One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of silicon, nitrogen co-doped carbon dots for enhancing enzyme activity of acid phosphatase (ACP) to dopamine and for cell imaging.

Developing water-soluble nanomaterials with high photoluminescence emission and high yield for biological analysis and imaging is urgently needed. Herein, water-soluble blue emitting silicon and nitrogen co-doped carbon dots (abbreviated as Si-CDs) of a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 80 % were effectively prepared with high yield rate (59.1 %) via one-step hydrothermal treatment of N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine (DAMO) and trans-aconitic acid. Furthermore, the Si-CDs demonstrate environmental robustness, photo-stability and biocompatibility. Given the importance of the potentially abnormal levels of acid phosphatase (ACP) in cancer diagnosis, developing a reliable and sensitive ACP measurement method is of significance for clinical research. The Si-CDs unexpectedly promote the catalytic oxidation of ACP on dopamine (DA) to polydopamine under acidic conditions through the produced reactive oxygen species (ROS). Correspondingly, a fluorescence response strategy using Si-CDs as the dual functions of probes and promoting enzyme activity of ACP on catalyzing DA was constructed to sensitively determine ACP. The quantitative analysis of ACP displayed a linear range of 0.1-60 U/L with a detection limit of 0.056 U/L. The accurate detection of ACP was successfully achieved in human serum through recovery tests. As a satisfactory fluorescent probe, Si-CDs were successfully applied to fluorescent imaging of A549 cells in cytoplasmic with long-term and safe staining. The Si-CDs have the dual properties of outstanding fluorescent probes and auxiliary oxidase activity, indicating their great potential in multifunctional applications.

Microplastics in the human body: A comprehensive review of exposure, distribution, migration mechanisms, and toxicity.

Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive across ecosystems, presenting substantial risks to human health. Developing a comprehensive review of MPs is crucial due to the growing evidence of their widespread presence and potential harmful effects. Despite the growth in research, considerable uncertainties persist regarding their transport dynamics, prevalence, toxicological impacts, and the potential long-term health effects they may cause. This review thoroughly evaluates recent advancements in research on MPs and their implications for human health, including estimations of human exposure through ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact. It also quantifies the distribution and accumulation of MPs in various organs and tissues. The review discusses the mechanisms enabling MPs to cross biological barriers and the role of particle size in their translocation. To ensure methodological rigor, this review adheres to the PRISMA guidelines, explicitly detailing the literature search strategy, inclusion criteria, and the quality assessment of selected studies. The review concludes that MPs pose significant toxicological risks, identifies critical gaps in current knowledge, and recommends future research directions to elucidate the prolonged effects of MPs on human health. This work aims to offer a scientific framework for mitigating MP-related hazards and establishes a foundation for ongoing investigation.

Stress-induced epinephrine promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression via the USP10-PLAGL2 signaling loop.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with a poor prognosis. Our previous study demonstrated that Pleomorphic adenoma gene like-2 (PLAGL2) was a potential therapeutic target in HCC. However, the mechanisms that lead to the upregulation of PLAGL2 in HCC remain unclear. The present study revealed that stress-induced epinephrine increased the expression of PLAGL2, thereby promoting the progression of HCC. Furthermore, PLAGL2 knockdown inhibited epinephrine-induced HCC development. Mechanistically, epinephrine upregulated ubiquitin-specific protease 10 (USP10) to stabilize PLAGL2 via the adrenergic ß-receptor-2-c-Myc (ADRB2-c-Myc) axis. Furthermore, PLAGL2 acted as a transcriptional regulator of USP10, forming a signaling loop. Taken together, these results reveal that stress-induced epinephrine activates the PLAGL2-USP10 signaling loop to enhance HCC progression. Furthermore, PLAGL2 plays a crucial role in psychological stress-mediated promotion of HCC progression.

The neighborhood effects on the online financial investment of rural households: Evidence from China.

