A 51-year-old male presented with nasal obstruction, followed by progressive hearing loss and blurred vision. Imaging identified space-occupying lesions in the paranasal sinuses, orbits, and paraspinal regions, while laboratory tests confirmed positive anti-proteinase 3 anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody(PR3- ANCA) immunoglobulin G (IgG)and markedly elevated serum IgG4. Despite treatment with corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, and radiotherapy, the patient exhibited steroid dependency with relentless disease progression. Following multidisciplinary consultation, a diagnosis of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) coexisting with ANCA- associated vasculitis (AAV) was favored, though IgG4-related disease remained a critical differential. Ultimately, profound immunosuppression precipitated a severe herpesvirus infection, leading to disseminated intravascular coagulation and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. This case underscores the rarity and diagnostic complexity of concurrent IMT and AAV, highlights the therapeutic dilemma of balancing primary disease control against fatal opportunistic infections, and emphasizes the critical role of multidisciplinary collaboration in the diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical phenotype and pathogenic mechanism of the ARSL gene variant in a fetus with nasal bone aplasia. METHODS: A 34-year-old pregnant woman who attended Quzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital on January 3, 2023 was selected as the study subject. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on the fetus. Bioinformatics analysis was carried out to identify and prioritize candidate gene variants, followed by Sanger sequencing for familial validation. A mutant plasmid expression vector was constructed and subsequently transfected into HEK293T cells to preliminarily investigate the pathogenetic mechanism of the identified variant. Additionally, a comprehensive review of literature was conducted to systematically summarize the associated clinical phenotypes. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Quzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital (Ethics No.: KY-2023-11). RESULTS: WES revealed that the fetus harbored a c.827del (p.L276Rfs*48) variant of the ARSL gene, for which its mother was heterozygous. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the variant was classified as pathogenic(PVS1+PM2_Supporting). In vitro cellular function studies demonstrated that this variant can result in a substantial decrease in the expression of mutant mRNA, thereby preventing the production of normal ARSL protein. Clinical phenotypes resulting from ARSL gene variants exhibited considerable diversity, with nasal hypoplasia being the most common manifestation. CONCLUSION The c.827del (p.L276Rfs*48) variant of the ARSL gene can lead to degradation of mRNA via the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay pathway, resulting in reduced levels of ARSL protein. The pathogenetic mechanism underlying the ARSL gene variant may be associated with its haploinsufficiency effect.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Adult ; Frameshift Mutation ; HEK293 Cells ; Nasal Bone/abnormalities* ; Fetus/abnormalities* ; Exome Sequencing

ObjectiveTo explore the role of the histone deacetylase Sirtuin-1 （SIRT1）/p53 signaling pathway in promoting apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer cells （NSCLC） induced by the co-stimulatory molecule B7 homolog 3 （B7-H3）. MethodsThe GEPIA 2 platform was used for survival analysis of NSCLC patients based on B7⁃H3 gene expression levels. The Gene Enrichment Analysis （GSEA） method was used to analyze the enrichment characteristics of B7⁃H3 molecules in the gene set of cell apoptosis. In the non-small cell lung cancer A549 cell line， B7⁃H3 was knocked down， and the protein expression levels of SIRT1 and p53 were detected by Western blot. B7⁃H3 was overexpressed in A549 cells and the apoptosis rate was analyzed by flow cytometry after Annexin V/PI double staining. Overexpression of B7⁃H3 and knockdown of SIRT1 were performed in A549 cell line. The expression levels of p53 and apoptosis-related proteins B-cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 （Bcl-2） and Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax） were detected respectively by Western blot. Cell apoptosis rate was analyzed by flow cytometry after Annexin V/PI double staining. ResultsThe overall survival of the B7-H3 high-expression group was significantly lower than that of the low-expression group （P<0.01）. B7-H3 was significantly enriched in the cell apoptosis signaling pathway and the p53 signaling pathway （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group， the expression of SIRT1 was significantly downregulated， and p53 was significantly upregulated in the B7⁃H3 knockdown group （both P<0.001）. Overexpression of B7-H3 significantly up-regulated SIRT1 protein expression （P<0.05）， down-regulated p53 expression （P<0.01）， and markedly increased the Bcl-2/Bax ratio of apoptosis-related proteins （P<0.001）. The results of Annexin V/PI double staining showed that the apoptosis rate of A549 cells with overexpressed B7⁃H3 decreased （the apoptosis rate of the control group was 26.72%±4.13%， while that of the B7⁃H3 overexpression group was 13.87%±0.82%； P<0.01）. In B7-H3-overexpressing cell lines， SIRT1 knockdown significantly reversed apoptosis （P<0.05）， up-regulated p53 protein expression （P<0.001）， and markedly reduced the Bcl-2/Bax ratio （P<0.001）. ConclusionB7-H3 molecule inhibits the apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer cells via the SIRT1/p53 signaling pathway.

