Objective To explore the feasibility and reference value of allogeneic lung transplantation and postoperative monitoring in miniature pigs for lung transplantation research. Methods Two miniature pigs (R1 and R2) underwent left lung allogeneic transplantation. Complement-dependent cytotoxicity tests and blood cross-matching were performed before surgery. The main operative times and partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO₂) after opening the pulmonary artery were recorded during surgery. Postoperatively, routine blood tests, biochemical blood indicators and inflammatory factors were detected, and pathological examinations of multiple organs were conducted. Results The complement-dependent cytotoxicity test showed that the survival rate of lymphocytes between donors and recipients was 42.5%-47.3%, and no agglutination reaction occurred in the cross-matching. The first warm ischemia times of D1 and D2 were 17 min and 10 min, respectively, and the cold ischemia times were 246 min and 216 min, respectively. Ultimately, R1 and R2 survived for 1.5 h and 104 h, respectively. Postoperatively, in R1, albumin (ALB) and globulin (GLB) decreased, and alanine aminotransferase increased; in R2, ALB, GLB and aspartate aminotransferase all increased. Urea nitrogen and serum creatinine increased in both recipients. Pathological results showed that in R1, the transplanted lung had partial consolidation with inflammatory cell infiltration, and multiple organs were congested and damaged. In R2, the transplanted lung had severe necrosis with fibrosis, and multiple organs had mild to moderate damage. The expression levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 increased in the transplanted lungs. Conclusions The allogeneic lung transplantation model in miniature pigs may systematically evaluate immunological compatibility, intraoperative function and postoperative organ damage. The data obtained may provide technical references for subsequent lung transplantation research.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related incidence and mortality worldwide. Among its histological subtypes, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for the majority of cases, representing the predominant pathological type. Notably, in the elderly population, NSCLC continues to be a major contributor to cancer-related deaths. With the global ageing population, immunosenescence has emerged as a key factor influencing the occurrence, progression, and the efficacy of immunotherapy of NSCLC. Immunosenescence refers to the age-related decline in immune system function, which manifests as alterations in both the quantity and functionality of immune cells. These include thymic involution, T cell exhaustion, epigenetic modifications, weakened immune responses, and a chronic low-grade inflammatory state. This review comprehensively analyzes the role of immunosenescence in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC and proposes potential therapeutic strategies to intervene in the immunosenescence process. By targeting immunosenescence, these strategies aim to inhibit the progression of NSCLC and improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/genetics* ; Immunotherapy ; Lung Neoplasms/genetics* ; Immunosenescence ; Aged

Image 1.

Objective To investigate the effects of Caenorhabditis elegans(C.elegans)endogenous U6 promoters on dpy-10 gene editing efficiency.Methods We screened endogenous U6 small nuclear RNA(snRNA)genes of C.elegans from the WormBase database and constructed 14 editing plasmids targeting dpy-10 by replacing the U6r07e5.16 promoter in the pSX524 plasmid(Peft-3::cas9::tbb-2 terminator::U6 r07e5.16::dpy-10 sgRNA)through molecular cloning.Gene editing was performed in wild-type C.elegans using a standardized microinjection protocol.Gene editing efficiency and the high-efficiency gene editing index were quantified based on the screening of dpy-10 mutant phenotypes in the F1 progeny.Results A total of 15 U6 snRNA genes(r07e5.16,f35c11.9,t20d3.13,k09b11.15,k09b11.16,w05b2.8,c28a5.7,f54c8.9,k09b11.11,k09b11.12,k09b11.14,t20d3.12,f54c8.8,f54c8.10,and k09b11.13)were identified from the WormBase database.Based on the editing efficiency and high-efficiency gene editing index,the activity of these promoters was evaluated,and 4 U6 promoters(w05b2.8,c28a5.7,f54c8.9,and k09b11.11)were found to have significantly enhanced gene editing success rates,outperforming other promoters,including U6r07e5.16 and U6k09b11.12,which are commonly used in the C.elegans research community.Notably,the gRNAF+E scaffold did not show superior editing efficiency over the gRNA scaffold when paired with the optimal U6w05b2.8 promoter.Conclusion In this study,U6 promoters that significantly improve gene editing efficiency in C.elegans are identified and the critical role of promoter optimization in CRISPR-Cas9 systems is highlighted.These findings provide a valuable foundation for improving genome editing strategies and offer new ideas for optimizing the CRISPR technology applied in nematode research.

