1.Gene Expression Alteration by Non-thermal Plasma-Activated Media Treatment in Radioresistant Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Sicong ZHENG ; Yudan PIAO ; Seung-Nam JUNG ; Chan OH ; Mi Ae LIM ; QuocKhanh NGUYEN ; Shan SHEN ; Se-Hee PARK ; Shengzhe CUI ; Shuyu PIAO ; Young Il KIM ; Ji Won KIM ; Ho-Ryun WON ; Jae Won CHANG ; Yujuan SHAN ; Lihua LIU ; Bon Seok KOO
Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology 2025;18(1):73-87
Objectives:
. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) exhibits high recurrence rates, particularly in cases of radioresistant HNSCC (RR-HNSCC). Non-thermal plasma (NTP) therapy effectively suppresses the progression of HNSCC. However, the therapeutic mechanisms of NTP therapy in treating RR-HNSCC are not well understood. In this study, we explored the regulatory role of NTP in the RR-HNSCC signaling pathway and identified its signature genes.
Methods:
. After constructing two RR-HNSCC cell lines, we prepared cell lysates from cells treated or not treated with NTP-activated media (NTPAM) and performed RNA sequencing to determine their mRNA expression profiles. Based on the RNA sequencing results, we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs), followed by a bioinformatics analysis to identify candidate molecules potentially associated with NTPAM therapy for RR-HNSCC.
Results:
. NTPAM reduced RR-HNSCC cell viability in vitro. RNA sequencing results indicated that NTPAM treatment activated the reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway and induced ferroptosis in RR-HNSCC cell lines. Among the 1,924 genes correlated with radiation treatment, eight showed statistical significance in both the cell lines and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. Only five genes—ABCC3, DUSP16, PDGFB, RAF1, and THBS1—showed consistent results between the NTPAM data sequencing and TCGA data. LASSO regression analysis revealed that five genes were associated with cancer prognosis, with a hazard ratio of 2.26. In RR-HNSCC cells, NTPAM affected DUSP16, PDGFB, and THBS1 as activated markers within 6 hours, and this effect persisted for 12 hours. Furthermore, enrichment analysis indicated that these three DEGs were associated with the extracellular matrix, transforming growth factor-beta, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B, and mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor pathways.
Conclusion
. NTPAM therapy exerts cytotoxic effects in RR-HNSCC cell lines by inducing specific ROS-mediated ferroptosis. DUSP16, PDGFB, and THBS1 were identified as crucial targets for reversing the radiation resistance induced by NTPAM therapy, providing insights into the mechanisms and clinical applications of NTPAM treatment in RR-HNSCC.
2.Gene Expression Alteration by Non-thermal Plasma-Activated Media Treatment in Radioresistant Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Sicong ZHENG ; Yudan PIAO ; Seung-Nam JUNG ; Chan OH ; Mi Ae LIM ; QuocKhanh NGUYEN ; Shan SHEN ; Se-Hee PARK ; Shengzhe CUI ; Shuyu PIAO ; Young Il KIM ; Ji Won KIM ; Ho-Ryun WON ; Jae Won CHANG ; Yujuan SHAN ; Lihua LIU ; Bon Seok KOO
Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology 2025;18(1):73-87
Objectives:
. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) exhibits high recurrence rates, particularly in cases of radioresistant HNSCC (RR-HNSCC). Non-thermal plasma (NTP) therapy effectively suppresses the progression of HNSCC. However, the therapeutic mechanisms of NTP therapy in treating RR-HNSCC are not well understood. In this study, we explored the regulatory role of NTP in the RR-HNSCC signaling pathway and identified its signature genes.
Methods:
. After constructing two RR-HNSCC cell lines, we prepared cell lysates from cells treated or not treated with NTP-activated media (NTPAM) and performed RNA sequencing to determine their mRNA expression profiles. Based on the RNA sequencing results, we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs), followed by a bioinformatics analysis to identify candidate molecules potentially associated with NTPAM therapy for RR-HNSCC.
Results:
. NTPAM reduced RR-HNSCC cell viability in vitro. RNA sequencing results indicated that NTPAM treatment activated the reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway and induced ferroptosis in RR-HNSCC cell lines. Among the 1,924 genes correlated with radiation treatment, eight showed statistical significance in both the cell lines and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. Only five genes—ABCC3, DUSP16, PDGFB, RAF1, and THBS1—showed consistent results between the NTPAM data sequencing and TCGA data. LASSO regression analysis revealed that five genes were associated with cancer prognosis, with a hazard ratio of 2.26. In RR-HNSCC cells, NTPAM affected DUSP16, PDGFB, and THBS1 as activated markers within 6 hours, and this effect persisted for 12 hours. Furthermore, enrichment analysis indicated that these three DEGs were associated with the extracellular matrix, transforming growth factor-beta, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B, and mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor pathways.
