Objective To explore the expression characteristics of BAIAP2L1 in cervical cancer (CC) and its regulatory role in tumor cell metastasis. Methods The correlation between BAIAP2L1 expression and clinical prognosis was analyzed by using a public database. GO pathway enrichment and clinicopathological correlation analyses were conducted by employing R language. The effect of BAIAP2L1 knockdown on CC cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were further investigated through gene silencing approaches. Results BAIAP2L1 expression was significantly upregulated in CC tissues (P_adj <0.001) and it was identified as an independent risk factor for patient mortality (HR=2.808, P=0.03). Elevated BAIAP2L1 levels showed significant correlations with poor overall survival, advanced T/N stage, recurrence, and metastasis (all P<0.05). Functional enrichment analysis revealed its involvement in tumor metastasis-related pathways. The knockdown of BAIAP2L1 significantly attenuated CC cell proliferation, invasion, and migration and suppressed key EMT processes (all P<0.05). Conclusion BAIAP2L1 is overexpressed in CC tissues and associated with patient prognosis and metastasis. The targeted inhibition of BAIAP2L1 can effectively curb tumor progression.

OBJECTIVE To improve the quality evaluation method of Platycodonis Radix, to study the differences in the quality of three-years-old Platycodonis Radix under different harvesting periods, and to determine the optimal harvesting period of Platycodonis Radix. METHODS The leachate, ash, moisture, refractive index and the content of six saponins were used as the quality evaluation indexes. The differences between the herbs of Platycodonis Radix at different harvesting periods were characterized with the help of mathematical and statistical methods. And link the entropy weight method, gray correlation analysis and TOPSIS method were combined to obtain the statistical analysis of the relevant indexes and the quality ranking information of the herbs in different harvesting periods. RESULTS There were significant differences between the quality evaluation indexes of three-years-old Platycodonis Radix at different harvesting periods. The added multi-indicator testing had improved the quality evaluation system of Platycodonis Radix and enhanced the "Drug properties-Effectiveness" linkage of the herbs. And the results of the comprehensive quality evaluation model showed that the herbs harvested around October 21 (Frost’s Descent) were ranked best in terms of comprehensive index. CONCLUSION In order to ensure the quality of Platycodonis Radix, the best harvesting period for three-years-old Platycodonis Radix is determined around the "Frost’s Descent" season, taking into account the characteristics of the herbs' appearance and the material basis of herbs.

Objective:To investigate the effectiveness of new cryoprotective agents in preserving and transplanting human adipose tissue.Methods:The adipose tissue samples were obtained from healthy adult females who underwent liposuction at the Department of Plastic Surgery of Peking University Third Hospital from January to March 2022. The adipose tissue samples were centrifuged and then randomly divided into 9 groups. These groups were cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen using different cryoprotective agents [group A, group B, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) group] and cryopreservation times (1-month, 2-month, and 3-month groups), respectively. The cryoprotective agent formulation in group A was dextrose glycoside 40 (DEX), amino acids, vitamins, and inorganic salts. In group B, the formulation included DMSO and DEX. The ratio of cryoprotective agent in the DMSO group was 10% DMSO, 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS), and 70% DMEM-12. For cryopreservation, 5 ml cryogenic tubes were used with a fat to cryoprotective agent ratio of 3∶2, and each group contains 6 tubes for cryopreservation. After thawing the adipose tissue, HE staining was used to observe the histological morphology. Immunohistochemical staining was employed for the quantitative analysis of lipid droplet-encapsulated protein (Perilipin), and the Perilipin positivity rate was calculated by the ratio of the number of positive cells to the total number of cells. Adipocyte viability was assessed using the CCK-8 method. Thirty-eight healthy, clean nude mice were selected and divided into 3 groups of 12 mice each according to the use of different cryoprotective agents (groups A, B, and DMSO), while the other 2 mice were used as the day 0 control group. The mean fat freezing duration for all groups was 3 months. After nude mice were anesthetized intraperitoneally, 0.9 ml of thawed cryopreserved fat was injected into the dorsum bilaterally. The rate of adipose tissue retention was calculated by MRI scanning and three-dimensional software at 1, 2, and 3 months after transplantation, and compared between the groups. The fat grafts were explanted from the mice after they were sacrificed, and then subjected to histological morphology and quantitative analysis of Perilipin by using HE staining and immunohistochemical staining. GraphPad Prism 8.0 software was used for statistical analysis of the data. The data that conformed to a normal distribution were expressed as Mean ± SD. The overall comparison between multiple groups used analysis of variance for repeated measures. The comparison of data between groups at the same time point used Tukey’s multiple comparison test.Results:The morphology of adipose tissue in different cryoprotective agent groups closely resembled that of normal fresh adipose tissue after being cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen for 1-3 months. The difference in the proportion of Perilipin-stained positive cells in each group was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). The CCK-8 method indicated that the effect of the DMSO group was superior to groups A and B at 1 and 3 months of cryopreservation ( P<0.01), and that the DMSO group and group B were superior to group A at 2 months of cryopreservation ( P<0.01). In the animal experiments, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the volume retention rate 1-3 months after cryopreserved fat transplantation ( P>0.05). Additionally, the adipose tissues in each group exhibited varying degrees of localized necrosis accompanied by an inflammatory reaction 1-3 months after transplantation. There was no statistically significant difference in the Perilipin staining positivity between the groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The use of new cryoprotective agents for cryopreserving adipose tissue does not show a significant difference compared to the traditional cryoprotective agent. However, it is theoretically safer as it avoids the potential toxic effects of using DMSO or FBS on the human body.

