Objective:To investigate the current status of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (PGT-A) in China in 2024 and to provide recommendations for ensuring the consistency of PGT-A results.Methods:This study was a nationwide external quality assessment research. The National Center for Clinical Laboratories of the National Health Commission conducted two surveys in June and December 2024, with participation from 31 laboratories across China. During each survey, quality control samples of varying concentrations were distributed: the first survey distributed 6 samples (Batch Nos. 202401-202406) and the second survey distributed 3 samples (Batch Nos. 202431-202433). Participating laboratories were required to submit information including detection platforms, single-cell amplification methods, library construction methods, sequencing instruments, and test results. Collected data were statistically analyzed using Microsoft Excel to evaluate laboratories' PGT-A testing capabilities and determine whether results met predefined quality control requirements.Results:All 31 laboratories submitted results for both surveys. In the first survey, 90.3% (28/31) met qualification criteria with a 9.7% failure rate (3/31). For individual batches, pass rates were 90.3% (28/31) for batches 202401-202403 and 100% (31/31) for batches 202404-202406. The second survey achieved 100% (31/31) compliance across all three batches (202431-202433), with each batch maintaining a 100% pass rate.Conclusion:The detection quality of PGT-A in China is generally good, but with differences, and factors such as sample concentration, transportation conditions and detection methods affect the consistency of the results. The study highlights the urgent need for nationwide external quality assessment of PGT-A in China. This will help identify issues in laboratories in a timely manner and ensure the consistency of PGT-A test results.

China has become the country with the highest global burden of heart failure(HF).Despite the widespread use of prognostic-improving medications today,the mortality rate of HF remains high,reaching 13.7％at one year-particularly among patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction(HFrEF).HF interventional device therapy(structural intervention)targets the structural factors underlying HF,including atrial pressure,ventricular remodeling,and valvular intervention.It leverages the heart's intrinsic physiological properties and pathological progression mechanisms to deliver treatments through interventions without external active forces,achieving anatomical or functional repair.This field has emerged as a rapidly growing area and plays an increasingly critical role in HF management.This article provides a comprehensive review and summary of the latest advancements in HF and cardiomyopathy interventional therapy over the past year.It covers various novel technologies and products currently in the research phase,aiming to provide an in-depth analysis of the current status and future directions of HF interventional therapy,and further advance the development of this discipline.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a globally life-threatening disease. Presently, few therapeutic medicines are available for treating IS, and rt-PA is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. In fact, many agents showing excellent neuroprotection but no blood flow-improving activity in animals have not achieved ideal clinical efficacy, while thrombolytic drugs only improving blood flow without neuroprotection have limited their wider application. To address these challenges and meet the huge unmet clinical need, we have designed and identified a novel compound AAPB with dual effects of neuroprotection and cerebral blood flow improvement. AAPB significantly reduced cerebral infarction and neural function deficit in tMCAO rats, pMCAO rats, and IS rhesus monkeys, as well as displayed exceptional safety profiles and excellent pharmacokinetic properties in rats and dogs. AAPB has now entered phase I of clinical trials fighting IS in China.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2022.03.002.].

Cemental tear is a rare and indetectable condition unless obvious clinical signs present with the involvement of surrounding periodontal and periapical tissues. Due to its clinical manifestations similar to common dental issues, such as vertical root fracture, primary endodontic diseases, and periodontal diseases, as well as the low awareness of cemental tear for clinicians, misdiagnosis often occurs. The critical principle for cemental tear treatment is to remove torn fragments, and overlooking fragments leads to futile therapy, which could deteriorate the conditions of the affected teeth. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and subsequent appropriate interventions are vital for managing cemental tear. Novel diagnostic tools, including cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), microscopes, and enamel matrix derivatives, have improved early detection and management, enhancing tooth retention. The implementation of standardized diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols, combined with improved clinical awareness among dental professionals, serves to mitigate risks of diagnostic errors and suboptimal therapeutic interventions. This expert consensus reviewed the epidemiology, pathogenesis, potential predisposing factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cemental tear, aiming to provide a clinical guideline and facilitate clinicians to have a better understanding of cemental tear.
Humans ; Dental Cementum/injuries* ; Consensus ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Tooth Fractures/therapy*

OBJECTIVE: This study reports the first imported case of Lassa fever (LF) in China. Laboratory detection and molecular epidemiological analysis of the Lassa virus (LASV) from this case offer valuable insights for the prevention and control of LF. METHODS: Samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blood, urine, saliva, and environmental materials were collected from the patient and their close contacts for LASV nucleotide detection. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on positive samples to analyze the genetic characteristics of the virus. RESULTS: LASV was detected in the patient's CSF, blood, and urine, while all samples from close contacts and the environment tested negative. The virus belongs to the lineage IV strain and shares the highest homology with strains from Sierra Leone. The variability in the glycoprotein complex (GPC) among different strains ranged from 3.9% to 15.1%, higher than previously reported for the seven known lineages. Amino acid mutation analysis revealed multiple mutations within the GPC immunogenic epitopes, increasing strain diversity and potentially impacting immune response. CONCLUSION The case was confirmed through nucleotide detection, with no evidence of secondary transmission or viral spread. The LASV strain identified belongs to lineage IV, with broader GPC variability than previously reported. Mutations in the immune-related sites of GPC may affect immune responses, necessitating heightened vigilance regarding the virus.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Genome, Viral ; Lassa Fever/virology* ; Lassa virus/classification* ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Phylogeny

