Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite advances in treatment, cancer relapse remains a significant challenge, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies. In this study, we engineered nanobody-based chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cells targeting cadherin 17 (CDH17) for the treatment of GI tumors. In addition, to enhance the efficacy of CAR-NK cells, we also incorporated CV1, a CD47-SIRPα axis inhibitor, to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of this combination. We found that CDH17-CAR-NK cells effectively eliminated GI cancers cells in a CDH17-dependent manner. CDH17-CAR-NK cells also exhibit potent in vivo anti-tumor effects in cancer cell-derived xenograft and patient-derived xenograft mouse models. Additionally, the anti-tumor activity of CDH17-CAR-NK cells is synergistically enhanced by CD47-signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα) axis inhibitor CV1, likely through augmented macrophages activation and an increase in M1-phenotype macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. Collectively, our findings suggest that CDH17-targeting CAR-NK cells are a promising strategy for GI cancers. The combination of CDH17-CAR-NK cells with CV1 emerges as a potential combinatorial approach to overcome the limitations of CAR-NK therapy. Further investigations are warranted to speed up the clinical translation of these findings.

ObjectiveTo improve the efficiency of drug delivery, a mannose vinyl stearate mannose ligand (Man ligand) with active liver-targeting properties was synthesized.MethodsNon-aqueous enzymatic synthesis was used to modify the structure of mannose. Glycyrrhetinic acid-tanshinone lipid nanoparticles (GT-LN) and liver-targeted glycyrrhetinic acid-tanshinone mannose-modified lipid nanoparticles (GT-MLN) were prepared. The physicochemical properties and release profiles of both formulations were evaluated, and their pharmacokinetic behavior and tissue distribution were investigated.ResultsThe average particle sizes of GT-LN and GT-MLN were 190.20 ± 1.35 and 204.83 ± 3.86 nm, respectively, with corresponding surface Zeta potentials of −28.0 ± 1.68 and −30.24 ± 2.10 mV. The drug release profile of GT-LN conformed to the Higuchi equation, whereas that of GT-MLN followed both the first-order kinetic and Ritger–Peppas equations. Both formulations significantly enhanced the gastrointestinal stability of the drug. In vivo studies in mice demonstrated that hepatic GA and TSN concentrations in both groups were significantly higher than those in the original drug suspension group (P = .01). Notably, the concentrations in the GT-MLN group were significantly higher compared to the GT-LN group (P = .01).ConclusionMan ligand was formed via the linkage of vinyl stearate with the hydroxyl group at C-6 in mannose. The Man ligand endowed these lipid nanoparticles with obvious active liver-targeting properties. Our results provide an efficient and stable route of drug delivery to the liver with improved drug availability.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is the endoscopic modality of choice for the treatment of biliary and pancreatic diseases. However, patients with cirrhosis, particularly those with decompensated cirrhosis, are believed to be at increased risk for complications associated with ERCP. There is a paucity of literature describing the outcomes of ERCP for patients with cirrhosis. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of ERCP for cirrhosis patients, especially adverse events, and evaluated its safety and efficacy. METHODS: We performed a multicenter, retrospective study of all patients at Beijing Friendship Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, Xijing Hospital affiliated to Air Force Military Medical University, Beijing Youan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, and the Fifth Medical Center of the People's Liberation Army General Hospital from June 2003 to August 2019. The adverse events of inpatient ERCP for patients with ( n  = 182) and without liver cirrhosis (controls; n  = 385) were compared. RESULTS: A total of 567 patients underwent ERCP between January 2003 and December 2019 were enrolled in this study. Compared to patients without cirrhosis, patients with cirrhosis were at higher risk for postoperative complications (odds ratio [OR], 4.172; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.232-7.031; P  < 0.001) such as postoperative pancreatitis (OR, 2.026; 95% CI, 1.002-4.378; P  = 0.001) and cholangitis (OR, 3.903; 95% CI, 1.001-10.038; P  = 0.036). The main indications for ERCP for patients with cirrhosis in this study included choledocholithiasis (101 cases; 55.5%), benign bile duct strictures (46 cases; 25.3%), and malignant bile duct strictures (28 cases; 15.4%). Among them, 23 patients (12.6%) underwent balloon dilation and 79 patients (43.4%) underwent sphincterotomy. Of the patients with cirrhosis, delayed bleeding occurred in ten patients (5.5%), postoperative pancreatitis occurred in 80 patients (44.0%), and postoperative cholangitis occurred in 25 patients (13.7%). An additional multivariate analysis showed that the total bilirubin (TBIL) level (OR, 4.58; 95% CI, 2.37-6.70) and Child-Pugh score of C (OR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.04-5.37) were risk factors for postoperative complications in patients with cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS Compared with the general population of patients undergoing ERCP, patients with cirrhosis were more prone to postoperative pancreatitis and cholangitis. TBIL levels and Child-Pugh scores were risk factors for postoperative complications in patients with cirrhosis.
Humans ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Risk Factors ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications* ; Pancreatitis/etiology* ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology* ; Cholangitis

Chronic constipation is a polysymptomatic heterogeneous disorder with the incidence rising in many countries, and becomes a common disease affecting the quality of life and financial burden. In China surgical guideline, the primary constipation is divided into 3 types: slow transit constipation, outlet obstructive constipation, mixed constipation. The Rome IIII( criteria is usually referred to diagnosis, considering with clinical features and patient complaints. Through detail interrogation, physical examination and various detections, the secondary causes should be excluded, and etiological treatment is worth to try. Surgery is generally recommended as the second-line therapy, and finally only few patients require operation. There are still several controversies over the choice of surgical procedures and the mode of anastomosis in patients with slow transit constipation. Common surgical procedures include total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis (TAC-IRA), subtotal colectomy with ileosigmoid anastomosis, ileorectal anastomosis or cecal-rectal anastomosis. Now laparoscopic operations have been widely applied to these patients, and have achieved good efficacy, and the application of robots is also under exploration. With the outlet obstructive constipation complicated pathogeny, the mechanisms currently involved include paradoxical puborectalis contraction, increased perineal descent, rectal intussusception, rectocele and rectal prolapse. In recent years, aiming at the above mechanisms, variety of surgical methods has been explored, including bilateral partial resection of puborectalis (PDPR) for paradoxical puborectalis contraction, rectal mucosa longitudinal plication plus sclerosing agent injection, procedure for prolapse and hemorrhoids (PPH), rectal mucosal resection and muscle plication procedure (Delorme), stapled transanal rectal resection (STARR) and laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVR) etc for rectal prolapse. However, there is still no long-term large sample study to prove the advantages and disadvantages of these operations, so operative procedure should be chosen according to the actual situation of the patient. With the integration of the pathogenesis and the diversification of the treatment methods, the constipation still needs the precise treatment combined with multidisciplinary support in the future.
Anastomosis, Surgical ; China ; Constipation ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Quality of Life ; Rectal Prolapse ; surgery ; Rectocele ; Rectum ; Treatment Outcome