1.Integrated molecular characterization of sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma
Rong-Qi SUN ; Yu-Hang YE ; Ye XU ; Bo WANG ; Si-Yuan PAN ; Ning LI ; Long CHEN ; Jing-Yue PAN ; Zhi-Qiang HU ; Jia FAN ; Zheng-Jun ZHOU ; Jian ZHOU ; Cheng-Li SONG ; Shao-Lai ZHOU
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2025;31(2):426-444
Background:
s/Aims: Sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rare histological subtype of HCC characterized by extremely poor prognosis; however, its molecular characterization has not been elucidated.
Methods:
In this study, we conducted an integrated multiomics study of whole-exome sequencing, RNA-seq, spatial transcriptome, and immunohistochemical analyses of 28 paired sarcomatoid tumor components and conventional HCC components from 10 patients with sarcomatoid HCC, in order to identify frequently altered genes, infer the tumor subclonal architectures, track the genomic evolution, and delineate the transcriptional characteristics of sarcomatoid HCCs.
Results:
Our results showed that the sarcomatoid HCCs had poor prognosis. The sarcomatoid tumor components and the conventional HCC components were derived from common ancestors, mostly accessing similar mutational processes. Clonal phylogenies demonstrated branched tumor evolution during sarcomatoid HCC development and progression. TP53 mutation commonly occurred at tumor initiation, whereas ARID2 mutation often occurred later. Transcriptome analyses revealed the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and hypoxic phenotype in sarcomatoid tumor components, which were confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. Moreover, we identified ARID2 mutations in 70% (7/10) of patients with sarcomatoid HCC but only 1–5% of patients with non-sarcomatoid HCC. Biofunctional investigations revealed that inactivating mutation of ARID2 contributes to HCC growth and metastasis and induces EMT in a hypoxic microenvironment.
Conclusions
We offer a comprehensive description of the molecular basis for sarcomatoid HCC, and identify genomic alteration (ARID2 mutation) together with the tumor microenvironment (hypoxic microenvironment), that may contribute to the formation of the sarcomatoid tumor component through EMT, leading to sarcomatoid HCC development and progression.
2.Integrated molecular characterization of sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma
Rong-Qi SUN ; Yu-Hang YE ; Ye XU ; Bo WANG ; Si-Yuan PAN ; Ning LI ; Long CHEN ; Jing-Yue PAN ; Zhi-Qiang HU ; Jia FAN ; Zheng-Jun ZHOU ; Jian ZHOU ; Cheng-Li SONG ; Shao-Lai ZHOU
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2025;31(2):426-444
Background:
s/Aims: Sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rare histological subtype of HCC characterized by extremely poor prognosis; however, its molecular characterization has not been elucidated.
Methods:
In this study, we conducted an integrated multiomics study of whole-exome sequencing, RNA-seq, spatial transcriptome, and immunohistochemical analyses of 28 paired sarcomatoid tumor components and conventional HCC components from 10 patients with sarcomatoid HCC, in order to identify frequently altered genes, infer the tumor subclonal architectures, track the genomic evolution, and delineate the transcriptional characteristics of sarcomatoid HCCs.
Results:
Our results showed that the sarcomatoid HCCs had poor prognosis. The sarcomatoid tumor components and the conventional HCC components were derived from common ancestors, mostly accessing similar mutational processes. Clonal phylogenies demonstrated branched tumor evolution during sarcomatoid HCC development and progression. TP53 mutation commonly occurred at tumor initiation, whereas ARID2 mutation often occurred later. Transcriptome analyses revealed the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and hypoxic phenotype in sarcomatoid tumor components, which were confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. Moreover, we identified ARID2 mutations in 70% (7/10) of patients with sarcomatoid HCC but only 1–5% of patients with non-sarcomatoid HCC. Biofunctional investigations revealed that inactivating mutation of ARID2 contributes to HCC growth and metastasis and induces EMT in a hypoxic microenvironment.
