It has been widely verified by various sorting methods that cancer stem cells (CSCs) exist in different types of tumor cells or tissues. However, due to lack of specific stem cell surface markers, CSCs are very difficult to be separated from some cancer cells, which becomes the key barrier of functional studies of CSCs. The sorting method by side population cells (SP) lays a solid foundation for in-depth and comprehensive study of CSCs. To identify the existence of SP in prostate cancer cell lines, we applied flow cytometry sorting by SP to cultures of prostate cancer cell lines (TSU, LnCap, and PC-3), and the cancer stem-like characteristics of SP were verified through experiments in vitro and in vivo. The proportion of SP in TSU cells was calculated to be 1.60%±0.40% [Formula: see text], and that in PC-3 and LnCap cells was calculated to be 0.80%±0.05% and 0.60%±0.20%, respectively. The colony formation assay demonstrated that the colony formation rate of SP to non-SP sorted from TSU via flow cytometry was 0.495±0.038 to 0.177±0.029 in 500 cells, 0.505±0.026 to 0.169±0.024 in 250 cells, and 0.088±0.016 to 0.043±0.012 in 125 cells respectively. In the in vivo experiments, tumors were observed in all the mice on the 10th day after injecting 50 000 cells subcutaneously in SP group, whereas when 5×10(6) cells were injected in non-SP group, tumors were developed in only 4 out of 8 mice until the 3rd week before the end of the experiment. Our results revealed that prostate cancer cells contain a small subset of cells, called SP, possessing much greater capacity of colony formation and tumorigenic potential than non-SP. These suggest that SP in prostate cancer cells may play a key role in the self-renewal and proliferation, and have the characteristics of cancer stem-like cells. Dissecting these features will provide a new understanding of the function of prostate CSCs in tumorigenicity and transformation.

It has been widely verified by various sorting methods that cancer stem cells (CSCs) exist in different types of tumor cells or tissues. However, due to lack of specific stem cell surface markers, CSCs are very difficult to be separated from some cancer cells, which becomes the key barrier of functional studies of CSCs. The sorting method by side population cells (SP) lays a solid foundation for in-depth and comprehensive study of CSCs. To identify the existence of SP in prostate cancer cell lines, we applied flow cytometry sorting by SP to cultures of prostate cancer cell lines (TSU, LnCap, and PC-3), and the cancer stem-like characteristics of SP were verified through experiments in vitro and in vivo. The proportion of SP in TSU cells was calculated to be 1.60%±0.40% [Formula: see text], and that in PC-3 and LnCap cells was calculated to be 0.80%±0.05% and 0.60%±0.20%, respectively. The colony formation assay demonstrated that the colony formation rate of SP to non-SP sorted from TSU via flow cytometry was 0.495±0.038 to 0.177±0.029 in 500 cells, 0.505±0.026 to 0.169±0.024 in 250 cells, and 0.088±0.016 to 0.043±0.012 in 125 cells respectively. In the in vivo experiments, tumors were observed in all the mice on the 10th day after injecting 50 000 cells subcutaneously in SP group, whereas when 5×10(6) cells were injected in non-SP group, tumors were developed in only 4 out of 8 mice until the 3rd week before the end of the experiment. Our results revealed that prostate cancer cells contain a small subset of cells, called SP, possessing much greater capacity of colony formation and tumorigenic potential than non-SP. These suggest that SP in prostate cancer cells may play a key role in the self-renewal and proliferation, and have the characteristics of cancer stem-like cells. Dissecting these features will provide a new understanding of the function of prostate CSCs in tumorigenicity and transformation.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; pathology ; Side-Population Cells ; pathology

Objective:To screen the serum exosomal microRNAs differentially expressed in early pancreatic cancer patients and evaluate the diagnostic value of exosomal hsa-let-7f-5p.Methods:From January 2019 to January 2020, 19 patients with early pancreatic cancer (early pancreatic cancer group) and 16 patients with chronic mass-forming pancreatitis (pancreatitis group) were selected from Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine who underwent surgery and were confirmed by pathology. Serum samples of the two groups of patients were collected. At the same time, serum samples of 19 healthy volunteers were selected as the normal control group. The exoEasy Maxi Kit was used to isolate serum exosomes. The structural characteristics of exosomes were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The particle size of exosomes was observd by nanoparticle tracking analysis. CD 63 and CD 81, the specific protein marker on the surface of exosomes, were identified by western blotting. The total RNA of exosomes was extracted by the miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Kit, and a small RNA library was constructed after quality inspection. With reference to the small RNA database, the differentially expressed exosomal microRNAs in early pancreatic cancer group, pancreatitis group and normal control group were filtered out. The miRNA candidates were validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and different expressions of them were analyzed. The role of target genes and metabolic pathways of candidate miRNAs in the occurrence and development of early pancreatic cancer were analyzed by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopeda of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment pathway. Results:The isolated serum exosomes can be seen to have cup-like vesicle with the double lipid layer by TEM. The main peak of the particle size of target exosomes was about 150 nm. The expression of exosome specific protein markers CD 63 and CD 81 was positive. Comparing the expression of miRNAs among early pancreatic cancer group, pancreatitis group and normal control group, the specific tumor marker exosomal hsa-let-7f-5p was screened out in this study, and its expression in early pancreatic cancer group was significantly higher than that in pancreatitis group and normal control group (both P values <0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (ROC) showed that the area under curve (AUC) of exosomal hsa-let-7f-5p to distinguish pancreatic cancer from pancreatitis was 0.843 (95% CI 0.640-1.000). The sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 81.82% respectively. The AUC for distinguishing pancreatic cancer from normal controls was 1.000 (95% CI 1.000-1.000), and both sensitivity and specificity were 100%. The diagnostic efficiency of exosomal hsa-let-7f-5p was equivalent to that of CA19-9 ( P>0.05). The GO analysis results showed that target genes of exosomal hsa-let-7f-5p were mainly involved in complement activation lectin pathway in biological processes, and the proteins expressed by target genes were mainly distributed in cilium, and molecules mostly functioned by combining with nitric-oxide synthase. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the target genes were closely related to MAPK signaling pathway. Conclusions:Serum exosomal hsa-let-7f-5p has the potential to be a diagnostic biomarker for early pancreatic cancer.

Parkinson's disease(PD)is a prevalent condition among the elderly, with its incidence increasing with age and significantly affecting the quality of life in this demographic.Given the unique characteristics of older adults, such as comorbidities, polypharmacy, and reduced sensitivity to treatment regimens, it is essential to not only focus on the efficacy of medications used in PD treatment but also to carefully evaluate the associated drug risks.This article examines a drug risk management approach for treating elderly patients with PD, emphasizing the importance of gathering comprehensive drug information, identifying potential risks associated with drug selection, procurement, storage, prescription, and dispensing, and addressing specific considerations pertinent to the elderly population.Furthermore, the article proposes management strategies aimed at standardizing risk management in the treatment of elderly patients with PD, enhancing clinical pharmacy services in this area, and promoting rational drug use among this vulnerable group.

Activating humoral and cellular immunity in lymph nodes (LNs) of nanoparticle-based vaccines is critical to controlling tumors. However, how the physical properties of nanovaccine carriers orchestrate antigen capture, lymphatic delivery, antigen presentation and immune response in LNs is largely unclear. Here, we manufactured gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with the same size but different shapes (cages, rods, and stars), and loaded tumor antigen as nanovaccines to explore their disparate characters on above four areas. Results revealed that star-shaped AuNPs captured and retained more repetitive antigen epitopes. On lymphatic delivery, both rods and star-shaped nanovaccines mainly drain into the LN follicles region while cage-shaped showed stronger paracortex retention. A surprising finding is that the star-shaped nanovaccines elicited potent humoral immunity, which is mediated by CD4⁺ T helper cell and follicle B cell cooperation significantly preventing tumor growth in the prophylactic study. Interestingly, cage-shaped nanovaccines preferentially presented peptide-MHC I complexes to evoke robust CD8⁺ T cell immunity and showed the strongest therapeutic efficacy when combined with the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor in established tumor study. These results highlight the importance of nanoparticle shape on antigen delivery and presentation for immune response in LNs, and our findings support the notion that different design strategies are required for prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines.

Objective To investigate the use of hepatoprotective drugs in China in recent years, and to put forward related suggestions. Methods The outpatient prescription data of hepatoprotective drugs were collected from 85 hospitals in 6 cities of China from 2015 to 2019, and a real-world data analysis was performed to analyze the payment method, issuing department, drug category, and use of hepatoprotective drugs. Results A total of 1 113 575 prescriptions were extracted, involving 38 hepatoprotective drugs such as compound glycyrrhizin, polyene phosphatidylcholine, and bicyclol. Hepatoprotective drugs were mainly in tertiary hospitals, and the highest number of prescriptions containing hepatoprotective drugs were observed in department of infectious diseases, department of gastroenterology, and department of tuberculosis. Anti-inflammatory hepatoprotective drugs accounted for the highest proportion of all prescriptions, mainly compound glycyrrhizin, polyene phosphatidylcholine, and bicyclol. Of all prescriptions, 253 429 (22.76%) had the combination of multiple hepatoprotective drugs, with the highest number of 6 drugs, among which polyene phosphatidylcholine combined with bicyclol accounted for the highest proportion. Conclusion There are large quantities of hepatoprotective drugs used by outpatients in China. At present, the hepatoprotective drugs are clinically applied rationally, but there are still some problems to be solved, such as the combination of drugs.

Ureterosciatic hernia is a rare type of pelvic floor herniation with no typical symptoms. The resulting ureteral obstruction may lead to hydronephrosis and complications such as urinary tract infection and urosepsis.Fewer than 40 ureterosciatic hernia cases have been reported all over the world. Active surveillance, manual reduction, ureteral stenting and surgical repair are common treatment options. Among them, the safety and effectiveness of laparoscopic herniorrhaphy have been recognized. This article review the advances in the diagnosis and treatment of ureterosciatic hernia.

OBJECTIVE To know about the perception and current status of drug risk management among pharmacists in Chinese medical institutions， providing insights and recommendations for enhancing the drug risk management system in medical institutions. METHODS A questionnaire survey was conducted across 28 provinces， cities， and autonomous regions； stratified radom sampling was employed to study the population of medical workers and pharmaceutical professionals in medical institutions nationwide. The survey included information on the survey population， the current status of drug risk management implementation in medical institutions， the cognition， definition and process of drug risk management related concepts， and the content and mode of drug risk management work in medical institutions. Finally， suggestions were collected from various medical institutions on the system construction of drug risk management. Descriptive statistical analysis was adopted to summarize the obtained data. RESULTS A total of 446 questionnaires were collected in this survey， including 420 valid questionnaires and 26 invalid questionnaires. The questionnaire collection rate was 100%，and the effective rate was 94.17%. 51.19% of the respondents No.2020YFC2009001）。 based their understanding of drug risk management on Management Measures for Adverse Drug Reaction Reports and Monitoring， while 87.38% recognized the need for drug risk management throughout the drug use process. 63.33% of the participants stated that their medical institutions had dedicated positions related to drug risk management， with the highest proportion （72.17%） was in third-grade class A medical institutions. 66.43% reported implementing risk management across all drug use stages. Suggestions for the development of drug risk management systems in medical institutions by the research participants focused on enhancing guiding documents， clarifying concepts， establishing information-sharing mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS The overall awareness of drug risk management in China’s medical institutions is high， with practices in place across various stages in multiple forms. However， there remains a need to strengthen institutional documents， management regulations， system development， and information-sharing mechanisms to improve collaborative governance， improve drug management levels， and ensure patient safety.

ObjectiveBased on the new method of animal model evaluation， this paper summarized and analyzed the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） and Western medicine syndromes in existing autism spectrum disorder（ASD） animal models， and put forward suggestions for improvement. MethodRelevant literature on ASD animal models in China National Knowledge Infrastructure（CNKI） and PubMed were searched. According to the diagnostic standards of traditional Chinese and western medicine， core symptoms and accompanying symptoms were assigned values， and the clinical consistency of the models was comprehensively evaluated. ResultMost ASD model experimental animals were rodents， and the modeling methods included genetic and non-genetic. Domestic research focused on biochemical induction， while foreign research used genetic models more commonly. Among all models， valproic acid induction had the highest clinical consistency， followed by the neuroligin 4（NLGN4） and contactin associated protein like 2（CNTNAP2） gene knockout models. Most modeling methods could meet the characteristics of surface validity and structural validity， but did not clearly distinguish TCM syndromes. Currently， there is no model that has a high degree of clinical agreement between TCM and western medicine at the same time. ConclusionThe existing ASD animal models are mostly constructed under the guidance of western medicine， which lacks the characteristics of TCM syndromes. And the selection of evaluation indicators of western medicine is relatively single， without specifying the types of TCM syndromes. It is recommended to apply TCM intervention factors during the process of model preparation， to improve the evaluation indicators of traditional Chinese and western medicine， and to emphasize the study of on non-human primates， so as to lay a solid foundation for future experiments.

OBJECTIVE According to the rapid Health Technology Assessment （HTA） for postmenopausal osteoporosis （PMOP），To evaluate the efficacy ，safety and economy of calcitonin in the treatment of PMOP ，and provide evidence -based medical evidence for clinical drug decision . METHODS Retrieved from the Cochrane Library ，PubMed，Embase，CNKI，Wanfang database，CBM and HTA official website ，systematic review/meta -analysis，pharmacoeconomics research and HTA reports about calcitonin in the treatment of PMOP were retrieved from the inception to Sept . 30th，2022. Two researchers independently carried out screening ，data extraction and quality evaluation ，and analyzed the data results descriptively . RESULTS A total of 18 studies were included ，including 12 SR/meta-analysis and 6 economic studies ，and no HTA report was retrieved . In terms of effectiveness ， the results of the included studies were basically consistent ：calcitonin had a certain advantage in reducing the incidence of vertebral fracture compared with calcium and lasoxifene alone ，but did not show clinical advantage compared with other positive drugs . In terms of reducing the incidence of non -vertebral fractures ， calcitonin had some advantages ，compared with calcium al one and raloxifene ，but did not show clinical advantage compared with other positive drugs . In terms of improving bone mineral density（BMD），only 2 studies showed that calcitonin had a certain advantage over calcium but no advantage was observed compared with other positive drugs . In terms of improving non - vertebral BMD ，only 1 study showed that calcitonin combined with calcium had certain advantages compared with calcium alone in improving femoral BMD ，but there was no advantage compared with other positive drugs . In terms of lowering bone pain scores ， both included studies demonstrated short -term benefit of nasal calcitonin in reducing acute pain was found in patients with vertebral fractures，but not in patients with chronic pain . In terms of safety ，the three included studies showed that calcitonin caused mild adverse reactions compared with other positive drugs ，but there was a risk of malignant tumors after long -term use . In terms of economy，only 1 study showed the use of nasal calcitonin in the treatment of PMOP had more economic advantages than no treatment or etidronate . CONCLUSIONS Calcitonin has a certain effect on reducing acute pain in patients with PMOP vertebral fracture，and its safety needs further investigation . No obvious economic advantage has been found .