Pyroptosis in glioma: Current management and future application.

Glioma, the predominant form of central nervous system (CNS) malignancies, presents a significant challenge due to its high prevalence and low 5-year survival rate. The efficacy of current treatment methods is limited by the presence of the blood-brain barrier, the immunosuppressive microenvironment, and other factors. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach, as it can overcome the blood-brain barrier. A tumor's immune privilege, which is induced by an immunosuppressive environment, constricts immunotherapy's clinical impact in glioma. Pyroptosis, a programmed cell death mechanism facilitated by gasdermins, plays a significant role in the management of glioma. Its ability to initiate and regulate tumor occurrence, progression, and metastasis is well-established. However, it is crucial to note that uncontrolled or excessive cell death can result in tissue damage, acute inflammation, and cytokine release syndrome, thereby potentially promoting tumor advancement or recurrence. This paper aims to elucidate the molecular pathways involved in pyroptosis and subsequently discuss its induction in cancer therapy. In addition, the current treatment methods of glioma and the use of pyroptosis in these treatments are introduced. It is hoped to provide more ideas for the treatment of glioma.

Hemodynamics study of anterior cerebral artery with different sac centerline lengths for rupture risk assessment.

The present research extensively investigates the significance of the sac centerline length of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) on aneurysm rupture risk. Hemodynamic factors influencing aneurysm rupture are assessed to identify critical regions prone to rupture. Wall shear stress is analyzed by modeling blood flow in three real saccular ACA cases with varying sac centerline lengths. A one-way fluid-solid interaction (FSI) model is employed to examine the interaction between blood flow and vessel deformation. The computational study reveals that wall shear stress on the ACA saccular aneurysm wall is significantly higher when the sac centerline length is shorter. Conversely, the mean oscillatory index changes with different sac centerline lengths, showing that an increase in sac centerline length leads to higher blood oscillation within the sac area in ACA cases.

Analysis of risk factors for postoperative deep vein thrombosis after craniotomy and nomogram model construction.

BACKGROUND: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremity is one of the most common postoperative complications, especially after craniocerebral surgery. DVT may lead to pulmonary embolism, which has a devastating impact on patient prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of DVT in the lower limbs following craniocerebral surgery. AIM: To identify independent risk factors for the development of postoperative DVT and to develop an effective risk prediction model. METHODS: The demographic and clinical data of 283 patients who underwent craniocerebral surgery between December 2021 and December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The independent risk factors for lower extremity DVT were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. A nomogram was created to predict the likelihood of lower extremity DVT in patients who had undergone craniocerebral surgery. The efficacy of the prediction model was determined by receiver operating characteristic curve using the probability of lower extremity DVT for each sample. RESULTS: Among all patients included in the analysis, 47.7% developed lower extremity DVT following craniocerebral surgery. The risk of postoperative DVT was higher in those with a longer operative time, and patients with intraoperative intermittent pneumatic compression were less likely to develop postoperative DVT. CONCLUSION: The incidence of lower extremity DVT following craniocerebral surgery is significant, highlighting the importance of identifying independent risk factors. Interventions such as the use of intermittent pneumatic compression during surgery may prevent the formation of postoperative DVT.

Optimized risk stratification strategy for glioma patients based on the feature genes of poor immune cell infiltration patterns.

