Recent clinical studies have shown that mutation of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) gene in cancer cells may be associated with immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and poor response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Therefore, efficiently restoring PTEN gene expression in cancer cells is critical to improving the responding rate to ICB therapy. Here, we screened an adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid for efficient PTEN gene delivery into B16F10 tumor cells. We demonstrated that intratumorally injected AAV6-PTEN successfully restored the tumor cell PTEN gene expression and effectively inhibited tumor progression by inducing tumor cell immunogenic cell death (ICD) and increasing immune cell infiltration. Moreover, we developed an anti-PD-1 loaded phospholipid-based phase separation gel (PPSG), which formed an in situ depot and sustainably release anti-PD-1 drugs within 42 days in vivo. In order to effectively inhibit the recurrence of melanoma, we further applied a triple therapy based on AAV6-PTEN, PPSG^@anti-PD-1 and CpG, and showed that this triple therapy strategy enhanced the synergistic antitumor immune effect and also induced robust immune memory, which completely rejected tumor recurrence. We anticipate that this triple therapy could be used as a new tumor combination therapy with stronger immune activation capacity and tumor inhibition efficacy.

Objective : To investigate the effects of immunoglobulin gene superfamily 10 (IGSF10) on prolifera- tion，migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells． Methods : ioinformatics was applied to study the ex- pression levels of IGSF10 in tumor tissues and normal tissues． Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR ( qPCR) were used to detect the expression level of IGSF10 in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines and normal lung epi- thelial cells．Knockdown of IGSF10，the effect of knockdown of IGSF10 on proliferation，migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells was examined using cell counting kit-8 ( CCK-8) ，Transwell migration and inva- sion assay，scratch assay and plate cloning assay．The effects of knockdown of IGSF10 on the expression of invasion and migration-related genes in A549 cells were examined by Western blot and qPCR assays. Results : IGSF10 ex- pression in lung adenocarcinoma tissues was lower than that in normal tissues (P ＜0. 05) ．IGSF10 expression in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines was lower than that in lung epithelial cells (P＜0. 05) ．Knockdown of IGSF10 pro- moted the ability of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells to proliferate ，proliferation ，migration and invasion ( P < 0. 05) ．Knockdown of IGSF10 promoted the expression of regulatory epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker Neu- ral-cadherin (N-cadherin) and key transcription factors Snail family transcriptional repressor 1 (Snail) and Snail family transcriptional repressor 2 (Slug) (P＜0. 05) and inhibited the expression of Epithelial-cadherin (E-cad- herin) (P＜0. 05) ． Conclusion Knockdown of IGSF10 may promote proliferation，migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells through activation of Snail，Slug / E-cadherin signaling axis，and this result may provide a po- tential new target for clinical diagnosis and treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective:To explore the clinical phenotype and genetic characteristics of a patient with Ataxia and vitamin E deficiency syndrome (AVED) due to a variant of TTPA gene. Methods:A patient diagnosed with AVED (proband), intended for assisted reproductive technology for pregnancy in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in July 2023, was selected as research subject. Clinical data of the proband were collected, and 2 mL of peripheral venous blood samples were collected from the proband and her father and siblings for serum vitamin E level testing. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was carried out. Pathogenic variants were selected based on American public archive of interpretations of clinically relevant variants (ClinVar). Sanger sequencing was performed to validate the candidate variants detected by WES. Pathogenicity of variants was classified based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), and the impact of variants was analyzed using multiple bioinformatics tools including SIFT, Mutation Taster, CADD, and SpliceAI. Information on the protein domains was obtained from ClinVar and dbSNP databases, and a hotspot map for the variants of protein-coding region was constructed. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University (No. 2023068K).Results:The proband has a significantly low serum level of vitamin E (5.186 μ g/mL), while her father and siblings were normal. WES revealed that she has harbored a homozygous missense c. 2T>A(p.0? ) variant of the TTPA gene, for which her father and younger sister were heterozygous carriers. Based on the guidelines from the ACMG, the missense c. 2T>A(p.0? ) variant of the TTPA gene was classified as pathogenic (PVS1+ PM2+ PM3). Multiple bioinformatics tools had predicted this variant to be located in the initiation codon region and may lead to abnormal synthesis of the TTPA protein, indicating it was deleterious. The hotspot map based on ClinVar and dbSNP databases showed an even distribution of variants across 5 structural domains of the TTPA protein, with high conservation of the first amino acid residue across various species. Conclusion:The homozygous c. 2T>A(p.0? ) variant of the TTPA gene probably underlie the AVED in the proband. Above discovery has enriched the mutational spectrum of AVED and provided a basis for the diagnosis, genetic counseling, and assisted reproductive strategies for this family.

Background: Twenty-four-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) measurement is the initial diagnostic test for Cushing’s syndrome (CS). We compared UFC determination by both direct and extraction immunoassays using Abbott Architect, Siemens Atellica Solution, and Beckman DxI800 with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, we evaluated the value of 24-hr UFC measured by six methods for diagnosing CS. Methods: Residual 24-hr urine samples of 94 CS and 246 non-CS patients were collected.A laboratory-developed LC-MS/MS method was used as reference. UFC was measured by direct assays (D) using Abbott, Siemens, and Beckman platforms and by extraction assays (E) using Siemens and Beckman platforms. Method was compared using Passing–Bablok regression and Bland–Altman plot analyses. Cut-off values for the six assays and corresponding sensitivities and specificities were calculated by ROC analysis. Results: Abbott-D, Beckman-E, Siemens-E, and Siemens-D showed strong correlations with LC-MS/MS (Spearman coefficient r = 0.965, 0.922, 0.922, and 0.897, respectively), while Beckman-D showed weaker correlation (r = 0.755). All immunoassays showed proportionally positive bias. The areas under the curve were 0.975 for Abbott-D, 0.972 for LCMS/MS, 0.966 for Siemens-E, 0.948 for Siemens-D, 0.955 for Beckman-E, and 0.877 for Beckman-D. The cut-off values varied significantly (154.8–1,321.5 nmol/24 hrs). Assay sensitivity and specificity ranged from 76.1% to 93.2% and from 93.0% to 97.1%, respectively. Conclusions Commercially available immunoassays for measuring UFC show different levels of analytical consistency compared to LC-MS/MS. Abbott-D, Siemens-E, and Beckman-E have high diagnostic accuracy for CS.

Objective:To analyze the predictive value of ultrasound blood flow parameters for postoperative cervical lymph node metastasis in thyroid cancer.Methods:Fifty-three patients with thyroid cancer who received medical treatment in Guang′anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from August 2020 to December 2022 were selected as the observation group, and 53 healthy patients who received physical examination in the physical examination center during the same period were selected as the healthy group. All of them were given ultrasound examination. The ultrasonic blood flow parameters including peak systolic flow velocity (PSV), pulsation index (PI), resistance index (RI) of the two groups were compared. The patients with thyroid cancer were divided into metastatic group (33 cases) and non-metastatic group (20 cases) according to the presence or absence of lymph node metastasis. The ultrasonic blood flow parameters, blood flow grading and ultrasonographic characteristics of the two groups were compared.Results:The levels of PSV in the observation group was higher than that in the health group, PI and RI were lower than those in the health group: (25.56 ± 5.25) cm/s vs. (14.52 ± 2.85) cm/s, 0.51 ± 0.13 vs. 0.63 ± 0.16, 0.82 ± 0.11 vs. 1.15 ± 0.24, there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). The levels of PSV in the metastatic group was higher than that in non-metastatic group, PI and RI were lower than those in the non-metastatic group: (29.65 ± 3.76) cm/s vs. (19.20 ± 2.96) cm/s, 0.48 ± 0.10 vs. 0.56 ± 0.05, 0.76 ± 0.13 vs. 0.91 ± 0.19, there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). The blood grade between the metastatic group and non-metastatic group had statistical difference ( P<0.05). The rates of blood flow signal disjointed, blood flow abundant, micro-calcification boundary unclear, internal echo uneven and the length-width ratio <2 in the metastatic group were higher than those in the non-metastatic group: 54.55%(18/33) vs. 25.00%(5/20), 78.79%(26/33) vs. 50.00%(10/20), 57.58%(19/33) vs. 20.00%(4/20), 66.67%(22/33) vs. 35.00%(7/20), 63.64%(21/33) vs. 30.00%(6/20), 63.64%(21/33) vs. 25.00%(5/20), there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Abnormal ultrasonic blood flow parameters in patients with thyroid cancer are closely related to lymph node metastasis. Quantitative detection of ultrasonic blood flow parameters can provide a reliable reference for the evaluation of thyroid cancer.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC)is characterized by high recurrence or distant metastases rate and the prognosis is challenging.There is mounting evidence that tumor-infiltrating B cells(TIL-Bs)have a crucial,synergistic role in tumor control.However,little is known about the role TIL-Bs play in immune microenvironment and the way TIL-Bs affect the outcome of immune checkpoint blockade.Using single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)data from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database,the study identified distinct gene expression patterns in TIL-Bs.HNSCC samples were categorized into TIL-Bs inhibition and TIL-Bs activation groups using unsupervised clustering.This classification was further validated with TCGA HNSCC data,correlating with patient prognosis,immune cell infiltration,and response to immunotherapy.We found that the B cells activation group exhibited a better prognosis,higher immune cell infiltration,and distinct immune checkpoint levels,including elevated PD-L1.A prognostic model was also developed and validated,highlighting four genes as potential biomarkers for predicting survival outcomes in HNSCC patients.Overall,this study provides a foundational approach for B cells-based tumor classification in HNSCC,offering insights into targeted treatment and immunotherapy strategies.

