Objective:This study aimed to evaluate to evaluate the performance of equilibrium dialysis combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the accurate measurement of free testosterone in clinical samples. Mthods We conducted a prospective observational study using 161 serum samples from healthy women of reproductive 26(24, 32)years at the Gynecology Outpatient department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from June to September 2024, and their concentrations were determined. In this study, after equilibrium dialysis of serum samples, free testosterone was extracted from the dialysate using a magnetic bead-based method. It was then directly derivatized using hydroxylamine hydrochloride in situ after elution from the magnetic bead and further quantified by LC-MS/MS.Method:validation assessed linearity, limit of quantification (LOQ), precision, accuracy, matrix effects, and carryover according to established guidelines. Data were analyzed using Origin 2019 and WPS Office 2019.Results:The method demonstrated excellent linearity ( R2>0.99) across 1-250 pg/ml with an LOQ of 1 pg/ml. The coefficients of variation for both intra-day and inter-day imprecision were less than 10% while recovery rates ranged from 92.60% to 99.10%. Matrix effect deviations were all within the range of 6% and carryover was negligible. Conclusions:In this study, the established method of magnetic bead-based extraction followed by in situ derivatization combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry performed well, and could be further applied to the detection of free testosterone concentration in childbearing age women.

The global incidence rate of cancer is increasing yearly,and chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucosal injury has become a crucial factor affecting patients'therapeutic prognosis;however,there is currently a lack of effective therapeutic drugs to address this issue.There is thus an urgent need to establish more ideal animal models of chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucosal injury,to support the exploration of its pathogenesis and the development of therapeutic drugs.This review considered relevant literature published during the period from 2019 to 2024,to provide a comprehensive summary and analysis from several perspectives,including the selection of experimental animals,chemotherapeutic drugs and modeling method,evaluation indicators,and practical applications.Furthermore,we highlight several existing issues with current models,including the lack of standardized modeling method,insufficient research on models with a tumor background,and inadequate exploration of novel cell death mechanisms.This collation of the literature also revealed the gradual emergence of traditional Chinese medicine as a research hotspot,with potential for the treatment of gastrointestinal mucosal injury.Further studies of effective medicines are warranted to identify interventional strategies for chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucosal injury.

The global incidence rate of cancer is increasing yearly,and chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucosal injury has become a crucial factor affecting patients'therapeutic prognosis;however,there is currently a lack of effective therapeutic drugs to address this issue.There is thus an urgent need to establish more ideal animal models of chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucosal injury,to support the exploration of its pathogenesis and the development of therapeutic drugs.This review considered relevant literature published during the period from 2019 to 2024,to provide a comprehensive summary and analysis from several perspectives,including the selection of experimental animals,chemotherapeutic drugs and modeling method,evaluation indicators,and practical applications.Furthermore,we highlight several existing issues with current models,including the lack of standardized modeling method,insufficient research on models with a tumor background,and inadequate exploration of novel cell death mechanisms.This collation of the literature also revealed the gradual emergence of traditional Chinese medicine as a research hotspot,with potential for the treatment of gastrointestinal mucosal injury.Further studies of effective medicines are warranted to identify interventional strategies for chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal mucosal injury.

Objective:This study aimed to evaluate to evaluate the performance of equilibrium dialysis combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the accurate measurement of free testosterone in clinical samples. Mthods We conducted a prospective observational study using 161 serum samples from healthy women of reproductive 26(24, 32)years at the Gynecology Outpatient department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from June to September 2024, and their concentrations were determined. In this study, after equilibrium dialysis of serum samples, free testosterone was extracted from the dialysate using a magnetic bead-based method. It was then directly derivatized using hydroxylamine hydrochloride in situ after elution from the magnetic bead and further quantified by LC-MS/MS.Method:validation assessed linearity, limit of quantification (LOQ), precision, accuracy, matrix effects, and carryover according to established guidelines. Data were analyzed using Origin 2019 and WPS Office 2019.Results:The method demonstrated excellent linearity ( R2>0.99) across 1-250 pg/ml with an LOQ of 1 pg/ml. The coefficients of variation for both intra-day and inter-day imprecision were less than 10% while recovery rates ranged from 92.60% to 99.10%. Matrix effect deviations were all within the range of 6% and carryover was negligible. Conclusions:In this study, the established method of magnetic bead-based extraction followed by in situ derivatization combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry performed well, and could be further applied to the detection of free testosterone concentration in childbearing age women.

