Objective To investigate the expression characteristics of the transcription factor E2F2 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), its impact on patient prognosis, and its potential role in the tumor immune microenvironment, with validation using clinical samples and functional assays. Methods RNA sequencing data and clinical information of ccRCC patients were obtained from the TCGA database; GSE53757 and GSE66272 datasets were downloaded from the GEO database as external validation cohorts. The expression difference of E2F2 between ccRCC tissue and normal tissue was compared, and the relationship between E2F2 expression and clinical pathological characteristics was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis with log-rank test was performed to evaluate the effects of E2F2 on overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and disease-specific survival (DSS). The prognostic efficacy of E2F2 in predicting 1-, 3- and 5-year survival was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. GSEA was performed to identify E2F2-related signaling pathways, and the ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms were used to assess the relationship between E2F2 expression level and tumor immune cell infiltration and immune microenvironment. Twenty pairs of surgically resected and pathologically confirmed ccRCC tissues and matched adjacent non-tumor tissues were collected from our hospital, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to detect the protein expression of E2F2. Human ccRCC cell line 786-O was used for functional assays;shRNA was used to knock down E2F2 expression (constructing stable shE2F2#1 and shE2F2#2 cell lines), and qRT-PCR and Western blot were performed to verify knockdown efficiency, followed by MTT, colony formation, and Transwell migration assays to evaluate the effects of E2F2 on the biological behaviors of ccRCC cells. Results E2F2 was significantly upregulated in ccRCC tissues (the same results in the verification set). Higher E2F2 expression was associated with advanced histological grade, clinical stage and higher TNM classification (P＜0.05). KM analysis showed that patients in the E2F2 high-expression group had worse OS, PFS, and DSS (P=0.019, 0.036, ＜0.001); the ROC curves showed area under the curve (AUC) of E2F2 of predicting 1-, 3- and 5- year survival of ccRCC patients were 0.844, 0.851 and 0.815, respectively. GSEA revealed that the E2F2 low-expression group was enriched in multiple metabolism-related pathways, whereas the E2F2 high-expression group was associated with immune-related pathways. Immune analysis demonstrated that high E2F2 expression was associated with increased immune scores, increased proportion of immune cells, higher tumor mutation burden, and potentially stronger immunotherapy response. IHC results showed that the E2F2 immunoreactivity score in ccRCC tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent non-tumor tissues (P＜0.05). Functional assays indicated that E2F2 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation, colony formation, and migration of ccRCC cells. Conclusion E2F2 is highly expressed in ccRCC and may be involved in tumorigenesis and progression through modulation of the immune microenvironment. Its expression level is closely associated with patient prognosis, and E2F2 has the potential to serve as a prognostic biomarker and immunotherapeutic target in ccRCC.

Objective:Based on the activities of Helicobacter pylori ( HP) screening in Jiangsu Province in 2024, to evaluate the overall management ability in HP screening, testing, treatment and follow-up in primary medical facilities. Methods:From May 15 to October 18, 2024, the data of HP screening and treatment were retrospectively collected from 79 township health centers, community hospitals, and community health service centers in Jiangsu Province. The rates of screening completion, urea breath test (UBT) completion, treatment rate, UBT follow-up completion, and HP eradication were analyzed. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results:The completion rate of HP screening was 94.45% (15 489/16 400). There were 6 604 cases (42.64%) with serum HP antibody positive among the 15 489 individuals who completed screening. The positive rate of serum HP antibody in males was higher than that in females (44.77%, 2 643/5 904 vs. 41.32%, 3 961/9 585), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=17.69, P<0.001). The positive rates of serum HP antibody in screened individuals aged 18 to 19, 20 to 39, 40 to 59, and 60 to 75 years old were 22.38% (32/143), 36.12% (1 168/3 234), 45.01% (3 240/7 199), and 44.05% (2 164/4 913), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant( χ2=100.73, P<0.001). Among the 6 604 HP antibody-positive individuals, 4 381 cases completed UBT, with a UBT completion rate of 66.34% (4 381/6 604). There were 3 197 individuals with both HP serum antibody and UBT positive, the consistency rate of the 2 tests was 72.97% (3 197/4 381). Totally 2 737 cases received treatment, with a treatment completion rate of 85.61% (2 737/3 197); 2 327 individuals underwent UBT follow-up, with a follow-up completion rate of 85.02% (2 327/2 737). During follow-up, the result of UBT was negative in 1 982 individuals, and the HP eradication rate was 85.17% (1 982/2 327). Conclusions:There are deficiencies in the completion rate of HP screening, testing, treatment, and follow-up in primary hospitals, especially in the completion rate of UBT, which may be related to cognitive insufficiency for HP in residents. It is necessary to strengthen the training of physicians′ abilities in primary hospitals, optimize the allocation of drug resources, enhance health education, and increase residents′ participation and compliance.

