The resistance to anoikis, mediated by Spp1, and the evasion of immune surveillance facilitate the invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Anoikis-Related Genes (ARGs) lead to the organism manifesting resistance to anoikis and are associated with unfavorable prognostic outcomes across various malignancies.Therefore, it is crucial to identify the pivotal target genes related to anoikis in HCC .We found that ARGs were significantly correlated with prognosis and immune responses in HCC. The core gene, SPP1, notably promoted anoikis resistance and metastasis in HCC through both in vivo and in vitro studies. The PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway played a critical role in anoikis suppression within HCC contexts. Our research unveiled SPP1's role in enhancing PKCα phosphorylation, which in turn activated the PI3K-Akt-mTOR cascade. Additionally, SPP1 was identified as a key regulator of MDSCs and Tregs migration, directly affecting their immunosuppressive capabilities.These findings indicate that in HCC, SPP1 promoted anoikis resistance and facilitated immune evasion by modulating MDSCs and Tregs.

m6A reader YTHDF1 promotes cardiac fibrosis by enhancing AXL translation.

Cardiac fibrosis caused by ventricular remodeling and dysfunction such as post-myocardial infarction (MI) can lead to heart failure. RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation has been shown to play a pivotal role in the occurrence and development of many illnesses. In investigating the biological function of the m6A reader YTHDF1 in cardiac fibrosis, adeno-associated virus 9 was used to knock down or overexpress the YTHDF1 gene in mouse hearts, and MI surgery in vivo and transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß)-activated cardiac fibroblasts in vitro were performed to establish fibrosis models. Our results demonstrated that silencing YTHDF1 in mouse hearts can significantly restore impaired cardiac function and attenuate myocardial fibrosis, whereas YTHDF1 overexpression could further enhance cardiac dysfunction and aggravate the occurrence of ventricular pathological remodeling and fibrotic development. Mechanistically, zinc finger BED-type containing 6 mediated the transcriptional function of the YTHDF1 gene promoter. YTHDF1 augmented AXL translation and activated the TGF-ß-Smad2/3 signaling pathway, thereby aggravating the occurrence and development of cardiac dysfunction and myocardial fibrosis. Consistently, our data indicated that YTHDF1 was involved in activation, proliferation, and migration to participate in cardiac fibrosis in vitro. Our results revealed that YTHDF1 could serve as a potential therapeutic target for myocardial fibrosis.

Survival analysis and development of a prognostic nomogram for patients with hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background and aims: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a common cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in China, and this study aimed to identify high-risk factors for overall survival and develop a nomogram prediction model. Methods: In the present retrospective cohort study, patients with HBV-associated HCC diagnosed from January 2009 to December 2018 were enrolled. Their clinical characteristics and time-to-event information were retrieved from electronic medical records. The zero time was the date of HCC diagnosis, and the endpoint was death or liver transplantation. Multivariable COX proportional hazard regression was used to screen independent risk factors for overall survival; then a nomogram model was developed to predict the survival probability of HCC patients. Results: A total of 1723 patients were enrolled, with 82.7 % male and a median age of 54.0 years. During a median follow-up time of 41.3 months, 672 cases (39.0 %) died. Age ≥60 years (HR = 1.209), Male (HR = 1.293), ALB <35 g/L (HR = 1.491), AST ≥80 U/L (HR = 1.818); AFP 20-400 ng/mL (HR = 2.284), AFP ≥400 ng/mL (HR = 2.746); LSM 9-22 kPa (HR = 2.266), LSM ≥22 kPa (HR = 4.326); BCLC stage B/C (HR = 4.079) and BCLC stage D (HR = 16.830) were the independent high-risk factors associated with HCC survival. A prognostic nomogram with a consistency index of 0.842 (95 % CI: 0.827-0.858) was developed. The calibration curve for long-term survival rate fitted well. Conclusions: This study identified independent risk factors affecting the survival of patients with HBV-associated HCC and constructed a predictive nomogram model, which can individually predict the overall survival and has good clinical application value.

