Iron/Molybdenum Sulfide Nanozyme Cocatalytic Fenton Reaction for Photothermal/Chemodynamic Efficient Wound Healing.

The issue of bacterial infectious diseases remains a significant concern worldwide, particularly due to the misuse of antibiotics, which has caused the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. Fortunately, the rapid development of nanomaterials has propelled significant progress in antimicrobial therapy, offering promising solutions. Among them, the utilization of nanoenzyme-based chemodynamic therapy (CDT) has become a highly hopeful approach to combating bacterial infectious diseases. Nevertheless, the application of CDT appears to be facing certain constraints for its low efficiency in the Fenton reaction at the infected site. In this study, we have successfully synthesized a versatile nanozyme, which was a composite of molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) and iron sulfide (FeS2), through the hydrothermal method. The results showed that iron/molybdenum sulfide nanozymes (Fe/Mo SNZs) with desirable peroxidase (POD) mimic activity can generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) by successfully triggering the Fenton reaction. The presence of MoS2 significantly accelerates the conversion of Fe2+/Fe3+ through a cocatalytic reaction that involves the participation of redox pairs of Mo4+/Mo6+, thereby enhancing the efficiency of CDT. Additionally, based on the excellent photothermal performance of Fe/Mo SNZs, a near-infrared (NIR) laser was used to induce localized temperature elevation for photothermal therapy (PTT) and enhance the POD-like nanoenzymatic activity. Notably, both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that Fe/Mo SNZs with good broad-spectrum antibacterial properties can help eradicate Gram-negative bacteria like Escherichia coli and Gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus. The most exciting thing is that the synergistic PTT/CDT exhibited astonishing antibacterial ability and can achieve complete elimination of bacteria, which promoted wound healing after infection. Overall, this study presents a synergistic PTT/CDT strategy to address antibiotic resistance, providing avenues and directions for enhancing the efficacy of wound healing treatments and offering promising prospects for further clinical use in the near future.

The development of evaluation scale of the patient satisfaction with telemedicine: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine become more and more popular, patients attempt to use telemedicine to meet personal medical needs. Patient satisfaction is a key indicator of insight into the patient experience. PURPOSE: This systematic review aims to explore the measurement factors of patient satisfaction with telemedicine and develop a more comprehensive and systematic scale of patient satisfaction with telemedicine. METHODS: In February 2023, a literature search was conducted on the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science, identifying measurement factors and tools of patient satisfaction with telemedicine. For inclusion, the studies had to have or make a questionnaire about patient satisfaction with telemedicine delivered through video/audio visits in English. The quality of the studies was evaluated according to the Critical Appraisal Tool for Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). The dimensions and items in each tool were also analyzed. RESULTS: The initial search showed 14,020 studies. After eliminating duplicates and utilizing inclusion and exclusion criteria, 44 studies were included. This systematic review identified and integrated the measurement factors and develops a scale of patient satisfaction with telemedicine, which was divided into 9 dimensions and consists of 37 items. CONCLUSION: Future measurement and evaluation of telemedicine will benefit from scale that was developed in this study, and it will more directly reflecting patient needs when patient satisfaction with telemedicine is evaluated.

Biochar improves the humification process during pig manure composting: Insights into roles of the bacterial community and metabolic functions.

Biochar could promote humification in composting, nevertheless, its mechanism has not been fully explored from the perspective of the overall bacterial community and its metabolism. This study investigated the effects of bamboo charcoal (BC) and wheat straw biochar (WSB) on the humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) contents during pig manure composting. The results showed that BC enhanced humification more than WSB, and significantly increased the HA content and HA/FA ratio. The bacterial community structure under BC differed from those under the other treatments, and BC increased the abundance of bacteria associated with the transformation of organic matter compared with the other treatments. Furthermore, biochar enhanced the metabolism of carbohydrates and amino acids in the thermophilic and cooling phases, especially BC. Through Mantel tests and network analysis, we found that HA was mainly related to carbon source metabolism and the bacterial community, and BC might change the interaction patterns among carbohydrates, amino acid metabolism, Bacillales, Clostridiales, and Lactobacillales with HA and FA to improve the humification process during composting. These results are important for understanding the mechanisms associated with the effects of biochar on humification during composting.

Integration of transcriptome and metabolome analyses reveals the role of OsSPL10 in rice defense against brown planthopper.

KEY MESSAGE: OsSPL10 is a negative regulator of rice defense against BPH, knockout of OsSPL10 enhances BPH resistance through upregulation of defense-related genes and accumulation of secondary metabolites. Rice (Oryza sativa L.), one of the most important staple foods worldwide, is frequently attacked by various herbivores, including brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens). BPH is a typical monophagous, phloem-sucking herbivore that has been a substantial threat to rice production and global food security. Understanding the regulatory mechanism of defense responses to BPH is essential for improving BPH resistance in rice. In this study, a SQUAMOSA PROMOTER-BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE 10 (OsSPL10) transcription factor was found to play a negative role in the defenses of rice against BPH. To gain insights into the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of OsSPL10, we performed combined analyses of transcriptome and metabolome, and revealed that knockout of OsSPL10 gene improved rice resistance against BPH by enhancing the direct and indirect defenses. Genes involved in plant hormone signal transduction, MAPK signaling pathway, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and plant-pathogen interaction pathway were significantly upregulated in spl10 mutant. Moreover, spl10 mutant exhibited increased accumulation of defense-related secondary metabolites in the phenylpropanoid and terpenoid pathways. Our findings reveal a novel role for OsSPL10 gene in regulating the rice defense responses, which can be used as a potential target for genetic improvement of BPH resistance in rice.

Effectiveness of Home-Based Telerehabilitation Interventions for Dysphagia in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Multimodal treatment-induced dysphagia has serious negative effects on survivors of head and neck cancer. Owing to advances in communication technologies, several studies have applied telecommunication-based interventions that incorporate swallowing exercises, education, monitoring, feedback, self-management, and communication. It is especially urgent to implement home-based remote rehabilitation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the optimal strategy and effectiveness of remote interventions are unclear. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to examine the evidence regarding the efficacy of telerehabilitation for reducing physiological and functional impairments related to swallowing and for improving adherence and related influencing factors among head and neck cancer survivors. METHODS: The PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched up to July 2023 to identify relevant articles. In total, 2 investigators independently extracted the data and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using the quality assessment tool of the Joanna Briggs Institute. RESULTS: A total of 1465 articles were initially identified; ultimately, 13 (0.89%) were included in the systematic review. The quality assessment indicated that the included studies were of moderate to good quality. The results showed that home-based telerehabilitation improved the safety of swallowing and oral feeding, nutritional status, and swallowing-related quality of life; reduced negative emotions; improved swallowing rehabilitation adherence; was rated by participants as highly satisfactory and supportive; and was cost-effective. In addition, this review investigated factors that influenced the efficacy of telerehabilitation, which included striking a balance among swallowing training strategy, intensity, frequency, duration, and individual motor ability; treating side effects of radiotherapy; providing access to medical, motivational, and educational information; providing feedback on training; providing communication and support from speech pathologists, families, and other survivors; and addressing technical problems. CONCLUSIONS: Home-based telerehabilitation has shown great potential in reducing the safety risks of swallowing and oral feeding, improving quality of life and adherence, and meeting information needs for dysphagia among survivors of head and neck cancer. However, this review highlights limitations in the current literature, and the current research is in its infancy. In addition, owing to the diversity of patient sociodemographic, medical, physiological and functional swallowing, and behavioral factors, we recommend the development of tailored telemedicine interventions to achieve the best rehabilitation effects with the fewest and most precise interventions.

What is nursing professionalism? a concept analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nursing professionalism plays an important role in clinical nursing. However, a clear conceptual understanding of nursing professionalism is lacking. METHOD: Walker and Avant's strategy was used to analyse the concept of nursing professionalism. We searched electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL, for studies published from 1965 to 2021. Quantitative or qualitative studies published in English that focused on nursing professionalism were included in the study. RESULTS: The three attributes of nursing professionalism are multidimensional, dynamic, and culture oriented. Based on the analysis, nursing professionalism is defined as providing individuals care based on the principles of professionalism, caring, and altruism. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers a theoretical definition and conceptual model of nursing professionalism that may be applied to develop standardized assessment tools or nursing professionalism training programs.

