Biomedical Journal最新文献

This issue of the Biomedical Journal features a special section on extracellular vesicles (EVs), covering their role in neurological diseases, viral infections, trogocytosis, allogeneic organ rejection and tolerance, as well as EV biodistribution. Two articles explore the mechanisms of Parkinson's disease, focusing on white matter and exosomes. This journal issue also examines polyomavirus-induced damage in renal transplant grafts, proposes a miRNA signature as a diagnostic biomarker for Kawasaki disease, discusses neural gating and associated brain wave alterations, and further clarifies the relationship between gut microbiota and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Additionally, the importance of therapeutic drug monitoring is reaffirmed.

Background: Pediatric patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) often require long-term parenteral nutrition and intravenous fluid support (PN) until enteral autonomy (EA). However, long-term PN accounts for many complications. We aimed to investigate the outcome and predictors of EA in these patients.

Material and methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted in Children's Medical Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, a tertiary hospital in Northern Taiwan. Twenty-four patients afflicted with short bowel syndrome between 2002 and 2021 were included. Demographics, operation results, follow-up status, complications, and outcomes were reviewed.

Results: Among the 24 patients, 14 were males (58%). The median age at bowel resection was 3 days (IQR, 1.3 to 28.8 days). The most common etiologies were total/subtotal intestinal aganglionosis (TIA) (N=6) and malrotation with midgut volvulus (N=6). The median length of the residual small intestine was 25cm (IQR, 7.8 to 71.3cm). Ten (41.7%) had preserved ileocecal valve, and 14 (58.3%) had colon-in-continuity. Intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD) occurred in 14 patients (58.3%), but none had advanced disease. Seven (29.2%) patients achieved enteral autonomy after 10.1±7.3 months. Five patients (21%) expired due to sepsis. Logistic regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis showed the predictors of enteral autonomy were remaining-to-expected small bowel length ratio > 25% and the absence of IFALD.

Conclusions: In this pediatric short bowel syndrome study, enteral autonomy was achieved in 29% after a mean PN duration of 10 months. The remaining-to-expected small bowel length ratio at bowel resection was the most critical predictor of enteral autonomy.

With the advancement of high-throughput technologies, the pivotal role of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) as a master regulator of various biological functions has become increasingly apparent. Historically considered non-functional and labeled as "junk DNA," pseudogenes can be transcribed into RNA, indicating a potential role similar to ncRNAs. Recent research suggests that some pseudogenes can encode functional peptides or proteins. A growing body of evidence has revealed that pseudogenes and their derived functional molecules are involved in various biological processes and can serve as prognostic markers in cancers. This review comprehensively summarizes and discusses the current understanding of the functional roles of pseudogenes and their derived molecules in biological functions.

Background: Cancer metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, underscoring the importance of understanding its underlying mechanisms. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a highly malignant type of cancer, was selected as our research model.

Material and methods: We aimed to develop high-metastatic cell lines using in vitro and in vivo selection strategies and identify critical metastasis-related genes through microarray analyses by comparing them with parental cells.

Results: Our results showed that the high-metastatic cell lines exhibited significantly stronger invasion abilities than parental cells. Microarray analyses identified cytidine deaminase (CDA), a gene associated with systemic chemotherapy resistance, as one of the overexpressed genes in the high-metastatic cells. Data analysis from The Cancer Genome Atlas Program revealed that while CDA is downregulated in HCC, patients with high CDA expression tend to have poorer prognoses. Cell models confirmed that CDA overexpression enhances cell migration and invasion, whereas CDA knockdown inhibits these abilities. Investigating the key molecules involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), we found that CDA overexpression increases the expression of fascin, N-cadherin, β-catenin, and snail while decreasing E-cadherin expression. Conversely, CDA knockdown produced opposite results. Additionally, we discovered that CDA regulates NF-κB signaling, which controls the expression of N-cadherin, thereby promoting the invasion capability of HCC cells.

Conclusions: We isolated highly metastatic cells and identified potential HCC metastasis-related genes. CDA promotes cell invasion by regulating EMT through the NF-κB pathway. Future studies are warranted to explore the potential of CDA as a biomarker for prognosis and therapeutic decision-making.

We planned a series of experiments to investigate the possible role of spike protein of different SARS-CoV-2 variants in influencing erythrocyte biology. The values of erythrocyte count, hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MHC) did not vary across all samples challenged with both concentrations of the four different SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike proteins. A significant increase in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was observed with the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta spike proteins at both 2 and 20 ng/mL final concentrations. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) values increased significantly in samples treated with 20 ng/mL of all SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike proteins and reached the highest values in samples treated with Omicron recombinant spike protein. Blood smear revision evidenced hemagglutination and rouleaux in samples to which recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins were added, especially in those with Alpha and Delta variants.

