Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a chronic metabolic disease mainly stemming from purine metabolism disorders and strongly correlated with cardiovascular diseases, gout, chronic kidney disease, and other diseases. Elevated levels of uric acid (UA) in serum will lead to vascular endothelial cell injuries directly, subsequently impairing normal functions of human blood vessels. Therefore, investigating endothelial cell injuries resulting from HUA and corresponding drug screening for its treatment are of great significance in the prevention and treatment of vascular diseases. Given the inherent advantages of multiple targets and pathways, we delved into the potential of traditional Chinese medicine in alleviating vascular injuries induced by HUA in detail. Through the establishment of an injury index library and subsequent drug screening process, isoliquiritigenin proved to be a promising candidate for promoting the repair of HUA-induced vascular injuries. It had been identified, validated and its efficiency evaluated using blood vessel-on-a-chip and animal tests. Additionally, network pharmacology and molecular docking were further employed to elucidate the underlying mechanism. This work represents the first demonstration of isoliquiritigenin's capacity to facilitate the repair of vascular injuries triggered by high UA levels, and provides valuable insights for the treatment of HUA using traditional Chinese medicine.

Droplet microfluidics has emerged as a breakthrough technology that is changing our comprehension of single-cell and their associated research. By separating individual cells within tiny droplets, ranging from nanoliters to picoliters using microfluidic devices, this innovative approach has revolutionized investigations at the single-cell level. Each of these droplets serves as a distinct experimental reaction vessel, enabling thorough exploration of cellular phenotypic variations, interactions between cells or cell-microorganisms as well as genomic insights. This review paper presents a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art in droplet microfluidics, which has made single-cell analysis a practical approach for biological research. The review delves into the technological advancements in single-cell encapsulation techniques within droplet microfluidics, elucidating their applications in high-throughput single-cell screening, intercellular and cell-microorganism interactions, and genomic analysis. Furthermore, it discusses the advantages and constraints of droplet microfluidic technology, shedding light on critical factors such as throughput and versatile integration. Lastly, the paper outlines the potential avenues for future research in this rapidly evolving field.

With the intensification of global population aging, osteoarthritis (OA) has emerged as a major socioeconomic burden requiring urgent therapeutic interventions. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), a non-invasive physical therapy modality, delivers pulsed acoustic energy to target tissues with negligible thermal effects. Accumulating evidence from preclinical studies and randomized controlled trials has demonstrated its potential to decelerate OA progression. This systematic review synthesizes current knowledge on LIPUS-mediated OA management, elucidates mechanistic pathways through biomechanical and molecular analyses, strategies combining LIPUS with biomaterials to improve its efficacy, evaluates clinical translation challenges, and proposes standardized treatment protocols to optimize therapeutic outcomes.

Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), a cellulose derivative with biocompatibility, edibility, and exceptional solubility in many polar solvents, holds significant potential for biomedical applications. Within a specific concentration range, HPC undergoes self-assembly to form cholesteric liquid crystals, which display distinct structural colors. These colors result from the interaction between incident light and the periodic nano-architecture of HPC, providing long-lasting visual effects that can be dynamically adjusted by factors such as concentration, temperature, and functional additives. This review includes the mechanisms underlying the genesis of structural colors and the regulation of HPCs while summarizing advanced techniques for fabricating HPC-based materials with diverse configurations. Furthermore, through representative examples, we highlight the multifaceted applications of these materials in sensors, bionic skins, drug delivery, and anti-counterfeiting labels. We also propose strategies to address current research and application challenges with the goal of exploring the potential of structural color HPCs for scientific breakthroughs and societal well-being. We hope this review catalyzes HPC-based structural color materials’ advancement and future biomedical applications.

Oncogenic KRAS, a notorious driver of cancer progression, remains a therapeutic challenge. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), KRAS overexpression correlates with tumor aggressiveness. Here, we demonstrate that NSC48160 induces HCC cell death by suppressing KRAS expression. Metabolomic profiling revealed that NSC48160 significantly enhances intracellular tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity and fructose metabolism, disrupting redox homeostasis, and triggering ferroptosis. Combining NSC48160 with the SLC7A11 inhibitor HG106 synergistically eliminated HCC cells in vitro and suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, NSC48160 indirectly inhibits the Nrf2-SLC7A11-GPX4 axis, as evidenced by ferroptosis-pathway array assays. Specifically, NSC48160 downregulates Nrf2 expression, thereby suppressing its downstream targets GPX4 and SLC7A11, ultimately promoting ferroptosis. Our findings establish NSC48160 as a novel KRAS inhibitor that induces ferroptosis through metabolic and redox reprogramming, offering a promising therapeutic strategy for KRAS-driven HCC.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a physical lubrication microenvironment-inadequate disease accompanied by a sustained chronic chemical inflammation microenvironment and the progression of articular cartilage destruction. Despite the promising OA treatment outcomes observed in the enhancement of lubrication inspired by ball bearings to reduce friction and support loads, the therapeutic effect of near-infrared (NIR) irradiation-based photothermal-responsive controlled release “smart hydrogel microspheres” on OA remains unclear. Here, we prepared MXene/NIPIAM-based photothermal-responsive injectable hydrogel microspheres encapsulating diclofenac sodium using a microfluidic system. Consequently, NIR irradiation-based photothermal-responsive controlled release “smart hydrogel microspheres” demonstrate beneficial therapeutic effects in the treatment of OA by modulating the physical lubrication and chemical chronic inflammation microenvironment, laying the foundation for the application of smart hydrogel microsphere delivery systems loaded with bioactive factors (including agents, cells, and factors) to regulate multiple pathological microenvironments in regenerative medicine.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) remains a global health issue and continues to rank among the leading causes of death from infectious diseases worldwide. Its persistence is primarily attributed to the microorganism's challenging and time-consuming diagnosis and treatment, which drives the need for new diagnostic tests. The development of rapid, highly sensitive point-of-care (POC) tests is crucial, as these tests address the limitations of traditional methods, which are lengthy and exhibit low sensitivity. Early and rapid diagnostic tests ensure timely diagnoses and treatments for individuals while playing a pivotal role in preventing the spread of MTB and curbing societal transmission. These diagnostic tests significantly impact TB diagnosis and treatment, potentially breaking the chain of transmission and presenting a promising step toward combating the infection. Rapid and accurate diagnostic tests for MTB detection continue to attract significant attention in the literature and show promise for widespread application. However, they face challenges such as limited accessibility and usability, particularly in underdeveloped countries. The implementation of rapid tests requires careful consideration of time and resource efficiency compared with traditional tests. This study reviews the diagnostic tests developed for MTB detection, tracing their evolution from the past to the present.

Polyamine metabolism is a key regulator of cellular proliferation and immune modulation, and its dysregulation is implicated in multiple carcinoma pathogenesis. Macrophages also greatly influence tumor progression by regulating the immune microenvironment. However, the role of polyamine metabolism in thyroid cancer macrophages remains understudied. This study explores the connection between polyamine metabolism and macrophages in thyroid cancer. Using the THCA dataset gene expression analysis and single-cell data, we identified macrophage subpopulations. We assessed immune scores, matrix scores, immune checkpoint scores, and immune cell types using Bulk-RNA data and the TIDE platform to predict immune checkpoint inhibitor responses. Clinical specimens validated our findings. Our results show a significant association between polyamine metabolism and the clinical and biological characteristics of thyroid cancer, including macrophage trajectory. Notably, macrophage subpopulations affected by polyamine metabolism have strong prognostic value, especially in immunotherapy patients. We found that changes in these subpopulations correlate with thyroid cancer development, and tumor tissue can regulate macrophage polyamine metabolism. This study provides new insights into how polyamine metabolism affects macrophages and the tumor microenvironment, influencing tumor growth and anti-tumor immune responses in thyroid cancer.

The research of primary urological cancers, including bladder cancer (BCa), prostate cancer (PCa), and renal cancer (RCa), has developed rapidly. Microfluidic technology provides a good variety of benefits compared to the heterogeneity of animal models and potential ethical issues of human study. Microfluidic technology and its application with cell culture (e.g., organ-on-a-chip, OOC) are extensively used in urological cancer studies in preclinical and clinical settings. The application has provided diagnostic and therapeutic benefits for patients with urological diseases, especially by evaluating biomarkers for urinary malignancies. In this review, we go through the applications of OOC in BCa, Pca and Rca, and discuss the prospects of reducing the cost and improving the repeatability and amicability of the intelligent integration of urinary system organ chips.