BACKGROUND: Gliomas, originating from glial cells within the brain or spinal cord, are common central nervous system tumors with varying degrees of malignancy that influence the complexity and difficulty of treatment. The current strategies, including traditional surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and emerging immunotherapies, have yielded limited results. As such, our study aims to optimize risk stratification for a more precise treatment approach. We primarily identify feature genes associated with poor immune cell infiltration patterns through various omics algorithms and categorize glioma patients based on these genes to enhance the accuracy of patient prognosis assessment. This approach can underpin individualized treatment strategies and facilitate the discovery of new therapeutic targets. METHODS: We procured datasets of gliomas and normal brain tissues from TCGA, CGGA, and GTEx databases. Clustering was conducted using the input of 287 immune cell feature genes. Hub genes linked with the poor prognosis subtype (C1) were filtered through WGCNA. The TCGA dataset served as the discovery cohort and the CGGA dataset as the external validation cohort. We constructed a prognostic model related to feature genes from poor immune cell infiltration patterns utilizing LASSO-Cox regression. Comprehensive analyses of genomic heterogeneity, tumor stemness, pathway relevance, immune infiltration patterns, treatment response, and potential drugs were conducted for different risk groups. Gene expression validation was performed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) on 98 glioma samples and 11 normal brain tissue samples. RESULTS: Using the filtered immune cell-related genes, glioma patients were stratified into C1 and C2 subtypes through clustering. The C1 subtype exhibited a worse prognosis, with upregulated genes primarily enriched in immune response, extracellular matrix, etc., and downregulated genes predominantly enriched in neural signal transduction and neural pathway-related aspects. Seven advanced algorithms were used to elucidate immune cell infiltration patterns of different subtypes. In addition, WGCNA identified hub genes from poor immune infiltration patterns, and a prognostic model was constructed accordingly. High-risk patients demonstrated shorter survival times and higher risk scores as compared to low-risk patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that, after adjusting for confounding clinical factors, risk score was a vital independent predictor of overall survival (OS) (P < 0.001). The established nomogram, which combined risk scores with WHO grade and age, accurately predicted glioma patient survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years, with AUCs of 0.908, 0.890, and 0.812, respectively. This risk score enhanced the nomogram's reliability and informed clinical decision-making. We also comprehensively analyzed genomic heterogeneity, tumor stemness, pathway relevance, immune infiltration patterns, treatment response, and potential drugs for different risk groups. In addition, we conducted preliminary validation of the potential PLSCR1 gene using IHC with a large sample of gliomas and normal brain tissues. CONCLUSION: Our optimized risk stratification strategy for glioma patients has the potential to improve the accuracy of prognosis assessment. The findings from our omics research not only enhance the understanding of the functions of feature genes related to poor immune cell infiltration patterns but also offer valuable insights for the study of glioma prognostic biomarkers and the development of individualized treatment strategies.

Emerging trends and research foci of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gliomas: A scientometric analysis and review.

Background: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a key factor in the invasion and migration of glioma cells, and the study of EMT in gliomas has become a hot topic over the past decade. Scientometric analysis is gaining more attention since it can obtain hot topics and emerging trends in a research field. This article analyzed the research related to EMT in gliomas for the first time, including descriptions of research situations, evaluations of research foci, and predictions of emerging trends. Methods: We searched the topic-related original articles from January 2012 to December 2021 in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) by using a specific strategy, and a total of 1,217 publications were obtained. The WoS platform, VOS viewer, and CiteSpace were used to analyze the annual distribution of publications and citations, authors and density of keywords, and other analyses including countries, institutions, references, clustering, burst analysis, and the timeline view of keywords. Results: Scientometric analysis identified that the study of EMT in gliomas has developed fast and received continuous attention in the last decade. Based on the results of data analysis, most publications on the topic came from China, and the United States had the highest betweenness centrality. The top 10 co-cited references revealed the landmark documents that had greatly promoted the development of this field. The major focus is on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of EMT in gliomas, and the therapy related to EMT target and non-coding RNAs has been developing fast in recent years. Conclusions: This study revealed the intimate connections between EMT and gliomas, and the complex mechanisms regulating EMT in gliomas had been studied widely in the last decade. Exploring the deep mechanisms of EMT in gliomas is the foundation of the targeted inhibitions, which can promote the development of therapies for gliomas.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the central nervous system: A case report.

BACKGROUND: An inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) occurring in the central nervous system is very rare, and thus its pathogenesis is unknown. This case report and literature review aimed to explore the pathogenesis, clinical features, imaging findings, pathological characteristics, immunohistochemical characteristics, diagnoses, treatments, and risks of postoperative recurrence of IMT in the central nervous system. CASE SUMMARY: A 67-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with an exophthalmic protrusion and double vision in the left eye that had persisted for 3 mo. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a 2.4 cm × 1.3 cm heterogeneous large mass in the bottom of the left anterior cranial fossa, which was closely related to the dura mater. Before surgery, we suspected the mass to be meningioma. The entire mass was successfully removed under neuronavigation and electrophysiological monitoring, and postoperative pathology indicated an IMT with extensive infiltration of chronic inflammatory cells and scattered multinucleated giant cells. Head MRI at the 3-mo follow-up showed that the tumor at the bottom of left anterior cranial fossa had been completely resected without recurrence. CONCLUSION: From the histological, immunohistochemical, and genetic analyses, the present case suggests that the pathogenesis of IMT-CNS is related to autoimmunity.