1.Advancements in molecular imaging probes for precision diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
Jiajie FANG ; Ahmad ALHASKAWI ; Yanzhao DONG ; Cheng CHENG ; Zhijie XU ; Junjie TIAN ; Sahar Ahmed ABDALBARY ; Hui LU
Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B 2025;26(2):124-144
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, accounting for 14.1% of new cancer cases in 2020. The aggressiveness of prostate cancer is highly variable, depending on its grade and stage at the time of diagnosis. Despite recent advances in prostate cancer treatment, some patients still experience recurrence or even progression after undergoing radical treatment. Accurate initial staging and monitoring for recurrence determine patient management, which in turn affect patient prognosis and survival. Classical imaging has limitations in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, but the use of novel molecular probes has improved the detection rate, specificity, and accuracy of prostate cancer detection. Molecular probe-based imaging modalities allow the visualization and quantitative measurement of biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels in living systems. An increased understanding of tumor biology of prostate cancer and the discovery of new tumor biomarkers have allowed the exploration of additional molecular probe targets. The development of novel ligands and advances in nano-based delivery technologies have accelerated the research and development of molecular probes. Here, we summarize the use of molecular probes in positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical imaging, and ultrasound imaging, and provide a brief overview of important target molecules in prostate cancer.
Humans
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Male
;
Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnosis*
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Molecular Probes
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Molecular Imaging/methods*
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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Positron-Emission Tomography
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Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
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Ultrasonography
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Optical Imaging
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Biomarkers, Tumor
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Precision Medicine/methods*
2.BiFC and FACS-based CRISPR screening revealed that QKI promotes PABPN1 LLPS in colorectal cancer cells.
Mengxia LI ; Zhijie HU ; Yingye HUANG ; Yuting HAN ; Cheng LIANG ; Yuchi LIU ; Runze WU ; Xin LU ; Ke DENG ; Susu LIU ; Xin OU ; Yuwei LI ; Chao LIU ; Xuening LI ; Jingting LIANG ; Yonggui FU ; Anlong XU
Protein & Cell 2025;16(7):557-574
Protein liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a pivotal phenomenon intricately linked to cellular processes, is regulated by various other proteins. However, there is still a lack of high-throughput methods for screening protein regulators of LLPS in target proteins. Here, we developed a CRISPR/Cas9-based screening method to identify protein phase separation regulators by integrating bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Using this newly developed method, we screened the RNA-binding proteins that regulate PABPN1 phase separation and identified the tumor suppressor QKI as a promoter of PABPN1 phase separation. Furthermore, QKI exhibits decreased expression levels and diminished nuclear localization in colorectal cancer cells, resulting in reduced PABPN1 phase separation, which, in turn, promotes alternative polyadenylation (APA), cell proliferation, and migration in colorectal cancer.
Humans
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Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics*
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RNA-Binding Proteins/genetics*
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Poly(A)-Binding Protein I/genetics*
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CRISPR-Cas Systems
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Flow Cytometry
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Cell Proliferation
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Cell Line, Tumor
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Cell Movement
3.Effect of position angle on gastric insufflation during induction of general anesthesia in pediatric patients undergoing day surgery
Niqiao CHEN ; Xiaoqiang SUN ; Xiaoling NONG ; Zhijie LIANG ; Jiamei LIANG ; Yixing LU ; Shunzhong JING ; Anyuan LIU ; Yunan LIN
Chongqing Medicine 2025;54(10):2246-2251
