ObjectiveTo investigate the knockdown efficiency of the liver-specific knockdown recombinant adeno-associated virus （AAV） thyroid-binding globulin （TBG） （AAV-TBG-shOTUD6B） targeting the ovarian tumor domain 6B （OTUD6B） of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the liver of C57BL/6J mice and its regulatory effect on liver glucose metabolism. MethodsAn effective siOTUD6B sequence was designed and verified. The DNA sequences of non-specific interference RNA negative control （shNC） and shOTUD6B were inserted into the AAV vector backbone containing the promoter TBG to construct and purify AAV-TBG-shNC and AAV-TBG-shOTUD6B viruses. AAV-TBG-shNC and AAV-TBG-shOTUD6B were injected into mice via the tail vein to target the liver. After 8 weeks of high-fat diet （HFD） feeding， the levels of OTUDB protein and mRNA in the mice liver， as well as blood glucose levels， glucose tolerance， insulin sensitivity， and protein expression levels of phosphorylated protein kinase B （p-AKT） and phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase-3β （p-GSK-3β） were detected. ResultsCompared with the AAV-TBG-shNC group， the OTUD6B protein level in the liver of the AAV-TBG-shOTUD6B group decreased， the mRNA level of OTUD6B in the liver decreased （P<0.01）， the fasting blood glucose levels of the mice after 4 hours of fasting and 16 hours of fasting both decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， the protein level of p-GSK-3β in the liver decreased （P<0.05）， glucose tolerance was enhanced （P<0.05）， insulin sensitivity was enhanced （P<0.01）， and the protein level of p-AKT in the liver increased （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe construction of a recombinant adeno-associated virus for liver OTUD6B knockdown is successfully completed. OTUD6B plays an important role in regulating the homeostasis of liver glucose metabolism. Liver-specific knockdown of OTUD6B can improve the blood glucose levels of mice induced by HFD and enhance insulin sensitivity.

Objective To investigate the effects of Aurora kinase A(AURKA)on the tumor microenvironment of colorectal cancer(CRC)and to predict the active compounds in Chinese herbs that can target AURKA.Methods Based on the transcriptomic data and clinical information from 380 CRC tissues and 51 paracancerous tissues in The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database,the infiltration of different cells in the tumor tissues was analyzed using xCell and the binding of active compounds of Chinese herbs with AURKA was predicted through molecular docking.Results The expression of AURKA was significantly upregulated in CRC tissues compared with that in paracancerous tissues(P＜0.05),and CRC patients with high AURKA expression had shorter overall survival.Compared with the AURKA low-expression group,the abundance of macrophages,monocytes,and effector memory CD4+and CD8+T cells was significantly downregulated in the AURKA high-expression group(P＜0.05).In addition,the cytotoxicity of T cells was significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Further analysis revealed that AURKA expression was positively correlated with the abundance of myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)and the expression levels of their chemokines CXCL2 and CXCL5(P＜0.05).Genes that were differentially expressed between the AURKA high-and low-expression groups were mainly enriched in monocyte migration,chemokine-induced cellular responses,and other related processes.Chinese herbal compounds,including hesperidin,aristololactam A Ⅱ a,anacardic acid,coumestrol,and 17β-estradiol,all showed binding energies to AURKA lower than-1.2 kcal/mol,indicating a certain level of binding stability.Among these Chinese herbal compounds,17β-estradiol exhibited the best binding stability to AURKA-3UOL.Conclusion The high expression of AURKA in CRC tissues suggests a poor clinical prognosis.AURKA can promote the development of a suppressive immune microenvironment in CRC,and 17β-estradiol,an active compound from Chinese herbs,is a potential therapeutic agent targeting AURKA.