Biomedical Journal最新文献

{"title":"Inherently imperfect, inherently evolving – The pursuit of precision through biomarkers","authors":"Aila Akosua Kattner","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2025.100839","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2025.100839","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Featuring a special section on cancer biomarkers, this issue of the <em>Biomedical Journal</em> highlights research on cfDNA, fecal miRNA, mitochondrial pathways, Epstein-Barr virus DNA, multi-biomarker panels combined with LC-MS-based methods, and circulating tumor cell (CTC) growth status as potential tools for cancer detection and management, including colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Additionally, it explores the social stigma surrounding mpox, and discusses the achievements in miRNA research that earned the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Advances in deep learning for trauma imaging are examined, alongside a review of decades of enterovirus research and current vaccination strategies. Other studies investigate the combined use of anthelmintic and antibiotic therapy for roundworm infection, and the application of a well-established Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal formula, commonly prescribed for gynecological conditions, against autoimmune hepatitis. Further articles elucidate the role of the nuclear receptor HNF4 in Schistosoma, mitochondrial dysfunction in acute kidney injury, the effects of astragalus polysaccharides on prostate cancer, and the use of deep learning to predict mortality from electrocardiograms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100839"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143522468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Doxycycline cotherapy with albendazole relieves neural function damage in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis","authors":"Eny Sofiyatun ,&nbsp;Kuang-Yao Chen ,&nbsp;Chih-Jen Chou ,&nbsp;Hsin-Chia Lee ,&nbsp;Yi-An Day ,&nbsp;Pei-Jui Chiang ,&nbsp;Cheng-Hsun Chiu ,&nbsp;Wei-June Chen ,&nbsp;Kai-Yuan Jhan ,&nbsp;Lian-Chen Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100727","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100727","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>We investigated the effects of combination therapy albendazole and doxycycline in Angiostrongylus cantonensis-infected mice during early and late treatment.</div></div><div><h3>Materials and methods</h3><div>C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were divided into five groups: (i) uninfected, (ii) infected with A. cantonensis, (iii) infected + 10 mg/kg albendazole, (iv) infected + 25 mg/kg doxycycline, and (v) infected + 10 mg/kg albendazole + 25 mg/kg doxycycline. We administered drugs in both early treatments started at 7-day post infections (dpi) and late treatments (14 dpi) to A. cantonensis-infected C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. To assess the impact of these treatments, we employed the Morris water maze test to evaluate spatial learning and memory abilities, and the rotarod test to measure motor coordination and balance in C57BL/6 mice. Additionally, we monitored the expression of the cytokine IL-33 and GFAP in the brain of these mice using Western blot analysis.</div></div><div><h3><em>Results</em></h3><div>In this study, <em>A.</em> cantonensis infection was observed to cause extensive cerebral angiostrongyliasis in C57BL/6 mice. This condition significantly affected their spatial learning and memory abilities, as assessed by the Morris water maze test, as well as their motor coordination, which was evaluated using the rotarod test. Early treatment with albendazole led to favorable recovery outcomes. Both C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice express IL-33 and GFAP after co-therapy. The differences of levels and patterns of IL-33 and GFAP expression in mice may be influenced by the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals within the immune system.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Combination therapy with anthelmintics and antibiotics in the early stage of A. cantonensis infection, in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice resulted in the death of parasites in the brain and reduced the subsequent neural function damage and slowed brain damage and neurobehavior impairment. This study suggests a more effective and novel treatment, and drug delivery method for brain lesions that can decrease the neurological damage of angiostrongyliasis patients.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100727"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140793297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epigenetic modifications of cfDNA in liquid biopsy for the cancer care continuum","authors":"Jodie Wong ,&nbsp;Rohit Muralidhar ,&nbsp;Liang Wang ,&nbsp;Chiang-Ching Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100718","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100718","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in the clinical utility of liquid biopsy, with a particular focus on epigenetic approaches aimed at overcoming challenges in cancer diagnosis and treatment. It begins by elucidating key epigenetic terms, including methylomics, fragmentomics, and nucleosomics. The review progresses to discuss methods for analyzing circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and highlights recent studies showcasing the clinical relevance of epigenetic modifications in areas such as diagnosis, drug treatment response, minimal residual disease (MRD) detection, and prognosis prediction. While acknowledging hurdles like the complexity of interpreting epigenetic data and the absence of standardization, the review charts a path forward. It advocates for the integration of multi-omic data through machine learning algorithms to refine predictive models and stresses the importance of collaboration among clinicians, researchers, and data scientists. Such cooperative efforts are essential to fully leverage the potential of epigenetic features in clinical practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100718"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11745953/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140206324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Guizhi Fuling Wan ameliorates concanavalin A-induced autoimmune hepatitis in mice","authors":"Shun-Li Kuo ,&nbsp;Chun-Han Su ,&nbsp;Kuei-Hung Lai ,&nbsp;Yu-Chia Chang ,&nbsp;Jyh-Sheng You ,&nbsp;Hsin-Hsin Peng ,&nbsp;Chun-Hong Chen ,&nbsp;Chi-Chen Lin ,&nbsp;Po-Jen Chen ,&nbsp;Tsong-Long Hwang","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100731","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100731","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an immune-mediated hepatic disease associated with intense complications. AIH is more common in females and needs effective drugs to treat. Guizhi Fuling Wan (GZFLW) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula for treating various gynecologic diseases. In this study, we aim to extend the new use of GZFLW for AIH.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The tandem MS-based analysis was used to identify secondary metabolites in GZFLW. Therapeutic effects of GZFLW were tested in a concanavalin A (Con A)-induced AIH model in mice. Ethnopharmacological mechanisms underlying the antiapoptotic, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory protective effects were determined.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Oral administration of GZFLW attenuates AIH in a Con A-induced hepatotoxic model <em>in vivo</em>. The tandem MS-based analysis identified 15 secondary metabolites in GZFLW. The Con A-induced AIH syndromes, including hepatic apoptosis, inflammation, reactive oxygen species accumulation, function failure, and mortality, were significantly alleviated by GZFLW in mice. Mechanistically, GZFLW restrained the caspase-dependent apoptosis, restored the antioxidant system, and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine production in the livers of Con A-treated mice. Besides, GZFLW repressed the Con A-induced hepatic infiltration of inflammatory cells, splenic T cell activation, and splenomegaly in mice.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our findings demonstrate the applicable potential of GZFLW in treating AIH. It prompts further investigation of GZFLW as a treatment option for AIH and possibly other hepatic diseases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100731"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11745949/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140855876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ECG-surv: A deep learning-based model to predict time to 1-year mortality from 12-lead electrocardiogram","authors":"Ching-Heng Lin ,&nbsp;Zhi-Yong Liu ,&nbsp;Jung-Sheng Chen ,&nbsp;Yang C. Fann ,&nbsp;Ming-Shien Wen ,&nbsp;Chang-Fu Kuo","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100732","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100732","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities have demonstrated potential as prognostic indicators of patient survival. However, the traditional statistical approach is constrained by structured data input, limiting its ability to fully leverage the predictive value of ECG data in prognostic modeling.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study aims to introduce and evaluate a deep-learning model to simultaneously handle censored data and unstructured ECG data for survival analysis. We herein introduce a novel deep neural network called ECG-surv, which includes a feature extraction neural network and a time-to-event analysis neural network. The proposed model is specifically designed to predict the time to 1-year mortality by extracting and analyzing unique features from 12-lead ECG data. ECG-surv was evaluated using both an independent test set and an external set, which were collected using different ECG devices.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The performance of ECG-surv surpassed that of the Cox proportional model, which included demographics and ECG waveform parameters, in predicting 1-year all-cause mortality, with a significantly higher concordance index (C-index) in ECG-surv than in the Cox model using both the independent test set (0.860 [95% CI: 0.859–0.861] vs. 0.796 [95% CI: 0.791–0.800]) and the external test set (0.813 [95% CI: 0.807–0.814] vs. 0.764 [95% CI: 0.755–0.770]). ECG-surv also demonstrated exceptional predictive ability for cardiovascular death (C-index of 0.891 [95% CI: 0.890–0.893]), outperforming the Framingham risk Cox model (C-index of 0.734 [95% CI: 0.715–0.752]).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>ECG-surv effectively utilized unstructured ECG data in a survival analysis. It outperformed traditional statistical approaches in predicting 1-year all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death, which makes it a valuable tool for predicting patient survival.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100732"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11751416/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140853895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fecal miRNAs as potential biomarkers for early detection of colorectal cancer: An updated review","authors":"Chia-Chun Chen ,&nbsp;Pi-Yueh Chang","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100769","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100769","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100769"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11743092/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141722992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advancing cancer diagnosis and treatment: Integrating molecular biomarkers and emerging technologies","authors":"Yu-Sun Chang ,&nbsp;David M. Ojcius","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2025.100831","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2025.100831","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cancer biomarkers can be derived from tumor cells or neighboring cells within the tumor microenvironment. Over the past few decades, various molecular markers, including DNA (mutations, copy number variations), RNA (mRNA, microRNA, circular RNA), proteins, and metabolites, have been identified with the aid of rapidly evolving technologies. Some of these markers have demonstrated potential clinical utility, while others have provided new insights into the deregulation of normal molecular and cellular processes that lead to tumorigenesis. Publications in this special issue of the <em>Biomedical Journal</em> introduce contemporary approaches aimed at enhancing cancer diagnosis, and monitoring of cancer and treatment options, with the ultimate goal of reducing mortality. These studies highlight the importance of integrating advanced technologies with clinical strategies for treatment of cancer.