Trim14-IκBα Signaling Regulates Chronic Inflammatory Pain in Rats and Osteoarthritis Patients.

Chronic inflammatory pain is the highest priority for people with osteoarthritis when seeking medical attention. Despite the availability of NSAIDs and glucocorticoids, central sensitization and peripheral sensitization make pain increasingly difficult to control. Previous studies have identified the ubiquitination system as an important role in the chronic inflammatory pain. Our study displayed that the E3 ubiquitin ligase tripartite motif-containing 14 (Trim14) was abnormally elevated in the serum of patients with osteoarthritis and pain, and the degree of pain was positively correlated with the degree of Trim14 elevation. Furthermore, CFA-induced inflammatory pain rat model showed that Trim14 was significantly increased in the L3-5 spinal dorsal horn (SDH) and dorsal root ganglion (DRG), and in turn the inhibitor of nuclear factor Kappa-B isoform α (IκBα) was decreased after Trim14 elevation. After intrathecal injection of Trim14 siRNA to inhibit Trim14 expression, IκBα expression was reversed and increased, and the pain behaviors and anxiety behaviors of rats were significantly relieved. Overall, these findings suggested that Trim14 may contribute to chronic inflammatory pain by degrading IκBα, and that Trim14 may become a novel therapeutic target for chronic inflammatory pain.

Three coordination polymers based on 4,4'-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-yl)diphenyl ether: Synthesis, structure and selective fluorescent sensing properties.

Three CPs [Zn2(PDA)2(BMIOPE)2·3H2O]n (1), [Co(Br-BDC)(BMIOPE)]n (2) and [Co(MIP)(BMIOPE)]n (3) were synthesized by solvothermal method based on dual-ligand strategy (H2PDA, Br-H2BDC, BMIOPE and H2MIP are 1,3-phenylenediacetic acid, 5-bromo-isophthalic acid, 4,4'-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-yl)diphenyl ether and 5-methylisophthalic acid, respectively). Complexes 1 and 3 exhibit twofold parallel interwoven sql nets. Complex 2 is 2D layer structure. The luminescence property investigations showed that complexes 1-3 could act as multi-responsive fluorescent sensors to detect UO22+, Cr2O72- and CrO42- and nitrofurantoin (NFT) through fluorescence turn-off process, presenting excellent sensitivity and selectivity. Finally, the possible fluorescent quenching mechanisms of complexes 1-3 toward the above pollutants are also further investigated by employing spectroscopic methods and quantum chemical calculations. The fluorescence lifetime measurements manifest the mechanism of fluorescence quenching is static quenching process.

PB-LKS: a python package for predicting phage-bacteria interaction through local K-mer strategy.

Bacteriophages can help the treatment of bacterial infections yet require in-silico models to deal with the great genetic diversity between phages and bacteria. Despite the tolerable prediction performance, the application scope of current approaches is limited to the prediction at the species level, which cannot accurately predict the relationship of phages across strain mutants. This has hindered the development of phage therapeutics based on the prediction of phage-bacteria relationships. In this paper, we present, PB-LKS, to predict the phage-bacteria interaction based on local K-mer strategy with higher performance and wider applicability. The utility of PB-LKS is rigorously validated through (i) large-scale historical screening, (ii) case study at the class level and (iii) in vitro simulation of bacterial antiphage resistance at the strain mutant level. The PB-LKS approach could outperform the current state-of-the-art methods and illustrate potential clinical utility in pre-optimized phage therapy design.

Graphitic Armor: A Natural Molecular Sieve for Robust Hydrogen Electroxidation.

Carbon coating layers have been found to improve the catalytic performance of transition metals, which is usually explained as an outcome of electronic synergistic effect. Herein we reveal that the defective graphitic carbon, with a unique interlayer gap of 0.342 nm, can be a highly selective natural molecular sieve. It allows efficient diffusion of hydrogen molecules or radicals both along the in-plane and out-of-plane direction, but sterically hinders the diffusion of molecules with larger kinetic diameter (e.g., CO and O2) along the in-plane direction. As a result, poisonous species lager than 0.342 nm are sieved out, even when their adsorption on the metal is thermodynamically strong; at the same time, the interaction between H2 and the metal is not affected. This natural molecular sieve provides a very chance for constructing robust metal catalysts for hydrogen-relevant processes, which are more tolerant to chemical or electrochemical oxidation or CO-relevant poisoning.

