Familial genetic and environmental transmission of depression: A multi-informant twin family study.

The phenomenon of familial clustering in depression is well established, yet the mechanisms by which depression is transmitted within families remain poorly understood. In the current study, we investigate the familial genetic and environmental transmission of depression by incorporating data from both adolescent twins and their parents. A total of 987 twin families were recruited from the Beijing Twin Study. Depression assessments were conducted for both adolescents and their parents. Twins' depression was assessed through reports from both the twins themselves and their parents, while parental depression was assessed by parental self-report. We employed a nuclear twin family model to examine genetic and environmental influences on adolescent depression. Our results, based on both self- and parent-report, demonstrate significant additive and dominant genetic influences on depression. We also found mild yet significant sibling environmental influences, while familial environmental influences were absent. Notably, parent-reported depression showed higher heritability but lower unique environmental influences compared with self-reported depression. These results highlight the important role of genetic transmission and sibling environmental transmission in explaining depression. Our study delineates the underlying mechanism of familial transmission in depression and can inform early treatments to halt transmission during adolescence.

The positive feedback loop of the NAT10/Mybbp1a/p53 axis promotes cardiomyocyte ferroptosis to exacerbate cardiac I/R injury.

Ferroptosis is a nonapoptotic form of regulated cell death that has been reported to play a central role in cardiac ischemia‒reperfusion (I/R) injury. N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) contributes to cardiomyocyte apoptosis by functioning as an RNA ac4c acetyltransferase, but its role in cardiomyocyte ferroptosis during I/R injury has not been determined. This study aimed to elucidate the role of NAT10 in cardiac ferroptosis as well as the underlying mechanism. The mRNA and protein levels of NAT10 were increased in mouse hearts after I/R and in cardiomyocytes that were exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation. P53 acted as an endogenous activator of NAT10 during I/R in a transcription-dependent manner. Cardiac overexpression of NAT10 caused cardiomyocyte ferroptosis to exacerbate I/R injury, while cardiomyocyte-specific knockout of NAT10 or pharmacological inhibition of NAT10 with Remodelin had the opposite effects. The inhibition of cardiomyocyte ferroptosis by Fer-1 exerted superior cardioprotective effects against the NAT10-induced exacerbation of post-I/R cardiac damage than the inhibition of apoptosis by emricasan. Mechanistically, NAT10 induced the ac4C modification of Mybbp1a, increasing its stability, which in turn activated p53 and subsequently repressed the transcription of the anti-ferroptotic gene SLC7A11. Moreover, knockdown of Mybbp1a partially abolished the detrimental effects of NAT10 overexpression on cardiomyocyte ferroptosis and cardiac I/R injury. Collectively, our study revealed that p53 and NAT10 interdependently cooperate to form a positive feedback loop that promotes cardiomyocyte ferroptosis to exacerbate cardiac I/R injury, suggesting that targeting the NAT10/Mybbp1a/p53 axis may be a novel approach for treating cardiac I/R.

CRISPR RNA-Guided Transposases Facilitate Dispensable Gene Study in Phage.

Phages provide a potential therapy for multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. However, a significant portion of viral genes often remains unknown, posing potential dangers. The identification of non-essential genes helps dissect and simplify phage genomes, but current methods have various limitations. In this study, we present an in vivo two-plasmid transposon insertion system to assess the importance of phage genes, which is based on the V. cholerae transposon Tn6677, encoding a nuclease-deficient type I-F CRISPR-Cas system. We first validated the system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and its phage S1. We then used the selection marker AcrVA1 to protect transposon-inserted phages from CRISPR-Cas12a and enriched the transposon-inserted phages. For a pool of selected 10 open-reading frames (2 known functional protein genes and 8 hypothetical protein genes) of phage S1, we identified 5 (2 known functional protein genes and 3 hypothetical protein genes) as indispensable genes and the remaining 5 (all hypothetical protein genes) as dispensable genes. This approach offers a convenient, site-specific method that does not depend on homologous arms and double-strand breaks (DSBs), holding promise for future applications across a broader range of phages and facilitating the identification of the importance of phage genes and the insertion of genetic cargos.

