Hepatic fibrosis is a reversible pathological process in various chronic liver diseases and is closely associated with the development and progression of severe liver diseases such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma， and it has emerged as a significant global health challenge. In recent years， studies have shown that histone lactylation， a newly discovered epigenetic modification， actively participates in regulating the progression of hepatic fibrosis. This article systematically reviews the core regulatory effect of histone lactylation modification in the interaction between inflammatory microenvironment and hepatic fibrosis， in order to clarify the cascade regulatory mechanism of “inflammation-hepatic fibrosis” and provide new insights for early diagnosis， targeted intervention， and prevention of malignant transformation in hepatic fibrosis.

Objective:To compare the differences among four routine lipid testing systems in detecting high triglyceride (TG) serum samples and evaluate the accuracy and consistency of the four homogeneous low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) reagents using vertical auto profile (VAP) as the reference method.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 249 serum samples with elevated TG levels collected from the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between January and October 2024. TG, total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, and HDL-C were measured using four homogeneous detection systems: Beckman Coulter (USA), Wako Pure Chemical Industries (Japan), Mindray (China), and Roche Diagnostics (Germany). VAP was used to analyze lipoprotein subfractions, including very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), intermediate-density lipoprotein cholesterol (IDL-C), LDL-C, lipoprotein(a) cholesterol [Lp(a)-C], and HDL-C. The mean coefficient of variation ( CV) across the four systems was calculated for each parameter. Pearson correlation and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) were used to assess correlations between the four HDL-C/LDL-C systems and VAP. Bland-Altman plots were generated to evaluate biases, and deviations were calculated. For parameters with significant deviations, multivariate linear regression and standardized coefficients were used to analyze correlations between biases and lipoprotein subfractions. Based on the Chinese Guidelines for Lipid Management (2023), LDL-C and non-HDL-C treatment goals were categorized into five risk levels (ultra-high, high, moderate, high-risk, and low-risk). VAP results defined LDL-C/non-HDL-C intervals, and the four systems′ concordance in risk classification was evaluated. Samples were grouped into A, B, C, D ( n=63, 62, 62, 62) by TG concentration, and ANOVA, chi-square, and Fisher exact tests assessed intergroup differences. Results:The mean CVs across systems for TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and non-HDL-C were 2.98%, 1.76%, 18.10%, 5.60%, 2.58%, respectively. Pearson correlations between LDL-C results (Beckman, Wako, Mindray, Roche) and VAP were 0.889, 0.854, 0.899, and 0.973; mean relative deviations were 54.8%, 41.0%, 49.3%, and 3.6%; classification accuracies were 6.0% (15/249), 21.3% (53/249), 9.2% (23/249), and 76.7% (191/249). HDL-C deviations were 18.7%, 15.1%, 11.1%, and 8.7%, with correlations ( r) of 0.883, 0.911, 0.959, and 0.950 (all P<0.001). LDL-C means showed no intergroup differences (A-D), but CV increased with TG levels ( P<0.001). HDL-C means and CVs showed no significant intergroup differences. Beckman, Wako, and Mindray LDL-C results exhibited significant positive biases correlated with TG and VLDL-C (multivariate regression; P<0.05); VLDL-C had the strongest influence (standardized coefficients: 0.820, 0.394, 0.813; P<0.001). Non-HDL-C classifications matched VAP in 92.4% (Beckman), 85.9% (Wako), 94.0% (Mindray), and 93.2% (Roche), with no intergroup differences. Conclusion:For high-TG sera, Beckman, Wako, and Mindray LDL-C exhibited significant positive biases correlated with TG and VLDL-C, while Roche LDL-C showed minimal deviation. TG, TC, HDL-C, and non-HDL-C results showed minimal variation across the four systems. All systems demonstrated comparable accuracy for non-HDL-C compared to VAP. The non-HDL-C measured by the four detection systems demonstrates high accuracy and consistency in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk stratification and lipid-lowering goal assessment, and it is unaffected by TG levels.

