Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterized by high programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and abundant infiltration of non-malignant lymphocytes, which renders patients potentially suitable candidates for immune checkpoint blockade therapies. Palate, lung, and nasal epithelium clone (PLUNC) inhibit the growth of NPC cells and enhance cellular apoptosis and differentiation. Currently, the relationship between PLUNC (as a tumor-suppressor) and PD-L1 in NPC is unclear. Methods: We collected clinical samples of NPC to verify the relationship between PLUNC and PD-L1. PLUNC plasmid was transfected into NPC cells, and the variation of PD-L1 was verified by western blot and immunofluorescence. In NPC cells, we verified the relationship of PD-L1, activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), and β-catenin by western blot and immunofluorescence. Later, we further verified that PLUNC regulates PD-L1 through β-catenin. Finally, the effect of PLUNC on β-catenin was verified by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). Results: We found that PLUNC expression was lower in NPC tissues than in paracancer tissues. PD-L1 expression was opposite to that of PLUNC. Western blot and immunofluorescence showed that β-catenin could upregulate ATF3 and PD-L1, while PLUNC could downregulate ATF3/PD-L1 by inhibiting the expression of β-catenin. PLUNC inhibits the entry of β-catenin into the nucleus. Co-IP experiments demonstrated that PLUNC inhibited the interaction of DEAD-box helicase 17 (DDX17) and β-catenin. Conclusions PLUNC downregulates the expression of PD-L1 by inhibiting the interaction of DDX17/β-catenin in NPC.

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterized by high programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and abundant infiltration of non-malignant lymphocytes, which renders patients potentially suitable candidates for immune checkpoint blockade therapies. Palate, lung, and nasal epithelium clone (PLUNC) inhibit the growth of NPC cells and enhance cellular apoptosis and differentiation. Currently, the relationship between PLUNC (as a tumor-suppressor) and PD-L1 in NPC is unclear. Methods: We collected clinical samples of NPC to verify the relationship between PLUNC and PD-L1. PLUNC plasmid was transfected into NPC cells, and the variation of PD-L1 was verified by western blot and immunofluorescence. In NPC cells, we verified the relationship of PD-L1, activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), and β-catenin by western blot and immunofluorescence. Later, we further verified that PLUNC regulates PD-L1 through β-catenin. Finally, the effect of PLUNC on β-catenin was verified by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). Results: We found that PLUNC expression was lower in NPC tissues than in paracancer tissues. PD-L1 expression was opposite to that of PLUNC. Western blot and immunofluorescence showed that β-catenin could upregulate ATF3 and PD-L1, while PLUNC could downregulate ATF3/PD-L1 by inhibiting the expression of β-catenin. PLUNC inhibits the entry of β-catenin into the nucleus. Co-IP experiments demonstrated that PLUNC inhibited the interaction of DEAD-box helicase 17 (DDX17) and β-catenin. Conclusions PLUNC downregulates the expression of PD-L1 by inhibiting the interaction of DDX17/β-catenin in NPC.

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterized by high programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and abundant infiltration of non-malignant lymphocytes, which renders patients potentially suitable candidates for immune checkpoint blockade therapies. Palate, lung, and nasal epithelium clone (PLUNC) inhibit the growth of NPC cells and enhance cellular apoptosis and differentiation. Currently, the relationship between PLUNC (as a tumor-suppressor) and PD-L1 in NPC is unclear. Methods: We collected clinical samples of NPC to verify the relationship between PLUNC and PD-L1. PLUNC plasmid was transfected into NPC cells, and the variation of PD-L1 was verified by western blot and immunofluorescence. In NPC cells, we verified the relationship of PD-L1, activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), and β-catenin by western blot and immunofluorescence. Later, we further verified that PLUNC regulates PD-L1 through β-catenin. Finally, the effect of PLUNC on β-catenin was verified by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). Results: We found that PLUNC expression was lower in NPC tissues than in paracancer tissues. PD-L1 expression was opposite to that of PLUNC. Western blot and immunofluorescence showed that β-catenin could upregulate ATF3 and PD-L1, while PLUNC could downregulate ATF3/PD-L1 by inhibiting the expression of β-catenin. PLUNC inhibits the entry of β-catenin into the nucleus. Co-IP experiments demonstrated that PLUNC inhibited the interaction of DEAD-box helicase 17 (DDX17) and β-catenin. Conclusions PLUNC downregulates the expression of PD-L1 by inhibiting the interaction of DDX17/β-catenin in NPC.

