No abstract

As a biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) biopsy, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are often used in the diagnosis of cancer and treatment guidance. For CTCs detection, immuno-magnetic nanoparticles (IMNs) are one of the most commonly used platforms. However, the nonspecific adsorption of proteins and non-tumor cells weakens the performance of IMNs to capture CTCs. In this work, we developed an IMNs platform which was constructed by a biomimetic protein corona precoating and a polyethylene glycol (PEG) spacer to form the PEG and corona-coated IMNs (IP-CMNs). Due to the dual stealth effect of protein corona precoating and PEG spacer, the nonspecific protein adsorption and cell binding of P-CMNs could reduce by ∼5.5- and ∼5.4-fold, respectively, compared with those of unmodified particles. Furthermore, the PEG spacer could not only reduce the interaction between IP-CMNs and leukocytes but also enhance the capture performance toward tumor cells. By using artificial blood samples, the capture efficiency of IP-CMNs toward rare CTCs was found to be 88.3%, while it was 70.5% by using commercial IMNs. Finally, CTCs were successfully isolated in all HCC patient blood samples (7/7) using IP-CMNs. These results provide insight into the use of the multifunctional nanoplatform as a useful tool for CTCs detection.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of seven cases of obstetric mirror syndrome (OMS). Materials and Methods: The fetal MRI results of seven cases of clinically/pathologically confirmed OMS were retrospectively analyzed, including fetal hydrops, placental edema, association with related malformations, etc. Results: The seven OMS fetuses all displayed multi-site edema and two cases were associated with placental edema. Other associated malformations included fetal sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT, 1/7), Rh-defect (D) caused immune hemolysis (1/7), fetal growth restriction (FGR, 2/7), twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS, 2/7), and placenta chorioangioma (1/7). OMS can increase maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, so early diagnosis of this disease could have important significance in providing the appropriate treatment protocol and improving the clinical outcomes. Conclusions: Fetal MRI was an important supplementary means of obstetric ultrasound, which could qualify fetal hydrops-associated malformations, characterize the nature of the tumor, and assess the situations of the heart and lung development of fetal edema simultaneously.