Characteristics of Mortality After Endovascular Thrombectomy in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Purpose: Despite significant advancements in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), post-EVT mortality remains a considerable concern. However, there is a lack of real-world epidemiological data delineating the characteristics of mortality for EVT, particularly in recent years following the widespread promotion of EVT treatment for stroke patients.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective study collected data from 721 AIS patients who died following EVT across 33 hospitals in Sichuan Province, China, from January 2019 to September 2022.

Unilateral Carotid Rete Mirabile Presenting with Limb-Shaking Transient Ischemic Attack.

A rare presentation of unilateral carotid rete mirabile (RM) in a 70-year-old male manifesting as limb-shaking transient ischemic attacks, a disorder typically associated with carotid artery stenosis. The patient experienced recurrent left-sided limb shaking and numbness, with angiography revealing an anomalous microarterial collateral network replacing the right internal carotid artery's cavernous segment, indicative of RM. Differential diagnoses included recanalization following occlusion, arteriovenous malformation, with carotid canal dysplasia on computed tomography supporting the RM diagnosis.

Tumor immune microenvironment of NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertions may predict efficacy of first-line ICI-combined regimen.

Objectives: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with exon 20 insertion mutations (ex20ins) of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were resistant to monotherapy of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI). However, recent reports have shown that the combination of ICI and chemotherapy (ICI-combined regimen) exhibited certain efficacy for NSCLC with EGFR ex20ins. The mechanisms behind this phenomenon have not been thoroughly clarified.

Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for small cell carcinoma of the esophagus: Clinical efficacy and biomarker exploration.

Small cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) is a rare and highly malignant type of esophageal cancer with no standard treatment, facing challenges of resistance to conventional therapies. This study presents the cases of one extensive-stage and two limited-stage SCCE patients treated with chemoimmunotherapy. The two limited-stage patients underwent surgery post-treatment and experienced notable and enduring positive responses.

The activity and immune dynamics of PD-1 inhibition on high-risk pulmonary ground glass opacity lesions: insights from a single-arm, phase II trial.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) protein significantly improve survival in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but its impact on early-stage ground-glass opacity (GGO) lesions remains unclear. This is a single-arm, phase II trial (NCT04026841) using Simon's optimal two-stage design, of which 4 doses of sintilimab (200 mg per 3 weeks) were administrated in 36 enrolled multiple primary lung cancer (MPLC) patients with persistent high-risk (Lung-RADS category 4 or had progressed within 6 months) GGOs. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR).

Dissecting the genetic variations associated with response to first-line chemotherapy in patients with small cell lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Chemotherapy has been the standard treatment for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) for decades. Nonetheless, patients are usually responsive to initial chemotherapy but quickly suffer from relapse, resulting in a poor long-term outcome. Treating advances that greatly ameliorate survival outcomes are historically finite, and credible biomarkers for therapeutic evaluation are deficient.

Pathological migrating intramural hematoma in stenting for carotid artery dissection: A ten-year consecutive cohort study.

Objective: To study the phenomenon, incidence and management of pathological migrating intramural hematoma in stenting for carotid artery dissection.

Methods: We consecutively enrolled CAD patients with stenting treatment over 10-year period, and retrospectively analyzed the pathological migrating intramural hematoma (PMIH) incidence of these CAD patients. Besides, we also explored the related factors with PMIH and provided an appropriate management strategy.

Biomarkers of Pathologic Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Mismatch Repair-Deficient Colorectal Cancer.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have become the standard of care for patients with mismatch repair-deficient/microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-H) colorectal cancer. However, biomarkers of response to ICI are still lacking.

Experimental Design: Forty-two patients with dMMR colorectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade were prospectively enrolled.

Targeting GDP-Dissociation Inhibitor Beta (GDI2) with a Benzo[]quinolizidine Library to Induce Paraptosis for Cancer Therapy.

Inducing paraptosis, a nonapoptotic form of cell death, has great therapeutic potential in cancer therapy, especially for drug-resistant tumors. However, the specific molecular target(s) that trigger paraptosis have not yet been deciphered yet. Herein, by using activity-based protein profiling, we identified the GDP-dissociation inhibitor beta (GDI2) as a manipulable target for inducing paraptosis and uncovered benzo[]quinolizidine BQZ-485 as a potent inhibitor of GDI2 through the interaction with Tyr245.

Bilateral Hunter's bow syndrome: a rare case diagnosed by dynamic digital subtraction angiography.

A 27-year-old female patient suffered from recurrent episodes of dizziness, visual rotation, and intermittent right-hand numbness over one month. Symptoms persisted and were triggered by rotating the head to the right or left for more than 10 seconds. Neurological examination showed that the symptoms were most pronounced when the head was rotated over 45 degrees to the right.

Benzamidine Conjugation Converts Expelled Potential Active Agents into Antifungals against Drug-Resistant Fungi.