Objective: To investigate the current status of benefit finding among young and middle-aged patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and analyze its influencing factors, so as to provide a reference for improving the level of benefit finding in this population. Methods: From November 2022 to May 2023, young and middle-aged patients with T2DM aged 18-59 years hospitalized in the endocrinology departments of 2 tertiary hospitals in Hengyang City, Hunan Province were selected as survey subjects by a convenience sampling method. Basic demographic information was collected using a general questionnaire survey. Benefit finding, resourcefulness, and stigma were evaluated using the Benefit Finding Scale, the Chinese Version of the Resourcefulness Scale, and the Type 2 Diabetes Stigma Assessment Scale, respectively. A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of benefit finding among young and middle-aged patients with T2DM. Results: A total of 305 young and middle-aged patients with T2DM were investigated, including 222 males (72.79%) and 83 females (27.21%). There were 231 cases aged 45-59 years, accounting for 75.74%. The scores for benefit finding, resourcefulness, and stigma were (42.86±6.06), (75.12±11.30), and (41.20±10.10), respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that young and middle-aged patients with T2DM who were male (β′=0.088), aged 18-<45 years (β′=0.083), absence of diabetes complications (β′=0.124), and had higher resourcefulness scores (β′=0.679) had higher levels of benefit finding, while patients with higher stigma scores (β′=-0.097) had lower levels of benefit finding. Conclusion The level of benefit finding among young and middle-aged patients with T2DM was moderate, and was related to gender, age, diabetes complications, resourcefulness, and stigma.

AIM: To analysis the correlation between extraocular muscle thickness measured by quantitative CT analysis of orbital structures and clinical activity score(CAS)of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy(TAO).METHODS:This was a retrospective analysis, selecting clinical data of TAO patients admitted to the hospital from October 2020 to February 2025. Healthy individuals were chosen from hospital's physical examination as the control group. All participants underwent CT examination, the superior rectus muscle, inferior rectus muscle, medial rectus muscle, lateral rectus muscle, orbital area, protrusion degree, and total cross-sectional area of extraocular muscles/total orbital area ratio(OM/TOA)from the two groups of participants were compared. CAS was used to evaluate TAO patients, and the correlation between CAS score and quantitative analysis indicators of CT orbital structure was analyzed. Quantitative analysis indicators for CT orbital structure in TAO patients at different stages of activity were compared, and the predictive value of these indicators for TAO patients at different activity stages was investigated.RESULTS:A total of 77 TAO patients were enrolled in this study, including 38 males and 39 females, with ages ranging from 28 to 70 y(mean age 49.5±6.9 y). There were 77 cases in the control group, including 40 males and 37 females, with ages ranging from 26 to 70 y(mean age 49.0±7.3 y). There was no significant difference in gender and age between the two groups(both P>0.05). The quantitative analysis of left eye, right eye, and binocular CT orbital structure in TAO group patients showed significantly higher indicators than the control group(all P<0.001), and the CAS score of TAO group was 3.94±1.51 points. The CAS score was positively correlated with various indicators of CT orbital structure quantitative analysis(all P<0.05). According to the CAS score results, 14 cases(28 eyes)of TAO patients with a CAS score<3 were classified as inactive phase, including 8 males and 6 females, with an average age of 43.79±9.58 y. A total of 63 cases(126 eyes)with a CAS score of ≥3 was