Objective To investigate the differential metabolites of lymph node metastasis in pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC) and provide new ideas for the pathogenesis, early diagnosis and treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Methods Forty serum specimens of patients with pancreatic ductal carcinoma were collected and divided into lymph node metastasis group (18 cases) and non-metastasis group (22 cases). Thirty-one serum specimens were also collected from the healthy control group. Liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry was used to analyze the differential metabolites and metabolic pathways between patients with PDAC and healthy controls as well as between lymph node metastasis and non-metastasis groups. Results Principal component analysis and partial least squares-discriminant analysis revealed statistically significant differences in metabolites and metabolic pathways between patients with PDAC and the healthy controls and between lymph node metastasis and non-metastasis groups. The differences in profiles were also statistically significant. Seventy-six different metabolites and 11 metabolic pathways were screened between patients with PDAC and the healthy controls, among which phenylalanine metabolism and histidine metabolism were the two most influential metabolic pathways. Four different metabolites were screened between lymph node metastasis and non-metastasis groups, and the expression of ethopropazine and phenylalanine were upregulated but the expression of tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone and oxprenolol were downregulated. Conclusion Metabolites are significantly altered in the lymph node metastasis group of patients with PDAC compared with the non-metastasis group. Ethopropazine, phenylalanine, tetrahydrodeoxy corticosterone, and oxprenolol are potential biomarkers of lymph node metastasis in patients with PDAC.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors for biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy.Methods:The clinical data of 558 radical prostatectomy patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University from January 2010 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The average age was 67.9 (40-87) years old, and the average body mass index was 24.56 (15.12-35.94) kg/m 2. The average PSA was 41.07 ng/ml, including 48 cases<10 ng/ml, 98 cases 10-20 ng/ml, and 412 cases>20 ng/ml. There were 123, 214, 118, 89, and 14 cases with biopsy Gleason 6-10 score, respectively. The clinical stage : 90 cases in ≤T 2b, 273 cases in T 2c, and 195 cases in ≥T 3 . 558 cases underwent radical prostatectomy, including 528 robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, 25 laparoscopic surgery, and 5 open-surgery. The risk factors for postoperative biochemical recurrence were analyzed by Cox regression. Results:A total of 63 patients had postoperative pathological stage pT 2a, 32 patients had pT 2b, 241 patients had pT 2c, and 222 patients had ≥pT 3. A total of 210 cases developed biochemical recurrence after surgery, and the mean time to biochemical recurrence was 33.3 (3-127) months after the radical prostatectomy. The biochemical recurrence rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 9.7% (54/558), 21.5% (120/558), and 31.7% (177/558), respectively. Among pT 2a and pT 2b patients, 7 (11.1%) and 4 (12.5%) cases developed biochemical recurrence, respectively. Among pT 2c stage patients, 145 (60.17%) cases had positive cut margins, treated with androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) after surgery. 68 (28.21%) cases of pT 2c stage patients had biochemical recurrence at mean 36.1 (3-106)months after the radical prostatectomy. Among ≥pT 3 patients, 147 patients with positive margins, perineural invasion, seminal vesicle invasion and positive pelvic lymph nodes were treated with postoperative androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) + radiotherapy. 98 of 147 patients (66.67%) had biochemical recurrence, and the average time to biochemical recurrence was 30.6 (24-98) months.75 patients of ≥pT 3 without positive margins, perineural invasion, seminal vesicle invasion or positive pelvic lymph nodes, were treated with postoperative ADT. 33 of them (44%) had biochemical recurrence, and the average time to biochemical recurrence was 32.5 (21-106) months. 5-and 10-year survival rates of 210 patients with biochemical recurrence were 89.05% (187/210) and 78.09% (164/210) respectively, 5- and 10-year tumor-specific survival rates were 92.57% and 87.69%, respectively. 46 of 210 cases died, of which 31 (67.39%) died from prostate cancer, and 15 cases (32.61%) died from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Multifactorial Cox regression analysis showed that patient's age ≥70 years, initial PSA > 20ng/ml, ≥pT 3 and Gleason score ≥7 were independent risk factors for biochemical recurrence. Conclusions:After radical prostatectomy, patients were treated according to their pathological stage and surgical margins. Patients with positive margins have a higher risk of biochemical recurrence. The independent risk factors for biochemical recurrence included age ≥70 years, initial PSA > 20ng/ml, ≥pT 3 and Gleason score ≥7.

