AIM:This study aims to explore the impact of Escherichia coli(E.coli)high-pathogenicity island(HPI)on pyroptosis and intestinal inflammation.METHODS:Kunming mice and IPEC-J2 cells(porcine small intesti-nal epithelial cells)were treated with HPI-containing E.coli strain(HPI+),HPI-deleting E.coli strain(ΔHPI),or lipo-polysaccharide(LPS).The intestinal lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)activity,superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity,IgA expression and secretory IgA(SIgA)content were assessed in mice.The expression of key regulatory factors in the nucleo-tide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3)/caspase-1 signaling pathway-related proteins in mouse intestinal tract and IPEC-J2 cells was analyzed by RT-qPCR,immunohistochemical staining and Western blot.The levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-18 in mouse serum and IPEC-J2 cell culture supernatants were measured by ELISA.The pivotal role of NLRP3 in HPI+infection was confirmed by silencing NLRP3 in IPEC-J2 cells using siRNA.RE-SULTS:The HPI+infection markedly decreased SOD activity,increased IgA+B cell count,and induced the LDH release and SIgA secretion in the mouse intestine compared with ΔHPI infection.The results of ELISA,HE staining and TUNEL staining indicated that E.coli HPI triggered DNA damage,tissue injury and inflammation in mouse intestinal epithelial cells.Western blot revealed an increase in intestinal gasdermin D N-terminal fragment(GSDMD-N)protein level with HPI+infection compared with ΔHPI infection.E.coli HPI significantly up-regulated mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3,apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain(ASC),caspase-1,GSDMD,IL-1β and IL-18 in mouse intestinal tissues and IPEC-J2 cells,accompanied by the elevated secretion of IL-1β and IL-18.The confo-cal microscopy demonstrated an enhanced assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome with HPI+infection compared with ΔHPI infection,leading to colocalization of NLRP3 and caspase-1.Furthermore,NLRP3 silencing in IPEC-J2 cells attenuated E.coli HPI-induced cell inflammation,damage,and NLRP3/caspase-1 signaling pathway activation.CONCLUSION:The presence of HPI enhances the virulence of E.coli and exacerbates intestinal inflammation.Moreover,pyroptosis,regu-lated by the NLRP3/caspase-1 signaling pathway,plays a pivotal role in the intestinal injury induced by E.coli HPI.

Post-dialysis fatigue is a common complication in hemodialysis patients, which can lead to increased all-cause mortality and readmission rates, limiting their participation in daily life. This article mainly summarizes the application of assessment tools and theoretical models on post-dialysis fatigue in the management of post-dialysis fatigue in hemodialysis patients, providing a reference for medical and nursing staff to manage post-dialysis fatigue in patients.

ObjectiveTo investigate the current status of health literacy among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Shanghai communities, to analyze its correlation with glycemic and lipid metabolic indicators and quality of life (QoL), and to provide an evidence for the development of effective intervention measures. MethodsA follow⁃up survey was conducted among diabetic patients diagnosed at hospitals above the secondary level from March to June, 2023, who were part of a diabetes cohort study jointly established by Songnan Community in Baoshan District and the Shanghai Institute of Endocrinology. Patients were assessed using a simplified evaluation form for diabetes-related health literacy and a QoL scale, and metabolic indicators such as blood glucose and blood lipids were measured. Pearson correlation coefficients were employed to assess the relationship between health literacy levels and metabolic indicators as well as QoL. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between patients’ health literacy levels, metabolic status, and QoL. ResultsAmong the 932 diabetic patients surveyed, the health literacy level was low, with an average score of (65.2±13.4) points of which (62.6±13.8) points for males and (67.9±12.5) points for females. The average QoL score was (44.1±9.2) points of which (44.0±9.5) points for males and (44.2±8.9) points for females. The achievement rates of HbA1c, total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG) were 51.6%, 30.3%, and 64.8%, respectively. The TC achievement rate among male patients (37.6%) was significantly higher than that among females (22.8%). Significant differences in HbA1c achievement rates were observed across age groups, education levels, disease durations, and BMI levels (P<0.05). Similarly, significant differences were found in FPG achievement rates across different age groups, annual household incomes, disease durations, and family histories (P<0.05). No statistically significant differences were noted in TG and HDL-C achievement rates across all variables (P>0.05). However, LDL-C achievement rates were significantly higher in patients without complications compared to those with complications (P<0.05). Health literacy showed a significant negative correlation with psychological dimension, treatment dimension, and QoL scores (r=-0.14, P<0.05). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, a significant association was found between patients’ health literacy levels and QoL, but not with metabolic indicators. ConclusionThere is a significant correlation between health literacy levels and QoL among diabetic patients in community settings. Further exploration is needed to identify factors influencing patients’ QoL and glycemic and lipid metabolic indicators.