Emerging clinical relevance of microbiome in cancer: promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

The profound influence of microbiota in cancer initiation and progression has been under the spotlight for years, leading to numerous researches on cancer microbiome entering clinical evaluation. As promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets, the critical involvement of microbiota in cancer clinical practice has been increasingly appreciated. Here, recent progress in this field is reviewed. We describe the potential of tumor-associated microbiota as effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, respectively. In addition, we highlight the relationship between microbiota and the therapeutic efficacy, toxicity, or side effects of commonly utilized treatments for cancer, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy. Given that microbial factors influence the cancer treatment outcome, we further summarize some dominating microbial interventions and discuss the hidden risks of these strategies. This review aims to provide an overview of the applications and advancements of microbes in cancer clinical relevance.

Clinical features, genomic profiling, and outcomes of adult patients with unifocal Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

BACKGROUND: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare highly heterogeneous histiocytosis, which can be divided into single system and multiple system disease according to site of involvement. There is a paucity of studies examining unifocal LCH in adults in the molecular era. RESULTS: We retrospectively analysed records from 70 patients with unifocal LCH. The median age at diagnosis was 36 years (18-69). The most common organ involved was the bone (70.0%), followed by pituitary gland (7.1%). Target gene sequencing of lesion tissues was performed on 32 of the 70 patients. MAPK/PI3K pathway alterations were observed in 78.1% of the patients; the most common mutations included BRAFV600E (28.1%), MAP2K1 (18.8%) and PIK3CA (9.4%). After a median follow-up time of 39.4 months (0.7-211.8), 10 (14.3%) patients developed disease progression, of whom 4 had local recurrence, 2 progressed to single-system multifocal and 4 progressed to multiple system LCH. The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 81.9%. Univariate analysis showed that age < 30 years at diagnosis was associated with worse 3-year PFS (52.2% vs. 97.0%, p = 0.005). The 3-year overall survival was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: In our large cohort of adults with unifocal LCH, we found that prognosis of unifocal LCH in adults was very good, and age < 30 years at diagnosis was associated with increased relapse risk.

Diazotization-Enabled Deaminative Late-Stage Functionalization of Primary Sulfonamides.

We, for the first time, disclosed a simple and efficient strategy for the late-stage functionalization of primary sulfonamides by diazotization, leading to sulfonyl chlorides, sulfonates, and complex sulfonamides. This protocol obviates the requirement for the prefunctionalization of sulfonamides. Its applicability is exemplified by the late-stage functionalization of sulfonamide-type drugs.

Environmental pollution of fluoroquinolones and its relationship with nitrogen cycling mediated by microorganisms.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs) are one of the most widely used antibiotics, which are new pollutants with 'pseudo persistence' in the environment, causing great ecological risks. FQs could change the structure and function of microbial communities and affect nitrogen cycling mediated by microorganisms. Consequently, FQs would change the composition of various types of nitrogen in the environment and exert a significant impact on the global nitrogen cycling. We encapsulated the distribution of FQs in the environment and its impacts on nitrogen cycling mediated by microorganisms, explained the role of FQs in each key process of nitrogen cycling, aiming to provide an important reference for revealing the ecological effects of FQs. Generally, FQs could be detected in various environmental media, with significant differences in the concentration and types of FQs in different environments. Ofloxacin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and enrofloxacin are the four types of FQs with the highest detection frequency and concentration. The effect of FQs on nitrogen cycling deeply depends on typical characteristics of concentration and species. FQs mainly inhibit nitrification by reducing the abundance of amoA gene related to ammoxidation process and the abundance and composition of ammoxidation bacteria. FQs inhibits nitrification by reducing the abundance and composition of microbial communities. The denitrification process is mainly inhibited due to the reduction of the activity of related enzymes and the abundance of genes such as narG, nirS, norB, and nosZ genes, as well as the abundance and composition of denitrifying functional microorganisms. The process of anammox is restricted due to the reduction of the abundance, composition and hzo gene abundance of anaerobic anammox bacteria. FQs lead to the reduction of active nitrogen removal and the increase of N2O release in the environment, with further environmental problems such as water eutrophication and greenhouse effect. In the future, we should pay attention to the effects of low concentration FQs and complex antibiotics on the nitrogen cycling, and focus on the effects of FQs on the changes of nitrogen cycle-related microbial monomers and communities.

