Clinical features of COVID-19-related optic neuritis: a retrospective study.

Objective: This retrospective study aimed to investigate the clinical features of optic neuritis associated with COVID-19 (COVID-19 ON), comparing them with neuromyelitis optica-associated optic neuritis (NMO-ON), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated optic neuritis (MOG-ON), and antibody-negative optic neuritis (antibody-negative ON). Methods: Data from 117 patients (145 eyes) with optic neuritis at the Shantou International Eye Center (March 2020-June 2023) were categorized into four groups based on etiology: Group 1 (neuromyelitis optica-related optic neuritis, NMO-ON), Group 2 (myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein optic neuritis, MOG-ON), Group 3 (antibody-negative optic neuritis, antibody-negative ON), and Group 4 (optic neuritis associated with COVID-19, COVID-19 ON). Characteristics of T2 and enhancement in orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were assessed. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was compared before treatment, at a short-term follow-up (14 days), and at the last follow-up after treatment. Results: The COVID-19-associated optic neuritis (COVID-19 ON) group exhibited 100% bilateral involvement, significantly surpassing other groups (P < 0.001). Optic disk edema was observed in 100% of COVID-19 ON cases, markedly differing from neuromyelitis optica-related optic neuritis (NMO-ON) (P = 0.023). Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed distinctive long-segment lesions without intracranial involvement in T1-enhanced sequences for the COVID-19 ON group compared to the other three groups (P < 0.001). Discrepancies in optic nerve sheath involvement were noted between the COVID-19 ON group and both NMO-ON and antibody-negative optic neuritis (antibody-negative ON) groups (P = 0.028). Before treatment, no significant difference in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) existed between the COVID-19 ON group and other groups. At the 14-day follow-up, BCVA in the COVID-19 ON group outperformed the NMO-ON (P < 0.001) and antibody-negative ON (P = 0.028) groups, with no significant difference observed compared to the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein optic neuritis (MOG-ON) group. At the last follow-up after treatment, BCVA in the COVID-19 ON group significantly differed from the NMO-ON group (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Optic neuritis associated with COVID-19 (COVID-19 ON) predominantly presents with bilateral onset and optic disk edema. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrates that COVID-19 ON presents as long-segment enhancement without the involvement of the intracranial segment of the optic nerve in T1-enhanced images. Glucocorticoid therapy showed positive outcomes.

Visual outcome of various dose of glucocorticoids treatment in nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy- a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The objective of this investigation was to assess the therapeutic efficacy of distinct glucocorticoid therapy dosages in the management of acute nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective, unmasked, and non-randomized study included a total of 85 patients. The patients were categorized into four groups: Group 1 (control) consisted of 15 patients who did not receive glucocorticoids, Group 2 included 16 patients administered with oral prednisone at a dosage of 1 mg/kg/d for 14 days, Group 3 comprised 30 patients who received 250 units of methylprednisolone once daily for 3 days, followed by oral prednisone at a dosage of 1 mg/kg/d for 11 days, and Group 4 encompassed 24 patients who received 500 units of methylprednisolone once daily for 3 days, followed by oral prednisone at a dosage of 1 mg/kg/d for 11 days. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was assessed at baseline and the final follow-up (> 7 days post-treatment). The changes in visual acuity between baseline and the 7-14 day follow-up, as well as between baseline and the concluding appraisal, were employed as metrics for assessing the extent of visual enhancement. RESULTS: No significant differences were noted in the final visual outcomes or in the changes between final visual acuity and baseline across the four groups. In Group 1 (control), the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) remained unchanged during final follow-ups compared to baseline. Conversely, the intervention groups exhibited statistically significant enhancements in BCVA during final follow-up (p = 0.012, p = 0.03, and p = 0.009 for Group 2, Group 3, and Group 4, respectively) when compared to baseline. During the 7-14 day follow-up, there was a significant difference in the changes between baseline BCVA and follow-up BCVA across the groups (p = 0.035). Go a step further by Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, group 4 showed a greater change in vision compared with group1 (p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: Our study on acute nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) showed no significant final visual outcome differences. Nevertheless, Groups 2, 3, and 4 demonstrated improved best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) during the final follow-up. Notably, a 500-unit dose of methylprednisolone resulted in short-term BCVA enhancement. This suggests potential consideration of 500 units of methylprednisolone for short-term NAION vision improvement, despite its limited long-term impact.

