OBJECTIVE To systematically evaluate the efficacy of dydrogesterone combined with estradiol valerate for the prevention of intrauterine adhesion （IUA） and prognosis improvement after induced abortion. METHODS Retrieved from CNKI， Wanfang Data， VIP， CBM， PubMed， Embase and the Cochrane Library， randomized controlled trial （RCT） about conventional treatment combined with dydrogesterone and estradiol valerate （trial group） versus conventional treatment （control group） for the prevention of IUA in patients after induced abortion were collected from the inception to Dec. 2024. After screening the literature， extracting data and evaluating the quality of literature， meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. RESULTS A total of 12 RCTs were included， involving 1 109 patients. Meta-analysis showed that the postoperative incidence of IUA [RR＝0.30， 95%CI （0.22， 0.41）， P＜0.000 01]， postoperative vaginal bleeding time [MD＝－1.69， 95%CI （－2.05， －1.32）， P＜0.000 01]， postoperative vaginal bleeding volume [MD＝－10.78， 95%CI （－12.19， －9.37）， P＜0.000 01]， postoperative menstrual resumption time [MD＝－6.99， 95%CI （－8.27， －5.71）， P＜0.000 01]， and the incidence of postoperative reduced menstrual flow [RR＝0.25， 95%CI （0.12， 0.56）， P＝0.000 7] were significantly lower， less or shorter than control group； postoperative endometrial thickness [MD＝ 1.90， 95%CI （1.68， 2.13）， P＜0.000 01] and the rate of postoperative re-pregnancy [RR＝6.26， 95%CI （1.88， 20.83）， P＝0.003] were significantly higher than control group. CONCLUSIONS Dydrogesterone combined with estradiol valerate may reduce the incidence of IUA after induced abortion patients， decrease postoperative vaginal bleeding volume， shorten postoperative vaginal bleeding time and postoperative menstrual resumption time， and increase postoperative endometrial thickness.

Ovarian Leydig cell tumor(LCT), also known as ovarian testicular stromal cell tumor, is a rare sex cord stromal tumor, accounting for about 0.1% of all ovarian tumors. LCT is often accompanied by clinical manifestations of elevated androgen, and the imaging manifestations sometimes lack specificity. The diagnosis requires histopathological examination. Surgery is the primary treatment method, and postoperative prognosis is generally favorable. This paper retrospectively analyzes the diagnosis and treatment of a patient with LCT in our hospital combining relevant literature, explore the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment progress of LCT, aiming to improve disease management.

OBJECTIVES: Congenital birth defects are the main source of disease burden among children under 5 years old in China. This study aims to compare the trends in disease burden of different congenital birth defects among Chinese children under 5 years old from 1990 to 2019, and to provide a scientific basis for strengthening the comprehensive prevention and control of birth defects. METHODS: Based on data from the Global Burden Disease (GBD) in 2019, the incidence mortality rate, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rate of congenital birth defects among Chinese children under 5 years old from 1990 to 2019 were selected as evaluation indicators. The Joinpoint regression model was used to analyze the trends in disease burden of different types with congenital birth defects over three decades. The study also compared the differences in disease burden of congenital birth defects among children under 5 years old by gender. RESULTS: Compared to 1990, the DALYs rates of congenital heart anomalies (1 931.91/100 000), digestive congenital anomalies (364.63/100 000), neural tube defects (277.20/100 000), congenital musculoskeletal and limb anomalies (133.33/100 000), and Down syndrome (128.22/100 000) in children under 5 years old in China in 2019 were decreased 70.78%, 71.61%, 86.21%, 36.84% and 73.65%, respectively. From 1990 to 2019, the mortality rates and DALYs rates of different congenital birth defects showed an overall downward trend, but the incidence of digestive congenital anomalies and Down syndrome showed an upward trend after 2005 and 2001, respectively. Except for congenital musculoskeletal and limb anomalies, incidence of the remaining categories of birth defects were higher in boys than that in girls. CONCLUSIONS The disease burden of congenital birth defects in children under 5 years old in China is decreased substantially from 1990 to 2019, but the burden of congenital heart anomalies is still serious and the incidence of some birth defect diseases is on the rise, and it is still crucial to strengthen the prevention and treatment for birth defects in children and propose targeted measures according to their gender characteristics.
Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; China/epidemiology* ; Cost of Illness ; Down Syndrome/epidemiology* ; East Asian People ; Congenital Abnormalities/epidemiology*

