The microstructures of pharmaceutical preparations play a pivotal role in determining their critical quality attributes (CQAs), such as drug release, content uniformity, and stability, which greatly impact the safety and efficacy of drugs. Unlike the inherent molecular structures of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients, the microstructures of pharmaceutical preparations are developed during the formulation process, presenting unique analytical challenges. In this review, we primarily focus on presenting the research methods used to elucidate the microstructures of pharmaceutical preparations, including X-ray imaging (XRI), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and rheometer technology. Subsequently, we highlight the applications, advantages, and limitations of these methods. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and future perspectives in this field. This review aims to provide a comprehensive reference for understanding the microstructures of pharmaceutical preparations, offering new insights and potential advancements in their development.

Tumor progression is closely related to tumor tissue metabolism and reshaping of the microenvironment. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a representative hypoxic tumor, has a heterogeneous internal metabolic environment. To clarify the relationship between different metabolic regions and the tumor immune microenvironment (TME) in OSCC, Single cell (SC) and spatial transcriptomics (ST) sequencing of OSCC tissues were performed. The proportion of TME in the ST data was obtained through SPOTlight deconvolution using SC and GSE103322 data. The metabolic activity of each spot was calculated using scMetabolism, and k-means clustering was used to classify all spots into hyper-, normal-, or hypometabolic regions. CD4T cell infiltration and TGF-β expression is higher in the hypermetabolic regions than in the others. Through CellPhoneDB and NicheNet cell-cell communication analysis, it was found that in the hypermetabolic region, fibroblasts can utilize the lactate produced by glycolysis of epithelial cells to transform into inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts (iCAFs), and the increased expression of HIF1A in iCAFs promotes the transcriptional expression of CXCL12. The secretion of CXCL12 recruits regulatory T cells (Tregs), leading to Treg infiltration and increased TGF-β secretion in the microenvironment and promotes the formation of a tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. This study delineates the coordinate work axis of epithelial cells-iCAFs-Tregs in OSCC using SC, ST and TCGA bulk data, and highlights potential targets for therapy.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism* ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck ; Mouth Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Immunosuppression Therapy ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Tumor Microenvironment

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is the DNA fragment existing in human extracellular fluid. In specific physiological process (such as pregnancy) or pathological conditions (such as human malignancies), the contents of cfDNA in extracellular fluid will abnormally change. The contents and molecular characteristics of cfDNA make it have the potential as a kind of biomarker for diseases′ diagnosis. With the development of cfDNA detection technology such as sequencing and mass spectrometry, liquid biopsy based on cfDNA detection has been widely used in clinical tumor diagnosis, tumor treatment, prenatal examination, and research in autoimmune diseases. A systematic summary of the latest research progress in the development of cfDNA detection technology and the clinical application of liquid biopsy, as well as the research progress of cfDNA in the diagnosis and treatment of related diseases is summarized in this review.

Tumor progression is closely related to tumor tissue metabolism and reshaping of the microenvironment.Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC),a representative hypoxic tumor,has a heterogeneous internal metabolic environment.To clarify the relationship between different metabolic regions and the tumor immune microenvironment(TME)in OSCC,Single cell(SC)and spatial transcriptomics(ST)sequencing of OSCC tissues were performed.The proportion of TME in the ST data was obtained through SPOTlight deconvolution using SC and GSE103322 data.The metabolic activity of each spot was calculated using scMetabolism,and k-means clustering was used to classify all spots into hyper-,normal-,or hypometabolic regions.CD4T cell infiltration and TGF-β expression is higher in the hypermetabolic regions than in the others.Through CellPhoneDB and NicheNet cell-cell communication analysis,it was found that in the hypermetabolic region,fibroblasts can utilize the lactate produced by glycolysis of epithelial cells to transform into inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts(iCAFs),and the increased expression of HIF1A in iCAFs promotes the transcriptional expression of CXCL12.The secretion of CXCL12 recruits regulatory T cells(Tregs),leading to Treg infiltration and increased TGF-β secretion in the microenvironment and promotes the formation of a tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment.This study delineates the coordinate work axis of epithelial cells-iCAFs-Tregs in OSCC using SC,ST and TCGA bulk data,and highlights potential targets for therapy.