Objective To investigate the role and molecular mechanisms of bladder cancer-derived exosomal long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)CIAT1 in mediating collective invasion and to evaluate its clinical significance and potential therapeutic value.Methods High-throughput sequencing was used to identify lncRNAs that are highly expressed in exosomes from bladder cancer and lymph node metastatic tissues.CIAT1 was selected for further validation in clinical bladder cancer samples.By constructing CIAT1-overexpressing and knockdown bladder cancer cells,we demonstrated in vitro that CIAT1-contained exosomes target cancer-associated fibroblasts(CAFs)to induce collective invasion.The underlying mechanism of CIAT1 in bladder cancer collective invasion was explored through RNA pull-down,RNA immunoprecipitation(RIP),dual-luciferase reporter assays,chromatin isolation by RNA purification(ChIRP)and chromatin immunoprecipitation(ChIP).Results CIAT1 was significantly upregulated in exosomes derived from bladder cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues by High-throughput sequencing(fold change>1.5,P<0.05)and clinical sample validation(P<0.01).In vitro experiments,exosomal CIAT1 was selectively internalized by cancer-associated fibroblasts(CAFs),significantly enhancing collective invasion of bladder cancer via regulating CAFs.In co-culture models,CIAT1 overexpression group showed increased total number and total length of collective invasion chains compared to the control group(P<0.01 for both).Mechanistically,CIAT1 was packaged into exosomes via binding to hnRNPA2B1,and internalized by CAFs,where it activated N-cadherin transcription by modulating H3K4me3 histone modification at the N-cadherin promoter.Consistently,the CIAT1 overexpression group exhibited elevated collective invasion chain numbers and lengths compared to the control group(P<0.01 for both).However,blocking N-cadherin reversed the pro-invasive effects of CIAT1,with no significant differences in chain numbers or lengths between the CIAT1 overexpression+N-cadherin blockade group and controls(P>0.05 for both).Further clinical correlation analysis confirmed that CIAT1-regulated N-cadherin is closely associated with collective invasion in bladder cancer patients(P<0.01).Conclusions Exosomal CIAT1 derived from bladder cancer cells targets CAFs to activate N-cadherin transcription,thereby promoting bladder cancer collective invasion.

