Inhibiting SLC38A2 lowers blood pressure in rodent models of hypertension.

Hypertension remains a major global health burden with limited effective treatment options. In the present study, the sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter SLC38A2 was identified as a regulator of blood pressure (BP) through modulating endothelial nitric oxide (NO) signaling. Here, we show that mice with global and endothelial cell (EC)-specific gene knockout () exhibited reduced blood pressure compared with wild-type controls.

Nanofabricated Bacterial Cell Walls with Intrinsic Peroxidase-Mimicking and Sonodynamic Activities for Cancer Combination Treatment.

Bacterial cancer therapy recently has been attracting more and more attention because of its multiple functions to fight cancer. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), a Gram-negative pathogenic bacterium, acquires protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) and iron from heme and synthesizes abundant µ-oxo bisheme on its cell walls (CWs). For the first time, it is found that the CWs extracted from Pg has intrinsic peroxidase (POD)-mimicking and sonodynamic activities owing to the presence of µ-oxo bisheme.

Multi-functionalized probiotics through layer-by-layer coating with tannic acid-Mg and casein phosphopeptide complexes for preventing ulcerative colitis.

Gut microbiota imbalance-induced inflammatory response and oxidative stress are two of the main reasons causing ulcerative colitis (UC). Probiotics show potent modulating effects on microbiota imbalance and have been considered as an optimal substitute of antibiotics for preventing UC. However, the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract is not conducive to the survival and persistence of probiotics.

A Single-center Retrospective Cohort Study Comparing Complex and Simple Female Urethral Diverticulum Classified Based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features.

Objective: To explore a more reasonable classification method for the evaluation and surgical planning for the management of female urethral diverticulum (UD).

Methods: This retrospective study included 45 female patients who underwent urethral diverticular excision between January 2018 and December 2023. Patient details and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were collected.

Layer-by-layer coated probiotics with tannic acid-Ca and casein phosphopeptide complexes for caries prevention and enamel remineralization.

Dental caries is a common disease resulting from tooth demineralization caused by bacterial plaque. Probiotics have shown great potential against caries by regulating the balance of oral flora. However, obstacles such as poor colonization and lysozyme sensitivity in oral cavity hinder their further application.

An effective drug-free hydrogel for accelerating the whole healing process of bacteria-infected wounds.

Wound healing is a dynamic and complex process involving hemostasis, inflammation, fibroblast proliferation, and tissue remodeling. This process is highly susceptible to bacterial infection, which often leads to impaired and delayed wound repair. While antibiotic therapy remains the primary clinical approach for treating bacteria-infected wounds, its widespread use poses a significant risk of developing bacterial resistance.

A biomimetic phototherapeutic nanoagent based on bacterial double-layered membrane vesicles for comprehensive treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

As one of the most common malignancies, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with high rates of invasiveness and metastasis threatens people's health worldwide, while traditional therapeutic approaches have not met the requirement of its cure. Phototherapies including photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) have shown great potential for OSCC treatment due to their noninvasiveness or minimal invasiveness, high selectivity and little tolerance. However, PTT or PDT alone makes it difficult to eradicate OSCC and prevent its metastasis and recurrence.

A Bacterial Nanomedicine Combines Photodynamic-Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy for Enhanced Treatment of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Bacterial therapy is an emerging hotspot in tumor immunotherapy, which can initiate antitumor immune activation through multiple mechanisms. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), a pathogenic bacterium inhabiting the oral cavity, contains a great deal of pathogen associated molecular patterns that can activate various innate immune cells to promote antitumor immunity. Owing to the presence of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), Pg is also an excellent photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT) via the in situ generation of reactive oxygen species.

Ral GTPase promotes metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma via elevation of TGF-β1 production.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), caused by activating mutations in K-Ras, is an aggressive malignancy due to its early invasion and metastasis. Ral GTPases are activated downstream of Ras and play a crucial role in the development and progression of PDAC. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

A Cell-Penetrating Peptide Modified CuSe/Au Nanohybrid with Enhanced Efficacy for Combined Radio-Photothermal Therapy.

Radiotherapy (RT) is one of the main clinical therapeutic strategies against cancer. Currently, multiple radiosensitizers aimed at enhancing X-ray absorption in cancer tissues have been developed, while limitations still exist for their further applications, such as poor cellular uptake, hypoxia-induced radioresistance, and unavoidable damage to adjacent normal body tissues. In order to address these problems, a cell-penetrating TAT peptide (YGRKKRRQRRRC)-modified nanohybrid was constructed by doping high-Z element Au in hollow semiconductor CuSe nanoparticles for combined RT and photothermal therapy (PTT) against breast cancer.

Personalized Targeted Therapeutic Strategies against Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. An Evidence-Based Review of Literature.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common type of malignant tumor in the head and neck, with a poor prognosis mainly due to recurrence and metastasis. Classical treatment modalities for OSCC like surgery and radiotherapy have difficulties in dealing with metastatic tumors, and together with chemotherapy, they have major problems related to non-specific cell death. Molecular targeted therapies offer solutions to these problems through not only potentially maximizing the anticancer efficacy but also minimizing the treatment-related toxicity.

