Recent data suggest that vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor (VEGFRi) can enhance the anti-tumor activity of the anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1) antibody in colorectal cancer (CRC) with microsatellite stability (MSS). However, the comparison between this combination and standard third-line VEGFRi treatment is not performed, and reliable biomarkers are still lacking. We retrospectively enrolled MSS CRC patients receiving anti-PD-1 antibody plus VEGFRi (combination group, n=54) or VEGFRi alone (VEGFRi group, n=32), and their efficacy and safety were evaluated. We additionally examined the immune characteristics of the MSS CRC tumor microenvironment (TME) through single-cell and spatial transcriptomic data, and an MSS CRC immune cell-related signature (MCICRS) that can be used to predict the clinical outcomes of MSS CRC patients receiving immunotherapy was developed and validated in our in-house cohort. Compared with VEGFRi alone, the combination of anti-PD-1 antibody and VEGFRi exhibited a prolonged survival benefit (median progression-free survival: 4.4 vs. 2.0 months, P=0.0024; median overall survival: 10.2 vs. 5.2 months, P=0.0038) and a similar adverse event incidence. Through single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analysis, we determined ten MSS CRC-enriched immune cell types and their spatial distribution, including naive CD4⁺ T, regulatory CD4⁺ T, CD4⁺ Th17, exhausted CD8⁺ T, cytotoxic CD8⁺ T, proliferated CD8⁺ T, natural killer (NK) cells, plasma, and classical and intermediate monocytes. Based on a systemic meta-analysis and ten machine learning algorithms, we obtained MCICRS, an independent risk factor for the prognosis of MSS CRC patients. Further analyses demonstrated that the low-MCICRS group presented a higher immune cell infiltration and immune-related pathway activation, and hence a significant relation with the superior efficacy of pan-cancer immunotherapy. More importantly, the predictive value of MCICRS in MSS CRC patients receiving immunotherapy was also validated with an in-house cohort. Anti-PD-1 antibody combined with VEGFRi presented an improved clinical benefit in MSS CRC with manageable toxicity. MCICRS could serve as a robust and promising tool to predict clinical outcomes for individual MSS CRC patients receiving immunotherapy.
Humans ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Male ; Female ; Immunotherapy ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Tumor Microenvironment/immunology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Microsatellite Instability ; Transcriptome ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/immunology* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Adult ; Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor/antagonists & inhibitors*

Objective To systematically evaluate the incidence rate of low-level viremia(LLV)in chronic hepatitis B(CHB)patients and related influencing factors,and to provide evidence-based medicine evidence for effective intervention and prevention of LLV in clinical practice.Methods This study was conducted according to the PRISMA guideline,with a PROSPERO registration number of CRD42023455304.CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP,SinoMed,PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,and the Cochrane library were searched for observational studies on LLV and related influencing factors in CHB patients published up to July 21,2023.Stata 16.0 software was used to perform the meta-analysis.Results A total of 12 articles were included,with a total sample size of 3408 cases,among whom there were 1181 patients with LLV.The meta-analysis showed that the incidence rate of LLV was 32.8%(95%confidence interval[CI]:27.6%—38.3%)in treatment-experienced CHB patients.High HBsAg quantification(odds ratio[OR]=2.107,95%CI:1.782—2.491,P<0.001),positive HBeAg(OR=3.258,95%CI:2.629—4.038,P<0.001),high HBV DNA level at baseline(OR=1.286,95%CI:1.157—1.430,P<0.001),and history of entecavir treatment(OR=3.089,95%CI:1.880—5.074,P<0.001)were risk factors for LLV;duration of antiviral therapy≥3 years(OR=0.175,95%CI:0.093—0.331,P<0.001)and high alanine aminotransferase level at baseline(OR=0.985,95%CI:0.978—0.992,P<0.001)were protective factors against LLV.The sensitivity analysis showed no significant change in effective value,suggesting that the results of the meta-analysis were relatively stable.The funnel plot of the studies included was basically symmetrical,and the results of the Egger's test and the Begg's test suggested that there was no obvious publication bias in the articles included.Conclusion Clinicians should guide decision making based on the influencing factors for LLV and related clinical evidence,so as to reduce long-term clinical risks and avoid adverse outcomes.

Since the proposal of the concept of the gut-liver axis,a large number of studies have focused on exploring the connection between gut microbiota and liver disease;however,the idea of using pyroptosis as a hub to explore the intrinsic mechanism of gut-liver crosstalk is still in its infancy.This article mainly describes the process by which gut microbiota dysbiosis affects the integrity of mucosal barrier and bile acid metabolism,induces pyroptosis,and thereby affects the development and progression of liver diseases,and it also concludes that gut microbiota dysbiosis affects liver diseases by inducing NLRP3/AIM2/Caspase-1-dependent,Caspase-4/11/GSDMD-dependent,and Caspase-3/GSDME-dependent pyroptosis.In summary,this study aims to provide new ideas and targets for the future diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases by establishing the connection between pyroptosis and intestinal-liver immune crosstalk.

