Background. Thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1) is a small redox protein, which plays an important role in many biological processes. Although increased expression of Trx-1 in various solid tumors has been reported, the prognostic significance and function of Trx-1 in human gastric cancer (GC) are still unclear. Here, we investigated the clinical and prognostic significance of Trx-1 expression and the function and mechanism of Trx-1 in human GC. Methods. We analyzed Trx-1 mRNA expression from the GEO database and Trx-1 protein expression in 144 GC tissues using immunohistochemistry. Effects of Trx-1 on GC cell were assessed in vitro and in vivo through Trx-1 knockdown or overexpression. The antitumor effects of the Trx-1 inhibitor, PX-12, on GC cells were investigated. PTEN and p-AKT expressions were evaluated by Western blotting. Results. Increased Trx-1 expression was found in GC tissues and associated with poor prognosis and aggressive clinicopathological characteristics in patients with GC. High Trx-1 expression predicted poor prognosis, and its expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of GC patients. Knockdown of Trx-1 expression inhibited GC cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro and tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo. Conversely, overexpression of Trx-1 promoted GC cell growth, migration, and invasion. We also found that PX-12 inhibited GC cell growth, migration, and invasion. Overexpression of Trx-1 caused a decrease in PTEN and increase in p-AKT levels whereas silencing Trx-1 caused an increase in PTEN and decrease in p-AKT levels in GC cells. Inhibition of AKT signaling pathway by MK2206 also inhibited GC cell growth, migration, and invasion. Conclusion. Our results indicate that Trx-1 may be a promising prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for GC patients.

Purpose We analyzed the clinical concordance of mNGS test results from blood samples and improved the clinical efficiency of mNGS in the diagnosis of suspected sepsis pathogens. Patients and Methods In this study, 99 samples of suspected blood flow infection were included for plasma mNGS, and the correlation between mNGS results and blood culture results, serum inflammatory indices, clinical symptoms and antibiotic treatment was analyzed, as well as the comparison with the detection rate of BALF pathogens, as well as the classification of different pathogens in the mNGS results were analyzed. Results The mNGS pathogen detection rate was higher than that of traditional blood culture (83.02% vs 35.82%). The rate of the mNGS results being consistent with the clinical diagnosis was also higher than that of traditional blood culture (58.49% vs 20.75%). This study shows that bacteria and fungi are the main pathogens in sepsis, and viral sepsis is very rare. In this study, 32% of sepsis patients were secondary to pneumonia. Compared with the pathogen detection rate using alveolar lavage fluid, the detection rate from plasma mNGS was 62.5%. Samples were also easy to sample, noninvasive, and more convenient for clinical application. Conclusion This study shows that compared with blood culture, the detection rate of mNGS pathogen that meets the diagnosis of sepsis is higher. We need a combination of multiple indicators to monitor the early diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.

Background Growing evidence shows that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play significant roles in cancer development. However, the functions of most lncRNAs in human gastric cancer are still not fully understood. Here, we explored the role of a novel c-Myc-activated lncRNA, LINC01050, in gastric cancer progression. Methods The expression of LINC01050 in the context of gastric cancer was assessed using The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets. Its functions in gastric cancer were investigated through gain- and loss-of-function experiments combined with the Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, colony-forming assays, Transwell assays, flow cytometry, Western blot analyses, and xenograft tumor and mouse metastasis models. Potential LINC01050 transcription activators were screened via bioinformatics and validated by chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase assays. The interaction between LINC01050 and miR-7161-3p and the targets of miR-7161-3p were predicted by bioinformatics analysis and confirmed by a luciferase assay, RNA immunoprecipitation, RNA pull-down, and rescue experiments. Results LINC01050 was significantly up-regulated in gastric cancer, and its high expression was positively correlated with a poor prognosis. The transcription factor c-Myc was found to directly bind to the LINC01050 promoter region and activate its transcription. Furthermore, overexpression of LINC01050 was confirmed to promote gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. At the same time, its knockdown inhibited gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in vitro along with tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Moreover, mechanistic investigations revealed that LINC01050 functions as a molecular sponge to absorb cytosolic miR-7161-3p, which reduces the miR-7161-3p-mediated translational repression of SPZ1, thus contributing to gastric cancer progression. Conclusions Taken together, our results identified a novel gastric cancer-associated lncRNA, LINC01050, which is activated by c-Myc. LINC01050 may be considered a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.

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Severe pneumonia is a common infectious disease with high morbidity and mortality. Early etiological diagnosis is crucial for improving the prognosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical value of sampling time of mNGS in patients with severe pneumonia. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 105 patients with severe pneumonia. mNGS was performed on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Patients were divided into the sampling time ≤ 72h vs sampling time >72h groups and survivors vs non-survivors groups according to their sampling time and prognosis. Clinical characteristics, the adjustment of antibiotics and clinical prognostic value were evaluated. Results: Our study showed that, early sampling of mNGS can significantly shorten the mechanical ventilation time (p = 0.007) and hospitalization time (p = 0.004). In the non-survivors group, CURB-65, SOFA, and APACHE II scores were higher.