Neighborhood effects are a common strategy for rural households to deal with irrational situations such as deficient information and ability. Based on the 2019 CHFS survey data, we designed a Probit model to verify whether neighborhood effects exist in the online financial investment of rural households. Our paper constructs a multiple mediation model to explore its mechanism. Otherwise, we execute the heterogeneity analysis by dividing the total sample into groups. Our paper proved that (1) Rural households have significant neighborhood effects on online financial investment. (2) Heterogeneity analysis shows that neighborhood effects are stronger among women, the younger, low-education, and low-income rural households. (3) Through the multiple mediation model, we proved that the neighborhood effects on online financial investment of the peasant household work by the financial knowledge spillover and risk-taking enhancement. Our study conduces to a better understanding of the financial decision-making of rural households, which may provide a practical implication for the popularization of new financial products and the optimal design of policy interventions.

Metabolic labeling-mediated visualization, capture, and inactivation of Gram-positive bacteria via biotin-streptavidin interactions.

We introduce a biotinylated D-amino acid probe capable of metabolically incorporating into bacterial PG. Leveraging the robust affinity between biotin and streptavidin, the probe has demonstrated efficacy in imaging, capture, and targeted inactivation of Gram-positive bacteria through synergistic pairings with commercially available streptavidin-modified fluorescent dyes and nanomaterials. The versatility of the probe is underscored by its compatibility with a variety of commercially available streptavidin-modified reagents. This adaptability allows the probe to be applied across diverse scenarios by integrating with these commercial reagents.

Prevalence of prediabetes by the fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c screening criteria among the children and adolescents of Shenzhen, China.

Background: Prediabetes is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality. Rare research in China has evaluated the prevalence of prediabetes among children and adolescents using the HbA1c criterion or the combined FPG-or-HbA1c diagnostic criterion, and researchers paid no attention to the distributions of blood glucose in Shenzhen, especially for juveniles. Methods: We conducted a school-based cross-sectional study based on the first-year students from 17 primary, middle, and high schools. Prediabetes was defined as FPG of 5.6-6.9 mmol/L or HbA1c of 5.7%-6.4%. The crude and standardized prevalence of prediabetes with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was estimated. Results: A total of 7519 participants, aged 6 to 17 years, were included. For all subjects, the crude prevalence (95% CI) of prediabetes was 1.49% (1.21-1.77), 8.72% (8.08-9.36), and 9.80% (9.13-10.47) by the FPG-only, HbA1c-only, and FPG-or-HbA1c criteria, respectively. Based on the 2010 Shenzhen census population, the standardized prevalence was 1.56% (males 1.85%, females 1.19%), 11.05% (males 11.47%, females 10.53%), and 12.19% (males 13.01%, females 11.15%) by the corresponding criteria. The proportion of prediabetes was higher for males than females, and the prevalence decreased with grade for males but increased for females. The association of BMI and prediabetes was U-shaped curve, indicating higher rates of prediabetes for underweight and obesity people. Conclusion: The blood glucose status of children and adolescents in Shenzhen is worrisome, and the early detection and management of prediabetes are imperative.

The value of microvascular Doppler ultrasound technique, qualitative or quantitative shear-wave elastography of breast lesions for predicting axillary nodal burden in patients with breast cancer.

Background: The status of the axillary lymph node (ALN) in patients with breast cancer can critically inform clinical decision-making and prognosis. Preoperative evaluation of limited nodal burden (0-2 metastatic ALNs) and high nodal burden (≥3 metastatic ALNs) is vital for individual treatment in patients with breast cancer. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the value of Angio-PLUS (AP; Aixplorer, SuperSonic Imagine) and the qualitative and quantitative shear-wave elastography (SWE) of breast lesions to predict limited or high axillary nodal burden and to develop a model for predicting limited or high axillary nodal burden. Methods: From March 2020 to November 2022, a total of 232 consecutive patients with breast cancer comprising 232 breast lesions were enrolled retrospectively from Yueyang Central Hospital. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), accuracy, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of AP, qualitative SWE, quantitative SWE, and the predictive model for evaluating limited or high axillary nodal burden were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in AP patterns between the limited nodal burden group and high nodal burden group. The best cutoff values of Emin (the minimal value of the first Q-box), Emean (the mean value of the first Q-box), Emax (the maximum value of the first Q-box), Eratio (ratio of the first Q-Box and the second Q-Box) and standard deviation for predicting limited or high nodal burden were 80.85 KPa, 133.45 KPa, 153.40 KPa, 9.95, and 19.25 KPa, respectively. The Emax had the highest AUC, and its sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, accuracy, and AUC were 71.64%, 56.36%, 40.00%, 83.04%, 60.78%, and 0.640 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.575-0.702], respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, accuracy, and AUC of seven color patterns for qualitative SWE were 71.64%, 74.55%, 53.33%, 86.62%, 73.71%, and 0.731 (95% CI: 0.669-0.787), respectively, which was significantly higher than all the other quantitative SWE parameters. ALN evaluation in ultrasound and qualitative SWE were independent risk factors for predicting limited or high nodal burden according to a binary logistics regression analysis. The AUC of the predictive model based on independent risk factors was 0.820 (95% CI: 0.765-0.867), which was significantly higher than that of the other independent risk factors. Conclusions: The seven color patterns in the qualitative SWE of breast lesions were valuable for predicting limited or high nodal burden for patients with breast cancer. Compared with quantitative SWE, qualitative SWE exhibited a better diagnostic performance. Breast lesions present no findings, vertical stripes, and spot patterns were important indicators for limited nodal burden. The predictive model developed in this study could be a simple, noninvasive, and convenient method for predicting limited or high nodal burden, which would be beneficial for clinical decision-making and individual treatment to improve prognosis.

