OBJECTIVES: Neuropathic pain (NP) is one of the most common forms of chronic pain, yet current treatment options are limited in effectiveness. Peripheral nerve injury activates spinal microglia, altering their inflammatory response and phagocytic functions, which contributes to the progression of NP. Most current research on NP focuses on microglial inflammation, with relatively little attention to their phagocytic function. Early growth response factor 2 (EGR2) has been shown to regulate microglial phagocytosis, but its specific role in NP remains unclear. This study aims to investigate how EGR2 modulates microglial phagocytosis and its involvement in NP, with the goal of identifying potential therapeutic targets. METHODS: Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used to establish a chronic constriction injury (CCI) model of the sciatic nerve. Pain behaviors were assessed on days 1, 3, 7, 10, and 14 post-surgery to confirm successful model induction. The temporal and spatial expression of EGR2 in the spinal cord was examined using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), Western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) was used to overexpress EGR2 in the spinal cord, and behavioral assessments were performed to evaluate the effects of EGR2 modulation of NP. CCI and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) models were established in animals and microglial cell lines, respectively, and changes in phagocytic activity were measured using RT-qPCR and fluorescent latex bead uptake assays. After confirming the involvement of microglial phagocytosis in NP, AAV was used to overexpress EGR2 in both in vivo and in vitro models, and phagocytic activity was further evaluated. Finally, eukaryotic transcriptome sequencing was conducted to screen differentially expressed mRNAs, followed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses to identify potential downstream effectors of EGR2. RESULTS: The CCI model successfully induced NP. Following CCI, EGR2 expression in the spinal cord was upregulated in parallel with NP development. Overexpression of EGR2 via spinal AAV injection enhanced microglial phagocytic activity and increased pain hypersensitivity in rats. Both animal and cellular models showed that CCI or LPS stimulation enhanced microglial phagocytosis, which was further amplified by EGR2 overexpression. Transcriptomic analysis of spinal cord tissues from CCI rats overexpressing EGR2 revealed upregulation of numerous genes associated with microglial phagocytosis and pain regulation. Among them, Lag3 emerged as a potential downstream target of EGR2. CONCLUSIONS EGR2 contributes to the maintenance of NP by enhancing microglial phagocytosis in the spinal dorsal horn.
Animals ; Microglia/metabolism* ; Phagocytosis/physiology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Neuralgia/physiopathology* ; Early Growth Response Protein 2/metabolism* ; Male ; Rats ; Spinal Cord/metabolism* ; Sciatic Nerve/injuries*

