南方医科大学学报杂志最新文献

{"title":"[High expression of SURF4 promotes migration, invasion and proliferation of gastric cancer cells by inhibiting tight junction proteins].","authors":"Ziliang Wang, Xiaohua Chen, Jingjing Yang, Chen Yan, Zhizhi Zhang, Bingyi Huang, Meng Zhao, Song Liu, Sitang Ge, Lugen Zuo, Deli Chen","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.17","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.17","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To study the impact of SURF4 expression level on long-term prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) and biological behaviors of GC cells.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>SURF4 expression level in GC and its association with long-term patient prognosis were analyzed using publicly available databases and in 155 GC patients with low and high SURF4 expressions detected immunohistochemically. The Cox proportional hazard model and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze independent prognostic predictors of GC and the 5-year survival rate of the patients with different SURF4 expression levels. Informatics analyses were conducted to explore the correlation of SURF4 expression level with immune cell infiltration in GC, SURF4-related differential genes and their associated pathways. In cultured GC cell line HGC-27, the effects of SURF4 knockdown and overexpression on proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were investigated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analysis of GEPIA dataset and immunohistochemical results suggested significant SURF4 overexpression in GC (<i>P</i><0.05), which was associated with shortened 5-year survival time of the patients (χ²=38.749, <i>P</i><0.001). The prognosis of GC was closely related to tumor stage T3-4, N2-3, CEA≥5 μg/L and CA19-9≥37 kU/L (<i>P</i><0.05). SURF4 expression level was negatively correlated with activated B cells, NK cells and CD8⁺ effector memory T cells (<i>P</i><0.05) and positively correlated with CD4⁺ T cells (<i>P</i><0.05). GO and KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that SUFR4 may participate in GC carcinogenesis by promoting EMT through the tight junction pathway. In HGC-27 cells, SURF4 overexpression significantly decreased E-cadherin expression, increased N-cadherin expression, inhibited ZO-1 and claudin-1 expressions, and promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>SURF4 is highly expressed in GC, and its overexpression is associated with a shortened 5-year survival of the patients possibly by enhancing tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion <i>via</i> inhibiting tight junction proteins and promoting EMT.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1732-1742"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415580/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Prenatal fear stress impairs cognitive development in offspring rats by disrupting placental amino acid transport].","authors":"Zhixin DU, Yueyang Wang, Liping Yang, Junlin Hou, Jianhua Sun, Pengbei Fan, Yaohui Wang, Xiaolin Li","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.02","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.02","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate the impact of prenatal fear stress on placental amino acid transport and emotion and cognition development in offspring rats.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty pregnant Wistar rats were randomized equally into control and fear stress (induced using an observational foot shock model) groups. In each group, placental and serum samples were collected from 6 dams on gestational day 20, and the remaining rats delivered naturally and the offspring rats were raised under the same conditions until 8 weeks of age. Emotional and cognitive outcomes of the offspring rats were assessed with behavioral tests, and placental structure was examined using HE staining. Bioinformatics analysis was used to identify differentially expressed placental transporter genes under fear stress. The expressions of system A and system L amino acid transporters, along with other specialized transporters, were detected using qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Fetal serum amino acid concentrations were determined by HPLC. The correlations between fetal amino acid levels and behavioral outcomes of the offspring rats were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The dams with fear stress showed reduced open-field activity and increased freezing behavior with significantly decreased placental weight, fetal weight, and fetal-to-placental ratio. Bioinformatics analysis revealed 28 differentially expressed transporter genes involved mainly in amino acid transport. In the fear stress group, fetal serum amino acid levels were significantly lowered and Slc38a1, Slc43a1, Slc43a2, Slc7a8, Slc6a6, Slc1a1 and Slc6a9 mRNA and protein expressions were all downregulated. The offspring rats in fear stress group exhibited decreased novel object preference and spontaneous alternation with reduced open arm exploration and increased immobility in emotional tests. Lower early-life amino acid levels was found to correlate with impaired adult cognition.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Prenatal fear stress in rats impairs placental amino acid transporter expression and reduces fetal serum amino acid levels, potentially contributing to long-term cognitive deficits in the offspring rats.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1581-1588"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415581/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Inhibition of ferroptosis alleviates acute kidney injury caused by diquat in zebrafish].","authors":"Zejin Ou, Ying Li, Shi Chen, Ziyi Wang, Meiyi He, Zhicheng Chen, Shihao Tang, Xiaojing Meng, Zhi Wang","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.18","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.18","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate the role of ferroptosis in diquat-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and its molecular mechanisms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Transgenic zebrafish models with Tg (Eco.Tshb:EGFP) labeling of the renal tubules and Tg (lyz:dsRed2) labeling of the neutrophils were both divided into control group, gentamicin (positive control) group, diquat poisoning group, ferroptosis inhibitor group. The indicators of kidney injury, inflammatory response, and ferroptosis were examined in the zebrafish, and the changes in expressions of voltage-dependent anion-selective channel protein 1 (VDAC1) and mitochondrial ferritin (FTMT) were detected using Western blotting.