Publications by authors named "Xiong Zou"
Background: Aging can impair the ability of elderly individuals to fight infections and trigger persistent systemic inflammation, a condition known as inflammaging. However, the mechanisms underlying the development of inflammaging remain unknown.
Methods: We conducted 16S rRNA sequencing of intestinal contents from young and old C57BL/6J mice to elucidate changes in gut microbiota diversity and microbial community composition after aging.
Article Synopsis
- Cisplatin is a common chemotherapy used for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but some patients can't use it due to eligibility issues or past severe reactions.
- A phase 2 trial tested the combination of gemcitabine and toripalimab on patients who couldn't take cisplatin, showing good results in terms of safety and effectiveness.
- Out of 21 enrolled patients, the therapy had a 61.9% objective response rate and a perfect disease control rate, with manageable side effects like headaches and nausea.
Article Synopsis
- Endoscopic nasopharyngectomy (ENPG) is challenging for surgeons, leading to the development of low-temperature plasma radiofrequency ablation (LPRA) as a simpler surgical method for localized recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC).
- A study analyzed 56 rNPC patients who underwent LPRA surgery, which involved ablating from the tumor's edge to its center; outcomes showed significant survival rates with minimal complications.
- Results indicated a high median overall survival rate of 92.9% and effective tumor removal with re-epithelialization in 96.4% of patients, suggesting LPRA is a promising alternative to traditional methods.
Article Synopsis
- Locoregional radiotherapy, combined with chemotherapy, has improved survival rates for patients with de novo metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (mNPC), but only 54% achieve a response after treatment.
- A phase II study investigated the effect of adding a PD-1 inhibitor to standard treatment, finding an objective response rate of 81.8% among 22 enrolled patients after 3 months.
- Despite the promising results, 68.2% of patients experienced severe side effects, and higher levels of Epstein-Barr virus DNA were linked to poorer progression-free survival.
Objective: Due to the pivotal role cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play in tumor progression, our study aimed to develop a signature of CAFs-related gene (CRG) to predict the survival outcomes and treatment response of bladder cancer (BLCA).
Methods: The transcriptome data and relevant clinical information about BLCA were collected from publicly available databases, including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis was utilized to uncover CAFs-associated hub genes, and subsequently, a risk model for survival prognosis was constructed using LASSO-Cox regression.
Aluminum chloride (AlCl) exposure is pervasive in our daily lives. Numerous studies have demonstrated that exposure to AlCl can lead to male reproductive toxicity. However, the precise mechanism of action remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Unlike substantial evidence in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), research in the prevention of nausea and vomiting caused by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is currently lacking.
Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of fosaprepitant weekly vs every 3 weeks for the prevention of nausea and emesis caused by CCRT among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This pilot randomized clinical trial was conducted at a single cancer center from November 24, 2020, to July 26, 2021, among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who had achieved CINV control after 2 to 3 cycles of induction chemotherapy.
Background: Treatment options for patients with recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (RM-NPC) are not clear after progression on previous treatment with PD-(L)1 inhibitor; critical gaps in evidence remain for such cases. Immunotherapy combined with antiangiogenic therapy has been reported to have synergistic antitumor activity. Therefore, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of camrelizumab plus famitinib in patients with RM-NPC who failed treatment with PD-1 inhibitor-containing regimens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAluminum contamination is a growing environmental and public health concern, and aluminum testicular toxicity has been reported in male rats; however, the underlying mechanisms of this toxicity are unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of exposure to aluminum chloride (AlCl) on alterations in the levels of sex hormones (testosterone [T], luteinizing hormone [LH], and follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH]) and testicular damage. Additionally, the mechanisms of toxicity in the testes of AlCl-exposed rats were analyzed by proteomics.
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- This study aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of hyperfractionated radiotherapy versus standard fractionation for patients with advanced recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma who previously received high-dose radiation.
- From July 2015 to December 2019, 144 eligible patients were enrolled in a phase 3 trial, with equal random assignment to either treatment group (72 each).
- The primary goals were to assess severe late complications and overall survival, with findings indicating that hyperfractionation might reduce late toxicity compared to standard approaches.
It is critical to understand factors associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) metastasis. To track the evolutionary route of metastasis, here we perform an integrative genomic analysis of 163 matched blood and primary, regional lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis tumour samples, combined with single-cell RNA-seq on 11 samples from two patients. The mutation burden, gene mutation frequency, mutation signature, and copy number frequency are similar between metastatic tumours and primary and regional lymph node tumours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors combined with antiangiogenic therapy reportedly have potential synergistic antitumor activity. We investigated the activity and safety of this regimen for recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
Methods: This single-arm, Simon two-stage study enrolled patients with recurrent/metastatic NPC who were refractory to at least first-line systemic therapy and treatment-naive to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Purpose: There is evidence that the Crystallin Alpha B gene is involved in the regulation of the tumor microenvironment and influences tumor prognosis in some cancers. However, the role of gene in prognosis and immunology in pan-cancer is still unclear.
Methods: In this study, we analyzed the transcriptional profiles and survival data of cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.
N6-methyladenosine (mA) is involved in critical cancerous processes. Pseudogenes play various roles in carcinogenesis and progression. However, the functional roles of mA-associated pseudogenes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) plays an important role in both innate and adaptive immunity, but the prognostic value of TLR3 in heterogeneous tumors and the correlations between TLR3 expression and immune infiltration of heterogeneous tumors remain unclear. We investigated the expression of TLR3 in a variety of tumors and focused on the diagnostic and prognostic values of TLR3 in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) and brain lower grade glioma (LGG) by GEPIA, DriverDBv3, UALCAN, TIMER, LinkedOmics, STRING, GeneMANIA and FunRich, as well as the possible mechanisms of TLR3 affecting tumor prognosis were discussed. Additionally, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to validate TLR3 expression in early KIRC.
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- The study explored the effectiveness and safety of a combination therapy called GAT (gemcitabine, apatinib, and toripalimab) in treating recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (RM-NPC) in 41 patients.
- Results showed a high overall response rate of 90.2%, with median progression-free survival (PFS) of 25.8 months, although a significant number of patients (56.1%) experienced severe treatment-related side effects.
- Identifying high-risk patients (such as those with previous radiation therapy) and monitoring specific tumor markers could help optimize treatment benefits and manage potential risks in this patient population.
Background: Recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains a major challenge for clinicians and scientists. Tumor organoid is a revelational disease model that highly resembled the heterogeneity and histopathological characteristics of original tumors. This study aimed to optimize the modeling process of patient-derived NPC organoids (NPCOs), and establish a living-biobank of NPCs to study the mechanism and explore the more effective treatment of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Studies of local therapy (LT) to metastatic foci from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are inconsistent and controversial. Here, we aimed to explore the survival benefit of LT directed at metastatic foci from NPC.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted in NPC patients with liver, lung, and/or bone metastases.
Background: Immunity exerts momentous functions in the progression and treatment of kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC). A better understanding of the relationship between KIRC and immunity may make a great contribution to evaluating the prognosis and immune-related therapeutic response of KIRC.
Methods: A series of information such as RNA sequence, clinical data, and tumor mutation burden (TMB) of KIRC patients were downloaded through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA).
n. sp., an Intranuclear Microsporidian Infecting the Seahorse From China.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol
May 2022
The life cycle, ultrastructure, and molecular phylogeny of a new intranuclear microsporidian, n. sp., infecting the intestine of the , were described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToll-like receptors (TLRs) are important initiators of innate and acquired immune responses. However, its role in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) remains unclear. TLRs and their relationships with KIRC were studied in detail by ONCOMINE, UALCAN, GEPIA, cBioPortal, GeneMANIA, FunRich, LinkedOmics, TIMER and TRRUST.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor an energy-intensive sweetening process, it is common that sour gases from different sources are sent to a single sweetening plant in industries. In our previous work, a multiple gas feed sweetening process was proposed, which can simultaneously improve the purity of HS and reduce the energy consumption of the plant. This study aims to develop the superstructure of that process and use a simulation-based optimization framework with Aspen HYSYS as the process simulator and particle swarm optimization algorithm as the optimizer.
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- Toripalimab, a monoclonal antibody, was tested with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for treating recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC) in a phase II trial involving patients not suitable for surgery.
- The trial enrolled 25 patients, with results showing a high overall response rate (79.2%) and excellent disease control (95.8%) after 3 months, with a promising 12-month progression-free survival of 91.8%.
- The treatment was generally well-tolerated, with few severe side effects, indicating toripalimab combined with IMRT could be a viable option for rNPC patients.*
Purpose: Radiotherapy is the most important primary treatment for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Generally, the treatment duration of radiotherapy takes six or six and half weeks with 30 to 33 fractions. The current study was conducted to evaluate the association between prognosis and the duration of radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Our previous trial confirmed that induction chemotherapy (IC) improved long-term survival outcomes in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this study, we investigated the impact of IC on long-term quality of life (QoL) in this cohort.
Methods: Our trial was a randomised, open-label phase 3 trial comparing IC followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) versus CCRT alone in patients with stage III-IVB (except T3N0-1) NPC.