Xirui Tong’s research while affiliated with China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and other places

With the continuous advancement of materials science, cell biology, and biotechnology, tissue engineering has introduced novel solutions to traditional wound healing approaches, particularly demonstrating significant potential in addressing complex or non-healing wounds. One of the key technologies in this field, dermal scaffolds, serve as wound coverage materials that mimic the structural framework of the dermis. They primarily assume the function of extracellular matrix, providing space for cell attachment, migration, and proliferation, thus supporting cellular growth and regulating multiple biological processes in healing. Tissue engineering utilizes combinations of natural or synthetic scaffolds, seeded cells, or growth factors to induce distinct effects in angiogenesis, extracellular matrix deposition, and functional recovery. Therefore, various bioengineered dermal scaffolds hold significant potential for clinical translation in wound healing. This review outlines various extracellular matrix molecules utilized in the development of dermal scaffolds, emphasizes recent progress in cell- and growth factor-modified scaffolds, and discusses the challenges and future perspectives in this evolving field.

Background: Trauma and burns are leading causes of death and significant global health concerns. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play a crucial role in post-transcriptional gene regulation, influencing various biological processes of cellular RNAs. This study aims to review the emerging trends and key areas of research on RBPs in the context of trauma and burns. Methods: A series of relevant articles were manually reviewed, and scientific publications on RBPs related to trauma and burns were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) on May 19, 2024. Bibliometric analysis was performed using R-bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace. We adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to conduct the meta-analysis, followed by a comprehensive review of the selected papers. Results: A total of 539 publications were identified from 2000 to 2024. China was the most productive and collaborative country, with Zhang Y being the most prolific author and PLoS One being the leading publication source. Keyword analysis revealed four distinct clusters. The thematic analysis identified eight key topics, including “RNA-binding proteins,” “traumatic brain injury,” and “inflammation.” Four studies involving 5.976 patients were included in the final meta-analysis, which indicated a correlation between RBP expression levels and poor prognosis in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Conclusion: Our findings provide valuable insights into the developing trends and key areas of research on RBPs in trauma and burns. Notably, we identified two primary hotspots: RBPs in the pathophysiological mechanisms of various traumatic injuries and RBPs in the processes of cutaneous wound healing. This rapidly evolving field offers significant reference points for scientific researchers and clinical practitioners.

Background: Burns are a global public health issue and a major cause of disability and death around the world. Stem cells, which are the undifferentiated cells with the potential for indefinite proliferation and multilineage differentiation, have the ability to replace injured skin and facilitate the wound repair process through paracrine mechanisms. In light of this, the present study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis in order to identify research hotspots of stem cell–related burns and assess global research tendencies. Methods: To achieve this objective, we retrieved scientific publications on burns associated with stem cells covering the period from January 1, 1978, to October 13, 2022, from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Bibliometric analyses, including production and collaboration analyses between countries, institutions, authors, and journals, as well as keyword and topic analyses, were conducted using the bibliometrix R package, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer. Results: A total of 1648 burns associated with stem cell documents were published and listed on WOSCC. The most contributive country, institution, journal, and author were the United States, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Burns, and Scheffer C.G. Tseng, respectively. More importantly, combined with historical direct citation network, trend topic analysis, keyword co-occurrence network, and substantial literature analysis, we eventually summarized the research hotspots and frontiers on burns associated stem cell reasearch. Conclusion: The present study obtained deep insight into the developing trends and research hotspots on burns associated with stem cells, which arouses growing concerns and implies increasing clinical implications. The mechanism and therapeutics of epidermal stem cells (ESCs) for burn wounds and the mechanism of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and MSC-derived exosomes for burns wounds are two research hotspots in this field.

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Endothelial cells (ECs) are an important cell type typically affected in sepsis, resulting in compromised barrier function and various forms of regulated cell death (RCD). However, the precise mechanisms underlying sepsis-induced EC damage remain unclear. This review summarizes the recent research progress on factors and mechanisms that may affect the permeability and RCD of ECs under septic conditions, including glycocalyx, damage-associated molecular patterns, and various forms of RCD in ECs, such as apoptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and autophagy. This review offers important insights into the underlying mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction in sepsis, aiming to contribute to developing small-molecule targeted clinical therapies.