Effects of polyethylene microplastics and heavy metals on soil-plant microbial dynamics.

Polyethylene (PE) microplastics are emerging pollutants that pose a significant threat to the environment and human health. However, little is known about the effects of PEs on soil‒plant interactions, especially in heavy metal (HM)-contaminated soil. In this study, the effects of PE on rhizosphere soil enzyme activities, microbial interactions and nutrient cycling processes were analyzed from ecological network and functional gene perspectives for the first time. The results indicated that PE-MP addition significantly reduced the biomass of Bidens pilosa L. In addition, the partial increase in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus enzyme activities suggested that the effects of PE as a carbon source on microbial functions in HM-contaminated soil should not be ignored. The average path length of bacterial network nodes was found to be higher than that of fungal network nodes, demonstrating that the bacterial ecological network in PE-MP and HM cocontaminated environments has good buffering capacity against changes in external environmental conditions. Furthermore, structural equation modeling demonstrated that particle size and dosage affect soil nutrient cycling processes and that cycling processes are acutely aware of changes in any factor, such as soil moisture, soil pH and soil nitrogen nutrients. Hence, PE-MP addition in HM-contaminated soil has the potential to alter soil ecological functions and nutrient cycles.

3-Hydroxythiophenol-Formaldehyde Resin Microspheres Modulated by Sulfhydryl Groups for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Synthesis of H2 O2.

Resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin represents a promising visible-light responding photocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) toward H2 O2 production. However, its photocatalytic ORR activity toward H2 O2 generation is still unsatisfied for practical application. Herein, 3-hydroxythiophenol-formaldehyde (3-HTPF) resin microspheres synthesized through polycondensation reaction between 3-HTP and formaldehyde at room temperature and subsequent hydrothermal treatment exhibit enhanced photocatalytic ORR activity is reported. The experimental results show that the partial substitution of hydroxy group (─OH) by sulfhydryl one (─SH) through using 3-HTP to replace resorcinol could slow the rates of nucleation and growth of the resin particles and lead to strongly π-stacked architecture in 3-HTPF. The introduction of ─SH group can also improve adsorption ability of 3-HTPF to O2 molecules and enhance ORR catalytic activity of the photocatalysts. Stronger built-in electric field, better adsorption ability to O2 molecules, and increased surface catalytic activity collectively boost photocatalytic activity of 3-HTPF microspheres. As a result, H2 O2 production rate of 2010 µm h-1 is achieved over 3-HTPF microspheres at 273 K, which is 3.4 times larger than that obtained using RF submicrospheres (591 µm h-1 ). The rational substituent group modulation provides a new strategy for designing polymeric photocatalysts at the molecular level toward high-efficiency artificial photosynthesis.