Breast cancer is globally the most common invasive cancer in women and remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and endocrine therapy are currently the main treatments for this cancer type. However, some breast cancer patients are prone to drug resistance related to chemotherapy or immunotherapy, resulting in limited treatment efficacy. Consequently, traditional Chinese medicinal materials (TCMMs) as natural products have become an attractive source of novel drugs. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on the active components of animal-derived TCMMs, including Ophiocordycepssinensis-derived cordycepin, the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of O.sinensis, norcantharidin (NCTD), Chansu, bee venom, deer antlers, Ostreagigas, and scorpion venom, with reference to marked anti-breast cancer effects due to regulating cell cycle arrest, proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and drug resistance. In future studies, the underlying mechanisms for the antitumor effects of these components need to be further investigated by utilizing multi-omics technologies. Furthermore, large-scale clinical trials are necessary to validate the efficacy of bioactive constituents alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs for breast cancer treatment.
Animals ; Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; China ; Deer ; Female ; Humans ; Immunotherapy

Objective:This study aims to explore the pathogenic roles of protein S-nitrosylation modification in the development of severe acute pancreatitis, and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms driving acute pancreatitis development.Methods:Thirty two Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, mild acute pancreatitis (MAP) group, severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) group and SAP + N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) group (treated with nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), 8 rats in each group. All rats were sacrificed to take blood from heart and pancreatic tissues 24 h after model construction. Total protein S-nitrosylation modification level in pancreatic tissues was quantitated by the biotin-switch method, followed by histological evaluation via hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The serum endotoxin, D-lactic acid, diamine oxidase, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-ɑ(TNF-ɑ), amylase, alanine aminotransferase, urea nitrogen and calcium ions in rat were detected. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between each index and protein S-nitrosylation.Results:Compared with the sham operation group, the modification level of protein S-nitrosylation in pancreatic tissue of MAP group increased significantly ( P<0.05); Compared with MAP group, the modification level of protein S-nitrosylation in pancreatic tissue of SAP group increased significantly ( P<0.05); Compared with SAP group, the modification level of protein S-nitrosylation in pancreatic tissue of SAP + L-NAME group decreased significantly ( P<0.05). HE staining showed that the degree of pancreatic necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in SAP + L-NAME group were significantly weaker than those in SAP group. The concentrations of serum endotoxin, diamine oxidase, D-lactic acid, IL-6 and TNF-ɑ, amylase, alanine aminotransferase, and urea nitrogen in the MAP group were significantly higher than those in the sham operation group (all P<0.05); The above indexes in SAP group were significantly higher than those in MAP group and sham operation group (all P<0.05); The above indexes in SAP + L-NAME group were significantly lower than those in SAP group (all P<0.05). The serum IL-6 and TNF-ɑ levels in rats with acute pancreatitis were positively correlated with protein S-nitrosylation in pancreatic tissue (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Protein S-nitrosylation modification plays essential roles in the development and progression of severe acute pancreatitis.

