Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Effect of ultrasound-guided acupotomy nerve stimulation combined with sinomenine injection in site-directed interventional treatment of piriformis syndrome: a randomized controlled study","authors":"Lele Zhang,&nbsp;Jian Li,&nbsp;Lingling Zhou,&nbsp;Haixin Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101569","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101569","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Ultrasound-guided acupotomy nerve stimulation combined with sinomenine injection in site-directed interventional treatment is a comprehensive external treatment method. It integrates traditional Chinese and Western medicine, utilized for the clinical management of acute and chronic pain. This study aimed to explore the effect of ultrasound-guided acupotomy nerve stimulation combined with sinomenine injection in site-directed interventional treatment of piriformis syndrome.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Sixty patients with piriformis syndrome were randomly divided into the control and treatment groups (n = 30). The patients in the control group received the treatment principle of \"ibuprofen sustained release capsule plus mecobalamine tablet plus Zushima tablet\" for continuous 2 weeks. Patients in the treatment group received ultrasound-guided acupotomy nerve stimulation combined with sinomenine injection in site-directed interventional treatment, once a week for a continuous 2 weeks. The diagnostic efficacy of TCM syndrome, pain score, clinical symptom indicators, and clinical pain condition evaluation were assessed and compared between the two groups.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>After treatment, the overall clinical efficacy in the treatment group was significantly better than the control group (<em>p</em> = 0.003). The pain scores, hip resting pain scores, and lower limb radiative pain scores in the treatment group were significantly lower than those before treatment (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), as well as the control group at the same period (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Compared with before treatment, the piriformis tension test, claudication, sleep difficulty, hip pressing pain, and hip active pain were significantly decreased after treatment, and they were similar between the two groups.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Compared with traditional therapy, ultrasound-guided acupotomy nerve stimulation combined with sinomenine injection in site-directed interventional treatment significantly improves the clinical efficacy, pain symptoms, hip resting pain, and lower extremity radiation pain of patients with piriformis syndrome.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101569"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144099053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Macrophage pyroptosis promotes cardiac fibroblast activation and myocardial fibrosis via the Hedgehog signaling pathway in radiation-induced heart damage","authors":"Yupei Yuan ,&nbsp;Changshun Chen ,&nbsp;Shihong Luo ,&nbsp;Wenqing Wang ,&nbsp;Nan Bi ,&nbsp;Lei Deng ,&nbsp;Yu Men ,&nbsp;Zhouguang Hui ,&nbsp;Jianyang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101614","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101614","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Radiotherapy is a crucial part of cancer treatment that applies to over 50 % of cancer patients. However, its administration could inadvertently damage healthy tissues, such as radiation-induced heart damage (RIHD), when thoracic radiation is implemented. Myocardial fibrosis is a key feature of RIHD that is characterized by excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) protein accumulation, resulting in cardiac stiffness and dysfunction. Macrophage pyroptosis, which is triggered by radiation, leads to the release of inflammatory mediators IL-1β and IL-18, which are crucial in inflammatory response and fibrosis. In this study, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD domain (ASC)-overexpressing RAW264.7 cells were exposed to 2 Gy, 4 Gy, and 8 Gy radiation to assess macrophage pyroptosis. Both IL-1β and IL-18 levels increased dose-dependently, peaking at 8 Gy. Similarly, LDH activity, which is a pyroptosis indicator, increases dose-dependently. Higher radiation dosages increased ASC specks. NLRP3, cleaved-caspase1 (P20), and GSDMD-N protein levels increased considerably in irradiation groups. Since macrophage pyroptosis promotes inflammation, it was investigated whether irradiated macrophages could cause cardiac fibroblast fibrosis. In co-culture with irradiated macrophages, cardiac fibroblasts showed dose-dependent elevation of fibrotic markers α-SMA and Collagen I. Blocking NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis by MCC950 in macrophages and found significant decreases in pyroptotic indicators, fibrosis markers, and Hh pathway activation in co-cultured fibroblasts. The activation of Hedgehog signaling in fibroblasts with Jervine successfully reverses fibrotic alterations caused by macrophage pyroptosis, as evidenced by decreased α-SMA, Collagen I, Shh, Smo, and Gli1 levels. These findings emphasize macrophage pyroptosis in radiation-induced cardiac fibrosis and identify NLRP3 and Hh pathway therapeutic targets. Collectively, targeting macrophage pyroptosis and the Hh pathway could offer new therapeutic avenues for preventing myocardial fibrosis in RIHD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101614"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144090112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of small molecule phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor combined with 5-fluorouracil on regulating progression of breast cancer cells","authors":"Shengtao Huang ,&nbsp;Jiamin Li ,&nbsp;Xiaobin Liu ,&nbsp;Kun Zhang ,&nbsp;Ruilei Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101624","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101624","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Recent studies confirmed that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is involved in regulating progression of breast cancer (BC), suggesting its potential as a novel therapeutic target. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms by which the small molecule PI3K inhibitor BKM120, combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), suppresses the malignant biological behaviors of human BC (HBC) cells.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The HBC cells (MDA-MB-231) were randomized into four groups: Blank group (BG, regular culture), 5-FU group (10 μg/mL 5-FU treatment), BKM120 group (10 μmol/mL BKM120 treatment), and 5-FU + BKM120 group (combination treatment of 10 μg/mL 5-FU and 10 μmol/mL BKM120). Cell viability was assessed, while nuclear morphology was examined. The colony formation ability of cells was evaluated, and cell migration capacity was assessed. Flow cytometry was employed to analyze cell cycle (CC) changes, and western blotting determined expression levels of p-Akt, VEGF, and p53 protein.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Relative to BG, both 5-FU and BKM120 groups demonstrated prominent reductions in cell viability, colony number, and wound healing rate. Additionally, nuclear fragmentation was observed, and G1 phase arrest occurred. The expression of p-Akt and VEGF proteins were greatly reduced, while p53 protein expression level was notably (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) increased in the treated cells. Neglectable differences were observed between 5-FU and BKM120 groups. In comparison to 5-FU and BKM120 groups, the 5-FU + BKM120 group exhibited a further drastic decrease in cell viability, colony number, and wound healing rate, with exacerbated nuclear fragmentation and more pronounced G1 phase arrest. Furthermore, p-Akt and VEGF protein levels were further reduced, while p53 protein expression level was substantially (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) increased.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The small molecule PI3K inhibitor BKM120, in combination with 5-FU, notably suppresses proliferation, colony formation, and migration of HBC cells. This mechanism is likely associated with G1 phase arrest, reduced levels of Akt phosphorylation, decreased VEGF expression level, and increased p53 expression level.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101624"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A novel enhancement method of X-ray image based on multi-scale adaptive fusion","authors":"Guancheng Lu ,&nbsp;Juan Huang ,&nbsp;Jinlai Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101579","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101579","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To make X-ray image detail enhancement method have good performance, be easier to implement, be suitable for engineering applications, and be able to run on general computers without strong computing power, a novel detail enhancement method of X-ray image for non-destructive testing (NDT) is proposed based on the multi-scale adaptive fusion. The proposed method takes the variation of the Gaussian convolution X-ray image relative to the original X-ray image as the core, employs the sigmoid function and tanh function to compute the pixel importance and the nonlinear correlations across different gray levels respectively, and complementarily fuses their calculation results as the data fusion coefficients for the multi-scale adaptive enhancement. The experimental results show that the proposed method effectively improves the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index measure (SSIM) and clarity (CL) of the X-ray image compared to the methods based on histogram equalization (HE) and contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE). These results underscore the efficacy of multi-scale adaptive fusion for enhancing the X-ray image, suggesting a promising direction for future research in this field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101579"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Carotid ultrasound markers of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease","authors":"Wenqiang Zhang ,&nbsp;Fei Teng ,&nbsp;Yan Li ,&nbsp;Donghui Lou","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101625","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101625","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To investigate the relationship between carotid artery flow changes and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients using carotid artery.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A total of 65 AD patients admitted between January 2022 and January 2024 were included as the AD group. Additionally, 30 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 30 healthy individuals were enrolled as the MCI and healthy control groups, respectively. All participants underwent carotid color Doppler ultrasonography to assess intima-media thickness (IMT) and peak systolic velocity (PSV) in the bilateral common carotid arteries (CCA) and internal carotid arteries (ICA). Correlations between Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and IMT/PSV values were also analyzed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>IMT values were significantly higher in both the AD and MCI groups compared to the healthy group (P &lt; 0.05), and were also higher in the AD group than in the MCI group (P &lt; 0.05). L-CCA PSV values were significantly increased in the AD and MCI groups compared to controls (P &lt; 0.05), with higher values in the AD group than in the MCI group (P &lt; 0.05). No significant differences were found in R-CCA or bilateral ICA PSV values across the groups (P &gt; 0.05). In AD patients, left and right IMT values and L-CCA PSV were significantly correlated with cognitive impairment (P &lt; 0.05). Pearson analysis revealed negative correlations between MMSE scores and left/right IMT and L-CCA PSV values (P &lt; 0.05).