POEMS syndrome is a rare plasma cell dysplasia. Its clinical manifestations include polyneuropathy, monoclonal protein, increased extravascular volume load, endocrinopathy, organomegaly and skin changes. The complex and atypical symptoms at presentation make early diagnosis challenging due to multiple system involvement. Peripheral neuropathy, limb numbness, is the most common initial symptom of this disease. However, case reports of increased extravascular volume load are rare. This article collected and analyzed the clinical data of two groups of patients with different initial symptoms (increased extravascular volume load and limb numbness). The clinical characteristics and treatment responses were summarized.

Objective:To discuss the point-selection and point-grouping patterns and therapeutic application features in acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of acute gouty arthritis(AGA)based on complex networks and to provide references for treating AGA with acupuncture-moxibustion therapy. Methods:Articles related to acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of AGA were searched across the China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Chongqing VIP Database(CQVIP),Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform(Wanfang),Chinese Biomedical Literature Service System(SinoMed),PubMed,Web of Science(WOS),and Excerpta Medica Database(EMBASE)from their inception till March 31,2023.An acupuncture-moxibustion prescription database was established after the articles were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria.The association rule and complex network analyses of points were conducted using SPSS Modeler 18.1 and Gephi 0.9.7. Results:A total of 145 articles were collected,contributing 382 pieces of acupuncture-moxibustion prescriptions involving 104 points with a total frequency of 1 288.Ashi points contributed the highest frequency.The Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin and the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming were more commonly selected.Filiform-needle acupuncture and bloodletting therapy were more frequently used.The association rule analysis revealed that the highest degree of support belonged to"Ashi point-Zusanli(ST36)"and"Sanyinjiao(SP6)-Zusanli(ST36)",which reflected the rules of point combination of distal and proximal areas and point combination of the coupled meridians.The complex network analysis of the major points discovered a core point prescription mainly consisting of Ahi point,Zusanli(ST36),Sanyinjiao(SP6),Yinlingquan(SP9),and Taichong(LR3).Pattern differentiation and region differentiation were used in selecting adjunct points,stressing the improvements of patterns and joint-related symptoms. Conclusion:Acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of AGA follows the principle of combining major points with adjunct points selected based on pattern or region differentiation;the selection of major points focuses on regulating the deficient Zang-Fu organs,and the selection of adjunct points emphasizes improving patterns and symptoms.The specificity of therapeutic effects is also stressed.

Objective To investigate the analgesic effect of different administration times of compound lidocaine cream for lumbar paracentesis in the infants＜3 months oldMethods A total of 120 infants with lumbar puncture in the pediatric department of this hospital from January 2021 to June 2023 were selected as the study subjects and divided into the control group and observation 1,2,3 groups according to the random number table method,30 cases in each group.The control group had no medication intervention in the punc-ture local part before lumbar paracentesis,while the observation 1,2,3 groups were smeared the compound li-docaine cream 0.5 g,5 cm2 with the puncture point as the center at 10,30,60 min before lumbar puncture.The change situation of the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale(NIPS)score,heart rate(HR)and transcutaneous blood oxygen saturation(SpO2)at 1 min before puncture,1 min of puncture beginning and 3 min after puncture and the puncture success rate were compared among 4 groups.Results Compared with at 1 min before puncture,the NIPS score at 1 min of puncture beginning and at 3 min after puncture in 4 group was higher,the NIPS score at 1 min of puncture beginning and at 3 min after puncture in the observation 1,2,3 groups was lower than that in the control group,moreover the observation 2,3 groups were lower the observation 1 group(P＜0.05).Compared with at 1 min before puncture,except the heart rate at 3 min after puncture in the observa-tion 3 group was slower,the heart rate at other time points in the 4 groups was faster(P＜0.05);HR at 1 min of puncture beginning and at 3 min after puncture in the observation 1,2,3 groups was slower than that in the control group,moreover the observation 2,3 groups was lower than the observation 1 group(P＜0.05),SpO2 had no statistical difference among 4 groups(P＞0.05).The puncture success rate in the observation 1,2,3 groups was higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Smearing compound lidocaine cream before lumbar puncture in the infants＜3 months old has a good analgesic effect and could increase the success rate of puncture.

