1.Pregnancy and the disease recurrence of patients previously treated for differentiated thyroid cancer: A systematic review and meta analysis
Rui SHAN ; Xin LI ; Ming TAO ; Wucai XIAO ; Jing CHEN ; Fang MEI ; Shibing SONG ; Bangkai SUN ; Chunhui YUAN ; Zheng LIU
Chinese Medical Journal 2024;137(5):547-555
Background::Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is commonly diagnosed in women of child-bearing age, but whether pregnancy influences the prognosis of DTC remains controversial. This study aimed to summarize existing evidence regarding the association of pregnancy with recurrence risk in patients previously treated for DTC.Methods::We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus based on the prespecified protocol registered at PROSPERO (CRD42022367896). After study selection, two researchers independently extracted data from the included studies. For quantitative data synthesis, we used random-effects meta-analysis models to pool the proportion of recurrence (for pregnant women only) and odds ratio (OR; comparing the risk of recurrence between the pregnancy group and the nonpregnancy group), respectively. Then we conducted subgroup analyses to explore whether risk of recurrence differed by response to therapy status or duration of follow-up time. We also assessed quality of the included studies.Results::A total of ten studies were included. The sample size ranged from 8 to 235, with participants’ age at pregnancy or delivery ranging from 28 to 35 years. The follow-up time varied from 0.1 to 36.0 years. The pooled proportion of recurrence in all pregnant patients was 0.13 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.06-0.25; I2: 0.58). Among six included studies reporting response to therapy status before pregnancy, we observed a trend for increasingly higher risk of recurrence from excellent, indeterminate, and biochemically incomplete to structurally incomplete response to therapy ( Ptrend <0.05). The pooled risk of recurrence in the pregnancy group showed no evidence of a significant difference from that in the nonpregnancy group (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.45-1.23; I2: 0). The difference in follow-up time (below/above five years) was not associated with either the proportion of recurrence in all pregnant patients ( P >0.05) or the OR of recurrence in studies with a comparison group ( P >0.05). Two included studies that focused on patients with distant metastasis also did not show a significant difference in disease recurrence between pregnancy and nonpregnancy groups (OR: 0.51 [95% CI: 0.14-1.87; I2: 59%]). Conclusion::In general, pregnancy appears to have a minimal association with the disease recurrence of DTC with initial treatment. Clinicians should pay more attention to progression of DTC among pregnant women with biochemical and/or structural persistence.Registration::PROSPERO, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/; No. CRD42022367896.
2.Identification of potential immune-related mechanisms related to the development of multiple myeloma
Yaomei WANG ; Wenli ZHANG ; Tiandong LI ; Mengmeng LIU ; Mengya GAO ; Xinqing LI ; Yufei CHEN ; Yongping SONG ; Wei LI ; Chunyan DU ; Fang WANG ; Lina LIU
Chinese Medical Journal 2024;137(13):1603-1613
Background::Although significant advances have been made in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), leading to unprecedented response and survival rates among patients, the majority eventually relapse, and a cure remains elusive. This situation is closely related to an incomplete understanding of the immune microenvironment, especially monocytes/macrophages in patients with treatment-na?ve MM. The aim of this study was to provide insight into the immune microenvironment, especially monocytes/macrophages, in patients with treatment-na?ve MM.Methods::This study used the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data of both patients with MM and heathy donors to identify immune cells, including natural killer (NK) cells, T cells, dendritic cells (DCs), and monocytes/macrophages. Transcriptomic data and flow cytometry analysis of monocytes/macrophages were used to further examine the effect of monocytes/macrophages in treatment-na?ve MM patients.Results::A significant difference was observed between the bone marrow (BM) immune cells of the healthy controls and treatment-na?ve MM patients through scRNA-seq. It is noteworthy that, through an scRNA-seq data analysis, this study found that interferon (IFN)-induced NK/T cells, terminally differentiated effector memory (TEMRA) cells, T-helper cells characterized by expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISG +Th cells), IFN-responding exhausted T cells, mannose receptor C-type 1 (MRC1) + DCs, IFN-responding DCs, MHCII + DCs, and immunosuppressive monocytes/macrophages were enriched in patients with treatment-na?ve MM. Significantly, transcriptomic data of monocytes/macrophages demonstrated that "don’t eat me" -related genes and IFN-induced genes increase in treatment-na?ve MM patients. Furthermore, scRNA-seq, transcriptomic data, and flow cytometry also showed an increased proportion of CD16 + monocytes/macrophages and expression level of CD16. Cell-cell communication analysis indicated that monocytes/macrophages, whose related important signaling pathways include migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and interleukin 16 (IL-16) signaling pathway, are key players in treatment-na?ve MM patients. Conclusions::Our findings provide a comprehensive and in-depth molecular characterization of BM immune cell census in MM patients, especially for monocytes/macrophages. Targeting macrophages may be a novel treatment strategy for patients with MM.