Differences in prefrontal cortex activation in Chinese college students with different severities of depressive symptoms: A large sample of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) findings.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies proposed that functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) can be used to distinguish between not only different severities of depressive symptoms but also different subgroups of depression, such as anxious and non-anxious depression, bipolar and unipolar depression, and melancholia and non-melancholia depression. However, the differences in brain haemodynamic activation between depression subgroups (such as confirmed depression [CD] and suspected depression [SD]) with different symptom severities and the possible correlation between symptom severity and haemodynamic activation in specific brain regions using fNIRS have yet to be clarified. METHODS: The severity of depression symptoms was classified using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview by psychiatrists. We recruited 654 patients with depression who had varying severities of depressive symptoms, including 276 with SD and 378 with CD, and 317 with HCs from among Chinese college students. The 53-channel fNIRS was used to detect the cerebral hemodynamic difference of the three groups during the VFT (verbal fluency task). RESULTS: Compared with the HC, region-specific fNIRS leads indicate CD patients had significant lower haemodynamic activation in three particular prefrontal regions: 1) right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), 2) bilateral frontopolar cortex (FPC), and 3) right Broca's area (BA). SD vs. HC comparisons revealed only significant lower haemodynamic activation in the right FPC area. Compared to SD patients, CD patients exhibited decreased hemodynamic activation changes in the right DLPFC and the right BA. Correlation analysis established a significant negative correlation between the hemodynamic changes in the bilateral FPC and the severity of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The right DLPFC and right BA are expected to be physiological mechanisms to distinguish depression subgroups (CD, SD) with different symptom severities. The haemodynamic changes in the bilateral FPC was nagatively associated with the symptom severity of depression.

Bilateral retinal nerve fiber layer thickness reduction in a 9-year-old myopic boy suffering from unilateral optic neuritis: A case report.

BACKGROUND: In this paper, we present a 9-year-old boy who demonstrates a complex interplay between myopia progression, axial length (AL) extension, and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness loss in both eyes. Additionally, concurrent optic neuritis has directly impacted RNFL thickness in his right eye, and its potential indirect influence on RNFL and macular ganglion cell layer (mGCL) thickness in his left eye is also noteworthy. CASE SUMMARY: A 9-year-old boy with bilateral myopia presented with diminished vision and pain in his right eye due to optic neuritis, while his left eye showed pseudopapilledema. Steroid therapy improved his vision in the right eye, and 16-mo follow-up revealed recovery without recurrence despite myopia progression. Follow-up optical coherence tomography conducted 16 mo later revealed a notable thinning of the RNFL in both eyes, especially along with a reduction in mGCL thickness in the left eye. This intricate interaction between optic neuritis, myopia, and retinal changes underscores the need for comprehensive management, highlighting potential long-term visual implications in young patients. CONCLUSION: The progression of myopia and AL extension led to the loss of RNFL thickness in both eyes in a 9-year-old boy. Concurrently, optic neuritis directly affected RNFL thickness in his right eye and may indirectly play a role in the thickness of RNFL and mGCL in his left eye.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the chemical components in Yuquan capsules by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The Yuquan capsules is a commonly used traditional Chinese Patent Medicine used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. In this study, a high-throughput analytical method for identifying the chemical composition of Yuquan capsules was established for the first time by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. The data obtained were subjected to fragment analysis and this was combined with UNIFI processing of natural products. One-hundred sixteen compounds were characterized from Yuquan capsules. Twelve of the bioactive compounds were quantitatively analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. This study was undertaken to obtain a comprehensive chemical profile analysis as well as to evaluate the overall quality of Yuquan capsules. The results will provide a reference for the quality evaluation of different Yuquan preparations. In addition, the data will enable basic pharmacodynamic research into these extensively used capsules.

The relationship between VEGF-460(T>C) polymorphism and cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on 46 reports.

