1.Pre-operative risk assessment of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence in liver transplant recipients by non-invasive detection of pre-existing genetic lesions
Suqin YANG ; Sunbin LING ; Jianhua LI ; Yan WANG ; Jiapei WANG ; Qiwei HUANG ; Fanming LIU ; Yiqi ZHUANG ; Yingyu ZHENG ; Rui WANG ; Zhe YANG ; Xiaoping ZHENG ; Kai WANG ; Zhikun LIU ; Jun CHEN ; Jianguo WANG ; Haiyang XIE ; Lin ZHOU ; Leiming CHEN ; Guoqiang CAO ; Dandan CHEN ; Junfang JI ; Bin ZHAO ; Chao JIANG ; Di LU ; Xuyong WEI ; Hangjin JIANG ; Qiaonan SHAN ; Hengbo SHI ; Yong-Zhen XU ; Shusen ZHENG ; Zhengxin WANG ; Shengda LIN ; Xiao XU
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology 2026;32(2):884-903
Background/Aims:
Liver transplantation (LT) following total hepatectomy is a life-saving treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The HCC recurrence after LT hinders the effectiveness of the procedure. The objective of this study is to develop a pre-operative risk stratification model based on a liquid biopsy.
Methods:
We conducted a comprehensive multi-omics study of 260 HCC patients from three centers, including clinical data, low-coverage whole-genome sequencing of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from plasma, as well as whole-exome, single-nucleus RNA, and spatial transcriptomics from matched tumor and non-tumor tissues.
Results:
We identified cfDNA-derived copy number alteration (CNA) signatures associated with post-transplant recurrence. By integrating cfDNA-derived CNA profiles with single-cell transcriptomic data, we traced recurrence-associated cfDNA to a distinct subpopulation of malignant cells within the primary tumor. These cells were embedded in a pro-metastatic microenvironment of specialized endothelial subtypes and cancer-associated fibroblasts. Notably, most recurrence-associated lesions were detectable in cfDNA prior to liver transplantation (LT). Building on these insights, we developed the ZJU Criteria based on CNA fragments and tumor markers, a pre-LT risk prediction tool that integrates conventional clinical factors with cfDNA-derived CNA signatures, and validated it using internal and independent external cohorts.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that post-transplant recurrence commonly originates from advanced subclones that emerge late during tumor evolution. The ZJU Criteria provides an accurate, non-invasive strategy that significantly improves pre-LT risk stratification and clinical decision-making for patients with HCC.
2.Effects of gene polymorphisms on the efficacy of tofacitinib combined with iguratimod in the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis
Jun SHI ; Yang ZHAO ; Rongxue HU ; Shanshan LIU ; Bin JIA ; Jianping XU ; Peihua TIAN
China Pharmacy 2026;37(17):2286-2291
OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of MIR149 rs2292832 and MIR499 rs3746444 gene polymorphisms on the efficacy of tofacitinib combined with iguratimod in the treatment of moderate‑to‑severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), to provide genetic reference for individualized treatment of moderate‑to‑severe RA patients.METHODS This was a prospective cohort study, and patients were grouped according to genotyping results. A total of 320 patients with moderate-to-severe RA diagnosed in the department of immunology of our hospital between January 2023 and January 2024 were enrolled. All patients received standardized treatment with tofacitinib (5 mg twice daily) combined with iguratimod (25 mg twice daily) for 24 weeks treatment course. Clinical efficacy outcomes, including American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20/50/70 responses, disease activity score‑28 based on C‑reactive protein (DAS28-CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), were compared among patients with different genotypes. Combined-genotype analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were also performed.RESULTS The MIR149 rs2292832 CC-genotype patients exhibited significantly higher ACR20, ACR50 and ACR70 response rates (88.90%, 67.78%, 45.56%) than those carrying CT- and TT-genotypes ( P <0.05). After 24 weeks treatment, the reductions in DAS28‑CRP, ESR and CRP were significantly greater in CC‑genotype patients than in CT‑ and TT‑genotype patients ( P <0.05), and the 24‑week DAS28‑CRP was significantly lower in the CC‑genotype patients than in CT‑ and TT‑genotype patients ( P <0.05). The MIR499 rs3746444 GG-genotype showed significantly higher ACR20, ACR50 and ACR70 response rates (91.46%, 73.17%, 52.44%) than those carrying AG‑ and AA‑genotypes ( P <0.05). After 24 weeks of treatment, the reductions in DAS28‑CRP, ESR and CRP were significantly greater in GG‑genotype patients than in AG- and AA-genotype patients and the 24‑weeks DAS28‑CRP was significantly lower in the GG‑genotype patients than in AG- and AA-genotype patients ( P <0.05). Among the nine combined‑genotyps, the CC+GG genotype yielded the best treatment response. The MIR149 rs2292832 CC and MIR499 rs3746444 GG genotypes were independent predictors of clinical remission ( P <0.01), whereas baseline DAS28‑CRP ≥ 6.5 served as a negative predictor of clinical remission ( P <0.05).CONCLUSIONS Gene polymorphisms of MIR149 rs2292832 and MIR499 rs3746444 significantly influence the therapeutic effect of tofacitinib combined with iguratimod in patients with moderate-to-severe RA. Patients carrying CC and GG genotypes achieve better treatment responses.