Although a great deal of research has been done on sepsis in children，its pathogenesis remains controversial and unresolved，one of which is immune dysfunction.Immunosuppression is the core part of immune dysfunction，and it is related to the disease progression，treatment options，and prognosis changes in patients with sepsis.Since T lymphocytes play a crucial role in immune function，they have been regarded as an important indicator for judging changes in immune function in clinical practice.This review explained the mechanism of immunosuppression caused by some T lymphocyte subsets and its clinical application value in the evaluation，prognosis and immune intervention of sepsis.

Tumor progression is closely related to tumor tissue metabolism and reshaping of the microenvironment.Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC),a representative hypoxic tumor,has a heterogeneous internal metabolic environment.To clarify the relationship between different metabolic regions and the tumor immune microenvironment(TME)in OSCC,Single cell(SC)and spatial transcriptomics(ST)sequencing of OSCC tissues were performed.The proportion of TME in the ST data was obtained through SPOTlight deconvolution using SC and GSE103322 data.The metabolic activity of each spot was calculated using scMetabolism,and k-means clustering was used to classify all spots into hyper-,normal-,or hypometabolic regions.CD4T cell infiltration and TGF-β expression is higher in the hypermetabolic regions than in the others.Through CellPhoneDB and NicheNet cell-cell communication analysis,it was found that in the hypermetabolic region,fibroblasts can utilize the lactate produced by glycolysis of epithelial cells to transform into inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts(iCAFs),and the increased expression of HIF1A in iCAFs promotes the transcriptional expression of CXCL12.The secretion of CXCL12 recruits regulatory T cells(Tregs),leading to Treg infiltration and increased TGF-β secretion in the microenvironment and promotes the formation of a tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment.This study delineates the coordinate work axis of epithelial cells-iCAFs-Tregs in OSCC using SC,ST and TCGA bulk data,and highlights potential targets for therapy.

Tumor progression is closely related to tumor tissue metabolism and reshaping of the microenvironment.Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC),a representative hypoxic tumor,has a heterogeneous internal metabolic environment.To clarify the relationship between different metabolic regions and the tumor immune microenvironment(TME)in OSCC,Single cell(SC)and spatial transcriptomics(ST)sequencing of OSCC tissues were performed.The proportion of TME in the ST data was obtained through SPOTlight deconvolution using SC and GSE103322 data.The metabolic activity of each spot was calculated using scMetabolism,and k-means clustering was used to classify all spots into hyper-,normal-,or hypometabolic regions.CD4T cell infiltration and TGF-β expression is higher in the hypermetabolic regions than in the others.Through CellPhoneDB and NicheNet cell-cell communication analysis,it was found that in the hypermetabolic region,fibroblasts can utilize the lactate produced by glycolysis of epithelial cells to transform into inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts(iCAFs),and the increased expression of HIF1A in iCAFs promotes the transcriptional expression of CXCL12.The secretion of CXCL12 recruits regulatory T cells(Tregs),leading to Treg infiltration and increased TGF-β secretion in the microenvironment and promotes the formation of a tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment.This study delineates the coordinate work axis of epithelial cells-iCAFs-Tregs in OSCC using SC,ST and TCGA bulk data,and highlights potential targets for therapy.