3.Exploration of the Mechanism of Toddalia asiatica in the Treatment of Ischemic Stroke:Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
Jian-Hong GAO ; Dan YANG ; Gang WANG ; Tian-Ying SONG ; Fang-Yu ZHAO ; Xian-Bing CHEN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(7):1375-1383
Aim This study aims to investigate the therapeutic effect and underlying mechanism of Todda-lia asiatica in the treatment of ischemic stroke(IS),utilizing network pharmacology,molecular docking technology,and animal experiments.Methods To screen the chemical components of Toddalia asiatica and its targets related to IS,a database was utilized.A protein-protein interaction(PPI)network was con-structed,followed by KEGG pathway enrichment anal-ysis.Molecular docking was performed to investigate the interaction between the components and target pro-teins.Finally,the effects of the drug on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and autophagy were validated through animal experiments.We established a middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)rat model and di-vided the rats into the model group,Donepezil hydro-chloride group,Toddalia asiatica group,and sham op-eration group randomly.Observed the pathological changes in neurons of the rat hippocampal and cortical regions induced by the drug,performed immunohisto-chemical analysis to detect and localize mTOR expres-sion,and used Western blot to assess the expression levels of PI3K,p-PI3K,AKT,p-AKT,mTOR,as well as autophagy markers(LC3-Ⅱ and p62).Re-sults A total of 22 active ingredients from Toddalia asiatica,including AKT1 and MAPK3,were identified through screening.Additionally,194 signaling path-ways,such as PI3K/AKT and MAPK,were analyzed.The active compounds in Toddalia asiatica demonstra-ted stable binding affinity with targets associated with ischemic stroke.The results of the animal experiment indicated that,compared to the sham-operated group,the neuronal distribution in the hippocampal and corti-cal regions of the model group rats became sparser and more disorganized.There was a decrease in the number of Nissl bodies and cytoplasmic vacuolization.The ex-pression of mTOR-positive cells in the hippocampal and cortical regions was reduced.Additionally,the ex-pression levels of p-PI3K,p-AKT,mTOR,and p62 in the rat hippocampal tissue decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the expression of LC3-Ⅱ increased(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the rats in the Toddalia asiatica and the Donepezil hydrochloride groups effectively improved the aforementioned indica-tors in rats.Conclusions Network pharmacology a-nalysis has revealed the promising potential of Toddalia asiatica in treating ischemic stroke,attributed to its di-verse components,targets,and pathways.The animal experiment showed that Toddalia asiatica can protect the neuronal structure in the hippocampal and cortical regions,which may be related to the inhibition of ex-cessive autophagy mediated by the PI3 K/AKT/mTOR pathway.
4.Total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii maxim alleviates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting ferroptosis through Keap-1/Nrf2/HO-1 and Nrf2/SLC7A11/GPX4 pathways
Jian-Hong GAO ; Tian-Ying SONG ; Chao-Xi TIAN ; Fang-Yu ZHAO ; Yi-Duo HE ; Xin LIU ; Xian-Bing CHEN
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(10):1850-1857
Aim To examine the neuroprotective im-pacts of total saponins from Trillium tschonoskii maxim(TST)on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury(CIRI)in rats and delve into the mechanisms of ferroptosis.Methods The CIRI model was prepared by dividing male SD rats into the model group,TST(0.1 g·kg-1)group,Donepezil hydrochloride(0.45 mg·kg-1)group,and sham group.The cognitive functions of rats in each group were assessed through the Morris water maze test,the changes in neurological function were evaluated using the Zea-Longa method,the infarct area was observed via TTC staining,and the pathologi-cal alterations in brain tissue were analysed using HE and Nissl staining.To further investigate the underly-ing mechanism,the mitochondrial structural changes were examined using transmission electron microscopy,and the levels of GSH-PX,MDA,and SOD were ana-lyzed.Additionally,the expressions of GPX4 and Nrf2 proteins were evaluated through immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence.Furthermore,the protein lev-els of Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 and Nrf2/SLC7A11/GPX4 pathways in rats were examined using Western blot-ting.Results The rats in the model group displayed diminished learning and memory capabilities in com-parison to those in the sham group,as well as a signifi-cantly increased cerebral infarction area and higher neurological function scores(P<0.01),significantly increased cerebral infarct area,disordered and loosely arranged neurons,and reduced Nissl bodies.Addition-ally,mitochondria showed typical signs of ferroptosis.Changes related to ferroptosis included decreased activ-ities of SOD and GSH-PX(P<0.01)and increased MDA levels(P<0.01).The expression of GPX4 and Nrf2-positive cells was significantly reduced,along with decreased fluorescence intensity of GPX4.Further-more,the protein expression of Keap1,Nrf2,HO-1,GPX4,SLC7A11 in the hippocampus decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01).Following the administration of TST,these effects showed improvement.Conclusions TST has neuroprotective effects,enhancing learning and memory abilities while reducing oxidative stress levels.The mechanism may involve the inhibition of ferroptosis through the Keap-1/Nrf2/HO-1 and Nrf2/SLC7 A11/GPX4 pathways.