Objective:Based on the activities of Helicobacter pylori ( HP) screening in Jiangsu Province in 2024, to evaluate the overall management ability in HP screening, testing, treatment and follow-up in primary medical facilities. Methods:From May 15 to October 18, 2024, the data of HP screening and treatment were retrospectively collected from 79 township health centers, community hospitals, and community health service centers in Jiangsu Province. The rates of screening completion, urea breath test (UBT) completion, treatment rate, UBT follow-up completion, and HP eradication were analyzed. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results:The completion rate of HP screening was 94.45% (15 489/16 400). There were 6 604 cases (42.64%) with serum HP antibody positive among the 15 489 individuals who completed screening. The positive rate of serum HP antibody in males was higher than that in females (44.77%, 2 643/5 904 vs. 41.32%, 3 961/9 585), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=17.69, P<0.001). The positive rates of serum HP antibody in screened individuals aged 18 to 19, 20 to 39, 40 to 59, and 60 to 75 years old were 22.38% (32/143), 36.12% (1 168/3 234), 45.01% (3 240/7 199), and 44.05% (2 164/4 913), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant( χ2=100.73, P<0.001). Among the 6 604 HP antibody-positive individuals, 4 381 cases completed UBT, with a UBT completion rate of 66.34% (4 381/6 604). There were 3 197 individuals with both HP serum antibody and UBT positive, the consistency rate of the 2 tests was 72.97% (3 197/4 381). Totally 2 737 cases received treatment, with a treatment completion rate of 85.61% (2 737/3 197); 2 327 individuals underwent UBT follow-up, with a follow-up completion rate of 85.02% (2 327/2 737). During follow-up, the result of UBT was negative in 1 982 individuals, and the HP eradication rate was 85.17% (1 982/2 327). Conclusions:There are deficiencies in the completion rate of HP screening, testing, treatment, and follow-up in primary hospitals, especially in the completion rate of UBT, which may be related to cognitive insufficiency for HP in residents. It is necessary to strengthen the training of physicians′ abilities in primary hospitals, optimize the allocation of drug resources, enhance health education, and increase residents′ participation and compliance.

Objective:To analyze the association between standardized management of clinical research, initiated by investigators and guided by clinical research management policies in healthcare institutions, and changes in the research behavior of graduate students.Methods:Theses related to cardiovascular health published by graduate students in the Sichuan-Chongqing region of China between January 2019 and June 2024 were retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database. Multilevel models were used to analyze changes in ethical compliance awareness, research methodology standardization, and academic collaboration of graduate students before and after policy implementation. Using Shapiro Wilk test and percentage representation.Results:Among the 712 theses included in this study, the proportion of studies with ethical review reports increased from 44.50% to 55.32% following the implementation of standardized management [odds ratio ( OR)=1.80, P=0.017]. Standardized management significantly improved the quality scores of cross-sectional studies and randomized controlled trials ( P<0.001), as well as significantly increased the frequencies of multi-center collaboration ( OR=2.84, P=0.001) and intra-provincial collaboration ( OR=2.80, P=0.001). Conclusions:Standardized clinical research management shows significant association with positive changes in the research behavior of graduate students. Further optimization of management measures is recommended to comprehensively enhance the clinical research capabilities of graduate students.

Objective:To analyze the relationship between microRNA-21(miR-21)expression and the risk of very early relapse post-induction chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL).Methods:A total of 110 newly diagnosed children with ALL admitted to Huanggang Central Hospital from March 2020 to September 2022 were included.All patients received induction chemotherapy according to the CCLG-2008 protocol.The patients who achieved complete response(CR)after induction chemotherapy were followed up for 18 months,with very early relapse as the endpoint event.Then the patients were divided into a relapse group and a non-relapse group.Cox regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of very early relapse after induction chemotherapy in children with ALL.ROC curve and decision curve were used to evaluate the predictive value of peripheral blood miR-21 for very early relapse after induction chemotherapy in children with ALL.Restricted cubic splines were used to analyze the dose-response relationship between peripheral blood miR-21 and very early relapse after induction chemotherapy in children with ALL.Results:A total of 102 children with ALL achieved CR after induction chemotherapy,among whom 24 cases(23.53％)experienced very early relapse,with a median relapse time of 14 months.The proportions of patients with high-risk stratification at initial diagnosis,extramedullary infiltration,and minimal residual disease(MRD)positivity were significantly higher in the relapse group than those in the non-relapse group;The absolute lymphocyte count(ALC)in peripheral blood was significantly lower,while the expression levels of miR-21 and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)were significantly higher in the relapse group compared with the non-relapse group(all P＜0.05).Cox regression analysis showed that very early relapse after induction chemotherapy in children with ALL was associated with medium risk and high risk at initial diagnosis,extramedullary infiltration,decreased ALC in peripheral blood,MRD positivity,as well as high expression levels of miR-21 and LDH(all P＜0.05).ROC curve analysis indicated that the area under the curve(AUC)of peripheral blood miR-21 for predicting very early relapse after induction chemotherapy in children with ALL was 0.800,with an optimal cutoff value of 4.830.Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed that there was a non-linear dose-response relationship between peripheral blood miR-21 and the risk of very early relapse after induction chemotherapy in children with ALL.When the expression level of peripheral blood miR-21 exceeded 4.830,the risk of very early relapse increased with the elevation of miR-21 expression.Decision curve analysis demonstrated that combining peripheral blood miR-21 with other risk factors enhanced the predictive performance for the risk of very early relapse after induction chemotherapy in children with ALL.Conclusion:Very early relapse after induction chemotherapy in children with ALL is associated with elevated expression of miR-21 in peripheral blood,and high expression of miR-21 may increase the risk of very early relapse.Detecting miR-21 before induction chemotherapy has predictive significance for very early relapse in children with ALL,and combining it with other risk factors can improve the predictive efficacy.

