Background/Aims: Natural killer (NK) cell function is generally considered dampened in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection; however, the NK cell pool exhibits phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, and the antibody--mediated effect of NK cells remains less characterized. This study evaluated the dynamic changes in antibody-mediated NK cell responses and the involvement of distinct NK subsets across disease stages and during antiviral treatment. Methods: A T-cell receptor-like antibody specific for the HBV core 18–27 peptide (cTCRL-Ab) was used to determine the antibody-mediated effect of NK cells, and an array of NK cell surface markers were analyzed in cross-sectional and longitudinal cohorts of patients with chronic HBV infection. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed to identify the heterogeneity of NK subsets. Results: The cTCRL-Ab enabled the detection of NK cell cytolytic activity and IFNγ production. Notably, cTCRL-Ab-mediated NK cell responses were compromised in chronically HBV-infected patients, particularly in those receiving pegylated interferon-α (Peg-IFNα), which was associated with the downregulation of CD16 expression. Correspondingly, Peg-IFNα inhibited cTCRL-Ab-mediated NK cell function by reducing CD16 expression in vitro. scRNA-seq revealed that CD16 downregulation occurred mainly within a dysfunctional CD16hi NK subset exhibiting exhaustion properties. In contrast, an activated CD16hiNK subpopulation (CX3CR1⁺KLRC2–CD16hi) with high cytotoxicity was enriched in patients who experienced favorable treatment responses. Furthermore, the intrahepatic CX3CR1+KLRC2–CD16hi subset tended to exhibit functional restoration in HBsAg-loss individuals. Conclusions Our data contribute to the understanding of antibody-mediated responses of NK cells in chronic HBV infection, and highlight a previously unappreciated functional CX3CR1+KLRC2–CD16hiNK subset as a potential therapeutic target.

Objective To explore the correlation of MET status in patients with advanced prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma with the clinical pathological parameters and prognosis. Methods The specimen from 135 patients with advanced prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma was included. The expression of c-MET protein was detected via immunohistochemistry, and MET gene amplification was assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The relationships of c-MET expression and gene amplification with clinicopathological features and prognosis were analyzed. Results The positive expression rate of c-MET was 52.60% (71/135). Compared with the c-MET expression in adjacent tissues, that in tumor tissues showed lower heterogeneous expression. Among the cases, 1.71% (2/117) exhibited MET gene polyploidy, but no gene amplification was detected. Positive c-MET expression was significantly correlated with high Gleason scores and grade groups (P=0.0073). However, no significant relationship was found between c-MET expression and progression-free survival or post-treatment t-PSA levels. Conclusion c-MET protein is expressed at a relatively low level in advanced prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma, suggesting that c-MET may not be a viable target for ADC drug development in prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical characteristics, renal pathology, genetic testing, and treatment of five patients —two males and three females—diagnosed with primary atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) in the Department of Nephrology at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from February 2022 to June 2024. The patients′ ages at disease onset ranged from 14 to 29 years. Four patients experienced prodromal infection symptoms. At disease onset, serum creatinine levels ranged from 168.5 to 1 230.2 μmol/L. All patients presented with hematuria, proteinuria, hypertension, non-immune hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and fragmented red blood cells in peripheral blood (0.5%-6.0%). Serum haptoglobin levels were below the normal lower limit in all cases. Four patients demonstrated decreased serum complement C3, while one maintained normal serum complement C3 throughout the course of the disease. One patient exhibited serum factor H concentrations below the normal lower limit. Another patient tested positive for anti-factor H antibodies. Renal biopsies were performed on four patients. Electron microscopy revealed typical acute-phase pathological features of aHUS in three cases, including glomerular endothelial cell swelling and widened subendothelial spaces. One patient demonstrated ischemic and atrophic changes in the glomerular capillaries, while another had concurrent membranous nephropathy. Whole-exome high-throughput sequencing related to aHUS was performed in all five patients, revealing heterozygous gene mutations in each case. Complement-related gene mutations, typically occurring in a heterozygous state, are prevalent in aHUS patients. The eight heterozygous gene variations identified in this study were absent from existing databases of known aHUS-associated pathogenic mutations. Four patients received eculizumab treatment at varying time points following diagnosis, resulting in differing clinical outcomes. The patient positive for anti-factor H antibodies was treated with rituximab. The patient with membranous nephropathy initiated combination therapy with rituximab and eculizumab after six months of eculizumab monotherapy. Following treatment, all five patients achieved complete cessation of intravascular mechanical hemolysis, with normalization of LDH and platelet levels, as well as varying degrees of renal function recovery. From a pathophysiological perspective, the timely administration of the complement C5 inhibitor eculizumab can rapidly induce clinical remission, reduce the incidence of end-stage renal disease, and improve prognosis in patients with aHUS.

