High-fat diet impairs gut barrier through intestinal microbiota-derived reactive oxygen species

Gut barrier disruption is a key event in bridging gut microbiota dysbiosis and high-fat diet (HFD)-associated metabolic disorders. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In the present study, by comparing HFD- and normal diet (ND)-treated mice, we found that the HFD instantly altered the composition of the gut microbiota and subsequently damaged the integrity of the gut barrier. Metagenomic sequencing revealed that the HFD upregulates gut microbial functions related to redox reactions, as confirmed by the increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in fecal microbiota incubation in vitro and in the lumen, which were detected using in vivo fluorescence imaging. This microbial ROS-producing capability induced by HFD can be transferred through fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) into germ-free (GF) mice, downregulating the gut barrier tight junctions. Similarly, mono-colonizing GF mice with an Enterococcus strain excelled in ROS production, damaged the gut barrier, induced mitochondrial malfunction and apoptosis of the intestinal epithelial cells, and exacerbated fatty liver, compared with other low-ROS-producing Enterococcus strains. Oral administration of recombinant high-stability-superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly reduced intestinal ROS, protected the gut barrier, and improved fatty liver against the HFD. In conclusion, our study suggests that extracellular ROS derived from gut microbiota play a pivotal role in HFD-induced gut barrier disruption and is a potential therapeutic target for HFD-associated metabolic diseases.

CRB1-associated retinal degeneration is dependent on bacterial translocation from the gut

The Crumbs homolog 1 (CRB1) gene is associated with retinal degeneration, most commonly Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Here, we demonstrate that murine retinas bearing the Rd8 mutation of Crb1 are characterized by the presence of intralesional bacteria. While normal CRB1 expression was enriched in the apical junctional complexes of retinal pigment epithelium and colonic enterocytes, Crb1 mutations dampened its expression at both sites. Consequent impairment of the outer blood retinal barrier and colonic intestinal epithelial barrier in Rd8 mice led to the translocation of intestinal bacteria from the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract to the retina, resulting in secondary retinal degeneration. Either the depletion of bacteria systemically or the reintroduction of normal Crb1 expression colonically rescued Rd8-mutation-associated retinal degeneration without reversing the retinal barrier breach. Our data elucidate the pathogenesis of Crb1-mutation-associated retinal degenerations and suggest that antimicrobial agents have the potential to treat this devastating blinding disease.

Effects of flora deficiency on the structure and function of the large intestine

The significant anatomical changes in large intestine of germ-free (GF) mice provide excellent material for understanding microbe-host crosstalk. We observed significant differences of GF mice in anatomical and physiological involving in enlarged cecum, thinned mucosal layer and enriched water in cecal content. Furthermore, integration analysis of multi-omics data revealed the associations between the structure of large intestinal mesenchymal cells and the thinning of the mucosal layer. Increased Aqp8 expression in GF mice may contribute to enhanced water secretion or altered hydrodynamics in the cecum. In addition, the proportion of epithelial cells, nutrient absorption capacity, immune function and the metabolome of cecum contents of large intestine were also significantly altered. Together, this is the first systematic study of the transcriptome and metabolome of the cecum and colon of GF mice, and these findings contribute to our understanding of the intricate interactions between microbes and the large intestine.

Probing long-lived radioactive isotopes on the double-logarithmic Segrè chart

Isotopes have been widely applied in a variety of scientific subjects; many aspects of isotopes, however, remain not well understood. In this study, I investigate the relation between the number of neutrons (N) and the number of protons (Z) in stable isotopes of non-radioactive elements and long-lived isotopes of radioactive elements at the double-linear scale (conventional Segrè chart) and the double-logarithmic scale. Statistical analyses show that N is a power-law function of Z for these isotopes: N = 0.73 × Z 1.16. This power-law relation provides better predictions for the numbers of neutrons in stable isotopes of non-radioactive elements and long-lived isotopes of radioactive elements than the linear relation on the conventional Segrè chart. The power-law pattern reveled here offers empirical guidance for probing long-lived isotopes of unknown radioactive elements.

Indole-3-carboxaldehyde ameliorates ionizing radiation-induced hematopoietic injury by enhancing hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell quiescence

Indole-3-carboxaldehyde (I3A), one of tryptophan metabolites derived from gut microbiota, extends the lifespan of mice after high-dose ionizing radiation exposure. Persistent myelosuppression is the most common and fatal complication for victims of nuclear accidents and patients undergoing radiotherapy, with few therapeutic options available. However, whether and how I3A protects ionizing radiation-induced hematopoietic toxicity remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that I3A treatment effectively ameliorated radiation-induced hematopoietic injury through accelerating peripheral blood cells recovery, promoting bone marrow cellularity restoration and enhancing functional HSPC regeneration. Additionally, I3A also suppressed intracellular reactive oxygen species production and inhibited apoptosis in irradiated HSPCs. Mechanistically, I3A treatment significantly increased HSPC quiescence, thus conferring HSPCs with resistance against radiation injury. Finally, I3A treatment could improve survival of lethally irradiated mice. Taken together, our data suggest that I3A acts as a gut microbiota-derived paracrine factor that regulates HSPC regeneration and may serve as a promising therapeutic agent for ionizing radiation-induced myelosuppression.

Sonosensitizer Nanoplatforms Augmented Sonodynamic Therapy-Sensitizing Shikonin-Induced Necroptosis Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background

Apoptosis resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) often leads to treatment failure. Nonetheless, overcoming the resistance of HCC to apoptosis by inducing necroptosis of tumor cells to bypass the apoptotic pathway may be a promising treatment strategy. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has broad prospects in disease treatment because of its noninvasive characteristic and spatiotemporal control. The combination of SDT and shikonin in the treatment of HCC is expected to be a new tumor treatment method that can overcome apoptosis resistance.

Methods

In this study, the antitumor effect was evaluated using normal liver cell line WRL68, HCC cell line HepG2 and HepG2 xenograft mouse models. Indocyanine green (ICG) was loaded on nanobubbles (NBs) to construct ICG-loaded nanobubbles (ICG-NBs). Combined sonosensitizer nanoplatforms with ultrasound (US) to achieve efficient SDT, the combination of SDT and shikonin in treating HCC can activate shikonin-induced necroptosis. As a result, tumor cells that produced apoptosis resistance were destroyed by necroptosis.

Results

The results indicated a successful preparation of ICG-NBs with a uniform particle size of 273.0 ± 118.9 nm spherical structures. ICG-NB-mediated SDT, in combination with shikonin treatment, inhibited the viability, invasion, and migration of tumor cells. SDT + shikonin treatment group caused a substantial increase in necroptotic cells. The increased degree of tumor necrosis and the upregulated expression of receptor-interacting protein 3 kinase were observed in vivo studies, which indicated that the antitumor effect was accompanied by enhanced necroptosis in the SDT + shikonin treatment group.

