BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with common pathophysiological processes, such as inflammation and fibrosis, in both the heart and the kidney. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms that drive these processes are not yet fully understood. Therefore, this study focused on the molecular mechanism of heart and kidney injury in CKD. METHODS: We generated an microRNA (miR)-26a knockout (KO) mouse model to investigate the role of miR-26a in angiotensin (Ang)-II-induced cardiac and renal injury. We performed Ang-II modeling in wild type (WT) mice and miR-26a KO mice, with six mice in each group. In addition, Ang-II-treated AC16 cells and HK2 cells were used as in vitro models of cardiac and renal injury in the context of CKD. Histological staining, immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and Western blotting were applied to study the regulation of miR-26a on Ang-II-induced cardiac and renal injury. Immunofluorescence reporter assays were used to detect downstream genes of miR-26a, and immunoprecipitation was employed to identify the interacting protein of LIM and senescent cell antigen-like domain 1 (LIMS1). We also used an adeno-associated virus (AAV) to supplement LIMS1 and explored the specific regulatory mechanism of miR-26a on Ang-II-induced cardiac and renal injury. Dunnett's multiple comparison and t -test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Compared with the control mice, miR-26a expression was significantly downregulated in both the kidney and the heart after Ang-II infusion. Our study identified LIMS1 as a novel target gene of miR-26a in both heart and kidney tissues. Downregulation of miR-26a activated the LIMS1/integrin-linked kinase (ILK) signaling pathway in the heart and kidney, which represents a common molecular mechanism underlying inflammation and fibrosis in heart and kidney tissues during CKD. Furthermore, knockout of miR-26a worsened inflammation and fibrosis in the heart and kidney by inhibiting the LIMS1/ILK signaling pathway; on the contrary, supplementation with exogenous miR-26a reversed all these changes. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that miR-26a could be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiorenal injury in CKD. This is attributed to its ability to regulate the LIMS1/ILK signaling pathway, which represents a common molecular mechanism in both heart and kidney tissues.
Animals ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Angiotensin II/toxicity* ; Mice ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/chemically induced* ; Mice, Knockout ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Signal Transduction/genetics* ; LIM Domain Proteins/genetics* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Cell Line ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To construct an integrated management model for early screening and diagnosis of PCa based on the Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions Framework (ICCC) and the 1+1 contract-based tiered diagnosis and treatment system (TDTS) in China. METHODS: Based on the 1+1 contract-based TDTS platform, we conducted PCa screening for the male residents aged 60 years and above during health check-ups in Pujin Community Health Center from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. For those with abnormal total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) ≥ 4 μg/L, we promptly referred them to higher-level hospitals for further diagnosis and treatment via the two-way referral green channel platform and information sharing service using the 1+1 contract model. We further analyzed the relevant data on screening and diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 4 080 males aged 71.39±5.059 years received PCa screening from January to December 2023. PSA screening was performed in 43.96% of the male residents, revealing 654 cases of PSA abnormality, with a PSA positivity rate of 16.03%, which was higher than that found in the previous large-scale PCa screenings in other regions of China. Among the males with PSA abnormality, 292 (44.65%) expressed their willingness for medical referral, while the others did not seek further medical attention for reasons of being asymptomatic, low awareness of the disease, no accompany for medical visits, and concerns about further costs of diagnosis and treatment. Prostate biopsy was recommended to 154 cases after further examinations, which was accepted by 92 (59.74%). Fifty-eight cases were diagnosed with Pa, and thedetection rate reached 63.04%. CONCLUSION The integrated management model for PSA examination-based early screening and diagnosis of PCa using the 1+1 contract-based TDTS platform is plays a significant role in enhancing people's awareness and knowledge of PCa and improving the early detection rate of the malignancy.
Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood* ; Aged ; China ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Chronic Disease

