OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of clinical genetics specialization development and the diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities for hereditary diseases across medical institutions in Shanghai, and to assess the necessity and feasibility of establishing training bases for clinical genetics specialists. METHODS: By employing a cross-sectional survey design, the Clinical Genetics Committee of Shanghai Medical Association has conducted questionnaire surveys from March to April 2025 across 54 healthcare institutions in Shanghai (including 33 tertiary hospitals and 21 secondary hospitals). The survey involved administrative departments and medical personnel from 15 clinical specialties. The survey has covered current genetic disease diagnosis and treatment practices, relevant and specialised disease types, genetic department establishment, testing capabilities, personnel teams, and training requirements. RESULTS: The results revealed that 78.0% of clinical departments surveyed had treated patients with hereditary disorders. Shanghai possesses diagnostic and therapeutic expertise for over 95% of hereditary diseases listed in its rare disease catalogue, reflecting both the practical clinical demand for such conditions and the city's overall diagnostic and therapeutic strengths in this field. Nevertheless, significant disparities exist in the development of genetics departments across different tiers of healthcare institutions. Resources for genetic testing capabilities (including molecular, cellular, and biochemical testing) are also unevenly distributed across different tiers of hospitals. The survey further revealed that only 26.0% of departments believe that their current physician structure fully meets the diagnostic and treatment demands. Over 90% of departments consider standard training for clinical genetic specialists necessary, with 74.0% expressing willingness to participate in establishing training bases. Based on above findings and thorough deliberation, the Clinical Genetics Committee of the Shanghai Medical Association proposes advancing specialist training and discipline development through establishing a standard training system. The committee has drafted a three-year training protocol featuring a "joint training"-centered model, recommending a pilot-first, dynamically optimized strategy for steadily advancing training base development. CONCLUSION Shanghai faces substantial demand for genetic disease diagnosis and treatment, yet exhibits shortcomings in clinical genetics specialization development, resource allocation, and talent pipeline cultivation. To establish a standard training system holds significant practical importance and is underpinned by a broad demand.
Humans ; China ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn/genetics* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Genetics, Medical/education* ; Genetic Testing

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the regulatory role of nucleotide-bound oligomerized domain-like receptor containing pyrin-domain protein 6 (NLRP6) in liver lipid metabolism and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS: Mouse models with high-fat diet (HFD) feeding for 16 weeks (n=6) or with methionine choline-deficient diet (MCD) feeding for 8 weeks (n=6) were examined for the development of NAFLD using HE and oil red O staining, and hepatic expressions of NLRP6 were detected with RT-qPCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining. Cultured human hepatocytes (LO2 cells) with adenovirus-mediated NLRP6 overexpression or knock-down were treated with palmitic acid (PA) in the presence or absence of compound C (an AMPK inhibitor), and the changes in cellular lipid metabolism were examined by measuring triglyceride, ATP and β-hydroxybutyrate levels and using oil red staining, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting. RESULTS: HFD and MCD feeding both resulted in the development of NAFLD in mice, which showed significantly decreased NLRP6 expression in the liver. In PA-treated LO2 cells, NLRP6 overexpression significantly decreased cellular TG content and lipid deposition, while NLRP6 knockdown caused the opposite effects. NLRP6 overexpression in PA-treated LO2 cells also increased mRNA and protein expressions of PGC1A and CPT1A, levels of ATP and β-hydroxybutyrate, and the phosphorylation level of AMPK pathway; the oxidative decomposition of lipids induced by Ad-NLRP6 was inhibited by the use of AMPK inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS NLRP6 overexpression promotes lipid oxidation and decomposition through AMPK/CPT1A/PGC1A to alleviate lipid deposition in hepatocytes.
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/metabolism* ; Animals ; Hepatocytes/metabolism* ; Lipid Metabolism ; Mice ; Humans ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha ; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism* ; Carnitine O-Palmitoyltransferase/metabolism* ; Diet, High-Fat ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Signal Transduction

Acute-on-chronic liver failure （ACLF） refers to severe liver dysfunction that occurs on the basis of chronic liver diseases， and it is characterized by rapid disease progression， poor prognosis， and high mortality rate. In recent years， inflammatory markers have become a research hotspot due to their significant role in assessing the prognosis of ACLF. This article reviews the advances in the application of inflammatory markers in assessing the prognosis of ACLF， such as systemic immune inflammatory index， lymphocyte-white blood cell ratio， neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio， and C-reactive protein， and discusses their clinical value and future research directions， in order to provide a theoretical basis for the early intervention and prognosis management of ACLF patients.