Ferroptosis is closely associated with the progression of various diseases.There are a series of anti-ferroptosis systems in the cell,the main function of which is to eliminate lipid peroxides and inhibit the occurrence of ferropto-sis.Ubiquitination is a crucial type of post-translational protein modification which can influence the degradation,intracellular localization,or function of substrate proteins.Ubiquitination modification plays an important role in regulating key proteins in-volved in ferroptosis pathways,such as SLC7A11,GPX4,FSP1,iron metabolism-related proteins,and other critical proteins in ferroptosis pathways.This review aims to summarize the research progress on ubiquitination modification of these key proteins in ferroptosis pathways,thereby elucidating the specific role of ubiquitination in ferroptosis pathways.

Objective To investigate the differences in subchondral bone mineral density(BMD)between the femoral and tibial sides in patients of knee osteoarthritis(KOA)with normal lines of force and varus.Methods The data of 450 knee joints with a definite diagnosis of KOA were included in this study including weight-bearing full-length X-ray films and quantitative computed tomography(QCT)scans of both lower limbs.Among them,131 were in the normal force line group and 319 were in the knee varus group.The hip-knee-ankle(HKA)angle and BMD of the femoral medial condyle,femoral lateral condyle,tibial medial plateau and tibial lateral plateau were measured.BMD ratio of tibial medial plateau to tibial lateral plateau and the BMD ratio of femoral medial condyle to femoral lateral condyle were calculated.BMD in medial and lateral compartments of the femur and tibia were compared between the two groups,followed by subgroup analyses based on gender and age.Spearman correlation was used to analyze the correlation between the BMD ratio of tibial medial plateau to tibial lateral plateau,the BMD ratio of femoral medial condyle to femoral lateral condyle and the degree of varus in the knee varus group.Results The BMD of the medial femoral condyles and medial tibial platforms were higher in the knee varus group than those in the normal force line group.The BMD of femoral lateral condyle and lateral tibial platform was lower in the knee varus group than that in the normal force line group.The BMD ratio of the medial to lateral tibial plateaus was greater than one in both groups,and the ratio of the knee varus group was greater.The BMD ratio of femoral medial to lateral condyle in the knee varus group was significantly higher than that in the normal force line group.For women,these findings were more pronounced and were independent of age.Correlation analysis showed that the BMD ratio of medial tibial plateau to lateral tibial plateau was negatively correlated with HKA angle(rs=-0.436,P＜0.01),and the BMD ratio of the medial femoral condyle to lateral femoral condyle was also negatively correlated with HKA angle(rs=-0.394,P＜0.01).Conclusion The BMD of medial femoral and tibial compartment is increased and the BMD of lateral compartment is decreased in the genu varus group compared with the normal force line group.

Objective:To summarize the clinicopathologic characteristics of undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver.Methods:The clinical data of 16 patients with undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver admitted to Shandong Provincial Hospital and Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital from Jan 2000 to Jan 2023 was retrospectively analyzed.Results:The diagnosis of undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma in all the 16 patients was established by postoperative pathology. The clinical manifestations of the patients were mainly asymptomatic abdominal mass, abdominal pain and discomfort. The laboratory examination was mostly nonspecific, the image exam showed mostly solid cystic mass. 14 cases underwent radical surgical resection.The minimum survival time was 7 months, maximum survival time was 121 months with median survival time of 35.9 months.Conclusions:Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver is an extremely rare malignant tumor of the liver. The disease lacks specific clinical manifestations. CT examination can assist in the diagnosis of the disease. Diagnosis of undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver depends on pathological examination. The prognosis of patients is poor, surgical resection of the tumor is an effective treatment.