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics of elderly patients with stage Ⅰ diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and analyze the factors associated with prognosis.Methods:A case series study was conducted by retrospectively collecting clinical data from patients aged over 60 years with newly diagnosed stage Ⅰ DLBCL across 20 medical centers in Jiangsu Province, China, between June 2010 and April 2023. The involved site, classification and treatment plan were summarized. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Statistical analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression model.Results:The study included 255 patients with a median age of 69 years, of whom 130 (51.0%) were male, 66 (25.9%) were aged ≥75 years and 26 (10.1%) had a high Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score of ≥2. Extranodal involvement was observed in 163 (63.9%) patients, with the stomach (37.4%, 61/163), intestine (19.0%, 31/163), testes (11.0%, 18/163), and breast (7.4%, 12/163) being the most frequently affected sites. The non-germinal center B-cell (non-GCB) subtype was prevalent in 63.7% of patients (142/223), with no significant difference between the nodal and extranodal groups ( P=0.681). Furthermore, 73.9% (184/249) and 11.7% (29/249) of patients received the R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) and R-miniCHOP regimen, respectively. The overall 3-year PFS rate was 81.5%, and the 3-year OS rate was 85.6%. Patients aged ≥75 years ( HR=2.910, 95% CI 1.565-5.408, P=0.001) and/or with a CCI score ≥2 ( HR=2.324, 95% CI 1.141-4.732, P=0.020) had a significantly poorer PFS. Incorporating age ≥75 years and CCI score ≥2 into the stage-modified international prognostic index (sm-IPI) can better stratify the prognosis of elderly patients with stage Ⅰ DLBCL. The 3-year PFS rate was 48.7% in the high-risk group versus 85.7% in the low-risk group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:Our findings show that the elderly patients with stage Ⅰ DLBCL were predominantly characterized by extranodal involvement (particularly in the stomach and intestinal tract) and non-GCB subtype. Age ≥75 years and CCI ≥2 were identified as independent prognostic factors. The newly established sm-IPI-75-CCI incorporating these factors demonstrated superior prognostic discrimination compared to conventional risk assessment systems.

Objective:To construct a humanistic care nursing program for adult ICU patients, providing guidance for the clinical practice of humanistic care in ICUs.Methods:Based on a literature review and clinical practice experience, a preliminary humanistic care nursing program for adult ICU patients was drafted. From August to September 2024, the Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of expert consultation with 16 experts to revise the content of each item and the overall program, resulting in the final version of the humanistic care nursing program for ICU adult patients. The experts' engagement was measured by the effective response rate of the questionnaires, their authority by the expert authority coefficient, and the coordination of expert opinions by the Kendall's coefficient of concordance.Results:The effective response rate for the Delphi expert consultation questionnaires was 100.00% (16/16) in both rounds. The expert authority coefficients were 0.872 and 0.875, respectively. After the second round of consultation, the Kendall's coefficients for the importance, applicability, and feasibility of each level of item ranged from 0.119 to 0.313 ( P<0.05). The final humanistic care nursing program for adult ICU patients included three first-level items, 12 second-level items, and 55 third-level items. Conclusions:The humanistic care nursing program for adult ICU patients constructed in this study is scientific, targeted, and feasible, providing guidance for the clinical practice of humanistic care in ICU settings.

Objective:To construct a humanistic care nursing program for adult ICU patients, providing guidance for the clinical practice of humanistic care in ICUs.Methods:Based on a literature review and clinical practice experience, a preliminary humanistic care nursing program for adult ICU patients was drafted. From August to September 2024, the Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of expert consultation with 16 experts to revise the content of each item and the overall program, resulting in the final version of the humanistic care nursing program for ICU adult patients. The experts' engagement was measured by the effective response rate of the questionnaires, their authority by the expert authority coefficient, and the coordination of expert opinions by the Kendall's coefficient of concordance.Results:The effective response rate for the Delphi expert consultation questionnaires was 100.00% (16/16) in both rounds. The expert authority coefficients were 0.872 and 0.875, respectively. After the second round of consultation, the Kendall's coefficients for the importance, applicability, and feasibility of each level of item ranged from 0.119 to 0.313 ( P<0.05). The final humanistic care nursing program for adult ICU patients included three first-level items, 12 second-level items, and 55 third-level items. Conclusions:The humanistic care nursing program for adult ICU patients constructed in this study is scientific, targeted, and feasible, providing guidance for the clinical practice of humanistic care in ICU settings.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical characteristics, renal pathology, genetic testing, and treatment of five patients —two males and three females—diagnosed with primary atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) in the Department of Nephrology at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from February 2022 to June 2024. The patients′ ages at disease onset ranged from 14 to 29 years. Four patients experienced prodromal infection symptoms. At disease onset, serum creatinine levels ranged from 168.5 to 1 230.2 μmol/L. All patients presented with hematuria, proteinuria, hypertension, non-immune hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and fragmented red blood cells in peripheral blood (0.5%-6.0%). Serum haptoglobin levels were below the normal lower limit in all cases. Four patients demonstrated decreased serum complement C3, while one maintained normal serum complement C3 throughout the course of the disease. One patient exhibited serum factor H concentrations below the normal lower limit. Another patient tested positive for anti-factor H antibodies. Renal biopsies were performed on four patients. Electron microscopy revealed typical acute-phase pathological features of aHUS in three cases, including glomerular endothelial cell swelling and widened subendothelial spaces. One patient demonstrated ischemic and atrophic changes in the glomerular capillaries, while another had concurrent membranous nephropathy. Whole-exome high-throughput sequencing related to aHUS was performed in all five patients, revealing heterozygous gene mutations in each case. Complement-related gene mutations, typically occurring in a heterozygous state, are prevalent in aHUS patients. The eight heterozygous gene variations identified in this study were absent from existing databases of known aHUS-associated pathogenic mutations. Four patients received eculizumab treatment at varying time points following diagnosis, resulting in differing clinical outcomes. The patient positive for anti-factor H antibodies was treated with rituximab. The patient with membranous nephropathy initiated combination therapy with rituximab and eculizumab after six months of eculizumab monotherapy. Following treatment, all five patients achieved complete cessation of intravascular mechanical hemolysis, with normalization of LDH and platelet levels, as well as varying degrees of renal function recovery. From a pathophysiological perspective, the timely administration of the complement C5 inhibitor eculizumab can rapidly induce clinical remission, reduce the incidence of end-stage renal disease, and improve prognosis in patients with aHUS.