Objective To screen antidepressant-active compounds from Polygonati Rhizoma and explore their effects and possible mechanisms against depression induced by simulated weightlessness.Methods A systems pharmacology approach was used to screen potential antidepressant-active compounds and their targets from Polygonati Rhizoma.The hindlimb unloading(HLU)rat model was employed for the study.Twenty-four healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups:control group(administered 0.5%carboxymethylcellulose by gavage),HLU group(hindlimb unloading),and HLU+treatment group(hindlimb unloading+active compound gavage),with 8 rats in each group.After 28 days of hindlimb unloading,depressive-like behaviors in rats were evaluated using the forced swimming test and tail suspension test.Hippocampal morphology was examined with H&E staining,and GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were conducted on the targets of active compounds.Results A total of 38 active compounds were screened from Polygonati Rhizoma,among which apigenin had an oral bioavailability of 23.06%and a drug-likeness score of 0.21.Compound-target network analysis indicated that apigenin had the highest degree and betweenness centrality values,suggesting it might be the key active component with antidepressant potential in Polygonati Rhizoma.In the forced swimming and tail suspension tests,rats in the HLU group showed a significant increase in immobility time compared to the control group,indicating successful establishment of the depression model.However,compared to the HLU group,rats in the HLU plus apigenin group exhibited significantly reduced immobility time.The H&E staining results of hippocampal tissue showed a significant reduction in the number of hippocampal neurons,along with numerous shrunken neurons and small vacuoles in nerve fibers in the HLU group.In contrast,the treatment group exhibited an increased number of hippocampal neurons,with improved cellular morphology.Target enrichment analysis indicated that apigenin targets were mainly involved in the regulation of apoptosis and cancer-related signaling pathways.Conclusion Apigenin significantly improved depressive-like behaviors in rats subjected to hindlimb unloading,and it has a protective effect on hippocampal tissue.It may provide a new natural active compound for the treatment of depression caused by spaceflight-induced weightlessness.

[Objective]To analyze the value of grey-scale reversed T1-weighted(rT1)MRI in the detection of structur-al lesions of the sacroiliac joint(SIJ)in patients with axial spondyloarthritis(ax-SpA).[Methods]Fifty-two ax-SpA pa-tients who underwent both MRI and CT in our hospital within a week from February 2020 to December 2022 were retrospec-tively included.Both sacral and iliac side of each SIJ on oblique coronal images were divided into anterior,middle and pos-terior portion.Two radiologists reviewed independently three groups of MRI including T1-weighted imaging(T1WI),rT1 and T1WI+rT1 images to evaluate the structural lesions like erosions,sclerosis and joint space changes in each of the 6 re-gions of the SIJ.One of the radiologist did the evaluation again one month later.CT images were scored for lesions by a third radiologist and served as the reference standard.Intra-class correlation coefficients(ICC)were calculated to test the inter-and intra-reader agreement for the assessment of SIJ lesions.A Friedman test was performed to compare the lesion results of MRI and CT image findings.We examined the diagnostic performance[accuracy,sensitivity(SE)and specifici-ty]of different groups of MRI in the detection of lesions by using diagnostic test.A McNemar test was used to compare the differences of three groups of MRI findings.[Results]CT showed erosions in 71 joints,sclerosis in 65 and joint space changes in 53.Good inter-and intra-reader agreements were found in three groups of MRI images for the assessment of le-sions,with the best agreement in T1WI+rT1.There were no difference between T1WI+rT1 and CT for the assessment of all lesions,nor between rT1 and CT for the assessment of erosions and joint space changes(P>0.05).T1WI+rT1 yielded better accuracy and SE than T1WI in detection of all lesions(Accuracy erosions:90.3%vs 76.9%;SE erosions:91.6%vs 76.1%;Accu-racy sclerosis:89.4%vs 80.8%;SE sclerosis:84.6%vs 73.9%;Accuracy joint space changes:86.5%vs 73.1%;SE joint space changes:84.9%vs 60.4%;P<0.05).rT1 yielded better accuracy and SE than T1WI in detection of erosions and joint space changes(Accuracy erosions:87.5%vs 76.9%;SE erosions:88.7%vs 76.1%;Accuracy joint space changes:85.6%vs 73.1%;SE joint space changes:83.0%vs 60.4%;P<0.05).[Conclusions]In the detection of SIJ structural lesions in ax-SpA,rT1 improves the diagnostic perfor-mance and T1WI+rT1 is more superior to others.

