The impact of deep-inspiration breath-hold total-body PET/CT imaging on thoracic 18F-FDG avid lesions compared with free-breathing.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate PET/CT registration and quantification accuracy of thoracic lesions of a single 30-second deep-inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) technique with a total-body PET (TB-PET) scanner, and compared with free-breathing (FB) PET/CT. METHODS: 137 of the 145 prospectively enrolled patients finished a routine FB-300 s PET/CT exam and a 30-second DIBH TB-PET with chest to pelvis low dose CT. The total-body FB-300 s, FB-30 s, and DIBH-30 s PET images were reconstructed. Quantitative assessment (SUVmax and SUVmean of lung and other organs), PET/CT registration assessment and lesion analysis (SUVmax, SUVpeak, SUVmean and tumor-background ratio) were compared with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. RESULTS: The SUVmax and SUVmean of the lung with DIBH-30 s were significantly lower than those with FB. The distances of the liver dome between PET and CT were significantly smaller with DIBH-30 s than with FB. 195 assessable lesions in 106 patients were included, and the detection sensitivity was 97.9 % and 99.0 % in FB-300 s, and DIBH-30 s, respectively. For both small co-identified lesions (n = 86) and larger co-identified lesions with a diameter ≥ 1 cm (n = 91), the lesion SUVs were significantly greater with DIBH-30 s than with FB-300 s. Regarding lesion location, the differences of the SUVs for the lesions in the lower thorax area (n = 97, p < 0.001) were significant between DIBH-30 s and FB-300 s, while these differences were not statistically significant in the upper thorax (n = 80, p > 0.05). The lesion tumor-to-surrounding-background ratio (TsBR) was significantly increased, both in the upper and lower thorax. CONCLUSION: The TB DIBH PET/CT technique is feasible in clinical practice. It reduces the background lung uptake and achieves better registration and lesion quantification, especially in the lower thorax.

Mechanisms of Triton X-100 reducing the Ag+-resistance of Enterococcus faecalis.

To investigate the mechanism of Triton X-100 (TX-100) reducing the Ag+-resistance of Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), and evaluate the antibacterial effect of TX-100 + Ag+ against the induced Ag+-resistant E. faecalis (AREf). The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of AgNO3 against E. faecalis with/without TX-100 were determined to verify the enhanced antibacterial activity. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to observe the morphological changes of E. faecalis after treatment. The intra- and extracellular concentration of Ag+ in treated E. faecalis was evaluated using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The changes in cell membrane potential and integrity of treated E. faecalis were also observed using the flow cytometer. Moreover, AREf was induced through continuous exposure to sub-MIC of Ag+ and the antibacterial effect of TX-100 + Ag+ on AREf was further evaluated. The addition of 0.04% TX-100 showed maximal enhanced antibacterial effect of Ag+ against E. faecalis. The TEM and ICP-MS results demonstrated that TX-100 could facilitate Ag+ to enter E. faecalis through changing the membrane structure and integrity. Flow cytometry further showed the effect of TX-100 on membrane potential and permeability of E. faecalis. In addition, the enhanced antibacterial effect of TX-100 + Ag+ was also confirmed on induced AREf. TX-100 can facilitate Ag+ to enter E. faecalis through disrupting the membrane structure and changing the membrane potential and permeability, thus reducing the Ag+-resistance of E. faecalis and enhancing the antibacterial effect against either normal E. faecalis or induced AREf.

Identification and Root Cause Analysis of the Visible Particles Commonly Encountered in the Biopharmaceutical Industry.

Visible particle is an important issue in the biopharmaceutical industry, and it may occur across all the stages in the life cycle of biologics. Upon the occurrence of visible particles, it is often necessary to conduct chemical identification and root cause analysis to safeguard the safety and efficacy of the biotherapeutic products. In this article, we present a number of typical particles and relevant root cause analysis in the categories of extrinsic, intrinsic and inherent particles that are commonly encountered in the biopharma industry. In particular, the optical images of particles obtained both in situ and after isolation are provided, along with the spectral and elemental information. The particle identification was carried out with multiple microscopic and microspectroscopic techniques, including stereo optical microscopy, Fourier transform infrared microscopy, confocal Raman microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Both commercial and in-house spectral databases were used for comparison and identification. In addition to particle identification, our significant efforts are placed on the root cause analysis of the addressed particles with the intention to provide a relatively whole picture of the particle related issues and practical references to particle mitigation for our peers in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Analysis of continuous laser-irradiation resistance of liquid-crystal optical switch based on sapphire-substrate GaN.

