Functional dyspepsia (FD) is considered a bio-psychosocial disorder. The role of psychosocial factors in FD pathogenesis remains unclear. This study evaluated sleep quality and mood symptoms in patients with FD, assessing the associations of FD severity, disordered sleep, and psychological symptoms. One-hundred-and-fifteen adult patients with typical FD symptoms were enrolled alongside 61 healthy volunteers. Rome III criteria were used to evaluate FD symptoms; sleep disorder was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90R) was utilized to determine the status of depression, anxiety and other psychological symptoms. PSQI scores and nine symptomatic dimensions of SCL-90R were significantly higher in FD patients than in controls. Multiple logistic regression indicated that lower BMI, lower level of education, and sleep disturbance were independently associated with FD and FD subgroups. Hostility and phobic anxiety were independent risk factors for FD. Further analysis showed that hostility was an independent risk factor for both FD subgroups, and somatization and additional psychiatric symptoms for epigastric pain syndrome. We found that FD was associated with sleep disorder and psychopathological factors. These findings suggest that implementing sleeping and/or psychological therapies may help reduce FD symptoms.

Immunotherapy is a promising treatment for advanced colorectal cancers (CRCs). However, immunotherapy resistance remains a common problem. Immunogenic cell death (ICD), a form of regulated cell death, induces adaptive immunity, thereby enhancing anti-tumor immunity. Research increasingly suggests that inducing ICD is a promising avenue for cancer immunotherapy and identifying ICD-related biomarkers for CRCs would create a new direction for targeted therapies. Thus, this study used bioinformatics to address these questions and create a prognostic signature, aiming to improve individualized CRC treatment. We identified two ICD -related molecular subtypes of CRCs. The high subtype showed pronounced immune cell infiltration, high immune activity, and high expression of human leukocyte antigen and immune checkpoints genes. Subsequently, we constructed and validated a prognostic signature comprising six genes (CD1A, TSLP, CD36, TIMP1, MC1R, and NRG1) using random survival forest analyses. Further analysis using this prediction model indicated that patients with CRCs in the low-risk group exhibited favorable clinical outcomes and better immunotherapy responses than those in the high-risk group. Our findings provide novel insights into determining the prognosis and design of personalized immunotherapeutic strategies for patients with CRCs.

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are pacemaker cells in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and loss of ICC is associated with many GI motility disorders. Previous studies have shown that ICC have the capacity to regenerate or restore, and several growth factors are critical to their growth, maintenance or regeneration. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of interleukin-9 (IL-9) in the growth, maintenance and pacemaker functions of cultured ICC. Here, we report that IL-9 promotes proliferation of ICC, and culturing ICC with IL-9 enhances cholecystokinin-8-induced Ca²⁺ transients, which is probably caused by facilitating maintenance of ICC functions under culture condition. We also show co-localizations of cholecystokinin-1 receptor and IL-9 receptor with c-kit by double-immunohistochemical labeling. In conclusion, IL-9 can promote ICC growth and help maintain ICC functions; IL-9 probably performs its functions via IL-9 receptors on ICC.

Mechanisms of cholecystokinin-induced calcium mobilization in gastric antral interstitial cells of Cajal