1.Dendritic cell subpopulations in the tumor microenvironment: biological behaviors and targeted therapeutic strategies
CUI Jiale ; JI Anjie ; ZHU Ha ; LIU Juan
Chinese Journal of Cancer Biotherapy 2026;33(3):225-232
[摘 要] 树突状细胞(DC)作为抗肿瘤免疫应答的核心启动者与调控者,已成为肿瘤免疫治疗的重要靶点。DC疫苗等靶向DC的免疫治疗策略在抗肿瘤治疗中展现出独特优势,但仍存在抗原提呈效率不足、免疫抑制微环境抵抗、功能特异性调控困难等瓶颈问题。肿瘤微环境(TME)中的DC存在高度异质性,不同DC亚群在分化发育、免疫调控及效应转归方面呈现复杂的多样性。解析DC亚群的精确表型与功能机制对于开发新型DC靶向性免疫治疗策略具有重要意义。TME中募集的经典DC、浆细胞样DC、单核细胞来源DC能与肿瘤浸润免疫细胞和微环境中的非免疫细胞(包括肿瘤细胞、成纤维细胞、内皮细胞等)相互作用激活抗肿瘤免疫应答,而TME还会通过转录调控、表观遗传调控、代谢重塑等多种方式抑制DC招募和抗原提呈能力,甚至诱导其向耐受性DC转化。值得注意的是,新近发现的富含免疫调节分子的成熟DC具有双向免疫调控作用,其起源路径和免疫调控网络仍有待深入研究。随着单细胞分析与空间组学分析等技术的发展,有望在单细胞分辨率下系统解析DC亚群的功能多样性及其与TME的时空相互作用网络,为开发下一代精准免疫治疗策略提供新靶点和新思路。
2.Serological characteristics of individuals with hepatitis C virus/hepatitis B virus overlapping infection
Yanfei CUI ; Xia HUANG ; Chao ZHANG ; Yingjie JI ; Song QING ; Yuanjie FU ; Jing ZHANG ; Li LIU ; Yongqian CHENG
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(1):74-79
ObjectiveTo investigate the status of overlapping hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the serological characteristics of such patients. MethodsA total of 8 637 patients with HCV infection who were hospitalized from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2020 and had complete data of HBV serological markers were enrolled, and the composition ratio of patients with overlapping HBV serological markers was analyzed among the patients with HCV infection. The patients were divided into groups based on age and year of birth, and serological characteristics were analyzed, and the distribution of HBV-related serological characteristics were analyzed across different HCV genotypes. ResultsThe patients with HCV/HBV overlapping infection accounted for 5.85%, and the patients with previous HBV infection accounted for 48.10%; the patients with protective immunity against HBV accounted for 14.67%, while the patients with a lack of protective immunity against HBV accounted for 31.39%. The patients were divided into groups based on age: in the 0 — 17 years group, the patients with protective immunity against HBV accounted for 61.41% (304 patients); the 18 — 44 years group was mainly composed of patients with previous HBV infection (698 patients, 37.31%), the 45 — 59 years group was predominantly composed of patients with previous HBV infection (1 945 patients, 50.38%), and the ≥60 years group was also predominantly composed of patients with previous HBV infection (1 486 patients, 61.66%). The patients were divided into groups based on the year of birth: in the pre-1992 group, the patients with previous HBV infection accounted for 51.63% (4 112 patients); in the 1992 — 2005 group, the patients with protective immunity against HBV accounted for 54.72% (168 patients); in the post-2005 group, the patients with protective immunity against HBV accounted for 64.38% (235 patients). In this study, 6 301 patients underwent HCV genotype testing: the patients with genotype 1b accounted for the highest proportion of 51.71% (3 258 patients), followed by those with genotype 2a (1 769 patients, 28.07%), genotype 3b (63 patients, 1.00%), genotype 3a (10 patients, 0.16%), genotype 4 (21 patients, 0.33%), and genotype 6a (5 patients, 0.08%). ConclusionWith the implementation of hepatitis B planned vaccination program in China, there has been a significant reduction in the proportion of patients with previous HBV infection among the patients with HCV/HBV overlapping infection, but there is still a relatively high proportion of patients with a lack of protective immunity against HBV.
