Int J Med Sci
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Heavy water is an ideal contrast agent for metabolic activity and can be adapted to a wide range of biological systems owing to its non-invasiveness, universal applicability, and cost-effectiveness. As a new type of probe, the heavy isotope of water has been widely used in the study of cell development, metabolism, tissue homeostasis, aging, and tumor heterogeneity. Herein, we review findings supporting the applications of and research on heavy water in monitoring of bacterial metabolism, rapid detection of drug sensitivity, identification of tumor cells, precision medicine, and evaluation of skin barrier function and promote the use of heavy water as a suitable marker for the development of detection and treatment methodologies.
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Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects tooth-supporting tissues and even leads to tooth loss. NLRP3 inflammasomes play a critical role in periodontitis pathogenesis. ⋯ Then we elucidate the development status of NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors and show their application potential for treating periodontitis. In summary, this review reveals the recent progress and perspectives of NLRP3 inflammasome and the therapeutic potential of NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors in periodontitis.
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Osteosarcoma is a malignant bone tumor characterized by the direct production of osteoid tissue from tumor cells. Extracellular vesicles are membranous vesicles released by cells into the extracellular matrix, which exist widely in various body fluids and cell supernatants, and stably carry some important signaling molecules. ⋯ Increasing evidence has shown that extracellular vesicles play a significant role in osteosarcoma development, progression, and metastatic process, indicating that extracellular vesicles can be use as biomarker vehicles in the diagnosis and prognosis of osteosarcoma. This review discusses the basic biological characteristics of extracellular vesicles and focuses on their application in osteosarcoma.
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Heart failure coexists with type 2 diabetes mellitus, which seriously affects the clinical treatment and prognosis. At present, the treatment for patients with established heart failure and type 2 diabetes mellitus is usually combined with two treatment strategies for heart failure and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recently, increasing studies showed that empagliflozin, a sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor, has a positive effect on the treatment of patients with established heart failure and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Here, we summarize the latest and current understanding of the management for patients with established heart failure and type 2 diabetes mellitus and further present contemporary treatment options, sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor, for these particular populations.
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Circular RNA (circRNA) is a novel endogenous non-coding RNA (ncRNA) that, like microRNA (miRNA), is a rapidly emerging RNA research topic. CircRNA, unlike traditional linear RNAs (which have 5' and 3' ends), has a closed-loop structure that is unaffected by RNA exonucleases. Thus, circRNA has sustained expression and is less sensitive to degradation. ⋯ We summarized the current progress in elucidating mechanisms and biogenesis of circRNAs in this review. In particular, circRNAs can function mainly as miRNA sponges, regulating host gene expression and protein transportation. Finally, we discussed the application prospects and significant challenges for the development of circRNA-based therapeutics.