Lipid levels and multiple myeloma risk: insights from Meta-analysis and mendelian randomization.

BACKGROUND: Lipid levels have been suggset to be correlated with multiple myeloma (MM) risk, though causality remains unconfirmed. To explore this further, a detailed study combining meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization (MR) was conducted. METHODS: Literature searches were performed on PubMed and Embase; summary data for plasma lipid traits were extracted from the IEU and MM data from the FinnGen database. Meta-analysis and MR were utilized to analyze the link of lipids with MM risk, including mediator MR to identify potential mediators. The study was conducted in accordance with PRISMA and STROBE-MR guidelines. RESULTS: Observational studies analyzed through meta-analysis showed that elevated levels of LDL, HDL, total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides correlate with a lower risk of MM, with HRs of 0.73, 0.59, 0.60, and 0.84, respectively. MR analysis confirmed a potential causal link of triglyceride with a reduced MM risk (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.46-0.98), independent of BMI. Mediation analysis pointed to X-11,423-O-sulfo-L-tyrosine and neuropilin-2 as potential mediators. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that higher lipid levels (LDL, HDL, TC, and triglycerides) are linked with a reduced MM risk, and higher triglyceride levels are causally associated with a reduced MM risk. This suggests new avenues for therapeutic interventions targeting MM.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy (CAR-T therapy) has demonstrated significant efficacy in the ZUMA-2 study. After regulatory approvals, several clinical trials and real-world studies on CAR-T therapy for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (R/R MCL) were conducted. However, data on clinical safety and efficacy are inconsistent. In this study, we aimed to conduct a systematic analysis of the effectiveness and safety of CAR-T therapy across a wider and more representative cohort of patients with R/R MCL. Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on patients with R/R MCL who received CAR-T cell therapy. Data were extracted and consolidated, with primary focus on the evaluation of safety and efficacy outcome measures. This study has not been registered with PROSPERO. Results: This meta-analysis identified and included 16 studies with 984 patients. The pooled estimate for overall response rate (ORR) was 89%; complete remission (CR) rate was 74%. The 6-month and 12-month progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 69% and 53%, respectively, while the overall survival (OS) rates were 80% and 69%, respectively. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) of grade 3 or higher was observed in 8% of patients, whereas neurotoxicity of grade 3 or higher was observed in 22% of patients. The risk of bias was assessed as low in 9 studies and moderate in 7 studies. Conclusion: CAR-T therapy exhibited promising efficacy and manageable adverse reactions in patients with R/R MCL.

Rapid identification of early infections in febrile patients after CD19 target CAR-T cell therapy for B-cell malignancies.

BACKGROUND: CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy stands out as a revolutionary intervention, exhibiting remarkable remission rates in patients with refractory/relapsed (R/R) B-cell malignancies. However, the potential side effects of therapy, particularly cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and infections, pose significant challenges due to their overlapping clinical features. Promptly distinguishing between CRS and infection post CD19 target CAR-T cell infusion (CTI) remains a clinical dilemma. Our study aimed to analyze the incidence of infections and identify key indicators for early infection detection in febrile patients within 30 days post-CTI for B-cell malignancies. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, a cohort of 104 consecutive patients with R/R B-cell malignancies who underwent CAR-T therapy was reviewed. Clinical data including age, gender, CRS, ICANS, treatment history, infection incidence, and treatment responses were collected. Serum biomarkers procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were analyzed using chemiluminescent assays. Statistical analyses employed Pearson's Chi-square test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Cox proportional hazards regression model, Spearman rank correlation, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to evaluate diagnostic accuracy and develop predictive models through multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: In this study, 38 patients (36.5%) experienced infections (30 bacterial, 5 fungal, and 3 viral) within the first 30 days of CAR T-cell infusion. In general, bacterial, fungal, and viral infections were detected at a median of 7, 8, and 9 days, respectively, after CAR T-cell infusion. Prior allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) was an independent risk factor for infection (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 4.432 [1.262-15.565], P = 0.020). Furthermore, CRS was an independent risk factor for both infection ((HR: 2.903 [1.577-5.345], P < 0.001) and severe infection (9.040 [2.256-36.232], P < 0.001). Serum PCT, IL-6, and CRP were valuable in early infection prediction post-CAR-T therapy, particularly PCT with the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.897. A diagnostic model incorporating PCT and CRP demonstrated an AUC of 0.903 with sensitivity and specificity above 83%. For severe infections, a model including CRS severity and PCT showed an exceptional AUC of 0.991 with perfect sensitivity and high specificity. Based on the aforementioned analysis, we proposed a workflow for the rapid identification of early infection during CAR-T cell therapy. CONCLUSIONS: CRS and prior allogeneic HCT are independent infection risk factors post-CTI in febrile B-cell malignancy patients. Our identification of novel models using PCT and CRP for predicting infection, and PCT and CRS for predicting severe infection, offers potential to guide therapeutic decisions and enhance the efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy in the future.

Innovative Percutaneous 3-Stitch Suture Technique for Site Closure in Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Decannulation Without Direct Artery Repair: A Case Series.

No previous studies have reported the use of a percutaneous suture technique performed by bedside intensivists for site closure during decannulation without direct artery repair in venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) cases. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this alternative approach. This retrospective study included 26 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous VA-ECMO decannulation at Maoming People's Hospital. Bedside percutaneous suture technique performed by intensivists facilitated cannula site closure. Primary outcome was successful closure without additional interventions. Secondary outcomes included procedural time, surgical conversion rate, complications (bleeding, vascular/wound complications, neuropathy, lymphocele), procedure-related death. Follow-up ultrasound were conducted within 6 months after discharge. All patients achieved successful site hemostasis with a median procedural time of 28 minutes. Procedure-related complications included minor bleeding (7.7%), acute lower limb ischemia (15.4%), venous thrombus (11.5%), minor arterial stenosis (7.7%), wound infection (4.2%), delayed healing (15.4%), and wound secondary suturing (6.3%). No procedure-related deaths occurred. Follow-up vascular ultrasound revealed two cases (7.7%) of minor arterial stenosis. The perivascular suture technique may offer intensivists a safe and effective alternative method for access site closure without direct artery suture during ECMO decannulation.

The CDK4/6 Inhibitor Palbociclib Synergizes with ATRA to Induce Differentiation in AML.

Differentiation therapy based on ATRA almost cured acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, it is disappointing that ATRA is not effective against other acute myeloid leukemia (AML) subtypes. Developing new and effective anti-AML therapies that promote leukemia differentiation is necessary. The CDK4/6-cyclin D pathway is a key initiator of the G1-S phase transition, which determines cell fate. Herein, we investigated whether the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib would synergize with ATRA to promote leukemia differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Our findings revealed that CDK4/6-cyclin D pathway genes were aberrantly expressed in AML, and we observed that palbociclib sensitized AML cells to ATRA-induced morphologic, biochemical, and functional changes indicative of myeloid differentiation. The combination of palbociclib and ATRA attenuated AML cell expansion in vivo. These enhanced differentiation effects may be associated with the regulation of transcription factors, including RARα, E2F1, and STAT1. Overall, our findings demonstrate that CDK4/6 inhibition sensitizes AML cells to ATRA and could guide the development of novel therapeutic strategies for patients with AML.

Accumulation of circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cell subsets: predicting poor clinical efficacy and prognosis through T cell suppression in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are implicated in the regulation of immune responses closely associated with poor clinical outcomes in cancer. However, the MDSC subtypes in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) have not been systematically investigated. So, we investigated the percentage of MDSC subsets in 78 newly diagnosed NHL patients by flow cytometry. The results showed that all MDSC subsets increased in NHL patients compared with healthy donors. Notably, MDSCs, monocytic MDSCs, and CD14 + CD66b + MDSCs significantly increased in NHL patients compared with those with lymphadenitis donors. polymorphonuclear MDSCs (PMN-MDSCs), early-stage MDSCs (e-MDSCs), and the International Prognostic Index were independent risk factors for poor clinical efficacy and were involved in constructing the nomogram for predicting clinical efficacy. Progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly shorter in patients with high level of MDSC subsets, and PMN-MDSCs emerged as an independent prognostic factor for PFS. PMN-MDSCs, e-MDSCs, and the International Prognostic Index were involved in constructing the nomogram for predicting PFS. Patients with a higher percentage of MDSCs, PMN-MDSCs, e-MDSCs, and CD14 + CD66b + MDSCs experienced a shorter overall survival compared with those with lower percentages. In addition, research on mechanisms found that T cell function was suppressed and mediated by the expansion of MDSCs via involving arginase-1 and interleukin-10 in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that the increased circulating MDSC subsets predict poor clinical efficacy and prognosis in NHL, potentially involving T cell suppression through MDSC subset expansion. These findings indicate the potential of MDSC subsets as comprehensive diagnostic, prognostic biomarkers, and therapeutic targets for NHL.

[Analysis of High-Risk Clinical Factors of Early Death in Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the high-risk clinical factors of early death in patients with secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH), and further identify the clinical factors related to the rapid progression of sHLH in the short term. METHODS: The clinical manifestations, laboratory examination and prognosis of sHLH patients were retrospectively analyzed. Continuous variables were grouped by median, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curve were used to explore the risk factors affecting early death of sHLH. Then, a nomogram model was established with independent risk factors, Bootstrap resampling method was used for verification, and consistency index (C-index) and calibration curve were used to detect the prediction accuracy. RESULTS: A total of 126 sHLH patients were enrolled, with a median age of 48.5(16-88) years, including 74 males and 52 females. Fifty-five patients (43.6%) died within 30 days, including 39 males and 16 females. Univariate regression analysis showed that lymphocyte count <0.45×109/L, platelet count (PLT) <39.5×109/L, prothrombin time (PT)≥13.3 s, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)≥39.7 s, albumin (ALB) <25.9 g/L, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)≥811 U/L, creatinine (Cr) ≥67 µmol/L and procalcitonin (PCT)≥0.61 ng/ml were risk factors for death within 30 days in sHLH patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed that lymphocyte count <0.45×109/L, APTT≥39.7 s and ALB <25.9 g/L were independent risk factors for death within 30 days in sHLH patients. A nomogram model was established based on the above three risk factors, its C-index was 0.683, and the calibration chart showed good agreement between the observed and predicted values of sHLH. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphopenia, prolonged APTT, and hypoalbuminemia are risk factors for early death of sHLH patients. Early identification and positive intervention are expected to reduce early mortality in sHLH patients. The nomogram model based on the above risk factors provides a method for clinicians to evaluate sHLH.

