Antisense oligonucleotides are a type of gene therapy that targets mRNA and inhibits gene expression. They have been applied in the treatment of various diseases, but there are still problems with poor enzyme stability and high dosage in vivo, due to the shortage of appropriate delivery system. Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) is a cell surface receptor with tyrosine kinase activity. Its expression is abnormal in a variety of malignant tumors. It mediates the malignant proliferation, migration and invasion of tumor cells through a variety of ways. In this study, an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO, N04) targeting IGF1R mRNA was designed and chemically modified (PS, 2'-OMOE), then neutral cytidine lipid DNCA and cystine backbone cationic lipid CLD (Mix) were used to encapsulate ASOs. The particle size, polymer dispersity index and ζ potential of the formulations were 151 nm, 0.18 and -3.9 mV. The nanoparticles entered liver cancer cells (HepG-2, Huh-7), silenced target mRNA, arrested cell cycle in S phase, promoted apoptosis, and inhibited the proliferation efficiently. These results indicate that Mix/N04_MOE5 has great potential in tumor treatment, which provides a basis for further research on novel agents against hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective To investigate the nutritional status of children with Crohn's Disease (CD) at diagnosis and its association with clinical characteristics. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data and nutritional status of 118 children with CD who were admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital,Capital Medical University,from January 2016 to January 2024. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for malnutrition. Results A total of 118 children with CD were included,among whom there were 68 boys (57.6％) and 50 girls (42.4％),with a mean age of (11±4) years. Clinical symptoms mainly included recurrent abdominal pain (73.7％,87/118),diarrhea (37.3％,44/118),and hematochezia (32.2％,38/118),and 63.6％ (75/118) of the children had weight loss at diagnosis. The incidence rate of malnutrition was 63.6％ (75/118),and the children with moderate or severe malnutrition accounted for 67％ (50/75). There were 50 children (42.4％) with emaciation,8 (6.8％) with growth retardation,and 9 (7.6％) with overweight or obesity. Measurement of nutritional indices showed a reduction in serum albumin in 83 children (70.3％),anemia in 74 children (62.7％),and a reduction in 25 hydroxyvitamin D in 15 children (60％,15/25). The children with malnutrition had significantly higher disease activity,proportion of children with intestinal stenosis,and erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a significant reduction in serum albumin (P<0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that intestinal stenosis was an independent risk factor for malnutrition in children with CD (OR=4.416,P<0.05). Conclusions There is a high incidence rate of malnutrition in children with CD at diagnosis,which is associated with disease activity and disease behavior. The nutritional status of children with CD should be closely monitored.

Objective: To observe the treatment response of a two-dose regimen of inotuzumab ozogamicin (inotuzumab), a monoclonal antibody targeting CD22, for patients with heavily treated relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R B-ALL), including those failed or relapsed after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) -T-cell therapy. Methods: Pediatric and adult patients who received two doses of inotuzumab and who were evaluated after inotuzumab treatment were included. Antibody infusions were performed between March 2020 and September 2022. All patients expressed CD22 antigen as detected by flow cytometry (>80% leukemic cells displaying CD22) before treatment. For adults, the maximum dosage per administration was 1 mg (with a total of two administrations). For children, the maximum dosage per administration was 0.85 mg/m(2) (no more than 1 mg/dose; total of two administrations). The total dosage administered to each patient was less than the standard dosage of 1.8 mg/m(2). Results: Twenty-one patients with R/R B-ALL were included, including five children (<18 years old) and sixteen adults. Seventeen patients presented with 5.0% -99.0% leukemic blasts in the bone marrow/peripheral blood or with extramedullary disease, and four patients were minimal residual disease (MRD) -positive. Fourteen patients underwent both CD19 and CD22 CAR-T-cell therapy, four underwent CD19 CAR-T-cell therapy, and three underwent blinatumomab therapy. Eleven patients underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). After inotuzumab treatment, 14 of 21 patients (66.7% ) achieved a complete response (CR, one was MRD-positive CR), and all four MRD-positive patients turned MRD-negative. Four of six patients who failed recent CD22 CAR-T-cell therapy achieved a CR after subsequent inotuzumab treatment. Seven patients (33.3% ) demonstrated no response. Grade 1-3 hepatotoxicity occurred in five patients (23.8% ), one child with no response experienced hepatic veno-occlusive disease (HVOD) during salvage transplantation and recovered completely. Conclusion: For patients with heavily treated R/R B-ALL, including those who had undergone allo-HSCT and CD19/CD22 CAR-T-cell therapy, the two-dose regimen of inotuzumab resulted in a CR rate of 66.7%, and the frequency of hepatotoxicity and HVOD was low.
Adult ; Humans ; Child ; Adolescent ; Inotuzumab Ozogamicin ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy* ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; Antigens, CD19 ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury

A variety of full 2ʹ-F/OMe-modified siRNAs were designed and synthesized, and the activity against hepatocellular carcinoma Huh-7 and HepG2 cells was evaluated. K&A DNA/RNA H-8 synthesizer was used to synthesize siRNAs, and neutral cytidinyl lipid DNCA mixed with cationic lipid CLD were used to transfect siRNA. By RT-qPCR and CCK-8 assay, the target gene silence and the proliferation of Huh-7 and HepG2 cells were detected. The siRNAs loading into Ago2 protein was detected by RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation. Drug uptake and cell apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry, and the expression of PLK1 protein was detected by Western blot. Partial full 2ʹ-F/OMe modified siRNAs, especial siPLK1A3, increased the uptake of Huh-7 cells, enhanced their binding to Ago2 and gene silencing activity, down-regulated PLK1 protein, as well as induced more Huh-7 cell apoptosis and proliferation inhibition activity. It provides important data for the development of novel siRNA modification patterns and anti-HCC formulations.

