Combined pyrotinib and fulvestrant for hormone receptor-positive and HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: A multicenter, single-arm, phase II trial.

This multicenter, single-arm, phase II clinical trial (NCT04034589) evaluated the efficacy and safety of pyrotinib combined with fulvestrant in patients with HR-positive/HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who had experienced trastuzumab treatment failure. A total of 46 patients were enrolled, receiving pyrotinib orally once daily and fulvestrant intramuscularly on days 1 and 15 of cycle 1, followed by monthly doses on day 1. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), while secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety.

gene polymorphisms and risk of neuroblastoma in Chinese children from Jiangsu Province.

Background: Neuroblastoma is one of the most common extracranial malignant solid tumors in children. AlkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5) is an RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase that plays a critical role in tumorigenesis and development. We assessed the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in and the risk of neuroblastoma in a case-control study including 402 patients and 473 non-cancer controls.

A novel nanobody broadly neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 via induction of spike trimer dimers conformation.

The ongoing mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 pose serious challenges to the efficacy of the available antiviral drugs, and new drugs with fantastic efficacy are always deserved investigation. Here, a nanobody called IBT-CoV144 is reported, which exhibits broad neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 by inducing the conformation of spike trimer dimers. IBT-CoV144 was isolated from an immunized alpaca using the RBD of wild-type SARS-CoV-2, and it showed strong cross-reactive binding and neutralizing potency against diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron subvariants.

Multiple myeloma, IL6, and risk of schizophrenia: A Mendelian randomization, transcriptome, and Bayesian colocalization study.

Numerous clinical studies speculated the association between multiple myeloma (MM) and inflammatory diseases; however, there is limited validation of these claims via establishing a causal relationship and revealing the underlying mechanism. This exploratory study employed bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal relationships between MM and inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis, asthma, ankylosing spondylitis, Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), sarcoidosis, inflammatory bowel disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, type II diabetes, and schizophrenia (SZ). Transcriptomic and genome-wide Bayesian colocalization analyses were further applied to reveal the underlying mechanism.

A potent and broad-spectrum neutralizing nanobody for SARS-CoV-2 viruses, including all major Omicron strains.

SARS-CoV-2 viruses are highly transmissible and immune evasive. It is critical to develop broad-spectrum prophylactic and therapeutic antibodies for potential future pandemics. Here, we used the phage display method to discover nanobodies (Nbs) for neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 viruses especially Omicron strains.

FGFR families: biological functions and therapeutic interventions in tumors.

There are five fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs), namely, FGFR1-FGFR5. When FGFR binds to its ligand, namely, fibroblast growth factor (FGF), it dimerizes and autophosphorylates, thereby activating several key downstream pathways that play an important role in normal physiology, such as the Ras/Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT, phospholipase C gamma/diacylglycerol/protein kinase c, and signal transducer and activator of transcription pathways. Furthermore, as an oncogene, FGFR genetic alterations were found in 7.

SARS-CoV-2 virus-like-particles liposomal reconstitution of spike glycoproteins.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, implicated in the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizes and binds host cells using its spike glycoprotein through an angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptor-mediated pathway. Recent research suggests that spatial distributions of the spike protein may influence viral interactions with target cells and immune systems. The goal of this study has been to develop a liposome-based virus-like particle (VLP) by reconstituting the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein within a synthetic nanoparticle membrane, aiming to eventually establish tunability in spike protein presentation on the nanoparticle surface.

Automatic echocardiographic evaluation of the probability of pulmonary hypertension using machine learning.

Echocardiography, a simple and noninvasive tool, is the first choice for screening pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, accurate assessment of PH, incorporating both the pulmonary artery pressures and additional signs for PH remained unsatisfied. Thus, this study aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model that can automatically evaluate the probability of PH.

An injectable gelatin/sericin hydrogel loaded with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of uterine injury.

Abnormal endometrial receptivity is a major cause of the failure of embryo transplantation, which may lead to infertility, adverse pregnancy, and neonatal outcomes. While hormonal treatment has dramatically improved the fertility outcomes in women with endometriosis, a substantial unmet need persists in the treatment. In this study, methacrylate gelatin (GelMA) and methacrylate sericin (SerMA) hydrogel with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSC) encapsulation was designed for facilitating endometrial regeneration and fertility restoration through in situ injection.

