Targeting OXCT1-mediated ketone metabolism reprograms macrophages to promote antitumor immunity via CD8 T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: The liver is the main organ of ketogenesis, while ketones are mainly metabolized in peripheral tissues via the critical enzyme 3-oxoacid CoA-transferase 1 (OXCT1). We previously found that ketolysis is reactivated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells through OXCT1 expression to promote tumor progression; however, whether OXCT1 regulates antitumor immunity remains unclear.

Methods: To investigate the expression pattern of OXCT1 in HCC in vivo, we conducted multiplex immunohistochemistry experiments on human HCC specimens.

Atorvastatin Treatment for Atrial Fibrillation Reduces Serum High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Levels.

We investigated whether serum hs-CRP levels predict the efficacy of atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with atorvastatin. Bibliographic databases were exhaustively searched for studies relevant to the research topic. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) criteria, combined with the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS), were applied for study quality assessment.

Effect of Atorvastatin on Serum Levels of Total Cholesterol and High-Sensitivity C-reactive Protein in High-Risk Patients with Atrial Fibrillation in Asia.

Purpose: The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of atorvastatin on serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and total cholesterol in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients in Asia.

Methods: By searching English and Chinese language-based electronic databases (ie, PubMed, EBSCO, Ovid, SpringerLink, Wiley, Web of Science, Wanfang database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and VIP database), we identified 13 studies relevant to our topic of interest. Data were collected from the 13 studies and analyzed with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 2.

A computer-aided diagnostic algorithm improves the accuracy of transesophageal echocardiography for left atrial thrombi: a single-center prospective study.

Objectives: We investigated whether transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) assisted with a computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) algorithm was superior to TEE in diagnosing left atrial (LA)/left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombi in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in a single prospective study.

Methods: Transesophageal echocardiography was performed in patients with AF, and images were reconstructed. Gray level co-occurrence matrix-based features were calculated and then classified using an artificial neural network.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts from hepatocellular carcinoma promote malignant cell proliferation by HGF secretion.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are reported to support tumorigenesis by stimulating angiogenesis, cancer cell proliferation, and invasion in most solid tumors. However, the roles of CAFs in the liver cancer microenvironment have not been thoroughly studied. In our previous study, we successfully isolated CAFs from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (H-CAFs) and proved that H-CAFs suppressed the activation of NK cells and thereby created favorable conditions for HCC progression.

Comparative proteomic analysis of human donor tissues during orthotopic liver transplantation: ischemia versus reperfusion.

Purpose: To explore the specific alterations in protein profiles that occur during ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/RI) and find novel therapeutic strategies to reduce I/RI during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).

Method: We used the comparative proteomic approach of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to compare the proteomic profiles of the same donor liver at three different time points: T1, immediately after cardiac arrest of donors (normal control); T2, before portal vein anastomosis (ischemia); and T3, 2 h after hepatic artery anastomosis (reperfusion).

Result: We identified 34 proteins that were significantly altered during I/RI.

Effect of pre-transplantation hemoglobin concentration on prognosis of renal transplant recipients.

Background: For the renal transplant recipients, anemia is one of the common complications and becomes a major medical issue before transplantation. Haemoglobin (Hb) is used as a prognostic indicator, although the optimal pre-transplantation Hb concentration associated with positive prognosis is still controversial. The aim of this study was to detect the optimal Hb concentration on predicting the graft survival and function.

[Relationship between plasma brain natriuretic peptide concentration and clinical prognosis in patients of acute myocardial infarction].

Objective: To evaluate the value of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in estimating risk stratification in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to determine the relationship between BNP and adverse cardiac events after AMI.

Methods: The 135 subjects were selected into the study, including 25 healthy subjects and 110 patients with a first AMI. The plasma concentrations of BNP were measured at two to four days after infarction in patients and healthy controls.

[Evaluation of right ventricular function by tissue Doppler echocardiography and Tei index in right ventricular myocardial infarction].

Objective: With tissue Doppler imaging and right ventricular Tei index, right ventricular function in patients with right ventricular myocardial infarction (RVMI) was assessed.

Method: 51 patients admitted to coronary care units and diagnosed as acute inferior myocardial infarction were further studied with the ECG criterion of ST segment elevation >or= 1mm in V(4R) to establish the diagnosis of RVMI. 23 patients were thus diagnosed as RVMI and 28 patients not.