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>AKI induced by diquat exhibited a significant dose-effect relationship, and the severity of injury was proportional to the exposure concentration. Diquat also caused marked oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in the zebrafish models. Rhodamine metabolism assay and HE staining revealed significantly declined glomerular filtration function of the zebrafish as diquat exposure concentration increased. Immunofluorescence staining highlighted significant changes in the expressions of ferroptosis markers GPX4 and FTH1 in zebrafish renal tissues following diquat exposure. In diquat-exposed zebrafish, treatment with ferrostatin-1, a ferroptosis inhibitor, obviously upregulated GPX4 and downregulated FTH1 expressions and improved the metabolic rate of glucan labeled with rhodamine B. Diquat exposure significantly upregulated the expression of VDAC1 and FTMT in zebrafish, and the application of ferrostatin-1 and VBIT-12 (a VDAC1 inhibitor) both caused pronounced downregulation of FTMT expression.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Ferroptosis is a critical mechanism underlying diquat-induced AKI, in which VDAC1 and FTMT play important regulatory roles, suggesting their potential as therapeutic target for AKI caused by diquat.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1743-1750"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415565/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[<i>Haematococcus pluvialis</i> alleviates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice by inhibiting transformation of lung fibroblasts into myofibroblast].","authors":"Xiao Zhang, Jingzhou Man, Yong Zhang, YunJian Zheng, Heping Wang, Yijun Yuan, Xi Xie","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.12","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.12","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate the effect of <i>Haematococcus pluvialis</i> (HP) on bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice and on TGF-β1-induced human fetal lung fibroblasts (HFL1).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis model group, low- and high-dose HP treatment groups (3 and 21 mg/kg, respectively), and 300 mg/kg pirfenidone (positive control) group. The effects of drug treatment for 21 days were assessed by examining respiratory function, lung histopathology, and expression of fibrosis markers in the lung tissues of the mouse models. In TGF-β1-induced HFL1 cell cultures, the effects of treatment with 120, 180 and 240 μg/mL HP or 1.85 μg/mL pirfenidone for 48 h on expression levels of fibrosis markers were evaluated. Transcriptome analysis was carried out using the control cells and cells treated with TGF-β1 and 240 μg/mL HP.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>HP obviously alleviated BLM-induced lung function damage and fibrotic changes in mice, evidenced by improved respiratory function, lung tissue morphology and structure, inflammatory infiltration, and collagen deposition and reduced expressions of fibrotic proteins. HP at the high dose produced similar effect to PFD. In TGF-β1-induced HFL1 cells, treatment with 240 μg/mL HP significantly reduced the mRNA and protein expression levels of α-SMA and FN. Transcriptome analysis revealed that multiple key genes and pathways mediated the protective effect of HP against pulmonary fibrosis.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>HP alleviates pulmonary fibrosis in both the mouse model and cell model, possibly as the result of the synergistic effects of its multiple active components.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1672-1681"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415568/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Synthesis of a temperature-responsive multimodal motion microrobot capable of precise navigation for targeted controllable drug release].","authors":"Xuhui Zhao, Mengran Liu, Xi Chen, Jing Huang, Yuan Liu, Haifeng Xu","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.20","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.20","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To synthesize a temperature-responsive multimodal motion microrobot (MMMR) using temperature and magnetic field-assisted microfluidic droplet technology to achieve targeted drug delivery and controlled drug release.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Microfluidic droplet technology was utilized to synthesize the MMMR by mixing gelatin with magnetic microparticles. The microrobot possessed a magnetic anisotropy structure to allow its navigation and targeted drug release by controlling the temperature field and magnetic field. In the experiment, the MMMR was controlled to move in a wide range along a preset path by rotating a uniform magnetic field, and the local circular motion was driven by a planar rotating gradient magnetic field of different frequencies. The MMMR was loaded with simulated drugs, which were released in response to laser heating.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Driven by a rotating magnetic field, the MMMR achieved linear motion following a predefined path. The planar gradient rotating magnetic field controlled circular motion of the MMMR with an adjustable radius, utilizing the centrifugal force generated by rotation. The drug-loaded MMMR successfully reached the target location under magnetic guidance, where the gelatin matrix was melted using laser heating for accurate drug release, after which the remaining magnetic particles were removed using magnetic field.