BACKGROUND: Fibrosis of the connective tissue in the vaginal wall predominates in pelvic organ prolapse (POP), which is characterized by excessive fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation and abnormal deposition of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Our study aimed to investigate the effect of ECM stiffness on vaginal fibroblasts and to explore the role of methyltransferase 3 (METTL3) in the development of POP. METHODS: Polyacrylamide hydrogels were applied to create an ECM microenvironment with variable stiffness to evaluate the effects of ECM stiffness on the proliferation, differentiation, and expression of ECM components in vaginal fibroblasts. METTL3 small interfering RNA and an overexpression vector were transfected into vaginal fibroblasts to evaluate the effects of METTL3 silencing and overexpression on matrix stiffness-induced vaginal fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation and abnormal modulation of the ECM. Both procedures were detected by 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining, Western blotting (WB), quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and immunofluorescence (IF). RESULTS: Vaginal fibroblasts from POP patients exhibited increased proliferation ability, increased expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), decreased expression of collagen I/III, and significantly decreased expression of tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in the stiff matrix ( P <0.05). Compared with those from non-POP patients, vaginal wall tissues from POP patients demonstrated a significant increase in METTL3 content ( P <0.05). However, silencing METTL3 expression in vaginal fibroblasts with high ECM stiffness resulted in decreased proliferation ability, decreased α-SMA expression, an increased ratio of collagen I/III, and increased TIMP1 and TIMP2 expression. Conversely, METTL3 overexpression significantly promoted the process of increased proliferation ability, increased α-SMA expression, decreased ratio of collagen I/III and decreased TIMP1 and TIMP2 expression in the soft matrix ( P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS Elevated ECM stiffness can promote excessive proliferation, differentiation, and abnormal ECM modulation, and the expression of METTL3 plays an important role in alleviating or aggravating matrix stiffness-induced vaginal fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation and abnormal ECM modulation.
Humans ; Female ; Extracellular Matrix/metabolism* ; Cell Differentiation/genetics* ; Methyltransferases/metabolism* ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/pathology* ; Fibroblasts/metabolism* ; Myofibroblasts/metabolism* ; Vagina/metabolism* ; Cell Proliferation/physiology* ; Cells, Cultured ; Middle Aged

Increasing evidence shows that the early lesions of Parkinson's disease (PD) originate from gut, and correction of microbiota dysbiosis is a promising therapy for PD. FLZ is a neuroprotective agent on PD, which has been validated capable of alleviating microbiota dysbiosis in PD mice. However, the detailed mechanisms still need elucidated. Through metabolomics and 16S rRNA analysis, we identified glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA) was the most affected differential microbial metabolite by FLZ treatment, which was specially and negatively regulated by Clostridium innocuum, a differential microbiota with the strongest correlation to GUDCA production, through inhibiting bile salt hydrolase (BSH) enzyme. The protection of GUDCA on colon and brain were also clarified in PD models, showing that it could activate Nrf2 pathway, further validating that FLZ protected dopaminergic neurons through promoting GUDCA production. Our study uncovered that FLZ improved PD through microbiota-gut-brain axis, and also gave insights into modulation of microbial metabolites may serve as an important strategy for treating PD.

Although enteric glial cell (EGC) abnormal activation is reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), and inhibition of EGC gliosis alleviated gut and dopaminergic neuronal dysfunction was verified in our previous study, the potential role of gut microbiota on EGC function in PD still need to be addressed. In the present study, fecal microbiota transplantation revealed that EGC function was regulated by gut microbiota. By employing 16S rRNA and metabolomic analysis, we identified that 3-indolepropionic acid (IPA) was the most affected differential microbial metabolite that regulated EGC gliosis. The protective effects of IPA on PD were validated in rotenone-stimulated EGCs and rotenone (30 mg/kg i.g. for 4 weeks)-induced PD mice, as indicated by decreased inflammation, improved intestinal and brain barrier as well as dopaminergic neuronal function. Mechanistic study showed that IPA targeted pregnane X receptor (PXR) in EGCs, and inhibition of IL-13Rα1 involved cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway, leading to inactivation of downstream JAK1-STAT6 pathway. Our data not only provided evidence that EGC gliosis was critical in spreading intestinal damage to brain, but also highlighted the potential role of microbial metabolite IPA in alleviating PD pathological damages through gut-brain axis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2025.02.029.].