Objective To explore the value of deep learning models in predicting axillary lymph node(ALN)metastasis of breast cancer based on intratumoral and peritumoral dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging(DCE-MRI).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on cases from Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Laoshan Branch of Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University,involving a total of 850 lesions in 850 patients.The region of interest within the tumor was delineated at the largest area of the lesion on the first enhancement images and automatically expanded by 3 mm and 6 mm in a conformal fashion.Deep learning prediction models based on ResNet50 were developed via intratumoral,peritumoral,and intratumoral combined peritumoral models,respectively,and a comprehensive prediction model was developed by integrating semantic features of imaging reports.Cases from Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital were randomly divided into training and test cohorts in a 7∶3 ratio,while cases from Laoshan Branch of Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University served as the external validation cohort.The area under the curve(AUC),accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,F1-score,and Brier-score were calculated,respectively.Results The model incorporating intratumoral,peritumoral(3 mm),and semantic features demonstrated the highest performance,with AUC of 0.801[95％confidence interval(CI)0.765-0.845],0.781(95％CI 0.745-0.817),and 0.752(95％CI 0.700-0.793)in the training cohort,test cohort,and external validation cohort,respectively,and there was no significant difference in AUC between combined model and intratumoral/peritumoral model,respectively,but it demonstrated the higher sensitivity and F1-score,and the lower Brier-score.Conclusion Incorporating peritumoral images into the conventional model based on intratumoral images enhanced the predictive ability of ALN metastasis in breast cancer.

Objective To investigate the effects of canagliflozin combined with amiloride and benzamir on doxorubicin-induced ne-phrotic syndrome(NS)model rats.Methods A total of 49male SD rats were randomly divided into 7groups:normal control group(NG group),model group(MG group),canagliflozin group(KG group),benzamil group(BH group),amiloride group(AL group),cana-gliflozin+benzamil group(KB group)and canagliflozin+amiloride group(KA group),with 7 rats in each group.The NS model was established by injection of doxorubicin in the tail vein.The 24h-UTP of each group was detected one day before treatment to verify the successful preparation of the model.Each group was given intragastric administration according to the body weight of rats regularly every day,NG group and MG group were given equal amount of normal saline,the course of treatment was 6 weeks.After 6 weeks of treatment,the 24h-UTP,UNa,UK,UCl levels in urine and the albumin(ALB),triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC),low density lipopro-tein(LDL),Urea,Crea,CysC,SNa,SK,SCl levels in serum were measured,respectively.The expression of serum transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)and soluble thrombomodulin(sTM)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The expression of TGF-β1 gene was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR).The renal pathology of rats in each group were tested by the hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining and Masson staining.Results After successful modeling,the levels of 24h-UTP,TG,TC,LDL in the MG group were increased,while the levels of ALB was decreased(P＜0.05).After 6 weeks of drug intervention,compared with MG group,the levels of 24h-UTP,TC,TG,LDL were decreased,and the level of ALB was increased in all drug groups(P＜0.05),and the level of TGF-β1 was decreased in the KG group(P＜0.05),and the levels of CysC,UNa,TGF-β1,sTM was increased in the KA group(P＜0.05).The results of HE staining and Masson staining showed that typical characteristics of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis appeared in the renal tissue of rats in MG group,all drug groups were observed in varying degrees of improvement.Conclusion Canagliflozin,benzamil,amiloride alone and canagliflozin combined with benzatrimil and amiloride could improve the macroproteinuria,hypoproteinemia and hyperlipidemia of doxorubicin-induced NS model rats.Canagli-flozin alone can effectively reduce TGF-β1 expression and thereby reduce kidney inflammation,but the combination of canagliflozin and amiloride may cause renal insufficiency and endothelial injury.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between digital breast tomosynthesis(DBT)image features,pathological features,and the results of breast-conserving surgery(BCS)in early stage breast cancer.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed 422 cases of BCS resulting in successful breast preservation and 211 BCS cases that were followed by mastectomy.All of the patients underwent surgery at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute&Hospital between January 2019 and December 2023.Preoperative DBT images and clinicopathological features were assessed.A univariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to screen out the characteristics associated with BCS surgic-al results,after which multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to screen out the characteristics.Results:Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age(P=0.020),architectural distortion(P<0.001),breast composition(extremely dense,P=0.001),and mo-lecular subtype(Her2,P=0.001)were statistically different between the two groups.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that ar-chitectural distortion(P<0.001),breast composition(extremely dense breast,P=0.003),and molecular subtype(Her2,P<0.001)differed signi-ficantly between the two groups.Conclusions:Breast composition,architectural distortion,and molecular subtype correlated with BCS res-ults.Extremely dense breast composition,architectural distortion,and Her2 subtype are associated with a higher possibility of conversion to mastectomy.These factors serve as effective predictive indicators of BCS results and thus aid clinicians in deciding the appropriate surgical strategies in the treatment of breast cancer.