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The MMMR possesses multimodal motion capabilities to enable precise navigation along a predefined path and dynamic regulation of drug release within the target area, thus having great potential for a wide range of biomedical applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1758-1767"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415582/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Electroacupuncture at Zusanli improves blood lipid disorders in hyperlipidemic mice by improving gut microbiota structure].","authors":"Chuyu Deng, Xueying Wang, Lixiang Gan, Dayu Wang, Xiaoyan Zheng, Chunzhi Tang","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.08","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.08","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate the therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at Zusanli (ST36) acupoint on hyperlipidemia in mice and explore the underlying mechanisms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty C57BL/6J mice were equally randomized into normal diet group, high-fat diet (HFD) group, and EA group. The changes in blood lipids and serum malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the mice were evaluated, and histopathological changes and lipid accumulation in the liver were observed using Oil red O staining (ORO). The expressions of NLRP3, TLR4, and IL-1β proteins in the colon tissues were detected with Western blotting, and gut microbiota changes were analyzed using 16S rDNA sequencing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In mice with HFD feeding, 16 weeks of EA treatment significantly lowered body weight and serum TC, TG, LDL-C and MDA levels, obviously reduced lipid accumulation in the liver, and ameliorated HFD-induced elevations of protein expressions of NLRP3, TLR4, and IL-1β. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that EA significantly altered gut microbiota composition, and increased the diversity and relative abundance of beneficial bacterial groups such as <i>Muribaculaceae</i> and <i>Lachnospiraceae</i> NK4A136_group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Electroacupuncture at ST36 alleviates blood lipid disorders in hyperlipidemic mice possibly by improving intestinal microbiota structure, promoting degradation of high-caloric carbohydrates, cholesterol lipid metabolism and intestinal mucosa repair, and reducing toxin leakage, lipid peroxides, and liver fat deposition.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1633-1642"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415585/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone alleviates dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis in mice by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation].","authors":"Chenfei Liu, Wei Zhang, Yao Zeng, Yan Liang, Mengting Wang, Mingfang Zhang, Xinyuan Li, Fengchao Wang, Yanqing Yang","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.10","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.10","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate the therapeutic mechanism of 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (DMQ) for alleviating dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eighteen male C57BL/6J mice were equally randomized into control group, DSS group and DMQ treatment group. In DSS and DMQ groups, the mice were treated with DSS in drinking water to induce UC, and received intraperitoneal injections of sterile PBS or DMQ (20 mg/kg) during modeling. The changes in body weight, disease activity index (DAI), colon length, spleen weight, and colon histological scores of the mice were examined, and the percentages of Th17 and IFN-γ⁺ CD8⁺ T cells in the mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen were analyzed using flow cytometry. The expressions of tight junction proteins (Occludin and ZO-1), proteins associated with inflammasome activation (caspase-1 and p20), IL-1β and TNF-α in the colon tissues were detected using Western blotting or ELISA. In the cell experiment, mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) primed with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were treated with DMQ, followed by stmulation with nigericin to activate the classical NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. In cultured human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) treated with either LPS alone or LPS plus nigericin, the effects of DMQ on inflammasome activation, pyroptosis, and cytokine release were evaluated <i>via</i> Western blotting, ELISA, and flow cytometry.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In DSS-treated mice, DMQ treatment significantly alleviated DSS-induced body weight loss, colon shortening, spleen enlargement, and colon inflammation. The DMQ-treated mice showed significantly reduced percentages of Th17 cells and IFN-γ⁺ CD8⁺ T cells in the mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen, with increased occludin and ZO-1 expressions and decreased caspase-1 expression in the colon tissue. DMQ obviously inhibited classical NLRP3 inflammasome activation in mouse BMDMs and both the classical and alternative pathways of NLRP3 activation in human PBMCs, causing also suppression of caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>DMQ ameliorates DSS-induced UC in mice by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1654-1662"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415577/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[A myocardial infarction detection and localization model based on multi-scale field residual blocks fusion with modified channel attention].","authors":"Qiucen Wu, Xueqi Lu, Yaoqi Wen, Yong Hong, Yuliang Wu, Chaomin Chen","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.22","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>We propose a myocardial infarction (MI) detection and localization model for improving the diagnostic accuracy for MI to provide assistance to clinical decision-making.