Objective To explore the effect of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) on adhesion,migration and morphology of mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs).Methods We isolated and cultured BMSCs from wild-type and NCAM gene knockout mice.The expression of NCAM was detected by Western blot and immunofluorescence.Wound healing and adhesion assays were used to detect cell migration and adhesion ability respectively.The morphological changes were observed and the expressings of protein β1 integrin,E-cadherin,β-catenin and N-cadherin were analysed by Western blot.Results The migration and adhesion of BMSCs were significantly reduced after NCAM gene knockout.Meanwhile,the expression of β1 integrin was lower than those in wild-type BMSCs (P<0.01).The morphology of NCAM gene knockout BMSCs changed from irregular to flattened,and expressed epithelial identification marker E-cadherin and β-catenin (P<0.05).However,the expression level of mesenchymal identification marker N-cadherin was decreased (P<0.01).Conclusions NCAM is involved in adhesion and migration of BMSCs via regulating the expression of β1 integrin.Furthermore,NCAMmay negatively regulate the mesenchymal-epithelial transitions of BMSCs.

BACKGROUND:Hyperhomocysteine can be caused by 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene mutation, and HHcy is the independent risk factor for cerebral stroke.
OBJECTIVE:To study the correlation between plasma homocysteine level and polymorphisms of MTHFR gene C677T of young people in Shenzhen area, and to explore the relationships of plasma hyperhomocysteine level with other clinical indicators.
METHODS:A total of 101 cases with hyperhomocysteine were col ected as experimental group, and 101 cases with normal homocysteine level served as control group (20-45 years old). Genomic DNA was extracted with magnetic nanoparticles method from mouth swab samples of 202 cases. Then the DNA was amplified into target gene fragment by PCR, and amplification product was then sequenced.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The frequencies of CC, CT, TT genotype of MTHFR C677T showed significant differences between the experimental group and the control group (P<0.01). This evidence indicates that the polymorphisms of MTHFR gene C677T can influence plasma homocysteine level of young people in Shenzhen area;TT genotype frequencies and T al ele frequencies in the experimental group were higher than that of control group. Besides, the plasma homocysteine level of TT genotype was significantly higher than that of CT genotype and CC genotype in the experimental group (P<0.05). We can conclude that TT genotype can improve the homocysteine level more than CT genotype;The systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in the experimental group were significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). It indicated that hyperhomocysteine can induce the elevation of blood pressure level;but it is not sure that hyperhomocysteine can increase cholesterol level in our study.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in neonates caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and to analyze the factors associated with the severe infection.Methods:Clinical data of 399 ALRTI neonates with positive nucleic acids or antigen of RSV admitted to Shenzhen Children′s Hospital from January 2014 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed for their clinical cha-racteristics.They were divided into mild-to-moderate group and severe group according to the severity index (SI), and the clinical data of the 2 groups were compared.Relevant factors of severe ALRTI of RSV in neonates were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression. Results:(1) A total of 399 ALRTI neonates with RSV infection were included, involving 239 males (59.9%) and 160 females (40.1%) with a male-to-female ratio of 1.49∶1.00.There were 349 cases (87.5%) and 50 cases (12.5%) in the mild-to-moderate group and severe group, respectively.The disease mainly occurred from March to October.(2) There were significant differences in the preterm delivery [15 cases (4.3%) vs.9 cases (18.0%)], low birth weight [11 cases (3.2%) vs.6 cases (12.0%)], previous hospitalization history [12 cases (3.4%) vs.5 cases (10.0%)], and breastfeeding [167 cases (47.9%) vs.16 cases (32.0%)] between the mild-to-moderate group and severe group ( χ2=14.524, 8.394, 4.616 and 4.426, respectively, all P<0.05). (3) There were significant differences in fever [78 cases (22.4%) vs.18 cases (36.0%)], shortness of breath [156 cases (44.7%) vs.36 cases (72.0%)], poor appetite [48 cases (13.8%) vs.15 cases (30.0%)], wheezing [20 cases (5.7%) vs.10 cases (20.0%)], cyanosis [30 cases (8.0%) vs.16 cases (32.0%)] and mental status (irritability/malaise) [20 cases (5.7%) vs.8 cases (16.0%)], and duration of cough[(8.1±2.6) days vs.(9.4±2.9) days ] between the mild-to-moderate group and severe group ( χ2=4.460, 13.057, 8.682, 12.806, 23.486 and 7.068, t=-3.054, all P<0.05). Moist rales in the lungs [29 cases (58.0%) vs.114 cases (32.7%)] and three concave signs [14 cases (28.0%) vs.20 cases (5.7%)] were commonly found in the severe group, while pulmonary phlegm sounds [168 cases (48.1%) vs.14 cases (28.0%)]was commonly found in the mild-to-moderate group, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=12.208, 27.823 and 7.149, respectively, all P<0.05). (4) Multifactorial analysis showed that premature delivery was an independent risk factor for the development of severe ALRTI caused by RSV in neonates ( OR=3.717, 95% CI: 1.257-10.987), and shortness of breath ( OR=2.216, 95% CI: 1.061-4.629), cyanosis ( OR=3.621, 95% CI: 1.638-8.004) and three concave signs ( OR=2.688, 95% CI: 1.077-6.711) may be early warning factors for the severe condition. Conclusions:Preterm infants with RSV infection are prone to develop into severe disease, and neonates with RSV infection with shortness of breath, cyanosis and three concave signs as symptoms of severe infection should be well concerned for a close monitoring.

