Liver transplantation (LT) has become a standard treatment for end-stage liver diseases, and graft injury is intricately associated with poor prognosis. Granzyme B (GZMB) plays a vital role in natural killer (NK) cell biology, but whether NK-derived GZMB affects graft injury remains elusive. Through the analysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing data obtained from human LT grafts and the isolation of lymphocytes from mouse livers following ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), we demonstrated that 2NK cells with high expression of GZMB are enriched in patients and mice. Both systemically and liver-targeted depletion of NK cells led to a notable reduction in GZMB⁺ cell infiltration, subsequently resulting in diminished graft injury. Notably, the reconstitution of Il2rg ^-/- Rag2 ^-/- mice with purified Gzmb-KO NK cells demonstrated superior outcomes compared to those with wild-type NK cells. Crucially, global knockout of GZMB and pharmacological inhibition exhibited remarkable improvements in liver function in both mouse IRI and rat LT models. Moreover, a phosphorylated derivative of FDA-approved vidarabine was identified as an effective inhibitor of mouse GZMB activity by molecular dynamics, which could provide a potential avenue for therapeutic intervention. Therefore, targeting NK cell-derived GZMB during the LT process suggests potential therapeutic strategies to improve post-transplant outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the mechanism by which chitosan (CS) hydrogel loaded with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (HUVECs)-derived exosomes (hUCMSC-exos) (Exos@CS-Gel) improves diabetic wound healing. METHODS: hUCMSC-exos were extracted and Exos@CS-Gel was prepared. The effect of Exos@CS-Gel on proliferation and migration of HUVECs were evaluated using scratch wound assay and CCK-8 assay. Diabetic rat models with full-thickness skin wounds established by streptozotocin induction were randomized divided into 4 groups for treatment with Exos@CS-Gel (100 µg hUCMSC-exos dissolved in 100 µL 24% CS hydrogel), hUCMSC-exos (100 µg hUCMSC-exos dissolved in 100 µL PBS), CS hydrogel (100 µL 24% CS hydrogel), or PBS (control group). Wound healing and the therapeutic mechanisms were assessed using immunohistochemistry, HE staining, immunofluorescence, and qRT-PCR. RESULTS: In cultured HUVECs, Exos@CS-Gel treatment significantly promoted cell proliferation and migration. In the rat models of chronic diabetic wounds, the wound healing rate in Exos@CS-Gel group reached 92.7% on day 14, significantly higher than those in hUCMSC-exos group (9.12%), CS hydrogel group (16.28%), and control group (25.98%). Microvessel density and the expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor β-1 were significantly increased in the Exos@CS-Gel group. CONCLUSIONS Exos@CS-Gel promotes survival capacity of hUCMSC-exos in vitro and accelerates diabetic wound healing in rats by promoting angiogenesis and cell proliferation.
Animals ; Wound Healing ; Humans ; Chitosan ; Exosomes ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells/cytology* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; Rats ; Umbilical Cord/cytology* ; Hydrogels ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Cell Proliferation ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Male

Objective Taking typical cases of Western medicine as an example,this paper explores the connection between Chinese and Western medicine on the understanding of tongue elephants.Methods After collecting the literature with tongue diagram attached to the clinical imaging column published in NEJM magazine,extracting the symptoms,signs and Western medicine disease information recorded in the literature,the tongue diagram was diagnosed from three aspects:tongue quality,tongue moss and sublingual meridians,and whether the symptoms and signs of tongue correspond to a certain diagnosis result,and the results were analyzed.Results A total of 48 articles were included,including 6 literature on abnormal tongue dynamics,which could correspond to abnormal tongue morphology in traditional Chinese medicine.Thirty-four cases of abnormal tongue shape were found.Among them,12 cases could be diagnosed with corresponding TCM tongue diagnosis,including 7 cases of abnormal tongue shape and 5 cases of abnormal coating.The remaining 22 cases were secondary changes in tongue structure.There were 8 articles on abnormal tongue color,including 1 abnormal tongue color,1 abnormal sublingual chord,and 6 abnormal lichen color.Conclusion Starting from the form and function,explore the connection between Chinese medicine and Western medicine in their understanding of tongue diagnosis,and promote the objectification and standardization of Chinese medicine tongue diagnosis.

