[Objective] To evaluate the clinical application value of intrauterine perfusion with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with in vitro fertilization-frozen-thawed embryo transfer (IVF-FET) in patients with chronic endometritis (CE). [Methods] A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted, enrolling 60 CE patients undergoing artificial cycle frozen embryo transfer at our hospital from January 2022 to January 2024. Participants were randomly divided into three groups: Group A (routine frozen embryo transfer, n=20), Group B (routine frozen embryo transfer + one PRP intrauterine perfusion, n=20), and Group C (routine frozen embryo transfer + two PRP intrauterine perfusions, n=20). Endometrial thickness during the transformation and transplantation phases, uterine artery pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), systolic peak velocity/end-diastolic velocity (S/D) ratio during transplantation, serum levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α during transplantation, as well as biochemical pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate, and early miscarriage rate were compared across groups. [Results] No significant differences in endometrial thickness were observed among the three groups during the transformation phase (P>0.05). During the transplantation phase, endometrial thickness in Groups C and B was significantly higher than in Group A[9.54 (8.96-10.22) and 8.90 (8.34-9.72) vs 8.37 (7.89-8.75) mm, P<0.05], with Group C showing greater thickness than Group B (Z=3.733, P<0.05). Endometrial thickness in Groups C and B during transplantation was significantly increased compared to their respective transformation phases (Z=2.191, 2.462; P<0.05). Groups C and B exhibited lower PI, RI, and S/D values than Group A[PI:1.87 (1.77-1.97), 1.94 (1.88-2.15) vs 2.43 (2.35-2.49); RI:0.75 (0.73-0.77), 0.78 (0.75-0.81) vs 0.84 (0.83-0.86); S/D:2.61 (2.33-3.42), 3.01 (2.20-3.93) vs 3.72 (3.06-4.49); P<0.05]. Group C demonstrated lower PI and RI than Group B (P<0.05). IL-2 levels in Groups C and B were higher than in Group A[3.88 (2.71-5.01), 3.59 (2.73-4.38) vs 3.16 (2.11-3.25) ng/L, P<0.05], while IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α levels were significantly lower (IL-4: Z=1.428, 2.421; IL-6: Z=1.754, 2.435; IL-10: Z=1.754, 2.854; TNF-α: Z=1.961, 1.765; P<0.05). Group C had lower IL-6 levels than Group B (Z=3.976, P<0.05). Biochemical pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and live birth rate in Group C were significantly higher than in Group A (75% vs 40%, 70% vs 35%, 60% vs 20%, P<0.05). No significant differences in early miscarriage rates were observed among the groups (χ²=3.750, P>0.05). [Conclusion] Intrauterine autologous PRP perfusion in CE patients enhances pregnancy and live birth rates, improves pregnancy outcomes post-FET, and demonstrates superior efficacy in endometrial repair and receptivity with two PRP perfusions compared to a single perfusion. This provides a safe and effective therapeutic option for optimizing outcomes in CE patients with prior implantation failure.

Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with radiolabeled SSTR2 agonists is a treatment option that is highly effective in controlling metastatic and progressive neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Previous studies have shown that an SSTR2 agonist combined with albumin binding moiety Evans blue (denoted as ¹⁷⁷Lu-EB-TATE) is characterized by a higher tumor uptake and residence time in preclinical models and in patients with metastatic NETs. This study aimed to enhance the in vivo stability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ¹⁷⁷Lu-EB-TATE by replacing the maleimide-thiol group with a polyethylene glycol chain, resulting in a novel EB conjugated SSTR2-targeting radiopharmaceutical, ¹⁷⁷Lu-LNC1010, for PRRT. In preclinical studies, ¹⁷⁷Lu-LNC1010 exhibited good stability and SSTR2-binding affinity in AR42J tumor cells and enhanced uptake and prolonged retention in AR42J tumor xenografts. Thereafter, we presented the first-in-human dose escalation study of ¹⁷⁷Lu-LNC1010 in patients with advanced/metastatic NETs. ¹⁷⁷Lu-LNC1010 was well-tolerated by all patients, with minor adverse effects, and exhibited significant uptake and prolonged retention in tumor lesions, with higher tumor radiation doses than those of ¹⁷⁷Lu-EB-TATE. Preliminary PRRT efficacy results showed an 83% disease control rate and a 42% overall response rate after two ¹⁷⁷Lu-LNC1010 treatment cycles. These encouraging findings warrant further investigations through multicenter, prospective, and randomized controlled trials.