Objective:To study the clinical characteristics and risk factors for hypertriglyceridemia-induced severe acute pancreatitis (HTG-SAP) complicated by acute kidney injury.Methods:The clinical data of HTG-SAP patients admitted to the Department of Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2014 to July 2022 were retrospectively collected, and divided into an AKI group and a non-AKI group according to whether AKI occurred. The general condition, laboratory data and clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared. Factors with statistically significant differences were screened for logistic regression analysis and a predictive model was constructed. We plotted the receiver operating characteristic curve and used the area under the curve (AUC) to evaluate the predictive ability of each predictor for HTG-SAP complicated with AKI.Results:A total of 91 patients were included, including 37 (40.7%) with AKI and 54 (59.3%) without AKI. The proportions of extrapancreatic infection, sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, requiring mechanical ventilation, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), retroperitoneal puncture, and surgical intervention were higher in the AKI group than in the non-AKI group (all P<0.05). The length of ICU stay, total length of hospitalization, and mortality rate in the AKI group were higher than those in the non-AKI group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that acute physiology and chronic health status scoreⅡ (APACHEⅡ) ( OR=2.069, 95% CI: 1.286-3.417, P=0.003), abdominal pressure ( OR=1.469, 95% CI: 1.108-1.958, P=0.007), and lactic acid ( OR=3.156, 95% CI: 1.013-9.831, P=0.047) were independent risk factors for AKI in HTG-SAP patients. The AUCs of the APACHEⅡ score, abdominal pressure, lactic acid level and combined prediction model were 0.951, 0.918, 0.837 and 0.986, respectively. Conclusions:Patients with HTG-SAP complicated with AKI were more likely to have complications related to extrapancreatic infection, sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction, and the proportion of mechanical ventilation, CRRT, retroperitoneal puncture and surgical intervention required during hospitalization was greater, the lengths of ICU stay and total hospital stay were longer, and the mortality rate was higher. APACHEⅡ score, abdominal pressure and lactic acid were independent risk factors for HTG-SAP concurrent AKI, and the prediction model established based on these three factors had higher value in predicting HGT-SAP concurrent AKI

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and is the most common cancer in males. Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) that target programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) or programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) have achieved impressive efficacy in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (Pardoll, 2012; Champiat et al., 2016; Gao et al., 2022). Although ICIs are usually well tolerated, they are often accompanied by immune-related adverse events (irAEs) (Doroshow et al., 2019). Non-specific activation of the immune system produces off-target immune and inflammatory responses that can affect virtually any organ or system (O'Kane et al., 2017; Puzanov et al., 2017). Compared with adverse events caused by chemotherapy, irAEs are often characterized by delayed onset and prolonged duration and can occur in any organ at any stage of treatment, including after cessation of treatment (Puzanov et al., 2017; von Itzstein et al., 2020). They range from rash, pneumonitis, hypothyroidism, enterocolitis, and autoimmune hepatitis to cardiovascular, hematological, renal, neurological, and ophthalmic irAEs (Nishino et al., 2016; Kumar et al., 2017; Song et al., 2020). Hence, we conducted a retrospective study to identify validated factors that could predict the magnitude of the risk of irAEs in patients receiving PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors; our approach was to analyze the correlation between the clinical characteristics of patients at the start of treatment and relevant indicators such as hematological indices and the risk of developing irAEs. Then, we developed an economical, practical, rapid, and simple model to assess the risk of irAEs in patients receiving ICI treatment, as early as possible.
Male ; Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy* ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/adverse effects* ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor ; Retrospective Studies ; Apoptosis

As a chronic liver inflammation disease caused by the lack of immune tolerance, autoimmune hepatitis is regulated by various signaling pathways, such as the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway, the SIRT1/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, the Hippo-YAP/TAZ pathway, the JAK/STAT pathway, the PI3K/Akt pathway, and the TRAF6/JNK pathway. These pathways can play a role against autoimmune hepatitis by participating in the processes including the proliferation and apoptosis of cytokines, immune response, and oxidative stress. In view of the problems of suboptimal response, obvious adverse reactions, and high recurrence rate in the clinical application of hormones and immune preparations for the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis, this article summarizes the research articles on autoimmune hepatitis-related signaling pathways and the mechanism of effective constituents (glycosides, terpenoids, flavonoids, quinones, and phenols) in traditional Chinese medicine intervening against the disease process of autoimmune hepatitis through the above signaling pathways, in order to provide a theoretical basis for scientific and effective utilization of effective constituents in traditional Chinese medicine to develop anti-autoimmune hepatitis drugs.

