Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion,A Misnomer?: Where Do We Go From Here?

The importance of the left atrial appendage (LAA) as the source of thromboembolism including stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation is well documented, with more than 90% of ischemic strokes related to a LAA thrombus. Although oral anticoagulation has been the standard of care, approximately 50% to 60% of patients either have contraindications to oral anticoagulation or do not continue the medication beyond the first year. This led to the development of local site-specific therapy to occlude the LAA by either surgical or transcatheter means. Despite marked advancements, incomplete LAA closure with surgical and transcatheter approaches remains frequent. The etiology of incomplete LAA closure and its clinical implications remain unclear. Multiple strategies are in development including changes in deployment techniques, a new device design, and alternative approaches to leak closure.     

Artificial intelligence and clinical data suggest the T cell-mediated SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural protein intranasal vaccines for global COVID-19 immunity

Advanced computational methodologies suggested SARS-CoV-2, nonstructural proteins ORF1AB, ORF3a, as the source of immunodominant peptides for T cell presentation. T cell immunity is long-lasting and compatible with COVID-19 pathology. Based on the supporting clinical data, nonstructural SARS-CoV-2 protein vaccines could provide global immunity against COVID-19.     

Immunotherapy: A new standard in the treatment of metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell cancer (RCC) represents 2%-3% of all adulthood cancers and is the most common malignant neoplasm of the kidney (90%). In the mid-nineties of the last century, the standard of treatment for patients with metastatic RCC was cytokines. Sunititib and pazopanib were registered in 2007 and 2009, respectively, and have since been the standard first-line treatment for metastatic clear cell RCC (mccRCC). Renal cell cancer is a highly immunogenic tumor with tumor infiltrating cells, including CD8+ T lymphocytes, dendritic cells, natural killer cells (NK) and macrophages. This observation led to the design of new clinical trials in which patients were treated with immunotherapy. With the growing evidence that proangiogenic factors can have immunomodulatory effects on the host’s immune system, the idea of combining angiogenic drugs with immunotherapy has emerged, and new clinical trials have been designed. In the last few years, several therapeutic options have been approved [immunotherapy and immunotherapy/tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI)] for the first-line treatment of mccRCC. Nivolumab/ipilimumab is approved for the treatment of patients with intermediate and poor prognoses. Several checkpoint inhibitors (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, avelumab) in combination with TKI (axitinib, lenvatinib, cabozantinib) are approved for the treatment of patients regardless of their International mRCC Database Consortium prognostic group and PD-L1 expression. There is no specific and ideal biomarker that could help in selecting the ideal patient for the appropriate first-line treatment.     

RNA sequencing steps toward the first line

• DNA is the sequence that codes for proteins.
• Messenger RNA is transcribed from the DNA sequence of genes and translated into protein.
• It can be difficult to predict how a change in the DNA sequence will affect messenger RNA and protein quantity and quality.
• DNA translocation changes can cause the joining of sequences from two different genes or different parts of the same gene.
• DNA sequencing is often used clinically to predict how DNA changes might affect proteins.
• Alternatively, RNA sequencing can be used as a more direct measure of the effect of DNA changes on the protein products.
• This sequencing is important for identifying changes in cancer that may indicate response to targeted therapy, prognosis, or diagnosis.

     

Utilization of and Outcomes Associated with Intravascular Ultrasound during Deep Venous Stent Placement among Medicare Beneficiaries

PurposeTo evaluate temporal trends, practice variation, and associated outcomes with the use of intravascular ultrasound (US) during deep venous stent placement among Medicare beneficiaries.Materials and MethodsAll lower extremity deep venous stent placement procedures performed between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019 among Medicare beneficiaries were included. Temporal trends in intravascular US use were stratified by procedural setting and physician specialty. The primary outcome was a composite of 12-month all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalization, or repeat target vessel intervention. The secondary outcome was a composite of 12-month stent thrombosis, embolization, or restenosis.ResultsAmong the 20,984 deep venous interventions performed during the study period, 15,184 (72.4%) utilized intravascular US. Moderate growth in intravascular US use was observed during the study period in all clinical settings. There was a variation in the use of intravascular US among all operators (median, 77.3% of cases; interquartile range, 20.0%–99.2%). In weighted analyses, intravascular US use during deep venous stent placement was associated with a lower risk of both the primary (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69–0.76; P < .001) and secondary (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.27–0.39; P < .001) composite end points.ConclusionsIntravascular US is frequently used during deep venous stent placement among Medicare beneficiaries, with further increase in use from 2017 to 2019. The utilization of intravascular US as part of a procedural strategy was associated with a lower cumulative incidence of adverse outcomes after the procedure, including venous stent thrombosis and embolization.     

温阳解郁颗粒调节BDNF/TrkB/ERK信号通路保护皮质酮诱导损伤型海马神经细胞的作用机制研究＊

目的 观察温阳解郁颗粒（Wenyang Jieyu granule，WYJY）对皮质酮（Corticosterone，CORT）诱导损伤型小鼠海马神经细胞（TH22 cell）的保护作用，基于脑源性神经营养因子（Brain derived neurotrophic factor， BDNF）/酪氨酸激酶B（Tyrosine kinase B， TrkB）/细胞外信号调节蛋白激酶（Extra cellular regulated protein kinases， ERK）信号通路探讨WYJY保护海马神经细胞的作用机制。方法 体外构建小鼠海马神经细胞皮质酮诱导损伤模型，以不同浓度的WYJY和氟西汀（Fluoxetine，FXT）含药血清作用于模型细胞，细胞增殖-毒性检测（Cell Counting Kit-8， CCK-8）法分析细胞活性，倒置显微镜下观察给药前后细胞形态结构的改变，采用蛋白免疫印迹法（Western Blot）、实时荧光定量PCR（Quantitative real-time PCR， qPCR）法检测神经细胞内凋亡因子（BCL2-Associated X， Bax）、抗凋亡因子（B-cell lymphoma-2， Bcl-2）、BDNF、Trkb、ERK以及丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶（Phospho-p90RSK， RSK）、环磷腺苷效应元件结合蛋白（cAMP-response element binding protein， CREB）蛋白表达水平以及相关基因的表达水平。结果 在浓度为459.5 μmol·L^-1的CORT作用24 h后，HT22细胞的活性抑制率达到50%，在此条件作用下细胞形态结构损伤明显，凋亡程度严重，细胞上清中BDNF的含量显著减少（P<0.05），细胞内凋亡相关因子Bax/Bcl-2的比值明显升高（P<0.01），BDNF、Trkb、ERK、RSK、CREB磷酸化蛋白表达水平和mRNA表达水平明显降低（P<0.01）；以5%的浓度为2.85 g·kg^-1的WYJY和10%的FXT含药血清作用于受损的HT22细胞后，HT22细胞存活率明显提升（P<0.01），细胞结构的损伤明显改善，细胞凋亡程度减轻，细胞外BDNF的含量显著升高（P<0.05），细胞内Bax/Bcl-2比值显著下调（P<0.01），BDNF、Trkb、ERK、RSK、CREB磷酸化蛋白表达水平和mRNA表达水平显著提升（P<0.05，P<0.01）。结论 温阳解郁颗粒可有效保护高浓度CORT造成的小鼠海马神经细胞损伤。调控BDNF/Trkb/ERK通路，放大CREB信号传导，影响Bcl-2、BDNF水平，可能是其保护海马神经元，发挥抗抑郁疗效的重要机制。