3.Construction and validation of a machine learning-based risk assessment model for post-transplant diabetes mellitus
Hao WANG ; Yongqiang FAN ; Zhiyong SHI ; Rui ZHANG ; Yan WANG ; Jun XU
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(8):1894-1901
ObjectiveTo construct and validate a risk assessment model for post-transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) using multiple machine learning algorithms, and to realize the early identification of PTDM. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of the patients who underwent allogeneic liver transplantation in The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024, and they were randomly divided into a training set and a validation set at a ratio of 7∶3. The LASSO regression analysis combined with 5-fold cross-validation was used for feature selection. Seven machine learning models were developed in the training set, i.e., logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT), Naive Bayes (NB), random forest (RF), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and adaptive boosting (AdaBoost). In the validation set, various methods were used to assess the predictive performance of each model, such as accuracy, precision, recall rate, specificity, F1 score, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), and area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC). The Brier score and decision curve analysis were used to assess the calibration and clinical practicability of the models, and the SHAP method was used to analyze feature importance. The independent-samples t test or the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups, and the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. ResultsA total of 135 liver transplant recipients were enrolled, among whom 26 developed PTDM, and there were 94 patients in the training set and 41 in the validation set. Feature extraction and screening identified 7 key features of sex, overweight or obesity, anhepatic phase, time of operation, length of hospital stay, early postoperative hypomagnesemia, and impaired fasting glucose (IFG). In the validation set, the XGBoost model showed the best predictive performance, with an AUROC of 0.907 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.807 — 0.989), an AUPRC of 0.649 (95%CI: 0.339 — 0.955), an accuracy of 0.878, a precision of 0.667, a recall rate of 0.750, an F1-score of 0.706, a specificity of 0.909, and a Brier score of 0.104. The decision curve analysis showed that when the threshold probability was below 0.667, application of the XGBoost model in clinical decision-making provided relatively high net benefit. The SHAP analysis showed that the length of hospital stay ranked first in terms of feature importance, followed by time of operation, overweight or obesity, sex, IFG, anhepatic phase, and early postoperative hypomagnesemia. ConclusionThe risk assessment model for PTDM in liver transplant recipients based on XGBoost algorithm has excellent performance and can effectively identify high-risk individuals; however, multicenter large-sample data are needed for further validation.
