Phylogeny, molecular evolution, and dating of divergences in Lagerstroemia using plastome sequences

Lagerstroemia L. (Lythraceae) is a widely distributed genus of trees and shrubs native to tropical and subtropical environments from Southeast Asia to Australia, with numerous species highly valued as ornamentals. Although the plastomes of many species in this genus have been sequenced, the rates of functional gene evolution and their effect on phylogenetic analyses have not been thoroughly examined. We compared three plastome sequence matrices to elucidate how differences in these datasets affected phylogenetic analyses. Robust phylogenetic relationships for Lagerstroemia species were reconstructed based on different plastome sequence partitions and multiple phylogenetic methods. Identification of single-nucleotide variants within different genes also provides basic data on the patterns of functional gene evolution in Lagerstroemia and may provide insights into how those mutations affect protein structure and potentially drive divergence via cytonuclear incompatibility. These results as well as analyses of non-synonymous and synonymous mutations, indicate that heterotachic modes of evolution are present in functional plastome genes and should be accounted for in the analyses of molecular evolution. In addition, divergence events within the Lagerstroemia were dated for the first time. Several of the divergence estimates corresponded to well-known Earth history events, such as the reduction in global temperatures at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. Our analyses conducted in Lagerstroemia here dissects the various patterns in the divergence of Lagerstroemia and may provide a useful guide to help plant breeders, as well as the necessity of using plastomic data and as possible as to combine evidence from morphological characteristics to investigate the complicated interspecies relationship and the evolutionary dynamics of species

Neuroform atlas stent treatment for 533 intracranial aneurysms in a large Chinese cohort: complication risk factor analysis

Abstract Background The newest generation of Neuroform Atlas stent™ (Stryker, Fremont, California) represents a recent advance of cerebral laser-cut microstents for the treatment of intracranial wide-necked aneurysms, and postoperative complications have been observed among Western patients. We assessed predictors of complications, morbidity, and unfavourable outcomes in a large cohort of patients with aneurysms that were treated with Neuroform Atlas stents in China. Methods This retrospective study included subjects who were treated with Atlas stents in China from November 2020 to January 2022. Results A total of 522 consecutive patients (mean age, 58.9 ± 9.9 years; female, 65.3% [341/522]) with 533 aneurysms were included in the study. In the early postoperative period, the neurological morbidity rate was 7.3% (38/522), the ischaemic stroke rate was 5.0% (26/522), the aneurysm rupture subarachnoid haemorrhage rate was 2.3% (12/522), and the mRS score deterioration rate was 5.4% (28/522). The mortality rate was 0.8% (4/522) in the postoperative period. The rate of neurological morbidity during the follow-up period was 1.2% (6/486). In the multifactor prediction analysis, cerebral infarction, Hunt–Hess grade (3–5), procedure duration, stent length and coil protrusion into the parent artery were found to be independent predictors of neurologic morbidity. The procedure duration, stent length and coil protrusion into the parent artery were found to be independent predictors of mRS score deterioration. Conclusions The incidence of SCA (stent-assisted coiling)-related complications with the Atlas stent in this study population was comparable to that in Western populations. We identified the procedure duration and stent length as novel independent predictors of SCA-related ischaemic stroke, neurological morbidity, and mRS score deterioration among the Chinese population

Biomimetic Nano‐Degrader Based CD47‐SIRPα Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Promotes Macrophage Efferocytosis for Cardiac Repair

Abstract CD47‐SIRPα axis is an immunotherapeutic target in tumor therapy. However, current monoclonal antibody targeting CD47‐SIRPα axis is associated with on‐target off‐tumor and antigen sink effects, which significantly limit its potential clinical application. Herein, a biomimetic nano‐degrader is developed to inhibit CD47‐SIRPα axis in a site‐specific manner through SIRPα degradation, and its efficacy in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is evaluated. The nano‐degrader is constructed by hybridizing liposome with red blood cell (RBC) membrane (RLP), which mimics the CD47 density of senescent RBCs and possesses a natural high‐affinity binding capability to SIRPα on macrophages without signaling capacity. RLP would bind with SIRPα and induce its lysosomal degradation through receptor‐mediated endocytosis. To enhance its tissue specificity, Ly6G antibody conjugation (aRLP) is applied, enabling its attachment to neutrophils and accumulation within inflammatory sites. In the myocardial infarction model, aRLP accumulated in the infarcted myocardium blocks CD47‐SIRPα axis and subsequently promoted the efferocytosis of apoptotic cardiomyocytes by macrophage, improved heart repair. This nano‐degrader efficiently degraded SIRPα in lysosomes, providing a new strategy for immunotherapy with great clinical transformation potential