Objective:The potential mechanism of cortex phellodendri chinsis in the improvement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) through ferroptosis was analyzed based on network pharmacology.Methods:The main active components and their corresponding target proteins were screened by TCMSP database and Herb database, and the UniProt database was used to convert the corresponding target protein names into gene IDs. The targets of RA disease were obtained from GenCards, OMIM, DrugBank and DisGeNET databases. The FerrDb database was used to collect genes for Driver, Suppressors and Markers of ferroptosis. Then, Venny platform was used to obtain the intersection genes of Cortex phellodendri chinsis, RA and ferroptosis, and Cytoscape 3.9.1 software was used to plot the "active component-target-RA-ferroptosis" network diagram. Protein-protein interaction (PPI), gene ontology (GO) function, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed using String and DAVID databases. PyMOL, AutoDock Vina software and RCSB PDB database were used for molecular docking between active ingredients and key genes.Results:A total of 11 active components (Quercetin, Beta-sitosterol, Melianone, Candletoxin A, Phellochin, Palmidin A, Worenine, Hispidone, Kihadalactone A, Niloticin, Stigmasterol) and 34 intersection genes (PTGS2、AR、JUN、PRKCA、TGFB1、EGFR、CDKN1A、MAPK1、RB1、IL6、TP53、HIF1A、HSPA5、HMOX1、CAV1、IFNG、ALOX5、PTEN、NFE2L2、PARP1、PPARA、GSTM1、MTOR、PIK3CA、MDM2、MAPK8、GSK3B、SIRT1、DHODH、EZH2、AKR1C2、AKR1C1、STAT3、MAPK3) were screened. Ten possible targets of Cortex phellodendri chinsis regulating ferroptosis and anti-RA were predicted, including TP53、JUN、STAT3、HIF1A、PTEN、SIRT1、EGFR、MTOR、MAPK3、AR. Ferroptosis pathway is regulated by mediating positive regulation of gene expression, response to drugs, HIF-1, FoxO, ErbB and other signaling pathways, thus combating the occurrence and progression of RA. The docking results showed that there were molecular binding sites between the key genes and their corresponding active components.Conclusion:Cortex phellodendri chinsis may treat RA through ferroptosis effect with multiple components, multiple targets, multiple pathways and mechanisms.

Objective:To investigate the value of multimodal ultrasound features combined with peripheral blood inflammatory cell ratios in evaluating the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer.Methods:A total of 106 breast cancer patients diagnosed and treated with NAC at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from May 2021 to April 2024 were retrospectively collected, resulting in the conclusion of 61 patients (61 masses) in the study. All patients underwent multimodal ultrasound and peripheral blood routine examinations before NAC and after two cycles of NAC treatment. The patients were divided into a major histological response (MHR) group and a non-major histological response (NMHR) group as indicators for evaluating NAC efficacy. The differences in multimodal ultrasound features and inflammatory cell ratios before NAC and after two cycles of NAC treatment between the MHR and NMHR groups were compared. Binary logistic multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the independent predictors of NAC efficacy in breast cancer. ROC curves were plotted to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of predicting NAC efficacy.Results:Among the 61 breast masses, 25 (40.98%) were in the MHR group, and 36 (59.02%) were in the NMHR group.Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that the change rate of maximum tumor diameter after the second cycle (ΔD 2), change rate of vascular index after the second cycle (ΔVI 2), change rate of elastic strain ratio after the second cycle (ΔE-Strain 2), change rate of reverse imaging score after the second cycle (ΔI-imaging score 2), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) before NAC were independent predictors of NAC efficacy ( OR=1.145, P=0.019; OR=1.055, P=0.016; OR=1.036, P=0.033; OR=1.276, P=0.016; OR=1.054, P=0.047). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the combined diagnosis of the above parameters was 0.928 (95% CI=0.866~0.990), with a sensitivity of 80.0% and a specificity of 91.7%. Conclusions:The combination of ΔD 2, ΔVI 2, ΔE-Strain 2, ΔI-imaging score 2 and PLR before NAC has high clinical application value for early prediction of NAC efficacy in breast cancer.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new combination treatment of vinorelbine and pyrotinib in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and provide higher level evidence for clinical practice. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, single-arm, phase 2 trial conducted at three institutions in China. Patients with HER2-positive MBC, who had previously been treated with trastuzumab plus a taxane or trastuzumab plus pertuzumab combined with a chemotherapeutic agent, were enrolled between March 2020 and December 2021. All patients received pyrotinib 400 mg orally once daily plus vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 intravenously or 60-80 mg/m2 orally on day 1 and day 8 of 21-day cycle. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), and the secondary endpoints included the objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival, and safety. Results: A total of 39 patients were enrolled. All patients had been pretreated with trastuzumab and 23.1% (n=9) of them had accepted trastuzumab plus pertuzumab. The median follow-up time was 16.3 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.3 to 27.2), and the median PFS was 6.4 months (95% CI, 4.0 to 8.8). The ORR was 43.6% (95% CI, 27.8% to 60.4%) and the DCR was 84.6% (95% CI, 69.5% to 94.1%). The median PFS of patients with versus without prior pertuzumab treatment was 4.6 and 8.3 months (p=0.017). The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were diarrhea (28.2%), neutrophil count decreased (15.4%), white blood cell count decreased (7.7%), vomiting (5.1%), and anemia (2.6%). Conclusion Pyrotinib plus vinorelbine showed promising efficacy and tolerable toxicity as second-line treatment in patients with HER2-positive MBC.

