To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of implantable D-shant atrial shunt device in patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)and right heart failure.A 53-year-old female patient diagnosed with severe idiopathic PAH and right heart failure,her WHO FC grade was Ⅳ.The right heart catheter and implantation of D-shant atrial shunt device were performed under local anesthesia on November 30,2021.A 6 mm×4 cm peripheral artery balloon was selected to dilate the atrial septum and a D-shant atrial shunt device with a fixed 4 mm diameter orifice was implanted into the heart.The clinical symptoms and hemodynamics of the patient was improved after the intervention.Implantation of atrial shunt device as a palliative therapy to established a right to left shunt is another strategy for treating patients with severe PAH in late period,which has good effectiveness and safety.It could be the last replacement therapy to improve symptoms and prolonged lives to drug resistant and severe PAH patients.

The pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) is related to a variety of factors such as mechanical overload, metabolic dysfunction, aging, etc., and is a group of total joint diseases characterized by intra-articular chondrocyte apoptosis, cartilage fibrillations, synovial inflammation, and osteophyte formation. At present, the treatment methods for osteoarthritis include glucosamine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate, etc., which are difficult to take effect in a short period of time and require long-term treatment, so the patients struggle to adhere to doctor’s advice. Some methods can only provide temporary relief without chondrocyte protection, and some even increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal disease. In the advanced stages of OA, patients often have to undergo joint replacement surgery due to pain and joint dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in the development of OA. It is possible to improve mitochondrial biogenesis, quality control, autophagy balance, and oxidative stress levels, thereby exerting a protective effect on chondrocytes in OA. Therefore, compared to traditional treatments, improving mitochondrial function may be a potential treatment for OA. Here, we collected relevant literature on mitochondrial research in OA in recent years, summarized the potential pathogenic factors that affect the development of OA through mitochondrial pathways, and elaborated on relevant treatment methods, in order to provide new diagnostic and therapeutic ideas for the research field of osteoarthritis.

With the improvement of China's socioeconomic status,the issue of aging has become increasingly prominent,making cerebral infarction a common disease among the elderly.In recent years,research on cerebral infarction has gradually deepened,shifting focus from merely protecting and repairing neurons to emphasizing the complex interplay between inflammatory response and autophagy in the brain vascular unit,covering various aspects such as the blood-brain barrier,astrocytes,microglia,and autophagy.This shift in research direction has provided us with a profound understanding of the mechanisms underlying cerebral infarction,offering strong support for innovative future treatment strategies.In this review,we delved into the importance of the interplay between inflammatory response and autophagy in the pathogenesis of cerebral infarction,emphasized the intricate interactions among these biological components,which might lay the groundwork for more effective managements and treatments of cerebral infarction.By comprehensively reviewing existing literatures,we proposed future research directions,aiming to provide more scientific and systematic guidance for the clinical management and treatment of cerebral infarction.

Humans ; Multiple Myeloma/genetics* ; Neoplasm, Residual/diagnosis* ; Flow Cytometry ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