Fungal infections present a growing global public health concern, necessitating the development of novel antifungal drugs. However, many potential antifungals, particularly the expelled potential active agents (EPAAs), are often underestimated owing to their limitations in cellular entry or expulsion by efflux pumps. Herein, we identified 68 EPAAs out of 2322 candidates with activity against a efflux pump-deficient strain and no inhibitory activity against the wild-type strain.

Cellular dynamics in tumour microenvironment along with lung cancer progression underscore spatial and evolutionary heterogeneity of neutrophil.

Background: The cellular dynamics in the tumour microenvironment (TME) along with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression remain unclear.

Methods: Multiplex immunofluorescence test detecting 10 immune-related markers on 553 primary tumour (PT) samples of NSCLC was conducted and spatial information in TME was assessed by the StarDist depth learning model. The single-cell transcriptomic atlas of PT (n = 4) and paired tumour-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) (n = 5 for tumour-invaded, n = 3 for tumour-free) microenvironment was profiled.

Characterization of an allosteric inhibitor of fungal-specific C-24 sterol methyltransferase to treat Candida albicans infections.

Filamentation is an important virulence factor of the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. The abolition of Candida albicans hyphal formation by disrupting sterol synthesis is an important concept for the development of antifungal drugs with high safety. Here, we conduct a high-throughput screen using a C.

Programmed-response cross-linked nanocarrier for multidrug-resistant ovarian cancer treatment.

The application of numerous chemotherapeutic drugs has been limited due to poor solubility, adverse side effects, and even multidrug resistance in patients. Polymeric micelles with reversibly cross-linked structures provide a promising solution to these issues. Herein, we optimized and synthesized programable-released disulfide cross-linked micelle (PDCM) based on our previous well-defined dendrimers to deliver the antitumor drug betulinic acid (BA) and paclitaxel (PDCM@PTX) and evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of multidrug-resistant (MDR) simulative orthotopic intraperitoneal ovarian cancer mice models.

Targeting VPS41 induces methuosis and inhibits autophagy in cancer cells.

The homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting (HOPS) complex mediates membrane trafficking involved in endocytosis, autophagy, lysosome biogenesis, and phagocytosis. Defects in HOPS subunits are associated with various forms of cancer, but their potential as drug targets has rarely been examined. Here, we identified vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 41 homolog (VPS41), a subunit of the HOPS complex, as a target of methyl 2,4-dihydroxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-6-phenethylbenzoate (DMBP), a natural small molecule with preferable anticancer activity.

Multiplex immunofluorescence and single-cell transcriptomic profiling reveal the spatial cell interaction networks in the non-small cell lung cancer microenvironment.

Background: Conventional immunohistochemistry technologies were limited by the inability to simultaneously detect multiple markers and the lack of identifying spatial relationships among cells, hindering understanding of the biological processes in cancer immunology.

Methods: Tissue slices of primary tumours from 553 IA∼IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases were stained by multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) assay for 10 markers, including CD4, CD38, CD20, FOXP3, CD66b, CD8, CD68, PD-L1, CD133 and CD163, evaluating the amounts of 26 phenotypes of cells in tumour nest and tumour stroma. StarDist depth learning model was utilised to determine the spatial location of cells based on mIF graphs.

Inhibition of fungal pathogenicity by targeting the HS-synthesizing enzyme cystathionine β-synthase.

The global emergence of antifungal resistance threatens the limited arsenal of available treatments and emphasizes the urgent need for alternative antifungal agents. Targeting fungal pathogenic functions is an appealing alternative therapeutic strategy. Here, we show that cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), compared with cystathionine γ-lyase, is the major enzyme that synthesizes hydrogen sulfide in the pathogenic fungus .

Morphological characteristics of seed starch granules of Fagaceae in South China and their implication in paleodiet.

Nut fruits likely played a significant role before and during the origin of agriculture; however, relatively little research conducted on the morphological characteristics and statistical comparisons of nut fruit starch granule hinders the progress of paleodietary analysis of prehistorical society. For better species identification of starch granule remaining on tools discovered at archaeological sites, it is desirable to develop a more abundant morphology database of modern nut fruit starch granules as well as the establishment of relevant identification standards. Therefore, nuts from 40 species in four genera (, , , and ) of Fagaceae were collected from South China for statistical measurement and comparative analysis.

On-demand targeting nanotheranostics with stimuli-responsive releasing property to improve delivery efficiency to cancer.

Nanocarriers have great potential to enhance drug delivery efficiency and therapeutic effect for various cancers. However, premature drug leakage and non-specific targeting still limit the delivery efficiency. Here, we present a smart on-demand targeting nanotheranostic system (PO-PB@SPIOs) with stimuli-responsive releasing property to improve the delivery efficiency for ovarian cancer.