Objective To develop high-immunogenicity antigens targeting the BA.5 variant of SARS-CoV-2 and to screen for monoclonal antibodies with high neutralizing and blocking activity,providing new strategies for the development of vaccines and diagnostic reagents.Methods The ZP protein gene fragment from zebrafish vitel-logenin and the HIS protein tag were inserted into the pCDNA3.4 plasmid to construct the recombinant plasmid pCDNA3.4-RBD(BA.5)-ZP-HIS,which was then transfected into 293F cells to express the RBD-ZP protein.The expression of the protein was verified by SDS-PAGE and its binding capabilities to ACE2 receptor molecules and aluminum adjuvant were detected.The immunogenicity of the fusion protein was evaluated using a BALB/c mouse model,and monoclonal antibodies were prepared through hybridoma technology.Monoclonal antibodies with strong neutralizing and blocking activity were screened and their neutralizing activity was detected by blocking ELISA.Results The ZP gene and HIS protein tag sequence were successfully inserted into the pCDNA3.4 vector and the RBD-ZP protein with a molecular weight of 50 kDa was successfully expressed.The immunogenicity test results showed that the ZP protein effectively enhanced the immunogenicity of the RBD protein and improved its binding capability to the ACE2 receptor.After immunizing mice with the RBD-ZP protein,8 monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind to both the mutant and wild-type strains were cloned and screened through hybridoma technology,among which 3 could effectively block the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein to the human ACE2 receptor.Conclusion This study successfully expressed the RBD-ZP fusion protein,which significantly enhanced the immunogenicity and receptor binding capability of the RBD protein.Three monoclonal antibodies with high neutral-izing and blocking activity were screened out,providing strong support for the development of COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostic reagents..

Objective:To investigate the impact of immunosuppressive therapy on the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection and cytokine levels in pediatric patients with kidney diseases.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 40 hospitalized pediatric patients who were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection at the 900th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistic Support Force from December 2022 to February 2023. Based on their immunosuppressive status prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection, these patients were categorized into immunosuppressive group and non-immunosuppressive group. Independent sample t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and χ2 test were employed to compare the clinical baseline characteristics and laboratory data, the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the levels of cytokines between the 2 groups. Results:Among the 40 patients, 11 were in the immunosuppressive group (aged 13 (8, 14) years, 9 males and 2 females) and 29 in the non-immunosuppressive group (aged 2 (1, 4) years, 15 males and 14 females). In the immunosuppressive group, 2 were asymptomatic cases, 8 were mild cases, and 1 was moderate case, and there was no severe or critical cases. In the non-immunosuppressive group, 8 were mild cases, 5 were moderate, 15 were severe cases, 1 was critical case, and no asymptomatic cases. The underlying diseases in the immunosuppressive group included nephrotic syndrome (6 cases), IgA vasculitis nephritis (2 cases), lupus nephritis (1 case), post-renal transplantation (1 case), and renal failure (1 case), with a mean total immunosuppression score (TIS) of (3.6±1.4) points. In the non-immunosuppressive group, 2 patients had a history of epilepsy, and the remaining 27 cases had no underlying conditions, all with TIS scores of 0. Compared to the children in the non-immunosuppressive group, those in the immunosuppressive group were more likely to exhibit asymptomatic or mild infection, with lower risks of severe disease, cytokine storm, fever, and cough, but a higher risk of fatigue ( OR=1.22, 2.66, 0.48, 0.12, 0.12, 0.13, 1.22; 95% CI 0.93-1.62, 0.99-7.15, 0.33-0.70, 0.03-0.57, 0.03-0.57, 0.03-0.65, 0.93-1.62; all P<0.05). The levels of cytokine IL-6, interferon-α and interferon-γ in the immunosuppressive group were all lower than those in the non-immunosuppressive group ( Z=2.23, 2.51, 2.92, respectively; all P<0.05). Conclusion:Pediatric patients with kidney diseases receiving appropriate immunosuppressive therapy may mitigate the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection by suppressing the expression of cytokines.

