Lymphatic metastasis is the main metastatic route for colorectal cancer, which increases the risk of cancer recurrence and distant metastasis. The properties of the lymph node metastatic colorectal cancer (LNM-CRC) cells are poorly understood, and effective therapies are still lacking. Here, we found that hypoxia-induced fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAPα) expression in LNM-CRC cells. Gain- or loss-function experiments demonstrated that FAPα enhanced tumor cell migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, stemness, and lymphangiogenesis via activation of the STAT3 pathway. In addition, FAPα in tumor cells induced extracellular matrix remodeling and established an immunosuppressive environment via recruiting regulatory T cells, to promote colorectal cancer lymph node metastasis (CRCLNM). Z-GP-DAVLBH, a FAPα-activated prodrug, inhibited CRCLNM by targeting FAPα-positive LNM-CRC cells. Our study highlights the role of FAPα in tumor cells in CRCLNM and provides a potential therapeutic target and promising strategy for CRCLNM.

There seems to be a contradiction among the symptoms of"non-thirst"and"thirst after oral use of the decoction"stated in original text 41 of Shang Han Lun(Treatise on Febrile Diseases)and the symptom of"probable thirst"stated in original text 40.In this article,the symptoms of thirst or non-thirst in the syndrome of Xiao Qinglong Decoction were expounded through the analysis of the basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine about body fluid metabolism and the pathogenic mechanism of thirst,and by synthesizing the relevant articles recorded in Jin Gui Yao Lve(Synopsis of the Golden Chamber)and the understanding of the syndrome of Xiao Qinglong Decoction by later generations of practitioners.After that,the following views are put forward:non-thirst symptom is the primary sympton of the syndrome of Xiao Qinglong Decoction,which results from the disease;thirst after oral use of the decoction is due to drug-induced thirst,which can be classified into the category of physiological thirst;probable thirst symptom is related with fluid consumption by febrile disease,indicating that the disease involves yangming.The analysis of the symptoms of thirst or non-thirst in the syndrome of Xiao Qinglong Decoction is helpful for evaluation of therapeutic efficacy,and can also be used as the indications of modified medications and differential diagnosis of the disease.The exploration will provide references for the clinical use of Xiao Qinglong Decoction and will be beneficial to improving the clinical efficacy of Xiao Qinglong Decoction.

Objective:To investigate the influencing factors for early tumor recurrence and the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) patients after curative-intent resection.Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 506 patients with GBC in 11 medical centers, including The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University et al, from January 2016 to December 2020 were collected. There were 168 males and 338 females, aged (62±11)years. All patients underwent curative-intent resection of GBC, and they were divided into patients with and without early recurrence based on time to postoperative recurrence. Observation indicators: (1) treatment; (2) follow-up and survival of patients; (3) analysis of influencing factors for early tumor recurrence after curative-intent resection of GBC; (4) efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test. Comparison of ordinal data was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Univariate analysis was conducted using the corresponding statistical methods based on data type. Multivariate analysis was conducted using the Logistic regression model with forward method. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curve and calculate survival rate, and Log-Rank test was used for survival analysis. Results:(1) Treatment. Of 506 patients, there were 112 cases with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, and 394 cases without postopera-tive adjuvant chemotherapy. They underwent 5(range, 3-9)cycles of postoperative adjuvant chemo-therapy. (2) Follow-up and survival of patients. All 506 patients underwent postoperative follow-up, with the follow-up time of 55(range, 34-93)months. During the follow-up, there were 248 patients with tumor recurrence, including 158 cases of early recurrence and 90 cases of late recurrence, and there were 258 patients without tumor recurrence. Of 506 patients, 275 cases survived, and 231 cases died of multiple organ failure caused by tumor recurrence and metastasis. The postoperative recurr-ence-free survival time, overall survival time were 52(range,1-93)months, 62(range, 2-93)months. The 1-, 3-, 5-year disease-free survival rates and 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival rates of the 506 pati-ents were 68.8%, 53.8%, 47.9% and 78.3%, 58.7%, 51.6%, respectively. Results of survival analysis showed that the median overall survival time of 158 patients with postoperative early recurrence and 348 patients without postoperative early recurrence (including 90 cases of late recurrence and 258 cases of no tumor recurrence) were 9(range, 2-73)months and unreached, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=456.15, P<0.05). (3) Analysis of influencing factors for early tumor recurrence after curative-intent resection of GBC. Results of multivariate analysis showed that carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) >5.0 μg/L, poorly differentiated tumor, liver invasion, and tumor N staging as stage N1-N2 were independent risk factors influencing early tumor recurrence after cura-tive-intent resection of GBC ( odds ratio=2.74, 6.20, 1.81, 2.93, 4.82, 95% confidence interval as 1.62-4.64, 1.82-21.12, 1.15-3.08, 1.68-5.09, 1.91-12.18, P<0.05), while postoperative adjuvant chemo-therapy was an independent protect factor ( odds ratio=0.39, 95% confidence interval as 0.21-0.71, P<0.05). (4) Efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. The median overall survival time of 394 patients without postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and 112 patients with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy were 57(range, 2-93)months and unreached, showing a significant differ-ence between them ( χ2=9.38, P<0.05). Of the 158 patients with postoperative early recurrence after curative-intent resection of GBC, 135 cases didn't receive adjuvant chemotherapy and 23 cases received adjuvant chemotherapy, with the overall survival time of 8(range, 2-73)months and 17(range, 8-61)months, respectively, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=7.68, P<0.05). Conclusions:CEA >5.0 μg/L, poorly differentiated tumor, liver invasion, and tumor N staging as stage N1-N2 are independent risk factors influencing early tumor recurrence after curative-intent resection of GBC, while postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is an independent protect factor. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy can prolong the overall survival time of patients with post-operative tumor early recurrence.

