As new evidence emerges, treatment strategies toward the functional cure of chronic hepatitis B are evolving. In 2019, a panel of national hepatologists published a Consensus Statement on the functional cure of chronic hepatitis B. Currently, an international group of hepatologists has been assembled to evaluate research since the publication of the original consensus, and to collaboratively develop the updated statements. The 2.0 Consensus was aimed to update the original consensus with the latest available studies, and provide a comprehensive overview of the current relevant scientific literatures regarding functional cure of hepatitis B, with a particular focus on issues that are not yet fully clarified. These cover the definition of functional cure of hepatitis B, its mechanisms and barriers, the effective strategies and treatment roadmap to achieve this endpoint, in particular new surrogate biomarkers used to measure efficacy or to predict response, and the appropriate approach to pursuing a functional cure in special populations, the development of emerging antivirals and immunomodulators with potential for curing hepatitis B. The statements are primarily intended to offer international guidance for clinicians in their practice to enhance the functional cure rate of chronic hepatitis B.

As new evidence emerges, treatment strategies toward the functional cure of chronic hepatitis B are evolving. In 2019, a panel of national hepatologists published a Consensus Statement on the functional cure of chronic hepatitis B. Currently, an international group of hepatologists has been assembled to evaluate research since the publication of the original consensus, and to collaboratively develop the updated statements. The 2.0 Consensus was aimed to update the original consensus with the latest available studies, and provide a comprehensive overview of the current relevant scientific literatures regarding functional cure of hepatitis B, with a particular focus on issues that are not yet fully clarified. These cover the definition of functional cure of hepatitis B, its mechanisms and barriers, the effective strategies and treatment roadmap to achieve this endpoint, in particular new surrogate biomarkers used to measure efficacy or to predict response, and the appropriate approach to pursuing a functional cure in special populations, the development of emerging antivirals and immunomodulators with potential for curing hepatitis B. The statements are primarily intended to offer international guidance for clinicians in their practice to enhance the functional cure rate of chronic hepatitis B.

As new evidence emerges, treatment strategies toward the functional cure of chronic hepatitis B are evolving. In 2019, a panel of national hepatologists published a Consensus Statement on the functional cure of chronic hepatitis B. Currently, an international group of hepatologists has been assembled to evaluate research since the publication of the original consensus, and to collaboratively develop the updated statements. The 2.0 Consensus was aimed to update the original consensus with the latest available studies, and provide a comprehensive overview of the current relevant scientific literatures regarding functional cure of hepatitis B, with a particular focus on issues that are not yet fully clarified. These cover the definition of functional cure of hepatitis B, its mechanisms and barriers, the effective strategies and treatment roadmap to achieve this endpoint, in particular new surrogate biomarkers used to measure efficacy or to predict response, and the appropriate approach to pursuing a functional cure in special populations, the development of emerging antivirals and immunomodulators with potential for curing hepatitis B. The statements are primarily intended to offer international guidance for clinicians in their practice to enhance the functional cure rate of chronic hepatitis B.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the role and mechanism of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 19 in inflammation-induced injury of vascular endothelial cells caused by high glucose (HG). METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were randomly divided into four groups: control, HG, FGF19, and HG+FGF19 (n=3 each). The effect of different concentrations of glucose and/or FGF19 on HUVEC viability was assessed using the CCK8 assay. Flow cytometry was utilized to examine the impact of FGF19 on HUVEC apoptosis. Levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured by ELISA. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting were used to determine the mRNA and protein expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Cells were further divided into control, siRNA-Nrf2 (siNrf2), HG, HG+FGF19, HG+FGF19+negative control, and HG+FGF19+siNrf2 groups (n=3 each) to observe the effect of FGF19 on oxidative stress injury in HUVECs induced by high glucose after silencing the Nrf2 gene. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the HG group exhibited increased apoptosis rate, increased IL-6, iNOS and MDA levels, and increased VEGF mRNA and protein expression, along with decreased T-SOD activity and decreased mRNA and protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 (P<0.05). Compared to the HG group, the HG+FGF19 group showed reduced apoptosis rate, decreased IL-6, iNOS and MDA levels, and decreased VEGF mRNA and protein expression, with increased T-SOD activity and increased Nrf2 and HO-1 mRNA and protein expression (P<0.05). Compared to the HG+FGF19+negative control group, the HG+FGF19+siNrf2 group had decreased T-SOD activity and increased MDA levels (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS FGF19 can alleviate inflammation-induced injury in vascular endothelial cells caused by HG, potentially through the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.
Humans ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2/genetics* ; Signal Transduction ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells/drug effects* ; Fibroblast Growth Factors/pharmacology* ; Heme Oxygenase-1/physiology* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Glucose ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6/analysis* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/genetics* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/analysis* ; Cells, Cultured

