Penpulimab, an anti-PD-1 antibody, for heavily pretreated metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a single-arm phase II study.

Penpulimab is an anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) IgG1 antibody with no Fc gamma receptor (FcγR) binding activity, and thus theoretically reduced immune-related adverse events (irAEs) while maintaining efficacy. This single-arm, phase II trial conducted across 20 tertiary care centers in China enrolled adult patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who had failed two or more lines of previous systemic chemotherapy. Patients received 200-mg penpulimab intravenously every 2 weeks (4 weeks per cycle) until disease progression or intolerable toxicities.

New insights from bidirectional Mendelian randomization: causal relationships between telomere length and mitochondrial DNA copy number in aging biomarkers.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and telomere length (TL) are dynamic factors that have been linked to the aging process in organisms. However, the causal relationship between these variables remains uncertain. In this research, instrumental variables (IVs) related to mtDNA copy number and TL were obtained from publicly available genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

A dynamic nomogram predicting symptomatic pneumonia in patients with lung cancer receiving thoracic radiation.

Purpose: The most common and potentially fatal side effect of thoracic radiation therapy is radiation pneumonitis (RP). Due to the lack of effective treatments, predicting radiation pneumonitis is crucial. This study aimed to develop a dynamic nomogram to accurately predict symptomatic pneumonitis (RP ≥ 2) following thoracic radiotherapy for lung cancer patients.

Case report: Clinical complete response in advanced ALK-positive lung squamous cell carcinoma: a case study of successful anti-PD-1 immunotherapy post ALK-TKIs failure.

In patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) harboring the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) -anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement, targeted therapy typically demonstrates superior efficacy as an initial treatment compared to chemotherapy. Following resistance to ALK-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), regimens incorporating platinum-based dual agents or combined with bevacizumab often show effectiveness. However, therapeutic alternatives become constrained after resistance develops to both TKIs and platinum-based therapies.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE_PGRS45 (Rv2615c) Promotes Recombinant Mycobacteria Intracellular Survival via Regulation of Innate Immunity, and Inhibition of Cell Apoptosis.

Tuberculosis (TB), a bacterial infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), is a significant global public health problem. Mycobacterium tuberculosis expresses a unique family of PE_PGRS proteins that have been implicated in pathogenesis.

Efficacy and Postoperative Complication Rates of Different Surgical Approaches for Calcaneal Fractures: A Network Meta-analysis.

Context: Calcaneal fractures (CFs) are the most common kind of tarsal fracture. The choice of surgical approach is a key element in the management of CFs, but the best method remains in dispute. Also, no single approach is appropriate for all kinds of CFs.

A case of acute myocarditis induced by PD-1 inhibitor (sintilimab) in the treatment of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.

The combination of Sintilimab with pemetrexed/platinum has become the first-line treatment for non-squamous non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Here, we report a patient with metastatic large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) treated with Sintilimab for five cycles who developed shortness of breath after activity. The level of creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) were significantly increased.

PE8 (Rv1040c) Promotes the Intracellular Survival of Recombinant Mycobacterium by Regulating Host Inflammatory Cytokines and Inhibiting Cell Late Apoptosis.

Tuberculosis is an important chronic and often fatal infectious disease mainly caused by the bacterium (Mtb). Mtb is one of the most successful pathogens that harbors several potential virulence factors not found in nonpathogenic mycobacteria. As the Mtb cell envelope is closely associated with its virulence and resistance, it is very important to understand the cell envelope for better treatment of causative pathogen.

Non-pharmaceutical treatments to relieve pain or reduce opioid analgesic intake and improve quality of life after total hip replacement: a meta analysis.

To reduce pain after total hip replacement (THR), researchers are interested in drug-free interventions. However, there is still a lack of consensus on their prevention efficacy. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the use of nonpharmaceutical interventions for postoperative pain management after THR.

[Establishment of a THP-1 macrophage model infected by recombinant Mycobacterium smegmatis expressing green fluorescent protein].

Objective To establish a THP-1 macrophage model infected by Mycobacterium smegmatis expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP), to quickly locate and visually detect Mycobacterium smegmatis, and to provide a tracer tool to identify the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and develop new tuberculosis vaccines. Methods The enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene sequence was amplified by PCR using pEGFP-N1 plasmid as a template to obtain the coding gene of EGFP, and the amplified product was cloned into the vector pALACE to establish the recombinant plasmid pALACE-EGFP. Electroporation transformed the pALACE-EGFP into Mycobacterium smegmatis, and recombinant Mycobacterium smegmatis clones were screened by hygromycin resistance.