3.Differences in deltamethrin resistance and kdr gene mutation in Culex tritaeniorhynchus population in and outside the Yellow Sea wetland
Xiao-er ZHANG ; Zhi-ming WU ; Ye TIAN ; Qian CUI ; Yu-qian JI ; Huan WANG ; Shu-juan YANG ; Yi-chao ZHAO ; Yu WANG ; Hua-yu YIN ; Yu DING ; Guo-jin YAN ; Min-sen ZHAO ; Shou-gang ZHANG ; Bing-dong SONG ; Hong-na CHEN ; Jian GAO ; Wei-fang YANG ; Yu-fu ZHANG ; Hui LIU ; Hong-liang CHU
Acta Parasitologica et Medica Entomologica Sinica 2026;33(2):101-107
Objective To gain insights into the biological characteristics of different populations of Culex tritaeniorhynchus within and around the Yellow Sea wetland from the perspective of the occurrence of resistance, we investigated the levels of resistance to deltamethrin and kdr gene mutation in the wetland and its peripheral areas. Methods Specimens were collected from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus populations at two monitoring sites in the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area, and also from two populations in Yancheng City and the Liuhe District of Nanjing, and the resistance of these mosquitoes to deltamethrin was determined using the CDC biotest bottle method. For each concentration of deltamethrin assessed, a random subset of exposed specimens was selected for amplification of the kdr gene fragment, followed by Sanger sequencing to identify and analyze resistance-associated mutations. Results The LC50 levels of deltamethrin among mosquitoes from the four populations in Luhe, Yancheng, the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and the Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area were 2.048 5, 7.798 2, 3.473 3, and 17.695 5 mg/mL, respectively, with corresponding concentrations of deltamethrin ranging from 0.005 to 5.000,0.050 to 50.000,0.050 to 25.000 and 0.050 to 50.000 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the ranges of the KT50 values were 11.76-107.43, 67.05-216.30,29.77-107.43 and 28.40-329.51 min; the 1-h knockdown rates were 34.58%-99.15%, 9.52%-43.80%, 55.09%-73.01%, and 10.09%-68.07%; and the 24-h mortality rates were 12.15%-67.52%,9.52%-79.56%,13.17%-82.21%, and 11.01%-78.99%, respectively. With respect to kdr gene mutation, we assayed a total of 63,70,59, and 57 mosquitoes for the four populations, for which we detected L1014F mutation frequencies of 14.29%, 35.00%, 20.34%, and 31.58%, respectively, with a majority of these mutations being heterozygous for resistance. In addition, five adult mosquitoes were identified has having synonymous mutations at site 1011[i. e. , AAT(asparagine)mutation to AAC(asparagine)]. Conclusions Our findings revealed the clear resistance of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus to deltamethrin in the Yancheng region of the Yellow Sea wetland, and the resistance phenotype and kdr frequency of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment were comparable to those of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment, thereby indicating that the resistance of different populations of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was homogeneous under the pressure of different insecticide selection within and around the wetland. However, the underlying mechanisms need to be further studied.
4.Therapeutic effect of oral Xuefu Zhuyu Pill combined with intravitreal injection of Aflibercept in the treatment of retinal vein occlusion
Ran SHEN ; Hongying JI ; Hongyu CUI ; Lequan YANG ; Lixia GUO
International Eye Science 2025;25(9):1532-1536
AIM: To explore the therapeutic effect of oral Xuefu Zhuyu Pill combined with intravitreal injection of aflibercept in the treatment of retinal vein occlusion(RVO).METHODS: A total of 80 patients(80 eyes)with RVO admitted to our hospital from January 2021 to March 2024 were prospectively selected. According to the treatment method, they were divided into a control group of 40 patients treated with intravitreal injection of aflibercept, and an observation group of 40 patients treated with oral Xuefu Zhuyu Pill combined with intravitreal injection of aflibercept. The efficacy, TCM syndrome score, retinal microcirculation parameters, macular edema(ME), and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups of patients in the treatment of RVO.RESULTS: All patients have completed follow-up. The clinical effective rate of the observation group after treatment was 95%, obviously higher than that of the control group(80%; χ2=4.114, P=0.043). After treatment for 3 mo, the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores, foveal avascular area(FAZ)area, FAZ circumference, macular central retinal thickness, and neovascularization leakage area of both groups decreased, the overall blood flow density of the superficial capillary plexus(SCP)and deep capillary plexuses(DCP)increased, and the observation group showed better results than the control group(all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of adverse reactions between the two groups during the treatment period(P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Oral administration of Xuefu Zhuyu Pill combined with intravitreal injection of aflibercept in the treatment of RVO can improve retinal microcirculation, enhance vision, restore ocular blood circulation, improve bleeding, promote ME absorption, and improve clinical efficacy.