Objective:To compare the differences among four routine lipid testing systems in detecting high triglyceride (TG) serum samples and evaluate the accuracy and consistency of the four homogeneous low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) reagents using vertical auto profile (VAP) as the reference method.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 249 serum samples with elevated TG levels collected from the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between January and October 2024. TG, total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, and HDL-C were measured using four homogeneous detection systems: Beckman Coulter (USA), Wako Pure Chemical Industries (Japan), Mindray (China), and Roche Diagnostics (Germany). VAP was used to analyze lipoprotein subfractions, including very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), intermediate-density lipoprotein cholesterol (IDL-C), LDL-C, lipoprotein(a) cholesterol [Lp(a)-C], and HDL-C. The mean coefficient of variation ( CV) across the four systems was calculated for each parameter. Pearson correlation and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) were used to assess correlations between the four HDL-C/LDL-C systems and VAP. Bland-Altman plots were generated to evaluate biases, and deviations were calculated. For parameters with significant deviations, multivariate linear regression and standardized coefficients were used to analyze correlations between biases and lipoprotein subfractions. Based on the Chinese Guidelines for Lipid Management (2023), LDL-C and non-HDL-C treatment goals were categorized into five risk levels (ultra-high, high, moderate, high-risk, and low-risk). VAP results defined LDL-C/non-HDL-C intervals, and the four systems′ concordance in risk classification was evaluated. Samples were grouped into A, B, C, D ( n=63, 62, 62, 62) by TG concentration, and ANOVA, chi-square, and Fisher exact tests assessed intergroup differences. Results:The mean CVs across systems for TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and non-HDL-C were 2.98%, 1.76%, 18.10%, 5.60%, 2.58%, respectively. Pearson correlations between LDL-C results (Beckman, Wako, Mindray, Roche) and VAP were 0.889, 0.854, 0.899, and 0.973; mean relative deviations were 54.8%, 41.0%, 49.3%, and 3.6%; classification accuracies were 6.0% (15/249), 21.3% (53/249), 9.2% (23/249), and 76.7% (191/249). HDL-C deviations were 18.7%, 15.1%, 11.1%, and 8.7%, with correlations ( r) of 0.883, 0.911, 0.959, and 0.950 (all P<0.001). LDL-C means showed no intergroup differences (A-D), but CV increased with TG levels ( P<0.001). HDL-C means and CVs showed no significant intergroup differences. Beckman, Wako, and Mindray LDL-C results exhibited significant positive biases correlated with TG and VLDL-C (multivariate regression; P<0.05); VLDL-C had the strongest influence (standardized coefficients: 0.820, 0.394, 0.813; P<0.001). Non-HDL-C classifications matched VAP in 92.4% (Beckman), 85.9% (Wako), 94.0% (Mindray), and 93.2% (Roche), with no intergroup differences. Conclusion:For high-TG sera, Beckman, Wako, and Mindray LDL-C exhibited significant positive biases correlated with TG and VLDL-C, while Roche LDL-C showed minimal deviation. TG, TC, HDL-C, and non-HDL-C results showed minimal variation across the four systems. All systems demonstrated comparable accuracy for non-HDL-C compared to VAP. The non-HDL-C measured by the four detection systems demonstrates high accuracy and consistency in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk stratification and lipid-lowering goal assessment, and it is unaffected by TG levels.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among Chinese residents, and non-invasive imaging technology has important value in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) can characterize cardiac pathophysiological information from multiple dimensions, including cardiac structure, function, tissue characteristics, and microstructure, through multi parameter and multi sequence " one-stop" imaging. This article will focus on new technologies such as CMRT1 mapping, feature tracking, and diffusion tensor imaging, and explain their applications and progress in the diagnosis, efficacy monitoring, and prognosis prediction of various myocardial lesions such as non ischemic heart disease and ischemic heart disease.

