Objective To investigate the relationship between tooth loss and the occurrence of esophageal cancer in a natural village in Wenfeng District, Anyang City, Henan Province. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted to observe the occurrence of tooth loss and esophageal cancer among the asymptomatic residents of the natural village for 16 years from January 2008 to July 2024. Data were analyzed by chi-square test, binary logistic regression, and restricted cubic spline. Results Among the total population of 711 cases, 136 cases were lost to follow-up and 575 cases were included in the final statistics, including 45 cases with esophageal cancer. Significant statistical difference was found between esophageal cancer patients with and without tooth loss (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that tooth loss was associated with the occurrence of esophageal cancer (OR=3.977, 95%CI: 1.543-10.255). After the adjustment for confounders, tooth loss remained significantly associated with the occurrence of esophageal cancer (OR=3.038, 95%CI: 1.035-8.914). A nonlinear dose-response relationship was observed between the number of teeth lost and the incidence of esophageal cancer. When the number of teeth lost was less than 12, the risk of esophageal cancer increased with the number of teeth lost. When more than 12 teeth were lost, the risk of esophageal cancer decreased as the number of teeth lost increased. Conclusion Tooth loss is a risk factor for the occurrence of esophageal cancer in this natural village. When the number of teeth lost is less than 12, the risk of esophageal cancer increases with the number of teeth lost.

BACKGROUND: Pre-transplant exposure to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) significantly increases the risk of allograft rejection after liver transplantation (LT); however, whether ICI-related rejection leads to increased graft loss remains controversial. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between ICI-related allograft rejection and perioperative graft loss. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of adult liver transplant recipients with early biopsy-proven T-cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) at Liver Transplantation Center of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital from June 2019 to September 2024. The pathological features, clinical characteristics, and perioperative graft survival were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients who underwent early TCMR between June 2019 and September 2024 were included. Based on pre-LT ICI exposure, recipients were categorized into ICI-related TCMR (irTCMR, n = 12) and conventional TCMR (cTCMR, n = 16) groups. Recipients with irTCMR had a higher median Banff rejection activity index (RAI) (6 vs . 5, P = 0.012) and more aggressive tissue damage and inflammation. Recipients with irTCMR showed higher proportion of treatment resistance, achieving a complete resolution rate of only 8/12 compared to 16/16 for cTCMR. Graft loss occurred in 5/12 of irTCMR recipients within 90 days after LT, with no graft loss in cTCMRs recipients. Cox analysis demonstrated that irTCMR with an ICI washout period of <30 days was an independent risk factor for perioperative graft loss (hazard ratio [HR], 6.540; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.067-40.067, P = 0.042). CONCLUSION IrTCMR is associated with severe pathological features, increased resistance to treatment, and higher graft loss in adult liver transplant recipients.
Humans ; Liver Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Graft Rejection/immunology* ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Adult ; T-Lymphocytes/drug effects* ; Graft Survival/immunology* ; Aged

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a highly aggressive hematologic malignancy with a poor prognosis, despite advancements in treatment. Many patients struggle with relapse or refractory disease. Investigating the role of the super-enhancer (SE) regulated gene ubiquitin-specific protease 20 (USP20) in T-ALL could enhance targeted therapies and improve clinical outcomes. Analysis of histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac) chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data from six T-ALL cell lines and seven pediatric samples identified USP20 as an SE-regulated driver gene. Utilizing the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) and BloodSpot databases, it was found that USP20 is specifically highly expressed in T-ALL. Knocking down USP20 with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) increased apoptosis and inhibited proliferation in T-ALL cells. In vivo studies showed that USP20 knockdown reduced tumor growth and improved survival. The USP20 inhibitor GSK2643943A demonstrated similar anti-tumor effects. Mass spectrometry, RNA-Seq, and immunoprecipitation revealed that USP20 interacted with hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF1A) and stabilized it by deubiquitination. Cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag) results indicated that USP20 co-localized with HIF1A, jointly modulating target genes in T-ALL. This study identifies USP20 as a therapeutic target in T-ALL and suggests GSK2643943A as a potential treatment strategy.

Objective:To evaluate myocardial microcirculation perfusion with myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and to explore the prognostic value of different types of myocardial microcirculation perfusion.Methods:This is a prospective cohort study. Patients with acute myocardial infarction who underwent successful PCI in Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University and Kanghua Hospital of Dongguan City from October 2019 to June 2021 were selected. All the enrolled patients completed MCE examination within 72 hours after PCI. According to the examination results, the patients were divided into normal microcirculation perfusion group, delayed microcirculation perfusion group, and blocked microcirculation perfusion group. Adverse cardiovascular events including all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and angina re-hospitalization were followed up, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) review results were collected at six months to one year after surgery. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to investigate the difference in the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events in different myocardial perfusion groups, and Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the effect of myocardial perfusion on adverse cardiovascular events.Results:A total of 113 patients with acute myocardial infarction were included, aged (56.3±11.5) years, with 88(78%) males. There were 31 cases in the normal microcirculation perfusion group, 43 cases in the delayed microcirculation perfusion group and 39 cases in the blocked microcirculation perfusion group. LVEF was reviewed in 49 patients, and LVEF in the delayed microcirculation perfusion group was significantly improved compared with baseline at follow-up ((63.3±1.2) % vs. (58.6±1.8) %, P=0.043), and there was no statistically significant difference between the other two groups (all P>0.05). The median follow-up time was 473 days, during follow-up period 30 adverse cardiovascular events occurred. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events among the three groups ( Plog-rank=0.029). Cox regression analysis showed that abnormal microcirculation perfusion (defined as delayed and blocked microcirculation perfusion) was an independent predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute myocardial infarction after PCI ( HR=1.90, 95% CI1.16-3.12, P=0.011). Conclusions:Microcirculatory perfusion decrease or lost is common in patients with acute myocardial infarction after PCI. Timely restoration of blood flow reconstruction can save heart function when microcirculatory perfusion decreases. Microcirculatory perfusion is a predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with acute myocardial infarction, and patients with poor myocardial perfusion are more likely to experience adverse cardiovascular events.