Amaranth is conventionally consumed as a significant source of nutrients and bioactive compounds and is a potential alternate crop. The present study aimed to validate the folklore and ethnomedicinal claims regarding the utilization of foliar tissues of the pseudocereal Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. for their pharmacological propensities, primarily focusing on bioactive polyphenolic compounds and associated anti-degenerative properties, in view of the scarce evidence available on the same.

Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array assay of nineteen significant bioactive polyphenolic compounds, along with their in vitro antioxidant-based pharmacological properties (superoxide and hydroxyl radical scavenging properties, metal-chelating and reducing properties, radical scavenging properties, anti-lipid peroxidation and protein coagulation properties, and α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities), were assessed and compared for foliar extracts of ten promising experimental accessions of Amaranthus hypochondriacus, grown in two different seasons (summer and winter).

The results exhibited germplasm-specific variations in the pharmacological potential of foliar tissues of the experimental amaranths, which can be substantiated by data showing a close correlation between the abundance of bioactive polyphenolic compounds (naringin, myricetin, naringenin, apigenin, rutin, catechin, quercetin) and in vitro antioxidant (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assay, hydroxyl radical scavenging, reducing, and metal-chelating) properties, as well as anti-diabetic (inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities) and anti-inflammatory (anti-lipid peroxidation) attributes. Accessions IC107144 and IC47434 stood out as the most promising medicinal crops based on overall in vitro anti-degenerative properties and the bioavailability of polyphenolic compounds.

Overall, the results validated the traditional ethnomedicinal claim regarding the utilization of foliar tissues of the underutilized pseudocereal Amaranthus hypochondriacus L., and identified lead germplasms (IC107144 and IC47434) as low-cost natural sources of bioactive compounds, potentially promoting their pharmacological utilization.

Infections are frequent and lethal complications of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Reliable biomarkers to distinguish fungal from bacterial infections remain limited. Given the central role of immune dysfunction in ACLF, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum cytokines in differentiating invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) from bacterial pneumonia (BP) in HBV-associated ACLF.

This retrospective case-control study enrolled ACLF patients admitted to the Tongji Hospital, between 2018 and 2022. Patients were categorized into IPA, BP, and non-infection groups. The BP and non-infection groups were propensity score-matched to the IPA cases. Serum cytokines levels (IL-1β, sIL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α) and clinical data were collected, with the diagnostic performance of these cytokines as biomarkers assessed via ROC curves.

A total of 32 IPA, 96 BP, and 96 non-infection patients were enrolled, with balanced baseline characteristics. Compared with the non-infection group, the IPA group had higher sIL-2R (1,606.00 vs. 1,211.50 U/mL, P = 0.019) and IL-6 (69.03 vs. 15.98 pg/mL, P < 0.001) levels, but lower IL-8 levels (62.20 vs. 132.00 pg/mL, P = 0.025). The BP group showed elevated sIL-2R (1,792.00 U/mL), IL-6 (49.42 pg/mL), IL-10 (13.40 pg/mL) levels compared to the non-infection group (all P < 0.001). Also, IL-8 was lower in the IPA group than in the BP group (62.20 vs. 176.00 pg/mL, P < 0.001) and its assessment could best distinguish IPA from BP (AUC = 0.743, cut-off = 76.60 pg/mL; sensitivity = 66.7%, specificity = 82.1%).

Serum IL-8 exhibited superior diagnostic value for IPA in patients with HBV-ACLF and could effectively discriminate Aspergillus infections from bacterial infections.

The optimal management strategy for adults with immune-tolerant (IT) chronic hepatitis B infection remains undefined. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and predictive factors of a pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN)-based treatment strategy in IT patients with chronic HBV infection.

In this pilot, open-label, prospective study, 286 patients aged 18 to 60 years with IT characteristics were enrolled and allocated to one of three groups. The combination group received Peg-IFN for 48–96 weeks, with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) initiated at week 12 and continued through week 96 (n = 103). The monotherapy group received TDF monotherapy alone (n = 125), and the control group was monitored without therapeutic intervention (n = 58).

No patients in the control group met any predefined efficacy endpoints. Intention-to-treat analysis showed that patients in the combination group achieved significantly higher virological response rates (71.8% vs. 53.6%, p = 0.005), hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion rates (15.5% vs. 1.6%, p < 0.001), and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss rates (10.7% vs. 0%, p < 0.001) compared with those in the monotherapy group at week 96. In the combination group, the cumulative rate of HBsAg loss was 5.4% at week 48 and increased to 11.8% by week 96. Independent predictors of achieving either hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion or HBsAg loss were baseline age under 30 years (odds ratio = 0.217, 95% confidence interval: 0.048–0.976, p = 0.046) and a decline in HBsAg level greater than 1 log10 IU/mL by week 24 (odds ratio = 13.976, 95% confidence interval: 2.506–77.932, p = 0.003).

A Peg-IFN-based treatment strategy significantly increases response rates compared with TDF monotherapy or observation in patients with IT characteristics.