The clinical spectrum and prognostic factors of Erdheim-Chester disease and mixed Langerhans cell histiocytosis and Erdheim-Chester disease.

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare and probably fatal multisystemic non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). To comprehensively investigate the clinical features, genomic analysis, treatments, and prognostic factors of ECD, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 75 ECD patients and 10 mixed LCH and ECD patients in our center. The median age at diagnosis was 46 years (range, 5-70). ECD patients were older at diagnosis (p = 0.006) and had more cardiac involvement (p = 0.011) as well as vascular (p = 0.031) involvement compared to mixed LCH and ECD patients. 64.8% of ECD patients and 87.5% of mixed LCH and ECD patients carried BRAFV600E mutation. The BRAFV600E mutation correlated with a greater number of affected organs (p = 0.030) and was associated with lung involvement (p = 0.033) as well as pleural involvement (p = 0.002). The median follow-up time was 38 months (range, 1-174). The estimated 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 48.9% and 84.7%, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, right atrial pseudotumor (p = 0.013) and pancreatic involvement (p = 0.005) predicted worse OS, while pleural (p = 0.042) and central nervous system (CNS) involvement (p = 0.043) predicted worse PFS. Our study described the clinical spectrum of ECD and mixed LCH and ECD, while also revealed the prognostic value of right atrial pseudotumor and pancreatic, pleural, and CNS involvement for worse survival.

Behavioral and ecotoxicology of sulfonamide metabolites in the aquatic environment.

Sulfonamides (SAs) are the first broad-spectrum synthetic antimicrobial agents used in human health and veterinary medicine. The majority of SAs entering human body is discharged into aquatic environment in the form of parent material or metabolites. The residues of SAs and their metabolites in the aquatic environment and the development of drug resistance can be serious threats to ecosystems and human health. We summarized recent advances in the research of SAs. The main metabolite types of SAs and the distribution characteristics of metabolites in different aquatic environments were introduced. The ecotoxicology of SAs metabolites, especially the distribution and hazards of sulfonamide resistance genes (sul-ARGs), were discussed with emphasis. Finally, the future research works were proposed. This paper could provide basic information for further research on SAs.

Biogeochemical behavior and ecological environmental effects of fluoroquinolones.

Synthetic fluoroquinolones (FQs) are the third most commonly used antibiotics in the world and play an extremely important role in antibacterial drugs. The excessive use and discharge will alter ecological environment, with consequence on human health and global sustainable development. It is therefore of great significance for scientific use and management of FQs to systematically understand their biogeochemical behavior and eco-environmental effects. After drug administration in humans and animals, only a small part of FQs are transformed in vivo. The main transformation processes include formylation, acetylation, oxidation and cleavage of piperazine ring, defluorination and decarboxylation of aromatic core ring, etc. About 70% of the original drug and a small amount of transformed products would be migrated to the environment through excretion. After entering the environment, FQs and their transformation products mainly exist in environmental media such as water, soil and sediment, and undergo migration and transformation processes such as adsorption, photolysis and biodegradation. Adsorption facilitates transfer of FQs from medium to another. The photolysis mainly affects the C7-amine substituents of FQs, whereas the core structure of FQs remains intact. Biodegradation mainly refers to the degradation of FQs by microorganisms and microalgae, including piperazine modification of the piperazine ring such as acetylation and formylation, partial or complete ring cleavage, core structure decarboxylation, defluorination and conjugation formation. The migration and transformation processes of FQs cannot completely eliminate them from the environment. Instead, they would become "pseudo-persistent" pollutants, which seriously affect the behavior, growth and reproduction of algae, crustaceans and fish, change biogeochemical cycle, destroy aquatic environment, and stimulate microbial resistance and the generation of resistance genes. In the future, more in-depth studies should be conducted on the environmental behavior of FQs and their impacts on ecological environment, the risk assessment of microbial resistance and resistance genes of FQs, and the mechanism and effect of micro-biodegradation of FQs.