Drastic surges in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce cell apoptosis, while most chemotherapy drugs lead to the accumulation of ROS. Here, we constructed an organic compound, arsenical N-‍(4-(1,3,2-dithiarsinan-2-yl)phenyl)acrylamide (AAZ2), which could prompt the ROS to trigger mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in gastric cancer (GC). Mechanistically, by targeting pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1), AAZ2 caused metabolism alteration and the imbalance of redox homeostasis, followed by the inhibition of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway and leading to the activation of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2)/Bcl2-associated X (Bax)/caspase-9 (Cas9)/Cas3 cascades. Importantly, our in vivo data demonstrated that AAZ2 could inhibit the growth of GC xenograft. Overall, our data suggested that AAZ2 could contribute to metabolic abnormalities, leading to mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis by targeting PDK1 in GC.
Humans ; Signal Transduction ; Stomach Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; Cell Line, Tumor

The low expression rate of exogenous genes in cyanobacteria is one of the bottlenecks of cyanobacteria genetic engineering. The T7 RNA polymerase expression system has achieved the efficient expression of exogenous genes in Escherichia coli. Cyanobacteria and E. coli are both Gram-negative bacteria with high genetic homology. The construction of T7 RNA polymerase expression system in cyanobacteria may improve the expression of foreign genes. In order to construct the T7 RNA polymerase expression system in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, methods such as overlapping extension PCR and digestion-ligation technique were used to construct a site-specific integration vector pEASY-T1-F1-TacT7RNAPCmR-F2 and a shuttle expression vector pRL-T7-hG-CSF. The site-specific integration vector is capable of expressing T7 RNA polymerase, and the shuttle expression vector expresses hG-CSF driven by the T7 promoter. Then we introduced the site-specific integration vector into the wild type cyanobacteria by electroporation and transferred the shuttle expression vector into the site-integrated transgenic cyanobacteria by triparental conjugative transfer. In the end, we identified the presence of foreign genes in cyanobacteria by PCR, tested the transcription level of foreign genes in cyanobacteria by RT-PCR, and detected the protein expression of foreign genes in cyanobacteria by Western blotting. The two vectors were successfully constructed, the T7 RNA polymerase gene and hG-CSF gene were transferred into cyanobacteria well, and both genes were also expressed in cyanobacteria. In summary, the T7 RNA polymerase expression system was successfully constructed in cyanobacteria, and the expression rate of hG-CSF gene was doubled than the traditional cyanobacteria expression systems. This expression system will provide a better tool for the application of cyanobacteria genetic engineering and will promote the development of cyanobacteria as a chassis cell in the fields of synthetic biology in the future.
Anabaena/genetics* ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases ; Escherichia coli/genetics* ; Gene Expression ; Mercury ; Plasmids ; Viral Proteins

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) has become the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).However,the response to NCRT varies among LARC patients and a subset of patients show resistance to NCRT.NCRT may delay the timing of surgery and even reduce the overall survival.Therefore,it is of significance to identify biomarkers for predicting the clinical efficacy of NCRT,screen patients who are resistant to NCRT and perform surgery as early as possible,eventually establishing an individualized therapeutic strategy.MicroRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression,which areinvolved in multiple signaling pathways and DNA damage repair process and affect the radiosensitivity of rectal cancer cells.Many recent studies have evaluated the role of microRNA in predicting the response to NCRT.The purpose of this article is to review the research progress and validate the role of microRNA in predicting the clinical efficacy of NCRT for rectal cancer.

