Objective: To explore the efficacy of adjuvant programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody immunotherapy in Chinese patients with resected stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ melanoma. Methods: A total of 296 patients who underwent radical surgery for stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ cutaneous orlimb melanoma at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Shanghai Electric Power Hospital between 2017 and 2021 and received adjuvant PD-1 monoclonal antibody immunotherapy, low-dose interferon (IFN), or observational follow-up were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group (164 cases) and the IFN or observation group (IFN/OBS group, 132 cases) based on postoperative adjuvant treatment methods. Patients' disease recurrence and survival were observed. Results: Among the 296 patients, 77 had cutaneous melanoma and 219 had limb melanoma; 110 were stage Ⅱ and 186 were stage Ⅲ. Among stage Ⅱ patients, the median recurrence-free survival (RFS) in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group (46 cases) did not reach, while the median RFS in the IFN/OBS group (64 cases) was 36 months. The 1-year RFS rates were 85.3% and 92.1% and the 2-year RFS rates were 71.9% and 63.7% in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group and the IFN/OBS group, respectively, with no statistically significant difference (P=0.394). Among stage Ⅲ patients, the median RFS rates in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group (118 cases) and the IFN/OBS group (68 cases) were 23 and 13 months, respectively. The 1-year RFS rates were 70.0% and 51.8% and the 2-year RFS rates were 51.8% and 35.1%in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group and the IFN/OBS group, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.010). Stratified analysis showed that the advantage of PD-1 monoclonal antibody adjuvant therapy in improving RFS persisted in the subgroups of primary ulceration (HR=0.558, 95% CI: 0.348-0.893), lymph node macroscopic metastasis (HR=0.486, 95% CI: 0.285-0.828), stage ⅢC (HR=0.389, 95% CI: 0.24-0.63), and the subgroup without BRAF/c-Kit/NRAS gene mutations (HR=0.347, 95% CI: 0.171-0.706). In terms of recurrence patterns, in stage Ⅱ patients, the recurrence and metastasis rate was 15.2% (7/46) in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group, significantly lower than the IFN/OBS group [43.8% (28/64), P=0.002]. In stage Ⅲ melanoma patients, the recurrence and metastasis rate was 42.4% (50/118) in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group, also lower than the IFN/OBS group [63.2% (43/68), P=0.006]. Conclusions: In real-world settings, compared with patients receiving low-dose IFN adjuvant therapy or observational follow-up, PD-1 monoclonal antibody immunotherapy can reduce the recurrence and metastasis rate of cutaneous and limb melanoma, and prolong the postoperative RFS of stage Ⅲ cutaneous and limb melanoma patients. Patients with a heavier tumor burden benefit more from immunotherapy.
Humans ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use* ; Apoptosis ; China ; Disease-Free Survival ; East Asian People ; Immunotherapy ; Interferon-alpha/therapeutic use* ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Melanoma/pathology* ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/therapeutic use* ; Skin Neoplasms/pathology* ; Melanoma, Cutaneous Malignant

Objective: To explore the efficacy of adjuvant programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody immunotherapy in Chinese patients with resected stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ melanoma. Methods: A total of 296 patients who underwent radical surgery for stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ cutaneous orlimb melanoma at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Shanghai Electric Power Hospital between 2017 and 2021 and received adjuvant PD-1 monoclonal antibody immunotherapy, low-dose interferon (IFN), or observational follow-up were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group (164 cases) and the IFN or observation group (IFN/OBS group, 132 cases) based on postoperative adjuvant treatment methods. Patients' disease recurrence and survival were observed. Results: Among the 296 patients, 77 had cutaneous melanoma and 219 had limb melanoma; 110 were stage Ⅱ and 186 were stage Ⅲ. Among stage Ⅱ patients, the median recurrence-free survival (RFS) in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group (46 cases) did not reach, while the median RFS in the IFN/OBS group (64 cases) was 36 months. The 1-year RFS rates were 85.3% and 92.1% and the 2-year RFS rates were 71.9% and 63.7% in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group and the IFN/OBS group, respectively, with no statistically significant difference (P=0.394). Among stage Ⅲ patients, the median RFS rates in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group (118 cases) and the IFN/OBS group (68 cases) were 23 and 13 months, respectively. The 1-year RFS rates were 70.0% and 51.8% and the 2-year RFS rates were 51.8% and 35.1%in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group and the IFN/OBS group, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (P=0.010). Stratified analysis showed that the advantage of PD-1 monoclonal antibody adjuvant therapy in improving RFS persisted in the subgroups of primary ulceration (HR=0.558, 95% CI: 0.348-0.893), lymph node macroscopic metastasis (HR=0.486, 95% CI: 0.285-0.828), stage ⅢC (HR=0.389, 95% CI: 0.24-0.63), and the subgroup without BRAF/c-Kit/NRAS gene mutations (HR=0.347, 95% CI: 0.171-0.706). In terms of recurrence patterns, in stage Ⅱ patients, the recurrence and metastasis rate was 15.2% (7/46) in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group, significantly lower than the IFN/OBS group [43.8% (28/64), P=0.002]. In stage Ⅲ melanoma patients, the recurrence and metastasis rate was 42.4% (50/118) in the PD-1 monoclonal antibody group, also lower than the IFN/OBS group [63.2% (43/68), P=0.006]. Conclusions: In real-world settings, compared with patients receiving low-dose IFN adjuvant therapy or observational follow-up, PD-1 monoclonal antibody immunotherapy can reduce the recurrence and metastasis rate of cutaneous and limb melanoma, and prolong the postoperative RFS of stage Ⅲ cutaneous and limb melanoma patients. Patients with a heavier tumor burden benefit more from immunotherapy.
Humans ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use* ; Apoptosis ; China ; Disease-Free Survival ; East Asian People ; Immunotherapy ; Interferon-alpha/therapeutic use* ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Melanoma/pathology* ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/therapeutic use* ; Skin Neoplasms/pathology* ; Melanoma, Cutaneous Malignant

