OBJECTIVE: To explore the morphological characteristics of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus and to explore its relationship with Haglund malformation. METHODS: Ankle lateral X-ray films of 391 hospitalized patients between May 2021 and June 2024 were retrospectively collected. The morphological parameters of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus were measured, including the length of the base, the height of the base, and the tip angle of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus, and the morphological types were classified according to the above parameters, including the peak type, the hill type, and the flat type. The related parameters of Haglund malformation were measured, including Fowler-Philipp angle (FPA), calcaneal pitch angle (CPA), parallel pitch line (PPL), Chauveaux-Liet angle (CLA), and X/Y ratio (total calcaneal length/length of greater tuberosity of calcaneus). The differences of the morphological parameters of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus and the related indicators of Haglund deformity among the three types and between the males and the females were compared and analyzed, and the differences of the positive numbers of the related indicators of Haglund deformity among the three types were compared. RESULTS: According to the morphological parameters of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus, there were 64 cases of peak type, 245 cases of hill type, and 82 cases of flat type. There was no significant difference in the length of the base of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus, CPA, CLA, and X/Y ratio among the three types ( P>0.05). Among the three types, the peak type had the largest FPA and the flat type had the smallest ( P<0.05); the peak type had the smallest tip angle of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus and the flat type had the largest ( P<0.05); the positive rate of PPL in the hill type was significantly higher than that in the peak type and flat type ( P<0.05); the height of the base of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus in the flat type was the smallest ( P<0.05). FPA, CPA, CLA, PPL, and X/Y ratio were positive in 2, 42, 172, 142, and 77 patients, respectively. There was no significant difference in the number of positive Haglund deformity indicators among the three types ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference between male and female patients in the tip angle of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus, FPA, the positive rate of PPL, and X/Y ratio ( P>0.05). The length and the height of the base of the postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus, CPA, and CLA in male patients were significantly higher than those in female patients ( P<0.05). CONCLUSION The postero-superior protuberance of the calcaneus can be divided into three types: the peak type, the hill type, and the flat type. The peak type is more likely to suffer from Haglund deformity, and the males are more likely to suffer from Haglund deformity than the females.
Humans ; Calcaneus/anatomy & histology* ; Male ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Radiography ; Child ; Aged

The interaction between m⁶A-methylated RNA and chromatin modification remains largely unknown. We found that targeted inhibition of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) by siRNA or its inhibitor (JQ1) significantly decreases mRNA m⁶A levels and suppresses the malignancy of breast cancer (BC) cells via increased expression of demethylase AlkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5). Mechanistically, inhibition of BRD4 increases the mRNA stability of ALKBH5 via enhanced binding between its 3' untranslated regions (3'UTRs) with RNA-binding protein RALY. Further, BRD4 serves as a scaffold for ubiquitin enzymes tripartite motif containing-21 (TRIM21) and ALKBH5, resulting in the ubiquitination and degradation of ALKBH5 protein. JQ1-increased ALKBH5 then demethylates mRNA of extra spindle pole bodies like 1 (ESPL1) and reduces binding between ESPL1 mRNA and m⁶A reader insulin like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3), leading to decay of ESPL1 mRNA. Animal and clinical studies confirm a critical role of BRD4/ALKBH5/ESPL1 pathway in BC progression. Further, our study sheds light on the crosstalks between histone modification and RNA methylation.

