OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of volatile oil of Ligusticum chuanxiong on the transdermal properties and cytotoxicity of triptolide in vitro. METHODS The chemical constituents of the volatile oil of L. chuanxiong were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The lower abdominal skin of KM mice was separated and divided into triptolide group， triptolide in compatibility with volatile oil of L. chuanxiong groups at 1∶10， 1∶50， 1∶100 （hereinafter referred to as “compatibility 1∶10”“compatibility 1∶50”“compatibility 1∶100” groups）. After the skin of mice in each group was fully exposed to 0.2 g of the corresponding cream for 24 h， the cumulative transdermal dose （Qn） of triptolide in the receiving solution of each group was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography， and the transdermal absorption rate （Jss） was calculated. Human immortalized keratinocytes （HaCat） were used as a model， the CCK-8 method was used to detect the cell survival rate of different concentrations of the volatile oil of L. chuanxiong and triptolide before and after compatibility. RESULTS A total of 62 chemical constituents of the volatile oil of L. chuanxiong were identified， including Z-ligustilide， senkyunolide， and β-selinene. The Qn （P＜ 0.01） and Jss of triptolide increased within 24 h in the compatibility 1∶10 and 1∶50 groups， while the Qn （P＜0.05） and Jss decreased in the compatibility 1∶100 group as compared with the triptolide group. Compared with the triptolide group， the cell survival rate of HaCat was significantly increased in the compatibility 1∶10 and 1∶50 groups when the triptolide concentrations were 36， 72 and 144 ng/mL （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； while the cell survival rate of HaCat was decreased in the compatibility 1∶100 group， but the difference was not statistically significant （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS When the compatibility ratio of triptolide and volatile oil of L. chuanxiong was 1∶10 or 1∶50， it can promote the transdermal absorption of triptolide and reduce the cytotoxicity of triptolide to HaCat.