Objective: To explore the stem cell collection rate and efficacy and safety of patients aged 70 and below with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) treated with the VRD (bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone) regimen followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Methods: Retrospective case series study. The clinical data of 123 patients with newly diagnosed MM from August 1, 2018, to June 30, 2020, at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and Suzhou Hopes Hematology Hospital, who were eligible for VRD regimen sequential ASCT, were collected. The clinical characteristics, efficacy after induction therapy, mobilization regimen of autologous stem cells, autologous stem cell collection rate, and side effects and efficacy of ASCT were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Of the 123 patients, 67 were males. The median patient age was 56 (range: 31-70) years. Patients with IgG, IgA, IgD, and light-chain types accounted for 47.2% (58/123), 23.6% (29/123), 3.2% (4/123), and 26.0% (32/123) of patients, respectively. In addition, 25.2% (31/123) of patients had renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance rate<40 ml/min). Patients with Revised-International Staging System (R-ISS) Ⅲ accounted for 18.2% (22/121) of patients. After induction therapy, the rates of partial response and above, very-good partial response (VGPR) and above, and complete response (CR)+stringent CR were 82.1% (101/123), 75.6% (93/123), and 45.5% (56/123), respectively. Overall, 90.3% (84/93) of patients were mobilized with cyclophosphamide+granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and 8 patients with G-CSF or G-CSF+plerixafor due to creatinine clearance rate<30 ml/min and one of them was mobilized with DECP (cisplatin, etoposide, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone)+G-CSF for progressive disease. The rate of autologous stem cell collection (CD34⁺cells≥2×10⁶/kg) after four courses of VRD regimen was 89.1% (82/92), and the rate of collection (CD34⁺cells≥5×10⁶/kg) was 56.5% (52/92). Seventy-seven patients treated with the VRD regimen sequential ASCT. All patients had grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Among the nonhematologic adverse events during ASCT, the highest incidence was observed for gastrointestinal reactions (76.6%, 59/77), followed by oral mucositis (46.8%, 36/77), elevated aminotransferases (44.2%, 34/77), fever (37.7%, 29/77), infection (16.9%, 13/77) and heart-related adverse events (11.7%, 9/77). Among the adverse events, grade 3 adverse events included nausea (6.5%, 5/77), oral mucositis (5.2%, 4/77), vomiting (3.9%, 3/77), infection (2.6%, 2/77), elevated blood pressure after infusion (2.6%, 2/77), elevated alanine transaminase (1.3%, 1/77), and perianal mucositis (1.3%, 1/77); there were no grade 4 or above nonhematologic adverse events. The proportion of patients who achieved VGPR and above after VRD sequential ASCT was 100% (75/75), and the proportion of patients who were minimal residual disease-negative (<10^-4 level) was 82.7% (62/75). Conclusion: In patients aged 70 and below with newly diagnosed MM treated with VRD induction therapy, the collection rate of autologous stem cells was good, and good efficacy and tolerability were noted after follow-up ASCT.
Male ; Humans ; Female ; Multiple Myeloma/diagnosis* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Creatinine ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Dexamethasone/therapeutic use* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Heterocyclic Compounds/therapeutic use* ; Bortezomib/therapeutic use* ; Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use* ; Stomatitis/etiology*

Objective:To explore the mechanism of Yiqi Yangyin decoction in the treatment of thyroid cancer by means of network pharmacology and molecular docking technique.Meth-ods:the chemical constituents of 10 kinds of Yiqi Yangyin decoction were searched by HERB database,the active components were screened by PubChem and SwissADNE,and the action targets of active components were predicted by Swisstargetprediction.The disease targets after operation of thyroid cancer were obtained by searching the databases of GeneCards,OMIM,Dis-GeNET and DrugBank.The intersection target of drug and disease was obtained by Venny2.1.0 platform,the intersection target protein interaction network was constructed by String database,and the core target protein was screened by Cytoscape3.9.1,the drug-active ingredient-target network map was constructed by Cytoscape3.9.1,and the key active components were obtained;the enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG was carried out using Metascape database;and the molecular docking verification of key targets and key components was carried out.Results:157active components of Yiqi Yangyin decoction were obtained,and 507targets of active compo-nents were predicted,1817 targets of thyroid cancer-related diseases and 154targets of drug-disease intersection were obtained.The key target genes of SRC,HSP90AA1,PIK3R1,PIK3CA and AKT1 were obtained by PPI analysis.Quercetin,kaempferol and luteolin were the key active components.Molecular docking showed that the key targets and key active components had good affinity.KEGG enrichment analysis showed that cancer pathway,PI3K-Akt pathway and HIF-1 pathway were the key pathways of drug action.Conclusion:Yiqi Yangyin decoction can play a therapeutic role in anti-inflammation,anti-tumor and improving tissue microenvironment with multi-components,multi-targets and multi-pathways.

Objective:To analyze germline pathogenic mutations in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma(age≤60 years old), and to explore the clinicopathological characteristics of germline pathogenic mutation carriers.Methods:The data of 124 patients (age≤60 years old) with upper tract urothelial carcinoma who underwent germline genetic testing at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from September 2008 to February 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 86 males and 38 females, and the median age was 55.0(49.8, 58.0)years old. The primary tumors were located in the renal pelvis in 81 cases (65.3%), the ureter in 34 cases (27.4%), and both in 9 cases (7.3%). There were 13 patients (10.5%) with low-grade UTUC and only 8 patients (6.5%) with carcinoma in situ. Twelve patients (9.7%) had a history of bladder cancer and 12 (9.7%) had a history of malignancy other than bladder cancer. Whole gene exome sequencing or target region sequencing was performed to explore germline mutations associated with patients with UTUC. The germline genetic testing data were interpreted in accordance with the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics/Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP)2015 edition guideline to clarify the germline pathogenic mutation rate and elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics of germline pathogenic mutation carriers. Germline pathogenic mutation rates were further compared with those of healthy East Asian populations to analyze germline mutations associated with the risk of carcinogenesis in UTUC.Results:In this study, 31 germline pathogenic mutations were detected in 28 (22.6%) of 124 patients with UTUC. There were no statistically significant differences in age [54.0 (47.0, 58.0) years old vs. 56.0 (50.8, 58.0) years old], gender (male/female: 21/7 vs. 65/31), history of bladder cancer (0 vs. 12/96), T-stage (T 3-4: 12/28 vs. 41/96), and proportion of histologic high-level (26/28 vs. 85/96) between patients with and without germline pathogenic mutations ( P>0.05). The 31 germline pathogenic mutations were located in 22 genes, including BRCA2 (4, 12.9%), MSH2 (3, 9.7%), RAD54L (2, 6.5%), BRCA1 (2, 6.5%), BRIP1 (2, 6.5%), NOTCH3 (2, 6.5%), XRCC2 (1, 3.2%), VEGFA (1, 3.2%), TBX3 (1, 3.2%), RET (1, 3.2%), PRKN (1, 3.2%), PALB2 (1, 3.2%), NTRK1 (1, 3.2%), NCOA3 (1, 3.2%), MSH6 (1, 3.2%), LRP1B (1, 3.2%), KMT2D (1, 3.2%), KMT2A (1, 3.2%), FANCA (1, 3.2%), BARD1 (1, 3.2%), ARID1A (1, 3.2%), and AR (1, 3.2%). The germline pathogenic mutation rates of 124 patients were compared with those of the healthy East Asian population. The results showed that germline pathogenic mutations in BRCA2 ( OR = 11.9, 95% CI 3.8 - 37.7, P<0.001), MSH2 ( OR = 11.9, 95% CI 3.2-44.5, P<0.001), RAD54L ( OR=14.2, 95% CI 2.7-73.8, P=0.002) and BRCA1 ( OR=11.8, 95% CI 2.4-59.1, P=0.003) genes significantly increase the risk of developing UTUC. Conclusions:The rate of germline pathogenic mutations in ≤60 years old UTUC patients in this study was 22.6%, and germline pathogenic mutations carrying germline BRCA2, MSH2, RAD54L or BRCA1 genes significantly increased the risk of developing UTUC.

This study investigated the drug delivery performance of oral co-loaded puerarin(PUE) and daidzein(DAZ) mixed micelles(PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs) from the perspectives of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and tissue distribution. The changes in PUE plasma concentration in rats were evaluated based on PUE suspension, single drug-loaded micelles(PUE-FS/PMMs), and co-loaded micelles(PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs). Spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR) were used to monitor systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure for 10 weeks after administration by tail volume manometry. The content of PUE in the heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, brain, and testes was determined using LC-MS/MS. The results showed that compared with PUE suspension and PUE-FS/PMMs, PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs significantly increased C_(max) in rats(P<0.01) and had a relative bioavailability of 122%. The C_(max), AUC_(0-t), AUC_(0-∞), t_(1/2), and MRT of PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs were 1.77, 1.22, 1.22, 1.17, and 1.13 times higher than those of PUE suspension, and 1.76, 1.16, 1.08, 0.84, and 0.78 times higher than those of PUE-FS/PMMs, respectively. Compared with the model control group, PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs significantly reduced systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure in SHR rats(P<0.05). The antihypertensive effect of PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs was greater than that of PUE suspension, and even greater than that of PUE-FS/PMMs at high doses. Additionally, the distribution of PMMs in various tissues showed dose dependency. The distribution of PMMs in the kidney and liver, which are metabolically related tissues, was lower than that in the suspension group, while the distribution in the brain was higher than that in the conventional dose group. In conclusion, PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs not only improved the bioavailability of PUE and synergistically enhanced its therapeutic effect but also prolonged the elimination of the drug to some extent. Furthermore, the micelles facilitated drug penetration through the blood-brain barrier. This study provides a foundation for the development of co-loaded mixed micelles containing homologous components.
Rats ; Animals ; Micelles ; Tissue Distribution ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Isoflavones/pharmacology*

