AIM: To investigate the potential inhibitory effect of pterostilbene on the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EndMT)induced by high glucose conditions in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells(HRMECs).METHODS: The optimal concentration of pterostilbene for treating HRMECs was determined using the CCK-8 assay, with 12.5 and 25 μmol/L concentrations selected for subsequent experiments. Four experimental groups were established: control group, high glucose group, high glucose combined with 12.5 μmol/L pterostilbene treatment group, and high glucose combined with 25 μmol/L pterostilbene treatment group. The expression levels of HDAC7 and EndMT-associated markers were detected via Western blot analysis. Cell migration ability was assessed using Transwell migration assays and scratch wound healing tests, while vasculogenic capability was evaluated through tube formation assays.RESULTS: The CCK-8 assay revealed that pterostilbene at a concentration of 22.07 μmol/L inhibited 50% of cell viability in HRMECs. Western blot analysis demonstrated that compared with the control group, the expression levels of HDAC7, ZEB1, Vimentin, and Snail were significantly upregulated in HRMECs cultured in high glucose(all P<0.01), while the expressions of VE-cadherin and CD31 were significantly reduced(all P<0.01). Compared to the high glucose group, the treatment with 12.5 and 25 μmol/L pterostilbene significantly reduced the expression of HDAC7, ZEB1, Vimentin, and Snail under high glucose conditions(all P<0.01). Notably, 25 μmol/L pterostilbene enhanced the expression of VE-cadherin and CD31(all P<0.01). Scratch wound healing tests revealed that HRMECs treated with high glucose exhibited a significantly increased cell migration rate compared to the control group(P<0.05), while the application of 25 μmol/L pterostilbene significantly suppressed HRMECs migration under high glucose conditions(P<0.01). Transwell migration assays demonstrated that the cell migration rate in the high glucose group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.01), with cell migration rate markedly reduced following treatment with both of 12.5 and 25 μmol/L pterostilbene(all P<0.01). The tube formation assay revealed that the ability of HRMECs to form tubular structures was significantly enhanced under high glucose conditions(P<0.01), and both 12.5 and 25 μmol/L of pterostilbene effectively inhibited this effect(all P<0.01).CONCLUSION: Pterostilbene can inhibit HDAC7 expression, suppress EndMT-mediated migration of HRMECs, and impair tube formation under high-glucose conditions.

AIM: To investigate the potential inhibitory effect of pterostilbene on the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EndMT)induced by high glucose conditions in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells(HRMECs).METHODS: The optimal concentration of pterostilbene for treating HRMECs was determined using the CCK-8 assay, with 12.5 and 25 μmol/L concentrations selected for subsequent experiments. Four experimental groups were established: control group, high glucose group, high glucose combined with 12.5 μmol/L pterostilbene treatment group, and high glucose combined with 25 μmol/L pterostilbene treatment group. The expression levels of HDAC7 and EndMT-associated markers were detected via Western blot analysis. Cell migration ability was assessed using Transwell migration assays and scratch wound healing tests, while vasculogenic capability was evaluated through tube formation assays.RESULTS: The CCK-8 assay revealed that pterostilbene at a concentration of 22.07 μmol/L inhibited 50% of cell viability in HRMECs. Western blot analysis demonstrated that compared with the control group, the expression levels of HDAC7, ZEB1, Vimentin, and Snail were significantly upregulated in HRMECs cultured in high glucose(all P<0.01), while the expressions of VE-cadherin and CD31 were significantly reduced(all P<0.01). Compared to the high glucose group, the treatment with 12.5 and 25 μmol/L pterostilbene significantly reduced the expression of HDAC7, ZEB1, Vimentin, and Snail under high glucose conditions(all P<0.01). Notably, 25 μmol/L pterostilbene enhanced the expression of VE-cadherin and CD31(all P<0.01). Scratch wound healing tests revealed that HRMECs treated with high glucose exhibited a significantly increased cell migration rate compared to the control group(P<0.05), while the application of 25 μmol/L pterostilbene significantly suppressed HRMECs migration under high glucose conditions(P<0.01). Transwell migration assays demonstrated that the cell migration rate in the high glucose group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.01), with cell migration rate markedly reduced following treatment with both of 12.5 and 25 μmol/L pterostilbene(all P<0.01). The tube formation assay revealed that the ability of HRMECs to form tubular structures was significantly enhanced under high glucose conditions(P<0.01), and both 12.5 and 25 μmol/L of pterostilbene effectively inhibited this effect(all P<0.01).CONCLUSION: Pterostilbene can inhibit HDAC7 expression, suppress EndMT-mediated migration of HRMECs, and impair tube formation under high-glucose conditions.