Autoimmunity associates with severity of illness in elderly patients with drug-induced liver injury.

Background: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a potentially serious adverse drug reaction. Due to the lack of definite etiology, specific clinical manifestations, and diagnostic methods, its prediction and diagnosis are challenging. Elderly individuals are deemed to be at high risk for DILI due to abnormal pharmacokinetics, aging tissue repair function, comorbidities, and taking multiple drugs. This study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics and explore the risk factors associated with the severity of illness in elderly patients with DILI. Methods: In the present study, the clinical characteristics at the time of liver biopsy of consecutive patients with biopsy-proven DILI who presented at our hospital from June 2005 to September 2022 were evaluated. Hepatic inflammation and fibrosis were assessed according to the Scheuer scoring system. The presence of autoimmunity was considered if IgG level >1.1 × ULN (1826 mg/dL), or high titer (>1:80) of ANA, or SMA. Results: In total, 441 patients were enrolled, and the median age was 63.3 years (IQR, 61.0-66.0); 122 (27.7%), 195 (44.2%), or 124 (28.1%) were classified as having minor, moderate, or severe hepatic inflammation, respectively; and 188 (42.6%), 210 (47.6%) or 43 (9.8%) patients presented minor, significant fibrosis or cirrhosis, respectively. Female sex (73.5%) and the cholestatic pattern (47.6%) were dominant in elderly DILI patients. Autoimmunity existed in 201 patients (45.6%). Comorbidities were not directly associated with the severity of DILI. PLT (OR: 0.994, 95% CI: 0.991-0.997; p < 0.001), AST (OR: 1.001, 95% CI: 1.000-1.003, p = 0.012), TBIL (OR: 1.006, 95% CI: 1.003-1.010, p < 0.001), and autoimmunity (OR: 1.831, 95% CI: 1.258-2.672, p = 0.002) were associated with the degree of hepatic inflammation. Meanwhile, PLT (OR: 0.990, 95% CI: 0.986-0.993, p < 0.001), TBIL (OR: 1.004, 95% CI: 1.000-1.007, p = 0.028), age (OR: 1.123, 95% CI: 1.067-1.183, p < 0.001), and autoimmunity (OR: 1.760, 95% CI: 1.191-2.608, p = 0.005) were associated with the stage of hepatic fibrosis. Conclusion: This study revealed that the presence of autoimmunity represents a more serious illness state of DILI, deserving more intensive monitoring and progressive treatment.

Oxidative Stress Mediated by N6-Methyladenosine Methylation Contributes to High-Fat Diet Induced Male Reproductive Dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the mechanism of oxidative stress mediated by N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation contributing to high fat diet-induced reproductive dysfunction. RESULTS: In vivo, compared with those in the Control group, the sperm count and sperm motility decrease significantly; the testosterone, luteinizing hormone levels, hyaluronidase, acrosomal enzyme levels, and total antioxidant capacity decrease significantly; malondialdehyde increases significantly in the DIO and DIO-R groups. The expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 (NQO1) decreases significantly in the DIO and DIO-R groups; m6A levels in testis tissue in the DIO and DIO-R groups increase; the enrichment of m6A-modified Nrf2 mRNA in testis in the DIO group and DIO-R group increases significantly. Also the m6A regulatory proteins increase significantly in the DIO group and DIO-R group. In vitro, compared to palmitic acid treated cells, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level significantly decreases in STM2457, S-Adenosylhomocysteine treated cells and YTHDC2, YTHDF2 gene silence cells; however, Nrf2 expression increases in all treated cells. In addition, m6A expression decreases. CONCLUSIONS: Oxidative stress mediates by methylation of m6A may contribute to high fat diet-induced male reproductive dysfunction.

Recent advances in micro-/nanostructure array integrated microfluidic devices for efficient separation of circulating tumor cells.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) released from the primary tumor to peripheral blood are promising targets for liquid biopsies. Their biological information is vital for early cancer detection, efficacy assessment, and prognostic monitoring. Despite the tremendous clinical applications of CTCs, development of effective separation techniques are still demanding. Traditional separation methods usually use batch processing for enrichment, which inevitably destroy cell integrity and affect the complete information acquisition. Considering the rarity and heterogeneity of CTCs, it is urgent to develop effective separation methods. Microfluidic chips with precise fluid control at the micron level are promising devices for CTC separation. Their further combination with micro-/nanostructure arrays adds more biomolecule binding sites and exhibit unique fluid barrier effect, which significantly improve the CTC capture efficiency, purity, and sensitivity. This review summarized the recent advances in micro-/nanostructure array integrated microfluidic devices for CTC separation, including microrods, nanowires, and 3D micro-/nanostructures. The mechanisms by which these structures contribute to improved capture efficiency are discussed. Two major categories of separation methods, based on the physical and biological properties of CTCs, are discussed separately. Physical separation includes the design and preparation of micro-/nanostructure arrays, while chemical separation additionally involves the selection and modification of specific capture probes. These emerging technologies are expected to become powerful tools for disease diagnosis in the future.

Recent Progress in Iron-Based Microwave Absorbing Composites: A Review and Prospective.

With the rapid development of communication technology in civil and military fields, the problem of electromagnetic radiation pollution caused by the electromagnetic wave becomes particularly prominent and brings great harm. It is urgent to explore efficient electromagnetic wave absorption materials to solve the problem of electromagnetic radiation pollution. Therefore, various absorbing materials have developed rapidly. Among them, iron (Fe) magnetic absorbent particle material with superior magnetic properties, high Snoek's cut-off frequency, saturation magnetization and Curie temperature, which shows excellent electromagnetic wave loss ability, are kinds of promising absorbing material. However, ferromagnetic particles have the disadvantages of poor impedance matching, easy oxidation, high density, and strong skin effect. In general, the two strategies of morphological structure design and multi-component material composite are utilized to improve the microwave absorption performance of Fe-based magnetic absorbent. Therefore, Fe-based microwave absorbing materials have been widely studied in microwave absorption. In this review, through the summary of the reports on Fe-based electromagnetic absorbing materials in recent years, the research progress of Fe-based absorbing materials is reviewed, and the preparation methods, absorbing properties and absorbing mechanisms of iron-based absorbing materials are discussed in detail from the aspects of different morphologies of Fe and Fe-based composite absorbers. Meanwhile, the future development direction of Fe-based absorbing materials is also prospected, providing a reference for the research and development of efficient electromagnetic wave absorbing materials with strong absorption performance, frequency bandwidth, light weight and thin thickness.

Enrichment of IgG and HRP glycoprotein by dipeptide-based polymeric material.

Separation, purification, and identification of glycoproteins are essential for understanding their vital roles in biological and pathological processes. However, glycoproteins are difficult to be captured due to their low abundance, strong interference from non-glycosylated proteins. Here, we report a promising dipeptide-based saccharide recognition platform to selectively enrich two typical glycoproteins, named immunoglobin G (IgG) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Different from the conventional glycoprotein enrichment method based on boronic acid affinity or hydrophilic interaction with glycans, the present method was established based on affinity between Pro-Glu (PE) dipeptide and mannose, which is a key unit in the pentasaccharide core of the IgG and HRP glycans. The prepared PE homopolymer surface was proved to selectively bind IgG and HRP superior to that of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Benefiting from this feature, selective enrichment of IgG and HRP was achieved from a protein mixture containing 200-fold BSA interference by using polyPE@SiO2 under a dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) mode. High adsorption capacity, controllable and selective adsorption behaviors, as well as satisfactory recovery demonstrated the high potential of the dipeptide-based polymeric material in IgG and HRP enrichment. This study might provide a new insight to solve the challenging problem of glycoprotein separation.

Discerning Tyrosine Phosphorylation from Multiple Phosphorylations Using a Nanofluidic Logic Platform.

Discerning tyrosine phosphorylation (pTyr) catalyzed by Tyr kinase is central to the revelation of oncogenic mechanisms and the development of targeted anticancer drugs. Despite some techniques, this goal remains challenging, especially when faced with the interference of multiple phosphorylation events, including serine (pSer) and threonine phosphorylation (pThr). We describe here a functional polymer-modified artificial ion nanochannel, which enables the sensitive and selective recognition of phosphotyrosine (pY) peptide by the distinct ionic current change. Such a recognition effect allows for the nanochannel to work in a complex protein digest condition. Further, the implementation of nanofluidic logic functions with the addition of Ca2+ dramatically improves the selectivity of the nanochannel to pY peptide and thus can discern pTyr by the Tyr kinase from pSer by the Ser/Thr kinase through simultaneously monitoring multisite phosphorylation at the same or different peptide substrates in one-pot. This logic sensing platform displays the potential in differentiating Tyr kinase and Ser/Thr kinase and assessing multi-kinase activities in multi-targeted drug design.

Highly Efficient Separation of Methylated Peptides Utilizing Selective Complexation between Lysine and 18-Crown-6.

Protein methylation is one of the most common and important post-translational modifications, and it plays vital roles in epigenetic regulation, signal transduction, and chromatin metabolism. However, due to the diversity of methylation forms, slight difference between methylated sites and nonmodified ones, and ultralow abundance, it is extraordinarily challenging to capture and separate methylated peptides from biological samples. Here, we introduce a simple and highly efficient method to separate methylated and nonmethylated peptides using 18-crown-6 as a mobile phase additive in high-performance liquid chromatography. Selective complexation between lysine and 18-crown-6 remarkably increases the retention of the peptides on a C18 stationary phase, leading to an excellent baseline separation between the lysine methylated and nonmethylated peptides. A possible binding mechanism is verified by nuclear magnetic resonance titration, biolayer interferometry technology, and quantum chemistry calculation. Through establishment of a simple enrichment methodology, a good selectivity is achieved and four methylated peptides with greatly improved signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios are successfully separated from a complex peptide sample containing 10-fold bovine serum albumin tryptic digests. By selecting rLys N as an enzyme to digest histone, methylation information in the histone could be well identified based on our enrichment method. This study will open an avenue and provide a novel insight for selective enrichment of lysine methylated peptides in post-translational modification proteomics.

Functional Nanochannels for Sensing Tyrosine Phosphorylation.

Tyrosine phosphorylation (pTyr), much of which occurred on localized multiple sites, initiates cellular signaling, governs cellular functions, and its dysregulation is implicated in many diseases, especially cancers. pTyr-specific sensing is of great significance for understanding disease states and developing targeted anticancer drugs, however, it is very challenging due to the slight difference from serine (pSer) or threonine phosphorylation (pThr). Here we present polyethylenimine-g-phenylguanidine (PEI-PG)-modified nanochannels that can address the challenge. Rich guanidinium groups enabled PEI-PG to form multiple interactions with phosphorylated residues, especially pTyr residue, which triggered the conformational change of PEI-PG. By taking advantage of the "OFF-ON" change of the ion flux arising from the conformational shrinkage of the grafted PEI-PG, the nanochannels could distinguish phosphorylated peptide (PP) from nonmodified peptide, recognize PPs with pSer, pThr, or pTyr residue and PPs with different numbers of identical residues, and importantly could sense pTyr peptides in a biosample. Benefiting from the strong interaction between the guanidinium group and the pTyr side-chain, the specific sensing of pTyr peptide was achieved by performing a simple logic operation based on PEI-PG-modified nanochannels when Ca2+ was introduced as an interferent. The excellent pTyr sensing capacity makes the nanochannels available for real-time monitoring of the pTyr process by c-Abl kinase on a peptide substrate, even under complicated conditions, and the proof-of-concept study of monitoring the kinase activity demonstrates its potential in kinase inhibitor screening.

What Is Hidden Behind Schiff Base Hydrolysis? Dynamic Covalent Chemistry for the Precise Capture of Sialylated Glycans.

The aberrant expression of sialylated glycans (SGs) is closely associated with the occurrence, progression, and metastasis of various cancers, and sialylated glycoproteins have been widely used as clinical biomarkers for cancers. However, the identification and comprehensive analysis of SGs are exceptionally complex, which urgently need an innovative and effective method of capturing SGs from biosamples prior to MS analysis. Here, we report that a novel dynamic covalent chemistry strategy based on Schiff base hydrolysis can be applied to the precise capture of SGs. The prepared glucopyranoside-Schiff base-modified silica gel displays extraordinary enrichment selectivity (even at a ratio of 1:5000 with interference), high adsorption capacity (120 mg·g-1), and satisfying enrichment recovery (95.5%) toward sialylated glycopeptides, contributing to a highly specific, efficient, mild, and reversible SG capturing approach that can remarkably promote the development of glycoproteomics and sialic acid sensing devices and can be considerably promising in cancer biomarker discovery. Meanwhile, the facile hydrolysis characteristic of our Schiff base material completely subverts conventional knowledge of enrichment materials, the chemical stability of which is usually regarded as a prerequisite. Importantly, we find an exciting story hidden behind the Schiff base hydrolysis reaction, which demonstrates the unique advantage of dynamic covalent chemistry in glycoproteomics and biomolecule sensing.

cAMP sensitive nanochannels driven by conformational transition of a tripeptide-based smart polymer.

Inspired by biological nanochannels, a novel cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-regulated artificial nanochannel based on a tripeptide Arg-Thr-Ala (RTA) design is developed. Highly specific binding between the tripeptide and cAMP triggers an obvious conformational transition of a smart polymer chain from a contracted state to a swollen one, which leads to a dynamic modulation of the gating behaviours of the nanochannels.

Biomimetic nanochannels for the discrimination of sialylated glycans via a tug-of-war between glycan binding and polymer shrinkage.

Sialylated glycans that are attached to cell surface mediate diverse cellular processes such as immune responses, pathogen binding, and cancer progression. Precise determination of sialylated glycans, particularly their linkage isomers that can trigger distinct biological events and are indicative of different cancer types, remains a challenge, due to their complicated composition and limited structural differences. Here, we present a biomimetic nanochannels system integrated with the responsive polymer polyethyleneimine-g-glucopyranoside (Glc-PEI) to solve this problem. By using a dramatic "OFF-ON" change in ion flux, the nanochannels system achieves specific recognition for N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac, the predominant form of sialic acid) from various monosaccharides and sialic acid species. Importantly, different "OFF-ON" ratios of the conical nanochannels system allows the precise and sensitive discrimination of sialylated glycan linkage isomers, α2-3 and α2-6 linkage (the corresponding ion conductance increase ratios are 96.2% and 264%, respectively). Analyses revealed an unusual tug-of-war mechanism between polymer-glycan binding and polymer shrinkage. The low binding affinity of Glc-PEI for the α2-6-linked glycan caused considerable shrinkage of Glc-PEI layer, but the high affinity for the α2-3-linked glycan resulted in only a slight shrinkage. This competition mechanism provides a simple and versatile materials design principle for recognition or sensing systems that involve negatively charged target biomolecules. Furthermore, this work broadens the application of nanochannel systems in bioanalysis and biosensing, and opens a new route to glycan analysis that could help to uncover the mysterious and wonderful glycoworld.

Leaf aging effects on copper and cadmium transfer along the lettuce-snail food chain.