OBJECTIVE: Patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection frequently develop central nervous system damage, yet the mechanisms driving this pathology remain unclear. This study investigated the primary pathways and key factors underlying brain tissue damage induced by the SARS-CoV-2 beta variant (lineage B.1.351). METHODS: K18-hACE2 and C57BL/6 mice were intranasally infected with the SARS-CoV-2 beta variant. Viral replication, pathological phenotypes, and brain transcriptomes were analyzed. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis was performed to identify altered pathways. Expression changes of host genes were verified using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. RESULTS: Pathological alterations were observed in the lungs of both mouse strains. However, only K18-hACE2 mice exhibited elevated viral RNA loads and infectious titers in the brain at 3 days post-infection, accompanied by neuropathological injury and weight loss. GO analysis of infected K18-hACE2 brain tissue revealed significant dysregulation of genes associated with innate immunity and antiviral defense responses, including type I interferons, pro-inflammatory cytokines, Toll-like receptor signaling components, and interferon-stimulated genes. Neuroinflammation was evident, alongside activation of apoptotic and pyroptotic pathways. Furthermore, altered neural cell marker expression suggested viral-induced neuroglial activation, resulting in caspase 4 and lipocalin 2 release and disruption of neuronal molecular networks. CONCLUSION These findings elucidate mechanisms of neuropathogenicity associated with the SARS-CoV-2 beta variant and highlight therapeutic targets to mitigate COVID-19-related neurological dysfunction.
Animals ; COVID-19/genetics* ; Mice ; Brain/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; SARS-CoV-2/physiology* ; Pyroptosis ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Transcriptome ; Male ; Female

Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features of odontogenic myxoma(OM).Methods The clinicopath-ologic data of 15 patients with odontogenic myxoma(OM)diagnosed by routine pathology in Stomatological Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from January 2013 to June 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Results(1)The most common cases were female(66.7％),20-40 years old(73.3％),mandible(60.0％)and posterior dental area(93.3％).(2)The characteristic imaging findings were multilocular cystic low-density radiography,resembling honey comb/tennis racket/soap bubble structures.(3)Microscopi-cally,star or spindle tumor cells can be seen scattered in the background of light blue mucoid matrix,and occasionally a few odonto-genic epithelial clusters.(4)In 15 odontogenic myxoma(OM)samples,①β-catenin was not expressed in 1 case of mucous type,par-tially or diffusely expressed in 6 cases,not expressed in 2 cases of fibrous type,partially or diffusely expressed in 6 cases;②CD34 and S100 were negative;③Ki-67 index was lower than 1％.(5)Of the 15 patients,only one relapsed,and the rest had a good prognosis.(6)Surgical treatment is the main treatment plan at present,and the appropriate surgical plan should be selected according to the size of the tumor,the scope of the lesion and the situation of the patient.Conclusion Although odontogenic myxoma is a benign tumor,it is locally invasive and recurrent.It is necessary to distinguish it from low-grade malignant myxosarcoma,chondromyxoid fibroma and odontogenic fibroma.Understanding of and familiarity with its clinicopathological features is helpful to its diagnosis and improving the prognosis of patients.

Lung cancer poses a serious threat to global public health security.Chemotherapy,as the main strategy for cancer treatment,faces challenges such as high toxicity and drug resistance.Anticancer peptides have the potential of being developed into new anticancer drugs due to their advantages of broad-spectrum anticancer activity,rapid action,and difficulty in generating drug resistance,but they also face shortcomings such as weak activity and strong toxic side effects.The weakly acidic microenvironment of tumors(pH 6.5-6.8)provides a good idea for the design of anticancer peptides of high-efficiency and low-toxicity.Previously,we designed the acid-sensitive antibacterial peptide pHly-1 using the wolf spider(Lycosa singoriensis)toxin Lycosin-Ⅰ as a template.In this study,we found that pHly-1 also had acid-sensitive anticancer activity.Further alanine scanning analysis of pHly-1 was carried out,and we ob-tained a mutant pHTP-2 with better acid sensitivity,whose IC50(half maximal inhibitory concentration)against A549 cells was 15.68 μmol/L at pH 6.6 and was greater than 100 μmol/L at pH 7.4.At pH 6.6,pHTP-2 could act on various lung cancer cell lines and induce the death of A549 cells by rapid ly-sis;at pH 7.4,500 μmol/L pHTP-2 had weak toxicity to red blood cells(the hemolysis rate was ap-proximately 38％)and primary myocardial cells(the inhibition rate was 49.7％,with P＜0.05).Analy-sis of its charge,particle size,morphology,and secondary structure showed that at pH 6.6,the histidine in the sequence of pHTP-2 was protonated,increasing the positive charge(P＜0.01),decreasing the hy-drated particle size(P＜0.05)and forming an α-helical structure to induce membrane lysis of A549 cells.At pH 7.4,it was deprotonated,the positive charge decreases,a β-sheet structure was formed and self-aggregation occurred,limiting its effect on the A549 cell membrane and showing weak activity.In summary,pHTP-2 could respond to the weakly acidic microenvironment of tumors to exert selective cyto-toxic activity,effectively overcoming the shortcomings of anticancer peptides such as low efficiency and high toxicity.Our findings suggest that it is a high-quality lead molecule for anticancer drugs.