Cells and exosomes derived from them are extensively used as biological carrier systems. Cells demonstrate superior targeting specificity and prolonged circulation facilitated by their rich array of surface proteins, while exosomes, due to their small size, cross barriers and penetrate tumors efficiently. However, challenges remain, cells' large size restricts tissue penetration, and exosomes have limited targeting accuracy and short circulation times. To address these challenges, we developed a novel concept termed exosomal spheres. This approach involved incorporating platelet-derived exosomes shielded with phosphatidylserine (PS) and linked via pH-sensitive bonds for drug delivery applications. The study demonstrated that, compared with exosomes, the exosomal spheres improved blood circulation through the upregulation of CD47 expression and shielding of phosphatidylserine, thereby minimizing immune clearance. Moreover, the increased expression of P-selectin promoted adhesion to circulating tumor cells, thereby enhancing targeting efficiency. Upon reaching the tumor site, the hydrazone bonds of exosome spheres were protonated in the acidic tumor microenvironment, leading to disintegration into uniform-sized exosomes capable of deeper tumor penetration compared to platelets. These findings suggested that exosome spheres addressed the challenges and offered significant potential for efficient and precise drug delivery.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the associations between Tau protein deposition and brain biochemical metabolites detected by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) in patients with advanced Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: From April, 2022 to December, 2024, 64 Tau-positive AD patients and 29 healthy individuals underwent ¹⁸F-APN-1607 PET/MR and simultaneously acquired multi-voxel ¹H-MRS in the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital. Visual analysis and voxel-based analysis of PET/MR data were performed to investigate the Tau protein deposition patterns in AD patients. Valid voxels within the ¹H-MRS field of view were selected, and their standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr) in PET and metabolite levels of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), creatine (Cr), NAA/Cr, and Cho/Cr were recorded. The Tau-positive (Tau⁺) voxels and Tau-negative (Tau^-) voxels of the AD patients were compared for PET and ¹H-MRS parameters, and the correlations between the metabolites and Tau PET SUVr within Tau⁺ voxels were analyzed. RESULTS: Significant Tau protein deposition were observed in the AD patients, involving mainly the bilateral frontal lobes (30.07%), parietal lobes (29.96%), temporal lobes (21.07%), and occipital lobes (15.89%). A total of 1422 valid voxels in AD group (including 994 Tau⁺ and 428 Tau^- voxels) and 814 voxels in the control group were selected. The AD patients showed significantly decreased NAA level and increased SUVr compared with the control group (P<0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed that Tau⁺ voxels had higher SUVr and lower Cr and Cho/Cr than Tau^- voxels (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, Tau⁺ voxels exhibited higher SUVr and lower Cr (P<0.05), while Tau^- voxels showed lower NAA (P=0.004). No significant differences were found in Cho or NAA/Cr among the subgroups (P>0.05). Within Tau⁺ voxels, NAA, Cho, and Cr were negatively correlated with SUVr (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The patients with progressive AD have significant Tau protein deposition in the brain, which is correlated with alterations in metabolite levels. Decreased NAA is more prominent in early or pre-tau deposition stages, while Cr changes is more significant in the regions with Tau protein deposition, suggesting the potential of NAA and Cr as biomarkers for Tau protein deposition in AD for disease monitoring and treatment evaluation.
Humans ; Alzheimer Disease/diagnostic imaging* ; Aspartic Acid/metabolism* ; tau Proteins/metabolism* ; Creatine/metabolism* ; Brain/metabolism* ; Biomarkers/metabolism* ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Male ; Female ; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Choline/metabolism* ; Aged ; Middle Aged

Objective:To explore the clinical changes in levels of the new clinical marker serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with long-term antiviral therapy.Methods:100 CHB cases who were initially treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) at Peking University First Hospital were included. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), HBV DNA, hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg), and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) during the follow-up period were measured. The TaqMan-based real-time quantitative PCR method was used to detect serum HBV pgRNA levels. The independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare continuous variables between groups, while Pearson's χ2 test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare categorical variables. Results:HBV pgRNA levels decreased significantly in patients who developed virological responses at 48 weeks ( n = 54) during subsequent treatment compared to those who did not ( n = 46). The HBV pgRNA level was lower in HBeAg-positive patients than in HBeAg-negative patients ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Patients with higher HBV DNA and HBeAg-positivity levels at baseline had a higher HBV pgRNA level following antiviral therapy. There was no statistically significant difference in HBV pgRNA levels in patients with different HBV pgRNA levels at baseline after antiviral therapy. There was no correlation between serum HBV pgRNA and HBsAg at baseline, but there was a correlation after long-term antiviral therapy, while there was a weak correlation between HBV pgRNA and HBsAg at the fifth and ninth years of antiviral therapy ( r = 0.262, P = 0.031; r = 0.288, P = 0.008). Conclusion:HBV pgRNA levels were higher with higher HBV activity in CHB patients with long-term antiviral therapy.