Recent population studies have significantly advanced our understanding of how age shapes the gut microbiota.However,the actual role of age could be inevitably confounded due to the complex and variable environmental factors in human populations.A well-controlled envi-ronment is thus necessary to reduce undesirable confounding effects,and recapitulate age-dependent changes in the gut microbiota of healthy primates.Herein we performed 16S rRNA gene sequenc-ing,characterized the age-associated gut microbial profiles from infant to elderly crab-eating maca-ques reared in captivity,and systemically revealed the lifelong dynamic changes of the primate gut microbiota.While the most significant age-associated taxa were mainly found as commensals such as Faecalibacterium,the abundance of a group of suspicious pathogens such as Helicobacter was exclusively increased in infants,underlining their potential role in host development.Importantly,topology analysis indicated that the network connectivity of gut microbiota was even more age-dependent than taxonomic diversity,and its tremendous decline with age could probably be linked to healthy aging.Moreover,we identified key driver microbes responsible for such age-dependent network changes,which were further linked to altered metabolic functions of lipids,carbohydrates,and amino acids,as well as phenotypes in the microbial community.The current study thus demon-strates the lifelong age-dependent changes and their driver microbes in the primate gut microbiota,and provides new insights into their roles in the development and healthy aging of their hosts.

Objective: To investigate the factors associated with the patient's adherence to screening in the five years before the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) related to chronic hepatitis B ( CHB ), so as to provide reference for improving the screening rate. Methods: From June 2016 to April 2018, the patients with newly diagnosed HCC and a history of CHB for more than five years in Southwest Hospital in Chongqing were interviewed. The information about socio-demographic characteristics, health status, medical care and HCC screening in the past five years were collected. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors associated with adherence to screening. Results: Among 420 participants, 140 ( 33.33% ) adhered to HCC screening, 124 ( 29.53% ) had irregular/incomplete screening, while 156 ( 37.14% ) never had screening. The proportion of early-stage HCC at diagnosis was significantly higher in patients who adhered to screening ( 77.14% ) than that in patients who had irregular/incomplete screening (35.48%) or no screening ( 12.82% ) and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05 ). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that five factors were significantly associated with patient's adherence to screening, including education level of high school and above ( OR=2.346, 95%CI: 1.370-4.017), family history of HCC ( OR=2.795, 95%CI: 1.457-5.362 ), history of chronic diseases ( OR=3.860, 95%CI: 2.052-7.262), acceptance of antiviral therapy ( OR=17.816, 95%CI: 9.702-32.716 ) and specialized clinic visits ( OR=8.332, 95%CI: 1.588-43.710 ). Conclusions Adherence to screening is conducive to the early detection of HCC, but the screening rate is low in the patients with CHB. Education level, history of HCC, health status and medical status are significantly related to screening adherence.

