Recent advances in the development of deubiquitinases inhibitors as antitumor agents.

Ubiquitination is a type of post-translational modification that covalently links ubiquitin to a target protein, which plays a critical role in modulating protein activity, stability, and localization. In contrast, this process is reversed by deubiquitinases (DUBs), which remove ubiquitin from ubiquitinated substrates. Dysregulation of DUBs is associated with several human diseases, such as cancer, inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders, and autoimmune diseases. Thus, DUBs have become promising targets for drug development. Although the physiological and pathological effects of DUBs are increasingly well understood, the clinical drug discovery of selective DUB inhibitors has been challenging. Herein, we summarize the structures and functions of main classes of DUBs and discuss the recent progress in developing selective small-molecule DUB inhibitors as antitumor agents.

Controlling magnon-magnon entanglement and steering by atomic coherence.

Here we show that it is possible to control magnon-magnon entanglement in a hybrid magnon-atom-cavity system based on atomic coherence. In a four-level V-type atomic system, two strong fields are applied to drive two dipole-allowed transitions and two microwave cavity modes are coupled with two dipole forbidden transitions as well as two magnon modes simultaneously. It is found that the stable magnon-magnon entanglement, one-way steering and two-way EPR steering can be generated and controlled by atomic coherence according to the following two points: (i) the coherent coupling between magnon and atoms is established via exchange of virtual photons; (ii) the dissipation of magnon mode is dominant over amplification since one of the atomic states mediated one-channel interaction always keeps empty. The coherent control of magnon-magnon correlations provides an effective approach to modify macroscopic quantum effects using the laser-driven atomic systems.

High-risk human papillomavirus distribution in different cytological classification women.

High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection is a major cause of infection-related cancer worldwide. 3101 HR-HPV-positive females were retrospectively analyzed and grouped using the cervical cytological screening (ThinPrep cytological test, TCT) evaluations combined with colposcopy. The HPV16 infection rate is the highest in all groups. HPV16 was the most frequent in each group, with significant differences between the four groups (χ2 = 23.41, P = 0.0001). The distribution of HPV16 and HPV33 correlated with the pathologic stage in each group. The mixed infection rate of mRNA testing differs significantly between groups (P < 0.01, χ2 = 17.44, P = 0.002). HR-HPV infection duration of less than six months accounted for 87.65%, 6 and 12 months of persistent infection (28.28%), and more than one year of continuous infection accounted for only 16.48%. The top three HPV types in a group with a duration of more than 12 months were HPV52 (3.03%), HPV16 (2.55%), and HPV39 (1.58%). The least clearance types were HPV39 (63.48%), 56 (69.54%), and 52 (71.44%) more than 12 months. This study revealed the region's primary pathogenic subtypes on different cervical lesions and provided the basis for diagnosing and treating HPV infection.

Correlation of Coagulation Dysfunction with Infection and Hypercapnia in Acute Exacerbation of COPD Patients.

Background: This study aims to explore the factors influencing the coagulation function of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its effects on thrombosis. Methods: A total of 155 COPD patients, including 118 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) and 37 patients with stable COPD (SCOPD), were enrolled in this study. Meanwhile, 50 patients with gastrointestinal polyps found during physical examination and treated with surgery in the same period were enrolled as the control group. The basic data, routine blood tests, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and coagulation indexes of the three groups were collected, as well as arterial blood gas indexes of AECOPD patients. Results: The differences in erythrocyte count and hemoglobin among groups were not statistically significant. Compared with the SCOPD group and control group, white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil percentage, PCT, CRP, prothrombin time (PT), and fibrinogen (FIB) in the AECOPD group increased significantly, while the international normalized ratio (INR) decreased (P < 0.05). The differences in activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and D-dimer among groups were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Thrombin time (TT) in the AECOPD group was shorter than that of the control group, and PT was longer than that of the SCOPD group (P < 0.05). Five patients with AECOPD and one patient with SCOPD had venous thrombosis. Conclusion: The abnormal coagulation function in AECOPD patients is related to the degree of infection and hypercapnia, which may be a risk factor for thrombosis.

