Background: High-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) is a chromatin-binding protein involved in arthritis, ischemia, sepsis, atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, meningitis, and cancer. HMGB1 exhibits dual roles in cancer, acting as either a tumor suppressor or oncoprotein depending on context. Objective: This research aimed to elucidate HMGB1’s functional significance in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Methods: We overexpressed HMGB1 in cSCC cell lines using recombinant adenovirus and examined its effects on cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell migration. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed elevated HMGB1 expression levels in cSCC tissue relative to normal epidermis. To assess the influence of HMGB1, we employed recombinant adenoviruses expressing HMGB1 to transduce SCC cell lines (SCC12 and SCC13). Enhanced HMGB1 expression significantly promoted cellular proliferation and colony formation capacity.Notably, HMGB1 overexpression elevated the levels of proliferation regulators, including P63, SOX2, CDK4 and CDK6. Furthermore, HMGB1 overexpression substantially enhanced tumor invasiveness, accompanied by upregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers. Mechanistically, overexpression of HMGB1 enhanced transforming growth factor-β signaling by increasing phosphorylation of SMAD2/3, the key mediators of EMT. Conclusion These data imply that HMGB1 acts as a tumor-promoting factor in cSCC.

Emodin is a hydroxyanthraquinone compound that is widely distributed and has multiple pharmacological activities, including anti-diarrheal, anti-inflammatory, and liver-protective effects. Research indicates that emodin may be one of the main components responsible for inducing hepatotoxicity. However, studies on the mechanisms of liver injury are relatively limited, particularly those related to bile acids(BAs) metabolism. This study aims to systematically investigate the effects of different dosages of emodin on BAs metabolism, providing a basis for the safe clinical use of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)containing emodin. First, this study evaluated the safety of repeated administration of different dosages of emodin over a 5-week period, with a particular focus on its impact on the liver. Next, the composition and content of BAs in serum and liver were analyzed. Subsequently, qRT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of nuclear receptors and transporters related to BAs metabolism. The results showed that 1 g·kg~(-1) emodin induced hepatic damage, with bile duct hyperplasia as the primary pathological manifestation. It significantly increased the levels of various BAs in the serum and primary BAs(including taurine-conjugated and free BAs) in the liver. Additionally, it downregulated the mRNA expression of farnesoid X receptor(FXR), retinoid X receptor(RXR), and sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide(NTCP), and upregulated the mRNA expression of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase(CYP7A1) in the liver. Although 0.01 g·kg~(-1) and 0.03 g·kg~(-1) emodin did not induce obvious liver injury, they significantly increased the level of taurine-conjugated BAs in the liver, suggesting a potential interference with BAs homeostasis. In conclusion, 1 g·kg~(-1) emodin may promote the production of primary BAs in the liver by affecting the FXR-RXR-CYP7A1 pathway, inhibit NTCP expression, and reduce BA reabsorption in the liver, resulting in BA accumulation in the peripheral blood. This disruption of BA homeostasis leads to liver injury. Even doses of emodin close to the clinical dose can also have a certain effect on the homeostasis of BAs. Therefore, when using traditional Chinese medicine or formulas containing emodin in clinical practice, it is necessary to regularly monitor liver function indicators and closely monitor the risk of drug-induced liver injury.
Emodin/administration & dosage* ; Bile Acids and Salts/metabolism* ; Animals ; Male ; Liver/injuries* ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Mice ; Rats

DiGeorge(DGS)syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by 22q11.2 microdeletions,most patients developed the disease in childhood.22q11.2 deletion syndrome,and the mutation types are dominated by haploid deletion of this gene.We report a young patient with hypoparathyroidism(parathyroidism)induced by DGS syndrome combined with hypocalcemic heart failure.Genetic testing revealed pathogenic copy number variants associated with the clinical phenotype of the subject.About 2 674 kb of deletion variation was detected at q11.21 position on chromosome 22,which contained the TBX1 gene and was a pathogenic mutation.This paper discusses the clinical features,pathogenesis and current treatment of DGS,and emphasizes the importance of early screening,early diagnosis and treatment,and regular follow-up of heart failure,aiming to enhance the awareness of clinicians and geneticists on DGS syndrome.

As the world's second largest vector of pathogens,ticks can spread a variety of pathogens by sucking the host's blood.Ticks not only threaten human life and health,but also cause great economic losses in animal husbandry.Artificial breeding of ticks can provide a stable environment for the growth and reproduction of ticks,thereby generating sufficient exper-imental materials for understanding ticks'biological characteristics,studying tick-borne pathogens,and developing anti-tick drugs and vaccines.Current methods of breeding ticks in the laboratory can be roughly divided into two categories:breeding methods using host animals or artificial membranes.The selection of breeding method must be comprehensively considered,ac-cording to tick types,blood-sucking habits,living environments,and other aspects.The development processes of the two methods,and their respective advantages and disadvantages,are described and discussed,to assist laboratories in artificial breeding of ticks.

As the world's second largest vector of pathogens,ticks can spread a variety of pathogens by sucking the host's blood.Ticks not only threaten human life and health,but also cause great economic losses in animal husbandry.Artificial breeding of ticks can provide a stable environment for the growth and reproduction of ticks,thereby generating sufficient exper-imental materials for understanding ticks'biological characteristics,studying tick-borne pathogens,and developing anti-tick drugs and vaccines.Current methods of breeding ticks in the laboratory can be roughly divided into two categories:breeding methods using host animals or artificial membranes.The selection of breeding method must be comprehensively considered,ac-cording to tick types,blood-sucking habits,living environments,and other aspects.The development processes of the two methods,and their respective advantages and disadvantages,are described and discussed,to assist laboratories in artificial breeding of ticks.

DiGeorge(DGS)syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by 22q11.2 microdeletions,most patients developed the disease in childhood.22q11.2 deletion syndrome,and the mutation types are dominated by haploid deletion of this gene.We report a young patient with hypoparathyroidism(parathyroidism)induced by DGS syndrome combined with hypocalcemic heart failure.Genetic testing revealed pathogenic copy number variants associated with the clinical phenotype of the subject.About 2 674 kb of deletion variation was detected at q11.21 position on chromosome 22,which contained the TBX1 gene and was a pathogenic mutation.This paper discusses the clinical features,pathogenesis and current treatment of DGS,and emphasizes the importance of early screening,early diagnosis and treatment,and regular follow-up of heart failure,aiming to enhance the awareness of clinicians and geneticists on DGS syndrome.

Objective To study the mechanism of polyene phosphatidylcholine in improving metabolic disorders and fatty liver induced by high fat diet.Methods Thirty-two C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into blank group,control group,model group and experimental group.The blank group was fed with low-fat diet and intraperitoneal injection of 10％glucose 200 μL twice a week.Control group was fed with low-fat diet twice a week and intraperitoneally injected 10％glucose solution 200 μL containing polyene phosphatidylcholine(PPC)20 μg.Model group was fed with high-fat diet and intraperitoneal injection of 10％glucose 200 μL twice a week.Experimental group was fed with high-fat diet twice a week and intraperitoneally injected 10％glucose solution 200 μL containing PPC 20 μg.The body weight of the mice was measured,blood glucose test strips and insulin resistance was analyzed.The levels of triglyceride(TG),high density lipoprotein(HDL),low density lipoprotein(LDL),glutamic oxalic aminotransferase(GOT)and glutamic pyruvic aminotransferase(GPT)in serum and liver were analyzed by biochemical method.The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6 and IL-8 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results The serum TG levels of blank group,control group,model group and experimental group were(0.15±0.01),(0.11±0.01),(0.21±0.01)and(0.12±0.01)mmol·L-1;LDL levels were(0.41±0.01),(0.25±0.01),(0.71±0.02)and(0.49±0.01)mmol·L-1;GOT levels were(30.30±0.89),(31.39±1.18),(43.04±2.82)and(25.64±0.72)mmol·L-1;GPT levels were(9.15±0.45),(7.39±1.88),(12.87±1.81)and(7.96±1.64)mmol·L-1;fasting blood glucose levels were(4.97±0.08),(6.08±0.18),(8.12±0.20)and(7.29±0.02)mmol·L-1;fasting insulin levels were(6.52±1.11),(5.45±0.28),(54.83±4.32)and(30.55±2.73)mU·L-1;the levels of TNF-α in liver tissues were(3.98±0.63),(3.95±0.98),(20.55±4.71)and(15.28±1.73)pg·g-1;IL-6 levels were(18.93±8.56),(17.64±3.29),(59.40±4.63)and(37.54±7.33)pg·g-1;IL-8 levels were(67.16±12.37),(59.44±3.58),(198.40±9.27)and(132.10±7.04)pg·g-1.The difference of above indicatory between experimental group and model group was statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Polyene phosphatidylcholine may inhibit the expression of TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-8 inflammatory factors by mediating the inhibition of inflammation on liver tissue and then improve metabolic disorders.