Objective： To investigate the correlation between pathological features at the positive margins and biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. Methods： From June 2014 to December 2019, a total of 200 patients with organ-confined prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy were included in this study by the method of case matching (1∶1). One hundred patients with positive surgical margin and 100 with negative surgical margin were enrolled in this study. All patients did not receive any adjuvant treatment after surgery with a clinical stage of T2/N0. BCR-free survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. An optimal cutoff for the PSM length which differentiated risk for BCR was identified by Classification and Regression Tree analysis (CART). Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the association between variables and BCR-free survival. Results： A total of 200 patients were included in this study, and 177 patients with pT2 stage were pathological after operation. The median follow-up time of this group of patients was 32.8 months ranged from 5.6 to 80.5 months. A total of 28 cases of biochemical recurrence were found through PSA follow-up after surgery, including 6 cases (6.0%) in the negative margin group and 22 cases (22.0%) in the positive margin group. The result of Kaplan Meier survival curve analysis showed that the non biochemical recurrence survival time of the negative margin group was longer than that of the positive margin group (log rank χ2=9.336, P=0.003). It was found that the length of positive margin ≥1 mm in the positive margin group was positively correlated with postoperative biochemical recurrence. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify that the highest Gleason score ≥8 and the length of positive ≥1 mm were independent factors of postoperative biochemical recurrence in both the overall patients and the patients with positive margin. Conclusion：　The patients with highest Gleason score ≥8 and the length of positive ≥1mm are at elevated risk for BCR.
Humans ; Male ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Margins of Excision ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood* ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate

Taxifolin (TAX) is a natural compound known for its liver protection effect, but the mechanism remains unknown. Phosphorylated proteomics analyses discovered that the phosphorylation level of NDRG1 at T328 was a key event of TAX-improved liver fibrosis. We established models with NDRG1 knockout (KO) in vivo and in vitro, demonstrating that NDRG1 KO attenuated the development of hepatocyte injury, and combining NDRG1 KO and TAX administration did not result in a reduction in protection against liver injury. Cellular thermal shift assay and surface plasma resonance analysis showed that TAX directly binds to NDRG1 rather than its upstream kinase, subsequently demonstrating that TAX regulated phosphorylation of NDRG1 at T328 through binding to its C289 site. NDRG1 T328A (phosphorylated mutation) and T328E (mimic phosphorylation) in vivo and in vitro confirmed that pNDRG1_T328 exacerbates hepatocyte injury along with DNA damage, inflammatory response, and apoptosis, thereby contributing to hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation. In contrast, TAX can inhibit the above pathological abnormalities and block hepatocyte injury-triggered HSCs activation and fibrosis. Overall, TAX is a potent liver protection drug primarily targeting NDRG1 and inhibiting pNDRG1_T328 in hepatocytes.