Conclusion

ICG-NB-mediated SDT combined with shikonin inhibits the growth of HCC by increasing the necroptosis of tumor cells. Therefore, this combination therapy is a promising treatment strategy against the specific cancer.

Sono-Immunotherapy Mediated Controllable Composite Nano Fluorescent Probes Reprogram the Immune Microenvironment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background

Despite the clinical efficacy of immunotherapy in treating malignant tumors, its effectiveness is often hampered by the immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this study, we propose the design of a nanoscale ultrasound contrast agent capable of triggering macrophage polarization and immunogenic cell death (ICD) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through sonodynamic treatment (SDT) and immunotherapy.

Methods

The re-educator (designated as ICG@C3F8-R848 NBs) is composed of the Toll-like receptor agonist resiquimod (R848) and the sonosensitizer Indocyanine green (ICG), utilizing nanobubbles (NBs) as carriers. The technique known as ultrasound-targeted nanobubble destruction (UTND) employs nanosized microbubbles and low-frequency ultrasound (LFUS) to ensure accurate drug delivery and enhance safety.

Results

Following intravenous delivery, ICG@C3F8-R848 NBs have the potential to selectively target and treat primary tumors using SDT in conjunction with ultrasonography. Importantly, R848 can enhance antitumor immunity by inducing the polarization of macrophages from an M2 to an M1 phenotype.

Conclusion

The SDT-initiated immunotherapy utilizing ICG@C3F8-R848 NBs demonstrates significant tumor suppression effects with minimal risk of systemic toxicity. The utilization of this self-delivery re-education technique would contribute to advancing the development of nanomedicine for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Gut microbiota-derived tryptophan metabolites alleviate liver injury via AhR/Nrf2 activation in pyrrolizidine alkaloids-induced sinusoidal obstruction syndrome

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) is caused by toxic injury, such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids, to the liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, and the gut microbiota may be involved. However, the specific role and underlying mechanism of gut microbiota in HSOS is unknown.

METHODS

HSOS model was established by gavage of monocrotaline (MCT) in rats. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) with HSOS-derived or healthy gut flora was also conducted to validate the role of gut microflora in MCT-induced liver injury. The microbial 16 s rRNA analysis and untargeted metabolomics analysis in the faeces were performed to identify HSOS-related flora and metabolites. Finally, by supplementation with specific tryptophan metabolites, such as indole-3-acetaldehyde (IAAld) and indole acetic acid (IAA), we further confirmed the role of tryptophan metabolism in HSOS and the role of the AhR/Nrf2 pathway in MCT-induced liver injury.

RESULTS

MCT induced HSOS-like liver injury in rats with significantly altered gut microbiota. Particularly, some tryptophan-metabolizing bacteria reduced in MCT-treated rats, such as Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Clostridium, and accompanied by a decrease in microbial tryptophan metabolic activity and a series of tryptophan derivatives. Restoring the gut microbiota via FMT improved MCT-induced liver damage, while HSOS-derived gut microbiota aggravated the liver injury induced by MCT. Supplementation with microbial tryptophan derivatives (IAAld or IAA), or 6-formylindolo(3,2-b)carbazole (Ficz, an AhR agonist) could activate the AhR/Nrf2 signaling pathway, thereby attenuating the MCT-induced liver oxidative stress and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Gut microbiota plays a critical role in MCT-induced HSOS, with inadequate microbial tryptophan metabolism in the gut and consequently a lower activity of the AhR/Nrf2 signaling pathway in the liver, which should be a potential target for the management of HSOS.

Early Prediction of Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Using Quantitative Parameters on Automated Breast Ultrasound Combined with Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Breast Cancer

OBJECTIVE

This prospective study was aimed at evaluating the role of automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the early prediction of treatment response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with breast cancer.

METHODS

Forty-three patients with pathologically confirmed invasive breast cancer treated with NAC were included. The standard for evaluation of response to NAC was based on surgery within 21 d of completing treatment. The patients were classified as having a pathological complete response (pCR) and a non-pCR. All patients underwent CEUS and ABUS 1 wk before receiving NAC and after two treatment cycles. The rising time (RT), time to peak (TTP), peak intensity (PI), wash-in slope (WIS) and wash-in area under the curve (Wi-AUC) were measured on the CEUS images before and after NAC. The maximum tumor diameters in the coronal and sagittal planes were measured on ABUS, and the tumor volume (V) was calculated. The difference (∆) in each parameter between the two treatment time points was compared. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictive value of each parameter.

RESULTS

∆V, ∆TTP and ∆PI were independent predictors of pCR. The CEUS-ABUS model achieved the highest AUC (0.950), followed by those based on CEUS (0.918) and ABUS (0.891) alone.

CONCLUSION

The CEUS-ABUS model could be used clinically to optimize the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

Combination of thalidomide and Clostridium butyricum relieves chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting via gut microbiota and vagus nerve activity modulation

Nausea and vomiting (CINV) are distressful and widespread side effects of chemotherapy, and additional efficient regimens to alleviate CINV are urgently needed. In the present study, colorectal cancer (CRC) mice model induced by Azoxymethane (AOM)/Dextran Sodium Sulfate (DSS) was employed to evaluate the cancer suppression and CINV amelioration effect of the combination of thalidomide (THD) and Clostridium butyricum. Our results suggested that the combination of THD and C. butyricum abundantly enhanced the anticancer effect of cisplatin via activating the caspase-3 apoptosis pathway, and also ameliorated CINV via inhibiting the neurotransmitter (e.g., 5-HT and tachykinin 1) and its receptor (e.g., 5-HT₃R and NK-1R) in brain and colon. Additionally, the combination of THD and C. butyricum reversed the gut dysbacteriosis in CRC mice by increasing the abundance of Clostridium, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Ruminococcus at the genus level, and also led to increased expression of occludin and Trek1 in the colon, while decreased expression of TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB, and HDAC1, as well as the mRNA level of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. In all, these results suggest that the combination of THD and C. butyricum had good efficacy in enhancing cancer treatments and ameliorating CINV, which thus provides a more effective strategy for the treatment of CRC.

Prediction model of axillary lymph node status using automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) and ki-67 status in early-stage breast cancer

Background

Automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) is a useful choice in breast disease diagnosis. The axillary lymph node (ALN) status is crucial for predicting the clinical classification and deciding on the treatment of early-stage breast cancer (EBC) and could be the primary indicator of locoregional recurrence. We aimed to establish a prediction model using ABUS features of primary breast cancer to predict ALN status.

Methods

A total of 469 lesions were divided into the axillary lymph node metastasis (ALNM) group and the no ALNM (NALNM) group. Univariate analysis and multivariate analysis were used to analyze the difference of clinical factors and ABUS features between the two groups, and a predictive model of ALNM was established. Pathological results were as the gold standard.