[Purpose]To analyze the results of upper gastrointestinal cancer screening in rural areas of Lhasa from 2015 to 2019.[Methods]Upper gastrointestinal cancer screening program was conducted among residents aged 40～69 years old from 3 rural project sites in Lhasa selected by cluster sampling method from 2015 to 2019.The detected malignant tumors and precancerous le-sions were treated and confirmed by pathological examination.The detection rate of esophagus and stomach cancer were calculated by region,sex and age and compared by x2 test.[Results]A total of 1 399 people underwent gastroscopy,among whom 1 288 completed pathological biopsy(92.07％).Three cases of esophageal cancer were detected with a detection rate of 0.21％(3/1 399),all of which were advanced squamous cell carcinoma.Eight cases of gastric cancer were detected with a detection rate of 0.57％(8/1 399),and 2 cases were early gastric cancer.The detection rate of low-grade and high-grade epithelial neoplasia of gastric mucosa was 0.64％(9/1 399)and 0.21％(3/1 399),respectively.There was no significant difference in the detection rate among different regions,sexes and age groups(all P＞0.05).[Conclusion]The detection rate of upper gastrointesti-nal cancer in screening population in Lhasa is lower than the national average level.Men and the elderly are important target populations for upper gastrointestinal cancer screening,and increasing participation rates is necessary for more effective screening outcomes.

Recent data suggest that vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor (VEGFRi) can enhance the anti-tumor activity of the anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1) antibody in colorectal cancer (CRC) with microsatellite stability (MSS). However, the comparison between this combination and standard third-line VEGFRi treatment is not performed, and reliable biomarkers are still lacking. We retrospectively enrolled MSS CRC patients receiving anti-PD-1 antibody plus VEGFRi (combination group, n=54) or VEGFRi alone (VEGFRi group, n=32), and their efficacy and safety were evaluated. We additionally examined the immune characteristics of the MSS CRC tumor microenvironment (TME) through single-cell and spatial transcriptomic data, and an MSS CRC immune cell-related signature (MCICRS) that can be used to predict the clinical outcomes of MSS CRC patients receiving immunotherapy was developed and validated in our in-house cohort. Compared with VEGFRi alone, the combination of anti-PD-1 antibody and VEGFRi exhibited a prolonged survival benefit (median progression-free survival: 4.4 vs. 2.0 months, P=0.0024; median overall survival: 10.2 vs. 5.2 months, P=0.0038) and a similar adverse event incidence. Through single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analysis, we determined ten MSS CRC-enriched immune cell types and their spatial distribution, including naive CD4⁺ T, regulatory CD4⁺ T, CD4⁺ Th17, exhausted CD8⁺ T, cytotoxic CD8⁺ T, proliferated CD8⁺ T, natural killer (NK) cells, plasma, and classical and intermediate monocytes. Based on a systemic meta-analysis and ten machine learning algorithms, we obtained MCICRS, an independent risk factor for the prognosis of MSS CRC patients. Further analyses demonstrated that the low-MCICRS group presented a higher immune cell infiltration and immune-related pathway activation, and hence a significant relation with the superior efficacy of pan-cancer immunotherapy. More importantly, the predictive value of MCICRS in MSS CRC patients receiving immunotherapy was also validated with an in-house cohort. Anti-PD-1 antibody combined with VEGFRi presented an improved clinical benefit in MSS CRC with manageable toxicity. MCICRS could serve as a robust and promising tool to predict clinical outcomes for individual MSS CRC patients receiving immunotherapy.