Aim To explore the possibility of resveratrol ( RES) combined with irinotecan ( IRI) in the treatment of colorectal cancer ( CRC ) and the underlying molecular mechanism of RES ameliorating IRI chemoresistance of CRC cells. Methods CRC cells used in this study were HT-29 and RKO cells. The effects of RES, IRI and their combination on the proliferation of CRC cells were analyzed by MTT assay and colony formation assay. The effects of RES,IRI and their combination on the migration of CRC cells were assessed by Wound-healing assay. On this basis,the role of RES in regulating IRI chemoresistance of CRC cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms were further explored. Results The proliferation and migration ability of CRC cells in the RES and IRI combined treatment group were significantly lower than those in the IRI treated group, which showed that RES could enhance the inhibiting effect of IRI on the proliferation and migration of CRC cells, indicating that RES was able to a-meliorate the chemoresistance of CRC cells to IRI. And remarkably lower marker proteins expression levels of EGFR/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in the RES and IRI combined treatment group was observed. Moreover, both EGFR activator (NSC 228155) and AKT activator (SC79) could reverse the ameliorating effect of RES on IRI chemoresistance of CRC cells, whereas AKT inhibitor (MK2206 ) could partially reverse the effect of NSC 228155. Conclusions RES can inhibit the proliferation and migration of CRC cells by down-regulating EGFR/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, so as to ameliorate the chemoresistance of CRC cells to IRI, suggesting that RES combined with IRI can be a promising novel treatment for CRC.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the malignant tumors with the highest incidence and mortality in the world. The pathogenic mechanism of CRC has not been fully elucidated until now. Ubiquitination plays an important role in CRC development, and its effects mainly depend on E3 ubiquitin ligases, which could modify substrate proteins by ubiquitination, in turn altering their activity or mediating ubiquitin-proteasome degradation. Here research progress of the regulatory roles of RING (really interesting new gene) type and HECT(homologous to E6AP C-terminus) type E3 ubiquitin ligases in CRC cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion and chemotherapy sensitivity as well as targeted inhibitors of these E3 ligases are reviewed, providing new clues for the study of pathogenesis and targeted therapy of CRC.

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of resveratrol(RES) combined with irinotecan(IRI) in the treatment of colorectal cancer(CRC). The targets of RES, IRI, and CRC were obtained from databases, and the targets of RES combined with IRI in the treatment of CRC were acquired by Venn diagram. The protein functional cluster analysis, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed. In addition, the protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was constructed. The core target genes were screened out and the target-signaling pathway network was set up. IGEMDOCK was used to dock the core target gene molecules. Besides, the relationship between the expression level of key target genes and the prognosis and immune infiltration of CRC was analyzed. Based on the in vitro cell experiment, the molecular mechanism of RES combined with IRI in the treatment of CRC was explored and analyzed. According to the results, 63 potential targets of RES combined with IRI were obtained for CRC treatment. Furthermore, cluster analysis revealed that protein functions included 23% transmembrane signal receptors, 22% protein modifying enzymes, and 14% metabolite converting enzymes. GO analysis indicated that BPs were mainly concentrated in protein autophosphorylation, CCs in receptor complex and plasma membrane, and MFs in transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity. Moreover, KEGG signaling pathways were mainly enriched in central carbon metabolism in cancer. The key targets of RES combined with IRI in the treatment of CRC were PIK3CA, EGFR, and IGF1R, all of which were significantly positively correlated with the immune infiltration of CRC. As shown by the molecular docking results, PIK3CA had the most stable binding with RES and IRI. Compared with the results in the control group, the proliferation ability and EGFR protein expression of CRC cells in the RES-treated group, the IRI-treated group, and the RES+IRI treated group significantly decreased. Moreover, the cell proliferation ability and EGFR protein expression level of CRC cells in the RES+IRI treated group were remarkably lower than those in the IRI-treated group. In conclusion, PIK3CA, EGFR, and IGF1R are the key targets of RES combined with IRI in CRC treatment. In addition, RES can inhibit the proliferation of CRC cells and improve IRI chemoresistance by downregulating the EGFR signaling pathway.
Humans ; Irinotecan ; Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics* ; Resveratrol ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; ErbB Receptors/genetics*

