Translational application of neuroimaging in major depressive disorder: a review of psychoradiological studies
AbstractMajor depressive disorder (MDD) causes great decrements in health and quality of life with increments in healthcare costs, but the causes and pathogenesis of depression remain largely unknown, which greatly prevent its early detection and effective treatment. With the advancement of neuroimaging approaches, numerous functional and structural alterations in the brain have been detected in MDD and more recently attempts have been made to apply these findings to clinical practice. In this review, we provide an updated summary of the progress in translational application of psychoradiological findings in MDD with a spe...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - January 29, 2021 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
The “Traditional Chinese medicine regulating liver regeneration” treatment plan for reducing mortality of patients with hepatitis B-related liver failure based on real-world clinical data
AbstractOn the basis of real-world clinical data, the study aimed to explore the effect and mechanisms of the treatment plan of “traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) regulating liver regeneration.” A total of 457 patients with HBV-related liver failure were retrospectively collected. The patients were divided into three groups: the modern medicine control group (MMC group), patients treated with routine medical treatment; the control group combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine (CTW), patients treated with routine medical treatment plus the common TCM formula; and the treatment group of “TCM regulating live...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - January 12, 2021 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Emerging molecular subtypes and therapeutic targets in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia
AbstractB-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) is characterized by genetic alterations with high heterogeneity. Precise subtypes with distinct genomic and/or gene expression patterns have been recently revealed using high-throughput sequencing technology. Most of these profiles are associated with recurrent non-overlapping rearrangements or hotspot point mutations that are analogous to the established subtypes, such asDUX4 rearrangements,MEF2D rearrangements,ZNF384/ZNF362 rearrangements,NUTM1 rearrangements,BCL2/MYC and/orBCL6 rearrangements,ETV6-RUNX1-like gene expression, PAX5alt (diversePAX5 alterations...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - January 5, 2021 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Proteins moonlighting in tumor metabolism and epigenetics
AbstractCancer development is a complicated process controlled by the interplay of multiple signaling pathways and restrained by oxygen and nutrient accessibility in the tumor microenvironment. High plasticity in using diverse nutrients to adapt to metabolic stress is one of the hallmarks of cancer cells. To respond to nutrient stress and to meet the requirements for rapid cell proliferation, cancer cells reprogram metabolic pathways to take up more glucose and coordinate the production of energy and intermediates for biosynthesis. Such actions involve gene expression and activity regulation by the moonlighting function of...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - January 2, 2021 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Repurposing clinical drugs is a promising strategy to discover drugs against Zika virus infection
AbstractZika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging pathogen associated with neurological complications, such as Guillain-Barr é syndrome in adults and microcephaly in fetuses and newborns. This mosquito-borne flavivirus causes important social and sanitary problems owing to its rapid dissemination. However, the development of antivirals against ZIKV is lagging. Although various strategies have been used to study anti-ZIKV agents, approved drugs or vaccines for the treatment (or prevention) of ZIKV infections are currently unavailable. Repurposing clinically approved drugs could be an effective approach to quickly respond to an emer...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - December 28, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Astragaloside IV suppresses post-ischemic natural killer cell infiltration and activation in the brain: involvement of histone deacetylase inhibition
This study investigated the effects of ASIV on post-ischemic brain infiltration and activation of NK cells. ASIV reduced brain infarction and alleviated functional deficits in MCAO rats, and these beneficial effects persisted for at least 7 days. Abundant NK cells infiltrated into the ischemic hemisphere on day 1 after brain ischemia, and this infiltration was suppressed by ASIV. Strikingly, ASIV reversed NK cell deficiency in the spleen and blood after brain ischemia. ASIV inhibited astrocyte-derived CCL2 upregulation and reduced CCR2+ NK cell levels in the ischemic brain. Meanwhile, ASIV attenuated NK cell activating rec...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - December 28, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Prognostic value of the 21-gene recurrence score in ER-positive, HER2-negative, node-positive breast cancer was similar in node-negative diseases: a single-center study of 800 patients
This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the 21-gene recurrence score (RS) in Chinese patients with pN0-1, estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2−) breast cancer. Among 800 patients recruited between 2009 and 2016, the median RS was 24 (0 –69), with 27.4%, 46.8%, and 25.9% patients classified into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups. Cox regression analysis demonstrated that the high-risk category was associated with significantly higher odds of invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) and distant disease-free survival (DDFS) ev ents compared with...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - December 6, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Innate immune responses in RNA viral infection
AbstractRNA viruses cause a multitude of human diseases, including several pandemic events in the past century. Upon viral invasion, the innate immune system responds rapidly and plays a key role in activating the adaptive immune system. In the innate immune system, the interactions between pathogen-associated molecular patterns and host pattern recognition receptors activate multiple signaling pathways in immune cells and induce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and interferons to elicit antiviral responses. Macrophages, dendritic cells, and natural killer cells are the principal innate immune components that e...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - December 1, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Resveratrol promotes the survival and neuronal differentiation of hypoxia-conditioned neuronal progenitor cells in rats with cerebral ischemia
In conclusion, resveratrol promoted the neuronal differentiation and therapeutic efficiency of hcNPCs in stroke rats via restoring mitochondrial metabolism. This work suggested a novel approach to promote the clinical translation of NPC transplantation therapy. (Source: Frontiers of Medicine)
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - December 1, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies for acute myeloid leukemia
AbstractChimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapies have achieved unprecedented efficacy in B-cell tumors, prompting scientists and doctors to exploit this strategy to treat other tumor types. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a group of heterogeneous myeloid malignancies. Relapse remains the main cause of treatment failure, especially for patients with intermediate or high risk stratification. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation could be an effective therapy because of the graft-versus-leukemia effect, which unfortunately puts the patient at risk of serious complications, such as graft-versus-host dise...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - December 1, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
A giant step forward: chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for lymphoma
AbstractThe combination of the immunotherapy (i.e., the use of monoclonal antibodies) and the conventional chemotherapy increases the long-term survival of patients with lymphoma. However, for patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant lymphoma, a novel treatment approach is urgently needed. Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells were introduced as a treatment for these patients. Based on recent clinical data, approximately 50% of patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma achieved complete remission after receiving the CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. Moreover, clinical data revealed that some patients remained in...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - December 1, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Prohibitin regulates mTOR pathway via interaction with FKBP8
AbstractThe ability of tumor cells to sustain continuous proliferation is one of the major characteristics of cancer. The activation of oncogenes and the mutation or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes ensure the rapid proliferation of tumor cells. The PI3K-Akt-mTOR axis is one of the most frequently modified signaling pathways whose activation sustains cancer growth. Unsurprisingly, it is also one of the most commonly attempted targets for cancer therapy. FK506 binding protein 8 (FKBP8) is an intrinsic inhibitor of mTOR kinase that also exerts an anti-apoptotic function. We aimed to explain these contradictory aspects ...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - December 1, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Immune response triggered by the ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma with nanosecond pulsed electric field
AbstractNanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) is a novel, nonthermal, and minimally invasive modality that can ablate solid tumors by inducing apoptosis. Recent animal experiments show that nsPEF can induce the immunogenic cell death of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and stimulate the host ’s immune response to kill residual tumor cells and decrease distant metastatic tumors. nsPEF-induced immunity is of great clinical importance because the nonthermal ablation may enhance the immune memory, which can prevent HCC recurrence and metastasis. This review summarized the most advanced re search on the effect of nsPEF. The ...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - November 13, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
Overcoming resistance to endocrine therapy in hormone receptor-positive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR + /HER2 − ) advanced breast cancer: a meta-analysis and systemic review of randomized clinical trials
AbstractNew targeted therapies have been developed to overcome resistance to endocrine therapy (ET) and improve the outcome of HR+/HER2− advanced breast cancer (ABC). We conducted a meta-analysis and systemic review on randomized controlled trials evaluating various targeted therapies in combination with ET in HR+/HER2− ABC. PUBMED and EMBASE databases were searched for eligible trials. Hazard ratios (HRs) for progression-free survival (PFS), odds ratios (ORs) for objective response rate (ORR), clinical benefit rate (CBR), and toxicity were meta-analyzed. Twenty-six studies with data on 10 347 patients were included an...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - November 11, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
mTOR-targeted cancer therapy: great target but disappointing clinical outcomes, why?
AbstractThe mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) critically regulates several essential biological functions, such as cell growth, metabolism, survival, and immune response by forming two important complexes, namely, mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and complex 2 (mTORC2). mTOR signaling is often dysregulated in cancers and has been considered an attractive cancer therapeutic target. Great efforts have been made to develop efficacious mTOR inhibitors, particularly mTOR kinase inhibitors, which suppress mTORC1 and mTORC2; however, major success has not been achieved. With the strong scientific rationale, the intriguing question is w...
Source: Frontiers of Medicine - November 9, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