Humans ; Cohort Studies ; Body Mass Index ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Inflammation ; Treatment Outcome ; Risk Factors

In this study, we explored the neural mechanism underlying impaired stereopsis and possible functional plasticity after strabismus surgery. We enrolled 18 stereo-deficient patients with intermittent exotropia before and after surgery, along with 18 healthy controls. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected when participants viewed three-dimensional stimuli. Compared with controls, preoperative patients showed hypoactivation in higher-level dorsal (visual and parietal) areas and ventral visual areas. Pre- and postoperative activation did not significantly differ in patients overall; patients with improved stereopsis showed stronger postoperative activation than preoperative activation in the right V3A and left intraparietal sulcus. Worse stereopsis and fusional control were correlated with preoperative hypoactivation, suggesting that cortical deficits along the two streams might reflect impaired stereopsis in intermittent exotropia. The correlation between improved stereopsis and activation in the right V3A after surgery indicates that functional plasticity may underlie the improvement of stereopsis. Thus, additional postoperative strategies are needed to promote functional plasticity and enhance the recovery of stereopsis.
Humans ; Exotropia/surgery* ; Depth Perception/physiology* ; Strabismus/surgery* ; Oculomotor Muscles/surgery*

Self-assembly refers to the spontaneous process where basic units such as molecules and nanostructured materials form a stable and compact structure. Peptides can self-assemble by non-covalent driving forces to form various morphologies such as nanofibers, nano layered structures, and micelles. Peptide self-assembly technology has become a hot research topic in recent years due to the advantages of definite amino acid sequences, easy synthesis and design of peptides. It has been shown that the self-assembly design of certain peptide drugs or the use of self-assembled peptide materials as carriers for drug delivery can solve the problems such as short half-life, poor water solubility and poor penetration due to physiological barrier. This review summarizes the formation mechanism of self-assembled peptides, self-assembly morphology, influencing factors, self-assembly design methods and major applications in biomedical field, providing a reference for the efficient use of peptides.
Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Peptides/chemistry* ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Nanostructures/chemistry* ; Drug Delivery Systems

Objective To explore the impact of temperature and environmental factors on the risk of deaths from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) in Wuhan during the course of high temperature. Methods The daily CVD death data and meteorological and atmospheric pollutant concentration data during the high temperature process in Wuhan from 2014 to 2019 were collected. The generalized additive models (GAM) were used to obtain the characteristics of meteorological factors, atmospheric pollutant concentrations, high impact factors and thresholds affecting the relative risk of CVD death. Results The analysis results showed that: (1) When the maximum temperature reached 36.7°C and the lowest temperature reached 25.3°C, the relative risk of CVD death increased significantly; (2) The risk of CVD death during the first high temperature process was the largest, and the average CVD excess mortality rate during the first high temperature process from 2014 to 2019 reached 21.7%; and (3) The average temperature, maximum temperature and PM₁₀ during the course of high temperature were important environmental factors that increased the risk of CVD deaths, and the relative risks were 1.14 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.11-1.17), 1.11 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.08-1.15, and 1.06 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.02-1.09), respectively. Conclusion Temperature and PM₁₀ are important environmental factors that increase the risk of death from CVD during the high temperature process in Wuhan from 2014 to 2019, with the first annual high temperature process having the greatest impact on the risk of CVD death.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors affecting the occurrence of perioperative complications in patients with locally progressive gastric cancer undergoing radical gastric cancer treatment.Methods:The clinical data of 129 patients with locally progressive gastric cancer from January 2017 to December 2019 in Shaanxi Provincial People′s Hospital were retrospectively analyzed, including 98 males and 31 females, with an age ranged from 27 to 79 years and a mean age of (60.61±10.00) years. The postoperative complications of 129 patients with gastric cancer were firstly counted, and then the relationship between clinical data such as patients′ general condition, intraoperative status and pathological indexes and the occurrence of perioperative complications was analyzed by using univariate analysis, and significant factors were included in the logistic regression model for multifactor analysis to study the independent risk factors for the occurrence of perioperative complications.Results:Of the 129 patients, 25 cases (19.38%) had postoperative complications, including 10 cases (7.75%) with Clavien-Dindo classification combined with grade Ⅲ or higher complications. The results of univariate analysis suggested ACCI score >4 (30.76% vs 68.00%, χ2=11.86, P=0.001), body mass index ≥25 kg/m 2 (24.03% vs 60.00%, χ2=12.18, P=0.001), and preoperative hypoproteinemia (17.30% vs 36.00%, χ2=4.25, P=0.039), vascular cancer embolism (14.42% vs 40.00%, χ2=7.70, P=0.006), operative time ≥ 400 min (26.92% vs 52.00%, χ2=5.84, P=0.016), intraoperative bleeding ≥ 400 mL (13.46% vs 44.00%, χ2=12.03, P=0.001) were risk factors for the development of perioperative complications in patients with locally progressive gastric cancer. Multifactorial analysis showed that ACCI score >4, body mass index ≥25 kg/m 2, preoperative hypoproteinemia, vascular cancer embolism, and intraoperative bleeding ≥400 mL were independent risk factors for the occurrence of perioperative complications in patients with locally progressive gastric cancer ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The occurrence of perioperative complications in locally progressive gastric cancer hands was closely associated with ACCI score, body mass index, preoperative hypoproteinemia, vascular cancer embolism and intraoperative bleeding. ACCI score is expected to be a predictor of the occurrence of perioperative complications in patients with locally progressive gastric cancer.