Hybrid fixation versus conventional cage-plate construct in 3-level ACDF: Introduce the "seesaw theory" of stand-alone cage.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study. BACKGROUND: Conventional cage-plate construct (CCP) was widely used in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), but the rigid fixation limits the motion of fused segments. Self-locking stand-alone cage (SSC) was an alternative for ACDF procedures and showed several superiorities. However, the effect of hybrid fixation in 3-level ACDF remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical and radiological outcomes of hybrid fixation with SSC and CCP against conventional CCP in 3-level ACDF. METHOD: A retrospective review of patients who underwent 3-level ACDF at Renji Hospital between January 2018 and December 2019 was performed. Eighty-three patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were stratified into 2 groups based on the fixation methods. The clinical outcomes, functional outcomes, and radiological parameters were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed between the two groups in the mean age, sex, body mass index, hospital stay, and duration of follow-up. The postoperative C2-7 Cobb angle in the CCP group was significantly greater than that in the hybrid group. The rate of cervical proximal junctional kyphosis (CPJK) in the hybrid group was significantly lower than that in the CCP group. The CCP group suffered significantly higher rates of adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) than the hybrid group at 2 years postoperatively. Moreover, the incidence of postoperative dysphagia was lower in the hybrid group. No significant differences were observed in JOA and NDI scores between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The hybrid fixation achieved comparable clinical outcomes against CCP fixation, indicating that hybrid fixation is an alternative procedure in 3-level ACDF.

Tunable Self-Thermophoretic Nanomotors with Polymeric Coating.

Thermophoretic micro/nanomotors (MNMs) generate self-propulsion without a chemical reaction. Intrinsically, this promises excellent biocompatibility and is thus suitable for biomedical applications. However, their propulsion efficiency is severely limited due to the poor understanding of the thermophoretic process, which dominates the conversion from thermal energy into mechanical movement. We here developed a series of self-thermophoresis light-powered MNMs with variable surface coatings and discovered obvious self-thermophoresis propulsion enhancement of the polymeric layer. An intrinsically negative self-thermophoretic movement is also observed for the first time in the MNM system. We propose that enthalpic contributions from polymer-solvent interactions should play a fundamental role in the self-thermophoretic MNMs. Quantitative microcalorimetry and molecular dynamics simulations are performed to support our hypothesis. The polymer solvation enthalpy and coating thickness influences on self-thermophoresis are investigated, further highlighting the essential enthalpy contributions to thermophoresis. Our work indicates that surface grafting would be important in designing high-efficiency thermally driven nanorobotic systems for biomedical applications.

Identification of prognostic and driver gene mutations in acute myeloid leukemia by a bioinformatics analysis.

Background: The representative gene mutation in the prognostic groups of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients is not yet known. The purpose of this study is to identify representative mutations that can help physicians better predict patient prognosis and thus develop better treatment plans. Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was queried for clinical and genetic information, and individuals with AML were classified into 3 groups based on their AML Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) cytogenetic risk category. Each group's differentially mutated genes (DMGs) were evaluated. Simultaneously, Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were used to assess the function of DMGs within the 3 distinct groups. We used the driver status and protein impact of DMGs as additional filters to narrow down the list of significant genes. Cox regression analysis was used to examine the survival features of gene mutations in these genes. Results: A cohort of 197 AML patients were divided into 3 groups according to their prognostic subtype: favorable (n=38), intermediate (n=116) and poor (n=43). There were significant differences in age and tumor metastasis rates among the three groups of patients. Patients in the favorable group had the highest rate of tumor metastasis. Different prognosis groups' DMGs were detected. The DMGs were examined for the driver and harmful mutations. We considered the DMGs that had driver and harmful mutations and that affected the survival outcomes in the prognostic groups as the key gene mutations. The group with a favorable prognosis carried specific gene mutations for KIT and WT1. The intermediate prognostic group contained mutations in the genes IDH2, NRAS, NPM1, FLT3, RUNX1, DNMT1A, and MUC16. In the group with a poor prognosis, the representative genes were KRAS, TP53, IDH1, IDH2, and DNMT3A, with TP53 mutations substantially correlated with overall patient survival. Conclusions: We performed the systemic analysis of the gene mutation in patients with AML and identified representative and driver mutations between the prognostic group. identification of representative and driver mutations between the prognostic group can help predict the prognosis of patients with AML and guide treatment decisions.

