Is there a causal relationship between autoimmune diseases and oropharyngeal cancer?

BACKGROUND

Autoimmune diseases (AIDs) are linked to oropharyngeal cancer (OPC), but the exact nature of this association remains unclear. This study aims to examine the potential causal effect of AIDs on the risk of developing OPC.

METHOD

Information regarding AIDs was collected from the UK Biobank dataset and the Finn Gen study. OPC data were sourced from the IEU Open GWAS project. All data were derived from European populations. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) to two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was complemented by weighted median and MR Egger validation analyses.

RESULT

The development of asthma (AS), multiple sclerosis (MS), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) influenced the risk of developing OPC. However, the reverse MR analysis did not provide evidence for the impact of OPC on AIDs. Sensitivity analysis using MR corroborated the IVW results. The IVW results indicate OR values of 1.004 for AS, 0.936 for MS, and 1.0002 for RA.

CONCLUSION

This MR study supports a causal relationship between asthma and rheumatoid arthritis for OPC in a European population. Multiple sclerosis was protective against OPC.

Associations of changes in fat free mass with risk for type 2 diabetes: Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

AIMS

To determine whether loss of muscle mass (approximated using fat free mass [FFM]) is associated with risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Hispanic/Latino adults in the United States.

METHODS

Participants were Hispanic/Latino adults (18-74-year-olds) who completed Visit 2 of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL; multi-site, prospective cohort study; 6.1-year follow-up) and did not have T2DM at baseline (n = 6264). At baseline and Visit 2, FFM was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis and fasting glucose, HbA1c, and fasting insulin were measured by examiners. Diabetes was defined according to American Diabetes Association criteria. Survey-weighted Poisson regression models examined the association of percent change in relative FFM (%ΔFFM) with incident prediabetes and T2DM. Survey-weighted multivariable regression models examined associations of %ΔFFM with changes in glucose and insulin measures.

RESULTS

Relative FFM declined by 2.1% between visits. %ΔFFM was inversely associated with incident prediabetes (p-for-trend = 0.001) and with changes in glucose and insulin measures (p-for-trend <0.0001). Findings were null, except for HOMA-IR, after adjustment for changes in adiposity measures. Associations were generally stronger for individuals with baseline overweight/obesity.

CONCLUSIONS

Reducing loss of FFM during adulthood may reduce prediabetes risk (primarily insulin resistance), particularly among individuals with overweight/obesity.

Café-au-lait macules overlying segmental macular hyperpigmentation in a pediatric patient: an early sign for mosaic neurofibromatosis type 1

The presentation of multiple café-au-lait macules (CALMs) in children is a common reason for referral to a dermatologist. Segmental CALMs, a subtype of CALMs, is usually limited to a specific part of the body. Mosaic neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1; OMIM 162200) is a common congenital disorder associated with segmental CALMs with an incidence of about 1 case/40000 patients, which is lower than the prevalence of patients with germline NF1 mutations1,2 .

Immunocyte density in parathyroid carcinoma is correlated with disease relapse

PURPOSE

Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is an endocrine malignancy with a poor prognosis. The tumour immune microenvironment is a critical factor influencing the outcomes of multiple cancer types. However, knowledge of the immune microenvironment in PC remains limited.

METHODS

The intratumoural density of immunocytes and the Ki-67 index were evaluated immunohistochemically in 51 PC patient samples and were compared with clinicopathological features and parafibromin staining results. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards analysis were used to estimate the effects of these variables on clinical outcomes.

RESULTS

Intratumoural immunocyte density was not correlated with age, gender, urolithiasis, or palpation of a neck mass. The Ki-67 index was correlated with the intratumoural density of CD3⁺ cells (P = 0.022) and CD8⁺ cells (P = 0.021) and serum calcium levels (P = 0.022). In the intratumoural area of primary foci, Kaplan-Meier method showed that the risk factors associated with recurrence/metastasis were a low density of CD3⁺ (P = 0.017), CD8⁺ (P = 0.019) and CD45⁺ cells (P = 0.047), a high density of CD163⁺ cells (P = 0.003) and a high Ki-67 index (P = 0.004). Cox regression multivariate analysis revealed that CD163⁺ cell density (hazard ratio (HR) 16.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.99-131.66; P = 0.009) and CD8⁺ cell density (HR 0.13, 95% CI 0.02-0.76, P = 0.024) were independent factors associated with PC relapse.

CONCLUSION

The immune microenvironment is an important factor influencing the relapse of PC. The intratumoural density of CD3⁺, CD8⁺, CD45⁺, and CD163⁺ immunocytes was correlated with disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with PC. Immunotherapy based on T lymphocytes or tumour-associated macrophages may be a promising treatment strategy.

The differential proliferation of AOB and NOB during natural nitrifier cultivation and acclimation with raw sewage as seed sludge

Nitrifier immigration from sewers to wastewater treatment systems is attracting increasing attention for understanding nitrifier community assembly mechanisms, and improving process modeling and operation. In this study, nitrifiers in raw sewage were cultivated and acclimated in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for 90 days to investigate the characteristics of the influent nitrifiers after immigration. During the experiment, specific nitrite utilization rate (SNUR) exceeded specific ammonia utilization rate (SAUR) when floc size reached 224 ± 46 μm, and nitrogen loss occurred at the same time. The ratio of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) to ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) increased from 0.84 to 2.14 after cultivation. The Illumina MiSeq sequencing showed that the dominant AOB was Nitrosomonas sp. Nm84 and unidentified species, and the three most abundant Nitrospira were Nitrospira defluvii, Nitrospira calida, and unidentified Nitrospira spp. in both raw sewage and cultivated activated sludge. The shared reads of raw sewage and activated sludge were 48.76% for AOB and 89.35% for Nitrospira. These indicated that nitrifiers, especially NOB, immigrated from influent can survive and propagate in wastewater systems, which may be a significant hinder to suppress NOB in the application of advanced nitrogen remove process based on partial nitrification in the mainstream.

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials on antibiotic treatment for osteomyelitis in diabetes

AIM

To evaluate the efficacy of antibiotic therapy in osteomyelitis treatment among people with diabetes.

METHODS

A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, AMED, Web of Science, the WHO trial registry, Cochrane library databases, and ClinicalTrials.gov, in addition to hand-searching, was undertaken in July 2018. Two reviewers independently extracted data. The studies' methodological quality was assessed using the modified Jadad scale. Descriptive analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Seven randomized controlled trials, with 393 participants in total, were included. The antibiotic regimens, treatments and follow-up durations varied among the trials. The total scores showed that the overall methodological quality of the seven studies was high, despite two studies showing some flaws in double-blinding and withdrawals/drop-outs. Of four studies comparing different antibiotic regimens, three implied a similar remission effect, while one implied that ertapenem ± vancomycin treatment showed a higher remission rate than tigecycline treatment; this conclusion was not robust because of low power and small sample size. In the other three studies, which included two different doses of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotics group and a conservative surgical group, and two durations of the same antibiotic strategy, no significant differences in remission were reported between the groups. No difference was observed in the analyses of microbiological outcomes, superinfections and relapse, except adverse events.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no definitive evidence supporting the superiority of any particular antibiotic agent, dose, or administration duration in the treatment of osteomyelitis in diabetes. As the included studies had some flaws and limitations, further research is necessary.

Interleukin-33 in children with asthma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown that serum interleukin 33 serving as an "alarmin" is increased in children with asthma. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of serum IL33 test for early diagnosis of childhood asthma.

METHODS

A literature search was performed in June 2016 using PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and other Chinese Medical Databases to identify studies. The search terms used were "cytokine", "interleukin-33", "asthma" and "children". The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 software. Random-effects model was used to estimate the standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

A total of eight studies were included into this meta-analysis, involving 330 asthmatic children and 248 healthy children. The meta-analysis results revealed that the serum IL33 level was higher in asthmatic children compared to that in healthy children (SMD=1.29, 95%CI=0.53-2.05, P=0.0009), with significant heterogeneity across studies (I²=94% and P<0.00001).

CONCLUSIONS

The meta-analysis showed that serum IL33 is a helpful biomarker for early diagnosis of childhood asthma. However, owing to lack of enough data, the increased serum concentration of IL33 cannot be an indicator for the asthma severity.

HLA-B*57 and IFNL4-related polymorphisms are associated with protection against HIV-1 disease progression in controllers

Background

HIV-1-controllers maintain HIV-1 viremia at low levels (normally <2000 HIV-RNA copies/mL) without antiretroviral treatment. However, some HIV-1-controllers have evidence of immunologic progression with marked CD4⁺T-cell decline. We investigated host genetic factors associated with protection against CD4⁺T-cell loss in HIV-1-controllers.

Methods

We analysed the association of interferon lambda 4 (IFNL4)-related polymorphisms and HLA-B haplotypes within Long Term Non-Progressor HIV-1-controllers ((LTNP-C), defined by maintaining CD4⁺T-cells counts >500 cells/mm³ for more than 7 years after HIV-1 diagnosis) versus non-LTNP-C, who developed CD4⁺T-cells counts <500 cells/mm³ Both a Spanish study cohort (n=140) and an international validation cohort (n=914) were examined. Additionally, in a subgroup of individuals HIV-1-specific T-cell responses and soluble cytokines were analysed RESULTS: HLA-B*57 was independently associated with the LTNP-C phenotype (OR=3.056 (1.029-9.069) p=0.044 and OR=1.924 (1.252-2.957) p=0.003) while IFNL4 genotypes represented independent factors for becoming non-LTNP-C (TT/TT, ss469415590, OR=0.401 (0.171-0.942) p=0.036 or A/A, rs12980275, OR=0.637 (0.434-0.934) p=0.021) in the Spanish and validation cohort, respectively, after adjusting for sex, age at HIV-1 diagnosis, IFNL4-related polymorphisms and different HLA-B haplotypes. LTNP-C showed lower plasma IP-10 (p=0.019) and higher IFN-γ (p=0.02) levels than the HIV-1-controllers with diminished CD4⁺T-cell numbers. Moreover, LTNP-C exhibited higher quantities of IL2⁺CD57^- and IFN-γ⁺CD57^- HIV-1-specific CD8⁺T-cells (p=0.002 and 0.041, respectively) than non-LTNP-C.

Conclusions

We have defined genetic markers able to segregate stable HIV-1-controllers from those who experience CD4⁺T-cell decline. These findings allow for identification of HIV-1-controllers at risk for immunologic progression, and provide avenues for personalized therapeutic interventions and precision medicine for optimizing clinical care of these individuals.

Complex evolutionary patterns revealed by mitochondrial genomes of the domestic horse

The domestic horse is the most widely used and important stock and recreational animal, valued for its strength and endurance. The energy required by the domestic horse is mainly supplied by mitochondria via oxidative phosphorylation. Thus, selection may have played an essential role in the evolution of the horse mitochondria. Besides, demographic events also affect the DNA polymorphic pattern on mitochondria. To understand the evolutionary patterns of the mitochondria of the domestic horse, we used a deep sequencing approach to obtain the complete sequences of 15 mitochondrial genomes, and four mitochondrial gene sequences, ND6, ATP8, ATP6 and CYTB, collected from 509, 363, 363 and 409 domestic horses, respectively. Evidence of strong substitution rate heterogeneity was found at nonsynonymous sites across the genomes. Signatures of recent positive selection on mtDNA of domestic horse were detected. Specifically, five amino acids in the four mitochondrial genes were identified as the targets of positive selection. Coalescentbased simulations imply that recent population expansion is the most probable explanation for the matrilineal population history for domestic horse. Our findings reveal a complex pattern of non-neutral evolution of the mitochondrial genome in the domestic horses.

P53-Mediated Repression of the Reprogramming in Cloned Bovine Embryos Through Direct Interaction with HDAC1 and Indirect Interaction with DNMT3A

P53 is a transcriptional activator, regulating growth arrest, DNA repair and apoptosis. We found that the expression level of P53 and the epigenetic profiles were significantly different in bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos from those in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos. So we inferred that abnormally expression of P53 might contribute to the incomplete reprogramming. Using bovine foetal fibroblasts, we constructed and screened a highly efficient shRNA vector targeting bovine P53 gene and then reconstituted somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos (RNAi-SCNT). The results indicated that expression levels of P53 were downregulated significantly in RNAi-SCNT embryos, and the blastulation rate and the total number of cell increased significantly. Moreover, methylation levels of CpG islands located 5' region of OCT4, NANOG, H19 and IGF2R in RNAi -SCNT embryos were significantly normalized to that IVF embryos, and the methylation levels of genome DNA, H3K9 and H4K5 acetylation levels were also returned to levels similar to the IVF embryos. Differentially expressed genes were identified by microarray, and 28 transcripts were found to be significantly different (> twofolds) in RNAi-SCNT embryos compared to the control nuclear transfer embryos (SCNT). Among the 28 differentially expressed transcripts, just HDAC1 and DNMT3A were closely associated with the epigenetic modifications. Finally, ChIP further showed that P53 might repress the epigenetic reprogramming by regulating HDAC1 directly and DNMT3A indirectly. These findings offer significant references to further elucidate the mechanism of epigenetic reprogramming in SCNT embryos.