This study aimed to provide scientific evidence for predicting quality markers(Q-markers) of Elephantopus scaber by establishing UPLC fingerprint of E. scaber from different geographical origins and determining the content of 13 major components, as well as conducting in vitro anti-cancer activity investigation of the main components. The chromatographic column used was Waters CORTECS UPLC C_(18)(2.1 mm×150 mm, 1.6 μm), and the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid solution(gradient elution). The column temperature was set at 30 ℃, and the flow rate was 0.2 mL·min~(-1). The injection volume was 1 μL, and the detection wavelength was 240 nm. The UPLC fingerprint of E. scaber was fitted using the Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine(2012 edition) to determine common peaks, evaluate similarity, identify and determine the content of major components. The CCK-8 assay was used to explore the inhibitory effect of the main components on the proliferation of lung cancer cells. The results showed that in the established UPLC fingerprint of E. scaber, 35 common peaks were identified. Thirteen major components, including neochlorogenic acid(peak 1), chlorogenic acid(peak 2), cryptochlorogenic acid(peak 3), caffeic acid(peak 4), schaftoside(peak 6), galuteolin(peak 9), isochlorogenic acid B(peak 10), isochlorogenic acid A(peak 12), isochlorogenic acid C(peak 18), deoxyelephantopin(peak 28), isodeoxyelephantopin(peak 29), isoscabertopin(peak 31), and scabertopin(peak 32) were identified and quantified, and a quantitative analysis method was established. The results of the in vitro anti-cancer activity study showed that deoxyelephantopin, isodeoxyelephantopin, isoscabertopin, and scabertopin in E. scaber exhibited inhibition rates of lung cancer cell proliferation exceeding 80% at a concentration of 10 μmol·L~(-1), higher than the positive drug paclitaxel. These results indicate that the fingerprint of E. scaber is highly characteristic, and the quantitative analysis method is accurate and stable, providing references for the research on quality standards of E. scaber. Four sesquiterpene lactones in E. scaber show significant anti-cancer activity and can serve as Q-markers for E. scaber.
Humans ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Asteraceae/chemistry* ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy*

Aim To investigate the role of mechano- sensitive ion channel Piezol in regulating electrical re-modeling of atrial myocytes induced by hypertension and to further explore the potential mechanisms.Methods Spontaneously hypertensive rats ( SHR ) aged 30 - 32 weeks treated with or without valsartan (30 mg • kg 1 • d 1 ) were used.Wistar rats were used as control.Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of Piezol , Src and Cavl.2 in atrial appendages of rats and in atrial myocytes ( HL-1 cells) exposed to different levels of high hydrostatic pressure (20 and 40 mmHg) , Piezol inhibitor (GsmTx4) and agonist ( Yodal ) in vitro.Whole-cell patch clamp technique was employed to detect L-tvpe calcium current (ICa, ) and action potential duration ( APD) of atrial myocytes.Results Compared with Wistar rats in control group, the protein expressions of Piezol and Src significantly increased and the expression of Cavl.2 decreased in SHR group (P < 0.05 ), while the a- bove changes could he reversed in SHR treated with valsartan( P < 0.05 ) .Meanwhile, higher hydrostatic pressure (40 mniHg) could increase the expressions of Piezol and Src in HL-1 cells( P <0.05) and decrease the protein expression of Cavl.2 (P <0.05 ) , accompanied by a shortened APD and a decreased ICa,.GsmTx4 could significantly reverse the above changes.In addition, Piezol agonist Yodal could simulate electrical remodeling and related signal molecule changes in atrial myocytes induced by the high hydrostatic pressure.Conclusions Mechanosensitive ion channel Piezol participates in electrical remodeling induced by hypertension via activating Src kinase signaling pathway and then leading to the decrease of ICa ,.