Conclusions
We offer a comprehensive description of the molecular basis for sarcomatoid HCC, and identify genomic alteration (ARID2 mutation) together with the tumor microenvironment (hypoxic microenvironment), that may contribute to the formation of the sarcomatoid tumor component through EMT, leading to sarcomatoid HCC development and progression.
3.Integrated molecular characterization of sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma
Rong-Qi SUN ; Yu-Hang YE ; Ye XU ; Bo WANG ; Si-Yuan PAN ; Ning LI ; Long CHEN ; Jing-Yue PAN ; Zhi-Qiang HU ; Jia FAN ; Zheng-Jun ZHOU ; Jian ZHOU ; Cheng-Li SONG ; Shao-Lai ZHOU
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2025;31(2):426-444
Background:
s/Aims: Sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a rare histological subtype of HCC characterized by extremely poor prognosis; however, its molecular characterization has not been elucidated.
Methods:
In this study, we conducted an integrated multiomics study of whole-exome sequencing, RNA-seq, spatial transcriptome, and immunohistochemical analyses of 28 paired sarcomatoid tumor components and conventional HCC components from 10 patients with sarcomatoid HCC, in order to identify frequently altered genes, infer the tumor subclonal architectures, track the genomic evolution, and delineate the transcriptional characteristics of sarcomatoid HCCs.
Results:
Our results showed that the sarcomatoid HCCs had poor prognosis. The sarcomatoid tumor components and the conventional HCC components were derived from common ancestors, mostly accessing similar mutational processes. Clonal phylogenies demonstrated branched tumor evolution during sarcomatoid HCC development and progression. TP53 mutation commonly occurred at tumor initiation, whereas ARID2 mutation often occurred later. Transcriptome analyses revealed the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and hypoxic phenotype in sarcomatoid tumor components, which were confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. Moreover, we identified ARID2 mutations in 70% (7/10) of patients with sarcomatoid HCC but only 1–5% of patients with non-sarcomatoid HCC. Biofunctional investigations revealed that inactivating mutation of ARID2 contributes to HCC growth and metastasis and induces EMT in a hypoxic microenvironment.
Conclusions
We offer a comprehensive description of the molecular basis for sarcomatoid HCC, and identify genomic alteration (ARID2 mutation) together with the tumor microenvironment (hypoxic microenvironment), that may contribute to the formation of the sarcomatoid tumor component through EMT, leading to sarcomatoid HCC development and progression.
4.Development of an Analytical Software for Forensic Proteomic SAP Typing
Feng HU ; Meng-Jiao WANG ; Jia-Lei WU ; Dong-Sheng DING ; Zhi-Yuan YANG ; An-Quan JI ; Lei FENG ; Jian YE
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(9):2406-2416
ObjectiveThe proteome of biological evidence contains rich genetic information, namely single amino acid polymorphisms (SAPs) in protein sequences. However, due to the lack of efficient and convenient analysis tools, the application of SAP in public security still faces many challenges. This paper aims to meet the application requirements of SAP analysis for forensic biological evidence’s proteome data. MethodsThe software is divided into three modules. First, based on a built-in database of common non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) and SAPs in East Asian populations, the software integrates and annotates newly identified exonic nsSNPs as SAPs, thereby constructing a customized SAP protein sequence database. It then utilizes a pre-installed search engine—either pFind or MaxQuant—to perform analysis and output SAP typing results, identifying both reference and variant types, along with their corresponding imputed nsSNPs. Finally, SAPTyper compares the proteome-based typing results with the individual’s exome-derived nsSNP profile and outputs the comparison report. ResultsSAPTyper accepts proteomic DDA mass spectrometry raw data (DDA acquisition mode) and exome sequencing results of nsSNPs as input and outputs the report of SAPs result. The pFind and Maxquant search engines were used to test the proteome data of 2 hair shafts of2 individuals, and both obtained SAP results. It was found that the results of the Maxquant search engine were slightly less than those of pFind. This result shows that SAPTyper can achieve SAP fingding function. Moreover, the pFind search engine was used to test the proteome data of 3 hair shafts from 1 European person and 1 African person in the literature. Among the sites fully matched by the literature method, sites detected by SAPTyper are also included; for semi-matching sites, that is, nsSNPs are heterozygous, both literature method and SAPTyper method had the risk of missing detection for one type of the allele. Comparing the analysis results of SAPTyper with the SAP test results reported in the literature, it was found that some imputed nsSNP sites identified by the literature method but not detected by SAPTyper had a MAF of less than 0.1% in East Asian populations, and therefore they were not included in the common nsSNP database of East Asian populations constructed by this software. Since the database construction of this software is based on the genetic variation information of East Asian populations, it is currently unable to effectively identify representative unique common variation sites in European or African populations, but it can still identify SAP sites shared by these populations and East Asian populations. ConclusionAn automated SAP analysis algorithm was developed for East Asian populations, and the software named SAPTyper was developed. This software provides a convenient and efficient analysis tool for the research and application of forensic proteomic SAP and has important application prospects in individual identification and phenotypic inference based on SAP.
5.Expert consensus on evaluation index system construction for new traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) from TCM clinical practice in medical institutions.
Li LIU ; Lei ZHANG ; Wei-An YUAN ; Zhong-Qi YANG ; Jun-Hua ZHANG ; Bao-He WANG ; Si-Yuan HU ; Zu-Guang YE ; Ling HAN ; Yue-Hua ZHOU ; Zi-Feng YANG ; Rui GAO ; Ming YANG ; Ting WANG ; Jie-Lai XIA ; Shi-Shan YU ; Xiao-Hui FAN ; Hua HUA ; Jia HE ; Yin LU ; Zhong WANG ; Jin-Hui DOU ; Geng LI ; Yu DONG ; Hao YU ; Li-Ping QU ; Jian-Yuan TANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(12):3474-3482
Medical institutions, with their clinical practice foundation and abundant human use experience data, have become important carriers for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and the "cradles" of the preparation of new TCM. To effectively promote the transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and establish an effective evaluation index system for the transformation of new TCM conforming to the characteristics of TCM, consensus experts adopted the literature research, questionnaire survey, Delphi method, etc. By focusing on the policy and technical evaluation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions, a comprehensive evaluation from the dimensions of drug safety, efficacy, feasibility, and characteristic advantages was conducted, thus forming a comprehensive evaluation system with four primary indicators and 37 secondary indicators. The expert consensus reached aims to encourage medical institutions at all levels to continuously improve the high-quality research and development and transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and targeted at clinical needs, so as to provide a decision-making basis for the preparation, selection, cultivation, and transformation of new TCM for medical institutions, improve the development efficiency of new TCM, and precisely respond to the public medication needs.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards*
;
Humans
;
Consensus
;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*
;
Surveys and Questionnaires
6.Anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects of flavan-4-ol and flavan glycosides from the roots of Pronephrium penangianum.
Feibing HUANG ; Yong YANG ; Qingling XIE ; Hanwen YUAN ; Muhammad AAMER ; Yuqing JIAN ; Ye ZHANG ; Wei WANG
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2025;23(5):593-603
Five new flavan-4-ol glycosides jixueqiosides A-E (1-5) and two new flavan glycosides jixueqiosides F and G (6 and 7), along with twelve known flavan-4-ol glycosides (8-19), were isolated from the roots of Pronephrium penangianum. Comprehensive spectral analyses, X-ray single-crystal diffraction, and theoretical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations established structures and absolute configurations. A single crystal structure of flavan-4-ol glycoside (14) was reported for the first time, while the characteristic ECD and NMR data for all isolated flavan-4-ol glycosides (1-5 , 8-19) were analyzed, establishing a set of empirical rules. Activity screening of these isolates showed that 8 and 9 could inhibit the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells with IC50 values of 7.93 ? 2.85 ?mol?L-1 and 5.87 ? 1.58 ?mol?L-1 (MDA-MB-231), and 2.21 ? 1.38 ?mol?L-1 and 3.52 ? 1.55 ?mol?L-1 (MCF-7), respectively. Western blotting and flow cytometry analyses demonstrated that 8 and 9 dose-dependently induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells by up-regulating BAX, activating caspase-3 and down-regulating BCL-2. Additionally, compound 8 affected autophagy-related proteins, increasing the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I and Beclin-1 levels to inhibit MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation. Moreover, anti-inflammatory studies indicated that 2, 3, 7, 13, 14, and 18 moderately inhibited tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and nitric oxide (NO) release.
