Periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are chronic inflammatory diseases that share similar inflammatory mechanisms and characteristics. Programmed cell death (PCD) has recently garnered attention for its crucial role in regulating inflammation and maintaining tissue homeostasis, as well as for its potential to link these two diseases. The various forms of PCD--including apoptosis, pyroptosis, and necroptosis--are closely controlled by signaling pathways such as Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) /NF-κB and MAPK. These pathways determine cell fate and influence inflammatory responses, tissue destruction, and repair, and they both play important roles in the pathogenesis of RA and periodontitis. In periodontitis, periodontal pathogens such as Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and its virulence factors, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), induce pyroptosis and necroptosis in immune cells such as macrophages via the TLR4/NF-κB pathway, which leads to an excessive release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Concurrently, these pathogens inhibit the normal apoptotic process of immune cells, such as neutrophils, prolonging their survival, exacerbating immune imbalance, and aggravating periodontal tissue destruction. Similarly, in RA synovial tissue, fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) acquire apoptosis resistance through signaling pathways such as the Bcl-2 family, JAK/STAT, and NF-κB, allowing for the consistent proliferation and secretion of matrix metalloproteinases and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Meanwhile, the continuous activation of pyroptotic pathways in neutrophils and macrophages results in the sustained release of IL-1β, further exacerbating synovial inflammation and bone destruction. Notably, dysregulated PCD fosters inter-organ crosstalk through shared inflammatory mediators and metabolic networks. Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and cytokines that originate from periodontal lesions can spread systemically, influencing cell death processes in synovial and immune cells, thereby aggravating joint inflammation and bone erosion. By contrast, systemic inflammation in RA can upregulate osteoclastic activity or interfere with the normal apoptosis of periodontal cells via TNF-α and IL-6, ultimately intensifying periodontal immune imbalance. This review highlights the pivotal bridging role of PCD in the pathogenesis of both periodontitis and RA, providing a reference for therapeutic strategies that target cell death pathways to manage and potentially mitigate these diseases.

Objective To describe and analyze the epidemiological characteristics of scrub typhus in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province from 2006 to 2024 and explore the long-term incidence trend and distribution of high-risk areas, and to formulate targeted prevention and control strategies. Methods The scrub typhus case report data of Huai'an from 2006 to 2024 in the Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Information System were extracted for descriptive analysis. Results A total of 898 cases of scrub typhus were reported in Huai'an, with an average annual incidence rate of 0.96 per 100 000 from 2006 to 2024. There was a turning point in the incidence trend of scrub typhus in 2011. From 2006 to 2011, the annual percentage change (APC) was 47.09% (95% CI: 7.53 - 859.39), and the upward trend was statistically significant (P < 0.05). From 2012 to 2024, the APC was -2.12% (95% CI: -29.09 - 3.75), and the downward trend was not statistically significant. October and November were the high-incidence months, and the total concentration from 2006 to 2024 was 0.93, indicating that scrub typhus had strict seasonality. The circular distribution method estimated that the peak period of the epidemic was from October 11th to November 25th, and the peak day of incidence was November 3rd. Jinhu County was a high-incidence area. The ratio of male to female cases was 1.03. The age group with the highest reported incidence was 40 to < 80 years old. The occupation with the highest proportion was farmers, accounting for 78.03%. Conclusion From 2006 to 2024, scrub typhus in Huai'an shows a peak every 3 - 4 years. Middle-aged and elderly farmers are the key population at risk, and Jinhu County is a key area. In the future, targeted health education should be carried out to effectively control the prevalence of scrub typhus.