Results

Ki-67, maximum diameter (MD), posterior feature shadowing or enhancement and hyperechoic halo were significant risk factors for ALNM in multivariate logistic regression analysis (P < 0.05). The four risk factors were used to build the predictive model, and it achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.791 (95% CI: 0.751, 0.831). The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the prediction model were 72.5%, 69.1% and 75.26%. The positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 66.08% and 79.93%, respectively. Distance to skin, MD, margin, shape, internal echo pattern, orientation, posterior features, and hyperechoic halo showed significant differences between stage I and stage II (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

ABUS features and Ki-67 can meaningfully predict ALNM in EBC and the prediction model may facilitate a more effective therapeutic schedule.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-10034-3.

Performance of novel deep learning network with the incorporation of the automatic segmentation network for diagnosis of breast cancer in automated breast ultrasound

OBJECTIVE

To develop novel deep learning network (DLN) with the incorporation of the automatic segmentation network (ASN) for morphological analysis and determined the performance for diagnosis breast cancer in automated breast ultrasound (ABUS).

METHODS

A total of 769 breast tumors were enrolled in this study and were randomly divided into training set and test set at 600 vs. 169. The novel DLNs (Resent v2, ResNet50 v2, ResNet101 v2) added a new ASN to the traditional ResNet networks and extracted morphological information of breast tumors. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), and average precision (AP) were calculated. The diagnostic performances of novel DLNs were compared with those of two radiologists with different experience.

RESULTS

The ResNet34 v2 model had higher specificity (76.81%) and PPV (82.22%) than the other two, the ResNet50 v2 model had higher accuracy (78.11%) and NPV (72.86%), and the ResNet101 v2 model had higher sensitivity (85.00%). According to the AUCs and APs, the novel ResNet101 v2 model produced the best result (AUC 0.85 and AP 0.90) compared with the remaining five DLNs. Compared with the novice radiologist, the novel DLNs performed better. The F1 score was increased from 0.77 to 0.78, 0.81, and 0.82 by three novel DLNs. However, their diagnostic performance was worse than that of the experienced radiologist.

CONCLUSIONS

The novel DLNs performed better than traditional DLNs and may be helpful for novice radiologists to improve their diagnostic performance of breast cancer in ABUS.

KEY POINTS

• A novel automatic segmentation network to extract morphological information was successfully developed and implemented with ResNet deep learning networks. • The novel deep learning networks in our research performed better than the traditional deep learning networks in the diagnosis of breast cancer using ABUS images. • The novel deep learning networks in our research may be useful for novice radiologists to improve diagnostic performance.

Targeted Phototherapy by Niobium Carbide for Mammalian Tumor Models Similar to Humans

BACKGROUND

In the past few decades, nanomaterial-mediated phototherapy has gained significant attention as an alternative antitumor strategy. However, its antitumor success is majorly limited to the treatment of subcutaneous tumors in nude mice. In fact, no studies have been previously conducted in this area/field on clinically-relevant big animal models. Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct further investigation in a typical big animal model, which is more closely related to the human body.

RESULTS

In this study, niobium carbide (NbC) was selected as a photoactive substance owing to the presence of outstanding near-infrared (NIR) absorption properties, which are responsible for the generation of NIR-triggered hyperthermia and reactive oxygen species that contribute towards synergetic photothermal and photodynamic effect. Moreover, the present study utilized macrophages as bio-carrier for the targeted delivery of NbC, wherein phagocytosis by macrophages retained the photothermal/photodynamic effect of NbC. Consequently, macrophage-loaded NbC ensured/allowed complete removal of solid tumors both in nude mice and big animal models involving rabbits. Meanwhile, two-dimensional ultrasound, shave wave elastography (SWE), and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) were used to monitor physiological evolution in tumor in vivo post-treatment, which clearly revealed the occurrence of the photoablation process in tumor and provided a new strategy for the surveillance of tumor in big animal models.

CONCLUSION

Altogether, the use of a large animal model in this study presented higher clinical significance as compared to previous studies.

RNA-Seq Technology Reveals the Mechanism of SDT Combined With Novel Nanobubbles Against HCC

Sonodynamic therapy is widely used in the treatment and research of hepatocellular carcinoma. A novel targeted nanobubble complex mediated with Hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether and Lonidamine was structured as a sensitizer, characterized the properties, and studied the therapeutic effect on hepatocellular carcinoma. The complexes can promote the apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and work better in combination with sonodynamic therapy. The differential expression of multiple types of RNA in hepatocellular carcinoma with sonodynamic therapy can be identified accurately with high-throughput RNA sequencing. The differential expressions of mRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA were analyzed by RNA-Seq. The enrichment analyses (Gene Ontology and KEGG) prompted the meaningful genes and pathways in the process of sonodynamic therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. HMME-LND@C3F8-NBs conjugated with ultrasound is confirmed efficiently for inhibiting the development of hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and it is a combination of multiple genes and mechanisms.

RNA-Seq Explores the Mechanism of Oxygen-Boosted Sonodynamic Therapy Based on All-in-One Nanobubbles to Enhance Ferroptosis for the Treatment of HCC

BACKGROUND

The combination of sonodynamic therapy and oxygenation strategy is widely used in cancer treatment. However, due to the complexity, heterogeneity and irreversible hypoxic environment produced by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues, oxygen-enhancing sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has failed to achieve the desired results. With the emergence of ferroptosis with reactive oxygen species (ROS) cytotoxicity, this novel cell death method has attracted widespread attention.

METHODS

In this study, nanobubbles (NBs) were connected with the sonosensitizer Indocyanine green (ICG) to construct a 2-in-1 nanoplatform loaded with RAS-selective lethal (RSL3, ferroptosis promoter) (RSL3@O2-ICG NBs), combined with oxygen-enhanced SDT and potent ferroptosis. In addition, nanobubbles (NBs) combined with low-frequency ultrasound (LFUS) are called ultrasound-targeted nanobubble destruction (UTND) to ensure specific drug release and improve safety.

RESULTS

MDA/GSH and other related experimental results show that RSL3@O2-ICG NBs can enhance SDT and ferroptosis. Through RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), the differential expression of LncRNA and mRNA before and after synergistic treatment was identified, and then GO and KEGG pathways were used to enrich and analyze target genes and pathways related ferroptosis sensitivity. We found that they were significantly enriched in the ferroptosis-related pathway MAPK cascade and cell proliferation. Then, we searched for the expression of differentially expressed genes in the TCGA Hepatocellular carcinoma cohort. At the same time, we evaluated the proportion of immune cell infiltration and the identification of co-expression network modules and related prognostic analysis. We found that it was significantly related to the tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma. The prognostic risk genes "SLC37A2" and "ITGB7" may represent new hepatocellular carcinoma ferroptosis-inducing markers and have guiding significance for treating hepatocellular carcinoma.

CONCLUSION

The therapeutic effect of the in vitro synergistic treatment has been proven to be significant, revealing the prospect of 2-in-1 nanobubbles combined with SDT and ferroptosis in treating HCC.