Gliomas are the most common primary intracranial neoplasms among all brain malignancies, and the microtubule affinity regulating kinases (MARKs) have become potential drug targets for glioma. Here, we report a novel dual small-molecule inhibitor of MARK3 and MARK4, designated as PCC0208017. PCC0208017 strongly inhibited kinase activity against MARK3 and MARK4, and strongly reduced proliferation in three glioma cell lines. This compound attenuated glioma cell migration, glioma cell invasion, and angiogenesis. Molecular mechanism studies revealed that PCC0208017 decreased the phosphorylation of Tau, disrupted microtubule dynamics, and induced a G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. In an glioma model, PCC0208017 showed robust anti-tumor activity, blood-brain barrier permeability, and a good oral pharmacokinetic profile. Molecular docking studies showed that PCC0208017 exhibited high binding affinity to MARK3 and MARK4. Taken together, our study describes for the first time that PCC0208017, a novel MARK3/MARK4 inhibitor, might be a promising lead compound for treatment of glioma.

Lactic acid is the main substance produced by Lactobacillus and plays an important role in maintaining a healthy vaginal microecology. Recent studies indicates that both L- and D-chiral isomers of lactic acid can be protonated and destroy the cell membranes of pathogens, thereby inhibiting bacterial vagi-nosis- and aerobic vaginitis-related pathogens. Lactic acid also can inhibit the pathogens of sexually transmit-ted diseases such as Chlamydia trachomatis and human immunodeficiency virus. Moreover, lactic acid acts as an immunomodulator to inhibit the inflammatory responses caused by pathogenic microorganisms and as an epigenetic regulator regulating gene expression in vaginal epithelial cells. In this paper, we reviewed the pro-gress in lactic acid-mediated maintenance of a healthy vaginal microbiology in recent years for providing ref-erence for further research.

Objective: To investigate the expressions of migration and invasion inhibitory protein (MIIP) and p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) in endometrial carcinoma (EC) and their correlation with clinicopathological features. Methods: The protein levels of MIIP and PAK1 in 135 paraffin-embedded EC tissues, 55 atypical hyperplasia of endometrium (AHE) and 88 normal endometrium (NE) tissues were quantified by immunohistochemistry, the clincial significance and the relationship of these two proteins were also analyzed. Results: The positive rates of MIIP expression in NE, AHE and EC tissues were 52.3%(46/88), 41.8% (23/55) and 34.8% (47/135), respectively. The expression of MIIP in EC was significantly lower than that of MIIP in NE (P<0.05). The positive rates of PAK1 expression in NE, AHE and EC tissues were 45.5% (40/88), 50.9% (28/55) and 62.2% (84/135), respectively. The expression of PAK1 in EC tissues was significantly higher than that of PAK1 in NE tissues (P<0.05). The expression of MIIP in EC tissues was significantly associated with myometrial invasion, International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The expression of PAK1 in EC tissues was significantly related with differentiation, myometrial invasion, FIGO stage and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The expressions of MIIP and PAK1 in EC tissues were marginally related with the overall survival of patients (P=0.092, P=0.052). The expression of MIIP in EC was negatively correlated with PAK1 (r=-0.329, P<0.001). Conclusions The down-regulation of MIIP and up-regualtion of PAK1 paticipate in the initiation and development of EC, which are correlated with the poor prognosis of EC. The protein expression of MIIP is inversely related with PAK1 in EC.

Group B Streptococcus ( GBS) is a leading infectious cause of adverse pregnancy out-comes such as preterm birth. GBS colonizes the vagina during pregnancy and can ascend into the uterus and then infect the fetus. It encodes a series of virulence factors such as adhesion and invasion factors, hemolytic pigments and hyaluronidase, which are important to vaginal colonization and immune evasion. Immune re-sponses to GBS cause the release of a multiple of inflammatory mediators, leading to the premature rupture of membranes, preterm birth and fetal injury. This paper reviews the pathogenesis of GBS vaginal colonization and ascending infection causing adverse pregnancy outcomes.