Integrated single-cell and transcriptome sequencing analyses develops a metastasis-based risk score system for prognosis and immunotherapy response in uveal melanoma.

Background: Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequent ocular neoplasm with a strong metastatic ability. The prognostic value of metastasis-associated genes (MAGs) of UM remains unclear. It is urgent to develop a prognostic score system according to the MAGs of UM. Methods: Unsupervised clustering was used to identify MAGs-based molecular subtypes. Cox methods were utilized to generate a prognostic score system. The prognostic ability of the score system was detected by plotting ROC and survival curves. The immune activity and underlying function were depicted by CIBERSORT GSEA algorithms. Results: Gene cluster analysis determined two MAGs-based subclusters in UM, which were remarkably different in clinical outcomes. A risk score system containing six MAGs (COL11A1, AREG, TIMP3, ADAM12, PRRX1 and GAS1) was set up. We employed ssGSEA to compare immune activity and immunocyte infiltration between the two risk groups. Notch, JAK/STAT and mTOR pathways were greatly enriched in the high-risk group. Furthermore, we observed that knockdown of AREG could inhibit UM proliferation and metastasis by in vitro assays. Conclusion: The MAGs-based subtype and score system in UM can enhance prognosis assessment, and the core system provides valuable reference for clinical decision-making.

Research progress on serological indices and their clinical application in rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: As a chronic systemic autoimmune disease of undetermined etiology, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has a complex pathogenesis, which involves multiple proteins and cytokines. The 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria facilitate early diagnosis of RA with reduced specificity when compared to the 1987 ACR criteria. Hence, it is imperative to identify novel serological inflammatory indicators and targets, in order to explain the complex regulatory network of RA. The present review discusses the associations of various inflammatory factors with RA and its underlying mechanism. Besides, the review also provides a novel insight into the clinical treatment of RA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: According to the PRISMA guidelines, databases like Web of Science, Google-Scholar, Pubmed and Scopus were systematically searched for articles from January 1, 2018 to January 1, 2022 using The following 2 keywords: "rheumatoid arthritis", "Inflammatory cytokines", "ILs", "serum amyloid protein A", "matrix metalloproteinase 3", "RANKL", "Glucose-6-phosphoisomerase", "Anti-keratin antibody", "1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3". RESULTS: Indicators like MMPs, ILs, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI), anti-keratin antibody (AKA) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) are the current hotspots in the efficacy research of RA. The present review suggests that ILs are highly expressed in the serum and synovial tissues of RA patients. By targeted inhibition of ILs with inhibitor application, precise RA treatment can be achieved. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, it can be concluded that inflammatory factors have certain guiding significance in the diagnosis and efficacy evaluation of RA. However, the mechanisms of interactions among them are rather complex, which deserve further exploration.

Molecular Epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus among Patients with Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Two Chinese Hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the predominant causes of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), but limited data were available regarding the characterization of S. aureus from SSTIs patients in Jiangsu Province in China. We aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of S. aureus among SSTIs patients in two hospitals of Jiangsu Province. METHODS: Sixty-two patients with SSTIs from two Chinese hospitals in Jiangsu Province were enrolled in this study, and 62 S. aureus isolates were collected from February 2014 to January 2015. S. aureus isolates were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, toxin gene detection, and molecular typing with sequence type, Staphylococcus protein A gene type, accessory gene regulator (agr) group, and Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec t ype. RESULTS: Sixteen (25.8%) methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates were detected, and there was no isolate found resistant to vancomycin, teicoplanin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and linezolid. The sei was the toxin gene most frequently found, and no lukS/F-PV-positive isolates were detected among the SSTIs' patients. Molecular analysis revealed that ST398 (10/62, 16.1%; 2 MRSA and 8 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus) to be the dominant clone, followed by ST5 (8/62, 12.9%) and ST7 (8/62, 12.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The livestock ST398 was the most common clone among patients with S. aureus SSTIs in Jiangsu Province, China. Surveillance and further studies on the important livestock ST398 clone in human infections are necessarily requested.