Publications by authors named "Zengquan Xu"

While tumor organoids have revolutionized cancer research by recapitulating the cellular architecture and behaviors of real tumors in vitro, their lack of functional vasculature hinders their attainment of full physiological capabilities. Current efforts to vascularize organoids are struggling to achieve well-defined vascular networks, mimicking the intricate hierarchy observed in vivo, which restricts the physiological relevance particularly for studying tumor progression and response to therapies targeting the tumor vasculature. An innovative vascularized patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs)-on-a-chip with hierarchical, tumor-specific microvasculature is presented, providing a versatile platform to explore tumor-vascular dynamics and antivascular drug efficacy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biomimetic photosynthesis, which leverages nanomaterials with light-responsive capabilities, represents an innovative approach for replicating natural photosynthetic processes for green and sustainable energy conversion. In this study, a covalent-organic framework (COF)-based artificial photosynthesis system is realized through the co-assembly of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase and a light-responsive proton generator onto an imine-based COF, RT-COF-1. This system demonstrates an ATP production rate of 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To identify independent risk factors for perioperative hidden blood loss (HBL) in intertrochanteric femoral fractures (ITFs) and to develop a predictive model.

Methods: We enrolled 231 patients with ITFs who underwent proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) surgery at the Orthopedics Department of Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Jiangsu Province, China, from January 2021 to December 2023. Hidden blood loss was calculated using the OSTEO formula, and independent risk factors were screened using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) logistic regression.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: This study aimed to report the mid-term functional outcomes of total hip arthroplasty (THA) for the treatment of advanced hip involvement in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and identify the factors associated with poor hip flexion range of motion (ROM) after THA in patients with AS.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated the mid-term functional outcomes in 313 AS patients (538 hips) who underwent primary THA from 2012 to 2017, with a mean follow-up of 7 years (range, 4-9 years). Postoperative functional outcomes were assessed by hip flexion ROM, Harris hip score (HHS), and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: This study compared the clinical outcomes of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and open surgery (OS) for patients with intraspinal tumors.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases was conducted to identify relevant studies. Continuous variables, including estimated blood loss, surgery duration, time to mobilization, length of hospitalization, visual analog scale (VAS) score, and incision length, were reported as mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Ureaplasma urealyticum, Ureaplasma parvum, and Mycoplasma hominis were widely known as ammonia-producing microorganisms and can cause hyperammonemia, leading to cerebral edema and altered consciousness, which represent serious complications in lung transplant recipients. However, there is limited knowledge on the epidemiology and outcomes of infections caused by U. urealyticum, U.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chemotherapy is still one of the major approaches in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment. The development of new formulations for classic chemotherapeutic drugs remains interests in studies. Camptothecin (CPT) is powerful antitumor agents in TNBC treatment though its clinic applications are limited by its low water solubility and systemic toxicity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Peripheral nerve injury poses a significant challenge to the nervous system's regenerative capacity. We previously described a novel approach to construct a chitosan/silk fibroin nerve graft with skin-derived precursor-induced Schwann cells (SKP-SCs). This graft has been shown to promote sciatic nerve regeneration and functional restoration to a level comparable to that achieved by autologous nerve grafts, as evidenced by behavioral, histological, and electrophysiological assessments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: As modern industrial activities have advanced, the prevalence of microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment has increased, thereby impacting plant growth. Potassium is one of the most crucial nutrient cations for plant biology. Understanding how polyethylene terephthalate (PET) treatment affects potassium uptake will deepen our understanding of plant response mechanisms to plastic pollution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Although chronic quadriceps tendon rupture and defect are rare, they pose significant challenges in surgical treatment. In these cases, quadriceps tendon reconstruction is necessary. Either autologous or allogeneic tendons have been used for this reconstruction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: This study aimed to describe the arthroscopic superlateral capsule pathway technique for spotting femoral fixation device deployment, and to compare the results with normal procedure.

Methods: A total of 69 patients underwent ACLR (Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction) with or without the SCP (superolateral capsule pathway) during procedure were retrospectively selected and evaluated. A total of 36 patients underwent SCP and 33 patients underwent ACLR without SCP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Accurate prediction of pathological complete response (pCR) and disease-free survival (DFS) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) is essential for formulating effective treatment plans. This study aimed to construct and validate the machine learning (ML) models to predict pCR and DFS using pathomics.

Method: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 294 patients who received NCRT from two independent institutions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Three-dimensional (3D) cardiomyocyte spheroids are essential models to replicate cardiac structural and functional features in vitro. However, conventional planar and rigid microelectrode arrays (MEAs) suffer from low-quality electrophysiological recording of 3D cultures, due to limited contact areas and weak coupling between cells and MEA chips. Herein, we developed a PEDOT: PSS-modified organic flexible and implantable MEA (OFI-MEA) coupled with a self-developed integrated biosensing platform to achieve high-throughput, long-term, and stable bidirectional internal electrophysiology in 3D cardiomyocyte spheroids.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is an extremely harmful malignant tumor. Optic atrophy 3 (OPA3) is highly expressed in multiple tumors, but its action in CRC is still unknown. This research aims to explore the role of OPA3 and its related molecular mechanisms for CRC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Various biomarkers associated with sarcopenia have been identified. However, there is a scarcity of studies exploring and validating biomarkers in individuals with age-related sarcopenia.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the proteome and identify potential biomarkers for age-related sarcopenia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) plays a crucial role in assessing nutritional status and predicting clinical outcomes in older patients. This study explores the GNRI as a prognostic tool for clinical outcomes in older inpatients. Spanning from August 2013 to December 2020, the research involved 573 older patients at Tianjin Third Central Hospital, China.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a critical challenge in oncology, primarily due to the dysfunction and exhaustion of T cells within the tumor microenvironment, which greatly limits the effectiveness of immunotherapy. This study investigates the regulatory role of the T cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT)-CD226-PVR signaling axis in the exhaustion and apoptosis of cluster of differentiation (CD)27+/CD127+T cells in NSCLC. Utilizing single-cell sequencing technology, we conducted a comprehensive gene expression analysis of T cells in a mouse model of NSCLC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a prevalent interstitial lung disease with high mortality. CD38 is a main enzyme for intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) degradation in mammals. It has been reported that CD38 participated in pulmonary fibrosis through promoting alveolar epithelial cells senescence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To investigate the utility of combining clinical and contrasted-enhanced tomography (CECT) parameters for the preoperative evaluation of perineural invasion (PNI) in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC).

Methods: A total of 134 patients with GBC (male/female, 52/82; age, 64.4 ± 9.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal malignant tumors that lacks effective treatment, and gemcitabine-based chemoresistance occurs frequently. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies for PC are urgently needed. Tripartite motif containing 59 (TRIM59) plays an important role in breast and lung cancer chemoresistance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a common but devastating complication of diabetes mellitus and might ultimately lead to amputation. Elucidating the regulatory mechanism of wound healing in DFU is quite important for developing DFU management strategies. Here, we show, mecenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes promoted the proliferation, migration and angiogenesis of high glucose-treated endothelial cells and reduced cell apoptosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To investigate the mechanism of luteolin for inhibiting proliferation of lung cancer A549 cells.

Methods: A549 cells treated with different concentrations of luteolin for 48 h were evaluated for changes in cell viability, proliferation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis using MTT assay, plate cloning assay, EdU staining, DCFH-DA assay and Hoechst33258 staining. The changes in cell autophagy were examined with MDC staining, and the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins (Bax, Bcl-2, and cleaved caspase-9), autophagy-related proteins (LC3B, Beclin 1, and P62), AKT/mTOR pathway proteins, and HO-1 protein were detected using Western blotting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF