Objective To investigate the effects of artesunate(Art)on the proliferation,apoptosis,and autophagy of nephroblastoma cell line(SK-NEP-1).Methods SK-NEP-1 cells were intervened with different concentrations of Art(0,10,20,40 and 80 μmol/L),and MTT method was applied to calculate the cell proliferation inhibition rate to screen the optimal intervention concentration;SK-NEP-1 cells were separated into control group,Art group,3-MA group(Art+autophagy inhibitor,3-methyladenine),and Rapa group(Art+autophagy activator rapamycin).EdU and flow cytometry were applied to detect cell proliferation and apoptosis,respectively;MDC staining was applied to detect autophagy in cells;the level of reactive oxygen species(ROS)in cells was detected by DCFH-DA fluorescent probe;the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA),anti apoptotic factor B cell lym-phomatoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2 associated X protein(Bax),microtubule junction protein 1 light chain 3 Ⅱ/3 Ⅰ(LC3 Ⅱ/LC3 Ⅰ),selective autophagy junction protein 1(p62),and benzyl chloride 1(Beclin-1)proteins in cells were detected by Western blot.Results Compared with 0 μmol/L Art,the proliferation inhibition rate of SK-NEP-1 cells was gradually increased after 10,20,40 and 80 μmol/L Art treatment(P＜0.05),and the IC50 value was 46.881 μmol/L,so 40 μmol/L Art was selected for follow-up experiments.Compared with the control group,the apoptosis rate,relative autophagy fluorescence intensity,ROS level,Bax,LC3 Ⅱ/LC3 Ⅰ,Beclin-1,PINK1,and Parkin protein expression levels of SK-NEP-1 cells in the Art group were obviously increased,the EdU positive cell rate,PCNA,Bcl-2,and P62 protein expression levels were obviously reduced(P＜0.05);The auto-phagy inhibitor 3-MA inhibited the promoting effect of Art on apoptosis and autophagy of nephroblastoma cells and inhibit proliferation(P＜0.05).Conclusions Art inhibits the proliferation of nephroblastoma cell line SK-NEP-1,and promotes autophagy and apoptosis.

Objective To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying Porphyromonas gingivalis(Pg)-induced autophagy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC).Methods After Pg infected KYSE70 cells and KYSE140 cells pretreated with siAtg7 or Chloroquin(CQ),Western blot was used to measure protein levels of Atg7,LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ,and p62;Immunofluorescent confocal imaging analysis was used to detect autophagosome and autolysosome;CCK-8 assay was used to test cell viability;Transwell assay was used for ESCC cell migration and invasion potentials.Likewise,miR-21-5p inhibitor,RASA1 overexpression plasmid,or U0126 were used to block miR-21-5p/RASA1/ERK signaling pathway prior to Pg infection,followed by the aforementioned methods.In addition,immunohistochemistry was used to examine Pg abundance and LC3 protein levels,and RT-PCR was used to evaluate miR-21-5p expression in ESCC and adjacent tissue samples,followed by correlation analyses be-tween Pg and LC3,and Pg and miR-21-5p.Results Pg infected KYSE70 cells and KYSE140 cells showed upreg-ulation Atg7 protein and LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ protein but downregulation of RASA1 protein and p62 protein,enhanced cell proliferation,migration,and invasion as well as immunofluorescent spots of red,green,and yellow in mRFP-GFP-LC3-labeled ESCC cells.Pretreatment with CQ or siAtg7 abolished the above alterations induced by Pg.Con-sistently,pretreatment with miR-21-5p inhibitor,U0126,or RASA1 overexpression plasmid also blocked Pg-stimu-lated autophagy.In ESCC samples,Pg abundance was correlated with upregulation of miR-21-5p and LC3.Con-clusion Pg promotes autophagy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma via miR-21-5p/RASA1/ERK signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate diagnostic and prognostic value of actin-binding protein ANLN in clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC)and its relationship with tumor microenvironment.Methods:Gene expression data and clinical data for ccRCC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA).Relationship between ANLN expression and clinicopathological features was assessed by Wilcoxon rank sum test and Logistic regression.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to assess diagnostic value of ANLN expression in ccRCC.Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis were used to investigate effect of ANLN expression on overall survival.Gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA)was used to identify signaling pathways associated with ANLN in ccRCC.Relationship between ANLN expression and immune infiltration was analyzed by ESTIMATE algorithm,tumor immune estima-tion resource(TIMER)and CIBERSORT algorithms.Relationship between ANLN and drug sensitivity was calculated using CellMiner database.Results:ANLN expression was significantly upregulated in ccRCC tissues.ANLN expression in ccRCC was correlated with clinicopathological features.ROC analysis showed that ANLN had a high diagnostic value in ccRCC.High ANLN expression was signifi-cantly associated with poor prognosis.Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that high ANLN expression was an independent risk factor for overall survival in ccRCC patients.GSEA showed that ANLN was associated with multiple signaling pathways.In terms of immunity,ANLN was closely associated with tumor microenvironment,immune infiltration and immune checkpoint molecules in ccRCC.ANLN expression was negatively correlated with sensitivity of most antitumor drugs.Conclusion:ANLN is a potential diagnos-tic and prognostic biomarker and immunotherapeutic target for ccRCC.

