1.Chidamide triggers pyroptosis in T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia via the FOXO1/GSDME axis.
Xinlei LI ; Bangdong LIU ; Dezhi HUANG ; Naya MA ; Jing XIA ; Xianlan ZHAO ; Yishuo DUAN ; Fu LI ; Shijia LIN ; Shuhan TANG ; Qiong LI ; Jun RAO ; Xi ZHANG
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(10):1213-1224
BACKGROUND:
T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma/acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-LBL/ALL) is an aggressive form of hematological malignancy associated with poor prognosis in adult patients. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are aberrantly expressed in T-LBL/ALL and are considered potential therapeutic targets. Here, we investigated the antitumor effect of a novel HDAC inhibitor, chidamide, on T-LBL/ALL.
METHODS:
HDAC1, HDAC2 and HDAC3 levels in T-LBL/ALL cell lines and patient samples were compared with those in normal controls. Flow cytometry, transmission electron microscopy, and lactate dehydrogenase release assays were conducted in Jurkat and MOLT-4 cells to assess apoptosis and pyroptosis. A specific forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) inhibitor was used to rescue pyroptosis and upregulated gasdermin E (GSDME) expression caused by chidamide treatment. The role of the FOXO1 transcription factor was evaluated by dual-luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. The efficacy of chidamide in vivo was evaluated in a xenograft mouse.
RESULTS:
The expression of HDAC1, HDAC2 and HDAC3 was significantly upregulated in T-LBL/ALL. Cell viability was obviously inhibited after chidamide treatment. Pyroptosis, characterized by cell swelling, pore formation on the plasma membrane and lactate dehydrogenase leakage, was identified as a new mechanism of chidamide treatment. Chidamide triggered pyroptosis through caspase 3 activation and GSDME transcriptional upregulation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays confirmed that chidamide led to the increased transcription of GSDME through a more relaxed chromatin structure at the promoter and the upregulation of FOXO1 expression. Moreover, we identified the therapeutic effect of chidamide in vivo .
CONCLUSIONS
This study suggested that chidamide exerts an antitumor effect on T-LBL/ALL and promotes a more inflammatory form of cell death via the FOXO1/GSDME axis, which provides a novel choice of targeted therapy for patients with T-LBL/ALL.
Humans
;
Pyroptosis/drug effects*
;
Forkhead Box Protein O1/genetics*
;
Aminopyridines/pharmacology*
;
Animals
;
Mice
;
Benzamides/pharmacology*
;
Cell Line, Tumor
;
Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/drug therapy*
;
Phosphate-Binding Proteins/metabolism*
;
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors/pharmacology*
;
Jurkat Cells
;
Histone Deacetylases/metabolism*
;
Apoptosis/drug effects*
;
Gasdermins
3.The application and challenges of multi-modal data fusion based on deep learning in pathology
Hui CHEN ; Xiangxue WANG ; Rusong ZHANG ; Xuan WANG ; Rui LI ; Henghui MA ; Xiaojun ZHOU ; Jun XU ; Qiu RAO
Chinese Journal of Pathology 2025;54(10):1032-1038
In recent years, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, the application of deep learning in the field of pathology has been continuously expanding. Particularly, the rise of multimodal data fusion methods has opened up new technical paths for the precise diagnosis, prognosis assessment, and individualized treatment of tumors. By integrating multi-level and multi-source data such as clinical information, pathological omics, molecular omics, and imaging omics, deep learning models can identify potential associated features and key biological mechanisms that are difficult to reveal by a single modality, thereby significantly improving the accuracy of disease classification and the scientific nature of risk stratification. This article systematically reviews the research progress of multimodal data fusion methods based on deep learning in the field of pathology in recent years, focuses on sorting out different types of fusion strategies, evaluates their advantages and challenges in practical clinical applications, and looks forward to future development trends.