5.Compilation Instructions for Expert Consensus on Clinical Application of Dieda Huoxue Capsules
Yuhang MENG ; Jinghua GAO ; Minshan FENG ; Quan JI ; Jin JIN ; Ting CHENG ; Yongyao LI ; Yuanyuan LI ; Xin CUI ; Yanming XIE
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(20):177-183
The Compilation Instructions for Expert Consensus on Clinical Application of Dieda Huoxue capsules systematically expound the development methods and evidence-based basis of this consensus. In view of the weak clinical application evidence and ambiguous indications of Dieda Huoxue capsules, the Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Wangjing Hospital took the lead and collaborated with 33 experts from 28 medical institutions nationwide. They strictly followed the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline-making norms and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) evidence-grading system and completed the compilation through multidisciplinary cooperation. The workflow included constructing clinical questions (19 items were screened by the nominal group technique), retrieving evidence (from Chinese and English databases and grey literature), assessing safety (integrating drug monitoring data and clinical investigations), and forming recommendations and consensus suggestions (3 recommendations were reached via the GRADE grid method, and 16 consensus suggestions were reached by the majority vote rule). The results indicate that the consensus clearly states that this medicine (Dieda Huoxue capsules) is applicable to conditions like traumatic injury, blood stasis-induced pain, and sudden lumbar sprains. The recommended dose is 6 capsules each time, twice a day. Combining oral administration with external application can enhance the efficacy, and elderly patients should take the medicine at intervals. Safety monitoring suggests that it should be used with caution in people with a bleeding tendency and those with an allergic constitution. The compilation process involved three rounds of reviews by internal and external experts. Literature analysis, the Delphi method, and clinical applicability tests were employed to ensure methodological rigor. The compilation instructions comprehensively present key aspects such as project approval and registration, conflict-of-interest statements, and evidence evaluation through 12 appendices, providing methodological support for the clinical translation of the consensus. In the future, it will be continuously improved through a dynamic revision mechanism.
6.Dynamic Succession of Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator in an Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Model
Yuwen LUO ; Xuelin HUANG ; Bomiao CUI ; Ning JI ; Ping ZHANG
Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences) 2025;56(4):1045-1050
Objective To systematically characterizes the temporal changes in urokinase-type plasminogen activator(uPA)over the course of neoplastic progression using a mouse oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)model induced by 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide(4-NQO).Methods A total of 65 wild-type C57BL/6 mice of 5 weeks old were randomly assigned to two groups,a 4-NQO group(n=50),which received daily administration of 100 μg/mL 4-NQO in drinking water,and a control group(n=15),which received sterile water.At 12,16,20,22,and 24 weeks,10 mice from the 4-NQO group and 3 from the control group were randomly selected,weighed,and sacrificed.Tongue tissues were collected for hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining to preliminarily assess OSCC development,and for immunofluorescence staining and quantitative real-time PCR to evaluate dynamic uPA expression in tongue tissues during OSCC progression.Results After 16 weeks of exposure,4-NQO-treated mice exhibited significantly lower body mass compared with that of the controls(P<0.05)and the weight loss became increasingly more pronounced over time.Histopathological changes in tongue tissues progressed in a clearly time-dependent manner—hyperplasia and mild dysplasia emerged at week 12,while moderate-to-severe dysplasia and carcinoma were observed by week 22,yielding a tumorigenic rate of 25%,which escalated to 70%by week 24.Immunofluorescence and qPCR analyses demonstrated a pronounced,progressive up-regulation of uPA expression in lesional tissues as OSCC progressed(P<0.000 1).Conclusion This study not only confirmed the uniqueness of the 4-NQO model in OSCC research,but also revealed the changes in uPA during tumor invasion.These findings provide a theoretical foundation for the development of early diagnosis and precision treatment strategies,holding significant potential clinical value and research importance for improving patient prognosis.