Objective: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a diagnostic tool that provides precise and reproducible information about cardiac structure, function, and tissue characterization, aiding in the monitoring of chemotherapy response in patients with lightchain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA). This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of CMR in monitoring responses to chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled 111 patients with AL-CA (50.5% male; median age, 54 [interquartile range, 49–63] years). Patients underwent longitudinal monitoring using biomarkers and CMR imaging. At followup after chemotherapy, patients were categorized into superior and inferior response groups based on their hematological and cardiac laboratory responses to chemotherapy. Changes in CMR findings across therapies and differences between response groups were analyzed. Results: Following chemotherapy (before vs. after), there were significant increases in myocardial T2 (43.6 ± 3.5 ms vs. 44.6 ± 4.1 ms; P = 0.008), recovery in right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain (median of -9.6% vs. -11.7%; P = 0.031), and decrease in RV extracellular volume fraction (ECV) (median of 53.9% vs. 51.6%; P = 0.048). These changes were more pronounced in the superior-response group. Patients with superior cardiac laboratory response showed significantly greater reductions in RV ECV (-2.9% [interquartile range, -8.7%–1.1%] vs. 1.7% [-5.5%–7.1%]; P = 0.017) and left ventricular ECV (-2.0% [-6.0%–1.3%] vs. 2.0% [-3.0%–5.0%]; P = 0.01) compared with those with inferior response. Conclusion Cardiac amyloid deposition can regress following chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA, particularly showing more prominent regression, possibly earlier, in the RV. CMR emerges as an effective tool for monitoring associated tissue characteristics and ventricular functional recovery in patients with AL-CA undergoing chemotherapy, thereby supporting its utility in treatment response assessment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),one of the most prevalent malignant tumors causing the highest mortality globally,imposes an especially heavy burden of disease in China.Individuals living in high-altitude areas have a lower incidence of and mortality resulting from HCC compared with those in low-altitude regions do,potentially due to adaptive evolution in responses to hypoxic stress.Notably,high-altitude hypoxic stress is associated with the development and progression of HCC.Hypoxic stress may be involved in the development and progression of HCC by modulating the senescence,apoptosis,metabolism,tumor microenvironment,and tumor immunity of HCC cells.Additionally,the latest clinical findings indicate that high-altitude hypoxic environment has a significant impact on liver regeneration after HCC resection surgery.However,there is still a debate going on regarding whether high-altitude hypoxic stress promotes or inhibits the progression of HCC.This review covers three main aspects,the impact of adaptive evolution to high-altitude hypoxic stress on the development and progression of HCC in long-term residents of high-altitude areas,the effects of high-altitude hypoxic stress on the senescence,apoptosis,metabolism,tumor microenvironment,tumor metabolism,and tumor immunity of HCC cells,and the effect of high-altitude hypoxic stress on liver regeneration after HCC resection.We discussed the effect of changes in oxygen concentrations,cellular context,and tissue microenvironment on HCC development and progression.Moreover,we highlighted the potential for using research findings on mechanisms underlying high-altitude hypoxic stress to optimize HCC treatment strategies.

  Objective  Myocardial fibrosis is a potential mechanism of light-chain myocardial amyloidosis(AL-CA). This research aimed at exploring the correlation between multiparameter cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and myocardial fibrosis by relating the CMR myocardial tissue characteristics, the morphological and the functional parameters with gallium-68-labeledfibroblast activation protein inhibitor 04 positron emission tomography (⁶⁸Ga-FAPI PET).  Methods  We gave the patients diagnosed with AL-CA in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from August to December 2021 the examinations of CMR and ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI PET/CT. We recorded and analyzed the information on clinical manifestations and examinations of the patients.  Results  A total of 23 patients with AL-CA were included, 15 (65.2%)of which were male and the mean age was 58.3±6.5 years. Patients with high ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-04 uptake had shown growth in myocardial extracellular volume (ECV), significantly higher than those in the negative group (P=0.047). In addition, patients' myocardial ECV was positively correlated with myocardial FAPI uptake (r=0.628, P=0.001;r=0.727, P < 0.001;r=0.661, P=0.001). Patients in the positive group showd reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF)(P < 0.001).LVEF (r=-0.798, P < 0.001;r=-0.794, P < 0.001; r=-0.795, P < 0.001) and right ventricular (RV)EF (r=-0.735, P < 0.001;r=-0.739, P < 0.001;r=- 0.684, P < 0.001) showd negatively correlated with myocardial FAPI uptake, LV circumferential strain (r=0.668, P < 0.001;r=0.708, P < 0.001;r=0.705, P < 0.001), LV longitudinal strain (r=0.629, P=0.001;r=0.635, P=0.001; r=0.597, P=0.003), and RV longitudinal strain (r=0.575, P=0.004; r=0.792, P < 0.001;r=0.673, P < 0.001) were negatively correlated with myocardial FAPI uptake.  Conclusions  FAPI-related fibroblast activation is concurrent with CMR-related abnormal myocardial interstitial characteristics that leads to the decreased function of the myocardial movement. Patients with increased FAPI uptake present with increased ECV, decreased EF, and decreased strain with morphological abnormalities.