4.Risk factors for chronic critical illness of patients with septic shock in the ICU
Maiqing SHI ; Fuhai JI ; Yang WANG ; Xu WANG ; Yu YAN ; Qinghong HUANG ; Jun CHEN
Chongqing Medicine 2025;54(5):1143-1146,1150
Objective To analyze the risk factors for the development of chronic critical illness(CCI)in septic shock patients in the intensive care unit(ICU).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 102 sepsis shock patients admitted to the ICU of the hospital from August 2018 to May 2023.According to their clinical dates,they were divided into CCI group(n=60)and rapid recovery(RR)group(n=42).Multi-ple logistic regression analysis was perform to identify independent risk factors for developing CCI in septic shock patients,and construct their receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves to evaluate their predictive value for CCI.Results The prolonged duration of hypernatremia(OR=1.770,95%CI:1.147-2.731,P=0.010)and low acute physiology and chronic health(APACHEⅡ)scores(OR=1.212,95%CI:1.025-1.433,P=0.025)were independent risk factors for CCI in ICU septic shock patients.The occurrence of acute gastrointestinal injury(OR=0.060,95%CI:0.011-0.341,P=0.002)and peak blood sodium levels during ICU(OR=0.812,95%CI:0.662-0.995,P=0.044)were protective factors.Conclusion For septic shock pa-tients,special attention should be paid to its related independent risk factors and protective factors to improve the prognosis of septic shock patients.
5.Thoughts and Practices on the Development of Forensic Medicine Discipline in the Perspective of Building a Regional High-Level Medical University
Guang CHEN ; Rong-Shuai WANG ; Li SU ; Yue ZHANG ; Xue-Xia LIU ; Shi-Yong FANG ; Zhan-Zhan LIU ; Ya-Jun XU ; Xiang XU
Journal of Forensic Medicine 2025;41(1):35-39
Under the background of forensic medicine becoming a first-level discipline,the opportuni-ties and challenges of discipline development coexist.Starting from the actual situation and characteris-tics of local medical colleges and universities,this paper discusses the problems and solutions for the development of forensic medicine discipline from the perspective of building a regional high-level medical university.Combined with the experiences of carrying out forensic medicine education in our college,this paper supplies our thoughts and practices on improving the discipline system,enhancing the ability to serve society,perfecting the talent cultivation model and promoting forensic culture,to provide reference and inspiration for the development of forensic medicine in other universities,jointly promote the advancement of forensic medicine in China to a new stage,and contribute the wisdom and strength of forensic medical experts to the construction of a law-based China,a safe China and a healthy China.
6.Disinfection effect of periodic hypochlorous acid on water supply pipeline and metagenomic next-generation sequencing for water specimens
Hong ZHOU ; Xiaodong GAO ; Meixia WANG ; Mengzhu ZHANG ; Jun YANG ; Jing ZHUANG ; Hua XU ; Wei SUN ; Qingfeng SHI
Chinese Journal of Infection Control 2025;24(9):1244-1249
Objective To explore the disinfection effect of periodic hypochlorous acid infusion on water supply pipelines.Methods Water specimens from 6 water outlets of central sterile supply department were collected at baseline for microbial culture.After introducing a slightly acidic hypochlorous acid water generator,water speci-mens were collected every 10 days.Continuous disinfection with hypochlorous acid was carried out on the 1st-3rd day,and discontinued on the 4th-10th day.Water specimens of 6 water outlets were collected on the 1st,4th,7th,and 10th day of each cycle,in total 3 cycles.Microbial culture and metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS)analysis were conducted simultaneously on all water specimens from the outlets of the endoscope cleaning tank.Results Before disinfection of the pipeline,a total of 18 bottles of water specimens were collected.Bacterial count of water specimens from 10 bottles(55.56%)was between 102 and 104 CFU/mL,mainly Sphingomonas ad-hesins and Bacillus cereus.After disinfection,only 2 out of 72 water specimens(2.78%)exceeded the bacterial lim-it.The mNGS results showed that three most dominant bacterial genera in the pre-disinfection water specimens were Sphingomonas,Methylobacterium,and Ralstonia,with stringent mapped reads number(SMRN)ranging from 10 000 to 100 000;while the most dominant bacterial genera in post-disinfection water specimens were Lacto-baci-llus,Ralstonia,Acinetobacter,and Bradyrhizobium.PCoA analysis showed that there was a statistically sig-nificant difference in β-diversity of water specimens before and after disinfection(P<0.05).Conclusion Periodic hypochlorous acid infusion disinfection can effectively remove bacterial biofilms in water pipelines,but there is a risk of bacterial biofilm recovery during disinfection suspension.In the future,monitoring and management of medical water should be strengthened.
