NUFIP1-engineered exosomes derived from hUMSCs regulate apoptosis and neurological injury induced by propofol in newborn rats.

BACKGROUND: Propofol can increase neurotoxicity in infants but the precise mechanism is still unknown. Our previous study revealed that nuclear FMR1 interacting protein 1 (NUFIP1), a specific ribophagy receptor, can alleviate T cell apoptosis in sepsis. Yet, the effect of NUFIP1-engineered exosomes elicited from human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUMSCs) on nerve injury induced by propofol remains unclear. This study intended to investigate the effect of NUFIP1-engineered exosomes on propofol-induced nerve damage in neonatal rats. METHODS: Firstly, NUFIP1-engineered exosomes were extracted from hUMSCs serum and their identification was conducted using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Flow NanoAnalyzer, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and western blot (WB). Subsequently, the optimal exposure duration and concentration of propofol induced apoptosis were determined in SH-SY5Y cell line using WB. Following this, we co-cultured the NUFIP1-engineered exosomes in the knockdown group (NUFIP1-KD) and overexpression group (NUFIP1-OE) with SH-SY5Y cells and assessed their effects on the apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells using terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, Hoechst 33258 staining, WB, and flow cytometry, respectively. Finally, NUFIP1-engineered exosomes were intraperitoneally injected into neonatal rats, and their effects on the learning and memory ability of neonatal rats were observed through the righting reflex and Morris water maze (MWM) test. Hippocampi were extracted from different groups for hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and WB to observe their effects on apoptosis in neonatal rats. RESULTS: TEM, Flow NanoAnalyzer, qRT-PCR, and WB analyses confirmed that the exosomes extracted from hUMSCs serum exhibited the expected morphology, diameter, surface markers, and expression of target genes. This confirmed the successful construction of NUFIP1-KD and NUFIP1-OE-engineered exosomes. Optimal exposure duration and concentration of propofol were determined to be 24 hours and 100 µg/ml, respectively. Co-culture of NUFIP1 engineered exosomes and SH-SY5Y cells resulted in significant up-regulation of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and c-Caspase-3 in the KD group, while anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was significantly decreased. The OE group showed the opposite trend. TUNEL apoptosis assay, Hoechst 33258 staining, and flow cytometry yielded consistent results. Animal experiments demonstrated that intraperitoneal injection of NUFIP1-KD engineered exosomes prolonged the righting reflex recovery time of newborn rats, and MWM tests revealed a significant diminution in the time and number of newborn rats entering the platform. HE staining, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and WB results also indicated a significant enhancement in apoptosis in this group. Conversely, the experimental results of neonatal rats in the OE group revealed a certain degree of anti-apoptotic effect. CONCLUSIONS: NUFIP1-engineered exosomes from hUMSCs have the potential to regulate nerve cell apoptosis and mitigate neurological injury induced by propofol in neonatal rats. Targeting NUFIP1 may hold great significance in ameliorating propofol-induced nerve injury.

Diminished expression of GLS in CD4+ T cells serves as a prognostic indicator associated with cuproptosis in septic patients.

OBJECTIVES: Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening disease associated with a dysfunctional host immune response. Stratified identification of critically ill patients might significantly improve the survival rate. The present study sought to probe molecular markers associated with cuproptosis in septic patients to aid in stratification and improve prognosis. METHODS: We studied expression of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) using peripheral blood samples from septic patients. Further classification was made by examining levels of expression of these potential CRGs in patients. Coexpression networks were constructed using the weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) method to identify crucial prognostic CRGs. Additionally, we utilized immune cell infiltration analysis to further examine the immune status of septic patients with different subtypes and its association with the CRGs. ScRNA-seq data were also analysed to verify expression of key CRGs among specific immune cells. Finally, immunoblotting, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and CFSE analysis were used to investigate possible regulatory mechanisms. RESULTS: We classified septic patients based on CRG expression levels and found significant differences in prognosis and gene expression patterns. Three key CRGs that may influence the prognosis of septic patients were identified. A decrease in GLS expression was subsequently verified in Jurkat cells, accompanied by a reduction in O-GlcNAc levels, and chelation of copper by TTM could not rescue the reduction in GLS and O-GLcNAc levels. Moreover, immoderate chelation of copper was detrimental to mitochondrial function, cell viability and cell proliferation as well as the immune status of the host. CONCLUSION: We have identified novel molecular markers associated with cuproptosis, which could potentially function as diagnostic indicators for septic patients. The reversible nature of the observed alterations in FDX1 and LIAS was demonstrated through copper chelation, while the correlation between copper and the observed changes in GLS requires further investigation.

Investigation of Gallium Arsenide Deformation Anisotropy during Nanopolishing via Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

Crystal orientation significantly influences deformation during nanopolishing due to crystal anisotropy. In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to examine the process of surface generation and subsurface damage. We conducted analyses of surface morphology, mechanical response, and amorphization in various crystal orientations to elucidate the impact of crystal orientation on deformation and amorphization severity. Additionally, we investigated the concentration of residual stress and temperature. This work unveils the underlying deformation mechanism and enhances our comprehension of the anisotropic deformation in gallium arsenide during the nanogrinding process.

Nano-Micro Core-Shell Fibers for Efficient Pest Trapping.

Insect sex pheromones as an alternative to chemical pesticides hold promising prospects in pest control. However, their burst release and duration need to be optimized. Herein, pheromone-loaded core-shell fibers composed of degradable polycaprolactone and polyhydroxybutyrate were prepared by coaxial electrospinning. The results showed that this core-shell fiber had good hydrophobic performance and thermal stability, and the light transmittance in the ultraviolet band was only below 40%, which provided protection to pheromones. The core-shell structure alleviated the burst release of pheromone in the fiber and extended the release time to about 133 days. In the field, the pheromone-loaded core-shell fibers showed the same continuous and efficient trapping of Spodoptera litura as the commercial carriers. More importantly, the electrospun fibers combined with biomaterials had a degradability unmatched by commercial carriers. The structure design strategy provides ideas for the innovative design of pheromone carriers and is a potential tool for the management of agricultural pests.

Multifunctional Borax Cross-Linked Hydroxypropyl Guar Gum Hydrogels with Crop Nutritional Function as Carriers for Dual-Responsive Acaricide Release.

Hydrogels with porous networks have received considerable attention in smart pesticide delivery due to their inherent versatility. In this study, acaricide cyetpyrafen (CPF)-loaded borax (BO) cross-linked hydroxypropyl guar gum (HPG) (CPF@BO-co-HPG, CBG) hydrogels were prepared by cross-linking and pesticide loading simultaneously. The flowable CBG hydrogels with 3D porous network structures had better wetting and spreading ability on Citrus reticulata Blanco leaves and a hydrophobic interface. The nonflowable CBG hydrogels had pH- and temperature-responsive release properties. Meanwhile, the acaricidal efficacy of CBG against Panonychus citri (McGregor) at both 24 and 48 h was significantly higher than those of CPF-loaded BO-free HPG hydrogels. Furthermore, CBG had a nutritional function for cotton growth and environmental safety for zebrafish. This research developed a BO cross-linked HPG hydrogel as a smart pesticide delivery vehicle and crop nutrient replenishment, which can be widely applied in sustainable agriculture.

HBOT has a better cognitive outcome than NBH for patients with mild traumatic brain injury: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Normobaric hyperoxia (NBH) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) are effective treatment plan for traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this study was to compare cognitive outcome after mild TBI between NBH and HBOT so as to provide a more suitable treatment strategy for patients with mild TBI. METHODS: A prospective research was conducted between October 2017 and March 2023, enrolling patients with mild TBI (Glasgow coma scale score: 13-15 points) within 24 hours of injury in Cangzhou Central Hospital. Patients were randomized into 3 groups: group control (C), group NBH and group HBOT. The patients in HBOT group received hyperbaric oxygen therapy in high pressure oxygen chamber and patients in NBH group received hyperbaric oxygen therapy. at 0 minute before NBH or HBOT (T1), 0 minute after NBH or HBOT (T2) and 30 days after NBH or HBOT (T3), level of S100ß, NSE, GFAP, HIF-1α, and MDA were determined by ELISA. At the same time, the detection was performed for MoCA and MMSE scores, along with rSO2. RESULTS: The results showed both NBH and HBOT could improve the score of MoCA and MMSE, as well as the decrease the level of S100ß, NSE, GFAP, HIF-1α, MDA, and rSO2 compared with group C. Furthermore, the patients in group HBOT have higher score of MoCA and MMSE and lower level of S100ß, NSE, GFAP, HIF-1α, MDA, and rSO2. CONCLUSION: Both NBH and HBOT can effectively improve cognitive outcome for patients with mild TBI by improving cerebral hypoxia and alleviating brain injury, while HBOT exert better effect than NBH.