Osteoarthritis(OA)is a common concern over the world.Garlic is a kind of natural herbal medicine,and its active ingredients have shown some anti-inflammatory,antioxidant,anti-catabolic,analgesic and other phar-macological effects.Garlic and its active components alleviate the inflammatory response of OA by inhibiting the ex?pression of inflammatory factors and signal pathways such as NF?κB and PI3K/Akt.They slow down the progression of OA by inhibiting the expression of extracellular matrix(ECM)degrading enzymes.Additionally,they reduce the oxidative damage of joints by upregulating the expression of antioxidant enzymes.Moreover,the active components of garlic can relieve OA pain by activating the potassium ion pathway(Kv7),ATP?sensitive potassium channel(K?ATP),and the nuclear factor erythroid 2?related factor 2(Nrf2)/heme oxygenase 1(HO?1)?NAD(P)H:qui?none oxidoreductase 1(NQO1)signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of sepsis-induced myocardial injury and microbial distribution.Methods:It was a retrospective observational study conducted from Jan 2023 to Dec 2023 in the Department of Emergency Intensive Care Medicine, Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University. Patients meeting the sepsis 3.0 criteria were included, excluding those with underlying cardiovascular diseases or incomplete data. Patients were categorized into myocardial injury (SIMI) and non-myocardial injury (Non-SIMI) groups based on troponin levels. General patient information, laboratory results, microbial findings, and prognostic indicators were collected. Differences in clinical parameters between the two groups were compared. Factors showing statistical differences in univariate analysis were further analyzed using multivariable logistic regression to identify risk factors for SIMI. Conduct propensity score matching among Pulmonary infection patients who underwent bronchoalveolar lavage high-throughput sequencing to compare microbial distribution between groups. Bracken was used to estimate species-level abundance from Kraken2 results, and α and β diversity analyses were conducted on the metagenomic samples.Results:A total of 179 patients were included in the study, with 98 (54.4%) in the Non-SIMI group and 81 (45.5%) in the SIMI group. There were 69 deaths overall (38.5%), with 23 (23.7%) in the Non-SIMI group and 46 (56.8%) in the SIMI group (χ 2=20.347, P<0.01). The 28-day survival curve indicated survival rates in the SIMI group were significantly lower compared to the Non-SIMI group (Log Rank χ 2=21.270, P<0.01). Univariate analysis revealed that fungal infection rate ( P=0.007), C-reactive protein ( P=0.021), procalcitonin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, alanine transaminase, and lactate levels were higher in the SIMI group compared to the Non-SIMI group (all P<0.01), prothrombin time was prolonger ( P<0.01) and APACHEⅡ scores were higher ( P<0.01), while serum albumin, base excess, and platelet levels were lower (all P<0.01). Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that fungal infection ( OR=3.441, P=0.015) was a risk factor for SIMI, whereas base excess and platelets were protective factors ( OR=0.845, 0.988, both P<0.01). Comparison of bronchoalveolar lavage high-throughput sequencing results in the pulmonary infection subgroup showed the relative abundance of Haemophilus paraininfluenzae in Non-SIMI group was higher than SIMI group among the top 20 species ( P=0.013). There were no statistically significant differences in microbial αand β-diversity between the two groups. Conclusions:The incidence of SIMI is relatively highamong sepsis patients and it affects their prognosis. Risk factors for SIMI include fungal infection, decreased platelet count, and reduced base excess levels. Among patients with pulmonary infections, there is a lower risk of SIMI associated with Haemophilus influenzae infection.

To summarize the nursing experience of a patient with intestinal fistula after laparoscopic extended radical resection of rectal cancer plus ileostomy.Nursing points include:multi-disciplinary joint formulation of systemic treatment and nursing plan;using fistula isolation technology to isolate and drain digestive fluid;implementing incision segmentation management to promote infection control and tissue growth.After careful treatment and nursing care,the intestinal fistula was closed after 38 days of surgery,and the wound healed after 52 days of surgery.

Objective To explore the potential categories and influencing factors of the fear of progression in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD).Methods IBD patients who received inpatient treatment in a tertiary hospital in Nanjing from July 2022 to July 2023 were selected as the study subjects by convenience sampling method.The General Demographic Information Questionnaire,the Chinese version of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form(FoP-Q-SF),the Chinese version of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Self-efficacy Scale(IBD-SES),and Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS)were administered to the participants.We applied one-way ANOVA and Logistic regression analysis to identify the factors associated with the potential categories of the fear of progression.Results A total of 303 retumed questionnaires(out of the 310)were valid,resulting an effective response rate of 97.74％.According to the results of latent profile analysis,we classified the respondents into 3 categories by the fear of progression,namely"low risk fear of disease adaptation group"(n=127,41.91％),"medium risk fear of illness distress group"(n=139,45.88％),"high risk fear of dysfunction group"(n=37,12.21％).3 groups showed statistically significant differences in permanent address,self-rated financial pressure,current disease status and self-efficacy(P＜0.05).Conclusion Patients with IBD had obvious differences in characteristics on the fear of progression.Nursing personnel should formulate personalized intervention strategies based on the classification characteristics of the fear of progression of IBD patients.Moreover,nurses should focus on improving patients'self-efficacy and promoting patients to treat medical care,stress and emotion management correctly.