Insulin resistance is a common extrahepatic manifestation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (HCVi), but its mechanism is poorly understood. While systemic insulin resistance is documented, portal insulin dynamics, a key regulator of hepatic metabolism, remain unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between insulin, the gut-liver axis, and immunometabolic changes in patients with HCV.

HCV patients were evaluated before (HCVi; n = 29) and after sustained virologic response (SVR) achieved with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir treatment (SVR, n = 23) (NCT02400216). Liver biopsies, portal blood, and peripheral blood were collected at both phases. Statistical analyses were conducted using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, Mann-Whitney tests, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients to assess differences and associations across insulin, glucose, cytokines, metabolites, immune cells, and hepatic liver transcriptomics to elucidate impaired insulin homeostasis in HCVi.

HCV patients had significantly reduced portal insulin compared to SVR (p = 0.02), while peripheral insulin, portal glucose, and peripheral glucose remained unchanged. Portal insulin correlated positively with proinflammatory cytokines and vascular injury markers and negatively with CD8/CD62L/CD45RA/CD3 cells (naive cytotoxic T-cells) and non-standard nucleotides. Hepatic transcriptomic analysis revealed portal insulin correlated positively with immune and negatively with amino acid pathways, reflecting insulin’s role in the perturbations of immunometabolism during HCVi.

Lower portal insulin during HCVi is associated with changes consistent with altered pancreatic insulin secretion and decreased hepatic insulin extraction. The observed correlations support a potential relationship between the immune response and insulin dynamics, indicating an interplay between the immune system, metabolism, and insulin in HCVi, with clinical implications for the management of dysglycemia.

Cervical cancer, driven mainly by persistent high-risk human papillomavirus infection, remains a major public health problem in Bangladesh, with an estimated 9,640 new cases in 2022. Early detection of pre-cancerous cervical lesions (PCL) is essential, yet limited evidence exists on factors associated with PCL among Bangladeshi women. This study aimed to identify factors associated with PCL among women attending cervical cancer screening centers at selected tertiary hospitals.

An age-matched (±5 years) case-control study was conducted in two tertiary hospitals. Cases were women with colposcopic findings suggestive of PCL, and controls were visual inspection with acetic acid-negative women attending the same screening centers. No histopathological confirmation was performed. A total of 38 cases and 76 controls were included. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression estimated associations with PCL, with significance set at p < 0.05.

A history of sexually transmitted infections (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 36.73; 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.25–414.83), pelvic infections (AOR = 6.48; 95% CI: 1.24–33.85), not living with a husband (AOR = 4.48; 95% CI: 1.06–18.90), and overweight/obesity (AOR = 3.58; 95% CI: 1.14–11.22) were significantly associated with higher odds of PCL. Menstrual irregularity, genital ulcer history, and number of lifetime sexual partners showed no significant association after adjustment. These estimates should be interpreted cautiously given the small sample and wide CIs.

Sexually transmitted infections, pelvic infections, overweight/obesity, and not living with husband were reported to be associated with colposcopy-suggestive PCL in this hospital screening sample. The findings are exploratory and warrant verification in larger studies. Strengthened infection prevention, lifestyle counseling, and targeted health education may support ongoing cervical cancer prevention efforts in Bangladesh.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a double-stranded circular DNA virus with a genome of approximately 7–8 kb. This study aimed to establish an overlapping extension polymerase chain reaction method for the amplification of the entire genome of HPV16.

The HPV16 genome was divided into two larger fragments (with lengths of 3.9 kilobases and 5.3 kilobases, respectively), each of which had overlapping regions of more than 500 base pairs. A nested primer (outer primer: Fout/Rout; inner primer: Fin/Rin) was used to amplify each fragment. The key reaction parameters were optimized, including the selection of two highly accurate DNA polymerases; and a series of diluted samples (initial concentration of 2,000 copies/microliter, diluted to 2, 20, 200, and 2,000 copies/microliter) were used for amplification tests to evaluate the sensitivity of this method.

This study demonstrated high sensitivity for HPV16 detection, with effective amplification of samples as low as 2 copies/µL. For low-concentration samples (<200 copies/µL), the Thermo Fisher enzyme showed 50% and 75% effective amplification success rates at 2 copies/µL and 20 copies/µL, respectively, while the Vazyme enzyme achieved 0% success at both concentrations. Both enzymes enabled stable amplification of high-concentration samples (≥200 copies/µL). The amplified products matched the theoretical size, and Illumina sequencing confirmed Q30 ≥ 96% and >98% identity with the HPV16 reference sequence (K02718.1).

This study provides a highly sensitive and specific method for the full-genome sequence analysis of HPV16, which is applicable to HPV16 full-genome sequencing, variation analysis, and other research.