RNA editing, an essential post-transcriptional reaction occurring in double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), generates informational diversity in the transcriptome and proteome. In mammals, the main type of RNA editing is the conversion of adenosine to inosine (A-to-I), processed by adenosine deaminases acting on the RNAs (ADARs) family, and interpreted as guanosine during nucleotide base-pairing. It has been reported that millions of nucleotide sites in human transcriptome undergo A-to-I editing events, catalyzed by the primarily responsible enzyme, ADAR1. In hematological malignancies including myeloid/lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma, dysregulation of ADAR1 directly impacts the A-to-I editing states occurring in coding regions, non-coding regions, and immature miRNA precursors. Subsequently, aberrant A-to-I editing states result in altered molecular events, such as protein-coding sequence changes, intron retention, alternative splicing, and miRNA biogenesis inhibition. As a vital factor of the generation and stemness maintenance in leukemia stem cells (LSCs), disordered RNA editing drives the chaos of molecular regulatory network and ultimately promotes the cell proliferation, apoptosis inhibition and drug resistance. At present, novel drugs designed to target RNA editing(e.g., rebecsinib) are under development and have achieved outstanding results in animal experiments. Compared with traditional antitumor drugs, epigenetic antitumor drugs are expected to overcome the shackle of drug resistance and recurrence in hematological malignancies, and provide new treatment options for patients. This review summarized the recent advances in the regulation mechanism of ADAR1-mediated RNA editing events in hematologic malignancies, and further discussed the medical potential and clinical application of ADAR1.