Humans ; Colorectal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Male ; Female ; Immunotherapy ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Tumor Microenvironment/immunology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Microsatellite Instability ; Transcriptome ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/immunology* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Adult ; Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor/antagonists & inhibitors*

Background Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is a serious occupational disease in China. Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can serve as the "breath fingerprint" of internal pathological processes, which provides a theoretical basis for exhaled VOCs to be used as potential non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Objective To screen out the characteristic VOCs and important characteristic VOCs of exhaled air in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis, and to explore the potential of these VOCs as biomarkers for early non-invasive diagnosis of the disease. Methods In this study, 27 VOCs in the exhaled breath of 22 patients with stage I coal workers' pneumoconiosis, 77 workers exposed to dust, and 92 healthy controls were quantitatively detected by thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Substances with P<0.05 in univariate analysis and variable importance projection (VIP) >1 in supervised orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model were selected as the characteristic VOCs for early diagnosis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Age was included in the LASSO regression model as a covariate to screen out important characteristic VOCs, and the diagnostic performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Spearman correlation was further used to explore the correlation between important characteristic VOCs and clinical lung function indicators. Results Through univariate analysis and OPLS-DA modeling, 8 VOCs were selected, including 2-methylpentane, 3-methylpentane, n-hexane, methylcyclopentane, n-heptane, methylcyclohexane, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone, in exhaled breath of patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. The concentrations of 4 VOCs, including 3-methylpentane, n-hexane, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone, showed a decreasing trend with the increase of dust exposure years. By LASSO regression, the important characteristic VOCs of the coal workers' pneumoconiosis group and the dust exposure group were n-hexane, methylcyclohexane and 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and the important characteristic VOCs of the coal workers' pneumoconiosis group and the healthy group were 2-methyl-pentane and 4-methyl-2-pentanone. The ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of n-hexane, methylcyclohexane, and 4-methyl-2-pentanone were 0.969, 0.909, and 0.956, respectively, and the AUC of combined diagnosis was 0.988 and its Youden index was 0.961, suggesting that these results can serve as a valuable reference for further research on early diagnosis. The Correlation analysis found that there was a positive correlation between n-hexane and lung function indicators in the important characteristic VOCs, indicating that it could indirectly reflect the obstruction of lung function ventilation, further proving that important characteristic VOCs have the potential to monitor lung function decline. Conclusion Three important characteristic VOCs selected in this study have the potential to be used as non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis and disease monitoring of coal workers' pneumoconiosis, and are worthy of further study and verification.

Background and aims:Studies indicate that the gut microbiota and its metabolites are involved in the progression of cardiovascular diseases,and enterohepatic circulation plays an important role in this progression.This study aims to identify potential probiotics for the treatment of unstable angina(UA)and elucidate their mechanisms of action.Methods:Initially,the gut microbiota from patients with UA and control was analyzed.To directly assess the effects of Bifidobacterium supplementation,10 patients with UA were enrolled and administered Bifidobacterium(630 mg per intake twice a day for 1 month).The fecal metagenome,serum trimethyl-amine N-oxide(TMAO)levels,and other laboratory parameters were evaluated before and after Bifido-bacterium supplementation.Results:After supplementing with Bifidobacterium for 1 month,there were statistically significant dif-ferences(P＜0.05)in TMAO,aspartate aminotransferase,total cholesterol,and low-density lipoprotein compared to before.Additionally,the abundance of Bifidobacterium longum increased significantly,although the overall abundance of Bifidobacterium did not reach statistical significance.The gut micro-biota,metabolites,and gut-liver axis are involved in the progression of UA,and potential mechanisms should be further studied.Conclusions:Metagenomic analysis demonstrated a reduced abundance of Bifidobacterium in patients with UA.Supplementation with Bifidobacterium restored gut dysbiosis and decreased circulating TMAO levels in patients with UA.This study provides evidence that Bifidobacterium may exert cardiovascular-protective effects through the gut-liver-heart axis.