Liver-directed adeno-associated virus serotype 8 gene transfer rescues a lethal murine model of citrullinemia type 1

Citrullinemia type 1 (CTLN1) is an autosomal recessive disorder of metabolism caused by a deficiency of argininosuccinate synthetase. Despite optimal management, CTLN1 patients still suffer from lethal metabolic instability and experience life threatening episodes of acute hyperammonemia. A murine model of CTLN1 (fold/fold) that displays lethality within the first 21 days of life was used to determine the efficacy of adeno-associated viral (AAV) gene transfer as a potential therapy. An AAV serotype 8 (AAV8) vector was engineered to express the human ASS1 cDNA under the control of a liver-specific promoter (thyroxine binding globulin, TBG), AAV8-TBG-hASS1, and delivered to 7–10 day old mice via intraperitoneal injection. Greater than 95% of the mice were rescued from lethality and survival was extended beyond 100 days after receiving a single dose of vector. AAV8-TBG-hASS1 treatment resulted in liver specific expression of hASS1, increased ASS1 enzyme activity, reduction in plasma ammonia and citrulline concentrations, and significant phenotypic improvement of the fold/fold growth and skin phenotypes. These experiments highlight a gene transfer approach using AAV8 vector for liver targeted gene therapy that could serve as a treatment for CTLN1.

A retrospective analysis of short and long term efficacy of RBL for hemorrhoids

AIMS

Rubber band ligation is an effective treatment for hemorrhoids. A retrospective analysis was performed to evaluate its short and long-term efficacy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From 2000 to 2008, 254 outpatients with II- degree and 114 with III-degree hemorrhoids underwent rubber band ligation. Two or three hemorrhoids were ligated per session. Each haemorrhoid was ligated with two rubber bands through a ligator. All patients were visited after two months and followed up through a telephone after two and eleven years.

RESULTS

Twenty-four or forty-eight hours post treatment, 41% of patients had mild-moderate pain. Four patients showed severe pain and required for haemorrhoidectomy within a few days. Only 2% of patients experienced self-limiting rectal bleeding after one week and 6% of patients had an additional ligation within two months. Two months later, 92% of II-degree patients and 76% of III-degree patients showed no residual symptoms. After two and eleven years, the history of 314 patients (85%) were obtained, of them, 70% was asymptomatic, 27% had some residual symptoms of occasional bleeding and prolapse, and 3% needed further surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Rubber band ligation is an efficient, cost-effective and simple outpatient procedure for the second and third degree hemorrhoids with minimal complications.

Curcumin acts via transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 receptors to inhibit gut nociception and reverses visceral hyperalgesia

BACKGROUND

An antinociceptive effect has been reported for curcumin in animal models and in humans, but the molecular mechanisms of curcumin's effect remain undefined. In this study, we explored the possibility that curcumin inhibit visceral nociception via antagonizing the transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) receptor.

METHODS

The effects of curcumin were explored using two experimental models: viscero-motor response (VMR) to colorectal distension (CRD) in rats and jejunal afferent firing in the ex vivo mouse jejunum preparations [TRPV1 knockout (KO) and wild-type mice, naive and trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-treated Kunming mice]. In addition, capsaicin-induced calcium transients and whole-cell currents were examined in acutely dissociated dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons.

KEY RESULTS

In the anesthetized rat, curcumin (4 mg kg(-1)  min(-1) for 3 min) caused a marked and rapidly reversible inhibition of CRD-induced VMRs. In the mouse jejunum, the mesenteric afferent nerve response to ramp distension was attenuated by curcumin (3, 10 μmol L(-1) ), an effect that was significantly reduced in TRPV1 KO mice compared with wild-type (WT) controls. Moreover, in WT mice, curcumin (1-30 μmol L(-1) ) was found to inhibit the afferent responses to capsaicin in a concentration-dependent manner. Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced hypersensitivity of jejunal afferents was also attenuated by curcumin. Curcumin potently inhibited capsaicin-induced rise in intracellular calcium and inward currents in mouse or rat DRG neurons.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

Our results provide strong evidence that curcumin inhibit visceral nociception via antagonizing TRPV1 and may be a promising lead for the treatment of functional gastrointestinal diseases.

Inhibition of transforming growth factor beta-activated kinase 1 confers neuroprotection after traumatic brain injury in rats

The transforming growth factor beta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1), a member of the Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase family, is characterized as a key regulator in inflammatory and apoptosis signaling pathways. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of the TAK1 pathway in experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to TBI using a modified Feeney's weight-drop model. The time course showed that a significant increase of TAK1 and p-TAK1 expression in the cortex after TBI. Moreover, TBI induced TAK1 redistribution both in neurons and astrocytes of the lesion boundary zone. The effects of specific inhibition of the TAK1 pathway by 5Z-7-oxozeaenol (OZ, intracerebroventricular injection at 10min post-trauma) on histopathological and behavioral outcomes in rats were assessed at 24h post injury. The number of TUNEL-positive stained cells was diminished and neuronal survival and neurological function were improved with OZ treatment. Biochemically, the high dose of OZ significantly reduced the levels of TAK1 and p-TAK1, further decreased nuclear factor-κB and activator protein 1 activities and the release of inflammatory cytokines. In addition, we found that both 10min and 3h post-trauma OZ therapies could markedly improve neurological function and neuronal survival after long-term survival. These results revealed that the TAK1 pathway is activated after experimental TBI and the inhibitor OZ affords significant neuro- protection and amelioration of neurobehavioral deficits after experimental TBI, suggesting a potential rationale for manipulating this pathway in clinical practice.