Objective:To investigate blood glucose management in elderly diabetic patients and the factors that affected achieving high rates of achieving it.Methods:The quality of blood glucose control by elderly diabetic patients who visited five community health service centers in Beijing in June 2022 was surveyed retrospectively using a questionnaire.Participants were divided into the high-quality group and not high-quality groups by the criteria of glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA 1C)<7% without hypoglycemia and weight gain.Single factor analysis and multiple-stepwise Logistic regression analysis were used to identify the relative risk of factors affecting the achievement of good glucose management. Results:A total of 287 valid questionnaires were collected, including 80 cases(27.9%)in the high-quality group and 207 cases(72.1%)in the not high-quality group.There were significant differences in sex, course of disease, occurrence of hypoglycemia, number of chronic complications, medication, alcohol consumption, dietary changes, missed medication doses, prolonged outpatient visit intervals, and depressive mood between the two groups( P<0.05).Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that insulin use, missed medication ≥ 1 time/week, and prolonged outpatient visit intervals were independent risk factors for good control( P<0.05). Conclusions:The percentage of elderly diabetes patients with good blood glucose control was low.Factors affecting the rate included insulin use, medication compliance, and prolonged outpatient visit intervals.

Objective:intrahepatic portocaval shunt (TIPS) in the treatment of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 27 patients with HSOS who were treated with TIPS in our center from July 2018 to July 2020. The changes of portal vein pressure (PVP), portal vein pressure gradient (PPG) and liver function were observed, so as to evaluate the efficacy. Paired t test was adopted to evaluate the quantitative parameters, while χ2 test was used to analyze qualitative parameters, with P < 0.05 as statistical difference. Results:PVP decreased from (4.41 ± 0.18) kPa before shunt to (2.69 ± 0.11) kPa after shunt ( t = 82.41, P < 0.001), PPG decreased from (3.23 ± 0.18) kPa before shunt to (1.46 ± 0.23) kPa after shunt ( t = 32.41, P < 0.001). The liver function improved significantly after operation. After 24 months of follow-up, 3 patients developed stent restenosis and recanalized after balloon dilation. Three patients developed hepatic encephalopathy, which was improved after drug treatment. One patient underwent liver transplantation due to liver failure. Conclusion:TIPS is effective in the treatment of HSOS in the short and medium term, and can provide time for liver transplantation patients to wait for liver source.

Objective:To investigate changes in the self-management ability of chronic diseases in elderly diabetic patients during the novel coronavirus pneumonia pandemic.Methods:A multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to retrospectively collect diabetes management information from elderly diabetic patients treated in five community health service centers in Beijing in June 2022, including 295 elderly diabetic patients, and changes in management of their self-care practices such as diet, exercise, medical treatment and medication, blood glucose monitoring, complication management, and psychological states before and after the outbreak(2019-2022)were analyzed.Results:In 295 elderly diabetic patients, increased glycated hemoglobin( P<0.05)and body mass index(BMI)( P<0.05)were observed during the pandemic.Among 115 patients with underlying diabetic complications, 75.7%(87)of patients had worsening symptoms of chronic complications of diabetes and a shortened weekly exercise time[124(60, 300)min vs.140(60, 300)min, Z=6.00, P<0.05].The number of weekly blood glucose tests was reduced(5.6±4.2 vs.5.8±4.3, t=3.17, P<0.05).The weekly time spent interacting with family members increased( P<0.05).There were no significant differences in body weight, sleep time, and number of times of forgetting to take medication per week before and after the outbreak( P>0.05).21.0% of patients had a decrease in the number of hospital visits, and 72.2% of patients experienced low mood and increased adverse psychological emotions during the pandemic. Conclusions:The pandemic has had a negative impact on the management of chronic diseases in elderly diabetic patients, mainly reflected in the reduction of exercise time and blood glucose monitoring.It also affected regular hospital visits of patients, resulting in negative psychological emotions, poor blood glucose control, increased BMI, and aggravated symptoms of chronic complications, compared with their pre-pandemic conditions.