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate programmed death-ligand 1 tumor proportion score in predicting the safety and efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 antibody-based therapy in treating patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a real-world setting. METHODS: This retrospective, multicenter, observational study enrolled adult patients who received PD-1/PD-L1 antibody-based therapy in China and met the following criteria: (1) had pathologically confirmed, unresectable stage III-IV NSCLC; (2) had a baseline PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS); and (3) had confirmed efficacy evaluation results after PD-1/PD-L1 treatment. Logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox regression were used to assess the progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) as appropriate. RESULTS: A total of 409 patients, 65.0% ( n = 266) with a positive PD-L1 TPS (≥1%) and 32.8% ( n = 134) with PD-L1 TPS ≥50%, were included in this study. Cox regression confirmed that patients with a PD-L1 TPS ≥1% had significantly improved PFS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.747, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.573-0.975, P = 0.032). A total of 160 (39.1%) patients experienced 206 irAEs, and 27 (6.6%) patients experienced 31 grade 3-5 irAEs. The organs most frequently associated with irAEs were the skin (52/409, 12.7%), thyroid (40/409, 9.8%), and lung (34/409, 8.3%). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that a PD-L1 TPS ≥1% (odds ratio [OR] 1.713, 95% CI 1.054-2.784, P = 0.030) was an independent risk factor for irAEs. Other risk factors for irAEs included pretreatment absolute lymphocyte count >2.5 × 10 9 /L (OR 3.772, 95% CI 1.377-10.329, P = 0.010) and pretreatment absolute eosinophil count >0.2 × 10 9 /L (OR 2.006, 95% CI 1.219-3.302, P = 0.006). Moreover, patients who developed irAEs demonstrated improved PFS (13.7 months vs. 8.4 months, P <0.001) and OS (28.0 months vs. 18.0 months, P = 0.007) compared with patients without irAEs. CONCLUSIONS A positive PD-L1 TPS (≥1%) was associated with improved PFS and an increased risk of irAEs in a real-world setting. The onset of irAEs was associated with improved PFS and OS in patients with advanced NSCLC receiving PD-1/PD-L1-based therapy.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/metabolism* ; Male ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Middle Aged ; Lung Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Aged ; B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism* ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/metabolism* ; Adult ; Aged, 80 and over ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use*

Objective To evaluate the utility of tuberculosis antibody(TB-Ab),adenosine deaminase(ADA),and carbohydrate antigen 125(CA125)alone or in combination for differentiating tuberculous from non-tuberculous pleural effusion.Methods This retrospective study included 75 patients initially diagnosed with tuberculous pleural effusion(observation group)and 75 patients hospitalized with non-tuberculous pleural effusion(control group)between January 2020 and June 2024.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was used to compare the diagnostic performance of TB-Ab,ADA,CA125 alone or in combination for diagnosing tuberculous pleurisy.Results The patients with tuberculous pleural effusion showed significantly higher TB-Ab positive rate than the patients with non-tuberculous pleural effusion(control group)(60.00％vs 9.33％,P＜0.001).Tuberculous pleural effusion was associated with significantly higher levels of ADA[(43.44±15.51)U/L]and CA125[(175.57±64.66)U/mL]compared to the control group[(27.81±3.42)U/L]and(122.35±41.22)U/mL,respectively(P＜0.001).Taking 34 U/L as cutoff value,ADA showed good diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.856,sensitivity of 98.67％,and specificity of 78.67％.Taking 180 U/mL as cutoff value,CA125 demonstrated high sensitivity(89.94％)but low specificity(52.33％)with an AUC of 0.739.CA125 alone was not so specific for detecting tuberculous pleurisy.TB-Ab had an AUC of 0.753 in detecting tuberculous pleurisy,with a sensitivity of 90.67％and specificity of 61.22％.These three markers in combination significantly improved diagnostic performance,with an AUC of 0.926,sensitivity of 90.67％,and specificity of 86.67％.Conclusions TB-Ab,ADA,and CA125 in combination performed better than these biomarkers alone in diagnosing tuberculous pleurisy.