classified as active phase, including 30 males and 33 females, with an average age of 50.78±5.47 y. There was no significant difference in gender among TAO patients with different active phases(P=0.519), but there was a significant difference in age(P<0.001). The quantitative indicators of CT orbital structure in inactive patients were significantly lower than those in active patients(P<0.05). Finally, the superior rectus muscle, age, and degree of protrusion were selected to be included in the Logistic regression model. The analysis results showed that there was a correlation between the superior rectus muscle index, degree of protrusion and TAO activity phase(P<0.05), while age, and TAO activity phase showed no significant correlation(P>0.05). The ROC curve analysis results showed that the area under the curve(AUC)was 0.863, the standard error was 0.063, P<0.001, and the 95% confidence interval(95% CI)of AUC was 0.740-0.985. The sensitivity of the model prediction was 73.0%, the specificity was 92.9%, and the Youden index was 0.659. The prediction accuracy was 97.9%, the recall rate was 73.0%, and the F1 value was 0.836. The predicted optimal critical value was 0.857. The predicted probability was 0.74.CONCLUSION:Quantitative CT analysis of orbital structures can be used to assess disease severity in TAO patients.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between oxygen consumption (VO 2), carbon dioxide production (VCO 2), and Oxygen Consumption/lactate (VO 2/Lac) with risk of death in patients with severe ARDS. Methods:A retrospective cohort study method was used, and the study subjects were hospitalized for >5 days adult patients with severe ARDS in the central intensive care unit of Henan Provincial People's Hospital from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2023. The following patients were excluded: IC test was not completed on the 4th day of ICU admission, IC test results were unreliable, mechanical ventilation duration had exceeded 48 h at the time of ICU transfer or admission, palliative care patients and pregnant and parturient women. Using indirect calorimetry to determine VO 2 and VCO 2 values on the 4th day of admission, reviewing medical records to obtain general condition, disease information, blood gas analysis (including lactate value), diagnostic and therapeutic measures, and following up deaths by telephone and time of death. The primary outcome measure was death at 90 days, and the secondary outcome measure was death at 28 days, length of stay in ICU, total length of stay, and total hospitalization cost. Cox regression analysis and linear regression analysis were used to investigate the relationship between VO 2, VCO 2, VO 2/Lac and primary and secondary outcome indexes. Results:A total of 216 patients were enrolled, 78 patients (36.1%) died and 138 patients (63.9%) survived at 90 days. After correction for confounders, the results of multifactorial Cox regression analysis suggested that compared with the Q4 group, HR (95% CI) for 90-day risk of death in the VO 2 Q1 and Q2 groups was 3.21 (1.38, 7.49) and 3.24 (1.42, 7.38), and HR (95% CI) for 90-day risk of death in the VCO 2 Q1, Q2 and Q3 groups was 5.88 (2.33, 14.84), 4.26 (1. 60, 11.34) and 3.54 (1.34, 9.35), respectively, and the HR (95% CI) for 90-day risk of death in the VO 2/Lac Q1, Q2 and Q3 groups were 8.72 (3.01, 25.25), 8.43 (2.91, 24.47) and 4.04 (1.34, 12.17) respectively. P-trends were all <0.05, indicating that VO 2, VCO 2 and VO 2/Lac were linearly and negatively associated with the risk of 90-day mortality. In addition, VO 2, VCO 2, and VO 2/Lac were negatively associated with 28-day risk of death and higher VO 2/Lac was negatively associated with length of ICU stay. Conclusions:VO 2, VCO 2 and VO 2/Lac were negatively associated with 90-day mortality risk and 28-day mortality risk in patients with severe ARDS and may be independent risk factors predicting mortality risk of such patients.