5.Exploration of mechanism of action of tretinoin polyglucoside in rats with IgA nephropathy based on mitochondrial dynamics
Yan-Min FAN ; Shou-Lin ZHANG ; Hong FANG ; Xu WANG ; Han-Shu JI ; Ji-Chang BU ; Ke SONG ; Chen-Chen CHEN ; Ying DING ; Chun-Dong SONG
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(11):2069-2074
Aim To investigate the effects of multi-gly-cosides of Tripterygium wilfordii(GTW)on mitochon-drial dynamics-related proteins and the mechanism of nephroprotective effects in IgA nephrophathy(IgAN)rats.Methods SPF grade male SD rats were random-ly divided into the Control group,modelling group,prednisone group(6.25 mg·kg·d-1)and GTW group(6.25 mg·kg·d-1).The IgAN rat model was established by the method of"bovine serum albumin(BSA)+carbon tetrachloride(CCl4)+lipopolysac-charide(LPS)".The total amount of urinary protein(24 h-UTP)and erythrocyte count in urine were meas-ured in 24 h urine.Blood biochemistry of serum albu-min(ALB),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),urea ni-trogen(BUN),and creatinine(Scr)were measured in abdominal aorta of the rats;immunofluorescence and HE staining were used to observe the histopathology of the kidneys;RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of key proteins regulating mitochondrial division and fu-sion:dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1),mitochondrial fusion protein 1(Mfn1),and mitochondrial fusion pro-tein 2(Mfn2),and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1(Pink1),in the kidney tissue of rats.Results GTW significantly reduced urinary erythrocyte count and 24 h-UTP,decreased serum ALT,BUN and Scr levels,in-creased serum ALB levels,improved renal histopatho-logical status in IgAN rats,increased the protein and mRNA expression levels of Mfn1,Mfn2,and Pink1,and decreased the protein and mRNA expression levels of Drp1 in renal tissues.Conclusions GTW may regu-late mitochondrial structure and maintain the dynamic balance of mitochondrial dynamics by promoting the ex-pression of Mfn1,Mfn2,Pink1 and decreasing Drp1.This may result in a reduction in urinary erythrocyte counts and proteinuria,and an improvement in renal function.
6.Effects of Tripterygium glycosides tablets on LIGHT-HVEM/LTβR pathway in rats with IgA nephropathy
Xu WANG ; Hong FANG ; Yan-Min FAN ; Han-Shu JI ; Ke SONG ; Chen-Chen CHEN ; Ji-Chang BU ; Ying DING ; Chun-Dong SONG
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(12):2277-2282
Aim To explore the mechanism of action of Tripterygium glycosides tablets on kidney of rats with IgA nephropathy based on inflammation-related path-ways.Methods Forty-five male SD rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into control group and modeling group.In addition to the blank group,the modeling group used the combination of bovine serum albumin(BSA)+carbon tetrachloride(CC14)+lipopolysac-charide(LPS)to establish the IgA nephropathy rat model.Successfully modeled rats were randomly divid-ed into the model group,the prednisone group and Tripterygium glycosides tablets group,and the treat-ment group was given the drug by gavage from the 13 th week,and the 24 hours urine,blood and kidney tis-sues of the rats were collected and examined after 4 weeks of the administration of the drug.Urine erythro-cyte count,quantitative 24-h urine protein(24 h-UTP),urea nitrogen(BUN),and blood creatinine(Scr)were detected in each group;serum interleukin 1β(IL-1β)and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(Elisa);the pathological changes in the renal tissues of the rats in each group were observed by horizontal hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining;and the renal tis-sues in each group were observed by Western blotting.The expressions of LIGHT,HVEM,LTβR proteins and their mRNAs in rat kidney tissue were detected by Western blot and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results Tripterygium glycosides tablets significantly reduced the levels of urinary erythrocyte count,24 h-UTP,BUN,and Scr in IgA nephropathy rats(P<0.01),improved renal histopathology,lowered the levels of se-rum inflammatory factors IL-1β and TNF-α(P<0.01),and lowered the levels of LIGHT,HVEM,LTβR proteins and their mRNA expression in renal tis-sues(P<0.01).Conclusions Tripterygium glyco-sides tablets may inhibit the immune response and re-duce the release of inflammatory factors by down-regu-lating the LIGHT-HVEM/LT(3R pathway,thus reduc-ing the inflammatory response,lowering the urinary e-rythrocytes and urinary proteins,improving the renal nephron pathologic injury,and protecting the renal function.
7.Bilateral coronary artery-right ventricular fistula with rare huge tortuosity entering the same site:case report
Wei-Song TANG ; Rong-Li XU ; Xing-Jiu CAI ; Xiao-Li FANG ; Guan-Liang CHEN ; Hai-Rong LI
Chinese Journal of Interventional Cardiology 2024;32(4):236-240
Coronary artery fistula(CAF)is defined as the direct connection between coronary artery and cardiac cavity,great vessel or other vascular structures.Most CAF are congenital and often present as persistent murmur in asymptomatic children.Although abnormal shunt of most coronary fistulas has little effect on hemodynamics,some larger fistulas can also lead to a series of complications,such as congestive heart failure.Therefore,closed CAF has been recommended to treat or prevent myocardial ischemia,congestive heart failure,endarteritis,arrhythmia,thromboembolism,aneurysm dilatation and rupture and other complications.CAF is a rare congenital heart disease,and bilateral CAF originating from two coronary arteries is even rarer.At present,there are rare systematic reports on bilateral CAF.Therefore,a case of huge bilateral CAF at the same site was reported,and systematically,this kind of case was summarized,so as to improve the clinical attention of diagnosis and treatment of this kind of CAF.Nowadays,some new interventional devices and technologies are emerging with the continuous progress of cardiovascular interventional technology,making the treatment more accurate,safe and effective.At the same time,there is also a clearer understanding of the indications and operating standards for interventional treatment,which is more operable and predictable during the treatment process.Therefore,interventional treatment of CAF may partially replace surgical treatment as the preferred treatment method.
8.Species identification of hard ticks and molecular survey of Ana plasma in partial areas of Anhui Province
Xue ZHAO ; Khakhane LERATO ; Wan-Qing LU ; Xin-Yun WU ; Fang-Fei SONG ; Yu XIN ; Ying-Ying ZHANG ; Chen XING ; Ke-Han XU ; Mao-Zhang HE ; Yan LIU
Chinese Journal of Zoonoses 2024;40(4):302-307
The distribution of Ixodes and Ana plasma carried by Ixodes ticks in Anhui Province was clarified as reference for prevention and control of anaplasmosis.In total,630 hard ticks were collected from Jinzhai County,Hanshan County,Jing-de County and Chaohu City in Anhui Province from April to August 2023.Ticks were identified by morphological analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing.Nested PCR with Anaplasma species-specific primers were used to detect 16S rRNA of Anaplasma spe-cies carried by ticks.A phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA11.0 software.Of the identified ticks,18.8%(18/96)were Rhipicephalus microplus and 81.2%(78/96)were Haemaphysalis longicorni in Jinzhai County of Anhui Province,all were H.longicorni in Hanshan County and Chaohu City,while the main species in Jingde County was R.microplus.The posi-tive rate of Anaplasma carried by H.longicornis was 30.9%(102/330),which included A.bovis at 1.8%(6/330),A.phagocytophilum at 21.8%(72/330)and uncultured Anaplasma species at 7.3%(24/330).R.microplus was positively cor-related to A.bovis(13.6%,18/132).The uncultured Anaplasma species was mainly detected in host-free ticks.A.phagocy-tophilum was detected in 24.4%of parasitic ticks and 15.8%of host-free ticks.The positive rates of host-free and parasitic ticks were 19.9%and 17.8%,respectively.These results show that H.longicornis and R.microplus were the dominant ticks in several counties of Anhui Province.H.longicornis and R.microplus as well as free and parasitic ticks all carried Anaplas-ma.