AIM:To investigate the effect of hydrogen sulfide(H2S)on ferroptosis and functional impairment induced by oxidized high-density lipoprotein(ox-HDL)in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs),and to ex-plore its mechanisms.METHODS:The HUVECs were cultured in vitro and exposed to 200 mg/L ox-HDL,ferroptosis in-hibitor ferrostatin-1(Fer-1),protein kinase B(PKB/Akt)inhibitor MK-2206 2HCl(MK),Akt agonist SC79,and/or H2S for 24 h.Western blot was used to identify the relevant proteins.Intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species(ROS)were analyzed by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining.Intracellular iron was measured using an iron detection kit.The number of monocytes adhering to endothelial cells was counted using the monocyte adhesion assay.RESULTS:Compared with control group,acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4(ACSL4)protein expression in ox-HDL group was elevated by 1.45-fold(P<0.01),glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4)protein expression was decreased by 29.79%(P<0.05),and ROS levels and iron ion content were elevated by 4.81-fold and 1.40-fold,respectively(P<0.01).The ratios of p-PI3K/PI3K and p-Akt/Akt were decreased by 45.65%and 41.68%,respectively(P<0.01),endo-thelial cell function-related protein IL-6,ICAM-1 and TNF-α expression was elevated 1.18-fold,1.24-fold and 1.41-fold(P<0.05),respectively,eNOS protein expression was decreased by 35.24%(P<0.01),and monocyte adhesion was ele-vated 3.43-fold(P<0.01).Compared with ox-HDL group,the endothelial cell iron death-related protein ACSL4 was de-creased by 22.32%(P<0.05),GPX4 was increased by 1.27-fold(P<0.01),and the p-Akt/Akt ratio was increased by 1.52-fold(P<0.01)in ox-HDL+H2S group.The fluorescence microscopy results showed that the ROS was decreased by 50.35%(P<0.01).The IL-6,ICAM-1 and TNF-α protein expression was decreased by 13.34%,9.83%and 13.46%(P<0.05),respectively,eNOS was elevated by 1.22-fold(P<0.01),and the number of monocyte adhesion was de-creased by 59.05%(P<0.01).Compared with ox-HDL group,GPX4 protein expression in ox-HDL+SC79 group was ele-vated by 1.49-fold(P<0.01),ACSL4 expression was decreased by 20.72%(P<0.05),and ROS and iron ions were de-creased by 59.31%and 23.85%(P<0.05),respectively.Compared with ox-HDL+H2S group,GPX4 protein expression was decreased by 21.28%,and ACSL4 protein expression was increased by 1.16-fold in ox-HDL+H2S+MK group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:H2S activates Akt to inhibit ox-HDL-induced ferroptosis in HUVECs and alleviate their func-tional damage.

Objective:To investigate the effectiveness of new cryoprotective agents in preserving and transplanting human adipose tissue.Methods:The adipose tissue samples were obtained from healthy adult females who underwent liposuction at the Department of Plastic Surgery of Peking University Third Hospital from January to March 2022. The adipose tissue samples were centrifuged and then randomly divided into 9 groups. These groups were cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen using different cryoprotective agents [group A, group B, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) group] and cryopreservation times (1-month, 2-month, and 3-month groups), respectively. The cryoprotective agent formulation in group A was dextrose glycoside 40 (DEX), amino acids, vitamins, and inorganic salts. In group B, the formulation included DMSO and DEX. The ratio of cryoprotective agent in the DMSO group was 10% DMSO, 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS), and 70% DMEM-12. For cryopreservation, 5 ml cryogenic tubes were used with a fat to cryoprotective agent ratio of 3∶2, and each group contains 6 tubes for cryopreservation. After thawing the adipose tissue, HE staining was used to observe the histological morphology. Immunohistochemical staining was employed for the quantitative analysis of lipid droplet-encapsulated protein (Perilipin), and the Perilipin positivity rate was calculated by the ratio of the number of positive cells to the total number of cells. Adipocyte viability was assessed using the CCK-8 method. Thirty-eight healthy, clean nude mice were selected and divided into 3 groups of 12 mice each according to the use of different cryoprotective agents (groups A, B, and DMSO), while the other 2 mice were used as the day 0 control group. The mean fat freezing duration for all groups was 3 months. After nude mice were anesthetized intraperitoneally, 0.9 ml of thawed cryopreserved fat was injected into the dorsum bilaterally. The rate of adipose tissue retention was calculated by MRI scanning and three-dimensional software at 1, 2, and 3 months after transplantation, and compared between the groups. The fat grafts were explanted from the mice after they were sacrificed, and then subjected to histological morphology and quantitative analysis of Perilipin by using HE staining and immunohistochemical staining. GraphPad Prism 8.0 software was used for statistical analysis of the data. The data that conformed to a normal distribution were expressed as Mean ± SD. The overall comparison between multiple groups used analysis of variance for repeated measures. The comparison of data between groups at the same time point used Tukey’s multiple comparison test.Results:The morphology of adipose tissue in different cryoprotective agent groups closely resembled that of normal fresh adipose tissue after being cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen for 1-3 months. The difference in the proportion of Perilipin-stained positive cells in each group was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). The CCK-8 method indicated that the effect of the DMSO group was superior to groups A and B at 1 and 3 months of cryopreservation ( P<0.01), and that the DMSO group and group B were superior to group A at 2 months of cryopreservation ( P<0.01). In the animal experiments, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the volume retention rate 1-3 months after cryopreserved fat transplantation ( P>0.05). Additionally, the adipose tissues in each group exhibited varying degrees of localized necrosis accompanied by an inflammatory reaction 1-3 months after transplantation. There was no statistically significant difference in the Perilipin staining positivity between the groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The use of new cryoprotective agents for cryopreserving adipose tissue does not show a significant difference compared to the traditional cryoprotective agent. However, it is theoretically safer as it avoids the potential toxic effects of using DMSO or FBS on the human body.

