Publications by authors named "W-T Chen"

New treatment approaches are warranted for patients with advanced melanoma refractory to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) or BRAF-targeted therapy. We designed BNT221, a personalized, neoantigen-specific autologous T cell product derived from peripheral blood, and tested this in a 3 + 3 dose-finding study with two dose levels (DLs) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic melanoma, disease progression after ICB, measurable disease (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1) and, where appropriate, BRAF-targeted therapy.

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  • Atrial fibrillation (AF) often recurs after catheter ablation, and the study investigates how changes in the pulmonary vein (PV) structure, highlighted by artificial intelligence (AI), relate to this recurrence.* -
  • Two AI models were used to analyze CT images from 809 patients, examining features of primary and secondary PV branches to determine their link to AF recurrence post-ablation.* -
  • The findings suggest that morphological features of primary PV branches have a significant association with AF recurrence, indicating potential pathways for improving patient outcomes after ablation.*
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In the evolving landscape of precision oncology, this review delineates the role of radiopharmaceuticals targeting the norepinephrine transporter (NET), with a particular focus on the current clinical application of 123 I-MIBG diagnostic imaging and 131 I-MIBG therapeutics, in particular for pheochromocytoma, neuroblastoma, or paraganglioma. We will also highlight recently introduced 18 F-labeled NET targeting imaging radiotracers, which would offer unparalleled resolution, enhanced tumor localization, and staging properties. Complementing these novel second-generation PET agents in a theranostic approach, astatine-211 meta-astatobenzylguanidine ( 211 At-MABG) would leverage the advantages of alpha-particles to selectively target and eradicate NET-expressing tumor cells with minimal off-target effects.

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  • A study was conducted to find out the best systolic blood pressure targets for patients over 50 with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk, comparing intensive treatment (target <120 mm Hg) to standard treatment (target <140 mm Hg) over 5 years.
  • Out of 12,821 patients, the intensive treatment group had a lower average systolic blood pressure after one year (121.6 mm Hg) compared to the standard group (133.2 mm Hg), resulting in significantly fewer major cardiovascular events.
  • Despite the lower overall events in the intensive group, there were more cases of symptomatic hypotension and hyperkalemia, but the rates of serious adverse events were similar in both groups.
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  • Targeted protein degradation is a new therapeutic approach that uses the body's disposal systems to eliminate problematic proteins linked to diseases.
  • While effective in degrading many intracellular proteins, challenges remain in specifically targeting extracellular proteins, especially in relevant disease cells or tissues.
  • The study introduces a new type of compound called Folate Receptor Targeting Chimeras (FRTACs), which targets folate receptors found on cancer cells to facilitate the degradation of cancer-related proteins, showing promise for more precise cancer treatments.
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Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major global cardiovascular health threat and the leading cause of death in many countries. The disease has a significant impact in China, where it has become the leading cause of death. There is an urgent need to develop non-invasive, rapid, cost-effective, and reliable techniques for the early detection of CAD using machine learning (ML).

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Background: There have been limited data on idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) in Asians and there remain uncertainties whether a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure of 250 mm CSF is an optimum diagnostic cutoff. The aims of the present study included (1) characterization of IIH patients in Taiwan, (2) comparisons among different diagnostic criteria for IIH, and (3) comparisons between patients with CSF pressures of > 250 and 200-250 mm CSF.

Methods: This retrospective study involved IIH patients based on the modified Dandy criteria from two tertiary medical centers in Taiwan.

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Background: Cardiac hypertrophy and its associated remodeling are among the leading causes of heart failure. Lysine crotonylation is a recently discovered posttranslational modification whose role in cardiac hypertrophy remains largely unknown. NAE1 (NEDD8 [neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated protein 8]-activating enzyme E1 regulatory subunit) is mainly involved in the neddylation modification of protein targets.

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  • Dehydrocorydaline (DHC), an active component of a plant used in traditional medicine, shows promise in treating coronary heart disease due to its protective and pain-relieving effects, though the mechanism is not fully understood.
  • The study aimed to investigate whether DHC can mitigate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) by affecting the FoxO signaling pathway to reduce cell death (apoptosis).
  • Experimental results demonstrated that DHC improved heart function in a mouse model of MIRI and reduced apoptosis and oxidative stress in heart cells exposed to hypoxia, principally through the FoxO pathway.
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Respiratory health is negatively influenced by the dimensions and constituents of particulate matter (PM). Although mass concentration is widely acknowledged to be key to assessing dust retention by urban trees, the role of plant leaves in filtering PM from the urban atmosphere, particularly regarding the particle dimensions and chemical constituents of retained PM on the leaf, remains elusive. Here we combined single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry and a particle resuspension chamber to investigate how urban tree species capture PM constituents.