Developing high-power laser technology and its applications necessitates improvements in the laser-irradiation resistance of liquid-crystal modulation devices. In this study, the thermal characteristics of substrate and electrode materials, including sapphire-substrate indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes, K9 glass-substrate ITO electrodes, sapphire-substrate gallium nitride (GaN) electrodes, and liquid-crystal optical switches, are investigated using simulation and experimental methods. Results show that the sapphire-substrate GaN electrode demonstrates the best heat dissipation and that the maximum temperature at the center of the spot under 75 W laser irradiation is 319 K, 52 K lower than that of an equally thick sapphire-substrate ITO electrode and 225 K lower than that of an equally thick K9 glass-substrate ITO electrode (steady state and test time >2min). Additionally, the experimental results show that the liquid-crystal optical switch, comprising a sapphire substrate and GaN electrode, can endure continuous laser irradiation up to 18 W with a switching ratio of approximately 20:1. The optical switch with GaN electrodes on a sapphire substrate can endure a power density of 156W/c m 2, much higher than that (21W/c m 2, steady state and test time >2min) tolerable by the liquid-crystal optical switch with ITO transparent electrodes and K9 glass substrates.

Surface charge modulation boosts electrocatalytic water splitting over iridium catalysts on a polyimide support.

Developing high-performance iridium (Ir)-based catalysts with minimal precious Ir metal is a significant but challenging step towards the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here, we report a high-performance OER catalyst with Ir nanoparticles on a polyimide support, where the polyimide support can effectively modulate the electronic structures of the Ir active sites for decreased thermodynamic barriers, but also enrich the local proton concentration near the Ir active sites, enhancing the OER rates.

The genomes of Dahlia pinnata, Cosmos bipinnatus, and Bidens alba in tribe Coreopsideae provide insights into polyploid evolution and inulin biosynthesis.

BACKGROUND: The Coreopsideae tribe, a subset of the Asteraceae family, encompasses economically vital genera like Dahlia, Cosmos, and Bidens, which are widely employed in medicine, horticulture, ecology, and food applications. Nevertheless, the lack of reference genomes hinders evolutionary and biological investigations in this tribe. RESULTS: Here, we present 3 haplotype-resolved chromosome-level reference genomes of the tribe Coreopsideae, including 2 popular flowering plants (Dahlia pinnata and Cosmos bipinnatus) and 1 invasive weed plant (Bidens alba), with assembled genome sizes 3.93 G, 1.02 G, and 1.87 G, respectively. We found that Gypsy transposable elements contribute mostly to the larger genome size of D. pinnata, and multiple chromosome rearrangements have occurred in tribe Coreopsideae. Besides the shared whole-genome duplication (WGD-2) in the Heliantheae alliance, our analyses showed that D. pinnata and B. alba each underwent an independent recent WGD-3 event: in D. pinnata, it is more likely to be a self-WGD, while in B. alba, it is from the hybridization of 2 ancestor species. Further, we identified key genes in the inulin metabolic pathway and found that the pseudogenization of 1-FEH1 and 1-FEH2 genes in D. pinnata and the deletion of 3 key residues of 1-FFT proteins in C. bipinnatus and B. alba may probably explain why D. pinnata produces much more inulin than the other 2 plants. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the genomic resources for the Coreopsideae tribe will promote phylogenomics in Asteraceae plants, facilitate ornamental molecular breeding improvements and inulin production, and help prevent invasive weeds.

High-precision spatiotemporal three-dimensional ultrashort pulse synchronization with optical Kerr effect.

