BACKGROUND:Berberine has the potential to induce osteogenic differentiation of various mesenchymal stem cells under normal conditions and special conditions such as high glucose,infection and inflammation.It is a natural small molecule drug that can induce bone formation in seed cells instead of growth factors,and has great application prospect in bone tissue engineering. OBJECTIVE:To review and summarize the research progress in the osteogenic mechanism and efficacy of berberine,especially its osteogenic potential under high glucose,infection and inflammation conditions,and its biological safety,so as to provide theoretical basis for its development and application in bone tissue engineering. METHODS:PubMed,WanFang,and CNKI were searched for relevant literature using the keywords of"berberine,bone defects,bone repair,bone regeneration,osteoinductive,osteoporosis,osteoblast,osteoclast,bone tissue engineering,bone,high glucose,diabetes,inflam*,infect*"in English and Chinese,respectively.A total of 105 literatures were selected for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Berberine can be used to treat multiple diseases including bone diseases,and it has the ability to promote bone regeneration.This article systematically reviews the mechanism of berberine on bone regeneration and in vivo and in vitro studies.Studies have shown that it can play a role in bone repair by promoting osteogenesis,inhibiting osteoclast formation and activity,and preventing osteoporosis.It shows excellent osteogenic differentiation potential mainly via Wnt/β-catenin,PI3K/AKT,EGFR/MEK/p38MAPK,cAMP/PKA/CREB,ERK and other signaling pathways.Berberine can also relieve the inhibition of osteogenic differentiation caused by high glucose,infection and inflammation,which provides more possibilities for the treatment of bone defects in patients with diabetes or infection and inflammation in the bone defect site.Berberine also has the advantages of low toxicity,low price,easy access(currently it can be synthesized),which is a relatively ideal bone induction potential drug.In recent years,the application of berberine in the treatment of bone defect tends to be localized,mainly through the combination with bone tissue engineering technology to improve bioavailability,and has shown good bone repair effect and excellent biological safety in animal experiments.In addition,preclinical experiments have shown splendid bone regeneration potential in the conditions of diabetes,local infection and inflammation.In the future,more studies are needed to fully reveal the osteogenic mechanism and biological safety of berberine,and seek the most suitable controlled release loading system to make artificial bone replacement materials with good mechanical strength,efficacy and biological safety.

Objective This article aims to investigate the association between hypertension and the risk of GSD by conducting a national multicenter study,a systematic review,and a meta-analysis.Methods The study was conducted in three stages.In the first stage,subjects were recruited for health examination in four hospitals in Chengdu,Tianjin,Beijing,and Chongqing,China,from 2015 to 2020,and the multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between hypertension and the risk of GSD in each center.In the second stage,Embase,PubMed,Wanfang Data,VIP,and CNKI databases were searched for related studies published up to May 2021,and a meta-analysis was conducted to further verify such association.In the third stage,the random effects model was used for pooled analysis of the results of the multicenter cross-sectional study and the findings of previous literature.Results A total of 633 948 participants were enrolled in the cross-sectional study,and the prevalence rate of GSD was 7.844%.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that hypertension was positively associated with the risk of GSD(P＜0.05).Subgroup analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the association between hypertension and GSD between individuals with different sexes,ages,and subtypes of GSD.A total of 80 articles were included in the systematic review and the meta-analysis,and the results showed that the risk of GSD was increased by 1.022 times for every 10 mmHg increase in diastolic pressure and 1.014 times for every 10 mmHg increase in systolic pressure.Conclusion Hypertension significantly increases the risk of GSD,and the findings of this study will provide a basis for the etiology of GSD and the identification of high-risk groups.

Islelet transplantation (IT) is an ideal treatment for type 1 diabetes. However, a large number of transplanted islet cells become lost due to immune responses and other reasons, resulting in a poor long-term efficacy of IT. Islet encapsulation is wrapping islet cells with semi-permeable materials for protecting insulin secretion function by islet cells, reducing islet cell apoptosis and minimizing immune responses. Nanotechnology enables a nanoscale control of encapsulated materials. A better "isolation" of islet cells and external environment is essential for prolonging the survival time of islet cells. This review summarized the advantages and disadvantages of different nanotechnologies in encapsulating IT for the goals of prolonging the survival of islet cells, improving insulin secretion and boosting the efficacy of IT.