Prevalence and risk factors of oral human papillomavirus infection among 4212 healthy adults in Hebei, China.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is an essential cause of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma that is increasing in incidence worldwide. However, little is known about the epidemiology of oral HPV infection among healthy adults in China. METHODS: A study in northern China was conducted in 2021 as baseline data of Diverse Life-Course Cohort (DLCC). Residents who aged above 20 were eligible to participate. Oral swab specimens and questionnaires were collected from 4226 participants. HPV DNA in oral exfoliated cells was tested by Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction approach and sequencing. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the associations between exposure factors and oral HPV infection. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of oral HPV infection was 4.08% (95%CI, 3.69%-4.68%). The most prevalent HPV type detected was HPV-81 (1.35%; 95% CI, 1.00%-1.70%), followed by HPV-16 (0.64%; 95% CI, 0.40%-0.88%). Oral HPV infection presented a bimodal pattern with respect to age in male and female participants. Oral HPV prevalence of male participants was significantly higher than prevalence of female participants (5.0% versus 3.6%, P = 0.041). Prevalence of oral HPV was higher among current smokers (OR = 1.59; 95% CI, 1.11-2.29; P = 0.039) and current drinkers (OR = 1.60; 95% CI, 1.14-2.25; P = 0.023). Current alcohol consumption was independently associated with oral HPV infection (OR = 1.74; 95% CI, 1.22-2.50; P = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: Among healthy adults aged above 20 in Hebei, China, the prevalence of high-risk HPV infection was 1.92% (95%CI, 1.51%-2.34%). Oral HPV prevalence was independently associated with alcohol consumption. More tailored prevention strategies are needed to prevent oral HPV infection through smoking cessation, reduction of alcohol consumption, and HPV vaccination.

Epidemiology of Oral Human Papillomavirus Infection among Diverse Chinese Adults in Typical Areas of China: Findings from the DLCC Study.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a predominant cause of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. However, there is limited knowledge about the epidemiology of oral HPV infections among adults in China. METHODS: We collected data from a prospective cohort that enrolled participants in Mainland China. A total of 9,867 participants ages at least 20 years provided oral swab specimens in typical areas of China (Hebei and Guangdong provinces) in 2021. HPV DNA in oral exfoliated cells was tested using nested PCR and sequencing. Prevalence among subpopulations was compared. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to assess possible factors influencing oral HPV infection. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of oral HPV infection was 3.0% [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.68-3.36]. Among those infected, 1.3% (1.08-1.53) were infected with high-risk HPV types. Men had a higher age-standardized HPV infection prevalence (3.6%, 2.96-4.29) compared with their female counterparts (2.7%, 2.35-3.12). People in Hebei had a higher age- and sex-standardized prevalence (4.1%, 3.50-4.70) than those in Guangdong (2.2%, 1.80-2.56). Generally, men (OR and 95% CI: 1.42, 1.09-1.85) and people in Hebei (2.01, 1.53-2.65) had higher odds of any type of HPV infection. In addition, people living in urban areas had a 2.15-fold (1.43-3.26) higher odds of high-risk HPV infection. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals a low prevalence of oral HPV infection with significant geographic and sex differences among Chinese population. IMPACT: This is the first study to report the epidemiologic characteristics of oral HPV infection among Chinese adults in diverse geographic areas with large sample size.

Quality of Life in Patients With Benign Lateral Skull Base Neoplasms Following Infratemporal Fossa Approaches.

Objectives: Infratemporal fossa approaches (IFAs) allow the total resection of certain lateral skull base neoplasms. To date, no studies have explored the change of patient-reported quality of life (QoL) after total resection of benign lateral skull base neoplasms through IFA. The present study aimed to give a comprehensive understanding of QoL among patients after IFA through general and disease-specific QoL questionnaires. Methods: Forty-seven patients with benign lateral skull base neoplasms were enrolled. The Short Form 36 (SF-36), World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), and the University of Washington Head and Neck Quality of Life (UW-QOL) were chosen as tools to assess QoL before and after surgeries through IFA. Results: Patients had significantly lower scores in appearance, chewing, and speech after surgeries through IFA. However, change in health from SF-36 and physical health from WHOQOL-BREF scored higher after surgery. In multivariate linear regression analysis, age, gender, mood, speech, appearance, swallowing, and chewing contributed independently to general QoL. Conclusion: Patients were shown to benefit with regard to overall QoL after gross tumor resection from IFA, despite the impact of appearance, speech, and chewing. Function preservation and restoration are critical since their correlation with postoperative QoL.

Mettl13 protects against cardiac contractile dysfunction by negatively regulating C-Cbl-mediated ubiquitination of SERCA2a in ischemic heart failure.

