Cardiac fibrosis is characterized by an elevated amount of extracellular matrix (ECM) within the heart. However, the persistence of cardiac fibrosis ultimately diminishes contractility and precipitates cardiac dysfunction. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are emerging as important regulators of cardiac fibrosis. Here, we elucidate the functional role of a specific circular RNA CELF1 in cardiac fibrosis and delineate a novel feedback loop mechanism. Functionally, circ-CELF1 was involved in enhancing fibrosis-related markers' expression and promoting the proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), thereby exacerbating cardiac fibrosis. Mechanistically, circ-CELF1 reduced the ubiquitination-degradation rate of BRPF3, leading to an elevation of BRPF3 protein levels. Additionally, BRPF3 acted as a modular scaffold for the recruitment of histone acetyltransferase KAT7 to facilitate the induction of H3K14 acetylation within the promoters of the Celf1 gene. Thus, the transcription of Celf1 was dramatically activated, thereby inhibiting the subsequent response of their downstream target gene Smad7 expression to promote cardiac fibrosis. Moreover, Celf1 further promoted Celf1 pre-mRNA transcription and back-splicing, thereby establishing a feedback loop for circ-CELF1 production. Consequently, a novel feedback loop involving CELF1/circ-CELF1/BRPF3/KAT7 was established, suggesting that circ-CELF1 may serve as a potential novel therapeutic target for cardiac fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: The available evidence regarding the benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on patients receiving dialysis with coronary artery disease (CAD) is limited and inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the association between PCI and clinical outcomes as compared with medical therapy alone in patients undergoing dialysis with CAD in China. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective study was conducted in 30 tertiary medical centers across 12 provinces in China from January 2015 to June 2021 to include patients on dialysis with CAD. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke. Secondary outcomes included all-cause death, the individual components of MACE, and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium criteria types 2, 3, or 5 bleeding. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the association between PCI and outcomes. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and propensity score matching (PSM) were performed to account for potential between-group differences. RESULTS: Of the 1146 patients on dialysis with significant CAD, 821 (71.6%) underwent PCI. After a median follow-up of 23.0 months, PCI was associated with a 43.0% significantly lower risk for MACE (33.9% [ n  = 278] vs . 43.7% [ n  = 142]; adjusted hazards ratio 0.57, 95% confidence interval 0.45-0.71), along with a slightly increased risk for bleeding outcomes that did not reach statistical significance (11.1% vs . 8.3%; adjusted hazards ratio 1.31, 95% confidence interval, 0.82-2.11). Furthermore, PCI was associated with a significant reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities. Subgroup analysis did not modify the association of PCI with patient outcomes. These primary findings were consistent across IPTW, PSM, and competing risk analyses. CONCLUSION This study indicated that PCI in patients on dialysis with CAD was significantly associated with lower MACE and mortality when comparing with those with medical therapy alone, albeit with a slightly increased risk for bleeding events that did not reach statistical significance.
Humans ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Coronary Artery Disease/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Renal Dialysis/methods* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; China ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the effects of microsurgical varicocelectomy on testicular function and sexual function in patients with varicocele.Methods The clinical data of 90 patients with varicocele admitted to our hospital were retrospectively analyzed,and the patients were divided into the laparoscopic group(received laparoscopic varicocelectomy)and the microscopic group(received microsurgical varicocelectomy)according to different surgical methods,with 45 cases in each group.The testicular function and sexual function related indexes including sperm density,normal sperm ratio,rate of sperm motility(grades a+b),forward motility sperm rate,international index of erectile function-5(IIEF-5)score,and the levels of testosterone,follicle-stimulating hormone,luteinizing hormone,and androgen levels before and 6 months after surgery in the two groups were compared.The incidence of complications and recurrence 6 months after surgery in the two groups were counted.Results Compared with those before surgery,the sperm density,forward motility sperm rate,rate of sperm motility(grades a+b),normal sperm ratio,IIEF-5 score,testosterone level,and androgen level 6 months after surgery of patients in the two groups were significantly increased(P<0.05),and the levels of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone were decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the laparoscopic group,the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone,and incidence of complications 6 months after surgery of patients in the microscopic group were decreased(P<0.05),and the levels of testosterone and androgens,and IIEF-5 score 6 months after surgery were increased(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the recurrence rate between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion Microsurgical varicocelectomy can improve the testicular function and sexual function of patients with varicocele,with a low incidence of complications.

MicroRNA(miRNA)is a kind of small non-coding single stranded RNA that can participate in multiple biological processes.It also plays an important role in regulating the immune function of the body.Immune thrombocytopenia(ITP)is an autoim-mune disease,whose cause and deterioration are closely related to miRNA regulates immune function of CD4+T cells subsets.In ITP patients,different expression of miRNA can affect the immune function of CD4+T cells subsets,which causes not only unbalanced ex-pression of Th1/Th2,Th17/Treg and excessive differentiation of TFH,but also abnormal cytokine secretion furthermore.This paper summarizes the unbalanced mechanism of miRNA regulating immune function of CD4+T cells subsets in ITP,so as to provide inspira-tion for exploring the immunology and immunotherapy of ITP.