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The proposed model was constructed based on multi-scale field residual blocks fusion modified channel attention (MSF-RB-MCA). The model utilizes lead II electrocardiogram (ECG) signals to detect and localize MI, and extracts different levels of feature information through the multi-scale field residual block. A modified channel attention for automatic adjustment of the feature weights was introduced to enhance the model's ability to focus on the MI region, thereby improving the accuracy of MI detection and localization.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A 5-fold cross-validation test of the model was performed using the publicly available Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) dataset. For MI detection, the model achieved an accuracy of 99.96% on the test set with a specificity of 99.84% and a sensitivity of 99.99%. For MI localization, the accuracy, specificity and sensitivity were 99.81%, 99.98% and 99.65%, respectively. The performances of the model for MI detection and localization were superior to those of other comparison models.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The proposed MSF-RB-MCA model shows excellent performance in AI detection and localization based on lead II ECG signals, demonstrating its great potential for application in wearable devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1777-1790"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415574/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[β-sitosterol, an important component in the fruits of <i>Alpinia oxyphylla</i> Miq., prolongs lifespan of <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> by suppressing the ferroptosis pathway].","authors":"Junyi Li, Siyuan Chen, Liyao Xie, Jin Wang, Ao Cheng, Shaowei Zhang, Jiyu Lin, Zhihan Fang, Yirui Pan, Chonghe Cui, Gengxin Chen, Chao Zhang, Li Li","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.19","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.19","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To elucidate the anti-aging effect of β-sitosterol (BS), an important component in the fruits of <i>Alpinia oxyphylla</i> Miq., in <i>C. elegans</i> and its regulatory effect on ETS-5 gene to modulate ferroptosis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong><i>C. elegans</i> treated with 10 µg/mL BS were monitored for survival time and changes in body length, motility, and reproductive function. The effect of ETS-5 gene knockdown on survival time of <i>C. elegans</i> was observed, and the changes in fat accumulation and lipid redox homeostasis in the transfected <i>C. elegans</i> were assessed using Oil Red O staining and by detecting MDA levels and the GSH/GSSG ratio. The mRNA expression levels of ferroptosis-related genes (FTN-1, GPX-1 and AAT-9) were detected using qPCR. The effects of BS treatment and ETS-5 knockdown on AAT-9 enzyme activity in <i>C. elegans</i> were examined. The effect of BS on nuclear localization of FEV (the human homolog of ETS-5) was validated in cultured human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Both BS treatment and ETS-5 knockdown significantly prolonged the lifespan, promoted lipid accumulation and reduced lipid peroxidation in <i>C. elegans</i>. ETS-5 knockdown resulted in upregulated expressions of the ferroptosis repressors GPX-1, AAT-9 and FTN-1 and increased the GSH/GSSG ratio in <i>C. elegans</i>.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>BS inhibits ferroptosis in <i>C. elegans</i> by suppressing the expression of ETS-5 transcription factor and hence the activity of AAT-9 enzyme, a key gene for ferroptosis, which in turn prolongs the lifespan of <i>C. elegans</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1751-1757"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415562/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"[Exosome-derived miR-1275 mediates IL-38 upregulation in lymphocytes to suppress lipopolysaccharide-induced apoptosis of myocardial cells <i>in vitro</i>].","authors":"Haimei Bo, Xinying Cao, Pingchuan Xing, Zhijun Wang","doi":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.05","DOIUrl":"10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.08.05","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate the effect of cardiomyocytes-derived exosomes on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cardiomyocyte injury and its mechanism.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Exosomes isolated from rat cardiomyocytes with or without LPS treatment were co-cultured with rat lymphocytes. The lymphocytes with or without exosome treatment were co-cultured with LPS-induced rat cardiomyocytes for 48 h. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry, and the expressions of apoptosis marker proteins and the PI3K/AKT pathway proteins were detected using Western blotting. The effects of human recombinant IL-38 protein on apoptosis and protein expressions in LPS-induced cardiomyocytes were examined.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with normal cardiomyocyte-derived exosomes, the exosomes from LPS-induced cardiomyocytes significantly enhanced proliferation and increased mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-38 in rat lymphocytes. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that miR-1275 in the exosome played a key role in LPS-induced cardiomyocyte injury, and in dual luciferase reporter gene assay, miR-1275 mimics significantly increased luciferase activity of WT-IL-38. Co-culture with lymphocytes treated with exosomes from LPS-induced cardiomyocytes significantly inhibited apoptosis of LPS-induced cardiomyocytes. Treatment with recombinant IL-38 also effectively lowered apoptosis rate of LPS-induced cardiomyocytes, reduced cellular expression of Bax protein, and increased the protein expression levels of Bcl-2, p-PI3K and p-AKT.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>miR-1275 in exosomes derived from LPS-induced cardiomyocytes mediates IL-38 up-regulation expression in lymphocytes to activate the PI3K/AKT pathway and inhibit LPS-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":18962,"journal":{"name":"南方医科大学学报杂志","volume":"45 8","pages":"1608-1615"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12415573/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145015873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}