Background: CD4⁺ memory T cells are an important component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and affect tumor occurrence and progression. Nevertheless, there has been no systematic analysis of the effect of CD4⁺ memory T cells in gastric cancer (GC).Methods: Three datasets obtained from microarray and the corresponding clinical data of GC patients were retrieved and downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We uploaded the normalize gene expression data with standard annotation to the CIBERSORT web portal for evaluating the proportion of immune cells in the GC samples. The WGCNA was performed to identify the modules the CD4⁺ memory T cell related module (CD4⁺ MTRM) which was most significantly associated with CD4⁺ memory T cell. Univariate Cox analysis was used to screen prognostic CD4⁺ memory T cell-related genes (CD4⁺ MTRGs) in CD4⁺ MTRM. LASSO analysis and multivariate Cox analysis were then performed to construct a prognostic gene signature whose effect was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier curves and receiver operating characteristic (ROC), Harrell’s concordance index (C-index), and decision curve analyses (DCA). A prognostic nomogram was finally established based on the CD4⁺ MTRGs.Result: We observed that a high abundance of CD4⁺ memory T cells was associated with better survival in GC patients. CD4⁺ MTRM was used to stratify GC patients into three clusters by unsupervised clustering analysis and ten CD4⁺ MTRGs were identified. Overall survival, five immune checkpoint genes and 17 types of immunocytes were observed to be significantly different among the three clusters. A ten-CD4⁺ MTRG signature was constructed to predict GC patient prognosis. The ten-CD4⁺ MTRG signature could divide GC patients into high- and low-risk groups with distinct OS rates. Multivariate Cox analysis suggested that the ten-CD4⁺ MTRG signature was an independent risk factor in GC. A nomogram incorporating this signature and clinical variables was established, and the C-index was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.697–0.763). Calibration curves and DCA presented high credibility for the OS nomogram.Conclusion: We identified three molecule subtypes, ten CD4⁺ MTRGs, and generated a prognostic nomogram that reliably predicts OS in GC. These findings have implications for precise prognosis prediction and individualized targeted therapy.

Background: The Chromobox (CBX) protein family, which is a crucial part of the epigenetic regulatory complex, plays an important role in the occurrence and development of cancer; however, the function and prognostic value of CBX family members in gastric cancer is not clear. Methods: we investigated the relationship between CBX members and gastric cancer using a range of tools and databases: Oncomine, Kaplan–Meier plotter, cBioPortal, ULCAN, Metascape, and GEPIA. Results: The results showed that, relative to normal gastric tissue, mRNA expression levels of CBX1-6 were significantly higher in gastric cancer tissue, whereas the level of CBX7 was significantly lower. Furthermore, overexpression of CBX3-6 and underexpression of CBX7 mRNAs was significantly related to the poor prognosis and survival of gastric cancer patients, making these CBX family members useful biomarkers. Finally, overexpression of CBX1 mRNA was significantly related to the poor prognosis of gastric cancer patients treated with adjuvant 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. Conclusions: The members of the CBX family can be used as prognosis and survival biomarkers for gastric cancer and CBX1 may be a biomarker for choosing the chemotherapy regimen of gastric cancer patients.

Background: Reports on preoperative progressive pneumoperitoneum (PPP) and botulinum toxin A (BTA) for managing giant inguinoscrotal hernias are limited. Hence, we report our experience with these preoperative techniques in patients with this condition. Materials and Methods: Observational study of 8 consecutive patients with giant inguinoscrotal hernias between January 2018 and December 2018. All patients were treated preoperatively with BTA injection to the lateral abdominal wall muscles and PPP for passive abdominal cavity expansion. Length of abdominal wall muscles, volume of inguinal hernia (VIH), volume of the abdominal cavity (VAC), and VIH/VAC ratio were measured before and after PPP and BTA using abdominal computed tomography. All hernias were repaired laparoscopically using transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) repair techniques. Results: The mean insufflated volume of air for PPP was 5625 ± 845 mL for 15.4 ± 1.6 days. An average reduction of 5.3% of the VIH/VAC ratio after PPP and BTA was obtained (P < .01). The length of lateral abdominal muscles with a mean gain of 3.3 cm/side (P < .01) and complications associated with PPP were 12.5% and with surgical technique, 25%. Laparoscopic TAPP repair was achieved in all cases, with no clinical evidence of postoperative abdominal hypertension. The mean follow-up was 22 months; no hernia recurrences have been reported. Conclusions: Combination of PPP and BTA is feasible and useful for surgically managing giant inguinoscrotal hernias, which can avoid abdominal compartment syndrome after laparoscopic TAPP repair of giant inguinoscrotal hernias.

Xihuang pill (XHP), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, has long been used as an effective agent against multiple tumors. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of XHP on the growth inhibition and apoptosis in glioblastoma U‐87 MG cells. Gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) was performed for constituent analysis of XHP. Cell viability, cell cycle arrest, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and apoptosis were measured by CCK‐8 assay, PI/RNase staining, DCFH‐DA assay, TUNEL assay, Annexin V‐FITC/PI double staining, and JC‐1 assay, respectively. The role of XHP in the regulation of Akt/mTOR/FOXO1 interaction was clarified by using Western Blotting (WB), immunofluorescence (IF), pharmacological inhibitor or antioxidant, and siRNA silencing. The results suggested that XHP could inhibit U‐87 MG cells growth and arrest cells in S‐phase cell cycle significantly and that the generation of ROS, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, enhancement of Bax/Bcl‐xL ratio, and reduction of the precursor forms of caspase‐9 and caspase‐3 caused by XHP prompted that a ROS‐mediated mitochondria‐dependent apoptosis was possibly involved. Furthermore, XHP affected the Akt/mTOR/FOXO1 pathway via inhibiting the phosphorylation of Akt, mTOR, and FOXO1 and increasing both prototype and nuclear translocation of FOXO1. Inhibition of Akt, mTOR, and FOXO1 by specific inhibitors or siRNA could interpose the apoptotic induction. In conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time that XHP may regulate glioblastoma U‐87 MG cell apoptosis via ROS‐mediated Akt/mTOR/FOXO1 pathway.

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that cellular senescence promotes tumor formation and that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) expression predicts tumor prognosis. However, senescence-related variables, particularly lncRNAs, are still largely unknown. Therefore, the present study developed a novel senescence-associated lncRNA signature to predict colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis. Methods: A co-expression network of senescence-associated mRNAs and lncRNAs was built using RNA-sequence data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). By using the prognosis outcomes data of overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) from TCGA, we constructed a prognostic senescence-associated lncRNA signature (SenALSig). The OS and DFS were compared between the low- and high- risk groups defined by SenALSig. A single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and CIBERSORT algorithm were used to investigate the relationship between the predictive signature and immune status. Finally, the relationship between SenALSig and drug treatment options was investigated. An independent CRC cohort and three CRC cell lines were recruited to perform real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis to validate the results discovered in silico. Results: A prognostic risk model consisting of six senescence-associated lncRNAs was constructed, including SNHG16, AL590483.1, ZEB1-AS1, AC107375.1, AC068580.3, and AC147067.1. High-risk scores according to the SenALSig were significantly associated with poor OS (hazard ratio =1.218, 95% confidence interval: 1.140–1.301; P<0.001). The model’s accuracy was further supported by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (the area under the curve is 0.714) and a principal component analysis (PCA). In univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, SenALSig was further found to be a prognostic factor independent of other clinical factors. Furthermore, we discovered that immune checkpoint expression and response to chemotherapy and targeted therapy differed significantly between the SenALSig-stratified high- and low-risk groups. Finally, the qPCR results revealed that the expression levels of the six senescence-associated lncRNAs differed significantly between tumor and normal tissues and between the CRC cell lines and a normal human colon mucosal epithelial cell line. Conclusions: SenALSig can better predict survival and risk in CRC patients, as well as help develop new anti-cancer treatment strategies for CRC.

Background: Complex ventral hernia repair can be challenging despite the recent advances in surgical techniques. Here, we aimed to examine the effectiveness of preoperative combined use of botulinum toxin A (BTA) and preoperative progressive pneumoperitoneum (PPP) for surgical preparation of patients with complex ventral hernia.Methods: In this prospective, observational study, we included 22 patients with complex ventral hernia between January 2018 and May 2021. All patients were treated with BTA injections into the lateral abdominal muscles and PPP before hernia repair. The lengths of abdominal wall muscles, the volumes of the incisional hernia (VIH), the volumes of the abdominal cavity (VAC), and the VIH/VAC ratio were measured before and after BTA and PPP using abdominal CT scan. All Hernias were repaired using laparoscopic intra-peritoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) or laparoscopic-open-laparoscopic (LOL) techniques.Results: Imaging showed a significant increase in the mean lateral abdominal muscle length from 13.1 to 17.2 cm/side (p < 0.01). Before and after BTA and PPP, the mean VIH was 894 cc and 1209 cc (P < 0.01), and the mean VAC was 6,692 cc and 9,183 cc (P < 0.01). The VAC increased by 2,491 cc (P < 0.01) and was greater than the mean VIH before PPP. An average reduction of 0.9% of the VIH/VAC ratio after BTA and PPP was obtained (p > 0.05). All hernias were surgically reduced with mesh, hernia recurrence occurred in only two patients.Conclusions: The preoperative combined use of PPP and BTA increased the abdominal volume, lengthened the laterally retracted abdominal muscles, and facilitated laparoscopic closure of large complex ventral hernia.