Objective To optimize the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)data analysis process through mathematical principles by replacing the biased 2-??CT method with a more rigorous 2-CT method,thereby improving the accuracy of gene expression quantification analysis.Methods Essentially,the CT value serves as the exponent in a base-2 exponential equation within the logic of comparative CT method.In the traditional 2-??CT method,the arithmetic means of raw CT and ΔCT values are directly calculated and the exponential nature of CT data is overlooked,which may introduce systematic bias to the calculation results.We propose a new method,entitled the 2-CT method,in which all calculations are based on the transformation of CT values into 2-CT.This includes computing the relative initial expression levels of target and reference genes within each sample,the relative abundance of the target gene,and its fold change across groups.Statistical comparisons are then performed based on fold change values.By strictly adhering to the exponential nature of of CT values,the biases introduced by arithmetic averaging at the CT or ΔCT level are avoided.We applied this method to multiple RT-qPCR datasets to evaluate the differences between the traditional 2-??CT and the proposed 2-CT methods in gene expression quantification,as well as the effect of the differences.Results In the original dataset from LIVAK and SCHMITTGEN,the two methods produced similar results.However,in the cadmium exposure experiment,findings from the 2-??CT method indicated that 8-hour cadmium exposure caused an increase of irg-6 gene expression in Caenorhabditis elegans from 1.314-fold to 7.125-fold(P=0.000 2).In contrast,findings from the 2-CT method showed a fold change from 1.0 to 4.124(P=0.001 5),a 70%difference between the two methods.Conclusion The2-CT method provides a mathematically more rigorous approach that more accurately reflects gene expression changes,particularly in experiments with high CT variability.It offers a more reliable computational paradigm for quantitative gene expression analysis.

BACKGROUND:With the deepening of the aging of the world population,the prevalence rate of osteoarthritis is increasing.In recent years,more and more attention has been paid to the study of osteoarthritis.Studies have shown that autophagy and apoptosis are strongly associated with the occurrence and development of osteoarthritis,and play an important role in it. OBJECTIVE:To review the molecular mechanisms of the interaction between autophagy and apoptosis in osteoarthritis,aiming to explore the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis in osteoarthritis and the coupling mechanism of the two to mediate the occurrence and development of osteoarthritis,so as to provide new ideas for the treatment of osteoarthritis. METHODS:The Chinese and English key words"osteoarthritis,autophagy,apoptosis"were searched in the CNKI and PubMed.After screening by reading the title,abstract and key words,the relevant literature was carefully read.After excluding studies unrelated to the content of the paper and repetitive studies,68 articles were finally included for the summary. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The occurrence and development of osteoarthritis are related to autophagy and apoptosis of chondrocytes.Autophagy protects chondrocytes from stress damage,but excessive autophagy also induces or promotes chondrocyte apoptosis and reduces the survival rate of chondrocytes.The two perturb each other to regulate the degeneration of articular cartilage.(2)miRNA,Beclin-1 and oxidative stress are all involved in the regulation of autophagy and apoptosis on osteoarthritis,and affect the development of osteoarthritis.

