Objective To identify the enhancer landscape marked by histone H3K27ac modifications in diffuse-type gastric cancer(DGC)tissues,and to elucidate the epigenetic remodeling mechanisms by which active enhancers regulate cachexia-related genes.Methods Gastric mucosal tissue samples were collected from Department of Gastroenterology of Army Medical Center of PLA during January 2022 to March 2023,including 10 normal gastric mucosa tissues(Normal group),10 DGC tissues diagnosed with cachexia(DGC group),and 10 organoids derived from DGC tissues(Organoid group).Using H3K27ac chromatin targeting cleavage and tagmentation(CUT&Tag)technology,genomic modification regions were captured to screen specific active enhancers and their potential target genes in DGC tissues.CRISPR-dCas9 gene editing technology was used to intervene with the enhancers,and the expression of target genes was detected with Western blotting and qRT-PCR.Sixteen female SPF-grade BALB/c Nude mice(6～8 weeks old,weighing 18～21 g)were utilized to establish an orthotopic xenograft tumor model using the human diffuse-type gastric cancer cell line MKN45.Cachexia-related phenotypes were evaluated in 3 groups:normal group(n=4),silencing group(n=6),and control group(n=6).Results Significant differential enhancer regions were identified between DGC and normal gastric mucosa tissues.DGC tissues exhibited a marked increase in enhancer abundance(P<0.05)and signal intensity when compared with the normal counterparts.Integrated analysis of transcriptome data revealed that some of these active enhancers up-regulated the expression of GDF15,a cachexia-associated target gene in DGC.Targeted silencing of the active enhancer of GDF15 using CRISPR/dCas9-KRAB plasmid technology resulted in a significant reduction in GDF15 expression at both mRNA levels(P<0.05)and protein.Results from orthotopic transplantation experiments of DGC demonstrated that silencing of active enhancers alleviated the cachexia phenotype in nude mice(P<0.05).Conclusion DGC exhibits enhancer remodeling,which regulates the expression of the cachexia-associated gene GDF15,and thereby contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of cancer cachexia.

Objectives:To investigate association of the non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHHR) with the stroke severity and short-term outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), and to evaluate the predictive value of NHHR for outcome.Methods:Patients with the first-ever AIS admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from June 2018 to June 2024 whose etiological types were large artery atherosclerosis (LAA), small vessel occlusion (SVO) and cardiac embolism (CE) were included retrospectively. According to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at admission, the patients were divided into mild stroke group (≤8) and moderate to severe stroke group (>8). According to the modified Rankin Scale score at discharge, they were divided into good outcome group (≤2) and poor outcome group (>2). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was use to determine the independent correlation between NHHR and stroke severity and short-term outcome in patients with AIS. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of NHHR for short-term poor outcome in overall patients with AIS and different etiological subtypes. Results:A total of 2 865 patients with AIS were enrolled, including 1 925 males (67.2%), aged (61.00 ± 10.17) years. 2 483 patients (86.67%) had mild stroke and 382 (13.33%) had moderate to severe stroke; 2 161 (75.43%) had good short-term outcome, while 704 (24.57%) had poor short-term outcome. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that NHHR was significantly and independently associated with moderate to severe stroke (odds ratio [ OR] 2.251, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.895-2.675; P<0.001) and poor short-term outcome ( OR 3.454, 95% CI 2.936-4.063; P<0.001). ROC curve analysis showed that NHHR had a high predictive value for short-term poor outcome in patients with AIS (the area under the curve [AUC] 0.764, 95% CI 0.745-0.784), and it also demonstrated high predictive value in patients with various etiological types such as LAA (AUC=0.755, 95% CI 0.730-0.781), SVO (AUC=0.801, 95% CI 0.777-0.824) and CE (AUC=0.797, 95% CI 0.774-0.820). Conclusion:NHHR is significantly correlated with the severity of stroke and poor short-term outcome in patients with AIS, and has a high predictive value for poor short-term outcome.

Objective:To explore the medication law of wind drugs in Pi Wei Lun; To provide reference for the clinical application of wind drugs in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Methods:Through searching the prescriptions with wind drugs in Pi Wei Lun, wind drugs and the dosages were extracted. SPSS 25.0 software was used for descriptive statistics of wind drugs data. Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Calculation Platform V3.0 was used for frequency statistics, dosage statistics and association rule analysis of Chinese materia medica. Results:Totally 40 prescriptions were included (40/61, 65.57%), involving 14 kinds of Chinese materia medica, mainly including Cimicifugae Rhizoma, Bupleuri Radix, Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix, Saposhnikoviae Radix, Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens and so on. The ancient dosage of wind drugs was 0.68 g to 4.00 g, and the maximum was 8 g and the minimum was 0.09 g. However,the modern dosage was 3-10 g. The dosage ratio of commonly used of wind drugs was 3%-60%, and its efficacy varied. Through the analysis of association rules algorithm, the study gained 25 medicinal pairs, and the group Cimicifugae Rhizoma-Bupleuri Radix acquired the highest supporting degree. Under the conditions of a confidence level of 75% and support levels of 10%, 15%, and 20%, there were 14, 7, and 3 drug association rules, respectively. The efficacy of commonly used wind drugs varied depending on their ratio.Conclusion:Li Dongyuan attached great importance to develop and ascend the yang of spleen so that he used wind drugs more often for ascending yang, supplementing the original qi, dispelling wind, dispelling dampness, dissipating heat, resolving depression, purging the liver, relaxing the bowels, unblock the orifices and directing meridians.