Ischemic heart failure (HF) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Maintaining homeostasis of cardiac function and preventing cardiac remodeling deterioration are critical to halting HF progression. Methyltransferase-like protein 13 (Mettl13) has been shown to regulate protein translation efficiency by acting as a protein lysine methyltransferase, but its role in cardiac pathology remains unexplored. This study aims to characterize the roles and mechanisms of Mettl13 in cardiac contractile function and HF. We found that Mettl13 was downregulated in the failing hearts of mice post-myocardial infarction (MI) and in a cellular model of oxidative stress. Cardiomyocyte-specific overexpression of Mettl13 mediated by AAV9-Mettl13 attenuated cardiac contractile dysfunction and fibrosis in response to MI, while silencing of Mettl13 impaired cardiac function in normal mice. Moreover, Mettl13 overexpression abrogated the reduction in cell shortening, Ca2+ transient amplitude and SERCA2a protein levels in the cardiomyocytes of adult mice with MI. Conversely, knockdown of Mettl13 impaired the contractility of cardiomyocytes, and decreased Ca2+ transient amplitude and SERCA2a protein expression in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, Mettl13 impaired the stability of c-Cbl by inducing lysine methylation of c-Cbl, which in turn inhibited ubiquitination-dependent degradation of SERCA2a. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of knocking down Mettl13 on SERCA2a protein expression and Ca2+ transients were partially rescued by silencing c-Cbl in H2O2-treated cardiomyocytes. In conclusion, our study uncovers a novel mechanism that involves the Mettl13/c-Cbl/SERCA2a axis in regulating cardiac contractile function and remodeling, and identifies Mettl13 as a novel therapeutic target for ischemic HF.

Oral-microbiome-derived signatures enable non-invasive diagnosis of laryngeal cancers.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have uncovered that the microbiota in patients with head and neck cancers is significantly altered and may drive cancer development. However, there is limited data to explore the unique microbiota of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), and little is known regarding whether the oral microbiota can be utilized as an early diagnostic biomarker. METHODS: Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we characterized the microbiome of oral rinse and tissue samples from 77 patients with LSCC and 76 control patients with vocal polyps, and then performed bioinformatic analyses to identify taxonomic groups associated with clinicopathologic features. RESULTS: Multiple bacterial genera exhibited significant differences in relative abundance when stratifying by histologic and tissue type. By exploiting the distinct microbial abundance and identifying the tumor-associated microbiota taxa between patients of LSCC and vocal polyps, we developed a predictive classifier by using rinse microbiota as key features for the diagnosis of LSCC with 85.7% accuracy. CONCLUSION: This is the first evidence of taxonomical features based on the oral rinse microbiome that could diagnose LSCC. Our results revealed the oral rinse microbiome is an understudied source of clinical variation and represents a potential non-evasive biomarker of LSCC.

Expression of OLR1 gene on tumor-associated macrophages of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and its correlation with clinical outcome.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most heavily immune infiltrated human tumors, having distinct immune subtypes associated with different molecular characteristics and clinical outcomes. The tumor microenvironment (TME) of HNSCC which was dominated by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) had a relatively inferior prognosis. High levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (OLR1) expression are associated with more aggressive and metastatic characteristics in multiple cancers. However, the link between the OLR1 expression and immunosuppression of TME, and the molecular mechanisms which govern intratumoral TAMs behavior are unclear. Here, we performed the transcriptional analysis based on a single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) dataset of HNSCC, and found that the OLR1 expression was specifically enriched on the TAMs. Evaluation of protein expression within histologic sections of primary HNSCC patient samples showed a co-expression pattern of OLR1 and CD68 on macrophages. A total of 498 tumor samples of HNSCC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were also analyzed. Remarkably, OLR1 expression was dramatically higher in HNSCC tissues than that in adjacent normal tissues, and the patients with high levels of OLR1 expression had significantly unfavorable overall survival (Hazard Ratio = 1.724, log-rank P-value = 0.0066) when compared to patients harboring low expression levels of OLR1. In summary, we reported that the specific expression of OLR1 on the TAMs was significantly correlated with poor survival outcomes, revealing that OLR1 could serve as a potential prognosis marker and promising target for immunotherapy in HNSCC.

Host protection against Omicron BA.2.2 sublineages by prior vaccination in spring 2022 COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai.