Objective:To compare the outcomes of robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RAPN) and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) in the treatment of tumors in isolated kidney, and analyze the factors influencing postoperative renal function and long-term survival in patients.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data of 67 patients with tumors in isolated kidney who underwent surgery at the Chinese PLA General Hospital from November 2010 to January 2022. There were 48 males and 19 females, with an average age of (58.6±10.1) years old. The patients were divided into RAPN group (43 cases) and LPN group (24 cases) based on the surgical approach. The RAPN group had a higher R.E.N.A.L. score than the LPN group [(8.7±1.5) vs. (7.9±1.7), P=0.042]. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of age [(57.4±10.2) years old vs. (60.9±9.8) years old, P=0.185], body mass index (BMI) [(25.7±3.5) kg/m 2 vs. (25.1±3.6) kg/m 2, P=0.518], and preoperative serum creatinine [(102.9±31.6) μmol/L vs. (102.3±22.4) μmol/L, P=0.930]. Twelve cases underwent hypothermic treatment during surgery, with 9 cases(20.9%) in the RAPN group and 3 cases(12.5%) in the LPN group( P=0.596). Surgical time, intraoperative warm ischemia time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative fasting time, perioperative complication rate, postoperative serum creatinine, and other indicators were compared between the two groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors affecting postoperative serum creatinine. Kaplan-Meier curves were employed to analyze patient prognosis, and log-rank tests were performed to compare the differences between the two groups. Multiple Cox regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing patient prognosis. Results:All surgeries were completed successfully with negative pathological margins. There were no statistically significant differences between the RAPN and LPN groups in terms of surgical time [(136.6±47.6) min vs. (125.3±34.4) min, P=0.311], intraoperative ischemia time [23.0 (16.0, 30.0) min vs. 19.0 (13.5, 27.5) min, P =0.260], intraoperative blood loss [50.0 (50.0, 100.0) ml vs. 50.0 (22.5, 100.0) ml, P=0.247], postoperative hospital stay [(6.6±3.5) days vs. (7.7±4.2) days, P=0.244], time to drain removal [4(3, 5) days vs. 5(3, 6) days, P =0.175], postoperative fasting time [(2.1±0.7) days vs. (2.2±1.0) days, P=0.729], perioperative complication rate [18.6% (8/43) vs. 16.7% (4/24), P=1.000], postoperative serum creatinine [145.2 (128.3, 191.3) μmol/L vs. 157.8 (136.2, 196.3) μmol/L, P =0.229], and pathological staging [T 1a/T 1b/T 2a/T 3a/T 4 stage: 32/7/1/3/0 case vs. 17/5/0/1/1 case, P=0.804]. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that the total survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years after surgery were 94.7%, 84.9%, and 84.9% for the RAPN group, and 100.0%, 95.5%, and 95.5% for the LPN group, with no statistically significant difference in the log-rank test ( P=0.116). Excluding 10 patients with preoperative tumor metastasis (7 in the RAPN group and 3 in the LPN group), the progression-free survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years after surgery were 84.8%, 81.1%, and 81.1% for the RAPN group, and 100.0%, 95.0%, and 90.0% for the LPN group, with no statistically significant difference in the log-rank test ( P =0.142). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the use of hypothermic treatment during surgery significantly reduced postoperative serum creatinine ( B=-72.191, P=0.048). Multiple Cox regression analysis revealed that BMI ( HR=0.743, P=0.044), pathological T stage ( HR=4.235, P=0.018), and preoperative metastasis ( HR=18.829, P=0.035) were independent factors affecting patient overall survival time. A smaller BMI, higher pathological stage, and preoperative metastasis were associated with poorer prognosis. Conclusions:Despite the higher R. E.N.A.L. score and greater surgical difficulty in the RAPN group, RAPN achieved similar perioperative and prognostic results as the LPN, indicating RAPN advantages in treating tumors in isolated kidney. Appropriate intraoperative hypothermic treatment can better protect postoperative renal function. BMI, pathological T stage, and preoperative metastasis are independent factors affecting overall survival time.

The CRISPR/Cas is an immune defense system acquired by prokaryotes to resist the invasion of foreign genetic materials during their evolutionary process.In recent years,it has been developed into an efficient tool for genome editing,gene regulation and molecular diagnosis.Its programmable targeting mechanism has opened the door to use this system for genome manipulation and allows for dynamic regu-lation and control of gene expression within its activity range.As one of the most flexible and cost-effec-tive techniques among existing gene modification methods,it has been widely applied in clinical disease treatment,industrial and agricultural production,sustainable dye development,chemical processing and many other fields.With the continuous investigation and exploration of the CRISPR/Cas system,a large number of studies have been reported on the engineering modification and optimization approaches of gRNA,including changing the length of the spacer region,regulating the structure of constant and varia-ble sequence parts,adding extra functional sequences through the end or middle extension,and chemical synthesis modifications,in order to reduce off-target and mutation rates,improve the efficiency of the CRISPR system,and fully stimulate the potential of CRISPR gene manipulation tools in biomedical fields.Based on this,this review will introduce the latest progress in gRNA engineering design strategies and application research of CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas12 systems,analyze and discuss the opportu-nities and challenges in the current gRNA engineering technology,aiming to provide ideas and reference directions for obtaining gRNAs with better performance,thereby effectively improving the ability to probe the human genomes using the CRISPR/Cas system and bringing more possibilities to programmable biology.