Radiation-induced thrombocytopenia(RIT)faces a perplexing challenge in the clinical treatment of cancer patients,and current therapeutic approaches are inadequate in the clinical settings.In this research,oxy-matrine,a new molecule capable of healing RIT was screened out,and the underlying regulatory mecha-nism associated with magakaryocyte(MK)differentiation and thrombopoiesis was demonstrated.The capacity of oxymatrine to induce MK differentiation was verified in K-562 and Meg-01 cells in vitro.The ability to induce thrombopoiesis was subsequently demonstrated in Tg(cd41:enhanced green fluorescent protein(eGFP))zebrafish and RIT model mice.In addition,we carried out network pharmacological pre-diction,drug affinity responsive target stability assay(DARTS)and cellular thermal shift assay(CETSA)analyses to explore the potential targets of oxymatrine.Moreover,the pathway underlying the effects of oxymatrine was determined by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)enrichment analyses,Western blot(WB),and immunofluorescence.Oxymatrine markedly promoted MK differentiation and maturation in vitro.Moreover,oxymatrine induced thrombopoiesis in Tg(cd41:eGFP)zebrafish and accelerated thrombopoiesis and platelet function recovery in RIT model mice.Mechanistically,oxymatrine directly binds to toll-like receptor 2(TLR2)and further regulates the downstream pathway stimulator of interferon genes(STING)/nuclear factor-kappaB(NF-κB),which can be blocked by C29 and C-176,which are specific inhibitors of TLR2 and STING,respectively.Taken together,we demonstrated that oxymatrine,a novel TLR2 agonist,plays a critical role in accelerating MK differentiation and thrombopoiesis via the STING/NF-κB axis,suggesting that oxymatrine is a promising candidate for RIT therapy.

Case 1: A 19-day-old male infant presented with poor feeding and decreased activity for 2 weeks, worsening with poor responsiveness for 3 days. At 5 days old, he developed poor feeding and poor responsiveness, was hospitalized, and was found to have elevated blood ammonia and thrombocytopenia. Whole-genome genetic analysis revealed a pathogenic homozygous mutation in the PCCA gene, NM-000282.4: c.1834-1835del (p.Arg612AspfsTer44), leading to a diagnosis of propionic acidemia. Case 2: A 4-day-old male infant presented with poor responsiveness and feeding difficulties since birth, with elevated blood ammonia for 1 day. He showed weak sucking and deteriorating responsiveness, with blood ammonia >200 µmol/L. Genetic testing identified two heterozygous mutations in the MMUT gene: NM_000255.4: c.1677-1G>A and NM_000255.4: ex.5del, confirming methylmalonic acidemia. Case 3: A 20-day-old male infant presented with poor feeding for 15 days and skin petechiae for 8 days. He developed feeding difficulties at 5 days old and lower limb petechiae at 12 days old, with blood ammonia measured at 551.6 µmol/L. Genetic analysis found two heterozygous mutations in the PCCA gene: NM_000282.4: c.1118T>A (p.Met373Lys) and NM_000282.4: ex.16-18del, confirming propionic acidemia. In the first two cases, continuous hemodiafiltration was performed for 30 hours and 20 hours, respectively, before administering carglumic acid. In the third case, carglumic acid was administered orally without continuous hemodiafiltration, resulting in a decrease in blood ammonia from 551.6 µmol/L to 72.0 µmol/L within 6 hours, with a reduction rate of approximately 20-25 µmol/(kg·h), similar to the first two cases. Carglumic acid was effective in all three cases, suggesting it may help optimize future treatment protocols for organic acidemia.
Humans ; Male ; Infant, Newborn ; Propionic Acidemia/drug therapy* ; Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors/genetics* ; Mutation ; Methylmalonyl-CoA Decarboxylase/genetics* ; Citrates/administration & dosage* ; Carbon-Carbon Ligases/genetics* ; Glutamates

Objective： The aim of this study is to explore the predictive value of biparametric magnetic resonance imaging(bpMRI)for pelvic lymph node metastasis in prostate cancer patients with PSA≤20 μg/L and establish a nomogram. Methods： The imaging data and clinical data of 363 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from July 2018 to December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to screen independent risk factors for pelvic lymph node metastasis in prostate cancer, and a nomogram of the clinical prediction model was established. Calibration curves were drawn to evaluate the accuracy of the model. Results： Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed extrocapusular extension (OR=8.08,95%CI=2.62－24.97, P<0.01), enlargement of pelvic lymph nodes (OR=4.45,95%CI=1.16－17.11,P=0.030), and biopsy ISUP grade(OR=1.97,95%CI=1.12－3.46, P=0.018)were independent risk factors for pelvic lymph node metastasis. The C-index of the prediction model was 0.834, which indicated that the model had a good prediction ability. The actual value of the model calibration curve and the prediction probability of the model fitted well, indicating that the model had a good accuracy. Further analysis of DCA curve showed that the model had good clinical application value when the risk threshold ranged from 0.05 to 0.70.Conclusion： For prostate cancer patients with PSA≤20 μg/L, bpMRI has a good predictive value for the pelvic lymph node metastasis of prostate cancer with extrocapusular extension, enlargement of pelvic lymph nodes and ISUP grade≥4.
Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Retrospective Studies ; Nomograms ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood* ; Lymph Nodes/pathology* ; Pelvis ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prostatectomy ; Lymph Node Excision ; Risk Factors ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Logistic Models ; Middle Aged ; Aged

Radiation-induced thrombocytopenia (RIT) faces a perplexing challenge in the clinical treatment of cancer patients, and current therapeutic approaches are inadequate in the clinical settings. In this research, oxymatrine, a new molecule capable of healing RIT was screened out, and the underlying regulatory mechanism associated with magakaryocyte (MK) differentiation and thrombopoiesis was demonstrated. The capacity of oxymatrine to induce MK differentiation was verified in K-562 and Meg-01 cells in vitro. The ability to induce thrombopoiesis was subsequently demonstrated in Tg (cd41:enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP)) zebrafish and RIT model mice. In addition, we carried out network pharmacological prediction, drug affinity responsive target stability assay (DARTS) and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) analyses to explore the potential targets of oxymatrine. Moreover, the pathway underlying the effects of oxymatrine was determined by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses, Western blot (WB), and immunofluorescence. Oxymatrine markedly promoted MK differentiation and maturation in vitro. Moreover, oxymatrine induced thrombopoiesis in Tg (cd41:eGFP) zebrafish and accelerated thrombopoiesis and platelet function recovery in RIT model mice. Mechanistically, oxymatrine directly binds to toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and further regulates the downstream pathway stimulator of interferon genes (STING)/nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB), which can be blocked by C29 and C-176, which are specific inhibitors of TLR2 and STING, respectively. Taken together, we demonstrated that oxymatrine, a novel TLR2 agonist, plays a critical role in accelerating MK differentiation and thrombopoiesis via the STING/NF-κB axis, suggesting that oxymatrine is a promising candidate for RIT therapy.