Objective To evaluate the utility of tuberculosis antibody(TB-Ab),adenosine deaminase(ADA),and carbohydrate antigen 125(CA125)alone or in combination for differentiating tuberculous from non-tuberculous pleural effusion.Methods This retrospective study included 75 patients initially diagnosed with tuberculous pleural effusion(observation group)and 75 patients hospitalized with non-tuberculous pleural effusion(control group)between January 2020 and June 2024.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was used to compare the diagnostic performance of TB-Ab,ADA,CA125 alone or in combination for diagnosing tuberculous pleurisy.Results The patients with tuberculous pleural effusion showed significantly higher TB-Ab positive rate than the patients with non-tuberculous pleural effusion(control group)(60.00％vs 9.33％,P＜0.001).Tuberculous pleural effusion was associated with significantly higher levels of ADA[(43.44±15.51)U/L]and CA125[(175.57±64.66)U/mL]compared to the control group[(27.81±3.42)U/L]and(122.35±41.22)U/mL,respectively(P＜0.001).Taking 34 U/L as cutoff value,ADA showed good diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.856,sensitivity of 98.67％,and specificity of 78.67％.Taking 180 U/mL as cutoff value,CA125 demonstrated high sensitivity(89.94％)but low specificity(52.33％)with an AUC of 0.739.CA125 alone was not so specific for detecting tuberculous pleurisy.TB-Ab had an AUC of 0.753 in detecting tuberculous pleurisy,with a sensitivity of 90.67％and specificity of 61.22％.These three markers in combination significantly improved diagnostic performance,with an AUC of 0.926,sensitivity of 90.67％,and specificity of 86.67％.Conclusions TB-Ab,ADA,and CA125 in combination performed better than these biomarkers alone in diagnosing tuberculous pleurisy.

Objective To detect the expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1)and nu-clear factor(NF)-κB in hepatic tissues of the patients with chronic hepatitis B,and to analyze their correlation with the hepatic inflammatory activity and fibrosis degree.Methods The liver biopsy specimens from 66 pa-tients with hepatitis B and 10 non-hepatopathic controls were selected,and immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization were used to detect ICAM-1 and NF-κB expression levels in different liver tissues.Results The positive rate of ICAM-1 and NF-κB expression in liver tissues of the patients with chronic hepatitis B was higher than that in normal liver tissues,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The expres-sion of ICAM-1 and NF-κB in the patients with hepatitis B was positively correlated with the inflammatory ac-tivity and fibrosis degree(r=0.493,0.496,P＜0.01;r=0.580,0.519,P＜0.01).Conclusion ICAM-1 and NF-κB in the patients with chronic hepatitis B are highly expressed,which is useful in judging the hepatic in-flammatory activity and fibrosis degree.

Objective To evaluate the noise hazard level of a coal mining enterprise, and identify high-risk operation types and people, and to provide a basis for preventing and controlling the health damage caused by noise. Methods A large coal mining enterprise in Shaanxi Province was selected as the research object. The noise monitoring data of the coal mine over the years was used to calculate the noise exposure matrix of each post in the enterprise, and the classification of occupational hazards at workplaces (GBZ/T 229.4-2012) was used to assess the occupational health risk levels. Results Among the 22 noise-exposed positions in the enterprise, the 8-hour working day equivalent sound level in positions of shearer driver, horseshoe driver, crusher driver, shuttle driver, relaxation screen driver, and grading screen driver were all higher than the occupational exposure limit of noise. In 2021, the noise exposure levels of shearer drivers, crusher drivers, and coal-selecting workers were all higher than 90 dB (A), and the occupational hazard level was moderate hazard level. In addition, the noise exposure levels of most other jobs also exceeded the occupational exposure limit. Conclusion The noise hazards in the coal mine industry are mainly concentrated in the posts of the coal mining system, tunneling system, and screening workshop. Among them, the shearer driver, the crusher driver, and the coal preparation workers have higher noise exposure levels. It is recommended to take corresponding noise reduction measures and strengthen the protection level to reduce the noise exposure risk of workers.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Ganjie Bingmei Tablet （甘桔冰梅片， GBT） in treating acute pharyngitis with wind-heat invading the lung syndrome. MethodsUsing multi-center， rando-mized， double-blind， double-dummy， positive and parallel controlled clinical trial design， 144 acute pharyngitis patients with wind-heat invading the lung syndrome from October 8th， 2022 to March 31st， 2023 were collected and randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group， with 72 cases in each group. The treatment group was treated by GBT （0.4 g each time， 4 times a day） combined with Ganjie Qingyan Granules （甘桔清咽颗粒， GQG） placebo （10 g each time， 3 times a day）， while the control group was treated by GQG （10 g each time， 3 times a day） combined with GBT placebo （0.4 g each time， 4 times a day）， both for 5 days. The clinical efficacy of the two groups was observed， and the disappearance rate of pharyngalgia and the efficacy regarding TCM syndromes were compared between groups after treatment. The visual analog scale （VAS） score before and after treatment was assessed， and the safety was evaluated. ResultsThe disappearance rate of pharyngalgia in the treatment group was 98.61%（71/72）， significantly higher than 80.56%（58/72） in the control group （P＜0.01）. The VAS scores in both groups significantly decreased after treatment （P＜0.05）， and lower score was found in the treatment group than the control group （P＜0.05）. The total effective rate regarding TCM syndromes was 100% in both groups， but the curative rate was significantly higher in the treatment group（73.61%， 53/72） than the control group （62.50%， 45/72， P＜0.05）. There were no obvious adverse reactions in the both groups. ConclusionGBT is effective and safe in treating acute pharyngitis with wind-heat affecting the lung syndrome.

