2018年 · 第01卷第01期

From interpreting the structure and function of proteins to exploring the double helix structure of DNA and completion of the Human Genome Project, our understanding of the life sciences increased remarkably in the 20th century. These achievements were largely made by physicists, chemists, and biologists working within their own fields. Today, however, biological discoveries increasingly result from interdisciplinary approaches. For example, interpretation of the nucleotide sequence of genes is based on advances in engineering and computer science. Therefore, interdisciplinarity is essential for biology to advance in the 21st century.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. It mainly consists of 2 histological types: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, including squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma). The present study aimed to assess the role of serum progastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and their combinations in the histological diagnosis of lung cancer (specially SCLC), which is of great importance for the initiation of treatment and prognostic implications. Serum ProGRP, NSE, and CEA were determined by the electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) in 66 patients with SCLC, 73 with adenocarcinoma, 44 with squamous cell carcinoma, 45 with non-malignant pulmonary diseases, and 50 healthy controls. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to compare the predictive ability of each biochemical marker and their combined detection models to discriminate among the patients with lung cancers of different histological groups, benign pulmonary diseases and healthy individuals. In the ECLIA detection system, ProGRP showed the sensitivity and specificity for SCLC diagnosis were 71.2% and 91.1% to 93.2%, respectively. Among the markers, the largest area under the ROCs was for ProGRP in discriminating SCLC from benign pulmonary diseases, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma (0.815, 0.859, and 0.835, respectively), which indicated that ProGRP was the most efficient marker for identifying SCLC. Besides, ProGRP and NSE exhibited almost equivalent diagnostic performance in discriminating SCLC from benign diseases. As for squamous cell carcinoma, we recommended proGRP, while for adenocarcinoma, the combination of proGRP and CEA was preferred. Remarkably, when ProGRP ≤ 66 pg/mL, CEA was of great value in diagnosing SCLC and adenocarcinoma. If CEA ≤ 5 ng/mL, the patient was at higher risk for SCLC, whereas the patient was more likely to be diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. Our study provided promising information about the diagnostic values of serum ProGRP, NSE, CEA in distinguishing SCLC from benign pulmonary diseases and NSCLC, which was of crucial clinical significance in the early diagnosis and therapy of SCLC.

The accurate prediction of overall survival (OS) is important in clinical decision-making for breast cancer treatment. We developed a model to predict the OS of non-metastatic breast cancer patients in China. This multicenter study included 1844 non-metastatic breast cancer patients who underwent breast cancer surgery between January 2009 and December 2011 in 3 tertiary teaching hospitals in China. Data were collected retrospectively from the database of each hospital. We used univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to screen for predictors. A nomogram was developed in the training cohort (from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital [SYSMH]), externally validated in 2 validation cohorts (from the First People’s Hospital of Foshan [FPHF] and Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYUCC)), and compared with CancerMath, a mathematical-based model. We used Receiver Operating Characteristic curves and calibration plots to assess the models. At median follow-ups of 65.9, 68.6, and 66.2 months, the 5-year OS rates were 93.0%, 86.7%, and 91.0% in the SYSMH, FPHF, and SYUCC cohorts, respectively. We identified age, T stage, lymph node status, estrogen receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 statuses as significant prognostic factors. A nomogram was developed and externally validated in the FPHF (area under the curve= 0.74) and SYUCC (area under the curve= 0.77) cohorts. Calibration plots showed that the predicted OS was consistent with the actual OS. The nomogram outperformed CancerMath in our study population. In summary, we developed a nomogram to predict survival among non-metastatic breast cancer patientsin China. This nomogram is superior to the CancerMath model in Chinese populations.

Understanding the complexity of biological systems requires a comprehensive analysis of their cell populations. Ideally, this should be done at the single cell level, because bulk analysis of the full population obscured many critical details due to artifacts introduced by averaging. However, this has been technically challenging due to the cumbersome procedure, low throughput, and high costs of performing analysis on a single-cell basis. Excitingly, technical improvements in single-cell RNA sequencing are making it economically practical to profile the transcriptomics of large populations of cells at the single-cell level, and have yielded numerous results that address important biological and medical questions. Further development of the technology and data analysis will significantly benefit the biomedical field by unraveling the function of individual cells in their microenvironments and modeling their transcriptional dynamics.

This study aimed to describe the clinicopathologic characteristics of non-puerperal mastitis and to investigate spectrum of organisms causing it in the population of Southern China. We retrospectively registered 364 female patients with histological confirmation of inflammatory disease of the breast in the non-lactational phase, who were admitted to our institution over an 11-year period (2005-2016). Clinical, laboratory, and radiographic imaging features, as well as their bacteriological etiology, were analyzed in detail. In this study, 117 patients were diagnosed with periductal mastitis (PDM)/mammary duct ectasia (MDE) and 247 patients were diagnosed with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM). There were significant differences in terms of mean age of onset, menstruation period, and menstruation history. Nipple discharge, inverted nipple, and the ratio of abscess and fistula were more spontaneous in women with PDM/MDE compared to IGM. The inflammatory biomarkers including leukocyte count, neutrophil percentage, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in PDM/MDE group were significantly higher than IGM group. For bacteriological etiology, the most commonly isolated organism was Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii (C kroppenstedtii) in the IGM group and Staphylococcus in the PDM/MDE group. The study shows that the combination of demographic characteristics and clinicopathological characteristics was helpful in differential diagnosis of PDM/MDE and IGM. IGM can be associated with C kroppenstedtii, providing a possible effective therapeutic and preventive method by targeting this kind of bacilli.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a heterogeneous group of hematological tumors composed of distinct subtypes that vary in their genetic abnormalities. In the past decade, large-scale genomic analysis has shed new light on providing potentially important oncogenic or tumor suppressive candidates involved in the disease progression. Following in silico analysis, functional studies are usually performed to vigorously investigate the biological roles of candidate genes. For this purpose, animal models faithfully recapitulating the human disease are widely applied to decipher the mechanism underlying T-cell transformation. Conversely, an increased understanding of T-ALL biology, including identification of oncogene NOTCH1, TAL1 and MYC as well as tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), has significantly improved the development of T-ALL animal models. These progresses have opened opportunities for development of new therapeutic strategy to benefit T-ALL patients. In this review, we particularly summarize the mouse and zebrafish models used in T-ALL research and also the most recent advances from these in vivo studies.

The human microbiome has become a new frontier of life sciences and plays a crucial role in determining individual and population health. Over thousands of years of medical practice, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) developed an understanding of the importance and activity of commensal microorganisms without access to modern technology. In this review, we examine the theoretical similarities between modern studies of the human microbiome and TCM, and propose feasible strategies to integrate the 2 fields. Advances in our understanding of the human microbiome will also help to modernize the practice of TCM, thereby providing a basis for bridging the gap between modern medicine and TCM.

Human cancer is a complex disease caused by the interaction of multiple genes and environmental factors. It is known that environmental factors such as smoking, drinking, and food carcinogens are implicated in the development of certain types of cancer including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, only a small portion of exposed individuals finally developed cancer, indicating that genetic makeup also plays an important role in the tumorigenesis. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have found numerous susceptible genes or loci for cancers, providing new ideas and directions for precision prevention and treatment of cancers. With the advances in the field of next-generation sequencing (NGS), the genomic landscapes of many types of human cancer have comprehensively been characterized. Here, we review the progresses of GWAS and NGS in revealing genomic variations of ESCC, one of the most common cancers in China, and discuss the potential applications of these results in precision medicine of ESCC.