Alzheimer's disease（AD） is an incipient aging neurodegenerative disease， which increases rapidly along with the development trend of social aging and seriously threatens the health of the people. In the absence of effective preventive measures， it will have an enormous impact on the socio-economic and healthcare system. The study found that abnormal cell signal transduction is a key link in many diseases. Cell signal transduction theory has been widely used to clarify the essence of traditional Chinese medicine visceral image and the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine. 'Correlation of Liver and Kidney' is one of the core plates of the theory of 'Correlation of Five Organs'， which is suitable for explaining the pathogenesis of complex diseases and the correlation of multiple syndromes， and guiding the prescription of clinical syndrome. Hei Xiaoyaosan， as the first choice compound for the prevention and treatment of AD based on the theory of "Correlation of Liver and Kidney' in our team， can play the effects of prevention and treatment by soothing liver and nourishing blood， strengthening spleen and tonifying kidney， and promoting brain collaterals and dredging viscerab spirit. Based on the theory of 'Correlation of Liver and Kidney'， this paper expounds the pathogenesis of AD from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine， and puts forward the methods and ideas of the preventing and treating of AD from Ca²⁺-calcium/calmodulin dependent protein （CaM）/calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinaseⅡ（CaMKⅡ）-cyclic adenosine phosphate reactive element binding protein （CREB） cell signal transduction pathway by consulting literatures and previous studies.

Excess accumulation of white adipose tissue (WAT) causes obesity which is an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Obesity is a serious concern because it has been the leading causes of death worldwide, including diabetes, stroke, heart disease and cancer. Therefore, uncovering the mechanism of obesity and discovering anti-obesity drugs are crucial to prevent obesity and its complications. Browning, inducing white adipose tissue to brown or beige (brite) fat which is brown-like fat emerging in WAT, becomes an appealing therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disorders. Due to lack of efficacy or intolerable side-effects, the clinical trials that promote brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and browning of WAT have not been successful in humans. Obviously, more specific means still need to be developed to activate browning of white adipose tissue. In this review, we summarized seven kinds of natural products (alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, long chain fatty acids, phenolic acids, else and extract) promoting white adipose tissue browning which can ameliorate the metabolic disorders, including obesity, dislipidemia, insulin resistance and diabetes. Since natural products are important drug sources and the browning property plays a significant role in not only obesity treatment but also in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) improvement, natural products of inducing browning may be an irreplaceable drug discovery orientation for obesity, diabetes and even other metabolic disorders.

Hyperglycemia is the dominant phenotype of diabetes and the main contributor of diabetic complications. Puerarin is widely used in cardiovascular diseases and diabetic vascular complications. However, little is known about its direct effects on diabetes. The aim of our study is to investigate its antidiabetic effect in vivo and in vitro, and explore the underlying mechanism. We used type I diabetic mice induced by streptozotocin to observe the effects of puerarin on glucose metabolism. In addition, oxidative stress and hepatic mitochondrial respiratory activity were evaluated in type I diabetic mice. In vitro, glucose consumption in HepG2 cells was assayed along with the qPCR detection of glucogenesis genes expression. Moreover, ATP production was examined and phosphorylation of AMPK was determined using Western blot. Finally, the molecular docking was performed to predict the potential interaction of puerarin with AMPK utilizing program LibDock of Discovery Studio 2018 software. The results showed that puerarin improved HepG2 glucose consumption and upregulated the glucogenesis related genes expression. Also, puerarin lowered fasting and fed blood glucose with improvement of glucose tolerance in type I diabetic mice. Further mechanism investigation showed that puerarin suppressed oxidative stress and improved hepatic mitochondrial respiratory function with enhancing ATP production and activating phosphorylation of AMPK. Docking study showed that puerarin interacted with AMPK activate site and enhancing phosphorylation. Taken together, these findings indicated that puerarin exhibited the hypoglycemic effect through attenuating oxidative stress and improving mitochondrial function via AMPK regulation, which may serve as a potential therapeutic option for diabetes treatment.

The consistency of drug quality is related to the clinical efficacy and safety,which is highly valued by the government and relevant industries. Compared with chemical medicine,traditional Chinese medicine originates from the nature,and is greatly influenced by natural factors,such as the place of origin,cultivation and processing technology,climate. The quality consistency of traditional Chinese medicine is poor. The quality consistency has become the pain point and difficulty of the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry,which seriously affects the stability and controllability of clinical efficacy and the reproducibility or recognition of modern research results. It is also a bottleneck for Chinese patent medicine to enter the international market. Mixed batch blending technology is an effective method for the scientific guarantee of the quality consistency in other industries and disciplines,and widely applied in liquor making industry,tobacco industry and perfume industry. Overseas,mixed batch blending technology has been successfully applied in guaranteeing the quality consistency of Ginkgo biloba preparations Jinnado. It has been used in the production of Chinese formulations in Japan for more than 30 years. In recent years,mixed batch blending technology has been introduced into the pharmaceutical field to ensure the quality consistency of traditional Chinese medicine,and relevant research has gradually increased.This manuscript reviews the application of blending technology in other disciplines,summarizes the algorithm principles and software systems of mixed batch blending in traditional Chinese medicine or natural medicine,explains the specific implementation process of mixed batch blending technology,and looks forward to the application prospects of artificial intelligence and other new technologies,in the hope of providing new ideas and technologies for breaking through the problem of quality consistency,and boosting the high-quality and high-level development of Chinese medicine industry in the new era.
Algorithms ; Drug Industry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Reproducibility of Results ; Technology

