Development and application of a multiplex PCR system for forensic salivary identification.

In forensics, accurate identification of the origin of body fluids is essential for reconstructing a crime scene or presenting strong evidence in court. Microorganisms have demonstrated great potential in body fluid identification. We developed a multiplex PCR system for forensic salivary identification, which contains five types of bacteria:Streptococcus salivarius, Neisseria subflava, Streptococcus.

Development and external validation of a prognosis model to predict outcomes after curative resection of early-stage intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: Early-stage intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ESICC) with curative resection and lymph node-negative still has the risk of poor prognosis, and there lacks prognosis-assessing tools for these patients. The objective of this study was to develop a prognosis model to predict outcomes and identify risk stratification for ESICC after resection.

Methods: Totally 263 patients with ESICC after hepatectomy from January 2012 to January 2022 were analyzed.

METTL3-mA-EGFR-axis drives lenvatinib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Lenvatinib is emerging as the first-line therapeutic option for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but drug resistance remains a major hurdle for its long-term therapy efficiency in clinic. N-methyladenosine (mA) is the most abundant mRNA modification. Here, we aimed to investigate the modulatory effects and underlying mechanisms of mA in lenvatinib resistance in HCC.

Targeting tumour-intrinsic N-methylguanosine tRNA modification inhibits MDSC recruitment and improves anti-PD-1 efficacy.

Objective: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) exhibits very low response rate to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. We investigate the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) of ICCs and the underlying regulatory mechanisms with the aim of developing new target to inhibit tumour growth and improve anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) efficacy.

Design: Tumour tissues from patients with ICC together with hydrodynamic ICC mouse models were employed to identify the key cell population in TIME of ICCs.

METTL1-Mediated m7G tRNA Modification Promotes Lenvatinib Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Unlabelled: The tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib is a first-line drug for treating patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its efficacy is severely hampered by drug resistance. Insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying lenvatinib resistance could provide new strategies to improve and prolong responses.

Integrating the salivary microbiome in the forensic toolkit by 16S rRNA gene: potential application in body fluid identification and biogeographic inference.

Saliva is a common body fluid with significant forensic value used to investigate criminal cases such as murder and assault. In the past, saliva identification often relied on the α-amylase test; however, this method has low specificity and is prone to false positives. Accordingly, forensic researchers have been working to find new specific molecular markers to refine the current saliva identification approach.

Real-time artificial intelligence for detecting focal lesions and diagnosing neoplasms of the stomach by white-light endoscopy (with videos).

Background And Aims: White-light endoscopy (WLE) is the most pivotal tool to detect gastric cancer in an early stage. However, the skill among endoscopists varies greatly. Here, we aim to develop a deep learning-based system named ENDOANGEL-LD (lesion detection) to assist in detecting all focal gastric lesions and predicting neoplasms by WLE.

Insufficient Radiofrequency Ablation Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Metastasis Through N6-Methyladenosine mRNA Methylation-Dependent Mechanism.

Background And Aims: The dynamic N6-methyladenosine (m A) mRNA modification is essential for acute stress response and cancer progression. Sublethal heat stress from insufficient radiofrequency ablation (IRFA) has been confirmed to promote HCC progression; however, whether m A machinery is involved in IRFA-induced HCC recurrence remains open for study.

Approach And Results: Using an IRFA HCC orthotopic mouse model, we detected a higher level of m A reader YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 1-3 (YTHDF1) in the sublethal-heat-exposed transitional zone close to the ablation center than that in the farther area.

Forkhead box F1 induces columnar phenotype and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in esophageal squamous cells to initiate Barrett's like metaplasia.

Multiple genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have linked Forkhead Box F1 (FOXF1) to Barrett's esophagus (BE). Understanding whether FOXF1 is involved in initiation of Barrett's metaplasia could allow FOXF1 to be used for risk stratification and for therapy. Two-dimensional cell cultures and three-dimensional organoid cultures and well-annotated human biopsies were used to determine the role of FOXF1 in BE pathogenesis.