Objective:To compare surgery-related indicators, patient recovery status, perioperative complications and risk factors affecting the occurrence of postoperative grade Ⅲ or higher complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric mesenchymal tumor surgery with different visceral fat areas.Methods:Clinical data of 116 patients with gastric interstitial tumor in Shaanxi Provincial People′s Hospital from April 2014 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, including 44 male patients and 72 female patients, with patient aged from 25 to 88 years old and the mean age was (61.8±10.7) years, including 54 patients in the high VFA group and 62 patients in the low VFA group. SPSS 23.0 was used for statistical analysis, and t-test and χ2 test were applied to compare and analyze the patients′ surgery-related indexes, postoperative recovery status, complications within 30 d after surgery and differences in Clavien-Dindo classification of complications, while univariate and multifactorial analyses were used to study the factors affecting the occurrence of postoperative grade Ⅲ or higher complications. Results:Patients in the high VFA group had a higher body mass index than in the low VFA group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=4.48, P<0.001); patients in the high VFA group had longer operative time ( t=2.88, P=0.005), more intraoperative bleeding ( t=2.17, P=0.032), longer period of fasting ( t=2.73, P=0.008), longer time for defecation ( t=4.46, P<0.001) and bowel movement ( t=4.62, P<0.001), and longer postoperative hospital stay ( t=3.43) compared with those in the low VFA group ( t=2.73, P=0.001), prolonged defecation ( t=4.46), prolonged bowel movement ( t=4.62), and prolonged postoperative hospitalization ( t=3.43), with statistically significant differences ( P<0.05); the incidence of postoperative complications was significantly higher in the high VFA group (31.4%) compared with the low VFA group (14.5%) ( χ2=4.78, P=0.029); among them, the incidence of postoperative pulmonary infection was significantly higher in patients in the high VFA group (12.9%) compared with those in the low VFA group (1.6%), and the difference between them was statistically significant ( χ2=4.16, P<0.05); while the differences in postoperative incision-related complications, anastomotic fistula, lower limb venous thrombosis, and intestinal obstruction were not statistically significant ( P>0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications above grade Ⅲ of the Clavien-Dindo complication classification was significantly higher in patients in the high VFA group (16.7%) compared with those in the low VFA group (4.8%), and the difference between the two was statistically significant ( χ2=4.35, P<0.05); univariate analysis revealed that operative time ≥300 min and increased VFA were the risk factors for postoperative grade Ⅲ or higher complications, while VFA was not an independent risk factor. Conclusion:Larger visceral fat area increases the difficulty of laparoscopic gastric mesenchymal tumor surgery operation, and also affects patients′ postoperative recovery, leading to increased postoperative complications, but VFA is not an independent risk factor affecting the occurrence of postoperative grade Ⅲ or higher complications in patients with gastric mesenchymal tumor.