7.Construction of a Diagnostic Model for Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes of Chronic Cough Based on the Voting Ensemble Machine Learning Algorithm
Yichen BAI ; Suyang QIN ; Chongyun ZHOU ; Liqing SHI ; Kun JI ; Chuchu ZHANG ; Panfei LI ; Tangming CUI ; Haiyan LI
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;66(11):1119-1127
ObjectiveTo explore the construction of a machine learning model for the diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes in chronic cough and the optimization of this model using the Voting ensemble algorithm. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted using clinical data from 921 patients with chronic cough treated at the Respiratory Department of Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. After standardized processing, 84 clinical features were extracted to determine TCM syndrome types. A specialized dataset for TCM syndrome diagnosis in chronic cough was formed by selecting syndrome types with more than 50 cases. The synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE) was employed to balance the dataset. Four base models, logistic regression (LR), decision tree (dt), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and Bagging, were constructed and integrated using a hard voting strategy to form a Voting ensemble model. Model performance was evaluated using accuracy, recall, precision, F1-score, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, area under the curve (AUC), and confusion matrix. ResultsAmong the 921 cases, six syndrome types had over 50 cases each, phlegm-heat obstructing the lung (294 cases), wind pathogen latent in the lung (103 cases), cold-phlegm obstructing the lung (102 cases), damp-heat stagnating in the lung (64 cases), lung yang deficiency (54 cases), and phlegm-damp obstructing the lung (53 cases), yielding a total of 670 cases in the specialized dataset. High-frequency symptoms among these patients included cough, expectoration, odor-induced cough, throat itchiness, itch-induced cough, and cough triggered by cold wind. Among the four base models, the MLP model showed the best diagnostic performance (test accuracy: 0.9104; AUC: 0.9828). Compared with the base models, the Voting ensemble model achieved superior performance with an accuracy of 0.9289 on the training set and 0.9253 on the test set, showing a minimal overfitting gap of 0.0036. It also achieved the highest AUC (0.9836) in the test set, outperforming all base models. The model exhi-bited especially strong diagnostic performance for damp-heat stagnating in the lung (AUC: 0.9984) and wind pathogen latent in the lung (AUC: 0.9970). ConclusionThe Voting ensemble algorithm effectively integrates the strengths of multiple machine learning models, resulting in an optimized diagnostic model for TCM syndromes in chronic cough with high accuracy and enhanced generalization ability.
8.Absorbable plate in the treatment of craniosynostosis (report of 12 cases)
Qingwen GAO ; Weimin SHEN ; Yi JI ; Liangliang KONG ; Jie CUI
Chinese Journal of Plastic Surgery 2025;41(5):488-494
Objective:To investigate the clinical application effect of absorbable plates in the treatment of children with craniosynostosis.Methods:Retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of patients with congenital craniosynostosis who were treated in the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2019 to October 2022. Preoperatively, three dimensional CT scan of the skull was performed in order to make a frontal and orbital model. All patients underwent traditional fronto-orbital reconstruction with skull flaps. With the assistance of the frontal and orbital model, the skull flap were rotated and shaped, and then absorbable plates and screws were used for internal fixation under direct vision. Postoperative follow-up observations were conducted on the complications such as infection, incision dehiscence, foreign body reactions of absorbable plates, and the stability of the skull flap.Results:A total of 12 patients were enrolled, 9 males and 3 females, aged 3-17 months, with an average of 11.3 months. There were 7 cases of unilateral coronal craniosynostosis, 3 cases of unilateral coronal craniosynostosis, and 2 cases of Apert syndrome. All cases underwent operation uneventfully, the operation time was 2.8-4.5 hours with an average of 3.6 hours. Follow-up ranged from 13 to 32 months (average, 24.5 months). One patient experienced incision dehiscence 45 days after surgery, which healed after conservative management. The remaining patients had no infections, hematomas, or other complications. All patients had visible and palpable raised masses at the site of absorbable plate implantation in 3-5 months after surgery, which gradually resolved in 10-15 months after surgery.The head shape of patients with craniosynostosis had been significantly improved after surgery, and follow-up CT scans of the skull revealed no displacement of the skull flaps and good osteogenesis.Conclusion:The use of absorbable plates for internal fixation in children with craniosynostosis can achieve stable fixation effects with few complications, and is worthy of clinical promotion and application.
