Journal of Biomedical Research最新文献

Cancer, potentially the second leading cause of mortality globally, poses a significant health challenge. The conventional treatment for solid tumors typically involves surgical intervention, followed by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapies. However, cancer recurrence and metastasis remain major issues. Anesthesia is essential for ensuring patient comfort and safety during surgery. Despite its crucial role in surgery, the precise effect of anesthesia on cancer patients' outcomes has not been clearly understood. This comprehensive review aims to elucidate perioperative anesthesia strategies for cancer patients and their potential effects on prognosis. Given the complexity of cancer treatments, understanding the relationship between anesthesia and cancer outcomes is crucial. By examining potential implications of anesthesia strategies for cancer prognosis, this review may help better understand treatment efficacy and risk factors for cancer recurrence and metastasis. Ultimately, a detailed analysis of anesthesia practices in cancer surgery may provide insights to refine existing anesthesia protocols and reduce risk factors for poor patient outcomes.

Early screening is crucial for the prevention of intestinal-type gastric cancer. The current study aimed to ascertain the molecular evolution of intestinal-type gastric cancer based on the Correa cascade for precise gastric cancer screening. We collected sequential lesions of the Correa cascade in the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD)-resected specimens from 14 Chinese patients by microdissection, and subsequently determined the profiles of somatic aberrations during gastric carcinogenesis using whole-exome sequencing, identifying multiple variants at different Correa stages. The results showed that TP53, PCLO, and PRKDC were the most frequently mutated genes in early gastric cancer (EGC). We found a high frequency of TP53 alterations in low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), which further increased in high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) and EGC. Intestinal metaplasia (IM) showed no significant correlation with EGC in terms of mutational spectra, whereas both LGIN and HGIN showed higher genomic similarities to EGC, compared with IM. Based on Jaccard similarity coefficients, we constructed three evolutionary models, with most patients showing linear progression from LGIN to HGIN, ultimately resulting in EGC. The extracellular matrix-receptor interaction pathway was revealed to be involved in the linear evolution. Additionally, the retrospective validation study of 39 patients diagnosed with LGIN indicated that PRKDC mutations, in addition to TP53 mutations, may drive LGIN progression to HGIN or EGC. In conclusion, the current study unveils the genomic evolution across the Correa cascade of intestinal-type gastric cancer, elucidates the underlying molecular mechanisms of gastric carcinogenesis, and provides evidence for potential personalized gastric cancer surveillance.

Hypertension (HT) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are important transcription factors in eukaryotes. Studies have reported that KLF4 and KLF5 are correlated with several cardiovascular diseases, but population-based studies on associations between HT and KLF4 or KLF5 have rarely been reported. Therefore, the current study investigated the associations of genetic variants and mRNA expression levels of KLF4 and KLF5 with HT, as well as the effects of antihypertensive drugs on the expression levels of these genes. The associations of one single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in KLF4 and three SNPs in KLF5 with HT were analyzed using a combination of case-control and cohort studies. The study populations were selected from a community-based cohort in four regions of Jiangsu province. The risks of HT were estimated through logistic and Cox regression analyses. In addition, mRNA expression levels of KLF4 and KLF5 were detected in 246 controls and 385 HT cases selected from the aforementioned cohort. Among the HT cases, 263 were not taking antihypertensive drugs [AHD(-)] and 122 were taking antihypertensive drugs [AHD(+)]. In the case-control study, SNP rs9573096 (C>T) in KLF5 was significantly associated with an increased risk of HT in the additive model (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.106; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.009 to 1.212). In the cohort study of the normotensive population, rs9573096 in KLF5 was also significantly associated with an increased risk of HT in the additive model (adjusted hazards ratio [HR], 1.199; 95% CI, 1.070 to 1.344). KLF4 and KLF5 mRNA expression levels were significantly higher in the AHD(-) group than in the control group ( P < 0.05), but lower in the AHD(+) group than in the AHD(-) group ( P < 0.05). The current study demonstrated the associations of KLF4 and KLF5 genetic variants with hypertension, as well as the association of the indicative variations in mRNA expression levels of KLF4 and KLF5 with the risk of hypertension and antihypertensive treatment.

The prevalence of stunting in Indonesian children under five years of age is approximately 20%. Chronic maternal malnutrition contributes to the risk of stunting by affecting global DNA methylation. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the levels of 5-methyl-cytosine (5mC) as a surrogate marker of global DNA methylation in buccal swabs and its potential association with the risk of stunting and cognitive performance. The levels of 5mC were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) was used to measure cognitive function. Buccal swab DNA samples and anthropometric data were collected from a total of 231 children aged zero to five years. In this cross-sectional cohort, the prevalence of stunting was 37% in 138 children aged zero to two years and 30% in 93 children aged over two years. The univariable analysis revealed that the levels of 5mC in buccal swab DNA were significantly lower in severely stunted children (median, 2.84; interquartile range [IQR], 2.39-4.62) and children aged less than two years (median, 2.81; IQR, 2.53-4.62) than those in normal children (median, 3.75; IQR, 2.80-4.74; P-value, 0.028) and children aged over four years (median, 4.01; IQR, 3.39-4.87; P-value < 0.001), respectively. We also found that the average cognitive scores tended to be low in boys and stunted children, although the differences were not statistically significant. Furthermore, the levels of 5mC found in buccal swab and mouthwash DNA were not associated with cognitive scores.