Metastasis is the leading cause of death from cutaneous melanoma. Identifying metastasis-related targets and developing corresponding therapeutic strategies are major areas of focus. While functional genomics strategies provide powerful tools for target discovery, investigations at the protein level can directly decode the bioactive epitopes on functional proteins. Aptamers present a promising avenue as they can explore membrane proteomes and have the potential to interfere with cell function. Herein, we developed a target and epitope discovery platform, termed functional aptamer evolution-enabled target identification (FAETI), by integrating affinity aptamer acquisition with phenotype screening and target protein identification. Utilizing the aptamer XH3C, which was screened for its migration-inhibitory function, we identified the Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4), as a potential target involved in melanoma migration. Further evidence demonstrated that XH3C induces cytoskeletal rearrangement by blocking the interaction between the bioactive epitope of CSPG4 and integrin α4. Taken together, our study demonstrates the robustness of aptamer-based molecular tools for target and epitope discovery. Additionally, XH3C is an affinity and functional molecule that selectively binds to a unique epitope on CSPG4, enabling the development of innovative therapeutic strategies.

Gene regulation relies on the precise binding of transcription factors (TFs) at regulatory elements, but simultaneously detecting hundreds of TFs on chromatin is challenging. We developed cFOOT-seq, a cytosine deaminase-based TF footprinting assay, for high-resolution, quantitative genome-wide assessment of TF binding in both open and closed chromatin regions, even with small cell numbers. By utilizing the dsDNA deaminase SsdAtox, cFOOT-seq converts accessible cytosines to uracil while preserving genomic integrity, making it compatible with techniques like ATAC-seq for sensitive and cost-effective detection of TF occupancy at the single-molecule and single-cell level. Our approach enables the delineation of TF footprints, quantification of occupancy, and examination of chromatin influences on TF binding. Notably, cFOOT-seq, combined with FootTrack analysis, enables de novo prediction of TF binding sites and tracking of TF occupancy dynamics. We demonstrate its application in capturing cell type-specific TFs, analyzing TF dynamics during reprogramming, and revealing TF dependencies on chromatin remodelers. Overall, cFOOT-seq represents a robust approach for investigating the genome-wide dynamics of TF occupancy and elucidating the cis-regulatory architecture underlying gene regulation.
Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Humans ; Chromatin/genetics* ; Animals ; Binding Sites ; Mice ; DNA Footprinting/methods*

