Radiotherapy is a first-line treatment for a variety of malignant tumors by inducing DNA damage to kill tumor cells. However, tumor cells have different sensitivities to radiotherapy, ultimately leading to different therapeutic effects. Histone acetylation, regulated by histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and histone deacetylase (HDAC), is involved in the regulation of cell radiation sensitivity by influencing DNA damage repair. The main mechanisms are recruiting DNA repair related proteins and mediating chromatin dynamic changes. In this article, the role of histone acetylation modification in tumor radiotherapy was reviewed, aming to provide the basis for the radiotherapy sensitization strategy based on histone acetylation.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) diseases are common clinical conditions. The number of patients with TMJ diseases is large, and the etiology, epidemiology, disease spectrum, and treatment of the disease remain controversial and unknown. To understand and master the current situation of the occurrence, development and prevention of TMJ diseases, as well as to identify the patterns in etiology, incidence, drug sensitivity, and prognosis is crucial for alleviating patients′suffering.This will facilitate in-depth medical research, effective disease prevention measures, and the formulation of corresponding health policies. Cohort construction and research has an irreplaceable role in precise disease prevention and significant improvement in diagnosis and treatment levels. Large-scale cohort studies are needed to explore the relationship between potential risk factors and outcomes of TMJ diseases, and to observe disease prognoses through long-term follw-ups. The consensus aims to establish a standard conceptual frame work for a cohort study on patients with TMJ disease while providing ideas for cohort data standards to this condition. TMJ disease cohort data consists of both common data standards applicable to all specific disease cohorts as well as disease-specific data standards. Common data were available for each specific disease cohort. By integrating different cohort research resources, standard problems or study variables can be unified. Long-term follow-up can be performed using consistent definitions and criteria across different projects for better core data collection. It is hoped that this consensus will be facilitate the development cohort studies of TMJ diseases.

Objective: To explore the effects of protein powder on the bioavailability of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in blood and kidneys of rats and renal function change. Methods: Twenty-four rats of the SD strain were randomly divided into the negative control group, PFASs group and protein powder group, with 8 rats (half males and half females) in each group. PFASs included 13 perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and 8 perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs), and the mixture was used as a test subject for intervention. The rats in the negative control group were given deionized water at doses of 20 mL/kg·bw, in the PFASs group were given 5 mL/kg·bw of PFASs mixtures and 15 mL/kg·bw of deionized water, and in the protein powder group were given 5 mL/kg·bw of PFASs mixtures and 15 mL/kg·bw of protein powder (0.258 g/mL). After intervention for 28 successive days, body weight and kidney mass were weighed, and the kidney volume index was calculated. Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen were detected by an automatic biochemical analyzer. The PFCAs, PFSAs and PFASs contents were quantified in blood and kidney using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, and the bioavailability was estimated. Results: There was no significant differences in kidney mass, kidney volume index, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen among the negative control group, PFASs group and protein powder group (all P>0.05). The bioavailability of blood PFCAs, PFSAs and PFASs in the protein powder group was not significantly different from the PFASs group (all P>0.05). Compared with the PFASs group, the bioavailability of PFCAs, PFSAs and PFASs were significantly increased in kidneys of male rats in the protein powder group (all P<0.05), while were not significant different in those of female rats (all P>0.05). Conclusion Protein powder at the dose of this study can significantly improve the bioavailability of PFASs in kidneys of male rats, while there no obvious effects on the bioavailability of blood PFASs and renal function.

[Objective]People infected with Hepatitis B are often divided into hepatitis B carriers and hepatitis B patients based on whether ALT is normal or not,and ALT ≥ 2UNL is one of the indications for clinical antiviral treatment,but no sufficient evidence to justify this. In order to explore the theoretical basis,the paper investigated the effects of hepatitis B virus(HBV) on hepatic stellate cells(HSCs).[Methods]A total of 132 chronic hepatitis B patients with different viral loads and ALT levels were randomly selected as the study subjects. Of these patients,those with ALT≥2UNL were treated with antiviral therapy and followed up for 24 weeks. The effects of HBV on HSCs before and after the treatment were compared and analyzed. HSCs proliferation was detected by MTT method,HSCs cell cycle by flow cytometry,and expression of TGF-β1,Smad3,Smad7,α-SMA,collagen Ⅰ,collgen Ⅲ mRNAs and corresponding proteins by RT-PCR and Western blotting,respectively.[Results]At the normal ALT level,HBV with different viral loads had no significant effect on the proliferation,cell cycle and cell secretion of the HSCs. At the abnormal ALT level,especially when ALT ≥ 2UNL,with the increase of virus loads,HSCs proliferation accelerated;cells in the G0/G1 phase decreased significantly and cells in the S and G2/M phases increased significantly;the expression of TGF-β1,Smad3,α-SMA,collagen Ⅰ,collgen Ⅲ mRNAs and corresponding proteins increased significantly,but Smad7 mRNA and protein expression decreased significantly,the differences were statistically significant. HBV showed a significantly lower effect on HSCs after the antiviral therapy than before.[Conclusions]This paper reveals the differential effects of HBV on HSCs at different ALT levels and presents a comparative analysis of the effects before and after the antiviral therapy,which provides a theroretical basis for identifying the ALT level as an indication for HBV antiviral therapy.

A case of idiopathic hypertrophic spinal pachymeningitis is reported. The patient was a middle-aged female, with the course of disease more than 1 year. Clinical manifestations included recurrent fever,headache and backache, and the magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse enhancement and thickening of the spinal dura mater. Dural biopsy pathology finally confirmed hypertrophic spinal pachymeningitis. After treatment with surgery and immunotherapy, the patient′s clinical symptoms improved.

ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) for patients with mild to moderate acute ischemic stroke (AIS). MethodsFrom October, 2016 to December, 2019, 321 patients with mild to moderate AIS in Beijing Bo'ai Hospital were collected and divided into SAP group (n = 71) and non-SAP group (n = 250) according to whether they were complicated with SAP. Gender, age, time from symptom onset to admission, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, scores of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at admission, and medical history were recorded. Laboratory indexes including the count of white blood cell and platelet, levels of D-dimer, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (α-HBDH) were measured. ResultsUnivariate analysis showed that age, NIHSS score, history of hypertension, atrial fibrillation, prior cerebral infarction, the count of white blood cell and platelet, the levels of D-dimer, hs-CRP and α-HBDH were the influencing factors of SAP (P < 0.2). Multivariate Logistic regression showed that age > 70 years old (OR = 7.121, 95%CI 3.493 to 14.514, P < 0.001), NIHSS score > 4 (5 to 10, OR = 4.861, 95% CI 2.412 to 9.797, P < 0.001), the count of platelet > 300×10⁹/L (OR = 6.978, 95% CI 1.864 to 26.128, P = 0.004), and the level of D-dimer > 1.0 mg/L (OR = 3.036, 95% CI, 1.518 to 6.071, P = 0.002) were the risk factors of SAP. The model fitted the original data well (HL = 1.509，P = 0.680) and appeared a good prediction (AUC = 0.847, 95% CI 0.796 to 0.898, P < 0.001). ConclusionAge > 70 years old, NIHSS score > 4 (5 to 10), the count of platelet > 300×10⁹/L and the level of D-dimer > 1.0 mg/L were the risk factors of SAP for patients with mild to moderate AIS.

The global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has infected over 109 million people, leading to over 2 million deaths up to date and still lacking of effective drugs for patient treatment. Here, we screened about 1.8 million small molecules against the main protease (M^pro) and papain like protease (PL^pro), two major proteases in severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 genome, and identified 1851M^pro inhibitors and 205 PL^pro inhibitors with low nmol/l activity of the best hits. Among these inhibitors, eight small molecules showed dual inhibition effects on both M^pro and PL^pro, exhibiting potential as better candidates for COVID-19 treatment. The best inhibitors of each protease were tested in antiviral assay, with over 40% of M^pro inhibitors and over 20% of PL^pro inhibitors showing high potency in viral inhibition with low cytotoxicity. The X-ray crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro in complex with its potent inhibitor 4a was determined at 1.8 Å resolution. Together with docking assays, our results provide a comprehensive resource for future research on anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug development.
Humans ; Antiviral Agents/chemistry* ; COVID-19 ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Protease Inhibitors/chemistry* ; SARS-CoV-2/enzymology* ; Viral Nonstructural Proteins

Heme/metabolism* ; Cryoelectron Microscopy ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; Escherichia coli Proteins/metabolism*

Objective: To detect the bioavailability of 21 types of perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in rat liver and to examine the effect of protein powder. Methods: Twenty-four rats of the SD strain were randomly divided into the control group, the model group, and the protein powder group. Twenty-one types of PFCs were mixed at an equal concentration of 10 ng/mL, and rats in the model group and the protein powder group were given by oral administration of PFCs mixtures at a daily dose of 5 mL/kg. Rats in the protein powder group were given protein powder by gavage at a dose of 15 mL/kg, while animals in the model and control groups were given deionized water at doses of 15 and 20 mL/kg for 28 successive days. The PFCs contents were quantified in rat liver using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), and the bioavailability was estimated. Results: There were no significant differences in rat body weight or liver/body weight ratio in the control, model and protein powder groups (P>0.05). There were no significant differences in the bioavailability of perfluoroalkylated carboxylic acid (PFCA) or sulfonate (PFSA) in the liver of female and male rats between the protein powder group and the model group (P>0.05), and the gross bioavailability of PFCA (t=-22.266, P<0.001) and PFSA (t=-34.312, P<0.001) was significantly higher in the liver of male rats than in that of female rats in the model group, and the bioavailability of PFCA and PFSA increased followed by a reduction in rat livers with the increase of carbon chain length in the model group. In the model group, the highest bioavailability was measured in perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) and sodium perfluorooctylsulfonate (L-PFOS) in the female rat liver [(36.06±2.93)% and (37.11±1.73)%], and the highest bioavailability was measured in perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and L-PFOS in the female rat liver [(61.02±2.16)% and (87.16±3.29)%]. Conclusions The bioavailability of PFCs correlates with the carbon chain length and animal gender in rat livers, and protein powder poses no clear-cut effects on the bioavailability of 21 types of PFCs in rat livers.

The p21 activated kinase 4 (PAK4) is serine/threonine protein kinase that is critical for cancer progression. Guided by X-ray crystallography and structure-based optimization, we report a novel subseries of C-3-substituted 6-ethynyl-1H-indole derivatives that display high potential and specificity towards group II PAKs. Among these inhibitors, compound 55 exhibited excellent inhibitory activity and kinase selectivity, displayed superior anti-migratory and anti-invasive properties against the lung cancer cell line A549 and the melanoma cell line B16. Compound 55 exhibited potent in vivo antitumor metastatic efficacy, with over 80% and 90% inhibition of lung metastasis in A549 or B16-BL6 lung metastasis models, respectively. Further mechanistic studies demonstrated that compound 55 mitigated TGF-β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).