Objective:To investigate the prognosis of robotic pancreatoduodenectomy after the learning curve and open pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer.Methods:The propensity score matching and retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 396 patients who underwent curative pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic duct adenocar-cinoma in Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from January 2017 to December 2018 were collected. There were 244 males and 152 females, aged 64(range, 36?92)years. Of 396 patients, 86 cases undergoing robotic pancreatoduodenectomy were divided into robotic group, 310 cases undergoing open pancreatoduodenectomy were divided into open group. Observa-tion indicators: (1) propensity score matching and comparison of general data between the two groups after matching; (2) follow-up and survival analysis. Follow-up was conducted by telephone interview or outpatient examinations including tumor markers and abdominal imaging examina-tions to detect survival of patients up to March 2022. Overall survival was defined as the time from the surgery date to death or the last follow-up. Disease-free survival was defined as the time from the surgery date to tumor recurrence or the last follow-up. The propensity score matching was conducted by 1∶1 matching using the nearest neighbor method. Normality of measurement data was examined using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were described as M(range), and comparison between groups was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney rank-sum test. Count data were represented as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the chi-square test. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rates and draw survival curves, and Log-Rank test was used for survival analysis. An intent-to-treat analysis was performed in this study, patients who were converted to laparotomy from robotic surgery were still divided into the robotic group. Results:(1) Propensity score matching and comparison of general data between the two groups after matching: 164 of 396 patients had successful matching, including 82 cases in robotic group and open group, respectively. Before propensity score matching, the body mass index, cases in stage T1, T2, T3, T4, cases in N0, N1, N2 were 23.4(range, 21.4?25.3)kg/m 2,24, 41, 10, 11, 52, 27, 7 for the robotic group, versus 22.4(range,20.3?23.9)kg/m 2,57, 144, 22, 87, 131, 132, 47 for the open group, showing significant differences in the above indicators between the two groups ( Z=3.01, 2.63, 3.03, P<0.05). After propensity score matching, cases of males, age, body mass index, cases with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score as 1, 2, 3, CA19-9, cases with preoperative biliary drainage, cases with portal vein resection, cases with pancreatic resection margin <1 mm, cases in stage T1, T2, T3, T4, cases in stage N0, N1, N2, cases with nerve invasion, cases with tumor differentiation as high-medium differentiation, medium-low differentiation, low differentiation, cases with adjuvant chemotherapy were 51, 65(range, 59?69)years, 23.0(range, 21.0?25.2)kg/m 2, 32, 41, 9, 160.4(range, 46.7?377.2)U/mL, 21, 9, 8, 21, 40, 10, 11, 48, 27, 7, 76, 26, 47, 9, 53 for the robotic group, versus 58, 65(range, 58?69)years, 23.3(range, 21.4?25.3)kg/m 2, 35, 39, 8, 172.0(range, 69.7?402.9)U/mL, 26, 9, 10, 24, 40, 7, 11, 49, 28, 5, 76, 22, 49, 11, 57 for the open group, showing no significant difference in the above indicators between the two groups ( χ2=1.34, Z=0.18, 0.34, 0.49, 0.51, χ2=0.75, 0.00,0.25, Z=0.59, 0.27, χ2=0.00, Z=0.76, χ2=0.44, P>0.05). (2) Follow-up and survival analysis: after propensity score matching, 164 patients were followed up for 54(range, 1?67)months. The follow-up time of patients was 55(range, 51?59)months for the robotic group, versus 54(range, 50?58)months for the open group, respectively, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( Z=0.48, P>0.05). During the follow-up, the 1-year overall survival rate, 3-year overall survival rate, the median survival time, 1-year disease-free survival rate, 3-year disease-free survival rate, the median disease-free survival time, tumor recurrence rate, cases with recurrence pattern as local recurrence, liver recurrence, other distant recurrence, local and distant recurrence were 81.7%, 39.0%, 27 months(95% confidence interval as 19?33 months), 61.0%, 34.2%, 15 months(95% confidence interval as 12?18 months), 54.9%(45/82), 12, 16, 9, 8 for the robotic group. The above indicators were 79.3%, 36.0%, 24 months(95% confidence interval as 19?31 months), 59.8%, 27.5%, 15 months(95% confidence interval as 10?20 months), 58.5% (48/82), 10, 22, 6, 10 for the open group. There was no significant difference in overall survival or disease-free survival between the two groups ( χ2=0.39, 0.47, P>0.05). There was no significant difference in tumor recurrence rate or tumor recurrence site between the two groups either ( χ2=0.22, 1.86, P>0.05). Conclusion:After the learning curve, robotic pancreato-duodenectomy has non-inferior prognosis compared with open pancreatoduodenectomy.

Objective:To analyze the safety and clinical efficacy of invasive treatment for portal vein thrombosis after splenectomy or devascularization.Methods:Invasive treatment was retrospectively analyzed from Jan 2016 to Jan 2020. In 319 cases who met the inclusion criteria.Result:There were complications in 41 cases and no death;The average portal vein pressure before and after thrombus clearance treatment was (25.6±4.9) mmHg and (14.7±4.1) mmHg respectively ( t=2.53, P<0.05); Thrombus decreased significantly in most patients. Conclusion:Invasive therapy is a safe and effective method for patients complicated with portal vein thrombosis after splenectomy or devascularization.

The gut microbiota plays an important role in regulating the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of many drugs. FLZ, a novel squamosamide derivative, has been shown to have neuroprotective effects on experimental Parkinson's disease (PD) models. FLZ is under phase Ⅰ clinical trial now, while the underlying mechanisms contributing to the absorption of FLZ are still not fully elucidated. Due to the main metabolite of FLZ was abundant in feces but rare in urine and bile of mice, we focused on the gut microbiota to address how FLZ was metabolized and absorbed.