4.Effects of different CO2 pneumoperitoneum pressures on overweight or obese patients with laparoscopic panhysterectomy in Trendelenburg position
Hao WANG ; Ke GU ; Li-hua RAO ; Bei HU ; Wei-wei JI ; Zhen TIAN ; Ti-jun DAI
Journal of Regional Anatomy and Operative Surgery 2025;34(2):150-153
Objective To explore the effects of different CO2 pneumoperitoneum pressures during surgery on overweight or obese patients with laparoscopic panhysterectomy in Trendelenburg position.Methods A total of 88 overweight or obese patients who underwent laparoscopic panhysterectomy were selected and randomly divided into the low-pressure group and the high-pressure group according to random number table method,with 44 patients in each group.All patients used CO2 as the pneumoperitoneum medium during surgery,with 10 mmHg of CO2 pneumoperitoneum pressure in the low-pressure group and 15 mmHg of CO2 pneumoperitoneum pressure in the high-pressure group.The operation-related indexes,respiratory indicators,nasopharyngeal temperature and adverse reactions of patients were compared between the two groups.Results There was no significant difference in the surgical time,blood loss,intraoperative infusion volume,incidence of organ injury,and laparotomy rate between the two groups(P>0.05).The recovery time of anesthesia of patients in the low-pressure group was shorter than that in the high-pressure group(P<0.05).At 30 minutes after the establishment of pneumoperitoneum,the peak airway pressure(Ppeak)and plateau pressure(Pplat)of patients in the high-pressure group were significantly higher than those in the low-pressure group(P<0.05),while the dynamic lung compliance(Cdyn)of patients in the high-pressure group was significantly lower than that in the low-pressure group(P<0.05).At 60 minutes after the establishment of pneumoperitoneum and the end of pneumoperitoneum,the nasopharyngeal temperature of patients in the high-pressure group were significantly lower than those in the low-pressure group(P<0.05).The incidences of intraoperative hypothermia and shivering in the high-pressure group were significantly higher than those in the low-pressure group(P<0.05).Conclusion Compared with 15 mmHg of CO2 pneumoperitoneum pressure,10 mmHg of CO2 pneumoperitoneum pressure on overweight or obese patients with laparoscopic panhysterectomy in Trendelenburg position does not increase surgical difficulty,and the patients has lower airway pressure,better lung compliance,fewer adverse reactions,and faster recovery,which can also avoid intraoperative hypothermia.
5.Advances in immunogenetic mechanisms of drug-induced liver injury
Xiangchang ZENG ; Tai RAO ; Lulu CHEN ; Chaopeng LI ; Guirong ZENG ; Jun CHEN ; Dongsheng OUYANG
Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2025;30(8):1133-1146
Drug-induced liver injury(DILI)is one of the major challenges in drug development and clinical practice,and effective prevention and con-trol measures remain lacking.Research has shown that DILI is primarily mediated by immune respons-es.Human leukocyte antigen(HLA)alleles are cur-rently the strongest genetic factors reported to be associated with DILI.Due to the low positive predic-tive value of HLA alleles,preemptive HLA genetic screening has limited clinical utility in preventing DILI.However,its high negative predictive value makes it valuable for DILI diagnosis and causality assessment.In recent years,polymorphisms in im-mune-related genes-such as those involved in anti-gen processing and presentation pathways,T-cell receptors,immunostimulatory molecules,and cyto-kines-have been found to be associated with DILI.Future studies combining these genes with HLA analysis may provide deeper mechanistic insights into DILI and facilitate their translational applica-tion in clinical practice,ultimately improving drug safety.
6.Risk factors for postoperative prognosis of patients with AFP-negative hepatocellular carcinoma and establishment of a nomogram model
Huiming LI ; Yeye WU ; Yongqing GUO ; Chunmei RAO ; Jun LIU ; Ling WANG
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(8):1606-1614
Objective To establish dynamic nomogram models for postoperative recurrence and survival risk of patients with AFP-negative hepatocellular carcinoma(ANHC)based on multimodal clinical data,to identify ANHC-specific prognostic biomarker combinations by integrating tumor biological characteristics and treatment response parameters through machine learning,and to provide an individualized risk assessment tool for overcoming the limitations of traditional serum biomarkers.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 421 ANHC patients who underwent hepatectomy in Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital from April 2012 to December 2018,and they were randomly divided into training group with 210 patients and validation group with 211 patients.The univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression models were used to identify independent prognostic factors and establish a nomogram model,and the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve,the calibration curve,and the decision curve analysis were used to assess the performance of the model.Related indicators were measured,including prealbumin(PA),white blood cell count(WBC),tumor size,and microvascular invasion.The chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical variables between two groups,and the independent-samples t test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous variables between two groups.Results The multivariate analysis showed that multiple tumors(hazard ratio[HR]=3.30,P<0.001),WBC(HR=1.05,P=0.005),blood glucose(HR=1.15,P=0.026),CA19-9(HR=1.17,P=0.005),and tumor size(HR=1.17,P<0.001)were independent risk factors for disease-free survival(DFS),while PA(HR=0.99,P=0.022)was a protective factor.Incomplete tumor capsule(HR=0.60,P=0.009),age(HR=1.02,P=0.035),prothrombin time(PT)(HR=1.27,P=0.023),CA19-9(HR=1.01,P<0.001),and tumor size(HR=1.15,P<0.001)were independent risk factors for overall survival(OS).The DFS nomogram achieved an AUC of 0.74(95%confidence interval[CI]:0.64-0.84)in the training group and 0.67(95%CI:0.57-0.77)in the validation group,while the OS nomogram had an AUC of 0.76(95%CI:0.64-0.88)and 0.73(95%CI:0.60-0.87),respectively.The calibration curve and the decision curve analysis showed that the models had good predictive accuracy and clinical practicability.Conclusion Preoperative indicators,including tumor number,PA,WBC,and tumor size,can effectively predict postoperative recurrence in ANHC patients,while tumor capsule integrity,age,and PT are significantly associated with OS.The nomogram models established have good performance and can provide a basis for individualized prognostic assessment.
