Multifunctional antibacterial hydrogels for chronic wound management.

Chronic wounds have gradually evolved into a global health challenge, comprising long-term non-healing wounds, local tissue necrosis, and even amputation in severe cases. Accordingly, chronic wounds place a considerable psychological and economic burden on patients and society. Chronic wounds have multifaceted pathogenesis involving excessive inflammation, insufficient angiogenesis, and elevated reactive oxygen species levels, with bacterial infection playing a crucial role. Hydrogels, renowned for their excellent biocompatibility, moisture retention, swelling properties, and oxygen permeability, have emerged as promising wound repair dressings. However, hydrogels with singular functions fall short of addressing the complex requirements associated with chronic wound healing. Hence, current research emphasises the development of multifunctional antibacterial hydrogels. This article reviews chronic wound characteristics and the properties and classification of antibacterial hydrogels, as well as their potential application in chronic wound management.

The diagnostic accuracy of touch imprint cytology for sentinel lymph node metastases of breast cancer: An up-to-date meta-analysis of 4,073 patients.

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of touch imprint cytology (TIC) for sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastases of patients with clinical node-negative early breast cancer. The PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases were meticulously searched to retrieve literature published from January 2005 to September 2022 by two independent reviewers. The meta-analysis was performed using STATA16.0, Meta-Disc 1.4, and RevMan 5.4.9. According to the inclusion criteria, 4,073 patients from 13 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of TIC for detecting SLN metastases were 0.77 (95% CI 0.66-0.85) and 0.99 (95% CI 0.97-1.00), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 76.15 (95% CI 29.16-198.84) and 0.23 (95% CI 0.15-0.36), respectively. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 326.82 (95% CI 132.76-804.56) and the area under the sROC curve was 0.97 (95% CI 0.95-0.98), respectively. This meta-analysis revealed that TIC with high sensitivity and specificity is a feasibility and accuracy diagnosis technique for intraoperative detection of SLN metastases in breast cancer.

The integrative analysis based on super-enhancer related genes for predicting different subtypes and prognosis of patient with lower-grade glioma.

Objective: Emerging evidence revealed that super-enhancer plays a crucial role in the transcriptional reprogramming for many cancers. The purpose aimed to explored how the super-enhancer related genes affects the prognosis and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of patients with low-grade glioma (LGG). Methods: In this study, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between LGG cohorts and normal brain tissue cohort were identified by the comprehensive analysis of the super-enhancer (SE) related genes. Then non-negative matrix factorization was performed to seek the optimal classification based on the DEGs, while investigating prognostic and clinical differences between different subtypes. Subsequently, a prognostic related signature (SERS) was constructed for the comprehensive evaluation in term of individualized prognosis, clinical characteristics, cancer markers, genomic alterations, and immune microenvironment of patients with LGG. Results: Based on the expression profiles of 170 DEGs, we identified three SE subtypes, and the three subtypes showed significant differences in prognostic, clinicopathological features. Then, nine optimal SE-related genes were selected to construct the SERS through the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression analysis. Survival analysis showed that SERS had strong and stable predictive ability for the prognosis of LGG patients in the The Cancer Genome Atlas, China Glioma Genome Atlas, and Remdrandt cohorts, respectively. We also found that SERS was highly correlated with clinicopathological features, tumor immune microenvironment, cancer hallmarks, and genomic alterations in LGG patients. In addition, the predictive power of SERS for immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment is also superior. The qRT-PCR results and immunohistochemical results also confirmed the difference in the expression of four key genes in normal cells and tumors, as well as in normal tissues and tumor tissues. Conclusion: The SERS could be suitable to utilize individualized prognosis prediction and immunotherapy options for LGG patients in clinical application.

Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing miR-210 inhibits neuronal inflammation and contribute to neurite outgrowth through modulating microglia polarization.

