Professor Cao Xuan’s team from the School of Medicine/Advanced Research Institute has recently published a research article titled “Deep learning-assisted detection of psychoactive water pollutants using behavioral profiling of zebrafish embryos” in Journal of Hazardous Materials (a top journal in the field, classified as Q1 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with an Impact Factor of 12.2).

The study innovatively combined deep learning with behavioral analysis of zebrafish embryos from a behavioral toxicology perspective, developing a new method for detecting psychoactive water pollutants. Inspired by the concept of “biomarkers” in toxicology, the research team creatively proposed using the movement trajectories of zebrafish embryos as the “behavioral fingerprints” of pollutant exposure. The study found that different psychoactive substances could induce unique behavioral patterns in zebrafish embryos, serving as biological markers for specific pollutants. Through the interpretability analysis of the deep learning model, the team further explored the association between the mechanism of action of psychoactive substances and behavioral patterns, providing a new perspective for assessing the impact of environmental pollutants on human health. Dr. Zhu Ya, a young teacher at the School of Medicine/Advanced Research Institute, is the sole first author of the paper, and Professor Cao Xuan is the corresponding author.

The team also published a paper titled “Network pharmacology, molecular docking and biological verification to explore the potential anti-prostate cancer mechanisms of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F.” in Journal of Ethnopharmacology (a top journal in the field, classified as Q1 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences).

The study employed bioinformatics techniques such as network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations to uncover the potential active ingredients and drug targets of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F. in the treatment of prostate cancer. The team systematically established a drug target network and a PPI network for the anti-prostate cancer effects of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F., and verified the molecular mechanisms of the key active ingredient osthole targeting AKT and p65 at the cellular and animal levels. The study revealed that osthole is a potential anti-prostate cancer drug, acting as an inhibitor of p-AKT and p65, which can inhibit prostate cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. This provides important theoretical support for the development of osthole as a candidate anti-prostate cancer drug. Dr. Sang Yazhou, a joint cultivated Ph.D. candidate at Taizhou University, is the first author of the paper, with Dr. Hu Yue being a co-first author, Professor Cao Xuan as the corresponding author, and Taizhou University being the first affiliation.

Prof. Cao Xuan’s team published a paper titled “Corynoxine Triggers Cell Death Via Activating PP2A and Regulating AKT- Corynoxine Triggers Cell Death Via Activating PP2A and Regulating AKT- mTOR /GSK3β Axes in NSCLC” in an internationally renowned journal in the field of pharmacology named Biochemical Pharmacology.

Crocus sativus is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine and ethnic medicine such as Zhuang and Yao. Knoxine is the main active ingredient in the stem and branch extracts of Crocus sativus. This study demonstrated for the first time in the international community that Knoxine has significant anti-tumor activity against non-small cell lung cancer. In in vitro cells and loaded nude mice model, Conoxicine has obvious anti-tumor effect on non-small cell lung cancer cells A549 and H1975, which can significantly inhibit the cell proliferation of A549 and H1975, and induce A549 and H1975 to undergo cycle block at G2/M phase in a concentration gradient-dependent manner, and further induce the cells to undergo apoptosis. Meanwhile, it was found that conosine-treated cells significantly activated the activity of PP2A and down-regulated the phosphorylation levels of signaling pathway proteins, such as CDC25C, AKT, and mTOR. Hou Guoqing, a joint PhD student of Taizhou University, was the first author of the paper, and Prof. Cao Xuan of the School of Medicine/Advanced Research Institute and Prof. Hu Qiongying of the School of Medicine were the corresponding authors of the paper.

The above research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81974468, 82473945), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LGF21H200005), Taizhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (24sfa03), Taizhou University School-Linked Medical Special Project (2023XY01), Taizhou Anti-Cancer Association Cancer Special Research Project (TACA2025-A02), Zhejiang University Students’ Science and Technology Innovation Activity Program (New Seedling Talent Program) (2024R435A014) and other projects.

The links to the papers are as follows:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389424029376

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874124013709

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006295224000935?via%3Dihub