Publications by authors named "Dongzhou Liu"

Hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1, MAP4K1), a serine/threonine (SER/THR) kinase, has been identified as a negative immune regulator of T-cell receptor signaling. Deprivation of the HPK1 function suppresses tumor growth, providing an attractive strategy for cancer immunotherapy. Herein, we present a novel PROTAC-based HPK1 degrader compound with high selectivity and potency.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) from linear chromosomes shows a nucleosomal ladder pattern and is associated with apoptosis and immunogenicity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.
  • In SLE patients, increased levels of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) are present, with eccDNA being less common and challenging to detect, and its role and characteristics in plasma remain unclear.
  • This study identified that eccDNA in SLE has lower counts and GC content compared to healthy individuals, correlates with specific antibodies, and is enriched in apoptosis-related pathways; eccDNA may also act as a novel autoantigen contributing to SLE's pathogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Various small molecule GLP1R agonists have been developed and tested for treating type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and obesity. However, many of these new compounds have drawbacks, such as potential hERG inhibition, lower activity compared to natural GLP-1, limited oral bioavailability in cynomolgus monkeys, and short duration of action. Recently, a new category of 3-phenyloxetane derivative GLP1R agonists with enhanced hERG inhibition has been discovered.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: This dynamic nomogram model was developed to predict the probability of fetal loss in pregnant patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with mild disease severity before conception.

Methods: An analysis was conducted on 314 pregnancy records of patients with SLE who were hospitalized between January 2015 and January 2022 at Shenzhen People's Hospital, and the Longhua Branch of Shenzhen People's Hospital. Data from the Longhua Branch of the Shenzhen People's Hospital were utilized as an independent external validation cohort.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

MLH1 plays a critical role in DNA mismatch repair and genome maintenance. MLH1 deficiency promotes cancer development and progression, but the mechanism underlying MLH1 regulation remains enigmatic. In this study, we demonstrated that MLH1 protein is degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system and have identified vital cis-elements and trans-factors involved in MLH1 turnover.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers examined 146 RA patients and 52 healthy controls, finding that serum Gal-9 levels were significantly higher in RA patients, especially in those with advanced disease characteristics.
  • * A strong association was identified between elevated Gal-9 levels and increased disease activity, functional limitations, and radiographic joint damage in RA, suggesting it could be useful for clinical assessments and treatment predictions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Ixekizumab, an interleukin 17A (IL-17A) inhibitor, has demonstrated rapid and sustained improvement in the signs and symptoms in patients with active radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) in global and Chinese populations. We studied the effect of ixekizumab on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) (including patient global, spinal pain, stiffness, and fatigue) and overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of ixekizumab in the phase 3 study in China.

Methods: In this Chinese phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, patients with r-axSpA were randomized (1:1) to receive ixekizumab 80 mg every 4 weeks (IXEQ4W; starting dose 160 mg) or placebo for 16 weeks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Accurate assessment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) activity remains a challenge. Multimodal photoacoustic/ultrasound (PA/US) joint imaging emerges as a novel imaging modality capable of depicting microvascularization and oxygenation levels in inflamed joints associated with RA. However, the scarcity of large-scale studies limits the exploration of correlating joint oxygenation status with disease activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the potential of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) and their derived exosomes (UC-MSCs-exo) in treating Sjogren's syndrome (SS) by focusing on their effects on T cells from Nonobese Diabetic (NOD) mice.
  • Results showed that co-culturing T cells with UC-MSCs and UC-MSCs-exo led to a reduction in inflammatory cytokines, an increase in anti-inflammatory markers, and improved function in salivary secretion.
  • Additionally, the treatment influenced Treg/Th17 cell balance, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration in key areas, and positively impacted intestinal health, suggesting a promising therapeutic approach for
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Scurvy is caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, leading to general symptoms like weakness, malaise, and fatigue, which can make it easy to misdiagnose.
  • Recent cases of scurvy in children are rare, and it’s even less common in young adults.
  • A 25-year-old male, with no prior health issues, experienced severe pain and bruising in his legs due to a lack of outdoor activity and poor diet, ultimately being diagnosed with scurvy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Our results indicate that most severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 genomes sampled from patients had a mutation rate ≤1.07 ‰ and genome-tail proteins (including S protein) were the main sources of genetic polymorphism. The analysis of the virus-host interaction network of genome-tail proteins showed that they shared some antiviral signaling pathways, especially the intracellular protein transport pathway.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Ixekizumab, an interleukin-17A inhibitor, was efficacious and well tolerated for the treatment of active radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) in international clinical studies. This phase III study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of ixekizumab for treating Chinese patients with active r-axSpA.