AIM To evaluate the quality of Yanyangke Mixture.METHODS The HPLC fingerprints were established,after which cluster analysis,principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were performed.The contents of liquiritin,rosmarinic acid,sheganoside,irisgenin,honokiol,monoammonium glycyrrhizinate,irisflorentin,isoliquiritin and magnolol were determined,the analysis was performed on a 35 ℃ thermostatic Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 column(5 μm,250 mmx4.6 mm),with the mobile phase comprising of 0.1％phosphoric acid-acetonitrile flowing at 1 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and multi-wavelength detection was adopted.RESULTS There were ten common peaks in the fingerprints for twelve batches of samples with the similarities of more than 0.9.Various batches of samples were clustered into three types,three principal components displayed the acumulative variance contribution rate of 87.448％,peaks 5、14(honokiol),3(liquiritin),11(monoammonium glycyrrhizinate)and 15(asarinin)were quality markers.Nine constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(r＞0.999 0),whose average recoveries were 98.5％-103.6％with the RSDs of 0.92％-1.7％.CONCLUSION This stable and reliable method can provide a basis for the quality control of Yanyangke Mixture.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacies of different surgical methods for elderly patients with lumbar tuberculosis.Methods The clinical data of 289 elderly patients with lumbar tuberculosis admitted to Hebei Chest Hospital from August 2018 to August 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.According to surgical methods,the patients were divided into the posterior group(109 cases),the anterior and posterior combination group(81 cases),and the anterior group(99 cases).The time of bone graft and fusion,operation time,hospital stay,intraoperative blood loss,and complications of the three groups were collected and compared among the three groups.The spine Cobb angle was regularly determined,the correction degree was calculated;the levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),white blood cell count(WBC),and C-reactive protein(CRP)were collected and compared among the three groups;and the Frankel grading and visual analogue scale(VAS)scores of the three groups were compared.Results After a 2-year follow-up,there was no significant difference in the time of bone graft and fusion among the three groups(P>0.05),the anterior group had the shortest operation time,the posterior group had the shortest hospital stay,and the lowest intraoperative blood loss and incidence of complications,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The correction degree of the anterior and posterior combination group was better than that of the posterior group and the anterior group(P<0.05),and the Cobb angles after operation and at the last follow-up in the posterior group was better(P<0.05).The anterior and posterior combination group had better improvement effect on CRP and ESR at the last follow-up(P<0.05),the WBC level of the posterior group was lower(P<0.05).The proportions of patients in grade E of Frankel grading at the last follow-up in the three groups were higher than those after surgery(P<0.05);compared with the preoperative period,the VAS scores at the last follow-up of the three groups decreased(P<0.05),and the VAS score of the posterior group was lower(P<0.05).Conclusion The effects of anterior surgery,posterior surgery and anterior and posterior combined surgery in the treatment of elderly lumbar tuberculosis are good,and the approach method can be scientifically and reasonably formulated according to patients' physical condition to improve the clinical treatment effect.

Objective:We aimed to develop a novel visualized model based on nomogram to predict postoperative overall survival.Methods:This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study, including participants with histologically confirmed gastric and colorectal cancer who underwent radical surgery from 11 medical centers in China from August 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018. Baseline characteristics, histopathological data and nutritional status, as assessed using Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002) score and the scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment, were collected. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and Cox regression were used to identify variables to be included in the predictive model. Internal and external validations were performed.Results:There were 681 and 127 patients in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. A total of 188 deaths were observed over a median follow-up period of 59 (range: 58 to 60) months. Two independent predictors of NRS 2002 and Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage were identified and incorporated into the prediction nomogram model together with the factor of age. The model's concordance index for 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival was 0.696, 0.724, and 0.738 in the training cohort and 0.801, 0.812, and 0.793 in the validation cohort, respectively.Conclusions:In this study, a new nomogram prediction model based on NRS 2002 score was developed and validated for predicting the overall postoperative survival of patients with gastric colorectal cancer. This model has good differentiation, calibration and clinical practicability in predicting the long-term survival rate of patients with gastrointestinal cancer after radical surgery.