Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the first rate-limiting enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), is aberrantly activated in multiple types of human cancers, governing the progression of tumor cells as well as the efficacy of anticancer therapy. Here, we discovered that cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) rewired glucose metabolism from glycolysis to PPP in breast cancer (BC) cells by activating G6PD to keep intracellular redox homeostasis under oxidative stress. Mechanistically, CDK5-phosphorylated G6PD at Thr-91 facilitated the assembly of inactive monomers of G6PD into active dimers. More importantly, CDK5-induced pho-G6PD was explicitly observed specifically in tumor tissues in human BC specimens. Pharmacological inhibition of CDK5 remarkably abrogated G6PD phosphorylation, attenuated tumor growth and metastasis, and synergistically sensitized BC cells to poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor Olaparib, in xenograft mouse models. Collectively, our results establish the crucial role of CDK5-mediated phosphorylation of G6PD in BC growth and metastasis and provide a therapeutic regimen for BC treatment.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a highly aggressive hematologic malignancy with a poor prognosis, despite advancements in treatment. Many patients struggle with relapse or refractory disease. Investigating the role of the super-enhancer (SE) regulated gene ubiquitin-specific protease 20 (USP20) in T-ALL could enhance targeted therapies and improve clinical outcomes. Analysis of histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac) chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data from six T-ALL cell lines and seven pediatric samples identified USP20 as an SE-regulated driver gene. Utilizing the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) and BloodSpot databases, it was found that USP20 is specifically highly expressed in T-ALL. Knocking down USP20 with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) increased apoptosis and inhibited proliferation in T-ALL cells. In vivo studies showed that USP20 knockdown reduced tumor growth and improved survival. The USP20 inhibitor GSK2643943A demonstrated similar anti-tumor effects. Mass spectrometry, RNA-Seq, and immunoprecipitation revealed that USP20 interacted with hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF1A) and stabilized it by deubiquitination. Cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag) results indicated that USP20 co-localized with HIF1A, jointly modulating target genes in T-ALL. This study identifies USP20 as a therapeutic target in T-ALL and suggests GSK2643943A as a potential treatment strategy.

Objective:To assess the efficacy of a novel spatial-temporal polyp detection system in colonoscopy.Methods:This research was a retrospective comparative study. Eight hundred and thirty-three participants who underwent computer-aided detection (CADe) colonoscopy at the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital between March and June 2023 were enrolled to the experimental group, while 770 individuals who received conventional colonoscopy from March to June 2022, in the identical operation room were to the control group. The primary outcome was the adenoma detection rate (ADR), and the secondary outcomes were the polyp detection rate (PDR), adenomas per colonoscopy (APC), and polyps per colonoscopy (PPC).Results:The ADR [29.3% (244/833) VS 21.7% (167/770), χ2=12.133, P<0.001] and PDR [47.9% (399/833) VS 37.9% (292/770), χ2=16.241, P<0.001] were significantly higher in the experimental group than those in the control group. Adenomas ≤5 mm [23.5% (196/833) VS 16.1% (124/770), χ2=13.808, P<0.001] and flat-type adenomas [15.1% (126/833) VS 7.3% (56/770), χ2=24.519, P<0.001] were detected in a significantly higher proportion of subjects in the experimental group than those in the control group. There were significant difference in APC [0 (0,1) VS 0 (0,1), Z=-3.698, P<0.001] and PPC [0 (0,1) VS 0 (0,1), Z=-4.424, P<0.001] between the experimental and control groups. The use of CADe system significantly increased both ADR [29.5% (167/566) VS 18.9% (89/472), χ2=15.709, P<0.001] and PDR [47.3% (268/566) VS 33.3% (157/472), χ2=21.123, P<0.001] in junior endoscopists. However, in senior endoscopists, there was no statistical significant difference in ADR [28.8% (77/267) VS 26.2% (78/298), χ2=0.502, P=0.479] or PDR [49.1% (131/267) VS 45.3% (135/298), χ2=0.800, P=0.371] with or without CADe system. Conclusion:The use of CADe system significantly increases overall polyp and adenoma detection in clinical practice, especially in the detection of diminutive and flat-type lesions. Junior endoscopists gain greater advantages from the use of CADe system than their senior peers.