Hypoxia-Related Signature Is a Prognostic Biomarker of Pancreatic Cancer.

Background: Hypoxia plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer, but the effect of hypoxia-related genes in pancreatic cancer remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to identify hypoxia-related genes related to pancreatic cancer and construct a prognostic signature.

Methods: Pancreatic cancer datasets were retrieved from TCGA database.

A prediction model for xerostomia in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients receiving radical radiotherapy.

Background: This study was to evaluate the predictors of xerostomia and Grade 3 xerostomia in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients receiving radical radiotherapy and establish prediction models for xerostomia and Grade 3 xerostomia based on the predictors.

Methods: Totally, 365 patients with locoregionally advanced NPC who underwent radical radiotherapy were randomly divided into the training set (n = 255) and the testing set (n = 110) at a ratio of 7:3. All variables were included in the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression to screen out the potential predictors for xerostomia as well as the Grade 3 xerostomia in locoregionally advanced NPC patients receiving radical radiotherapy.

Exosomal HMGA2 protein from EBV-positive NPC cells destroys vascular endothelial barriers and induces endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition to promote metastasis.

Increased vascular permeability facilitates metastasis. Cancer-secreted exosomes are emerging mediators of cancer-host crosstalk. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), identified as the first human tumor-associated virus, plays a crucial role in metastatic tumors, especially in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Molecular Characteristics of Regional Chromoblastomycosis in Guangdong, China: Epidemiological, Clinical, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Serum Cytokine Profiles of 45 Cases.

Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a chronic disease caused by several species of dematiaceous fungi. In this study, a regional collection of 45 CBM cases was conducted in Guangdong, China, a hyper-endemic area of CBM. Epidemiology findings indicated that the mean age of cases was 61.

[Prokaryotic expression and identification of PPE15 protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and preparation of rabbit polyclonal antibodies].

Objective To clone, express and purify PPE15 recombinant protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv), as well as prepare and characterize its rabbit polyclonal antibody. Methods By The PPE15 gene was amplified from the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv by PCR, and the His-tagged prokaryotic PPE15 prokaryotic expression plasmid pET28a-PPE15 was constructed by homologous recombination cloning technique, and transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3).

Codon Optimization, Soluble Expression and Purification of PE_PGRS45 Gene from and Preparation of Its Polyclonal Antibody Protein.

Studies have demonstrated that PE_PGRS45 is constitutively expressed under various environmental conditions (such as nutrient depletion, hypoxia, and low pH) of the in vitro growth conditions examined, indicating that PE_PGRS45 protein is critical to the basic functions of . However, there are few reports about the biochemical function and pathogenic mechanism of PE_PGRS45 protein. The fact that this gene is not easily expressed in may be mainly due to the high content of G+C and the use of unique codons.

Corrigendum: Exploring the Mechanism of Total Flavonoids of Drynariae Rhizoma to Improve Large Bone Defects by Network Pharmacology and Experimental Assessment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.

Exploring the Mechanism of Total Flavonoids of Drynariae Rhizoma to Improve Large Bone Defects by Network Pharmacology and Experimental Assessment.

Drynariae Rhizoma (DR) has been demonstrated to be effective in promoting fracture healing in clinical use. In the study, we tried to predicate potential signaling pathways and active ingredients of DR network pharmacology, uncover its regulation mechanism to improve large bone defects by and experiment. We total discovered 18 potential active ingredients such as flavonoids and 81 corresponding targets, in which mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway has the highest correlation with bone defects in pathway and functional enrichment analysis.

Total flavonoids of rhizoma drynariae ameliorates bone formation and mineralization in BMP-Smad signaling pathway induced large tibial defect rats.

Osteogenesis and angiogenesis acts as an essential role in repairing large tibial defects (LTDs). Total flavonoids of rhizoma drynariae (TFRD), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is reported to show anabolic effects on fracture healing. However, whether TFRD could improve the bone formation and angiogenesis in LTDs remains unknown.

Optimized acupuncture treatment (acupuncture and intradermal needling) for cervical spondylosis-related neck pain: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Cervical spondylosis (CS)-related neck pain is difficult to treat because of its degenerative nature. The aim of this 9-center, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the efficacy of optimized acupuncture for CS-related neck pain. Participants who met the inclusion criteria were randomized to optimized, shallow, and sham acupuncture groups (1:1:1).