CARM1 deficiency inhibits osteoblastic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and delays osteogenesis in mice.

Bone repair remains a clinical challenge due to low osteogenic capacity. Coactivator associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1) is a protein arginine methyltransferase that mediates arginine methylation and endochondral ossification. However, the roles of CARM1 in osteoblastic differentiation and bone remodeling have not been explored. In our study, heterozygous CARM1-knockout (KO) mice were generated using the CRISPR-Cas9 system and a model of femoral defect was created. At day 7 postsurgery, CARM1-KO mice exhibited obvious bone loss compared with wild type (WT) mice, as evidenced by reduced bone mineral density (BMD), bone volume/total volume (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), and trabecular number (Tb.N), and increased trabecular separation (Tb.Sp). Deletion of CARM1 in mice lowered synthesis and accumulation of collagen at the injury sites. The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and osteogenic-related gene expression were declined in CARM1-KO mice. To further understand the role of CARM1 in osteoblastic differentiation, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were isolated from the tibia and femur of WT or CARM1-KO mice. CARM1 deletion decreased histone arginine methylation and inhibited osteoblastic differentiation and mineralization. The mRNA sequencing of CARM1-KO BMSCs revealed the possible regulatory molecules by CARM1, which could deepen our understanding of CARM1 regulatory mechanisms. These data could be of interest to basic researchers and provide the direction for future research into bone-related disorders.

Angiogenic signaling pathways and anti-angiogenic therapy for cancer.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is a complex and dynamic process regulated by various pro- and anti-angiogenic molecules, which plays a crucial role in tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. With the advances in molecular and cellular biology, various biomolecules such as growth factors, chemokines, and adhesion factors involved in tumor angiogenesis has gradually been elucidated. Targeted therapeutic research based on these molecules has driven anti-angiogenic treatment to become a promising strategy in anti-tumor therapy. The most widely used anti-angiogenic agents include monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway. However, the clinical benefit of this modality has still been limited due to several defects such as adverse events, acquired drug resistance, tumor recurrence, and lack of validated biomarkers, which impel further research on mechanisms of tumor angiogenesis, the development of multiple drugs and the combination therapy to figure out how to improve the therapeutic efficacy. Here, we broadly summarize various signaling pathways in tumor angiogenesis and discuss the development and current challenges of anti-angiogenic therapy. We also propose several new promising approaches to improve anti-angiogenic efficacy and provide a perspective for the development and research of anti-angiogenic therapy.

High-risk HPV prevalence and genotype distribution among women in Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China from 2016 to 2022.

Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and its associated disease are major problems affecting millions of individuals around the world. The distribution of HPV genotypes is specific to different areas and different populations. Therefore, understanding the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV in different populations in different geographical regions is essential to optimize HPV vaccination strategies and to maximize vaccine effects. In this study, 34,076 women from January 2016 to July 2022 were retrospectively analyzed at Liaocheng People's Hospital. Of these, 7540 women were high-risk HPV positive and the infection rate was 22.13%. The top ten genotypes were as follows in descending order: HPV16, HPV52, HPV58, HPV53, HPV39, HPV59, HPV66, HPV51, HPV18, and HPV56 and the least frequent genotypes were, in order, HPV 26, HPV45, and HPV82. The HPV16 positive infection rate was 25.37% and was reduced with the increase in the number of individuals who had undergone HPV screening. The HPV52 infection rate increased with increasing numbers of individuals undergoing HPV screening, and then remained unchanged. The proportion of 20-29-year-olds among all positive women began to decrease since the vaccine was available in 2018. The 30-39-year-old group accounted for the highest percentage of positive women, and the 50-59-year-old group of HPV-positive women with cervical cancer accounted for most infections. This study confirmed that HPV16, HPV52, HPV 58, and HPV53 is widely distributed in this population and the total HR-HPV infection rate remains high in this region. Our findings indicate that prevention of HPV infection in this region still faces important challenges.

Autophagy promotes membrane trafficking of NR2B to alleviate depression by inhibiting AQP4 expression in mice.

