Toxic epidermal necrolysis after injection of sclerosing agent and medical adhesive into oesophageal variceal ligation in a patient with a malignant liver tumour: A case report.

Chronic liver disease can cause an increase in portal sinus pressure, which may lead to rupture and bleeding of esophageal and gastric varices. Oesophageal variceal ligation, with use of sclerosing agent and tissue glue injection is commonly used in clinical practice to address oesophageal bleeding. A 58-year-old male patient with chronic liver disease was treated with oesophageal variceal ligation, sclerosing agent and tissue glue injection due to oesophageal and gastric variceal bleeding. After 2 days, the skin of the patient exhibited erythema to different degrees. After 10 days of dexamethasone treatment, the whole-body rash worsened, and a severe skin reaction appeared that was suggestive of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). Strict mucosal care was provided, and corticosteroids, γ globulin and adalimumab were concurrently used for treatment. After 20 days, the patient recovered from the skin problems. To the best of our knowledge, TEN after endoscopic surgery has rarely been reported in the relevant literature. Furthermore, when patients being treated with multiple drugs have erythema multiforme, physicians should be alert to the possibility of its development into TEN. The present case report summarizes the treatment methods for patients with TEN, providing a practical clinical basis and direction for the future diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

Novel receptor, mutation, vaccine, and establishment of coping mode for SARS-CoV-2: current status and future.

Since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its resultant pneumonia in December 2019, the cumulative number of infected people worldwide has exceeded 670 million, with over 6.8 million deaths. Despite the marketing of multiple series of vaccines and the implementation of strict prevention and control measures in many countries, the spread and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 have not been completely and effectively controlled. The latest research shows that in addition to angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2), dozens of protein molecules, including AXL, can act as host receptors for SARS-CoV-2 infecting human cells, and virus mutation and immune evasion never seem to stop. To sum up, this review summarizes and organizes the latest relevant literature, comprehensively reviews the genome characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 as well as receptor-based pathogenesis (including ACE2 and other new receptors), mutation and immune evasion, vaccine development and other aspects, and proposes a series of prevention and treatment opinions. It is expected to provide a theoretical basis for an in-depth understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 along with a research basis and new ideas for the diagnosis and classification, of COVID-19-related disease and for drug and vaccine research and development.

Whole-transcriptome sequencing with ceRNA regulation network construction and verification in glioblastoma.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the key genes involved in the occurrence and development of glioblastoma (GBM) by analyzing whole-transcriptome sequencing and biologic data from GBM and normal cerebral cortex tissues and to search for important noncoding RNA (ncRNA) molecular markers based on the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. METHODS: Ten GBM and normal cerebral cortex tissues were collected for full transcriptome sequencing, screened for differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs, miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs, and subjected to bioinformatic analysis. We constructed a Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network and a circRNA/lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network and identified them using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Finally, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) databases were used to validate and conduct a survival analysis of the target genes. RESULTS: A total of 5341 DEmRNAs, 259 DEmiRNAs, 3122 DElncRNAs, and 2135 DEcircRNAs were identified. Enrichment analysis showed that target genes regulated by DEmiRNA, DElncRNA, and DEcircRNA were closely related to chemical synaptic transmission and ion transmembrane transport. A PPI network analysis screened 10 hub genes that directly participate in tumor cell mitosis regulation. In addition, the ceRNA composite network showed that hsa-miR-296-5p and hsa-miR-874-5p were the central nodes of the network, and the reliability of relevant key molecules was successfully verified through RT-qPCR identification and the TCGA database. The CGGA database survival analysis produced 8 DEmRNAs closely related to GBM patient survival prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the important regulatory functions and molecular mechanisms of ncRNA molecules and identified hsa-miR-296-5p and hsa-miR-874-5p as key molecules in the ceRNA network. They may play an important role in GBM pathogenesis, treatment, and prognosis.

Exosomal circWDR62 promotes temozolomide resistance and malignant progression through regulation of the miR-370-3p/MGMT axis in glioma.

