An adhesion-switchable hydrogel dressing for painless dressing removal without secondary damage.

Hydrogels with strong adhesion to wet tissues are considered promising for wound dressings. However, the clinical application of adhesive hydrogel dressing remains a challenge due to the issues of secondary damage during dressing changes. Herein, we fabricated an adhesion-switchable hydrogel formed with poly(acrylamide)-co-poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide), quaternary ammonium chitosan and tannic acid. This hydrogel forms instant and robust adhesion to the skin at body temperature. However, as the temperature rises above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), the hydrogel loses its adhesion towards the wound area due to the temperature-dependent volume phase transition of the copolymer, occurring around 45 °C. Consequently, the designed hydrogel can be easily detached from adhered tissues upon demand, providing a facile and effective method for painless dressing changes without secondary damage. This hydrogel holds great promise for long-term application in wound dressings.

Nanogalvanic Cells Release Highly Reactive Electrons in Tumors to Effectively Eliminate Tumors.

External stimuli triggering chemical reactions in cancer cells to generate highly reactive chemical species are very appealing for cancer therapy, in which external irradiation activating sensitizers to transfer energy or electrons to surrounding oxygen or other molecules is critical for generating cytotoxic reactive species. However, poor light penetration into tissue, low activity of sensitizers, and reliance on oxygen supply restrict the generation of cytotoxic chemical species in hypoxic tumors, which lowers the therapeutic efficacy. Here, this work presents galvanic cell nanomaterials that can directly release highly reactive electrons in tumors without external irradiation or photosensitizers. The released reactive electrons directly react with surrounding biomolecules such as proteins and DNA within tumors to destroy them or react with other surrounding (bio)molecules to yield cytotoxic chemical species to eliminate tumors independent of oxygen. Administering these nanogalvanic cells to mice results in almost complete remission of subcutaneous solid tumors and deep metastatic tumors. The results demonstrate that this strategy can further arouse an immune response even in a hypoxic environment. This method offers a promising approach to effectively eliminate tumors, similar to photodynamic therapy, but does not require oxygen or irradiation to activate photosensitizers.

Efficacy of Glycyrrhetinic Acid in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation.

Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is a saponin compound, isolated from licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), which has been wildly explored for its intriguing pharmacological and medicinal effects. GA is a triterpenoid glycoside displaying an array of pharmacological and biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antiviral and antioxidative properties. In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of GA on acne vulgaris through network pharmacology and proteomics. After the intersection of the 154 drug targets and 581 disease targets, 37 therapeutic targets for GA against acne were obtained. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis highlighted TNF, IL1B, IL6, ESR1, PPARG, NFKB1, STAT3 and TLR4 as key targets of GA against acne, which is further verified by molecular docking. The experimental results showed that GA inhibited lipid synthesis in vitro and in vivo, improved the histopathological damage of skin, prevented mast cell infiltration and decreased the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6. This study indicates that GA may regulate multiple pathways to improve acne symptoms, and the beneficial effects of GA against acne vulgaris might be through the regulation of sebogenesis and inflammatory responses.

Interleukin-19 enhances eosinophil infiltration through upregulation of epithelium-derived RANTES expression via the ERK/NF-κB signalling pathway in patients with eosinophilic CRSwNP.

BACKGROUD: The recurrence rate of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is positively correlated with eosinophil infiltration. Increased interleukin (IL)-19 and eosinophil chemokine RANTES levels have been reported in patients with CRSwNP. This study aimed to clarify the role of IL-19 in mediating RANTES expression and eosinophilic infiltration in eosinophilic CRSwNP (Eos CRSwNP). METHODS: Nasal tissue samples were obtained from patients with CRSwNP and controls. The expression of IL-19, its receptors, ECP, and RANTES in tissues was investigated. Primary human nasal epithelial cells (HNECs) and nasal polyp tissue blocks were cultured, then stimulated by IL-19; ERK phosphorylation, NF-κB pathway activation, RANTES level, eosinophils migration and infiltration were detected using RT-qPCR, ELISA, western blotting, HE, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence staining, confocal microscopy, and transwell migration assay. RESULTS: The expression of IL-19 and its receptors (IL-20R1/IL-20R2), eosinophil cationic protein, and RANTES in nasal tissues from patients with Eos CRSwNP was significantly increased compared to that in non-Eos CRSwNP and control subjects. IL-19 co-localized with RANTES in nasal tissues and significantly elevated RANTES expression in HNECs. IL-19-blocking antibody and siRNA knockdown of IL-20R1 ameliorated the effect of IL-19 on RANTES secretion in HNECs. Moreover, IL-19-induced RANTES upregulation was associated with the activation of the ERK and NF-κB pathways. NF-κB activation was mediated by the ERK pathway in IL-19-treated HNECs, and IL-19 enhanced eosinophil infiltration in nasal polyp tissue blocks. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that IL-19 promotes RANTES expression via the ERK/NF-κB pathway in HNECs and is implicated in eosinophil infiltration in patients with Eos CRSwNP.