Objective To select the largest non-toxic leaching solution concentration through the experimental observation of the cytotoxicity of the ostrich acellular corneal stromal leaching solution to the Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts cells(CHL) for the further chromosome distortion experiment.Methods The leaching solution made from the ostrich acellular corneal stromal material was diluted with concentrate of 1 ∶ 2,1 ∶ 4 and the original concentration were used to culture with the CHL cells,the negative and positive control were also set up at the same time,to evaluate the impact on cell growth after 24 hour by MTT colorimetric method.Results The leaching solution diluted with 1∶4 was non-toxic,and could promote the growth of the cells.Conclusion Combined with the results of classification and cell morphological features,this cytotoxicity test can be used to screen the best benchmark non-toxic concentrations for the chromosome aberration test of the CHL cells.

Background Ostrich acellular corneal stroma possesses a similar constitution to human corneal stroma,so it is expected to become one of ideal biological corneal carriers.Objective This study was to investigate the immunogenicity of acellular stroma carrier of ostrich cornea and offer the information for the development of industrialization and clinical use of acellular stroma carrier of ostrich cornea.Methods Twenty fresh ostrich eyeballs and 20 porcine eyeballs were collected.Acellular corneal stroma carriers of ostriches and pigs were prepared using low temperature freezing joint enzyme digestion method and desiccant dehydration method and sterilized by cobalt-60 irradiation.The corneal stroma carriers were preserved using drying and dehydration method.Forty-five male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the sham operation group,ostrich acellular corneal stroma group and porcine acellular corneal stroma group.Acellular corneal stroma carriers of ostriches and pigs(wet weight after rewatering was 10 mg/piece) were subcutaneously implanted to the back of BALB/c mice,respectively.Wound healing and inflammatory response on the operative site were observed,and phenotype and activating rate of CD4+,CD8+ and CD25+in peripheral blood of mice were dynamically detected 7,14 and 28 days after ectopically implantation of heterogeneous corneal stroma by immunofluorescence labeling and flow cytometry analysis.Results No swelling and exudation were seen in the skin of operative site of the mice with a good healing of wound after surgery.There were no significant differences in the activating rates of CD4+,CD8+ and CD25+ cells in the peripheral blood of mice among the sham operation group,the porcine acellular corneal stroma group and ostrich acellular corneal stroma group in the three time points after surgery(CD4+:F=0.74,P=0.50;F=0.39,P=0.05;F=3.46,P=0.58.CD8+:F=1.75,P=0.21 ;F=1.14,P=0.35;F=0.78,P=0.48.CD25+:F=0.52,P=0.61 ;F=3.53,P=0.62;F=2.42,P=0.13).Conclusions The ostrich acellular heterogeneous corneal stroma carrier possesses low immunogenicity.It is inferred that ostrich acellular corneal stroma carrier can be used in heterogeneous corneal transplantation.

Background Fungal corneal ulcer is a visual-threatening eye disease,and drug therapy has a limiting efficacy.Corneal transplantation or eye enucleation sometimes is necessary to the severe patients.Corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) is an effective method for some corneal diseases,but the study on CXL for fungal corneal ulcer is lack.Objective This study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety CXL for fungal corneal ulcer.Methods Fifteen 8-week-old healthy New Zealand white rabbits were used in this study and other 5 rabbits served as normal controls.Fungal corneal ulcer models were established in the right eyes of other 10 rabbits by infecting sickle bacteria liquid after corneal scratching and removing corneal epithelium,then decellularized ostrich corneal patch covered the defected cornea.The models were randomly divided into the non-treatment group and the CXL treatment group.Corneal lesions were examined under the slit lamp microscope every day,and cornea was pictured by laser scanning confocal microscope on the 3rd,7th,14th,21st and 28th day individually after CXL.All rabbits were sacrificed and corneal tissues were obtained 4 weeks after treatment,and the collagen fiber diameter and fibrocytes were observed under the scanning electron microscope.Results Fungal corneal ulcer models were successfully established by corneal scratching and decellularized ostrich cornea covering.The gray ulcer lesions and hypbae like bean pod were seen by slit lamp microscope and laser scanning confocal microscope 3 days after modeling.Corneal ulcer deepened and expanded 1 week later,and there were a large number of spore and hyphae criss-crossing as short rod in shallow stroma.Inflammatory cells were observed in corneal endothelial cells and ocular anterior chamber.In the CXL treatment group,the range of corneal epithelial deficiency was less than that in the nontreatment group on the 3rd,7th,14th,and 21st (all at P＜ 0.05).The diameters of collagen fibers were (24.6± 1.8) nm,(24.9 ± 1.9) nm and (43.0 ± 7.4) nm in the normal control group,non-treatment group and CXL treatment group,showing a significant difference among the 3 groups (F =27.05,P =0.00),and the collagen diameters were thicker in the CXL treatment group than those in the normal control group and non-treatment group (t =5.40,-5.30,both at P＜0.05),and fibrocytes were seen among the collagen fibers.No significant difference was found in the collagen diameters between the non-treatment group and normal control group,and the fibrocytes were less in the non-treatment group.Conclusions CXL therapy can treat fungal corneal ulcer by enhancing collagen,promoting fibrocytes proliferation,suppressing fungus and inflammatory response and accelerating tissue repair.