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and resistance patterns of ESBL-producing E.coli in lambs with diarrhea in the Kashi area,Xinjiang.The findings may provide guidance for the prevention and control of clinical E.coli disease.We collected 385 samples of perianal feces from lambs with diarrhea in the Kashgar area.From these samples,we isolated 371 strains of E.coli.We then used the double-paper-sheet synergistic method to screen for ESBL-producing E.coli.Additionally,we conducted analyses to identify drug-resistance genes,analyze drug resistance,and study the phylo-typing of the screened strains.Of 371 E.coli strains,204 were identified as ESBL-producing strains.The prevalence rates of blaCTX-M,blaCTX-M-1G,blaCTX-M-9G,and bla TEM resistance genes was 67.65％,69.12％,30.39％,and 63.73％,respectively.All ESBL-pro-ducing strains were resistant to multiple drugs,with resistance rates ranging from 90.69％to 100％for eight specific drugs:ampicillin,cefotaxime,gentamicin,enrofloxacin,azithromy-cin,tetracycline,chloramphenicol,methotrexate,and amitrazine.The phylogenetic subgroups of the strains were distributed primarily in groups A and D.Among group A strains,41.11％exhibited resistance to ten drugs,whereas among group D strains,40％exhibited resistance to 11 drugs.ESBL-pro-ducing strains of Escherichia coli are the main pathogens cau-sing diarrhea in lambs in the Kashgar region;group A is the main group,and all groups are multi-drug resistant.

Aim To investigate the effect and role of neuronal restriction silencing factor(REST/NRSF)in epilepsy disorder.Methods Immunohistochemistry,immunofluorescence,Western blot and qPCR tech-niques were used to detect REST/NRSF expression levels in hippocampal tissues of mice induced by kainic acid and human brain tissue.Viral injections,EEG re-cordings and behavioral methods were used to test the effects on epileptic mice after knockdown and overex-pression of REST/NRSF in the hippocampal CA1 re-gion,respectively.Results The positive rate of REST/NRSF in the lesions of epileptic patients was significantly higher compared with that in the control group.The levels of REST/NRSF protein and mRNA in the CA1 region of the hippocampus of mice in the KA model group were significantly higher.Kv7.2 and Kv7.3 potassium channel mRNA expression levels were significantly down-regulated.Significant up-regu-lation of REST/NRSF expression levels was observed in mouse hippocampus after NMDA injection.Knock-down of REST/NRSF in the CA1 region of hippocam-pus significantly elevated the expression levels of Kv7.2 and Kv7.3 potassium channel mRNAs.The fre-quency of EEG spiking and sharp-wave issuance and epileptic seizure grade were significantly lower.Over-expression of REST/NRSF in the CA1 region of hippo-campus significantly reduced the mRNA expression lev-els of Kv7.2 and Kv7.3 potassium channels.The fre-quency of EEG spiking and sharp-wave issuance was significantly higher and epileptic symptoms were exac-erbated.Conclusion REST/NRSF in mouse hipp-ocampal brain regions is involved in epileptic disease development through transcriptional regulation of Kv7.2 and Kv7.3 potassium channels.