Early-stage neutralizing antibody level associated with the re-positive risk of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 RNA in patients recovered from COVID-19.

Post-discharge re-positivity of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 is challenging for the sufficient control of this pandemic. However, there are few studies about the risk of re-positivity. We aimed to explore the association of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs, AU/mL) with the incidence of re-positivity among patients recovered from COVID-19. A retrospective cohort study selected 318 Omicron-infected patients was conducted in China between December 2021 and April 2022. The peak value of nAb levels (nAb-peak) within 14 days of disease onset was defined as the baseline and was mainly used for the subsequent analyses. In the unadjusted, minimally adjusted, fully adjusted, and additionally adjusted for IgG models, a per-standard deviation (SD) increase in the nAb-peak values was significantly associated with a 59 %, 59 %, 50 %, and 75 % decreased risk of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 re-positivity during post-discharge surveillance, respectively. Stratified analyses showed no significant changes in the relationship between nAbs and re-positivity. Our study suggested that the increase in baseline nAb levels independently associated with a low risk of re-positivity in patients recovered from COVID-19.

Dietary supplementation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P-8 improves the growth performance and gut microbiota of weaned piglets.

Weaning is a stressful event in the pig life cycle. We hypothesized that probiotics could be potential alternatives to antibiotics for promoting growth and ameliorating stress in weaning piglets via gut microbiota modulation and, thus, investigated the beneficial effects of dietary probiotic supplementation in weaning pigs. Ninety weaning piglets (Landrace × large white, 45 males and 45 females, 25 days of age) were randomized into three dietary treatments (30 piglets/treatment, divided into five replicates/treatment, i.e., six piglets/replicate) in this 28-day trial: control (C group, basal diet); probiotic [lactic acid bacteria (LAB) group, basal diet plus Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P-8]; and antibiotic (A group; basal diet plus chlortetracycline). The piglets' growth performance [average daily gain, average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR)], immune and antioxidant markers, ileal mucosal morphology, and ileal and colonic microbiomes were compared among treatment groups. Compared to the C and A groups, probiotic supplementation significantly decreased the ADFI, FCR, and ileal mucosal crypt depth while increasing the villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, hepatic glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities, and serum levels of interleukin-2. Both probiotic and antibiotic treatments modulated the piglets' gut microbiomes, with more L. plantarum in the LAB group and more Eubacterium rectale and Limosilactobacillus reuteri in the A group. Probiotic supplementation significantly increased the relative abundance of genes encoding the acetylene, galactose, and stachyose degradation pathways, potentially enhancing nutrient absorption, energy acquisition, and growth performance. Probiotics are effective alternatives to antibiotics for promoting the health of piglets, possibly via gut microbiome modulation.IMPORTANCEWeaning impacts piglet health, performance, and mortality. Antibiotic treatment during weaning can mitigate the negative effects on growth. However, antibiotic use in livestock production contributes to the emergence of antibiotic resistance, which is a threat to global public health. This comprehensive study describes the gut microbial composition and growth performance of weaned piglets after dietary supplementation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P-8 or antibiotics. L. plantarum P-8 ameliorated stress and improved antioxidant capacity and growth performance in weaned piglets, accompanied by gut microbiota improvement. L. plantarum P-8 is an effective substitute for antibiotics to promote the health of weaned piglets while avoiding the global concern of drug resistance.

Clinical efficacy of robotic spine surgery: an updated systematic review of 20 randomized controlled trials.