Dependability of Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) in Assessing Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) Category and Size of Malignant Breast Lesions Compared with Handheld Ultrasound (HHUS) and Mammography (MG)

Purpose

This study aimed to evaluate the dependability of automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) compared with handheld ultrasound (HHUS) and mammography (MG) on the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category and size assessment of malignant breast lesions.

Patients and Methods

A total of 344 confirmed malignant lesions were recruited. All participants underwent MG, HHUS, and ABUS examinations. Agreements on the BI-RADS category were evaluated. Lesion size assessed using the three methods was compared with the size of the pathological result as the control. Regarding the four major molecular subtypes, correlation coefficients between size on imaging and pathology were also evaluated.

Results

The agreement between ABUS and HHUS on the BI-RADS category was 86.63% (kappa = 0.77), whereas it was 32.22% (kappa = 0.10) between ABUS and MG. Imaging lesion size compared to pathologic lesion size was assessed correctly in 36.92%/52.91% (ABUS), 33.14%/48.84% (HHUS) and 33.44%/43.87% (MG), with the threshold of 3 mm/5 mm, respectively. The correlation coefficient of size of ABUS-Pathology (0.75, Spearman) was statistically higher than that of the MG-Pathology (0.58, Spearman) with P < 0.01, but not different from that of the HHUS-Pathology (0.74, Spearman) with P > 0.05. The correlation coefficient of ABUS-Pathology was statistically higher than that of MG-Pathology in the triple-negative subtype, luminal B subtype, and luminal A subtype (P<0.01).

Conclusion

The agreement between ABUS and HHUS in the BI-RADS category was good, whereas that between ABUS and MG was poor. ABUS and HHUS allowed a more accurate assessment of malignant tumor size compared to MG.

The choice of operation timing of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) after percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) for acute cholecystitis: a retrospective clinical analysis

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to evaluate the timing of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) after percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD).

METHODS

Patients with acute moderate to severe cholecystitis treated by LC after PTGBD in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Nankai Hospital (N-362) between January 2017 and August 2019were retrospectively enrolled into this study. According to the interval times from PTGBD to LC, the patients were divided into six groups, including group A (105 cases, within 1 week), group B (62 cases, 1-2 weeks), group C (34 cases, 3-4 weeks), group D (54 cases, 5-8 weeks), group E (24 cases, 9-12 weeks), and group F (83 cases, over 12 weeks). The gender, age, hospital stay, duration of operation, rate of conversion to laparotomy, incidence of complications, and hospitalization expenses of the six groups were evaluated and compared.

RESULTS

Of the 362 cases of LC, 346 patients were operated successfully (95.6%), 10 were converted to laparotomy (2.8%), 16 had various complications (4.4%), and 2 died (0.6%). There were no significant differences between groups in the gender ratio, complication rate, and rate of conversion to laparotomy. The hospital stay and hospitalization expenses in group A were the least and significantly lower than those in other groups (P<0.01), and the duration of operation in group D was the longest and significantly higher than that in groups A, B, E, and F (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

For non-elderly patients diagnosed with acute moderate to severe cholecystitis with an anesthesia risk score [American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)] ≤2, LC is recommended to be performed within 1 week after PTGBD surgery. If delayed LC is performed within 2 to 8 weeks after PTGBD, the operation time will be longer due to inflammatory edema and fibrous adhesion of the gallbladder triangle. If PTGBD is performed for more than 2 months and the clinical circumstances are good, delayed LC can be considered to reduce the inconvenience of patients with a long-term catheter as much as possible.

Association of stress and functional gastrointestinal disorders in high school graduates

BACKGROUND

Psychosocial factors are seemed as important causes of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). However, the role of stress in FGIDs in high school students under the pressure of college entrance examination is largely unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the stress and FGIDs in high school graduates.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in randomly selected high school fresh graduates. Questionnaires concerned health condition, living habits, gastrointestinal symptoms and life stress were given out and be finished voluntarily. Participants were diagnosed as FGIDs based on the Rome IV criteria.

RESULTS

Stress level of FGIDs population was higher than control group and stress was independent predicted factor of high risk of FGIDs. The stressor "changes" was significantly correlated with functional gastroduodenal disorders (OR1.118(1.011-1.238)). Stressor "frustration" was significantly correlated with functional bowel disorders (OR1.038(1.006-1.071)). "Physiological reaction" was correlated with functional bowel disease and functional gastroduodenal disorders + functional bowel disorders (OR1.027(1.007-1.046) and OR1.055(1.000-1.113)). Students with more than one gastrointestinal symptom exhibited higher stress level. Moreover, there was mediation effect of stress in the association between gender, sleep quality, allergies and FGIDs.

LIMITATIONS

This was a cross-section study and the sample included in the study were only from Wuhan, China.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings illustrated the predicted and mediated role of stress in FGIDs in high school fresh graduates. Different stressors and reactions to stressors contributed to different FGIDs. Intervening measures aimed at stress coping strategies were warranted for students in daily school life.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the mechanism of sonodynamic therapy combined with a RAS inhibitor in the setting of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Ras activation is a frequent event in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Combining a RAS inhibitor with traditional clinical therapeutics might be hampered by a variety of side effects, thus hindering further clinical translation. Herein, we report on integrating an IR820 nanocapsule-augmented sonodynamic therapy (SDT) with the RAS inhibitor farnesyl-thiosalicylic acid (FTS). Using cellular and tumor models, we demonstrate that combined nanocapsule-augmented SDT with FTS induces an anti-tumor effect, which not only inhibits tumor progression, and enables fluorescence imaging. To dissect the mechanism of a combined tumoricidal therapeutic strategy, we investigated the scRNA-seq transcriptional profiles of an HCC xenograft following treatment.

RESULTS

Integrative single-cell analysis identified several clusters that defined many corresponding differentially expressed genes, which provided a global view of cellular heterogeneity in HCC after combined SDT/FTS treatment. We conclude that the combination treatment suppressed HCC, and did so by inhibiting endothelial cells and a modulated immunity. Moreover, hepatic stellate secretes hepatocyte growth factor, which plays a key role in treating SDT combined FTS. By contrast, enrichment analysis estimated the functional roles of differentially expressed genes. The Gene Ontology terms "cadherin binding" and "cell adhesion molecule binding" and KEGG pathway "pathway in cancer" were significantly enriched by differentially expressed genes after combined SDT/FTS therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, some undefined mechanisms were revealed by scRNA-seq analysis. This report provides a novel proof-of-concept for combinatorial HCC-targeted therapeutics that is based on a non-invasive anti-tumor therapeutic strategy and a RAS inhibitor.

The Interplay between Androgen and Gut Microbiota: Is There a Microbiota-Gut-Testis Axis

The gut microbiota, a large ecosystem interacting with the host, has been shown to affect the health and fitness of the host-microbial superorganism. Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota communicates with distal organs of the host including the brain, liver, and muscle, as well as testis, through various complex mechanisms. So far, we know that the androgen can markedly remodel the gut microbiota and has initiated an interdisciplinary field termed "microgenderome." More recently, the gut microbiota has been found as a major regulator of androgen production and metabolism in turn and even could trespass the blood-testis barrier (BTB) to regulate spermatogenesis, which largely updates the current knowledge on male reproduction. In this review, we provided a brief overview of the context of the gender bias of diseases related to gut microbiota, the sex dimorphism of gut microbiota, and their relationships with androgen. We also summarized the known interaction between the testis and gut microbiota based on published animal studies and tentatively discussed the hypothesis of microbiota-gut-testis axis. Finally, we highlighted the opportunities and challenges underlying the ongoing research. This knowledge may extend our understanding of the role of gut microbiota in male health and microbiota-related diseases.

Skp2/p27 axis regulates chondrocyte proliferation under high glucose induced endoplasmic reticulum stress

OBJECTIVE

Diabetes mellitus is closely related to osteoarthritis (OA) and may be an independent risk factor for the development of OA. As one of the main characteristics of diabetes, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress resulting from glucose metabolism disorder is one of the main causes of cartilage degeneration. The aim of our study is to illuminate the effect of high glucose to chondrocytes (CHs) and the role of Skp2 in high-glucose induced ER stress in CHs.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We compared the ER stress status between healthy and diabetic OA cartilage using Western blot and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. Different concentration of glucose was used to culture CHs for both 24 h and 72 h. Furthermore, Tunicamycin (TM) and 4-Phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) were used to mediate ER stress of CHs, and human recombinant Skp2 protein was used to promote Skp2 expression. CH viability was determined by CCK8 assay, and cell proliferation was determined by flow cytometry. Western and RT-PCR were performed to measure related gene expression.

RESULTS

ER stress makers GADD34, GRP78, and MANF were upregulated in diabetic OA cartilage. The long-term high glucose increased GADD34, GRP78, and MANF expression, but decreased collagen II and proliferation of CHs, and Skp2 expression was negative related to the ER stress level. Additionally, Skp2 overexpression partly reversed ER stress-induced collagen II and proliferation suppression by the suppression of p27 expression.

CONCLUSIONS

High glucose raises the ER stress in CHs and overexpression of Skp2 promotes CH proliferation under high glucose treatment.

Quantitative Proteomics Analysis of FFPE Tumor Samples Reveals the Influences of NET-1 siRNA Nanoparticles and Sonodynamic Therapy on Tetraspanin Protein Involved in HCC

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses a severe threat to human health. The NET-1 protein has been proved to be strongly associated with HCC proliferation and metastasis in our previous study. Here, we established and validated the NET-1 siRNA nanoparticles system to conduct targeted gene therapy of HCC xenograft in vivo with the aid of sonodynamic therapy. Then, we conducted a label-free proteome mass spectrometry workflow to analyze formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded HCC xenograft samples collected in this study. The result showed that 78 proteins were differentially expressed after NET-1 protein inhibited. Among them, the expression of 17 proteins upregulated and the expression of 61 proteins were significantly downregulated. Of the protein abundance, the vast majority of Gene Ontology enrichment terms belong to the biological process. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the 78 differentially expressed proteins significantly enriched in 45 pathways. We concluded that the function of the NET-1 gene is not only to regulate HCC but also to participate in a variety of biochemical metabolic pathways in the human body. Furthermore, the protein–protein interaction analysis indicated that the interactions of differentially expressed proteins are incredibly sophisticated. All the protein–protein interactions happened after the NET-1 gene has been silenced. Finally, our study also provides a useful proposal for targeted therapy based on tetraspanin proteins to treat HCC, and further mechanism investigations are needed to reveal a more detailed mechanism of action for NET-1 protein regulation of HCC.

Predictive Model of Ursodeoxycholic Acid Treatment Response in Primary Biliary Cholangitis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Although ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) treatment in primary biliary cholangitis is effective in many patients, there are still many people who respond poorly to it. Identifying and intervening these patients early is important. Therefore, exploring the risk factors and proposing a predictor index to predict the UDCA treatment nonresponse earlier among primary biliary cholangitis patients were the aims of this research.

METHODS

A total of 135 primary biliary cholangitis patients treated with UDCA (13-15 mg/kg/d) were enrolled in this retrospective study. The response to treatment was evaluated based on Paris I criteria. The univariate and logistic multivariate regression analyses were adopted to determine the independent risk factors and propose a predictor index. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the predictive ability of the predictor index.

RESULTS

Total bilirubin, albumin, globulin, immunoglobin M, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index were the five independent risk factors associating with early biochemical nonresponse to UDCA treatment. Based on these factors, we established a predictor index with the predictive value being 0.886 (sensitivity: 82.80%, specificity: 84.40%).

CONCLUSIONS

We developed a predictor index that had an accurate prediction of the early biochemical nonresponse to UDCA treatment, which is expected to provide valuable information for the high-risk group before treatment begins.

Quantitative CT assessment by histogram and volume ratio in pyrrolizidines alkaloids-induced hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome

OBJECTIVE

To quantitatively assess hypoattenuation volume ratio and hepatic parenchymal hypoattenuation on contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in patients with pyrrolizidines alkaloids (PAs)-induced hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS), and evaluate the correlations of the CT-based quantitative values with clinical factors.

METHODS

Thirty-five patients with PAs-induced HSOS who underwent CECT were retrospectively enrolled. The ratio of hypoattenuation volume to total liver volume, and changes in damaged area-to-normal liver density ratio (ΔDR) derived from histogram on portal venous phase were quantitatively measured. Heterogeneous hypoattenuation (CT score) scored by hypoattenuation volume ratio and ΔDR were calculated. The correlation between imaging findings and clinical factors was analyzed using Pearson correlation test.

RESULTS

Liver function tests were abnormal in most patients, the mean Hounsfield unit (HU) of damaged area (58.68 ± 17.3) was significantly lower (P < 0.001) than the corresponding normal liver (82.27 ± 23.97). Heterogeneous hypoattenuation were mild in 13 patients (37 %), moderate in 16 patients (46 %), and severe in 6 patients (17 %). ΔDR derived from histogram was positively correlated (weakly to moderately) with total bilirubin (r = 0.341, P = 0.045), direct bilirubin (r = 0.385, P = 0.022), and alkaline phosphatase (r = 0.491, P = 0.003), while such correlation was not observed in hypoattenuation volume ratio. The severity of heterogeneous hypoattenuation scored by hypoattenuation volume ratio and ΔDR was positively correlated (weakly) with prothrombin time (r = 0.357, P = 0.035), international normalized ratio (r = 0.363, P = 0.032), alkaline phosphatase (r = 0.359, P = 0.034), and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score (r = 0.347, P = 0.041).

CONCLUSION

Heterogeneous hypoattenuation scored by volume ratio and ΔDR on CECT provides a non-invasive approach in evaluating the severity of PAs-induced HSOS.

Diarrhea and altered inflammatory cytokine pattern in severe coronavirus disease 2019: Impact on disease course and in-hospital mortality

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Dynamic changes of immunocyte subsets and inflammatory profiles in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with gastrointestinal symptoms were undetermined.

METHODS

A single-center retrospective analysis of 409 severe, hospitalized COVID-19 patients from 20 January to 29 February 2020 was performed. The longitudinal characteristics of immune inflammatory cytokines in patients with/without diarrhea were analyzed. The relations of diarrhea and immuno-inflammatory factors with illness course and clinical outcomes were further explored.

RESULTS

Diarrhea was more common and more serious with longer duration (4.9 ± 1.5 vs 4.2 ± 1.5 days, P = 0.039) and higher frequency (5.5 ± 2.1 vs 4.0 ± 2.0 times/day, P = 0.001) in deceased patients than in the survivors. Also, diarrhea patients were more inclined to develop multi-organ damage: survivors have longer illness course (media 41.0 vs 36.0 days, P = 0.052) and hospital stays (media 27.0 vs 23.0 days, P = 0.041), and the deceased patients had higher mortality (33.0% vs 22.6%, P = 0.045) and earlier death (media 20.0 vs 25.0 days, P = 0.038). Progressively, neutrophilia and lymphopenia, especially the declined CD8⁺ T cells, were demonstrated in diarrhea patients relative to the non-diarrhea cases. The inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α were intensively increased in patients with diarrhea. The multivariable logistic analysis showed longer duration of diarrhea (P = 0.036), higher neutrophil counts (P = 0.011), and lower lymphocyte counts (P < 0.001) were independent risk factors of in-hospital death. The proportional hazards model indicated that longer duration of diarrhea (P = 0.002), higher frequency of diarrhea (P = 0.058), higher neutrophil counts (P = 0.001), lower lymphocyte counts (P = 0.035), and decreased proportion of CD8⁺ T cells (P < 0.001) were independently associated with longer illness course of the survivors.

CONCLUSIONS

Diarrhea patients were more likely to present with neutrophilia, lymphopenia, and cytokine storm and to develop multi-organ damage. The inflammatory patterns were independent factors associated with illness course of the survivors and in-hospital death of severe COVID-19.

Prognostic factors for pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome: a multicenter study in China

Background

In China, one of the major causes of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) is the intake of herbals containing pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA). However, prognostic factors for PA-induced HSOS are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to identify the independent prognostic factors for PA-induced HSOS using a multi-center study.

Methods

A total of 117 PA-induced HSOS patients were enrolled for data collection in three university hospitals from November 2003 to September 2018. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis were used to determine prognostic factors for PA-induced HSOS.

Results

The median age of the PA-induced HSOS patients was 61 years (range, 21–88 years), and 64% of them were male. The survival rates at 1, 3, and 36 months were 89.71%, 72.60%, and 69.19%, respectively. Significant differences in prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio, total bilirubin, severity grading [new criteria for severity grading of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT)-related HSOS in adults] were found between patients who survived and those who died. Univariate and multivariate survival analysis using Cox’s regression model demonstrated low serum albumin (<35 g/L), elevated serum urea (>8.2 mmol/L) and severe or very severe HSOS (European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2016 criteria) were independent prognostic factors of survival.

Conclusions

Serum albumin, serum urea, and severity grading were independent prognostic factors for patients with PA-induced HSOS, and can contribute to identifying potentially high-risk patients for early effective intervention.

Trial registration

ChiCTR-DRD-17010709 (www.chictr.org.cn).

Study on the Diversity and Function of Gut Microbiota in Pigs Following Long-Term Antibiotic and Antibiotic-Free Breeding

In-feed antibiotics can influence intestinal microbial structures in born and early-life within a period. However, the impact of antibiotics on gut microbiota during long-term antibiotic-free and antibiotic breeding at porcine-fattening phase have not been studied extensively so far. Here, we conducted a systematic 16S rRNA gene sequencing-based study combined with metagenomic analysis to reveal the variation of diversity and function of gut microbiota between antibiotic-free (treatment group, TG) and antibiotic (a mixture of flavomycin and enramycin, control group, CG) breeding at various stages of fattening pigs. In the present study, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria phyla were the core microbiomes in fattening pig gut microbiota. The ratio between Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes significantly increased with age (P = 0.03). TG showed significantly higher relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Fibrobacteres phyla than CG. The microbial community can be divided into several notably clustered blocks based on cooperative and competitive correlations. These blocks centered on numerous special genera, which play essential roles in body development and disease prevention. TG showed obviously higher proportions of metabolic pathways related to metabolism, endocrine system, nervous system and excretory system, but pathways included carbohydrate metabolism and immune system diseases in CG. Collectively, this study has comprehensively demonstrated microbial diversities, differences and correlations among gut microbiota, microbial metabolism and gene functions during long-term antibiotic-free breeding. This work provides a novel resource and information with positive implications for pig husbandry production and disease prevention.

KIT gene mutation causes deafness and hypopigmentation in Bama miniature pigs

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a common syndromic hearing loss disease. A large group of patients affected by WS were found no mutations in the existed gene panel, indicating that there are still potential genes responsible for WS yet to be detected. In our previous study, we established an autosomal-dominant KIT (OMIM# 164920) mutation (c.2418T>A, p.Asp806Glu) pig pedigree which presented congenital bilateral severe sensorineural hearing loss and hypopigmentation, exact the same as human WS. Histological analysis showed nearly normal structures of the organ of Corti, stria vascularis (SV) and spiral neuron ganglions at E85. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibited that hair cells started to degenerate at E100, and totally gone at P1. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed disorganization of SV and disappearance of intermediate cells. The absence of endocochlear potentials also demonstrated the dysfunction of stria. Our study demonstrated that KIT mutation (c.2418T>A, p.Asp806Glu) interrupted the development of melanocytes in cochlea, which led to SV malformation and dysfunction, resulting in degeneration of hair cells and finally hearing loss. Therefore, KIT was highly supposed to be a newly found gene associated with WS and be added to the WS related gene screening panel clinically.

Over-expression of DJ-1 attenuates effects of curcumin on colorectal cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis

OBJECTIVE

The phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) acts as a tumor suppressor gene by inhibiting the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway. DJ-1, a negative regulator of PTEN, is associated with the pathogenesis of a variety of tumors. Curcumin (Cur) is a phenolic compound that is extracted from various plant rhizomes with various anti-tumor pharmacological effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Cur on proliferation and apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Human normal colorectal epithelial cell line (NCM460) and colorectal cancer cell line (SW480 and SW620) were cultured in vitro. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) and western blot were used to detect DJ-1 and PTEN mRNA and protein, respectively. Cell apoptosis was determined with flow cytometry. SW480 cells were divided into control, 20 μM Cur treatment group, Cur+pcDNA3.1-Blank group and Cur+pcDNA3.1-DJ-1 group. Cell proliferation activity was evaluated with EdU staining.

