Objective To systematically evaluate the impact of pulmonary hypertension (PH) on the prognosis of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Methods A computerized search was conducted in CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, and Web of Science databases from inception to June 2023 for cohort studies on the prognostic impact of PH in severe AS patients undergoing TAVR. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. Stata 17.0 software was used for meta-analysis. Results A total of 16 cohort studies were included, all with Newcastle-Ottawa Scale scores≥7. Meta-analysis results showed that, compared with AS patients without PH, those with PH had significantly higher 1-year all-cause mortality after TAVR [OR=2.10, 95%CI (1.60, 2.75), P<0.01], 30-day all-cause mortality [OR=2.09, 95%CI (1.54, 2.83), P<0.01], and cardiovascular mortality [OR=1.49, 95%CI (1.18, 1.90), P<0.01]. The differences between the two groups in major bleeding events, stroke, myocardial infarction, pacemaker implantation, and postoperative renal failure were not statistically significant. For outcome indicators with significant heterogeneity, subgroup analyses were performed based on PH measurement methods, diagnostic criteria, and different types of PH. The results showed that most subgroup combined results were consistent with the overall findings and that heterogeneity was significantly reduced. Conclusion PH significantly increases the 30-day all-cause mortality, 1-year all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality in patients with severe AS undergoing TAVR.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) results from continuous and heavy alcohol consumption. The current treatment strategy for ALD is based on alcohol withdrawal coupled with antioxidant drug intervention, which is a long process with poor efficacy and low patient compliance. Alcohol-induced CYP2E1 upregulation has been demonstrated as a key regulator of ALD, but CYP2E1 knockdown in humans was impractical, and pharmacological inhibition of CYP2E1 by a clinically relevant approach for treating ALD was not shown. In this study, we developed a RNAi therapeutics delivered by lipid nanoparticle, and treated mice fed on Lieber-DeCarli ethanol liquid diet weekly for up to 12 weeks. This RNAi-based inhibition of Cyp2e1 expression reduced reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in mouse livers, and contributed to improved ALD symptoms in mice. The liver fat accumulation, hepatocyte inflammation, and fibrosis were reduced in ALD models. Therefore, this study suggested the feasibility of RNAi targeting to CYP2E1 as a potential therapeutic tool to the development of ALD.

Objective To investigate the functions of the KIFC1 gene in tumor cells and its effect on the proliferation of cervical cancer cells. Methods We designed sgRNAs targeting the KIFC1 gene and constructed a recombinant plasmid based on the pSpCas9 (BB)-2A-GFP vector, which was co-transfected into HeLa cells. We screened monoclonal knockout cell lines through flow cytometry sorting, limited dilution inoculation of cells, and sequencing. RT-qPCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence were used to detect the transcription and protein expression levels of KIFC1 in knockout cells. Cell phenotypes such as nucleus and microtubule cytoskeleton were observed using phase-contrast microscopy and fluorescence confocal microscopy. Cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis were analyzed by growth curve plotting, EdU labeling, and acridine orange staining. Results The deletion of the KIFC1 gene resulted in the abnormal phenotypes of HeLa cells, with increased numbers of multinuclei, micronucleus, and disordered microtubules. The cell cycle was disrupted, accompanied with a significant increase in the ratio of late apoptotic cells and a decrease in cell proliferation (all P < 0.05). Conclusion KIFC1 gene deletion affects the assembly of microtubules and cell division in HeLa cells, leading to abnormal nuclear morphology, chromatin elimination, cell cycle arrest, and increased cell apoptosis.

Objective:To analyze the changes of peripheral perfusion index (PPI) with late-onset sepsis (LOS) in very low birth weight infants during hospitalization.Methods:Very low birth weight infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Children′s Hospital of Fudan University from August 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022 were consecutively included.Infants with admission age ≥three days and unstable circulation, or positive blood culture within three days after birth were excluded.From the day of admission, the PPI values of the right hand and either foot of the infants were measured with Masimo SET Radical-7 everyday while whether LOS occurred during hospitalization was observed.The mean PPI curve of very and extremely low birth weight infants without LOS was plotted.For those with LOS confirmed by blood culture, the PPI change trajectory three days before and after the occurrence of LOS was drawn, and the change trend of PPI before the occurrence of LOS was analyzed by trend chi-square test.Non-parametric test was used to analyze the effect of LOS on pre- and post-ductal PPI values.Results:A total of 107 very low birth weight infants were included in the final analysis.Among them, there were 11 infants confirmed as LOS by blood culture, 37 infants diagnosed as clinical LOS, and 59 infants without LOS.Pre-and post-ductal PPI values of very low birth weight infants without LOS were 2.06±1.30 and 1.72±0.92, respectively; those with clinical LOS were 1.90±0.94 and 1.58±0.83, respectively; those with LOS confirmed by blood culture were 1.92±1.11 and 1.62±0.82, respectively.For infants with LOS confirmed by blood culture, the pre-and post-ductal PPI values showed a continuous downward trend during three days before the onset of disease, with the lowest PPI values on the first day before the diagnosis of blood culture.The downtrend of pre-ductal PPI was statistically significant ( χtrend2=5.57, P<0.05). Conclusion:The PPI value of very low birth weight infants show a downward trend when LOS occurs.It should be observed dynamically in clinical practice, which is helpful to suspect or identify LOS as early as possible.

