The oral-gut microbiome axis in breast cancer: from basic research to therapeutic applications.

As a complicated and heterogeneous condition, breast cancer (BC) has posed a tremendous public health challenge across the world. Recent studies have uncovered the crucial effect of human microbiota on various perspectives of health and disease, which include cancer. The oral-gut microbiome axis, particularly, have been implicated in the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer through their intricate interactions with host immune system and modulation of systemic inflammation.

Association of magnesium deficiency scores with risk of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in adults: a cross-sectional population-based study.

Background: The magnesium depletion score (MDS) is a scoring system developed to predict magnesium deficiency based on pathophysiological factors that affect renal reabsorption. The relationship between systemic magnesium status and arthritis is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the MDS and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as well as osteoarthritis (OA).

Bivalent chromatin accommodates survivin and BRG1/SWI complex to activate DNA damage response in CD4 cells.

Background: Bivalent regions of chromatin (BvCR) are characterized by trimethylated lysine 4 (H3K4me3) and lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) deposition which aid gene expression control during cell differentiation. The role of BvCR in post-transcriptional DNA damage response remains unidentified. Oncoprotein survivin binds chromatin and mediates IFNγ effects in CD4 cells.

Mucinous histology is a negative predictor of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) followed by total mesorectal excision (TME) is the standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Mucinous adenocarcinoma (MAC) is a potential poor prognosis subgroup of rectal cancer. However, the predictive value of MAC in NCRT treatment of LARC is controversial.

The Role and Therapeutic Potential of Pyroptosis in Colorectal Cancer: A Review.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The unlimited proliferation of tumor cells is one of the key features resulting in the malignant development and progression of CRC. Consequently, understanding the potential proliferation and growth molecular mechanisms and developing effective therapeutic strategies have become key in CRC treatment.

Interpretable deep residual network uncovers nucleosome positioning and associated features.

Nucleosomes represent elementary building units of eukaryotic chromosomes and consist of DNA wrapped around a histone octamer flanked by linker DNA segments. Nucleosomes are central in epigenetic pathways and their genomic positioning is associated with regulation of gene expression, DNA replication, DNA methylation and DNA repair, among other functions. Building on prior discoveries that DNA sequences noticeably affect nucleosome positioning, our objective is to identify nucleosome positions and related features across entire genome.

Spinosin ameliorates osteoarthritis through enhancing the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disease in the elderly, while oxidative stress-induced chondrocyte degeneration plays a key role in the pathologic progression of OA. One possible reason is that the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which acts as the intracellular defense factor against oxidative stress, is significantly inhibited in chondrocytes. Spinosin (SPI) is a potent Nrf2 agonist, but its effect on OA is still unknown.

Diphthamide deficiency promotes association of eEF2 with p53 to induce p21 expression and neural crest defects.

Diphthamide is a modified histidine residue unique for eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2 (eEF2), a key ribosomal protein. Loss of this evolutionarily conserved modification causes developmental defects through unknown mechanisms. In a patient with compound heterozygous mutations in Diphthamide Biosynthesis 1 (DPH1) and impaired eEF2 diphthamide modification, we observe multiple defects in neural crest (NC)-derived tissues.

Add-on immunosuppressive therapy may benefit selected patients with primary biliary cholangitis and autoimmune phenomena.

Background: Mildly elevated levels of transaminase and/or immunoglobulin G (IgG) are common in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). It is still unclear whether adding immunosuppressive therapy to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) benefits those patients who are not fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of PBC with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) features.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of adding immunosuppressive therapy to UDCA for patients with PBC and autoimmune phenomena but not fulfilling the diagnostic criteria of PBC with AIH features.

Impact of bariatric surgery on glucose and lipid metabolism and liver and kidney function in food-induced obese diabetic rats.

Background: Obesity usually causes diabetes mellitus (DM) and is a serious danger to human health. Type 2 DM (T2DM) mostly occurs along with obesity. Foodborne obesity-induced DM is caused by an excessive long-term diet and surplus energy.

Survivin prevents the polycomb repressor complex 2 from methylating histone 3 lysine 27.

