Construction and evaluation of an alcohol vapor chamber system

An increasing number of studies demonstrated that alcohol vapor chamber is an effective way to model physical signs of alcohol use disorders. Although researchers are developing different vapor chambers to study chronic alcohol exposure model worldwide, few studies build and modify their own vapor chambers in China.Here, we designed and established an alcohol vapor chamber system for small animals. We described a paradigm showing how to control and monitor alcohol concentration in whole system. The vapor chamber system with several advantages including accommodating up to ten standard mouse cages. Furthermore, the system was tested by evaluating the blood alcohol concentration and neuron injury in mice. Importantly, the alcohol withdrawal after vapor exposure caused motor coordination impairment, anxiolytic-and depression-like behavior. Finally, the Nmethyl-D-aspartate receptor(NMDAR)-mediated glutamatergic transmissions in the medial prefrontal cortex was changed after alcohol vapor exposure-induced behaviors. The frequency and amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents between control and alcohol groups were not different, suggesting that alcohol exposureinduced behaviors are associated with the change in NMDAR response. Taken together, the new alcohol vapor chamber system was constructed, which would help to research the relationship between the stable alcohol exposure and withdrawal behaviors and to study chronic alcohol exposure-induced disorders in China.

Immune function, gastrointestinal hormone levels, and their clinical significance in patients with gastric ulcers complicated with depression

BACKGROUND Gastric ulcer(GU)is a common digestive tract disease,and medical records of GU combined with depression are increasingly common.Currently,the risk factors and pathogenesis of GU complicated with depression remain unclear.Low immune function and gastrointestinal hormone levels may also be significant risk factors.Therefore,this study explored the immune function and gastrointestinal hormone levels in patients with GU combined with depression.AIM To explore the immune function,gastrointestinal hormone level,and clinical significance of patients with GU combined with depression.METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted on 300 patients with GU combined with depression admitted to Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2021 to June 2022 as the study subjects.According to the Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD)score,patients were divided into mild-to-moderate(n=210)and heavy(n=90)groups.Basic data,immune function indices[immunoglobulin A(IgA),IgM,IgG,serum CD4+and CD8+percentage,and CD4+/CD8+ratio],and gastrointestinal hormone indices[serum gastrin(GAS),cholecystokinin(CCK),and motilin(MTL)levels]were collected.The basic data of the two groups were compared,and the immune function and gastrointestinal hormone indices were analyzed.Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the factors influencing the severity of GU complicated with depression.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve and area under the ROC curve(AUC)were used to analyze the value of the immune function index,gastrointestinal hormone index,and combined index in predicting the severity of GU complicated with depression.RESULTS There were no marked differences in sex,age,body mass index,abdominal distension,abdominal pain,belching,nausea,vomiting,or sleep disorders between the heavy and mild-to-moderate groups(P>0.05).There was a marked difference in the family history of depression between the heavy and mild-to-moderate groups(P<0.05).There were significant differences in serum IgA and IgM levels and serum CD4+,CD8+,and CD4+/CD8+ratios between the heavy and mild-to-moderate groups(P<0.05).Multivariate analysis showed that IgA,IgM,GAS,and CCK serum levels influenced the severity of GU with depression(P<0.05).The AUC of the ROC curve for serum IgA level predicting GU with depression severity was 0.808[95%confidence interval(CI):0.760-0.857],the AUC of the serum IgM level was 0.757(95%CI:0.700-0.814),the AUC of the serum GAS level was 0.853(95%CI:0.810-0.897),the AUC of the serum CCK level was 0.762(95%CI:0.709-0.822),the AUC of immune function(IgA,IgM)and gastrointestinal hormone levels(GAS,CCK)for the prediction of GU with depression severity was 0.958(95%CI:0.933-0.976).CONCLUSION Important factors influencing GU complicated with depression are serum IgA,IgM,GAS,and CCK indicators.They can be used as indicators to predict the severity of GU complicated with depression.

Anti-microbial Effects In Vitro and In Vivo of Alstonia scholaris

Alstonia scholaris could be used as a traditional medicinal plant in China for the treatment of acute respiratory,which might be caused by respiratory tract infections.The investigation tested the anti-infective effects of total alkaloids extract(TA)from leaves of A.scholaris,and as a result,TA inhibited herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1),respiratory syncytial virus(RSV)and influenza A virus(H1N1)in vitro respectively.In addition,the survival days of mice were prolonged,and the lung weights and mortality of mice were decreased significantly,after oral administrated TA in H1N1 and beta-hemolytic streptococcus infectious models in vivo respectively.The finding supported partly the traditional usage of A.scholaris in the treatment of respiratory infections.

Lung injury after cardiopulmonary bypass:Alternative treatment prospects

Although the lung injury caused by cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB)has been extensively investigated,the incidence and mortality of lung injury after CPB remain a prominent clinical problem.The poor outcome has been attributed to multifactorial etiology,including the systemic inflammatory response and ischemia reperfusion(I/R)injury during CPB.Lung injury after CPB is a complex pathophysiological process and has many clinical manifestations of mild to severe disease.Which is associated with prognosis.To alleviate this lung injury,interventions that address the pathogenesis are particularly important.This review summarizes the pathogenesis,mechanism and treatment options of lung injury after CPB,such as lung protection with intralipid.

Progression of malignant pleural effusion during the early stage of gefitinib treatment in advanced EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma involving complex driver gene mutations

Dear Editor,Malignant pleural effusion(MPE)has been reported in~40%of advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients,most frequently in those with lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD).Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors(EGFR-TKIs)have brought a significant improvement in the clinical treatment of advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC,however,during the early stage of EGFR-TKI administration,progression of MPE rather than lung lesions has been observed in a small group of patients.Although defined as a nontarget lesion by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors(RECIST)guidelines(version 1.1),MPE represents true neoplastic pleural dissemination and worse prognosis.In this situation,some clinicians tend to give up targeted therapy and switch to chemotherapy,since it seems that the patients do not benefit from EGFR-TKI treatment.Therefore,it is necessary to explore the underlying mechanism of early MPE progression for better clinical decision-making.

CXCL13 expression in mouse 4T1 breast cancer microenvironment elicits antitumor immune response by regulating immune cell infiltration

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer type and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide.Previous studies have reported contradictory performance of chemokine CXC motif ligand 13(CXCL13)in breast cancer.In this study,The Cancer Genome Atlas database analysis revealed that CXCL13 was overexpressed in various human cancers including breast carcinoma,and associated with good clinical prognosis in breast cancer.Flow cytometry detection also found upregulated intracellular CXCL13 expression in human breast cancer cell lines.To explore the possible role of CXCL13 in the breast cancer microenvironment,mouse triple negative breast cancer(TNBC)was lentivirally transfected to stably overexpress mouse CXCL13(4T1-CXCL13).Both parental 4T1 and 4T1-CXCL13 strains showed no in vitro or in vivo endogenous cell surface CXCR5 expression.In immune-competent BALB/c mice,the in vivo tumor growth of 4T1-CXCL13 was significantly inhibited and even completely eradicated,accompanied with increased infiltrations of CD4^(+),CD8^(+)T lymphocytes and CD11b^(+)CD11c^(+)DCs.Further investigations showed that CXCL13 expression in the 4T1 tumor microenvironment elicited long-term antitumor immune memory,and rejection of distal parental tumor.The antitumor activity of CXCL13 was remarkedly impaired in BALB/cA-nu nude mice,or in BALB/c mice with CD8^(+)T lymphocyte or NK cell depletion.Our investigation indicated that CXCL13 expression in TNBC triggered effective antitumor immunity by chemoattracting immune cell infiltrations and could be considered as a novel prognostic marker for TNBC.

Whole-exome sequencing in a patient with synchronous triple primary malignancies involving lung cancer:a case report

The incidence of multiple primary malignancies(MPMs)has been increasing rapidly in recent years,however,the genetic pathogenesis is largely unknown on account of rare cases,especially for those patients who are diagnosed with three or more tumors.Under these circumstances,whole-exome sequencing(WES)may help to provide more comprehensive genomic information and guidance to proper therapeutic strategies.Here,we presented a rare case of a 66-year-old Chinese male patient who was diagnosed with synchronous triple primary malignancies:esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC),lung adenocarcinoma(LA),and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Tumors were surgically removed within 3 months.WES was performed when the patient suffered from cancer recurrence and tumor-specific neoantigens were predicted.Each tumor displayed a distinct somatic mutation profile,providing direct evidence of independent origins.No shared driver gene mutation or neoantigen was detected among the three tumors.Two germline alterations of cancer susceptibility genes—SPINK1 c.194+2T>C and JAK3 c.425G>A were identified.This case is the first report of synchronous primary triple cancers covering the esophagus,lung,and liver.Our findings highlight the complexities of MPMs that even when under identical germline genetic backgrounds,the occurrence of MPMs can be a random event and driven by distinct somatic gene mutations.Synchronous multiple primary cancers that originated from different organs may not have common therapeutic gene targets,and it can be difficult to find a treatment to cover all the tumors.