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

Objective To analyze the clinical efficacy and safety of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir in the treatment of pa-tients with hepatitis C virus(HCV)and human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)co-infection,and provide scientific basis for clinical treatment.Methods 89 initially treated non-cirrhotic patients with HCV/HIV co-infection in a hospital of Butuo County of Liangshan Prefecture from January 2021 to January 2022 were selected.All patients re-ceived glecaprevir/pibrentasvir treatment for 8 weeks and were followed up for 12 weeks.Virological response rate at the end-of-treatment and sustained virological response rate after 12 weeks(SVR12)of treatment as well as oc-currence of adverse reaction were recorded.Results Among 89 initially treated non-cirrhotic patients with HCV/HIV co-infection,most were middle-aged and young married men(n=79,88.8％).HIV was mainly transmitted through sexual contact(n=62,69.7％)and intravenous drug use(n=27,30.3％).The most common HCV geno-types were genotype 1b(n=33,37.1％)and genotype 3b(n=25,28.1％).All patients completed 8 weeks of treatment successfully and HCV RNA load at the end of treatment was below the detection limit(＜25 IU/mL).Eight patients failed to complete the follow-up,and the remaining 81(100％)patients achieved a sustained virologic re-sponse.There were no serious adverse reactions during the observation period,but 11 patients had mild adverse re-actions.Conclusion The 8-week treatment regimen of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir for non-cirrhotic patients with geno-type 1,3,and 6 HCV/HIV co-infection can achieve 100％SVR12,with high safety and tolerability,which can be used as a good choice for clinical treatment of these patients.

Objectives: This study aimed to present the Asia-Pacific consensus on long-term and sequential therapy for osteoporosis, offering evidence-based recommendations for the effective management of this chronic condition.The primary focus is on achieving optimal fracture prevention through a comprehensive, individualized approach. Methods: A panel of experts convened to develop consensus statements by synthesizing the current literature and leveraging clinical expertise. The review encompassed long-term anti-osteoporosis medication goals, first-line treatments for individuals at very high fracture risk, and the strategic integration of anabolic and anti resorptive agents in sequential therapy approaches. Results: The panelists reached a consensus on 12 statements. Key recommendations included advocating for anabolic agents as the first-line treatment for individuals at very high fracture risk and transitioning to anti resorptive agents following the completion of anabolic therapy. Anabolic therapy remains an option for in dividuals experiencing new fractures or persistent high fracture risk despite antiresorptive treatment. In cases of inadequate response, the consensus recommended considering a switch to more potent medications. The consensus also addressed the management of medication-related complications, proposing alternatives instead of discontinuation of treatment. Conclusions This consensus provides a comprehensive, cost-effective strategy for fracture prevention with an emphasis on shared decision-making and the incorporation of country-specific case management systems, such as fracture liaison services. It serves as a valuable guide for healthcare professionals in the Asia-Pacific region, contributing to the ongoing evolution of osteoporosis management.

Management and treatment of terminal metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains heavily debated. We sought to investigate the efficacy of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor plus anlotinib as a potential solution for terminal mCRPC and further evaluate the association of genomic characteristics with efficacy outcomes. We conducted a retrospective real-world study of 25 mCRPC patients who received PD-1 inhibitor plus anlotinib after the progression to standard treatments. The clinical information was extracted from the electronic medical records and 22 patients had targeted circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) next-generation sequencing. Statistical analysis showed that 6 (24.0%) patients experienced prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and 11 (44.0%) patients experienced PSA reduction. The relationship between ctDNA findings and outcomes was also analyzed. DNA-damage repair (DDR) pathways and homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway defects indicated a comparatively longer PSA-progression-free survival (PSA-PFS; 2.5 months vs 1.2 months, P = 0.027; 3.3 months vs 1.2 months, P = 0.017; respectively). This study introduces the PD-1 inhibitor plus anlotinib as a late-line therapeutic strategy for terminal mCRPC. PD-1 inhibitor plus anlotinib may be a new treatment choice for terminal mCRPC patients with DDR or HRR pathway defects and requires further investigation.
Male ; Humans ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Treatment Outcome ; Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant/drug therapy* ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies

Mechanical allodynia (MA), including punctate and dynamic forms, is a common and debilitating symptom suffered by millions of chronic pain patients. Some peripheral injuries result in the development of bilateral MA, while most injuries usually led to unilateral MA. To date, the control of such laterality remains poorly understood. Here, to study the role of microglia in the control of MA laterality, we used genetic strategies to deplete microglia and tested both dynamic and punctate forms of MA in mice. Surprisingly, the depletion of central microglia did not prevent the induction of bilateral dynamic and punctate MA. Moreover, in dorsal root ganglion-dorsal root-sagittal spinal cord slice preparations we recorded the low-threshold Aβ-fiber stimulation-evoked inputs and outputs of superficial dorsal horn neurons. Consistent with behavioral results, microglial depletion did not prevent the opening of bilateral gates for Aβ pathways in the superficial dorsal horn. This study challenges the role of microglia in the control of MA laterality in mice. Future studies are needed to further understand whether the role of microglia in the control of MA laterality is etiology-or species-specific.
Mice ; Animals ; Hyperalgesia/metabolism* ; Microglia/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Spinal Cord/metabolism* ; Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn/metabolism* ; Ganglia, Spinal/metabolism*