Highly sensitive CD40L protein discrimination via label-free fiber sensing technologies.

The recombinant Cluster of Differentiation 40 Ligand (CD40L) can be expressed in various cells and is closely related to various types of cancer. This association underscores the critical need for expedited and precise measurement of CD40L levels in clinical fluid specimens. A novel optical fiber biosensor has been devised, employing single-mode fibers that are sandwiched around a coreless fiber, with the diameter refined by etching with hydrogen fluoride. This innovative configuration allows for light transmission through the evanescent field, thereby enhancing the sensor's sensitivity to changes in the surrounding refractive index. Employing chemical binding techniques, CD40 was securely immobilized onto the fiber's surface, facilitating the detection of CD40L. The sensor exhibited a sensitivity of 1.126 nm (µg mL-1)-1 and a detection limit of 0.68 nM. Furthermore, the sensor's specificity for CD40L was validated using authentic clinical serum samples spiked with artificial analytes. In addition, the specificity of CD40L of the proposed sensor was proved using natural clinical serum samples with added artificial analyte, assisted by the ELISA method, and the results ideally conformed with the detection of standard samples. With the aid of the ELISA method, the outcomes were found to be in excellent agreement with those from standard sample detection. Consequently, the findings indicate that this sensor provides a specific, label-free, and highly sensitive method for CD40L detection, showcasing its significant potential for applications in molecular biology research.

A novel and independent survival prognostic model for OSCC: the functions and prognostic values of RNA-binding proteins.

BACKGROUND: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), exhibiting high morbidity and malignancy, is the most common type of oral cancer. The abnormal expression of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) plays important roles in the occurrence and progression of cancer. The objective of the present study was to establish a prognostic assessment model of RBPs and to evaluate the prognosis of OSCC patients. METHODS: Gene expression data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were analyzed by univariate Cox regression analysis model that established a novel nine RBPs, which were used to build a prognostic risk model. A multivariate Cox proportional regression model and the survival analysis were used to evaluate the prognostic risk model. Moreover, the receive operator curve (ROC) analysis was tested further the efficiency of prognostic risk model based on data from TCGA database and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). RESULTS: Nine RBPs' signatures (ACO1, G3BP1, NMD3, RNGTT, ZNF385A, SARS, CARS2, YARS and SMAD6) with prognostic value were identified in OSCC patients. Subsequently, the patients were further categorized into high-risk group and low-risk in the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), and external validation dataset. ROC analysis was significant for both the TCGA and GEO. Moreover, GSEA revealed that patients in the high-risk group significantly enriched in many critical pathways correlated with tumorigenesis than the low, including cell cycle, adheres junctions, oocyte meiosis, spliceosome, ERBB signaling pathway and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, we developed and validated a novel robust nine RBPs for OSCC prognosis prediction. The nine RBPs could serve as an independent and reliable prognostic biomarker and guiding clinical therapy for OSCC patients.

miR-214 Modulates the Growth and Migration of Oral Cancer before and after Chemotherapy through Mediating ULK1.

The role of miRNAs as crucial components in carcinogenesis has been well documented. However, whether and how miR-214 influences oral cancer cells' drug resistance remains to be elucidated, and its downstream targets are still under investigation. Hence, this research is aimed at determining miR-214 and ULK1 expression in oral cancer before and after chemotherapy and their correlations with cancer cell growth. Human oral normal epithelial cells and human tongue squamous cell carcinoma CAL-27 cells were cultured to detect miR-214 and ULK1 levels. It was found that before chemotherapy, miR-214 was higher, while ULK1 was underexpressed in CAL-27 cells, versus normal epithelial cells. After chemotherapy, miR-214 decreased obviously in CAL-27 cells, while ULK1 level increased significantly. In addition, autophagy-related genes (Beclin 1, mTOR, and P53) in CAL-27 cells were found to be significantly inhibited before chemotherapy and were obviously increased after chemotherapy. Moreover, to further determine the impacts of miR-214 and ULK1 on oral cancer cell growth after chemotherapy, the two were overexpressed or silenced in CAL-27 cells after transfection. We found that ULK1 could effectively decrease the activity and invasion of CAL-27 cells and increase their apoptosis level, while miR-214 could antagonize its antitumor effect. Therefore, miR-214 can be used as an early prognostic biomarker for oral cancer, and ULK1 is a new candidate therapeutic target.

Experts' consensus on precaution and treatment for complications of sagittal split ramus osteotomy.

Sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSRO) is a versatile orthognathic procedure for correcting mandibular deformities. Various complications can possibly occur when performing SSRO, and it can even cause serious adverse consequences because of the complexity of anatomy and operative procedures. The types of complications and their accompanying clinical manifestations are closely related to the choice of diagnosis and treatment strategies and clinical outcomes. To discuss the causes, prevention, and treatment measures of various common complications of SSRO, domestic orthognathic surgery experts prepared this consensus to increase the awareness of SSRO complications, thereby ensuring safe surgical procedure and good results.

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation before surgery reduces chronic pain after mastectomy: A randomized clinical trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Despite multiple interventions, the incidence of chronic pain after mastectomy could be as high as 50% after surgery. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) before anesthesia induction in reducing chronic pain and to compare the effect of combined acupoint TEAS with that of single acupoint TEAS. DESIGN: A multicenter randomized clinical trial. SETTING: The study was conducted at six medical centers in China from May 2016 to April 2018. Final follow-up was on October 26, 2018. PARTICIPANTS: Eligible patients were women scheduled for radical mastectomy under general anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly and equally grouped into sham control (n = 188), single acupoint (PC6, n = 198), or combined acupoints (PC6 and CV17, n = 190) TEAS groups using a centralized computer-generated randomization system. TEAS was applied for 30 min before anesthesia induction. The sham-operated control group received electrode attachment but without stimulation. Anesthesiologists, surgeons, and outcome assessors were blinded to the interventions. MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the incidence of chronic pain 6 months after surgery. Incidences were compared among the groups using the unadjusted χ2 test. RESULTS: Of the 576 randomized patients, 568 completed the trial. In the intention-to-treat analysis, post-mastectomy pain at 6 months was reported in 42 of 190 patients (22.1%) in the combined acupoints group, 65 of 188 patients (34.6%) in the sham-operated group (P = 0.007; relative risk [RR], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68, 0.52-0.89), and 72 of 198 patients (36.4%) in the single acupoint group (P = 0.002; RR, 95% CI: 0.72, 0.55-0.93). Remifentanil consumption during surgery and postoperative nausea and vomiting at 24 h after surgery were lower in the combined acupoint group than that in the sham-operated group. CONCLUSION: TEAS at combined acupoints before surgery was associated with reduced chronic pain 6 months after surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02741726. Registered on April 13, 2016.

[Clinical characteristics and etiology of temporomandibular joint herniation into external ear canal].

Objective:To summarize the cases of temporomandibular joint herniation into external auditory canal found and treated in our hospital, to improve the understanding of oral and maxillofacial diseases and otological diseases, and to explore the potential long-term effects of local radiotherapy on temporomandibular joint function. Method:Analyzed the causes of temporomandibular joint herniation into external auditory canal comprehensively through combining history, clinical manifestations and imaging examination. Result:All otoscope results showed soft tissue mass in the deep anterior wall of the external auditory canal. The soft tissue mass moved inside and outside along with the opening and closing of the mouth. CT examination revealed obvious bone defects in the anterior wall of the ear canal. Conclusion:Delayed radiotherapy injury may be a inducing factor of temporomandibular joint herniation into external auditory canal. CT and MRI examination have guiding significance on the disease treatment selection. The specific signs found by otoscope can confirm the diagnosis.

Arthroscopic surgery for removal of 112 loose bodies of synovial chondromatosis of the temporomandibular joint.

We present a new case of unilateral synovial chondromatosis of the temporomandibular joint, including diagnostic images, the treatment performed, and histologic analysis. In this report, we describe a case of temporomandibular joint synovial chondromatosis treated only through arthroscopy to remove 112 loose bodies completely.

Arthroscopic surgery for treatment of anterior displacement of the disc without reduction of the temporomandibular joint.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical results and efficacy of an arthroscopic approach to correct anterior displacement of the disc without reduction of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) with limitation of mouth opening. We studied 28 joints with internal derangement in 23 patients, all of whom had had arthroscopic surgery (lavage, lysis of adhesions in the superior compartment, incision parallel to the disc-synovial crease of the upper joint compartment, and pull back of the anteriorly located disc). Objective and subjective data (increase in maximal interincisal opening, magnetic resonance imaging, and visual analogue pain score, VAS) were collected preoperatively and at 7, 30, 60 days, and 6 months or more postoperatively. Maximal interincisal opening improved from a mean (SD) of 20.4 (±4.5) mm preoperative measurement to 38.9 (±3.2) mm by 6 months postoperatively where indicated in previous line. The VAS showed a significant improvement in pain score (p=0.0023). Sixty days postoperatively the positions of the discs in 14 of the TMJs had improved considerably. In 13 of the TMJs the positions had improved slightly. Only 1 of the TMJs had not improved at all. There were no complications in any patient. Our arthroscopic procedure is safe, minimally invasive, and effective for the treatment of patients with displacement of the disc anteriorly without reduction of the TMJ.

[An experimental research of tissue engineered submandibular gland cells growing on collagen sponge scaffold].

OBJECTIVE: To make an experimental research of the tissue engineered rat submandibular glands (SMG) cells growing on a collagen sponge scaffold under an optimal culture condition. METHODS: The Wistar rat (8 days old) SMG cells of the second generation were seeded on the surface of the collagen sponge scaffold (5 mm X 5 mm x 2 mm) and were cultured under a physiologically optimal condition for 3 weeks. At 1, 2 and 3 weeks, the cultured cells were observed on their shapes and structures by the histological examination and the scanning electron microscopy. The cultured cells underwent the immunohistochemistry research (the cytokratin 8.13, CK8. 13; alpha-smooth muscular actin, alpha-SMA) staining performed at 3 weeks of the culture, and the amylase activity analysis (the Amano method) performed at 1 day, 1, 2 and 3 weeks of the culture for an evaluation on the secretion function of the cells; the ultrastructures of the cells were also observed by the transmission electron microscopy for an identification of their origins. RESULTS: The observation under the scanning electron microscope showed that at 1 week after the cell-seeding, the seeded cells were attached to the collagen sponge scaffold surface, with no cell process formed; at 2 weeks the cells increased, with formation of the cell process that was anchored on the collagen sponge scaffold surface; and at 3 weeks, the scaffold surface-attached cells increased, with formation of the filiform fibers in the surface layer of the cells. The immunohistochemistry staining showed that the cultured epithelial cells of SMG were strongly positive for the specific antibody of CK8. 13, and the myoepithelial cells were positive for the specific antibody of alpha-SMA. The transmission electron microscopy showed that in the surface layer of the cultured epithelial cells of SMG the microvilli, plasm crease, and zymogen granules were observed, with a big and oval-shaped nucleus in the cell, and mitochondria and rough endoplasmic reticulum in the cytoplasm of the cell. The amount of amylase secreted by the cells cultured with the collagen sponge scaffolds increased at a different degree with an extension of the culturing time. CONCLUSION: The collagen sponge has a satisfactory cell compatibility, and the SMG cells cultured with this kind of collagen sponge can keep their abilities of proliferation and differentiation and their function of secretion. Therefore, this kind of cultured SMG cells can be used as the tissue-engineered cells seeded in the scaffold.

[Role of transforming growth factor beta3 on amylase secretion of submandibular gland cells in rat].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of transforming growth factor beta3 (TGF-beta3) on the amylase secretion of rat submandibular gland cells (RSGCs). METHODS: The RSGCs were cultured and identified. The expressions of CK 8.13, S-100 and Vimentin in the RSGCs were examined by immunohistochemical staining. The experimental group was divided into 5 groups according to different concentrations of TGF-beta3 (0.5, 1.0, 5.0, 10.0 and 25.0 ng/ml) and no TGF-beta3 culture was used as control group. The effects of TGF-beta3 on the cell proliferation and amylase secretion were examined at the 24th, the 48th, the 72nd and the 96th hour. MTT colorimetric method was used to estimate vital force of culture cells. Amylase protein was assayed by auto-biochemistry equipment and Western blotting. RESULTS: The RSGCs were stained positively for CK 8.13 and S-100, but negatively for Vimentin. There were no significant differences in absorbency between the experimental groups and the control group (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, TGF-beta3 at concentrations of 0. 5-10. 0 ng/ml significantly stimulated the amylase secretion of RSGCs after 72 and 96 hours (P<0.01). But high concentration of TGF-beta3 (25.0 ng/ml) showed no stimulation. Western blotting demonstrated that the cultured RSGCs and submandibular gland had the same band of amylase electrophoresis. CONCLUSION: TGF-beta3 can stimulate RSGCs to differentiate and to secrete amylase, but TGF-beta3 has no effect on proliferation of RSGCs.