Objective:To investigate, assess and analyze the attitude and competency in terms of clinical nutrition and intentions of teaching and examination methods, and their basic nutrition knowledge.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted using stratified sampling method among first- to third-year undergraduate nursing students. A questionnaire was designed to cover several domains including attitude towards clinical nutrition, the importance of nurses in clinical nutrition practice, self-confidence in implementing nutrition counseling, knowledge of nutrition, and preference about teaching and examination methods, each of which was categorized into the 5 levels of strongly disagree/very unconfident, disagree/unconfident, unsure, agree/confident, and strongly agree/very confident (i.e., a scale of 1-5). Besides, the nutrition knowledge was examined through multiple choice questions.Results:A total of 262 students completed the survey. 252 (96.2%) students agreed that the nurses should be involved in the planning and promotions of patient healthy lifestyle, acknowledged the importance of nurses in clinical nutrition practice, and were willing to learn. However, there was overall under-recognition of nutrition, with the score of 4.07±0.92 in females and 3.63±0.84 in males ( P=0.017), whereas no significant difference was seen across grades (3.54±0.98, 3.96±0.83 and 3.87±0.60 for Grade 1,2 and 3 students, respectively, P=0.107). Students considered current nutritional training as inadequate and had low self-confidence in implementing patient nutritional education. The test showed overall poor knowledge on nutrition, with a mean score of 12.82/20 and a pass rate of 68.7%. The students in Grade 3 (14.61±2.45) performed better than those in Grade 1 and 2 (11.91±3.26 and 12.38±3.64, P=0.001). Students who have received nutritional training performed better than those who have not (13.32±3.52 vs. 11.28±3.52, P=0.004). However, there was no significant correlation between the test scores and the attitude towards nutrition, self-confidence in nutrition education and the attention to nutrition ( P>0.05). Regarding teaching methods, most students (55.7%) preferred the integrated method of traditional method, clinical case study, and flipped classroom. Conclusions:Undergraduate nursing students recognize the importance of nutrition in healthcare and confirm the significance of nurses in patient nutritional education. Nursing students have a positive attitude towards nutritional learning but have limited recognition of nutrition, low self-confidence in patient nutritional education, and inadequate knowledge. Clinical practice-based teaching methods can be integrated into their curriculum to improve the quality of nutrition programs.

Objective To investigate the mechanism by which Colony Stimulating Factor-1(CSF1)inhibits apoptosis in neurons subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation(OGD).Methods Primary rat cortical neurons were divided into the OGD damaged neuron model group(OGD group),the rh-CSF1 intervention group(rh-CSF1 group),and control group.The sample size for each group was 3.After intervention with recombinant human CSF1(rh-CSF1),neuronal apoptosis rate and intracellular ATP content,reactive oxygen species levels,mitochondrial membrane potential,and mitochondrial DNA copy number were measured.The content of malondialdehyde within mitochondria and the activity of superoxide dismutase were also assessed.Results Intervention with rh-CSF1 increased mitochondrial membrane potential(0.55±0.03 vs.0.43±0.06,P<0.01),mitochondrial DNA copy number(0.88±0.05 vs.0.72±0.06,P<0.05),ATP content[(15.70±0.99)mmol/mg vs.(11.70±1.00)mmol/mg,P<0.01)],and superoxide dismutase[(18.47±1.38)U/mg vs.(14.78±1.81)U/mg,P<0.05)]activity in neurons injured by OGD.It also reduced levels of rectivereactive oxygen species(3.64±0.21 vs.4.45±0.33,P<0.05)and malondialdehyde within mitochondria[(2.13±0.19)mmol/mg vs.(2.78±0.20)mmol/mg,P<0.05)],and inhibited neuronal apoptosis(10.12±0.78 vs.17.04±1.23,P<0.01)Conclusion rh-CSF1 may alleviate the damage in neurons induced by OGD by improving mitochondrial function,reducing oxidative stress,and inhibiting cell apoptosis.