Purpose: To determine whether using robots in spine surgery results in more clinical advantages and fewer adverse consequences. Methods: Between October 1990 and October 2022, a computer-based search was conducted through the databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medicine, VIP databases, and WAN FANG. The study only included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the clinical efficacy and safety of robot-assisted surgery with those of conventional spine surgery. The review was conducted following PRISMA 2020, and AMSTAR-2 was used to evaluate the methodological quality. R version 4.2.1 was used in the meta-analysis. The Cochrane Collaboration Tool was used for evaluating the risk of bias. Results: This study analyzed 954 participants from 20 RCTs involving cervical spondylosis, lumbar degenerative disease, scoliosis, etc. The robot-assisted group outperformed the freehand group in terms of intraoperative blood loss, number of screws in grade A position, grade A + B position, radiation dose, and hospital stay. Operation duration, visual analog scale scores of low back pain, Oswestry disability index, and radiation exposure time did not significantly differ between the two groups. Conclusions: Although robotic spine surgery is more accurate in pedicle screw placement than conventional methods, the robot group did not demonstrate an advantage in terms of clinical efficacy. Studies of complications and cost-effectiveness are still very rare.

Significant increase of the photoresponse range and conductivity for a chalcogenide semiconductor by viologen coating through charge transfer.

Widening the photoresponse range while enhancing the electrical properties of semiconductors could reduce the complexity and cost of photodetectors or increase the power conversion efficiency of solar cells. Surface doping through charge transfer with organic species is one of the most effective and widely used approaches to achieve this aim. It usually features easier preparation over other doping methods but is still limited by the low physicochemical stability and high cost of the used organic species or low improvement of electrical properties. This work shows unprecedented surface doping of semiconductors with highly stable, easily obtained, and strong electron-accepting viologen components, realizing the significant improvement of both the photoresponse range and conductivity. Coating the chalcogenide semiconductor KGaS2 with dimethyl viologen dichloride (MV) yields a charge-transfer complex (CTC) on the surface, which broadens the photoresponse range by nearly 300 nm and improves the conductivity by 5 orders of magnitude. The latter value surpasses all records obtained by surface doping through charge transfer with organic species.

Probiotics alleviate constipation and inflammation in late gestating and lactating sows.

Constipation and systemic inflammation are common in late pregnant and lactating sows, which cause health problems like uteritis, mastitis, dystocia, or even stillbirth, further influencing piglets' survival and growth. Probiotic supplementation can improve such issues, but the beneficial mechanism of relieving constipation and enhancing gut motility remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanism of probiotic supplementation in drinking water to late pregnant sows on constipation, inflammation, and piglets' growth performance. Seventy-four sows were randomly allocated to probiotic (n = 36) and control (n = 38) groups. Probiotic treatment significantly relieved sow constipation, enhanced serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels while reducing serum IL-1ß, IL-12p40, and TNF-α levels, and increased piglet daily gain and weaning weight. Furthermore, probiotic administration reshaped the sow gut bacteriome and phageome structure/diversity, accompanied by increases in some potentially beneficial bacteria. At 113 days of gestation, the probiotic group was enriched in several gut microbial bioactive metabolites, multiple carbohydrate-active enzymes that degrade pectin and starch, fecal butyrate and acetate, and some serum metabolites involved in vitamin and amino acid metabolism. Our integrated correlation network analysis revealed that the alleviation of constipation and inflammation was associated with changes in the sow gut bacteriome, phageome, bioactive metabolic potential, and metabolism.

IL-21 induces pyroptosis of Treg cells via Akt-mTOR-NLRP3-caspase 1 axis in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis.