Plasma indole-3-aldehyde as a novel biomarker of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery: a reanalysis using prospective metabolomic data.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication of cardiac surgery that poses significant risks for both the development of chronic kidney diseases and mortality. Our previous study illustrated that heightened expression levels of faecal and plasma indole metabolites before the operation were associated with ischemic AKI. In this study, we aimed to validate the supposition that plasma indole-3-aldehyde (I3A) could serve as a predictive biomarker for AKI in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. METHODS: This statistical reanalysis utilized AKI metabolomic data from patients scheduled for cardiac surgery between April 2022 and July 2022 in two tertiary hospitals. Faecal and blood samples were prospectively collected before surgery within 24 h, and variables related to the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods were recorded. AKI diagnosis was based on the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. RESULTS: In this study, 55 patients who underwent cardiac surgery were analyzed, and 27 of them (49.1%) developed postoperative AKI. Before surgery, these patients had significantly higher levels of faecal indole metabolites, including skatole, trans-3-indoleacrylic acid, and 5-methoxyindoleacetic acid. The plasma I3A, clinical model that considered perioperative and intraoperative variables, and their combination had area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) values of 0.79 (95% CI 0.67-0.91), 0.78 (95% CI 0.66-0.90), and 0.84 (95% CI 0.74-0.94) for predicting AKI, respectively. Furthermore, by utilizing net reclassification improvement and integrated discrimination improvement, plasma I3A showed significant improvements in risk reclassification compared to the clinical model alone. CONCLUSIONS: The dysregulation of gut microbiota metabolism in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery can result in an increase in indoles from tryptophan metabolism, which may be associated with postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI). This suggests that indoles may serve as a predictive biomarker for AKI in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Development and validation of a prediction model for postoperative intensive care unit admission in patients with non-cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Accurately forecasting patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) after surgery may improve clinical outcomes and guide the allocation of expensive and limited ICU resources. However, studies on predicting postoperative ICU admission in non-cardiac surgery have been limited. OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a prediction model combining pre- and intraoperative variables to predict ICU admission after non-cardiac surgery. METHODS: This study is based on data from the Vital Signs DataBase (VitalDB) database. Predictors were selected using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression method and logistic regression to develop a nomogram and an online web calculator. The model was internally verified by 1000-Bootstrap resampling. Performance of model was evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration curve and Brier score. The Youden's index was used to find the optimal nomogram's probability threshold. Clinical utility was assessed by decision curve analysis. RESULTS: This study included 5216 non-cardiac surgery patients; of these, 812 (15.6%) required postoperative ICU admission. Potential predictors included age, ASA classification, surgical department, emergency surgery, preoperative albumin level, preoperative urea nitrogen level, intraoperative crystalloid, intraoperative transfusion, intraoperative catheterization, and surgical time. A nomogram was constructed with an AUC of 0.917 (95% CI: 0.907-0.926) and a Brier score of 0.077. The Bootstrap-adjusted AUC was 0.914; the adjusted Brier score was 0.078. The calibration curve showed good agreement between predicted and actual probabilities; and the decision curve indicated clinical usefulness. Finally, we established an online web calculator for clinical application (https://xuzhikun.shinyapps.io/postopICUadmission1/). CONCLUSION: We developed and internally validated an easy-to-use nomogram for predicting ICU admission after non-cardiac surgery.

Adjuvant Lipoic acid Injection in Sepsis treatment in China (ALIS study): protocol for a randomised, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Sepsis is a life-threatening immune disorder resulting from an dysregulated host response to infection. Adjuvant therapy is a valuable complement to sepsis treatment. Lipoic acid has shown potential in attenuating sepsis-induced immune dysfunction and organ injury in vivo and in vitro studies. However, clinical evidence of lipoic acid injection in sepsis treatment is lacking. Hence, we devised a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lipoic acid injection in improving the prognosis of sepsis or septic shock patients. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A total of 352 sepsis patients are planned to be recruited from intensive care units (ICUs) at eight tertiary hospitals in China for this trial. Eligible participants will undergo randomisation in a 1:1 ratio, allocating them to either the control group or the experimental group. Both groups received routine care, with the experimental group also receiving lipoic acid injection and the control group receiving placebo. The primary efficacy endpoint is 28-day all-cause mortality. The secondary efficacy endpoints are as follows: ICU and hospital mortality, ICU and hospital stay, new acute kidney injury in ICU, demand and duration of life support, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA)/Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) and changes from baseline (ΔSOFA/ΔApache II), arterial blood lactate (LAC) and changes from baseline (ΔLAC), blood procalcitonin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and changes from baseline on day 1 (D1), D3, D5 and D7. Clinical safety will be assessed through analysis of adverse events. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Maoming People's Hospital (approval no. PJ2020MI-019-01). Informed consent will be obtained from the participants or representatives. The findings will be disseminated through academic conferences or journal publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR2000039023.

Prognostic value of soluble programmed cell death ligand-1 (sPD-L1) in lymphoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Previous studies on the prognostic value of soluble programmed cell death ligand 1 (sPD-L1) in lymphoma patients have yielded inconsistent results. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review to investigate the prognostic significance of sPD-L1 in lymphoma, especially in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and NK/T-cell lymphoma (NK/TCL). A total of 11 studies with 1185 patients were included in the meta-analysis, and the combined results indicated that high sPD-L1 levels were associated with worse overall survival (OS) (HR = 2.27, 95%CI: 1.70-3.04) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 2.68, 95%CI: 1.92-3.75). Furthermore, subgroup analysis showed that sPD-L1 remained a significant prognostic factor for OS. The meta-analysis indicated that sPD-L1 may be a potential prognostic biomarker for lymphoma, especially in DLBCL and NK/TCL, and high sPD-L1 levels were associated with worse survival prognosis.

Immune-related lncRNAs pairs prognostic score model for prediction of survival in acute myeloid leukemia patients.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common malignant and aggressive hematologic tumors, and risk stratification is indispensable to ensure proper treatment. But immune-related long noncoding RNAs (ir-lncRNAs) pairs prognostic risk models used to stratify AML have yet to be reported. In this study, we established a prognostic risk model based on eight ir-lncRNAs pairs using LASSO-penalized Cox regression analysis and successfully validated the model in an independent cohort. According to risk scores, patients were divided into a high-risk group and a low-risk group. High-risk patients presented more tumor mutation frequency and higher expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-related genes and immune checkpoint molecules. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) indicated that the transforming growth factors ß (TGFß) pathway was activated in the high-risk group; meanwhile, we found that TGFß1 mRNA levels were significantly elevated in AML patients and correlated with poor prognosis, which is closely related to drug resistance. Consistently, in vitro studies found that exogenous TGFß1 can protect AML cells from chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. Collectively, we developed an ir-lncRNA prognostic model that helps predict the prognosis of AML patients and provides valuable information about their response to immune checkpoint inhibitors, and we found that increased TGFß1 levels resulting in chemoresistance may be one of the leading causes of treatment failure in high-risk AML patients.

Metabolomic interplay between gut microbiome and plasma metabolome in cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury.

RATIONALE: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is a prevalent complication of cardiac surgery, which may be associated with a great risk of developing chronic kidney disease and mortality. This study aimed to investigate the possible links between gut microbiota metabolism and CSA-AKI. METHODS: A prospective cohort of patients who underwent cardiac surgery was continuously recruited, who were further divided into CSA-AKI group and Non-AKI group based on clinical outcomes. Their faecal and plasma samples were collected before surgery and were separately analysed by nontargeted and targeted metabolomics. The differential metabolites related to CSA-AKI were screened out using statistical methods, and altered metabolic pathways were determined by examining the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database. RESULTS: Nearly 1000 faecal metabolites were detected through high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) and bioinformatics at high and mid confidence levels, and 49 differential metabolites at high confidence level may perform essential biological functions and provide potential diagnostic indicators. Compared with the Non-AKI group, the patients in the CSA-AKI group displayed dramatic changes in gut microbiota metabolism, including amino acid metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, purine metabolism and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. Meanwhile, 188 plasma metabolites were identified and quantified by tandem MS, and 34 differential plasma metabolites were screened out between the two groups using univariate statistical analysis. These differential plasma metabolites were primarily enriched in the following metabolic pathways: sulphur metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism and ABC transporters. Furthermore, the content of indole metabolites in the faecal and plasma samples of the CSA-AKI group was higher than that of the Non-AKI group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CSA-AKI may have dysbiosis of their intestinal microbiota and metabolic abnormalities in their gut system before cardiac surgery. Thus, some metabolites and related metabolic pathways may be potential biomarkers and new therapeutic targets for the disease.

Serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and cystatin C for acute kidney injury detection in critically ill adults in China: a prospective, observational study.

OBJECTIVE: Serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and cystatin C (sCysC) are available clinically and beneficial in diagnosing acute kidney injury (AKI). Our purpose is to identify the performance of their combined diagnosis for AKI in critically ill patients. DESIGN: A prospectively recruited, observational study was performed. SETTING: Adults admitted to the intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1222 critically ill patients were enrolled in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: To identify the performance of the combined diagnosis of serum NT-proBNP and sCysC for AKI in critically ill patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC), category-free net reclassification index (NRI) and incremental discrimination improvement (IDI) were utilised for comparing the discriminative powers of a combined and single biomarker adjusted model of clinical variables enriched with NT-proBNP and sCysC for AKI. RESULTS: AKI was detected in 256 out of 1222 included patients (20.9%). AUC-ROC for NT-proBNP and sCysC to detect AKI had a significantly higher accuracy than any individual biomarker (p<0.05). After multivariate adjustment, a level of serum NT-proBNP ≥204 pg/mL was associated with 3.5-fold higher odds for AKI compared with those below the cut-off value. Similar results were obtained for sCysC levels (p<0.001). To detect AKI, adding NT-proBNP and sCysC to a clinical model further increased the AUC-ROC to 0.859 beyond that of the clinical model with or without sCysC (p<0.05). Moreover, the addition of these two to the clinical model significantly improved risk reclassification of AKI beyond that of the clinical model alone or with single biomarker (p<0.05), as measured by NRI and IDI. CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill individuals, serum NT-proBNP, sCysC and clinical risk factors combination improve the discriminative power for diagnosing AKI.