9.An exploratory study of the domestic robotic surgical system for general surgery
Jing YANG ; Zeping ZHANG ; Guoyuan YANG ; Yiyun PENG ; Meijuan SONG ; Weipeng ZHAN ; Hongwei TIAN ; Ming HU ; Changfeng MIAO ; Dongdong CHEN ; Wei FANG ; Wutang JING ; Yuntao MA
Chinese Journal of General Surgery 2024;39(9):698-702
Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the domestic robotic surgical system for general surgery.Methods:A prospective single-center, single-arm exploratory study was conducted at Gansu Provincial People's Hospital from Jun 2022 to Oct 2023, enrolling 54 patients undergoing general surgery using domestically produced Toumai? Endoscopic Surgical Robotic System. The primary study endpoint was surgical success rate, and the secondary study endpoints were intraoperative bleeding, operative time, complications, system performance, hospitalization days.Results:In this study, robotic surgery was successfully completed in 52 patients, and in 2 patients undergoing thyroid operation it was converted to open surgery due to bleeding, with a success rate of 96%, no organ injury or death during surgery, and no system failure. The types of surgery included cholecystectomy, radical gastric cancer resection, radical colorectal cancer resection, inguinal hernia repair, partial hepatectomy, total thyroidectomy and choledocho-jejunal anastomosis.Conclusion:The study provides preliminary evidence of the safety and efficacy of the Toumai? Endoscopic Surgical Robotic System for the treatment of general surgical diseases.
10.Clinical characteristics and influencing factors of adverse outcomes in pregnancy complicated by primary Sj?gren's syndrome
Shiqi YANG ; Fei CHEN ; Weizhang LIANG ; Ruirui LI ; Xiaolei SONG ; Fang HE
Chinese Journal of Perinatal Medicine 2024;27(8):643-648
Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics of pregnancy complicated by primary Sj?gren's syndrome (pSS) and the related factors of adverse outcomes in pregnant women with pSS.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 32 pregnancies complicated by pSS treated in the Department of Obstetrics at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from February 2017 to August 2022. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether they had perinatal adverse outcomes: an adverse outcome group ( n=20) and a favorable outcome group ( n=12). The clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared with two independant sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Fisher's exact test, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the related factors of adverse outcomes in pregnant women with pSS. Results:(1) The average maternal age of the 32 pSS pregnancies was (32.9±4.6) years, the pre-pregnancy body mass index was (21.1±3.8) kg/m 2, and the median gestational age at delivery was 37.8 (35.4-38.5) weeks. There were 18 women (56.3%, 18/32) were diagnosed before pregnancy and 14 women (43.7%, 14/32) during pregnancy. Out of the 32 pregnancies, 25 (79.1%, 25/32) received therapy with glucocorticoids and/or hydroxychloroquine during pregnancy, whereas seven (21.9%, 7/32) had no medication during pregnancy. (2) The main adverse maternal outcomes included oligohydramnios (25%, 8/32), hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (18.8%, 6/32), preterm birth (18.8%, 6/32), fetal growth restriction (15.6%, 5/32), miscarriage (12.5%, 4/32), gestational diabetes mellitus (9.4%, 3/32), and postpartum hemorrhage (3.1%, 1/32). (3) Adverse neonatal outcomes included low birth weight infants in seven cases (25.0%, 7/28), neonatal asphyxia in seven cases (25.0%, 7/28), and two cases of congenital heart block (7.1%, 2/28). (4) The rate of diagnosis before pregnancy in the favorable outcome group was higher than the adverse outcome group [10/12 vs. 40.0%(8/20), Fisher's exact test, P=0.028]. There were no significant differences between the two groups concerning maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, weight gain during pregnancy, parity, rates of positivity for autoantibodies (antinuclear antibody, Sj?gren-specific antibody A, Sj?gren-specific antibody B, anti-Ro-52), and proportion of drug treatment (glucocorticoids, hydroxychloroquine) (all P>0.05). (5) Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that diagnosis before pregnancy ( OR=0.02, 95% CI: 0.00-0.62, P=0.024) and positive Sj?gren-specific antibody B ( OR=0.01,95% CI: 0.00-0.75, P=0.038) were the protective factors. Conclusions:The clinical manifestations of pSS among pregnant women are varied and atypical,often with insidious onset. For pregnant women with pSS, being diagnosed before pregnancy, positive Sj?gren-specific antibody B may reduce adverse outcomes. It is important to address pre-pregnancy examination, early diagnosis and timely intervention to reduce the occurrence of adverse outcomes in pregnant women with pSS.

Result Analysis
Print
Save
E-mail