Ziyu Ji's research while affiliated with Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other places

Background Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is one of the etiologic factors of degenerative spinal diseases, which can lead to a variety of pathological spinal conditions such as disc herniation, spinal stenosis, and scoliosis. IVDD is a leading cause of lower back pain, the prevalence of which increases with age. Recently, Sirtuins/SIRTs and their related activators have received attention for their activity in the treatment of IVDD. In this paper, a comprehensive systematic review of the literature on the role of SIRTs and their activators on IVDD in recent years is presented. The molecular pathways involved in the regulation of IVDD by SIRTs are summarized, and the effects of SIRTs on senescence, inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction in myeloid cells are discussed with a view to suggesting possible solutions for the current treatment of IVDD. Purpose This paper focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which SIRTs and their activators act on IVDD . Methods A literature search was conducted in Pubmed and Web of Science databases over a 13-year period from 2011 to 2024 for the terms “SIRT”, “Sirtuin”, “IVDD”, “IDD”, “IVD”, “NP”, “Intervertebral disc degeneration”, “Intervertebral disc” and “Nucleus pulposus”. Results According to the results, SIRTs and a large number of activators showed positive effects against IVDD.SIRTs modulate autophagy, myeloid apoptosis, oxidative stress and extracellular matrix degradation. In addition, they attenuate inflammatory factor-induced disc damage and maintain homeostasis during disc degeneration. Several clinical studies have reported the protective effects of some SIRTs activators (e.g., resveratrol, melatonin, honokiol, and 1,4-dihydropyridine) against IVDD. Conclusion The fact that SIRTs and their activators play a hundred different roles in IVDD helps to better understand their potential to develop further treatments for IVDD. Novelty This review summarizes current information on the mechanisms of action of SIRTs in IVDD and the challenges and limitations of translating their basic research into therapy.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a highly prevalent bone malignancy among adolescents, accounting for 40% of all primary malignant bone tumors. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with limb-preserving surgery has effectively reduced patient disability and mortality, but pulmonary metastases and OS cells' resistance to chemotherapeutic agents are pressing challenges in the clinical management of OS. There has been an urgent need to identify new biomarkers for OS to develop specific targeted therapies. Recently, the continued advancements in genomic analysis have contributed to the identification of clinically significant molecular biomarkers for diagnosing OS, acting as therapeutic targets, and predicting prognosis. Additionally, the contemporary molecular classifications have revealed that the signaling pathways, including Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, JAK/STAT3, Hippo, Notch, PD-1/PD-L1, MAPK, and NF-κB, have an integral role in OS onset, progression, metastasis, and treatment response. These molecular classifications and biological markers have created new avenues for more accurate OS diagnosis and relevant treatment. We herein present a review of the recent findings for the modulatory role of signaling pathways as possible biological markers and treatment targets for OS. This review also discusses current OS therapeutic approaches, including signaling pathway-based therapies developed over the past decade. Additionally, the review covers the signaling targets involved in the curative effects of traditional Chinese medicines in the context of expression regulation of relevant genes and proteins through the signaling pathways to inhibit OS cell growth. These findings are expected to provide directions for integrating genomic, molecular, and clinical profiles to enhance OS diagnosis and treatment.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and teenagers and is characterized by high malignant potential, rapid disease progression and high disability and mortality rates. Recently, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have attracted the attention of many scholars due to their major regulatory roles in gene expression. Among them, lncRNA PVT1 and circPVT1 encoded by the PVT1 gene have been the focus of many studies; they are upregulated in OS, and abundant evidence indicates that lncRNA PVT1 and circPVT1 play key roles in the occurrence and development of OS. This review summarizes the mechanisms of action of lncRNA PVT1 and circPVT1 in regulating apoptosis, proliferation, glycolysis, invasion, migration and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in OS and discusses their clinical applications in diagnosis, prognosis determination and drug resistance treatment, with the aim of helping researchers better understand the regulatory roles of lncRNA PVT1 and circPVT1 in OS progression and providing a theoretical basis for the development of early screening and accurate targeted treatment strategies and prognostic biomarkers for OS based on lncRNA PVT1 and circPVT1.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is an emerging technology that is widely used in regenerative medicine. With the continuous development of the technology, it has attracted great attention and demonstrated promising prospects in ophthalmologic applications. In this paper, we review the three main types of 3D bioprinting technologies: Vat polymerization based bioprinting, extrusion-based bioprinting, and jetting-based bioprinting. We also present in this review the analysis of the usage of both natural and synthesized hydrogels as well as the types of cells adopted for bioinks. Cornea and retina are the two main types of ocular tissues developed in bioprinting, while other device and implants were also developed for the ocular disease treatment. We also summarize the advantages and limitations as well as the future prospects of the current bioprinting technologies based on systematic reviews.