Spatial Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Landscapes of Oral Submucous Fibrosis-Derived Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and its Tumor Microenvironment.

In South and Southeast Asia, the habit of chewing betel nuts is prevalent, which leads to oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). OSF is a well-established precancerous lesion, and a portion of OSF cases eventually progress to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the specific molecular mechanisms underlying the malignant transformation of OSCC from OSF are poorly understood. In this study, the leading-edge techniques of Spatial Transcriptomics (ST) and Spatial Metabolomics (SM) are integrated to obtain spatial location information of cancer cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells, as well as the transcriptomic and metabolomic landscapes in OSF-derived OSCC tissues. This work reveals for the first time that some OSF-derived OSCC cells undergo partial epithelial-mesenchymal transition (pEMT) within the in situ carcinoma (ISC) region, eventually acquiring fibroblast-like phenotypes and participating in collagen deposition. Complex interactions among epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment are demonstrated. Most importantly, significant metabolic reprogramming in OSF-derived OSCC, including abnormal polyamine metabolism, potentially playing a pivotal role in promoting tumorigenesis and immune evasion is discovered. The ST and SM data in this study shed new light on deciphering the mechanisms of OSF-derived OSCC. The work also offers invaluable clues for the prevention and treatment of OSCC.

MIS-TLIF or CLIF for single segmental lumbar degenerative disease.

We aimed to compare the effect of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) and Crenel lateral interbody fusion (CLIF) on single segmental lumbar degenerative disease. Patients with single segmental lumbar degenerative disease undergoing MIS-TLIF (n = 28) and CLIF (n = 28) were enrolled from April to October 2017. Preoperative medical history, anthropometric data, and clinical data were recorded. Visual analogue scores and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were assessed. Radiography was performed before and after surgery. X-ray films were evaluated according to the Bridwell method, visual analogue scores and ODI scores were evaluated. There were no significant differences in the gender, age, clinical diagnosis, involved segment or preoperative ODI score between 2 groups (P > .05). During 12-month follow-up, MIS-TLIF group had less intraoperative blood loss, drainage, postoperative bedridden time, and hospital stay (P < .05), but more operation time and radiation exposure time compared with CLIF group (P < .05). CLIF group reported less pain than MIS-TLIF group (P > .05). Both groups had similar lumbar fusion rate (P > .05). Overall, CLIF has less complications, less trauma and faster recovery for the treatment of single segmental lumbar degenerate disease when compared with MIS-TLIF. Evaluation of more patients and long-term follow-up are still needed to further validate our findings.

Expression changes of IL-17 in zoledronic acid combined with PVP technology in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture and its predictive value of relapse.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in zoledronic acid combined with PVP technology for patients with postmenopausal osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) and its predictive value for relapse. METHODS: 101 OVCF patients treated in our hospital from April 2013 to January 2015 were collected as a research group and treated by zoledronic acid combined with PVP technology. 80 healthy people with physical examination were assigned to the control group. ELISA was used to detect the expression of IL-17 in serum of the two groups. Patients were followed up for 2 years. The expression of IL-17 before treatment was compared between patients with relapse and patients without relapse. The predictive value of IL-17 in relapse was drawn according to ROC curve. RESULTS: Before treatment, the expression of IL-17 in the research group increased significantly (p<0.05). After treatment, the expression of IL-17 in the research group decreased significantly (p<0.05). The level of IL-17 in patients with relapse was significantly higher than that in patients without relapse (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: IL-17 is highly expressed in postmenopausal patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture and is expected to be a potential predictor of relapse in postmenopausal patients with OVCF.