Acupotomy ameliorates subchondral bone absorption and mechanical properties in rabbits with knee osteoarthritis by regulating bone morphogenetic protein 2-Smad1 pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of acupotomy on the subchondral bone absorption and mechanical properties in rabbits with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS: The rabbits were divided into blank control, model, acupotomy and electroacupuncture (EA) groups, with 12 rabbits in each. Modified Videman's method was used to prepare KOA model. The acupotomy and EA group were given indicated intervention for 3 weeks. The behavior of rabbits in each group was recorded. Subsequently, cartilage-subchondral bone units were obtained and morphological changes were observed by optical microscope and micro computed tomography. Compression test was used to detect the mechanical properties of subchondral bone, Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were applied to detect the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2-Smad1 (BMP2-Smad1) pathway in subchondral bone. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, rabbits in the KOA group showed lameness, knee pain, and cartilage degradation; the subchondral bone showed active resorption, the mechanical properties decreased significantly and the BMP2-Smad1 pathway downregulated significantly. Both acupotomy and EA intervention could increase the thickness of trabecular bone (Tb. Th), the bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and the thickness of subchondral bone plate, reduce the separation of trabecular bone (Tb. Sp), improve the maximum load and elastic modulus of subchondral bone, and effectively delay cartilage degeneration in KOA rabbits. This process may be achieved through upregulation the related proteins of BMP2-Smad1 pathway. The maximum load and elastic modulus of subchondral bone in the acupotomy group were slightly better than those in the EA group. CONCLUSIONS: Acupotomy could effectively protect cartilage by inhibiting abnormal bone resorption and improving mechanical properties of subchondral bone thorough the related proteins of BMP2-Smad1 pathway in KOA rabbits.

Effects of sarcopenia on the occurrence of overt hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis / 中华消化杂志