A model for the uptake of advance care planning in older cancer adults: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Advance care planning (ACP) might assist older cancer patients in expressing their goals, values, and care preferences; yet, the ACP uptake rates in this group are low. The goal of this study is to discover factors that influence ACP uptake in older cancer adults and to construct a model that integrates these factors. METHODS: Using Arksey and O' Malley's methodology, we systematically searched seven electronic databases of ACP literature in older cancer adults from inception to March 2022. To identify factors linked to ACP uptake in elderly cancer patients, researchers used a pre-piloted extraction form. There were two phases to the thematic analysis of the labeled factors. First, factors were grouped into one of three categories using a directed content analysis approach: patient context, provider context, or mechanism. Second, we took both a deductive and inductive thematic approach to identifying and coding contributing factors in each category to identify themes and subthemes. Deductive coding was undertaken using the Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization. Finally, results were visualized into a conceptual model. RESULTS: In the including 37 articles, 131 factors were extracted. Thematic analysis of patient context factors (n = 72) showed that ACP uptake in older cancer adults is associated with predisposing characteristics, enabling resources and need. Factors attributed to provider context (n = 28) concerned predisposing characteristics and enabling resources. Mechanism factors (n = 31) are related to perceived value and patient trust, and the C-ACP uptake model was created. CONCLUSION: ACP uptake in older cancer patients is commonly influenced by patient-provider-related contextual factors, and highlights the fact that ACP uptake is more likely to be mediated through both perceived value and patient trust. This review serves as a resource for providers exploring ACP implementation options in older cancer adults.

Vascular Analysis of Soft Tissues Around the Bone Lesion in Osteoradionecrosis, Medication-Related Osteonecrosis, and Infectious Osteomyelitis of the Jaw.

OBJECTIVE: The histopathological differences of the surrounding soft tissues in osteoradionecrosis of the jaw, medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw as well as infectious osteomyelitis of the jaw patients were rarely investigated. Here, we focused on the vascular microarchitecture of the soft tissues around bone lesion and compared the microvessel difference of ORNJ, MRONJ, and IOMJ in a quantitative fashion. METHODS: A series of consecutive patients diagnosed as ORNJ, MRONJ, and acute/chronic IOMJ was retrospectively reviewed. All cases received preoperative cone bean computed tomography scans. Immunohistochemistry of CD34 was performed with the streptavidin-peroxidase method and the variables including vascular density, vascular area fraction, mean vessel lumen area, perimeter and diameter of the vessels as well as percentage of lumen less than 400 µm2 were analyzed. RESULTS: The results showed that the vascular-like structures were visible in more cases of acute/chronic IOMJ compared with ORNJ and MRONJ by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Quantitively, our results demonstrated the decreased vascular density, mean perimeter and diameter of the vessels but increased percentage of small vessels in ORNJ and MRONJ patients in contrast with IOMJ patients. CONCLUSIONS: Hypovascularity of surrounding soft tissues could play important roles in the etiology of IOMJ, ORNJ, and MRONJ, and microvessel profile may be a useful pathological diagnostic indicator to differentiate these 3 types of OMJ.

Skeletal Class III Malocclusion Is Associated with ADAMTS2 Variants and Reduced Expression in a Familial Case.