AIM: To assess the effectiveness of selective laser trabeculoplasty(SLT)in the treatment of primary open angle glaucoma(POAG).METHODS:Totally 24 patients(33 eyes)with POAG who had poor control of intraocular pressure(IOP)from June 2022 to December 2023 were included in this retrospective study, and all of them were treated with SLT. Furthermore, the IOP, mean deviation(MD), mean sensitivity(MS), and the thickness and vascular density(VD)of optic disc nerve layer were compared after treatment. RESULTS: There were significant reducion in IOP at 1, 3, 6, 12 mo after treatment(all P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in MD and MS before treatment and at 6 and 12 mo after treatment(all P>0.05), and there were no statistical significant differences in the thickness and VD of optic disc(all P>0.05).CONCLUSION: SLT can significantly reduce IOP in POAG patients in the short term, without damaging the visual field and optic disc nerves, while the effectiveness of SLT decreases over time.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the potential relationships of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) with periodontal clinical indicators and the expression of DNA receptor pathway cyclic guanosine phosphate-adenosine phosphate synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in gingival tissues and human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). METHODS: GCF and gingival tissue samples were collected from periodontally healthy individuals and patients diagnosed with periodontitis. Periodontal clinical indicators were recorded, including plaque index (PLT), bleeding index (BI), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL). The concentration of cfDNA in GCF was quantified, and the correlation between GCF and periodontal clinical indicators was analyzed. Immunofluorescence and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to assess the distribution of cGAS, STING, and p-STING in gingival tissues. Additionally, the mRNA expression levels of the key components of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway, namely, cGAS, STING, inhibitory of kappa-B kinase (IKK), nuclear factor kappa-B p65 (NF-κB p65), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), were measured. Furthermore, cfDNA extracted from GCF was employed to stimulate HGFs in the healthy control and periodontitis groups, and the mRNA expression levels of the key molecules of cGAS-STING signaling pathway were detected through Western blot and RT-qPCR. RESULTS: The concentration of cfDNA in GCF was found to be significantly elevated in the periodontitis group compared with the control group. Moreover, cfDNA concentration demonstrated a strong positive correlation with the periodontal clinical indicators. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed considerably increased percentage of fluorescence co-localization of cGAS, STING, and p-STING with the gingival fibroblast FSP-1 marker in the gingival tissues of the periodontitis group. The mRNA expression levels of cGAS, STING, IKK, NF-κB p65, IL-1β, IL-6,and TNF-α were significantly higher in the periodontitis group. In vitro stimulation of HGFs with GCF-derived cfDNA resulted in increased protein expression of cGAS and p-STING and considerably upregulated the mRNA expression levels of cGAS, STING, IKK, NF-κB p65, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the healthy and periodontitis groups compared with the blank group. Correlation analysis showed that the concentration of cfDNA at the sampling site was positively correlated with the mRNA expression levels of cGAS, STING, NF-κB p65, and IL-6 in gingival tissues. CONCLUSIONS cfDNA concentrations in the GCF of patients with periodontitis are considerably elevated, and are associated with the activation of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in HGFs. These findings suggest that cfDNA contributes to the progression of periodontitis.
Humans ; Gingival Crevicular Fluid/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; Gingiva/cytology* ; Nucleotidyltransferases/genetics* ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Cell-Free Nucleic Acids/analysis* ; Fibroblasts/metabolism* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Periodontitis/metabolism* ; Interleukin-1beta/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Adult ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism* ; Male ; Female

Bitter taste in the mouth is a prevalent clinical symptom that refers to a spontaneous bitterness in the mouth after excluding external factors such as diet,and belongs to the phantogeusia of dysgeusia.The etiology and mechanism of bitter taste in the mouth re-main unclear.Studies have shown that bitter taste in the mouth is mainly associated with multiple factors such as diseases,medications and nutrition.In addition,effective and reliable treatments have also not yet been developed.This paper reviews the latest research ad-vances in the etiology,mechanism and treatment of bitter taste in the mouth,with the aim of providing reference for the clinical man-agement of patients with mouth bitterness.

Objective:To identify the relationship between the CT arterial radiomics score and the treatment response to neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer.Methods:The clinical data of 243 pancreatic cancer patients who received surgical resection after neo-adjuvant therapy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University from March 2017 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Based on the tumor regression grade (TRG), the patients were divided into good response group (TRG 0-1, n=30) and non-good response group (TRG 2-3, n=213). The clinical, radiological and pathological features were compared between two groups. Fully-automated segmentation tool was used for segmenting the arterial CT scan of pancreatic tumor before and after treatment. Python package was applied to extract the radiomics features of tumors after segmentation and the extracted features were reduced and chosen using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) logistic regression algorithm. Lasso logistic regression formula was applied to calculate the arterial radiomics score. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between arterial radiomics score and treatment response to neoadjucant therapy. Receiver operating-characteristics (ROC) curve was drawn and area under curve (AUC), specificity, sensitivity and accuracy for evaluating the treatment response were calculated. The clinical usefulness of arterial radiomics score for diagnosing the response of neoadjuvant treatment for pancreatic cancer were determined by decision curve analysis (DCA) . Results:A total of 330 arterial radiomics CT features were obtained, and 9-selected arterial phase features associated with treatment response were determined after being reduced by the Lasso logistic regression algorithm. Univariate analysis showed that the arterial radiomics score, three-dimensional diameter after neoadjuvant therapy, pancreatic contour, T stage, N stage, Peri-pancreatic nerve invasion, lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI) and invasion of duodenum were all associated with treatment response (all P value <0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analyses confirmed that arterial radiomics score was obviously associated with the neoadjuvant treatment response ( P<0.001). At the cut-off value of 1.93, AUC of the arterial radiomics score for diagnosing neoadjuvant treatment response was 0.92, and the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy was 86.7%, 84.5% and 84.8%. DCA demonstrated that when the percentage for predicting the treatment response by using the arterial radiomics score was >0.2, the patients could benefit from the application of arterial radiomics score for evaluating neoadjuvant therapy response. Conclusions:The arterial radiomics score was strongly correlated with the neoadjuvant treatment response of pancreatic cancer, and can accurately predict neoadjuant treatment efficacy.