Methods: Adults with active r-axSpA naïve to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), or with an inadequate response/intolerance to one tumor necrosis factor inhibitor, were randomized (1:1), double-blind, to receive ixekizumab 80 mg every 4 weeks (IXEQ4W; starting dose 160 mg), or placebo, for 16 weeks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Ibrutinib is a key drug for treating B-cell cancers, but some patients develop resistance due to mutations in the BTK gene.
  • A new PROTAC molecule, Compound 15-271, has been created that shows improved solubility and bioavailability compared to Ibrutinib and other BTK-targeting PROTACs.
  • Compound 15-271 not only demonstrates enhanced stability and efficacy but also introduces a promising approach for optimizing similar therapeutic agents in the future.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Primary Sjogren's Syndrome (pSS) is a chronic autoimmune disease, with unclear pathogenies. Lysine-malonylation (Kmal) as a novel post-translational modification (PTMs) was found associated with metabolic, immune, and inflammatory processes. For purpose of investigating the proteomic profile and functions of kmal in pSS, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based analysis and bioinformatics analysis are performed based on twenty-eight pSS patients versus twenty-seven healthy controls (HCs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: We aimed to reveal a spatial proteomic and immune signature of kidney function regions in lupus nephritis (LN).

Material And Methods: The laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to isolate the glomerulus, tubules, and interstitial of the kidney from paraffin samples. The data-independent acquisition (DIA) method was used to collect proteomics data.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disorder, and numerous aberrations of T cell responses have been reported and were implicated in its pathophysiology. Recently, CD4-positive T cells with cytotoxic potential were shown to be involved in autoimmune disease progression and tissue damage. However, the effector functions of this cell type and their potential molecular mechanisms in SLE patients remain to be elucidated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A meta-analysis research was executed to appraise the consequence of intrawound vancomycin powder (IWVP) in orthopaedic surgery (OPS) as surgical site wound infection (SSWI) prophylaxis. Inclusive literature research till March 2023 was carried out and 2756 interconnected researches were revised. Of the 18 picked researches enclosed 13 214 persons with OPS were in the used researches' starting point, 5798 of them were utilising IWVP, and 7416 were control.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Autoantibodies produced by B cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, both the cellular source of antiphospholipid antibodies and their contributions to the development of lupus nephritis (LN) remain largely unclear. Here, we report a pathogenic role of anti-phosphatidylserine (PS) autoantibodies in the development of LN.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) are heterogeneous autoimmune diseases that primarily affect the proximal muscles. IIM subtypes include dermatomyositis (DM), polymyositis (PM), and anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS). Metabolic disturbances may cause irreversible structural damage to muscle fibers in patients with IIM.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease affecting thousands of people. There are still no effective biomarkers for SLE diagnosis and disease activity assessment. We performed proteomics and metabolomics analyses of serum from 121 SLE patients and 106 healthy individuals, and identified 90 proteins and 76 metabolites significantly changed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) is a complex chronic autoimmune disease with difficult early treatment and accurate diagnosis. Circulating exosomes containing proteins, lipids and nucleic acids can be ideal diagnostic biomarkers and disease management strategies for SLE. Our aim was to examine the unique expression profiles of circulating exosomal miRNAs and proteins in patients with SLE patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Anti-Ro60 and anti-Ro52 antibodies are associated with different connective tissue diseases (CTDs). However, the clinical significance of anti-Ro antibodies is not always consistent among different global regions. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with anti-Ro antibodies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Elderly rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) population faces multiple treatment dilemma. Here we aim to investigate if Gancao Nourishing-Yin decoction (GCNY) added to methotrexate (MTX) exhibit better effects in an ERA mice model.

Methods: ERA mice model was established by adding D-galactose (Dgal) to collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although anti-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) 33 antibodies have been reported to be present in various connective tissue diseases (CTDs), the clinical significance of anti-RA33 in CTDs is still obscure. This study was performed to explore the clinical significance of anti-RA33 in CTDs, especially systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A total of 565 patients with positive anti-nuclear antibodies who had been tested for anti-RA33 were included in this study and were further classified into RA33-positive and RA33-negative groups.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF