Shuang Xu’s research while affiliated with Southwest University and other places

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) ranks among the most prevalent cancers globally, and despite improvements in treatment options such as surgery and radiotherapy, its survival rate remains low. With increased research in immunotherapy, antibodies against various immune checkpoints like programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) have been shown to be effective against a wide range of tumors. Nonetheless, survival benefits gained by HNSCC patients remain limited. T-cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (TIM-3), an emerging immune checkpoint molecule, is found to be expressed in HNSCC and is involved in shaping the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). TIM-3 is significant in the initiation and progression of HNSCC by modulating effector T cells, innate immune cells, and other components of the immune system. Inhibiting TIM-3 can restore T cell function and enhance the immune response against HNSCC, making it a promising immunotherapeutic target for this disease. This article reviews the expression of TIM-3 in HNSCC and its immunomodulatory mechanism and briefly introduces the combined application and development prospects of TIM-3 as a potential immunotherapeutic target.

Background Laryngeal cancer (LC) is among the most prevalent tumors of the respiratory tract. In recent years, the implementation of non-surgical treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy has significantly enhanced the therapeutic outcomes for LC. Nevertheless, the underlying therapeutic mechanisms remain unclear, posing a hindrance to the progression of subsequent treatment strategies. Objectives To explore the potential mechanisms from existing effective treatments for LC and identify relevant targets, thereby providing guidance for subsequent therapeutic research on LC. Methods This study focuses on ferroptosis, a common type of non-apoptotic cell death that is closely linked to various malignancies. It examines the relationship between ferroptosis and LC by analyzing how regulating ferroptosis-related targets in LC cells can influence the development of the cancer. Results There is a strong association between ferroptosis and LC. Regulating the targets related to ferroptosis in LC cells can effectively counteract the progression of LC. Conclusions Taking ferroptosis as an entry point, analyzing its potential mechanism in inhibiting LC can provide a direction for the treatment of laryngeal cancer, which may contribute to the improvement of therapeutic strategies for this disease.

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide, with prevalence rates as high as 50% in high-income countries. Patients with AR often have symptoms such as runny nose, itchy nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, and signs of edema and pallor of the nasal mucosa, and these pathologies have a major impact on the patient's learning, sleep, and quality of life, often resulting in significant pain and a huge economic burden for the patient. Summary: Among the current treatments for AR, immunotherapy is able to achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes. This shows the importance of immune cells in AR. However, current therapies do not provide a complete cure for AR. The reason for this is that current research on AR focuses on the mechanism of Th1 and Th2 immune cells in AR, ignoring the role of other key cells in AR. Key messages: Group 2 innate lymphoid cells, B cells, T cells, and macrophages can play a role in the pathogenesis of AR by producing appropriate cytokines and mediating the inflammatory response. M2 macrophages can promote Th2 cells and eosinophils in AR to enhance the type 2 inflammatory response and further promote AR.