Objectives:To investigate the effect of the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor associated protein (LDLR) on the vascular abnormalities in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its mechanisms.Methods:Based on the information of Oncomine Cancer GeneChip database, we analyzed the correlation between the expression level of LDLR and the expression level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CD31 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. Lentiviral transfection of short hairpin RNA target genes was used to construct LDLR-knockdown MHCC-97H and HLE hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The differential genes and their expression level changes in LDLR-knockdown hepatocellular carcinoma cells were detected by transcriptome sequencing, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and protein immunoblotting. The gene-related signaling pathways that involve LDLR were clarified by enrichment analysis. The effect of LDLR on CEA was assessed by the detection of CEA content in conditioned medium of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Angiogenesis assay was used to detect the effect of LDLR on the angiogenic capacity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, as well as the role of CEA in the regulation of angiogenesis by LDLR. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression levels of LDLR in 176 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and CEA and CD31 in 146 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and analyze the correlations between the expression levels of LDLR, CEA, and CD31 in the tissues, serum CEA, and alanine transaminase (ALT).Results:Oncomine database analysis showed that the expressions of LDLR and CEA in the tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with portal vein metastasis were negatively correlated ( r=-0.64, P=0.001), whereas the expressions of CEA and CD31 in these tissues were positively correlated ( r=0.46, P=0.010). The transcriptome sequencing results showed that there were a total of 1 032 differentially expressed genes in the LDLR-knockdown group and the control group of MHCC-97H cells, of which 517 genes were up-regulated and 515 genes were down-regulated. The transcript expression level of CEACAM5 was significantly up-regulated in the cells of the LDLR-knockdown group. The Gene Ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis showed that the differential genes were most obviously enriched in the angiogenesis function. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway enrichment analysis showed that the relevant pathways involved mainly included the cellular adhesion patch, the extracellular matrix receptor interactions, and the interactions with the extracellular matrix receptors. The CEA content in the conditioned medium of the LDLR-knockdown group was 43.75±8.43, which was higher than that of the control group (1.15±0.14, P＜0.001). The results of angiogenesis experiments showed that at 5 h, the number of main junctions, the number of main segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by HUVEC cells cultured with the conditioned medium of MHCC-97H cells in the LDLR-knockdown group were 295.3±26.4, 552.5±63.8, and 2 239 781.0±13 8211.9 square pixels, which were higher than those of the control group (113.3±23.5, 194.8±36.5, and 660 621.0±280 328.3 square pixels, respectively, all P＜0.01).The number of vascular major junctions, the number of major segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by HUVEC cells cultured in conditioned medium with HLE cells in the LDLR-knockdown group were 245.3±42.4, 257.5±20.4, and 2 535 754.5±249 094.2 square pixels, respectively, which were all higher than those of the control group (113.3±23.5, 114.3±12.2, and 1 565 456.5±219 259.7 square pixels, respectively, all P＜0.01). In the conditioned medium for the control group of MHCC-97H cells,the number of main junctions, the number of main segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by the addition of CEA to cultured HUVEC cells were 178.9±12.0, 286.9±12.3, and 1 966 990.0±126 249.5 spixels, which were higher than those in the control group (119.7±22.1, 202.7±33.7, and 1 421 191.0±189 837.8 square pixels, respectively). The expression of LDLR in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues was not correlated with the expression of CEA, but was negatively correlated with the expression of CD31 ( r=-0.167, P=0.044), the level of serum CEA ( r=-0.061, P=0.032), and the level of serum ALT (r=-0.147, P=0.05). The expression of CEA in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues was positively correlated with the expression of CD31 ( r=0.192, P=0.020). The level of serum CEA was positively correlated with the level of serum ALT ( r=0.164, P=0.029). Conclusion:Knocking down LDLR can promote vascular abnormalities in HCC by releasing CEA.