Cartilage repair necessitates regenerative medicine because of the unreliable healing mechanism of cartilage. To yield a sufficient number of cells for transplantation, chondrocytes must be expanded in culture. However, in 2D culture, chondrocytes tend to lose their distinctive phenotypes and functionalities after serial passage, thereby limiting their efficacy for tissue engineering purposes. The mechanism of dedifferentiation in 2D culture can be attributed to various factors, including abnormal nuclear strength, stress-induced mitochondrial impairment, chromatin remodeling, ERK-1/2 and the p38/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. These mechanisms collectively contribute to the loss of chondrocyte phenotype and reduced production of cartilage-specific extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Chondrocyte 3D culture methods have emerged as promising solutions to prevent dedifferentiation. Techniques, such as scaffold-based culture and scaffold-free approaches, provide chondrocytes with a more physiologically relevant environment, promoting their differentiation and matrix synthesis. These methods have been used in cartilage tissue engineering to create engineered cartilage constructs for transplantation and joint repair. However, chondrocyte 3D culture still has limitations, such as low viability and proliferation rate, and also difficulties in passage under 3D condition. These indicate challenges of obtaining a sufficient number of chondrocytes for large-scale tissue production. To address these issues, ongoing studies of many research groups have been focusing on refining culture conditions, optimizing scaffold materials, and exploring novel cell sources such as stem cells to enhance the quality and quantity of engineered cartilage tissues. Although obstacles remain, continuous endeavors to enhance culture techniques and overcome limitations offer a promising outlook for the advancement of more efficient strategies for cartilage regeneration.

Background: The incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) are persistently higher in men than in women. CRC malignancy is strongly influenced by small non-coding RNAs (miRNAs). Moreover, deregulation of the circadian molecular oscillator has been associated with CRC facilitation. To analyse possible cumulative effects of the above-mentioned factors on CRC progression, we focused on functions of sex-biased miRNAs associated with the clock genes per2 and/or cry2, which are involved in the cell cycle control and DNA damage response.

Major findings: We identified miR-24, miR-92a, miR-181a, and miR-21 associated with per2 that are up-regulated in transformed colon tissue of men. miR-93, miR-17, miR-20a, and miR-24 with higher expression in males compared to females were linked to cry2. All these miRNAs possess oncogenic potential and exert their effects mainly via inhibition of the tumour suppressors phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and/or p53. Down-regulation of PTEN and p53 in men was further strengthened by inhibition of tumour suppressor per2. Oncogenic up-regulated miRNAs associated with per2 or cry2 in the transformed colon tissue of women were not detected.

Conclusion: We conclude that the cancer-promoting, sex-biased miRNAs miR-24, miR-92a, miR-181a, miR-93, miR-17, miR-20a, and miR-21 associated with clock genes per2 and/or cry2 can contribute to the sex-dependent development of CRC via inhibition of the PTEN and p53 pathways.

Background: Patients with myocardial infarction (MI) can have disturbed sleep, but little is known about the efficacy of light therapy on sleep and prognosis of patients with MI. We conducted a randomized controlled study to investigate its efficacy.

Material and methods: This preliminary study included 34 patients with MI. They were randomized into the blue light and the white light groups during their stay in intensive care unit. 17 age and gender matched healthy controls were also enrolled. Actigraphy was used to evaluate objective sleep since enrollment. Delirium scales were used to screen delirium. Lab work-up including vitamin D level was performed at the baseline and discharge. We used Mann-Whitney U test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test to compare the difference between the MI group and the healthy control group, and the group difference after receiving light therapy.

Results: Patients with MI had significantly lower vitamin D level than healthy controls (p<0.001). They also had significantly poorer sleep, as indicated by actigraphy parameters including sleep onset latency (p=0.01), sleep efficiency (p=0.002), wake after sleep onset (p<0.001) and awake times (p=0.002). No significant group difference was found by actigraphy after light therapy except a non-significant higher relative amplitude of the blue light group (p=0.061). Besides, vitamin D level of the blue light group increased significantly (p1=0.047, p2=0.045).

Conclusions: Patients with MI had poorer sleep, highlighting the needs to develop interventions. Significantly increased vitamin D level and a non-significant better rest-active rhythm after light therapy suggest its potential with sleep and prognosis which warrants further investigation.