Genetic Links Between Gastrointestinal Disorders and Kidney Stone Disease: Insights from Genome-Wide Cross-Trait Analysis.

Background: Epidemiological associations between kidney stone disease (KSD) and gastrointestinal disorders have been reported, and intestinal homeostasis plays a critical role in stone formation. However, the underlying intrinsic link is not adequately understood. This study aims to investigate the genetic associations between these two types of diseases.

Large-scale multicenter study reveals anticitrullinated SR-A peptide antibody as a biomarker and exacerbator for rheumatoid arthritis.

Current diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is still challenging. More than one-third of patients with RA could not be accurately diagnosed because of lacking biomarkers. Our recent study reported that scavenger receptor-A (SR-A) is a biomarker for RA, especially for anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP)-negative RA.

Treating myocardial infarction via a nano-ultrasonic contrast agent-mediated high-efficiency drug delivery system targeting macrophages.

Following myocardial infarction (MI), the accumulation of CD86-positive macrophages in the ischemic injury zone leads to secondary myocardial damage. Precise pharmacological intervention targeting this process remains challenging. This study engineered a nanotherapeutic delivery system with CD86-positive macrophage-specific targeting and ultrasound-responsive release capabilities.

Progress in antileishmanial drugs: Mechanisms, challenges, and prospects.

Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania parasites, continues to pose global health challenges. Current treatments face issues like resistance, safety, efficacy, and cost. This review covers the discovery, mechanisms of action, clinical applications, and limitations of key antileishmanial agents: pentavalent antimonials, amphotericin B, miltefosine, paromomycin, and pentamidine.

Terahertz Wave Desensitizes Ferroptosis by Inhibiting the Binding of Ferric Ions to the Transferrin.

Ferroptosis is a classic type of programmed cell death characterized by iron dependence, which is closely associated with many diseases such as cancer, intestinal ischemic diseases, and nervous system diseases. Transferrin (Tf) is responsible for ferric-ion delivery owing to its natural Fe binding ability and plays a crucial role in ferroptosis. However, Tf is not considered as a classic druggable target for ferroptosis-associated diseases since systemic perturbation of Tf would dramatically disrupt blood iron homeostasis.

Differential Expression of GABA Receptor-Related Genes in Alzheimer's Disease and the Positive Regulatory Role of Aerobic Exercise-From Genetic Screening to D-gal-induced AD-like Pathology Model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder. The neuropathology of AD appears in the hippocampus. The purpose of this work was to reveal key differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the hippocampus of AD patients and healthy individuals.

A novel quantitative angiogenesis assay based on visualized vascular organoid.

Angiogenesis describes the sprouting of blood vessels from existing vasculatures and it plays a pivotal role in disease progress such as diabetes, age-related macular degeneration and cancer. However, the most widely used anti-angiogenic agents targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway still lacked of specificity and therapeutic efficacy. To establish a method suitable for high-throughput drug screening and faithfully recapitulate the feature of in vivo angiogenesis, we generated a PECAM1-mRuby3-secNluc; ACTA2-EGFP dual reporter human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) line and utilizing the cell line to establish a visualized and quantifiable in vitro angiogenesis model with stem cell-derived vascular organoid.

Tumor-colonizing Lachnoclostridium-mediated chemokine expression enhances the immune infiltration of bladder urothelial carcinoma.

Limited research into the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) for bladder urothelial carcinoma (BUC), particularly the neglect of the intratumoral microbiota, has hindered the development of immunotherapies targeting BUC. Here, we collect 401 patients with BUC with host transcriptome samples and matched tumor microbiome samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Besides, two independent BUC cohorts receiving immunotherapy were obtained.

Clinical and Radiologic Differences in Lung Involvement Between IgG4-Related Disease and Plasma Cell-Type Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease.

Purposes: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) and plasma cell-type idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (PC-iMCD) have many overlapping features. Their differential diagnosis is challenging and crucial for clinical management due to their different prognoses and treatments. However, reports that compare these conditions are scarce, especially for patients with lung involvement.

Preoperative magnetic resonance evaluation of Struma Ovarii and its importance for the surgical modality: a retrospective study from two institutions.

Objectives: To improve preoperative diagnostic accuracy of struma ovarii by retrospectively reviewing magnetic resonance (MR) findings. It is beneficial to choose the most appropriate surgical modality for the patient.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical course and MR characteristics of 52 patients who were diagnosed postoperatively with struma ovarii, pathologically, from two institutions.

Phase 2 study of serplulimab with the bevacizumab biosimilar HLX04 in the first-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of serplulimab, a novel programmed death-1 inhibitor, with or without bevacizumab biosimilar HLX04 as first-line treatment in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: This open-label, multicenter phase 2 study (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03973112) was conducted in China and consisted of four treatment groups: group A (serplulimab 3 mg/kg plus HLX04 5 mg/kg, subsequent-line), group B (serplulimab 3 mg/kg plus HLX04 10 mg/kg, subsequent-line), group C (serplulimab 3 mg/kg, subsequent-line) and group D (serplulimab 3 mg/kg plus HLX04 10 mg/kg, first-line).