Metal bioavailability at root plasma membrane surfaces and chemical forms within cells putatively controls the trophic transfer processes. Accumulation and distribution of Cu or Cd in lettuce were investigated as a function of lettuce leaf aging through soil-solution culture experiments. Metal contents in snail tissues were examined after fed on young (interior) or old (exterior) age leaves for 15d, respectively. In both roots and leaves, Cu accumulation was higher than Cd by 3-90 fold. Regardless of 9.42 µmoL/L CuCl2 exposure, young leaves accumulated more Cu than old leaves, while higher Cu contents are found in snail tissues fed on old leaves. Opposite trends were observed for Cd. Copper as an essential element had a higher transfer factor (TF) than the non-essential element Cd in biomagnification from leaf to snail. Reasons involved in metal chemical forms within leaf cells, where higher percentages of toxicity and migration associated metal (Fi: inorganic form, Fii: water-soluble form and Fiii: pectate- and protein-integrated form) are found for Cu in old leaves (88.3-91.6%) and Cd in young leaves (86.8-94.5%). Metal activities at root plasma membrane surfaces ({M2+}0) and chemical forms in Fi + Fii + Fiii linearly correlated with metal accumulation in lettuce and snail tissues (R2 > 0.900, p < 0.001 for snails fed on old leaves). Our study incorporated both the chemical form approach and {M2+}0 into evaluating the trophic bioavailability of different metals along the lettuce-snail chain, which is important for mechanistic understanding of metal behaviors in the ecosystem.

Selective enrichment of sialylated glycopeptides with a d-allose@SiO2 matrix.

Abnormal sialylation of glycoprotein is associated with different kinds of cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. However, analysis of low abundance sialylated glycopeptides (SGPs) from complex biological samples is still a big challenge. To solve the problem, materials with high SGPs enrichment selectivity should be designed and prepared. Inspired by the saccharide-saccharide interaction in life systems, a d-allose@SiO2 (ABS) material was prepared and applied in SGPs enrichment under hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) mode. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and nitrogen adsorption experiment results proved that the ABS matrix was successfully synthesized. The SGPs enrichment selectivity of ABS matrix was evaluated with Nano Electrospray Ionization Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (Nano ESI Q-TOF/MS). The results indicated that the SGPs enrichment selectivity was notably higher with the ABS matrix (24 SGPs) than the commercially available Sepharose CL-6B (9 SGPs) and TiO2 (8 SGPs), taking digests of fetuin/bovine serum albumin (BSA) (1 : 10, w/w) as the test sample. The SGPs enrichment performance of ABS matrix was further validated by the interference, recovery rate, and reproducibility evaluation experiments. In the end, the ABS matrix was applied in the analysis of real biosample (HeLa cell lysates). Totally 301 SGPs with 277 glycosylation sites from 186 glycoprotein were successfully characterized by taking HeLa S3 cell lysate as target sample in two replicated experiments. The results indicated that the ABS matrix had great potential to be applied in the enrichment of SGPs from complex biological samples.

Sialic Acid-Responsive Polymeric Interface Material: From Molecular Recognition to Macroscopic Property Switching.

Biological systems that utilize multiple weak non-covalent interactions and hierarchical assemblies to achieve various bio-functions bring much inspiration for the design of artificial biomaterials. However, it remains a big challenge to correlate underlying biomolecule interactions with macroscopic level of materials, for example, recognizing such weak interaction, further transforming it into regulating material's macroscopic property and contributing to some new bio-applications. Here we designed a novel smart polymer based on polyacrylamide (PAM) grafted with lactose units (PAM-g-lactose0.11), and reported carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction (CCI)-promoted macroscopic properties switching on this smart polymer surface. Detailed investigations indicated that the binding of sialic acid molecules with the grafted lactose units via the CCIs induced conformational transformation of the polymer chains, further resulted in remarkable and reversible switching in surface topography, wettability and stiffness. With these excellent recognition and response capacities towards sialic acid, the PAM-g-lactose0.11 further facilitated good selectivity, strong anti-interference and high adsorption capacity in the capture of sialylated glycopeptides (important biomarkers for cancers). This work provides some enlightenment for the development of biointerface materials with tunable property, as well as high-performance glycopeptide enrichment materials.