BACKGROUND:Chondrocyte apoptosis is an important factor in the development of osteoarthritis,and Complanatoside A has a flavonoid effect,which can inhibit apoptosis of various cells,but its effect on chondrocyte apoptosis and the mechanism of action are not clear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the intrinsic association and mechanism of Complanatoside A in chondrocyte apoptosis based on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. METHODS:(1)The cartilage tissues of the femur and tibia transected during knee arthroplasty were collected,and chondrocytes were isolated,cultured in vitro,and identified.(2)Cell counting kit-8 was used to detect the optimal intervention concentration of Complanatoside A in the concentration range of 0-160 μmol/L.(3)Chondrocytes were divided into blank group,sodium nitroprusside(1.5 mmol/L)-induced group,and sodium nitroprusside(1.5 mmol/L)+Complanatoside A(5 μmol/L)group.The viability and apoptosis rate of the cells in each group were detected by cell counting kit-8 and flow cytometry.The expression of type Ⅱ collagen and SOX9 was detected by immunofluorescence staining.The expression of apoptosis-related proteins and Wnt/β-catenin pathway proteins was detected by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The cells extracted in vitro were cultured and stained,and were clearly identified as chondrocytes.Complanatoside A had no obvious cytotoxicity to chondrocytes in the concentration range of 0-80 μmol/L,and significantly improved the chondrocyte viability in the concentration range of 2.5-10 μmol/L,especially when the concentration was 5 μmol/L.The apoptotic rate of chondrocytes was higher in the sodium nitroprusside-induced group than the blank control group,while the apoptotic rate was lower in the sodium nitroprusside+Complanatoside A group than the sodium nitroprusside-induced group.The fluorescence intensity of type Ⅱ collagen and SOX9 in chondrocytes was weaker in the sodium nitroprusside-induced group than the blank control group,while the fluorescence intensity of type Ⅱ collagen and SOX9 in the sodium nitroprusside+Complanatoside A group was higher than that of the sodium nitroprusside-induced group.In the sodium nitroprusside-induced group,the protein expression of Bax,Caspase-3,matrix metalloproteinase 13,Wnt3a,Wnt5a and β-catenin was higher than that of the blank control group,while the protein expression of Bcl-2 was lower than that of the blank control group.In the sodium nitroprusside+Complanatoside A group,except for the protein expression of Bcl-2 which was higher than that of the sodium nitroprusside-induced group,the expression of the other aforementioned proteins was lower than that of the sodium nitroprusside-induced group.To conclude,Complanatoside A has a certain inhibitory effect on chondrocyte apoptosis,which could regulate apoptosis-related proteins and promote the expression of chondrocyte regulatory factors,and presumably might play a role through inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

ABSTRCT AIM:To verify the effect of polygona-tum polysaccharide(PSP)combined with TGF-β3 in inducing the differentiation of rat tendon-derived stem cells(TDSCs)into chondrocytes by activating the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway.METHODS:TDSCs were extracted from rat tail tendons using enzyme digestion,purified,passaged,and identified via flow cytometry.TDSCs were treated with different concentrations of PSP,and the optimal growth con-centration was determined using the CCK-8 assay.TDSCs were divided into four groups:PSP,TGF-β3,PSP+TGF-β3,and Control for differentiation induc-tion.Chondrogenic differentiation was evaluated using morphological observations,toluidine blue staining,immunofluorescence staining,and West-ern blot analysis to detect COLⅡ,SOX9,and AGG.Western blot was also used to measure the expres-sion levels of Smad2 and p-Smad2 to evaluate the activation of the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway after chondrogenic induction.RESULTS:Flow cytometry analysis showed that TDSCs highly expressed CD90 and CD29,while CD11b and CD45 expression was low.The CCK-8 assay indicated that 5 μmol/L PSP was the optimal intervention dose.Toluidine blue staining revealed that the blue staining area in the PSP,PSP+TGF-β3,and TGF-β3 groups was larger compared to the Control group.Immunofluores-cence analysis demonstrated that COLⅡ expression was significantly increased in the PSP,TGF-β3,and PSP+TGF-β3 groups,with the highest expression in the PSP+TGF-β3 group(P＜0.05).Western blot analy-sis showed that the levels of p-Smad2/Smad2,COLⅡ,SOX9,and AGG were elevated in the PSP,TGF-β3,and PSP+TGF-β3 groups,with the highest ex-pression in the PSP+TGF-β3 group(P＜0.05).Compared to the Control group,the TGF-β3 and PSP groups also showed significantly increased expression(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION:PSP promotes the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of TDSCs,possibly by activating the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway.