Objective To analyze the characteristics of methadone-related poisoning cases and provide a reference for forensic identification.Methods A total of 71 cases of methadone-related poisoning re-ported from 1998 to 2023 in China and 26 cases of methadone-related deaths reported from 2013 to 2018 in Italy were retrieved from databases including PubMed,Wanfang and CNKI.The general infor-mation,forensic pathological and toxicological characteristics were analyzed.Results Among the 71 methadone-related poisoning cases in China,there were 54 cases(76.06%)of poisoning without death and 17 cases(23.94%)of death from poisoning.There were 54 male cases(76.06%),and 51 cases(71.83%)aged 19 to 39 years old.There were 35 cases(49.30%)of poisoning caused by methadone alone,and 32 cases(45.07%)were poisoning caused by methadone combined with other substances or drugs including heroin and benzodiazepines.Most of the poisoned showed coma,respiratory depres-sion and miosis.Signs of asphyxia were often found by autopsy.The mass concentration of methadone detected in the blood of 6 deceased ranged from 0.112 to 3.000 mg/L.Among the 26 methadone-related deaths in Italy,22 cases were male(84.62%).There were 6 cases(23.08%)caused by methadone alone,and 20 cases(76.92%)died from methadone combined with other substances or drugs.The mass concentration of methadone in blood ranged from 0.181 to 4.059 mg/L.Conclusion The propor-tions of poisoning cases caused by methadone alone and methadone combined with other substances or drugs are comparable in China.The majority of deceased caused by methadone poisoning shows typi-cal triad of coma,respiratory depression and miosis,which helps forensic experts determine the cause of death related to methadone.Additionally,it is necessary to increase the routine testing of the con-centration of methadone and its combined substances or drugs in deceased,and collect data for the in-terpretation of the results of related cases.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(CJD)is a rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by prions,with certain infectivity and iatrogenic transmission risks.With the rapid progress and application of new dia-gnostic biomarkers and detection methods,as well as the construction and improvement of surveillance and reporting systems,the detection of CJD in patients domestically and internationally has shown an increasing trend year by year.Due to its long incubation period and heterogeneity of early symptoms,early identification and diagnosis of the disease is difficult,increasing the risk of transmission within medical institutions.Currently,there is a lack of con-sensus on the infection prevention and control of CJD.In order to timely identify and diagnose CJD as well as effec-tively block its transmission in medical institutions,this consensus summarizes 15 clinical concerns and formulates 24 specific recommendations based on the latest domestic and international research findings and clinical evidence,as well as combines with clinical practice,aiming to standardize healthcare-associated infection prevention and control measures for CJD and reduce its transmission risk in medical institutions.

Objective From the perspective of China's health service system,to evaluate the economy of the first-line treatment of advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer with serplulimab combined with chemotherapy.Methods A three-state partitioned survival model was constructed,and the cost-effectiveness method was used to evaluate the economy of serplulimab combined chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer.The clinical data were collected from the ASTRUM-004 trial.The quality adjusted life years(QALYs)were used as the output index and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio(ICER)was calculated.The stability of the model was verified by sensitivity analysis,and the situation analysis was carried out for the decrease of the price of serplulimab.Results The results of basic analysis showed that the cost of the combination group increased by 1 951 442 yuan compared with the placebo combination chemotherapy group,and the ICER was 2 498 816.54 yuan/QALY.Single factor sensitivity analysis showed that PFS state utility value,body weight,and serplulimab price had a greater impact on ICER.Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that the basic analysis results are robust.The results of the scenario analysis showed that when the price of serplulimab was reduced by 20％and 80％,it was not economical.Conclusions From the perspective of the China's health service system,currently,the combination therapy of serplulimab with chemotherapy is not cost-effective in the first-line treatment of advanced squamous cell lung cancer compared to placebo combination therapy.

Objective:To evaluate the long-term oncological outcomes of partial nephrectomy(PN)in patients with renal cell carcinoma(RCC)who were clinically staged as clinical T1(cT1)preoperatively but upstaged to pathological T3a(pT3a)after surgery.Methods:A total of 427 RCC patients postopera-tively diagnosed as pT3aN0M0 at Peking University Third Hospital from February 2013 to December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed.Among them,33 cT1 patients upstaged to pT3a RCC received PN(PN group),while 394 non-upstaged pT3a RCC patients underwent radical nephrectomy(RN,RN group).Propensity score matching was performed at a 1∶1 ratio based on baseline characteristics.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess overall survival(OS),cancer-specific survival(CSS),and disease-free survival(DFS),with Log-rank tests and Cox regression models for multivariate analysis.Results:Before matching,the PN group(n=33)had significantly higher rates of perirenal fat invasion(PFI,45.5％vs.15.2％)and segmental renal vein involvement(42.4％vs.20.8％),but lower rates of renal sinus invasion(RSI,21.2％vs.73.6％)and renal vein tumor thrombus(0％vs.15.2％)compared with the RN group(n=394,all P＜0.05).After matching,baseline characteristics were comparable between the PN group(n=33)and RN group(n=33).No significant differences were observed in operative time,blood loss,mean hospital stay,complication rate,positive margin rate,or conversion to open surgery between the two groups(P＞0.05).However,the PN group showed significantly higher estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR)postoperatively[76.9(55.4,87.3)mL/(min·1.73 m2)vs.61.7(56.8,73.5)mL/(min·1.73 m2),P＜0.05],indicating better renal function preserva-tion.No significant differences were found in OS,CSS,or DFS between the groups(P＞0.05).Multi-variate ana-lysis identified renal vein invasion(RVI),higher Fuhrman grades(Ⅲ-Ⅳ),and sarcoma-toid differentiation as independent risk factors for DFS and CSS in the pT3a RCC patients(P＜0.05).Conclusion:For cT1 RCC patients upstaged to pT3a,PN preserves renal function more effectively while achieving com-parable oncological outcomes to RN.RVI,higher Fuhrmann grade,and sarcomatoid differentiation are independent risk factors for pT3N0M0 RCC patients.