Objective:To systematically evaluate the experience of home-based hospice care from two different perspectives of professional caregivers and family caregivers, and summarize the barriers faced by caregivers.Methods:This study was Meta-synthesis. Qualitative studies on the barriers of home-based hospice care among professional caregivers or family caregivers were electronically searched on China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data, VIP, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL and Medline. The search period was from database establishment to October 3, 2023. The quality evaluation of literature was conducted using the quality evaluation criteria for qualitative research of the Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence-Based Health Care Center. The aggregation Meta-synthesis method was used to integrate the included article.Results:A total of ten articles were included, all had a quality evaluation level of B. Thirty-five results were extracted and summarized into eight new categories. Two integrated results were formed, including barriers to implementation of home-based hospice care by patients' family members (three categories) and barriers to implementation of home-based hospice care by professional caregivers (five categories) .Conclusions:Due to various factors such as external policies, organizations, and personnel, there are still many challenges in the practical development of home-based hospice care. Government and medical institutions can formulate or improve policies and service processes to address the obstacles to implementing home hospice care for different caregivers, and promote the development of home-based hospice care.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of separated R-CHOP in older patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods:A total of 137 patients aged 65-80 years newly diagnosed with DLBCL between April 2013 and September 2022 at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were enrolled.The patients were assigned into separated R-CHOP,full-dose R-CHOP,and reduced R-CHOP-like groups based on their different chemotherapy regimens.All individuals were treated in 21-day cycles for 4-8 cycles.The short-term and long-term efficacies and adverse reactions of the treatments were compared among the three groups,and factors influencing progression-free survival(PFS)and overall survival(OS)were analyzed.Results:The overall response rates(ORR)of patients in the separated R-CHOP,full-dose R-CHOP,and reduced R-CHOP-like groups were 89.7%,90.3%,and 86.1%,respectively,with no significant differences among them.The complete respond rate(CRR)of the separated R-CHOP group(64.1%)was significantly higher than that of the reduced R-CHOP-like group(33.3%)(P=0.008)but not significantly different from that of the full-dose R-CHOP group(66.1%).Survival curve analysis revealed no significant differences in PFS and OS between the separated and full-dose R-CHOP groups.Although the separated R-CHOP group showed improved PFS compared with the reduced R-CHOP-like group(P=0.036),there was no statistical difference in OS between these two groups.Multivariate analysis revealed that the international prognostic index(IPI)and separated R-CHOP had significant effects on PFS in patients with DLBCL(all P<0.05),whereas only IPI had a significant effect on OS(P<0.001).The incidence of leukopenia and grade 3-4 leukopenia in the separated R-CHOP group was significantly lower than that in the full-dose R-CHOP group(P=0.007,P=0.012),but there was no significant difference with the reduced R-CHOP-like group in this regard.Conclusions:In older patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL,separated R-CHOP showed good efficacy both in the short and long terms and had acceptable safety and tolerability profiles.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of mild hypothermia for patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).Methods:PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China Biology Medicine Disc, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and VIP Database were searched for prospective randomized controlled researches on mild hypothermia and normothermia for patients with sTBI. The search time was from the establishment of the databases to February 2023. RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis. The evaluation indicators included literature search results, basic characteristics and quality of the literature, poor prognosis rate and mortality at 6 and 12 months after treatment, incidence of pulmonary infection, arrhythmia, thrombocytopenia, intracranial infection, renal insufficiency, gastrointestinal ulcer/bleeding and electrolyte disorder during the treatment, and publication bias.Results:A total of 16 papers involving 2 640 patients were included, comprising 1 381 patients in the mild hypothermia group and 1 259 patients in the normothermia group. The poor prognosis rate in the mild hypothermia group was significantly lower than that in the normothermia group at 6 and 12 months after treatment ( RR=0.81, 95% CI 0.69, 0.95, P<0.01; RR=0.65, 95% CI 0.51, 0.84, P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the mortality between the two groups at 6 and 12 months after treatment ( RR=0.81, 95% CI 0.61, 1.08, P>0.05; RR=0.69, 95% CI 0.47, 1.03, P>0.05). In contrast with the the normothermia group, in the mild hypothermia group the incidence of pulmonary infection was significantly different ( RR=1.18, 95% CI 1.04, 1.34, P<0.01); the incidence of arrhythmia was not significantly different ( RR=1.35, 95% CI 0.73, 2.49, P>0.05); the incidence of thrombocytopenia was significantly different ( RR=1.78, 95% CI 1.34, 2.37, P<0.01); the incidence of intracranial infection was not significantly different ( RR=1.32, 95% CI 0.54, 3.23, P>0.05); the incidence of renal insufficiency was not significantly different ( RR=1.22, 95% CI 0.71, 2.09, P>0.05); the incidence of gastrointestinal ulcer/bleeding was not significantly different ( RR=0.98, 95% CI 0.73, 1.31, P>0.05); the incidence of electrolyte disorders was not significantly different ( RR=1.39, 95% CI 1.00, 1.94, P>0.05). The funnel plot was approximately symmetrical and the scattered points were concentrated in the narrow area in the upper part of the funnel plot, suggesting no publication bias. Conclusions:In comparison with normothermia for sTBI, mild hypothermia can not reduce the mortality at 6 and 12 months after treatment, but it can reduce the incidence of poor prognosis at 6 and 12 months after treatment. Moreover, mild hypothermia has no obvious effect on the incidence of arrhythmia, intracranial infection, renal insufficiency, gastrointestinal ulcer/bleeding, and electrolyte disorder, but it can increase the incidence of pulmonary infection and thrombocytopenia.

Sepsis, a series of pathophysiological abnormalities caused by infection, is also one of the most important factors of death and disability in infected patients all over the world, so it has always been the focus of the medical community. Cytokines are small molecule proteins secreted by cells with biological activity, involved in the immune and inflammatory regulation of sepsis. Many studies using cytokine targeting to treat sepsis have achieved beneficial effects, and the level of cytokines is also believed to be related to the development, severity of sepsis, so they are reliable biomarkers of sepsis. Among them, pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interferon-β (IFN-β) and interleukins (IL-1β, IL-3, IL-6, and IL-7) are the focus of the discussion in this review. IFN-β and IL-1β are double-sided in the treatment of sepsis, namely early low-dose treatment can reduce sepsis by restoring the function of immune cells and play a protective effect, but they are also related to severe inflammatory response of sepsis and can aggravate the mortality of sepsis patients. IL-3 and IL-6 focus more on enhancing inflammatory factors and play a damage role. IL-7 mainly participates in immune regulation, promoting lymphocyte activation and protecting sepsis.

Alkaloids are a class of naturally occurring bioactive compounds that are widely distributed in various food sources and Traditional Chinese Medicine. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of alkaloid extract from Codonopsis Radix (ACR) in ameliorating hepatic lipid accumulation in a mouse model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by a high-fat diet (HFD). The results revealed that ACR treatment effectively mitigated the abnormal weight gain and hepatic injury associated with HFD. Furthermore, ACR ameliorated the dysregulated lipid metabolism in NAFLD mice, as evidenced by reductions in serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein levels, accompanied by a concomitant increase in the high-density lipoprotein level. ACR treatment also demonstrated a profound anti-oxidative effect, effectively alleviating HFD-induced oxidative stress and promoting ATP production. These effects were achieved through the up-regulation of the activities of mitochondrial electron transfer chain complexes I, II, IV, and V, in addition to the activation of the AMPK/PGC-1α pathway, suggesting that ACR exhibits therapeutic potential in alleviating the HFD-induced dysregulation of mitochondrial energy metabolism. Moreover, ACR administration mitigated HFD-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and suppressed the overexpression of ubiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14) in NAFLD mice. In summary, the present study provides compelling evidence supporting the hepatoprotective role of ACR in alleviating lipid deposition in NAFLD by improving energy metabolism and reducing oxidative stress and ER stress. These findings warrant further investigation and merit the development of ACR as a potential therapeutic agent for NAFLD.
Mice ; Animals ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/metabolism* ; Codonopsis ; Liver ; Lipid Metabolism ; Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology* ; Alkaloids/pharmacology* ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; Energy Metabolism ; Lipids ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

Objective:To improve the therapeutic regimen for mantle cell lymphoma,we investigated the efficacy and safety of adding a BTK inhibitor to a regimen including rituximab,bendamustine,cytarabine,and prednisone to treat patients with mantle cell lymphoma(MCL).Methods:Twenty-six patients newly diagnosed with MCL who were admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from March 2021 to November 2023 were treated with a regimen of rituximab,bendamustine,cytarabine and prednisone combined with a BTK inhibitor,and the efficacy and adverse effects of this regiment were retrospectively analyzed.Results:The median age of the 26 newly dia-gnosed MCL patients was 59(41-72)years.The cohort included 22 males and 4 females,and the median follow-up time was 12(3-28)months.The overall response rate(ORR)was 92.3%and the complete response rate(CRR)was 88.5%.Median progression-free survival(PFS)and median overall survival(OS)endpoints were not achieved,with a 1-year PFS rate of 81.25%and a 1-year OS rate of 92.3%.A bet-ter PFS was achieved in the low mantle cell lymphoma International Prognostic Index(MIPI)score(0-3 points)group than in the high MIPI score(4-11 points)group(P=0.020).PFS was better in the group without B symptoms than in the group with B symptoms(P=0.002).PFS was better in the classical group than in the pleomorphic-blastoid subtype group(P=0.009).The main adverse effects were lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia.No treatment-related serious adverse events were observed during the follow-up period.Conclusions:The regimen of rituximab,bendamustine,cytarabine,and prednisone in combination with BTK inhibitors is safe and effective for the treatment of newly dia-gnosed patients with MCL.

Objective:To systematically review the risk prediction models for diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) .Methods:Literature regarding the risk prediction models for diabetic retinopathy in T2DM were searched from CINAHL, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, Wanfang, CNKI, VIP, and China Biology Medicine disc, with the search timeframe extending to October 1, 2022. Two researchers independently selected literature and extracted data, and the bias risk and applicability of the included literature were analyzed using the PROBAST tool for assessing risk of bias in prediction model studies.Results:A total of 14 articles were included. Age, duration of diabetes, glycated hemoglobin, proteinuria, blood pressure, and serum creatinine levels were the main predictive factors for diabetic retinopathy in T2DM; the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of the predictive models ranged from 0.683 to 0.984, with calibration conducted in 6 models; 4 studies used external validation, while the rest used internal validation. All studies demonstrated good applicability, but all presented bias risk.Conclusions:The risk prediction models for diabetic retinopathy in T2DM demonstrate good predictive performance. However, high bias risk due to methodological flaws (such as improper handling of missing data, inappropriate methods for variable selection, lack of blinding, etc.) indicates they cannot be directly applied to clinical practice. Future work should either conduct extensive validation on existing models or undertake large-scale, diverse prospective studies to develop predictive models with superior performance and user-friendly application.

Objective:To study the trends and ranges of blood pressure in extremely premature infants (EPIs) during the first 7 days after birth.Methods:From January 2016 to December 2020, EPIs born in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Their blood pressure were monitored using umbilical arterial catheters and no patients needed anti-hypotension treatment. The clinical data of the infants and their mothers, blood pressure data during the first 7 days after birth, clinical outcomes and complications were collected. The trends of blood pressure in untreated EPIs were analyzed and the blood pressure ranges of EPIs of different gestational ages (GA) were established.Results:A total of 145 cases of EPIs were included and their systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and mean blood pressure showed upward trends during 2~168 h after birth ( P<0.001). The diastolic pressure increased significantly within 24 h after birth ( P<0.05), systolic pressure and mean blood pressure increased significantly within 72 h after birth ( P<0.05). Blood pressure increased with age and GA. Conclusions:The blood pressure of EPIs will increase spontaneously during 7 days after birth. The ranges of blood pressure are measured for infants with different GA to provide clinical evidence for blood pressure management of EPIs during early postnatal period.