BACKGROUND: Regulatory T (Treg) cells, which prevent inflammation-induced eosinophil infiltration, are deficient in nasal polyps (NPs) in patients with eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS). It is concomitant with loss of Foxp3 after certain inflammatory stimuli. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the inflammatory cytokines involved in inducing the loss of Treg cells in NPs. METHODS: The abundance of cytokines in ECRS patients or mice were tested using ELISA, immunochemistry, immunofluorescence, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qPCR), and/or flow cytometry. Expression of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), CD4+ T cells, IL-4, and IL-17A and eosinophils in nasal mucosa of mouse model was investigated by immunochemistry, immunofluorescence, and hematoxylin and eosin staining. The percentage and death of induced Treg (iTreg) cells, source of IL-21 in NPs from ECRS and non-ECRS patients, and abundance of different systemic phenotypes of CD4+ T cells in a mouse model were studied by flow cytometry. Western blot analysis, scanning, and transmission electronic microscopy were used to detect pyroptosis of iTreg cells. RESULTS: IL-21 was highly expressed in nasal mucosa of ECRS patients and mice, causing pyroptosis and preventing development of iTreg cells in vitro. The elevated IL-21 in NPs from ECRS patients was mainly produced by CD3+ T cells, including T follicular helper, T peripheral helper, TH2, and TH17 cells and CD3+CD4- T cells. T peripheral helper cells and CD3+CD4- T cells were the predominant source of IL-21 in NPs from non-ECRS patients. Blocking IL-21/IL-21R signaling significantly reduced the number of eosinophils and CD4+ T cells along with ECP, IL-4, and IL-17A expression in the nasal mucosa of ECRS mice. It also increased Treg cell percentage and systemically decreased TH2 and TH17 ratios. Akt-mTOR inhibition prevented IL-21-induced pyroptosis in human and mouse iTreg cells. CONCLUSION: Elevated IL-21 drives pyroptosis and prevents Treg cell development in ECRS patients. IL-21 induced pyroptosis via activating Akt-mTOR-NLRP3-caspase 1 signaling.

Yes-Associated Protein and Transcriptional Coactivator with PDZ-Binding Motif in Cardiovascular Diseases.

Yes-associated protein (YAP, also known as YAP1) and its paralogue TAZ (with a PDZ-binding motif) are transcriptional coactivators that switch between the cytoplasm and nucleus and regulate the organ size and tissue homeostasis. This review focuses on the research progress on YAP/TAZ signaling proteins in myocardial infarction, cardiac remodeling, hypertension and coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and aortic disease. Based on preclinical studies on YAP/TAZ signaling proteins in cellular/animal models and clinical patients, the potential roles of YAP/TAZ proteins in some cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are summarized.

IL-17A facilitates type 2 inflammation in a modified eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis mouse model.

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) is predominantly characterized by nasal type 2 inflammation. The pathogenesis of this condition is complex. High levels of IL-17A are associated with eosinophil infiltration in some inflammatory diseases and contribute to the severity and insensitivity of corticosteroid therapy for chronic rhinosinusitis. METHODS: In the first experiment, we constructed a modified ECRS mouse model using four groups of mice: phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-sensitized and nasal instillation (control); PBS-sensitized and Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) nasal instillation after nasal tamponade (SEB group); ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized and nasal instillation (OVA group); and OVA-sensitized combined with OVA and SEB nasal instillation after nasal tamponade (OVA + SEB group). In the second experiment, we examined the role of IL-17A by dividing the mice into four groups: control group; ECRS group; ECRS + anti-IL-17A group; and ECRS + IL-17A group. The latter two groups received intraperitoneal injections of anti-IL-17A antibody or IL-17A, respectively. RESULTS: We constructed a modified ECRS mouse model (OVA + SEB group), where the IL-17A levels were upregulated in the nasal sinus of ECRS mice and the IL-17A levels were significantly correlated with eosinophil infiltration. We further demonstrated that IL-17A induced type 2 inflammation and eosinophil infiltration in the ECRS group of mice. In contrast, IL-17A neutralization attenuated type 2 inflammatory cytokine secretion and eosinophil infiltration. CONCLUSION: OVA sensitization and unilateral nasal tamponade, combined with SEB and OVA alternate nasal instillation (OVA + SEB group), could be used to construct a more typical ECRS mouse model in which IL-17A enhanced the expression of type 2 cytokines and eosinophil infiltration.

Spraying compound probiotics improves growth performance and immunity and modulates gut microbiota and blood metabolites of suckling piglets.