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of therapeutic temperature control in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).Methods:The full-text databases of Chinese Medical Journal, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, VIP Database, China Biomedical Database, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of hypothermia treatment and conventional treatment in patients with sTBI. The search period was from January 2016 to June 2025. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. The evaluation indicators included intracranial pressure before treatment, at 3 and 5 days after treatment, favorable prognosis rate and mortality rate within 6 months after treatment, and incidence of pulmonary infection, intracranial infection, epilepsy, acute gastrointestinal dysfunction, deep vein thrombosis, abnormal coagulation function, and arrhythmia during treatment; publication bias.Results:A total of 33 studies involving 3 322 patients were included, with 1 696 patients in the temperature treatment group and 1 626 in the conventional treatment group. There was no statistically significant difference in intracranial pressure between the two groups before treatment ( SMD=0, 95% CI -0.13, 0.14, P>0.05). However, at 3 and 5 days after treatment, the intracranial pressure was lower in the temperature treatment group than that in the conventional treatment group ( SMD=-2.29, 95% CI -2.76, -1.82, P<0.01; SMD=-2.66, 95% CI -3.43, -1.89, P<0.01). Within 6 months after treatment, the favorable prognosis rate was higher in the temperature treatment group than that in the conventional treatment group ( RR=1.41, 95% CI 1.32, 1.50, P<0.01), and mortality rate was lower than that in the conventional treatment group ( RR=0.64, 95% CI 0.55, 0.75, P<0.01). Compared with the conventional treatment group, the incidences of epilepsy and acute gastrointestinal dysfunction in the temperature treatment group were statistically reduced ( RR=0.33, 95% CI 0.13, 0.83, P<0.05; RR=0.43, 95% CI 0.25, 0.74, P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of pulmonary infection ( RR=0.96, 95% CI 0.85, 1.08, P>0.05), intracranial infection ( RR=0.56, 95% CI 0.20, 1.56, P>0.05), deep vein thrombosis ( RR=0.93, 95% CI 0.69, 1.25, P>0.05), abnormal coagulation function ( RR=1.19, 95% CI 0.43, 3.31, P>0.05) or arrhythmia ( RR=0.51, 95% CI 0.23, 1.12, P>0.05) between the two groups. Egger′s test indicated the presence of publication bias and the results remained robust after trim and fill analysis. Conclusions:For patients with sTBI, temperature control therapy shows lowered intracranial pressure and mortality rate as well as improved favorable prognosis rate at 6 months posttreatment, and decreased incidence of epilepsy and acute gastrointestinal dysfunction during treatment, while reveals similar incidence of pulmonary infection, intracranial infection, deep vein thrombosis, abnormal coagulation function, and arrhythmia when compared with conventional treatment.

Objective To develop high-immunogenicity antigens targeting the BA.5 variant of SARS-CoV-2 and to screen for monoclonal antibodies with high neutralizing and blocking activity,providing new strategies for the development of vaccines and diagnostic reagents.Methods The ZP protein gene fragment from zebrafish vitel-logenin and the HIS protein tag were inserted into the pCDNA3.4 plasmid to construct the recombinant plasmid pCDNA3.4-RBD(BA.5)-ZP-HIS,which was then transfected into 293F cells to express the RBD-ZP protein.The expression of the protein was verified by SDS-PAGE and its binding capabilities to ACE2 receptor molecules and aluminum adjuvant were detected.The immunogenicity of the fusion protein was evaluated using a BALB/c mouse model,and monoclonal antibodies were prepared through hybridoma technology.Monoclonal antibodies with strong neutralizing and blocking activity were screened and their neutralizing activity was detected by blocking ELISA.Results The ZP gene and HIS protein tag sequence were successfully inserted into the pCDNA3.4 vector and the RBD-ZP protein with a molecular weight of 50 kDa was successfully expressed.The immunogenicity test results showed that the ZP protein effectively enhanced the immunogenicity of the RBD protein and improved its binding capability to the ACE2 receptor.After immunizing mice with the RBD-ZP protein,8 monoclonal antibodies that specifically bind to both the mutant and wild-type strains were cloned and screened through hybridoma technology,among which 3 could effectively block the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein to the human ACE2 receptor.Conclusion This study successfully expressed the RBD-ZP fusion protein,which significantly enhanced the immunogenicity and receptor binding capability of the RBD protein.Three monoclonal antibodies with high neutral-izing and blocking activity were screened out,providing strong support for the development of COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostic reagents..