Objective:To investigate the completion rate of tumor evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients in the national multicenter real-world database.Methods:The prospective real-world study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 1 074 patients who underwent surgical treatment for mid and low rectal cancer in 47 national medical institutions, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital et al, from May 12,2023 to May 11,2024 were collected. Observation indicators: (1) clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (2) initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (3) initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (4) imaging evaluation after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3). Count data were described as absoluter numbers and/or percentages. Results:(1) Clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 713 males and 361 females, aged 63(56,70)years. The body mass index of 1 074 patients was 24(21,26)kg/m 2.For American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, there were 147 cases of stage Ⅰ, 641 cases of stage Ⅱ, 157 cases of stage Ⅲ, 2 cases of stage Ⅳ, and there were 127 cases missing data. (2) Initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 787 cases (73.28%) undergoing complete colonoscopy, and there were only 197 cases (18.34%) undergoing immunohistochemical evaluation of all four mismatch repair proteins. (3) Initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 842(78.40%) patients completing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 914(85.10%) patients completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced computed tomography (CT) evaluation. In the 149 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 122 cases (81.88%) comple-ting T staging evaluation, and there were 81 cases (54.36%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 808 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 708 cases (87.62%) completing T staging evaluation, and there were 590 cases (73.02%) completing N staging evaluation. (4) Imaging evalua-tion after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 388 patients with neoadjuvant therapy, there were 332 patients (85.57%) completing MRI or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 327 patients (84.28%) completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced CT evalua-tion. In the 70 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 65 cases (92.86%) com-pleting T staging evaluation, and there were 49 cases (70.00%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 327 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 246 cases (75.23%) completing T staging, and there were 228 cases (69.72%) completing N staging evaluation. Conclusion:The com-pletion rate of tumor imaging evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients on a national scale is relatively good.

ABSTRCT AIM:To verify the effect of polygona-tum polysaccharide(PSP)combined with TGF-β3 in inducing the differentiation of rat tendon-derived stem cells(TDSCs)into chondrocytes by activating the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway.METHODS:TDSCs were extracted from rat tail tendons using enzyme digestion,purified,passaged,and identified via flow cytometry.TDSCs were treated with different concentrations of PSP,and the optimal growth con-centration was determined using the CCK-8 assay.TDSCs were divided into four groups:PSP,TGF-β3,PSP+TGF-β3,and Control for differentiation induc-tion.Chondrogenic differentiation was evaluated using morphological observations,toluidine blue staining,immunofluorescence staining,and West-ern blot analysis to detect COLⅡ,SOX9,and AGG.Western blot was also used to measure the expres-sion levels of Smad2 and p-Smad2 to evaluate the activation of the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway after chondrogenic induction.RESULTS:Flow cytometry analysis showed that TDSCs highly expressed CD90 and CD29,while CD11b and CD45 expression was low.The CCK-8 assay indicated that 5 μmol/L PSP was the optimal intervention dose.Toluidine blue staining revealed that the blue staining area in the PSP,PSP+TGF-β3,and TGF-β3 groups was larger compared to the Control group.Immunofluores-cence analysis demonstrated that COLⅡ expression was significantly increased in the PSP,TGF-β3,and PSP+TGF-β3 groups,with the highest expression in the PSP+TGF-β3 group(P＜0.05).Western blot analy-sis showed that the levels of p-Smad2/Smad2,COLⅡ,SOX9,and AGG were elevated in the PSP,TGF-β3,and PSP+TGF-β3 groups,with the highest ex-pression in the PSP+TGF-β3 group(P＜0.05).Compared to the Control group,the TGF-β3 and PSP groups also showed significantly increased expression(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION:PSP promotes the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of TDSCs,possibly by activating the TGF-β3/Smad2 pathway.