Objective:To study the clinical effect of different application times of antibiotics in patients with hypertriglyceridemic severe acute pancreatitis(HTG-SAP).Methods:The clinical data of 92 patients with HTG-SAP who were treated at the Department of Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2016 to February 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 65 males and 27 females, aged (40.82±10.55) years old. These patients were divided into three groups based on the time of prophylactic use of antibiotics: the early prevention group (used within 72 h after admission, n=39), the delayed prevention group (used after 72 h after admission, n=30) and the nonprevention group ( n=23). The clinical data such as the general data, length of stay and all cause mortality rate of the three groups of patients were analyzed. Results:Compared with patients in the nonprevention group, the incidence rate of pancreatic/peripancreatic infection [10.0%(3/30) vs. 39.1%(9/23)] and the incidence rate of bloodstream infection [6.7%(2/30) vs. 34.8%(8/23)] in the delayed prevention group were significantly decreased (pancreas/peripancreatic infection: χ 2=6.31, P=0.012; bloodstream infection: χ 2=6.72, P=0.010). The infection rate of multiple/pan resistant bacteria in the early prevention group [23.1%(9/39)] was significantly higher than the nonprevention group [4.3%(1/23)] (χ 2=4.49, P=0.034). There were no significant differences in the all cause mortality rate, length of stay, duration of intensive care, hospitalization cost, incidence of intestinal fistula and retroperitoneal hemorrhage, and the proportion of patients requiring surgery among the 3 groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Pophylactic use of antibiotics within 72 h of hospital admission significantly reduced the incidence of pancreatic/peripancreatic infection and bloodstream infection in patients with HTG-SAP. There were no significant differences in the final prognosis among these patients with HTG-SAP treated with antibiotics at different times.

Objective To investigate the effects of acupoint therapy on inflammatory factors and its clini-cal efficacy in relieving bronchial asthma. Methods Selected patients with bronchial asthma which was in remis-sion were randomly divided into a treatment group that was treated with acupoint therapy and a control group that was given Seretide. Each group had 30 cases. The treatment period was 4 weeks. Both groups were evaluated in terms of Asthma Control Test ( ACT) scores and the serum content of interleukin-5 ( IL-5) and interleukin-10 ( IL-10) before and at one month ( short-term) , as well as three months after the end of the treatment ( long-term) . The asthma control situation ( fully controlled, partially controlled or uncontrolled) was evaluated. Results Before treatment the average ACT scores of the two groups were not significantly different. After the treatment both the short-term and long-term average ACT scores of the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the con-trol group. The total effectiveness rate of asthma control in the treatment group in the short term ( 93%) was signifi-cantly higher than that in the control group ( 70%) . After the treatment the IL-5 and IL-10 levels in the treatment group were improved to a significantly greater extent than those in the control group. Conclusion Acupoint thera-py can reduce airway inflammation, control bronchial asthma symptoms and show good clinical efficacy, probably by regulating IL-5 and IL-10 levels.

Abstract: Fifteen novel ligustrazine-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives were designed and synthesized according to the association principle of pharmaceutical chemistry. The structures were identified by IR, NMR and ESI-MS. The inhibitory activities of platelet aggregation induced by ADP and AA have been measured by Bron method. Preliminary pharmacological results showed that compounds 7g, 7h and 7n had potent inhibitory activity against platelet aggregation induced by AA, and the compound 7o showed significant inhibitory activity against platelet aggregation induced by ADP.

OBJECTIVETo discuss the feasibility of terminal intestinal exteriorization (exteriorization without ileostomy) in laparoscopic anterior resection for rectal cancer.

METHODSClinicopathological data of 77 patients undergoing laparoscopic anterior resection for low rectal cancer in our department from January 2011 to December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. After laparoscopic rectal resection, 32 patients received terminal intestinal exteriorization (exteriorization group) and 45 patients received preventive ileostomy (ileostomy group). Anastomosis-related, stoma-related and intestinal stoma closure-related morbidity was compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in operative time, blood loss and overall hospital stay between the two groups (all P>0.05). The total hospital cost was (5.39±1.74)×10(4) yuan in the exteriorization group, and (6.98±1.37)×10(4) yuan in the ileostomy group(P<0.01). The incidences of postoperative anastomotic fistula was not significantly different between the two groups(P>0.05). Three patients(9.4%) developed anastomotic leak in the exteriorization group and 2(4.4%) in the ileostomy group. The anastomotic leak was managed by opening the external intestinal wall and maturating an ileostomy under local anaesthesia. All these 5 patients were cured with nutritional support, antibiotics, continuous local drainage. In the exteriorization group, 5 patients had complications related to stoma and intestinal stoma closure operation(15.6%), which was lower than(42.2%) in the ileostomy group(P=0.013).

CONCLUSIONTerminal intestinal exteriorization in laparoscopic anterior resection is a safe and feasible surgical procedure with little trauma and less hospital cost, which can be an alternative as a prophylactic treatment for patients with high risk of anastomotic leak.

Anastomosis, Surgical ; Anastomotic Leak ; Drainage ; Humans ; Ileostomy ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Postoperative Complications ; Rectal Neoplasms ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Stomas