In studying the interaction of multiple ultrashort pulses with matter, high requirements are put forward for spatiotemporal synchronization accuracy. Limited by the response time and bandwidth of existing devices, the synchronization of multiple ultrashort pulses still faces significant difficulties. By observing the transient phenomena of the optical Kerr effect, high-precision, three-dimensional (x, y, t) synchronization of ultrashort pulses at different angles was achieved. In the optical Kerr effect, the polarization state of the signal pulse changes only when it coincides with the pump pulse, at which point the signal pulse passes through the analyzer. The changes in the intensity and phase of the signal pulse is positively correlated with the degree of spatiotemporal coincidence. In this study, 10-ps pulses were used in the experiments. By observing the intensity and phase distribution of the signal pulses, a time synchronization accuracy between two pulses of less than 1 ps and spatial synchronization accuracy of ±125 µm and ±3 µm in the x and y directions, respectively, were achieved. Moreover, the synchronization of two pulses at an angle of 90 ° was measured, further proving that the method can achieve the spatiotemporal synchronization of pulses with large angles. Therefore, this method has important application prospects in the study of multi-beam interactions with matter and other ultrafast physical phenomena.

Unraveling verticillium wilt resistance: insight from the integration of transcriptome and metabolome in wild eggplant.

Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae, is a soil-borne disease affecting eggplant. Wild eggplant, recognized as an excellent disease-resistant resource against verticillium wilt, plays a pivotal role in grafting and breeding for disease resistance. However, the underlying resistance mechanisms of wild eggplant remain poorly understood. This study compared two wild eggplant varieties, LC-2 (high resistance) and LC-7 (sensitive) at the phenotypic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic levels to determine the molecular basis of their resistance to verticillium wilt. These two varieties exhibit substantial phenotypic differences in petal color, leaf spines, and fruit traits. Following inoculation with V. dahliae, LC-2 demonstrated significantly higher activities of polyphenol oxidase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase, ß-1,3 glucanase, and chitinase than did LC-7. RNA sequencing revealed 4,017 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with a significant portion implicated in processes associated with disease resistance and growth. These processes encompassed defense responses, cell wall biogenesis, developmental processes, and biosynthesis of spermidine, cinnamic acid, and cutin. A gene co-expression analysis identified 13 transcription factors as hub genes in modules related to plant defense response. Some genes exhibited distinct expression patterns between LC-2 and LC-7, suggesting their crucial roles in responding to infection. Further, metabolome analysis identified 549 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) between LC-2 and LC-7, primarily consisting of compounds such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, lipids, and other metabolites. Integrated transcriptome and metabolome analyses revealed the association of 35 gene-metabolite pairs in modules related to the plant defense response, highlighting the interconnected processes underlying the plant defense response. These findings characterize the molecular basis of LC-2 resistance to verticillium wilt and thus have potential value for future breeding of wilt-resistant eggplant varieties.

Metagenomic next-generation sequencing-assisted diagnosis of a rare case of primary cutaneous acanthamoebiasis in an HIV patient: a case report.

Pathogenic and free-living Acanthamoeba are widely distributed in the environment and have been reported to cause keratitis and universally fatal encephalitis. Primary cutaneous acanthamoebiasis caused by Acanthamoeba is exceedingly rare and presents as isolated necrotic cutaneous lesions without involvement of the cornea or central nervous system. Cutaneous acanthamoebiasis often occurs in immunocompromised patients and is likely overlooked or even misdiagnosed only by cutaneous biopsy tissue histopathological analysis. Here, we report a HIV-infected 63-year-old female with oral leukoplakia for 4 months and scattered large skin ulcers all over the body for 2 months. The cause of the cutaneous lesions was unclear through cutaneous specimens histopathological analysis, and subsequently Acanthamoeba were detected by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), which may be the cause of cutaneous lesions. Based on the mNGS results, a pathologist subsequently reviewed the previous pathological slides and found trophozoites of Acanthamoeba so that the cause was identified, and the skin ulcers improved significantly after treatment with multi-drug combination therapy. Acanthamoeba is also a host of pathogenic microorganisms. The presence of endosymbionts enhances the pathogenicity of Acanthamoeba, and no other pathogens were reported in this case. mNGS is helpful for rapidly diagnosing the etiology of rare skin diseases and can indicate the presence or absence of commensal microorganisms.

