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Zhi-Hui Gu, Tian Qiu, Shi-Han Yang, Fang-Qiong Tian, Hui Wu Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hui WuDepartment of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang 110122, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail hwu@cmu.edu.cnPurpose: We aim to test whether resilience mediates the association of fear of progression (FoP) with quality of life (QoL) among ovarian cancer patients in China.Methods: We collected 230 questionnaires from the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University in Liaoning Province, and 209 completed the questionnaire survey. The survey instrument consisted of four questionnaires: a sociodemographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy general instrument, the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the relationship among FoP, resilience, and QoL, including physical well-being, social well-being, emotional well-being, and functional well-being. We used asymptotic and resampling strategies to examine the indirect effect of resilience.Results: FoP was negatively associated with resilience (r=− 0.543, P< 0.01) and QoL (physical well-being: r=− 0.537, P< 0.01; social well-being: r=− 0.426, P< 0.01; emotional well-being: r=− 0.487, P< 0.01; functional well-being: r=− 0.529, P< 0.01). Resilience was positively related with QoL (physical well-being: r=0.449, P< 0.01; social well-being: r=0.548, P< 0.01; emotional well-being: r=0.430, P< 0.01; functional well-being: r=0.655, P< 0.01). Resilience partly mediated the association between FoP and physical well-being (a×b=− 0.05, BCa 95% CI: − 0.09, − 0.02), social well-being (a×b=− 0.21, BCa 95% CI: − 0.29, − 0.14), emotional well-being (a×b=− 0.05, BCa 95% CI: − 0.08, − 0.02), and functional well-being (a×b=− 0.24, BCa 95% CI: − 0.32, − 0.17). The proportion of the mediating effect accounted for by resilience were 22.57%, 57.22%, 26.02%, 53.42% for physical well-being, social well-being, emotional well-being and functional well-being, respectively.Conclusion: The study showed that resilience could mediate the association between fear of progression and quality of life. It suggests that resilience might provide a potential target for intervention in quality of life with ovarian cancer.Keywords: mediating role, fear of progression, quality of life, resilience, ovarian cancer patients

Zhi-Hui Gu, Tian Qiu, Fang-Qiong Tian, Shi-Han Yang, Hui Wu Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang 110000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hui Wu Email hwu@cmu.edu.cnObjective: The objective of this study was to explore the association between perceived organizational support (POS) and depressive symptoms, and to further explore whether self-efficacy can act as a moderator between POS and depressive symptoms among Chinese petroleum workers.Methods: There was a cross-sectional study conducted at a petrochemical enterprise in Liaoning Province, China, from July to August 2018. A series of questionnaires were accomplished by 1836 petroleum workers, including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS), and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of SPOS score, GSES score, and SPOS score×GSES score interaction with CES-D score. A simple slope analysis will be carried out if the interaction has statistical significance.Results: Hierarchical regression analysis showed that SPOS score (β=− 0.538, P< 0.01) and GSES score (β=− 0.313, P< 0.01) played a main influence on CES-D score. The SPOS score×GSES score interaction term significantly explained an extra 9.7% of the variance (F=253.932, adjusted R2=0.582, ΔR2=0.097, P< 0.01). The interaction term was positively correlated with CES-D score (β=0.334, P< 0.01). The relationship between SPOS score and CES-D score gradually decreased in the low (1 SD below the mean, β=− 0.589, P< 0.01), mean (β=− 0.338, P< 0.01), and high (1 SD above the mean, β=− 0.087, P< 0.01) groups of GSES score.Conclusion: This study showed that POS and self-efficacy played a main influence on depressive symptoms, and the interaction term was positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Self-efficacy could attenuate the association between POS and depressive symptoms. It suggests that appropriate POS and self-efficacy enhancement measures ought to be supplied to relieve depressive symptoms.Keywords: moderating role, depressive symptoms, perceived organizational support, self-efficacy, petroleum workers

