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Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) has become a serious public health problem, placing a heavy burden on society and the healthcare system. Its pathogenesis is not completely clear and may be closely related to mechanical damage, inflammatory factors, oxidative stress and death of nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs). The treatment of IVDD mainly includes conservative treatment and surgery. Conservative treatment is based on hormonal and anti-inflammatory drugs and massage techniques, which can relieve the pain symptoms to a certain extent, but cannot solve the problem from the root cause. Surgical treatment is mainly by removing the herniated nucleus pulposus, but it is more traumatic for IVDD patients, expensive and not suitable for all patients. Therefore, it is extremely important to clarify the pathogenesis of IVDD, to find an effective and convenient treatment and to further elaborate its mechanism of action. The effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of IVDD has been well demonstrated in clinical medical research. We have been working on the Chinese herbal formula Duhuo Jisheng Decoction, which is a common formula for the treatment of degenerative disc disease. Not only does it have significant clinical effects, but it also has few adverse effects. At present, we found that its mechanism of action mainly involves regulation of inflammatory factors, reduction of apoptosis and pyroptosis of NPCs, inhibition of extracellular matrix degradation, improvement of intestinal flora, etc. However, a few relevant articles have yet comprehensively and systematically summarized the mechanisms by which they exert their effect. Therefore, this paper will comprehensively and systematically explain on it. This is of great clinical significance and social value for elucidating the pathogenesis of IVDD and improving the symptoms of patients, and will provide a theoretical basis and scientific basis for the treatment of IVDD with traditional Chinese medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Circulating tumour cell (CTC) and CTC-white blood cell (CTC-WBC) clusters are related to the prognosis of tumour patients. However, the relationship between CTC-WBC clusters and prognosis in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients is not clear. We evaluated the prognostic value of CTC-WBC clusters using metastasis-free survival (MFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with RCC.Materials and Methods: The baseline, survival, and CTC data of patients with RCC were statistically analysed by R.Results: The Cox risk proportional regression model suggests that the total CTCs, pathology type, and CTC-WBC clusters can be used as prognostic indicators for the MFS of RCC patients. Total CTCs and solid tumour diameter can be used as prognostic indicators for the OS of RCC patients. Using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, we found that patients with total CTCs, pathology, and CTC-WBC clusters greater than the cut-off value had a worse MFS, and patients with total CTCs greater than the cut-off value had a worse OS.Conclusion: The analysis of the clinical sample data in patients with RCC shows that CTC-WBC clusters play an important role in monitoring the prognosis of RCC. Among them, total CTCs, pathology, and CTC-WBC clusters were combined as prognostic factors for the MFS of RCC patients. Total CTCs and solid tumour diameter can be combined as prognostic factors for the OS of RCC patients. These prognostic factors provide more convenient and accurate condition monitoring for renal cancer patients and can be used to actively improve the prognosis of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe hypoxia induces a series of stress responses in mammals; however, subterranean rodents have evolved several adaptation mechanisms of energy metabolisms and O2 utilization for hypoxia. Mammalian brains show extreme aerobic metabolism. Following hypoxia exposure, mammals usually experience irreversible brain damage and can even develop serious diseases, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and brain edema. To investigate mechanisms underlying the responses of subterranean rodents to severe hypoxia, we performed a cross-species brain transcriptomic analysis using RNA sequencing and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the subterranean rodent Lasiopodomys mandarinus and its closely related aboveground species L. brandtii under severe hypoxia (5.0% O2, 6 h) and normoxia (20.9% O2, 6 h). Results: We obtained 361 million clean reads, including 69,611 unigenes in L. mandarinus and 69,360 in L. brandtii. We identified 359 and 515 DEGs by comparing the hypoxic and normoxia groups of L. mandarinus and L. brandtii, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that upregulated DEGs in both species displayed similar terms in response to severe hypoxia; the main difference is that GO terms of L. brandtii were enriched in the immune system. However, in the downregulated DEGs, GO terms of L. mandarinus were enriched in cell proliferation and protein transport and those of L. brandtii were enriched in nuclease and hydrolase activities, particularly in terms of developmental functions. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that upregulated DEGs in L. mandarinus were associated with DNA repair and damage prevention as well as angiogenesis and metastasis inhibition, whereas downregulated DEGs were associated with neuronal synaptic transmission and tumor-associated metabolic pathways. In L. brandtii, upregulated KEGG pathways were enriched in the immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems and particularly in cancer-related pathways, whereas downregulated DEGs were associated with environmental information processing and misregulation in cancers. Conclusions: L. mandarinus has evolved hypoxia adaptation by enhancing DNA repair, damage prevention, and augmenting sensing, whereas L. brandtii showed a higher risk of tumorigenesis and promoted innate immunity toward severe hypoxia. These results reveal the hypoxic mechanisms of L. mandarinus to severe hypoxia, which may provide research clues for hypoxic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Subterranean rodents have evolved many features to adapt to their hypoxic environment. The brain is an organ that is particularly vulnerable to damage caused by exposure to hypoxic conditions. To investigate the mechanisms of adaption to a hypoxic underground environment, we carried out a cross-species brain transcriptome analysis by RNA sequencing and identified genes that are differentially expressed between the subterranean vole Lasiopodomys mandarinus and the closely related above-ground species Lasiopodomys brandtii under chronic hypoxia [10.0% oxygen (O2)] and normoxia (20.9% O2). Results: A total of 355 million clean reads were obtained, including 69,611 unigenes in L. mandarinus and 69,360 in L. brandtii. A total of 235 and 92 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by comparing the hypoxic and control groups of L. mandarinus and L. brandtii, respectively. A Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that upregulated DEGs in both species had similar functions in response to hypoxia, whereas downregulated DEGs in L. mandarinus were enriched GO terms related to enzymes involved in aerobic reactions. In the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, upregulated DEGs in L. mandarinus were associated with angiogenesis and the increased O2 transport capacity of red blood cells, whereas downregulated DEGs were associated with immune responses. On the other hand, upregulated DEGs in L. brandtii were associated with cell survival, vascular endothelial cell proliferation, and neuroprotection, while downregulated genes were related to the synaptic transmission by neurons. Conclusions: L. mandarinus actively adapts its physiological functions to hypoxic conditions, for instance by increasing O2 transport capacity and modulating O2 consumption. In contrast, L. brandtii reacts passively to hypoxia by decreasing overall activity in order to reduce O2 consumption. These results provide insight into hypoxia adaptation mechanisms in subterranean rodents that may be applicable to humans living at high altitudes or operating in other O2-poor environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play a key role in cancer progression, especially metastasis, due to the rarity and heterogeneity of CTCs, fewer researches have been conducted on them at the molecular level. However, through the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, this kind of minority researches can be well integrated, the gene expression differences between CTCs and primary tumors can be identified, and molecular targets for CTCs can be found. Methods: We analyzed 7 sets of gene chips (GSE82198, GSE99394, GSE31023, GSE65505, GSE67982, GSE76250, GSE50746) obtained by GEO. Analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between CTCs and corresponding primary tumors by NetworkAnalyst. Metascape tool for Gene Ontology (GO) / Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of differential genes and visual display. Cytoscape performs protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and obtains the hub genes. Renal cancer patients' clinical specimens to verify the correctness of enrichment results. Prognostic analysis of hub genes in kidney cancer patients using the Kaplan–Meier plotter survival analysis tool. Results: We obtained a total of 589 DEGs. The GO / KEGG enrichment results indicate that the DEGs are mainly concentrated in cell adhesion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and apoptosis. Renal cancer clinical specimens suggest that CTCs have epithelial and mesenchymal types. At the same time, PSMC2 can be used as a poor prognostic indicator for renal cancer patients. Conclusions: In summary, our study suggests that compared with primary tumors, CTCs mainly change cell adhesion, EMT, and apoptosis. PSMC2 can be used as a poor prognostic factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]