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Carotid artery ultrasound is a kind of efficient and valuable examination means, which can be widely used in the early diagnosis of AD patients. Carotid ultrasound is an effective tool for early AD diagnosis. Elevated IMT and L-CCA PSV values in AD and MCI patients suggest that carotid blood flow alterations may be associated with cognitive decline in AD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101625"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144090111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chemically reactive flow of Williamson nanofluid with nonlinear thermal radiation over an exponentially stretching/shrinking surface","authors":"M.S. Abbas ,&nbsp;M. Qamar ,&nbsp;M. Khan ,&nbsp;S.M. Hussain","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101630","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101630","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explore the numerical investigation of Darcy-Forchheimer model with Williamson nanofluid via an exponentially penetrable shrinking surface under the influence of both first and second-degree coefficient for velocity, chemical species, thermal radiation, and variable thermal conductivity. Classical transformations are used to form nonlinear PDEs into a new form of nonlinear ODEs and the resultant system is then resolved through the utilization of the bvp4c function built into MATLAB software. The concurrent impacts of the physical factors on flow, thermal distribution, mass curve, and engineering quantities were examined graphically, tabularly and histrogram analysis. The most notable findings of the current article are the existence of dual solutions for Williamson nanofluids. The outcomes show that Williamson nanofluid factors have positive impacts on the shear stress profile for both solution branches. The variations in Eckert number, radiation and variable thermal factors do not affect the critical point, which remains constant at <span><math><mrow><msub><mi>χ</mi><mrow><mi>c</mi><mi>i</mi></mrow></msub><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><mo>=</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>0.6081</mn></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow><mtext>.</mtext></mrow></math></span> Moreover, a delay in the boundary layer separation can be observed for the first-order velocity slip factor, which reduces the shear stress. In contrast, boundary layer separation accelerates by the second-order velocity slip factor and improves skin friction. These discoveries over a shrinking surface consisting of multiple solution flow dynamics have shown to be useful insight in real-world scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101630"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144090215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of radon concentrations and associated health risks via surface and groundwater consumption in the Utmah, Yemen","authors":"Murad Al Mugahed ,&nbsp;Saqr Algahmi ,&nbsp;F. Yehya ,&nbsp;Adnan Alnehia","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101639","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101639","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, poses health risks through water consumption. In seismically active regions like Utmah, Yemen, geological factors may elevate radon levels in water, requiring monitoring. This study analyzed radon concentrations in groundwater and surface water used for drinking, domestic purposes, and irrigation in Utmah Nature Reserve, Dhamar Governorate, Yemen. Thirty-four water samples were collected: 14 surface water samples (depth &lt;15 m) and 20 groundwater samples (depth 110–320 m) from Al-Azraa and Tahayjer. Radon and radium were measured using CR-39 nuclear track detectors. Results showed surface water radon levels ranged from 0.09 ± 0.03 to 0.25 ± 0.03 Bq/L (average 0.17 ± 0.04 Bq/L), while groundwater levels were higher: 0.20 ± 0.03 to 0.52 ± 0.09 Bq/L (average 0.34 ± 0.06 Bq/L), well below the international safety standard of 11.1 Bq/L set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Annual radiation exposure from surface water (inhalation/ingestion) ranged from 0.23 ± 0.08 to 0.64 ± 0.08 μSv/year (average 0.43 μSv/year). Groundwater exposure was higher: 0.50 ± 0.08 to 1.33 ± 0.23 μSv/year (average 0.86–0.87 μSv/year), still below the World Health Organization (WHO) limit (100 μSv/year). The analysis revealed that depth plays a role in radon distribution, with variations observed between surface and groundwater samples. This is likely influenced by geological characteristics or seismic activity in the area. The findings suggest that water sources in the studied locations do not pose significant radiological health risks due to radon exposure. This research highlights the urgent need for ongoing radon monitoring, especially in seismically active regions. The study provides valuable insights into the potential health impacts of radon in drinking water, contributing to improved international health and safety practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101639"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"OVGGNet: Optimized deep learning for lesion segmentation of medical images using color features","authors":"Ali Jaber Almalki","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101592","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101592","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Medical image segmentation is a challenging task in image processing, automatic segmentation needs expert suggestions and clinical practices such as treatment planning, disease diagnosis and disease progression. The primary problems in inaccurate lesion segmentation