Nomogram for predicting survival in patients with mucinous breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy and surgery: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with mucinous breast cancer (MuBC) is affected by several factors, but the low incidence of MuBC makes it difficult to conduct extensive and in-depth studies. This study was designed to establish a prognostic model and verify its accuracy in patients with MuBC after chemotherapy and surgery to help develop personalized treatment strategies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with MuBC who underwent chemotherapy and surgery from 2004 to 2015 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The prognostic factors of patients with MuBC were investigated using a Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Based on the identified factors, a nomogram was constructed to forecast the overall survival (OS) of patients at 3, 5, and 10 years. Internal (from SEER) and external (from Yunnan Cancer Center, YNCC) verification queues were used to verify the nomogram and demonstrate the predictive capacity of this model. RESULTS: The study comprised 1668 MuBC patients from the SEER database and 107 from the YNCC. The nomogram included four characteristics: age, anatomical stage, surgical method, and radiotherapy. The concordance indices in the training, internal verification, and external verification queues were 0.680, 0.768, and 0.864, respectively. The calibration curves for the nomogram showed excellent agreement between the predictions and observations. This nomogram has good clinical application value according to the decision curve analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of patients with MuBC who have undergone chemotherapy and surgery can be forecasted using this nomogram, which would be beneficial to help create individualized treatment plans for the affected patients.

Quantitative proteomic analysis of the mechanism of Cd toxicity in Enterobacter sp. FM-1: Comparison of different growth stages.

Enterobacter sp. are widely used in bioremediation, but the mechanism of Cadmium (Cd) toxicity in Enterobacter sp. has been poorly studied. In the present study, we determined the tolerance of Enterobacter sp. FM-1 to Cd by analyzing the physiological and biochemical responses of FM-1 induced under Cd stress. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) under exposure to different Cd environments were analyzed by 4D-label-free proteomics to provide a comprehensive understanding of Cd toxicity in FM-1. The greatest total number of DEPs, 1148, was found in the High concentration vs. Control comparison group at 10 h. When protein expression was compared after different incubation times, FM-1 showed the highest Cd tolerance at 48 h. Additionally, with an increasing incubation time, different comparison groups gradually began to show similar growth patterns, which was reflected in the GO enrichment analysis. Notably, only 815 proteins were identified in the High concentration vs. Control group, and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that these proteins were significantly enriched in the pyruvate metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, peroxisome, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, and citrate cycle pathways. These results suggested that an increased incubation time allows FM-1 adapt and survive in an environment with Cd toxicity, and protein expression significantly increased in response to oxidative stress in a Cd-contaminated environment during the pre-growth period. This study provides new perspectives on bacterial participation in bioremediation and expands our understanding of the mechanism of bacterial resistance under Cd exposure.

CaFe-layered double hydroxide corn straw biochar reduced heavy metal uptake by Brassica campestris L. and Ipomoea aquatic F.: Rhizosphere effects and oxidative stress alleviation.

In the present study, CaFe-layered double hydroxide corn straw biochar (CaFe-LDH@CSB) was applied to the rhizosphere soil of both pakchoi (Brassica campestris L. ssp. Chinensis Makino, B. campestris L.) and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic F., I. aquatic F.) to explore and clarify the potential mechanism by which CaFe-LDH@CSB helps vegetables reduce heavy metal (HM) uptake and alleviate oxidative stress. Pot experiments were conducted with CaFe-LDH@CSB applied at four levels: control (CK), T1 (5 g kg-1), T2 (10 g kg-1) and T3 (20 g kg-1). The results indicated that the application of CaFe-LDH@CSB significantly increased pH and decreased the acid-soluble forms of Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu in the rhizosphere soil of both B. campestris L. and I. aquatic F.; decreases of 39.4%, 18.0%, 10.0% and 33.3% in B. campestris L. and of 26.6%, 49.1%, 13.2% and 36.8% in I. aquatic F., respectively, were observed at the T3 level. Moreover, CaFe-LDH@CSB application reduced HM uptake by B. campestris L. and decreased HM-induced oxidative stress through the regulation of soil physicochemical properties and microbial abundance. For B. campestris L., variations in Sordariomycetes helped alleviate the accumulation of HMs in the aerial part, while GSH and -SH from the nonenzymatic system played an important role in scavenging H2O2 in leaves, thus helping B. campestris L. alleviate HM-induced oxidative stress. For I. aquatica F., variations in Vicinamibacteria and Mortierellomycetes helped alleviate the accumulation of HMs in plants, while GSH and PCs from nonenzymatic systems played an important role in removing ·O2- in leaves, thereby helping I. aquatica F. alleviate HM-induced oxidation stress. Our study indicated that the application of CaFe-LDH@CSB improved the rhizosphere soil environment and rebuilt the soil microbial community, helping B. campestris L. and I. aquatica F. alleviate HM-induced oxidative stress and promoting the growth of both vegetables.