Objective:To investigate the completion rate of tumor evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients in the national multicenter real-world database.Methods:The prospective real-world study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 1 074 patients who underwent surgical treatment for mid and low rectal cancer in 47 national medical institutions, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital et al, from May 12,2023 to May 11,2024 were collected. Observation indicators: (1) clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (2) initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (3) initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (4) imaging evaluation after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3). Count data were described as absoluter numbers and/or percentages. Results:(1) Clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 713 males and 361 females, aged 63(56,70)years. The body mass index of 1 074 patients was 24(21,26)kg/m 2.For American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, there were 147 cases of stage Ⅰ, 641 cases of stage Ⅱ, 157 cases of stage Ⅲ, 2 cases of stage Ⅳ, and there were 127 cases missing data. (2) Initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 787 cases (73.28%) undergoing complete colonoscopy, and there were only 197 cases (18.34%) undergoing immunohistochemical evaluation of all four mismatch repair proteins. (3) Initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 842(78.40%) patients completing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 914(85.10%) patients completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced computed tomography (CT) evaluation. In the 149 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 122 cases (81.88%) comple-ting T staging evaluation, and there were 81 cases (54.36%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 808 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 708 cases (87.62%) completing T staging evaluation, and there were 590 cases (73.02%) completing N staging evaluation. (4) Imaging evalua-tion after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 388 patients with neoadjuvant therapy, there were 332 patients (85.57%) completing MRI or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 327 patients (84.28%) completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced CT evalua-tion. In the 70 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 65 cases (92.86%) com-pleting T staging evaluation, and there were 49 cases (70.00%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 327 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 246 cases (75.23%) completing T staging, and there were 228 cases (69.72%) completing N staging evaluation. Conclusion:The com-pletion rate of tumor imaging evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients on a national scale is relatively good.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate ideal screw implant angle in reconstruction of tibiofibular syndesmosis injury by using a biomechanical test. METHODS: A total of 24 ankle specimens from adult cadavers were used as the tibiofibular syndesmosis injury model. According to the angle of screw placement, the tibiofibular syndesmosis injury models were randomly divided into groups A (0°), B (10°-15°), C (20°-25°), and D (30°-35°), and the screws were placed at a level 2 cm proximal to the ankle joint. The displacement of fibula was measured by biomechanical testing machine at neutral, dorsiflexion (10°), plantar flexion (15°), varus (10°), and valgus (15°) positions, with axial load of 0-700 N (pressure separation test). The displacement of fibula was also measured at neutral position by applying 0-5 N·m torque load during internal and external rotation (torsional separation test). RESULTS: In the pressure separation test, group C exhibited the smallest displacement under different positions and load conditions. At neutral position, significant differences were observed ( P<0.05) between group A and group C under load of 300-700 N, as well as between group B and group C under all load conditions. At dorsiflexion position, significant differences were observed ( P<0.05) between group A and group C under load of 500-700 N, as well as between groups B, D and group C under all load conditions, and the displacements under all load conditions were significantly smaller in group A than in group B ( P<0.05). At plantar flexion position, significant differences were observed ( P<0.05) between group D and group C under all load conditions. At valgus position, significant differences were observed ( P<0.05) between group A and group C under load of 400-700 N, as well as between groups B, D and group C under all load conditions. In the torsional separation test, group C exhibited the smallest displacement and group B had the largest displacement under different load conditions. During internal rotation, significant differences were observed ( P<0.05) between group B and group C under all load conditions, as well as between group D and group C at load of 3-5 N·m. During external rotation, significant differences were observed between groups B, D and group C under all load conditions ( P<0.05). No significant difference was detected between groups at the remaining load conditions ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION The ideal screw implant angle in reconstruction of tibiofibular syndesmosis injury was 20°-25°, which has a small displacement of fibula.