Objective: Total neoadjuvant therapy has been used to improve tumor responses and prevent distant metastases in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Patients with complete clinical responses (cCR) then have the option of choosing a watch and wait (W&W) strategy and organ preservation. It has recently been shown that hypofractionated radiotherapy has better synergistic effects with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors than does conventionally fractionated radiotherapy, increasing the sensitivity of microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer to immunotherapy. Thus, in this trial we aimed to determine whether total neoadjuvant therapy comprising short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) combined with a PD-1 inhibitor improves the degree of tumor regression in patients with LARC. Methods: TORCH is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, phase II trial (TORCH Registration No. NCT04518280). Patients with LARC (T3-4/N+M0, distance from anus ≤10 cm) are eligible and are randomly assigned to consolidation or induction arms. Those in the consolidation arm receive SCRT (25Gy/5 Fx), followed by six cycles of toripalimab plus capecitabine and oxaliplatin (ToriCAPOX). Those in the induction arm receive two cycles of ToriCAPOX, then undergo SCRT, followed by four cycles of ToriCAPOX. Patients in both groups undergo total mesorectal excision (TME) or can choose a W&W strategy if cCR has been achieved. The primary endpoint is the complete response rate (CR, pathological complete response [pCR] plus continuous cCR for more than 1 year). The secondary endpoints include rates of Grade 3-4 acute adverse effects (AEs) etc. Results: Up to 30 September 2022, 62 patients attending our center were enrolled (Consolidation arm: 34, Induction arm:28). Their median age was 53 (27-69) years. Fifty-nine of them had MSS/pMMR type cancer (95.2%), and only three MSI-H/dMMR. Additionally, 55 patients (88.7%) had Stage III disease. The following important characteristics were distributed as follows: lower location (≤5 cm from anus, 48/62, 77.4%), deeper invasion by primary lesion (cT4 7/62, 11.3%; mesorectal fascia involved 17/62, 27.4%), and high risk of distant metastasis (cN2 26/62, 41.9%; EMVI+ 11/62, 17.7%). All 62 patients completed the SCRT and at least five cycles of ToriCAPOX, 52/62 (83.9%) completing six cycles of ToriCAPOX. Finally, 29 patients achieved cCR (46.8%, 29/62), 18 of whom decided to adopt a W&W strategy. TME was performed on 32 patients. Pathological examination showed 18 had achieved pCR, four TRG 1, and 10 TRG 2-3. The three patients with MSI-H disease all achieved cCR. One of these patients was found to have pCR after surgery whereas the other two adopted a W&W strategy. Thus, the pCR and CR rates were 56.2% (18/32) and 58.1% (36/62), respectively. The TRG 0-1 rate was 68.8% (22/32). The most common non-hematologic AEs were poor appetite (49/60, 81.7%), numbness (49/60, 81.7%), nausea (47/60, 78.3%) and asthenia (43/60, 71.7%); two patients did not complete this survey. The most common hematologic AEs were thrombocytopenia (48/62, 77.4%), anemia (47/62, 75.8%), leukopenia/neutropenia (44/62, 71.0%) and high transaminase (39/62, 62.9%). The main Grade III-IV AE was thrombocytopenia (22/62, 35.5%), with three patients (3/62, 4.8%) having Grade IV thrombocytopenia. No Grade V AEs were noted. Conclusions: SCRT-based total neoadjuvant therapy combined with toripalimab can achieve a surprisingly good CR rate in patients with LARC and thus has the potential to offer new treatment options for organ preservation in patients with MSS and lower-location rectal cancer. Meanwhile, the preliminary findings of a single center show good tolerability, the main Grade III-IV AE being thrombocytopenia. The significant efficacy and long-term prognostic benefit need to be determined by further follow-up.
Humans ; Middle Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Rectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Thrombocytopenia/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome ; Adult ; Aged