Conclusion
. NTPAM therapy exerts cytotoxic effects in RR-HNSCC cell lines by inducing specific ROS-mediated ferroptosis. DUSP16, PDGFB, and THBS1 were identified as crucial targets for reversing the radiation resistance induced by NTPAM therapy, providing insights into the mechanisms and clinical applications of NTPAM treatment in RR-HNSCC.
3.Gene Expression Alteration by Non-thermal Plasma-Activated Media Treatment in Radioresistant Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Sicong ZHENG ; Yudan PIAO ; Seung-Nam JUNG ; Chan OH ; Mi Ae LIM ; QuocKhanh NGUYEN ; Shan SHEN ; Se-Hee PARK ; Shengzhe CUI ; Shuyu PIAO ; Young Il KIM ; Ji Won KIM ; Ho-Ryun WON ; Jae Won CHANG ; Yujuan SHAN ; Lihua LIU ; Bon Seok KOO
Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology 2025;18(1):73-87
Objectives:
. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) exhibits high recurrence rates, particularly in cases of radioresistant HNSCC (RR-HNSCC). Non-thermal plasma (NTP) therapy effectively suppresses the progression of HNSCC. However, the therapeutic mechanisms of NTP therapy in treating RR-HNSCC are not well understood. In this study, we explored the regulatory role of NTP in the RR-HNSCC signaling pathway and identified its signature genes.
Methods:
. After constructing two RR-HNSCC cell lines, we prepared cell lysates from cells treated or not treated with NTP-activated media (NTPAM) and performed RNA sequencing to determine their mRNA expression profiles. Based on the RNA sequencing results, we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs), followed by a bioinformatics analysis to identify candidate molecules potentially associated with NTPAM therapy for RR-HNSCC.
Results:
. NTPAM reduced RR-HNSCC cell viability in vitro. RNA sequencing results indicated that NTPAM treatment activated the reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway and induced ferroptosis in RR-HNSCC cell lines. Among the 1,924 genes correlated with radiation treatment, eight showed statistical significance in both the cell lines and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. Only five genes—ABCC3, DUSP16, PDGFB, RAF1, and THBS1—showed consistent results between the NTPAM data sequencing and TCGA data. LASSO regression analysis revealed that five genes were associated with cancer prognosis, with a hazard ratio of 2.26. In RR-HNSCC cells, NTPAM affected DUSP16, PDGFB, and THBS1 as activated markers within 6 hours, and this effect persisted for 12 hours. Furthermore, enrichment analysis indicated that these three DEGs were associated with the extracellular matrix, transforming growth factor-beta, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B, and mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor pathways.
Conclusion
. NTPAM therapy exerts cytotoxic effects in RR-HNSCC cell lines by inducing specific ROS-mediated ferroptosis. DUSP16, PDGFB, and THBS1 were identified as crucial targets for reversing the radiation resistance induced by NTPAM therapy, providing insights into the mechanisms and clinical applications of NTPAM treatment in RR-HNSCC.
4.The Replication Method and Evaluation of Experimental Animal Models with Insomnia of Liver Depression and Qi Stagnation Syndrome
Renzhen ZHANG ; Yujuan YE ; Yuting WEI ; Cui MA ; Xingke YAN
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;65(14):1496-1503
In recent years, the research data on the combination model of insomnia of liver depression and qi stagnation syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) were sorted out and summarized in terms of the selection of experimental animals, modelling methods, and model evaluation, with a view to providing references for the standardized preparation of the experimental model of insomnia of liver depression and qi stagnation syndrome and the study of the intervention mechanism. As for the selection of experimental animals, rats and mice are commonly used for the study of sleep patterns in the insomnia model of liver depression and qi stagnation syndrome because their sleep patterns are similar to those of human beings; zebrafish is suitable for the study of sleep patterns in early development because of its high genetic homology; and rhesus macaques, common marmosets, and crab-eating monkeys are used for the study of highly complex sleep disorders because their physiological and behavioural characteristics are closer to those of human beings. In terms of modelling methods, electrical stimulation, chronic restraint, chronic emotional stress and impact psychological stress each have their own characteristics and application scenarios, while chronic tail-clamping stimulation combined with intraperitoneal injection of p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) combines physical and chemical stimuli, in order to simulate the complex mechanism of insomnia in human beings, and to more comprehensively simulate the pathology of insomnia with liver depression and qi stagnation syndrome. In terms of evaluation indexes, electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) monitoring and barbiturate synergistic sleep test are the most commonly used and scientific methods for evaluating insomnia animal models with liver depression and qi stagnation syndrome, which can provide intuitive and continuous sleep state monitoring; barbiturate synergistic sleep test can reflect the sensitivity and responsiveness of the model animals to the sleep-regulating medications; and the introduction of the method of using formulas to measure syndromes for the evaluating the model can combine the treatment and diagnostic principles of TCM with modern scientific research.