A prognostic nomogram based on risk assessment for invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast after surgery.

PURPOSE: Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) is one of the rare subtypes of breast cancer. This study aimed to explore a predictive nomogram model for IMPC prognosis. METHODS: A total of 1855 IMPC patients diagnosed after surgery between 2004 and 2014 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database to build and validate nomogram. A nomogram was created based on univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to demonstrate the accuracy of the prognostic model. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed to evaluate the safety of the model in the range of clinical applications, while calibration curves were used to validate the prediction consistency. RESULTS: Cox regression analysis indicated that age ≥62 at diagnosis, negative ER status, and tumor stage were considered adverse independent factors for overall survival (OS), while patients who were married, white or of other races, received chemotherapy or radiotherapy, had a better postoperative prognosis. The nomogram accurately predicted OS with high internal and external validation consistency index (C index) (0.756 and 0.742, respectively). The areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) of the training group were 0.787, 0.774 and 0.764 for 3, 5 and 10 years, respectively, while those of the validation group were 0.756, 0.766 and 0.762, respectively. The results of both DCA and calibration curves demonstrated the good performance of the model. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram for IMPC of the breast patients after surgery was developed to estimate 3, 5 and 10 years-OS based on independent risk factors. This model has good accuracy and consistency in predicting prognosis and has clinical application value.

Development and validation of novel risk prediction models of breast cancer based on stanniocalcin-1 level.

PURPOSE: The function of stanniocalcin-1 (STC-1) in the oncogenesis and progression of tumors has been extensively studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between secreted STC-1 and prognosis in patients with breast cancer (BC) and to determine whether STC-1 could be a key prognostic factor in BC. METHODS: The STC-1 level was measured by ELISA and clinical data from 1210 female patients with BC were used to develop and validate nomograms. We then verified the models through the plotting of ROC curves and calibration curves, calculating the C-index, and performing decision curve analyses (DCA). RESULTS: The level of STC-1 in the peripheral plasma was significantly correlated with the T stage, N stage, clinical stage, grade, hormone receptors, HER-2 status, and tumor subtype. Cox regression analyses revealed that estrogen receptor(ER) status, N stage, and STC-1 level were risk factors for overall survival (OS), whereas T stage, N stage, and STC-1 level were independent prognostic factors for distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Both the ROC curve and the C-index confirmed the high resolution of these models, while the DCA identified the feasibility of their practical application. In addition, the calibration curves indicated good consistency between the predicted and actual survival rates. CONCLUSION: Nomograms were created based on STC-1 levels for 3-, 5-, and 7-year OS, DDFS, and DFS of patients with BC respectively. As a key prognostic factor for BC, peripheral blood STC-1 level can be used clinically as a liquid biopsy indicator.

Investigations on the Phase Transformations, Equilibria and Athermal ω in Ni-Ga-Cr Ternary System.

In the present work, the phase equilibria of the Ni-Ga-Cr ternary system at 850, 1000 and 1150 °C were experimentally investigated to provide the essential data for developing the high-entropy shape memory alloys (HESMAs) containing Ni, Ga and Cr. At 850 °C, in the Ni-rich portion, the B2 phase shows equilibrium with the L12 phase when the Cr content is less than 10.49 at. %, while displaying the equilibrium with L12 and BCC phases when the Cr content increases. The B2 + L12 + BCC changes into B2 + FCC + BCC three-phase equilibria from 850 to 1150 °C, as the L12 phase region becomes narrow with rising temperature. The two-phase equilibrium, B2 + BCC, was found at all the isothermal sections investigated. Other three-phase equilibria were also discovered: B2 + α-Cr3Ga + BCC and Ni2Ga3 + α-Cr3Ga + L at 850 °C, and B2 + α-Cr3Ga + L at 1000 °C. Significantly, an athermal ω intermetallic compound with the space group of P3¯m1 was observed distributing at the B2 phase in the quenched Ni45.98-Ga25.50-Cr28.52, Ni42.23-Ga15.70-Cr42.07 and Ni16.54-Ga13.63-Cr69.83 (at. %) alloys after being annealed at 1150 °C for 10 days. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results reveal that the ω shows a crystallographic orientation of [11¯0]B2//[112¯0]ω; (111)B2//(0001)ω with the B2 parent phase.