ObjectiveTo investigate the distribution of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy （ICP） and its association with perinatal outcomes， and to provide a basis for precise treatment based on TCM syndrome differentiation. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 275 patients with ICP who were admitted to The Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from April 2023 to April 2025. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to summarize TCM syndromes. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups， and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. A multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the clinical features significantly associated with TCM syndrome. ResultsThe cluster analysis identified three core TCM syndromes among the 275 patients with ICP， i.e.， liver-gallbladder damp-heat syndrome （45.8%）， syndrome of blood deficiency generating wind （30.9%）， and liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome （23.3%）. There was a significant difference in the distribution of TCM syndromes between different groups stratified by maternal age at delivery， parity， history of ICP recurrence， gestational weeks at disease onset， total bile acid （TBA）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， and comorbidity with gestational diabetes mellitus （GDM） （all P<0.05）. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that<34 gestational weeks at disease onset was significantly associated with all three syndromes （damp-heat： odds ratio ［OR］=3.769， P<0.001； blood deficiency： OR=4.031， P<0.001； liver stagnation： OR=3.552， P<0.001）. Liver-gallbladder damp-heat syndrome was associated with maternal age ≥35 years at disease onset （OR=2.048， P=0.014）， parity ≥2 times （OR=1.921， P=0.034）， history of ICP recurrence （OR=2.404， P=0.030）， ALT ≥200 U/L （OR=2.051， P=0.018）， comorbidity with GDM （OR=1.944， P=0.029）， and TBA ≥40 μmol/L （OR=2.542， P=0.024）. The syndrome of blood deficiency generating wind syndrome was associated with maternal age ≥35 years （OR=2.939， P=0.003）， parity ≥2 time （OR=3.222， P=0.003）， history of ICP recurrence （OR=3.809， P=0.010）， ALT ≥200 U/L （OR=2.889， P=0.006）， comorbidity with GDM （OR=3.711， P=0.001）， and comorbidity with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy （OR=4.472， P=0.011）. Liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome was associated with TBA ≥40 μmol/L （OR=2.995， P=0.044）. The analysis of perinatal outcomes showed that there were significant differences in mode of delivery， gestational weeks at the time of delivery， postpartum blood loss， and neonatal birth weight between the three groups with different TCM syndromes （all P<0.05）. ConclusionLiver-gallbladder damp-heat syndrome， syndrome of blood deficiency generating wind， and liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome are the main TCM syndrome types in ICP， and the distribution of TCM syndromes is closely associated with clinical factors and perinatal outcomes， which provides a basis for precise TCM syndrome differentiation and individualized treatment.

Primary liver cancer(PLC)is a common malignant tumor in China.It ranks second in the cause of tumor mortality and it is a serious threat to the lives and health of people.Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE)is the preferred treatment for patients with HCC who cannot be surgically cured,which is of great significance for prolonging the patient's life.However,the incidence of nausea and vomiting after TACE is very high,which is an important reason for the decline of patient treatment compliance,which seriously affects the quality of life and the effect of interventional therapy.This paper reviews the domestic and abroad literature concerning the nausea and vomiting in patients after TACE,focusing on the clinical features of nausea and vomiting,the risk factors and the assessment tools,so as to provide a scientific basis for clinical early identification and effective intervention of nausea and vomiting after TACE.(J Intervent Radiol,2024,33:565-570)