9.Value of deep learning reconstruction combined with black blood technique in carotid CT angiography
Quanshu JI ; Zhaoguo CUI ; Jianlin WU
Chinese Journal of Radiology 2025;59(8):872-879
Objective:To evaluate the impact of deep learning reconstruction (DLR) on the image quality of carotid CT angiography (CTA), and to explore the visibility of black blood techniques for carotid atherosclerotic plaques and its ability to evaluate the degree of luminal stenosis.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 122 carotid atherosclerotic plaques were retrospectively analyzed from 77 patients with soft plaques in the carotid artery CTA of Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University from March 2024 to March 2025. The CTA images were reconstructed using the hybrid iterative reconstruction (HIR) algorithm (HIR group) and DLR algorithm (DLR group). Objective image quality was evaluated by measuring the CT values and image noise (SD) of the carotid, sternocleidomastoid muscle and neck subcutaneous fat, then calculating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Subjective image quality was assessed using a 5-point scale. The reconstruction algorithm with better image quality was selected for black blood image reconstruction. In CTA and black blood images, the CT values and SD of soft plaques, sternocleidomastoid muscle and neck subcutaneous fat were measured, SNR and CNR were calculated, and visibility of plaques were scored using a 5-point scale. The objective indicators between two groups were compared using paired sample t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test, and the subjective scores were compared using Wilcoxon signed rank test, the degree of luminal stenosis was compared using χ2 test, and the consistency evaluation was evaluated using weighted Kappa test. Results:In the DLR group, the CT values and SD of the aortic arch, brachiocephalic trunk, left common carotid artery origin, left subclavian artery origin, mid-segment of bilateral common carotid arteries, carotid bifurcation, internal carotid artery origin, and siphon were lower than those in the HIR group (all P<0.001). The SNR and CNR were higher than those in the HIR group (all P<0.001). The image quality score of CTA images in the DLR group was higher than that in the HIR group ( Z=7.44, P<0.001). Black blood images were reconstructed from DLR CTA images with higher image quality. The CT values, SNR, and CNR of soft plaques in the black blood images were higher than those in the DLR CTA images, and the SD was lower than that in the DLR CTA images (all P<0.05). Subjective evaluation showed that the visibility score of soft plaques in black blood images was higher than in DLR CTA images ( Z=-8.92, P<0.001). In DLR CTA images, there were 60 mildly narrowed lumens, 38 moderately narrowed lumens, and 24 severely narrowed lumens. In the black blood images, there were 54 mildly narrowed lumens, 39 moderately narrowed lumens, and 29 severely narrowed lumens. There was no statistically significant difference in the diagnosis of luminal stenosis between black blood images and DLR CTA images ( χ2=0.80, P=0.670), and the diagnostic consistency was good ( Kappa=0.893, P<0.001). Conclusion:DLR algorithm can significantly improve the image quality and reduce image noise. DLR algorithm combined with the black blood technique can significantly enhance the visualization of soft plaques.
10.Effects of Wenyang Jiedu Tongluo Recipe on a mouse model of diabetic nephropathy based on macrophage recruitment and polarization
Fan LI ; Jie WANG ; Cheng-ji CUI ; Hong-bao ZHANG ; Hong-kai LIU ; Xu HUANG ; Yu-tong LIU ; Shou-lin ZHANG
Chinese Traditional Patent Medicine 2025;47(5):1494-1501
AIM To investigate the effects of Wenyang Jiedu Tongluo Recipe(WYJDTLR)on macrophage recruitment and polarization function in a mouse model of diabetic kidney disease(DKD).METHODS 50 db/db mice were randomly divided into the model group,the valsartan group(10.29 mg/kg)and the high-dose,medium-dose and low-dose WYJDTLR groups(26.52,13.26 and 6.63 g/kg),with 10 mice in each group,in contrast to another 10 db/m mice of the blank group.After 8 weeks of administration,the mice had their levels of fasting blood glucose,24-hour urinary protein quantity(24h-UTP),serum creatinine(Scr)and blood urea nitrogen(BUN)observed;their morphological changes of renal tissues observed by HE staining;their degree of renal glycogen deposition observed by PAS staining;their degree of renal fibrosis observed by Masson staining;their levels of MCP-1 and MCF-1 in serum and TNF-α and IL-1 β in renal tissue detected by ELISA;their renal protein expressions of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 detected by IHC and Western blot;and their renal expressions of CD86 and CD206 detected by IF.RESULTS Compared with the model group,the WYJDTLR groups displayed decreased levels of fasting blood glucose,24h-UTP,Scr and BUN(P<0.05,P<0.01);improved degree of glomerular hypertrophy,mild proliferation of mesangial cells,dilatation of renal tubular,vacuolar degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells,deposition of glomerular glycogen,and fibrosis of renal tissues(P<0.01);decreased levels of MCP-1 and MCF-1 in serum and TNF-α and IL-1β in renal tissue(P<0.05,P<0.01);decreased renal protein expressions of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1(P<0.05,P<0.01),thus reduced the recruitment of macrophages to the kidney;decreased renal CD86 protein expression(P<0.01);and increased CD206 protein expression(P<0.01),thus inhibited M1-type polarization of macrophages and promoted M2-type polarization of macrophages.CONCLUSION WYJDTLR can delay the DKD progression in mice by reducing the occurrence of inflammatory reactions through reducing the level of macrophage recruitment factor,inhibiting the M1-type polarization,and promoting the M2-type polarization.


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