Objective To explore the relationship between the vulnerability of coronary plaques and parameters of perivascular adipose tissue(PVAT),and to assess the feasibility of predicting vulnerable plaques based on PVAT-related parameters.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 199 patients,who were clinically suspected of coronary heart disease and underwent coronary computed tomography angiography(CCTA)examination,with a total of 230 lesion vessels and 230 plaques were analyzed.The vulnerability of plaques and the degree of vascular stenosis were evaluated.The pericoronary fat attenuation index(FAI),pericoronal fat total volume of voxels(FV)and pericoronary non-fat attenuation index(non-FAI)were measured,and the volumetric perivascular characterization index(VPCI)was calculated.The relationship between plaque vulnerability and PVAT parameters was statistically analyzed,and vulnerable plaques were predicted based on PVAT parameters.Results Non-vulnerable plaques were more likely to cause mild and moderate stenosis than vulnerable plaques,vulnerable plaques were more likely to cause severe stenosis than non-vulnerable plaques(P＜0.001,P=0.001).The FAI,non-FAI,and VPCI values of the vulnerable plaque group were higher than those of the non-vulnerable plaque group,while the FV value was lower than that of the non-vulnerable plaque group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.01).The FAI value of the vulnerable plaque group was higher than the non-FAI value,with a statistically significant difference(P＜0.01),while there was no statistically significant difference between the FAI and non-FAI of the non-vulnerable plaque group(P＞0.05).The diagnostic efficiency of FAI,non-FAI,VPCI,FV values and the combined application of the four parameters for predicting vulnerable plaques were 0.753,0.624,0.770,0.755 and 0.837,respectively.Conclusion The occurrence rate of severe vascular stenosis,FAI,non-FAI,and VPCI values of vulnerable plaques are higher than those of non-vulnerable plaques,while the FV value is lower than that of non-vulnerable plaques.PVAT-related parameters have predictive value for vulnerable plaques.

