OBJECTIVE To investigate the ameliorative effect and potential mechanism of imperatorin （IMP） on doxorubicin （DOX） resistance in breast cancer. METHODS The effects of maximum non-toxic concentration （100 μg/mL） of IMP combined with different concentrations of DOX （12.5， 25， 50， 75， 100 μg/mL） on the proliferation of MCF-7/DOX cells were determined by MTT method. MCF-7/DOX cells were divided into blank control group （1‰ dimethyl sulfoxide）， DOX group （50 μg/mL）， IMP+DOX group （100 μg/mL IMP+50 μg/mL DOX） and IMP group （100 μg/mL）. mRNA and protein expressions of multidrug resistance protein 1 （MDR1） and multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 in each group were measured. The relevant pathways and targets involved in the improvement of DOX resistance in breast cancer cells by IMP were screened and validated by using transcriptome sequencing technology， along with gene ontology （GO） enrichment analyses and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analyses. RESULTS Compared with DOX alone， the combination of IMP and DOX reduced the half inhibitory concentration of DOX on MCF-7/DOX cells from 81.965 μg/mL to 43.170 μg/mL， the reverse fold was 1.90， and the mRNA expression of MDR1 was significantly down-regulated （P＜0.05）. The results of GO enrichment analyses and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses indicated that the reversal of DOX resistance in breast cancer by IMP was mainly associated with the regulation of biological processes such as detoxification， multiple biological processes， and cell killing. The main pathway involved was the p53 signaling pathway， and the key targets mainly included constitutively photomorphogenic protein 1 （COP1）， cyclin E1 （CCNE1）， growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible protein 45A E-mail：tangxilan1983@163.com （GADD45A） and GADD45B. The results of the verification experiments showed that compared with DOX group， there was a trend of up-regulation of COP1 mRNA， and significant down- regulation of CCNE1， GADD45A， and GADD45B mRNA expression in IMP+DOX group （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The effect of IMP in ameliorating DOX resistance in breast cancer is related to its regulation of COP1， CCNE1， GADD45A and GADD45B targets in the p53 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Ferroptosis-related genes play a crucial role in regulating intracellular iron homeostasis and lipid peroxidation, and they are involved in the regulation of tumor growth and drug resistance. The expression of ferroptosis-related genes in tumor tissues can be used to predict patients' future survival times, aiding doctors and patients in anticipating disease progression. Based on the sequencing data of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, this study identified genes involved in the regulation of ferroptosis, constructed a prognostic model, and evaluated the predictive performance of the model. METHODS: A total of 1467 ferroptosis-related genes were obtained from the GeneCards database. Gene expression profiles and clinical data from 541 LUAD patients were collected from the TCGA database. The expression data of all ferroptosis-related genes were extracted, and differentially expressed genes were identified using R software. Survival analysis was performed on these genes to screen for those with prognostic value. Subsequently, a prognostic risk scoring model for ferroptosis-related genes was constructed using LASSO regression model. Each LUAD patient sample was scored, and the patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the median score. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated to assess model performance, followed by validation in an external dataset. Finally, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the independent prognostic value and clinical relevance of the model. RESULTS: Through survival analysis, 121 ferroptosis-related genes associated with prognosis were initially identified. Based on this, a LUAD prognostic risk scoring model was constructed using 12 ferroptosis-related genes (ALG3, C1QTNF6, CCT6A, GLS2, KRT6A, LDHA, NUPR1, OGFRP1, PCSK9, TRIM6, IGF2BP1 and MIR31HG). The results indicated that patients in the high-risk group had significantly shorter survival time than those in the low-risk group (P<0.001), and the model demonstrated good predictive performance in both the training set (1-yr AUC=0.721) and the external validation set (1-yr AUC=0.768). Risk scores were significantly associated with the prognosis of LUAD patients in both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses (P<0.001), suggesting that this score is an important prognostic factor for LUAD patients. CONCLUSIONS This study successfully established a LUAD risk scoring model composed of 12 ferroptosis-related genes. In the future, this model is expected to be used in conjunction with the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system for prognostic predictions in LUAD patients.
Humans ; Ferroptosis/genetics* ; Prognosis ; Adenocarcinoma of Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Male ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Middle Aged ; ROC Curve