5.Effects of Acupuncture on Functional Connectivity Changes of What Visual Pathway in the Brain in Children with Monocular Refractive Amblyopia
Yujuan YE ; Jing JIA ; Yan SUN ; Yuting WEI ; Cui MA ; Xingke YAN
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2023;64(20):2101-2108
ObjectiveTo explore the efficacy of acupuncture intervention for children with monocular refractive-parallax amblyopia and the possible mechanisms of brain function based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance (rs-fMRI). MethodsSeventy-six children with anisometropic amblyopia were randomly divided into routine treatment group (38 cases) and acupuncture treatment group (38 cases). In the conventional group, the children were given three regular treatments of red flash, grating and visual stimulation for 5 mins each time; in the acupuncture group, on the basis of the conventional treatment, the children were given acupuncture for 20 mins each time on bilateral Jingming (BL 1), Cuanzhu (BL 2), Guangming (GB 37) and Fengchi (GB 20); the children in both groups were treated once every other day and three times a week for 4 weeks. The corrected visual acuity was compared between groups before and after treatment. Fifteen children with left-sided refractive amblyopia were randomly selected from each of the above two groups and underwent brain rs-fMRI scans before and after treatment, and 10 healthy children with normal visual acuity of the matched gender and age were included in the normal group and underwent brain rs-fMRI scans. Based on the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method, we constructed the what visual pathway network, and compared and analyzed the spherical regions of interest (ROIs) of the children with normal children, and both groups of children with differences in functional connectivity (FC values) within the what pathway in the brain before and after treatment. ResultsTwo cases dropout in the acupuncture group, and finally 36 cases in the acupuncture group and 38 cases in the conventional group were included in the analysis. Compared with before treatment, the best corrected visual acuity of amblyopia in both groups was significantly improved after treatment (P<0.05), and the improvement of vision in the acupuncture group was significantly better than that in the conventional group (P<0.05). The results of rs-fMRI showed that the FC values of the primary optic cortex and the right fusiform gyrus, the left lingual gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus, and the right infraoccipital gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus were significantly elevated in the brain of the refractive amblyopia children with the whitepathic amblyopia, compared with that of the normal children (P<0.05). The FC values of the left lingual gyrus, the right suboccipital gyrus with the right fusiform gyrus, the left lingual gyrus with the right middle temporal gyrus, the right and left lateral middle occipital gyrus, and the right and left lateral middle occipital gyrus with the right suboccipital gyrus were significantly (P<0.05) lower in the conventional group compared with those in the conventional group before treatment. Compared with that before acupuncture treatment, the FC values of the right lingual gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus, the primary visual cortex and the right middle temporal gyrus increased significantly after acupuncture treatment (P<0.05), and the FC values of the left inferior occipital gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus, the FC values of the left lingual gyrus and the right middle occipital gyrus decreased significantly (P<0.05). Compared between groups after treatment, the FC between the left suboccipital gyrus and the right fusiform gyrus in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the conventional group (P<0.05), and the FC between the left middle occipital gyrus and the right and left suboccipital gyrus was significantly lower than that in the conventional group (P<0.05). ConclusionAcupuncture can significantly improve the corrected vision of anisometropic amblyopic children, and its effect mechanism may focus on regulating the occipito-temporal interlobular functional connectivity within the what pathway, thus improving the children's visual function of shape and color vision and visual learning and memory ability.
6.Progress in the mechanism of acupuncture intervention on pain emotion and pain cognition mediated by limbic system
Cui MA ; Yichun ZOU ; Yujuan YE ; Mengqi CAO ; Xingke YAN ; Kaiwei ZHANG
Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science 2022;20(6):499-504
Pain is a complex physiological and psychological activity, involving at least three dimensions, including pain sensation, pain emotion, and pain cognition. Acupuncture can clearly relieve the pain sensation of patients and improve pain emotion and pain cognition induced by pain; acupuncture participates in the multi-dimensional regulation of pain through brain regions of the limbic system such as anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala (AMY), and hippocampus. By analyzing relevant literature, it has been found that the regulation of acupuncture on pain emotion is mainly related to the activation of pertinent opioid receptors in the ACC, the decrease of the expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and the promotion of the expression of glutamic acid (Glu) A1, metabotropic glutamate receptor-1 (mGluR1), and γ-aminobutyric acid aminobutyric acid (GABA) B2 protein in the AMY. The regulation of acupuncture on pain cognition is mainly related to the elevation of the expression of protein kinase A (PKA) and phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (phospho-p38 MAPK) and the inhibition of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/PKA/cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) signaling pathway in the ACC.
