Objective To investigate the causal relationship between gut microbiota and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Methods Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data of gut microbiota and IPF were obtained from MiBioGen and IEU OpenGWAS, respectively. Instrumental variables were screened by means of significance, linkage disequilibrium, weak instrumental variable screening, and removal of confounding factors (genetics, smoking, host characteristics). Inverse variance weighted (IVW) was used as the main Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis method, and the weighted median, simple mode, MR-Egger, and weighted mode were used to perform MR to reveal the causal effect of gut microbiota and IPF. The Cochrane's Q, leave-one-out, MR-Egger-intercept, and Mendelian randomization pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) and Steiger tests were used to analyze the heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, outliers, and directionality, respectively. Results IVW analysis results showed that Actinobacteria [OR=1.773, 95%CI (1.323, 2.377), P<0.001], Erysipelatoclostridium [OR=2.077, 95%CI (1.107, 3.896), P=0.023], and Streptococcus [OR=1.35, 95%CI (1.100, 1.657), P=0.004] could increase the risk of IPF. Bifidobacterium [OR=0.668, 95%CI (0.620, 0.720), P<0.001], Ruminococcus [OR=0.434, 95%CI (0.222, 0.848), P=0.015], and Tyzzerella [OR=0.479, 95%CI (0.304, 0.755), P=0.001] could reduce the risk of IPF. No significant heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, outliers, and reverse causality were found. Conclusion Actinobacteria, Erysipelatoclostridium and Streptococcus may increase the risk of IPF, while Bifidobacterium, Ruminococcus and Tyzzerella may reduce the risk of IPF. Regulation of the above gut microbiota may become a new direction in the study of the pathogenesis of IPF.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib combined with sintilimab versus atezolizumab combined with bevacizumab in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma （uHCC）， aims to provide real-world evidence for clinical personalized treatment. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for 78 patients with uHCC who were admitted to Beijing Ditan Hospital， Capital Medical University， from January 1， 2023， to May 31， 2025， and according to the treatment modality， they were divided into lenvatinib+sintilimab group （L+S group with 49 patients） and atezolizumab+bevacizumab group （A+T group with 29 patients）. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival （PFS） and overall survival （OS）， and the secondary endpoints included objective response rate （ORR）， disease control rate （DCR）， and the incidence rate of adverse events. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups， and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis， and the log-rank test was used for comparison between groups. ResultsThe 78 patients had a median PFS of 9 months and a median OS of 15 months. The median PFS was 11 months in the L+S group and 7 months in the A+T group， with no significant difference between the two groups （χ²=0.247， P=0.619）； the median OS was 19 months in the L+S group and 12 months in the A+T group， with a significant difference between the two groups （χ²=6.565， P=0.010）. There were no significant differences between the two groups in complete remission， partial remission， stable disease， disease progression， DCR， and ORR （all P>0.05）. The L+S group had a significantly higher incidence rate of adverse events than the A+T group （95.9% vs 75.9%， P=0.007）， and there was a significant difference in the incidence rate of grade ≥3 adverse events between the L+S group and the A+T group （65.3% vs 34.5%， P=0.008）. ConclusionCompared with atezolizumab combined with bevacizumab， lenvatinib combined with sintilimab can improve the OS of patients with uHCC， while atezolizumab combined with bevacizumab has a better safety profile.

Studies on specific transient receptor potential melastatin 2 (TRPM2) channel inhibitors can deepen our understanding of the pathological mechanism of related diseases, and allow discovery of novel, effective targets and drugs for therapy. The development of TRPM2 channel inhibitors can be broadly classified into four categories with distinct characteristics: reutilization and structural modification of homologous ion channel modulators to produce a diverse array of TRPM2 channel inhibitors with strong inhibitory effects; TRPM2 channel inhibitors based on channel gating mechanism with high specificity; inhibitors identified through high-throughput screening with novel chemical structures; inhibitors developed from natural antioxidants with higher safety. In recent years, the application of computer-aided drug design has significantly accelerated the development of TRPM2 channel inhibitors. Several promising compounds such as ZA18, A1 and D9 have been discovered, and it is expected that more potent and selective TRPM2 channel inhibitor scaffolds will be discovered in the future. This article reviews the advances on the studies of TRPM2 channel inhibitors, aiming to provide insights for further research and clinical application of TRPM2 channel inhibitors.
TRPM Cation Channels/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Humans ; Drug Design