Objective To investigate the role and molecular mechanism of 3,3′-diindolelmethane(DIM),a natural plant compound in cruciferous vegetables,in the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer,and then provide experimental evidence for the application of dietary plant nutrition in the prevention of gastric cancer.Methods After human gastric cancer cell line BGC-823 was treated with dif-ferent concentrations of DIM,including 0,20,40,60,80,100,and 120 μmol/L,for 24 hours,the cell survival rate was determined by the tetramethylazolium blue(MTT)method.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of Calpain,activating transcrip-tion factor 4(ATF4)and CAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein(CHOP).The changes of intracellular calcium ion con-centration were detected by a calcium ion fluorescent probe.After ATF4 in BGC-823 cells was specifically knocked down using the small interfering RNA(siRNA)of ATF4,the expression levels of ATF4 and CHOP were detected by Western blot and the cell survival rate was determined by the MTT method.After the BGC-823 cells were pretreated with the calcium ion chelator BAPTA-AM,the ex-pression levels of calpain,ATF4 and CHOP proteins were measured by Western blot and the changes in cell proliferation activity were determined by the MTT method.Results The detection results of the MTT,Western blot,and calcium ion fluorescent probe methods showed that with the increase of DIM concentration,the proliferation ability of BGC-823 cells significantly decreased(P<0.05).Mean-while,the expressions of Calpain,ATF4,and CHOP proteins were up-regulated(P<0.05)and the fluorescence intensity of intracellu-lar calcium ion increased.After transfection with the siRNA of ATF4,the expression level of ATF4 in BGC-823 cells was decreased(F=16.17,P<0.05).Compared with the DIM+si-NC group,the cell survival rate in the DIM+si-ATF4 group was increased(F=74.46,P<0.05).After the intracellular calcium ions were chelated by BAPTA-AM,the expression levels of Calpain,ATF4,and CHOP proteins in the DIM+BAPTA-AM group were significantly lower than that in the DIM group(F=24.58,34.93,and 24.45,re-spectively,P<0.05),while the cell survival rate was the opposite(F=31.13,P<0.05).Conclusion DIM can increase the concen-tration of intracellular calcium ions and up-regulate the expressions of Calpain,ATF4 and CHOP proteins,thereby inducing the endo-plasmic reticulum stress in gastric cancer cells and inhibiting their proliferation.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of dedifferentiated endometrial carcinoma/undifferentiated endometrial carcinoma (DDEC/UDEC) with loss of expression of SMARCA4.Methods:A total of 10 cases with loss of expression of SMARCA4 were diagnosed at Fujian Cancer Hospital between January 2019 and December 2023. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical characteristics, morphology, immunophenotype, molecular classification, and prognosis.Results:(1) Clinical characteristics: among 10 cases of DDEC/UDEC with loss of expression of SMARCA4, the patients′ age ranged from 48 to 65 years, with a median age of 56 years.Five cases were classified as International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages Ⅰ-Ⅱ, while the remaining five were categorized as stages Ⅲ-Ⅳ. (2) Pathological features: tumor cells exhibited poor cell adhesion, with common intravascular tumor emboli (8/10), occasional vacuolated nuclei (6/10), rhabdoid cells (4/10), and starry sky phenomenon formed by tissue cell phagocytosis apoptosis bodies or fragments (4/10). Six cases (6/10) showed loss of mismatch repair (MMR) protein expression, two cases (2/10) exhibited p53 mutant expression, and five cases (5/10) tested positive for programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). (3) Molecular subtyping: molecular subtyping revealed POLEmut in 1 case (1/10), mismatch repair deficient (MMR-d) in 5 cases (5/10), p53 abn in 1 case (1/10), and no specific molecular profile (NSMP) in 3 cases (3/10). (4) Prognosis: the follow-up period ranged from 7 to 42 months, with a median of 20 months. Five patients succumbed to the tumor, whereas the remaining five exhibited no recurrence during subsequent postoperative evaluations. The 2-year progression-free survival rates and overall survival rates were 58.3% and 52.5%, respectively.Conclusions:Loss of expression of SMARCA4 occurs in approximately 1/5 of DDEC/UDEC, which presents with an aggressive clinical course and a poor prognosis. About half of them show MMR protein loss expression and PD-L1 positive expression, suggesting that there might be benefit from treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Objective:To investigate the role of speckle-type POZ(pox virus and zinc finger protein) protein (SPOP) in enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection.Methods:Immunoprecipitation analysis was employed to examine the impact of SPOP on the ubiquitin level of EV71 non-structural protein 2A protease (2A pro), while the phosphorylation level of IFR3 protein was assessed through Western blot. Cells were either overexpressed or knockdown of SPOP, followed by infection with EV71. RT-qPCR was utilized to analyze the transcription level of IFN-β, and the transcription level and protein level of EV71 structural protein VP1 were determined using RT-qPCR and Western blot, respectively. Results:The inhibition of EV71 infection in RD cells was observed following transfection with HA-SPOP. Additionally, it was found that the ubiquitin level of EV71-2A pro increased in a gradient-dependent manner. Subsequent transfection with shSPOP plasmid for endogenous SPOP knockdown resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the levels of melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5), mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS), and p-IRF3. Conversely, transfection with HA-SPOP plasmid led to a dose-dependent increase in the levels of MDA5, MAVS, and p-IRF3. The expression of SPOP, whether high or low, had an impact on the expression of IFN-β in cells. Additionally, the levels of VP1 mRNA or protein were found to be inhibited or increased. Conclusions:SPOP plays a role in increasing the ubiquitination level of EV71-2A pro, which in turn promotes the phosphorylation level of IRF3 and secretion of IFN-β. This effect is achieved by inhibiting the cleavage of 2A pro against key molecules MAVS and MDA5 in the RLR signaling pathway, ultimately leading to the inhibition of EV71 replication.

Objective:To investigate the potential source of infection for a cluster outbreak of human brucellosis in Yantai City, Shandong Province.Methods:The information of a human brucellosis cluster outbreak case in Yantai City, Shandong Province in 2022 was collected, the strains were isolated and cultured, and DNA was extracted. BCSP31-PCR was used for species identification, and AMOS-PCR was used for species type identification. Multiple locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA)-16 was used for clustering analysis, and the results were compared with the public database MLVAbank and the monitoring data of Brucella in Shandong Province in 2022. At the same time, whole genome single nucleotide polymorphism (wgSNP) typing was used to analyze the 53 Brucella strains that had completed whole genome sequencing in Shandong Province in 2022, and the wgSNP phylogenetic tree was constructed. Results:According to BCSP31-PCR and AMOS-PCR identification, the three strains related to the cluster outbreak of brucellosis in Yantai City, Shandong Province in 2022 were all Brucella melitensis biotype. The results of MLVA-16 typing showed that the MLVA-16 typing of the three isolated strains was completely consistent, with 16 tandem repeat loci of 1-5-3-13-2-2-3-2-4-41-8-4-4-3-6-5, belonging to the Eastern Mediterranean clade. Compared with MLVAbank, the MLVA-16 typing of two strains isolated from Kazakhstan was consistent with the results of this study. Compared with the monitoring data of Brucella in Shandong Province in 2022, it was found that the MLVA-16 typing of 11 isolated strains was consistent with the results of this study, which were isolated from Zaozhuang, Linyi, Taian, Yantai, and Weifang cities, respectively. The results of wgSNP typing showed that the distance between the 11 strains and the strains of the current outbreak was less than 7 single nucleotide polymorphisms, and the strains were isolated from Taian, Zibo, Linyi, Binzhou, Jinan, Jining, Yantai and Weihai cities, respectively. Conclusion:After tracing the source of a human brucellosis cluster outbreak in Yantai City, Shandong Province in 2022, it is speculated that the strains of Brucella melitensis isolated from Linyi, Taian and Yantai cities are closely related, indicating that sheep in these areas have homology.