Objective:To compare the assisted-reproduction outcomes of two long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH-a) in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) during the long-term early follicular phase. Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the Reproductive Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from March 1, 2019 to July 31, 2019. A total of 802 patients were divided into leuprorelin acetate group (group A) and triptorelin group (group B) according to the difference of long-acting GnRH-a in the long-term early follicular phase, and the clinical and laboratory outcomes between the two groups were compared.Results:There were no significant differences in age, infertility duration, body mass index (BMI), basic hormone levels, infertility type, sex hormone level on the day of initiation of injection of gonadotropin (Gn), total duration and dosage of Gn used, duration of down-regulation, estradiol level and endometrial thickness on hCG injection day, the number of embryos transferred, clinical outcomes, total treatment cost, and owing to the uneven inner membrane, elevated progesterone, embryo quality problems, individual factors resulting in cancelling the transplant, between the two groups ( P>0.05). However, antral follicle count (AFC) (19.59±7.93), the number of retrieved oocytes (15.39±7.59), fertilized oocytes (11.20±6.53), cleaved oocytes (10.85±6.42), good-quality embryos on Day 3 (3.01±2.66), and blastocysts (5.27±4.02) in group B was larger than that in group A (17.68±7.23, 13.70±6.94, 9.50±5.43, 9.26±5.34, 2.57±2.33, 4.49±3.40) ( P=0.001, P=0.002, P<0.001, P=0.001, P=0.017, P=0.007). The levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) [(0.78±0.64) IU/L] and progesterone [(0.72±0.39) μg/L] on hCG injection day in group A were higher than those in group B [(0.55±0.30) IU/L, (0.64±0.36) μg/L] ( P<0.001, P=0.005). The rate of preventing the occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in group A [28.52% (75/263)] was higher than that in group B [14.95% (16/107), P=0.006]. Conclusion:Two long-acting GnRH-a drugs can achieve satisfactory down-regulation effect, laboratory and clinical outcomes in the long-term early follicular phase. Compared with the triptorelin, leuprolide acetate is relatively mild to pituitary inhibition, with an increasing trend of the clinical pregnancy rate.

Objective:To compare the assisted-reproduction outcomes of two long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH-a) in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) during the long-term early follicular phase. Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the Reproductive Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from March 1, 2019 to July 31, 2019. A total of 802 patients were divided into leuprorelin acetate group (group A) and triptorelin group (group B) according to the difference of long-acting GnRH-a in the long-term early follicular phase, and the clinical and laboratory outcomes between the two groups were compared.Results:There were no significant differences in age, infertility duration, body mass index (BMI), basic hormone levels, infertility type, sex hormone level on the day of initiation of injection of gonadotropin (Gn), total duration and dosage of Gn used, duration of down-regulation, estradiol level and endometrial thickness on hCG injection day, the number of embryos transferred, clinical outcomes, total treatment cost, and owing to the uneven inner membrane, elevated progesterone, embryo quality problems, individual factors resulting in cancelling the transplant, between the two groups ( P>0.05). However, antral follicle count (AFC) (19.59±7.93), the number of retrieved oocytes (15.39±7.59), fertilized oocytes (11.20±6.53), cleaved oocytes (10.85±6.42), good-quality embryos on Day 3 (3.01±2.66), and blastocysts (5.27±4.02) in group B was larger than that in group A (17.68±7.23, 13.70±6.94, 9.50±5.43, 9.26±5.34, 2.57±2.33, 4.49±3.40) ( P=0.001, P=0.002, P<0.001, P=0.001, P=0.017, P=0.007). The levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) [(0.78±0.64) IU/L] and progesterone [(0.72±0.39) μg/L] on hCG injection day in group A were higher than those in group B [(0.55±0.30) IU/L, (0.64±0.36) μg/L] ( P<0.001, P=0.005). The rate of preventing the occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in group A [28.52% (75/263)] was higher than that in group B [14.95% (16/107), P=0.006]. Conclusion:Two long-acting GnRH-a drugs can achieve satisfactory down-regulation effect, laboratory and clinical outcomes in the long-term early follicular phase. Compared with the triptorelin, leuprolide acetate is relatively mild to pituitary inhibition, with an increasing trend of the clinical pregnancy rate.