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Osmanthus fragrans (scientific name: Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Lour.) is a species of the Osmanthus genus in the family Oleaceae, and it has a long history of cultivation in China. O. fragrans is edible and is well known for conferring a natural fragrance to desserts. This flowering plant has long been cultivated for ornamental purposes. Most contemporary literature related to O. fragrans focuses on its edible value and new species discovery, but the functional use of O. fragrans is often neglected. O, fragrans has many properties that are beneficial to human health, and its roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits have medicinal value. These characteristics are recorded in the classics of traditional Chinese medicine. Studies on the metabolites and medicinal value of O. fragrans published in recent years were used in this study to evaluate the medicinal value of O. fragrans. Using keywords such as metabolites and Osmanthus fragrans, a systematic and nonexhaustive search of articles, papers and books related to the medicinal use of Osmanthus fragrans metabolites was conducted. Fifteen metabolites were identified through this literature search and classified into three categories according to their properties and structure: flavonoids, terpenes and phenolic acids. It was found that the pharmacological activities of these secondary metabolites mainly include antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities and that these metabolites can be used to treat many human diseases, such as cancer, skin diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological diseases. Most of the reports that are currently available and concern the secondary metabolites of Osmanthus fragrans have limitations. Some reports introduce only the general classification of compounds in Osmanthus fragrans, and some reports introduce only a single compound. In contrast, the introduction section of this paper includes both the category and the functional value of each compound. While reviewing the data for this study, the authors found that the specific action sites of these compounds and their mechanisms of action in plants are relatively weak, and in the future, additional research should be conducted to investigate this topic further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sertoli cells play crucial roles in spermatogenesis and are impaired by aging. Icariin, a flavonoid from Epimedium , has been reported to exhibit anti-aging effects and improve testicular dysfunction in the clinical setting. However, whether icariin improves age-related degeneration of testicular function via protection from Sertoli cell injury remains unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the protective effect of icariin on Sertoli cell injury and explored the possible mechanism(s) in vivo and in vitro. Dietary administration of icariin for 4 months significantly ameliorated the age-related decline in testicular function by increasing testicular and epididymal weights and indices, sperm count and sperm viability, testicular testosterone and estradiol concentrations, and seminiferous tubule diameters and heights. In addition, icariin protected age-related Sertoli cells from injury as evidenced by an analysis of Sertoli cell number, ultrastructure, and function. Such changes were accompanied by upregulation of ER α and Nrf2 signaling in Sertoli cells. Parallel in vitro studies also demonstrated that icariin inhibited untoward effects on the TM4 mouse Sertoli cell line with concomitant upregulation of ER α and Nrf2 signaling. Conversely, ER α siRNA reversed icariin-mediated protection of Sertoli cell injury. Our data suggest that icariin effectively ameliorates age-related degeneration of testicular function by alleviating Sertoli cell injury via the ER α /Nrf2 signal-transduction pathway. Thus, mitigating Sertoli cell damage via the ER α /Nrf2 signaling pathway likely represents a promising strategy for the prevention of age-related testicular dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most important antigen-presenting cells that determine cancer immune responses by regulating immune activation and tolerance, especially in the initiation stage of specific responses. Manipulation of DCs to enhance specific antitumor immune response is considered to be a powerful tool for tumor eradication. Nanotechnology, which can incorporate multifunction components and show spatiotemporal control properties, is of great interest and is widely investigated for its ability to improve immune response activity against cancer and even for prevention and avoiding recurrence. In this mini-review, we aim to provide a general view of DC-based immunotherapy, including that involving the promising nanotechnology. Particularly we discuss: (1) manipulation or engineering of DCs for adoptive vaccination, (2) employing DCs as a combination to more existing therapeutics in tumor treatment, and (3) direct modulation of DCs in vivo to enhance antigen presentation efficacy and priming T cells subsequently. We comprehensively discuss the updates on the application of nanotechnology in DC-based immunotherapy and provide some insights on the challenges and opportunities of DC-based immunotherapeutics, including the potential of nanotechnology, against cancers.

Background: Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is a commonly used sedative in the intensive care unit and has demonstrated cardioprotective properties against ischemia-reperfusion injury in preclinical studies. However, the protective effects of early treatment of DEX in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and its underlying mechanism are still not fully understood. This study aims to investigate the association between early DEX treatment and in-hospital mortality in patients with AMI, and to explore the potential mediating role of white blood cell (WBC) reduction in this relationship., Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. Patients with AMI were divided into the DEX and non-DEX group, based on whether they received DEX treatment in the early stage of hospitalization. The primary outcome measured was in-hospital mortality. The study evaluated the association between DEX use and in-hospital mortality using the Kaplan-Meier (KM) method and Cox proportional hazards model. Additionally, 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to validate the results. Furthermore, causal mediation analysis (CMA) was utilized to explore potential causal pathways mediated by WBC reduction between early DEX use and the primary outcome., Results: This study analyzed data from 2,781 patients, with 355 in the DEX group and 2,426 in the non-DEX group. KM survival analysis revealed a significantly lower in-hospital mortality rate in the DEX group compared to the non-DEX group. After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, the Cox regression model demonstrated a significant positive impact of DEX on the risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with AMI, with hazard ratios (HR) of 0.50 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.35-0.71, p < 0.0001). PSM analysis confirmed these results, showing HR of 0.49 (95% CI: 0.31-0.77, p = 0.0022). Additionally, CMA indicated that 13.7% (95% CI: 1.8%-46.9%, p = 0.022) of the beneficial effect of DEX on reducing in-hospital mortality in patients with AMI was mediated by the reduction in WBC., Conclusion: The treatment of DEX was associated with a lower risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with AMI, potentially due to its anti-inflammatory properties., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Liu, Chen, Hu, Deng and Huang.)

Objective: JianPiHuaTan Formula (JPHTF), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been utilized as an adjunctive therapy for colorectal cancer (CRC). The study aims to evaluate the potential clinical benefits of JPHTF and its effectiveness in inhibiting tumor growth., Methods: 300 stage II/III CRC patients and 412 advanced CRC patients were enrolled to verify the clinical value of JPHTF in CRC treatment. Furthermore, CRC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mice were utilized to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of JPHTF., Results: JPHTF significantly improved abdominal distension, shortness of breath, drowsiness, loss of appetite, sleep, and tiredness in stage II/III CRC patients, thereby improving their quality of life. Simultaneously, JPHTF served as a supportive therapy in extending the overall survival (OS) of stage IV CRC patients with RAS/RAF mutations undergoing chemotherapy. Additionally, JPHTF effectively impeded tumor progression in CRC PDX models with RAS mutation, accompanied by a reduction in tumor cell content in the JPHTF group. Transcriptomic analysis revealed the involvement of the Hippo and Hedgehog signaling pathways in JPHTF-mediated CRC inhibition. Furthermore, mice in the JPHTF group exhibited increased immune cell infiltration., Conclusion: These findings suggested that JPHTF may inhibits tumor growth in CRC with RAS mutation by modulating RAS/RAF downstream signaling pathways, specifically the Hippo and Hedgehog signaling, leading to increased immune cell infiltration., Competing Interests: Author QC was employed by Thorgene Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 He, Li, Wu, Zhang, Yao, Zang, Zou, Song, Li, Chen, Cao and Cai.)