Objective To investigate the effect of body position angle on gastric insufflation during the induction of general anesthesia in pediatric patients undergoing day surgery.Methods A total of 111 children scheduled for elective tracheal intubation under general anesthesia at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from December 2022 to March 2023 were selected as study subjects.Six children were ex-cluded due to unclear sonographic visualization of the gastric antrum,resulting in 105 children ultimately in-cluded in the study.The children were divided into three groups using a random number table method:Group D0(supine position),Group D5(5° head-up position),and Group D10(10° head-up position),with 35 children in each group.The presence of a"comet-tail artifact"on ultrasound was used as the criterion for determining gastric insufflation during anesthesia induction.The gastric antrum cross-sectional area(CSA)of the gastric antrum was measured before mask ventilation after loss of consciousness(T1)and immediately after tracheal intubation following mask ventilation(T2).The incidence of gastric insufflation,changes in CSA and their differences,and vital sign changes at T1 and T2,were compared among the three groups.Results Compared with Group D0,the incidence of gastric insufflation was significantly lower in Groups D5 and D10[25.7%(9/35)vs.20.0%(7/35)vs.54.0%(19/35)],and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Howev-er,there was no significant difference between Group D5 and Group D10(P>0.05).No significant difference was observed in CSA at T1 among the three groups(P>0.05).At T2,a statistically significant difference in CSA was found among the three groups(P<0.05),with Group D10 showing a smaller CSA than Group D0(P<0.05).The difference in CSA changes was statistically significant among the three groups(P<0.05),with Groups D5 and D10 exhibiting smaller changes than Group D0,and Group D10 showing a smaller change than Group D5(P<0.05).No significant differences were observed in mean artery pressure(MAP),heart rate,pulse oxygen saturation(SpO2)and pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide(PETCO2)at T1 and T2 among the three groups(P>0.05).A total of 6 children(5.7%)required brief adjustments in jaw support due to irregular PETCO2 waveforms or abnormal peak airway pressure.Conclusion In pediatric patients undergoing day sur-gery under general anesthesia,a 5° head-up position during induction significantly reduces the incidence of gas-tric insufflation and minimizes changes in gastric antral CSA,while a 10° head-up position does not provide ad-ditional benefits.
4.Ruibin Agent versus mainstream large language models: A comparative study on medical literature comprehension with esophageal cancer as a case study
Pinghua WEN ; Zhijie JIANG ; Huan JIANG ; Xianglei YUAN ; Yu ZHOU ; Hu MA ; Chao LU ; Bing HU
Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2025;32(10):1404-1410
Objective To explore the application value of artificial intelligence in medical research assistance, and analyze the key paths to achieve precise execution of model instructions, improvement of model interpretation completeness, and control of hallucinations. Methods Taking esophageal cancer research as the scenario, five types of literature including research articles, case reports, reviews, editorials, and guidelines were selected for model interpretation tests. The model performance was systematically evaluated from five dimensions: recognition accuracy, format accuracy, instruction execution accuracy, content reliability rate, and content completeness index. The performance differences of Ruibin Agent, GPT-4o, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, DeepSeek V3, and DouBao-pro models in medical literature interpretation tasks were compared. Results A total of 15 studies were included, with 3 studies of each type. The five models collectively conducted 1 875 tests. Due to the poor recognition accuracy of the editorial type, the overall recognition accuracy of Ruibin Agent was significantly lower than other models (92.0% vs. 100.0%, P<0.001). In terms of format accuracy, Ruibin Agent was significantly better than Claude 3.7 Sonnet (98.7% vs. 92.0%, P=0.002) and GPT-4o (98.7% vs. 78.9%, P<0.001). In terms of instruction execution accuracy, Ruibin Agent was better than GPT-4o (97.3% vs. 80.0%, P<0.001). In terms of content reliability rate, Ruibin Agent was significantly lower than Claude 3.7 Sonnet (84.0% vs. 92.0%, P=0.010) and DeepSeek V3 (84.0% vs. 94.7%, P<0.001). In terms of content completeness index, the median scores of Ruibin Agent, GPT-4o, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, DeepSeek V3, and DouBao-pro were 0.71, 0.60, 0.85, 0.74, and 0.77, respectively. Conclusion Ruibin Agent has significant advantages in terms of formatted interpretation of medical literature and instruction execution accuracy. In the future, it is necessary to focus on optimizing the recognition ability of editorial types, strengthening the coverage ability of core elements of various types of literature to improve interpretation completeness, and improving content reliability through optimizing the confidence mechanism to ensure the rigor of medical literature interpretation.