BACKGROUND: Extensive studies on the link between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and various malignancy risks produced conflicting results, notably for VEGF-460(T/C). To evaluate this correlation more comprehensively and accurately, we perform a meta-analysis. METHODS: Through retrieving 5 databases (Web of Science (WoS), Embase, Pubmed, Wanfang database (Wangfang), and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)) and applying hand search, citation search, and gray literature search, 44 papers included 46 reports were enrolled. To evaluate the relationship between VEGF-460 and cancer risk, we pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Our results indicated that the VEGF-460 polymorphism is not related to malignancy susceptibility (dominant model, OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.87-1.09; recessive model, OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.82-1.10; heterozygous model, OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.90-1.10; homozygous model, OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.76-1.10; additive model, OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.90-1.07). While, in subgroup analysis, this SNP may reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. CONCLUSION: this meta-analysis indicated that VEGF-460 was irrelevant to overall malignancy risk, but it might be a protective factor for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Effects of Higher Minimum Quality Standards on Food Safety: Evidence From Criminal Cases Found in China's Court Documents.

Food safety is a credence good that is hard for consumers to assess even after consumption. Government have used minimum quality standards (MQSs) to prevent producers from selling products below a predetermined quality threshold, thereby improving the overall quality in the market. This study is the first to empirically examine the impact of MQSs on food safety in China. We constructed the number of mutton criminal cases (per billion people) as a proxy for food safety in a province, based on the data obtained from China Judgments Online, we evaluated the effect for the period of 2013 through 2019. Using the generalized difference-in-difference econometric method, we found that a higher minimum quality standard led to an increase in mutton criminal cases related to the production and sale of counterfeit and shoddy products. Such results highlight a potential unintended consequence of a higher MQS and call for a higher penalty cost to mitigate the unintended consequence.

Multi-Polymorphism Analysis Reveals Joint Effects in Males With Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is a leading cause of central vision impairment in the working-age population with male predilection. Knowledge about the genetic basis of CSCR and its male predilection remained limited. This study aimed to evaluate the association patterns of multiple gene variants in chronic CSCR (cCSCR) in Chinese patients. Methods: This case-control genetic association study included 531 patients with cCSCR and 2383 controls from two independent Chinese cohorts. Nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of six genes, namely CFH, NR3C2, GATA5, VIPR2, TNFRSF10A, and ARMS2, were genotyped in all subjects. The main outcome measures were the association of individual single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with cCSCR, the sex-stratification effects of individual SNP, and joint effects of different SNPs on cCSCR. Results: Association results in the two cohorts were consistent with low heterogeneities. In the combined analysis, SNPs CFH rs800292 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25, P = 0.0020), CFH rs1329428 (OR = 1.23, P = 0.0037), and TNFRSF10A rs13278062 (OR = 1.43, P = 0.0014) were significantly associated with cCSCR. In stratification analysis by sex, 3 SNPs in CFH, rs3753394, rs800292, and rs1329428, were associated with cCSCR in male patients, but not in female patients. Joint analysis revealed that subjects homozygous for the risk alleles of CFH rs800292 and TNFRSF10A rs13278062 had over 4-fold of increased risk of cCSCR when compared with subjects homozygous for the non-risk alleles (OR = 4.06, P = 2.30 × 10-5). Conclusions: This study revealed main and joint effects of SNPs in CFH and TNFRSF10A on cCSCR, and suggested CFH as a potential genetic factor underlying the male predilection of cCSCR. Further replication in other study populations is needed.

Quality Markers' Discovery and Quality Evaluation of Jigucao Capsule Using UPLC-MS/MS Method.

Jigucao capsules (JGCC) have the effects of soothing the liver and gallbladder and clearing heat and detoxification. It is a good medicine for treating acute and chronic hepatitis cholecystitis with damp heat of the liver and gallbladder. However, the existing quality standard of JGCC does not have content determination items, which is not conducive to quality control. In this study, serum pharmacochemistry technology and UNIFI data processing software were used to identify the blood prototype components and metabolites under the condition of the obvious drug effects of JGCC, and the referenced literature reports and the results from in vitro analysis of JGCC in the early stage revealed a total of 43 prototype blood components and 33 metabolites in JGCC. Quality markers (Q-markers) were discovered, such as abrine, trigonelline, hypaphorine and isoschaftoside. In addition, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS) was used to determine the active ingredients in JGCC. The components of quantitative analysis have good correlation in the linear range with R2 ≥ 0.9993. The recovery rate is 93.15%~108.92% and the relative standard deviation (RSD) is less than 9.48%. The established UPLC-MS/MS quantitative analysis method has high sensitivity and accuracy, and can be used for the quality evaluation of JGCC.

Radiation-Triggered Selenium-Engineered Mesoporous Silica Nanocapsules for RNAi Therapy in Radiotherapy-Resistant Glioblastoma.

Radiotherapy-resistant glioblastoma (rrGBM) remains a significant clinical challenge because of high infiltrative growth characterized by activation of antiapoptotic signal transduction. Herein, we describe an efficiently biodegradable selenium-engineered mesoporous silica nanocapsule, initiated by high-energy X-ray irradiation and employed for at-site RNA interference (RNAi) to inhibit rrGBM invasion and achieve maximum therapeutic benefit. Our radiation-triggered RNAi nanocapsule showed high physiological stability, good blood-brain barrier transcytosis, and potent rrGBM accumulation. An intratumoral RNAi nanocapsule permitted low-dose X-ray radiation-triggered dissociation for cofilin-1 knockdown, inhibiting rrGBM infiltration. More importantly, tumor suppression was further amplified by electron-affinity aminoimidazole products converted from metronidazole polymers under X-ray radiation-exacerbated hypoxia, which sensitized cell apoptosis to ionizing radiation by fixing reactive oxygen species-induced DNA lesions. In vivo experiments confirmed that our RNAi nanocapsule reduced tumor growth and invasion, prolonging survival in an orthotopic rrGBM model. Generally, we present a promising radiosensitizer that would effectively improve rrGBM-patient outcomes with low-dose X-ray irradiation.

An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry identification and characterization of the active constituents from Abrus mollis Hance.

Abrus mollis Hance is a traditional Chinese medicine that is widely used to treat acute and chronic hepatitis, steatosis, and fibrosis. Its therapeutic qualities of it have long been acknowledged, although the active ingredients responsible for its efficacy and the mechanisms of its action are unknown. In this study, the chemical constituents absorbed into the blood from Abrus mollis Hance were assessed by using liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and the data was analyzed with the UNIFI screening platform. The results obtained were compared to existing chromatographic-mass spectrometry information, including retention times and molecular weights as well as known reference compounds. 41 chemical constituents were found in Abrus mollis Hance, and these included 16 flavonoids, 13 triterpenoids, five organic acids, and two alkaloids. Experimentally it was found that Abrus mollis Hance had a therapeutic benefit when treating α-naphthalene isothiocyanate-induced acute liver injury in rats. In addition, 11 blood prototypical constituents, including six flavonoids, three triterpenoids, and two alkaloids, were found in serum samples following intragastric administration of Abrus mollis Hance extracts to rats. This novel study can be used for the quality control and pharmacodynamic assessment of Abrus mollis Hance in order to assess its efficacy in the therapeutic treatment of patients.

Laboratory detection of SARS-CoV-2: A review of the current literature and future perspectives.

Nowadays, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), whose infectivity is awfully strong, has been a major global threat to the public health. Since lung is the major target of SARS-CoV-2, the infection can lead to respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), multiple organ failure (MOF), and even death. The studies on viral structure and infection mechanism have found that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a pivotal enzyme affecting the organ-targeting in the RAS system, is the receptor of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Currently, the detection of SARSCoV-2 is mainly achieved using open plate real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). While open plate method has some limitations, such as a high false-negative rate, cumbersome manual operation, aerosol pollution and leakage risks. Therefore, a convenient method to rapidly detect SARS-CoV-2 virus is urgently and extremely required for timely epidemic control with the limited resources. In this review, the current real-time methods and principles for novel coronavirus detection are summarized, with the aim to provide a reference for real-time screening of coronavirus in areas with insufficient detection capacity and inadequate medical resources. The development and establishment of a rapid, simple, sensitive and specific system to detect SARS-CoV-2 is of vital importance for distinct diagnosis and effective treatment of the virus, especially in the flu season.