Objectives:To investigate the effect of the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor associated protein (LDLR) on the vascular abnormalities in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its mechanisms.Methods:Based on the information of Oncomine Cancer GeneChip database, we analyzed the correlation between the expression level of LDLR and the expression level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CD31 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. Lentiviral transfection of short hairpin RNA target genes was used to construct LDLR-knockdown MHCC-97H and HLE hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The differential genes and their expression level changes in LDLR-knockdown hepatocellular carcinoma cells were detected by transcriptome sequencing, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and protein immunoblotting. The gene-related signaling pathways that involve LDLR were clarified by enrichment analysis. The effect of LDLR on CEA was assessed by the detection of CEA content in conditioned medium of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Angiogenesis assay was used to detect the effect of LDLR on the angiogenic capacity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, as well as the role of CEA in the regulation of angiogenesis by LDLR. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression levels of LDLR in 176 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and CEA and CD31 in 146 hepatocellular carcinoma tissues, and analyze the correlations between the expression levels of LDLR, CEA, and CD31 in the tissues, serum CEA, and alanine transaminase (ALT).Results:Oncomine database analysis showed that the expressions of LDLR and CEA in the tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with portal vein metastasis were negatively correlated ( r=-0.64, P=0.001), whereas the expressions of CEA and CD31 in these tissues were positively correlated ( r=0.46, P=0.010). The transcriptome sequencing results showed that there were a total of 1 032 differentially expressed genes in the LDLR-knockdown group and the control group of MHCC-97H cells, of which 517 genes were up-regulated and 515 genes were down-regulated. The transcript expression level of CEACAM5 was significantly up-regulated in the cells of the LDLR-knockdown group. The Gene Ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis showed that the differential genes were most obviously enriched in the angiogenesis function. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway enrichment analysis showed that the relevant pathways involved mainly included the cellular adhesion patch, the extracellular matrix receptor interactions, and the interactions with the extracellular matrix receptors. The CEA content in the conditioned medium of the LDLR-knockdown group was 43.75±8.43, which was higher than that of the control group (1.15±0.14, P＜0.001). The results of angiogenesis experiments showed that at 5 h, the number of main junctions, the number of main segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by HUVEC cells cultured with the conditioned medium of MHCC-97H cells in the LDLR-knockdown group were 295.3±26.4, 552.5±63.8, and 2 239 781.0±13 8211.9 square pixels, which were higher than those of the control group (113.3±23.5, 194.8±36.5, and 660 621.0±280 328.3 square pixels, respectively, all P＜0.01).The number of vascular major junctions, the number of major segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by HUVEC cells cultured in conditioned medium with HLE cells in the LDLR-knockdown group were 245.3±42.4, 257.5±20.4, and 2 535 754.5±249 094.2 square pixels, respectively, which were all higher than those of the control group (113.3±23.5, 114.3±12.2, and 1 565 456.5±219 259.7 square pixels, respectively, all P＜0.01). In the conditioned medium for the control group of MHCC-97H cells,the number of main junctions, the number of main segments, and the total area of the lattice formed by the addition of CEA to cultured HUVEC cells were 178.9±12.0, 286.9±12.3, and 1 966 990.0±126 249.5 spixels, which were higher than those in the control group (119.7±22.1, 202.7±33.7, and 1 421 191.0±189 837.8 square pixels, respectively). The expression of LDLR in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues was not correlated with the expression of CEA, but was negatively correlated with the expression of CD31 ( r=-0.167, P=0.044), the level of serum CEA ( r=-0.061, P=0.032), and the level of serum ALT (r=-0.147, P=0.05). The expression of CEA in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues was positively correlated with the expression of CD31 ( r=0.192, P=0.020). The level of serum CEA was positively correlated with the level of serum ALT ( r=0.164, P=0.029). Conclusion:Knocking down LDLR can promote vascular abnormalities in HCC by releasing CEA.