Objective:To investigate the regulatory effect of WNT1-inducible signaling pathway protein 2(WISP2)on macrophage polarization in palmitic acid(PA)and lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced inflammation.Methods:The macrophage cell line RAW264.7 was treated with different concentrations of WISP2 protein, and cell viability was determined by means of luminescence assay using Cell-Titer Glo to determine the concentration of WISP2.The cells were divided into control group, palmitic acid group, palmitic acid combined with different concentrations of WISP2 group(10 μg/L and 100 μg/L)and lipopolysaccharide group, lipopolysaccharide combined with different concentrations of WISP2 group(10 μg/L and 100 μg/L). mRNA expression of M1 and M2 macrophages phenotype of each group were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.The protein expression of important inflammatory factors, TNF-α and IL-6, were evaluated by ELISA.Results:Compared with the control group, both 10 μg/L and 100 μg/L WISP2 groups had no effect on the activity of RAW264.7 cells, but significantly up-regulated the expression of various inflammatory factors, including Tnfα(1.877±0.039, 2.202±0.034, F=309.7, P<0.001), Il6(1.418±0.056, 1.506±0.059, F=81.39, P<0.001), Mcp1(1.620±0.014, 1.982±0.125, F=71.45, P<0.001), Ccl3(1.892±0.118, 1.942±0.132, F=32.93, P<0.001), and iNos(1.691±0.201, 1.548±0.090, F=13.60, P<0.05). mRNA in macrophages, and significantly down-regulated the expression of anti-inflammatory factors, including Tgfβ(1.376±0.025, 2.152±0.107, F=1.846, P<0.05), CD206(2.123±0.031, 3.139±1.663, F=8.037, P<0.05), Il4(2.098±0.464, 2.494±0.141, F=48.68, P<0.01), and Il10(1.303±0.216, 1.574±0.274, F=5.774, P<0.05)mRNA, causing M1 type macrophage polarization.Compared with the control group, 100 μmol/L palmitic acid could mildly but significantly increase the expression of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α and IL-6 at the transcriptional and protein levels.Compared with palmitic acid stimulation alone, the combination of palmitic acid and WISP2 further promoted the protein expression of macrophage inflammatory factors TNF-α[(589.4±17.0)ng/L, (692.6±83.4)ng/L, F=56.38, P<0.05], IL-6[(15.13±1.14)ng/L, (13.33±1.22)ng/L, F=23.32, P<0.001]and the mRNA expression of chemokines Mcp1(160±9.796, 140±18.91, F=141.1, P<0.0001)and C cl3(17.76±1.92, 14.41±1.27, F=125.2, P<0.0001). Compared with the control group, 100 μg/L lipopolysaccharide strongly stimulated the expression of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α[(3444±423)ng/L, F=71.20, P<0.0001]and IL-6[(497.0±41.2)ng/L, F=63.50, P<0.0001]in macrophages at the protein level.Compared with lipopolysaccharide stimulation alone, the combination of lipopolysaccharide and WISP2 further significantly up-regulated the mRNA expression of chemokines Mcp1(106.8±8.7, 118.7±4.6, F=251.5, P<0.0001)and Ccl3(35.3±12.5, 116.4±4.5, F=160.1, P<0.0001). Conclusions:The adipokine WISP2 can promote M1 macrophage polarization in palmitic acid and lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation, and it had distinct regulation in macrophage polarization under different inflammatory response conditions.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect and mechanism of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting Cyp2e1 gene on subacute alcoholic liver injury in mice. METHODS: siRNA targeting Cyp2e1 gene was encapsulated in LNP (si-Cyp2e1 LNP) by microfluidic technique and the resulting LNPs were characterized. The optimal dose of si-Cyp2e1 LNP administration was screened. Forty female C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into blank control group, model control group, si-Cyp2e1 LNP group, LNP control group and metadoxine group. The subacute alcoholic liver injury mouse model was induced by ethanol feeding for 10 d plus ethanol gavage for the last 3 d. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity as well as malondialdehyde, reactive oxygen species, glutathione, triacylglycerol, total cholesterol contents in liver tissue were measured in each group, and liver index was calculated. The expression of genes related to oxidative stress, lipid synthesis and inflammation in each group of mice were measured by realtime RT-PCR. RESULTS: Compared with the model control group, the levels of liver index, serum ALT, AST activities, malondialdehyde, reactive oxygen species, triacylglycerol, total cholesterol contents in liver tissue decreased, but the SOD activity as well as glutathione increased in the si-Cyp2e1 LNP group (all P<0.01). Hematoxylin-eosin staining result showed disorganized hepatocytes with sparse cytoplasm and a large number of fat vacuoles and necrosis in the model control group, while the si-Cyp2e1 LNP group had uniformly sized and arranged hepatocytes with normal liver tissue morphology and structure. Oil red O staining result showed si-Cyp2e1 LNP group had lower fat content of the liver compared to the model control group (P<0.01), and no fat droplets accumulated. Anti-F4/80 monoclonal antibody fluorescence immunohistochemistry showed that the si-Cyp2e1 LNP group had lower cumulative optical density values compared to the model control group (P<0.01) and no significant inflammatory reaction. Compared with the model control group, the expression of catalytic genes P47phox, P67phox and Gp91phox were reduced (all P<0.01), while the expression of the antioxidant enzyme genes Sod1, Gsh-rd and Gsh-px were increased (all P<0.01). The mRNA expression of the lipid metabolism genes Pgc-1α and Cpt1 were increased (all P<0.01) and the lipid synthesis-related genes Srebp1c, Acc and Fasn were decreased (all P<0.01); the expression of liver inflammation-related genes Tgf-β, Tnf-α and Il-6 were decreased (all P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS The si-Cyp2e1 LNP may attenuate subacute alcoholic liver injury in mice mainly by reducing reactive oxygen levels, increasing antioxidant activity, blocking oxidative stress pathways and reducing ethanol-induced steatosis and inflammation.
Animals ; Female ; Mice ; Antioxidants/metabolism* ; Cholesterol/metabolism* ; Ethanol/pharmacology* ; Glutathione/pharmacology* ; Inflammation ; Lipids/pharmacology* ; Liver ; Malondialdehyde/pharmacology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Oxidative Stress ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; RNA, Small Interfering/pharmacology* ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Triglycerides/metabolism* ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1/metabolism*

Purpose/Significance The paper retrospectively analyzes the research progress on risk prediction models for prostate cancer,and provides references for the construction of prostate cancer intelligent diagnosis and treatment system.Method/Process Through literature mining and analysis,the significance of molecular,imaging,individual,population and other omics level evaluation indexes in the diagnosis of prostate cancer is discussed,and the key characteristic variables and clinical application value of different cal-culation models are compared.Result/Conclusion The existing models have advantages of easy calculation and strong feasibility,but they also have limitations such as limited prediction accuracy and insufficient generalization ability.The integration of multi-omics data and artificial intelligence models is of great significance for medical informatics research and smart medical system construction of prostate cancer.

Objective:To study the clinicopathological features, immunophenotype, molecular genetic characteristics and prognosis of renal cell carcinoma associated with TFEB gene rearrangement (TFEBr-RCC).Methods:Eight cases of TFEBr-RCC diagnosed at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University from 2014 to 2022 were collected for clinicopathological, immunohistochemical, fluorescence in situ hybridization and RNA sequencing analyses, with review of literature.Results:Six patients were male and two were female. The patient ages ranged from 25 to 50 years (mean: 34 years, median: 32 years). The tumors were present in the right kidney (3 cases) or the left kidney (5 cases). The maximum diameters of the tumors ranged from 4.0 cm to 18.5 cm, with an average of 8.5 cm. Histologically, majority of the cases (5/8) showed typical biphasic "pseudorosette" structure, while the remaining three cases demonstrated atypical morphology that was similar to epithelioid angiomyolipoma or clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemical study showed positivity of TFEB (8/8), PAX8 (8/8), MART-1 (7/7), and HMB45 (5/6). Interestingly, PD-L1 was variably expressed in all five tested cases. Staining for TFE3 in all cases was negative. TFEB translocation was verified in all 8 cases using TFEB fluorescence in situ hybridization. RNA sequencing showed MALAT1-TFEB gene fusion in 4 of the 5 tested cases (two of which showing novel MALAT1-TFEB fusion sites), and one case with a novel ACTB-TFEB gene fusion. Patient follow-ups ranged from 5 to 96 months (average 47 months). All patients were alive without recurrence or metastasis.Conclusions:TFEBr-RCC tends to occur in young adults and has a good prognosis. Histologically, most of the cases show characteristic biphasic structure, and some cases show epithelioid angiomyolipoma-like or clear cell RCC-like morphology. Immunohistochemical reactivity to TFEB, melanocytic markers and PD-L1 is characteristic. MALAT1-TFEB gene fusion is the most common molecular change, with variable fusion sites.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of chest enhanced computed tomography (CT) for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer and the influencing factors for its accuracy.Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinico- pathological data of 463 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent surgical treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from July 2016 to June 2021 were collected. There were 385 males and 78 females, aged (61±8)years. Observation indicators: (1) results of pre-operative chest enhanced CT and postoperative pathological examination; (2) diagnostic value of chest enhanced CT for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer; (3) influencing factors analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of chest enhanced CT for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and count data were represented as absolute numbers and (or) percentages. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and Youden index were used for authenticity evaluation of diagnostic value of chest enhanced CT for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer, and accuracy and Kappa value were used for reliability evaluation. The higher the value of above indicators, the higher the authenticity and (or) reliability. The univariate analysis was conducted using the chi-square test, and multivariate analysis was conducted using the binary Logistic regression model after including indicators with P<0.20 of univariate analysis. Results:(1) Results of preoperative chest enhanced CT and postoperative pathological examination. Of the 463 patients with esophageal cancer, mediastinal lymph node metastasis were diagnosed in 90 cases (including 35 cases of true positive and 55 cases of false positive) and no mediastinal lymph node metastasis were diagnosed in 373 cases (including 300 cases of true negative and 73 cases of false negative) by preoperative chest enhanced CT. Mediastinal lymph node metastasis were diagnosed in 108 cases and no mediastinal lymph node metastasis were diagnosed in 355 cases by postoperative patholo-gical examination. (2) Diagnostic value of chest enhanced CT for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer. Authenticity evaluation of diagnostic value of chest enhanced CT for medias-tinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer showed that sensitivity, specificity, positive predic-tive value, negative predictive value and Youden indexes were 32.41%(35/108), 84.51%(300/355), 38.89%(35/90), 80.43%(300/373), 0.169, respectively. Reliability evaluation showed that accuracy and Kappa value were 72.35%(335/463) and 0.180 ( P<0.05), respectively. (3) Influencing factors analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of chest enhanced CT for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer. Results of univariate analysis showed that the tumor diameter and the depth of tumor invasion were related factors affecting the diagnostic accuracy of chest enhanced CT for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer ( χ2=7.65, 6.07, P<0.05). Results of multi-variate analysis showed that the tumor diameter ≥2.1 cm was an independent risk factor affecting the diagnostic accuracy of chest enhanced CT for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer ( odds ratio=2.05, 95% confidence interval as 1.23?3.43, P<0.05). Conclusions:The clinical value of chest enhanced CT for diagnosing mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer is limited, and the consistency with pathological results is quite different. The tumor diameter ≥2.1 cm is an independent risk factor affecting the diagnostic accuracy of chest enhanced CT for mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer

Objective:To explore the effects of sitagliptin phosphate combined with metformin on blood glucose control and microinflammation in patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods:One hundred patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes who were treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xingtai Medical College from March 2017 to March 2019 were randomly divided into observation group (50 cases) and control group (50 cases). The observation group was treated with sitagliptin phosphate combined with metformin for 8 weeks, while the control group was treated with metformin for 8 weeks. The changes of fasting blood-glucose (FBG) and blood glucose 2 h after meal (2 h-PBG ) in the two groups before and after treatment were observed, and the standard time of FBG and 2 h-PBG in the two groups were statistically analyzed. The levels of interleukin(IL)-1, IL-6 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hS-CRP) were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.Results:After treatment, the levels of FBG and 2 h-PBG in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group: (6.32 ± 0.83) mmol/L vs. (7.21 ± 1.03) mmol/L, (8.61 ± 1.26) mmol/L vs. (9.63 ± 1.12) mmol/L, and the standard time of FBG and 2 h-PBG in the observation group were significantly shorter than those in the control group: (3.11 ± 0.86) weeks vs. (4.53 ± 1.31) weeks, (3.26 ± 0.36) weeks vs. (9.63 ± 1.12) weeks, and the differences were statisticlly significant ( P<0.05). After treatment, the serum levels of IL-1, IL-6 and hs-CRP in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group: (22.86 ± 4.07) ng/L vs. (35.13 ± 5.92) ng/L, (5.93 ± 0.84) ng/L vs. (9.67 ± 1.11) ng/L, (2.12 ± 0.25) ng/L vs. (3.57 ± 0.48) ng/L, and the differences were statistically significants ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Sitagliptin phosphate combined with metformin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes patients can rapidly and effectively control blood glucose and improve the state of microinflammation in patients.