Enantiodiscrimination of chiral molecules via quantum correlation function.

We propose a method to realize enantiodiscrimination of chiral molecules based on quantum correlation function in a driven cavity-molecule system, where the chiral molecule is coupled with a quantized cavity field and two classical light fields to form a cyclic three-level model. According to the inherent properties of electric-dipole transition moments of chiral molecules, there is a π-phase difference in the overall phase of the cyclic three-level model for the left- and right-handed chiral molecules. Thus, the correlation function depends on this overall phase and is chirality-dependent. The analytical and numerical results indicate that the left- and right-handed chiral molecules can be discriminated by detecting quantum correlation function. Our work opens up a promising route to discriminate molecular chirality, which is an extremely important task in pharmacology and biochemistry.

COVID-19 vaccination influences subtypes of γδ-T cells during pregnancy.

Up to now, there has been insufficient clinical data to support the safety and effects of vaccination on pregnancy post COVID-19 vaccination. The γδ-T cells are considered an important component in the immune system to fight against viral infection and exhibit critical roles throughout the pregnancy period. However, the immunological roles of γδ-T cells in pregnant women with the COVID-19 vaccination remain unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the alteration of frequency and expression pattern of activation receptors and inhibitory receptors in γδ-T cell and its subsets in peripheral blood samples collected from non-pregnant vaccinated women, vaccinated pregnant women, and unvaccinated pregnant women. Our findings indicated that the frequency of CD3+γδ-T+ cells is lower in vaccinated pregnant women than in unvaccinated pregnant women. But no significant difference was found in the frequency of CD3+γδ-T+ cells between non-pregnant vaccinated women and vaccinated pregnant women. In addition, there were no significant differences in the frequencies of CD3+γδ-T+Vδ1+T cells, CD3+γδ-T+Vδ2+T cells, CD3+γδ-T+Vδ1-Vδ2-T cells, and Vδ1+T cell/Vδ2+T cell ratio between the pregnant women with or without COVID-19 vaccination. Similar results were found after comparing non-pregnant and pregnant women who received the COVID-19 vaccine. However, there was a significant difference in the fraction of Vδ1-Vδ2-T cells in CD3+γδ-T+ cells between non-pregnant vaccinated women and vaccinated pregnant women. The frequency of NKG2D+ cells in Vδ2+T cells was not significantly different in the vaccinated pregnant women when compared to that in unvaccinated pregnant women or non-pregnant vaccinated women. But the percentage of NKG2D+ cells in Vδ1+T cells was the lowest in pregnant women after COVID-19 vaccination. Furthermore, down-regulation of NKP46 and NKP30 were found in Vδ2+T and Vδ1+T cells in the vaccinated pregnant women, respectively. After the vaccination, up-regulation of PD-1 expression in Vδ1+T cells and Vδ2+T cells indicated γδ-T cells could respond to COVID-19 vaccination and display an exhausted phenotype following activation. In conclusion, COVID-19 vaccination influences subtypes of γδ-T cells during pregnancy, but the side effects might be limited. The phenotypical changes of Vδ1+T cells and Vδ2+T cells will be a promising predictor for evaluating the clinical outcome of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Roles and mechanisms of phosphoglycerate kinase 1 in cancer.

Phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) catalyzes the conversion of 1,3-bisphosphoglyceride (1,3-BPG) and ADP into 3-phosphate (3-PG) and ATP, which is a key process of glycolysis. PGK1 is considered a major regulator of various events, including one-carbon metabolism, serine biosynthesis and cell redox regulation. In the past decade, PGK1 has been found to be closely associated with various malignancies, making it a potential therapeutic target. PGK1 is involved in a series of biological processes related to tumorigenesis through post-translational modifications and various signaling pathways. PGK1 not only can participate in glucose metabolism but also acts as a protein kinase to participate in EMT, autophagy, angiogenesis, DNA replication and other processes related to tumor development. However, PGK1 also acts as a disulfide reductase to inhibit tumor by affecting angiogenesis. Exploring the structure, function and posttranslational modification of PGK1 will be helpful in further understanding the effect of metabolism on tumor progression. This manuscript reviews the role and mechanism of PGK1 in human malignancies, providing the theoretical basis for PGK1 as a possible clinical anticancer target.