The Omicron family of SARS-CoV-2 variants are currently driving the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we analyzed the clinical laboratory test results of 9911 Omicron BA.2.2 sublineages-infected symptomatic patients without earlier infection histories during a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Shanghai in spring 2022. Compared to an earlier patient cohort infected by SARS-CoV-2 prototype strains in 2020, BA.2.2 infection led to distinct fluctuations of pathophysiological markers in the peripheral blood. In particular, severe/critical cases of COVID-19 post BA.2.2 infection were associated with less pro-inflammatory macrophage activation and stronger interferon alpha response in the bronchoalveolar microenvironment. Importantly, the abnormal biomarkers were significantly subdued in individuals who had been immunized by 2 or 3 doses of SARS-CoV-2 prototype-inactivated vaccines, supporting the estimation of an overall 96.02% of protection rate against severe/critical disease in the 4854 cases in our BA.2.2 patient cohort with traceable vaccination records. Furthermore, even though age was a critical risk factor of the severity of COVID-19 post BA.2.2 infection, vaccination-elicited protection against severe/critical COVID-19 reached 90.15% in patients aged ≽ 60 years old. Together, our study delineates the pathophysiological features of Omicron BA.2.2 sublineages and demonstrates significant protection conferred by prior prototype-based inactivated vaccines.

Primary assessment of the diversity of Omicron sublineages and the epidemiologic features of autumn/winter 2022 COVID-19 wave in Chinese mainland.

With the recent ongoing autumn/winter 2022 COVID-19 wave and the adjustment of public health control measures, there have been widespread SARS-CoV-2 infections in Chinese mainland. Here we have analyzed 369 viral genomes from recently diagnosed COVID-19 patients in Shanghai, identifying a large number of sublineages of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron family. Phylogenetic analysis, coupled with contact history tracing, revealed simultaneous community transmission of two Omicron sublineages dominating the infections in some areas of China (BA.5.2 mainly in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and BF.7 mainly in Beijing) and two highly infectious sublineages recently imported from abroad (XBB and BQ.1). Publicly available data from August 31 to November 29, 2022 indicated an overall severe/critical case rate of 0.035% nationwide, while analysis of 5706 symptomatic patients treated at the Shanghai Public Health Center between September 1 and December 26, 2022 showed that 20 cases (0.35%) without comorbidities progressed into severe/critical conditions and 153 cases (2.68%) with COVID-19-exacerbated comorbidities progressed into severe/critical conditions. These observations shall alert healthcare providers to place more resources for the treatment of severe/critical cases. Furthermore, mathematical modeling predicts this autumn/winter wave might pass through major cities in China by the end of the year, whereas some middle and western provinces and rural areas would be hit by the upcoming infection wave in mid-to-late January 2023, and the duration and magnitude of upcoming outbreak could be dramatically enhanced by the extensive travels during the Spring Festival (January 21, 2023). Altogether, these preliminary data highlight the needs to allocate resources to early diagnosis and effective treatment of severe cases and the protection of vulnerable population, especially in the rural areas, to ensure the country's smooth exit from the ongoing pandemic and accelerate socio-economic recovery.

Exosomes secreted from cardiomyocytes suppress the sensitivity of tumor ferroptosis in ischemic heart failure.

Heart failure (HF) patients in general have a higher risk of developing cancer. Several animal studies have indicated that cardiac remodeling and HF remarkably accelerate tumor progression, highlighting a cause-and-effect relationship between these two disease entities. Targeting ferroptosis, a prevailing form of non-apoptotic cell death, has been considered a promising therapeutic strategy for human cancers. Exosomes critically contribute to proximal and distant organ-organ communications and play crucial roles in regulating diseases in a paracrine manner. However, whether exosomes control the sensitivity of cancer to ferroptosis via regulating the cardiomyocyte-tumor cell crosstalk in ischemic HF has not yet been explored. Here, we demonstrate that myocardial infarction (MI) decreased the sensitivity of cancer cells to the canonical ferroptosis activator erastin or imidazole ketone erastin in a mouse model of xenograft tumor. Post-MI plasma exosomes potently blunted the sensitivity of tumor cells to ferroptosis inducers both in vitro in mouse Lewis lung carcinoma cell line LLC and osteosarcoma cell line K7M2 and in vivo with xenograft tumorigenesis model. The expression of miR-22-3p in cardiomyocytes and plasma-exosomes was significantly upregulated in the failing hearts of mice with chronic MI and of HF patients as well. Incubation of tumor cells with the exosomes isolated from post-MI mouse plasma or overexpression of miR-22-3p alone abrogated erastin-induced ferroptotic cell death in vitro. Cardiomyocyte-enriched miR-22-3p was packaged in exosomes and transferred into tumor cells. Inhibition of cardiomyocyte-specific miR-22-3p by AAV9 sponge increased the sensitivity of cancer cells to ferroptosis. ACSL4, a pro-ferroptotic gene, was experimentally established as a target of miR-22-3p in tumor cells. Taken together, our findings uncovered for the first time that MI suppresses erastin-induced ferroptosis through releasing miR-22-3p-enriched exosomes derived from cardiomyocytes. Therefore, targeting exosome-mediated cardiomyocyte/tumor pathological communication may offer a novel approach for the ferroptosis-based antitumor therapy.

