Nano LIFE

Thin endometrium (TE) is a heterogeneous uterine disorder characterized by TE that results in infecundity. Patients with TE are usually associated with menstrual abnormalities and suffer from pelvic pain. A number of treatments have been employed to promote endometrial growth, but none has been validated effective. With the development of stem cell therapy, better means for TE treatment to improve endometrium, thus restoring its function become possible. Studies in TE mouse models have shown that stem cell implantation could improve pregnancy. However, the efficiency is relatively low and the safety for its clinical applications remains unclear. Here, we summarize recent progresses on the clinical application of stem cells for TE treatment, which would provide valuable references for stem cell therapy in TE patients.

Gallbladder cancer is one of the most aggressive carcinomas of digestive system. The conventional surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy limit therapeutic effects on gallbladder cancer, so it is urgent to further explore the mechanism of the development of gallbladder cancer. To solve this problem, we have studied the application value of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the diagnosis and treatment of gallbladder cancer. Small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) was used to knock down APP in SGC-996 and QBC-939 cells. Then, the effects of APP on SGC-996 and QBC-939 cells proliferation, migration, invasion and cell cycle were evaluated. The results showed that APP was overexpressed in gallbladder cancer tissues and cell lines. The cell proliferation, migration and invasion were effectively inhibited and the cell cycle was influenced to a certain extent after knockdown of APP. And the expression of tumor metastatic associated protein, MMP-2, MMP-9, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, was associated with the level of APP. The present data confirmed that APP played a crucial role in gallbladder cancer cells function. This study strongly suggests that APP is a potential target for gallbladder cancer treatment.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a pathophysiological disorder that may involve multiple clinical conditions and progressive disease, which often leads to premature death. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH, group 1 PH) comprises of diverse diseases that result in similar pathological changes, including the medium-sized pulmonary arteries and pulmonary arterioles characterized by vascular obliteration. The evaluation and diagnosis of PH and PAH were re-defined based on proceedings of the 6th World Symposia on Pulmonary Hypertension (WSPH). Accurate early diagnosis and subsequent therapy of PAH are necessary, as management of this disease is still challenging, and life expectancy is remaining suboptimal. This review task force reflects the multidisciplinary nature of PAH, including the definition, epidemiology, genetics, especially the advanced diagnosis and the therapy development in recent years.

Background: The aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio is suggested to be related to the increased risks of many metabolic diseases, whereas its association with neurological function in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has not been understood. In this study, we aim to investigate the relationships between serum liver enzymes (ALT, AST, the AST/ALT ratio, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT)) and peripheral nerve function in patients with T2DM. Methods: In Group 1, we analyzed the associations between parameters of nerve function and liver enzymes in 460 T2DM patients from rural area of Shanghai. Besides, the same methods were applied to another group of 828 T2DM subjects from urban area of Shanghai. Results: In Group 1, the AST/ALT ratio was significantly higher in patients with abnormal nerve conduction $(P=0.005)$. The peripheral nerve function significantly declined with increasing tertiles of AST/ALT ratio ($P\mathrm{\text{s}}<0.05$). After adjustment for all potential confounders, the ratio of AST/ALT was still negatively correlated with the composite Z-scores of conduction velocity (CV). In Group 2, similar significant associations were found between the AST/ALT ratio and peripheral nerve function after adjustment for covariates. Conclusions: In two independent T2DM populations, the AST/ALT ratio was independently and consistently related to peripheral nerve function. The AST/ALT ratio might be helpful to highlight T2DM patients at high risk for diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

In Wuhan, China, the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was reported on December 8, 2019. The patient’s symptoms included fever, coughing and breathing difficulties. According to the sixth China version of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnostic criteria, some patients with COVID-19 may present atypical symptoms and have negative nucleic acid tests (NATs), possibly leading to misdiagnosis and viral transmission.

Our patient was a 29-year-old woman who complained of a three-day history of nasal obstruction, and no fever, coughing or breathing difficulties were noted. Physical examination revealed no obvious signs of pneumonia. On January 16, 2020, the patient flew from Wuhan to Germany for a business trip and returned to Shanghai on January 28, a passenger on her flight was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 later. Although two consecutive NATs performed at an interval of 24 h were negative, considering her direct contact with a SARS-CoV-2-infected individual, a 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scan showed a few scattered ground-glass nodules in the left lung, suggesting possible viral pneumonia. Given the clinical characteristics, epidemiological records, CT findings and a third positive NAT, our patient was diagnosed with COVID-19.

The combination of history of epidemiology, clinical symptom, lung CT scan and routine blood test will improve the clinical diagnosis of asymptomatic COVID-19, but the early diagnosis of COVID-19 can be confirmed only by the repeated NATs.

To date, chemotherapy, the main treatment for malignant tumors, still fails to provide ideal therapeutic efficacy, which is deeply rooted in various physiological barriers, either temporal or spatial, to the delivering of anticancer drugs to solid tumor sites during chemotherapy. In the meantime, the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer drugs is affected by inherent cancer characteristics, drug transport, cellular uptake and other complex interactions. Recently, advances have been constantly achieved on nanoscale drug delivery systems (NDDSs) for anticancer drug delivery, driven by their excellent stability and effectiveness in improving water solubility of anticancer drugs, prolonging systemic circulation time, reducing side effects and improving anticancer effects. This paper presents an overview of the current research status and challenges in applying NDDSs to anticancer drug delivery.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a crucial member of the neurotrophic family, is most widely distributed and extensively studied in the mammalian central nervous system. Accumulating evidence from animal and human studies indicates that BDNF plays critical roles in regulating neurogenesis, synaptogenesis and plasticity, and neurological diseases. In this review, we summarize the synthesis and general signaling pathway of BDNF and review its pivotal roles in neurogenesis and the maintenance of axon and dendrites, synaptic transmission and plasticity, which are thought to be the cellular basis for learning and memory, and certain neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Future studies should focus on understanding the multifunctional roles of BDNF in different brain regions and tightly controlled clinical studies.

Cancer, one of the largest public health problems in the world, greatly endangers human health. Every country in the world faces a significant burden due to cancer. Protein post-translational modification (PTM) plays a very important role in life. PTM makes the structure of proteins more complex and the functions more perfect. Common PTM processes include methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, glycosylation and ubiquitination. In this paper, we introduce several common types of PTMs that were discovered in recent years in various cancer types, especially the early stages of cancer, and we explore the role of related molecules in cancer screening, diagnosis, disease surveillance and prognosis. We look forward to using PTM-relevant molecules as markers for the early diagnosis of cancer, after further in-depth research and large-scale clinical trials, to contribute to the early and accurate diagnosis of cancer, thereby improving the prognosis.