Aerobic Exercise Improves Cognitive Recovery in Mice with Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion by Modulating the Annexin-A1-MAPK Axis and Astrocyte Polarization.

Vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID), resulting from chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, represent the second most prevalent form of dementia globally. Aerobic exercise is widely acknowledged as an effective intervention for various cognitive disorders. This study utilized a bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) model to investigate whether aerobic exercise promotes cognitive recovery through the Annexin-A1 (ANXA1)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) axis in BCAS mice.

Multi-Omics Research on Angina Pectoris: A Novel Perspective.

Angina pectoris (AP), a clinical syndrome characterized by paroxysmal chest pain, is caused by insufficient blood supply to the coronary arteries and sudden temporary myocardial ischemia and hypoxia. Long-term AP typically induces other cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction and heart failure, posing a serious threat to patient safety. However, AP's complex pathological mechanisms and developmental processes introduce significant challenges in the rapid diagnosis and accurate treatment of its different subtypes, including stable angina pectoris (SAP), unstable angina pectoris (UAP), and variant angina pectoris (VAP).

Applications of Chitosan and its Derivatives in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease, which is mainly characterized by the degeneration of articular cartilage, inflammation of the synovial membrane of the joint, and changes in the surrounding bone tissue. With the increase of age and weight, the incidence of OA gradually increases, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. The primary pharmacological treatments for OA include analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Establishment of nasal and olfactory epithelium organoids for unveiling mechanism of tissue regeneration and pathogenesis of nasal diseases.

Organoid is an ideal in vitro model with cellular heterogeneity and genetic stability when passaging. Currently, organoids are exploited as new tools in a variety of preclinical researches and applications for disease modeling, drug screening, host-microbial interactions, and regenerative therapy. Advances have been made in the establishment of nasal and olfactory epithelium organoids that are used to investigate the pathogenesis of smell-related diseases and cellular/molecular mechanism underlying the regeneration of olfactory epithelium.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurological disease with complex genetic etiology, yet most known loci were only identified from the late-onset type of European ancestry.

Method: We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) of AD totaling 6,878 Chinese and 487,511 European individuals.

Result: We demonstrated a shared genetic architecture between early- and late-onset AD.

Radiation therapy for childhood-onset craniopharyngioma: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Craniopharyngioma (CP), a benign tumor originating from remnants of Rathke's pouch in the sellar region, accounts for approximately 30% of all cases of craniopharyngioma. Radiation therapy has been used to treat CP patients for decades; however, there is still a lack of systematic reviews on the long-term tumor control outcomes in pediatric CP patients treated with external radiation therapy.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of multiple databases for studies on the tumor progression rates of childhood-onset CP(COCP) patients who received external radiotherapy.

Exploring the relationship between electrophysiological measures of the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response and speech perception outcomes post-cochlear implantation.

Objectives: This study examined the relationships between electrophysiological measures of the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR) with speech perception measured in quiet after cochlear implantation (CI) to identify the ability of EABR to predict postoperative CI outcomes.

Methods: Thirty-four patients with congenital prelingual hearing loss, implanted with the same manufacturer's CI, were recruited. In each participant, the EABR was evoked at apical, middle, and basal electrode locations.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Prion diseases are a group of neurodegenerative diseases associated with prion protein. The disease can be caused by mutations in the PRNP gene, the gene that encodes prion protein. An octapeptide repeat on the N-terminus of prion protein plays an important role in normal intercellular function of prion protein.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Dysregulation of various metabolism pathways may mediate the development of AD pathology and cognitive dysfunction. Variants of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM2) are known to increase the risk of developing AD.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD), also known as senile dementia, is the most common degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Neuroinflammation is currently believed to be a crucial factor in the progression of AD, while its exact mechanism remains unclear.

Method: APP/PS1 AD mice were treated with a natural active ingredient tetrahydroxy stilbene glucoside (TSG) at 40 mg/kg/day and 80 mg/kg/day respectively for 5 consecutive months, and then the Morris water maze test (MWM) and the novel object recognition test were performed to assess the effect of TSG on the cognitive and memory ability of AD mice.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: This study aimed to explore the association between amyloid-β oligomerization tendency (OAβ) in plasma and cognitive performance in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and further determine whether plasma OAβ could predict the outcomes of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Method: The plasma from 727 subjects in a case registry was tested; these subjects included 286 AD patients, 260 MCI patients and 181 normal controls. The multimer detection system (MDS) was used to measure the plasma oligomeric form of Aβ levels.