5.Compatibility Mechanism of Mineral Medicine Os Draconis in Bupleuri Radix-containing Tri-herbal Medicines Based on Supramolecular Systems
Zi XING ; Junling HOU ; Yifan ZHAO ; Liman XIAO ; Mengjia WEI ; Mengyuan YANG ; Lu YUN ; Yuanfei NIU ; Zhijie ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(14):191-198
ObjectiveBy starting with the combination of Os Draconis, Bupleuri Radix, and Ostreae Concha, the role of mineral medicine Os Draconis in the combination of the Bupleuri Radix-containing tri-herbal medicines was preliminarily explored from the perspective of supramolecular system formation. Method① The appearance and Tyndall phenomenon of single decoction of Os Draconis, Bupleuri Radix, and Ostreae Concha, as well as co-decoction of Bupleuri Radix-Os Draconis, Bupleuri Radix-Os Draconis-Ostreae Concha, and Bupleuri Radix-Ostreae Concha were observed, and the average particle size, dispersion coefficient, and Zeta potential of suspension particles in each decoction were determined. The micromorphology of supramolecular structures was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). ② The pH of different compatibility systems, liquid viscosity coefficient, liquid surface tension, freeze-dried powder yield rate, and other physical properties were determined, and the interaction of different compatibility systems was detected by infrared absorption spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis). ③ The composition and content difference of different compatible systems were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). ResultCompared with the single decoction, the co-decoction had more obvious turbidity and Tyndall phenomenon. The particles in the co-decoction suspension were smaller and more evenly distributed, and the Zeta potential was reduced, indicating a more stable system. Under SEM, Bupleuri Radix was irregularly lamellar, and Bupleuri Radix-Os Draconis and Bupleuri Radix-Os Draconis-Ostreae Concha were mainly spherical nanoparticles. Bupleuri Radix-Ostreae Concha was irregularly lamellar, with a small number of spherical nanoparticles. The pH of the single decoction of Bupleuri Radix and co-decoction increased, and the viscosity coefficient increased. The liquid surface tension decreased. The freeze-dried powder yield rate of the Bupleuri Radix-Os Draconis co-decoction was the highest, followed by Bupleuri Radix-Ostreae Concha decoction and Bupleuri Radix-Os Draconis-Ostreae Concha decoction, and the yield rate of Bupleuri Radix single decoction was the lowest. The main change of FTIR was the stretching vibration of -OH, and the co-decoction moved to the low-frequency direction obviously. UV-Vis showed that the maximum absorption occurred at 295.8 nm for all groups, and the absorption intensity was different (Bupleuri Radix-Os Draconis>Bupleuri Radix-Os Draconis-Ostreae Concha>Bupleuri Radix-Ostreae Concha>Bupleuri Radix). The components of Bupleuri Radix were used as the indexes, and the content of methanol extract determined by HPLC was higher than that of water extract, and the components of Bupleuri Radix single decoction were mainly saikosaponin a (SSa) and saikosaponin c (SSc), which were slightly higher after co-decoction compatibility. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS could identify 37 compounds in both single decoction and co-decoction. ConclusionThe combination of Bupleuri Radix, Os Draconis, and Ostreae Concha can form a smaller, more uniform, and stable nano-sized supramolecular system, which is conducive to the dissolution of the main components of Bupleuri Radix, and the Os Draconis contributes the most in this process.