Humans ; Bone Screws ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Fibula/injuries* ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/methods* ; Adult ; Ankle Joint/surgery* ; Ankle Injuries/surgery* ; Tibia/surgery* ; Male ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Weight-Bearing ; Female ; Cadaver ; Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods*

Objective:To investigate the expressions of apoptosis-related factors survivin, p53 and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in breast cancer tissues and their prognostic value.Methods:A total of 131 patients undergoing radical mastectomy for breast cancer who were admitted to Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital from February 2015 to January 2019 were selected as the research subjects. During the operation, the cancer tissues and adjacent tissues (normal tissues >3 cm from the tumor margin) were collected from the patients. Expressions of survivin, p53 and HER2 in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues of patients were detected by using immunohistochemistry. The prognoses of patients were recorded after the follow-up for 3 years; the recurrence, metastasis and death treated as the poor prognosis, the rest prognoses of patients were treated as the good prognosis group. The difference of clinicopathological characteristics between the poor prognosis group and the good prognosis group was compared. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze risk factors for prognosis of breast cancer patients. The result of prognosis of breast cancer was taken as the golden standard. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of survivin pasitive, p53 pasitive, HER2 pasitive alone, the combination of both and the combination of the there in the judgement of poor prognosis of breast cancer.Results:The positive expression rates of survivin [49.6% (65/131) vs. 7.6% (10/131)], p53 [60.3% (79/131) vs. 13.0% (17/131)] and HER2 [79.4% (104/131) vs. 16.8% (22/131)] in cancer tissues were higher than those in adjacent tissues (all P<0.001). A total of 131 breast cancer patients were followed up for 3 years without any loss of follow-up, and the follow-up rate was 100%. Within the follow-up for 3 years, there were 15 (11.5%) cases of recurrence, 8 (6.1%) cases of metastasis, and 10 (7.6%) cases of death, the incidence of poor prognosis was 25.2% (33/131); and the remaining 98 cases had good prognosis. The proportions of patients with TNM stage Ⅲ, lymph node metastasis, poorly differentiated histology, tumor diameter ≥3 cm, survivin, p53, and HER2 positive expressions in the poor prognosis group were higher than those in the good prognosis group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that TNM stage Ⅲ [ OR = 5.323 (95% CI 2.190-12.936)], lymph node metastasis [ OR = 4.773 (95% CI 1.964-11.600)], tumor diameter ≥3 cm [ OR = 3.582(95% CI 1.474-8.706)], positive survivin [ OR = 2.740 (95% CI 1.127-6.659)], positive p53 [ OR = 3.271 (95% CI 1.346-7.949)], and positive HER2 [ OR = 3.873 (95% CI 1.594-9.412)] were independent risk factors for prognosis of breast cancer (all P<0.001). The ROC curve results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values of survivin positive, p53 positive,HER2 positive, and the combination of any two were more than 0.80 (all P<0.001); the AUC of the combination of the three was 0.944 (95% CI 0.890-0.977) ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The expressions of survivin, p53, and HER2 are highly expressed in breast cancer tissues. The expressions of the three can be used to judge the prognosis of breast cancer patients, and the combination of the three has a higher judgement value.

ObjectiveTaking Chuanxiong Chatiaosan prescription as the carrier， by comparing the differences of volatile components in Chuanxiong Rhizoma with single decoction pieces and compatible prescription of different decoction pieces， the differences of material basic connotation of different formulations of Chuanxiong Chatiaosan were revealed from the aspects of processing （raw and wine-processed products）， compound compatibility and dosage form （powder and decoction）. MethodThe volatile oil was extracted from different decoction pieces of Chuanxiong Rhizoma， Chuanxiong Chatiaosan and its decoction with different decoction pieces of Chuanxiong Rhizoma by steam distillation， the main components and their relative contents were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS）. ResultA total of 25 volatile components were identified from different processed products of Chuanxiong Rhizoma， including 11 monoterpenoids， 4 phenols， 3 sesquiterpenoids， 3 phthalides， 2 ketones and 2 olefins， the contents of α-pinene， β-pinene， 3-butylphthalide and others increased after the raw products was processed with wine. A total of 85 constituents were identified from Chuanxiong Chatiaosan with different decoction pieces， including 31 monoterpenoids， 23 sesquiterpenoids， 5 alcohols， 5 aldehydes， 4 phenols， 4 phthalides， 3 ethers， 3 ketones， 1 olefin， 1 organic acid， 2 esters and 3 other compounds. A total of 22 components， including 9 sesquiterpenoids， 3 phthalides， 2 phenols， 6 monoterpenoids， 1 aldehyde and 1 alkane， were identified from the decoction of Chuanxiong Chatiaosan with different processed products. ConclusionThere was no significant difference in the composition between raw products and wine-processed products of Chuanxiong Rhizoma either in single decoction pieces or in compatibility prescription， but the relative content changed to some extent， and the wine-processed products was the most obvious. There was a great difference in the composition of volatile components between the Chuanxiong Chatiaosan and its decoction. The volatile components， such as isopulegol， isocalamendiol and safrole， were not found in the decoction. Components in Chuanxiong Rhizoma processed with wine will change with the addition of yellow rice wine， and volatile components can reflect the difference between decoction pieces and prescriptions of the wine-processed products.