7.Identification of rice htd1 allelic mutant and its regulatory role in grain size.
Yuqi YANG ; Zhining ZHANG ; Jun LIU ; Luyao TANG ; Yiting WEI ; Wen NONG ; Lu YIN ; Sanfeng LI ; Penggen DUAN ; Yuexing WANG ; Yuchun RAO
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2025;41(7):2789-2802
Rice is the world's largest food crop, and its yield and quality are directly related to food security and human health. Grain size, as one of the important factors determining the rice yield, has been widely concerned by breeders and researchers for a long time. To decipher the regulatory mechanism of rice grain size, we obtained a multi-tiller, dwarf, and small-grain mutant htd1 by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutation from the Japonica rice cultivar 'Zhonghua 11' ('ZH11'). Genetic analysis indicated that the phenotype of htd1 was controlled by a single recessive gene. Using the mutation site map (Mutmap) method, we identified the candidate gene OsHTD1, which encoded a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase involved in the biosynthesis of strigolactone (SL). The SL content in htd1 was significantly lower than that in 'ZH11'. Cytological analysis showed that the grain size of the mutant decreased due to the reductions in the length and width of glume cells. The function of htd1 was further verified by the CRISPR/cas9 gene editing technology. The plants with the gene knockout exhibited similar grain size to the mutant. In addition, gene expression analysis showed that the expression levels of multiple grain size-related genes in the mutant changed significantly, suggesting that HTD1 may interact with other genes regulating grain size. This study provides a new theoretical basis for research on the regulatory mechanism of rice grain size and potential genetic resources for breeding the rice cultivars with high yields.
Oryza/growth & development*
;
Mutation
;
Edible Grain/growth & development*
;
Alleles
;
Plant Proteins/genetics*
;
Dioxygenases/genetics*
;
Lactones/metabolism*
;
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
;
Genes, Plant
;
Gene Editing
;
CRISPR-Cas Systems
;
Phenotype
8.Map-based cloning and abiotic stress response analysis of rust spotted leaf 1 in rice.
Jun LIU ; Xiaoyan LIU ; Yiyun GE ; Yiting WEI ; Kangjie LING ; Luyao TANG ; Jiangmin XU ; Yuchun RAO
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2025;41(7):2871-2884
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important food crop. The appearance of lesion mimics in rice leads to phytohormone disorders, which affects rice adaptation to environmental stresses and ultimately reduces the yield and quality. To explore whether the changes in the adaptability of rice lesion-mimic mutants to stressful environments are caused by the disorder of phytohormone metabolism in plants. In this study, we screened an ethyl methane sulfonate-treated population of the japonica cultivar 'Taipei 309' for a mutant with rust-like spots on leaves at the early tillering stage and brown-red spots at maturity and named it rsl1 (rust spotted leaf 1). Compared with the wild type, rsl1 showed decreases in plant height, panicle length, primary branch number, secondary branch number, filled grains per panicle, seed-setting rate, and 1 000-grain weight, and an increase in number of effective panicles. Genetic analysis indicated that rsl1 was controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene. RSL1 was localized between two molecular markers, B7-7 and B7-9, on rice chromosome 7 by map-based cloning. PCR sequencing of the annotated genes in this interval revealed a mutation of C1683A on the eighth exon of SPL5 (LOC_Os07g10390) in rsl1, which resulted in premature termination of protein translation. Exogenous phytohormone treatments showed that rsl1 was less sensitive to salicylic acid (SA), abscisic acid (ABA), and indo-3-acetic acid (IAA) and more sensitive to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and gibberellin acid (GA) than the wild type. In addition, the survival rate of rsl1 was lower than that of the wild type under salt, alkali, drought, and high temperature stresses, and it was higher than that of the wild type under cold stress. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) results showed that RSL1 was involved in the regulation of ABA, SA, MeJA, IAA, and GA-related genes under abiotic stresses. The present study showed that the RSL1 mutation led to the appearance of lesion mimics and affected the growth, development, and stress resistance of rsl1 under abiotic stresses. The study of the functional mechanism of this gene can provide theoretical guidance for the research on rice stress resistance.