Objective:To explore the effects and mechanisms of Shen-su-yin (SSY) on acute lung injury (ALI) in rats based on untargeted Metabolomics, network pharmacology, and experimental verification.Methods:Untargeted Metabolomics was performed to detect the ingredients of SSY by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-Q-exactive orbitrap mass spectrum, and the active ingredients were screened from the detected ingredients. Common targets of the active ingredient targets and ALI targets were utilized to screen hub targets to perform gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. Then, key hub targets were selected from the hub targets, and the active ingredients-hub targets network was built to screen core ingredients. Subsequently, molecular docking was performed between the key hub targets and the core ingredients. 48 rats were randomly and equally divided into 4 groups by using a random number table: normal control group, lipopolysaccharide-induced ALI group, ALI+SSY group, and ALI+dexamethasone group. 24 hours after lipopolysaccharide induction, the levels of respiratory rate, blood lactate, lung wet/dry weight ratio, ALI score, inflammatory factors of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and oxidative stress mediators of lung tissue in each group were evaluated, and the expression of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT)-glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β-nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway was also detected by using Western blot. Finally, one-way analysis of variance, Welch test, or Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare data differences among groups. Results:A total of 415 ingredients were detected from the SSY. 66 of the detected ingredients were identified as active ingredients, and 10 of them were selected as core ingredients. The number of common targets, hub targets, and key hub targets was 337, 50, and 10, respectively. Total of 285 biological processes, 32 cellular components, and 51 molecular functions were enriched though GO analysis, and 148 cell signaling pathways such as pathways in cancer and PI3K-AKT signaling pathway were enriched though KEGG analysis. Molecular docking studies revealed that all binding energies between the 10 key hub targets and the 10 core ingredients were less than -5 kcal/mol. Compared with the ALI group, the levels of the respiratory rate, blood lactate, and lung wet/dry weight ratio in ALI+SSY group were significantly decreased (all P<0.01), and the level of ALI score showed a downward trend, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). In addition, the levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and the levels of malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl, and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine in lung tissue of rats in ALI+SSY group were significantly decreased in comparison with those in ALI group (all P<0.01). Moreover, compared with the ALI group, the phosphorylation levels of PI3K p85α, AKT1, and GSK3β and the expression level of Nrf2 in lung tissue of ALI+SSY group were significantly up-regulated (PI3K p85α phosphorylation and AKT1 phosphorylation, P<0.01; GSK3β phosphorylation and Nrf2, P<0.05), while the phosphorylation level of NF-κB p65 was significantly down-regulated ( P<0.01). Conclusions:Active ingredients detected from SSY via untargeted Metabolomics can inhibit oxidative stress and inflammation in ALI rats by regulating the PI3K-AKT-GSK3β-Nrf2/NF-κB signaling pathway, thereby alleviating lung lesions.

Objective:To compare the prognostic performance of six trauma scoring systems—Injury Severity Score (ISS), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health EvaluationⅡ (APACHE Ⅱ), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Prehospital Index (PHI), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and the Circulation, Respiration, Abdomen, Motor, Speech (CRAMS) score—in predicting 28-day mortality among patients with severe trauma in Southwest China.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 479 patients with severe trauma admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University between January 2018 and October 2023. Inclusion criteria were: ① age ≥16 years; ② Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥16; ③ admission within 24 hours post-injury. Exclusion criteria included: ① severe underlying chronic conditions; ② burns or electrical injuries; ③ incomplete clinical data. Based on 28-day outcomes, patients were stratified into a survival group ( n=424) and a death group ( n=55). All patients received standardized resuscitation and damage control interventions. Prehospital scores (PHI, RTS, CRAMS) were recorded at admission. In-hospital scores (ISS, APACHE Ⅱ, SOFA) were calculated using the worst physiological parameters within the first 24 hours. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for group comparisons. Discriminative ability was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), with pairwise comparisons using DeLong's test. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to evaluate net clinical benefit. Results:The RTS and CRAMS scores were significantly higher in the survival group, whereas ISS, APACHE Ⅱ, SOFA, and PHI scores were significantly lower in the death group (all P<0.05). The AUC values for predicting 28-day mortality, in descending order, were: APACHE Ⅱ (0.917), RTS (0.897), SOFA (0.873), PHI (0.848), CRAMS (0.831), and ISS (0.708). No significant difference in AUC was found between APACHE Ⅱ and RTS ( P=0.325). DCA showed that across most decision thresholds, both APACHE Ⅱ and RTS provided greater net clinical benefit than "treat-all" or "treat-none" strategies and other scores. Conclusions:Among the six scoring systems, APACHE Ⅱ demonstrated the highest predictive accuracy for 28-day mortality in severe trauma patients, though its efficacy was comparable to RTS. DCA confirmed their superior clinical utility. A two-phase assessment strategy—using prehospital RTS for rapid triage followed by in-hospital APACHE Ⅱ for dynamic monitoring—is recommended to optimize clinical decision-making and improve patient outcomes in Southwest China.