OBJECTIVETo explore the safety and efficacy of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF) in preventing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in patients with breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to provide the basis for clinical application.

METHODSAccording to the principle of open-label, randomized, parallel-group controlled clinical trial, all patients were randomized by 1∶1∶1 into three groups to receive PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg, or rhG-CSF 5 μg/kg, respectively. The patients with breast cancer received two chemotherapy cycles, and the NSCLC patients received 1-2 cycles of chemotherapy according to their condition. All patients were treated with the combination chemotherapy of TAC (docetaxel+ epirubicin+ cyclophosphamide) or TA (docetaxel+ epirubicin), or the chemotherapy of docetaxel combined with carboplatin, with a 21 day cycle.

RESULTSThe duration of grade 3-4 neutropenia in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg and PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg groups were similar with that in the rhG-CSF 5 μg/kg group (P>0.05 for all). The incidence rate of grade 3-4 neutropenia in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg group, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg group, and G-CSF 5 μg/kg group were 69.7%, 68.4%, and 69.5%, respectively, with a non-significant difference among the three groups (P=0.963). The incidence rate of febrile neutropenia in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg group, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg group and G-CSF 5 μg/kg group were 6.1%, 6.4%, and 5.5%, respectively, showing no significant difference among them (P=0.935). The incidence rate of adverse events in the PEG-rhG-CSF 100 μg/kg group, PEG-rhG-CSF 6 mg group and G-CSF 5 μg / kg group were 6.7%, 4.1%, and 5.5%, respectively, showing a non-significant difference among them (P=0.581).

CONCLUSIONSIn patients with breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing TAC/TA chemotherapy, a single 100 μg/kg injection or a single fixed 6 mg dose of PEG-rhG-CSF at 48 hours after chemotherapy show definite therapeutic effect with a low incidence of adverse events and mild adverse reactions. Compared with the continuous daily injection of rhG-CSF 5 μg/kg/d, a single 100 μg/kg injection or a single fixed 6 mg dose of PEG-rhG-CSF has similar effect and is more advantageous in preventing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.

Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Carboplatin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; Cyclophosphamide ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Epirubicin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Female ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Incidence ; Induction Chemotherapy ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Neutropenia ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Polyethylene Glycols ; Recombinant Proteins ; administration & dosage ; Taxoids ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects

Benzene is an established leukotoxin and leukemogen in humans. We have previously reported that exposure of workers to benzene and to benzene metabolite hydroquinone in cultured cells induced DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) to mediate the cellular response to DNA double strand break (DSB) caused by DNA-damaging metabolites. In this study, we used a new, small molecule, a selective inhibitor of DNA-PKcs, 2-(morpholin-4-yl)-benzo[h]chomen-4-one (NU7026), as a probe to analyze the molecular events and pathways in hydroquinone-induced DNA DSB repair and apoptosis. Inhibition of DNA-PKcs by NU7026 markedly potentiated the apoptotic and growth inhibitory effects of hydroquinone in proerythroid leukemic K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with NU7026 did not alter the production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress by hydroquinone but repressed the protein level of DNA-PKcs and blocked the induction of the kinase mRNA and protein expression by hydroquinone. Moreover, hydroquinone increased the phosphorylation of Akt to activate Akt, whereas co-treatment with NU7026 prevented the activation of Akt by hydroquinone. Lastly, hydroquinone and NU7026 exhibited synergistic effects on promoting apoptosis by increasing the protein levels of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3 but decreasing the protein expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Taken together, the findings reveal a central role of DNA-PKcs in hydroquinone-induced hematotoxicity in which it coordinates DNA DSB repair, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis to regulate the response to hydroquinone-induced DNA damage.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; physiology ; Benzene ; toxicity ; Catalysis ; Chromones ; pharmacology ; DNA Damage ; drug effects ; genetics ; DNA Repair ; drug effects ; physiology ; DNA-Activated Protein Kinase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Morpholines ; pharmacology ; Protein Subunits