Neutrophil extracellular traps predict postoperative pulmonary complications in paediatric patients undergoing parental liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Parental liver transplantation (PLT) improves long-term survival rates in paediatric hepatic failure patients; however, the mechanism of PLT-induced postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) is unclear. METHODS: A total of 133 paediatric patients undergoing PLT were included. Serum levels of NET components, including circulating free DNA (cfDNA), DNA-histone complex, and myeloperoxidase (MPO)-DNA complex, were detected. The occurrence of PPCs post-PLT, prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay and death within one year were recorded as the primary and secondary outcomes. RESULTS: The overall rate of PPCs in the hospital was 47.4%. High levels of serum cfDNA, DNA-histone complexes and MPO-DNA complexes were associated with an increased risk of PPCs (for cfDNA, OR 2.24; for DNA-histone complex, OR 1.64; and for MPO-DNA, OR 1.94), prolonged ICU stay (OR 1.98, 4.26 and 3.69, respectively), and death within one year (OR 1.53, 2.65 and 1.85, respectively). The area under the curve of NET components for the prediction of PPCs was 0.843 for cfDNA, 0.813 for DNA-histone complexes, and 0.906 for MPO-DNA complexes. During the one-year follow-up, the death rate was higher in patients with PPCs than in patients without PPCs (14.3% vs. 2.9%, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: High serum levels of NET components are associated with an increased incidence of PPCs and death within one year in paediatric patients undergoing PLT. Serum levels of NET components serve as a biomarker for post-PLT PPCs and a prognostic indicator.

Bibliometric analysis of research topics on blood-brain barrier breakdown and cognitive function over the last two decades (2000-2021).

Introduction: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown is closely associated with cognitive dysfunction. This study aimed to categorize and summarize research topics on the correlation between BBB breakdown and its effects on cognitive function. Methods: Bibliometric analysis methods were used to quantitatively and qualitatively assess research progress and predict future research hotspots. Relevant publications from the Web of the Science Core Collection were extracted on November 5, 2022 and analyzed to predict trends and hotspots in the field. Results: We identified 5518 articles published from 2000 to 2021 about the BBB and cognition. The number of manuscripts on this topic increased steadily during this time period, especially after 2013. We found that the number of articles published in China increased gradually and is in second place behind the United States of America (USA). In the research field of BBB breakdown and cognitive function, the USA is still far ahead. Keyword burst detection suggested that cognitive impairment, neurodegeneration disease and neuroinflammation are emerging research hotspots. Discussion: The mechanisms of BBB integrity breakdown and its effects on the deterioration of cognitive function are complex, and clinical treatment of the affected diseases has been a hot topic in the field over the past 22 years. Looking forward, this body of research is aimed at improving or maintaining patients' cognitive abilities, by finding preventive measures and to provide a basis for finding new treatments of cognitive disorders.

Copper and cuproptosis-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma: therapeutic biomarkers targeting tumor immune microenvironment and immune checkpoints.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common cancers worldwide, exhibits high immune heterogeneity and mortality. Emerging studies suggest that copper (Cu) plays a key role in cell survival. However, the relationship between Cu and tumor development remains unclear. Methods: We investigated the effects of Cu and cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) in patients with HCC in the TCGA-LIHC (The Cancer Genome Atlas-Liver cancer, n = 347) and ICGC-LIRI-JP (International Cancer Genome Consortium-Liver Cancer-Riken-Japan, n = 203) datasets. Prognostic genes were identified by survival analysis, and a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regression model was constructed using the prognostic genes in the two datasets. Additionally, we analyzed differentially expressed genes and signal pathway enrichment. We also evaluated the effects of CRGs on tumor immune cell infiltration and their co-expression with immune checkpoint genes (ICGs) and performed validation in different tumor immune microenvironments (TIMs). Finally, we performed validation using clinical samples and predicted the prognosis of patients with HCC using a nomogram. Results: A total of 59 CRGs were included for analysis, and 15 genes that significantly influenced the survival of patients in the two datasets were identified. Patients were grouped by risk scores, and pathway enrichment analysis suggested that immune-related pathways were substantially enriched in both datasets. Tumor immune cell infiltration analysis and clinical validation revealed that PRNP (Prion protein), SNCA (Synuclein alpha), and COX17 (Cytochrome c oxidase copper chaperone COX17) may be closely correlated with immune cell infiltration and ICG expression. A nomogram was constructed to predict the prognosis of patients with HCC using patients' characteristics and risk scores. Conclusion: CRGs may regulate the development of HCC by targeting the TIM and ICGs. CRGs such as PRNP, SNCA, and COX17 could be promising targets for HCC immune therapy in the future.