[摘 要] 目的：探究雷公藤内酯醇（TP）通过miR-142-3p/HSP70信号通路对人乳腺癌MCF-7细胞恶性生物学行为的影响。方法：常规培养MCF-7细胞，将其分为6组：对照组、TP组、miR-142-3p inhibitor组、TP+inhibitor组、miR-142-3p mimic组和TP+mimic组，用转染试剂将相应的核酸或质粒转染MCF-7细胞。qPCR法、EdU细胞增殖实验、Transwell小室实验、细胞划痕实验、WB法分别检测转染后各组MCF-7细胞中miR-142-3p和HSP70 mRNA的表达，MCF-7细胞的增殖、侵袭、迁移能力和HSP70蛋白表达水平。结果：TP或miR-142-3p过表达能显著促进MCF-7细胞中miR-142-3p和HSP70的表达，敲减miR-142-3p则可明显抑制MCF-7细胞中miR-142-3p和HSP70的表达，TP可逆转由敲减miR-142-3p对MCF-7细胞中miR-142-3p和HSP70表达的影响；TP、过表达miR-142-3p均可明显抑制MCF-7细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭能力（均P<0.05），敲减miR-142-3p则均可促进MCF-7细胞的增殖、迁移和侵袭能力（均P<0.05），TP可逆转由敲减miR-142-3p对MCF-7细胞恶性生物学行为的影响（均P<0.05）。结论：TP可通过调控miR-142-3p/HSP70信号通路，进而抑制MCF-7细胞的增殖、侵袭和迁移能力。

Epigenetic pathways play a critical role in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of cancer. Over the past few decades, significant progress has been made in the development of targeted epigenetic modulators (e.g., inhibitors). However, epigenetic inhibitors have faced multiple challenges, including limited clinical efficacy, toxicities, lack of subtype selectivity, and drug resistance. As a result, the design of new epigenetic modulators (e.g., degraders) such as PROTACs, molecular glue, and hydrophobic tagging (HyT) degraders has garnered significant attention from both academia and pharmaceutical industry, and numerous epigenetic degraders have been discovered in the past decade. In this review, we aim to provide an in-depth illustration of new degrading strategies (2017-2023) targeting epigenetic proteins for cancer therapy, focusing on the rational design, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, clinical status, and crystal structure information of these degraders. Importantly, we also provide deep insights into the potential challenges and corresponding remedies of this approach to drug design and development. Overall, we hope this review will offer a better mechanistic understanding and serve as a useful guide for the development of emerging epigenetic-targeting degraders.

Objective:To examine the burden and trends of acute viral hepatitis in Guangdong Province from 1990 to 2019, and provide reference evidences for hepatitis prevention and control in the province.Methods:Data on acute viral hepatitis (hepatitis A, B, C, and E) in Guangdong from 1990 to 2019 were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 database. The incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) data were analyzed by age and gender, and the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to describe the changing trends in disease burden.Results:From 1999 to 2019, the standardized incidence, prevalence, mortality, and DALY of acute viral hepatitis in Guangdong were higher than the national averages. In 2019, 51.43% (2 245 087/4 365 221) of acute viral hepatitis cases in Guangdong Province were mainly attributed to hepatitis B, and 77.18% (106/138) of deaths were due to acute hepatitis B. In different age groups, except for acute hepatitis B, which was more common in adults, the incidence rates of other types of viral hepatitis such as hepatitis A, B, and E showed an overall decreasing trend with age. The mortality rates of different types of acute viral hepatitis, except for the <5 age group, increased with age. The overall incidence and mortality rates of acute viral hepatitis were higher in men than in women.Conclusions:The overall burden of acute viral hepatitis in Guangdong declined in 2019, but remained higher than the national level. Further efforts are needed to strengthen hepatitis prevention and screening in different population in Guangdong Province, especially in children and the elderly.

Objective To study the effect of hearing loss on language function and the mediating effect of de-pression on hearing loss and language function,to provide a reference for the intervention of language function im-pairment in the elderly.Methods Data of 6 002 older adults ≥65 years old from the Hubei Aging and Memory Co-hort Study(HAMCS)were collected from 2018 to 2022.A multivariate logistic regression model was used to ana-lyze the effect of hearing loss on language function,and a Bootstrap method was used to analyze the mediating effect of depression score on hearing loss on language function.Results Among 6 002 older adults ≥65 years old,1 137(18.94％)had mild hearing loss,264(4.40％)had moderate and severe hearing loss,and 2 611(43.50％)had language function impairment.After controlling for related factors such as age,years of education,marital status,place of residence,physical exercise,intellectual activity,hypertension,coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease,multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of speech function impairment in the elderly with mild hearing loss and moderate to severe hearing loss was 1.33 times(95％CI:1.13～1.56,P=0.001)and 1.77 times(95％CI:1.29～2.42,P＜0.001)respectively.The mediating effect showed that depression played a partial mediating role between hearing loss and language function,and the mediating effect was-0.021(95％CI:-0.027～-0.015,P＜0.001),accounting for 12.96％of the total effects.Conclusion Hearing loss increases the risk of language impairment,and depression playing a partial mediating role between hearing loss and language func-tion in the elderly.