Preparation of Thifluzamide Polylactic Acid Glycolic Acid Copolymer Microspheres and Its Effect on the Growth of Cucumber Seedlings.

The polylactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer (PLGA) has been proven to be applicable in medicine, but there is limited research on its application and safety in the agricultural field. In this paper, thifluzamide PLGA microspheres were prepared via phacoemulsification and solvent volatilization, using the PLGA copolymer as the carrier and thifluzamide as the active component. It was found that the microspheres had good slow-release performance and fungicidal activity against Rhizoctonia solani. A comparative study was conducted to show the effect of thifluzamide PLGA microspheres on cucumber seedlings. Physiological and biochemical indexes of cucumber seedlings, including dry weight, root length, chlorophyll, protein, flavonoids, and total phenol content, indicated that the negative effect of thifluzamide on plant growth could be mitigated when it was wrapped in PLGA microspheres. This work explores the feasibility of PLGA as carriers in fungicide applications.

Single-cell transcriptome profiling of sepsis identifies HLA-DRlowS100Ahigh monocytes with immunosuppressive function.

BACKGROUND: Sustained yet intractable immunosuppression is commonly observed in septic patients, resulting in aggravated clinical outcomes. However, due to the substantial heterogeneity within septic patients, precise indicators in deciphering clinical trajectories and immunological alterations for septic patients remain largely lacking. METHODS: We adopted cross-species, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis based on two published datasets containing circulating immune cell profile of septic patients as well as immune cell atlas of murine model of sepsis. Flow cytometry, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) imaging and Western blotting were applied to identify the presence of S100A9+ monocytes at protein level. To interrogate the immunosuppressive function of this subset, splenic monocytes isolated from septic wild-type or S100a9-/- mice were co-cultured with naïve CD4+ T cells, followed by proliferative assay. Pharmacological inhibition of S100A9 was implemented using Paquinimod via oral gavage. RESULTS: ScRNA-seq analysis of human sepsis revealed substantial heterogeneity in monocyte compartments following the onset of sepsis, for which distinct monocyte subsets were enriched in disparate subclusters of septic patients. We identified a unique monocyte subset characterized by high expression of S100A family genes and low expression of human leukocyte antigen DR (HLA-DR), which were prominently enriched in septic patients and might exert immunosuppressive function. By combining single-cell transcriptomics of murine model of sepsis with in vivo experiments, we uncovered a similar subtype of monocyte significantly associated with late sepsis and immunocompromised status of septic mice, corresponding to HLA-DRlowS100Ahigh monocytes in human sepsis. Moreover, we found that S100A9+ monocytes exhibited profound immunosuppressive function on CD4+ T cell immune response and blockade of S100A9 using Paquinimod could partially reverse sepsis-induced immunosuppression. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies HLA-DRlowS100Ahigh monocytes correlated with immunosuppressive state upon septic challenge, inhibition of which can markedly mitigate sepsis-induced immune depression, thereby providing a novel therapeutic strategy for the management of sepsis.

Hotspots and Frontiers of Host Immune Response in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Bibliometric and Scientific Visual Research from 2000 to 2022.