Objective : To establish an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for exosome B7-H3 in plas- ma , and to explore the clinical significance and diagnostic value of exosome B7-H3 in plasma from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) . Methods : The plasma of 70 NSCLC patients (NSCLC group) and 36 healthy controls (HC group) were collected . Exosomes and microvesicles in plasma were separated by ultra-fast centrifuge method , and the expression levels of B7-H3 in plasma exosomes in NSCLC groups and HC groups were compared by Western blot method . In NSCLC group , the expression levels of B7-H3 in plasma exosomes and microvesicles in NSCLC group were compared . A simple and feasible ELISA method was established to detect the expression level of exosome B7 - H3 in plasma by means of polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation and its clinical significance was analyzed . Lo- gistic regression model was established to predict plasma-derived exosome B7-H3 as a risk factor , and receiver op- erating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to investigate the diagnostic value of exosome B7-H3 in NSCLC . Results: For exosomes and microvesicles in plasma which were extracted by ultracentrifugation , Western blot results showed that the expression level of B7-H3 in plasma exosomes of NSCLC group was higher than that of HC group (P = 0. 032) , and the expression level of B7-H3 in plasma exosomes was higher than that of microvesicles of NSCLC group (P = 0. 012) . The expression level of exosome B7-H3 in plasma extracted by PEG precipitation was also higher in NSCLC group than that in HC group (P = 0. 024) . The expression level of exosome B7-H3 in plasma of NSCLC patients was not related to gender , age , smoking or pathological type , but was related to T stage (P = 0. 002) , N stage (P < 0. 001) , M stage (P = 0. 010) and AJCC stage (P < 0. 001) . Multivariate Logistic regres- sion analysis identified exosome B7-H3 in plasma as a risk factor for NSCLC . ROC analysis showed that the sensi- tivity of exosome B7-H3 in plasma for the diagnosis of NSCLC (0. 843) was higher than that of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (0. 743) , whereas the specificity (0. 722) was lower than that of CEA (0. 833) . Combined de- tection of exosome B7-H3 and CEA (AUC = 0. 928 , 95% CI:0. 877 - 0. 979) had a higher diagnostic performance for NSCLC . Conclusion B7-H3 in plasma exosomes is related to the cancer staging of NSCLC , and the combined detection of exosome B7-H3 and CEA in plasma is conducive to the laboratory diagnosis of NSCLC .

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of metabolic associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） on metabolic markers in patients with HIV infection， and to assess the risk of new-onset MAFLD in previously untreated HIV patients. MethodsA total of 161 HIV patients who attended the outpatient service of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from April 2020 to December 2021 were enrolled， and they were treated with the lamivudine/efavirenz/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate （3TC/EFV/TDF） regimen and were followed up for more than 36 months. According to the presence or absence of MAFLD， they were divided into MAFLD group with 42 patients and non-MAFLD group with 119 patients， and metabolic markers were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the paired t-test was used for comparison within each group before and after treatment； the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for comparison within each group before and after treatment； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Hepatic steatosis index （HIS） and Zhejiang University （ZJU） index were used to assess the risk of new-onset MAFLD after antiretroviral therapy. ResultsAfter 36 months of 3TC/EFV/TDF treatment， the MAFLD group had significant increases in body mass index （BMI） ［24.8 （23.2 — 25.9） kg/m² vs 25.3 （22.8 — 27.7） kg/m²， Z=-2.540， P=0.011］， total cholesterol （TC） （4.0±0.6 mmol/L vs 4.3±0.6 mmol/L， t=-2.388， P=0.022）， and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） ［0.9 （0.8 — 1.1） mmol/L vs 1.1 （0.9 — 1.2） mmol/L， Z=-2.858， P=0.004］ and a significant reduction in serum uric acid （462.1±101.6 μmol/L vs 383.3±85.2 μmol/L， t=4.361， P<0.001）. There was a significant difference in BMI between the MAFLD group and the non-MAFLD group after 3TC/EFV/TDF treatment ［25.3 （22.8 — 27.7） kg/m² vs 21.6 （19.9 — 23.4） kg/m²， Z=-5.462， P<0.001］， while there were no significant differences between the two groups in serum uric acid， TC， triglyceride， HDL-C， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol， lipoprotein a， and CD4⁺ T cell count （all P >0.05）. Furthermore， for the patients in the non-MAFLD group after treatment， there was a significant increase in the proportion of patients at a high risk of MAFLD based on HSI and ZJU indices （χ²=10.829 and 5.658， P=0.001 and 0.017）. ConclusionAfter 36 months of 3TC/EFV/TDF treatment， there are increases in blood lipid levels in HIV patients with MAFLD， and there is an increase in the risk of new-onset MAFLD in HIV patients without MAFLD.