High-Throughput Metabolomics Integrated Network Pharmacology Reveals the Underlying Mechanism of Paeoniae Radix Alba Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: The mechanism of action and potential targets of Paeoniae RadixAlba (Baishao, B) in the treatment of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats are explained using metabolomics and network pharmacology techniques, and the research evidence for the development of anti-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drugs is enriched. METHODS: The rats were injected with Freund's complete adjuvant (CFA) to induce arthritis. We then measured the general physical characteristics, examined their X-rays and histopathology to evaluate the pathological condition of the inflammation models, and conducted metabolomics studies on the change in urine metabolism caused by CFA. The lyophilized powder of B at a dose of 2.16 g/kg was orally administered to the rats continuously for 28 days, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated. Network pharmacology prediction shows that B contains the target action of the ingredient, and the simulation of the target molecular docking, in combination with the metabolomics analysis results, shows that B has a potential role in the treatment of AIA rats. RESULTS: B can reduce the paw swelling and pathological changes in rats caused by CFA, reverse the levels of 12 urine biomarkers, and regulate histidine metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, arginine, proline metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, etc. The prediction of the active ingredient target in B indicates that it may act as an inflammatory signaling pathway in anti-RA, among them being paeoniflorin, palbinone, beta-sitosterol, kaempferol, and catechin, which are the significant active ingredients. CONCLUSION: The metabolomics results revealed the markers and metabolic mechanisms of urinary metabolic disorders in rats with AIA, demonstrated the efficacy of the therapeutic effect of B, and identified the key ingredients in B, providing theoretical support for the subsequent development and utilization of B.

Potential Mechanisms of Shu Gan Jie Yu Capsule in the Treatment of Mild to Moderate Depression Based on Systemic Pharmacology and Current Evidence.

Background: Shu Gan Jie Yu (SGJY) capsule has a good effect on relieving depressive symptoms in China. However, the mechanism of action is still unclear. Therefore, systemic pharmacology and molecular docking approaches were used to clarify its corresponding antidepressant mechanisms. Methods: Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ETCM), and Swiss Target Prediction servers were used to screen and predict the bioactive components of the SGJY capsule and their antidepressive targets. Mild to moderate depression (MMD) related genes were obtained from GeneCards and DisGeNET databases. A network of bioactive components-therapeutic targets of the SGJY capsule was established by STRING 11.5 and Cytoscape 3.9.0 software. Gene function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed by utilizing Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) platform. Active components were taken to dock with the hypothetical proteins by iGEMDOCK and SwissDock, and the docking details were visually displayed by UCSF Chimera software. Then, the related research literature of the SGJY capsule was reviewed, summarized, sorted, and analyzed, including experimental evidence and clinical experience. Results: Seven active components and 45 intersection targets were included in the study. PPI network had genuinely uncovered the potential therapeutic targets, such as AKT1, HSP90AA1, ESR1, EGFR, and PTGS2. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the mechanism of the SGJY capsule on MMD was mainly involved in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Conclusions: In this study, we have successfully predicted the biochemically active constituents, potential therapeutic targets, and comprehensively predicted the related drug-gene interaction of the SGJY capsule for treating MMD and provided a basis for subsequent experiments.

Immunotherapy and immunobiomarker in breast cancer: current practice and future perspectives.

Among the new cancer cases and resulting deaths among women worldwide, breast cancer is the most significant threat to women's health. In recent years, immunotherapy was initially used to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer, where it demonstrated its unique value by providing a novel way to improve therapeutic effects and prolong survival time. With the development of clinical trials related to immunotherapy for breast cancer, tumour vaccines, such as DNA vaccines, have been observed to improve the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients. Monoclonal antibodies have also shown good efficacy, and adoptive cell therapies, such as CAR-T, exhibit strong tumour killing ability and good safety, and thus, these therapies may comprise a new strategy for the treatment of breast cancer. These breakthrough successes have promoted the achievement of "individualized" breast cancer treatment. Moreover, a recent study showed that patients with various cancer types with a higher tumour mutational burden (TMB) are more likely to benefit from immunotherapy. As research progresses, TMB may also demonstrate a certain clinical significance in the treatment of breast cancer. This paper reviews the latest research progress on breast cancer immunotherapy and the predictive value and application status of TMB in immunotherapy regimens for breast cancer patients to provide a reference for further in-depth studies of breast cancer immunotherapy.

Research progress in breast cancer stem cells: characterization and future perspectives.

More and more studies have proved that there are a small number of cells with self-renewal and differentiation ability in breast tumors, namely breast cancer stem cells. Such cells play a key role in the initiation, development and migration of breast tumors. The properties of breast tumor stem cells are regulated by a range of intracellular and extracellular factors, including important signaling pathways, transcription factors, non-coding RNAs, and cytokines such as Hedgehog, Wnt, Notch, microRNA93, microRNA100, and IL-6. Tumor microenvironment (such as mesenchymal stem cells, macrophages and cytokines) plays an important role in the regulation of breast tumor stem cells. Using the keywords including "breast cancer stem cells", "signal pathway", "chemotherapy tolerance", and "non-coding RNA", "triple negative breast cancer", "inhibitors", this study retrieved the original articles and reviews published before October 3, 2021, from PubMed and WEB OF SCI database and this study performed a comprehensive review of them. After treatment, there is a correlation between the metastasis-prone nature and recurrence with breast cancer stem cells. The signaling pathway of breast cancer stem cells plays a significant role in activating the function of breast cancer cells, regulating the differentiation of breast cancer cells and controlling the division of breast cancer cells. This imbalance leads to the uncontrolled growth and development of breast cancer cells. Targeted therapy that blocks the corresponding pathway may become a new perspective for breast cancer treatment. In addition, corresponding therapeutic strategies can be used according to the expression characteristics of different molecular types of breast cancer stem cells. For ER-positive breast cancer, simultaneous endocrine therapy and targeted therapy of tumor stem cells may improve the efficacy of endocrine therapy. Trastuzumab therapy significantly reduces the risk of recurrence of HER2-positive breast cancer. For drug-resistant patients, combination therapy is required due to the different phenotypes of epithelial-mesenchymal transforming tumor stem cells. This study briefly reviews the research progress of breast cancer stem cell-related signaling pathways and their inhibitors, in order to provide a reference for breast cancer patients to obtain more effective clinical treatment.

A novel defined risk signature of interferon response genes predicts the prognosis and correlates with immune infiltration in glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Interferons (IFNs) have been implemented as anti-tumor immunity agents in clinical trials of glioma, but only a subset of glioblastoma (GBM) patients profits from it. The predictive role of IFNs stimulated genes in GBM needs further exploration to investigate the clinical role of IFNs. METHODS: This study screened 526 GBM patients from three independent cohorts. The transcriptome data with matching clinical information were analyzed using R. Immunohistochemical staining data from the Human Protein Atlas and DNA methylation data from MethSurv were used for validation in protein and methylation level respectively. RESULTS: We checked the survival effect of all 491 IFNs response genes, and found 54 genes characterized with significant hazard ratio in overall survival (OS). By protein-protein interaction analysis, 10 hub genes were selected out for subsequent study. And based on the expression of these 10 genes, GBM patients could be divided into two subgroups with significant difference in OS. Furthermore, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator cox regression model was utilized to construct a multigene risk signature, including STAT3, STAT2 and SOCS3, which could serve as an independent prognostic predictor for GBM. The risk model was validated in two independent GBM cohorts. The GBM patients with high risk scores mainly concentrated in the GBM Mesenchymal subtype. The higher risk group was enriched in hypoxia, angiogenesis, EMT, glycolysis and immune pathways, and had increased Macrophage M2 infiltration and high expression of immune checkpoint CD274 (namely PD-L1). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed the three-gene risk model could be an independent prognostic predictor for GBM, and they were crucial participants in immunosuppressive microenvironment of GBM.

The right prefrontal cortex (PFC) can distinguish anxious depression from non-anxious depression: A promising functional near infrared spectroscopy study (fNIRS).