Exosome-mediated delivery of circular RNAs (circRNAs) is implicated in cancer progression. However, the role of exosomal circRNAs in the chemotherapy resistance of tumours remains poorly understood. Here we identified a novel circRNA, circWDR62. It was found that circWDR62 expression was upregulated in TMZ-resistant glioma cells and TMZ-resistant glioma cell-derived exosomes compared with their controls by using high-throughput microarray analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and high circWDR62 expression was associated with poor prognosis of glioma. Functionally, downregulation of circWDR62 expression could significantly inhibit the TMZ resistance and malignant progression of glioma. Further mechanistic studies showed that circWDR62 plays a role by sponging miR-370-3p as a competing endogenous RNA. Rescue experiments confirmed that MGMT is the downstream target of the circWDR62/miR-370-3p axis in glioma. In addition, circWDR62 could be transported between TMZ-resistant and TMZ-sensitive glioma cells via exosomes. Exosomal circWDR62 from TMZ-resistant cells conferred TMZ resistance in recipient sensitive cells while also enhancing the proliferation, migration and invasion of these cells. A series of clinical and in vivo trials corroborated that exosomal circWDR62 could promote TMZ chemoresistance and malignant progression of glioma. Our results demonstrate for the first time that exosome-mediated delivery of circWDR62 can promote TMZ resistance and malignant progression via targeting of the miR-370-3p/MGMT axis in vitro and in vivo in glioma, providing a new therapeutic strategy. Moreover, exosomal circWDR62 in human serum may serve as a promising therapeutic target and prognostic marker for glioma therapy.

Identification and characterization of N6-methyladenosine modification of circRNAs in glioblastoma.

This research systematically profiled the global N6-methyladenosine modification pattern of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in glioblastoma (GBM). Based on RNA methylation sequencing (MeRIP sequencing or N6-methyladenosine sequencing) and RNA sequencing, we described the N6-methyladenosine modification status and gene expression of circRNAs in GBM and normal brain tissues. N6-methyladenosine-related circRNAs were immunoprecipitated and validated by real-time quantitative PCR. Bioinformatics analysis and related screening were carried out. Compared with those of the NC group, the circRNAs from GBM exhibited 1370 new N6-methyladenosine peaks and 1322 missing N6-methyladenosine peaks. Among the loci associated with altered N6-methyladenosine peaks, 1298 were up-regulated and 1905 were down-regulated. The N6-methyladenosine level tended to be positively correlated with circRNA expression. Bioinformatics analysis was used to predict the biological function of N6-methyladenosine-modified circRNAs and the corresponding signalling pathways. In addition, through PCR validation combined with clinical data mining, we identified five molecules of interest (BUB1, C1S, DTHD1, F13A1 and NDC80) that could be initial candidates for further study of the function and mechanism of N6-methyladenosine-mediated GBM development. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated the N6-methyladenosine modification pattern of circRNAs in human GBM, revealing the possible roles of N6-methyladenosine-mediated novel noncoding RNAs in the origin and progression of GBM.

New understanding of the damage of SARS-CoV-2 infection outside the respiratory system.

Since early December 2019, a number of pneumonia cases associated with unknown coronavirus infection were identified in Wuhan, China, and many additional cases were identified in other regions of China and in other countries within 3 months. Currently, more than 80,000 cases have been diagnosed in China, including more than 3000 deaths. The epidemic is spreading to the rest of the world, posing a grave challenge to prevention and control. On February 12, 2020, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses and the World Health Organization officially named the novel coronavirus and associated pneumonia as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), respectively. According to the recent research on SARS-CoV-2, the virus mainly infects the respiratory system but may cause damage to other systems. In this paper, we will systematically review the pathogenic features, transmission routes, and infection mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2, as well as any adverse effects on the digestive system, urogenital system, central nervous system, and circulatory system, in order to provide a theoretical and clinical basis for the diagnosis, classification, treatment, and prognosis assessment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.