Objective This study analyzes the risk points in the quality control of bioink and the main processes of bioprinting,clarifies and explores the quality control and supervision model for bioprinting medical devices,and provides theoretical and practical guidance to ensure the safety and effectiveness of bioprinting medical devices.Methods The quality control risk points throughout the bioprinting process were comprehensively analyzed,with a particular focus on bioprinting materials and key processes.The regulatory model and methods for bioprinting medical devices were examined.This research concentrated on critical technologies such as extrusion,laser-assisted,and in situ bioprinting,assessing their potential for clinical applications and regulatory challenges.Results Bioink from different sources should meet regulatory requirements.It is essential to ensure aseptic handling of raw materials and to validate sterilization under"worst-case"conditions.Conclusion As bioprinting technology advances rapidly,corresponding research into materials,processes,and quality risk control should be conducted to ensure the concurrent development of the regulatory system.This will continuously contribute to the orderly progression of the entire industry and human health.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis is the main cause of tumor-associated death and mainly responsible for treatment failure of breast cancer. Autophagy accelerates tumor metastasis. In our work, we aimed to investigate the possibility of microRNAs (miRNAs) which participate in the regulation of autophagy to inhibit tumor metastasis. METHODS: MiRNA array and comprehensive analysis were performed to identify miRNAs which participated in the regulation of autophagy to inhibit tumor metastasis. The expression levels of miR-3653 in breast cancer tissues and cells were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. In vivo and in vitro assays were conducted to determine the function of miR-3653. The target genes of miR-3653 were detected by a dual luciferase reporter activity assay and Western blot. The relationship between miR-3653 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was assessed by Western blot. Student's t -test was used to analyze the difference between any two groups, and the difference among multiple groups was analyzed with one-way analysis of variance and a Bonferroni post hoc test. RESULTS: miR-3653 was downregulated in breast cancer cells with high metastatic ability, and high expression of miR-3653 blocked autophagic flux in breast cancer cells. Clinically, low expression of miR-3653 in breast cancer tissues (0.054 ± 0.013 vs . 0.131 ± 0.028, t  = 2.475, P  = 0.014) was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (0.015 ± 0.004 vs . 0.078 ± 0.020, t  = 2.319, P  = 0.023) and poor prognosis ( P  < 0.001). miR-3653 ameliorated the malignant phenotypes of breast cancer cells, including proliferation, migration (MDA-MB-231: 0.353 ± 0.013 vs . 1.000 ± 0.038, t  = 16.290, P  < 0.001; MDA-MB-468: 0.200 ± 0.014 vs . 1.000 ± 0.043, t  = 17.530, P  < 0.001), invasion (MDA-MB-231: 0.723 ± 0.056 vs . 1.000 ± 0.035, t  = 4.223, P  = 0.013; MDA-MB-468: 0.222 ± 0.016 vs . 1.000 ± 0.019, t  = 31.050, P  < 0.001), and colony formation (MDA-MB-231: 0.472 ± 0.022 vs . 1.000 ± 0.022, t  = 16.620, P  < 0.001; MDA-MB-468: 0.650 ± 0.040 vs . 1.000 ± 0.098, t  = 3.297, P  = 0.030). The autophagy-associated genes autophagy-related gene 12 ( ATG12 ) and activating molecule in beclin 1-regulated autophagy protein 1 ( AMBRA1 ) are target genes of miR-3653. Further studies showed that miR-3653 inhibited EMT by targeting ATG12 and AMBRA1 . CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggested that miR-3653 inhibits the autophagy process by targeting ATG12 and AMBRA1 , thereby inhibiting EMT, and provided a new idea and target for the metastasis of breast cancer.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/genetics* ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Autophagy/genetics* ; Genes, Regulator ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/genetics* ; Cell Proliferation/genetics* ; Cell Movement/genetics* ; Neoplasms/genetics*