7.Genotype and phenotype analysis in a case of cutis laxa type 3
Han LAI ; Rong LI ; Ting ZHOU ; Yujuan HU ; Cui SONG
Chinese Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism 2021;37(10):888-894
Objective:To report the clinical and genetic characteristics of autosomal dominant cutis laxa type 3 caused by ALDH18A1 mutation, and therefore to further understand this rare disease.Methods:High-precision full-exon sequencing was performed for the patient from the Department of Endocrinology and Genetic Metabolism, Children′s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University and genotype-phenotype correlation was summarized. Relevant literature was also reviewed.Results:A 9-month-old boy was admitted with complaint of " development retardation for 9 months, cough for 3 days" , accompanied by skin laxity, special features, skeletal malformation, tracheal bronchus, inguinal hernia, gastroesophageal reflux, and abnormal creases on palms. The heterozygous variation of ALDH18A1 c. 274C>G(p.Leu92Val) on chromosome 10 was revealed using high-precision full-exon sequencing. Together with imaging and metabolomics results, the diagnosis of cutis laxa type 3 was determined. The clinical presentations of this disease are variable, encompassing skin, bone, joint, and neuromuscular system.Conclusion:For suspected pediatric case, it is very important to evaluate the clinical manifestations and metabolic index at regular intervals, and to identify the molecular basis of the disease with gene sequencing early on.
8.Serum molecular tumor markers:from mining to clinical application
Chinese Journal of Laboratory Medicine 2021;44(6):470-471
In recent years, with the rapid development of molecular diagnostic technology, more and more serum molecular tumor markers have been found and been used in the tumor prevention, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis assessment and relapse monitoring. However, each laboratory techniques and molecular markers has its own advantages and limitations. How to choose the appropriate laboratory technology and tumor markers is a hot topic in clinical practice.
9.Atypical Takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders: a case report
Weihe ZHANG ; Lei CUI ; Yeqiong ZHANG ; Jinsong JIAO ; Yujuan JIAO
Chinese Journal of Neurology 2020;53(11):935-938
Recently, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) appear to be a multi-organ disorder, however, the involvement of myocardium in NMOSD is extremely rare. In the present article, we present a young girl who manifested bilateral optic neuritis, area postrema syndrome, brainstem syndrome and transverse myelitis, as well as tachycardia, abnormal electrocardiograph, moderate elevation of myocardial biomarker and regional wall movement abnormalities, which confirmed the diagnosis of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy associated with NMOSD. The neurological deficits along with myocardial injury were recovered soon after the administration of intravenous methylprednisolone and intravenous immunogloblin. This is a rare case that should be paid attention and by which can not only broaden the symptom spectrum of NMOSD, but can also provide novel visions for further investigating the mechanism of organs damage.
10.Clinical and genetic analysis of a patient with Krabbe disease presented as peripheral neuropathy.
Wei WANG ; Yali QIN ; Renbin WANG ; Weihe ZHANG ; Linwei ZHANG ; Lei CUI ; Ming JIN ; Yujuan JIAO ; Jingsong JIAO
Chinese Journal of Medical Genetics 2019;36(8):821-825
OBJECTIVE:
To explore the clinical, electrophysiological and imaging features of a patient with Krabbe disease caused by GALC mutation.
METHODS:
A comprehensive analysis including clinical investigation and genetic testing was carried out.
RESULTS:
The patient presented with peripheral neuropathy with electrophysiological anomaly suggestive of asymmetric demyelinating neuropathy. Brain imaging revealed leukoencephalopathy. Genetic analysis has identified compound heterozygous mutations in exons 5 and 11 of the GALC gene, namely c.461C>A and c.1244G>A.
CONCLUSION
Krabbe disease is a group of disorders featuring substantial phenotypic heterogeneity. Genetic and enzyme testing has become indispensable for accurate diagnosis for this disease.
DNA Mutational Analysis
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Galactosylceramidase
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genetics
;
Genetic Testing
;
Humans
;
Leukodystrophy, Globoid Cell
;
complications
;
genetics
;
Mutation
;
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases
;
etiology

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