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE) in patients with liver cirrhosis, and to clarify the effect of sarcopenia on OHE.Methods:Based on the liver cirrhosis cohort established by our research group, from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017, 480 patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and underwent upper abdominal computed tomography were selected from 3 centers, including the Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University (Shanghai Changzheng Hospital), Shanghai East Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, and Shandong Provincial Hospital. The L3 skeletal muscle index (L3-SMI) <44.77 cm 2/m 2 for males and L3-SMI <32.50 cm 2/m 2 for females were used as the diagnostic criterion for sarcopenia. The clinical data of all the patients were collected, including baseline medical history, age, serum total bilirubin, serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), albumin, sodium, prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), hemoglobin, platelet count, etc, as well as Child-Pugh classification of liver function, and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score. Independent sample t test, rank sum test, and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the independent risk factors for OHE in patients with liver cirrhosis, and Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the effect of sarcopenia on the incidence of OHE in patients with liver cirrhosis. Results:After 2 years of follow-up, the incidence of OHE was 16.2% (78/480). The age, serum total bilirubin level, AST, GGT, PT, INR, Child-Pugh score, and MELD score of OHE patients were all higher than those of non-OHE patients ((59.67±10.30) years old vs. (53.41±12.06) years old, 35.25 μmol/L(20.10 μmol/L, 60.53 μmol/L) vs. 22.70 μmol/L(15.10 μmol/L, 35.20 μmol/L), 40.00 U/L(27.25 U/L, 61.00 U/L) vs. 33.00 U/L(24.75 U/L, 47.00 U/L), 52.50 U/L(26.25 U/L, 86.75 U/L) vs. 34.50 U/L(22.00 U/L, 73.00 U/L), (17.71±3.52) s vs. (15.50±2.98) s, 1.50±0.34 vs. 1.31±0.29, 8.95±2.19 vs.7.20±1.94, 13.56±4.42 vs.11.42±3.92), while serum albumin, serum sodium and platelet count of OHE patients were all lower than those of non-OHE patients ((29.72±5.55) g/L vs. (33.19±5.89) g/L, 139.00 mmol/L(136.00 mmol/L, 142.00 mmol/L)vs.140.00 mmol/L (138.00 mmol/L, 142.00 mmol/L), 60.00×10 9/L(43.75×10 9/L, 90.25×10 9/L) vs. 80.00×10 9/L(56.00×10 9/L, 131.00×10 9/L)), and the differences were statistically significant ( t=-4.77; Z=-4.10, -3.13, -2.24; t=-5.19, -4.71, -6.57, -3.98, 4.99; and Z=2.44 and 3.48; all P<0.05). The proportions of ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis at baseline, and the incidence of sarcopenia in OHE patients were all higher than those in non-OHE patients (82.1%, 64/78 vs. 63.7%, 256/402; 41.0%, 32/78 vs. 3.5%, 14/402; 5.1%, 4/78 vs. 1.0%, 4/402; 14.1%, 11/78 vs. 2.5%, 10/402; 37.2%, 29/78 vs. 19.7%, 79/402), and the L3-SMI of OHE patients was lower than that of non-OHE patients ((43.14±8.97) cm 2/m 2 vs. (46.29±8.49) cm 2/m 2), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=9.11, 101.97, 4.52, 18.38, 10.53; t=2.86; all P<0.05). The results of binary logistic regression analysis indicated that platelet count ( OR=0.995, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.991 to 1.000, P=0.038), L3-SMI ( OR=0.959, 95% CI 0.922 to 0.997, P=0.035) and hepatic encephalopathy ( OR=14.724, 95% CI 6.741 to 32.161, P<0.001) were independent influencing factors for OHE in patients with liver cirrhosis. The incidence of OHE in patients with sarcopenia was higher than that of patients without sarcopenia (26.9%, 29/108 vs. 13.2%, 49/372), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=10.53, P=0.001). The results of Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with sarcopenia were more likely to develop OHE ( P<0.001). Conclusion:Sarcopenia is closely correlated to OHE and is an independent predictor of OHE in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Erratum: Author correction to "TMEM16A inhibits angiotensin II-induced basilar artery smooth muscle cell migration in a WNK1-dependent manner" Acta Pharm Sin B 11(12) (2021) 3994-4007

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.04.013.].

Multi-omics integrated analysis reveals a specific phenotype of CD8+ T cell may contribute to immunothromosis via Th17 response in severe and critical COVID-19

T lymphocyte reduction and immunosenescence frequently occur in severe and critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, which may cause immunothrombosis and numerous sequelae. This study integrated analyzed multi-omics data from healthy donors, pneumonia, COVID-19 patients (mild & moderate, severe, and critical), and convalescences, including clinical, laboratory test, PBMC bulk RNA-seq, PBMC scRNA-seq and TCR-seq, BAL scRNA-seq, and lung proteome. We revealed that there are certain associations among T lymphocyte reduction, CD8+ T cell senescence, Th17 immune activation, and immunothrombosis. A specific phenotype (S. P.) CD8+ T cells were identified in severe and critical COVID-19 patients in both PBMC and BAL scRNA-seq, which showed highly TCR homology with terminal effector CD8+ T cells and senescent CD8+ T cells. Pseudotime analysis showed that the S. P. CD8+ T cells were located in the transition trajectory from mild to severe disease. Which may be activated by terminal effector CD8+ T cells or senescent CD8+ T cells, thereby promoting Th17 cell differentiation. This phenomenon was absent in healthy donors, mild and moderate COVID-19 patients, or convalescences. Our findings are an important reference for avoiding the conversion of patients with mild to severe diseases and provide insight into the future prevention and control of COVID-19 and its variants.

Unraveling the Phase Stability and Physical Property of Modulated Martensite in Ni2Mn1.5In0.5 Alloys by First-Principles Calculations.