Objective:To explore the regulatory role of the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neural pathway from the lateral hypothalamus (LHA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in modulating anxiety-like behavior in mice.Methods:Totally 37 male SPF-grade C57BL/6J mice, aged 6 to 8 weeks and weighed 18-22 g, were used for the following experiment: (1) Five mice received an injection of Fluoro-Gold (FG) into the NAc, followed by retrograde tracing combined with immunofluorescence staining after one week to observe the coexistence of FG and MCH immunopositive neurons in the LHA.(2)Thirty-two mice were injected with adeno-associated virus which could activate the MCH neurons into the LHA.After two weeks, they were randomly divided into four groups and received different drug injections: normal saline (NS, intraperitoneal injection)+ NS (1.5 μL, injection in the NAc) group, NS(intraperitoned injection) + SNAP94847 (SNAP, 2 mg/mL, 1.5 μL, injection in the NAc) group, chlorprothixene N-oxide (CNO, 0.15 mg/kg, intraperitoned injection) + NS(1.5 μL, injection in the NAc) group, and CNO(intraperitoned injection) + SNAP(1.5 μL injection in the NAc) group, and the SNAP94847 was an antagonist for MCH typel receptor.The open field test (OFT), elevated plus maze (EPM), and marble burial test (MBT) were employed to assess the impact of chemogenetic activation of MCH neurons on anxiety-related behavior in mice.Results:(1) The results of FG retrograde tracing combined with immunofluorescence histochemistry showed that MCH neurons in the LHA project their neural fibers to NAc neurons.(2) In the chemogenetic experiment, there was no significant interaction effect between CNO and SNAP in terms of the duration of stay ( Finteraction=2.899, P>0.05) and the distance moved ( Finteraction=1.603, P>0.05) in the central area during OFT experiments.However, the main effects of both CNO and SNAP intervention were significant in the duration of stay ( FCNO=6.767, FSNAP=7.656, both P<0.05) and the distance moved ( FCNO=12.480, FSNAP=7.999, both P<0.01) in the central area.Compared to the NS+ NS group, mice in the CNO+ NS group exhibited a shortened duration of stay ((89.00±19.16)s, (63.75±13.58)s, P<0.05) and a decrease in distance moved ((593.79±108.18)cm, (426.81±66.14)cm, P<0.05) in the central area.In contrast, mice in the CNO+ SNAP group had an extended duration of stay ((87.38±16.57)s) and an increase in distance moved ((569.27±73.20)cm) in the central area compared to the CNO+ NS group.There was no significant interaction effect between CNO and SNAP in the number of entries ( Finteraction=2.79, P>0.05) and the dwell time ( Finteraction=2.871, P>0.05) into the open arms of EPM experiments.However, the main effects of both CNO and SNAP interventions in the number of entries ( FCNO=10.43, P<0.01; FSNAP=4.96, P<0.05) and the dwell time ( FCNO=5.232, FSNAP=7.597, both P<0.05) into the open arms were significant.Compared to the NS+ NS group, mice in the CNO+ NS group showed a decrease in the number of entries ((13.13±3.36), (7.63±3.70), P<0.01) and a decrease in open arm dwell time ((37.68±11.37) s, (22.98±7.00) s, P<0.05) into the open arms.The CNO+ SNAP group had an increased number of entries (12.00±3.02) and an increased dwell time ((39.41±10.58)s) into the open arms compared to the CNO+ NS group(both P<0.05).There was no significant interaction effect between CNO and SNAP in the MBT experiment ( Finteraction=2.746, P>0.05).However, the main effects of both CNO and SNAP interventions were significant ( FCNO=8.125, P<0.01; FSNAP=5.383, P<0.05).Compared to the NS+ NS group, the number of buried beads increased in the CNO+ NS group ((16.13±2.10), (11.88±3.23), P<0.05).Conversely, the number of buried beads decreased in the CNO+ SNAP group compared to the CNO+ NS group ((12.38±2.33), (16.13±2.10), P<0.05). Conclusion:Enhanced activity in the MCHergic neural pathway from LHA to NAc can promote anxiety-like behavior in mice, providing new insights into the mechanisms underlying anxiety.

Objective To study the clinical manifestations,laboratory features,and labial gland pathological features in children with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)complicated by Sj?gren's syndrome(SS).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 102 children with SLE who underwent labial gland biopsies at Renji Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from January 2013 to December 2022.The children were divided into two groups based on the presence of SS:the SLE with SS group(SLE-SS;60 children)and the SLE-only group(42 children).According to the focus score(FS)of the labial glands,children in the SLE-SS group were further subdivided into FS≥4 subgroup(26 children)and FS<4 subgroup(34 children).The clinical data of the groups were compared.Results Compared to the SLE-only group,children in the SLE-SS group had less skin and mucosal involvement,were more likely to have positive anti-SSA and anti-SSB antibodies,and had higher levels of rheumatoid factor(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in treatment protocols between the two groups(P>0.05).Compared to the FS<4 subgroup,the FS≥4 subgroup had more frequent musculoskeletal involvement(P<0.05),but there was no significant difference in SLE disease activity or other major organ involvement between the subgroups(P>0.05).Conclusions Children with SLE complicated by SS are less likely to have skin and mucous membrane involvement and exhibit specific serological characteristics.The SLE-SS children with an FS≥4 are more likely to experience musculoskeletal involvement.However,FS is not associated with disease activity or other significant organ damage.