Prognostic value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography at diagnosis in untreated multiple myeloma patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Multiple myeloma is a clonal B-lymphocyte tumor of terminally differentiated plasma cells. 18F-FDG PET/CT can provide valuable data for the diagnosis, restaging, and evaluate prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM). This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of pre-treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT at diagnosis in MM patients. Related researches came from Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases through a systematic search, and the last one was updated on April 26, 2021. Cochran Q test and I-squared statistics were used to test for heterogeneity among the studies analyzed. The fixed model and random model were used to combine results when appropriate. Stata 12.0 was used to perform statistical analysis, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 16 articles with 2589 patients were included in this study. Our results indicated PET/CT has an excellent prognostic role in MM, that higher SUVmax, more FL and EMD were associated with poor OS and PFS. SUVmax: OS (HR 1.89, 95% CI 1.47-2.44), PFS (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.18-1.51); Fl: OS (HR 2.65, 95% CI 1.83-3.79), PFS (HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.40-1.86); EMD: OS (HR 2.11, 95% CI 1.41-3.16), PFS (HR 2.18, 95% CI 1.69-2.81). Furthermore, similar results were observed in most subgroup analyzes. Conclusion Pre-treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT examination has prognostic value for myeloma patients and has guiding significance for clinical treatment.

A protein encoded by circular ZNF609 RNA induces acute kidney injury by activating the AKT/mTOR-autophagy pathway.

Autophagy plays a crucial role in the development and progression of ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the function and mechanism of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the regulation of autophagy in ischemic AKI remain unexplored. Herein, we find that circ-ZNF609, originating from the ZNF609 locus, is highly expressed in the kidney after ischemia/reperfusion injury, and urinary circ-ZNF609 is a moderate predictor for AKI in heart disease patients. Overexpression of circ-ZNF609 can activate AKT3/mTOR signaling and induce autophagy flux impairment and cell apoptosis while inhibiting proliferation in HK-2 cells, which is blocked by silencing circ-ZNF609. Mechanistically, circ-ZNF609 encodes a functional protein consisting of 250 amino acids (aa), termed ZNF609-250aa, the overexpression of which can activate AKT3/mTOR signaling and induce autophagy flux impairment and cell apoptosis in HK-2 cells in vitro and in AKI kidneys in vivo. The blockade of AKT and mTOR signaling with pharmacological inhibitors is capable of reversing ZNF609-250aa-induced autophagy flux impairment and cell apoptosis in HK-2 cells. The present study demonstrates that highly expressed circ-ZNF609-encoded ZNF609-250aa induces cell apoptosis and AKI by impairing the autophagy flux via an AKT/mTOR-dependent mechanism. These findings imply that targeting circ-ZNF609 may be a novel therapy for ischemic AKI.