are variation of lesion conditions, lesion irregularity and presence of similarity between lesion regions. To avoid these problems, the Optimized Deep Learning model named as OVGGNet is proposed for the accurate lesion segmentation of medical images. Different data sources are used to collect different kinds of medical images that are preprocessed to enhance contrast of the medical images. The contrast enhanced images are predicted from this preprocessed stage, and then the Dilated dense VGG19 (DDVGG19) model is employed to extract global and local features from the enhanced images. In the feature extraction stage, the Shi Tomasi Corner detector is applied for shape identification and the linear dimensionality reduction approach is applied for undesired information removal. The Optimized Color Feature (OCF) operation is included at the final lesion segmentation tasks to carry out the different kinds of segmented output. Finally, the mapped images are predicted by fusing original and segmented images and its visual representations are provided in the experimental validation. The numerical and graphical validations are conducted to find the optimal performances during lesion segmentation of medical images. The significant performance measures such as segmentation accuracy and Dice Similarity Coefficient index (DSC) achieved performances of 98.81 % and 96.4 % respectively. The comparative analysis provided that the proposed model attained a better performance rather than existing approaches.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101592"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144090214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ultrasonography of IgG4 related diseases involving multiple systems: a five-year follow-up case report","authors":"Min Wang ,&nbsp;Deli Meng ,&nbsp;Lingling Xing ,&nbsp;Fei Xu ,&nbsp;Fengfeng Ding ,&nbsp;Yanglieguang Lou","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101629","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101629","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), a chronic fibrosing systemic disease, is usually misdiagnosed as a tumor due to its mass-like lesions. This case reports a patient diagnosed with IgG4-RD in 2019, characterized by elevated serum IgG4, impaired liver/kidney function, decreased complement, interstitial lung changes, bile duct narrowing, enlarged kidneys, and swollen submandibular/thyroid glands. The patient initially achieved remission with glucocorticoid therapy, but after 5 years, in 2024, the patient's condition worsened, and PET/CT showed a pancreatic mass and enlarged lymph nodes. Ultrasound-guided biopsy confirmed the patient had IgG4-related autoimmune pancreatitis, not cancer. This case illustrates the critical role of ultrasound imaging in disease detection and treatment monitoring of IgG4-RD during long-term follow-up.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101629"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144099004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Khellin a promising natural compound for alleviation of diabetic nephropathy: Evidence from in-silico, in-vitro and in-vivo studies","authors":"Abdelnaser A. Badawy ,&nbsp;Heba I. Ghamry ,&nbsp;Naglaa Mokhtar ,&nbsp;Ahmed H. Sulaiman ,&nbsp;Elryah I. Ali ,&nbsp;Hasnaa Ali Ebrahim ,&nbsp;Mamdouh Eldesoqui ,&nbsp;Mohammed A. El-Magd","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101590","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101590","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aimed to evaluate the potential impacts of Khellin (Khe) therapeutic potential in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic nephropathy (DN) using integrated in silico, in vitro, and in vivo approaches.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In silico studies were conducted to assess whether Khe could target DN-associated proteins. In vitro, the MTT assay assessed Khe's impact on normal kidney HK-2 cells. In vivo, male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 30) were randomly divided into six groups: normal control (Cnt), low (Khe-L, 50 mg/kg), and high (Khe-H, 100 mg/kg) dose Khe, DN, DN + Khe-L, and DN + Khe-H. Renal function markers, oxidative stress parameters, inflammatory cytokines, and apoptotic genes were evaluated. Histopathological examination of kidney tissues was also performed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Khe showed variable binding affinities and interaction patterns in a molecular docking study against seven proteins (TNFα, TGFβ1, ETS1, TIMP2, MAPK14, PI3K, and KIM1) involved in DN pathogenesis. In vitro, Khe improved the survival of high glucose (HG) treated HK-2 cells and inhibited the activation of MAPK14, PI3K, caspase 3, and TNFα induced by HG. Khe-treated rats (DN + Khe-L, and DN + Khe-H) exhibited significantly 1) decreased serum levels of creatinine, urea, and retinol-binding protein (RBP), 2) declined urinary proteins levels, 3) reduced renal levels of MDA, 4) increased activities of the antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GPx), 5) downregulated renal expression of <em>TNFα, TGFβ1, ETS1, TIMP2, KIM1, MAPK14, PI3K,</em> and <em>Bax</em>, and 6) upregulated expression of <em>Bcl2</em> compared to the DN group. These biochemical and molecular results were corroborated by histopathological examination, which showed that the groups treated with Khe had much better kidney tissue integrity. The effectiveness of the treatment depended on the dosage.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Khe exhibited therapeutic effects in DN, potentially mediated by its antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. These findings underscore Khe's promise as an adjunctive therapy for DN.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 3","pages":"Article 101590"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144084662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}