Oryza/microbiology*
;
Stress, Physiological/genetics*
;
Plant Diseases/genetics*
;
Cloning, Molecular
;
Chromosome Mapping
;
Plant Growth Regulators/metabolism*
;
Plant Proteins/genetics*
;
Mutation
;
Cyclopentanes
;
Genes, Plant
;
Plant Leaves/genetics*
;
Oxylipins
9.Quantitative trait locus(QTL) mapping and candidate gene expression analysis of cold tolerance of rice at plumule and seedling stages.
Beibei ZHAO ; Zhining ZHANG ; Yanan JIANG ; Chengxiang HU ; Luyi ZHANG ; Jun LIU ; Jiangmin XU ; Yuexing WANG ; Yuchun RAO
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2025;41(10):3939-3955
Rice (Oryza sativa L.), as a thermophilic crop, is highly susceptible to cold stress during its growth process. Chilling injury at the plumule stage and seedling stage often affects the morphological development and leads to yield reduction of rice. The exploration and utilization of cold tolerance genes are among the most direct and effective approaches to address cold stress in rice. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with cold tolerance at plumule and seedling stages, in this study, we measured the seedling rates and survived seedling rates of the indica rice cultivar 'HZ', the japonica cultivar 'Nekken2', and their 120 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) under cold stress. A previously constructed high-density genetic linkage map was used for the mapping of the QTLs conferring cold tolerance at the plumule and seedling stages. A total of 4 QTLs for plumule-stage cold tolerance and 9 QTLs for seedling-stage cold tolerance were detected, with the maximum limit of detection reaching 5.20. Notably, a genetically overlapping QTL for both plumule and seedling stages was identified on chromosome 8, spanning a physical interval of 24 432 953-25 295 129 bp. Candidate genes within the detected QTL intervals were screened, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to analyze the gene expression during the plumule and seedling stages. The results revealed that LOC_Os03g06570, LOC_Os03g07100, LOC_Os06g08280, LOC_Os08g38440, LOC_Os08g39100, and LOC_Os08g39540 exhibited significantly differential expression between the parental lines. These genes were either significantly downregulated or upregulated under cold stress. Among them, the first three gene (LOC_Os03g06570, LOC_Os03g07100, and LOC_Os06g08280) were hypothesized to be key candidates regulating the cold tolerance of rice seedlings, while the latter three genes (LOC_Os08g38440, LOC_Os08g39100, and LOC_Os08g39540) were identified as comprehensive regulators of cold tolerance during both plumule and seedling stages. These findings lay a foundation for the fine mapping and cloning of cold tolerance genes at the plumule and seedling stages, providing valuable insights for breeding cold-tolerant rice varieties.
Quantitative Trait Loci/genetics*
;
Oryza/growth & development*
;
Seedlings/growth & development*
;
Cold Temperature
;
Chromosome Mapping
;
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
10.Neuroimaging features of febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome
Xueyi RAO ; Xiaoqian WANG ; Jun CHEN
Journal of Clinical Neurology 2025;38(1):38-41
Objective To investigate the neuroimaging features of febrile infection-related epilepsy(FIRES).Methods The FIRES studies containing MRI imaging data were searched in PubMed,Ovid Medline,Scopus,Cochrane Library,Embase,Web of Science,CNKI,Wanfang database and VIP database.The search timeframe covered studies from 1998 to the present.Results A total of 28 studies involving 143 patients were included.In the acute phase,most FIRES patients had normal cranial MRI scans,though some may exhibit abnormal signals in areas such as the temporal lobe and basal ganglia.As the disease progresses,chronic phase MRIs often show generalized brain atrophy and medial temporal lobe sclerosis.Conclusion Although the imaging manifestations of FIRES lack specificity,it is of great significance for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of the disease to be familiar with and understand the common manifestations of head MRI in different periods of FIRES.

Result Analysis
Print
Save
E-mail