RACGAP1 knockdown synergizes and enhances the effects of chemotherapeutics on ovarian cancer.

Among the three most prevalent cancers affecting the female reproductive system, ovarian cancer (OV) ranks as the second most frequently diagnosed. It is important to investigate the genomic complexity of OV to develop diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Through the utilization of bioinformatics analysis, it was determined that RacGTPase Activating Protein 1 (RACGAP1) holds significant significance in the field of OV chemotherapeutics, an aspect that has not been thoroughly explored in prior investigations. In our study, a notable increase in RACGAP1 expression was detected in ovarian cancer, demonstrating a robust association with clinicopathological features and patient prognosis. In vivo and in vitro testing revealed that RACGAP1 acts synergistically with chemotherapeutics to enhance their effects on ovarian cancer. Furthermore, an interaction between RACGAP1 and the subunit G2 of the condensin II complex, known as non-SMC condensin II complex subunit G2 (NCAPG2), has been identified. Our findings may provide new insight for improving therapeutic strategies for OV.

Triton X-100 counteracts antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus faecalis: An in vitro study.

OBJECTIVES: The high prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a threat to the global public health. The appropriate use of adjuvants to restore the antimicrobial activity of antibiotics against resistant bacteria could be an effective strategy for combating antibiotic resistance. In this study, we investigated the counteraction of Triton X-100 (TX-100) and the mechanisms underlying the antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis). METHODS: Standard, wild-type (WT), and induced antibiotic-resistant E. faecalis strains were used in this study. In vitro antibacterial experiments were conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of gentamicin sulfate and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride in the presence and absence of 0.02 % TX-100 against both planktonic and biofilm bacteria. Transcriptomic and untargeted metabolomic analyses were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms of TX-100 as an antibiotic adjuvant. Additionally, membrane permeability, membrane potential, glycolysis-related enzyme activity, intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and expression levels of virulence genes were assessed. The biocompatibility of different drug combinations was also evaluated. RESULTS: A substantially low TX-100 concentration improved the antimicrobial effects of gentamicin sulfate or ciprofloxacin hydrochloride against antibiotic-resistant E. faecalis. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that TX-100 increased cell membrane permeability and dissipated membrane potential. Moreover, antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity of E. faecalis were attenuated by TX-100 via downregulation of the ABC transporter, phosphotransferase system (PTS), and ATP supply. CONCLUSIONS: TX-100 enhanced the antimicrobial activity of gentamicin sulfate and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride at a low concentration by improving antibiotic susceptibility and attenuating antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity of E. faecalis. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: These findings provide a theoretical basis for developing new root canal disinfectants that can reduce antibiotic resistance.

Triton X-100 enhanced antibacterial effect of photodynamic therapy against Enterococcus faecalis infection: an in vitro study.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective method for bacterial infection control in root canals of teeth with a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. However, its application in root canal treatment is limited due to its inefficiency under hypoxic conditions and dentin staining. Triton X-100 (TX) shows great potential in enhancing the efficiency of antimicrobial agents through improving bacterial membrane permeability. The present study employed a combination of toluidine blue O (TB)-mediated PDT with TX to target the Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), a bacterium with strong resistance to various antibacterial agents and mostly detected in infected root canals. PDT combined with TX showed enhanced antibacterial efficiency against both planktonic cells and biofilms of E. faecalis. At the same time, TX enhanced the antibacterial effect in dentinal tubules and reduced the incubation time. Mechanism studies revealed that TX improved reactive oxygen species (ROS) production through increasing the proportion of TB monomers. Additionally, increased membrane permeability and wettability were also observed. The findings demonstrated the PDT combined with TX could be used as a highly effective method for the root canal disinfection of teeth.