Large magnetic field-induced strains can be achieved in modulated martensite for Ni-Mn-In alloys; however, the metastability of the modulated martensite imposes serious constraints on the ability of these alloys to serve as promising sensor and actuator materials. The phase stability, magnetic properties, and electronic structure of the modulated martensite in the Ni2Mn1.5In0.5 alloy are systematically investigated. Results show that the 6M and 5M martensites are metastable and will eventually transform to the NM martensite with the lowest total energy in the Ni2Mn1.5In0.5 alloy. The physical properties of the incommensurate 7M modulated martensite (7M-IC) and nanotwinned 7M martensite (7M-(52¯)2) are also calculated. The austenite (A) and 7M-(52¯)2 phases are ferromagnetic (FM), whereas the 5M, 6M, and NM martensites are ferrimagnetic (FIM), and the FM coexists with the FIM state in the 7M-IC martensite. The calculated electronic structure demonstrates that the splitting of Jahn-Teller effect and the strong Ni-Mn bonding interaction lead to the enhancement of structural stability.

Transcriptome analysis revealing molecular mechanisms of enhanced pigment yield by succinic acid and fluconazole.

This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms through which succinic acid and fluconazole stimulate Monascus pigment biosynthesis under liquid fermentation conditions. The pigment yield was significantly improved by adding 0.35 g·L-1 succinic acid or 1.5 g·L-1 fluconazole. Transcriptome sequencing and RT-qPCR confirmation were performed to reveal transcriptome changes. The results indicated that the addition of succinic acid significantly decreased mRNA expression of genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis while increasing expression of genes involved in pyruvate metabolism. Fluconazole significantly down-regulated transcripts involved in branched-chain amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and pyruvate metabolism, as well as the generation of acetyl-CoA for pigment biosynthesis. On the other hand, nitrogen metabolism and lysine degradation pathways were significantly enriched, which could stimulate the generation of acetyl-CoA. Therefore, the mechanism for enhancing pigment yield may be attributed to the competitive regulation of metabolic pathways toward acetyl-CoA biosynthesis. Additionally, up-regulation of some different key genes in the presence of fluconazole or succinic acid was involved in improving pigment production. This study deepens the theoretical understanding for enhancing pigment biosynthesis and provides a few potential approaches for improving pigment yield.

Establishment of a nomogram for survival rate after liver resection for primary small hepatocellular carcinoma based on SEER data and external validation / 临床肝胆病杂志

Objective To establish a nomogram for overall survival rate after liver resection for primary small hepatocellular carcinoma based on SEER data and external validation of Chinese data. Methods The data of 1809 patients, registered in National Cancer Institute SEER database in 2004-2015, who underwent hepatectomy for primary small hepatocellular carcinoma were extracted as modeling group, and 158 patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent hepatectomy in Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College from 2010 to 2017 were collected as validation group. The univariate Cox risk regression analysis, lasso regression analysis, and multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis were used to investigate the influencing factors for OS after hepatectomy in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma. A nomogram was established based on the independent influencing factors for OS, and index of concordance (C-index), calibration curves, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to analyze the predictive ability of the nomogram. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and the log-rank test were used to investigate the difference in survival between the high- and low-risk groups. Results The multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis showed that sex (hazard ratio [ HR ]=1.22, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.05-1.41, P =0.010), Seer stage ( HR =1.51, 95% CI : 1.23-1.85, P < 0.001; HR =10.31, 95% CI : 2.53-42.04, P =0.001), tumor diameter ( HR =1.22, 95% CI : 1.06-1.39, P =0.004), vascular invasion or metastasis ( HR =1.43, 95% CI : 1.24-1.65, P < 0.001), and alpha-fetoprotein ( HR =1.33, 95% CI : 1.16-1.54, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for OS after hepatectomy for small hepatocellular carcinoma. The modeling group had a C-index of 0.621, and its area under the ROC curve at 1, 2, and 3 years was 0.666(95% CI 0.628-0.704), 0.678(95% CI 0.647-0.708), and 0.663(95% CI : 0.635-0.690), respectively; the validation group had a C-index of 0.718, and its area under the ROC curve at 1, 2, and 3 years was 0.695(95% CI : 0.593-0.797), 0.781(95% CI : 0.706-0.856), and 0.759(95% CI 0.669-0.848), respectively. Risk stratification was performed based on the nomogram, and the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that for both the modeling group and the validation group, the low-risk group had a significantly better prognosis than the high-risk group ( P < 0.01). Conclusion The model established for survival rate after liver resection for primary small hepatocellular carcinoma can predict the 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates and can thus be used in clinical practice in China.