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of plasma cells and is currently incurable. Despite advancements in therapeutic strategies, resistance to proteasome inhibitors, particularly bortezomib (BTZ), poses a substantial challenge to disease management. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of boanmycin, a novel antitumor antibiotic, in overcoming resistance to BTZ in MM., Methods: BTZ-resistant cells were generated over a period of at least 6 months by gradually increasing the concentration of BTZ. The viability of MM cell lines and patient bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) was measured via the CCK8 reagent. The protein levels of cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase 7, cleaved PARP, PARP, p-JNK, JNK, and γ-H2AX were analyzed through Western blot. Cellular morphology was observed via transmission electron microscopy. Colony formation ability was evaluated, and cell apoptosis and the cell cycle were detected through flow cytometry. Xenograft experiments were conducted to evaluate the growth of MM cells in vivo., Results: Our results demonstrated that boanmycin effectively inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation, and triggered apoptosis in both BTZ-sensitive and BTZ-resistant MM cells. The combination of boanmycin with BTZ had greater inhibitory effects than either drug alone. Furthermore, boanmycin significantly suppressed MM cell growth in immunodeficient mouse xenograft models without inducing distinct toxic side effects. Notably, boanmycin markedly killed patient-derived MM cells ex vivo. Mechanistically, boanmycin not only disrupts the cell cycle and causes DNA damage but also exerts its antitumor effects by inducing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) functional impairment., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the potential of boanmycin as a promising novel therapeutic option for treating MM, particularly in patients with BTZ resistance., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) were collected from MM patients with approval from the Institute Research Ethics Committee (No. 2024014) of The Second Affiliated Hospital of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), following the Helsinki Declaration. The animal experiments were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) (No. CUHKSZ-AE2021011), following the WMA statement on animal use in biomedical research. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The dysregulation of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) was positively correlated with the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it is not clear whether TIMP3 expression is associated with the clinicopathological features and prognosis of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-related HCC (AHCC)., Aim: To assess the effects of TIMP3 expression on the clinicopathological features and prognosis of AHCC., Methods: A retrospective study, including 182 patients with AHCC, was conducted to explore the link between TIMP3 expression in cancerous tissues and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of AHCC. TIMP3 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry and its effects on the clinicopathological features and prognosis of AHCC were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression survival analysis. Odds ratio, hazard ratio (HR), median overall survival time (MST), median tumor recurrence-free survival time (MRT), and corresponding 95% confidential interval (CI) was calculated to evaluate the potential of TIMP3 expression in predicting AHCC prognosis., Results: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that compared with high TIMP3 expression, low TIMP3 expression in tumor tissues significantly decreased the MST (36.00 mo vs 18.00 mo) and MRT (32.00 mo vs 16 mo) of patients with AHCC. Multivariate Cox regression survival analysis further proved that decreased expression of TIMP3 increased the risk of death (HR = 2.85, 95%CI: 2.04-4.00) and tumor recurrence (HR = 2.26, 95%CI: 1.57-3.26). Furthermore, decreased expression of TIMP3 protein in tissues with AHCC was significantly correlated with tumor clinicopathological features, such as tumor size, tumor grade and stage, tumor microvessel density, and tumor blood invasion. Additionally, TIMP3 protein expression was also negatively associated with amount of AFB1-DNA adducts in tumor tissues., Conclusion: These findings indicate that the dysregulation of TIMP3 expression is related to AHCC biological behaviors and affects tumor outcome, suggesting that TIMP3 may act as a prognostic biomarker for AHCC., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) crucially regulate tumor progression. In this study, we examined the functional roles and mechanisms