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical Gram-negative bacteria isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2022.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteria from blood cultures in member hospitals of national bloodstream infection Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System（BRICS）were collected during January 2022 to December 2022. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 software were used to analyze the data.Results:During the study period，9 035 strains of Gram-negative bacteria were collected from 51 hospitals，of which 7 895（87.4%）were Enterobacteriaceae and 1 140（12.6%）were non-fermenting bacteria. The top 5 bacterial species were Escherichia coli（ n=4 510，49.9%）， Klebsiella pneumoniae（ n=2 340，25.9%）， Pseudomonas aeruginosa（ n=534，5.9%）， Acinetobacter baumannii complex（ n=405，4.5%）and Enterobacter cloacae（ n=327，3.6%）. The ESBLs-producing rates in Escherichia coli， Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus spp. were 47.1%（2 095/4 452），21.0%（427/2 033）and 41.1%（58/141），respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli（CREC）and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae（CRKP）were 1.3%（58/4 510）and 13.1%（307/2 340）；62.1%（36/58）and 9.8%（30/307）of CREC and CRKP were resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam combination，respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii（CRAB）complex was 59.5%（241/405），while less than 5% of Acinetobacter baumannii complex was resistant to tigecycline and polymyxin B. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa（CRPA）was 18.4%（98/534）. There were differences in the composition ratio of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections and the prevalence of main Gram-negative bacteria resistance among different regions，with statistically significant differences in the prevalence of CRKP and CRPA（ χ2=20.489 and 20.252， P<0.001）. The prevalence of CREC，CRKP，CRPA，CRAB，ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were higher in provinicial hospitals than those in municipal hospitals（ χ2=11.953，81.183，10.404，5.915，12.415 and 6.459， P<0.01 or <0.05），while the prevalence of CRPA was higher in economically developed regions（per capita GDP ≥ 92 059 Yuan）than that in economically less-developed regions（per capita GDP <92 059 Yuan）（ χ2=6.240， P=0.012）. Conclusions:The proportion of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections shows an increasing trend，and Escherichia coli is ranked in the top，while the trend of CRKP decreases continuously with time. Decreasing trends are noted in ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Low prevalence of carbapenem resistance in Escherichia coli and high prevalence in CRAB complex have been observed. The composition ratio and antibacterial spectrum of bloodstream infections in different regions of China are slightly different，and the proportion of main drug resistant bacteria in provincial hospitals is higher than those in municipal hospitals.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (IALL).Methods:A retrospective cohort study.Clinical data, treatment and prognosis of 28 cases of IALL who have been treated at Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University and Baoding Children′s Hospital from October 2013 to May 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. Based on the results of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), all patients were divided into KMT2A gene rearrangement (KMT2A-R) positive group and KMT2A-R negative group. The prognosis of two groups were compared. Kaplan-Meier method and Log-Rank test were used to analyze the survival of the patients.Results:Among 28 cases of IALL, there were 10 males and 18 females, with the onset age of 10.9 (9.4,11.8) months. In terms of immune classification, 25 cases were B-ALL (89%), while the remaining 3 cases were T-ALL (11%). Most infant B-ALL showed pro-B lymphocyte phenotype (16/25,64%). A total of 22 cases (79%) obtained chromosome karyotype results, of which 7 were normal karyotypes, no complex karyotypes and 15 were abnormal karyotypes were found. Among abnormal karyotypes, there were 4 cases of t (9; 11), 2 cases of t (4; 11), 2 cases of t (11; 19), 1 case of t (1; 11) and 6 cases of other abnormal karyotypes. A total of 19 cases (68%) were positive for KMT2A-R detected by FISH. The KMT2A fusion gene was detected by real-time PCR in 16 cases (57%). A total of 24 patients completed standardized induction chemotherapy and were able to undergo efficacy evaluation, 23 cases (96%) achieved complete remission through induction chemotherapy, 4 cases (17%) died of relapse. The 5-year event free survival rate (EFS) was (46±13)%, and the 5-year overall survival rate (OS) was (73±10)%.The survival time was 31.3 (3.3, 62.5) months. There was no significant statistical difference in 5-year EFS ((46±14)% vs. (61±18)%) and 5-year OS ((64±13)% vs. (86±13)%) between the KMT2A-R positive group (15 cases) and the KMT2A-R negative group (9 cases) ( χ2=1.88, 1.47, P=0.170, 0.224). Conclusions:Most IALL patients were accompanied by KMT2A-R. They had poor tolerance to traditional chemotherapy, the relapse rate during treatment was high and the prognosis was poor.

[Objective]To investigate the impact of varying concentrations of baicalein on the proliferation and biological responses of MC3T3-E1 cells,as well as the antibacterial efficacy of baicalein against prevalent oral bacteria,and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.[Methods]MC3T3-E1 cells were exposed to different concentrations of baicalein(0,6,12,18,and 24 μmol/L)and cell viability was determined by using the CCK-8 assay.Alkaline phosphatase(ALP)activity of MC3T3-E1 cells following osteogenic induction was assessed.RT-PCR was used to examine the expression of RunX2,BMP2,and Osterix.After 24 hours of treatment,the antibacterial potential of baicalein against Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus Aureus and Streptococcus Sanguis was evaluated by using the K-B paper disk method.[Results]Baicalein exhibited a modest reduction in proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells but without affecting their sustained proliferation.Baicalein at a concentration of 18 μmol/L enhanced ALP activity of MC3T3-E1 cells,upregulated BMP2 and Osterix expression,downregulated RunX2 expression,significantly inhibited the proliferation of Staphylococcus Aureus and Streptococcus Sanguis(P<0.05).[Conclusions]Baicalein at an optimal concentration(18 μmol/L)demonstrated a promotional effect on the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells and effectively suppressed the proliferation of common oral bacteria,including Staphylococcus Aureus and Streptococcus Sanguis.