Objective:To compare the influence of single and staged percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on long-term prognosis in patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease.Methods:Using prospective research methods, 1 832 patients with multi-vessel coronary artery disease from January to December 2013 in Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were selected. According to the time of PCI, the patients were divided into single PCI group (1 218 cases) and staged PCI group (614 cases). The patients were followed up for 2 years, the primary endpoint was major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular event (MACCE), including target vessel-related myocardial infarction (TV-MI), target vessel-related revascularization (TVR), cardiogenic death and stroke, and the secondary endpoint was stent thrombosis. The propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to balance the discrepancies between 2 groups, and the baseline and follow-up data were compared. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves were drawn to evaluate the survival rates events; multifactor Cox proportional risk regression was used to analyze whether staged PCI was an independent risk factor for the endpoint events.Results:The in-hospital stay, duration of procedure and synergy between percutaneous coronary intervention with taxus and cardiac surgery (SYNTAX) score in single PCI group were significantly lower than those in staged PCI group: (5.54±3.09) d vs. (9.50±4.06) d, (43.12±28.55) min vs. (79.54±44.35) min, (14.04±7.63) scores vs. (18.51±7.79) scores, and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01); there were no statistical difference in complete revascularization rate and SYNTAX score after PCI between 2 groups ( P>0.05). Based on 2-year follow-up, the incidences of TV-MI and stent thrombosis in staged PCI group were significantly higher than those in single PCI group: 2.1% (13/614) vs. 0.5% (6/1 218) and 2.0% (12/614) vs. 0.4% (5/1 218), and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01). Kaplan-Meier survival curves analysis results showed that the event-free survival rates of TV-MI and stent thrombosis in single PCI group were better than those in staged PCI group (99.5% vs. 97.9% and 99.6% vs. 98.0%, P<0.01). Multifactor Cox proportional risk regression analysis results showed that staged PCI was an independent risk factor for stent thrombosis ( HR = 3.91, 95% CI 1.25 to 12.18, P = 0.019). After PSM, the incidences of TV-MI and stent thrombosis in staged PCI group were significantly higher than those in single PCI group: 2.1% (13/614) vs. 0.7% (4/614) and 2.0% (12/614) vs. 0.5% (3/614), and there were statistical differences ( P<0.05); Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis results showed that the event-free survival rates of TV-MI and stent thrombosis in single PCI group were significantly higher than those in staged PCI group: (99.3% vs. 97.9% and 99.5% vs. 98.0%, P<0.05); multifactor Cox proportional risk regression analysis results showed that staged PCI was not an independent risk factor of stent thrombosis ( HR = 2.29, 95% CI 0.58 to 9.00, P = 0.234). Both before and after PSM, there were no evidences for interaction between the type of angina pectoris and staged PCI ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Although a seemingly increase exists in the incidence of TV-MI and stent thrombosis in the staged PCI group, staged PCI is an independent risk factor neither for MACCE and its components, nor for stent thrombosis. In addition single PCI reduces the in-hospital days and duration of PCI procedure, which may be a relatively reasonable approach to clinical practice.

With the dramatically increasing detection rate of ground-glass nodules (GGN), exact understanding and treatment strategy of them has become the hottest issue currently. More and more studies have begun to explore the underlying mechanisms of their indolent characteristics and favorable prognosis from the perspectives of molecular evolution and immune microenvironment. GGN has different dominating gene mutations at different evolutional stages. The pure GGN has a lower tumor mutation burden and genomic instability, while a gradually evolutionary feature of genomic mutation along with the pathological progression can be observed. GGN has less infiltration of immune cells, and they are under the pressure of immune surveillance with weakened immune escape. With the increase of solid components, an inhibitory immune microenvironment is gradually established and immune escape is gradually enhanced, leading to rapid tumor growth. Further exploration of the molecular characteristics of GGN will help to more precisely distinguish these highly heterogeneous lesions, which could be helpful to make personalized treatment plans.