Extended HPV typing test performed better predict value for CIN2+ among elderly women in China.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the cervical cancer screening practices among women residing in Lingang New District of Shanghai. Moreover, the study aimed to delve into the characteristics of HPV infection and cervical lesions in older women (≥60 years old), seeking for more effective method for cervical cancer screening. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study enrolled women who were referred to colposcopy and cervical histological examination due to abnormal cytology or HPV tests from Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital between January 2018 and December 2022. Results: A total of 1,931 women (mean age: 41.8 ± 12.5, range: 18-88 years old) were enrolled, 119 individuals aged ≥ 60 and 1732 aged <60. The infection rates of HPV52, 33, 35, 56, 26 and 81 were significantly higher in the elderly group. Multiple HPV infection rates were also higher in this group and were associated with cervical lesions. The probability of LSIL, HSIL and Ca in women over 60 years old was significantly higher compared to women under 60. The top three HPV genotypes in elderly women with CIN2+ were HPV16, 52, and 58. The Yoden index was higher for extended typing for HPV 31/33/45/52/58(0.41) compared to cytology(0.29), high risk HPV without specific typing(0.07), cotest(cytology and high risk HPV, 0.06 or 0.30), or the current shunt strategy(0.07). Conclusions: Elderly women still need to continue cervical cancer screening, and extended typing test for HPV16/18/31/33/45/52/58 is a more effective method for this age group.

Plasma SARS-CoV-2 N antigen is a powerful molecular marker for early detection of severe COVID-19 in patients and monitoring disease progression.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Clear and effective indicators for early detection of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are insufficient. We investigated the clinical value of the plasma SARS-CoV-2 N antigen (plasma N antigen) for severe COVID-19 early identification and disease progression monitoring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study compared the diagnostic value of plasma N antigen levels detected within two days after hospital admission in 957 patients with COVID-19 during the BA2.2 outbreak in Shanghai (April 6-June 15, 2022). A follow-up study analyzed the plasma N antigen prognostic value in 274 non-severe patients, and a longitudinal study evaluated its continuous monitoring value in 16 patients with COVID-19 grade changes. RESULTS: Plasma N antigen concentrations were significantly higher in severely ill than in non-severely ill patients. The plasma N antigen was superior to nasopharyngeal nucleic acid CT values and established COVID-19 blood biomarkers in identifying severe COVID-19. Patients with high plasma N-antigen concentrations at initial admission were more prone to developing severe COVID-19. The changes in plasma N antigen concentrations were consistent with disease progression. Two logistic regression models, including and excluding plasma N antigen, were established, with model 1 (including plasma N antigen) (AUC = 0.971, 0.958-0.980) yielding a better diagnostic value for severe COVID-19 than Model 2 (plasma N antigen excluded). CONCLUSION: The plasma N antigen is superior to nasopharyngeal nucleic acids and established COVID-19 blood biomarkers for severe COVID-19 early recognition and progression monitoring, enabling the most accurate patient triaging and efficient utilization of medical resources.

Self-Assembly of Ferrocenyl Phenylalanine into Nanohelical Arrays via Kinetic Control.

The spontaneous alignment of self-assembled chiral nanostructures at macroscopic scales is appealing because of their unique structural features and physicochemical properties. Here we present the construction of highly ordered bioorganometallic nanohelical arrays on the basis of the hierarchical chiral self-assembly of the simple ferrocenyl l-phenylalanine (Fc-l-F). The formation of nanohelical arrays is under kinetic control, which can be controlled by changing the growth time and the vapor temperature. The chiral nanoarrays can generate circularly polarized luminescence by the incorporation of fluorescent dyes. Moreover, due to the redox activity of the Fc moiety, the nanohelical arrays show enhanced electrical capacity compared with previously reported peptide nanomaterials. The results shed light on the highly ordered chiral self-assembled nanomaterials, which have potential applications in fields of optics, sensing, and energy storage.

Bioinspired pH-Sensitive Fluorescent Peptidyl Nanoparticles for Cell Imaging.

As an invaluable tool for biomedical research, the green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) make tumor cells, amyloid plaques, and pathogenic bacteria equally visible. Here, inspired by the chromophore of GFPs, we constructed a tyrosine-based peptide that show green luminescence in the aggregation state. Similar to the optical property of GFPs, the tyrosine-based peptidyl nanoparticles are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonding and emit fluorescence when the Tyr residues bear phenolic anions. In addition, the tyrosine-based peptide is cell-permeable and endosome-escaped when conjuncted with the GPGR motif of human immunodeficiency virus and can be used for stable cell imaging due to its excellent photostability, pH-sensitivity and biocompatibility in physiological conditions. The results provide a promising pathway to construct peptidyl bioluminescent agents for biomedical applications.

The oncogenetic role of stanniocalcin 1 in lung adenocarcinoma: a promising serum candidate biomarker for tracking lung adenocarcinoma progression.

Stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) is reported to functionally participate in the development of several cancers. However, the role of STC1 in the tumorigenesis and progression of lung adenocarcinoma remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we found that the average levels of serum STC1 were 5.47, 5.53, and 6.94 ng/mL (P = 0.0045) in the healthy subjects and patients with lung adenocarcinoma at tumor stages I-II and III-IV according to Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), respectively. Subsequently, the positive correlation between the STC1 expression level in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and tumor stages was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining assay. Additionally, studies in the STC1-overexpressing or STC1-silenced stable cell lines showed that STC1 increased cell proliferation by promoting G1/S transition in cell cycle progression via up-regulating cyclin B1 and cyclin E. Moreover, studies in the STC1-overexpressing or STC1-silenced stable cell lines also showed that STC1 inhibited cell apoptosis by up-regulating the expression of anti-apoptosis proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl and down-regulating the expression of pro-apoptosis proteins Bax, Bak, and Bid via the activation of the ERK and JNK signaling pathway. In addition, neutralization of STC1 with monoclonal antibody significantly increased the apoptosis of A549 cells. Taken together, our findings strongly suggest that elevated expression of STC1 protein at the III-IV stage of lung adenocarcinoma promotes tumorigenesis of lung adenocarcinoma and positively associates with the cancer progression, which may be of potential value as tumor marker in clinical tracking lung adenocarcinoma progression.