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the effect of Dictamni Cortex on intestinal barrier damage in rats and its mechanism by untargeted metabolomics and targeted metabolomics for short-chain fatty acids （SCFAs）. MethodsRats were randomly divided into a control group， a high-dose group of Dictamni Cortex （8.1 g·kg^-1）， a medium-dose group （2.7 g·kg^-1）， and a low-dose group （0.9 g·kg^-1）. Except for the control group， the other groups were administered different doses of Dictamni Cortex by gavage for eight consecutive weeks. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe the pathological changes in the ileal tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was employed to detect the level of cytokines， including tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， in the ileal tissue of rats. Quantitative real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） technology was used to detect the expression level of tight junction proteins， including zonula occludens-1 （ZO-1）， Occludin， and Claudin-1 mRNAs， in the ileal tissue of rats to preliminarily explore the effects of Dictamni Cortex on intestinal damage. The dose with the most significant toxic phenotype was selected to further reveal the effects of Dictamni Cortex on the metabolic profile of ileal tissue in rats by non-targeted metabolomics combined with targeted metabolomics for SCFAs. ResultsCompared with the control group， all doses of Dictamni Cortex induced varying degrees of pathological damage in the ileum， increased TNF-α （P<0.01）， IL-6 （P<0.01）， and IL-1β （P<0.01） levels in the ileal tissue， and decreased the expression level of ZO-1 （P<0.05， P<0.01）， Occludin （P<0.01）， and Claudin-1 （P<0.05） in the ileal tissue， with the high-dose group showing the most significant toxic phenotypes. The damage mechanisms of the high-dose group of Dictamni Cortex on the ileal tissue were further explored by integrating non-targeted metabolomics and targeted metabolomics for SCFAs. The non-targeted metabolomics results showed that 21 differential metabolites were identified in the control group and the high-dose group. Compared with that in the control group， after Dictamni Cortex intervention， the level of 14 metabolites was significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the level of seven metabolites was significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01） in the ileal contents. These metabolites collectively acted on 10 related metabolic pathways， including glycerophospholipids and primary bile acid biosynthesis. The quantitative data of targeted metabolomics for SCFAs showed that Dictamni Cortex intervention disrupted the level of propionic acid， butyric acid， acetic acid， caproic acid， isobutyric acid， isovaleric acid， valeric acid， and isocaproic acid in the ileal contents of rats. Compared with those in the control group， the level of isobutyric acid， isovaleric acid， and valeric acid were significantly increased， while the level of propionic acid， butyric acid， and acetic acid were significantly decreased in the ileal contents of rats after Dictamni Cortex intervention （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionDictamni Cortex can induce intestinal damage by regulating glycerophospholipid metabolism， primary bile acid biosynthesis， and metabolic pathways for SCFAs.