Objective:Percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)is one of the most important treatments for coronary artery disease(CAD).However,in-stent restenosis(ISR)after PCI is a serious complication without effective measures for prevention and treatment.This study aims to investigate the Ras-related protein 1A(Rap1A)level in ISR patients and in the tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)-induced inflammatory injury model of human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs),to explore the role of Rap1A in regulating TNF-α-induced inflammation in HUVECs and to provide a new potential target for ISR prevention and treatment. Methods:A total of 60 CAD patients,who underwent PCI between December 2020 and July 2022 from the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine of Xiangya Hospital,Central South University,and re-examined coronary angiography(CAG)1 year after the operation,were included.After admission,27 patients were diagnosed with ISR and 33 patients were diagnosed with non-in-stent restenosis(non-ISR)according to the CAG.Clinical data were collected,and the plasma Rap1A level was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).In cell experiments,an inflammatory injury model was established with TNF-α treatment(10 ng/mL,24 h)in HUVECs.The mRNA and protein expression levels of Rap1A,interlukin-6(IL-6),and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1)were measured by real-time reverse transcription PCR and Western blotting.Small interfering RNA(siRNA)was used to explore the role of Rap1A in regulating TNF-α-induced inflammation in HUVECs. Results:Compared with the non-ISR patients,a higher proportion of ISR patients had a history of smoking(P=0.005)and diabetes(P=0.028),and higher levels of glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c)(P=0.012),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-c)(P=0.014),and hypersensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP)(P=0.027).The remaining projects did not show significant differences(all P＞0.05).The plasma level of Rap1A in the ISR group was significantly higher than that in the non-ISR group[942.14(873.28 to 1 133.81)μg/mL vs 886.93(812.61 to 930.98)μg/mL;P=0.004].Diabetes,LDL-c,and Rap1A were risk factors for ISR by univariate logistic regression analysis(all P＜0.05).The mRNA and protein expression levels of inflammatory factors IL-6 and VCAM-1 were increased in HUVECs after 10 ng/mL TNF-α treatment for 24 h compared with the control group(all P＜0.05),while the mRNA and protein levels of Rap1A were increased(both P＜0.05).After inhibition of Rap1A in HUVECs,the mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-6 and VCAM-1 were significantly decreased(all P＜0.05). Conclusion:The plasma Rap1A level was significantly elevated in patients with ISR,suggesting that Rap1A may be a potential biomarker for predicting ISR.In the TNF-α-induced HUVECs inflammatory injury model,the expression level of Rap1A was increased.The level of TNF-α-induced endothelial cell inflammation was decreased after inhibition of Rap1A expression,suggesting that Rap1A may be a potential target for the treatment of endothelial cell inflammation in ISR.

The latest epidemiological data suggests that the situation of adult diabetes in China is severe, and metabolic diseases have become significant chronic illnesses that have a serious impact on public health and social development. After more than six years of practice, the National Metabolic Management Center(MMC) has developed distinctive approaches to manage metabolic patients and has achieved a series of positive outcomes, continuously advancing the standardized diagnosis and treatment model. In order to further improve the efficiency, based on the first edition, the second edition guideline was composed by incorporating experience of the past six years in conjunction with the latest international and domestic guidelines.

The bionic optic nerve can mimic human visual physiology and is a future treatment for visual disorders. Photosynaptic devices could respond to light stimuli and mimic normal optic nerve function. By modifying (Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythio-phene):poly (styrenesulfonate)) active layers with all-inorganic perovskite quantum dots, with an aqueous solution as the dielectric layer in this paper, we developed a photosynaptic device based on an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT). The optical switching response time of OECT was 3.7 s. To improve the optical response of the device, a 365 nm, 300 mW·cm ^-2 UV light source was used. Basic synaptic behaviors such as postsynaptic currents (0.225 mA) at a light pulse duration of 4 s and double pulse facilitation at a light pulse duration of 1 s and pulse interval of 1 s were simulated. By changing the way light stimulates, for example, by adjusting the intensity of the light pulses from 180 to 540 mW·cm ^-2, the duration from 1 to 20 s, and the number of light pulses from 1 to 20, the postsynaptic currents were increased by 0.350 mA, 0.420 mA, and 0.466 mA, respectively. As such, we realized the effective shift from short-term synaptic plasticity (100 s recovery of initial value) to long-term synaptic plasticity (84.3% of 250 s decay maximum). This optical synapse has a high potential for simulating the human optic nerve.
Humans ; Quantum Dots ; Bionics ; Oxides ; Optic Nerve