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Background: Calmodulinopathies are rare inherited arrhythmia syndromes caused by dominant heterozygous variants in , , or , which each encode the identical CaM (calmodulin) protein. We hypothesized that antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)-mediated depletion of an affected calmodulin gene would ameliorate disease manifestations, whereas the other 2 calmodulin genes would preserve CaM level and function.

Methods: We tested this hypothesis using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte and mouse models of pathogenic variants.

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  • The study aimed to better understand how medial meniscal posterior root tears heal in goats, focusing on early-stage histologic healing.
  • Eighteen adult goats were divided into three groups to assess different repair techniques after surgery, with evaluations at 12 and 24 weeks for imaging and biomechanical properties.
  • Results showed that the repair method influenced healing quality, with the transosseous suture group showing better outcomes compared to the root tear group, although all samples had weaknesses at the root-meniscus transitions.
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  • * Research demonstrates that intranasal delivery of probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 activates the immune system in the respiratory tract, offering protection against influenza within just one day.
  • * The study also develops a recombinant strain of the probiotic that generates strong and long-lasting immune responses, showing effectiveness against various influenza subtypes in laboratory mice.
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  • Accurate forecasts improve public health responses to seasonal influenza, with 26 teams providing predictions for hospital admissions in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
  • Six out of 23 models performed better than the baseline in 2021-22, while 12 out of 18 models did so in 2022-23, with the FluSight ensemble being highly ranked in both seasons.
  • Despite its accuracy, the FluSight ensemble and other models struggled with longer forecast periods, especially during times of rapid change in influenza patterns.
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Intestinal bacteria help keep humans healthy by regulating lipid and glucose metabolism as well as the immunological and neurological systems. Oral treatment using intestinal bacteria is limited by the high acidity of stomach fluids and the immune system's attack on foreign bacteria. Scientists have created coatings and workarounds to overcome these limitations and improve bacterial therapy.

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The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) derived from the CD30 specific murine antibody, HRS-3, has produced promising clinical efficacy with a favorable safety profile in the treatment of relapsed or refractory CD30-positive lymphomas. However, persistence of the autologous CAR-T cells was brief, and many patients relapsed a year after treatment. The lack of persistence may be attributed to the use of a wild-type immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 spacer that can associate with Fc receptors.

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Background: Ovarian endometriotic cysts (OEC) represent the primary manifestation of endometriosis, constituting a hormonally dependent inflammatory disorder in gynecology. It significantly affects the quality of life and reproductive health of women. It is worth noting that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), especially Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), has been widely applied in mainland China due to its unique therapeutic system and commendable clinical efficacy, bringing new hope for preventing and managing OEC.

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  • The study examined how preoperative CT scan-derived myocardial biomarkers can predict outcomes in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).* -
  • A total of 11 studies were analyzed, showing that both extracellular volume fraction (ECV) and left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) significantly predict all-cause mortality and major cardiovascular events in these patients.* -
  • The research concluded that higher ECV and lower LVGLS values are associated with worse prognoses for patients with severe AS after TAVR, influenced by factors such as age and sex.*
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  • The study aimed to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of two treatments for chronic migraine: CGRP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and onabotulinumtoxinA.
  • It included 649 chronic migraine patients and found that CGRP mAbs reduced monthly migraine days more significantly than onabotulinumtoxinA and had a higher responder rate.
  • Both treatments were well-tolerated, with fewer adverse events reported for CGRP mAbs, but further studies are needed to confirm these results.
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Ocular disorders remain a major global health challenge with unmet medical needs. RNA nanomedicine has shown significant therapeutic benefits and safety profiles in patients with complex eye disorders, already benefiting numerous patients with gene-related eye disorders. The effective delivery of RNA to the unique structure of the eye is challenging owing to RNA instability, off-target effects, and ocular physiological barriers.

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The amyloid plaque niche is a pivotal hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we employ two high-resolution spatial transcriptomics (ST) platforms, CosMx and Spatial Enhanced Resolution Omics-sequencing (Stereo-seq), to characterize the transcriptomic alterations, cellular compositions, and signaling perturbations in the amyloid plaque niche in an AD mouse model. We discover heterogeneity in the cellular composition of plaque niches, marked by an increase in microglial accumulation.

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Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are associated with subsequent adverse cardiac remodeling and cardiovascular disease. The role of myocardial microvascular disease among individuals with HDP and left ventricular (LV) remodeling as a potential link to cardiovascular disease is unknown. We aimed to determine whether individuals with HDP history have coronary microvascular dysfunction measured by coronary flow reserve 8 to 10 years after delivery and whether microvascular dysfunction correlates with LV remodeling.

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