Objective:To investigate the interactive effect of mismatch repair (MMR) protein status and adverse clinicopathological features on prognosis of stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ colon cancer.Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 1 650 patients with colon cancer of stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ who were admitted to 7 hospitals in China from January 2016 to December 2017 were collected. There were 963 males and 687 females, aged 62(53,71)years. Patients were classified as 230 cases of MMR deficiency (dMMR) and 1 420 cases of MMR proficiency (pMMR) based on their MMR protein status. Observation indicators: (1) comparison of clinicopathological characteristics between patients of different MMR protein status; (2) analysis of factors affecting the survival outcomes of patients of dMMR; (3) analysis of factors affecting the survival outcomes of patients of pMMR; (4) interaction analysis of MMR and adverse clinicopathological features on survival outcomes. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the independent t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Comparison of ordinal data was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. The random forest interpolation method was used for missing values in data interpolation. Univariate analysis was conducted using the COX proportional risk regression model, and multivariate analysis was conducted using the COX stepwise regression with forward method. The coefficient of multiplication interaction effect was obtained using the interaction term coefficient of COX proportional risk regression model. Evaluation of additive interaction effects was conducted using the relative excess risk due to interaction ( RERI). Results:(1) Comparison of clinicopathological characteristics between patients of different MMR protein status. There were significant differences in age, T staging, the number of lymph node harvest, the number of lymph node harvest <12, high grade tumor between patients of dMMR and pMMR ( P<0.05). (2) Analysis of factors affecting the survival outcomes of patients of dMMR. Results of multivariate analysis showed that T staging, N staging, the number of lymph node harvest <12 were independent factors affecting the disease-free survival (DFS) of colon cancer patients of dMMR ( hazard ratio=3.548, 2.589, 6.702, 95% confidence interval as 1.460-8.620, 1.064-6.301, 1.886-23.813, P<0.05). Age and N staging were independent factors affecting the overall survival (OS) of colon cancer patients of dMMR ( hazard ratio=1.073, 10.684, 95% confidence interval as 1.021-1.126, 2.311-49.404, P<0.05). (3) Analysis of factors affecting the survival outcomes of patients of pMMR. Results of multivariate analysis showed that age, T staging, N staging, vascular tumor thrombus were independent factors affecting the DFS of colon cancer patients of pMMR ( hazard ratio=1.018, 2.214, 2.598, 1.549, 95% confidence interval as 1.006-1.030, 1.618-3.030, 1.921-3.513, 1.118-2.147, P<0.05). Age, T staging, N staging, high grade tumor were independent factors affecting the OS of colon cancer patients of pMMR ( hazard ratio=1.036, 2.080, 2.591, 1.615, 95% confidence interval as 1.020-1.052, 1.407-3.075, 1.791-3.748, 1.114-2.341, P<0.05). (4) Interaction analysis of MMR and adverse clinicopathological features on survival outcomes. Results of interaction analysis showed that the multiplication interaction effect between the number of lymph node harvest <12 and MMR protein status was significant on DFS of colon cancer patients ( hazard ratio=3.923, 95% confidence interval as 1.057-14.555, P<0.05). The additive interaction effects between age and MMR protein status, between high grade tumor and MMR protein status were significant on OS of colon cancer patients ( RERI=-0.033, -1.304, 95% confidence interval as -0.049 to -0.018, -2.462 to -0.146). Conclusions:There is an interaction between the MMR protein status and the adverse clinicopathological features (the number of lymph node harvest <12, high grade tumor) on prognosis of colon cancer patients of stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ. In patients of dMMR, the number of lymph node harvest <12 has a stronger predictive effect on poor prognosis. In patients of pMMR, the high grade tumor has a stronger predictive effect on poor prognosis.

Objective To observe the value of radiomics combined with CT features for distinguishing mycoplasma pneumonia(MP)and non-MP in children.Methods Data of 153 children with pneumonia were retrospectively analyzed.The children were divided into MP group(n=101)and non-MP group(n=52)according to mycoplasma RNA detection,and also were divided into training set(n=107,including 71 MP and 36 non-MP)and validation set(n=46,including 30 MP and 16 non-MP)at the ratio of 7∶3.CT findings were compared between groups.Six best CT features were selected in training set using F test algorithm,and a CT model was constructed using logistic regression(LR)method.The best radiomics features were extracted and screened in training set,and machine learning(ML)models were constructed using LR,support vector machine(SVM),random forest(RF),linear discriminant analysis(LDA)and stochastic gradient descent(SGD)classifiers,respectively.Based on the best CT features and radiomics features,CT-ML models were constructed using the above classifiers.Receiver operating characteristic curves were drawn,and the areas under the curve(AUC)were calculated,the efficacy of each model for distinguishing MP and non-MP was evaluated.Results Lesions involved the upper,middle and lower lobe of right lung,thickened bronchial wall,tree bud sign and edge retract sign were the best CT features.AUC of CTLR was 0.710,of MLLR,MLSVM,MLRF,MLLDA and MLSGD in validation set was 0.715,0.663,0.623,0.706 and 0.494,respectively,and MLLR was the optimal radiomics model.AUC of CT-MLLR,CT-MLSVM,CT-MLRF,CT-MLLDA and CT-MLSGD in validation set was 0.813,0.823,0.649,0.796 and 0.665,respectively,and CT-MLSVM was the optimal CT-ML model.In training set,AUC of CT-MLSVM(0.840)was higher than that of CTLR and MLLR model(AUC=0.713,0.740,both P＜0.05).In validation set,no significant difference of AUC was found among CTLR,MLLR and CT-MLSVM(AUC=0.710,0.715 and 0.823,all P＞0.05).Conclusion Radiomics combined with CT features could effectively distinguish MP and non-MP in children.

Objective:To test the reliability and validity of the general procrastination scale (GPS) in the application of middle school students.Methods:The Chinese version of GPS, the irrational procrastination scale(IPS), and the Maslach burnout inventory(MBI) were utilized to survey 10 825 middle school students in Harbin City through stratified random sampling, and 4 498 students were retested after 4 weeks. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 27.0 and Mplus 8.0.Results:The entries were well differentiated.Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that GPS was composed of two factors, including active avoidance and lack of planning.The model fit was good (CFI=0.914, TLI=0.901, RMSEA=0.069, SRMR=0.072). GPS was positively correlated with the total scores of IPS and MBI ( r=0.753, 0.677, both P<0.001). The Cronbach's α coefficient of GPS was 0.864, the folded half reliability was 0.870, and the retest reliability after 4 weeks was 0.756. Conclusion:The GPS has good reliability and validity among middle school students, which provides a standard for measuring the procrastination level of middle school students and carrying out related research.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) has become an increasingly serious public health issue, characterized by high incidence and high disability rates. It often coexists with other mental health problems and physical diseases, with a significant negative impact on patients' quality of life. In clinical practice, MDD is considered a heterogeneous disease. The complexity of the pathological mechanisms and the variability in treatment responses lead to a lack of clear therapeutic targets, which complicates the treatment process. In recent years, with advancements in neuroscience, the crucial role of microglia in the pathogenesis of MDD has been revealed. As the main immune cells in the brain, microglia are not only involved in the regulation of neuroinflammation but also play important roles in neurogenesis and neuronal regulation in MDD. This article mainly discusses the role of microglia in the pathophysiological mechanisms of MDD, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for microglia as a potential target for the treatment of MDD.

The methodological framework for interventional clinical research of Chinese medicine （CM） under the research mode of syndrome dominating disease provides a set of technical principles and methods to design， evaluate， and implement of this kind. It consists of three main parts including general principles， research points and key design elements， with a total of 25 items. This methodological framework proposes implementing requirements and recommendations in a variety of aspects， including basic norms to be followed in relevant studies， perspectives for selecting research topics， as well as the technological details on study population （P）， intervention （I） and comparison（C）， outcome measurement （O）， time frame （T） of treatment and follow-up， sample orientation （prospective versus retrospective）， study design （S） format and type. To provide practical guidance for future studies， this article clearly explains each items of the methodological framework through some supportive cases.

Objective:This paper analyzed the current situation of clinical research continuing review in China, and puts forward countermeasures to strengthen continuing review in combination with the requirements of the Measures for the Ethical Review of Life Science and Medical Research Involving Humans, so as to provide a certain reference for standardizing the ethical continuing review of research institutions.Methods:Through literature research, this paper systematically sorted out the current situation of continuing review, and analyzed many problems and related reasons in the process of continuing review of clinical research in China based on the practical experience of ethical review.Results:The requirements for continuing review in the Measures for Ethical Review of Life Science and Medical Research Involving Humans included demphasizing the implementation of continuing review, the entrusted ethics committee should be responsible for continuing review, clarifying the responsibility for continuing review of cooperative research, clarifying the responsibility of participating research institutions for continuing review, and increasing the responsibility of the ethics committee to supervise the submission of continuing review. Countermeasures to strengthen continuing review included the health authorities urging research institutions to strengthen continuing review, research institutions to increase efforts to implement continuing review, establishing a standardized continuing review process, strengthening the ethics training of researchers and other relevant personnel, establishing a multi-channel communication and consultation method between the ethics committee and researchers, strengthening the review capacity of ethics committee members, allocating a corresponding number of ethics committee staff, and using information technology to improve quality and efficiency.Conclusions:Continuing review is indispensable in the whole process of research development, and all parties should take measures to ensure the quality and efficiency of continuing review, standardize continuing review, and promote the healthy development of life science and medical research.