Aim To investigate the effect of long-chain non-coding RNA(lncRNA)GS1-124K5.4 targeting regulation of PRDX6 on proliferation,migration and in-vasion of lung squamous carcinoma(LUSC)cells and the underlying mechanism.Methods The expression level of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 in lung cancer tissues and adjacent tissues of 60 patients with LUSC were de-termined by fluorescence in situ hybridization.The ex-pression level of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 in human nor-mal lung cells and LUSC cells were determined by qRT-PCR.Two kinds of LUSC cells(NCI-H 1703,SK-MES-1)with highest expression level of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 were selected for subsequent experi-ments.The distribution of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 in cells was studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization and prokaryotic separation.The effect of knockdown of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 on proliferation of NCI-H1703 and SK-MES-1 cells was studied by CCK-8 experiment and cell clone formation experiment;the effect of knockdown of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 on migration of NCI-H1703 and SK-MES-1 cells was studied by cell scratch experiment and Transwell cell migration experi-ment;and the effect of knockdown of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 on invasion of NCI-H1703 and SK-MES-1 cells was studied by Transwell invasion experiment.The protein to be bound by lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 was detected by RNA pull-down combined with mass spec-trometry and immune-precipitation.The effect of knockdown of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 targeting PRDX6 on proliferation,migration and invasion of NCI-H1703 and SK-MES-1 cells was studied.Results(1)The fluorescence intensity of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 in lung squamous cell carcinoma increased compared with that in adjacent tissues(P＜0.05),and the expression of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 was related with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage(P＜0.05).(2)The ex-pression level of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 in NCI-H1703,NCI-H520 and SK-MES-1 cells significantly increased(P＜0.05).(3)The result of fluorescence in situ hybridization experiment and nucleoplasm sepa-ration experiment showed that lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 was mainly distributed in cell nucleus.(4)The prolif-eration,migration and invasion ability of NCI-H1703 and SK-MES-1 cells with knockdown of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 significantly decreased(P＜0.05).(5)PRDX6 protein to be bound to LncRNA GS1-124K5.4 was determined by RNA pull-down combined with mass spectrometry and immunoprecipitation.(6)The prolif-eration,migration and invasion ability of NCI-H1703 and SK-MES-1 cells with overexpression of lncRNA GS1-124K5.4 significantly increased(P＜0.05);the proliferation,migration and invasion ability of NCI-H1703 and SK-MES-1 cells with knockdown of PRDX6 significantly decreased(P＜0.05);the proliferation,migration and invasion ability of NCI-H1703 and SK-MES-1 cells with overexpression of lncRNAGS1-124K5.4 and knockdown of PRDX6 showed no signifi-cant change(P＞0.05).Conclusions LncRNA GS1-124K5.4 is highly expressed in lung squamous cell carcinoma,and it may promote the proliferation,migration and invasion of lung squamous carcinoma cells by targeting the expression of PRDX6 protein.