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a disease with significant morbidity, progressive deterioration of lung function till death, and lack of effective treatment options. This study aims to explore the global research trends in IPF and immune response to predict the research hotspot in the future. Materials and methods. All related publications on IPF and immune response since the establishment of diagnostic criteria for IPF were retrieved using the Web of Science (WOS) database. VOSviewer, GraphPad Prism 6, CiteSpace version 5.6. R5 64-bit, and a bibliometrics online platform were used to extract and analyze the trends in relevant fields. Results: From March 1, 2000, to September 30, 2022, a total of 658 articles with 25,126 citations met the inclusion criteria. The United States ranked first in number of publications (n = 217), number of citations (n = 14,745), and H-index (62). China ranked second in publications (n = 124) and seventh and fifth for citation frequency and H-index, respectively. The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (impact factor = 30.528) published the most articles in the field. The author Kaminski N. from the United States was the most influential author with 26 publications and an H-index of 24. Among the 52 keywords that co-occurred at least 20 times, the main keywords were concentrated in "Inflammation related" and "Biomarker related" clusters. "biomarker" (AAY 2018.64, 25 times) was a newly emerged keyword. Conclusions: The United States has an unequivocal advantage in IPF and immunization, but China shows a faster developing trend. The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine should be prioritized for leading articles. This study indicates that exploration of ideal immune-related biomarkers to provide evidence for the clinical work of IPF might be a hotspot in the near future.

Effects of Chilled Saline Irrigation on SMILE Surgery.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of ultra-early visual correction and prognosis of myopic astigmatism after irrigation with the chilled balanced salt solution (BSS) during small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery. METHODS: A prospective case-control study was enrolled from 202 patients (404 eyes) who had SMILE, and randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group (each group was 101 cases [202 eyes]). After lenticule extraction on SMILE, the corneal cap and the corneal incision were flushed with chilled saline in the intervention group, whereas the control group was flushed with room temperature saline. All patients in the two groups were examined for early complications before and 2 hours, 24 hours, and 7 days after surgery and the results were compared, and statistically analyzed, including the recovery degree of naked eye vision, ocular irritation symptoms, opaque bubble layer, diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK), uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), and corrected distance visual acuity. RESULTS: The ocular irritation symptoms in the intervention group were milder than those in the control group at 2 hours after surgery, and the recovery of visual acuity at 2 and 24 hours after surgery was significantly faster than that in the control group, but there was no statistical difference in UDVA between the two groups at 7 days after surgery (P > .05). The incidence of DLK in the intervention group was lower than that in the control group, and the difference was significant (P = .041). CONCLUSIONS: Chilled BSS irrigation can reduce the emergency response of corneal tissue after SMILE, relieve ocular irritation, promote vision recovery, and relatively reduce incidence of early complications. [J Refract Surg. 2023;39(4):282-287.].

Nuclear fragile X mental retardation-interacting protein 1-mediated ribophagy protects T lymphocytes against apoptosis in sepsis.

Background: Ribophagy is a selective autophagic process that specifically degrades dysfunctional or superfluous ribosomes to maintain cellular homeostasis. Whether ribophagy can ameliorate the immunosuppression in sepsis similar to endoplasmic reticulum autophagy (ERphagy) and mitophagy remains unclear. This study was conducted to investigate the activity and regulation of ribophagy in sepsis and to further explore the potential mechanism underlying the involvement of ribophagy in T-lymphocyte apoptosis. Methods: The activity and regulation of nuclear fragile X mental retardation-interacting protein 1 (NUFIP1)-mediated ribophagy in T lymphocytes during sepsis were first investigated by western blotting, laser confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Then, we constructed lentivirally transfected cells and gene-defective mouse models to observe the impact of NUFIP1 deletion on T-lymphocyte apoptosis and finally explored the signaling pathway associated with T-cell mediated immune response following septic challenge. Results: Both cecal ligation and perforation-induced sepsis and lipopolysaccharide stimulation significantly induced the occurrence of ribophagy, which peaked at 24 h. When NUFIP1 was knocked down, T-lymphocyte apoptosis was noticeably increased. Conversely, the overexpression of NUFIP1 exerted a significant protective impact on T-lymphocyte apoptosis. Consistently, the apoptosis and immunosuppression of T lymphocytes and 1-week mortality rate in NUFIP1 gene-deficient mice were significantly increased compared with those in wild-type mice. In addition, the protective effect of NUFIP1-mediated ribophagy on T lymphocytes was identified to be closely related to the endoplasmic reticulum stress apoptosis pathway, and PERK-ATF4-CHOP signaling was obviously involved in downregulating T-lymphocyte apoptosis in the setting of sepsis. Conclusions: NUFIP1-mediated ribophagy can be significantly activated to alleviate T lymphocyte apoptosis through the PERK-ATF4-CHOP pathway in the context of sepsis. Thus, targeting NUFIP1-mediated ribophagy might be of importance in reversing the immunosuppression associated with septic complications.

Cannabidiol regulates apoptosis and autophagy in inflammation and cancer: A review.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a terpenoid naturally found in plants. The purified compound is used in the treatment of mental disorders because of its antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiepileptic effects. CBD can affect the regulation of several pathophysiologic processes, including autophagy, cytokine secretion, apoptosis, and innate and adaptive immune responses. However, several authors have reported contradictory findings concerning the magnitude and direction of CBD-mediated effects. For example, CBD treatment can increase, decrease, or have no significant effect on autophagy and apoptosis. These variable results can be attributed to the differences in the biological models, cell types, and CBD concentration used in these studies. This review focuses on the mechanism of regulation of autophagy and apoptosis in inflammatory response and cancer by CBD. Further, we broadly elaborated on the prospects of using CBD as an anti-inflammatory agent and in cancer therapy in the future.

Self-Assembled Sphere Covalent Organic Framework with Enhanced Herbicidal Activity by Loading Cyhalofop-butyl.

Nanopesticides are considered to be a novel and efficient kind of tool for controlling pests in modern agriculture. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), with high surface areas, ordered structures, and rich functional groups for loading pesticides, are a class of promising carrier materials that can be used to develop efficient nanopesticide delivery systems. However, until now, only a strong ionic interaction between the pesticide and COF can be utilized to achieve the combination between the pesticide and COF. On the basis of this method, charged pesticide molecules are the only choice for COF-based nanopesticides, which limits the exploitation. The way to load the uncharged pesticide molecules into COF still needs to be explored. Herein, in this research, we provided a commonly mild and high-efficacy strategy for loading an uncharged pesticide molecule into COF. The herbicide cyhalofop-butyl (CB), as a neutral model pesticide molecule, was loaded into the sphere COF (SCOF, a model COF synthesized at room temperature) without any ionic interaction via the host-guest strategy. The loading capacity of CB into SCOF (CB@SCOF) was determined at 57% (w/w). Smaller CB@SCOF particles (150-200 nm) can efficiently enter the weed leaves and stems, enhancing the accumulation of the effective concentration in weeds, thus increasing herbicidal activity, in comparison to CB emulsifiable (EC, micrometer scale). Furthermore, CB@SCOF had a solubilization effect for CB in water and can improve the photostability of CB. Thus, the CB-loaded COF nanosphere showed excellent herbicidal activities against the target weeds Echinochloa crus-galli and Leptochloa chinensis compared to commercial CB EC. In conclusion, this study also provides a mild and high-efficacy pesticide loading strategy for COFs. The constructed efficient delivery system and pesticide formulation containing herbicidal COF nanospheres exhibit great potential applications for controlling weeds in sustainable agriculture.

Identification and quantitative detection of two pathogenic bacteria based on a terahertz metasensor.

Bacterial infection can cause a series of diseases and play a vital role in medical care. Therefore, early diagnosis of pathogenic bacteria is crucial for effective treatment and the prevention of further infection. However, restricted by the current technology, bacterial detection is usually time-consuming and laborious and the samples need tedious processing even to be tested. Herein, we present a terahertz metasensor based on the coupling of electrical and toroidal dipoles to achieve rapid, non-destructive, label-free identification and highly sensitive quantitative detection of the two most common pathogenic bacteria. The reinforcement of the toroidal dipole significantly boosts the light-matter interactions around the surface of the microstructure, and thus the sensitivity and Q factor of the designed metasensor reach as high as 378 GHz per refractive index unit (RIU) and 21.28, respectively. Combined with the aforementioned advantages, the proposed metasensor successfully identified Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and quantitatively detected four concentrations with the lowest detectable concentration being ∼104 cfu mL-1 in the experiment. This work naturally enriches the research on THz metasensors based on the interference mechanism and inspires more innovations to facilitate the development of biosensing applications.

Publication trends of research on sepsis and programmed cell death during 2002-2022: A 20-year bibliometric analysis.

Background: Sepsis is considered an intractable dysfunction that results from the disordered host immune response to uncontrolled infection. Even though the precise mechanism of sepsis remains unclear, scientific advances have highlighted the key role of various programmed cell death processes in the pathophysiology of sepsis. The current study aims to explore the worldwide research trend on programmed cell death in the setting of sepsis and assesses the achievements of publications from various countries, institutions, journals, and authors globally. Material and methods: Associated publications during 2002-2022 with the topical subject of sepsis and programmed cell death were extracted from the Web of Science. VOSviewer was utilized to evaluate and map the published trend in the relevant fields. Results: All 2,037 relevant manuscripts with a total citation of 71,575 times were screened out by the end of 1 January 2022. China accounted for the largest number of publications (45.07%) and was accompanied by corporate citations (11,037) and H-index (48), which ranked second globally. The United States has been ranked first place with the highest citations (30,775) and H-index (88), despite a low publication number (29.95%), which was subsequent to China. The journal Shock accounted for the largest number of publications in this area. R. S. Hotchkiss, affiliated with Washington University, was considered to have published the most papers in the relevant fields (57) and achieved the highest citation frequencies (9,523). The primary keywords on the topic of programmed cell death in sepsis remarkably focused on "inflammation" "immunosuppression", and "oxidative stress", which were recognized as the core mechanisms of sepsis, eventually attributing to programmed cell death. The involved research on programmed cell death induced by immune dysregulation of sepsis was undoubtedly the hotspot in the pertinent areas. Conclusions: The United States has been academically outstanding in sepsis-related research. There appears to be an incompatible performance between publications and quantity with China. Frontier advances may be consulted in the journal Shock. The leading-edge research on the scope of programmed cell death in sepsis should preferably focus on immune dissonance-related studies in the future.

Global Research Trends and Hotspots of Autophagy in Colorectal Cancer: A 20-year Bibliometric Analysis Based on Web of Science.

BACKGROUND: Autophagy plays a pivotal role in the progression and management of colorectal cancer (CRC). Recently, numerous articles focusing on the role of autophagy in CRC have emerged. The present study was conducted to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current state and changing trends in the relationship of autophagy and CRC over the past 20 years. METHODS: The Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) was utilized to extracted all publications with respect to autophagy and CRC during 2002-2021. The contributions of various countries/regions, institutions and journals in this field were analyzed, moreover, research hotspots and promising future trends predicted through keywords were identified by the online platform of bibliometrics, CiteSpace and VOSviewer. RESULTS: A total of 2418 related publications from 2002 to 2021 were identified and collected. China occupied first place with respect to the number of publications, followed by the USA and South Korea. Shanghai Jiao Tong University published the most papers in this field. Most publications were published in Oncotarget. Additionally, analysis of the keywords identified 4 clusters with various research focuses: "mechanism-related research", "clinical-related research", "tumorigenesis research" and "chemotherapy-related research". The three latest hot keywords in this field were epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), promote and invasion. CONCLUSIONS: The number of publications and research interest on autophagy and CRC are increasing annually, and the USA had prominent academic positions in the field. Shanghai Jiao Tong University represents a high level of research and the latest progress in this field can be tracked at Oncotarget. Throughout the research history of autophagy and CRC in the past 20 years, previous studies have mainly concentrated on apoptosis and drug resistance in tumor cells, while EMT in regulating tumorigenesis and development of clinical drugs that inhibit tumor invasion through autophagy may be novel hotspots in the future.

Laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery for early gastric cancer: Perspective for actual practice.

Early gastric cancer (EGC) has a desirable prognosis compared with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). The surgical concept of EGC has altered from simply emphasizing radical resection to both radical resection and functional preservation. As the mainstream surgical methods for EGC, both endoscopic resection and laparoscopic resection have certain inherent limitations, while the advent of laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery (LECS) has overcome these limitations to a considerable extent. LECS not only expands the surgical indications for endoscopic resection, but greatly improves the quality of life (QOL) in EGC patients. This minireview elaborates on the research status of LECS for EGC, from the conception and development of LECS, to the tentative application of LECS in animal experiments, then to case reports and retrospective clinical studies. Finally, the challenges and prospects of LECS in the field of EGC are prospected and expounded, hoping to provide some references for relevant researchers. With the in-depth understanding of minimally invasive technology, LECS remains a promising option in the management of EGC. Carrying out more related multicenter prospective clinical researches is the top priority of promoting the development of this field in the future.

Publication trends and hotspots of drug resistance in colorectal cancer during 2002-2021: A bibliometric and visualized analysis.

Background: Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy have demonstrated expected clinical efficacy, while drug resistance remains the predominant limiting factor to therapeutic failure in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Although there have been numerous basic and clinical studies on CRC resistance in recent years, few publications utilized the bibliometric method to evaluate this field. The objective of current study was to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current state and changing trends of drug resistance in CRC over the past 20 years. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) was utilized to extracted all studies regarding drug resistance in CRC during 2002-2021. CiteSpace and online platform of bibliometrics were used to evaluate the contributions of various countries/regions, institutions, authors and journals in this field. Moreover, the recent research hotspots and promising future trends were identified through keywords analysis by CiteSpace and VOSviewer. Results: 1451 related publications from 2002 to 2021 in total were identified and collected. The number of global publications in this field has increased annually. China and the USA occupied the top two places with respect to the number of publications, contributing more than 60% of global publications. Sun Yat-sen University and Oncotarget were the institution and journal which published the most papers, respectively. Bardelli A from Italy was the most prolific writer and had the highest H-index. Keywords burst analysis identified that "Growth factor receptor", "induced apoptosis" and "panitumumab" were the ones with higher burst strength in the early stage of this field. Analysis of keyword emergence time showed that "oxaliplatin resistance", "MicroRNA" and "epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT)" were the keywords with later average appearing year (AAY). Conclusions: The number of publications and research interest on drug resistance in CRC have been increasing annually. The USA and China were the main driver and professor Bardelli A was the most outstanding researcher in this field. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on growth factor receptor and induced apoptosis. Oxaliplatin resistance, microRNA and EMT as recently appeared frontiers of research that should be closely tracked in the future.

Publication trends of research on COVID-19 and host immune response: A bibliometric analysis.

Introduction: As the first bibliometric analysis of COVID-19 and immune responses, this study will provide a comprehensive overview of the latest research advances. We attempt to summarize the scientific productivity and cooperation across countries and institutions using the bibliometric methodology. Meanwhile, using clustering analysis of keywords, we revealed the evolution of research hotspots and predicted future research focuses, thereby providing valuable information for the follow-up studies. Methods: We selected publications on COVID-19 and immune response using our pre-designed search strategy. Web of Science was applied to screen the eligible publications for subsequent bibliometric analyses. GraphPad Prism 8.0, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace were applied to analyze the research trends and compared the contributions of countries, authors, institutions, and journals to the global publications in this field. Results: We identified 2,200 publications on COVID-19 and immune response published between December 1, 2019, and April 25, 2022, with a total of 3,154 citations. The United States (611), China (353), and Germany (209) ranked the top three in terms of the number of publications, accounting for 53.3% of the total articles. Among the top 15 institutions publishing articles in this area, four were from France, four were from the United States, and three were from China. The journal Frontiers in Immunology published the most articles (178) related to COVID-19 and immune response. Alessandro Sette (31 publications) from the United States were the most productive and influential scholar in this field, whose publications with the most citation frequency (3,633). Furthermore, the development and evaluation of vaccines might become a hotspot in relevant scope. Conclusions: The United States makes the most indispensable contribution in this field in terms of publication numbers, total citations, and H-index. Although publications from China also take the lead regarding quality and quantity, their international cooperation and preclinical research need to be further strengthened. Regarding the citation frequency and the total number of published articles, the latest research progress might be tracked in the top-ranking journals in this field. By analyzing the chronological order of the appearance of retrieved keywords, we speculated that vaccine-related research might be the novel focus in this field.