Objective:To evaluate the applicability of bone age (BA) assessment methods and to investigate the difference between BA and chronological age (CA) based on the data of children in rural areas of Beijing.Methods:A total of 412 healthy children (226 boys, 186 girls) with the age 8.6 (6.8, 10.3) years old were included in this study. The data of the prospective study were from a subgroup of the project "National Nutrition and Health Systematic Survey for 0-18 Years Old Children in China", which included children with age of 3-12 years old in Beijing rural areas. The non-dominant hand-wrist radiographs of all participants were obtained in April 2021. The Dr.Wise BA detection and analysis system was used to assess the BA according to the Tanner Whitehouse 3 (TW3) radius-ulna-short bone score (TW3-RUS), TW3 carpal bone score (TW3-Carpal), China-05 TW3-Chinese RUS (TW3-C RUS), China-05 TW3-Chinese carpal (TW3-C Carpal), and Greulich-Pyle (G-P) standards. The cases were stratified by the sex and different CA in the statistical analysis. The estimated BA obtained using different methods were compared with the CA using Wilcoxon signed ranks test.Results:The sex-stratified results showed that no significant difference was found between the estimated BA using G-P standards and CA in boys ( Z=-0.694, P=0.488), while all the other estimated BA results were statistically significantly higher than CA ( P<0.05). Stratified by both sex and CA, the estimated BA using G-P standards in 4-6 years old boy groups, as well as the estimated BA using TW3-Carpal and TW3-C Carpal standards in 11-12 years old girl groups were lower than CA, while in the other groups, the estimated BA were higher than CA. Conclusions:There were varying degrees of deviations in the BA estimations using TW3, China 05, and G-P methods for children in rural areas of Beijing. It is imperative to establish a new standard for the BA evaluation of the contemporary Chinese children.

Objective To investigate a convenient and quantitative solution to activation levels and functional characterization of CAR-T cells by inserting T cell activity-responsive promoter (TARP) nanoluciferase reporter gene system into a lentiviral plasmid containing the gene encoding the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). Methods The recombinant plasmid was constructed by using whole gene synthesis and molecular cloning techniques. The lentivirus was packaged and was infected with human primary T lymphocytes. Flow cytometry was used to detected the positive rate of lentivirus-infected T cells. The functional characterization of CAR-T cells was identified by luciferase reporter gene system, Western blot, flow cytometry, and small animal live imaging techniques. Results The results of enzyme digestion identification and the plasmid sequencing showed that the recombinant plasmids were constructed, and flow cytometry displayed the normal preparation of CAR-T cells. This system could dynamically respond to the activation of CAR-T cells by luciferase reporter gene system. The functional assay in vitro confirmed that the system could reflect the exhaustion of CAR-T cells, and the small animal live imaging results demonstrated that the system can be used as a tracer of CAR-T cells in mice. Conclusion TARP nanoluciferase reporter gene system provides a more convenient, sensitive and quantitative method for evaluating CAR-T cells activation level, exhaustion phenotype and tracing.
Humans ; Animals ; Mice ; T-Lymphocytes ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/genetics* ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods*

Object:To conduct a scoping review of maternal readiness for hospital discharge, so as to provide references for future clinical research and practice on maternal and infant care.Methods:Using the scoping review guidelines of Joanna Briggs Institute in Australia as the methodological framework, the relevant studies on maternal readiness for hospital discharge were searched by computer on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CNKI, Wanfang Database, Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database and China Biology Medicine disc. The search period was from the establishment of the databases to October 20, 2022.Results:A total of 24 artiles were included. The influencing factors of maternal readiness for hospital discharge included sociodemographic factors, maternity factors, psychological factors, children factors, family social factors, medical staff related factors and other factors. The intervention measures of maternal readiness for hospital discharge included the establishment of discharge preparation team, the measures from hospital admission to prenatal period, the measures from postpartum to the day of discharge and the measures after discharge. There were many kinds of scales for maternal readiness for hospital discharge, and there was no unified assessment standard.Conclusions:The level of maternal readiness for hospital discharge is different, and its influencing factors should be paid attention to. In the future, further research can be conducted on intervention measures and evaluation standards for maternal discharge readiness, providing references for improving the level of maternal discharge readiness.

