Animals ; Macaca mulatta ; Optic Disk ; Glaucoma ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Intraocular Pressure ; Low Tension Glaucoma

Lupus nephritis (LN), a severe manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus, poses a substantial risk of progression to end-stage renal disease, with increased mortality. Conventional therapy for LN relies on broad-spectrum immunosuppressants such as glucocorticoids, mycophenolate mofetil, and calcineurin inhibitors. Although therapeutic regimens have evolved over the years, they have inherent limitations, including non-specific targeting, substantial adverse effects, high relapse rates, and prolonged maintenance and remission courses. These drawbacks underscore the need for targeted therapeutic strategies for LN. Recent advancements in our understanding of LN pathogenesis have led to the identification of novel therapeutic targets and the emergence of biological agents and small-molecule inhibitors with improved specificity and reduced toxicity. This review provides an overview of the current evidence on targeted therapies for LN, elucidates the biological mechanisms of responses and failure, highlights the challenges ahead, and outlines strategies for subsequent clinical trials and integrated immunomodulatory approaches.

Objective To explore the characteristics of blood pressure in the elderly patients with hypertensive cerebral small vessel disease(CSVD)and their correlation with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome types.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in 189 elderly patients with essential hypertension.With reference to the presence or absence of CSVD,the patients were divided into CSVD group(87 cases)and non-CSVD group(102 cases).The blood pressure related parameters and clinical data obtained by four diagnostic methods of TCM in the two groups were collected,and then the characteristics of blood pressure and their correlation with TCM syndromes were analyzed with statistical methods.Results(1)CSVD group had higher values than non-CSVD group in the ambulatory blood pressure parameters of 24-hour systolic blood pressure(24hSBP),24-hour diastolic blood pressure(24hDBP),daytime systolic blood pressure(DSBP),daytime diastolic blood pressure(DDBP),nighttime systolic blood pressure(NSBP),nighttime diastolic blood pressure(NDBP),24-hour pulse pressure(24hPP),daytime pulse pressure(DPP),nighttime pulse pressure(NPP),maximum SBP,morning SBP,daytime SBP load and nighttime SBP load(P＜0.01).(2)The analysis of blood pressure variability showed that the mean value of nighttime SBP standard deviation(NSSD)in CSVD group was higher than that in the non-CSVD group(P＜0.01).(3)The analysis of circadian rhythm of blood pressure showed that there was significant difference in the comparison of circadian rhythm of ambulatory blood pressure between the two groups(P＜0.05):non-CSVD group was predominated by non-dipper type blood pressure(50 cases,49.02%)and dipper type blood pressure(31 cases,30.39%),and CSVD group was predominated by non-dipper type blood pressure(38 cases,43.68%)and super-dipper type blood pressure(31 cases,35.63%).(4)Logistic regression analysis showed that 24hSBP(OR=1.296,95%CI:1.112-1.511),maximum SBP(OR=1.074,95%CI:1.006-1.146),morning SBP(OR=1.064,95%CI:1.013-1.118),abnormal circadian rhythm of blood pressure(OR=3.736,95%CI:1.663-8.390)were the influence factors of CSVD(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).(5)The analysis of the distribution of TCM syndrome types showed that non-CSVD group was dominated by accumulation of excess phlegm-damp syndrome(58.82%)and yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity syndrome(21.57%),and CSVD group was dominated by yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity syndrome(51.72%)and accumulation of excess phlegm-damp syndrome(21.84%).(6)The analysis of blood pressure in patients with various syndrome types showed that the DPP of patients with accumulation of excess phlegm-damp syndrome in the CSVD group was significantly higher than that in the non-CSVD group(P＜0.01),and the 24hDBP and NDBP of patients with yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity syndrome in the CSVD group were significantly higher than those in the non-CSVD group(P＜0.01).Conclusion It is indicated that 24hSBP,maximum SBP,elevated morning SBP,and abnormal blood pressure circadian rhythms may be the important risk factors for the hypertensive CSVD in the elderly.Elderly hypertensive patients with accumulation of excess phlegm-damp syndrome should pay more attention to the mean daytime pulse pressure,and elderly hypertensive patients with yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity syndrome should pay more attention to monitoring DBP.The dynamic observation and early control of the blood pressure is helpful for the prevention and treatment of CSVD in the elderly patients with hypertension.

Background/Aims: Despite the high efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), approximately 1–3% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail to achieve a sustained virological response. We conducted a nationwide study to investigate risk factors associated with DAA treatment failure. Machine-learning algorithms have been applied to discriminate subjects who may fail to respond to DAA therapy. Methods: We analyzed the Taiwan HCV Registry Program database to explore predictors of DAA failure in HCV patients. Fifty-five host and virological features were assessed using multivariate logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and artificial neural network. The primary outcome was undetectable HCV RNA at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: The training (n=23,955) and validation (n=10,346) datasets had similar baseline demographics, with an overall DAA failure rate of 1.6% (n=538). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, poor DAA adherence, and higher hemoglobin A1c were significantly associated with virological failure. XGBoost outperformed the other algorithms and logistic regression models, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 1.000 in the training dataset and 0.803 in the validation dataset. The top five predictors of treatment failure were HCV RNA, body mass index, α-fetoprotein, platelets, and FIB-4 index. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the XGBoost model (cutoff value=0.5) were 99.5%, 69.7%, 99.9%, 97.4%, and 99.5%, respectively, for the entire dataset. Conclusions Machine learning algorithms effectively provide risk stratification for DAA failure and additional information on the factors associated with DAA failure.

Child ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; Terminology as Topic

Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum(GGEC), the dried gizzard membrane of Gallus gallus domesticus is a Chinese medicinal material commonly used for digestion. However, due to the particularity of texture and composition, its active ingre-dients have not been clarified so far, and there is also a lack of quality evaluation indicators. In this study, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to analyze the chemical components from the water extract of GGEC, and ten nucleosides were identified for the first time. HPLC fingerprints of the water extracts of GGEC were established and the content of seven nucleosides was determined. The fingerprint similarities of 40 batches of GGEC samples ranged from 0.765 to 0.959, indicating that there were great differences among the GGEC products processed with different methods. In addition, SPSS 22.0 and SIMCA 14.1 were used for hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA) and principal component analysis(PCA) on the 19 common peaks of the HPLC fingerprints of GGEC, and the 40 batches of samples were divided into three categories: raw GGEC, fried GGEC and vinegar-processed GGEC. Eight differential components in GGEC were marked by orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis(OPLS-DA), two of which were adenine and thymine. The results of content determination showed that the total content of the seven nucleosides in raw GGEC, fried GGEC and vinegar-processed GGEC were 182.5-416.8, 205.3-368.7, and 194.2-283.0 μg·g~(-1), respectively. There were significant differences in the content of hypoxanthine, thymine and thymidine among the GGEC products processed with different methods(P<0.05), which were graded in the order of fried GGEC>vinegar-processed GGEC>raw GGEC. This suggested that the content of hypoxanthine, thymine and thymidine tended to increase during the frying process, and the variation range might be related to the degree of heat exposure. The established methods in this study were simple and reproducible, and could be used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of GGEC and its processed pro-ducts. This study also provided reference for the establishment of quality standards of GGEC with chemical components as control index.
Nucleosides ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Acetic Acid ; Thymine ; Thymidine ; Water ; Hypoxanthines

The third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor osimertinib (OSI) has been approved as the first-line treatment for EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aims to explore a rational combination strategy for enhancing the OSI efficacy. In this study, OSI induced higher CD47 expression, an important anti-phagocytic immune checkpoint, via the NF-κB pathway in EGFR-mutant NSCLC HCC827 and NCI-H1975 cells. The combination treatment of OSI and the anti-CD47 antibody exhibited dramatically increasing phagocytosis in HCC827 and NCI-H1975 cells, which highly relied on the antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis effect. Consistently, the enhanced phagocytosis index from combination treatment was reversed in CD47 knockout HCC827 cells. Meanwhile, combining the anti-CD47 antibody significantly augmented the anticancer effect of OSI in HCC827 xenograft mice model. Notably, OSI induced the surface exposure of "eat me" signal calreticulin and reduced the expression of immune-inhibitory receptor PD-L1 in cancer cells, which might contribute to the increased phagocytosis on cancer cells pretreated with OSI. In summary, these findings suggest the multidimensional regulation by OSI and encourage the further exploration of combining anti-CD47 antibody with OSI as a new strategy to enhance the anticancer efficacy in EGFR-mutant NSCLC with CD47 activation induced by OSI.
Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/metabolism* ; Lung Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Acrylamides/pharmacology* ; ErbB Receptors/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; CD47 Antigen/therapeutic use*

Chronic alcohol consumption causes liver steatosis, cell death, and inflammation. Melatonin (MLT) is reported to alleviate alcoholic liver disease (ALD)-induced injury. However, its direct regulating targets in hepatocytes are not fully understood. In the current study, a cell-based screening model and a chronic ethanol-fed mice ALD model were used to test the protective mechanisms of MLT. MLT ameliorated ethanol-induced hepatocyte injury in both cell and animal models (optimal doses of 10 μmol/L and 5 mg/kg, respectively), including lowered liver steatosis, cell death, and inflammation. RNA-seq analysis and loss-of-function studies in AML-12 cells revealed that telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) was a key downstream effector of MLT. Biophysical assay found that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on the hepatocyte surface was a direct binding and regulating target of MLT. Liver specific knock-down of Tert or Egfr in the ALD mice model impaired MLT-mediated liver protection, partly through the regulation of nuclear brahma-related gene-1 (BRG1). Long-term administration (90 days) of MLT in healthy mice did not cause evident adverse effect. In conclusion, MLT is an efficacious and safe agent for ALD alleviation. Its direct regulating target in hepatocytes is EGFR and downstream BRG1-TERT axis. MLT might be used as a complimentary agent for alcoholics.

Objective:To explore the value of pre-ablation stimulated thyroglobulin (psTg) before 131I treatment combined with lymph node ratio (LNR) in predicting 131I treatment response in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Methods:From January 2016 to December 2018, 178 PTC patients (47 males, 131 females; age (43.2±12.6) years) treated with 131I in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University were retrospectively analyzed. According to 131I treatment response, patients were divided into excellent response (ER) group and non-ER group. The clinical data of the two groups were compared by χ2 test, independent-sample t test and Mann-Whitney U test. The cut-off values and AUCs of psTg and LNR to predict treatment response were calculated according to the ROC curve. Factors affecting 131I treatment response were analyzed by logistic multivariate regression analysis. Results:There were 118 patients (66.3%, 118/178) in ER group and 60 patients (33.7%, 60/178) in non-ER group, and there were significant differences in N stage ( χ2=11.15, P=0.004), 131I treatment dose ( χ2=12.65, P<0.001), American Thyroid Association (ATA) initial risk stratification ( χ2=15.25, P<0.001), number of metastatic lymph nodes ( χ2=22.63, P<0.001), LNR ( U=1 506.00, P<0.001) and psTg ( U=919.00, P<0.001) between the two groups. The cut-off values of psTg and LNR predicting ER were 3.97 μg/L and 0.29, with the AUC of 0.870 and 0.787 respectively. PsTg (odds ratio ( OR)=10.88, 95% CI: 4.67-25.36, P<0.001) and LNR ( OR=5.30, 95% CI: 1.85-15.23, P=0.002) were independent factors to predict 131I treatment response in PTC patients. When psTg≥3.97 μg/L, LNR ( OR=9.40, 95% CI: 2.06-42.92, P=0.004) was an independent factor affecting 131I treatment response in PTC patients. Conclusions:PsTg and LNR are independent factors affecting 131I treatment response in PTC patients. When psTg≥3.97 μg/L, LNR can be used as a supplementary factor to predict 131I treatment response. The combination of psTg and LNR can better predict 131I treatment response in PTC patients.

Effective treatments for neuropathic pain are lacking due to our limited understanding of the mechanisms. The circRNAs are mainly enriched in the central nervous system. However, their function in various physiological and pathological conditions have yet to be determined. Here, we identified circFhit, an exon-intron circRNA expressed in GABAergic neurons, which reduced the inhibitory synaptic transmission in the spinal dorsal horn to mediate spared nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain. Moreover, we found that circFhit decreased the expression of GAD65 and induced hyperexcitation in NK1R⁺ neurons by promoting the expression of its parental gene Fhit in cis. Mechanistically, circFhit was directly bound to the intronic region of Fhit, and formed a circFhit/HNRNPK complex to promote Pol II phosphorylation and H2B monoubiquitination by recruiting CDK9 and RNF40 to the Fhit intron. In summary, we revealed that the exon-intron circFhit contributes to GABAergic neuron-mediated NK1R⁺ neuronal hyperexcitation and neuropathic pain via regulating Fhit in cis.
Rats ; Animals ; Posterior Horn Cells/pathology* ; Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn/metabolism* ; Neuralgia ; Synaptic Transmission