Depression is a high-incidence mental illness that seriously affects human health. AQP4 has been reported to be closely associated with depression, while the underlying mechanism is still unclear. This work aimed to investigate the functional role of AQP4 in depression. Depression mouse model was constructed by administration of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). We found that AQP4 was highly expressed in the hippocampal tissues of CSDS mice. AQP4 knockdown alleviated depression and enhanced the expression of NR2B and PSD95 in CSDS mice. Moreover, primary hippocampal neurons were treated with N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) to induce neuron injury. AQP4 overexpression repressed cell viability and promoted apoptosis of NMDA-treated primary hippocampal neurons. AQP4 up-regulation repressed the expression of NR2B (surface), and enhanced the expression of NR2B (intracellular), P-NR2B, CaMK II and CK2 in the NMDA-treated primary hippocampal neurons. The influence conferred by AQP4 up-regulation was abolished by KN-93 (CaMK II inhibitor) or TBB (CK2 inhibitor) treatment. Rapamycin treatment enhanced the expression of NR2B (surface), and repressed the expression of AQP4, NR2B (intracellular) and P-NR2B in the primary hippocampal neurons by activating autophagy. The activated autophagy alleviated depression in CSDS mice by repressing AQP4 expression. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that autophagy ameliorated depression by repressing AQP4 expression in mice, and AQP4 knockdown promoted membrane trafficking of NR2B and inhibited phosphorylation of NR2B via CaMK II/CK2 pathway. Thus, our work suggests that AQP4 may be a promising molecular target for the development of antidepressant drugs.

Comparison of Electroencephalography in Patients With Seizures Caused by Neurosyphilis and Viral Encephalitis.

Background: Neurosyphilis (NS) lacks specificity in clinical and imaging features, and patients are frequently misdiagnosed as viral encephalitis when they present with seizures. This study aimed to compare electroencephalography (EEG) in patients with seizures resulting from the two diseases and provide guidance for differential diagnosis. Methods: A retrospective study on patients diagnosed with neurosyphilis and viral encephalitis with seizures in the Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University from 2012 to 2020. Results: A total of 39 patients with seizures caused by neurosyphilis and 40 patients with seizures caused by viral encephalitis were included. Chi-square test analysis showed that compared with patients with viral encephalitis, patients with neurosyphilis mainly developed in middle-aged and elderly people (p < 0.001), were more likely to have temporal epileptiform discharges (p < 0.001), and less likely to have status epilepticus (SE) (p = 0.029). There was difference between two groups in the EEG performance of lateralized periodic discharges (LPDs) (p = 0.085). The two groups were matched for age and sex by case-control matching, and 25 cases in each group were successfully matched. Patients with neurosyphilis were more likely to have temporal epileptiform discharges than those with viral encephalitis (p = 0.002), and there were no significant differences in LPDs (p = 0.077) and SE (p = 0.088) between two groups. Conclusion: When EEG shows temporal epileptiform discharges, especially in the form of LPDs, we should consider the possibility of neurosyphilis.

Unconventional phonon blockade via atom-photon-phonon interaction in hybrid optomechanical systems.

Phonon nonlinearities play an important role in hybrid quantum networks and on-chip quantum devices. We investigate the phonon statistics of a mechanical oscillator in hybrid systems composed of an atom and one or two standard optomechanical cavities. An efficiently enhanced atom-phonon interaction can be derived via a tripartite atom-photon-phonon interaction, where the atom-photon coupling depends on the mechanical displacement without practically changing a cavity frequency. This novel mechanism of optomechanical interactions, as predicted recently by Cotrufo et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett.118, 133603 (2017)10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.133603], is fundamentally different from standard ones. In the enhanced atom-phonon coupling, the strong phonon nonlinearity at a single-excitation level is obtained in the originally weak-coupling regime, which leads to the appearance of phonon blockade. Moreover, the optimal parameter regimes are presented both for the cases of one and two cavities. We compared phonon-number correlation functions of different orders for mechanical steady states generated in the one-cavity hybrid system, revealing the occurrence of phonon-induced tunneling and different types of phonon blockade. Our approach offers an alternative method to generate and control a single phonon in the quantum regime and could have potential applications in single-phonon quantum technologies.

