Objective To investigate the correlations of the expression levels of serum silencing in-formation regulatory factor 2-related enzyme 1(SIRT1),endothelial cell-specific molecule-1(ESM-1),and fibroblast growth factor-21(FGF21)with therapeutic outcome in patients with sepsis-related acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS).Methods A total of 140 patients with sepsis-related ARDS were selected and divided into good outcome group(n=96)and poor outcome group(n=44)accord-ing to the therapeutic outcome.The levels of serum SIRT1,ESM-1 and FGF21 were compared between the two groups,and the correlations of serum SIRT1,ESM-1 and FGF21 with the severity of the dis-ease and therapeutic outcome were analyzed.The predictive values of serum SIRT1,ESM-1 and FGF21 for therapeutic outcome were evaluated.Results The serum SIRT1 level in the poor outcome group was significantly lower,while the levels of ESM-1 and FGF21 were significantly higher than those in the good outcome group(P＜0.05).The serum SIRT1 level showed a significant gradual downward trend in mild,moderate,and severe patients,while the ESM-1 and FGF21 levels showed a significant gradual upward trend in mild,moderate,and severe patients(P＜0.05).Spearman corre-lation analysis showed that serum SIRT1 was significantly negatively correlated with disease severity,while ESM-1 and FGF21 were significantly positively correlated with disease severity(P＜0.05).Partial correlation analysis showed that serum SIRT1,ESM-1 and FGF21 were significantly correla-ted with the therapeutic outcome of ARDS patients with sepsis(P＜0.05).The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of serum SIRT1,ESM-1 and FGF21 for predicting the treatment outcome of sepsis-related ARDS patients was 0.742,0.838 and 0.796 respectively,with sensitivities of 77.27％,77.27％and 70.45％,and specificities of 64.58％,81.25％and 87.50％.The AUC of the combination of three indexes for predicting the therapeutic outcome of sepsis-related ARDS patients was 0.939,with a sensitivity of 88.64％and a specificity of 83.33％,which was significantly higher than the predictive value of the three indexes alone(P＜0.05).Conclusion The levels of SIRT1,ESM-1 and FGF21 in the serum of sepsis-re-lated ARDS patients are significantly correlated with the severity of the disease and the therapeutic outcome,and have the abilitis to independently predict the therapeutic outcome.The combined pre-dictive value is even higher.

Background::Bladder cancer, characterized by a high potential of tumor recurrence, has high lifelong monitoring and treatment costs. To date, tumor cells with intrinsic softness have been identified to function as cancer stem cells in several cancer types. Nonetheless, the existence of soft tumor cells in bladder tumors remains elusive. Thus, our study aimed to develop a microbarrier microfluidic chip to efficiently isolate deformable tumor cells from distinct types of bladder cancer cells.Methods::The stiffness of bladder cancer cells was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The modified microfluidic chip was utilized to separate soft cells, and the 3D Matrigel culture system was to maintain the softness of tumor cells. Expression patterns of integrin β8 (ITGB8), protein kinase B (AKT), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were determined by Western blotting. Double immunostaining was conducted to examine the interaction between F-actin and tripartite motif containing 59 (TRIM59). The stem-cell-like characteristics of soft cells were explored by colony formation assay and in vivo studies upon xenografted tumor models. Results::Using our newly designed microfluidic approach, we identified a small fraction of soft tumor cells in bladder cancer cells. More importantly, the existence of soft tumor cells was confirmed in clinical human bladder cancer specimens, in which the number of soft tumor cells was associated with tumor relapse. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the biomechanical stimuli arising from 3D Matrigel activated the F-actin/ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis pathways to enhance the softness and tumorigenic capacity of tumor cells. Simultaneously, we detected a remarkable up-regulation in ITGB8, TRIM59, and phospho-AKT in clinical bladder recurrent tumors compared with their non-recurrent counterparts.Conclusions::The ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis axis plays a crucial role in modulating tumor softness and stemness. Meanwhile, the soft tumor cells become more sensitive to chemotherapy after stiffening, that offers new insights for hampering tumor progression and recurrence.

Purpose: This study was aimed to investigate long-term survivals and toxicities of early-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in endemic area, evaluating the role of chemotherapy in stage II patients. Materials and Methods: Totally 187 patients with newly diagnosed NPC and restaged American Joint Committee on Cancer/ International Union Against Cancer 8th T1-2N0-1M0 were retrospectively recruited. All received intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)±chemotherapy (CT) from 2001 to 2010. Results: With 15.7-year median follow-up, 10-year locoregional recurrence-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS) were 93.3%, 93.5%, 92.9% and 88.2%, respectively. Multivariable analyses showed cervical lymph nodes positive and pre-treatment prognostic nutritional index ≥ 52.0 could independently predict DMFS (p=0.036 and p=0.011), DSS (p=0.014 and p=0.026), and OS (p=0.002 and p < 0.001); Charlson comorbidity index < 3 points could predict DSS (p=0.011); age > 45 years (p=0.002) and pre-treatment lactate dehydrogenase ≥ 240 U/L (p < 0.001) predicted OS. No grade 4 late toxicity happened; grade 3 late toxicities included subcutaneous fibrosis (4.3%), deafness or otitis (4.8%), skin dystrophy (2.1%), and xerostomia (1.1%). No differences on survivals were shown between IMRT+CT vs. IMRT alone in stage II patients, even in T2N1M0 (p > 0.05). Unsurprising, patients in IMRT+CT had more acute gastrointestinal reaction, myelosuppression, mucositis, late ear toxicity, and cranial nerve injury (all p < 0.05) than IMRT alone group. Conclusion Superior tumor control and satisfying long-term outcomes could be achieved with IMRT in early-stage NPC with mild late toxicities. As CT would bring more toxicities, it should be carefully performed to stage II patients.