【Objective】 To clarify the role and molecular mechanism of Tanshinone ⅡA (TanⅡA) in the pathological integration of granule cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) by using the mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). 【Methods】 Status epilepticus (SE) was induced in the mice with pilocarpine and treated with TanⅡA 5 mg/kg. After two months, Morris water maze was used to examine the spatial learning and memory ability and video surveillance was used to monitor spontaneous seizures. The DG was removed for staining of Timm, Prox-1, DCX and SynⅠ. PTEN, p-AKT, and p-S6 expressions were observed by Western blotting. 【Results】 TanⅡA decreased Timm score, SynⅠ, PSD-95 and pS6 levels, and increased the level of PTEN in the DG, and attenuated the formation of mossy fiber sproutings and basal dendrites of the granule cells. Video surveillance showed that TanⅡA reduced the frequency of Racine’ grade 5 seizures. 【Conclusion】 TanⅡA can effectively attenuate the abnormal integration of the granule cells in the DG by regulating PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway and thus plays an anti-epileptic role.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. It is urgent to develop new drugs to improve the prognosis of ESCC patients. Here, we found benzydamine, a locally acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, had potent cytotoxic effect on ESCC cells. Benzydamine could suppress ESCC proliferation in vivo and in vitro. In terms of mechanism, CDK2 was identified as a target of benzydamine by molecular docking, pull-down assay and in vitro kinase assay. Specifically, benzydamine inhibited the growth of ESCC cells by inhibiting CDK2 activity and affecting downstream phosphorylation of MCM2, c-Myc and Rb, resulting in cell cycle arrest. Our study illustrates that benzydamine inhibits the growth of ESCC cells by downregulating the CDK2 pathway.
Humans ; Benzydamine ; Esophageal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma/drug therapy* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Phosphorylation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2

Deficiency of natural killer (NK) cells shows a significant impact on tumor progression and failure of immunotherapy. It is highly desirable to boost NK cell immunity by upregulating active receptors and relieving the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Unfortunately, mobilization of NK cells is hampered by poor accumulation and short retention of drugs in tumors, thus declining antitumor efficiency. Herein, we develop an acid-switchable nanoparticle with self-adaptive aggregation property for co-delivering galunisertib and interleukin 15 (IL-15). The nanoparticles induce morphology switch by a decomposition-metal coordination cascade reaction, which provides a new methodology to trigger aggregation. It shows self-adaptive size-enlargement upon acidity, thus improving drug retention in tumor to over 120 h. The diameter of agglomerates is increased and drug release is effectively promoted following reduced pH values. The nanoparticles activate both NK cell and CD8⁺ T cell immunity in vivo. It significantly suppresses CT26 tumor in immune-deficient BALB/c mice, and the efficiency is further improved in immunocompetent mice, indicating that the nanoparticles can not only boost innate NK cell immunity but also adaptive T cell immunity. The approach reported here provides an innovative strategy to improve drug retention in tumors, which will enhance cancer immunotherapy by boosting NK cells.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigate the clinical and imaging features of Ewing sarcoma (ES) of the jaw. METHODS: Eight cases of pathologically diagnosed ES of the jaw from January 2010 to June 2022 were included in the study. Clinical and radiological features were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Among the eight cases, the mean age at onset was 29.4 years, and the male to female ratio was 7∶1. The predilecting site was the posterior part of mandible, accounting for 75% of the cases. The lesions often exhibited early numbness of the lower lip and lymphadenopathy. The main radiographic manifestation of mandibular lesions was ill-defined radiolucency, mixed with fibrous or brush-like tumor matrix, and soft tissue mass. The maxillary ES lesions mainly presented as lytic bone destruction accompanied by adjacent soft tissue mass. Periosteal ossification was rarely seen. CONCLUSIONS The clinical and imaging characteristics of ES in the jaw are helpful for its diagnosis.
Male ; Humans ; Female ; Sarcoma, Ewing/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Radiography ; Mandible/pathology* ; Lip ; Bone Neoplasms

Nucleic acid drugs are highly applicable for cancer immunotherapy with promising therapeutic effects, while targeting delivery of these drugs to disease lesions remains challenging. Cationic polymeric nanoparticles have paved the way for efficient delivery of nucleic acid drugs, and achieved stimuli-responsive disassembly in tumor microenvironment (TME). However, TME is highly heterogeneous between individuals, and most nanocarriers lack active-control over the release of loaded nucleic acid drugs, which will definitely reduce the therapeutic efficacy. Herein, we have developed a light-controllable charge-reversal nanoparticle (LCCN) with controlled release of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [Poly(I:C)] to treat triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) by enhanced photodynamic immunotherapy. The nanoparticles keep suitably positive charge for stable loading of Poly(I:C), while rapidly reverse to negative charge after near-infrared light irradiation to release Poly(I:C). LCCN-Poly(I:C) nanoparticles trigger effective phototoxicity and immunogenic cell death on 4T1 tumor cells, elevate antitumor immune responses and inhibit the growth of primary and abscopal 4T1 tumors in mice. The approach provides a promising strategy for controlled release of various nucleic acid-based immune modulators, which may enhance the efficacy of photodynamic immunotherapy against TNBC.