Objective:To apply cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to quantitatively evaluate the morphology and tissue characteristics of thoracic skeletal muscle (TSM) in patients with Danon disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), in order to provide auxiliary differential diagnostic information.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 15 Danon disease patients (Danon disease group) who completed CMR examination, and 15 HCM patients (HCM group) and 15 healthy volunteers (control group) who were matched by gender and age were compared. TSM (pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, erector spinae, and subscapularis) area index (TSMAi), T1 relaxation time of four groups, and extracellular volume (ECV) of skeletal muscles of two groups (pectoralis major and subscapularis) were measured for all subjects. Single factor analysis of variance and KruskalWallis test were used to compare three sets of values.Results:The total TSMAi of the Danon disease group was lower than that of the HCM group and the control group [(15.37±3.28)cm 2/m 2 vs (23.02±3.88)cm 2/m 2 vs (22.33±4.67)cm 2/m 2, P<0.001], and the TSMAi of each TSM was also lower than that of the HCM group and the control group (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in TSMAi between the HCM group and the control group (all P>0.05). The native T1 values of the pectoralis major muscle in the Danon disease group and HCM group were higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The ECV of the pectoralis major muscle and subscapularis muscle in the Danon disease group were higher than those in the HCM group and control group, and the enhanced T1 values were lower than those in the HCM group and control group (all P<0.05); There was no statistically significant difference in ECV and the enhanced T1 values between the HCM group and the control group ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The application of CMR can effectively evaluate the changes in TSM morphology and tissue characteristics in Danon disease patients. Compared with HCM patients, Danon disease patients showed significant atrophy of TSM with increased extracellular volume. CMR provides a quantitative reference for TSM in the differential diagnosis of the two.

Objective:Bone morphogenetic protein-4(BMP4)has been proved to be an important regulatory factor for the pathological process of atherosclerosis(AS).However,there are few related clinical studies.This study aims to investigate the levels of plasma BMP4 in patients suffering from the arterial occlusive diseases(ACD)characterized by AS,and further to test the relationship between BMP4 and inflammation and vascular injury. Methods:A total of 38 ACD patients(the ACD group)and 38 healthy people for the physical examination(the control group)were enrolled.The plasma in each subject from both groups was obtained to test the levels of BMP4,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),IL-10,and vascular endothelial cadherin(VE-cadherin),and the relationship between BMP4 and the detected indicators above were further analyzed. Results:Compared with the control group,the patients in the ACD group displayed significant elevations in the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio[NLR,1.63(1.26,1.91)vs 3.43(2.16,6.61)]and platelet to lymphocyte ratio[PLR,6.37(5.26,7.74)vs 15.79(7.97,20.53)],while decrease in the lymphocyte to monocyte ratio[LMR,5.67(4.41,7.14)vs 3.43(2.07,3.74)](all P<0.05).Besides,the ACD patients displayed significant elevations in plasma BMP4[581.26(389.85,735.64)pg/mL vs 653.97(510.95,890.43)pg/mL],TNF-α[254.16(182.96,340.70)pg/mL vs 293.29(238.90,383.44)pg/mL],and VE-cadherin[1.54(1.08,2.13)ng/mL vs 1.85(1.30,2.54)ng/mL],and decrease in IL-10[175.89(118.39,219.25)pg/mL vs 135.92(95.80,178.04)pg/mL](all P<0.05).While the levels of IL-1β remained statistically comparable between the 2 groups(P=0.09).Furthermore,the plasma BMP4 levels were further revealed to be positively correlated with the levels of IL-1β(r=0.35),TNF-α(r=0.31)and VE-cadherin(r=0.47),while they were negatively correlated with the levels of IL-10(r=-0.37;all P<0.01). Conclusion:After ACD occurrence,the patients'plasma concentrations of BMP4 would be upregulated,which may serve as a candidate to indicate the levels of inflammation and vascular injury.