AIM: To observe the efficacy of intravitreal injection of conbercept in the treatment of late postoperative vitreous cavity haemorrhage(POVCH)in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR).METHODS: A total of 56 patients(57 eyes)with late POVCH after vitrectomy in patients with PDR were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 28 eyes that received intravitreal injection of 0.05 mL conbercept were selected as the conbercept group, whereas 29 eyes that did not receive intravitreal injection of conbercept were selected as the control group. Best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), the degree of vitreous haemorrhage(VH), intraocular pressure and ocular fundus were recorded before and after vitrectomy and injection, at 1mo after late POVCH and at the end of follow-up, respectively. Moreover, the number of eyes that received the secondary surgery(vitreous lavage)was compared and the patients' general conditions such as blood glucose, blood pressure and mental health were observed.RESULTS: BCVA was better in the conbercept group than in the control group(1.26±0.13 vs.1.76±0.20; P=0.04)at 1mo after late POVCH.There was no difference in BCVA at POVCH onset and at the end of follow-up between the two groups(P=0.08, 0.24). In terms of VH opacity,there was significant improvement in 13 eyes, moderate improvement in 9 eyes and no improvement in 6 eyes in the conbercept group. However,in the control group, there was significant improvement in 11 eyes, moderate improvement in 3 eyes and no improvement in 15 eyes(P=0.03). Eyes in the conbercept group showed less possibility of reoperation than those in the control group(21% vs. 51%,P=0.045). The mean times of injections in the conbercept group was 2.24±1.16(range: 1-5). The follow-up period ranged from 12 to 24mo,with an average of 16.47±3.34mo. Among the 28 eyes with POVCH,11(19%)eyes had the fundus fibrous vascular membrane and 11(19%)eyes had retinal neovessels.Neovascular glaucoma(NVG)and iris neovascularization were observed in 10(18%)and 4(7%)eyes, respectively. After the amelioration of haemorrhage of POVCH in 57 eyes, 44(77%)eyes were supplemented with retinal photocoagulation. At POVCH onset, 43(75%)patients exhibited abnormal blood glucose(glycosylated hemoglobin)and(or)blood pressure,and 6(11%)patients were reported to felt tired or anger.CONCLUSION: Intravitreal injection of conbercept for late POVCH in patients with PDR can promote the amelioration of haemorrhage, improve visual acuity, and reduce the need for reoperation. Moreover, strict control of systemic factors such as blood pressure, blood glucose and psychological situation is crucial in patients with PDR for late POVCH.

Objective:To investigate whether it is by regulating interleukin 1β ( IL-1β) gene expression that androgen receptor (AR) in macrophages affects hyperphosphate-induced vascular smooth muscle cell calcification. Methods:The chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiment was used to determine whether AR was bound to the androgen receptor element (ARE) sequence of IL-1β promoter in THP-1 cells. Whether the AR regulated IL-1β gene expression was detected by luciferase assay experiments. AR of THP-1 cells was silenced and transfected by lentivirus with vector or shRNA. Flow cytometry was used to select positive transfected cells THP-1ARsc (control) and THP-1ARsi (AR silencing) with fluorescent markers. Western blotting was used to detect AR protein levels of THP-1ARsc (control) and THP-1ARsi cells (AR silencing in monocytes). Macrophages MФARsc (control) or MФARsi (AR silencing) were induced by 50 ng/ml phorbol ester. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect IL-1β expression levels of MФARsc or MФARsi conditioned medium. The human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMC) were cultured in MФARsc or MФARsi conditioned medium with phosphate (2.5 mmol/L final concentration of sodium dihydrogen phosphate), and Alizarin red S staining was used to analyze HASMC calcification degree. Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of RUNX2 (osteoblast marker) and SM22α (HASMC marker), and neutralization assay was performed to test IL-1β-mediating effect of macrophages AR on HASMC calcification. Results:AR was bound to ARE sequence of IL-1β promoter and regulated IL-1β gene expression. The expression level of IL-1β protein in conditioned medium of MФARsi cells decreased significantly compared to MФARsc cells ( P<0.001). Compared with MФARsc conditioned medium group, HASMC calcium deposition in MФARsi conditioned medium group decreased significantly, RUNX2 protein decreased and SM22α protein increased (all P<0.05). The degree of HASMC calcification in the MФARsi conditioned medium+IgG antibody group decreased than that in the MФARsc conditioned medium+IgG antibody group significantly, and the degree of HASMC calcification in the MФARsc conditioned medium+IL-1β antibody group decreased significantly than that in the MФARsc conditioned medium+IgG antibody group; while the degree of HASMC calcification in the MФARsi conditioned medium+IgG antibody group and MФARsi conditioned medium+IL-1β antibody group decreased than that in the MФARsc conditioned medium+IL-1β antibody group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Macrophage AR regulates IL-1β expression by binding to ARE sequence within IL-1β promoter, and IL-1β mediates the effect of macrophage AR on hyperphosphate-induced HASMC calcification.