Skeletal Class III malocclusion with maxillary deficiency is a severe maxillofacial disease with unclear pathogenic mechanisms. We recruited a Han Chinese family who was clinically diagnosed with skeletal Class III malocclusion and maxillary deficiency. Using whole exome sequencing, a missense variant in ADAMTS2 (NM_014244: c.3506G>T: p.G1169V) was identified and predicted as deleterious by in silico tools. We also found ADAMTS2 variants associated with deficient maxillary development in a cohort. ADAMTS2 expression in HEK293 cells showed significant decrease due to the variant, which was also consistent in dental pulp stem cells from the proband and a healthy control. In the adamts2-knockdown zebrafish model, the length and width of the ethmoid plate, as well as the length of the palatoquadrate became significantly shorter than the control group (p < 0.001), while there was no significant difference in the length and width of the mandible. The expression of Sox3, which was required in early embryonic craniofacial development, was significantly downregulated in the adamts2-knockdown zebrafish embryos. Bioinformatic and cellular studies showed that the decreased expression of ADAMTS2 may inhibit downstream ErbB signaling pathway transduction and restrain subsequent osteogenesis in human adult mesenchymal stromal cells. Collectively, these data showed that ADAMTS2 (c.3506G>T: p.G1169V) may confer susceptibility to risk of skeletal Class III malocclusion with maxillary deficiency.

Optical Cell Tagging for Spatially Resolved Single-Cell RNA Sequencing.

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has emerged as a powerful tool for profiling gene expression of distinct cell populations at the single-cell level. However, the information of the positions of cells within the multicellular samples is missing in scRNA-seq datasets. To overcome this limitation, we herein develop OpTAG (optical cell tagging) as a new chemical platform for attaching functional tags onto cell surfaces in a spatially resolved manner. With OpTAG, we establish OpTAG-seq, which enables spatially resolved scRNA-seq. We apply OpTAG-seq to investigate the spatially defined transcriptional program in migrating cancer cells and identified a list of genes that are potential regulators for cancer cell migration and invasion. OpTAG-seq provides a convenient method for mapping cellular heterogeneity with spatial information within multicellular biological systems.

Parathyroid hormone ameliorates osteogenesis of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells against glucolipotoxicity through p38 MAPK signaling.

Diabetes mellitus (DM)-induced glucolipotoxicity is a factor strongly contributing to alveolar bone deficiency. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) has been identified as a main systemic mediator to balance physiological calcium in bone. This study aimed to uncover PTH's potential role in ameliorating the osteogenic capacity of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (HBMSCs) against glucolipotoxicity. Optimal PTH concentrations and high glucose and palmitic acid (GP) were administered to cells, followed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and ALP activity assay. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Immunoblot were carried out for assessing mRNA and protein amounts, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry were performed for quantitating cell proliferation. Osteogenesis and oxidative stress were determined, and the involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling was further verified. About 1-50 mmol/ml GP significantly inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of HBMSCs. 10-9 mol/L PTH was found to be the optimal concentration for HBMSC induction. PTH had no effects on HBMSC proliferation, with or without GP treatment. PTH reversed inadequate osteogenesis and excessive oxidative stress in GP-treated HBMSCs. Mechanistically, PTH activated p38 MAPK signaling, while inhibiting p38 MAPK-suppressed PTH's beneficial impacts on HBMSCs. Collectively, PTH promotes osteogenic differentiation in HBMSCs against glucolipotoxicity via p38 MAPK signaling.

A Novel Classification of Relationship Between Nasal Septum and Inferior Turbinate Associated With Nasal Airway Obstruction in Patients With Unilateral Alveolar Cleft.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate nasal morphologies associated with nasal airway obstruction in unilateral alveolar cleft patients. METHODS: A total of 234 unilateral alveolar cleft cases were performed cone beam computed tomography scans. The digital imaging and communication in medicine data were imported into Simplant Pro software. The radiographic features including nasal septum deviation and inferior turbinate hypertrophy as well as nasal airway volume and sinusitis were analyzed. RESULTS: A new radiographic classification of relationship between nasal septum and inferior turbinate (NS-IT) on the cleft side was proposed and three types of NS-IT relationship (type I, II and III) were identified in 234 cases. The statistical analysis revealed that the nasal airway volume on non-cleft side was significantly higher than that on cleft side in each of three types (P  < 0.0001), while no difference of nasal airway volume on non-cleft side was found among three types. In addition, the nasal airway volume on non-cleft side in type I and II was significantly higher than that in type III (P < 0.0001). Also, type III presented higher rate of maxillary sinusitis (P = 0.0154) and ethmoid sinusitis on cleft side (P = 0.0490) than type I and II. The other indexes including clinical variances were not significant among three types. CONCLUSIONS: Unilateral alveolar cleft patients with type III NS-IT relationship could have nasal airway obstruction and higher rate of maxillary and ethmoid sinusitis on cleft side, which may be taken into account at primary cleft repair and alveolar bone grafting treatment.