A public hospital Party branch,in the establishment of the"Four Orientations"project(Leading groups work effectively,Party branches work with promising methods,Party building achieves a fame with brand,and each unit has its own model)and"Four Strengths"(strong political role,strong Party branch team,strong team of Party members,and strong per-formance)has combined its work with bold exploration at the intersection of party building and discipline development.The branch has refined a distinctive"Bridge Culture"concept,symbolizing its identity,and has implemented four key projects:"Building bridges""Consolidating bridges""Expanding bridges"and"Preserving bridges".Collectively,these initiatives have led to the development of a"Bridge Culture"brand.The branch's role,as a vanguard in discipline advancement and public health services,has been fully leveraged,aiming to drive high-quality development of discipline through the vehicle of ideological and political work.

Hearing loss has become increasingly prevalent and causes considerable disability, thus gravely burdening the global economy. Irreversible loss of hair cells is a main cause of sensorineural hearing loss, and currently, the only relatively effective clinical treatments are limited to digital hearing equipment like cochlear implants and hearing aids, but these are of limited benefit in patients. It is therefore urgent to understand the mechanisms of damage repair in order to develop new neuroprotective strategies. At present, how to promote the regeneration of functional hair cells is a key scientific question in the field of hearing research. Multiple signaling pathways and transcriptional factors trigger the activation of hair cell progenitors and ensure the maturation of newborn hair cells, and in this article, we first review the principal mechanisms underlying hair cell reproduction. We then further discuss therapeutic strategies involving the co-regulation of multiple signaling pathways in order to induce effective functional hair cell regeneration after degeneration, and we summarize current achievements in hair cell regeneration. Lastly, we discuss potential future approaches, such as small molecule drugs and gene therapy, which might be applied for regenerating functional hair cells in the clinic.
Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Hair Cells, Auditory, Inner/physiology* ; Ear, Inner/physiology* ; Hair Cells, Auditory/physiology* ; Regeneration/genetics* ; Stem Cells

OBJECTIVE To establish high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） fingerprint of Xiaohe syrup and determine the contents of 10 effective ingredients in them. METHODS With 12 batches of Xiaohe syrup as samples， ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） was adopted with Athena C18 （250 mm×4.6 mm， 5 μm） as the chromatographic column， acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution as mobile phase for gradient elution. The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min， and the detection wavelength was 210 nm. Similarity Evaluation System for Traditional Chinese Medicine Chromatographic Fingerprint （2012A version） was imported to establish the fingerprint of Xiaohe syrup and evaluate the similarity. The content determination was performed on ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18（ 100 mm×2.1 mm， 1.7 μm） chromatographic column， with 0.01% formic acid acetonitrile-0.01% formic acid water as mobile phase for gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min； combined with high-resolution mass spectrometer， positive and negative ions were scanned with an electric spray ion source to determine the content of each main component in 12 batches of Xiaohe syrup. RESULTS A total of 33 common peaks were calibrated in 12 batches of samples， with similarities greater than 0.97； 10 chromatographic peaks were confirmed， namely flavonoid glycosides， paeoniflorin， ferulic acid， naringin， rosmarinic acid， neohesperidin， salvianolic acid B， tetrahydropalmatine， saikosaponin A， and saikosaponin D. The results of content determination showed that the above 10 components had good linear relationships within their respective mass concentration ranges （all R 2＞0.999）， with contents ranging from 0.35 to 0.64， 3.15 to 5.61， 0.11 to 0.17， 1.68 to 3.17， 1.59 to 1.90， 1.15 to 1.64， 0.78 to 1.48， 0.11 to 0.26， 0.06 to 0.13， and 0.33 to 0.61 mg/mL， respectively. CONCLUSIONS The main components of 12 batches of Xiaohe syrup are similar， but the contents vary； HPLC fingerprint and UPLC-MS/MS content determination method established in this study can be used for comprehensive quality evaluation of Xiaohe syrup.