Thyroid nodules are increasingly detected in clinical practice, and accurate imaging evaluation is essential for risk stratification, treatment planning, and postoperative surveillance of thyroid cancer. Although ultrasound remains the first-line modality for thyroid nodule assessment, the roles of computed tomography (CT), spectral CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) vary across clinical scenarios, and the optimal integration of these modalities remains insufficiently standardized. In particular, existing studies often focus on individual imaging techniques, while practical guidance on modality selection for initial screening, preoperative anatomical assessment, recurrence monitoring, and high-risk disease evaluation remains limited. This narrative review summarizes the imaging principles, clinical indications, diagnostic value, advantages, and limitations of ultrasound, CT, spectral CT, MRI, and PET-CT in the evaluation of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer. Future advances should focus on standardized multimodal imaging strategies, quantitative functional imaging, radiomics, and carefully validated artificial intelligence-assisted approaches to improve individualized diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer.

This narrative review provides a detailed and comprehensive examination of hemoadsorption therapy and its role in treating severe poisoning. First, the global problem of suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury is described, with regional differences in the types of poisons used noted. Lower- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by pesticides compared to high-income countries. Organophosphates often constitute the majority of pesticide poisoning in many of these countries. Next, we review the history of hemoadsorption therapy from its early origins to its current evolution. The key physical and chemical principles underlying extracorporeal therapy and its effectiveness are described. A review of the literature examining the evidence for the efficacy of hemoadsorption therapy in poisoning is presented. Current evidence-based guidelines are summarized, including toxin types, clinical indications, and the extracorporeal therapies recommended. Emerging evidence regarding the use of hemoadsorption therapy for severe organophosphate and calcium channel blocker poisoning is also considered. A care pathway for considering hemoadsorption in poisonings where formal guidelines are lacking is proposed. Both the hemoadsorption strategies used and the potential adverse effects of this therapy are discussed. For this narrative review, the PubMed/Medline was searched from inception to April 30, 2025, using the terms (“hemoperfusion” OR “hemadsorption”) AND (“poisoning”). Clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses were included, along with additional relevant studies identified through a manual review of references. The role of modern resin bead hemoadsorption therapy for severe poisoning is expanding to include removal of commonly encountered poisons that are protein-bound and have a large volume of distribution. Using a multicycle approach, hemoadsorption therapy has shown improved outcomes for both calcium channel blockers and organophosphate poisoning.

Liver transplant rejection significantly affects patient prognosis. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), known for their potent immunoregulatory functions, represent a promising target for managing liver transplant rejection. This study aimed to systematically characterize the diversity of MDSC subsets and their context-dependent functions, particularly within the context of transplant tolerance.

We analyzed clinical and murine liver transplants using single-cell RNA sequencing, bulk RNA sequencing, flow cytometry, multiplex immunohistochemistry, and co-culture assays to phenotype MDSC subsets.

Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of human and murine samples revealed MDSC involvement in transplant rejection. In mice, MDSC scores followed a normal distribution during the first week post-transplant and correlated with clinical flow cytometry data at one month. A distinct LDLR+ monocytic MDSC (M-MDSC) subset was identified and confirmed through spatial mapping by multiplex immunohistochemistry. Flow cytometry demonstrated dynamic changes in LDLR+ M-MDSCs across tissues (liver, spleen, peripheral blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes), with a peak during acute rejection. Co-culture experiments showed that LDLR−/− M-MDSCs exhibited reduced Arg-1/iNOS expression and an impaired capacity to induce inhibitory receptors (TIGIT, PD1, CTLA-4) or suppress effector molecules (GZMB, IFN-γ, IL-2) in CD8+ T cells.

These findings highlight the critical role of MDSCs in liver transplant rejection. LDLR+ M-MDSCs exhibited enhanced immunosuppressive properties, underscoring their potential clinical relevance in mitigating rejection and promoting immune tolerance.

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a severe hepatic injury associated with high short-term mortality. Our previous study found that 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5AG) levels correlate with clinical outcomes in patients with liver failure. This study aimed to explore the potential effects and mechanisms of 1,5AG in ALF.

An experimental model of ALF was established using LPS and D-GalN. 1,5AG was administered to mice by gavage before modeling. Empagliflozin was then administered to reduce 1,5AG levels in mice. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) agonists were also used to explore the role of 1,5AG in mice with liver failure.

1,5AG pretreatment significantly increased ALT and AST levels, aggravated histological damage and hepatocyte apoptosis, and increased mortality in ALF mice. Transcriptomic analysis and western blot validation revealed that 1,5AG significantly inhibited the PPARα signaling pathway and its downstream target, fibroblast growth factor 21. Empagliflozin treatment reduced 1,5AG levels, alleviated liver injury and hepatocyte apoptosis, and promoted the PPARα signaling pathway in ALF. PPARα agonists effectively reversed the effects of 1,5AG on ALF, thereby alleviating liver damage, pathological injury, and hepatocyte apoptosis.

1,5AG exacerbated liver injury in ALF mice by inhibiting the hepatic PPARα pathway, thereby promoting hepatocyte apoptosis.