Ubiquitination modifications are a kind of post-translational modifications of proteins widely found in eukaryotes and involved in a variety of biological activities. E3 ubiquitin ligases are an important component of the ubiquitin system, with the function of specific recognition of substrate proteins and mediation of different types of ubiquitination modifications. They can regulate the function and life time of substrate proteins. Recent studies have shown that E3 ubiquitin ligases are widely involved in the regulation of the host innate immune response and can directly or indirectly influence viral infection. Moreover, viruses are able to encode or hijack E3 ubiquitin ligases in their long-term evolution, allowing them to play an important role in viral infection and replication cycle. This paper reviewed the progress in the mechanisms of E3 ubiquitin ligases in innate immune responses and viral infection in recent years.

Objectives Objectives To investigate how the imbalance of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs)in the peripheral blood of patients with lung adenocarcinoma affects the balance of downstream mononuclear macrophages and T helper (Th) cells, and to identify the impact of the imbalance of ILCs on the immune status and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. Methods The peripheral blood of 20 patients with lung adenocarcinoma and normal controls were collected. The percentage of ILCs, mononuclear macrophages and T lymphocyte in peripheral blood were analyzed by flow cytometry. The characteristic cytokine secretion levels of various types of immune cells in peripheral blood were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. Results Compared with the normal controls, the proportion of M2 mononuclear macrophages, ILC1 and ILC2 in patients with lung adenocarcinoma was up-regulated, while the proportion of M1 mononuclear macrophages, CD4⁺ T and CD8⁺ T was down-regulated. The mRNA expression of related cytokines of M1 mononuclear macrophages and ILC1 were decreased; while the mRNA expression of related cytokines of M2 mononuclear macrophages and ILC2 were increased. Along with the decreased CD4⁺T cells-associated cytokine T-bet mRNA expression, and the increased GATA3 mRNA expression. Moreover, the expression of PD-1 in CD8⁺ T cells was also up-regulated. Conclusion The imbalance of ILCs in peripheral blood of patients with lung adenocarcinoma promotes the imbalance of mononuclear macrophages and Th cells, which altogether maintains the immunosuppression in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, and promotes the development of lung adenocarcinoma.
Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Immunity, Innate ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Adenocarcinoma of Lung ; Immunosuppression Therapy ; RNA, Messenger

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of infection with polymyxin resistant and carbapenemase-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae（PR-CRKP）. Methods:A total of 170 patients with CRKP infection admitted in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from July 2020 to October 2023 were enrolled，including 123 cases of CRKP infection and 47 cases of PR-CRKP infection. The general conditions，exposure of antibacterial drugs 6 months before admission，laboratory test indicators at admission，antibacterial drug use when target bacteria were detected，length of hospital stay and time of invasive procedures in two groups were retrospectively analyzed. The risk factors of PR-CRKP infection were analyzed with univariate and multivariate logistic regression. SPSS 26.0 software was used to analyze the data.Results:Univariate analysis showed that compared with the CRKP group，the average age of patients in PR-CRKP group was older（ Z = -2.186， P = 0.029），the proportion of patients with exposure history to semisynthetic penicillins，carbapenems，polymyxins，and quinolones 6 months before admission was higher（ χ 2= 3.930，5.414，11.939，8.478，all P < 0.05），the proportion of infections diagnosed at admission and blood urea nitrogen levels（ χ 2= 7.268， Z = -2.406， P = 0.007 and 0.016）was higher，the hemoglobin level（ t = 2.641， P = 0.009）was lower，the length of hospital stay was longer，the rates of tracheal intubation，urinary catheter，and deep vein catheterization were higher（ Z = -4.243，-4.660，-5.341，-4.583，all P < 0.001），the duration of carbapenem and polymyxin B use was longer（ Z = -4.757，-7.554，both P < 0.001），the proportion of combined quinolone-resistant Escherichia coli（QREC）and carbapenem-resistant organism（CRO）infections and bloodstream infections，and the rate of admission to intensive care units was higher（ χ 2 = 33.737，42.041，5.426，12.991， P < 0.05 or < 0.01）. Multivariate analysis showed that time to polymyxin B use（ OR = 1.179， 95%CI 1.059-1.312， P = 0.003），combined QREC infection（ OR = 5.357， 95%CI 2.100-13.669， P < 0.001）and combined CRO infection（ OR = 3.302， 95%CI 1.146-9.514， P= 0.027）were independent risk factors for PR-CRKP. Conclusion:Prolonged use of polymyxin B is an independent risk factor for PR-CRKP，and mixed QREC and CRO infection can increase the risk of PR-CRKP.