Objective:To explore the influence of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) on endocrine resistance in breast cancer through the forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) /Wnt/ β-catenin pathway. Methods:Tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells were cultured, THP-1 cells were induced into macrophages (MΦ), and further induced into TAMs. After being cultured in the conditioned medium (CM) of MCF-7 cells for 24 hours, MΦ were defined as MS cells. After being cultured in the CM of MCF-7R cells for 24 hours, MΦ were defined as MR cells. MCF-7 cells, after being cultured in the CM of macrophages for 24 hours, were defined as MCF-7 (MΦ) cells. MCF-7 cells, after being cultured in the CM of MS cells for 24 hours, were defined as MCF-7 (MS) cells. MCF-7 cells, after being cultured in the CM of MR cells for 24 hours, were defined as MCF-7 (MR) cells. Cell viability and invasion ability were evaluated using CCK-8 and Transwell assays. The protein levels of CD163, Wnt1, β-catenin, and FOXM1 in different groups were examined by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results:Compared to the MS group (mRNA: 1.49±0.12, protein: 1.15±0.12), CD163 expression was higher in the MR group (mRNA: 2.33±0.16, protein 1.52±0.11) ( t=7.28, P=0.002) ( t=3.94, P=0.017), indicating that tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells can induce polarization of more MΦ into TAMs. TAMs increased the expression of FOXM1 in breast cancer cells, which further activated the Wnt/ β-catenin pathway. Compared to the MCF-7 (MΦ) group, the MCF-7 (MS) and MCF-7 (MR) groups showed enhanced cell viability and invasion, with the most significant increase observed in the MCF-7 (MR) group. Compared with MCF-7 (MΦ) cells, the levels of Wnt1, β-catenin, and FOXM1 in MCF-7 (MS) and MCF-7 (MR) cells were significantly increased, with the highest levels observed in the MCF-7 (MR) group with the most TAM polarization. Compared to the MCF-7 group, both the MCF-7 (MR) and MCF-7+pcDNA-FOXM1 groups showed increased levels of Wnt1 and β-catenin, enhanced cell viability and invasion. Compared to the MCF-7 (MR) group, the MCF-7 (MR) + si-FOXM1 group showed reduced levels of Wnt1 and β-catenin, weakened cell viability and invasion. Conclusion:TAMs promote endocrine resistance in breast cancer by upregulating FOXM1 and activating the Wnt/ β-catenin pathway.

The interventional therapy of vascular stent implantation is a popular treatment method for cardiovascular stenosis and blockage. However, traditional stent manufacturing methods such as laser cutting are complex and cannot easily manufacture complex structures such as bifurcated stents, while three-dimensional (3D) printing technology provides a new method for manufacturing stents with complex structure and personalized designs. In this paper, a cardiovascular stent was designed, and printed using selective laser melting technology and 316L stainless steel powder of 0-10 µm size. Electrolytic polishing was performed to improve the surface quality of the printed vascular stent, and the expansion behavior of the polished stent was assessed by balloon inflation. The results showed that the newly designed cardiovascular stent could be manufactured by 3D printing technology. Electrolytic polishing removed the attached powder and reduced the surface roughness Ra from 1.36 µm to 0.82 µm. The axial shortening rate of the polished bracket was 4.23% when the outside diameter was expanded from 2.42 mm to 3.63 mm under the pressure of the balloon, and the radial rebound rate was 2.48% after unloading. The radial force of polished stent was 8.32 N. The 3D printed vascular stent can remove the surface powder through electrolytic polishing to improve the surface quality, and show good dilatation performance and radial support performance, which provides a reference for the practical application of 3D printed vascular stent.
Humans ; Stainless Steel ; Powders ; Cardiovascular System ; Constriction, Pathologic