GST inhibitor for sensitizing hepatocellular carcinoma to Cisplatin by visual screening strategy

Over-expression of glutathione S-transferase(GST)can promote Cisplatin resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)treatment.Hence,inhibiting GST is an attractive strategy to improve Cisplatin sensitivity in HCC therapy.Although several synthesized GST inhibitors have been developed,the side effects and narrow spectrum for anticancer seriously limit their clinical application.Considering the abundance of natural compounds with anticancer activity,this study developed a rapid fluorescence technique to screen“green”natural GST inhibitors with high specificity.The fluorescence assay demonstrated that schisanlactone B(hereafter abbreviated as C1)isolated from Xue tong significantly down-regulated GST levels in Cisplatin-resistant HCC cells in vitro and in vivo.Importantly,C1 can selectively kill HCC cells from normal liver cells,effectively improving the therapeutic effect of Cisplatin on HCC mice by downregulating GST expression.Considering the high GST levels in HCC patients,this compound demonstrated the high potential for sensitizing HCC therapy in clinical practice by down-regulating GST levels.

LncRNA LOC103694972 promotes fibrosis of NRK-49F cells by regulating STAT3-dependent Smad/CTGF pathway via targeting miR-29c-3p

Background:Renalfibrosis is an important process in the development of chronic kidney disease.Understanding the pathogenesis andfinding effective treatments for renalfibrosis is crucial.This study aims to investigate whether a newly discovered long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)called LOC103694972 could be a potential target for treatingfibrosis of NRK-49F cells.Methods:LncRNA Chip was used to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs between TGF-β1-induced NRK-49F cells and normal cells.The dual-luciferase assay confirmed the binding between miR-29c-3p and signal transducer and activator of transcription(STAT3),as well as between miR-29c-3p and lncRNA LOC103694972.Si-LOC103694972 and miR-29c-3p mimic were then transfected into TGF-β1-induced NRK-49F cells.Results:The study found that LOC103694972 was highly expressed in TGF-β1-induced NRK-49F cells.These cells exhibited increased cell length and activity compared to the control group.The expression levels of Collagen I,α-Smooth muscle actin(α-SMA),and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase(TIMP-1)were increased,while matrix Metalloproteinase 2(MMP2)and matrix Metalloproteinase 9(MMP9)expression was decreased.However,transfection with si-LOC103694972 and miR-29c-3p mimics restored cell morphology and reduced cell viability.This led to a decrease in the levels of Collagen I,α-SMA,and TIMP-1,as well as an increase in MMP2 and MMP9 expression.Additionally,TGF-β1-induced NRK-49F cells transfected with miR-29c-3p mimics activated the STAT3-Smad3/CTGF pathway.Conclusion:Based on thesefindings,lncRNA LOC103694972 shows promise as a target for treating renalfibrosis.It negatively regulates miR-29c-3p and activates the STAT3-Smad3/CTGF pathway.