MyD88 Inhibition Attenuates Cerebral Ischemia-reperfusion Injury by Regulating the Inflammatory Response and Reducing Blood-brain Barrier Damage.

Myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88), a downstream molecule directly linked to Toll-like receptor (TLRs) and IL1 receptor, has been implicated in ischemia-reperfusion injury across various organs. However, its role in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) remains unclear. Five transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) microarray datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We screened these datasets for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using the GSE35338 and GSE58720 datasets and performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) using the GSE30655, GSE28731, and GSE32529 datasets to identify the core module related to tMCAO. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the intersecting DEGs and genes in the core module. Finally, we identified Myd88 was the core gene. In addition, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) validated that TNFα, IL17, and MyD88 signaling pathways were significantly enriched in tMCAO. Subsequently, we investigated the mechanistic role of MyD88 in the tMCAO model using male C57BL/6 mice. MyD88 expression increased significantly 24 h after reperfusion. After intraperitoneal administration of TJ-M2010-5, a MyD88-specific inhibitor, during reperfusion, the infarction volumes in the mice were ameliorated. TJ-M2010-5 inhibits the activation of microglia and astrocytes. Moreover, it attenuates the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines TNFα, IL17, and MMP9 while preserving the expression level of ZO1 after tMCAO, thereby safeguarding against blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Finally, our findings suggest that MyD88 regulates the IRAK4/IRF5 signaling pathway associated with microglial activation. MyD88 participates in CIRI by regulating the inflammatory response and BBB damage following tMCAO.

MMCA-NET: A Multimodal Cross Attention Transformer Network for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Tumor Segmentation Based on a Total-Body PET/CT System.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumor primarily treated by radiotherapy. Accurate delineation of the target tumor is essential for improving the effectiveness of radiotherapy. However, the segmentation performance of current models is unsatisfactory due to poor boundaries, large-scale tumor volume variation, and the labor-intensive nature of manual delineation for radiotherapy. In this paper, MMCA-Net, a novel segmentation network for NPC using PET/CT images that incorporates an innovative multimodal cross attention transformer (MCA-Transformer) and a modified U-Net architecture, is introduced to enhance modal fusion by leveraging cross-attention mechanisms between CT and PET data. Our method, tested against ten algorithms via fivefold cross-validation on samples from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and the public HECKTOR dataset, consistently topped all four evaluation metrics with average Dice similarity coefficients of 0.815 and 0.7944, respectively. Furthermore, ablation experiments were conducted to demonstrate the superiority of our method over multiple baseline and variant techniques. The proposed method has promising potential for application in other tasks.

Advantages and Challenges of Total-Body PET/CT at a Tertiary Cancer Center: Insights from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center.

In recent decades, researchers worldwide have directed their efforts toward enhancing the quality of PET imaging. The detection sensitivity and image resolution of conventional PET scanners with a short axial field of view have been constrained, leading to a suboptimal signal-to-noise ratio. The advent of long-axial-field-of-view PET scanners, exemplified by the uEXPLORER system, marked a significant advancement. Total-body PET imaging possesses an extensive scan range of 194 cm and an ultrahigh detection sensitivity, and it has emerged as a promising avenue for improving image quality while reducing the administered radioactivity dose and shortening acquisition times. In this review, we elucidate the application of the uEXPLORER system at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, including the disease distribution, patient selection workflow, scanning protocol, and several enhanced clinical applications, along with encountered challenges. We anticipate that this review will provide insights into routine clinical practice and ultimately improve patient care.

Comparison of clinical characteristics and disease burden of febrile seizures in children with and without COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Febrile seizures (FS) are the most common seizure disorder in children and a common neurologic complication in children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to identify differences in clinical characteristics and disease burden between FS with and without COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of medical data at our hospital from December 2019 to July 2023, focusing on hospitalized patients under the age of 14 diagnosed with FS who underwent COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were employed to compare the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups in terms of clinical characteristics and disease burden. RESULTS: A total of 514 patients were included, with 106 testing positive for COVID-19 and 408 testing negative. Patients with COVID-19 were older (34.87 ± 6.16 vs. 28.61 ± 11.35 months, P < 0.001) and had a higher proportion of males (79.2% vs. 62.3%, P = 0.001). The COVID-19 group had longer seizure durations (4.57 ± 4.38 vs. 3.22 ± 2.91 min, P = 0.006) and more complex FS (25.5% vs. 15.9%, P = 0.022). Laboratory tests showed lower lymphocyte counts in the COVID-19 group (1.87 ± 1.48 vs. 2.75 ± 1.51 × 103/µL, P < 0.001) and higher creatine kinase levels (158.49 ± 82.89 vs. 110.89 ± 56.11 U/L, P < 0.001). No significant differences were found in hospital costs, length of hospitalization, and intensive care unit admissions. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be knowledgeable about the distinct clinical characteristics of FS in children with COVID-19. Despite distinct features, the prognosis remains favorable and does not require excessive intervention. Ongoing monitoring and research are needed to fully understand the impact of COVID-19 on FS and optimize management strategies.

Dental pulp regeneration strategies: A review of status quo and recent advances.

Microorganisms, physical factors such as temperature or mechanical injury, and chemical factors such as free monomers from composite resin are the main causes of dental pulp diseases. Current clinical treatment methods for pulp diseases include the root canal therapy, vital pulp therapy and regenerative endodontic therapy. Regenerative endodontic therapy serves the purpose of inducing the regeneration of new functional pulp tissues through autologous revascularization or pulp tissue engineering. This article first discusses the current clinical methods and reviews strategies as well as the research outcomes regarding the pulp regeneration. Then the in vivo models, the prospects and challenges for regenerative endodontic therapy were further discussed.

Effector Cs02526 from Ciboria shiraiana induces cell death and modulates plant immunity.

Sclerotinia disease is one of the most devastating fungal diseases worldwide, as it reduces the yields of many economically important crops. Pathogen-secreted effectors play crucial roles in infection processes. However, key effectors of Ciboria shiraiana, the pathogen primarily responsible for sclerotinia disease in mulberry (Morus spp.), remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized the effector Cs02526 in C. shiraiana and found that Cs02526 could induce cell deathin a variety of plants. Moreover, Cs02526-induced cell death was mediated by the central immune regulator BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1-associated receptor kinase 1 (BAK1), dependent on a 67-amino acid fragment. Notably, Cs02526 homologues were widely distributed in hemibiotrophic and necrotrophic phytopathogenic fungi, but the homologues failed to induce cell death in plants. Pre-treatment of plants with recombinant Cs02526 protein enhanced resistance against both C. shiraiana and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Furthermore, the pathogenicity of C. shiraiana was diminished upon spraying plants with synthetic dsRNA-Cs02526. In conclusion, our findings highlight the cell death-inducing effector Cs02526 as a potential target for future biological control strategies against plant diseases.

Icariin alleviates oxygen-induced retinopathy by targeting microglia hexokinase 2.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a retinal disease-causing retinal neovascularization that can lead to blindness. Oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) is a widely used ROP animal model. Icariin (ICA) has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammation properties; however, whether ICA has a regulatory effect on OIR remains unclear. In this study, ICA alleviated pathological neovascularization, microglial activation and blood-retina barrier (BRB) damage in vivo. Further results indicated that endothelial cell tube formation, migration and proliferation were restored by ICA treatment in vitro. Proteomic microarrays and molecular mimicry revealed that ICA can directly bind to hexokinase 2 (HK2) and decrease HK2 protein expression in vivo and in vitro. In addition, ICA inhibited the AKT/mTOR/HIF1α pathway activation. The effects of ICA on pathological neovascularization, microglial activation and BRB damage disappeared after HK2 overexpression in vivo. Similarly, the endothelial cell function was revised after HK2 overexpression. HK2 overexpression reversed ICA-induced AKT/mTOR/HIF1α pathway inhibition in vivo and in vitro. Therefore, ICA prevented pathological angiogenesis in OIR in an HK2-dependent manner, implicating ICA as a potential therapeutic agent for ROP.