Objective To explore the value of clinical-MRI radiomics combined model for differentiating borderline ovarian tumor(BOT)from epithelial ovarian cancer(EOC).Methods Totally 139 patients with BOT(BOT group)and 307 patients with EOC(EOC group)confirmed by postoperative pathology and underwent preoperative pelvic MRI were retrospectively enrolled and randomly divided into training set(n=312)and test set(n=134)at a ratio of 7∶3.Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent clinical predictors for differentiating BOT and EOC,then a clinical model was constructed.Radiomics features were extracted from the volumes of interest(VOI)of lesions on T2WI,diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)and apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)images,respectively,and single-sequence and multi-sequence MRI radiomics models were built using extreme gradient boosting(XGBoost)based on data in training set.The optimal MRI radiomics model was selected according to the highest area under the curve(AUC)in test set,and a clinical-MRI radiomics combined model was constructed combined the optimal radiomics model with independent clinical predictors.The performances of clinical model,the optimal MRI radiomics model and the combined model for differentiating BOT and EOC were compared in test set.SHapley Additive exPlanations(SHAP)analysis was applied to interpret key predictive features in the best model.Results Patients' age,carbohydrate antigen 153(CA153)and carbohydrate antigen 125(CA125)were all independent predictors for differentiating BOT and EOC(all P＜0.05).Multi-sequence MRI radiomics model was the optimal MRI radiomics model.The combined model showed superior performance(AUC=0.929)for discriminating BOT and EOC compared with clinical model(AUC=0.881)and multi-sequence MRI radiomics model(AUC=0.871)(both P＜0.05).SHAP beeswarm plot revealed that the top 10 important features of combined model included age,CA153 and CA125,as well as entropy,kurtosis and gray level non-uniformity from ADC and DWI sequences.Conclusion Clinical-MRI radiomics combined model based on multi-sequence MRI radiomics features and clinical features could be used to effectively differentiate BOT from EOC.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between variants in the start codon of the α-globin gene and phenotypes of thalassemia, so as to provide a basis for the diagnosis and prevention of α-thalassemia.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 7 patients diagnosed by Yangjiang People′s Hospital and Guangzhou Hybribio Co. Ltd., from June 2019 to October 2022. Routine blood tests and hemoglobin electrophoresis were carried out. Potential variants were identified through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with Reverse dot blotting (RDB), Gap-PCR, and Sanger sequencing. This study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of People′s Hospital of Yangjiang (Ethics No: 20240001).Results:For the 7 patients, results of blood routine test of one case was unknown, and that of another was normal. The remaining 5 cases had presented with microcytic hypochromic anemia. The results of hemoglobin electrophoresis showed that one case had normal Hb A and slightly lower Hb A 2, whilst another had significantly decreased Hb A and Hb A 2, in addition with the appearance of a Hb H band. The content of Hb Bart′s in four neonates was ≥0.4%. The remaining one case had no result. Genetic testing has identified 4 rare start codon mutations, namely HBA2: c. 2delT, HBA2: c. 1A>G, HBA2: c. 1A>T, and HBA1: c. 2T>C. Among these, Patient 1 had harbored compound heterozygous variants of HBA2: c. 427T>C (Hb CS) and HBA2: c. 2delT. Patient 4 had harbored compound heterozygous variants of HBA2: c. 1A>G and Southeast Asian type deletion. Conclusion:Heterozygotes with HBA start codon variants usually present as silent or mild thalassemia, and the symptoms of anemia may deteriorate when combined with other α-thalassemia variant. The HBA2: c. 1A>T start codon variant was unreported previously in China. The detection of start codon variants has helped to clarify the causes of anemia, genetic counseling, and guidance for reproduction.

Objective:To explore the clinical features and genetic mutation sites of 28 patients with Congenital fibrinogen disorders (CFDs).Methods:A total of 28 unrelated CFDs patients admitted to Wenzhou People′s Hospital from June 2018 to April 2023 were enrolled into this research. A total of 2.7 mL of peripheral blood was collected from each patient for coagulation function tests, which included thrombin time (TT), fibrinogen activity (Fg: C), fibrinogen antigen (Fg: Ag), and gene detection. The Sanger sequencing method was employed to verify variations in the fibrinogen (Fg) protein-coding gene across 28 patients. Bioinformatics analyses, including harmfulness analysis, conservation analysis across different species, and spatial simulation predictions of variant proteins, were conducted by PolyPhen-2, PROVEAN, SnapGene, and Pymol softwares on the variant sites of these patients. Pathogenicity ratings for the detected variant sites were performed in accordance with the Standards and Guidelines for the Interpretation of Sequence variants by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) (hereafter referred to as the ACMG Guidelines). This study received approval from the Ethics Committee of Wenzhou People′s Hospital (Approval No. KY-2023-269), and informed consent was obtained from all participants before enrollment.Results:The clinical and genetic characteristics of 28 patients with CFDs in this study were as follows. ①Clinical data: Among the 28 patients, 2 cases were diagnosed with type I CFDs, while 26 cases were diagnosed with type II CFDs. And 50.0% (14/28) of the patients exhibited no clinical manifestations, while 28.6% (8/28) presented with bleeding manifestations, and 7.1% (2/28) exhibited thrombus manifestations, 3.6% (1/28) experienced both bleeding and thrombosis. Among female patients, 13.0% (3/23) exhibited a history of habitual abortion. All patients demonstrated TT and a significant decrease in Fg: C. ②Sanger sequencing revealed a total of 10 types of heterozygous variations in the FGA, FGB, and FGG genes across 28 patients, distributed among 9 loci. The variation at the γ c. 902G>A/c.901C>T accounted for the highest proportion (35.7%, 10/28), followed by the Bβ c. 569 A>G (28.6%, 8/28). ③Biological informatics analysis: the Aα c. 180+ 1G>T mutation was predicted to be highly deleterious. And the Aα c. 104G>A, Bβ c. 425T>G, Bβ c. 586C>T, and γ c. 902G>A/c.901C>T variations were also predicted to be harmful. Conservation analysis indicates that the 9 variant sites were highly conserved among homo sapiens, musculus, ovis aries, scrofa, and rattus. Spatial conformation analysis revealed that some variations lead to an increase or decrease in the number of hydrogen bonds. ④ACMG guideline rating analysis: Among the ten variations in the Fg protein-coding genes FGA, FGB, and FGG identified in 28 patients, 9 variations (Aα c. 104G>A, Aα c. 180+ 1G>T, Bβ c. 425T>G, Bβ c.569A>G, Bβ c. 586C>T, Bβ c. 643G>A, γ c. 901C>T, γ c. 902G>A, γ c. 1001A>C) were classified as pathogenic, while one variation (γ c. 908C>G) was classified as likely pathogenic. Conclusion:In this study, the majority of CFDs patients are diagnosed with type II CFDs, with 50% presenting clinical symptoms predominantly manifesting as bleeding, thrombosis, and recurrent miscarriage. The mutation hotspots are mainly located in exon 2 of FGA, exon 4 of FGB, and exon 8 of FGG.