Inflammatory responses play a critical role in the progress of neurodegenerative disorders. MSC-Exos is considered to have an anti-inflammatory effect on the treatment strategy for brain injury. However, the therapeutic effect and possible mechanism of Exosomal miR-210 on microglia polarization-induced neuroinflammation and neurite outgrowth have not been reported. MSC-Exos were isolated by ultracentrifugation, identified by Nanosight NS300, transmission electron microscopy, and western bolt. In vitro, to explore the protective mechanism of MSC-Exos against neuroinflammation, the microglial BV2 cell was exposed to lipopolysaccharide to assess inflammatory changes. The intake of 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (Dil)-MSC-Exos into microglia was observed by fluorescence microscopy. The results showed that Exosomal miR-210 treatment significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Exosomal miR-210 treatment also increased the number of M2 microglia cells and inhibited M1 microglia polarization. In addition, western blot demonstrated that Exosomal miR-210 reduced neuronal apoptosis. Thus, Exosomal miR-210 attenuated neuronal inflammation and promoted neurite outgrowth. Exosomal miR-210 from MSCs attenuated neuronal inflammation and contributed to neurogenesis possibly by inhibiting microglial M1 polarization.

Engineered BMSCs-Derived Exosomal miR-542-3p Promotes Cutaneous Wound Healing.

BACKGROUND: The healing of cutaneous wounds requires better strategies, which remain a challenge. Previous reports indicated that the therapeutic function of mesenchymal stem cells is mediated by exosomes. This work demonstrated the regenerative effects of engineered BMSCsderived Exosomal miR-542-3p in skin wound mouse models. METHODS: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) -derived exosomes (BMSCs-Exos) were isolated by ultracentrifugation and identified by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA). BMSCs-Exo was loaded with miRNA-542-3p by electroporation. We explored the effects of miRNA-542-3p-Exo on the proliferation and migration of Human Skin Fibroblasts (HSFs)/Human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMECs). In addition, The angiogenesis of HMECs was detected by Tube formation assay in vitro. The effects of miRNA-542-3p-Exo in the skin wound mouse model were detected by H&E staining, Masson staining, and immunofluorescence analysis. We assessed the effect of miRNA-542-3p-Exo on collagen deposition, new blood vessel formation, and wound remodeling in a skin wound mouse model. RESULTS: MiRNA-542-3p-Exos could be internalized by HSFs/HMECs and enhance the proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis of HSFs/HMECs in vitro and in vivo. The protein expression of collagen1/3 was significantly increased after miRNA-542-3p-Exo treatment in HSFs. In addition, the local injection of miRNA-542-3p-Exo promoted cellular proliferation, collagen deposition, neovascularization, and accelerated wound closure. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that miRNA-542-3p-Exo can stimulate HSFs/HMECs function. The treatment of miRNA-542-3p-Exo in the skin wound mouse model significantly promotes wound repair. The therapeutic potential of miRNA-542-3p-Exo may be a future therapeutic strategy for cutaneous wound healing.

Complications and Treatments of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection After Rhinoplasty With Implants: A Clinical Study.

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, and because of its specificity, its treatments appear tricky in postrhinoplasty infections with internal implants. This study summarizes the clinical characteristics and treatment of this type of infections to provide some reference for clinical work. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 10 patients who were diagnosed with a nasal infection of P. aeruginosa after implant nasal augmentation. The results of the bacterial culture and drug sensitivity test of the patients' wound secretions were summarized and analyzed. We summarized the characteristics of the patients' infection and the treatments, and we also summarized the patients' prognosis. RESULTS: In these 10 cases, their implants included rib cartilage and ear cartilage alone, as well as their own cartilage combined with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene and silicone. All patients developed wound infections within 1 month after rhinoplasty, with bacterial cultures of P. aeruginosa . Prolonged use of sensitive antibiotics, as well as wound dressing changes, failed to keep the infection well under control. Patients whose implant was removed and thoroughly debrided within 1 week of infection did not experience any serious complications. In patients who were infected for >1 week before surgery to remove the implants, complications such as nasal column necrosis and nasal contracture occurred, and later the nasal repair was performed after multiple surgeries. CONCLUSIONS: For bacterial infections in postrhinoplasty wounds with implants, we recommend early bacterial culture. If the infection is clearly P. aeruginosa , the implant should be removed and thoroughly debrided as soon as possible to avoid serious complications. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.