One factor that shapes the establishment of early neonatal intestinal microbiota is environmental microbial exposure, and probiotic application has been shown to promote health and growth of piglets. Thus, this study hypothesized that environmental probiotic application in early days of life would be beneficial to newborn piglets. This study aimed to investigate the effect of spraying a compound probiotic fermented liquid (CPFL) into the living environment of piglets on their early growth performance and immunity. This work included 68 piglets, which were randomized into probiotic and control groups. Blood and fecal samples were collected at 0, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days of age. Spraying CPFL significantly reshaped the microbiota composition of the delivery room environment, increased piglets' daily weight gain and weaning weight (P<0.001), and modulated piglets' serum cytokine levels (increases in IgA, IgG, and IL-10; decrease in IFN-γ; P<0.05 in each case) in piglets. Additionally, spraying CPFL during early days of life modified piglets' gut microbiota structure and diversity, increased the abundance of some potentially beneficial bacteria (such as Bacteroides uniformis, Butyricimonas virosa, Parabacteroides distasonis, and Phascolarctobacterium succinatutens) and decreased the abundance of Escherichia coli (P<0.05). Interestingly, CPFL application also significantly enhanced the gut microbial bioactive potential and levels of several serum metabolites involved in the metabolism of vitamins (B2, B3, B6, and E), medium/long-chain fatty acids (caproic, tetradecanoic, and peptadecanoic acids), and dicarboxylic acids (azelaic and sebacic acids). Our study demonstrated that spraying CPFL significantly could improve piglets' growth performance and immunity, and the beneficial effects are associated with changes in the gut microbiota and host metabolism. Our study has provided novel data for future development of probiotic-based health-promoting strategies and expanded our knowledge of probiotic application in animal husbandry.

Serum CHI3L1 as a Biomarker for Non-invasive Diagnosis of Liver Fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Liver fibrosis is the early pathological manifestation of various chronic liver diseases (including schistosomiasis, alcoholic, viral, nonalcoholic, fatty liver, etc.), which can progress to cirrhosis and even liver cancer. Out of the 7.7 billion world population, approximately 2 billion individuals have evidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection; of these, 350 to 400 million suffer from chronic HBV infection, accounting for about 5% of the global population. The global prevalence of hepatitis C is 3%. These figures indicate that liver fibrosis is quite common. METHODS: 98 patients with liver fibrosis were included in this study. The serum chitinase-3 Like Protein-1 (CHI3L1) level was measured by the double antibody Sandwich ELISA method. RESULTS: Serum levels of CHI3L1 were significantly different between no-fibrosis and fibrosis groups (P < 0.01). There was a strong correlation between the levels of CHI3L1, elastometry, hyaluronan, CIV (P < 0.01) and age and sex, TBIL, DBIL, ALB, AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, PLT, LN, PIINP, FIB-4, and APRI (P < 0.05). The expression of CHI3L1 was different from fibrosis grades S1, S3, and S4 (P < 0.05, P < 0.001). The expression of CHI3L1 was significantly different between F1 and F4 (P < 0.05). Serum CHI3L1 expression level can be a valuable metric for diagnosing liver fibrosis, with an AUC value of 0.812. Out of the 98 patients who had undergone liver puncture, 79 patients (30.38%) had ALT ≤ 2ULN. CONCLUSIONS: The expression level of serum CHI3L1 was significantly higher in patients with liver fibrosis than that in patients without liver fibrosis. The expression levels of serum CHI3L1 were different in different grades of liver fibrosis and increased with the severity of liver fibrosis. Serum CHI3L1 can distinguish early stage (S1) of liver fibrosis from late stage (S3-4) of liver fibrosis. Serum CHI3L1 combined with HA is even more effective in the diagnosis of S2-4 hepatic fibrosis. The diagnostic efficacy of serum CHI3L1 in patients with ALT ≤ 2ULN was better than that of the other non-invasive diagnostic models.

A novel U-shaped relationship between mitochondrial mass and risk of incomplete immune reconstitution in HIV-infected patients on antiviral therapy.

Mitochondrial mass (MM) is considered an essential parameter of the immune system, but the association of MM with incomplete immune reconstitution (IIR) in people living with HIV (PLWH) remains unclear. Here, we tested 2148 blood samples from 1999 PLWH by flow cytometry in China between August 2021 and February 2022. A novel U-shaped relationship, determined by multivariable smooth curve fitting and piecewise-linear mixed-effect model, was observed between the ratio of MM to SD (MM/SD) and IIR, with a threshold cutoff of 2.8. For MM/SD <2.8, per SD increment of MM was independently associated with 30%, 30%, 20%, and 20% decreased risk of CD4+ T-cell counts <500 cells/µL after 4 years of treatment and CD4+ T-cell counts <350 cells/µL after 4, 5, 6 years of treatment, respectively. Our study suggested that increasing MM may indicate the low risk of IIR for PLWH with MM/SD <2.8.