Sepsis is recognized as a syndrome of systemic inflammatory reaction induced by dysregulation of the body’s immunity against infection. The multiple organ dysfunction associated with sepsis is a serious threat to the patient’s life. Endothelial cell dysfunction has been extensively studied in sepsis. However, the role of macrophages in sepsis is not well understood and the intrinsic link between the two cells has not been elucidated. Macrophages are first-line cells of the immune response, whereas endothelial cells are a class of cells that are highly altered in function and morphology. In sepsis, various cytokines secreted by macrophages and endothelial cell dysfunction are inextricably linked. Therefore, investigating how macrophages affect endothelial cells could offer a theoretical foundation for the treatment of sepsis. This review links molecules (TNF-α, CCL2, ROS, VEGF, MMP-9, and NO) secreted by macrophages under inflammatory conditions to endothelial cell dysfunction (adhesion, permeability, and coagulability), refining the pathophysiologic mechanisms of sepsis. At the same time, multiple approaches (a variety of miRNA and medicines) regulating macrophage polarization are also summarized, providing new insights into reversing endothelial cell dysfunction and improving the outcome of sepsis treatment.

Background The perfect repair of damaged skin has always been a constant goal for scientists; however, the repair and reconstruction of skin is still a major problem and challenge in injury and burns medicine. Human amniotic membrane (hAM), with its good mechanical properties and anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial benefits, containing growth factors that promote wound healing, has evolved over the last few decades from simple skin sheets to high‐tech dressings, such as being made into nanocomposites, hydrogels, powders, and electrostatically spun scaffolds. This paper aims to explore the historical development, applications, trends, and research hotspots of hAM in wound healing. Methods We examined 2660 publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) from January 1, 1975 to July 12, 2023. Utilizing bibliometric methods, we employed VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R‐bibliometrix to characterize general information, identify development trends, and highlight research hotspots. Subsequently, we identified a collection of high‐quality English articles focusing on the roles of human amniotic epithelial stem cells (hAESCs), human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs), and amniotic membrane (AM) scaffolds in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Results Bibliometric analysis identified Udice–French Research Universities as the most productive affiliation and Tseng S.C.G. as the most prolific author. Keyword analysis, historical direct quotations network, and thematic analysis helped us review the historical and major themes in this field. Our examination included the knowledge structure, global status, trends, and research hotspots regarding the application of hAM in wound healing. Our findings indicate that contemporary research emphasizes the preparation and application of products derived from hAM. Notably, both hAM and the cells isolated from it – hADSCs and hAESCs are prominent and promising areas of research in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Conclusion This research delivers a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge frameworks, global dynamics, emerging patterns, and primary research foci in the realm of hAM applications for wound healing. The field is rapidly evolving, and our findings offer valuable insights for researchers. Future research outcomes are anticipated to be applied in clinical practice, enhancing methods for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Background Burn injuries with ≥70% total body surface area (TBSA) are especially acute and life-threatening, leading to severe complications and terrible prognosis, while a powerful model for prediction of overall survival (OS) is lacked. The objective of this study is to identify prognostic factors for the OS of patients with burn injury ≥70% TBSA, construct and validate a feasible predictive model. Materials and Methods Patients diagnosed with burns ≥70% TBSA admitted and treated between 2010 and 2020 in our hospital were included. A cohort of the patients from the Kunshan explosion were assigned as the validation set. The Chi-square test and K-M survival analysis were conducted to identify potential predictors for OS. Then, multi-variate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify the independent factors. Afterwards, we constructed a nomogram to predict OS probability. Finally, the Kunshan cohort was applied as an external validation set. Results Gender, the percentage of third- and fourth-degree burn as well as organ dysfunction were identified as significant independent factors. A nomogram only based on the factors of the individuals was built and evidenced to have promising predictive accuracy, accordance, and discrimination by both internal and external validation. Conclusions This study recognized significant influencing factors for the OS of patients with burns ≥70% TBSA. Furthermore, our nomogram proved to be an effective tool for doctors to quickly evaluate patients’ outcomes and make appropriate clinical decisions at an early stage of treatment.