Humans
;
Plant Roots/chemistry*
;
Glycosides/isolation & purification*
;
Anti-Inflammatory Agents/isolation & purification*
;
Flavonoids/isolation & purification*
;
Cell Proliferation/drug effects*
;
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/isolation & purification*
;
Molecular Structure
;
Apoptosis/drug effects*
;
Cell Line, Tumor
;
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology*
;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology*
;
Interleukin-6/immunology*
;
Animals
;
Mice
7.Independent and Interactive Effects of Air Pollutants, Meteorological Factors, and Green Space on Tuberculosis Incidence in Shanghai.
Qi YE ; Jing CHEN ; Ya Ting JI ; Xiao Yu LU ; Jia le DENG ; Nan LI ; Wei WEI ; Ren Jie HOU ; Zhi Yuan LI ; Jian Bang XIANG ; Xu GAO ; Xin SHEN ; Chong Guang YANG
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(7):792-809
OBJECTIVE:
To assess the independent and combined effects of air pollutants, meteorological factors, and greenspace exposure on new tuberculosis (TB) cases.
METHODS:
TB case data from Shanghai (2013-2018) were obtained from the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Environmental data on air pollutants, meteorological variables, and greenspace exposure were obtained from the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center. We employed a distributed-lag nonlinear model to assess the effects of these environmental factors on TB cases.
RESULTS:
Increased TB risk was linked to PM 2.5, PM 10, and rainfall, whereas NO 2, SO 2, and air pressure were associated with a reduced risk. Specifically, the strongest cumulative effects occurred at various lags: PM 2.5 ( RR = 1.166, 95% CI: 1.026-1.325) at 0-19 weeks; PM 10 ( RR = 1.167, 95% CI: 1.028-1.324) at 0-18 weeks; NO 2 ( RR = 0.968, 95% CI: 0.938-0.999) at 0-1 weeks; SO 2 ( RR = 0.945, 95% CI: 0.894-0.999) at 0-2 weeks; air pressure ( RR = 0.604, 95% CI: 0.447-0.816) at 0-8 weeks; and rainfall ( RR = 1.404, 95% CI: 1.076-1.833) at 0-22 weeks. Green space exposure did not significantly impact TB cases. Additionally, low temperatures amplified the effect of PM 2.5 on TB.
CONCLUSION
Exposure to PM 2.5, PM 10, and rainfall increased the risk of TB, highlighting the need to address air pollutants for the prevention of TB in Shanghai.
China/epidemiology*
;
Humans
;
Air Pollutants/analysis*
;
Tuberculosis/epidemiology*
;
Incidence
;
Meteorological Concepts
;
Particulate Matter/adverse effects*
;
Environmental Exposure
;
Male
;
Female
;
Adult
;
Air Pollution
;
Middle Aged
8.Development course and research status of incisions in lung transplantation
Jian XU ; Jingbo SHAO ; Yuan CHEN ; Dong WEI ; Shugao YE ; Jingyu CHEN
Organ Transplantation 2024;15(4):637-642
Surgical technique of lung transplantation exerts significant impact on clinical prognosis of the recipients.Choosing an appropriate surgical incision determines the exposure of intraoperative visual field,which is the first step of surgical success and directly affects subsequent surgical procedures.Lung transplantation incision is usually considered as primary closure.Nevertheless,for patients with high-risk factors such as oversized lung allografts and primary graft failure after lung transplantation,primary closure cannot be achieved.Hence,delayed chest closure is an effective strategy.The selection of incisions and the adoption of delayed chest closure of lung transplantation exert profound impact upon perioperative prognosis,long-term quality of life and surgical complications of the recipients.Therefore,the development and research status of Clamshell incision,anterolateral incision,posterolateral incision and median sternal incision in lung transplantation were reviewed,highlighting the effect of incision patterns on clinical prognosis of lung transplantation and providing reference for the selection of incisions in clinical lung transplantation.