Novel biodegradable two-dimensional vanadene augmented photoelectro-fenton process for cancer catalytic therapy.

Fenton reaction-based chemodynamic therapy is hardly a self-sufficient cancer treatment, due to its stringent reaction conditions, limited substrate concentration, and negative feedback from the tumor microenvironment. Herein, we synthesized a novel two-dimensional (2D) vanadium-based nanosheets (Vanadene, V NSs) with polyvalent surfaces (VIV/VV), a very narrow band gap of 0.8 eV, and high biodegradability by a liquid-phase exfoliation strategy. The polyvalent surface endowed its multiple capabilities to modulate TME through GSH consumption and O2 production via VV and to catalyze a Fenton-like reaction to produce ·OH under a mild condition via VIV. In addition, efficient energy conversions including near-infrared (NIR)-thermal conversion (photothermal therapy, PTT) and NIR-electron conversion (photodynamic therapy, PDT) were ensured by the narrow band gap, in which NIR-thermal conversion enhanced the Fenton-like reaction activity through accelerating ionization while NIR-electron conversion catalyzed the conversion of O2 to ·O2- for further breaking redox homeostasis. Moreover, V NSs-based nanocatalyst can be slowly degraded into non-toxic species, enabling it to be innocuously eliminated from the body after completing tumor eradication by single drug injection and single NIR irradiation. Therefore, this study provides new insights into a universal nanoplatform for NIR-enhanced combination cancer therapy, highlighting the utility of 2D V NSs in the field of biomedicine.

Regulation of Endothelial Progenitor Cell Functions in Ischemic Heart Disease: New Therapeutic Targets for Cardiac Remodeling and Repair.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Ischemia and hypoxia following myocardial infarction (MI) cause subsequent cardiomyocyte (CM) loss, cardiac remodeling, and heart failure. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are involved in vasculogenesis, angiogenesis and paracrine effects and thus have important clinical value in alternative processes for repairing damaged hearts. In fact, this study showed that the endogenous repair of EPCs may not be limited to a single cell type. EPC interactions with cardiac cell populations and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in ischemic heart disease can attenuate cardiac inflammation and oxidative stress in a microenvironment, regulate cell survival and apoptosis, nourish CMs, enhance mature neovascularization, alleviate adverse ventricular remodeling after infarction and enhance ventricular function. In this review, we introduce the definition and discuss the origin and biological characteristics of EPCs and summarize the mechanisms of EPC recruitment in ischemic heart disease. We focus on the crosstalk between EPCs and endothelial cells (ECs), smooth muscle cells (SMCs), CMs, cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs), and MSCs during cardiac remodeling and repair. Finally, we discuss the translation of EPC therapy to the clinic and treatment strategies.

Tumor Microenvironment Triggered the In Situ Synthesis of an Excellent Sonosensitizer in Tumor for Sonodynamic Therapy.

An ultrasound-triggered sonodynamic therapy has shown great promise for cancer therapy. However, its clinical applications are very limited because the traditional sonosensitizers tend to suffer from very poor efficiency combined with low retention in cancer cells and low tumor selectivity. Therefore, sonosensitizers with higher effectivity, higher tumor cell retention, and higher tumor cell specificity are highly required. Herein, we constructed a Ti2C(OH)X nanosheet, which was a poor sonosensitizer but had a long circulation in the blood system. However, it was very interesting to find that the tumor microenvironment could in situ turn Ti2C(OH)X nanosheet into a novel and excellent sonosensitizer with a nanofiber structure in tumors, exhibiting excellent ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) under ultrasound. Moreover, the nanofiber structure made it very difficult to get out of cancer cells, highly enhancing the retention of the sonosensitizer in the tumor, thereby enabling it to effectively and selectively kill cancer cells in vivo. Our findings demonstrate that the strategy of the tumor microenvironment triggering the in situ synthesis of an effective sonosensitizer in tumor provided a promising means to simultaneously increase the efficiency, sonosensitizer retention in cancer cells, and cancer selectivity, thereby effectively killing cancer cells but causing little damage to healthy tissues via the sonodynamic therapy.