Regenerating periodontal bone defect surrounding periodontal tissue is crucial for orthodontic or dental implant treatment. The declined osteogenic ability of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) induced by inflammation stimulus contributes to reduced capacity to regenerate periodontal bone, which brings about a huge challenge for treating periodontitis. Here, inspired by the adhesive property of mussels, we have created adhesive and mineralized hydrogel microspheres loaded with traditional compound cordycepin (MMS-CY). MMS-CY could adhere to the surface of alveolar bone, then promote the migration capacity of PDLSCs and thus recruit them to inflammatory periodontal tissues. Furthermore, MMS-CY rescued the impaired osteogenesis and ligament-forming capacity of PDLSCs, which were suppressed by the inflammation stimulus. Moreover, MMS-CY also displayed the excellent inhibitory effect on the osteoclastic activity. Mechanistically, MMS-CY inhibited the premature senescence induced by the inflammation stimulus through the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (NRF2) pathway and reducing the DNA injury. Utilizing in vivo rat periodontitis model, MMS-CY was demonstrated to enhance the periodontal bone regeneration by improving osteogenesis and inhibiting the osteoclastic activity. Altogether, our study indicated that the multi-pronged approach is promising to promote the periodontal bone regeneration in periodontitis condition by reducing the inflammation-induced stem cell senescence and maintaining bone homeostasis.
Animals ; Bone Regeneration/drug effects* ; Rats ; Periodontal Ligament/cytology* ; Microspheres ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 ; Hydrogels ; Periodontitis/therapy* ; Osteogenesis/drug effects* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Stem Cells ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method for identifying high-risk patients among septic populations requiring mechanical ventilation, and to conduct phenotypic analysis based on this method. METHODS: Data from four sources were utilized: the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-IV 2.0, MIMIC-III 1.4), the Philips eICU-Collaborative Research Database 2.0 (eICU-CRD 2.0), and the Anhui Medical University Second Affiliated Hospital dataset. The adult patients in intensive care unit (ICU) who met Sepsis-3 and received invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) on the first day of first admission were enrolled. The MIMIC-IV dataset with the highest data integrity was divided into a training set and a test set at a 6:1 ratio, while the remaining datasets were served as validation sets. The demographic information, comorbidities, laboratory indicators, commonly used ICU scores, and treatment measures of patients were extracted. Clinical data collected within first day of ICU admission were used to calculate the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. K-means clustering was applied to cluster SOFA score components, and the sum of squared errors (SSE) and Davies-Bouldin index (DBI) were used to determine the optimal number of disease subtypes. For clustering results, normalized methods were employed to compare baseline characteristics by visualization, and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to analyze clinical outcomes across phenotypes. RESULTS: This study enrolled patients from MIMIC-IV dataset (n = 11 166), MIMIC-III dataset (n = 4 821), eICU-CRD dataset (n = 6 624), and a local dataset (n = 110), with the four datasets showing similar median ages and male proportions exceeding 50%; using 85% of the MIMIC-IV dataset as the training set, 15% as the test set, and the rest dataset as the validation set. K-means clustering based on the six-item SOFA score was performed to determine the optimal number of clusters as 3, and patients were finally classified into three phenotypes. In the training set, compared with the patients with phenotype II and phenotype III, those with phenotype I had the more severe circulatory and respiratory dysfunction, a higher proportion of vasoactive drug usage, more obvious metabolic acidosis and hypoxia, and a higher incidence of congestive heart failure. The patients with phenotype II was dominated by respiratory dysfunction with higher visceral injury. The patients with phenotype III had relatively stable organ function. The above characteristics were consistent in both the test and validation sets. Analysis of infection-related indicators showed that the patients with phenotype I had the highest SOFA score within 7 days after ICU admission, initial decreases and later increases in platelet count (PLT), and higher counts of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes as compared with those with phenotype II and phenotype III, their blood cultures had a higher positivity rates for Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi as compared with those with phenotype II and phenotype III. The Kaplan-Meier curve indicated that in the training, test, and validation sets, the 28-day cumulative mortality of patients with phenotype I was significantly higher than that of patients with phenotypes II and phenotype III. CONCLUSIONS Three distinct phenotypes in septic patients receiving IMV based on unsupervised machine learning is derived, among which phenotype I, characterized by cardiorespiratory failure, can be used for the early identification of high-risk patients in this population. Moreover, this population is more prone to bloodstream infections, posing a high risk and having a poor prognosis.
Humans ; Machine Learning ; Sepsis/therapy* ; Respiration, Artificial ; Intensive Care Units ; Organ Dysfunction Scores ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a predictive model for the risk of bloodstream infection (BSI) caused by carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP). METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases from inception to July 2022 to identify studies reporting statistically significant risk factors for CRKP-BSI. Relative risks (RR) were extracted and pooled. Based on factor weights, a risk-scoring model was established. For external validation, hospitalized CRKP-infected patients from January 2016 to January 2022 at Shanghai First People's Hospital were included. Clinical data were used to calculate individual risk scores. The predictive accuracy was assessed using receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve). Patients were stratified into low-to-intermediate-risk and high-risk groups based on the optimal cut-off, and CRKP BSI incidence was compared between groups. RESULTS: The literatures related to the risk factors of CRKP-BSI published from database inception to July 2022 was retrieved and screened from PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase. Fourteen risk factors were included in the scoring model: cardiovascular disease, severe neutropenia or immunosuppression, intensive care unit (ICU) stay history, prior hospitalization, carbapenem exposure, aminoglycoside exposure, antifungal exposure, endotracheal intubation or tracheostomy, mechanical ventilation, hemodialysis, central venous catheter, indwelling urinary catheter, CRKP colonization, and Klebsiella pneumoniae positivity at non infection sites. The total score ranged from 0 to 173.5 points. In the validation cohort of 230 CRKP-infected patients, 41 developed CRKP BSI. The model yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.783 (95%CI was 0.689-0.876). The optimal cut off was 81.25 points, with sensitivity of 75.6% and specificity of 81.0%. Based on this cut off, 163 patients were categorized as low-to-intermediate risk and 67 patients as high risk. The incidence of CRKP BSI in the high-risk group was significantly higher than in the low-to-intermediate-risk group [64.2% (43/67) vs. 4.9% (8/163); RR = 13.175 (95%CI was 5.920-29.319), P < 0.001]. CONCLUSIONS The model, based on 14 routinely available clinical parameters, demonstrated good performance in predicting CRKP BSI risk and may assist clinicians in early identification of high risk patients.
Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae/drug effects* ; Klebsiella Infections/microbiology* ; Carbapenems/pharmacology* ; Risk Factors ; Bacteremia/microbiology* ; ROC Curve ; Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae

Objective:To explore the regulatory mechanism of OIP5-AS1 in chronic periodontitis(CP).Methods:Human perio-dontal ligament stem cells(PDLSC)were treated with LPS to establish an in vitro model of CP.Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)was performed to detect the expression of OIP5-AS1,miR-143-3p and fibroblast growth factor 1(FGF1)mRNA in periodontal ligament tissues and PDLSCs of CP patients and healthy volunteers.3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide(MTT)method was performed to detect cell viability.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was performed to measure the levels of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 β(IL-1 β),interleukin-6(IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α).Western blot was performed to detect Bax,Bcl-2 and FGF1 protein levels.A dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to validate the targeting relationship between miR-143-3p and OIP5-AS1/FGF1.Results:The expression of OIP5-AS1 and FGF1 were decreased,and the expression of miR-143-3p was increased in CP patients and LPS-treated PDLSCs(P＜0.05).In LPS-treated PDLSCs,OIP5-AS1 overexpression promoted cell viability and inhibited inflammation and apoptosis(P＜0.05).In addition,OIP5-AS1 targeted miR-143-3p and negatively regulated miR-143-3p expression(P＜0.05).In LPS-treated PDLSCs,up-regulation of miR-143-3p attenuated the inhibitory effect of OIP5-AS1 overexpression on LPS-induced PDLSC dam-age(P＜0.05).miR-143-3p targeted FGF1 and negatively regulated FGF1 expression(P＜0.05).FGF1 overexpression attenuated the effect of co-overexpression of miR-143-3p and IP5-AS1 on LPS-induced damage(P＜0.05).Conclusion:OIP5-AS1 may at-tenuate LPS-induced PDLSC inflammatory response and apoptosis and enhance cell viability by regulating the miR-143-3p/FGF1 axis,which may provide a new target for CP therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the pathogenic mechanism of a child with Waardenburg syndrome type 4C due to a c.661_664dup (p.P222Lfs*60) variant of SOX10 gene through in vitro experiments. METHODS: A child diagnosed at the Handan First Hospital was selected as the study subject. Clinical data of the child was collected. Peripheral blood samples were collected from the child and his parents. Following extraction of genomic DNA, trio-whole exome sequencing was carried out. Pathogenicity of candidate variant was determined by bioinformatic analysis and reference to the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). Candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing. Expression plasmids of wild-type SOX10 and the c.661_664dup (p.P222Lfs*60) variant were constructed and transiently transfected into 293T cells to determine the expression at the RNA and protein levels. The 293T cells transiently transfected with the wild-type/mutant SOX10 were treated with 10 ug/mL cycloheximide (CHX) for 0, 4, 8, 24 h, respectively, and the degradation rate of target protein was detected by Western blotting assay. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Handan First Hospital (Ethics No. HDYY-LW-25053). RESULTS: The child was found to harbor a heterozygous c.661_664dup (p.P222Lfs*60) variant of the SOX10 gene, which was unreported previously. The variant did not significantly alter the expression of SOX10 at the mRNA level but the protein level. After the CHX treatment, the degradation of mutant SOX10 protein had slowed down. CONCLUSION The mutant SOX10 may affect the expression of downstream genes by affecting the degradation rate of its protein product.
Humans ; HEK293 Cells ; Mutation ; SOXE Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Waardenburg Syndrome/genetics* ; Child

BackgroundInvasive vagus nerve stimulation therapy has been approved for the adjunctive treatment of treatment-resistant depression， which may contribute to the anti-inflammatory properties of vagus nerve stimulation （VNS）， whereas the efficacy of non-invasive transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation （tcVNS） in treating major depressive disorder （MDD） and its impact on plasma inflammatory factors remain unclear. ObjectiveTo observe the effect of escitaloprom combined with tcVNS on the status of depression， anxiety and sleep quality as well as the plasma levels of interleukin-6 （IL-6） and interleukin-10 （IL-10） in MDD patients， in order to provide references for the recovery and treatment of MDD patients. MethodsFrom August 21， 2019 to April 17， 2024， 45 patients who met the diagnostic criteria for MDD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders， fifth edition （DSM-5） were recruited from the psychosomatic outpatient clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University. Subjects were divided into study group （n=23） and control group （n=22） using random number table method. All patients were treated with escitalopram. On this basis， study group added a 30-minute tcVNS therapy once a day for 4 weeks. While control group was given corresponding sham stimulation， and the duration of each stimulation lasted 30 seconds. Before and after 4 weeks of treatment， Hamilton Depression Scale-17 item （HAMD-17） was used to assess depressive symptoms， and HAMD-17 anxiety/somatization subfactor and insomnia subfactor were used to assess patients' anxiety/somatization symptoms and sleep quality. Levels of plasma IL-6 and IL-10 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. ResultsThe generalized estimating equation model yielded a significant time effect for HAMD-17 total score， anxiety/somatization subfactor score and insomnia subfactor score in both groups （Wald χ²=315.226， 495.481， 82.420， P<0.01）. After 4 weeks of treatment， HAMD-17 total score and anxiety/somatization subfactor score of study group were lower than those of control group， with statistically significant differences （Wald χ²=4.967， 32.543， P<0.05 or 0.01）， while no statistically significant difference was found in the insomnia subfactor score between two groups （Wald χ²=0.819， P=0.366）. Significant time effects were reported on plasma IL-6 and IL-10 levels in both groups （Wald χ²=21.792， 5.242， P<0.05 or 0.01）. Compared with baseline data， a reduction in plasma IL-6 levels was detected in both groups （Wald χ²=22.015， 6.803， P<0.01）， and an increase in plasma IL-10 levels was reported in study group （Wald χ²=5.118， P=0.024） after 4 weeks of treatment. ConclusionEscitalopram combined with tcVNS therapy is effective in improving depressive symptoms， anxiety/somatization symptoms and sleep quality in patients with MDD. Additionally， it helps reduce plasma IL-6 levels and increase IL-10 levels. ［Funded by Shaanxi Provincial Key Research and Development Program-General Project （number， 2023-YBSF-185）， www.clinicaltrials.gov number， NCT04037111］

BACKGROUND:Eucommia ulmoides has a certain osteogenic effect,which can promote the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts.However,it is unclear whether Eucommia ulmoides has effects on alveolar bone formation and Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the mechanism by which Eucommia ulmoides promotes alveolar bone formation in ovariectomized rats based on the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway. METHODS:Sixty female Sprague-Dawley rats were selected and randomly divided into five groups:blank control group,sham-operation group,model group,low-dose group Eucommia ulmoides group,and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides group,with twelve rats in each group.Osteoporosis animal models were constructed by bilateral oophorectomy in the model group and the low-dose and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups.The sham-operation group underwent the same method to remove adipose tissue of equal mass around the bilateral ovaries.Three months after surgery,the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups were given 2.1 g/kg/d and 4.2 g/kg/d Eucommia ulmoides by gavage,respectively.The sham-operation group and model group were given the same amount of physiological saline by gavage.After 12 weeks of drug intervention,the changes in alveolar bone mass of rats in each group were observed through Micro-CT;hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the pathological structural changes of alveolar bone in rats;enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the expression levels of alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin in the serum of rats;western blot was used to detect the expression levels of β-Catenin and Frizzled9 receptor proteins in the alveolar bone of rats;and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of osteocalcin,Runt-related transcription factor 2(Runx2),alkaline phosphatase,β-catenin,and frizzled9 mRNAs in alveolar bone tissues of rats. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the blank control group,bone volume fraction,trabecular number,trabecular thickness,and bone mineral density were reduced in the model group(P＜0.05),and trabecular separation was elevated(P＜0.05).Pathological observation showed that the arrangement of trabeculae was disordered and irregular,the trabeculae were thinned or broken,and the marrow cavity was enlarged in the model group,with a significant reduction in bone volume;the level of alkaline phosphatase in the serum was increased(P＜0.05),and the level of osteocalcin was decreased(P＜0.05);mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase,osteocalcin,Runx2,β-catenin,and frizzled9 were decreased(P＜0.05);protein expression of β-Catenin and Frizzled9 was decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups showed an increase in bone volume fraction,trabecular number,trabecular thickness,and bone mineral density(P＜0.05)and a decrease in trabecular separation(P＜0.05).In the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups,bone trabeculae were slightly aligned and thickened,with a significant increase in bone mass.Compared with the model group,the serum level of alkaline phosphatase was reduced(P＜0.05)and the serum level of osteocalcin was elevated(P＜0.05)in the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups.Compared with the model group,the mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase,osteocalcin,Runx2,β-catenin,and frizzled9 were increased in the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the protein expression of Frizzled9 was increased in the low-dose Eucommia ulmoides group(P＜0.05),while the protein expression of β-Catenin and Frizzled9 was increased in the high-dose Eucommia ulmoides group(P＜0.05).Compared with the low-dose Eucommia ulmoides group,the high-dose Eucommia ulmoides group had a more significant improvement in the above indexes.To conclude,Eucommia ulmoides can effectively promote the alveolar bone formation,and its mechanism of action might be related to the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

ObjectiveThis study aims to observe the clinical effect of Danggui Liuhuang Tang （DGLHT） on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） complicated by atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease （ASCVD） at high risk， focus on evaluating the influence of DGLHT on cardiovascular risk indicators such as flow-mediated dilation （FMD）， atherogenic index of plasma （AIP）， and triglyceride-glucose index （TyG）， and explore the regulatory effect of DGLHT on the myeloid differentiation factor 88/nuclear factor-kappa B （MyD88/NF-κB） signaling pathway. MethodsThe clinical study was a single-center， double-blind， and randomized controlled trial. A total of 68 patients with T2DM-ASCVD at high risk for cardiovascular events with Yin deficiency and fire excess syndrome were enrolled and randomly assigned to a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group was given atorvastatin calcium tablets and DGLHT， while the control group was given atorvastatin calcium tablets and placebos. The treatment course was 12 weeks， with a final study completion of 30 patients in the treatment group and 29 in the control group. Changes in cardiovascular risk indicators such as FMD， AIP， TyG， and small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （sdLDL-C） index were compared. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVECs） were used to establish a vascular endothelial injury and inflammation model. The protective effect of DGLHT on endothelial injury was verified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot . ResultsAfter 12 weeks of treatment， the AIP in the treatment group significantly decreased compared with that before the treatment （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group， the treatment group showed significant improvements in FMD and TyG （P<0.05）. Additionally， the treatment group demonstrated significant reductions in two-hour postprandial glucose （2 hPG）， glycated albumin （GA）， triglycerides （TG）， apolipoprotein E （Apo E）， and sdLDL-C （P<0.05）. Analysis of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome efficacy indicated that in the treatment group， Yin deficiency and fire excess syndromes， including dry throat and mouth （P<0.05）， excessive thirst （P<0.01）， tidal fever and night sweats （P<0.05）， and dry stools （P<0.05）， improved. Compared with the control group， the treatment group showed significant improvements in symptoms of dry throat and mouth （P<0.05） and excessive thirst （P<0.01）. TCM syndrome scores significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and the overall efficacy rate was 56.67%， significantly higher than the 10.34% observed in the control group （P<0.01）. At the cellular level， increasing concentrations of DGLHT led to decreased messenger ribonucleic acid （mRNA） levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 （IL-6）， tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， and interleukin-1-beta （IL-1β） in lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-stimulated HUVECs （P<0.01）， with significant reductions in the high-concentration group （P<0.01）. DGLHT may inhibit the expressions of MyD88 and phosphorylated （p）-NF-κB p65 proteins in a concentration-dependent manner. ConclusionDGLHT shows significant effects in reducing cardiovascular risks and may exert an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway. This finding provides a new perspective for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in high-risk individuals with T2DM-ASCVD.