RESULTS

Comparing with NCM460 cells, DJ-1 was significantly increased, while PTEN was significantly declined in SW480 and SW620 cells (p<0.05). Cur treatment significantly inhibited SW480 and SW620 cell proliferation and significantly induced apoptosis compared to control group (p<0.05) but showed no significant effects on NCM460 cells. Cur down-regulated DJ-1 level and enhanced PTEN expressions in SW480 cells with dose dependence. The pcDNA3.1-DJ-1 transfection significantly declined PTEN expression, enhanced p-AKT levels, reduced cell apoptosis, and strengthened cell proliferation in SW480 cells treated by Cur (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Cur can inhibit colorectal cancer cell proliferation and promote apoptosis by down-regulating DJ-1 expression to regulate the activity of PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

CD163 and pAPN double-knockout pigs are resistant to PRRSV and TGEV and exhibit decreased susceptibility to PDCoV while maintaining normal production performance

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) are two highly infectious and lethal viruses causing major economic losses to pig production. Here, we report generation of double-gene-knockout (DKO) pigs harboring edited knockout alleles for known receptor proteins CD163 and pAPN and show that DKO pigs are completely resistant to genotype 2 PRRSV and TGEV. We found no differences in meat-production or reproductive-performance traits between wild-type and DKO pigs, but detected increased iron in DKO muscle. Additional infection challenge experiments showed that DKO pigs exhibited decreased susceptibility to porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), thus offering unprecedented in vivo evidence of pAPN as one of PDCoV receptors. Beyond showing that multiple gene edits can be combined in a livestock animal to achieve simultaneous resistance to two major viruses, our study introduces a valuable model for investigating infection mechanisms of porcine pathogenic viruses that exploit pAPN or CD163 for entry.

Outcomes and implications of diarrhea in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Diarrhea was not uncommon in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the significance remains undetermined.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 157 diarrhea cases form 564 hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were admitted to Wuhan Union Hospital from January 20 to February 29, 2020. Clinical characteristics, the course and the outcome of patients with diarrhea were analyzed. The correlation between diarrhea and fecal presence of coronavirus was also determined.

RESULTS

The overall morbidity of diarrhea was 27.8% (157/564) in COVID-19 patients. Among them, 38 cases presented only with diarrhea, and 119 cases in both diarrhea and respiratory symptoms. Patients with diarrhea and respiratory symptoms had higher levels of inflammatory activity, longer hospital stay (27.5 vs. 23.0 vs. 22.0 days, p = .029) and higher odds ratio of mortality (3.2 times and 2.2 times, respectively) than those with diarrhea only or respiratory symptoms only. However, patients with diarrhea had longer time from onset to admission (14.5 days vs. 11.0 days, p = .04), higher positive viral RNA in stool (80.0% vs. 52.4%, p = .016) than those with both diarrhea and respiratory symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Diarrhea caused by high enteric viral burden may lead to long course and poor outcome in COVID-19 patients. The patients with diarrhea and respiratory symptoms were prone to serious condition, and had worse outcomes. However, the patients with diarrhea alone showed mild illness but delayed health-seeking.

Over-expression of DJ-1 attenuates effects of curcumin on colorectal cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis

Since this article has been suspected of research misconduct and the corresponding authors did not respond to our request to prove originality of data and figures, "Over-expression of DJ-1 attenuates effects of curcumin on colorectal cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis, by H. Shang, T. Wang, F. Shang, M. Li, Y. Luo, K.-M. Huang, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019; 23 (7): 3080-3087-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_201904_17591-PMID: 31002157" has been withdrawn. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/17591.

PARP inhibitors as maintenance therapy in newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Up to 70% of patients with advanced ovarian cancer have a relapse after primary therapy. New agents and approaches are urgently needed to avoid or slow down this recurrence.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the efficacy of PARP inhibitors (PARPis) as maintenance treatment in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer.

SEARCH STRATEGY

PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases.

SELECTION CRITERIA

All randomised clinical trials (RCTs) that compared PARPis with placebo as first-line maintenance therapy in ovarian cancer.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two reviewers extracted data. Pooled hazard ratio (HR) and risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.

MAIN RESULTS

PARPis were associated with significant improvement of progression-free survival (PFS) in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (AeOC) (HR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.40-0.71; P < 0.0001). The benefit was not only in women with BRCA mutations (HR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.29-0.42; P < 0.00001) and homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) (HR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.32-0.60; P < 0.00001), but also in those with nonmutated BRCA (HR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.63-0.82; P < 0.00001) and even non-HRD (HR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.70-0.99; P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

PARP inhibitors are effective as maintenance therapy among patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy, regardless of BRCA mutation or HRD status.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

PARPis provide a significant PFS benefit as first-line maintenance therapy in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer.

MicroRNA-31 inhibits the growth and metastasis and enhances drug sensitivity of the human colon cancer cells by targeting PAX6

PURPOSE

Every year more than 2 million cases of colon cancer are detected across the world. There is a pressing need for identification of efficient therapeutic targets for the management of this disease. Herein, we explored the role of miR-31 in colon cancer via regulation of paired box 6 (PAX6).

METHODS

The expression profile of miR-31 was determined by qRT-PCR. Cell viability was determined by qRT-PCR. Colony formation potential was assessed by clonogenic assay. Transwell assay was used for the assessment of the cell migration and invasion. Protein expression was determined by western blot analysis.

RESULTS

The findings showed that miR-31 is significantly suppressed in colon cancer. Restoration of the miR-31 in RKO colon cancer cells resulted in significant decline in their viability and colony formation. Conversely, inhibition of miR-31 resulted in the promotion of proliferation and colony formation of the RKO cells. The miR-31 overexpression also caused a remarkable decrease in the migration and invasion potential of the RKO cells. Bioinformatic approaches showed that PAX6 acts as the target of miR-31 in colon cancer and the interaction between these two also confirmed by dual-luciferase assay. The expression of PAX6 was found to be significantly upregulated in colon cancer cells and miR-31 overexpression suppressed its expression. Additionally, PAX6 silencing resulted in decline in the RKO cell viability. However, PAX6 overexpression promoted the proliferation of RKO cells by avoiding the tumor suppressive effects of miR-31.

CONCLUSION

Taken all together, miR-31 may prove essential therapeutic target for the treatment of colon cancer.

Formation of Zerovalent Iron in Iron-Reducing Cultures of Methanosarcina barkeri

Methanogenic archaea have been shown to reduce iron from ferric [Fe(III)] to ferrous [Fe(II)] state, but minerals that form during iron reduction by different methanogens remain to be characterized. Here, we show that zerovalent iron (ZVI) minerals, ferrite [α-Fe(0)] and austenite [γ-Fe(0)], appear in the X-ray diffraction spectra minutes after the addition of ferrihydrite to the cultures of a methanogenic archaeon, Methanosarcina barkeri (M. barkeri). M. barkeri cells and redox-active, nonenzymatic soluble organic compounds in organic-rich spent culture supernatants can promote the formation of ZVI; the latter compounds also likely stabilize ZVI. Methanogenic microbes that inhabit organic- and Fe(III)-rich anaerobic environments may similarly reduce Fe(III) to Fe(II) and ZVI, with implications for the preservation of paleomagnetic signals during sediment diagenesis and potential applications in the protection of iron metals against corrosion and in the green synthesis of ZVI.