Purpose To investigate the challenges associ-ated with HER2-low in breast cancer across hospitals of varying regions and grades in China.Drawing on the findings from this investigation,this study will integrate relevant clinical guide-lines,consensus statements,and literature advancements from both domestic and international sources to offer insights for de-veloping guidelines for HER2 detection in Chinese breast cancer cases.Methods The questionnaire implementation method was Tencent WeChat as the carrier and online survey in the form of electronic questionnaire.Results According to the annual HER2 testing results of various medical institutions,compared with HER2 immunohistochemistry(IHC)scores of 3+,HER2 IHC scores of 1+or 2+significantly increased in the proportion range of over 20％(P＜0.001).A total of 854 pathologists provided effective feedback for this survey,55.6％reported dif-ficulties in distinguishing between a score of 0 and 1+in certain cases,primarily due to issues related to staining percentage(83.4％)and the absence of an objective standard for weak staining(78.3％).Regarding testing procedures,417(50.5％)medical institutions used only HER2 IHC 3+as an external control,whereas 139(16.8％)set up a gradient of ex-ternal controls for HER2 IHC scores of 0,1+,2+,and 3+.68.5％of pathologists routinely adhered to the microscope mag-nification rule to assist in HER2 scoring.51.9％of pathologists support a three-category reporting model for HER2 status(nega-tive/low/positive).In cases exhibiting heterogeneity,56.3％of pathologists would accept reporting the percentages of different HER2 scores(0/1+/2+/3+).Conclusion The proportion of breast cancer patients with HER2-low is relatively high in China.Currently,there is no consensus on quality control stand-ards for the pathological diagnosis and testing procedures for HER2-low.Key diagnostic challenges include defining the lower limit of interpretation standards,standardizing testing proce-dures,establishing external controls,refining interpretation methods,and standardizing reporting practices.Given the publi-cation of the DESTINY-Breast06 study results during the revision period,there is an urgent need to develop a new edition of the Chinese guidelines for HER2 testing in breast cancer to provide clearer and more specific strategies.

Purpose To examine the contemporary state of pathological diagnosis for granulomatous lobular mastitis(GLM)in China.Methods Pathologists from across the nation were invited to engage in an online questionnaire survey,which ad-dressed pertinent topics such as the frequency of GLM diagnosis cases,the modalities of pathology reporting,and advancements in etiological research.The collected data were analyzed utili-zing the x2 test or Fisher's exact test.Results A survey of 702 pathologists included 26.9％(189/702)chief physicians,43.3％(304/702)deputy chief physician,26.1％(183/702)attending physicians,and 3.7％(26/702)residents.Partici-pants were from tertiary general hospitals(77.6％,545/702),traditional Chinese medicine hospitals(7.7％,54/702),ma-ternal and child specialty hospitals(6.1％,43/702),and on-cology specialty hospitals(4.0％,28/702).In 2023,there were over 45,000 mastitis diagnoses.A significantly higher per-centage of chief physicians(60.8％,115/189)and deputy chief physicians(52.6％,160/304)could diagnose specific mastitis types compared to attending and resident physicians(x2=23.537,P＜0.001),with"GLM"being the most common diagnosis(55.1％,81/147).In diagnostic work,78.06％(548/702)of pathologists consider patient clinical information,19.2％(135/702)screen specimens for pathogens using special staining,only 6.0％(42/702)of pathologists indicated that their hospitals routinely perform tissue culture for pathogens,with corynebacterium being the most common.Additionally,11.4％(80/702)reported that clinicians regularly test serum sex hormones,most frequently for elevated prolactin,while 7.1％(50/702)check autoimmune status,frequently detecting antibodies without clinical symptoms.Chief physicians had a significantly better understanding of the etiology of GLM com-pared to other physicians(x2=11.969,P=0.003;P=0.007).A majority of pathologists indicated a lack of guidelines for GLM pathology diagnosis(49.4％,347/702)and report standards(76.4％,536/702).Nearly all(97.4％)agreed on the need to establish a consensus for GLM diagnosis.Conclu-sion GLM pathological diagnosis is currently inconsistent and lacks standardization,highlighting the urgent need for a guiding consensus for pathologists.