Objective To investigate the effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i)canagliflozin and epithelial sodium channel inhibitor amiloride or benzamil in combination on the bone metabolism in the rats with the nephrotic syndrome (NS) induced by doxorubicin. Methods In the 49 male SD rats selected, 7 were randomly selected as control group (NG), and 42 were built as adriamycin-induced nephropathy model by injecting adriamycin through the tail vein, and were randomly divided into model group (MG group), canagliflozin group (KG group), benzamil group (BH group), amiloride group (AL group), canagliflozin+benzamil group (KB group) and canagliflozin+amiloride group (KA group), with 7 cases in each group. Each medication group was given intragastric administration according to the body weight of rats regularly every day, NG group and MG group were given equal amount of normal saline, the course of treatment was 6 weeks. The 24-hour urinary protein (24 h-UTP) of each group was detected one day before treatment to verify the successful preparation of the model. At 6 weeks after treatment, the 24 h-UTP, urine sodium (UNa), urinary potassium (UK) levels in urine and the albumin (ALB), triglyceride (TG), cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL), serum calcium (SCa), sodium (SNa), potassium (SK), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), parathyroid hormone (PTH), procollagen type Ⅰ N-terminal propeptide (PINP) and beta C-terminal cross-linked telopeptides of typeⅠ collagen (β-CTX) levels in serum were measured, respectively. Results After successful modeling, the levels of 24 h-UTP, TG, TC, LDL and SCa in the MG group were significantly increased, while the levels of ALB, 25-OH-D, ALP, PINP and PTH were significantly decreased (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). After 6 weeks of drug intervention, the body mass of rats treated with KG alone decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Compared with the MG group, the levels of 24 h-UTP, TC, TG, LDL and SCa were significantly decreased, and the level of ALB was significantly increased in all drug groups when compared to the MG (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Compared with the MG group, the levels of 25-OH-D, ALP, PINP and β-CTX in the KA group were significantly increased when compared to the MG (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Molding and drug therapy had no impact on levels of UNa, UK, SK and SNa (P>0.05). Conclusion Calaglizin alone, benzamil alone, amiloride alone and calaglizin combined with benzamil or amiloride can improve the mass proteinuria, hypoproteinemia and hyperlipidemia in adriamycin-induced NS model rats. The combination of caraglipzin and amiloride has a significant osteogenic or osteoclastic effect, which may play a role in reducing the risk of fracture in NS rats by forming a new osteogenic/osteoclastic balance.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.