Ubiquitin-specific proteases(USPs)are one of the many subfamilies of the deubiquitinating enzyme family,with a variety of functional structural domains and biological functions,which can regulate ubiquitination through the dissocia-tion of ubiquitin from protein substrates,thereby regulating apoptosis,proliferation,metastasis,as well as gene transcription,mesenchymal transition,and immune responses.Ubiquitin is a small protein that marks proteins for degradation and is present in most eukaryotic cells,which hydrolyses proteins through a complex chain reaction of ubiquitination.There are different sites of ubiquitination complex chain reactions,and USPs can act on them and affect ubiquitination in organisms,playing different roles in protein degradation.USPs are expressed in a variety of tumors and participate in tumorigenesis and development through a series of mechanisms,which can be used as cancer therapeutic targets.This article reviews the progress of research on the role of USPs in gastric cancer,in order to provide information for the development of new drugs targeting USPs for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Objective:To study the clinicopathological features of Sjogren′s syndrome (SS) with liver injury and to improve the understanding of this disease.Methods:Forty-nine patients with SS complicated with liver injury were collected from Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University from October 2008 to January 2022. All patients underwent ultrasound-guided liver biopsy, and all specimens were stained with HE. The histopathologic characteristics were observed and the pathologic indexes were graded. Immunohistochemical stains for CK7, CK19, CD38, MUM1 and CD10 were performed by EnVision method; and special histochemical stains for reticulin, Masson′s trichrome, Rhodanine, Prussian blue, periodic acid Schiff (PAS) and D-PAS stains were conducted .Results:The age of patients ranged from 31 to 66 years, including 3 males and 46 females. SS combined with drug-induced liver injury was the most common (22 cases, 44.9%), followed by autoimmune liver disease (13 cases, 26.5%, including primary biliary cholangitis in eight cases, autoimmune hepatitis in 3 cases, and PBC-AIH overlap syndrome in 2 cases), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD, 9 cases, 18.4%) and other lesions (5 cases, 10.2%; including 3 cases of nonspecific liver inflammation, 1 case of liver amyloidosis, and 1 case of porto-sinusoidal vascular disease). Among them, 28 cases (57.1%) were associated with obvious interlobular bile duct injury, mainly in SS combined with PBC group and drug-induced liver injury group. Twenty-three cases (46.9%) were associated with hepatocyte steatosis of varying degrees. In SS with autoimmune liver disease group, ISHAK score, degree of fibrosis bile duct injury, bile duct remodeling, lymphocyte infiltration of portal area, and plasma cell infiltration, MUM1 and CD38 expression; serum ALP and GGT, IgM; elevated globulin; positive AMA, proportion of AMA-M2 positive and IgM positive were all significantly higher than those in other groups(all P<0.05). Serum ALT, direct bilirubin and SSA positive ratio in SS combined with drug liver group were significantly higher than those in other groups(all P<0.05). The serum total cholesterol level in SS combined with PBC group ( P=0.006) and NALFD group ( P=0.011) were significantly higher than those in other groups ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The pathologic manifestations of SS patients with liver injury are varied. The inflammatory lesions of SS patients with autoimmune liver disease are the most serious, and the inflammatory lesions of SS patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-specific inflammation are mild. Comprehensive analysis of liver histopathologic changes and laboratory findings is helpful for the diagnosis of SS complicated with different types of liver injury.

Objective:To analyze the mutation pathogenicity of the novel compound heterozygous mutation in the PKHD1 gene causing autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) family, expand the PKHD1 gene mutation database, and explore the genotype-phenotype correlations of PKHD1 gene mutation causing ARPKD. Methods:Clinical data and peripheral blood of a patient with ARPKD caused by the novel compound heterozygous mutation in the PKHD1 gene and their family members were collected. High-throughput sequencing was used to detect pathogenic mutations in the proband, and PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing were used to verify the pathogenic mutations in the family. AlphaFold software was applied to predict changes in protein structure in the present or absent mutations, and the pathogenicity of mutations was analyzed. Results:The patient was a young male who underwent splenectomy due to liver cirrhosis and hypersplenism at age 7. He developed end-stage renal disease at age 22, requiring maintenance peritoneal dialysis, and died of severe pneumonia and septic shock at age 24. Genetic testing revealed three compound heterozygous mutations in the PKHD1 gene inherited from his parents: a missense mutation (c.5935G>A) inherited from the father and a missense mutation (c.1187G>A) and a novel splice mutation (c.6332+1_6332+2insG) from the mother. The single missense mutation allele likely contributed to the prolonged survival. c. 6332+1_ 6332+2insG is a novel splicing mutation that has not been reported in the past, which can lead to early termination of protein translation. This discovery expands the PKHD1 gene mutation database. c. 1187G>A (p.S396N) and c.5935G>A (p.G1979R) occur in the PA14 and G8 domains of the protein, respectively, and are associated with early and severe liver phenotypes in patients. Conclusions:The mutation types and amino acid localization of the PKHD1 gene are associated with the heterogeneity of clinical phenotypes in ARPKD patients. Analyzing structural changes in proteins before and after mutations can help understand the pathogenicity at a molecular level, establishing genotype-phenotype correlations and providing valuable insights for assessing prognosis and identifying high-risk ARPKD patients early.