Sishen Pills is a classic prescription for the treatment of spleen and kidney diarrhea,which has the effect of warming the kidney and the spleen,astringent intestine and antidiarrheal.In modern clinical application,the modified prescriptions based on Sishen Pills,combined with other treatments of TCM and integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine are often used to treat ulcerative colitis with spleen-kidney yang deficiency syndrome,and the curative effect is remarkable.Experimental pharmacological studies have shown that Sishen Pills may achieve the purpose of ulcerative colitis by regulating the expression of related signaling pathway proteins,regulating inflammatory factors,inhibiting inflammatory response,regulating autophagy,regulating intestinal flora,improving intestinal mucosal permeability,repairing intestinal mucosal barrier,regulating cellular energy metabolism,anti-oxidative stress,regulating cellular immune function,etc.In this article,the research status of Sishen Pills in the treatment of ulcerative colitis was sorted out and summarized,in order to provide reference for further study of its mechanism and clinical application.

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical Gram-positive bacteria isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2022.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-positive bacteria from blood cultures in member hospitals of National Bloodstream Infection Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System（BRICS）were collected during January 2022 to December 2022. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 software were used to analyze the data.Results:A total of 3 163 strains of Gram-positive pathogens were collected from 51 member units，and the top five bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus（ n=1 147，36.3%），coagulase-negative Staphylococci（ n=928，29.3%）， Enterococcus faecalis（ n=369，11.7%）， Enterococcus faecium（ n=296，9.4%）and alpha-hemolyticus Streptococci（ n=192，6.1%）. The detection rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus（MRSA）and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci（MRCNS）were 26.4%（303/1 147）and 66.7%（619/928），respectively. No glycopeptide and daptomycin-resistant Staphylococci were detected. The sensitivity rates of Staphylococcus aureus to cefpirome，rifampin，compound sulfamethoxazole，linezolid，minocycline and tigecycline were all >95.0%. Enterococcus faecium was more prevalent than Enterococcus faecalis. The resistance rates of Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin and teicoplanin were both 0.5%（2/369），and no vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium was detected. The detection rate of MRSA in southern China was significantly lower than that in other regions（ χ2=14.578， P=0.002），while the detection rate of MRCNS in northern China was significantly higher than that in other regions（ χ2=15.195， P=0.002）. The detection rates of MRSA and MRCNS in provincial hospitals were higher than those in municipal hospitals（ χ2=13.519 and 12.136， P<0.001）. The detection rates of MRSA and MRCNS in economically more advanced regions（per capita GDP≥92 059 Yuan in 2022）were higher than those in economically less advanced regions（per capita GDP<92 059 Yuan）（ χ2=9.969 and 7.606， P=0.002和0.006）. Conclusions:Among the Gram-positive pathogens causing bloodstream infections in China， Staphylococci is the most common while the MRSA incidence decreases continuously with time；the detection rate of Enterococcus faecium exceeds that of Enterococcus faecalis. The overall prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci is still at a low level. The composition ratio of Gram-positive pathogens and resistant profiles varies slightly across regions of China，with the prevalence of MRSA and MRCNS being more pronounced in provincial hospitals and areas with a per capita GDP≥92 059 yuan.

Based on the discussions in the The Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor （《黄帝内经》）， it is proposed that in the course of the disease， "bind" represents the initial stage of pulmonary nodules， while "accumulation" represents the final form. In terms of the pathogenesis， "two colds interacting" represented by "body cold" and "cold fluid retention" are the prerequisites for the formation of pulmonary nodules， while "disorder of qi" represented by "fainting" is the core of the formation. The specific manifestation is the disturbance of pivot of shaoyang （少阳） or shaoyin （少阴）， resulting in a complex of cold and heat， and then phlegm and stasis are suddenly generated and further formed into nodules. Therefore， the treatment principle should be to regulate the cardinal mechanism， dissolve phlegm and blood stasis. Depending on the complex degree of cold and heat， it is suggested to use Chaihu Guizhi Decoction （柴胡桂枝汤）， Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiang Decoction （柴胡桂枝干姜汤）， or Chaihu Xianxiong Decoction （柴胡陷胸汤） for disturbance of shaoyang pivot， while for shaoyin pivot dysfunction， modified Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Decoction （麻黄附子细辛汤） or Shengjiang Powder （升降散） can be used.