Overexpression of sFlt-1 represses ox-LDL-induced injury of HUVECs by activating autophagy via PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), a circulating antiangiogenic protein, is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (AS), and the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Here, we attempted to investigate the mechanism of action of sFlt-1 in AS. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) to induce cell injury. ox-LDL treatment increased LC3-II/LC3-I ratio, Beclin-1 expression and GFP-LC3 puncta in HUVECs, suggesting that ox-LDL may induce autophagic flux impairment in HUVECs. ox-LDL-treated HUVECs displayed a decrease of sFlt-1 levels. Moreover, ox-LDL treatment reduced cell proliferation and elevated apoptosis in HUVECs, which was abrogated by sFlt-1 overexpression. Up-regulation of sFlt-1 repressed the activity of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and enhanced autophagy in HUVECs following ox-LDL treatment. Additionally, sFlt-1 overexpression-mediated increase of autophagy in ox-LDL-treated HUVECs was abolished by 3-methyladenine (autophagy inhibitor). 3-methyladenine abrogated the impact of sFlt-1 overexpression on proliferation and apoptosis in ox-LDL-treated HUVECs. This work confirmed that overexpression of sFlt-1 activated autophagy by repressing PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, and thus alleviated ox-LDL-induced injury of HUVECs. Therefore, this study suggests that sFlt-1 may be a potential target for AS treatment.

LGR4 Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated With Bone and Obesity Phenotypes in Chinese Female Nuclear Families.

Objective: The current study was conducted to determine whether peak bone mineral density (BMD) and obesity phenotypes are associated with certain LGR4 gene polymorphisms found in Chinese nuclear families with female children. Methods: A total of 22 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in and around the LGR4 gene were identified in 1,300 subjects who were members of 390 Chinese nuclear families with female children. Then, BMD readings of the femoral neck, total hip, and lumbar spine as well as measurements of the total lean mass (TLM), total fat mass (TFM), and trunk fat mass were obtained via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The quantitative transmission disequilibrium test was used to analyze the associations between specific SNPs and LGR4 haplotypes and peak BMD as well as between LGR4 haplotypes and TLM, percent lean mass, TFM, percent fat mass, trunk fat mass, and body mass index (BMI). Results: Here, rs7936621 was significantly associated with the BMD values for the total hip and lumbar spine, while rs10835171 and rs6484295 were associated with the trunk fat mass and BMI, respectively. Regarding the haplotypes, we found significant associations between GAA in block 2 and trunk fat mass and BMI, between AGCGT in block 3 and total hip BMD, between TGCTCC in block 5 and femoral neck BMD, and between TACTTC in block 5 and both lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD (all P-values < 0.05). Conclusion: Genetic variations of the LGR4 gene are related to peak BMD, BMI, and trunk fat mass.

Extravasation of chemotherapeutic drug from an implantable intravenous infusion port in a child: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Drug extravasation is a complication of totally implantable access port (TIAP) use and could cause tissue injury and sustained organ dysfunction. Therefore, the clinical management of children with TIAP is challenging. CASE SUMMARY: This was a case of extravasation of a chemotherapeutic drug (paclitaxel) from an implantable infusion port in a 23-mo old child. After fully evaluating the skin at the site of extravasation, the nurse continued to use the infusion port to complete the follow-up chemotherapeutic course. The skin around the infusion port was red, and showed no ulceration, swelling, or induration at discharge. CONCLUSION: Since children are more active and often noncompliant, it is necessary to appropriately train pediatric nurses caring for individuals with TIAPs, and any abnormal situation should be timely addressed.

Preliminary analysis of the effect of vagus nerve stimulation in the treatment of children with intractable epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Implant vagus nerve stimulation is an adjunctive treatment for intractable epilepsy when patients are not suitable for resective surgery. AIM: To identify the safety and efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation in children with intractable epilepsy and analyze the effects on different epilepsy syndromes. METHODS: Eligible children with intractable epilepsy were admitted to the study. We collected data from preoperative assessments as the baseline. During the follow-up time, we recorded the process of seizures (frequency, duration, and seizure type), the changes of drugs or parameters, the complications, etc. The mean reduction rate of seizures, response rate, and McHugh scale were chosen as the outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 213 patients were implanted with Tsinghua Pins vagus nerve stimulators, and the average age was 6.6 years. In the follow-up time of postoperative 3 mo, 6 mo, 12 mo, 18 mo, and 24 mo, the average reduction rate was 30.2%, 49.5%, 56.3%, 59.4%, and 63.2%, while the response rate was 21.8%, 62.5%, 57.1%, 69.2%, and 70.7%. In addition, implanted vagus nerve stimulation had different effects on epilepsy syndromes. The reduction rate of West syndrome increased from 36.4% (postoperative 6 m) to 74.3% (postoperative 24 m). The reduction rate of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome improved from 25.4% to 73.1% in 24 mo. The chi-square test of the five efficacy grades showed P < 0.05. The comparison between the 3-mo follow-up and the 6-mo follow-up showed P < 0.05, and the comparison between the 6-mo follow-up and the 24-mo follow-up showed P > 0.05. CONCLUSION: Vagus nerve stimulation is safe and effective in children with intractable epilepsy, and the seizure reduction occurred in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, patients with West syndrome may get the most benefits.

Long non-coding RNA uc.80- overexpression promotes M2 polarization of microglias to ameliorate depression in rats.

Microglia polarization is associated with the pathogenesis of depression. A previous study shows that long non-coding RNA uc.80- is down-regulated in the hippocampus of depressed rats. Thus, this article aims to investigate the role of uc.80- in microglia polarization in depression. We first established depression model rats by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) regiment. We found that hippocampus of depressed rats exhibited an increase of M1 microglias and a decrease of M2 microglias. uc.80- was down-regulated in hippocampus of depressed rats. Furthermore, the detection of behaviouristics of depressed rats showed that uc.80- overexpression alleviated depression of rats. In addition, uc.80- overexpression promoted M2 polarization of microglias in vivo and in vitro. uc.80- overexpression led to a decrease in apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, our study confirms that lncRNA uc.80- overexpression ameliorates depression in rats by promoting M2 polarization of microglias. Thus, our work suggests that uc.80- may be a target gene for depression treatment.

Effect of low-temperature vacuum heating on physicochemical properties of sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedti) fillets.

BACKGROUND: Sturgeon is popular for its nutritious value and its taste. However, sturgeon fillets are traditionally heated in 100 °C boiling water, resulting in unfavorable taste and with a negative effect on the quality. This study considered the effect of combinations of vacuum and low-temperature treatments (LTVH groups) on sturgeon fillets compared with the traditional heat treatment (TC groups). RESULTS: The results show that the LTVH groups had lower cooking-loss rates. All LTVH fillets were changed to a white color, and appeared 'done', as did the TC fillets. The LTVH and TC methods gave rise to significant differences in texture: the springiness of the LTVH groups decreased with heating time, and decreased rapidly in the TC groups (P < 0.05); hardness and chewiness increased with time and temperature in the LTVH groups, but decreased in the TC groups. More compact and denser gaps were observed in LTVH70 groups and TC groups. Less protein and lipid oxidation was evident in LTVH groups, including more myofibril protein solubility; there was less protein aggregation, fewer thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, and Schiff base. CONCLUSION: Vacuum and low-temperature treated sturgeon fillets can be served as a good alternative. This treatment caused slight tissue damage and less proteolysis and lipid oxidation, which is beneficial for the quality of aquatic products.