BACKGROUND: Insufficient angiogenesis and the lack of skin appendages are critical challenges in cutaneous wound healing. Stem cell-fabricated cell sheets have become a promising strategy, but cell sheets constructed by a single cell type are inadequate to provide a comprehensive proregenerative microenvironment for wound tissue. METHODS: Based on the communication between cells, in this study, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) were cocultured to fabricate a composite cell sheet (H/M–CS) for the treatment of fullthickness skin wounds in mice. RESULTS: Experiments confirmed that there is cell–cell communication between BMSCs and HFSCs, which enhances the cell proliferation and migration abilities of both cell types. Cell–cell talk also upregulates the gene expression of proangiogenic-related cytokines in BMSCs and pro-hair follicle-related cytokines in HFSCs, as well as causing changes in the properties of secreted extracellular matrix components. CONCLUSIONS Therefore, the composite cell sheet is more conducive for cutaneous wound healing and promoting the regeneration of blood vessels and hair follicles.

Objective To investigate the value of ESRS score combined with inflammatory factors in predicting cerebral small vessel disease （CSVD） in patients with vertigo in Qinghai area， China. Methods A total of 394 patients who were admitted and diagnosed with vertigo in Department of Neurology， Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital， from June 2022 to June 2023 were enrolled as subjects， among whom there were 201 patients with central vertigo and 193 patients with peripheral vertigo. Inflammation-related indicators were collected， including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio （NLR）， platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio （PLR）， monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio， and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio， and ESRS score and MRI examination were performed for all patients. Results Among the 201 patients with central vertigo， 118 （58.7%） developed CSVD， and among the 193 patients with peripheral vertigo， 78 （40.4%） developed CSVD. The univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in systolic blood pressure， NLR， PLR， MHR， LMR， and ESRS score between the patients with CSVD and those without CSVD in the central vertigo group and the peripheral vertigo group， and there were significant differences in age and ESRS score between the central vertigo CSVD group and the peripheral vertigo CSVD group. For the patients with central vertigo， the risk of CSVD in the low-， medium-， and high-risk ESRS score groups was 25.49%， 68.75%， and 100.00%， respectively， and for those with peripheral vertigo， the risk of CSVD in the low-， medium-， and high-risk ESRS score groups was 32.10%， 66.70%， and 100.00%， respectively. The logistic regression analysis showed that ESRS score， NLR， and PLR were independent risk factors for CSVD in patients with vertigo. In the central vertigo group， ESRS score， NLR， and PLR alone had an area under the ROC curve （AUC） of 0.790， 0.721， and 0.635， respectively， in predicting CSVD， and the combination of the three indices had an AUC of 0.846； in the peripheral vertigo group， ESRS score， NLR， and PLR alone had an AUC of 0.757， 0.714， and 0.632， respectively， in predicting CSVD， and the combination of the three indices had an AUC of 0.816. Conclusion The risk of CSVD in patients with vertigo in Qinghai area increases with the increase in ESRS score， and the risk of CSVD in patients with vertigo in Qinghai area is positively correlated with NLR and PLR. ESRS score combined with NLR and PLR is more sensitive than the above indices used alone in the risk assessment of CSVD in patients with vertigo in Qinghai area. The central vertigo CSVD group has a higher ESRS score than the peripheral vertigo CSVD group， suggesting that patients with central vertigo tend to develop CSVD.
Vertigo

Objective To investigate the impact of the change in anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapy indication on treatment rate and the features of the population requiring treatment. Methods The treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the China Registry of Hepatitis B (CR-HepB) database were selected as subjects, and related demographic, virological, hematological, and biochemical data were collected. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups; the chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Results A total of 3640 treatment-naïve CHB patients were included in this study, among whom 64.4% were male, 68.7% had an age of 30-59 years, and 46.8% had an indeterminate clinical stage. According to the 2015 and 2019 editions of Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and the 2022 edition of expert consensus, the number of patients who had the indication for antiviral therapy was 625(17.2%), 1333(36.6%), and 2890(79.4%), respectively. The number of patients requiring treatment was increased by 1557 according to the 2022 edition of expert consensus, among whom 1424(91.5%) met the treatment threshold of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) > 30 U/L for male patients or ALT > 19 U/L for female patients. The additional patients requiring treatment according to the 2022 edition of expert consensus had significantly higher levels of ALT and HBV DNA and significantly lower scores of APRI and FIB-4 than the additional patients requiring treatment according to the 2019 edition of Guidelines (all P < 0.05). Conclusion The expansion of antiviral therapy indications for CHB may significantly increase the proportion of CHB patients receiving antiviral treatment and help mild CHB patients at the risk of disease progression to receive timely treatment and achieve the improvement in long-term prognosis.

ObjectiveTo investigate the virologic response to direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy and the changes in liver stiffness measurement (LSM), fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) after treatment in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with different alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels at baseline in a real-world setting. MethodsCHC patients who attended the outpatient service of Department of Infectious Diseases, Peking University First Hospital, from December 2017 to May 2020 were enrolled, and virologic response rate was calculated. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare LSM, FIB-4, and APRI between groups at baseline and at 12 weeks after treatment, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. ResultsA total of 48 CHC patients were enrolled, among whom 33.3% had abnormal ALT or AST at baseline. Among these patients, the virologic response rate was 85.4% at week 4 of treatment and 100% at the end of treatment and at 12, 24, and 48 weeks after treatment, and there were significant changes from baseline to 12 weeks after treatment in LSM ［6.1 (51-12.4) kPa vs 8.6 (5.7-16.9) kPa, Z=-1.676, P=0.043］ and APRI ［0.24(0.19-0.48) vs 0.42(0.23-1.17), Z=-2.050, P=0027］. From baseline to 12 weeks after treatment, the patients with abnormal ALT or AST at baseline had significant changes in LSM ［89(5.6-13.1) kPa vs 14.4(8.0-28.2) kPa, Z=-1.679, P=0.047］ and APRI ［0.44(0.25-0.50) vs 1.29(0.99-2.09), Z=-3.427, P=0.001］. ConclusionCHC patients achieve a high sustained virologic response rate after DAA therapy, and the patients with abnormal ALT or AST at baseline tend to have more significant improvements in LSM and APRI than those without such abnormality.

Objective:To investigate the effect of genetic polymorphisms of TPMT*2 rs1800462, TPMT*3B rs1800460, TPMT*3C rs1142345, and NUDT15 rs116855232 on the tolerance of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) therapy in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) .Methods:A total of 216 adult patients who were diagnosed with ALL and treated with cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, and 6-MP [complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) regimen] from September 2015 to December 2019 were included. Polymorphisms were detected by TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assay. Combined with clinical data, the influence of genetic polymorphism on the tolerance of 6-MP in the treatment of ALL was analyzed.Results:Among the 216 patients, 185 (85.65%) patients had B-ALL and 31 (14.35%) patients had T-ALL. 216 (100%) patients had CC genotype for both TPMT*2 rs1800462 and TPMT*3B rs1800460. The number of TT and TC genotypes for TPMT*3C rs1142345 was 209 (96.76%) and 7 (3.24%) , respectively. The allele frequency was 1.62% for TPMT*3C rs1142345. The number of CC, CT, and TT genotypes for NUDT15 rs116855232 was 166 (76.85%) , 48 (22.22%) , and 2 (0.93%) , respectively. The allele frequency was 12.04% for NUDT15 rs116855232. The TPMT*3C rs1142345 mutant group (TC+CC genotype) had less transfusion volume of packed red blood cell than the wild group (CC genotype) ( P=0.036) , and the mutant group (TC+CC genotype) had a higher risk to develop hepatotoxicity (increased aspartate aminotransferase) than the wild group (CC genotype) ( OR=9.559, 95% CI 1.135-80.475, P=0.038) . The durations of white blood cells (WBC) <1×10 9/L and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) <0.5×10 9/L in the NUDT15 rs116855232 mutation group (CT+TT genotype) were longer than that in the wild group (CC genotype) ( P=0.005, P=0.007) , and the transfusion volume of apheresis-derived platelets in the mutant group (CT+TT type) was greater than that in the wild group (CC genotype) ( P=0.014) . Conclusion:Genetic polymorphism of TMPT and NUDT15 has an effect on the tolerance of 6-MP in the treatment of adult ALL. Detecting genotypes of patients with ALL before treatment helps to optimize the dosage of 6-MP, which may help shorten the bone marrow suppression duration and reduce blood transfusion volume.