After undergoing the long-term lived experience of symptoms and suffering, chronic patients change the understanding of self and try to create or regain a coherent sense of self, resulting in different degrees of illness identity. This research reviewed the origin, connotation, assessment tools, and summarized the performance level, influencing factors and intervention studies of illness identity in patients with chronic disease. It would provide references for research of illness identity, and to provide new ideas for promoting patients with chronic diseases to cope with and manage diseases.

Objective:To deeply explore the supportive care needs of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, in order to provide reference for the development of supportive care strategies.Methods:A qualitative description was conducted based on the supportive care needs framework. Objective sampling method was used to select 17 patients with inflammatory bowel disease from the First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University from August to November 2021 for semi-structured in-depth interview and directed content analysis was used to analyze the interview data.Results:The final analysis yielded a total of 5 categories. These were physiological need, information need, practical (daily life) need, emotional and social support need, psychological and spiritual needs. They were all within the framework of supporting care needs.Conclusions:In the future, targeted education and diversified social support should be implemented based on the needs of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and from the perspectives of hospital, family members and peers.

The epitranscriptomic mark N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A), which is the predominant internal modification in RNA, is important for plant responses to diverse stresses. Multiple environmental stresses caused by the tea-withering process can greatly influence the accumulation of specialized metabolites and the formation of tea flavor. However, the effects of the m⁶A-mediated regulatory mechanism on flavor-related metabolic pathways in tea leaves remain relatively uncharacterized. We performed an integrated RNA methylome and transcriptome analysis to explore the m⁶A-mediated regulatory mechanism and its effects on flavonoid and terpenoid metabolism in tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves under solar-withering conditions. Dynamic changes in global m⁶A level in tea leaves were mainly controlled by two m⁶A erasers (CsALKBH4A and CsALKBH4B) during solar-withering treatments. Differentially methylated peak-associated genes following solar-withering treatments with different shading rates were assigned to terpenoid biosynthesis and spliceosome pathways. Further analyses indicated that CsALKBH4-driven RNA demethylation can directly affect the accumulation of volatile terpenoids by mediating the stability and abundance of terpenoid biosynthesis-related transcripts and also indirectly influence the flavonoid, catechin, and theaflavin contents by triggering alternative splicing-mediated regulation. Our findings revealed a novel layer of epitranscriptomic gene regulation in tea flavor-related metabolic pathways and established a link between the m⁶A-mediated regulatory mechanism and the formation of tea flavor under solar-withering conditions.
RNA/metabolism* ; Epigenome ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Plant Leaves/metabolism* ; Camellia sinensis/metabolism* ; Flavonoids ; Terpenes/metabolism* ; Tea/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant

Patients' subjective feelings, that is, patient-reported outcomes, has attracted increasing attention in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) , which plays an important role in monitoring the progress of patients' disease and guiding clinical decision-making. This article reviews the current status of assessment tools and clinical applications of patient-reported outcomes in IBD patients. This article aims to help medical and nursing staff choose assessment tools suitable for IBD patients in China, standardize the development and localization process of assessment tools, promote the application and development of patient-reported outcomes of IBD patients in China, and optimize disease management of IBD patients.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic non-specific intestinal inflammatory disease of unknown etiology, which is characterized by recurrent episodes and prolonged refractory recovery. Financial toxicity refers to the objective economic burden and subjective economic distress caused by medical expenses caused by the disease to patients. IBD patients show a certain level of financial toxicity due to frequent visits to doctors for a long time. This article reviews the concept of financial toxicity, evaluation tools and the current status of financial toxicity in IBD patients, analyzes the influencing factors of financial toxicity in IBD patients from the aspects of general demography factors, disease and treatment and psychosocial aspects, summarizes and puts forward the countermeasures of toxicity of IBD patients to reduce the economic and the direction of the future study, so as to provide reference for related research.