9.Clinical guidelines for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis combined with lower cervical fracture in adults (version 2024)
Qingde WANG ; Yuan HE ; Bohua CHEN ; Tongwei CHU ; Jinpeng DU ; Jian DONG ; Haoyu FENG ; Shunwu FAN ; Shiqing FENG ; Yanzheng GAO ; Zhong GUAN ; Hua GUO ; Yong HAI ; Lijun HE ; Dianming JIANG ; Jianyuan JIANG ; Bin LIN ; Bin LIU ; Baoge LIU ; Chunde LI ; Fang LI ; Feng LI ; Guohua LYU ; Li LI ; Qi LIAO ; Weishi LI ; Xiaoguang LIU ; Hongjian LIU ; Yong LIU ; Zhongjun LIU ; Shibao LU ; Yong QIU ; Limin RONG ; Yong SHEN ; Huiyong SHEN ; Jun SHU ; Yueming SONG ; Tiansheng SUN ; Yan WANG ; Zhe WANG ; Zheng WANG ; Hong XIA ; Guoyong YIN ; Jinglong YAN ; Wen YUAN ; Zhaoming YE ; Jie ZHAO ; Jianguo ZHANG ; Yue ZHU ; Yingjie ZHOU ; Zhongmin ZHANG ; Wei MEI ; Dingjun HAO ; Baorong HE
Chinese Journal of Trauma 2024;40(2):97-106
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) combined with lower cervical fracture is often categorized into unstable fracture, with a high incidence of neurological injury and a high rate of disability and morbidity. As factors such as shoulder occlusion may affect the accuracy of X-ray imaging diagnosis, it is often easily misdiagnosed at the primary diagnosis. Non-operative treatment has complications such as bone nonunion and the possibility of secondary neurological damage, while the timing, access and choice of surgical treatment are still controversial. Currently, there are no clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of AS combined with lower cervical fracture with or without dislocation. To this end, the Spinal Trauma Group of Orthopedics Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized experts to formulate Clinical guidelines for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis combined with lower cervical fracture in adults ( version 2024) in accordance with the principles of evidence-based medicine, scientificity and practicality, in which 11 recommendations were put forward in terms of the diagnosis, imaging evaluation, typing and treatment, etc, to provide guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of AS combined with lower cervical fracture.
10.Construction and evaluation of novel self-assembled nanoparticles of Herpetospermum caudigerum Wall.
Yu-wen ZHU ; Xiang DENG ; Li CHEN ; Jian-tao NING ; Yu-ye XUE ; Bao-de SHEN ; Ling-yu HANG ; Hai-long YUAN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(2):448-454
It has become an industry consensus that self-assembled nanoparticles (SAN) are formed by molecular recognition of chemical components in traditional Chinese medicine during the decoction process. The insoluble components in the decoction are mostly in the form of nanoparticles, which can improve the problem of poor water solubility. However, the transfer rate of these insoluble components in the decoction is still very low, which limits the efficacy of the drug. This study aimed to refine the traditional decoction self-assembly phenomenon. The self-assembled nanoparticles were constructed by micro-precipitation method (MP-SAN), and characterized by particle size, zeta potential, stability index and morphology. The formation of MP-SAN and alterations in related physicochemical properties were evaluated using modern spectroscopic and thermal analysis techniques. The quality value transmitting pattern of lignan components within the MP-SAN was assessed

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