6.Effect of overexpression of protein phosphatase 2Cm on transcriptome of human renal tubular epithelial cells
Li ZHANG ; Wenjun YANG ; Xiaohong SANG ; Yuanyuan HAN ; Zhijie MAO ; Shun WANG ; Chen LU
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2024;28(1):68-73
BACKGROUND:A previous study by our group found that protein phosphatase 2Cm(PP2Cm)null mice developed significantly fewer symptoms of renal failure relative to wild-type mice,and thus it was speculated that PP2Cm may play an important protective role in the development of renal fibrosis,however,the molecular mechanisms remain undefined. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of the PP2Cm gene on the transcriptome of human renal tubular epithelial cells. METHODS:Cultured human renal tubular epithelial cells were transfected with the PP2Cm gene into human renal tubular epithelial cells using plasmids.The expression of PP2Cm in the cells was detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR assay and western blot assay,and subsequently,cell RNA was separately extracted for transcriptome sequencing to look for differentially expressed genes between transfected and control groups.The resulting differential genes were further subjected to GO analysis and KEGG analysis using bioinformatics methods. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There were 796 differentially expressed genes,553 of which were downregulated genes and 243 upregulated genes,in human renal tubular epithelial cells transfected with the PP2Cm gene compared with untransfected blank cells by sequencing analysis.GO analysis results showed that the upregulated genes were significantly enriched in cellular biosynthetic processes,protein translation,intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathways,and so on.The downregulated expressed genes were significantly enriched in endothelial cell proliferation,cell adhesion and other signaling pathways.KEGG analysis results showed that the significantly up-regulated genes were enriched in metabolism-related signaling pathways such as amino acid metabolism and biosynthesis.The downregulated expressed genes were significantly enriched in signaling pathways such as pantothenate and coenzyme A biosynthesis.Our results show that PP2Cm overexpression can affect a number of signaling pathways related to a range of biological processes in renal tubular epithelial cells,which may be important in metabolism-related signaling pathways such as amino acid metabolism and biosynthesis.
7.Transcriptomic analysis of SR8278 improving lacrimal gland dysfunction in-duced by jet lag in mice
Shenzhen HUANG ; Di QI ; Xiaoting PEI ; Dingli LU ; Hongli SI ; Duliurui HUANG ; Wenxiao ZHANG ; Mengru BA ; Shuting XUAN ; Zhijie LI
Recent Advances in Ophthalmology 2024;44(4):264-269
Objective To investigate the role and mechanism of SR8278,a synthetic antagonist of nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1(NR1D1),in alleviating the structural and functional impairment of the extraorbital lacrimal glands induced by jet lag in mice.Methods Totally 36 healthy wild C57BL/6J mice aged 8-10 weeks were randomly divid-ed into 3 groups(normal group,jet-lag group,and jet-lag+SR8278 group)after adapting to a circadian rhythm chamber under the 12 h light/12 h dark(12 h/12 h LD)cycle for 2 weeks,with 12 mice in each group.Mice in the normal group were fed in a circadian rhythm chamber in a 12 h LD cycle,mice in the jet-lag group were fed in a 12 h/12 h LD cycle with an 8-hour advanced LD schedule,and mice in the jet lag+SR8278 group were fed in a 12 h/12 h LD cycle with an 8-hour advanced LD schedule and received 25 mg·kg-1 SR8278.At the end of 5 days of intervention,locomotor activity,core body temperature and tear secretion of mice in each group were collected,and the weight of lacrimal gland tissues and size of lacrimal gland cells were measured.Immunohistochemical methods were used for histological evaluation of the extraor-bital lacrimal glands in mice.Lacrimal ribonucleic acid(RNA)was extracted for high-throughput RNA-sequencing analysis containing NR1D1,and the obtained transcriptomic data were used for KEGG and GO functional enrichment analysis.Re-sults Compared with the normal group,the jet-lag group had higher daytime activity,lower nighttime activity,higher daytime core body temperature,and lower nighttime core body temperature,with statistically significant differences(all P<0.05).Compared with the jet-lag group,the jet-lag+SR8278 group had lower daytime activity,higher nighttime activi-ty,lower daytime core body temperature,and higher nighttime core body temperature,with statistically significant differ-ences(all P<0.05).Compared with the normal group,the jet-lag group showed a decrease in lacrimal gland weight and tear secretion and an increase in size of lacrimal gland cells,with statistical significance(all P<0.05);compared with the jet-lag group,the jet-lag+SR8278 group had an increase in lacrimal gland weight and tear secretion and a decrease in size of lacrimal gland cells,with statistical significance(all P<0.05).Compared with the normal group,the jet-lag group showed a higher expression of NR1D1 in the lacrimal gland at night;compared with the jet-lag group,the jet-lag+SR8278 group showed a lower expression of NR1 D1 in the lacrimal gland at night(both P<0.05).Bioinformatics analysis showed 947 significantly different genes in the jet-lag group and the jet-lag+SR8278 group,of which 43 are significantly upregulated genes,and 904 are significantly downregulated genes.The Notch signaling pathway has the most significant difference.Conclusion SR8278 effectively enhances the tear secretion function of jet-lagged mice by targeting NR1D1 inhibition.This process may be completed through the Notch signaling pathway.