Liquid chip technology is based on liquid carrier. Comparing to the traditional detection methods, it has unique characteristics such as multiple detection ability, high throughput, high sensitivity, good repeatability, less sample and fast analysis. It can analyse proteins, nucleic acids and other biological molecules in liquid. At present, it has been widely used in the laboratory diagnosis of tumors, autoimmune diseases, allergic diseases, cytokines related diseases, as well as infectious diseases. This article discussed the principles, detection performances, clinical applications and future prospects of liquid chip technology.

L-valine is an important essential branched-chain amino acid widely used in industries such as feed, pharmaceuticals, and food. In order to further enhance the production performance of L-valine, this study systematically engineered the metabolism of a Corynebacterium glutamicum strain, preserved in the laboratory, which is capable of producing L-valine. First, strain VH-9 was obtained by enhancing the precursor supply, synthesis pathway, and transport system of L-valine. In a 5 L fermenter, the titer, yield, and productivity of L-valine were 76.6 g/L, 0.45 g/g, and 2.39 g/(L·h), respectively. Furthermore, strain VH-18 was obtained by enhancing the uptake of substrate glucose and balancing energy supply to reduce succinate accumulation, with the titer, yield, and productivity of L-valine increased to 82.7 g/L, 0.52 g/g, and 2.58 g/(L·h), respectively. After optimization of fermentation conditions, the titer, yield, and productivity of L-valine in strain VH-18 were further improved to 88.7 g/L, 0.54 g/g, and 2.77 g/(L·h), respectively. This study has achieved the high-efficiency production of L-valine through a systems metabolic engineering strategy.
Corynebacterium glutamicum/genetics* ; Metabolic Engineering/methods* ; Valine/biosynthesis* ; Fermentation ; Glucose/metabolism*

Objective:To develop an artificial intelligence（AI）-based sequential ultrasound-magnetic resonance imaging（US-MRI）diagnostic strategy to optimize the imaging workflow for ovarian masses.Methods:A total of 1 120 patients with pathologically confirmed ovarian masses who underwent both preoperative pelvic ultrasound and MRI between January 2021 and December 2023 at Women's Hospital，Zhejiang University School of Medicine were retrospectively included. Patients were randomly divided into the training（ n=672）and internal test set（ n=448）at a ratio of 6∶4. An external test set（ n=128）was established at the Forth Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine. Deep learning was used for automated segmentation of MRI lesions，followed by radiomic feature extraction and machine learning classification to construct both a US-MRI multimodal model and sequential US-MRI strategy. Diagnostic performance and potential healthcare cost-saving effects were evaluated across strategies. Results:In the internal test set（ n=448），the AI-based sequential US-MRI strategy achieved a F1 score of 0.863 and a diagnostic accuracy of 82.14%，with no significant difference compared to the US-MRI multi-modal model（ P>0.05）. The sequential strategy identified 82 cases（18.30%，82/448）of patients as low-risk true negatives during initial ultrasound screening，suggesting a potential to reduce the need for MRI examinations in future clinical practice. In the external test set（ n=128），the strategy achieved an F1 score of 0.800 and a confirmed diagnosis rate of 85.94%，with a theoretical reduction of 26.56%（34 cases）in MRI utilization while maintaining a diagnostic accuracy rate higher than that of the multi-modal model（82.18%）. Conclusions:The AI-based US-MRI sequential diagnostic strategy demonstrates favorable diagnostic accuracy while offering the potential to optimize MRI utilization. This approach may enhance the efficiency of imaging resource allocation and reduce healthcare burden in the management of ovarian masses.