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100831"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143063424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Applications of deep learning in trauma radiology: A narrative review","authors":"Chi-Tung Cheng ,&nbsp;Chun-Hsiang Ooyang ,&nbsp;Chien-Hung Liao ,&nbsp;Shih-Ching Kang","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100743","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100743","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Diagnostic imaging is essential in modern trauma care for initial evaluation and identifying injuries requiring intervention. Deep learning (DL) has become mainstream in medical image analysis and has shown promising efficacy for classification, segmentation, and lesion detection. This narrative review provides the fundamental concepts for developing DL algorithms in trauma imaging and presents an overview of current progress in each modality. DL has been applied to detect free fluid on Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST), traumatic findings on chest and pelvic X-rays, and computed tomography (CT) scans, identify intracranial hemorrhage on head CT, detect vertebral fractures, and identify injuries to organs like the spleen, liver, and lungs on abdominal and chest CT. Future directions involve expanding dataset size and diversity through federated learning, enhancing model explainability and transparency to build clinician trust, and integrating multimodal data to provide more meaningful insights into traumatic injuries. Though some commercial artificial intelligence products are Food and Drug Administration-approved for clinical use in the trauma field, adoption remains limited, highlighting the need for multi-disciplinary teams to engineer practical, real-world solutions. Overall, DL shows immense potential to improve the efficiency and accuracy of trauma imaging, but thoughtful development and validation are critical to ensure these technologies positively impact patient care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100743"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11751421/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140850676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Mpox in MSM: Tackling stigma, minimizing risk factors, exploring pathogenesis, and treatment approaches”","authors":"Arpan Acharya ,&nbsp;Narendra Kumar ,&nbsp;Kamal Singh ,&nbsp;Siddappa N. Byrareddy","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100746","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bj.2024.100746","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mpox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPV), primarily found in Central and West African countries. The typical presentation of the disease before the 2022 mpox outbreak includes a febrile prodrome 5–13 days post-exposure, accompanied by lymphadenopathy, malaise, headache, and muscle aches. Unexpectedly, during the 2022 outbreak, several cases of atypical presentations of the disease were reported, such as the absence of prodromal symptoms and the presence of genital skin lesions suggestive of sexual transmission. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), as of March 20, 2024, 94,707 cases of mpox were reported worldwide, resulting in 181 deaths (22 in African endemic regions and 159 in non-endemic countries). The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports a total of 32,063 cases (33.85% of total cases globally), with 58 deaths (32.04% of global deaths) due to mpox. Person-to-person transmission of mpox can occur through respiratory droplets and sustained close contact. However, during the 2022 outbreak of mpox, a high incidence of anal and perianal lesions among MSMs indicated sexual transmission of MPV as a major route of transmission. Since MSMs are disproportionately at risk for HIV transmission. In this review, we discusses the risk factors, transmission patterns, pathogenesis, vaccine, and treatment options for mpox among MSM and people living with HIV (PLWH). Furthermore, we provide a brief perspective on the evolution of the MPV in immunocompromised people like PLWH.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"Article 100746"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11751411/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140908124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Defining epitranscriptomic hallmarks at the host-parasite interface and their roles in virulence and disease progression in Theileria annulata-infected leukocytes.","authors":"Malak Haidar, Tobias Mourier, Rahul Salunke, Abhinav Kaushik, Fathia Ben-Rached, Sara Mfarrej, Arnab Pain","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2025.100828","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bj.2025.100828","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Theileria parasites are known to induce the transformation of host bovine leukocytes, involved in rapid proliferation, evasion from apoptotic mechanisms, and increased dissemination. In this study, we reveal the involvement of m⁶A RNA modification in T. annulata infection-induced transformation of bovine leukocytes. We conducted m⁶A sequencing and bioinformatics analysis to map the mRNA methylation patterns of T. annulata-infected host leukocytes. We observe specific mRNA modifications for T. annulata-infected leukocytes and a strong correlation between the proliferation rate of the infected Leukocytes with m⁶A modifications We observe that the increased amounts of m⁶A seem to impact some cell cycle dynamics, potentially via modifications of E2F4 mRNA. Moreover, we further identify HIF-1α as a possible driver of these m⁶A RNA modifications that have clear relevance to cellular proliferation dynamics. Overall, our results provide insights into the role of m6A mRNA methylation in the molecular crosstalk between Theileria and their host leukocytes, emphasizing the critical role of mRNA methylation in host-parasite interaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":" ","pages":"100828"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142969465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}