7.EIF5A2 promotes epithelial mesenchymal transition in intrahepatic chol-angiocarcinoma cells through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
Shao-hua YANG ; Yong-ping XU ; Zhuo-yu ZHAO ; Shi-bo ZHANG ; Xing-bao FANG ; Zhou-jun LIAO
Chinese Journal of Current Advances in General Surgery 2025;28(10):757-762
Objective:To investigate the the differential expression of EIF5A2 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cell lines RBE,HCCC9810,and HUCCT1,and its effects on HCCC9810 cell migration and invasion,epithelial mesenchymal transition,and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.Methods:The differential expression of EIF5A2 in RBE,HCCC9810,and HUCCT1 cell lines was detected using WB method.The HCCC9810 cell line,with the highest expression of EIF5A2,was selected for this experiment.The expression of EIF5A2 in HCCC9810 cell line was silenced by transient transfection of small interfering RNA.The best silencing effect of small interfering RNA was screened by WB.Scratch assay and Tran-swell migration invasion assay were used to detect the effect of silencing EIF5A2 on the migration and invasion ability of HCCC9810 cells.WB was used to detect the effect of silencing EIF5A2 on PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and epithelial mesenchymal transition in HCCC9810 cells.Results:The WB results showed that EIF5A2 had the highest expression in the HCCC9810 cell line,and siRNA1 had the best silencing effect on EIF5A2 in the HCCC9810 cell line.Scratch assay and Transwell migration invasion assay results showed that silencing EIF5A2 in the HCCC9810 cell line resulted in a decrease in cell invasion and metastasis ability(P<0.05).At the same time,the expression of p-PI3K and p-AKT in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was significantly decreased(P<0.05),while the epithelial cell marker E-cadherin expression increased(P<0.05)and the stromal cell marker N-cadherin expression decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion:EIF5A2 may promote epi-thelial mesenchymal transition and enhance the migration and invasion ability of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cells through the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
8.Association between dietary behavior and type 2 diabetes in the older adults aged 65 years and over in 18 longevity areas of China
Xuehua HU ; Yue CHEN ; Zenghang ZHANG ; Chen CHEN ; Yingli QU ; Xi MENG ; Jun WANG ; Zinan XU ; Zheng LI ; Sixin LIU ; Wenhui SHI ; Zhanhong XUE ; Fanye LONG ; Xiaoming SHI ; Yuebin LYU
Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine 2025;59(5):588-596
Objective:To explore the impact of plant and animal dietary behaviors on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in older adults aged ≥65 in 18 longevity areas of China.Methods:The subjects were 5 223 older adults over 65 years old from the Healthy Ageing and Biomarkers Cohort Study (HABCS) in 18 longevity areas in China. Through a questionnaire survey and physical examination, information about their demographic characteristics, lifestyles, daily activities, self-health status, current diseases, and fasting venous blood were collected. Food Frequency and Questionnaire (FFQ) was used to collect data on food intake frequency. Based on the prior method, the plant-based diet index (PDI) and animal-based diet index (ADI) of 5 223 older adults were calculated. Subjects were divided into three groups (low-level group: PDI<39 or ADI<31, middle-level group: 39≤PDI≤42 or 31≤ADI≤34, high-level group: PDI>42 or ADI>34) by tertiles of PDI and ADI. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between PDI and ADI and the risk of T2DM.Results:The average age of 5 223 subjects was (84.8±11.5) years, with the median ( Q1, Q3) of PDI about 41(38, 43) and the median ( Q1, Q3) of ADI about 33 (30, 35). The prevalence rate of T2DM was 16.41% (857/5 223). After adjusting for covariates, multivariate logistic regression showed that PDI was negatively associated with T2DM. Compared with the low-level group, the OR (95% CI) for T2DM in the high-level group was 0.83 (0.69-0.99). ADI was positively associated with T2DM, and compared with the low-level group, the OR (95% CI) for T2DM in the high-level group was 1.28 (1.06-1.55). For every one-point increase in PDI and ADI, the risk of T2DM decreased by 2% and increased by 3%, respectively, with the OR (95% CI) of 0.98 (0.96-1.00) and 1.03 (1.01-1.06), respectively. Conclusion:In Chinese older adults ≥65 years in 18 longevity areas, higher adherence to the plant-based behavior may be negatively associated with the risk of T2DM, while higher adherence to the animal-based behavior may be positively associated with the risk of T2DM.