8.Research progress of medication-related patient-reported outcome scales
Panpan LU ; Haixin LI ; Zhiling DENG ; Xujian LIANG ; Yiting LU ; Ming YAN ; Songtao CAI ; Wanchao LI ; Ruifeng ZENG ; Yi GUO ; Zhijie XU
Chinese Journal of Pharmacoepidemiology 2024;33(1):95-105
Drug therapy is a common method to cure diseases and relieve symptoms.The value of patient-reported outcome(PRO)in evaluating the effect of drug therapy has been increasingly paid attention.The PRO scale is a standardized questionnaire,which can scientifically evaluate the experiences and subjective effects of drug use from a patient-centered perspective,and help patients and clinicians make more reasonable medication decisions.By reviewing and sorting out relevant global literature,this paper found that the content of the PRO scales relevant to drug therapy focused on five fields:"medication satisfaction""medication adherence""drug treatment burden""medication-related quality of life"and"adverse drug reactions".This paper described the basic information,measurement characteristics and application of common scales in recent years respectively,and summarized and analyzed the problems and enlightenment of scale development,aiming to provide theoretical reference for the selection,application and development of PRO scales.
9.Antibody-drug conjugates combined with immunotherapy: a potential game changer in the treatment of upper tract urothelial carcinoma
Chinese Journal of Surgery 2024;62(8):737-743
Currently, treatment strategies for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) are changing rapidly. However, there are many limitations in the implementation of new surgical methods and systemic treatment options, which cannot reverse the current status quo of UTUC treatment. In recent years, antibody-drug conjugates have shown great potential in the field of cancer treatment, which can activate the immune system and enhance the effect of immunotherapy while accurately killing targeted tumor cells. The results of multiple clinical trials, including the EV-302 study, have confirmed that combination therapy can improve the survival rate of patients with advanced urothelial cancer, and may replace chemotherapy as the first-line treatment for advanced urothelial cancer. However, there are still a series of challenges in the application of combination therapy in UTUC, such as low level of evidence, adverse reactions, and drug resistance. In the future, it is necessary to focus on clinical trials of UTUC combination therapy, further optimize antibody drug conjugates and immunotherapy drugs to adapt to the disease characteristics of UTUC, and further study the molecular biology characteristics of UTUC to meet this series of challenges.
10.Antibody-drug conjugates combined with immunotherapy: a potential game changer in the treatment of upper tract urothelial carcinoma
Chinese Journal of Surgery 2024;62(8):737-743
Currently, treatment strategies for upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) are changing rapidly. However, there are many limitations in the implementation of new surgical methods and systemic treatment options, which cannot reverse the current status quo of UTUC treatment. In recent years, antibody-drug conjugates have shown great potential in the field of cancer treatment, which can activate the immune system and enhance the effect of immunotherapy while accurately killing targeted tumor cells. The results of multiple clinical trials, including the EV-302 study, have confirmed that combination therapy can improve the survival rate of patients with advanced urothelial cancer, and may replace chemotherapy as the first-line treatment for advanced urothelial cancer. However, there are still a series of challenges in the application of combination therapy in UTUC, such as low level of evidence, adverse reactions, and drug resistance. In the future, it is necessary to focus on clinical trials of UTUC combination therapy, further optimize antibody drug conjugates and immunotherapy drugs to adapt to the disease characteristics of UTUC, and further study the molecular biology characteristics of UTUC to meet this series of challenges.

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