Feasibility and Challenges of Interactive AI for Traditional Chinese Medicine: An Example of ChatGPT

As a complementary and alternative medicine(CAM),traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)represents an established medical system with a rich history and abundant clinical experience.TCM is an empirical medicine,the process of which is analogous to ChatGPT’s learning and development model.In TCM,inquiry is a relatively objective way of traditional syndrome differentiation.Although various artificial intelligence systems related to TCM consultation exist,their interactive abilities remain limited.The study standardized the primary complaint and instructed ChatGPT to simulate a TCM practitioner,conducting three comprehensive inquiry tests.The results yielded unexpected conclusions,revealing that ChatGPT could simulate a TCM practitioner’s inquiry with patients,confirming its potential in the field of TCM inquiry.However,current applications still pose certain limitations and risks.Hence,to integrate ChatGPT-like language models with traditional TCM AI to establish an associative mode that can facilitate TCM diagnosis and treatment with more convenience and standardization is crucial,yet at the same time,it should be treated very carefully.

Allosteric probe-modified liposome loading bufalin-fluorouracil complex for targeted colorectal cancer therapy

Objective Bufalin,the main active anti-tumor monomer of toad venom,is crucial in cancer treatment.However,intrinsic issues,such as poor solubility and systematic toxicity,have considerably mitigated its anticancer functions and caused unwanted side effects.It is essential to develop innovative targeting systems to precisely and efficiently deliver anticancer drugs to achieve satisfying therapeutic efficiency.Methods This work established a novel and more efficient system for simultaneously detecting and killing colorectal cancer cells.The proposed method designed two allosteric probes,a report probe and a recognize probe.The method exhibited high sensitivity towards cell detection via the recognizing probe identifying target cancer cells and the report probe’s signal report.Combining bufalin and fluorouracil endowed better tumor cell inhibition.Results We observed significantly enhanced fluorescence dots surrounding the HCT-116 cell membranes.No fluorescence increments in the other three cells were identified,indicating that the established liposome complex could specifically bind with target cells.In addition,the best ratio of bufalin to fluorouracil was 0.15 and 0.5,respectively.This improved the anti-tumor effects and achieved more than 60%tumor cell inhibition.Conclusion This method will provide new opportunities for intracellular biomolecule detection and targeted cancer cell therapy.

A combination of Light On gene expression system and tumor microenvironment-responsive nanoparticle delivery system for targeted breast cancer therapy

A light-switchable transgene system called LightOn gene expression system could regulate gene expression with a high on/off ratio under blue light,and have great potential for spatiotemporally controllable gene expression.We developed a nanoparticle drug delivery system(NDDS)to achieve tumor microenvironment-responsive and targeted delivery of diphtheria toxin A(DTA)fragment-encoded plasmids to tumor sites.The expression of DTA was induced by exposure to blue light.Nanoparticles composed of polyethylenimine and vitamin E succinate linked by a disulfide bond,and PEGylated hyaluronic acid modified with RGD peptide,accumulated in tumor tissues and were actively internalized into 4 T1 cells via dual targeting to CD44 andαvβ3 receptors.The LightOn gene expression system was able to control target protein expression through regulation of the intensity or duration of blue light exposure.In vitro studies showed that lisht-induced DTA expression reduced 4 T1 cell viability and induced apoptosis.Furthermore,the LightOn gene expression system enabled spatiotemporal control of the expression of DTA in a mouse 4 T1 tumor xenogratt model,which resulted in excellent antitumor effects,reduced tumor angiogenesis,and no systemic toxicity.The combination of the LightOn gene expression system and NDDS may be an effective strategy for treatment of breast cancer.

Highly tough and elastic microspheric gel for transarterial catheter embolization in treatment of liver metastasis tumor

Transarterial embolization is a widely recognized clinical treatment method for liver tumors.Given that the soft and easily damaged features of embolic particles may limit tumor embolization efficiency,the present study carries out an attempt of fabricating tough and elastic microspheric gel for promoting embolization efficiency.To promote the toughness of hydrogel,poly(ethylene glycol)-co-poly(ε-caprolactone)-co-poly(ethylene glycol)(PPP)and PPP with two terminal double bonds(PPPDA)are co-assembled into nano-micelles,which are connected with methacrylated chitosan(CSMA)to fabricate microspheric gels via microfluidic technology.Lowering double bond density of micelles promotes the freedom degree of micelles,significantly enhancing hydrogel toughness.To compensate for the strength loss caused by the decrease of double bond density of micelles,phytic acid(PA)are employed to interact with CS to form a physical network,further improving hydrogel strength and toughness.The CS-PPPDA&PPP-PA microspheric gels exhibit higher blocking effect in vitro.A rabbit VX2 liver metastasis tumor model is prepared to verify the embolization efficacy of CS-PPPDA&PPP-PA microspheric gels.Compared with clinical used microspheres,fewer CS-PPPDA&PPP-PA microspheric gels can achieve enough embolization efficiency.After embolization for 14 days,CS-PPPDA&PPP-PA microspheric gels exhibit improved tumor necrosis rate and promoted tumor cells apoptosis with reduced inflammation in surrounding tissues,confirming advanced embolic efficiency of tough microgels.