BACKGROUND: Anxious depression is a serious mental disorder characterized by comorbidity of anxiety and depression, and its symptoms are similar to those of non-anxious depression. This study aimed to use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) as a tool to distinguish between patients with anxious and non-anxious depression based on differences in hemodynamic changes in the right prefrontal cortex during the verbal fluency task. It is helpful to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the two disorders to further promote their therapeutic effect and prognosis. METHODS: A total of 105 subjects, comprising 39 patients with anxious depression, 32 patients with non-anxious depression, and 32 healthy controls, were evaluated using 53-channel fNIRS and the Depression and Anxiety Clinical Scale. RESULTS: Hemodynamic activation was significantly enhanced in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and right frontopole cortex (FPC) in the anxious depressed group compared with the non-anxious depressed and healthy groups. LIMITATIONS: First, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to evaluate the scores of anxiety and depression among the three groups in our study. Different scales may result in different research results. Therefore, other scales (HAM, the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale, or the Beck Depression Inventory) should be used for further verification. Second, although all the samples we have chosen were patients with the diagnosis of anxious depression or no-anxious depression, we did not distinguish between different severity of anxious depression or no-anxious depression. Third, pure anxiety was not included as the control condition in our study. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant differences in activation patterns of the right DLPFC and right FPC areas between patients with and without anxious depression. Moreover, the right FPC area is promising as a brain region to assess the severity of anxious depression. fNIRS may be a potential tool to improve diagnostic accuracy for both disorders.

Advances in immunotherapy and molecular targeted therapy of gestational trophoblastic tumor: current practice and future perspectives.

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) is a rare pregnancy-related gynecological malignancy caused by abnormal proliferation of placental trophoblastic cells. It can invade the uterine muscle layer and metastasize early, more common in women of childbearing age. GTN is invasive and can destroy surrounding tissues and blood vessels, causing massive bleeding in uterus and metastatic sites (such as lung, liver, brain, etc.) through blood transfer. Chemotherapy is the main treatment for GTN, and the disease is extremely sensitive to chemotherapy and can be cured by chemotherapy. However, in clinical practice, a large number of patients have failed chemotherapy or even multiple treatments due to drug resistance, recurrence or metastasis of special sites. Therefore, how to individually select the initial chemotherapy regimen and reduce the occurrence of drug resistance is the key to the treatment of high-risk GTN. With the remarkable efficacy of immunotherapy in endometrial cancer, cervical cancer and other diseases, the research on GTN has been further deepened. Therefore, this review discusses the mechanism, methods and efficacy of GTN immunotherapy and molecular targeted therapy, in order to provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of GTN.

High-Throughput Chinmedomics Strategy Discovers the Quality Markers and Mechanisms of Wutou Decoction Therapeutic for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Wutou decoction (WTD) is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and this study systematically analyzed the metabolic mechanism and key pharmacodynamic components of WTD in RA rats by combining untargeted metabolomics and serum pharmacochemistry of traditional Chinese medicine to enrich the evidence of WTD quality markers (Q-markers) studies. WTD prevented synovial edema in RA rats and reduced tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin 6 levels in rat serum, according to the results of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent examination and histopathological inspection. In model rats, pattern recognition and multivariate statistical analysis revealed 24 aberrant metabolites that disrupted linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, etc. However, continued dosing of WTD for 28 days reversed 13 abnormal metabolites, which may be an important therapeutic mechanism from a metabolomic perspective. Importantly, 12 prototypical components and 16 metabolites from WTD were characterized in RA rat serum. The results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that aconitine, L-ephedrine, L-methylephedrine, quercetin, albiflorin, paeoniflorigenone, astragaline A, astragaloside II, glycyrrhetic acid, glycyrrhizic acid, licurazide, and isoliquiritigenin are the key pharmacological components that regulate the metabolism of RA rats, and they are identified as Q-markers. In sum, utilizing metabolomics and serum pharmacochemistry of traditional Chinese medicine, the metabolic mechanisms and Q-markers of WTD therapy in RA rats were revealed, providing a theoretical basis for the quality control investigation of WTD.