Difficult and complicated oral ulceration: an expert consensus guideline for diagnosis / 国际口腔科学杂志·英文版

The complexity of oral ulcerations poses considerable diagnostic and therapeutic challenges to oral specialists. The expert consensus was conducted to summarize the diagnostic work-up for difficult and complicated oral ulcers, based on factors such as detailed clinical medical history inquiry, histopathological examination, and ulceration-related systemic diseases screening. Not only it can provide a standardized procedure of oral ulceration, but also it can improve the diagnostic efficiency, in order to avoid misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis.

Current Status and Research Trends of Panax Between 1900-2019: A Bibliometric Analysis / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the current status and further development of Panax genus and 6 important individual species including P. notoginseng, P. quinquefolium, P. vietnamensis, P. japonicus, P. stipuleanatus and P. zingiberensis.@*METHODS@#The bibliometric analysis was based on the Web of Science core database platform from Thomson Reuters. Totally, 7,574 records of scientific research of Panax species published from 1900-2019 were analyzed. The statistical and visualization analysis was performed by CiteSpace and HistCite software.@*RESULTS@#The academic research of Panax species increase promptly. Plant science is the main research field while research and experimental medicine and agricultural engineering will be the further development tendency. Particularly, the discrimination research of P. notoginseng will be the research tendency among Panax species, especially diversity research. In addition, P. vietnamensis deserves more attention in the genus Panax.@*CONCLUSION@#This research provides a reference for further research of the genus and individual species.

Effect of DC vaccine sensitized with CpG ODN combined with tumor antigen on murine melanoma / 药学学报

The potential application of dendritic cells (DC) sensitized with cytosine-phosphoric acid-guanine (CpG) oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) and tumor antigen as a vaccine against murine melanoma was investigated with freshly isolated mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. For the DC vaccine preparation, DC were sensitized with the B16 tumor antigen and CpG ODN was used to promote further maturation of the DC. The immunogenic activity of the vaccine was evaluated in vitro by determining the proliferation of T lymphocytes and the killing effect of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) on B16 tumor cells. The DC vaccine was injected intraperitoneally and tumor inhibition in mice bearing B16 xenografts was examined. All mice were cared for under an approved SIMM Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocol. In vitro, this DC vaccine promoted the proliferation of T lymphocytes and showed a potent killing effect on the target B16 cells. In vivo experiments showed that after treatment or pre-immunization both the tumor volume and weight were significantly decreased. The DC vaccine with CpG ODN and tumor antigen exhibited an inhibitory effect against melanoma, providing a potential method for melanoma cancer treatment.

Recent progress in targeting degradation of FAK based on PROTAC / 药学学报

Local focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor intracellular tyrosine kinase that plays an important role in tumor initiation, development, metastasis and invasion, and is considered to be an important target for the development of antineoplastic drugs. It has both kinase-dependent and non-kinase-dependent scaffolding functions. However, traditional small molecular inhibitors can only inhibit its kinase-dependent activity, so it is difficult to target the kinase-independent scaffolding function. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel strategies to enhance FAK targeting to lay the foundation for determining the druggability and discovery of FAK inhibitors. Proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) is a new drug development strategy that can recruit E3 ligase to specifically ubiquitinylate target proteins for degradation through the proteasome system. The unique mechanism of action of the PROTAC system could be used to target and degrade the FAK protein, thus eliminating the scaffolding function of FAK. In this review, FAK protein, the signaling pathway, and small molecule inhibitors are briefly described, and the latest research progress in targeting the degradation of FAK using PROTAC technology is summarized.