Semaphorin 3A-hypoxia inducible factor 1 subunit alpha co-overexpression enhances the osteogenic differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells-derived mesenchymal stem cells in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSCs) derived from the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have uniform biological activity, which makes the clinical application of MSCs in bone repair possible. Culturing the iPSC-MSCs onto osteoconductive materials is a promising tissue engineering-based strategy in bone regeneration. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) and hypoxia inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF1α) co-overexpression on the survival and osteogenic differentiation of iPSC-MSCs. METHODS: Sema3A and HIF1α were linked together with the three (GGGGS; G, glycine; S, serine) peptide fragment, and their co-expression in iPSC-MSCs was mediated by a lentiviral vector. The fusion protein retained the immune reactivity for both Sema3A and HIF1α as determined with Western blotting. iPSC-MSCs were infected with overexpression lentivirus (oeLenti) as negative control, oeLenti-Sema3A, oeLenti-HIF1α or oeLenti-Sema3A-HIF1α lentiviruses. RESULTS: Sema3A overexpression alone promoted the osteogenic differentiation of iPSC-MSCs (the activity and/or expression of osteoblast markers, such as alkaline phosphatase, osteopontin, and osteocalcin, were upregulated), and suppressed cell survival. The Sema3A-HIF1α fusion protein showed a comparable osteoconductive effect to that of Sema3A without reducing cell survival. We further seeded iPSC-MSCs modified by SemaA-HIF1α overexpression onto hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds, and evaluated their growth and differentiation on this three-dimensional material. Additional data indicated that, as compared to iPSC-MSCs cultured in ordinary two-dimensional dishes, cells cultured in HA scaffolds grew (blank vs. HA scaffolds: 0.83 vs. 1.39 for survival) and differentiated better (blank vs. HA scaffolds: 11.29 vs. 16.62 for alkaline phosphatase activity). CONCLUSION: Modifying iPSC-MSCs with pro-osteogenic (Sema3A) and pro-survival (HIF1α) factors may represent a promising strategy to optimize tissue engineering-based strategy in bone repair.

CircTRNC18 inhibits trophoblast cell migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition by regulating miR-762/Grhl2 pathway in pre-eclampsia.

Dysfunctions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-regulated cell migration and invasion have been involved in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia (PE). However, the role of circRNAs in EMT of PE has not been widely investigated. In this study, we identified that circTNRC18 was upregulated in PE placentas compared with normal pregnancy placentas. Moreover, circTNRC18 negatively regulated trophoblast cell migration and EMT. Overexpression of circTNRC18 reduced while depletion of circTNRC18 enhanced trophoblast cell migration and EMT. Mechanistically, circTNRC18 sponged miR-762 contributed to inhibit miR-762 activity and elevated EMT-related transcriptional factor Grhl2 protein level. miR-762 expression was lower in PE placentas and played a promoting role in trophoblast cell migration and EMT. In contrast, Grhl2 was highly expressed in PE placentas. Furthermore, we confirmed that upregulation of Grhl2 by circ-TNRC18-induced inhibition of miR-762 led to trophoblast cell migration and EMT. In conclusions, circTNRC18/miR-762/Grhl2 axis plays a key role in trophoblast cell migration and EMT. circTNRC18/miR-762/Grhl2 axis may be a potential therapeutic target in PE.

Comparison of computed tomography-guided percutaneous needle biopsy and endobronchial biopsy in the diagnosis of multifocal pulmonary lesions.

BACKGROUND: The retrospective study aimed to compare computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous needle biopsy (PNB) and endobronchial biopsy (EB) in the diagnosis of multifocal pulmonary lesions with endobronchial involvement. METHODS: Between November 2014 and June 2017, consecutive patients who had underwent both CT-guided PNB and EB via bronchoscopy for diagnosis of pulmonary lesions were evaluated retrospectively. Tissue samples were submitted for pathological examination, acid-fast bacilli, TB RT-PCR, and mycobacterial culture. Sensitivities of the two methods alone or in combination were calculated and compared using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients (46 men and 21 women) were enrolled and could be diagnosed (32 malignant, 18 TB, and 17 benign). A final diagnosis of either malignant or TB diseases was made in 34 (68.0%) patients for CT-guided PNBs, 19 (38.0%) patients for EBs, and 42 (84.0%) patients for the combination of both methods. Further statistical analysis showed significant difference in sensitivity between CT-guided PNBs, or the combination of both methods, and EBs (all P < 0.05), and no difference between CT-guided PNBs and the combination (P > 0.05). However, the combination of both methods appears to have the highest sensitivity in the detection of malignancies or TB diseases. CONCLUSION: Compared with EB, CT-guided PNB has a high diagnostic yield for the detection of TB and malignancy in patients with multifocal pulmonary lesions with endobronchial involvement. When the two biopsies are combined, it appears to provide an incremental diagnostic value for the pulmonary lesions.