Cancer is a complex disease associated with multiple gene mutations and malignant phenotypes, and multi-target drugs provide a promising therapy idea for the treatment of cancer. Natural products with abundant chemical structure types and rich pharmacological characteristics could be ideal sources for screening multi-target antineoplastic drugs. In this paper, 50 tumor-related targets were collected by searching the Therapeutic Target Database and Thomson Reuters Integrity database, and a multi-target anti-cancer prediction system based on mt-QSAR models was constructed by using naïve Bayesian and recursive partitioning algorithm for the first time. Through the multi-target anti-cancer prediction system, some dominant fragments that act on multiple tumor-related targets were analyzed, which could be helpful in designing multi-target anti-cancer drugs. Anti-cancer traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its natural products were collected to form a TCM formula-based natural products library, and the potential targets of the natural products in the library were predicted by multi-target anti-cancer prediction system. As a result, alkaloids, flavonoids and terpenoids were predicted to act on multiple tumor-related targets. The predicted targets of some representative compounds were verified according to literature review and most of the selected natural compounds were found to exert certain anti-cancer activity in vitro biological experiments. In conclusion, the multi-target anti-cancer prediction system is very effective and reliable, and it could be further used for elucidating the functional mechanism of anti-cancer TCM formula and screening for multi-target anti-cancer drugs. The anti-cancer natural compounds found in this paper will lay important information for further study.
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology* ; Bayes Theorem ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neoplasms/drug therapy*

Objective: To explore the heterogeneity and correlation of clinical phenotypes and genotypes in children with disorders of sex development (DSD). Methods: A retrospective study of 1 235 patients with clinically proposed DSD in 36 pediatric medical institutions across the country from January 2017 to May 2021. After capturing 277 DSD-related candidate genes, second-generation sequencing was performed to analyzed the heterogeneity and correlation combined with clinical phenotypes. Results: Among 1 235 children with clinically proposed DSD, 980 were males and 255 were females of social gender at the time of initial diagnosis with the age ranged from 1 day of age to 17.92 years. A total of 443 children with pathogenic variants were detected through molecular genetic studies, with a positive detection rate of 35.9%. The most common clinical phenotypes were micropenis (455 cases), hypospadias (321 cases), and cryptorchidism (172 cases) and common mutations detected were in SRD5A2 gene (80 cases), AR gene (53 cases) and CYP21A2 gene (44 cases). Among them, the SRD5A2 mutation is the most common in children with simple micropenis and simple hypospadias, while the AMH mutation is the most common in children with simple cryptorchidism. Conclusions: The SRD5A2 mutation is the most common genetic variant in Chinese children with DSD, and micropenis, cryptorchidism, and hypospadias are the most common clinical phenotypes. Molecular diagnosis can provide clues about the biological basis of DSD, and can also guide clinicians to perform specific clinical examinations. Target sequence capture probes and next-generation sequencing technology can provide effective and economical genetic diagnosis for children with DSD.
3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase/genetics* ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cryptorchidism/genetics* ; Disorders of Sex Development/genetics* ; Female ; Genital Diseases, Male ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hypospadias/genetics* ; Male ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Penis/abnormalities* ; Phenotype ; Retrospective Studies ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase/genetics*

Objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and tuberculosis (TB) are major public health and social issues worldwide. The long-term follow-up of COVID-19 with pulmonary TB (PTB) survivors after discharge is unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively describe clinical outcomes, including sequela and recurrence at 3, 12, and 24 months after discharge, among COVID-19 with PTB survivors. Methods From January 22, 2020 to May 6, 2022, with a follow-up by August 26, 2022, a prospective, multicenter follow-up study was conducted on COVID-19 with PTB survivors after discharge in 13hospitals from four provinces in China. Clinical outcomes, including sequela, recurrence of COVID-19, and PTB survivors, were collected via telephone and face-to-face interviews at 3, 12, and 24 months after discharge. Results Thirty-two COVID-19 with PTB survivors were included. The median age was 52 (45, 59) years, and 23 (71.9％) were men. Among them, nearly two-thirds (62.5％) of the survivors were moderate, three (9.4％) were severe, and more than half (59.4％) had at least one comorbidity (PTB excluded). The proportion of COVID-19 survivors with at least one sequela symptom decreased from 40.6％ at 3 months to 15.8％ at 24 months, with anxiety having a higher proportion over a follow-up. Cough and amnesia recovered at the 12-month follow-up, while anxiety, fatigue, and trouble sleeping remained after 24 months. Additionally, one (3.1％) case presented two recurrences of PTB and no re-positive COVID-19 during the follow-up period. Conclusion The proportion of long symptoms in COVID-19 with PTB survivors decreased over time, while nearly one in six still experience persistent symptoms with a higher proportion of anxiety. The recurrence of PTB and the psychological support of COVID-19 with PTB after discharge require more attention.

The College of Life Sciences (CLS) remains one of the most prestigious-and the oldest-colleges in Zhejiang University. This special issue, which includes 16 reviews contributed by our alumni and faculties, is dedicated to mark the 90th Anniversary of CLS. The reviews provide a glimpse of current progresses in the areas of life sciences such as biochemical processes and their association with diseases (Ding et al., 2019; Hu et al., 2019; Jin et al., 2019; Nie and Yi, 2019), cancer biology (Feng, 2019; Huang et al., 2019; Leonard and Zhang, 2019; Zhu F et al., 2019), plant and environmental microbiology (Li et al., 2019; Yang et al., 2019; Zhu XR et al., 2019), cell cycle (Gao and Liu, 2019; Zhang et al., 2019), RNA biology (Gudenas et al., 2019; Luo et al., 2019), and protein structural biology (Yang and Tang, 2019).