In the past decade, immense progress has been made in advancing personalized medicine to effectively address patient-specific disease complexities in order to develop individualized treatment strategies. In particular, the emergence of 3D bioprinting for in vitro models of tissue and organ engineering presents novel opportunities to improve personalized medicine. However, the existing bioprinted constructs are not yet able to fulfill the ultimate goal: an anatomically realistic organ with mature biological functions. Current bioprinting approaches have technical challenges in terms of precise cell deposition, effective differentiation, proper vascularization, and innervation. This review introduces the principles and realizations of bioprinting with a strong focus on the predominant techniques, including extrusion printing and digital light processing (DLP). We further discussed the applications of bioprinted constructs, including the engraftment of stem cells as personalized implants for regenerative medicine and in vitro high-throughput drug development models for drug discovery. While no one-size-fits-all approach to bioprinting has emerged, the rapid progress and promising results of preliminary studies have demonstrated that bioprinting could serve as an empowering technology to resolve critical challenges in personalized medicine.

Background: Maternal mental health problems play an important role in infant well-being. Although western countries have extensively studied the associations between maternal mental disorders, hygiene practices and infant health, little is known in developing settings. This study investigates the correlations between postnatal mental health problems, hand washing practices and infant illness in rural western China.Methods: A total of 720 mothers of infants aged 0–6 months from four poor counties in rural western China were included in the survey. Mental health symptoms were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Questions about infant illness and hand washing practices followed evaluative surveys from prior studies. Adjusted ordinary least squares regressions were used to examine correlations between postnatal mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress) symptoms, hand washing practices, and infant illness outcomes.Results: Maternal depression, anxiety and stress symptoms were significantly associated with reduced hand washing overall and less frequent hand washing after cleaning the infant's bottom. Mental health symptoms were also associated with a higher probability of infants showing two or more illness symptoms and visiting a doctor for illness symptoms. Individual hand washing practices were not significantly associated with infant illness; however, a composite measure of hand washing practices was significantly associated with reduced probability of infant illness.Conclusion: Postnatal mental health problems are prevalent in rural China and significantly associated with infant illness. Policy makers and practitioners should investigate possible interventions to improve maternal and infant well-being.

Background The importance of breastfeeding in low- and middle- income countries is well recognized, yet the importance of postnatal mental health on breastfeeding practices and beliefs in these settings has been understudied. This study investigates the associations between maternal mental health problems, breastfeeding beliefs and breastfeeding practices in rural China. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected in November and December 2019 from 742 mothers of infants under 6 months old in rural Sichuan Province, China. Maternal mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms) was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (short form). Breastfeeding beliefs were assessed using the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale and Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (short form). Breastfeeding practices were assessed through a 24-h dietary recall questionnaire. Ordinary least squares regression, multiple logistic regression and heterogeneous effects analyses were used to identify associations between symptoms of mental health problems and breastfeeding outcomes. Results The average age of sample infants was 2.7 months. Among mothers, 13% showed symptoms of depression, 16% anxiety, and 9% stress. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in the previous 24 h was 38.0%. Depression symptoms were significantly associated with breastfeeding attitude (𝛽= − 1.11, 95% CI: − 2.07, − 0.14) and breastfeeding self-efficacy (𝛽= − 3.19, 95% CI: − 4.93, − 1.45). Anxiety and stress symptoms were significantly associated with breastfeeding self-efficacy (𝛽= − 1.81, 95% CI: − 3.43, − 0.18 and 𝛽 = − 2.88, 95% CI: − 4.98, − 0.78, respectively). There were no significant associations between symptoms of mental health problems and exclusive breastfeeding. The heterogeneous effects analyses revealed that less educated mothers with symptoms of stress had lower odds of exclusive breastfeeding than educated mothers without symptoms of stress (OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.25,1.10). Mothers of younger infants had higher odds of exclusive breastfeeding than the mother of older infants, regardless of depression, anxiety, or stress symptoms. Conclusion Symptoms of maternal mental health problems are significantly associated with breastfeeding attitude and self-efficacy; however, these symptoms are not associated with breastfeeding practices. Maternal educational level and infant age may play a role in mothers’ breastfeeding practices. To improve breastfeeding practices, interventions should employ a multi-dimensional approach that focuses on improving maternal mental well-being and considers demographic characteristics.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a devastating brain tumour arising in the brainstems of children. Despite advances in genomics and treatments, the survival rate remains zero, with a median of less than a year, making it the leading cause of death among children with brain tumours. A mutation in histone H3 protein (H3K27M) has been identified as a genetic initiation event and affects global K27 trimethylation on histone H3 proteins and DNA methylation in DIPG. The epigenetic changes caused by the H3K27M mutation suggest the existence of an H3K27M-specific transcriptome and proteome. To deepen our knowledge of DIPG, we conducted a proteogenomic analysis of DIPG tissues by using high-resolution mass spectrometry for comprehensive proteome profiling, including total proteome, phosphoproteome, and methylproteome. Integrating proteomics data with DNA methylation and transcriptomics (bulk RNAseq and single-cell RNAseq) provided new insights into DIPG tumorigenesis. Our multi-omics analyses reveal enriched translation machinery, negative regulation of apoptosis process, and non-histone protein methyltransferase proteins, suggesting their previously unknown roles in DIPG cell growth and survival. Furthermore, our findings indicate that DIPG tissues have lower global mean protein phosphorylation and higher global mean protein methylation compared to normal brains, implying that DIPG may use methyl-signaling rather than phospho-signaling for tumour growth. The translation elongation proteins EEF1A1 and EEF1A2 are the most highly methylated proteins in DIPG. Methylation modifications such as K55me2, K79me3, and K165me2 of EEF1A1 are significantly higher in DIPG tissues compared to normal brains. These enriched methylpeptides are substrates of the non-histone methyltransferases METTL13 and METTL21B, which are enriched in the multi-omics analysis. Knocking down these methyltransferases in DIPG cells significantly decreases their target protein methylation, reduces global protein synthesis, and inhibits cell growth in vitro. Thus, proteogenomic analysis of DIPG reveals tumour-enriched non-histone methyltransferases, METTL13 and METTL21B as new therapeutic targets.

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