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics of elderly patients with stage Ⅰ diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and analyze the factors associated with prognosis.Methods:A case series study was conducted by retrospectively collecting clinical data from patients aged over 60 years with newly diagnosed stage Ⅰ DLBCL across 20 medical centers in Jiangsu Province, China, between June 2010 and April 2023. The involved site, classification and treatment plan were summarized. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Statistical analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression model.Results:The study included 255 patients with a median age of 69 years, of whom 130 (51.0%) were male, 66 (25.9%) were aged ≥75 years and 26 (10.1%) had a high Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score of ≥2. Extranodal involvement was observed in 163 (63.9%) patients, with the stomach (37.4%, 61/163), intestine (19.0%, 31/163), testes (11.0%, 18/163), and breast (7.4%, 12/163) being the most frequently affected sites. The non-germinal center B-cell (non-GCB) subtype was prevalent in 63.7% of patients (142/223), with no significant difference between the nodal and extranodal groups ( P=0.681). Furthermore, 73.9% (184/249) and 11.7% (29/249) of patients received the R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) and R-miniCHOP regimen, respectively. The overall 3-year PFS rate was 81.5%, and the 3-year OS rate was 85.6%. Patients aged ≥75 years ( HR=2.910, 95% CI 1.565-5.408, P=0.001) and/or with a CCI score ≥2 ( HR=2.324, 95% CI 1.141-4.732, P=0.020) had a significantly poorer PFS. Incorporating age ≥75 years and CCI score ≥2 into the stage-modified international prognostic index (sm-IPI) can better stratify the prognosis of elderly patients with stage Ⅰ DLBCL. The 3-year PFS rate was 48.7% in the high-risk group versus 85.7% in the low-risk group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:Our findings show that the elderly patients with stage Ⅰ DLBCL were predominantly characterized by extranodal involvement (particularly in the stomach and intestinal tract) and non-GCB subtype. Age ≥75 years and CCI ≥2 were identified as independent prognostic factors. The newly established sm-IPI-75-CCI incorporating these factors demonstrated superior prognostic discrimination compared to conventional risk assessment systems.

Objective:To conduct a scoping review on the application of family resilience intervention in adults with chronic disease.Methods:Related studies published from database establishment to October 30, 2023 were systematically searched on PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP, and China Biomedical Database. The included literature was summarized and analyzed.Results:A total of 9 articles were included. The intervention elements for family resilience included increasing awareness of diseases and family characteristics, solving and responding to family problems, engaging in family interaction and communication, integrating internal and external resources, and providing psychological and technical support. The outcome indicators were the level of family resilience and effectiveness.Conclusions:The intervention of family resilience in adults with chronic disease has certain effectiveness and clinical significance, but research is still in the exploratory stage. Further high-quality research is needed to verify the long-term intervention effect and feasibility, and to construct a diversified family resilience intervention program suitable for China.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the predominant polyphenol in green tea, exerts a spectrum of physiological activities, including antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory effects. Emerging research underscores the significance of EGCG in modulating oocyte aging. EGCG can enhance antioxidant defenses, improve mitochondrial functions, and inhibit apoptotic pathways, thereby retarding the aging of oocytes. This review delineates the main molecular features of EGCG and expounds its regulatory mechanisms concerning oocyte aging, enriching the knowledge on the role of EGCG in the amelioration of oocyte aging.
Catechin/pharmacology* ; Oocytes/metabolism* ; Humans ; Animals ; Antioxidants/pharmacology* ; Female ; Cellular Senescence/drug effects* ; Tea/chemistry* ; Apoptosis/drug effects*