Human amnion-derived mesenchymal stem cells enhance the osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells by promoting adiponectin excretion via the APPL1-ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

Human adipose-derived stem cells (HASCs) represent pluripotent cells capable of differentiating into the bone tissue. Meanwhile, human amnion-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HAMSCs) could cause mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into the bone tissue. This work assessed the osteogenic effects exerted by HAMSCs on the potential of HASCs to form bone cells. Cell growth was evaluated flow-cytometrically. Differentiation into osteoblasts and mineral formation were assessed by chromogenic alkaline phosphatase activity substrate assay and Alizarin red S staining. Adiponectin (APN), the adipocytokine secreted by adipocytes, was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In this study, HAMSCs concentration-dependently induced growth, osteoblastic differentiation, and APN excretion in HASCs. Mechanistically, immunofluorescence and immunoblot revealed HAMSCs promoted cytosolic translocation of leucine zipper motif (APPL1) from the nucleus and induced extracellular signaling-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation in HASCs. Furthermore, HAMSC effects were markedly blunted by pretreatment with APPL1 siRNA and U0126, an ERK1/2 signaling inhibitor with high selectivity. These results suggested that APN excretion is not suppressed by APPL1 knockdown in HASCs, but by ERK1/2 inhibition. These findings collectively indicate that HAMSCs induce the osteogenesis of HASCs by promoting APN excretion through APPL1-ERK1/2 activation.

AKT/FOXO1 axis links cross-talking of endothelial cell and pericyte in TIE2-mutated venous malformations.

BACKGROUND: Venous malformations (VMs), most of which associated with activating mutations in the endothelial cells (ECs) tyrosine kinase receptor TIE2, are characterized by dilated and immature veins with scarce smooth muscle cells (SMCs) coverage. However, the underlying mechanism of interaction between ECs and SMCs responsible for VMs has not been fully understood. METHODS: Here, we screened 5 patients with TIE2-L914F mutation who were diagnosed with VMs by SNP sequencing, and we compared the expression of platelet-derived growth factor beta (PDGFB) and α-SMA in TIE2 mutant veins and normal veins by immunohistochemistry. In vitro, we generated TIE2-L914F-expressing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and performed BrdU, CCK-8, transwell and tube formation experiments on none-transfected and transfected ECs. Then we investigated the effects of rapamycin (RAPA) on cellular characteristics. Next we established a co-culture system and investigated the role of AKT/FOXO1/PDGFB in regulating cross-talking of mutant ECs and SMCs. RESULTS: VMs with TIE2-L914F mutation showed lower expression of PDGFB and α-SMA than normal veins. TIE2 mutant ECs revealed enhanced cell viability and motility, and decreased tube formation, whereas these phenotypes could be reversed by rapamycin. Mechanically, RAPA ameliorated the physiological function of mutant ECs by inhibiting AKT-mTOR pathway, but also facilitated the nuclear location of FOXO1 and the expression of PDGFB in mutant ECs, and then improved paracrine interactions between ECs and SMCs. Moreover, TIE2 mutant ECs strongly accelerated the transition of SMCs from contractile phenotype to synthetic phenotype, whereas RAPA could prevent the phenotype transition of SMCs. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate a previously unknown mechanistic linkage of AKT-mTOR/FOXO1 pathway between mutant ECs and SMCs in modulating venous dysmorphogenesis, and AKT/FOXO1 axis might be a potential therapeutic target for the recovery of TIE2-mutation causing VMs. Video Abstract.

Impact of Prior Ischemic Stroke on Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure　- A Propensity-Matched Study.

BACKGROUND: Whether ischemic stroke per se, rather than older age or additional comorbidities, accounts for the adverse prognosis of heart failure (HF) is uncertain. The present study examineed the intrinsic association of ischemic stroke with outcomes in a propensity-matched cohort.Methods and Results:Of 1,351 patients hospitalized with HF, 388 (28.7%) had prior ischemic stroke. Using propensity score for prior ischemic stroke, estimated for each patient, a matched cohort of 379 pairs of HF patients with and without prior ischemic stroke, balanced on 32 baseline characteristics was assembled. At 30 days, prior ischemic stroke was associated with significantly higher risks of the combined endpoint of all-cause death or readmission (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.91; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.38 to 2.65; P<0.001), all-cause death (HR: 2.08; 95% CI: 1.28 to 3.38; P=0.003), all-cause readmission (HR: 2.67; 95% CI: 1.78 to 4.01; P<0.001), and HF readmission (HR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.19 to 3.72; P=0.010). Prior ischemic stroke was associated with a significantly higher risk of all 4 outcomes at both 6 months and 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: Prior ischemic stroke was a potent and persistent risk predictor of death and readmission among patients with HF after accounting for clinical characteristics.

Comparison of Anatomical Features of Alveolar Cleft in Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Patients of Different Ages.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the anatomical features of alveolar cleft in patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) of different ages. METHODS: Sixty UCLP patients were divided into 3 groups as follows: group 1 (7-12 years old), group 2 (13-18 years old) and group 3 (more than 18 years old). The radiographic images were analyzed based on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. RESULTS: The mean age in 3 groups was 10.45 ±â€Š1.15, 15.05 ±â€Š1.90, and 22.55 ±â€Š3.00 years (P < 0.0001). The lip-palatal width in Group 2 and 3 was 15.14 ±â€Š3.67 mm and 15.50 ±â€Š3.92 mm, which was significantly larger than 12.97 ±â€Š1.82 mm in Group 1 (P = 0.037). The volume of alveolar defect was 1.09 ±â€Š0.23 cm, 1.28 ±â€Š0.38 cm and 1.40 ±â€Š0.58 cm in 3 groups, and the difference between any 2 of them was significant (P = 0.0004). The prevalence of ipsilateral but contralateral maxillary sinusitis was significant among 3 groups (P = 0.0015) while the other nasal deformities including nasal septum deviation and inferior turbinate hypertrophy was not found significant. CONCLUSIONS: Alveolar cleft volume increased with age, which is properly due to enlarged width of lip-palatal defect. The significant higher frequencies of ipsilateral maxillary sinusitis in patients under 18 could increase the risk of bone infection.

Rs2262251 in lncRNA RP11-462G12.2 is associated with nonsyndromic cleft lip with/without cleft palate.

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with/without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is one of the most common human congenital defects. Rs2262251 (G>C) in long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) RP11-462G12.2 is in high linkage disequilibrium with rs8049367, which was identified in our previous genome-wide association study on NSCL/P, and is a potential causative single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for NSCL/P. To test these hypotheses, rs2262251 was evaluated in another cohort of 1,314 cases and 1,259 controls. Rs2262251 was associated with NSCL/P risk (p = .003). However, no association was detected for cleft palate only. SNP rs2262251 affected the structure and expression of lncRNA RP11-462G12.2 in HEK293 and HEPM cells and in lip tissues from patients with NSCL/P. Overexpression of the rs2262251 G allele contributed to reducing the number of cells in the G0/G1 phase, inhibiting cell apoptosis, and promoting cell proliferation in vitro. The rs2262251 C allele regulated the expression of miR-744-5p and its target gene IQSEC2, both of which were expressed in human lip tissues, and showed reverse correlation during mouse lip development. Taken together, these findings suggest that rs2262251 is associated with the risk of NSCL/P and participates in a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory axis in which miR-744-5p and IQSEC2 combine to control NSCL/P development.

A comparative study of HAMSCs/HBMSCs transwell and mixed coculture systems.

Our previous studies indicated that a coculture system containing human amnion-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HAMSCs) and human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (HBMSCs) has the potential of application for bone regeneration. However, there is currently no enough comparative investigation between HAMSCs/HBMSCs transwell and mixed coculture systems. This study aimed to assess the phenotype and mechanisms regulated by indirect and direct coculture systems, respectively. Two in vitro models were employed with HAMSCs and HBMSCs at a ratio of 3:1, and then were analyzed by a series of processes, including flow cytometry, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) substrate assays, Alizarin red S staining, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and Western blot analysis. We found that cell proliferation, ALP activity, mineralized matrix formation, and osteoblast-related mRNA expression were accelerated in transwell coculture system compared with mixed coculture system. Conditioned medium from transwell coculture system achieved an elevated level of vascular endothelial growth factor and induced more vascular structures in human umbilical vein endothelial cells than those of mixed coculture system. Moreover, we observed that transwell coculture system, promoted osteogenesis and angiogenesis by maintaining stemness through extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. U0126, a selective inhibitor of ERK1/2 MAPK signaling, significantly suppressed maintaining of the stemness-based effects on transwell coculture system. Taken together, our results compared the merits of two different models and clarified the role of HAMSCs/HBMSCs transwell coculture system in the development of bone tissue engineering. © 2019 IUBMB Life, 2019.

Prognostic value of serum liver enzymes in oral and oropharynx squamous cell carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Serum liver enzymes, which catalyze relevant catabolic pathways, have been indicated to be diagnostic and prognostic tools for several malignant tumors. The correlation between serum liver enzymes levels and survival in patients with oral and oropharynx squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) is still absent. Here, we conducted a study focusing on predictive value of serum liver enzymes in terms of prognosis in the patients. METHODS: A retrospective study including 134 OSCC patients from years 2009 to 2014 was performed to investigate the association between levels of pre-treatment serum liver enzymes, various clinical parameters and prognostic outcomes, which are overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Log-rank tests with Kaplan-Meier method were used to detect potential prognostic biomarkers. Multivariate analyses by Cox proportional hazards model were used to identify significant predictors of prognosis. RESULTS: Serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) level was associated with patients' OS and DFS by univariate analyses (P = 0.006 and P = 0.024, respectively). Multivariate analyses showed that higher serum ADA (>17.2 U/L) (P = 0.019) as well as positive lymph node status (P = 0.035) independently predicted worse OS of patients with OSCC. In addition, older age (≥60 years) (P = 0.043) and positive lymph node status (P = 0.027) were independently prognostic parameters for poorer DFS. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-operative serum ADA levels may serve as a reliable independent prognostic predictor for OS in OSCC patients.

Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate-susceptible SNPs is associated with hyperdontia.

BACKGROUND: Non-syndromic supernumerary teeth (NSST) or hyperdontia may share common genetic determinants with non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate (NSCL/P). The aim of this study was to test the associations between five genome-wide-associated NSCL/P-susceptible single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs2235371, rs7078160, rs8049367, rs4791774, and rs13041247) and the occurrence of NSST. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 163 cases and 326 controls were recruited and their genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples. Five NSCL/P-susceptible SNPs (rs2235371, rs7078160, rs8049367, rs4791774, and rs13041247) were genotyped by TaqMan method. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to estimate the associations between the SNPs and the risk of NSST by PLINK software. RESULTS: Rs4791774 (A > G) and rs13041247 (T > C) were associated with risk of NSST (rs4791774: Padd  = 0.011, OR, 95% CI = 0.62, 0.43-0.90; rs13041247: Phomo  = 0.031, OR, 95% CI = 1.79, 1.05-3.05) and one supernumerary tooth (rs4791774: Pdom  = 0.009, OR, 95% CI = 0.56, 0.36-0.87; rs13041247: Phomo  = 0.034, OR, 95% CI = 1.82, 1.05-3.15). Rs4791774 (A > G) was also showed association with risk of upper arch supernumerary teeth only (Padd  = 0.010, OR, 95% CI = 0.60, 0.41-0.89). CONCLUSION: Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without palate-susceptible loci rs4791774 (A > G) and rs13041247 (T > C) were associated with the risk of supernumerary teeth.