This study investigates the role of survivin in epigenetic control of gene transcription through interaction with the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2). PRC2 is responsible for silencing gene expression by trimethylating lysine 27 on histone 3. We observed differential expression of PRC2 subunits in CD4 T cells with varying levels of survivin expression, and ChIP-seq results indicated that survivin colocalizes with PRC2 along DNA.

DMT1 differentially regulates mitochondrial complex activities to reduce glutathione loss and mitigate ferroptosis.

Mitochondria are vital for energy production and redox homeostasis, yet knowledge of relevant mechanisms remains limited. Here, through a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screening, we have identified DMT1 as a major regulator of mitochondria membrane potential. Our findings demonstrate that DMT1 deficiency increases the activity of mitochondrial complex I and reduces that of complex III.

IL-33 promotes double negative T cell survival via the NF-κB pathway.

IL-33, which is a crucial modulator of adaptive immune responses far beyond type 2 response, can enhance the function of several T cell subsets and maintain the immune homeostasis. However, the contribution of IL-33 to double negative T (DNT) cell remains unappreciated. Here, we demonstrated that the IL-33 receptor ST2 was expressed on DNT cells, and that IL-33 stimulation increased DNT cells proliferation and survival in vivo and in vitro.

Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Management of Primary Biliary Cholangitis (2021).

In 2015, the Chinese Society of Hepatology and the Chinese Society of Gastroenterology published a consensus on primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). In the past years, numerous clinical studies have been published in the field of PBC. To guide the clinical diagnosis and management of PBC patients, the Chinese Society of Hepatology invited a panel of experts to assess the new clinical evidence and formulate the current guidelines.

Histone variant H2A.Z modulates nucleosome dynamics to promote DNA accessibility.

Nucleosomes, containing histone variants H2A.Z, are important for gene transcription initiation and termination, chromosome segregation and DNA double-strand break repair, among other functions. However, the underlying mechanisms of how H2A.

Improved Aluminum Adjuvants Eliciting Stronger Immune Response When Mixed with Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigens.

Adjuvants can regulate the immune response triggered by vaccines. Traditional aluminum adjuvants can induce humoral immunity, but they lack the ability to effectively induce Th1 cellular immunity, which is not conducive to the development of vaccines with improved protective effects. Aluminum adjuvants from different sources may have different physicochemical properties, and therefore, completely different immune responses can be triggered.

The future risk of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is low among patients with incidental anti-mitochondrial antibodies but without baseline PBC.

Anti-mitochondrial autoantibodies (AMAs) are highly specific for the diagnosis of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) but are also occasionally found in other diseases. In the present study, we evaluated the incidence of and predictors for PBC development in AMA-positive patients with other liver or non-liver diseases at baseline. In this retrospective study, we screened patients who tested positive for AMA and/or anti-mitochondrial M2 antibody (AMA-M2) at Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, from October 2005 to January 2017.

sCD40L Is Increased and Associated with the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Pregnant Women with Isolated TPOAb Positivity.

Background: Autoimmune disorders are associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in pregnant women who were positive for thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb). Soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) and soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sCD25) are abnormally expressed in autoimmune diseases and are reliable markers of inflammation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate sCD40L and sCD25 in early pregnancy and investigate their correlation with GDM and TPOAb.

DNA methylation: Precise modulation of chromatin structure and dynamics.

DNA methylation plays a vital role in epigenetic regulation in both plants and animals, and typically occurs at the 5-carbon position of the cytosine pyrimidine ring within the CpG dinucleotide steps. Cytosine methylation can alter DNA's geometry, mechanical and physico-chemical properties - thus influencing the molecular signaling events vital for transcription, replication and chromatin remodeling. Despite the profound effect cytosine methylation can have on DNA, the underlying atomistic mechanisms remain enigmatic.

[Realization and Clinical Study of Robotic Technology in Cardiovascular Interventional Surgery].

The high incidence of cardiovascular diseases is a serious threat to human health, and endovascular surgery has become the standard treatment for most interventional cardiovascular diseases. The robotassisted endovascular surgery system further enhances surgeons' ability to perform minimally invasive endovascular procedures in interventional cardiology. This study presents a new robotic technique for coronary intervention from the perspective of clinical application.