Purpose To investigate the challenges associ-ated with HER2-low in breast cancer across hospitals of varying regions and grades in China.Drawing on the findings from this investigation,this study will integrate relevant clinical guide-lines,consensus statements,and literature advancements from both domestic and international sources to offer insights for de-veloping guidelines for HER2 detection in Chinese breast cancer cases.Methods The questionnaire implementation method was Tencent WeChat as the carrier and online survey in the form of electronic questionnaire.Results According to the annual HER2 testing results of various medical institutions,compared with HER2 immunohistochemistry(IHC)scores of 3+,HER2 IHC scores of 1+or 2+significantly increased in the proportion range of over 20％(P＜0.001).A total of 854 pathologists provided effective feedback for this survey,55.6％reported dif-ficulties in distinguishing between a score of 0 and 1+in certain cases,primarily due to issues related to staining percentage(83.4％)and the absence of an objective standard for weak staining(78.3％).Regarding testing procedures,417(50.5％)medical institutions used only HER2 IHC 3+as an external control,whereas 139(16.8％)set up a gradient of ex-ternal controls for HER2 IHC scores of 0,1+,2+,and 3+.68.5％of pathologists routinely adhered to the microscope mag-nification rule to assist in HER2 scoring.51.9％of pathologists support a three-category reporting model for HER2 status(nega-tive/low/positive).In cases exhibiting heterogeneity,56.3％of pathologists would accept reporting the percentages of different HER2 scores(0/1+/2+/3+).Conclusion The proportion of breast cancer patients with HER2-low is relatively high in China.Currently,there is no consensus on quality control stand-ards for the pathological diagnosis and testing procedures for HER2-low.Key diagnostic challenges include defining the lower limit of interpretation standards,standardizing testing proce-dures,establishing external controls,refining interpretation methods,and standardizing reporting practices.Given the publi-cation of the DESTINY-Breast06 study results during the revision period,there is an urgent need to develop a new edition of the Chinese guidelines for HER2 testing in breast cancer to provide clearer and more specific strategies.

Purpose To examine the contemporary state of pathological diagnosis for granulomatous lobular mastitis(GLM)in China.Methods Pathologists from across the nation were invited to engage in an online questionnaire survey,which ad-dressed pertinent topics such as the frequency of GLM diagnosis cases,the modalities of pathology reporting,and advancements in etiological research.The collected data were analyzed utili-zing the x2 test or Fisher's exact test.Results A survey of 702 pathologists included 26.9％(189/702)chief physicians,43.3％(304/702)deputy chief physician,26.1％(183/702)attending physicians,and 3.7％(26/702)residents.Partici-pants were from tertiary general hospitals(77.6％,545/702),traditional Chinese medicine hospitals(7.7％,54/702),ma-ternal and child specialty hospitals(6.1％,43/702),and on-cology specialty hospitals(4.0％,28/702).In 2023,there were over 45,000 mastitis diagnoses.A significantly higher per-centage of chief physicians(60.8％,115/189)and deputy chief physicians(52.6％,160/304)could diagnose specific mastitis types compared to attending and resident physicians(x2=23.537,P＜0.001),with"GLM"being the most common diagnosis(55.1％,81/147).In diagnostic work,78.06％(548/702)of pathologists consider patient clinical information,19.2％(135/702)screen specimens for pathogens using special staining,only 6.0％(42/702)of pathologists indicated that their hospitals routinely perform tissue culture for pathogens,with corynebacterium being the most common.Additionally,11.4％(80/702)reported that clinicians regularly test serum sex hormones,most frequently for elevated prolactin,while 7.1％(50/702)check autoimmune status,frequently detecting antibodies without clinical symptoms.Chief physicians had a significantly better understanding of the etiology of GLM com-pared to other physicians(x2=11.969,P=0.003;P=0.007).A majority of pathologists indicated a lack of guidelines for GLM pathology diagnosis(49.4％,347/702)and report standards(76.4％,536/702).Nearly all(97.4％)agreed on the need to establish a consensus for GLM diagnosis.Conclu-sion GLM pathological diagnosis is currently inconsistent and lacks standardization,highlighting the urgent need for a guiding consensus for pathologists.