Objective:To investigate the value of myocardium scar area in predicting adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM).Methods:The first part of this study was a retrospective study. Patients diagnosed with ICM and undergoing CABG surgery at Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2017 to December 2022 were enrolled as the discovery cohort. All patients underwent cardiac magnetic resonance-late gadolinium enhancement (CMR-LGE) before surgery. According to the occurrence of postoperative MACEs, the patients were divided into MACEs group and MACEs-free group. Preoperative clinical and imaging data, intraoperative and postoperative data were collected and compared between the two groups. The primary endpoint was postoperative MACEs. Univariate and multifactor regression analyses were used to analyze the risk factors for MACEs. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the predictive efficacy and optimal cut-off value of myocardial scar area for endpoint events. The second part of this study was a prospective study. Patients with ICM who received CABG at Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2023 to June 2023 were enrolled as a validation cohort, and were divided into MACEs group and MACEs-free group according to whether MACEs occurred after surgery. Preoperative clinical and imaging data, intraoperative and postoperative data were collected and compared between the two groups. Verify the reliability of the cut-off value obtained by ROC curve in the validation cohort.Results:A total of 120 patients with ICM (30 patients in MACEs group and 90 patients in MACEs-free group), aged (61.6±8.7) years, including 93 males, were included in the discovery cohort. A total of 22 ICM patients (5 patients in MACEs group and 17 patients in MACEs-free group), aged (59.5±8.2) years, including 18 males, were included in the validation cohort. Multivariate Cox regression showed that myocardial scar area ( HR=1.258, 95% CI 1.096-1.444, P=0.001) was an independent risk factor for the primary endpoint event. The area under ROC curve of myocardial scar area for predicting postoperative MACEs was 0.90 (95% CI 0.83-0.95), and myocardial scar area≥36.0% was the optimal cut-off value for predicting postoperative MACEs, and its sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 96.7%, 72.2% and 78.3%, respectively. In the validation cohort, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of myocardial scar area in predicting postoperative MACEs in patients with ICM after CABG were 80.0%, 82.4% and 81.8%, respectively. Conclusion:Myocardial scar area is an independent risk factor for MACEs after CABG in patients with ICM, and myocardial scar area≥36.0% is the optimal cut-off value for predicting MACEs after CABG. Myocardial scar area can help to identify patients at high risk of surgery and provide a basis for risk stratification of patients.

Objective To compare the application effect of different doses of rivaroxaban on anticoagulation therapy in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism(PTE)during maintenance period,and to evaluate its benefit-risk.Methods The patients with PTE were divided into conventional-dose group and low-dose group according to the cohort method.Conventional-dose group were given of rivaroxaban 15 mg,twice a day and changed to 20 mg once a day after 3 weeks;low-dose group were given rivaroxaban 10 mg twice a day and changed to 15 mg once a day after 3 weeks,and the anticoagulation treatment time in both groups was ≥ 3 months.The clinical efficacy in the two groups was recorded.Serum indicators[D-dimer(D-D),N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP),cardiac troponin Ⅰ(cTn Ⅰ)]and liver-kidney function[glutamic-pyruvic transaminase(GPT),glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase(GOT),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),creatinine(Cr)]were compared before treatment and after 3 months of treatment.The patients were followed up for 3 months after treatment,and the endpoint events such as PTE recurrence and death and the bleeding events were recorded in the two groups.Results There were 42 cases in conventional-dose group,44 cases in low-dose group.After 3 months of treatment,the total effective rates in low-dose group and conventional-dose group were both 100.00％,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).After 3 months of treatment,serum D-D levels in low-dose group and conventional-dose group were(0.31±0.08)and(0.29±0.07)mg·L-1,NT-proBNP levels were(125.49±24.16)and(121.39±22.08)ng·L-1,cTn Ⅰ levels were(0.02±0.00)and(0.02±0.00)μg·L-1,all with significant differences(all P＞0.05).There were no significant changes in GPT,GOT,BUN and Cr in the two groups before and after treatment(all P＞0.05),and there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups(all P＞0.05).The total incidences of bleeding events during follow-up was 6.82％in low-dose group and was 23.81％in conventional-dose group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Compared with conventional-dose rivaroxaban,low-dose rivaroxaban has similar anticoagulant effect,but the latter one can better reduce the risk of bleeding events in patients with PTE.