of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489 in multiple myeloma (MM)., Methods: Upon altering the expressions of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489, miR-874-3p, and/or histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) in MM1.R cells and treating them with bortezomib (BTZ), cell viability was examined by CCK-8 assay; cell proliferation by Ki-67 immunofluorescence; apoptosis by TUNEL staining, flow cytometry, and western blot; and autophagy by electron microscopy and western blot. The interaction between hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489 and miR-874-3p as well as that between miR-874-3p and HDAC1 was examined by expressional analysis, dual luciferase reporter assay, and RNA immunoprecipitation. The in vivo impacts of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489 on MM growth and sensitivity to BTZ were examined using an MM xenograft mouse model., Results: Knocking down hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489 significantly inhibited the viability, cell proliferation, and autophagy, while promoting the apoptosis of MM cells in vitro and MM xenograft in vivo. Suppressing hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489 also further boosted the cytotoxic effects of BTZ in MM cells and reversed its promoting effect on autophagy. Mechanically, hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489 acted as a sponge of miR-874-3p and positively regulated the expression of miR-874-3p target, HDAC1. MiR-874-3p and HDAC1 essentially mediated the effects of hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489 on cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy., Conclusion: The hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489/miR-874-3p/HDAC1 axis critically regulates the balance between apoptosis and autophagy. Silencing hsa&#95;circ&#95;0003489 sensitizes MM cells to BTZ by inhibiting autophagy and thus may boost the therapeutic effects of BTZ., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The Nanxiaohegou basin is a typical watershed in the gully region of the Loess Plateau, China. The stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen and the hydrochemistry of the surface water and groundwater in the region were characterized in this study. The interaction between the surface water and groundwater in the region was demonstrated based on stable isotopes and hydrochemical methods. Results show that the δ D and δ 18 O values of precipitation change according to the seasons with high values in spring and summer and low values in autumn and winter. The δ D and δ 18 O values of the reservoir water are higher in summer and autumn, while they are lower in the winter and spring. The seasonal variation of δ D and δ 18 O in groundwater is not significant. The surface water and groundwater in the watershed mainly belong to Na·Mg-HCO 3 -type water. The hydraulic conductivity of surface water and groundwater is characterized by high values in winter and low values in summer. Results on stable isotopes and hydrochemistry indicate that local precipitation and deep groundwater may be the main recharge sources of surface water (reservoir water, channel water) and spring water in the Nanxiaohegou basin. The perennial spring in the basin may be mainly replenished by deep groundwater, while seasonal springs are replenished by deep groundwater and local precipitation, such as the springs of Dongzhuanggou and Yangjiagou sub-basins. This study provides a greater understanding of the hydrological processes in the gully region of the Loess Plateau.

Objective：To investigate the promotive effect of dendritic cells(DCs) on proliferation of CRTH2 (CD4(+)CD294(+)Th2) cells and the influence of CRTH2 cells on secretion of immunoglobulin from B cells so as to provide a new approach for amplification and sorting of Th2 cells. Methods：DCs were induced from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, then the loaded-BCGV-Ag-DCs were cocultured with T cells, and the mixed lymphocyte reaction(MLR) was performed by CCK8 method. The phenotypes of DCs and CRTH2 cells were detected by flow cytometry. CRTH2 cells sorted by MACS were co-cultured with B cells for 5 days to detect the secretion of immunoglobulin. Results：The subsets and absolute number CRTH2 cells were significantly increased by loaded-BCGV-Ag-DCs. The levels of IgG, IgA and IgE were higher increased in supernatant of CRTH2 and B cell co-culture system than that in control group or that in transwell group(P<0.05). Conclusion：The proliferation of CRTH2 cells can be greatly promoted by loaded-BCGV-Ag-DCs, and the CRTH2 cells can help B cells to secrete IgG, IgA and IgE.