Pathogenic role of NDUFA13 inactivation in spontaneous hepatitis in mice and the mechanism / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the role of NDUFA13 inactivation in the pathogenesis of spontaneous hepatitis in mice and explore the possible mechanisms.@*METHODS@#Hepatocyte-specific NDUFA13 knockout (NDUFA13@*RESULTS@#Liver-specific NDUFA13 heterozygous knockout mice were successfully constructed as verified by PCR results. HE staining revealed severe liver damage in both 4- week-old and 2-year-old NDUFA13@*CONCLUSIONS@#Hepatocytes-specific NDUFA13 ablation can trigger spontaneous hepatitis in mice possibly mediated by the activation of ROS/NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling.

Research progress on Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome / 浙江大学学报·医学版

Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome (MRS) is a rare neuro-muco-cutaneous syndrome, which is characterized by recurrent orofacial swelling, recurrent facial paralysis and fissured tongue. It has a high prevalence in young adults. Up to now, the etiology of MRS is still not clear, it may related to infection, immune deficiency and hereditary factors. The pharmacological therapy and surgery are the main treatment. Corticosteroids seems to be the drug of choice for MRS patient, but the specific dosage and therapeutic effect have not yet been determined. Surgeries of lips provide excellent results in persistentlip edema MRS cases. This article reviews the research progress on MRS, focusing on its epidemiology, etiology, histopathological characteristics, clinical manifestations, classification, diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis and treatment, to provide information for its early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Diagnostic strategies for oral manifestations of infectious diseases / 浙江大学学报·医学版

Infectious diseases are caused by infection of organism with pathogenic agents, which may lead to epidemics. Many infectious diseases such as syphilis, diphtheria, measles, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome have specific and non-specific manifestations in the oral cavity. However, the same disease may have different oral manifestations in different patients clinically. We can apply the strategy of "three unusuals and one change" in clinical reasoning for diagnosis of infectious diseases with oral manifestations. The so-called "three unusuals" refer to unusual age, unusual location and unusual effect, and "one change" means the change from rare to common. In this article, we will give a comprehensive introduction about the oral manifestations of common communicable diseases and their diagnostic strategies.

Application of medical magnifying loupes in diagnosis of oral mucosal diseases / 浙江大学学报·医学版

: To evaluate the application of medical magnifying loupes in diagnosis of oral mucosal diseases. Twenty-four patients with plaque-type oral lichen planus or homogeneous oral leukoplakia were inspected by naked eyes or assistance with magnifying loupes. Histopathological results were used as the gold standard to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the two methods in clinical diagnosis. Questionnaires were used to evaluate the subjective effect of magnifying loupes on the diagnosis efficiency of oral mucosal diseases and to explore the most suitable parameters for application. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of medical magnifying loupes for the identification of plaque-type oral lichen planus and homogeneous oral leukoplakia were 94.74%, 100.00% and 95.83%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of naked eye inspection (89.47%, 80.00% and 87.50%). The effective rate of magnifying loupes assisted diagnosis was 91.76% according to physicians' subjective evaluation. The most suitable parameters were 3.5 times magnification and working distance. The medical magnifying loupes can effectively improve the efficiency of the inspection and diagnosis of oral mucosal diseases, and have the characteristics of convenience and real-time. The recommended clinical parameters are 3.5 times magnification and working distance.

Investigation and analysis of children's choice of environment in oral clinics / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate and analyze children,s choice of environment in oral clinics so as to provide evidence for improving the oral clinic environment.@*METHODS@#A total of 110 children in the Pediatric Dentistry of Qingdao Stomatological Hospital Affiliated to Qingdao University were selected as the research subjects from September to December 2019 to conduct a questionnaire survey, and the results were statistically analyzed by using a Chi-square test.@*RESULTS@#A total of 107 effective questionnaires were collected. The children surveyed liked the room with pink and blue walls (61.68%), cartoon murals (57.94%), and arranged toys (61.68%). Most of them did not dislike the special smell in the room (62.62%) and liked the smell of orange essential oil (52.34%). During treatment, the children liked watching cartoons the best (61.68%), expected doctors to be dressed in white (51.40%), and expected doctors to be treated by female doctors (68.22%). Most children wanted to be accompanied by family members during treatment (62.62%). The Chi-square test showed statistically significant differences in seven questions between preschool and school-age children: the environment of the clinic room, the color of the walls, the clinic decoration, the entertainment during treatment, color of the doctors' dress and gender, and company of the family members during treatment (@*CONCLUSIONS@#Children have their own preferences for the environment in the oral clinic. For preschool children, we need to create a soothing and warm atmosphere with warm colors liked by children. For school-age children, a calm and relaxed clinic atmosphere with cold colors should be created.

Establishment and predictive value of an early warning system for recurrence after radical resection of BCLC stage 0/A hepatocellular carcinoma / 临床肝胆病杂志

Objective To establish an Early Warning System for Recurrence Scoring after Radical Resection of BCLC stage 0/A Primary Liver Cancer (PLC-EWSPRS), and to investigate its predictive value. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 232 patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer who underwent radical resection in Affiliated Hospital of Chuanbei Medical College from January 2009 to January 2015, and according to the presence or absence of recurrence within 5 years after surgery based on telephone or outpatient follow-up data, the patients were divided into recurrence group with 103 patients and non-recurrence group with 129 patients. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups; the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The indices with statistical significance were included in the binary logistic regression analysis to investigate the risk factors for recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer after surgery. Two points were assigned for independent risk factors and one point was assigned for risk factors to establish the PLC-EWSPRS system. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of this system. Results Compared with the non-recurrence group, the recurrence group had significantly higher levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and a significantly lower level of albumin (Alb) before surgery ( Z =3.864 and 4.587, t =-5.628, all P < 0.001), as well as a significantly higher proportion of patients with positive HBsAg, capsular invasion, microvascular invasion (MVI), tumor diameter ≥5 cm, liver cirrhosis (moderate-to-severe), non-R0 resection, or death within 5 years ( χ 2 =35.539, 22.325, 13.398, 7.130, 4.312, 4.034, and 18.527, all P < 0.05). The regression analysis showed that preoperative Alb < 40 g/L (odds ratio [ OR ]=5.796, P < 0.001), preoperative ALT ≥40 U/L ( OR =3.029, P =0.002), MVI ( OR =3.981, P =0.003), positive HBsAg ( OR =7.829, P < 0.001), capsular invasion ( OR =5.357, P < 0.001), and non-R0 resection ( OR =3.048, P =0.018) were independent risk factors for recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer within 5 years after surgery. According to the assignment criteria of the PLC-EWSPRS system, the recurrence group had the lowest score of 2 points and the highest score of 14 points, while the non-recurrence had the lowest score of 0 point and the highest score of 11 points, and the recurrence group had a significantly higher score than the non-recurrence group ( P < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the PLC-EWSPRS system had an AUC of 0.918 (95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 0.883-0.953, P < 0.001) in predicting recurrence within 5 years after surgery in patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer undergoing radical resection, and subgroup analysis showed that the system had an AUC of 0.796 (95% CI : 0.695-0.896, P =0.002), 0.859 (95% CI : 0.791-0.927, P < 0.001), and 0.944 (95% CI : 0.839-1.000, P =0.044), respectively, in predicting recurrence within 5 years after surgery in patients with a low score of 0-5 points, a moderate score of 6-10 points, and a high score of 11-14 points. Conclusion The PLC-EWSPRS system has a good value in predicting the recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer within 5 years after surgery and thus has important guiding significance for postoperative reexamination and treatment strategy for patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer undergoing radical resection.

TMEM16A inhibits angiotensin II-induced basilar artery smooth muscle cell migration in a WNK1-dependent manner

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) migration plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases. We recently showed that TMEM16A is involved in hypertension-induced cerebrovascular remodeling. However, it is unclear whether this effect is related to the regulation of VSMC migration. Here, we investigated whether and how TMEM16A contributes to migration in basilar artery smooth muscle cells (BASMCs). We observed that AngII increased the migration of cultured BASMCs, which was markedly inhibited by overexpression of TMEM16A. TMEM16A overexpression inhibited AngII-induced RhoA/ROCK2 activation, and myosin light chain phosphatase (MLCP) and myosin light chain (MLC20) phosphorylation. But AngII-induced myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) activation was not affected by TMEM16A. Furthermore, a suppressed activation of integrin

Rapid development of SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain-conjugated nanoparticle vaccine candidate

The ongoing of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, resulting in economic losses and seriously threating the human health in worldwide, highlighting the urgent need of a stabilized, easily produced and effective preventive vaccine. The SARS-COV-2 spike protein receptor binding region (RBD) plays an important role in the process of viral binding receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and membrane fusion, making it an ideal target for vaccine development. In this study, we designed three different RBD-conjugated nanoparticles vaccine candidates, RBD-Ferritin (24-mer), RBD-mi3 (60-mer) and RBD-I53-50 (120-mer), with the application of covalent bond linking by SpyTag-SpyCatcher system. It was demonstrated that the neutralizing capability of sera from mice immunized with three RBD-conjugated nanoparticles adjuvanted with AddaVax or Sigma Systerm Adjuvant (SAS) after each immunization was ~8-to 120-fold greater than monomeric RBD group in SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus and authentic virus neutralization assay. Most importantly, sera from RBD-conjugated NPs groups more efficiently blocked the binding of RBD to ACE2 or neutralizing antibody in vitro, a further proof of promising immunization effect. Besides, high physical stability and flexibility in assembly consolidated the benefit for rapid scale-up production of vaccine. These results supported that our designed SARS-CoV-2 RBD-conjugated nanoparticle was competitive vaccine candidate and the carrier nanoparticles could be adopted as universal platform for future vaccine development.

Blocking antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 RBD isolated from a phage display antibody library using a competitive biopanning strategy

The infection of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 have caused more than 150,000 deaths, but no vaccine or specific therapeutic antibody is currently available. SARS-CoV-2 relies on its spike protein, in particular the receptor binding domain (RBD), to bind human cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for viral entry, and thus targeting RBD holds the promise for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this work, a competitive biopanning strategy of a phage display antibody library was applied to screen blocking antibodies against RBD. High-affinity antibodies were enriched after the first round using a standard panning process in which RBD-His recombinant protein was immobilized as a bait. At the next two rounds, immobilized ACE2-Fc and free RBD-His proteins were mixed with the enriched phage antibodies. Antibodies binding to RBD at epitopes different from ACE2-binding site were captured by the immobilized ACE2-Fc, forming a "sandwich" complex. Only antibodies competed with ACE2 for recognizing RBD at the same or similar epitopes can bind to the free RBD-His in the supernatant and be subsequently separated by the Ni-NTA magnetic beads. Top 1 lead from the competitive biopanning of a synthetic antibody library, Lib AB1, was produced as the full-length IgG1 format. It was proved to competitively block the binding of RBD to ACE2 protein, and potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection of ACE2-overexpressing Hela cells with IC50 values of 12nM. Nevertheless, top 1 lead from the standard biopanning of Lib AB1, can only bind to RBD in vitro but not have the blocking or neutralization activity. Our strategy can efficiently isolate the blocking antibodies of RBD, and it would speed up the discovery of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.