Objective:To explore the clinical and CT imaging features of immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated pneumonia (CIP) and to improve the early diagnostic ability of CIP.Methods:From June 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021, the clinical data and chest CT images of 2 067 patients with advanced malignant tumor treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) in the First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Patients with CIP were enrolled according to the guidelines for CIP diagnosis, and the incidence, time from the start of medication to the onset of CIP, medication cycle, imaging features, imaging patterns, CT grade and outcomes were analyzed. χ 2 test was used to compare the incidence of CIP in patients with or without basic lung disease. Results:Among 2 067 patients with malignant tumors treated with ICI, 67 patients developed CIP, the incidence of CIP was 3.2%. The incidence of CIP was significantly different between 386 patients with basic lung disease (7.00%, 27/386) and 1 681 patients without basic lung disease (2.4%, 40/1 681) (χ 2=21.32, P<0.001). The time from the start of medication to the onset of CIP was 7-367 d (median 52 days), and the duration of medication was 1-12 cycles (median 2 cycles). The imaging features of CIP presented as ground glass opacities in 54 cases (80.6%), solid nodules in 26 cases (38.8%), consolidations in 25 cases (37.3%) and irregular reticular opacities in 24 cases (35.8%). The main radiologic pattern was organizing pneumonia (OP, 34 cases, 50.7%), and followed by diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) pattern (14 cases, 20.9%). According to CT grading, there were 26 cases in low risk grade, 17 cases in moderate risk grade and 24 cases in high risk grade. Of 43 low-and medium-risk grade cases, 25 were OP pattern, accounting for 58.1%, and among 24 high-risk grade patients, 13 were DAD pattern, accounting for 54.2%. Forty-three of the 52 patients were initially untreated, of which 23 patients progressed, 17 had lesion shrinkage, and 3 had resolution, and relapsed in 8 cases after resolution or drug withdrawal. Conclusions:The imaging manifestations of CIP are mainly ground glass opacities, nodules, consolidations, and irregular reticular opacities. The radiologic patterns are mainly OP and DAD. OP is the most common pattern in low-moderate risk grade CIP and DAD is the most common pattern in high risk grade CIP. Patients with basic lung disease are more likely to get CIP.

Objective:To explore the effect of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-related long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) ESCCAL-1 on the polarization of THP-1 cells-derived macrophages.Methods:The esophageal cancer cell line KYSE450 was divided into 5 groups: KYSE450 group (normal KYSE450 cells), shRNA-ESCCAL-1 group (infected with knockout ESCCAL-1 lentivirus), shRNA-NC group (infected with interference control lentivirus), OE-ESCCAL-1 group (infected with overexpressing ESCCAL-1 lentivirus) and OE-NC group (infected with overexpressed control lentivirus). The expression of ESCCAL-1 was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). After co-culture of cells in each group with THP-1 cells-derived macrophages, flow cytometry was used to detect the expressions of THP-1 cells-derived macrophages M1 polarization markers HLA-DR, iNOS, CD86 and M2 polarization markers Arg-1, CD163, CD206, and inflammatory cytokines.Results:After THP-1 cells were stimulated with 100 ng/ml phorbol ester for 48 hours, the cells grew adherently, and the expression levels of CD11b and CD36 increased, indicating that THP-1 cells were successfully differentiated into macrophages. After THP-1 cells-derived macrophages were co-cultured with esophageal cancer KYSE450 cell line treated differently for 24 hours, there were no significant differences in the expressions of M1 polarization markers HLA-DR, iNOS and CD86 between shRNA-ESCCAL-1 group and shRNA-NC group or between OE-ESCCAL-1 group and OE-NC group (all P > 0.05). Compared with shRNA-NC group, the expressions of M2 polarization markers Arg-1, CD163 and CD206 in shRNA-ESCCAL-1 group decreased [8.54±0.29 vs. 11.83±0.69, 12.0±0.3 vs. 24.5±0.8, 2.05±0.23 vs. 14.54±1.10], and the differences were statistically significant ( t values were 7.636, 27.38 and 19.31, all P < 0.01); compared with the OE-NC group, the expressions of M2 polarization marker Arg-1, CD163 and CD206 in OE-ESCCAL-1 group increased [32.60±1.14 vs. 14.20±0.20, 43.7±1.5 vs. 25.1±1.2, 35.8±0.7 vs. 13.6±0.6], and the differences were statistically significant ( t values were -27.58, -17.24 and -43.98, all P < 0.01). Compared with shRNA-NC group, the expression level of interferon-γ in shRNA-ESCCAL-1 group decreased [(6.3±1.5) pg/ml vs. (20.0±2.6) pg/ml, t = 7.75, P = 0.001]; compared with OE-NC group, the expression level of interleukin-1RA in OE-ESCCAL-1 group increased [(3 167±306) pg/ml vs. (467±176) pg/ml, t = -13.27, P < 0.01]. Conclusions:Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-related lncRNA ESCCAL-1 can promote the M2 polarization of macrophages.