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of rhubarb Tangluo pill on liver injury in type 2 diabetic rats.Methods ZDF(fa/fa)rats were given high-fat diet to induce type 2 diabetes model,and were randomly divided into model group,positive control group(0.18 g·kg-1 metformin)and experimental-L,-M,-H groups(0.54,1.08 and 2.16 g·kg-1 rhubarb Tangluo pill),with 8 rats in each group.Eight ZDF(fa/+)rats were selected as control group.The control group and model group were given equal volume of pure water once a day for 12 weeks.An oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT)was performed after administration.Fasting blood glucose level,body mass and liver mass of rats were measured and liver index was calculated.The contents of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase(GPT),glutamic oxalacetic transaminase(GOT),triglyceride(TG)and total cholesterol(TC)in serum were detected.The histomorphologic changes of liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining and Masson staining.The protein expression of phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate 1(p-IRS1),phosphorylated protein kinase B(p-Akt)and glucose transporter 4(GLUT4)were detected by Western blotting.Results After administration,the fasting blood glucose levels of control group,model group,positive control group and experimental-H group were(4.71±0.45),(29.9±2.97),(15.28±4.52)and(13.84±1.55)mmol·L-1,respectively;the liver index were 2.31±0.46,4.03±0.18,3.37±0.23 and 3.38±0.24;the relative expression level of p-IRS1 protein were 1.00±0.36,4.00±0.11,1.62±0.27 and 1.90±0.17,respectively;the relative expression levels of p-Akt protein were 1.00±0.25,0.21±0.04,0.73±0.15 and 0.54±0.04,respectively;GLUT4 protein relative expression levels were 1.00±0.11,0.40±0.08,0.86±0.04 and 0.70±0.06,respectively.Compared with the model group,the above indexes in the experimental-H group were statistically significant(P＜0.01,P＜0.05).Conclusion Rhubarb Tanglu pill can effectively improve glycolipid metabolism and liver injury in type 2 diabetes mellitus,and its mechanism may be related to the activation of IRS1/Akt signaling pathway.

Background: Twenty-four-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) measurement is the initial diagnostic test for Cushing’s syndrome (CS). We compared UFC determination by both direct and extraction immunoassays using Abbott Architect, Siemens Atellica Solution, and Beckman DxI800 with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, we evaluated the value of 24-hr UFC measured by six methods for diagnosing CS. Methods: Residual 24-hr urine samples of 94 CS and 246 non-CS patients were collected.A laboratory-developed LC-MS/MS method was used as reference. UFC was measured by direct assays (D) using Abbott, Siemens, and Beckman platforms and by extraction assays (E) using Siemens and Beckman platforms. Method was compared using Passing–Bablok regression and Bland–Altman plot analyses. Cut-off values for the six assays and corresponding sensitivities and specificities were calculated by ROC analysis. Results: Abbott-D, Beckman-E, Siemens-E, and Siemens-D showed strong correlations with LC-MS/MS (Spearman coefficient r = 0.965, 0.922, 0.922, and 0.897, respectively), while Beckman-D showed weaker correlation (r = 0.755). All immunoassays showed proportionally positive bias. The areas under the curve were 0.975 for Abbott-D, 0.972 for LCMS/MS, 0.966 for Siemens-E, 0.948 for Siemens-D, 0.955 for Beckman-E, and 0.877 for Beckman-D. The cut-off values varied significantly (154.8–1,321.5 nmol/24 hrs). Assay sensitivity and specificity ranged from 76.1% to 93.2% and from 93.0% to 97.1%, respectively. Conclusions Commercially available immunoassays for measuring UFC show different levels of analytical consistency compared to LC-MS/MS. Abbott-D, Siemens-E, and Beckman-E have high diagnostic accuracy for CS.