Apoptosis pathways and osteoporosis: An approach to genomic analysis.

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone system that causes a decrease in skeletal density and degrades skeletal tissue. Decreased bone quality, so that bones are easily broken, damaged and fractured, is an important public health problem. Previous studies have shown that the maintenance of adult bone mass is not only due to changes in bone marrow and bone cells. By regulating apoptosis, they change the lifespan of each individual. This study influences understanding of the function of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis and the importance of controlling the mechanisms of osteoporosis. METHODS: On the National Institute of Biotechnology Information website, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) microarray data and GSE551495 GEO profiles were collected. The gene set enrichment analysis tool was used to confirm the enrichment of genetic sets in relation to the gene set. The collection of C2 gene sets is compiled from the KEGG (https://www.gsea-msigdb.org/gsea/msigdb/human/search.jsp and https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/) online database and REACTOME (https://www.gsea-msigdb.org/gsea/msigdb/human/search.jsp and https://reactome.org/) pathway analysis. The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interaction Genes (STRING) website was used to construct and select proteins and genes. The comparative toxicological genomic database (CTD) tools can be used to predict the relationship between apoptosis, osteoporosis-related genes and interactions between central genes and osteoporosis. RESULTS: These results generally expand our understanding of the path of apoptosis in osteoporosis. We have discovered genes CASP9, CASP8, CASP3, BAX and TP53 associated with osteoporosis. In activation of KEGG apoptosis and REACTOME, caspase activation through the extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway is characterized by the identification of a subcollection of C2. Other STRINGs show the formation of protein networks and central gene selection, and CTD can accurately predict the relationship between these apoptosis pathways and central genes. CONCLUSIONS: Our research has highlighted the importance of the osteoporosis pathway associated with osteoporosis apoptosis with several analytical approaches. These results have broadened our understanding of the pathways of osteoporosis apoptosis. It is particularly possible to predict the sensitivity and vulnerability to osteoporosis.

Association between proactive personality and professional identity of nursing undergraduates: The mediating role of resilience and irrational belief.

AIM: To examine the relationship between proactive personality and professional identity of undergraduate nursing students, including the role of psychological resilience and irrational belief as mediators. BACKGROUND: Personality has been shown to play a crucial role in determining professional identity. However, the influence of proactive personality on professional identity in the nursing field is poorly understood and requires further investigation. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional study in China. Between July and December of 2021, 860 nursing undergraduates participated in an online questionnaire survey. METHODS: Four main variables (proactive personality, psychological resilience, irrational belief and professional identity) and two covariates (willingness to choose nursing profession and family attitude towards nursing) were assessed. The assessment tools chosen are both valid and reliable. To test the proposed multi-mediation model, linear regression analysis by Hayes's SPSS macro-PROCESS was used. RESULTS: The results revealed that PP, PR and PI were positively connected with one another, but negatively with IB. PP positively predicted PI through direct and indirect paths, after controlling for two covariates. The percentage of indirect path (78.72%) outweighed the direct path (21.28%). The indirect effect of PR (72.51%) was higher than that of PR and IB (6.21%). PI was also positively predicted by students' "Yes" willingness and families' "supportive" attitude towards nursing. CONCLUSION: This study stated that nursing educators should take nursing students' PP seriously, which would allow for activities to be taken to improve their PR and decrease their IB, hence continuously enhancing their PI. In addition, respecting students' professional aspirations and improving family support may also be valuable ways to boost their PI.

Preclinical study of LMP1-RNAi-based anti-tumor therapy in EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

RNA interference (RNAi) treatment has been proven to be an important therapeutic approach in cancer based on downregulation of target-oncogenes, but its clinical efficacy still needs further investigation. LMP1 is usually presented by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive tumor cells like EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and acts as an oncogene in tumorigenesis. However, the mechanism of LMP1 as a proto-oncogene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma is still unclear. Two sequence-specific shRNAs 1 and 2 were designed to target the different nucleotide loci of EBV latent antigen LMP1 gene and a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed to investigate the therapeutic effect of sequence-specific shRNAs targeting LMP1 and its related molecular mechanisms in EBV-positive NPC. LMP1-shRNA2 generated a truncated LMP1 mRNA and protein, whereas LMP1-shRNA1 completely blocked LMP1 mRNA and protein expression. Both LMP1-shRNAs inhibited the proliferation and migration of NPC cells overexpressing LMP1 (NPC-LMP1) as well as the NPC-associated myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) expansion in vitro. However, LMP1-shRNA2 maintained the immunogenicity of NPC-LMP1 cells, which provoked MHC-class I-dependent T cell recognition. LMP1-shRNAs inhibited tumor growth in nude mice but did not reach statistical significance compared to control groups, while the LDH nanoparticle loaded LMP1-shRNAs and the antigen-specific T cells induced by NPC-LMP1 cells treated with LMP1-shRNA2 significantly reduced tumor growth in vivo. LMP1-RNAi-based anti-tumor therapy could be a new hope for the clinical efficacy of RNAi treatment of tumors like NPC.

Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Retinal Imaging in Alzheimer's Disease: Potential and Perspectives.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a global health challenge in the 21st century due to its increasing prevalence as the major cause of dementia. State-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI)-based tests could potentially improve population-based strategies to detect and manage AD. Current retinal imaging demonstrates immense potential as a non-invasive screening measure for AD, by studying qualitative and quantitative changes in the neuronal and vascular structures of the retina that are often associated with degenerative changes in the brain. On the other hand, the tremendous success of AI, especially deep learning, in recent years has encouraged its incorporation with retinal imaging for predicting systemic diseases. Further development in deep reinforcement learning (DRL), defined as a subfield of machine learning that combines deep learning and reinforcement learning, also prompts the question of how it can work hand in hand with retinal imaging as a viable tool for automated prediction of AD. This review aims to discuss potential applications of DRL in using retinal imaging to study AD, and their synergistic application to unlock other possibilities, such as AD detection and prediction of AD progression. Challenges and future directions, such as the use of inverse DRL in defining reward function, lack of standardization in retinal imaging, and data availability, will also be addressed to bridge gaps for its transition into clinical use.

Comparing the effectiveness and safety of Sorafenib plus TACE with Apatinib plus TACE for treating patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicentre propensity score matching study.

OBJECTIVE: Local combined systemic therapy has been an important method for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness and safety of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus Sorafenib versus TACE plus Apatinib for treating patients with unresectable HCC. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with unresectable HCC who were treated with TACE plus Sorafenib or TACE plus Apatinib at 5 Chinese medical centers between January 2016 and December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to reduce the bias from confounding factors. RESULTS: A total of 380 patients were enrolled, of whom 129 cases were treated with TACE plus Sorafenib and 251 cases with TACE plus Apatinib. After the 1:1 PSM, 116 pairs of patients were involved in this study. The results showed that the PFS and OS in the TACE-Sorafenib group were significantly longer than those in the TACE-Apatinib group (PFS: 16.79 ± 6.45 vs. 14.76 ± 6.98 months, P = 0.049; OS: 20.66 ± 6.98 vs. 17.69 ± 6.72 months, P = 0.013). However, the ORR in the TACE-Apatinib group was markedly higher than that in the TACE-Sorafenib group (70.69% vs. 56.03%, P = 0.021). There were more patients with adverse events (AEs) in the TACE-Apatinib group than those in the TACE-Sorafenib group before dose adjustment (87 vs. 63, P = 0.001); however, the number of patients who suffered from AEs was not significantly different between the two groups after the dose adjustment (62 vs. 55, P = 0.148). No treatment-related death was found in the two groups. Subgroup analysis revealed that patients with unresectable HCC could better benefit from regular doses than reduced doses (Sorafenib, 22.59 vs. 18.02, P < 0.001; Apatinib, 19.75 vs. 16.86, P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: TACE plus either Sorafenib or Apatinib could effectively treat patients with unresectable HCC, the safety of TACE plus Sorafenib was better. and the ORR of TACE plus Apatinib was higher.