Genetic variants in gene and glioma susceptibility in Chinese children: A multicenter case-control study.

Background: Glioma is one of the central nervous system (CNS) tumors in children, accounting for 80% of malignant brain tumors. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a vital pathway during DNA damage repair progression. Xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD) or excision repair cross-complementing group 2 (ERCC2) is a critical factor in the NER pathway, playing an indispensable role in the DNA repair process.

CXCL10 levels in diagnosis and improved hemodynamics in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension undergoing balloon pulmonary angioplasty.

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a progressive pulmonary vascular disease characterized by pulmonary artery stenosis or obstructions resulting from insufficient thrombus resolution. Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 10 (CXCL10) is a chemokine that contributes to the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases and cancers. The present study aims to investigate the levels of CXCL10 in patients with CTEPH throughout balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) and its correlation with the improvement of pulmonary hemodynamics.

A biomimetic hyaluronic acid-silk fibroin nanofiber scaffold promoting regeneration of transected urothelium.

This study was designed to investigate the regulatory effect of hyaluronic acid (HA)-coating silk fibroin (SF) nanofibers during epithelialization of urinary tract for urethral regeneration. The obtained electrospun biomimetic tubular HA-SF nanofiber scaffold is composed of a dense inner layer and a porous outer layer in order to mimic adhesion and cavernous layers of the native tissue, respectively. A thin layer of HA-gel coating was fixed in the inner wall to provide SF nanofibers with a dense and smooth surface nano-topography and higher hydrophilicity.

LncRNAs and CircRNAs in cancer.

It is well known that noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) cannot encode proteins, but they can play important regulatory roles in tumors by combining with proteins, RNAs, and DNAs. As more and more studies reveal the important roles and underlying mechanisms of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) in cancer, their huge application potential in cancer therapy cannot be ignored. For example, lncRNAs can be involved in tumor-related signal transduction pathways, cell cycle control, DNA damage, epigenetic regulation, and microRNA control.

How does the extent of fibrosis in adenomyosis lesions contribute to heavy menstrual bleeding?

Purpose: To investigate how the extent of fibrosis in adenomyosis lesions contributes to heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB).

Methods: We recruited 57 women with histologically confirmed adenomyosis, 29 of whom reported moderate/heavy bleeding (MHB) (menstrual blood loss (MBL) ≥20 but <100 mL) and the remaining 28, excessive MBL (EXB; ≥100 mL). Lesional stiffness was measured by transvaginal elastosonography.

Associations between gene polymorphisms and central nervous system tumor susceptibility.

Importance: LIM domain only 1 () gene polymorphisms were previously found to be implicated in the risk of several cancers. No available studies were performed regarding the predisposing effect of gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on central nervous system (CNS) tumor risk.

Objective: We aimed to determine whether the gene SNPs were associated with the risk of CNS tumor by applying a case-control study with 191 cases and 248 controls in China.

Higher fibrotic content of endometriotic lesions is associated with diminished prostaglandin E2 signaling.

Purpose: While the prevailing view holds that the prostaglandin E2 (PGE) signaling plays a vital role in endometriosis, PGE also is known to be anti-fibrotic. We investigated the immunostaining of COX-2, EP2, and EP4, along with fibrotic content in ovarian endometrioma (OE) and deep endometriosis (DE) lesions, and in OE lesions from adolescent and adult patients. In addition, we evaluated the effect of substrate stiffness on the expression of COX-2, EP2, and EP4 in endometrial stromal cells.

Evaluation of chemical components in Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium of different cultivars collected from different regions by GC-MS and HPLC.

To discriminate the feasible differences and find potential similarities and relationships of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP), this work was accomplished by a comprehensive and reliable method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) to analyze the volatile oils and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) simultaneously to determine the contents of five bioactive flavonoids, namely hesperidin, nobiletin, 3,5,6,7,8,3',4'-heptamethoxyflavone, tangeretin, and 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone in 25 batches of CRP samples of 10 cultivars collected from different regions in China. The GC-MS analyses indicated that 98 compounds were successfully identified from the volatile oils obtained and the major constituents of volatile oil are d-limonene, γ-terpinene, α-pinene, linalool, and myrcene. Even 2-(methylamino) benzoate was found in all cultivar samples harvested at maturation stage.