Oncological outcomes from surgical vs. non-surgical treatments for advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a surveillance, epidemiology, and end results-based study

Objective Patients with advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (HSCCs) have poor prognoses. The use of surgical or non-surgical treatments for these patients remains a topic of debate. This study compared survival following surgical and non-surgical treatments of patients with advanced HSCC based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Methods Patients diagnosed with hypopharyngeal cancer from 2004 to 2018 were identified from the SEER database. Patients were divided into non-surgical group and surgical group, and patients in the surgical group were further divided into three groups: surgery-only, surgery with adjuvant radiation therapy and surgery with adjuvant chemoradiation therapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary outcome was cancer-specific survival (CSS). Outcomes were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier analysis. A multivariate Cox regression analysis was also used to identify independent prognostic factors. Results The records of 1568 eligible patients with stage III or IV HSCC were examined. Receipt of surgery was associated with a longer OS [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4–0.56] and a longer CSS (HR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.38–0.57) after adjusting for age, sex, race, tumor site, tumor size, tumor grade, TNM stage, AJCC stage, number of carcinomas, prior cancer, receipt of radiotherapy, and receipt of chemotherapy. The results for OS were similar in an exploratory analysis of different patient subgroups. Conclusion Among patients with advanced HSCC in the SEER database, treatment with surgery was associated with longer OS and CSS than treatment with a non-surgical modality (AU)

Multi-omics analysis identifies osteosarcoma subtypes with distinct prognosis indicating stratified treatment.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a primary malignant bone tumor that most commonly affects children, adolescents, and young adults. Here, we comprehensively analyze genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic data from 121 OS patients. Somatic mutations are diverse within the cohort, and only TP53 is significantly mutated. Through unsupervised integrative clustering of the multi-omics data, we classify OS into four subtypes with distinct molecular features and clinical prognosis: (1) Immune activated (S-IA), (2) Immune suppressed (S-IS), (3) Homologous recombination deficiency dominant (S-HRD), and (4) MYC driven (S-MD). MYC amplification with HR proficiency tumors is identified with a high oxidative phosphorylation signature resulting in resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Potential therapeutic targets are identified for each subtype, including platinum-based chemotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, anti-VEGFR, anti-MYC and PARPi-based synthetic lethal strategies. Our comprehensive integrated characterization provides a valuable resource that deepens our understanding of the disease, and may guide future clinical strategies for the precision treatment of OS.

Leguminous cover crops and soya increased soil fungal diversity and suppressed pathotrophs caused by continuous cereal cropping.

The enrichment of soil-borne fungal pathogens and a high input of mineral fertilizer in the continuous cropping of cereal crops have raised a concern about soil health deterioration. Conversion of continuous cereal cropping to a legume-involved system alters the soil fungal community. However, when a leguminous cover crop is grown with a succeeding legume grain crop such as soya (Glycine max L. Merril), the effects on the soil fungal community when two legumes are involved in the crop system remain unclear. Thus, the effects of the cover crop on the soil fungal community under a succession of soya and a succession of maize (Zea mays L.) were clarified: a continuous wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize cropping system was converted to new rotation systems with three cover crop treatments: leguminous vetch (Vicia sativa L.), a mixture of vetch and rye (Secale cereale L.), and fallow, succeeded by soya or maize in this study. The soil fungal community at the harvest of soya and maize were determined using high-throughput sequencing of ITS2 amplicons. Compared to a wheat-maize rotation system, all of the new rotation systems that involved leguminous crops or fallow increased the soil fungal diversity and suppressed pathotrophs by reducing the soil NH4 +, NO3 -, available K, and available P concentrations. Different cover crops changed the fungal community composition, but their effect was overwhelmed by the strong effect of succeeding soya, which induced minor shifts among the cover crop treatments under soya than maize. The Vetch-Soya system exhibited the highest fungal diversity, which have been due to an increase of symbiotrophs. Replacing wheat with mixed vetch and rye most greatly suppressed the pathotrophs, and this suppression effect was stronger when succeeded by maize than by soya. These results showed the short-term benefits of legume-legume succession and legume-cereal mixed cover crops for increasing fungal diversity and suppressing pathotrophs. Further study is needed to examine the long-term effects of Vetch-Soya on the accumulation of legume-associated pathogens.