Efficacy of intermittent pneumatic compression for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in patients undergoing gynecologic surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

We sought to comprehensively assess the efficacy of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression (IPC) in patients undergoing gynecologic surgery. A computerized literature search was conducted in Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Seven randomized controlled trials involving 1001 participants were included. Compared with control, IPC significantly lowered the deep vein thrombosis (DVT) risk [risk ratio (RR) = 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.16 - 0.66]. The incidence of DVT in IPC and drugs group was similar (4.5% versus. 3.99%, RR = 1.19, 95% CI: 0.42 - 3.44). With regards to pulmonary embolism risk, no significant difference was observed in IPC versus control or IPC versus drugs. IPC had a lower postoperative transfusion rate than heparin (RR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.32 - 0.89), but had a similar transfusion rate in operating room to low molecular weight heparin (RR = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.69 - 1.63). Combined use of IPC and graduated compression stockings (GCS) had a marginally lower risk of DVT than GCS alone (RR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14 - 1.03). In summary, IPC is effective in reducing DVT complications in gynecologic surgery. IPC is neither superior nor inferior to pharmacological thromboprophylaxis. However, whether combination of IPC and chemoprophylaxis is more effective than IPC or chemoprophylaxis alone remains unknown in this patient population.

Sialic Acid-Targeted Biointerface Materials and Bio-Applications.

Sialic acids (SAs) are typically found as terminal monosaccharides attached to cell surface glycoconjugates, which play crucial roles in various biological processes, and aberrant sialylation is closely associated with many diseases, particularly cancers. As SAs are overexpressed in tumor-associated glycoproteins, the recognition and specific binding of SA are crucial for monitoring, analyzing and controlling cancer cells, which would have a considerable impact on diagnostic and therapeutic application. However, both effective and selective recognition of SA on the cancer cell surface remains challenging. In recent years, SA-targeted biointerface materials have attracted great attention in various bio-applications, including cancer detection and imaging, drug delivery for cancer therapy and sialylated glycopeptide separation or enrichment. This review provides an overview of recent advances in SA-targeted biointerface materials and related bio-applications.

Bioinspired Saccharide-Saccharide Interaction and Smart Polymer for Specific Enrichment of Sialylated Glycopeptides.

Abnormal sialylation of proteins is highly associated with many major diseases, such as cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. However, this study is challenging owing to the difficulty in enriching trace sialylated glycopeptides (SGs) from highly complex biosamples. The key to solving this problem relies strongly on the design of novel SG receptors to capture the sialic acid (SA) moieties in a specific and tunable manner. Inspired by the saccharide-saccharide interactions in life systems, here we introduce saccharide-based SG receptors into this study. Allose (a monosaccharide) displays specific and pH-sensitive binding toward SAs. Integrating allose units into a polyacrylamide chain generates a saccharide-responsive smart copolymer (SRSC). Such design significantly improves the selectivity of SA binding; meanwhile, this binding can be intelligently triggered in a large extent by solution polarity and pH. As a result, SRSC exhibits high-performance enrichment capacity toward SGs, even under 500-fold interference of bovine serum albumins digests, which is notably higher than conventional materials. In real biosamples of HeLa cell lysates, 180 sialylated glycosylation sites (SGSs) have been identified using SRSC. This is apparently superior to those obtained by SA-binding lectins including WGA (18 SGSs) and SNA (22 SGSs). Furthermore, lactose displays good chemoselectivity toward diverse disaccharides, which indicated the good potential of lactose-based material in glycan discrimination. Subsequently, the lactose-based SRSC facilitates the stepwise isolation of O-linked or N-linked SGs with the same peptide sequence but varied glycans by CH3CN/H2O gradients. This study opens a new avenue for next generation of glycopeptide enrichment materials.