Structure of LINC00511-siRNA-conjugated nanobubbles and improvement of cisplatin sensitivity on triple negative breast cancer

The drug resistance of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is considered as a major obstacle for the curative effect of chemotherapy. Long intergenic noncoding RNA 00511 (LINC00511) has been considered as a target gene of drug resistance. A novel theranostic agent loaded with LINC00511-siRNA to deliver siRNA was structured, and the responses of drug sensitivity in TNBC were detected. Next-generation high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed to accurately analyze the differential expression of mRNAs and lncRNA targets after LINC00511-siRNA transfection with low-frequency ultrasound (LFUS). The LINC00511-siRNA conjugated nanobubble complexes showed appropriate characterization, with a mean diameter of 516.1 ± 24.7 nm and a zeta potential of -38.05 ± 0.24 mV. The transfection efficiency of nanobubble complexes was approximately 50% with LFUS. By RNA-Seq, the differential expressions of lncRNA transcripts and mRNA transcripts were identified, and then analyzed. The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed the TNBC drug resistance related target genes and pathways. The combination of LFUS irradiation and nanobubble complexes is regarded as an efficient and safe method for siRNA transfection. The TNBC drug resistance occurs as a result of synergistic reactions between a variety of genes and a variety of pathways.

Inhibition of microRNA-875-5p promotes radioiodine uptake in poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma cells by upregulating sodium-iodide symporter

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma (PDTC) is an endocrine malignancy that is challenging to treat due to its limited radioiodine uptake. microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) have been shown to be useful in treating many types of tumors, including PDTC. This study aims to evaluate the potential effect of miR-875-5p on the radioiodine uptake of PDTC and to clarify the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

Expression of miR-875-5p and sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) in tissues and cell lines was determined using RT-qPCR. The binding relationship between miR-875-5p and NIS was predicted through in silico analysis and verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. A series of miR-875-5p mimic, miR-875-5p inhibitor, shRNA against NIS, and overexpressed NIS plasmids were introduced into PDTC cells. We then evaluated the cell viability, colony formation, apoptosis, and radioiodine uptake of each PDTC sample via CCK-8 assay, clonogenic assay, flow cytometry, and γ counter, respectively.

RESULTS

miR-875-5p was found to be highly expressed, but NIS was poorly expressed in DTC tissues and PDTC cell lines. NIS was verified to be a target gene of miR-875-5p. Upregulation of miR-875-5p was found to induce PDTC cell proliferation, and reduce apoptosis and radioiodine uptake in vitro through down-regulation of NIS. In an in vivo orthotopic model, the enhancement of miR-875-5p led to the reduction of NIS expression and radioiodine uptake in the thyroid tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

Altogether, the findings of the current study suggest that down-regulated miR-875-5p expression could promote its target gene NIS to increase radioiodine uptake in PDTC, constituting a preventive strategy against PDTC.

Evaluation of therapeutic effect of targeting nanobubbles conjugated with NET-1 siRNA by shear wave elastography: an in vivo study of hepatocellular carcinoma bearing mice model

This study aimed at investigating the tumor stiffness of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) bearing mice model in vivo to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of targeting nanobubbles (TNBS) conjugated with NET-1 siRNA (NET-1 siRNA-TNBS). Also tested whether shear wave elastography (SWE) could demonstrate the pathological tumor changes and used to monitor therapeutic efficacy as a noninvasive method. The HCC bearing mice model was established by injecting human HCC cell line (HepG2). The mice were then divided into three groups randomly, and were treated with TNBS conjugated with NET-1 siRNA, TNBS conjugated with negative control gene, and saline as control. US-SWE was performed for three times. SWE values of all the tumors in three groups were increased with tumor growth. Emax was correlated with tumor size (p < .05). NET-1 gene (treatment group) significantly delayed the growth of tumor size compared to other two groups (p < .0001), showing a significantly increased Emax (p < .05). Immunohistochemical results showed that the NET-1 protein expression was significantly lower than the negative control and blank groups. In conclusion, TNBS conjugated with NET-1 siRNA inhibited tumor growth and prolonged the life of experimental animals. SWE provided a noninvasive and real time imaging method to detect the changes in tumor development.

Proteomic analysis of eleven tissues in the Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus)

The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus, CGS) is the largest extant amphibian species in the world. Global quantitative proteome analysis of multiple tissues would indicate tissue-specific physiological processes and clarify the function of each protein from a whole-organism perspective. This study performed proteome analysis of eleven tissues collected from adult CGSs using iTRAQ coupled with LC-MS/MS technology. Based on the predicted protein database from previously obtained CGS transcriptome data, 2153 proteins were identified for subsequent analysis. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) clustered 2153 proteins into 17 co-expressed modules, which will be useful for predicting the functions of unannotated proteins. The protein levels of molecular complexes with housekeeping functions, such as ribosomes, spliceosomes and mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, were tightly regulated in different tissues of the CGS, as they are in mammalian tissues. Transcription regulator, pathway and bio-functional analysis of tissue-specific proteins showed that highly expressed proteins largely reflected the physiological functions of specific tissues. Our data, as an initial atlas of protein expression of an amphibian species, will be useful for further molecular biology research on CGS.

Preparation of novel targeting nanobubbles conjugated with small interfering RNA for concurrent molecular imaging and gene therapy in vivo

The aim of this study was to establish a novel targeting nanobubble (TNB) conjugated with small interfering RNA (siRNA)-cyanine 5 (Cy5) and to validate its theranostic ability in vivo. The TNB conjugated with neuroepithelial transforming gene 1 (NET-1) siRNA-Cy5 was prepared by thin-film hydration and mechanical sonication method. A hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) xenograft model was established by subcutaneously injecting SMMC-7721 cells in BALB/c nude mice. The NET-1 siRNA-conjugated TNB was utilized for accurate contrast-enhanced ultrasound in vivo imaging, which was enabled by the target ligand GPC-3 antibody and specific gene transfection with the aid of low-frequency ultrasound (LFUS) irradiation. BALB/c nude mice bearing tumors were randomized into 5 groups and irradiated with LFUS for 5 min after TNB administration; mice were treated twice a week for a total of 60 d. The mean particle size of TNB was <500 nm. Mice treated with NET-1 siRNA-conjugated TNB showed a significant decrease in tumor growth and the highest survival rate. Our findings offer an effective and safe gene vehicle and probe for molecular imaging in vivo. It may improve the early diagnosis and treatment effects of HCC.-Wu, B., Shang, H., Liang, X., Sun, Y., Jing, H., Han, X., Cheng, W. Preparation of novel targeting nanobubbles conjugated with small interfering RNA for concurrent molecular imaging and gene therapy in vivo.