Clinical characteristics of paraneoplastic syndromes in patients with head and neck cancer.

Background: To summarize the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and prognosis of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients with paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS). Methods: The clinical data of 1958 patients with HNC admitted to our hospital from January 1996 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic and cancer-related characteristics were extracted. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were compared by log-rank test. Cox regression was performed to evaluate prognostic factors and hazard ratio. Results: Totally 40 HNC patients with PNS were included in the final analysis, including 36 men and four women with a mean age of 60.4 years (range 40-82). PNS was dermatologic or cutaneous in 23 (57.50%) patients, endocrine in 10 (25.00%), neurologic in five (12.50%), and osteoarticular or rheumatologic in two (5.00%). Twenty-five (62.50%) patients had Stage III/IV cancer. PNS regressed after antitumor therapy in 28 (70.00%) patients. Recurrence of PNS was observed in nine of 12 (75.00%) patients with cancer recurrence or metastasis. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates of patients with PNS were 51.52% and 44.44%, respectively. The DFS (p = .001) and OS (p = .003) of patients presented with PNS prior to HNC diagnosis were significantly longer than those of patients with synchronous or metachronous PNS. PNS diagnosed before HNC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.11-0.85, p = .02), Stage IV disease (aHR: 3.27, 95% CI: 1.18-9.05, p = .02), and smoking history (aHR: 3.69, 95% CI: 1.04-13.05, p = .04) were significantly associated with OS and DFS. Conclusions: Early recognition of PNS could provide clues about underlying tumor condition and result in early diagnosis. Prompt detection of cancer-associated syndromes could lead to a more favorable prognosis for these patients.

hsa_circ_0115355 promotes pancreatic ß-cell function in patients with type 2 diabetes through the miR-145/SIRT1 axis.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex metabolic disease closely related to obesity, a growing global health problem. T2DM is characterized by decreased islet beta-cell mass and impaired insulin release from these cells, and this dysfunction is exacerbated by hyperglycemia (glucolipotoxicity). Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are abnormally expressed and play a regulatory role in T2DM. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the function and molecular mechanism of hsa_circ_0115355 in the progression of T2DM. METHODS: The regulatory effect of hsa_circ_0115355 on INS-1 cell function was assessed under glucolipotoxicity by MTT, flow cytometry analysis, and insulin secretion assay. Dual-luciferase experiments revealed a direct interaction of hsa_circ_0115355 with miR-145 and miR-145 with SIRT1. Furthermore, the regulatory role of the hsa_circ_0115355/miR-145/SIRT1 axis was verified by examining the function of INS-1. RESULTS: In this study, hsa_circ_0115355 was significantly underexpressed in both patients with T2DM and INS-1 cell lines. This study thus showed that hsa_circ_0115355 inhibits the occurrence and development of T2DM by regulating the expression of SIRT1 by adsorbing miR-145. CONCLUSION: The underexpression hsa_circ_0115355 is also a potential novel diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for T2DM.

Oncological outcomes from surgical vs. non-surgical treatments for advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a surveillance, epidemiology, and end results-based study.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (HSCCs) have poor prognoses. The use of surgical or non-surgical treatments for these patients remains a topic of debate. This study compared survival following surgical and non-surgical treatments of patients with advanced HSCC based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with hypopharyngeal cancer from 2004 to 2018 were identified from the SEER database. Patients were divided into non-surgical group and surgical group, and patients in the surgical group were further divided into three groups: surgery-only, surgery with adjuvant radiation therapy and surgery with adjuvant chemoradiation therapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary outcome was cancer-specific survival (CSS). Outcomes were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier analysis. A multivariate Cox regression analysis was also used to identify independent prognostic factors. RESULTS: The records of 1568 eligible patients with stage III or IV HSCC were examined. Receipt of surgery was associated with a longer OS [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4-0.56] and a longer CSS (HR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.38-0.57) after adjusting for age, sex, race, tumor site, tumor size, tumor grade, TNM stage, AJCC stage, number of carcinomas, prior cancer, receipt of radiotherapy, and receipt of chemotherapy. The results for OS were similar in an exploratory analysis of different patient subgroups. CONCLUSION: Among patients with advanced HSCC in the SEER database, treatment with surgery was associated with longer OS and CSS than treatment with a non-surgical modality.