9.HPV and male urinary system tumors:Progress in research
Shi-yi XU ; Jun YIN ; Kun ZHANG ; Hao-li YIN
National Journal of Andrology 2025;31(3):252-257
Human papilloma virus(HPV),a cancer-causing DNA virus,is a most common sexually transmitted virus and one of the major public health problems worldwide currently.Although HPV infection is relatively common in men,routine HPV detection is still difficult to be applied in clinical practice due to the lack of standard HPV detection methods and the complexity of its detection.Recent studies have explored the relationship between HPV and genitourinary tumors,revealed different results because of geographic differences,histological subtypes and detection methods,and stressed the importance of clarifying the role of HPV in the development and progression of genitourinary tumors.This review focuses on the complicated relationship of HPV with male genitourinary tumors,reveals its main carcinogenic mechanisms,and presents a new insight into the impact of HPV on the genitourinary system.
10.Performance evaluation of AI-enabled blood cell morphology system for peripheral blood smear and application in grading screening network of primary medical care system
Xiaobing SUN ; Gusheng TANG ; Kaiying YUAN ; Duanqin DIAO ; Jun HU ; Xiaoyuan SHI ; Hao YUAN ; Anmei WANG ; Yan FANG ; Liqin JIANG ; Xueliang QIN ; Chun XU ; Qi HOU ; Jiong WU
Chinese Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science 2025;43(4):246-252
Objective To evaluate the recognition capability of AI-enabled Cellsee CS-BM1 automatic cell morphology analyzer for pe-ripheral blood smears and its roles in assisting manual classification,and explore the application value of AI system in the diagnosis network of tiered primary medical units.Methods The blood samples which triggered the re-examination rules were collected from six primary medical units,including the Laboratory Department of Shanghai Jiahui International Hospital,and so on,from March to No-vember 2023.The smears of peripheral blood were prepared and AI analyzer was used for pre-classification to evaluate its recognition performance in identifying the samples with abnormal WBC and RBC.The sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of WBC classification by six junior and intermediate technicians,both with and without AI assistance,were analyzed.Additionally,the roles of the AI system in tiered diagnosis of primary medical units were also evaluated.Results The sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of AI system in recognizing malignant primitive cells were 92.86%,95.16%,and 95.10%,respectively.The sensitivities of AI system in recognizing immature granulocytes,reactive lymphocytes,and nucleated RBCs were all greater than 90%.The sensitivity of AI system in identif-ying abnormal morphology of RBCs reached 99.59%,along with rapid quantitative analysis for various anomalous types of RBCs.In AI-assisted mode,the sensitivity of recognition for all cell types was improved to varying degrees by junior and intermediate technicians,and the sensitivity for recognizing malignant primitive cells,reactive lymphocytes,and immature granulocytes increased to 58.24%,53.39%,and 62.37%for junior technicians,and to 92.06%,83.24%,and 83.12%for intermediate technicians,respectively.The improvements for junior technicians were particularly significant,with increases of 12.46%,10.61%,and 3.71%for each cell type,respectively.Both groups achieved higher specificity and accuracy.Through AI pre-classification and manual review,a variety of pe-ripheral blood cell-related diseases were accurately diagnosed in the tiered healthcare practice of primary medical units,including 339 cases(11.13%)of red blood cell diseases,5 cases(0.16%)of platelet diseases,2 343 cases(76.90%)of infection-related disea-ses,and 28 cases(0.92%)of malignant hematological diseases.In addition,332 cases(10.90%)which lacked an obvious related cause or required further examinations were identified as well.Conclusion AI pre-classification has demonstrated strong cell recogni-tion capabilities and may assist technicians in improving the sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of blood cell classification.AI could en-hance the disease-screening capabilities in the tiered diagnosis network of primary medical units,presenting a broad application prospect.

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