Exploring the long-term vegetation dynamics of different ecological zones in the farming-pastoral ecotone in northern China.

The vegetation in the farming-pastoral ecotone in northern China is influenced by both natural and anthropogenic factors and has undergone drastic changes in the past decades. The farming-pastoral ecotone is the transition zone from agriculture to animal husbandry. The ecological environment of this ecotone is complex and fragile. Most researches have primarily focused on the entire farming-pastoral ecotone, seldomly considering the differences between different ecological zones characterized by soil, climate, and biome conditions. Based on the long time series of leaf area index (LAI) data, meteorological data, and land-use dataset, this study analyzed LAI variation trends, the correlations between LAI and climate factors, and the impact of land-use type change on vegetation in the farming-pastoral ecotone in northern China. Moreover, this paper makes a full study of the changes of the whole study area from the perspective of the differences between different ecological zones. The results showed that over 36 years, areas with vegetation improvements were considerably larger than those with degradations. However, there were still 49.56% of the total area showing no significant vegetation change. There are differences in vegetation change and response to climate between the forest ecological zones and the grassland ecological zones. The vegetation improvement trends of the forest ecological zones were larger and more sensitive to temperature, while the vegetation improvements of the grassland ecological zones were relatively small, and were more sensitive to precipitation. Human activities promote LAI changes in areas close to the forest ecological zones. The change of land use indicates that the decrease of the overall natural vegetation area has not resulted in decreasing LAI. And there is a growing trend of woodland area in the grassland ecological zones. The study provides a theoretical basis for the management of the environment and vegetation in the farming-pastoral ecotone in northern China.

Clinical characteristics and management of primary granulocytic sarcoma of the oral cavity: A case report and literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Granulocytic sarcoma (GS) is a commonly occurring tumor comprising immature myeloid cells, which are usually related to acute or chronic myelocytic leukemia. The tumor rarely precedes leukemia without bone marrow involvement and is called primary GS. Although primary GS can occur in any body part, the involvement of the oral cavity is uncommon. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 49-year-old woman hospitalized at the Department of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery presented with a growing mass in her left maxillary hard palate dating two months back. No obvious physical findings were noted during general examination. She was diagnosed with an oral ulcer at a local clinic, and received antibiotics. However, the symptoms did not improve; the mass became bigger and painful. DIAGNOSIS: An incisional biopsy of the oral mass was performed, the immunohistochemistry showed that the tumor cells tested positive for myeloperoxidase, CD4, BCL-2, KI-67. Bone marrow aspiration was negative for malignant cells, and the laboratory test results revealed only monocytosis. Standard bone marrow cytogenetic analysis showed a normal karyotype and leukemia-related fusion gene detection was normal. Therefore, the final diagnosis was intraoral primary GS. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was treated with a chemotherapy regimen based on idarubicin and cytarabine arabinoside. OUTCOMES: After 2 cycles of idarubicin and cytarabine arabinoside regimen chemotherapy, the patient achieved complete remission. The tumor was barely visible in the left maxillary hard palate. There has been no evidence of disease spread and progression after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Careful morphological and immunohistochemical analyses, correlating with clinical data are necessary to establish the diagnosis of oral primary GS. Early aggressive systemic chemotherapy can effectively relieve symptoms, significantly reducing primary GS conversion into acute myelocytic leukemia and prolonging overall survival.