A case report of vesicovaginal fistula following Bevacizumab without pelvic disease and radiochemotherapy.

Background: Bevacizumab has gradually become an important adjuvant therapy for many advanced tumors including lung cancer. Although it can improve the survival of many cancer patients, it also brings many adverse reactions, including fistula formation. However, vesicovaginal fistula in the absence of pelvic lesions and radiation history has not been reported before.

Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney in an adult: a case report and literature review.

Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK) in adults is extremely rare. In fact, only 16 adult CCSK cases have been reported from 1989 to 2020 in the English language literature. The pathologic diagnosis of the disease is difficult, and the optimal treatment is still unknown.

Transvaginal repair of vesicouterine fistulae: our experience of three cases.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Surgical repair of vesicouterine fistula (VUF) can be performed through transvaginal and transabdominal routes. Transvaginal repair of VUF has been rarely reported. This study is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility and experience of transvaginal repair of VUF, and presents a step-by-step concrete surgical technique.

CXCL12/CXCR4 facilitates perineural invasion via induction of the Twist/S100A4 axis in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma.

The activation of CXCL12/CXCR4 axis participated in the progression of multiple cancers, but potential effect in terms of perineural invasion (PNI) in SACC remained ambiguous. In this study, we identified that CXCL12 substantially expressed in nerve cells. CXCR4 strikingly expressed in tumour cells, and CXCR4 expression was closely associated with the level of EMT-associated proteins and Schwann cell hallmarks at nerve invasion frontier in SACC.

Ral GTPase-activating protein regulates the malignancy of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

The small GTPases RalA and RalB are members of the Ras family and activated downstream of Ras. Ral proteins are found in GTP-bound active and GDP-bound inactive forms. The activation process is executed by guanine nucleotide exchange factors, while inactivation is mediated by GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs).

Distinguishable Prognostic miRNA Signatures of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer With or Without HPV Infection.

Since their discovery in the 1990's, microRNAs (miRNA) have opened up new vistas in the field of cancer biology and are found to have fundamental roles in tumorigenesis and progression. As head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with positive human papillomavirus (HPV+) is significantly distinct from its HPV negative (HPV-) counterpart in terms of both molecular mechanisms and clinical prognosis, the current study aimed to separately develop miRNA signatures for HPV+ and HPV- HNSCC as well as to explore the potential functions. Both signatures were reliable for the prediction of prognosis in their respective groups.

Interplay between cancer cells and M2 macrophages is necessary for miR-550a-3-5p down-regulation-mediated HPV-positive OSCC progression.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is increasing worldwide with typically higher grade and stage, while better prognosis. microRNAs (miRNAs) has been shown to play a critical role in cancer, however, their role in HPV-positive OSCC progression remains unclear.

Methods: miRNA microarray was performed to identify differentially expressed miRNAs.

Myeloid derived suppressor cells contribute to the malignant progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: The tumor-related myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), important immunosuppressive cells in tumor microenvironment, play an important role in the cancer progression. This study is aimed to investigate the crosstalk between MDSCs and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells and their role in the malignant progression of OSCC.

Methods: Immunochemistry (IHC) was used to investigate the expression of CD33 in 200 OSCC, 36 premalignant.

STAT3 Promotes Invasion and Aerobic Glycolysis of Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma via Inhibiting FoxO1.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), a previously accepted tumor-promoting protein in various malignancies, plays a key role in the process of cancer glycolysis. However, the role and potential mechanism of STAT3 in aerobic glycolysis and progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been explored. In the present study, we demonstrated that STAT3 knockdown remarkably inhibited migration, invasion, expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, and aerobic glycolysis of OSCC cells by up-regulation of FoxO1.

Non-coding RNAs as Regulators of Lymphangiogenesis in Lymphatic Development, Inflammation, and Cancer Metastasis.

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which do not encode proteins, have pivotal roles in manipulating gene expression in development, physiology, and pathology. Emerging data have shown that ncRNAs can regulate lymphangiogenesis, which refers to lymphatics deriving from preexisting vessels, becomes established during embryogenesis, and has a close relationship with pathological conditions such as lymphatic developmental diseases, inflammation, and cancer. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis in lymphatic development, inflammation and cancer metastasis, and discusses ncRNAs' regulatory effects on them.

EZH2 promotes invasion and tumour glycolysis by regulating STAT3 and FoxO1 signalling in human OSCC cells.

The enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), known as a member of the polycomb group (PcG) proteins, is an oncogene overexpressed in a variety of human cancers. Here, we found that EZH2 correlated with poor survival of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients using immunohistochemistry staining. EZH2 overexpression led to a significant induction in tumour glycolysis, Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration and invasion of OSCC cells.

Cathepsin B defines leader cells during the collective invasion of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Cathepsin B (CTSB) has been reported to be involved in cancer metastasis by altering extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and facilitating invasion. However, the contribution of CTSB to collective cell invasion in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study demonstrated that collective cell invasion is commonly observed in SACC without a complete epithelial‑mesenchymal transition signature.