Evaluation of the effects of an artificial intelligence system on endoscopy quality and preliminary testing of its performance in detecting early gastric cancer: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is a prerequisite for detecting upper gastrointestinal lesions especially early gastric cancer (EGC). An artificial intelligence system has been shown to monitor blind spots during EGD. In this study, we updated the system (ENDOANGEL), verified its effectiveness in improving endoscopy quality, and pretested its performance in detecting EGC in a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

The Influence of Immune Heterogeneity on the Effectiveness of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Multifocal Hepatocellular Carcinomas.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy is emerging as the promising option for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. We aimed to investigate the heterogeneity of different tumor nodules of the same patient with multifocal hepatocellular carcinomas in response to immunotherapy and its molecular mechanisms.

Experimental Design: We attained 45 surgical tumor samples including 33 small and 12 large nodules from 12 patients with multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma and evaluated genomic and immune heterogeneity among tumors through whole-genome sequencing and RNA sequencing.

Colorimetric Calcium Probe with Comparison to an Ion-Selective Optode.

Design strategies for small molecular probes lay the foundation of numerous synthetic chemosensors. A water-soluble colorimetric calcium molecular probe inspired by the ionophore-based ion-selective optode is presented here with a tunable detection range (around micromolar at pH 7). The binding of Ca resulted in the deprotonation of the probe and thus a significant spectral change, mimicking the ion-exchange process in ion-selective optodes.

Sublethal heat treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma promotes intrahepatic metastasis and stemness in a VEGFR1-dependent manner.

Incomplete radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) could initiate malignant transition. Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mice model was established to investigate the effect of VEGF pathway in incomplete RFA of HCC with high fidelity. Cancer stem cell markers and metastatic markers were increased after incomplete RFA, with increased VEGFR1 and decreased VEGFR2 expression.

A rapid point-of-care optical ion sensing platform based on target-induced dye release from smart hydrogels.

We report here a rapid and versatile metal ion analytical platform based on the dye release from hydrogels entrapping ion-selective microdroplets. Using Ca2+, Pb2+, and Na+ as model ions, the ion-selective hydrogels were developed in combination with four positively charged dyes, making the hydrogels highly promising for point-of-care diagnostics as well as environmental monitoring.

[Adiponectin inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in colorectal cancer HCT116 cells].

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum adiponectin level and risk of colorectal cancer, and to explore the effect of recombinant adiponectin on the proliferation and apoptosis of colorectal cancer HCT116 cells. Methods Serum adiponectin levels in patients with colorectal cancer and healthy controls were dectected by ELISA. With the level of adiponectin as a risk factor, ROC curve was acquired using SPSS software.

Clinical, endoscopic and pathological characteristics of colorectal polyps in elderly patients: Single-center experience.

Increasing age is a risk factor for the development of colorectal adenomas and advanced adenomas. However, few studies have been published on the features of colorectal polyps in the elderly. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical, enteroscopic and pathological characteristics of colorectal polyps in Chinese elderly patients in a single center (The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Hubei, China).

Epidermal growth factor and prostaglandin E2 levels in Helicobacter pylori-positive gastric intraepithelial neoplasia.

Objective: To investigate levels of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in Han Chinese patients with Helicobacter pylori-positive gastric low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN).

Methods: In this prospective, observational study, gastric specimens from patients with LGIN were collected by gastroscopy with consecutive biopsy. EGF and PGE2 concentrations in serum and gastric juice from patients with LGIN were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Clinical pathology and recent follow-up study on gastric intraepithelial neoplasia and gastric mucosal lesions.

Background/aims: To explore the correlations between endoscopic gastric mucosal lesions and pathological gastric intraepithelial neoplasia (GIN), and to investigate outcomes of gastric intraepithelial neoplasia after treatments.

Methodology: Biopsies of 18,566 Chinese patients undergoing diagnostic gastroscopy were included. Among them, 130 patients were given various treatments, including medication, endoscopic treatment and surgery.