Prognostic Factor Analysis and Model Construction of Triple-Negative Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma After Surgery.

Objective: The study aimed to analyze the prognostic factors of patients with triple-negative (TN) metaplastic breast carcinoma (MpBC) after surgery and to construct a nomogram for forecasting the 3-, 5-, and 8-year overall survival (OS). Methods: A total of 998 patients extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were assigned to either the training or validation group at random in a ratio of 7:3. The clinical characteristics of patients in the training and validation sets were compared, and multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk variables for the OS of patients with TN MpBC after surgery. These selected parameters were estimated through the Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves using the log-rank test. The nomogram for predicting the OS was constructed and validated by performing the concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves with area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC), calibration curves, and decision curve analyses (DCAs). Patients were then stratified as high-risk and low-risk, and KM curves were performed. Results: Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that factors including age, marital status, clinical stage at diagnosis, chemotherapy, and regional node status were independent predictors of prognosis in patients with MpBC after surgery. Separate KM curves for the screened variables revealed the same statistical results as with Cox regression analysis. A prediction model was created and virtualized via nomogram based on these findings. For the training and validation cohorts, the C-index of the nomogram was 0.730 and 0.719, respectively. The AUC values of the 3-, 5-, and 8-year OS were 0.758, 0.757, and 0.785 in the training group, and 0.736, 0.735, and 0.736 for 3, 5, and 8 years in the validation group, respectively. The difference in the OS between the real observation and the forecast was quite constant according to the calibration curves. The generated clinical applicability of the nomogram was further demonstrated by the DCA analysis. In all the training and validation sets, the KM curves for the different risk subgroups revealed substantial differences in survival probabilities (P <0.001). Conclusion: The study showed a nomogram that was built from a parametric survival model based on the SEER database, which can be used to make an accurate prediction of the prognosis of patients with TN MpBC after surgery.

Phenotypic Changes of Peripheral γδ T Cell and Its Subsets in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.

Coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CAD) is a chronic inflammatory cardiovascular disease with high morbidity and mortality. Growing data indicate that many immune cells are involved in the development of atherosclerosis. However, the immunological roles of γδ T cells in the initiation and progression of CAD are not fully understood. Here, we used flow cytometry to determine phenotypical changes of γδ T cells and their subpopulations in peripheral blood samples collected from 37 CAD patients. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship between the clinical parameter (serum LDL-C level) and the changes of immunophenotypes of γδ T cells. Our results demonstrated that the frequencies and absolute numbers of total γδ T cells and Vδ2+ T cells were significantly decreased in CAD patients when compared to healthy individuals. However, the proportion of Vδ1+ T cells was much lower in CAD patients than that of healthy individuals. Most importantly, a significant alteration of the Vδ1/Vδ2 ratio was found in CAD patients. In addition, a series of surface markers that are associated with costimulatory signals (CD28, CD40L, CD80, CD86), activation levels (CD69, CD25, HLA-DR), activating NK cell receptors (NKp30, NKp46, NKG2D) and inhibitory receptors (PD-1, CTLA-4, PD-1, Tim-3) were determined and then analyzed in the total γδ T cells, Vδ2+T cells and Vδ2-T cells of CAD patients and healthy individuals. The data demonstrated that immunological activities of total γδ T cells, Vδ2+T cells, and Vδ2-T cells of CAD patients were much lower than those in healthy individuals. Moreover, we found that there were positive correlations between the serum LDL-C levels and frequencies of CD3+γδ+ T cells, CD69+Vδ2+T cells, NKG2D+Vδ2+T cells, and NKp46+Vδ2+T cells. By contrast, there was an inverse correlation between the levels of serum LDL-C and the frequencies of CD69+Vδ2-T cells and NKp46+Vδ2-T cells. Accordingly, these findings could help us to better understand the roles of γδ T cells in the CAD, and shed light on the development of novel diagnostic techniques and therapeutic strategies by targeting γδ T cells for CAD patients.