Palbociclib enhances the effect of doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in activated B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cells.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma around the world. While R-CHOP has significantly improved patient outcomes, a subset of patients still has poor outcome. Here, the oncogenic roles of cyclin dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6)-Cyclin D (CCND) signaling axis in DLBCL and its potential mechanism were investigated to explore the possibility of targeting CDK4/6-CCND signaling axis for DLBCL therapy. The transcription levels, functional enrichment analysis, mutation analysis, and prognostic values were performed via the Oncomine, GEPIA, UALCAN, cBioPortal, and Metascape and GenomicScape databases. Expression of CDK4/6-CCND signaling axis in DLBCL patients and DLBCL cell lines was evaluated by qRT-PCR. Additionally, the impact of CDK4/6-CCND signaling axis on cell viability and apoptosis in DLBCL cell lines were evaluated in vitro . The transcription levels of CDK4/6-CCND signaling were increased in DLBCL patients. Meanwhile, in Gene Expression Omnibus dataset, the expression of CDK4 and CCND2 was higher in ABC-DLBCL, whereas the expression of CCND1 and CCND3 was higher in GCB-DLBCL. Moreover, according to the results of qRT-PCR, the expression of CDK4/6-CCND signaling axis in ABC-DLBCL cell line is higher than that in GCB-DLBCL cell lines. Prognostic analysis indicated that upregulation of CDK4, CCND2, and CCND3 was significantly associated with poor survival. Cell function experiments showed that palbociclib could enhance the apoptosis-promoting and cell viability-inhibiting effects of doxorubicin on ABC-DLBCL (SU-DHL-2) cells. Doxorubicin accumulation experiment showed that palbociclib promoted doxorubicin accumulation in ABC-DLBCL cells. Additionally, Western blot analysis demonstrated that palbociclib prevented antiapoptotic protein BCL2 expression in ABC-DLBCL cell line. Our study provides novel insights into targeted therapies for ABC-DLBCL patients.

Interface damage and fracture mechanisms of a ceramic/polymer interface based on atomic-scale simulations.

The performance of ceramic/polymer composite materials is significantly affected by their internal interfaces. To reveal the intrinsic interface fracturing mechanism of ceramic/polymer interfaces, an interfacial model composed of SiO2 and polypropylene (PP) is investigated using the molecular dynamics method. The interface damage is quantified by the increase in the interface free volume and deformation of a single PP chain. As stretching speeds increase, the free volume and outflowing atoms of PP chains decrease with the same interfacial displacement, which results in the increase of the interface strength and fracture energy. At low stretching speeds, the interface damage mechanism is determined by a competition between attractions of the PP single chains from SiO2 and PP. In contrast, at higher stretching speeds, the interface fracture is more brittle and the interface strength and fracture energy are both higher owing to the smaller cavity ratio. The results of this study contribute to an in depth understanding of the fracture mechanism of ceramic/polymer interfaces in many systems.

Effects of Juhongtanke oral solution on alleviating the symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia: A multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: The timely alleviation of symptoms is essential for managing community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Juhongtanke oral solution is a traditional marketed Chinese patent medicine believed to ease CAP symptoms. The currently available evidence is based on a few retrospective studies of patients with various types of pneumonia, whereas robust randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that support this notion are lacking. Material and methods: In this multi-center, prospective RCT, patients were randomly allocated to receive routine treatment alone or a combination of Juhongtanke oral solution (20 mL q8h) for 5 days and maintained for an additional 3-day safety observation period. The primary outcome was Breathlessness, Cough, and Sputum Scale (BCSS) score evaluated on day 5. Secondary outcomes included the evaluation of cough and dyspnea items in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) from days 1-5, remission rate in BCSS and VAS during the treatment course, and the length of hospitalization and in-hospital mortality. Results: Of 272 patients assessed for eligibility, 240 were enrolled in the study (n =120 per group). The mean difference in BCSS evaluated on day 5 was a median 1 point [95%CI (1.00, 2.00)], significantly lower in the treatment group compared with the control group (p < 0.001). Similar results were observed in VAS on day 5, with statistics of a median 2 points [95%CI (1.40, 2.50)] in the cough item and a median 1 point [95%CI (0.50, 2.00)] in the dyspnea item, significantly lower in the treatment group compared with the control group (both p < 0.001). The treatment group had a favorable outcome in BCSS and VAS remission rate assessments compared with the control group, with 99.50% vs. 89.17% in BCSS (p = 0.01), 98.33% vs. 75% in the cough item of VAS (p < 0.001), and 88.33% vs. 62.50% in the dyspnea item of VAS (p < 0.001), respectively. No notable adverse effects were observed during the study. No differences were observed in the length of hospitalization between groups (with a median of 7 days for both groups, p = 0.871). Conclusion: Juhongtanke oral solution may be considered to alleviate the clinical symptoms of CAP.