Increasing evidence has underscored the significance of post-stroke alterations along gut-brain axis, while its role in pathogenesis and treatment of ischemic stroke (IS) remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to elucidate the therapeutic effects and action targets of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on IS and explore a novel pathogenesis and treatment strategy of IS via profiling the microbial community and metabolic characteristics along gut-brain axis. Our findings revealed for the first time that the therapeutic effect of PNS on IS was microbiota-dependent. Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) modeling significantly down-regulated Lactobacilli in rats, and PNS markedly recovered Lactobacilli, particularly Lactobacillus reuteri (L.Reu). Metabolomics showed a significant reduction in serum histidine (HIS) in clinical obsolete IS patients and rehabilitation period I/R rats. Meanwhile, the L.Reu colonization in I/R rats exhibited significant neuroprotective activity and greatly increased HIS in serum, gut microbiota, and brain. Moreover, exogenous HIS demonstrated indirect neuroprotective effects through metabolizing to histamine. Notably, vagus nerve severance in I/R rats was performed to investigate HIS's neuroprotective mechanism. The results innovatively revealed that PNS could promote HIS synthesis in gut by enhancing L.Reu proportion, thereby increasing intracerebral HIS through peripheral pathway. Consequently, our data provided novel insights into HIS metabolism mediated by L.Reu in the pathogenesis and treatment of IS.

Perineural invasion (PNI) by tumor cells is a key phenotype of highly-invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Since Schwann cells (SCs) and fibroblasts maintain the physiological homeostasis of the peripheral nervous system, and we have focused on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) for decades, it's imperative to elucidate the impact of CAFs on SCs in PNI⁺ OSCCs. We describe a disease progression-driven shift of PNI^- towards PNI⁺ during the progression of early-stage OSCC (31%, n = 125) to late-stage OSCC (53%, n = 97), characterized by abundant CAFs and nerve demyelination. CAFs inhibited SC proliferation/migration and reduced neurotrophic factors and myelin in vitro, and this involved up-regulated ER stress and decreased MAPK signals. Moreover, CAFs also aggravated the paralysis of the hind limb and PNI in vivo. Unexpectedly, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) was exclusively expressed on CAFs and up-regulated in metastatic OSCC. The LIF inhibitor EC330 restored CAF-induced SC inactivation. Thus, OSCC-derived CAFs inactivate SCs to aggravate nerve injury and PNI development.
Schwann Cells/metabolism* ; Mouth Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Humans ; Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts/metabolism* ; Animals ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism* ; Neoplasm Invasiveness/pathology* ; Male ; Female ; Mice ; Cell Movement/physiology* ; Cell Proliferation/physiology* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Leukemia Inhibitory Factor/metabolism* ; Middle Aged

Objective:To evaluate the immunogenicity, safety, and immune persistence of the sequential booster with the recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell) in healthy people aged 18-84 years.Methods:An open-label, multi-center trial was conducted in October 2021. The eligible healthy individuals, aged 18-84 years who had completed primary immunization with the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine 3 to 9 months before, were recruited from Shangyu district of Shaoxing and Kaihua county of Quzhou, Zhejiang province. All participants were divided into three groups based on the differences in prime-boost intervals: Group A (3-4 months), Group B (5-6 months) and Group C (7-9 months), with 320 persons per group. All participants received the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell). Blood samples were collected before the vaccination and after receiving the booster at 14 days, 30 days, and 180 days for analysis of GMTs, antibody positivity rates, and seroconversion rates. All adverse events were collected within one month and serious adverse events were collected within six months. The incidences of adverse reactions were analyzed after the booster.Results:The age of 960 participants was (52.3±11.5) years old, and 47.4% were males (455). The GMTs of Groups B and C were 65.26 (54.51-78.12) and 60.97 (50.61-73.45) at 14 days after the booster, both higher than Group A′s 44.79 (36.94-54.30) ( P value<0.05). The GMTs of Groups B and C were 23.95 (20.18-28.42) and 27.98 (23.45-33.39) at 30 days after the booster, both higher than Group A′s 15.71 (13.24-18.63) ( P value <0.05). At 14 days after the booster, the antibody positivity rates in Groups A, B, and C were 91.69% (276/301), 94.38% (302/320), and 93.95% (295/314), respectively. The seroconversion rates in the three groups were 90.37% (272/301), 93.75% (300/320), and 93.31% (293/314), respectively. There was no significant difference among these rates in the three groups (all P values >0.05). At 30 days after the booster, antibody positivity rates in Groups A, B, and C were 79.60% (238/299), 87.74% (279/318), and 90.48% (285/315), respectively. The seroconversion rates in the three groups were 76.92% (230/299), 85.85% (273/318), and 88.25% (278/315), respectively. There was a significant difference among these rates in the three groups (all P values <0.001). During the sequential booster immunization, the incidence of adverse events in 960 participants was 15.31% (147/960), with rates of about 14.38% (46/320), 17.50% (56/320), and 14.06% (45/320) in Groups A, B, and C, respectively. The incidence of adverse reactions was 8.02% (77/960), with rates of about 7.50% (24/320), 6.88% (22/320), and 9.69% (31/320) in Groups A, B, and C, respectively. No serious adverse events related to the booster were reported. Conclusion:Healthy individuals aged 18-84 years, who had completed primary immunization with the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine 3 to 9 months before, have good immunogenicity and safety profiles following the sequential booster with the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell).

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical Gram-positive bacteria isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2022.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-positive bacteria from blood cultures in member hospitals of National Bloodstream Infection Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System（BRICS）were collected during January 2022 to December 2022. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 software were used to analyze the data.Results:A total of 3 163 strains of Gram-positive pathogens were collected from 51 member units，and the top five bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus（ n=1 147，36.3%），coagulase-negative Staphylococci（ n=928，29.3%）， Enterococcus faecalis（ n=369，11.7%）， Enterococcus faecium（ n=296，9.4%）and alpha-hemolyticus Streptococci（ n=192，6.1%）. The detection rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus（MRSA）and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci（MRCNS）were 26.4%（303/1 147）and 66.7%（619/928），respectively. No glycopeptide and daptomycin-resistant Staphylococci were detected. The sensitivity rates of Staphylococcus aureus to cefpirome，rifampin，compound sulfamethoxazole，linezolid，minocycline and tigecycline were all >95.0%. Enterococcus faecium was more prevalent than Enterococcus faecalis. The resistance rates of Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin and teicoplanin were both 0.5%（2/369），and no vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium was detected. The detection rate of MRSA in southern China was significantly lower than that in other regions（ χ2=14.578， P=0.002），while the detection rate of MRCNS in northern China was significantly higher than that in other regions（ χ2=15.195， P=0.002）. The detection rates of MRSA and MRCNS in provincial hospitals were higher than those in municipal hospitals（ χ2=13.519 and 12.136， P<0.001）. The detection rates of MRSA and MRCNS in economically more advanced regions（per capita GDP≥92 059 Yuan in 2022）were higher than those in economically less advanced regions（per capita GDP<92 059 Yuan）（ χ2=9.969 and 7.606， P=0.002和0.006）. Conclusions:Among the Gram-positive pathogens causing bloodstream infections in China， Staphylococci is the most common while the MRSA incidence decreases continuously with time；the detection rate of Enterococcus faecium exceeds that of Enterococcus faecalis. The overall prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci is still at a low level. The composition ratio of Gram-positive pathogens and resistant profiles varies slightly across regions of China，with the prevalence of MRSA and MRCNS being more pronounced in provincial hospitals and areas with a per capita GDP≥92 059 yuan.

Perihilar cholangiocarcinoma(PHC)is a common malignancy of biliary tract,for which surgery is the most effective treatment.However,its prognosis is not satisfactory even after surgical resection.In recent years,there have been some new advances in the surgical treatment of PHC.In this paper,we reviewed the existing literatures,demonstrated the current situation of preoperative biliary drainage,liver hyperplasia,hepatic resection,liver transplantation and minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of PHC,and prospected the future research direction.

Objective:To observe the effect of metformin on intestinal metabolites and its protective effect on lung injury in an elderly sepsis rat.Methods:SD rats were fed at the Animal Laboratory Center of Zhengzhou University, fourteen elderly SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham surgery (age-Sham, AgS group, n=4), cecal ligation and perforation induced sepsis (age-Cecal ligation and puncture, AgCLP group, n=5), and oral administration of metformin (100 mg/kg) after 1 h of CLP treatment (age-Metformin, AgMET group, n=5). Collected rat feces 24 h after modeling, and analyzed the composition and inter group differences of metabolites in the feces using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry non targeted metabolomics. Collected rat lung tissues and detected the expression levels of inflammation related genes and pathological changes in the tissue. The visualization of metabolic changes between groups were presented using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, heatmaps, and unsupervised principal component analysis, respectively. MetaboAnalyst 3.0 was used to evaluate the Pathway analysis of metabolites, and this software was based on the KEGG database and the human metabolome database. Results:The expressions of CCL4 ( F=203.00, P<0.001), CXCL1( F=65.69, P<0.001), IL-6 ( F=38.94, P<0.002), TNF-α ( F=14.85, P=0.005) between two groups of rats were significantly different (all P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in CCL2 expression between AgCLP group and AgMET group. Furthermore, compared with the AgS group, the relative intensities of 17 metabolites such as 7-methylxanthine, N-Arachidonylglycine and Manolide in AgCLP group were significantly increased, whereas the 9 metabolites such as Phenazone, Gly-Phe and Valyproline were significantly decreased, and metformin treatment could reverse these changes of the above metabolites. Correlation analysis showed that the IL-6 and TNF-α levels were positively correlated with the relative strength of 7-Methylxanthine, N-Arachidonylglycine and other metabolites, but negatively correlated with the Phenazone and Gly-Phe. CCL4 and CXCL1 were positively correlated with Manolide, but negatively correlated with Valyproline. Conclusion:The results of this study showed that metformin improved sepsis induced acute lung injury and regulates the host intestinal metabolites, which might provide a potential and effective treatment for elderly sepsis induced acute lung injury.

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical Gram-negative bacteria isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2022.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteria from blood cultures in member hospitals of national bloodstream infection Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System（BRICS）were collected during January 2022 to December 2022. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 software were used to analyze the data.Results:During the study period，9 035 strains of Gram-negative bacteria were collected from 51 hospitals，of which 7 895（87.4%）were Enterobacteriaceae and 1 140（12.6%）were non-fermenting bacteria. The top 5 bacterial species were Escherichia coli（ n=4 510，49.9%）， Klebsiella pneumoniae（ n=2 340，25.9%）， Pseudomonas aeruginosa（ n=534，5.9%）， Acinetobacter baumannii complex（ n=405，4.5%）and Enterobacter cloacae（ n=327，3.6%）. The ESBLs-producing rates in Escherichia coli， Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus spp. were 47.1%（2 095/4 452），21.0%（427/2 033）and 41.1%（58/141），respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli（CREC）and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae（CRKP）were 1.3%（58/4 510）and 13.1%（307/2 340）；62.1%（36/58）and 9.8%（30/307）of CREC and CRKP were resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam combination，respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii（CRAB）complex was 59.5%（241/405），while less than 5% of Acinetobacter baumannii complex was resistant to tigecycline and polymyxin B. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa（CRPA）was 18.4%（98/534）. There were differences in the composition ratio of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections and the prevalence of main Gram-negative bacteria resistance among different regions，with statistically significant differences in the prevalence of CRKP and CRPA（ χ2=20.489 and 20.252， P<0.001）. The prevalence of CREC，CRKP，CRPA，CRAB，ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were higher in provinicial hospitals than those in municipal hospitals（ χ2=11.953，81.183，10.404，5.915，12.415 and 6.459， P<0.01 or <0.05），while the prevalence of CRPA was higher in economically developed regions（per capita GDP ≥ 92 059 Yuan）than that in economically less-developed regions（per capita GDP <92 059 Yuan）（ χ2=6.240， P=0.012）. Conclusions:The proportion of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections shows an increasing trend，and Escherichia coli is ranked in the top，while the trend of CRKP decreases continuously with time. Decreasing trends are noted in ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Low prevalence of carbapenem resistance in Escherichia coli and high prevalence in CRAB complex have been observed. The composition ratio and antibacterial spectrum of bloodstream infections in different regions of China are slightly different，and the proportion of main drug resistant bacteria in provincial hospitals is higher than those in municipal hospitals.

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical bacterial isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2021.Methods:The clinical bacterial strains isolated from blood culture from member hospitals of Blood Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System (BRICS) were collected during January 2021 to December 2021. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). WHONET 5.6 was used to analyze data.Results:During the study period, 11 013 bacterial strains were collected from 51 hospitals, of which 2 782 (25.3%) were Gram-positive bacteria and 8 231 (74.7%) were Gram-negative bacteria. The top 10 bacterial species were Escherichia coli (37.6%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (18.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.8%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (6.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.6%), Enterococcus faecium (3.6%), Acinetobacter baumannii (2.8%), Enterococcus faecalis (2.7%), Enterobacter cloacae (2.5%) and Klebsiella spp (2.1%). The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus aureus were 25.3% and 76.8%, respectively. No glycopeptide- and daptomycin-resistant Staphylococci was detected; more than 95.0% of Staphylococcus aureus were sensitive to ceftobiprole. No vancomycin-resistant Enterococci strains were detected. The rates of extended spectrum B-lactamase (ESBL)-producing isolated in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis were 49.6%, 25.5% and 39.0%, respectively. The prevalence rates of carbapenem-resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were 2.2% and 15.8%, respectively; 7.9% of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae was resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam combination. Ceftobiprole demonstrated excellent activity against non-ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Aztreonam/avibactam was highly active against carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The prevalence rate of carbapenem-resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii was 60.0%, while polymyxin and tigecycline showed good activity against Acinetobacter baumannii (5.5% and 4.5%). The prevalence of carbapenem-resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa was 18.9%. Conclusions:The BRICS surveillance results in 2021 shows that the main pathogens of blood stream infection in China are gram-negative bacteria, in which Escherichia coli is the most common. The MRSA incidence shows a further decreasing trend in China and the overall prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci is low. The prevalence of Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is still on a high level, but the trend is downwards.