A prospective analysis of the efficacy of phase II autologous skin grafting on deep second­degree burns on the dorsum of the hand.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility of reducing the damage to the donor site while preserving the functional recovery of the dorsum of the hand following burn injury. An attempt was made to analyze the effect of a phased surgery approach on inflammatory indicators. A two-phase treatment was administered on a total of 64 patients with deep second-degree burns on the dorsum of the hand who were admitted to Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital between January 2020 and March 2023. During phase I treatment, the wounds were covered with xenogeneic (porcine) skin, followed by the application of autologous thin intermediate thickness skin grafts for wound repair in phase II treatment 1 week later. The surgical results, complications, patient satisfaction and inflammatory response indicators were then analyzed. The mean wound healing time of these patients was found to be 21.94 days without complications. The mean survival rate was 98.66%, and the overall satisfaction score of the patients was high. Finally, the white blood cell, C-reactive protein and IL-6 levels of these patients were continuously decreased 2 days preoperatively and 2 days postoperatively in phase I, and 2 days preoperatively and 2 days postoperatively in phase II. In combination, the effect of phased autologous skin grafting in patients with severe second-degree burns on the dorsum of the hand was ideal, as it significantly reduced inflammatory response and was beneficial to the functional recovery of the hand. Therefore, phased autologous skin grafting is worthy of wider application.

Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Human Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Alleviate Sepsis-Induced Acute Lung Injury through a MicroRNA-150-5p-Dependent Mechanism.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from human adipose mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) may exert a therapeutic benefit in alleviating sepsis-induced organ dysfunction by delivering cargos that include RNAs and proteins to target cells. The current study aims to explore the protective effect of miR-150-5p delivered by hADSC-EVs on sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI). We noted low expression of miR-150-5p in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from patients with sepsis-induced ALI. The hADSC-EVs were isolated and subsequently cocultured with macrophages. It was established that hADSC-EVs transferred miR-150-5p to macrophages, where miR-150-5p targeted HMGA2 to inhibit its expression and, consequently, inactivated the MAPK pathway. This effect contributed to the promotion of M2 polarization of macrophages and the inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines. Further, mice were made septic by cecal ligation and puncture in vivo and treated with hADSC-EVs to elucidate the effect of hADSC-EVs on sepsis-induced ALI. The in vivo experimental results confirmed a suppressive role of hADSC-EVs in sepsis-induced ALI. Our findings suggest that hADSC-EV-mediated transfer of miR-150-5p may be a novel mechanism underlying the paracrine effects of hADSC-EVs on the M2 polarization of macrophages in sepsis-induced ALI.

circSSPO boosts growth of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through upregulation of micrRNA-6820-5p-mediated KLK8 and PKD1 expression.

Investigation on a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network attracted lots of attention due its function in cancer regulation. Here, we probed into the possible molecular mechanism of circSSPO/microRNA-6820-5p (miR-6820-5p)/kallikrein-related peptidase 8 (KLK8)/PKD1 network in the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Following whole-transcriptome sequencing and differential analysis in collected ESCC tissue samples, circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network affecting ESCC was investigated. After interaction measurement among circSSPO/miR-6820-5p/KLK8/PKD1, their regulatory roles in ESCC cell functions in vitro and xenograft tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo were analyzed. The bioinformatics prediction and sequencing results screened that circSSPO, miR-6820-5p, KLK8, and PKD1 were associated with ESCC development. In ESCC, miR-6820-5p was expressed at very low levels, while circSSPO, KLK8, and PKD1 were highly expressed. In vitro cell experiments further proved that circSSPO competitively inhibited miR-6820-5p to induce ESCC cell malignant properties. Moreover, knockdown of KLK8 or PKD1 inhibited ESCC cell malignant properties. circSSPO also promoted the tumorigenic and metastasis of ESCC through the upregulation of KLK8 and PKD1 expression in vivo. We found that circSSPO was an oncogenic circRNA that was significantly abundant in ESCC tissues and circSSPO exhibited an oncogenic activity in ESCC by elevating expression of KLK8 and PKD1 through suppressing miR-6820-5p expression.

miR-214 could promote myocardial fibrosis and cardiac mesenchymal transition in VMC mice through regulation of the p53 or PTEN-PI3K-Akt signali pathway, promoting CF proliferation and inhibiting its ng pathway.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the role of miR-214 in the bidirectional regulation of p53 and PTEN and its influence on myocardial fibrosis and cardiac mesenchymal transformation in mice with viral myocarditis (VMC). METHODS: The study established a VMC model in BALB/c mice by injecting them with the CVB3 virus intraperitoneally. Techniques such as ELISA, H&E staining, Masson staining, immunohistochemical staining, RT-qPCR, western blot, and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay were used to detect the expression levels of relevant factors in tissues and cells. Isolation and culture of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were also conducted. RESULTS: The study found that miR-214 bidirectional regulation of p53 and PTEN promotes myocardial fibrosis and cardiac mesenchymal transformation in mice with VMC. The expression levels of collagen-related peptides, inflammatory-related factors, miR-214, mesenchymal transformation-related factors, and fibrosis-related factors were significantly increased, while the expression levels of p53, PTEN, and epithelial/endothelial cell phenotype marker factors were significantly decreased. Downregulation of miR-214 or upregulation of p53 and PTEN expression inhibited inflammatory cell and fibroblast infiltration in VMC mouse myocardial tissue. It reduced the proliferation ability while increasing the apoptosis of cardiac fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: miR-214 plays a significant role in the bidirectional inhibition of p53 and PTEN, which leads to myocardial fibrosis and cardiac mesenchymal transformation in mice with VMC. Downregulation of miR-214 or upregulation of p53 and PTEN expression may provide potential therapeutic targets for treating VMC-induced cardiac fibrosis and mesenchymal transformation.

Monocyte-derived exosomal XIST exacerbates acute lung injury by regulating the miR-448-5p/HMGB2 axis.

Monocyte-derived exosomes (Exos) have been implicated in inflammation-related autoimmune/inflammatory diseases via transferring bioactive cargoes to recipient cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effect of monocyte-derived Exos on the initiation and the development of acute lung injury (ALI) by delivering long non-coding RNA XIST. Key factors and regulatory mechanisms in ALI were predicted by bioinformatics methods. BALB/c mice were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to establish an ALI in vivo model and then injected with Exos isolated from monocytes transduced with sh-XIST to evaluate the effect of monocyte-derived exosomal XIST on ALI. HBE1 cells were co-cultured with Exos isolated from monocytes transduced with sh-XIST for further exploration of its effect. Luciferase reporter, RIP and RNA pull-down assays were performed to verify the interaction between miR-448-5p and XIST, miR-448-5p and HMGB2. miR-448-5p was significantly poorly expressed while XIST and HMGB2 were highly expressed in the LPS-induced mouse model of ALI. Monocyte-derived Exos transferred XIST into HBE1 cells where XIST competitively inhibited miR-448-5p and reduced the binding of miR-448-5p to HMGB2, thus upregulating the expression of HMGB2. Furthermore, in vivo data revealed that XIST delivered by monocyte-derived Exos downregulated miR-448-5p expression and up-regulated HMGB2 expression, ultimately contributing to ALI in mice. Overall, our results indicate that XIST delivered by monocyte-derived Exos aggravates ALI via regulating the miR-448-5p/HMGB2 signaling axis.

Medical and non-medical students' knowledge, attitude and willingness towards the COVID-19 vaccine in China: a cross-sectional online survey.

In the context of the novel Coronavirus outbreak and China's official policy of free vaccination against COVID-19 for all, medical students' attitudes and knowledge toward vaccines can influence public acceptance to some extent, however, the large base of non-medical students cannot be ignored. We aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and willingness toward the COVID-19 vaccine among medical and non-medical students. Online surveys were completed by 652 medical students and 590 non-medical students to compare differences in knowledge and attitude of COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination willingness from three universities in the Zhejiang Province. The awareness rate of the vaccine among medical students (65.3%) was higher than that of non-medical students (53.6%). The approval rate of medical students for the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine was higher than that of non-medical students. 81.8% of university students were willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19; Multiple stepwise regression analyses showed that lower class grades, rural students' origin, COVID-19 vaccine attitude and higher cognition level of health self-management influenced the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among medical students. However, urban origin, COVID-19 vaccine attitude were the factors hindering non-medical students' vaccination against COVID-19. The knowledge, attitude and willingness toward the COVID-19 vaccine on medical and non-medical students had different characteristics. Moreover, health self-management was associated with COVID-19 vaccination willingness. Staff involved in the university should pay more attention to the self-managementability of students, send out accurate and transparent information to enhance their cognitive level, further improving the students' willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Perceived uncertainty stress and its predictors among residents in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prevalence of and risk factors for uncertainty stress among residents during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unclear. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore and identify the risk factors for high perceived uncertainty stress among the general public in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Information about the respondents' socioeconomic characteristics, knowledge of and attitudes towards COVID-19, perceived uncertainty stress, social capital, anxiety, and depressive symptoms was collected and analysed. Among the 1205 respondents, 45.3% (546) reported a high level of uncertainty stress. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that anxiety (ß=3.871,P<0.001) and depression symptoms (ß=2.458, P<0.001), family residence (in towns or rural areas) (ß=0.947, P<0.001), lack of support for local epidemic control strategies (ß=1.253, P<0.001), worry about the pandemic (ß=1.191, P<0.001), and symptoms of weakness among family members (ß=1.525, P=0.002) were positively associated with perceived uncertainty stress. Cognitive social capital (ß=-0.883, P<0.001) and social networks (ß=-0.726, P<0.001) were negatively, but social participation (ß=0.714, P<0.001) was positively associated with perceived uncertainty stress. Our findings identify factors associated with a higher level of uncertainty stress and should be helpful in the consideration of effective policies and interventions for uncertainty stress during the initial phases of public health emergencies.