Objective To investigate the clinical application value of MRI Radiomics score(Radscore)combined with clinicopatho-logical features in predicting postoperative progression-free survival(PFS)of patients with endometrial cancer(EC).Methods A total of 127 patients with EC were selected.The radiomic features of the lesions were extracted from T2 WI,diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)and apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)images.The features were screened by random forest model and Radscore was calcu-lated.Simultaneously,clinical and pathological characteristics of patients were collected and incorporated,and multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to screen the risk factors related to PFS.The MRI Radscore and clinicopathological features were mapped to the nomogram,and the performance of nomogram was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve and calibration curve.Results Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that progesterone receptor(PR),human epididymis protein 4(HE4)and MRI Radscore were independent risk factors for predicting PFS in patients with EC(P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of the predicted PFS at 1,3 and 5 years after surgery were 0.91,0.804 and 0.776,respectively.Calibration curves showed that nomogram had a good fit in predicting PFS in patients with EC 1,3 and 5 years after surgery.Conclusion The nomogram con-structed based on multi-sequence MRI Radscore and clinicopathological features has favorable accuracy and stability in predicting postoperative PFS in individuals diagnosed with EC.

Objective:To investigate the ultrasonographic features and genetic etiology of complex talipes equinovarus (TE) in fetuses.Methods:This retrospective study enrolled 95 cases of complex TE (TE complicated by other abnormalities) who were diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from March 2018 to December 2022. Chromosome karyotype analysis and/or chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) [or copy number variation-sequencing (CNV-seq)] were performed on all cases for prenatal genetic diagnosis and those with normal results were further tested by whole exome sequencing (WES). Prenatal ultrasonographic and genetic features of complex TE in fetuses were summarized. Complicated abnormalities in the fetuses were classified into nine categories according to the involved system or site and based on each category these subjects were divided into with or without the corresponding complicated abnormalities groups. Besides, these cases were also divided into single-system and multi-system abnormality groups based on the number of involved systems or sites of complicated abnormalities. The detection rates of WES abnormality (pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants) and the overall detection rate of genetic abnormality [karyotype abnormality detected by chromosome karyotype analysis, pathogenic or likely pathogenic copy number variations (CNVs) detected by CMA (or CNV-seq), and pathogenic or likely pathogenic variation detected by WES] were compared between different groups using Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Results:Abnormal chromosome karyotypes were identified in 10 (24.4%) of 41 cases receiving chromosome karyotype analysis, pathogenic and likely pathogenic CNVs were found in seven (7.6%) of 92 cases by CMA (or CNV-seq). WES was performed on 37 cases with negative results of chromosomal karyotype analysis and CMA (or CNV-seq) and the detection rate of pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants was 43.2% (16/37). The detection rate of WES abnormality was higher in the fetuses with musculoskeletal abnormalities than in those without the abnormalities [71.4% (15/21) vs. 1/16, Fisher's exact test, P<0.001], while in those with other postural abnormalities was higher than that in the group without other postural abnormalities [12/16 vs. 19.0% (4/21), Fisher's exact test, P=0.001]. The genetic causes of complex TE were identified in 34.7% (33/95) of the fetuses by the sequential genetic diagnosis using chromosome karyotype analysis, CMA (or CNV-seq), and WES. The overall detection rate of genetic abnormality was higher in the group with multi-system abnormality than in the group with single-system abnormality [48.9% (22/45) vs. 22.0% (11/50), χ2=7.55, P=0.006], in the group with musculoskeletal system abnormalities and without [46.8% (22/47) vs. 22.9% (11/48), χ2=5.98, P=0.014], and in the group with other postural abnormality and without [47.2% (17/36) vs. 27.1% (16/59), χ2=3.99, P=0.046]. Nine cases that were considered isolated TE on initial ultrasound were corrected to a complex diagnosis on subsequent ultrasound examinations. Of all the involved system or site, the neurologic abnormalities were the most diverse (13 kinds) and had a diversity of ultrasound presentations. Conclusions:Genetic diagnosis should be performed when prenatal ultrasound suggests fetal complex TE. WES is conducive to improving the prenatal detection rate of monogenic diseases, especially in fetuses complicated by musculoskeletal abnormalities. Isolated TE fetuses require serial ultrasound examinations to correct the diagnosis in time and genetic testing should be performed if necessary. Additional attention should be paid to the TE fetus for comorbid neurologic abnormalities at the time of ultrasonography to rule out TE as an intrauterine harbinger of neuromuscular disease.