Programmed death-1 ligand-1(PD-L1) is a recently identified member of the B7 family molecules and is shown to mediate the inhibition of immune responses. This study was purposed to enhance the weak immunological function of dendritic cells (DCs) derived from the patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) by blockade of the expression of PD-L1. Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) of CML patients were induced into DCs in the presence of cytokine cocktail of rhGM-CSF, rhIL-4 and TNF-alpha. The phenotypes of DCs were detected by flow cytometry, mixed lymphocyte reaction was analyzed by MTT assay and IFN-gamma, IL-2 and IL-10 in the cell culture supernatant were detected by ELISA. The results showed that the expression of PD-L1 on CML-DCs was upregulated with the maturation of CML-DCs. PD-L1-blockaded DCs could enhance T lymphocyte proliferation, increase the secretion of IL-2 and IFN-gamma, and inhibit the production of IL-10. Taken together, PD-L1-blockaded DCs originated from CML cells had more potent immunostimulatory capability. It is concluded that PD-L1 blockaded can enhance the function of CML-DCs. This approach presents new possibilities for achieving anti-tumor immunity by DC-based vaccination.

This study was purposed to investigate the possibility of differentiating the acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells into dendritic cells (DCs) induced by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) combined with classic cytokines so as to provide a new approach for development of APL-DC vaccine. The bone marrow mononuclear cells from a new diagnosed patient with APL and HL-60 cells were separately cultured in complete culture medium. The cells were treated by ATRA, GM-CSF, IL-4 and TNFalpha in experimental groups and no ATRA was added in control and blank control groups. The cell morphology was observed by light microscopy, the phenotypes of DCs were detected by flow cytometry, the level of IL-12 was measured by using ELISA, the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and effect of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) were assayed by MTT method. The results indicated that in experiment groups, the cells had dendritic appearance and cytogenetic characteristics of APL; expression of CD1a, CD83, CD80, CD86, HLA-DR and CD1d as well as level of IL-12 obviously increased; the MLR and CTL effects were significant, but increase of CD1a expression in HL60-DCs did not show statistical difference from control and blank control groups. It is concluded that ATRA can successfully induce APL cells to differentiate into functionally mature DSs which obviously mediate MLR and CTL effects. The APL-DCs derived by ATRA can notably express CD1d that may activate CD1d-restricted NKT cells and promote proliferation of NRT cells. The exact mechanism of which should be further studied.

Objective: Atrophic body gastritis (ABG) is common in China. Although histology via endoscopy is an efficient and reliable means of diagnosing ABG, it is an invasive procedure. Therefore, in the present study serum pepsinogen (PG) was used as a biomarker to develop a novel noninvasive test as the first option for screening of ABG in certain groups of Chinese., Methods: The study population consisted of 81 selected dyspeptic patients (mean age, 64.8 +/- 0.7 years; M:F, 43:38) who underwent diagnostic gastroscopy. At least four biopsy specimens were taken from the antrum and corpus of the stomach (two specimens from each site) for histological diagnosis. Blood samples for ELISA assays of serum pepsinogen I (PGI), pepsinogen II (PGII) and IgG antibodies against Helicobacter pylori (Hp IgG) were drawn after endoscopy. Cut-off points were calculated using receiver operating curves (ROC)., Results: There was no correlation between serum PG and atrophy in the antral mucosa. The mean serum concentration of PGI was lower (P < 0.05) in patients with ABG (89.9 microg/L) than in those with normal mucosa (NM) and non-ABG (123.7 microg/L and 139.1 microg/L). The mean ratio of PGI:PGII was also lower (P < 0.01) in patients with ABG (6.2) than in those with NM and non-ABG (11.6 and 11.7). There was no difference in serum PGI or the PGI:PGII ratio between patients with and without H. pylori infection. For diagnosing ABG, the area under the ROC of PGI and the PGI:PGII ratio was 0.741 (95% CI: 0.627-0.856) and 0.874 (95% CI: 0.788-0.961), respectively. The maximum of the Youden's index (YI) of PGI and the PGI:PGII ratio was 0.426 and 0.722, respectively. The best cut-off point for PGI was 97.1 microg/L with sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 76%, and for PGI:PGII ratio was 8.1 microg/L, with sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 83%., Conclusions: The serum PGI:PGII ratio appears to be a sensitive and specific assay for corpus atrophy, thus providing a noninvasive and indicative test for diagnosis of atrophic gastritis.