Anti-angiogenic therapies targeting VEGF signaling have limited clinical efficacy due to inevitable resistance. Researchers constructed a pancancer single-cell atlas of 1.24 million cells across 13 cancer types, revealing that pericytes (PCs) and PC-derived PGF/ANGPT2 are more prominent pro-angiogenic regulators than the classical VEGFA-centric model. Tumor-educated MCAM+ immature PCs (imPCs) were identified as the primary source of PGF/ANGPT2, driving alternative angiogenesis and anti-VEGFR resistance. Combining anti-VEGFR with MCAM-targeting antibody-drug conjugates achieved superior tumor control through dual EC/PC inhibition.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receiving immunosuppressive therapy face increased risks of infections, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation. This nationwide real-world study investigated the incidence and risk factors of HBV infection or reactivation and HBV-related liver dysfunction in Chinese IBD patients treated with infliximab. Our findings provide important insights for HBV screening and prophylactic antiviral therapy in this vulnerable population. The study emphasizes the need for careful monitoring and management of HBV status in IBD patients initiating biologic therapy.

The brain and body interact bidirectionally through complex neural, endocrine, immune, and metabolic pathways. Systemic diseases can affect brain structure and function, while brain disorders can influence peripheral organ systems. This review surveys recent neuroimaging studies that reveal disease-specific brain alterations across multiple systemic conditions, including cardiovascular, metabolic, autoimmune, and infectious diseases. We highlight common and distinct patterns of brain involvement and discuss the potential of imaging biomarkers for early diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. Advanced imaging techniques provide unprecedented insights into brain-body interactions in health and disease.

Muscle and bone, key tissues that maintain the body's structure and function, are closely connected both anatomically and physiologically. Growing evidence suggests that vascular dysfunction serves as a critical link between sarcopenia and osteoporosis. This review summarizes the structural and functional interactions between the musculoskeletal and vascular systems, examines shared mechanisms underlying sarcopenia and osteoporosis, and discusses potential therapeutic strategies targeting vascular health to mitigate both conditions. The crosstalk between muscle-derived and bone-derived factors, mediated by the vascular system, offers new insights for understanding and treating these age-related conditions.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is characterized by frequent mutations in genes involved in chromatin remodeling and DNA damage repair. This review examines how essential genetic mutations in ccRCC impair DNA damage repair mechanisms and simultaneously modulate the tumor immune microenvironment. We discuss the interplay between genomic instability and immune response, highlighting how mutations in key genes such as VHL, PBRM1, and BAP1 create therapeutic vulnerabilities. Understanding these relationships may inform novel combination strategies targeting both DNA repair pathways and immune checkpoint mechanisms in ccRCC.

Ports are typically highly polluted environments, which makes it imperative to find new ways to clean them up. Here, scientists studied five species of common Mediterranean sea sponges to see whether they can function as ‘ecosystem engineers’ for filtering water and nature restoration. One tested species, commonly called the ‘chicken kidney sponge’ proved especially hardy when transplanted to a busy polluted recreational port near Girona, Spain. Under these challenging conditions, it typically thrived to the point where it could reproduce asexually into dispersing clones. The authors intend to use this species in further long-term renaturalization trials.