The Application of Pneumatic Arm in Neuroendoscopic Transsphenoidal Pituitary Adenoma Resection.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the application experience of the pneumatic arm in transnasal sphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection under neuroendoscope. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 52 patients with pituitary adenoma who underwent endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery with pneumatic arm fixation in the Neurosurgery Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from July 2021 to March 2024. Among them, there were 5 cases of pituitary microadenoma, 35 cases of macroadenoma, and 12 cases of giant adenoma. Head CT and a full set of hormones were re-examined within 24 hours after surgery to evaluate the surgical effect. Follow-up was conducted by the outpatient department after surgery to assess the clinical symptoms, hormone level, and imaging of all patients. RESULTS: Among 52 patients, gross total resection was achieved in 48 cases (92.3%), subtotal resection in 3 cases (5.8%), and partial resection in 1 case (1.9%). Preoperatively, 43 patients had diminished vision, with 40 showing improvement postoperatively, 1 worsening, and 2 having no significant improvement. Thirty-eight patients had headaches preoperatively, and all showed varying degrees of improvement postoperatively. Routine hormone examination within 24 hours after surgery showed that all 20 prolactinoma patients had restored normal hormone levels, 10 of 12 growth hormone-secreting adenoma patients normalized, and 4 of 6 cases of adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting adenoma immediately relieved after surgery. Postoperative complications included intracranial hematoma in 1 case, cerebrospinal fluid leakage in 2 cases, transient diabetes insipidus in 6 cases, intracranial infection in 1 case, and no death cases. The median follow-up time of 52 patients was 18.6 months (range: 1-32 mo). During the follow-up period, the initial clinical symptoms of all patients improved to varying degrees, and they were able to work and live normally. At the last follow-up, 1 patient had recurrent tumor and 1 patient had progression. CONCLUSION: Transnasal sphenoidal resection of pituitary adenoma using a pneumatic arm-fixed neuroendoscope allows the operator to perform the surgery with both hands, resulting in satisfactory overall tumor resection and fewer surgical complications. This technique has good clinical value for promotion.

Vasoprotective Effects of Hyperoside against Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rats: Activation of Large-Conductance Ca2+-Activated K+ Channels.

Hyperoside (Hyp), a kind of Chinese herbal medicine, exerts multiple therapeutic effects on many diseases. However, the role and mechanisms of Hyp in vascular pathophysiology in ischemic stroke need to be further established. The study aimed to investigate the role of (large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+) BK channels on the vasoprotection of Hyp against cerebral ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. The concentration gradient of Hyp was pretreated in both the middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion model and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) model of primary vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in rats. A series of indicators were detected, including neurological deficit score, infarct volume, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), cerebral blood flow (CBF), cell viability, membrane potential, and BK channels α- and ß1-subunits expression. The results showed that Hyp significantly reduced infarct volume and ameliorated neurological dysfunction in I/R-injured rats. Besides, the effects of I/R-induced reduction of BK channels α- and ß1-subunits expression were significantly reversed by Hyp in endothelial-denudated cerebral basilar arteries. Furthermore, the protective effect against I/R-induced increases of MDA and reduction of SOD as well as CBF induced by Hyp was significantly reversed by iberiotoxin (IbTX). In OGD/R-injured VSMCs, downregulated cellular viability and BK channels ß1-subunits expression were remarkably reversed by Hyp. However, neither OGD/R nor Hyp affected BK channels α-subunits expression, and Hyp failed to induced hyperpolarization of VSMCs. Moreover, the protective effect against OGD/R-induced reduction of cell viability and SOD level and increases of MDA production induced by Hyp was significantly reversed by IbTX in VSMCs. The study indicates that Hyp has the therapeutic potential to improve vascular outcomes, and the mechanism is associated with suppressing oxidative stress and improving CBF through upregulating BK channels.

Single cell sequencing revealed the mechanism of CRYAB in glioma and its diagnostic and prognostic value.

Background: We explored the characteristics of single-cell differentiation data in glioblastoma and established prognostic markers based on CRYAB to predict the prognosis of glioblastoma patients. Aberrant expression of CRYAB is associated with invasive behavior in various tumors, including glioblastoma. However, the specific role and mechanisms of CRYAB in glioblastoma are still unclear. Methods: We assessed RNA-seq and microarray data from TCGA and GEO databases, combined with scRNA-seq data on glioma patients from GEO. Utilizing the Seurat R package, we identified distinct survival-related gene clusters in the scRNA-seq data. Prognostic pivotal genes were discovered through single-factor Cox analysis, and a prognostic model was established using LASSO and stepwise regression algorithms. Moreover, we investigated the predictive potential of these genes in the immune microenvironment and their applicability in immunotherapy. Finally, in vitro experiments confirmed the functional significance of the high-risk gene CRYAB. Results: By analyzing the ScRNA-seq data, we identified 28 cell clusters representing seven cell types. After dimensionality reduction and clustering analysis, we obtained four subpopulations within the oligodendrocyte lineage based on their differentiation trajectory. Using CRYAB as a marker gene for the terminal-stage subpopulation, we found that its expression was associated with poor prognosis. In vitro experiments demonstrated that knocking out CRYAB in U87 and LN229 cells reduced cell viability, proliferation, and invasiveness. Conclusion: The risk model based on CRYAB holds promise in accurately predicting glioblastoma. A comprehensive study of the specific mechanisms of CRYAB in glioblastoma would contribute to understanding its response to immunotherapy. Targeting the CRYAB gene may be beneficial for glioblastoma patients.

High Expression of CISD2 in Relation to Adverse Outcome and Abnormal Immune Cell Infiltration in Glioma.

Glioma is a serious disease burden globally, with high mortality and recurrence rates. CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 (CISD2) is an evolutionarily conserved protein that is involved in several cancers. However, its role in the prognosis and immune infiltration in glioma remains unclear. In our research, RNA-seq matrix and clinicopathological relevant data for CISD2 were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. Human Protein Atlas was used to verify the CISD2 protein level in glioma, and STRING was used to establish relative coexpression gene network. The Kaplan-Meier plotter was adopted to analyze the effect of CISD2 on prognosis. The connection between CISD2 expression and immune infiltration was analyzed using single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA), TIMER, and GEPIA. In contrast to normal tissues, CISD2 expression was significantly higher in glioma tissues, and CISD2 presented a certain diagnostic value in distinguishing glioma tissues from normal tissues. Furthermore, the CISD2 level was correlated with age, histologic grade, histological type, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status, 1p/19q codeletion status, and primary therapy outcome of glioma, while high CISD2 mRNA expression was correlated with grave overall survival. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that CISD2 was an independent risk factor for patients with glioma. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that CISD2 could regulate proliferation, immune reaction, and mitochondrial function. The results from the ssGSEA and TIMER databases confirmed that CISD2 acts a prominent role in immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment, especially in low-grade glioma (LGG). Furthermore, CISD2 expression was observably correlated to M2 polarization in macrophages with glioma progression. This is the first research to investigate the immune role of CISD2 in glioma. CISD2 may be an innovative prognostic biomarker and can act as a potential target for future therapy for glioma.