Leptin improves intestinal flora dysfunction in mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of leptin on intestinal flora and inflammation in mice with high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. METHODS: Mice were fed an HFD for 8 weeks; some were concurrently administered oral leptin for 4 weeks. Pathological changes in adipose tissue were detected using hematoxylin-eosin staining; endotoxin content in adipose tissue was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Intestinal flora were characterized by 16S bacterial rDNA sequencing. Levels of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), nuclear factor-κB inhibitor α (IκB-α), and phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK) were detected by western blotting. RESULTS: Mice in the HFD group exhibited weight gain, elevated endotoxin content, and adipocyte hypertrophy, compared with the non-obese control group. Moreover, abundance of bacteria in the Bacteroides genus and community diversity were both reduced in the HFD group; reductions also were observed at corresponding phylum, class, and order levels. Levels of TLR4, IκB-α, and p-JNK were also elevated in the HFD group. Compared with the model group, leptin administration reduced the weight gain and endotoxin content, while increasing Bacteroides abundance and community diversity; it also reduced the levels of TLR4, IκB-α, and p-JNK. CONCLUSION: Leptin administration improved intestinal flora dysfunction and inflammation in mice with HFD-induced obesity.

OB-RGRP regulates the phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3 in primary rat adipocytes.

This study aimed to explore the role of obestatin R gene-related protein (OB-RGRP) in autocrine signal transduction of adipocytes. Primary rat adipocytes were isolated and verified by microscopic observation and oil red O staining. OB-RGRP expression vector and OB-RGRP siRNA (si-OB-RGRP) were constructed and transfected into adipocytes. Adipocytes were then divided into five groups: (1) Control; (2) Vector (empty expression vector); (3) OB-RGRP (OB-RGRP expression vector); (4) si-OB-RGRP NC (si-OB-RGRP negative control); (5) si-OB-RGRP. mRNA and protein levels of OB-RGRP, JAK2, phosphorylated JAK2 (p-JAK2), STAT3 and phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) were examined using RT-PCR and western blot, respectively. Results showed that mRNA and protein levels of OB-RGRP in the Vector and si-OB-RGRP NC groups were similar to those in the Control group. Their levels in the si-OB-RGRP and OB-RGRP groups were significantly down-regulated and up-regulated (p < .05), respectively, in comparison with the control cells. There was no significant difference in the mRNA and protein levels of JAK2 and STAT3 among various groups. Moreover, the si-OB-RGRP NC and Vector groups induced similar ratios of p-JAK2 to JAK2 (p-JAK2/JAK2) and p-STAT3 to STAT3 (p-STAT3/STAT3) to the Control group. However, these two ratios in the si-OB-RGRP and OB-RGRP groups were significantly reduced and elevated (p < .05), respectively, in comparison with the Control group. These results suggested that OB-RGRP overexpression enhanced the levels of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 while OB-RGRP silencing lowered their levels. In conclusion, OB-RGRP regulated the phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3 in primary rat adipocytes.

[Effect of gegen qinlian decoction combined with short-term intensive insulin treatment on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus of dampness-heat syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD) in combination with short-term intensive insulin treatment on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) of dampness-heat syndrome and its influence on dosage of insulin used. METHODS: The GQD group (n = 14) was treated by GQD and insulin, while the conventional group (n = 16) was given insulin intensive treatment alone. RESULTS: In the GQD group, the treatment was markedly effective in 5 patients, effective in 6 and ineffective in 3, the total effective rate being 78.6%, much better than that in the conventional group (2, 7, 7 and 56.3% respectively, u = 2.58, P < 0.01). And it took less time for controlling blood glucose (BG) in the GQD group (4.54 +/- 0.50 days) than that in the conventional group (5.31 +/- 0.57 days, P <0.01); furthermore, by the end of the treatment course, as compared with that at the time just after BG being controlled, the daily average insulin dosage used in the GQD group reduced by 9.07 +/- 6.51 U, while it was only 4.38 +/- 5.94 U in the conventional group, showing significant difference between them (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on short-term insulin intensive treatment, the combined using of GQD could reduce the dosage of insulin used and shows better clinical curative effect for patients with T2DM of dampness-heat syndrome.