ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Huazhuo Jiedu prescription in treating ulcerative colitis （UC） by regulating mitophagy. MethodsThe genes related to mitophagy and UC were retrieved from GeneCards， and then the common genes of mitophagy and UC were analyzed by metascape to identify the genes related to mitophagy in UC. Animal experiments were carried out to decipher the mechanism by which Huazhuo Jiedu prescription treated UC by regulating mitophagy. Sixty C57BL/6 male mice were randomized into normal， model， high-， medium-， and low-dose （50， 25， 12.5 g·kg^-1， respectively） Huazhuo Jiedu prescription， and mesalazine （0.52 g·kg^-1·d^-1） groups， with 10 mice in each group. After successful modeling by the dextran sulfate sodium-free drinking method， the colonic mucosal damage was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining， and the ultracellular structure of colon mucosa was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The expression levels of mitophagy-related proteins PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 （PINK1） and Parkin protein were determined by Western blot. The expression of prohibitin 2 （PHB2）， ubiquitin-specific protease 15 （USP15）， ubiquitin-specific protease 30 （USP30） in the colon tissue was detected by immunofluorescence （IF）. ResultsAll the drug intervention groups showed ameliorated pathological manifestations of the colonic mucosa and improved mitochondrial structures in UC mice. Compared with the normal group， the model group demonstrated up-regulated protein levels of PINK1 and Parkin （P<0.05）， enhanced average fluorescence intensity of PHB2 （P<0.05）， and weakened average fluorescence intensity of USP15 and USP30 （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the mesalazine group and the high- and medium-dose Huazhuo Jiedu prescription groups showcased down-regulated protein levels of PINK1 and Parkin （P<0.05）， decreased average fluorescence intensity of PHB2 （P<0.05）， and enhanced average fluorescence intensity of USP15 and USP30 （P<0.05）. The low-dose Huazhuo Jiedu prescription group showed down-regulated protein levels of PINK1 and Parkin （P<0.05）， weakened average fluorescence intensity of PHB2 （P<0.05）， and enhanced average fluorescence intensity of USP15 and USP30 （P<0.05）. ConclusionHuazhuo Jiedu prescription can attenuate the intestinal mucosal injury and improve the mitochondrial cell ultrastructure in UC mice by regulating the expression of PINK1-Parkin pathway and inhibiting excessive mitophagy.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Huazhuo Jiedu prescription in treating ulcerative colitis （UC） by regulating mitophagy. MethodsThe genes related to mitophagy and UC were retrieved from GeneCards， and then the common genes of mitophagy and UC were analyzed by metascape to identify the genes related to mitophagy in UC. Animal experiments were carried out to decipher the mechanism by which Huazhuo Jiedu prescription treated UC by regulating mitophagy. Sixty C57BL/6 male mice were randomized into normal， model， high-， medium-， and low-dose （50， 25， 12.5 g·kg^-1， respectively） Huazhuo Jiedu prescription， and mesalazine （0.52 g·kg^-1·d^-1） groups， with 10 mice in each group. After successful modeling by the dextran sulfate sodium-free drinking method， the colonic mucosal damage was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining， and the ultracellular structure of colon mucosa was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The expression levels of mitophagy-related proteins PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 （PINK1） and Parkin protein were determined by Western blot. The expression of prohibitin 2 （PHB2）， ubiquitin-specific protease 15 （USP15）， ubiquitin-specific protease 30 （USP30） in the colon tissue was detected by immunofluorescence （IF）. ResultsAll the drug intervention groups showed ameliorated pathological manifestations of the colonic mucosa and improved mitochondrial structures in UC mice. Compared with the normal group， the model group demonstrated up-regulated protein levels of PINK1 and Parkin （P<0.05）， enhanced average fluorescence intensity of PHB2 （P<0.05）， and weakened average fluorescence intensity of USP15 and USP30 （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the mesalazine group and the high- and medium-dose Huazhuo Jiedu prescription groups showcased down-regulated protein levels of PINK1 and Parkin （P<0.05）， decreased average fluorescence intensity of PHB2 （P<0.05）， and enhanced average fluorescence intensity of USP15 and USP30 （P<0.05）. The low-dose Huazhuo Jiedu prescription group showed down-regulated protein levels of PINK1 and Parkin （P<0.05）， weakened average fluorescence intensity of PHB2 （P<0.05）， and enhanced average fluorescence intensity of USP15 and USP30 （P<0.05）. ConclusionHuazhuo Jiedu prescription can attenuate the intestinal mucosal injury and improve the mitochondrial cell ultrastructure in UC mice by regulating the expression of PINK1-Parkin pathway and inhibiting excessive mitophagy.

Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is a critical transcription factor that governs the differentiation of cluster of differentiation 4⁺ (CD4⁺) T cells. The pathogenesis and progression of psoriasis are primarily attributed to an immune imbalance stemming from the overproduction of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) by T lymphocytes. However, the role of IRF4 in psoriasis remains unexplored. In this study, we found that IRF4 activity is increased in the cutaneous lesions of patients with psoriasis in response to stimulation by IL-23A and IL-1β. This IRF4 elevation heightens its binding to the E1A binding protein p300 (EP300) promoter, triggering the transcription of downstream retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-γt (RORγt) and increasing the secretion of IL-17A, thereby establishing the IL-1β/IL-23A-IRF4-EP300-RORC-IL-17A inflammatory cascade in psoriasis. The alleviation of imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriatic-like symptoms was achieved through the creation of a Irf4 ^-/- gene deletion mouse model and pharmacological inhibition using antisense oligonucleotides targeted for Irf4. This amelioration was accompanied by a decreased number of IL-17A-producing CD4⁺ T cells in the skin. The findings of this study suggest that IRF4 plays a crucial role in the promotion of inflammation and exacerbation of IMQ-induced psoriasiform dermatitis. Consequently, IRF4 targeting could be a promising therapeutic strategy.

OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the anti-aging effect of β-sitosterol (BS), an important component in the fruits of Alpinia oxyphylla Miq., in C. elegans and its regulatory effect on ETS-5 gene to modulate ferroptosis. METHODS: C. elegans 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 C. elegans was observed, and the changes in fat accumulation and lipid redox homeostasis in the transfected C. elegans 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 C. elegans 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). RESULTS: Both BS treatment and ETS-5 knockdown significantly prolonged the lifespan, promoted lipid accumulation and reduced lipid peroxidation in C. elegans. 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 C. elegans. CONCLUSIONS BS inhibits ferroptosis in C. elegans 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 C. elegans.
Animals ; Caenorhabditis elegans/physiology* ; Ferroptosis/drug effects* ; Alpinia/chemistry* ; Sitosterols/pharmacology* ; Longevity/drug effects* ; Fruit/chemistry* ; Humans

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) patients in the era of first-line chemoimmunotherapy.Methods:Medical records of 56 patients with ES-SCLC who received thoracic radiotherapy after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy plus immunotherapy in Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2018 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The control group was not established for clinical causes. The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to identify prognostic factors using the Cox proportional hazards model. The cumulative incidence of local regional recurrence (LRR) was estimated using the Fine-Grey competing risks regression model.Results:Among 56 patients in our cohort, 47 patients received consolidative TRT (cTRT) before progression and 9 patients received salvage TRT after progression. The median follow-up time was 21 months (95% CI=19.8-22.2 months), the median OS was not reached, the median PFS was 9 months (95% CI=7.0-13.0 months), and the 1-year and 18-month OS rates were 84.9%, 62.1%. In the cTRT group, the 1-year and 18-month OS rates were 84.1%, 64.5%, with the median PFS of 10 months; 1-year and 18-month LRFS rates were 73.6% and 66.0%, respectively; the cumulative incidence of LRR at 1-year and 2-year were 24.9% and 30.8%, respectively. No other 4-5 grade adverse events (AE) were reported except 6 patients presenting with 4 grade hematologic toxicities. Three grade radiation esophagitis occurred in 3 patients (5%). Ten patients (18%) developed 1-2 grade treatment-related pneumonitis, including 5 (9%) patients with immune related pneumonitis and 5 (9%) patients with radiation pneumonitis. Conclusion:The application of TRT after first-line chemoimmunotherapy is safe and may has potential survival benefit for patients with ES-SCLC.

Objective:To analyze clinical efficacy of intensity-modulated chemoradiotherapy for patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma and identify prognostic factors.Methods:Clinical data of patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma who received intensity-modulated chemoradiotherapy in the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Regular follow-up was carried out. The main indexes included disease-free survival (DFS), locoregional failure-free survival (LRFFS) and overall survival (OS), and adverse reactions were recorded. The survival curve was delineated by Kaplan-Meier method and the influencing factors of survival were analyzed by Cox regression models.Results:A total of 65 patients were enrolled with 19 (29%) males and 46 (71%) females. According to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7 th edition staging, there were 7 (11%), 28 (43%), 10 (15%), and 20 (31%) patients with stage I, II, IIIa, and IIIb, respectively. Before the chemoradiotherapy, 2 (3%) patients received chemotherapy and 12 (18%) patients received local resection. The median dose of radiotherapy was 54 Gy (range: 45-64 Gy) and the main concurrent chemotherapy regimen was capecitabine combined with cisplatin ( n=34, 52%). The completion rate of radiotherapy during concurrent chemoradiotherapy was 100%, and the chemotherapy completion rate was 88%. During the therapy, 5 patients (8%) were interrupted but completed concurrent chemoradiotherapy in full dose, and 8 patients (12%) reduced the dose of concurrent chemotherapy due to the toxicities. During the chemoradiotherapy, 15 cases (23%) experienced grade 3-4 leukopenia, and 17 cases (26%) experienced grade 3-4 radiation dermatitis. No treatment-related death occurred during the treatment. The median follow-up time was 50.4 months (range: 4.4-142.2 months), local recurrence occurred in 7 cases (11%), distant metastasis occurred in 3 cases (5%), and the 5-year DFS, LRFFS and OS rates were 78.8%, 86.5% and 85.1%, respectively. Cox univariate analysis indicated that T stage was significantly associated with DFS ( P=0.006), and tended to be associated with OS ( P=0.054). Conclusions:Intensity-modulated radiotherapy combined with concurrent chemotherapy is an effective treatment for anal squamous cell carcinoma, with tolerable acute toxicities. T stage is an influencing factor of DFS in anal squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Objective:To analyze the treatment efficacy, safety and dose parameters of optimized hippocampus-avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation (HA-PCI) in limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) and explore the corresponding dosimetric parameters under the condition of narrowing the hippocampus avoidance region as hippocampus region plus 2 mm in three dimensions.Methods:Clinical data of patients with LS-SCLC receiving HA-PCI (hippocampus avoidance region defined as hippocampus region plus 2 mm in three dimensions) in Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from August 2014 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Dose parameters of HA-PCI and adverse events were analyzed using descriptive statistics analysis. Changes of neurocognitive function, such as mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Hopkins verbal learning test-revised (HVLT-R) scores, were evaluated by analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis H test. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and intracranial PFS (iPFS) were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. The cumulative incidence of local-regional recurrence (LRR), extracranial distant metastases (EDM), and locoregional recurrence (LR) were investigated under competing risk analysis. Results:A total of 112 patients were included, the median follow-up time was 50 months (95% CI: 45.61-54.38). The median volume of hippocampus was 4.85 ml (range: 2.65-8.34 ml), with the average dose ≤9 Gy in 106 patients (94.6%), ≤8 Gy in 92 patients (82.1%). The median volume of hippocampus avoidance area was 15.00 ml (range: 8.61-28.06 ml), with the average dose ≤12 Gy in 109 patients (97.3%), ≤10 Gy in 101 patients (90.2%). The 2-year cumulative LRR, EDM, LR rates were 16.9%, 23.2% and 28.5%, respectively. The 5-year cumulative LRR, EDM, LR rates were 23.2%, 26.9% and 33.3%, respectively. The 2-year iPFS, PFS and OS rates were 66.1% (95% CI: 57.9%-75.4%), 53.6% (95% CI: 45.1%-63.7%) and 80.4% (95% CI: 73.3%-88.1%), respectively. The most common grade I-Ⅱ adverse events were nausea (33.9%) and dizziness (31.3%), and only 1 patient developed grade Ⅲ nausea and dizziness. MMSE ( n=57) and HVLT-R tests ( n=56) showed no significant decline. Conclusions:Optimized HA-PCI can achieve similar dose limitation with favorable efficacy and light toxicity. No significant decline is observed in short-term neurocognitive function in evaluable patients.

NDFIP1 has been previously reported as a tumor suppressor in multiple solid tumors, but the function of NDFIP1 in NSCLC and the underlying mechanism are still unknown. Besides, the WW domain containing proteins can be recognized by NDFIP1, resulted in the loading of the target proteins into exosomes. However, whether WW domain-containing transcription regulator 1 (WWTR1, also known as TAZ) can be packaged into exosomes by NDFIP1 and if so, whether the release of this oncogenic protein via exosomes has an effect on tumor development has not been investigated to any extent. Here, we first found that NDFIP1 was low expressed in NSCLC samples and cell lines, which is associated with shorter OS. Then, we confirmed the interaction between TAZ and NDFIP1, and the existence of TAZ in exosomes, which requires NDFIP1. Critically, knockout of NDFIP1 led to TAZ accumulation with no change in its mRNA level and degradation rate. And the cellular TAZ level could be altered by exosome secretion. Furthermore, NDFIP1 inhibited proliferation in vitro and in vivo, and silencing TAZ eliminated the increase of proliferation caused by NDFIP1 knockout. Moreover, TAZ was negatively correlated with NDFIP1 in subcutaneous xenograft model and clinical samples, and the serum exosomal TAZ level was lower in NSCLC patients. In summary, our data uncover a new tumor suppressor, NDFIP1 in NSCLC, and a new exosome-related regulatory mechanism of TAZ.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/metabolism* ; Carrier Proteins/metabolism* ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Exosomes/metabolism* ; Lung Neoplasms/genetics* ; Membrane Proteins/metabolism* ; Transcriptional Coactivator with PDZ-Binding Motif Proteins/metabolism*

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hippocampal avoidance whole-brain irradiation with simultaneous integrated boost in the treatment of brain metastases of lung cancer.Methods:Forty lung cancer patients with brain metastases who received whole-brain radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost and hippocampal avoidance in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from 2014 to 2020 were enrolled in this study. Brain MRI, survival follow-up and evaluation of side effects were performed before radiotherapy and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after radiotherapy, respectively. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and changes in cognitive function were analyzed. Continuous data were described as Mean ± SD. Categorical data were described by frequency and composition ratio or percentage. Survival analysis was conducted by Kaplan-Meier method. Influencing factors of survival were identified by univariate and multivariate Cox's regression analyses.Results:A total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study. The median follow-up time was 14.2 months and the median OS, PFS and intracranial PFS of all patients were 14.8 months, 6.7 months and 14.8 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that male gender and newly diagnosed stage Ⅳ disease were associated with worse OS and PFS, respectively. The Hopkins verbal learning test-revised (HVLT-R) scores at baseline and 1, 3 and 6 months after radiotherapy were 21.94±2.99, 20.88±3.12, 20.03±3.14, and 19.78±2.98, respectively. The HVLT-R score at 6 months after radiotherapy was decreased by approximately 9.8% compared with the baseline. No grade 3 or above toxic and side effect occurred in the entire cohort.Conclusion:Hippocampal avoidance whole-brain irradiation with simultaneous integrated boost is a safe and effective treatment for brain metastases of lung cancer, which is expected to reduce the impact of radiotherapy on cognitive function.

Objective:To explore the association between dietary patterns and the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM), so as to provide insights for the prevention and management of T2DM.Methods:Participants were recruited from the " The Tianjin Chronic Inflammation and Health Cohort Study(TCLSIH)" cohort study from 2013 to 2018, who had completed the modified semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire(FFQ) and blood glucose testing( n=26 425), free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, or diabetes at baseline. The relevant information collected includes food frequency, blood glucose concentration, and other confounding factors. In this study, the correlation between dietary patterns and T2DM was tested using Cox proportional risk regression model, and the gender stratification analysis and body mass index stratification analysis of different gender groups were carried out. All statistical analysis was performed using SAS 9.3 software. Results:The age of all participants was (41.0±11.5)years, and the cumulative incidence was 3.84% for T2DM. The cumulative incidence of T2DM in male population was 5.29%, while that in female population was 2.16%. There were significant differences in the incidence of T2DM among different genders( P <0.001). The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios( HR) and corresponding 95% CI of T2DM across the plant-based dietary pattern score were 1.09(95% CI 0.91-1.31), 0.80(95% CI 0.66-0.97), and 0.76(95% CI 0.62-0.94; Ptrend =0.010). Moreover, no statistically significant differences were observed between animal and traditional northern Chinese diets with the incidence of T2DM. Conclusions:The plant-based dietary patterns were associated with substantially lower risk of developing T2DM, and there were no significant association between animal and traditional northern Chinese dietary patterns with T2DM. Plant-based dietary patterns characterized by a variety of fruit, leeks, onions, seaweed may be beneficial to the prevention and control of T2DM.