Downregulation of FAP suppresses cell proliferation and metastasis through PTEN/PI3K/AKT and Ras-ERK signaling in oral squamous cell carcinoma

It is largely recognized that fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is expressed in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) of many human carcinomas. Furthermore, FAP was recently also reported to be expressed in carcinoma cells of the breast, stomach, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, colorectum, and uterine cervix. The carcinoma cell expression pattern of FAP has been described in several types of cancers, but the role of FAP in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is unknown. The role of endogenous FAP in epithelium-derived tumors and molecular mechanisms has also not been reported. In this study, FAP was found to be expressed in carcinoma cells of OSCC and was upregulated in OSCC tissue samples compared with benign tissue samples using immunohistochemistry. In addition, its expression level was closely correlated with overall survival of patients with OSCC. Silencing FAP inhibited the growth and metastasis of OSCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, knockdown of FAP inactivated PTEN/PI3K/AKT and Ras-ERK and its downstream signaling regulating proliferation, migration, and invasion in OSCC cells, as the inhibitory effects of FAP on the proliferation and metastasis could be rescued by PTEN silencing. Our study suggests that FAP acts as an oncogene and may be a potential therapeutic target for patients with OSCC.

Thalamic physiology of intentional essential tremor is more like cerebellar tremor than postural essential tremor

The neuronal physiological correlates of clinical heterogeneity in human essential tremor are unknown. We now test the hypothesis that thalamic neuronal and EMG activities during intention essential tremor are similar to those of the intention tremor which is characteristic of cerebellar lesions. Thalamic neuronal firing was studied in a cerebellar relay nucleus (ventral intermediate, Vim) and in a pallidal relay nucleus (ventral oral posterior, Vop) during stereotactic surgery for the treatment of tremor. Nine patients with essential tremor were divided clinically into two categories: one with a substantial component of tremor with intention (termed intention ET) and the other without (postural ET). These types of essential tremor were compared with patients having intention tremor plus other clinical signs of cerebellar disease (cerebellar tremor). Neurons in patients with either intention ET or cerebellar tremor had lower firing rates and lower spike×EMG coherence than those in patients with postural ET. Patients with intention ET had a lower spike×EMG phase lead than those with postural ET. Overall, thalamic activity measures of intention ET were different from postural ET but not apparently different from those of cerebellar tremor. One patient with the intention ET (number 4) had a good response to a left thalamotomy and then suffered a right cerebellar hemispheric infarct five years later. After the stroke the intention ET recurred, which is consistent with our hypothesis that intention ET is similar to that of the intention tremor which is characteristic of cerebellar lesions.

Increased circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells correlated negatively with Th17 cells in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVES

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have recently been identified as an important mediator in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases through the production of arginase (Arg)-1 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MDSCs in the peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and evaluate their correlation with T-helper (Th)17 cells.

METHOD

The frequency of MDSCs and Th17 cells and the mRNA expression of transcriptional factor RORγ-t and iNOS in the peripheral blood of RA patients and healthy controls (HC) were determined by flow cytometry and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. Plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-17, IL-6, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and Arg-1 were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

RESULTS

Compared with HC, both the prevalence of circulating MDSCs and plasma Arg-1 increased significantly in RA patients. However, no significant difference was observed in the mRNA level of iNOS between RA patients and HC. The frequency of Th17 cells in RA patients was significantly higher than in HC but correlated negatively with the frequency of MDSCs and plasma Arg-1. A negative correlation between MDSCs and plasma TNF-α was also observed. However, the frequency of MDSCs was not correlated with plasma IL-6 and IL-17, nor with the mRNA level of RORγ-t.

CONCLUSIONS

We found a negative correlation between increased circulating MDSCs and Th17 cells in RA patients, which may provide new insights into the mechanisms involved in RA.

Characterization of 236 novel alleles at the HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, -DQB1 and -DPB1 loci from China Marrow Donor Program

Two hundred and thirty-six novel human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles are described from volunteer donors of the China Marrow Donor Program: 71 HLA-A alleles, 79 HLA-B alleles, 43 HLA-C, 16 HLA-DRB1 alleles, 26 HLA-DQB1 and 1 HLA-DPB1. Two hundred and thirteen (90.3%) of the 236 novel alleles are single nucleotide substitution variants when compared with their most homologous allele. Seventy-eight of these single nucleotide variants are silent substitutions. The remaining novel alleles differ from their most similar allele by two to four nucleotide substitutions. Some of the novel alleles encode amino acid changes at positions not previously reported to be polymorphic, such as codons 57, 62, 67, 41 and 52 in HLA-A alleles; codons 133, 156, 201 and 215 in HLA-B alleles; codons 74, 208 and 225 in HLA-C; codons 25, 32 and 72 in HLA-DRB1; codons 20, 39 and 77 in HLA-DQB1.