Objective:To evaluate the cost effectiveness of primary prophylaxis (PP) with pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF), PP with recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) and no prophylaxis in women with early-stage breast cancer in China.Methods:Two phase Markov models were constructed for a hypothetical cohort of patients aged 45 with stage Ⅱ breast cancer. The first phase modelled costs and outcomes of 4 cycles docetaxel combined with cyclophosphamide [TC×4, febrile neutropenia (FN) risk>20%] chemotherapy, which assumptions based on literature reviews, including FN rates [base-case (deterministic sensitivity analysis range), 0.29 (0.24-0.35)] and related events [FN case-fatality, 3.4 (2.7-4.1)]. Second phase modelled the long term survival which was link with the relative dose intensity (RDI) [mortality hazard ratio ( HR) of RDI < 85% vs ≥85%, 1.45 (1.00-2.32)]. Clinical effectiveness, therapeutic costs, and economic utilities were estimated from peer-reviewed publications and expert opinions in case of unavailability of published evidences. Results:Compared to rhG-CSF PP and no prophylaxis, the cost of PEG-rhG-CSF PP increased to 5 208.19 RMB and 5 222.73 RMB, respectively. The quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) enhanced to 0.066 and 0.297, respectively. Accordingly, the incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) are 79 146.3 RMB and 17 558.77 RMB per QALY, which were both below the willingness to pay (WTP) threshold of three times GDP per capita (18, 000 RMB) recommended by the WHO. Sensitivity analysis suggested that the more clinically effective the primary prophylaxis with PEG-rhG-CSF is, the more cost-effective primary prophylaxis with PEG-rhG-CSF will be. And the lower the mortality HR of RDI<85% vs ≥85% is, the more cost-effective primary prophylaxis with PEG-rhG-CSF will be. Conclusion:Although the cost of PP PEG-rhG-CSF is higher, considering the additional benefits, the administrating of PP PEG-rhG-CSF is likely to be a cost-effective alternative to PP rhG-CSF and no prophylaxis in patients with early stage breast cancer whose FN risks are more than 20% in China.

Objective:To evaluate the cost effectiveness of primary prophylaxis (PP) with pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF), PP with recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) and no prophylaxis in women with early-stage breast cancer in China.Methods:Two phase Markov models were constructed for a hypothetical cohort of patients aged 45 with stage Ⅱ breast cancer. The first phase modelled costs and outcomes of 4 cycles docetaxel combined with cyclophosphamide [TC×4, febrile neutropenia (FN) risk>20%] chemotherapy, which assumptions based on literature reviews, including FN rates [base-case (deterministic sensitivity analysis range), 0.29 (0.24-0.35)] and related events [FN case-fatality, 3.4 (2.7-4.1)]. Second phase modelled the long term survival which was link with the relative dose intensity (RDI) [mortality hazard ratio ( HR) of RDI < 85% vs ≥85%, 1.45 (1.00-2.32)]. Clinical effectiveness, therapeutic costs, and economic utilities were estimated from peer-reviewed publications and expert opinions in case of unavailability of published evidences. Results:Compared to rhG-CSF PP and no prophylaxis, the cost of PEG-rhG-CSF PP increased to 5 208.19 RMB and 5 222.73 RMB, respectively. The quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) enhanced to 0.066 and 0.297, respectively. Accordingly, the incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) are 79 146.3 RMB and 17 558.77 RMB per QALY, which were both below the willingness to pay (WTP) threshold of three times GDP per capita (18, 000 RMB) recommended by the WHO. Sensitivity analysis suggested that the more clinically effective the primary prophylaxis with PEG-rhG-CSF is, the more cost-effective primary prophylaxis with PEG-rhG-CSF will be. And the lower the mortality HR of RDI<85% vs ≥85% is, the more cost-effective primary prophylaxis with PEG-rhG-CSF will be. Conclusion:Although the cost of PP PEG-rhG-CSF is higher, considering the additional benefits, the administrating of PP PEG-rhG-CSF is likely to be a cost-effective alternative to PP rhG-CSF and no prophylaxis in patients with early stage breast cancer whose FN risks are more than 20% in China.