Objective:To investigate the effect of the sizes of osteon-like concentric microgroove structures on the osteoclastic differentiation of macrophages on titanium surfaces, and to provide reference for the surface modification of implants.Methods:The silicon wafers sputtered with titanium were selected as the control group (smooth surface specimens) and four concentric groups (concentric circles with the maximum diameter of 200 μm, the minimum diameter of 20 μ m, the spacing of concentric circles of 10 or 30 μm, the width of microgrooves of 10 or 30 μm, and the depth of microgrooves of 5 or 10 μm) specimens (the total sample size in each group was 27). The width of microgrooves of C10-5 and C10-10 groups was 10 μm, the depth was 5 and 10 μm, and the width of microgrooves of C30-5 and C30-10 groups was 30 μ m, the depth was 5 and 10 μ m, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the material surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and contact-angle measurement. The proliferation, adhesion of macrophage-like cell line RAW264.7 and the formation of osteoclast actin-rings on the specimen surfaces were observed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), immunofluorescence staining and laser confocal microscopy. Tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) quantitative detection, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting were used to investigate the regulation of osteon-like concentric microgroove structures on the specimen surfaces on the osteoclastic differentiation of macrophages.Results:Macrophages aggregated and grew disorderly on the surface of the smooth group, and arranged in concentric circles along the microgroove structures on the surfaces of the concentric groups. After 5 days of culture, the cell proliferation of C30 groups (the A values of C30-5 group and C30-10 group were 1.335±0.018 and 1.340±0.033, respectively) was significantly higher than that of C10 groups (the A values of C10-5 group and C10-10 group were 0.967±0.015 and 1.182±0.020, respectively)(all P<0.05). The cell proliferation of the four concentric groups was significantly higher than that of the control group (the A value was 0.796±0.012), with statistical significance (all P<0.05). After osteoclastic induction for 5 days the osteoclasts induced in the C10-5 and C10-10 groups exhibited smaller actin rings and fewer numbers. The TRAP activity in each concentric group was significantly lower than that in the control group ( P<0.05). The expression levels of osteoclast differentiation-related genes TRAP (0.610±0.022) in the C10-10 group was lowest, and CtsK (0.489±0.136, 0.445±0.037) in the C10-5 and C10-10 groups were lower compared to the smooth group and other concentric groups, with statistical significance (all P<0.05), the expression levels of osteoclast differentiation-related proteins TRAP (0.648±0.041), MMP-9 (0.688±0.026) in the C10-10 group were lowest, and CtsK (0.491±0.016, 0.453±0.010) in the C10-10 and C30-10 groups were also lower compared to the smooth group and other concentric groups, with statistical significance (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The osteon-like concentric microgroove structures inhibit the osteoclastic differentiation of macrophage-like cell line RAW264.7, with the microgrooves 10 μm wide and 10 μm deep showing the most significant inhibitory effect on the osteoclastic differentiation.

The pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is complex. It is characterized by myofibroblast hyperplasia and deposition of collagen protein. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is expressed in lung fibroblasts and epithelial cells, but its functions in lung homeostasis and diseases remain elusive. Here, we characterize the critical role of IDO1 in PF patients and bleomycin (BLM)-induced PF mouse models. We find that IDO1 is significantly upregulated in the fibrotic lungs of patients and mice, showing a positive correlation with genes characteristic of fibrosis. Functionally, IDO1 knockout inhibits lung fibroblast proliferation, differentiation, mitochondrial biogenesis, and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Conversely, IDO1 overexpression and accumulation of kynurenine (Kyn) exacerbate progressive lung fibrosis. Mechanistically, IDO1-deletion activated profound mitochondrial fusion-enhanced potentially the capacity for fatty acid oxidation, along with activation of de novo glycolytic serine/glycine synthesis pathways and mitochondrial one-carbon metabolism. Wedelolactone (WEL), a small molecule IKK inhibitor, is found to strongly bind to IDO1 and effectively protect mice from PF in an IDO1-dependent manner. Collectively, this study characterizes a promotor role for IDO1 in PF and suggests a potential avenue of targeting IDO1 to treat lung diseases.

Cemental tear is a rare and indetectable condition unless obvious clinical signs present with the involvement of surrounding periodontal and periapical tissues. Due to its clinical manifestations similar to common dental issues, such as vertical root fracture, primary endodontic diseases, and periodontal diseases, as well as the low awareness of cemental tear for clinicians, misdiagnosis often occurs. The critical principle for cemental tear treatment is to remove torn fragments, and overlooking fragments leads to futile therapy, which could deteriorate the conditions of the affected teeth. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and subsequent appropriate interventions are vital for managing cemental tear. Novel diagnostic tools, including cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), microscopes, and enamel matrix derivatives, have improved early detection and management, enhancing tooth retention. The implementation of standardized diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols, combined with improved clinical awareness among dental professionals, serves to mitigate risks of diagnostic errors and suboptimal therapeutic interventions. This expert consensus reviewed the epidemiology, pathogenesis, potential predisposing factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cemental tear, aiming to provide a clinical guideline and facilitate clinicians to have a better understanding of cemental tear.
Humans ; Dental Cementum/injuries* ; Consensus ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Tooth Fractures/therapy*