ObjectiveTo screen out the extended spectrum beta-lactamase （ESBL）-producing Escherichia coli with the strongest biofilm-forming ability through experiments， and discuss the effect of modified Dayuansan （MDYS） combined with imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium on the biofilm of E. coli. MethodThe paper diffusion and crystal violet staining methods were used to identify 19 clinically isolated strains of drug-resistant E. coli-induced enzymes and the biofilm-forming ability. The induced enzymes and the E. coli with the strongest biofilm-forming ability were screened out. The minimum inhibitory concentration （MIC） value of MDYS and imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium was determined by 2，3-bis（2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl）-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxamide （XTT） assay. The 1/2， 1/4， and 1/8 MIC of the water extract of MDYS， imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium alone， and MDYS combined with imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium was determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） assay to obtain the optimum concentration of drugs. BioFlux dynamically observed the effect of the optimum combined drug concentration on the number of bacteria in the biofilm and the biofilm formation of E. coli， and observed the distribution of live/dead bacteria with a laser confocal scanning microscope. Finally， the morphological changes in bacteria after drug treatment were observed statically by scanning electron microscopy. ResultE5E7 strain was ESBL enzyme and the E. coli with the strongest biofilm-forming ability. The results of MTT assay showed that the MIC values of the water extracts of imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium and MDYS were 1 mg·L^-1 and 250 g·L^-1， respectively. The results of XTT assay showed that compared with the blank group， the 1/2， 1/4， and 1/8 MIC MDYS groups and the combined drug groups significantly decreased the number of bacteria in the biofilm （P<0.01）. The inhibitory effect diminished as the concentration of imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium decreased. Compared with the imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium group with the same concentration， the combined drug group improved the inhibitory effect on the number of bacteria in the biofilm （P<0.01）. Compared with the MDYS group with the same concentration， 1/2 MIC imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium combined with 1/2， 1/4， and 1/8 MIC MDYS， 1/4 MIC imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium combined with 1/2 and 1/4 MIC MDYS， and 1/8 MIC imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium combined with 1/2 and 1/4 MIC MDYS decreased the number of bacteria （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The results of BioFlux showed that compared with the blank group， the 1/2 and 1/8 MIC imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium groups had an insignificant effect on the area of biofilm， whereas the 1/2 and 1/4 MIC MDYS groups significantly decreased the area of biofilm. The results under the scanning electron microscopy showed that as compared with the blank group and the imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium group， the division cycle was significantly longer under the action of MDYS combined with imipenem-cilastatin and cilastatin sodium. The length of the division cycle in the combined drug group was higher than that in drug alone group. ConclusionIn vitro studies reveal that MDYS combined with commonly-used antibiotics can inhibit the biofilm status of multi-drug resistant E. coli， and MDYS has the effect of enhancing sensitization and inhibiting bacteria with synergistic antibiotics.

Objective:To compare the efficacy between drug-coated balloon (DCB) combined with bare metal stenting (BMS) and plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) with BMS placement in the treatment of femoral-popliteal TASC D lesions.Methods:According to the Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) D grade femoral-popliteal lesions as the standard, we enrolled 115 cases (120 limbs) receiving DCB combined with BMS (group DCB, 37 limbs in 36 cases) and POBA combined with BMS (group POBA, 83 limbs in 79 cases) from Jan 2017 to Mar 2020 to observe patency rate, freedom from clinical-drived target lesion reintervention rate (FCD-TLR) and complications.Results:The mean follow-up time was 18.1 months and the average occlusion length was (29.1±6.5)mm. In group DCB vs group POBA, the primary patency rates at 3-month, 9-month, 1-year and 2-year were 89.2% vs. 86.7%, 86.4% vs. 76.9%, 66.8% vs. 70.9% and 63.1% vs. 56.9%, respectively ( P=0.73); FCD-TLRs were 100.0% vs. 95.1%, 94.3% vs. 82.3% , 78.5% vs. 80.6% and 74.1% vs. 68.9% ( P=0.69), respectively. Conclusion:The benefit of DCB combined with BMS over POBA combined with BMS in improving the early primary patency rate and reducing FCD-TLR was not definite.