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of therapeutic temperature control in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).Methods:The full-text databases of Chinese Medical Journal, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, VIP Database, China Biomedical Database, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of hypothermia treatment and conventional treatment in patients with sTBI. The search period was from January 2016 to June 2025. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. The evaluation indicators included intracranial pressure before treatment, at 3 and 5 days after treatment, favorable prognosis rate and mortality rate within 6 months after treatment, and incidence of pulmonary infection, intracranial infection, epilepsy, acute gastrointestinal dysfunction, deep vein thrombosis, abnormal coagulation function, and arrhythmia during treatment; publication bias.Results:A total of 33 studies involving 3 322 patients were included, with 1 696 patients in the temperature treatment group and 1 626 in the conventional treatment group. There was no statistically significant difference in intracranial pressure between the two groups before treatment ( SMD=0, 95% CI -0.13, 0.14, P>0.05). However, at 3 and 5 days after treatment, the intracranial pressure was lower in the temperature treatment group than that in the conventional treatment group ( SMD=-2.29, 95% CI -2.76, -1.82, P<0.01; SMD=-2.66, 95% CI -3.43, -1.89, P<0.01). Within 6 months after treatment, the favorable prognosis rate was higher in the temperature treatment group than that in the conventional treatment group ( RR=1.41, 95% CI 1.32, 1.50, P<0.01), and mortality rate was lower than that in the conventional treatment group ( RR=0.64, 95% CI 0.55, 0.75, P<0.01). Compared with the conventional treatment group, the incidences of epilepsy and acute gastrointestinal dysfunction in the temperature treatment group were statistically reduced ( RR=0.33, 95% CI 0.13, 0.83, P<0.05; RR=0.43, 95% CI 0.25, 0.74, P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of pulmonary infection ( RR=0.96, 95% CI 0.85, 1.08, P>0.05), intracranial infection ( RR=0.56, 95% CI 0.20, 1.56, P>0.05), deep vein thrombosis ( RR=0.93, 95% CI 0.69, 1.25, P>0.05), abnormal coagulation function ( RR=1.19, 95% CI 0.43, 3.31, P>0.05) or arrhythmia ( RR=0.51, 95% CI 0.23, 1.12, P>0.05) between the two groups. Egger′s test indicated the presence of publication bias and the results remained robust after trim and fill analysis. Conclusions:For patients with sTBI, temperature control therapy shows lowered intracranial pressure and mortality rate as well as improved favorable prognosis rate at 6 months posttreatment, and decreased incidence of epilepsy and acute gastrointestinal dysfunction during treatment, while reveals similar incidence of pulmonary infection, intracranial infection, deep vein thrombosis, abnormal coagulation function, and arrhythmia when compared with conventional treatment.

[Purpose]To analyze the results of upper gastrointestinal cancer screening in rural areas of Lhasa from 2015 to 2019.[Methods]Upper gastrointestinal cancer screening program was conducted among residents aged 40～69 years old from 3 rural project sites in Lhasa selected by cluster sampling method from 2015 to 2019.The detected malignant tumors and precancerous le-sions were treated and confirmed by pathological examination.The detection rate of esophagus and stomach cancer were calculated by region,sex and age and compared by x2 test.[Results]A total of 1 399 people underwent gastroscopy,among whom 1 288 completed pathological biopsy(92.07％).Three cases of esophageal cancer were detected with a detection rate of 0.21％(3/1 399),all of which were advanced squamous cell carcinoma.Eight cases of gastric cancer were detected with a detection rate of 0.57％(8/1 399),and 2 cases were early gastric cancer.The detection rate of low-grade and high-grade epithelial neoplasia of gastric mucosa was 0.64％(9/1 399)and 0.21％(3/1 399),respectively.There was no significant difference in the detection rate among different regions,sexes and age groups(all P＞0.05).[Conclusion]The detection rate of upper gastrointesti-nal cancer in screening population in Lhasa is lower than the national average level.Men and the elderly are important target populations for upper gastrointestinal cancer screening,and increasing participation rates is necessary for more effective screening outcomes.