The pathogenesis of acute allograft dysfunction in desensitized renal transplant recipients

BACKGROUND

Acute allograft rejection after HLA desensitization is common early post-transplant but the sequence of histopathologic changes leading to graft dysfunction has not been well defined.

METHODS

We evaluated the early pathogenesis and sequence of antibody-mediated graft damage of 35 desensitized living donor kidney recipients by studying the course of biopsies taken in the very early post-transplant period (<1 month).

RESULTS

A total of 14 of the 35 patients met criteria for acute antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). In these patients, the chronologic sequence of pathologic changes was C4d peritubular capillary deposition, acute tubular injury, and peritubular capillaritis, followed by glomerulitis and interstitial inflammation. Classic AMR lesions occurred early, followed by mononuclear cellular infiltration, which comprised CD4 and CD8 T cells and monocytes. Development of graft dysfunction in most patients occurred concurrently with the emergence of graft cellular infiltration, rather than at the earlier time of antibody deposition as detected via C4d deposition.

CONCLUSION

These data provide novel insight into the sequence of pathologic changes in patients with AMR post-transplant after HLA desensitization.

BOLDMirror: a global mirror system of DNA barcode data

DNA barcoding is a novel concept for taxonomic identification using short, specific genetic markers and has been applied to study a large number of eukaryotes. The huge amount of data output generated by DNA barcoding requires well-organized information systems. Besides the Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) established in Canada, the mirror system is also important for the international barcode of life project (iBOL). For this purpose, we developed the BOLDMirror, a global mirror system of DNA barcode data. It is open-sourced and can run on the LAMP (Linux + Apache + MySQL + PHP) environment. BOLDMirror has data synchronization, data representation and statistics modules, and also provides spaces to store user operation history. BOLDMirror can be accessed at http://www.boldmirror.net and several countries have used it to setup their site of DNA barcoding.

[The value of detecting telomerase activity on early diagnosis of lung cancer]

BACKGROUND

To explore the possibility of telomerase as tumor marker of lung cancer and to evaluate its value on early diagnosis of lung cancer.

METHODS

Telomerase activity was measured in 40 resected specimens of lung cancer and 40 preoperative fibro-optic bronchoscope biopsied specimens of suspected lung cancer by PCR based silver staining telomeric repeat amplification protocal (TRAP) respectively.

RESULTS

The positive rate of telomerase was 100% in SCLC, but 84.8% in resected samples and 95.7% in biopsied samples in NSCLC. The positive rate of telomerase was 87.5%(35/40) in resected lung cancer tissues, 7.5%(3/40) in paracancerous tissues and 0%(0/40) in normal lung tissues (P<0.01). 82.5% (34/40) biopsied specimens of suspected lung cancer were detected with telomerase activity. Its sensitivity, specificity, and accurate rate was 96.4%, 71.4%, and 91.4% respectively for detection of lung cancer, Youden's Index (J)=0.678,and SE(J)=0.174.

CONCLUSIONS

Telomerase may be a sensitive tumor marker of lung cancer. Detecting telomerase activity in preoperative fibro-optic bronchoscope biopsied specimens may contribute to early diagnosis of lung cancer.

Antileukemic activity of nuclear export inhibitors that spare normal hematopoietic cells

Drugs that target the chief mediator of nuclear export, chromosome region maintenance 1 protein (CRM1) have potential as therapeutics for leukemia, but existing CRM1 inhibitors show variable potencies and a broad range of cytotoxic effects. Here, we report the structural analysis and antileukemic activity of a new generation of small-molecule inhibitors of CRM1. Designated selective inhibitors of nuclear export (SINE), these compounds were developed using molecular modeling to screen a small virtual library of compounds against the nuclear export signal (NES) groove of CRM1. The 2.2-Å crystal structure of the CRM1-Ran-RanBP1 complex bound to KPT-251, a representative molecule of this class of inhibitors, shows that the drug occupies part of the groove in CRM1 that is usually occupied by the NES, but penetrates much deeper into the groove and blocks CRM1-directed protein export. SINE inhibitors exhibit potent antileukemic activity, inducing apoptosis at nanomolar concentrations in a panel of 14 human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines representing different molecular subtypes of the disease. When administered orally to immunodeficient mice engrafted with human AML cells, KPT-251 had potent antileukemic activity with negligible toxicity to normal hematopoietic cells. Thus, KPT-SINE CRM1 antagonists represent a novel class of drugs that warrant further testing in AML patients.

Plasma exchange in Goodpasture syndrome associated with Turner's syndrome: A case report

BACKGROUND

Good pasture syndrome (GPS) has been paid much attention recently for the dangerous illness and high mortality.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the efficiency of plasma exchange (PE) to treat Goodpasture syndrome (GPS) in children associated with Turner's syndrome.

METHOD

We report a case of a 15 year old female with GPS and Turner's syndrome. The patient has intermittent fever and cough for 45 days and oliguria for 6 days. Turner's syndrome was determined through blood karyotype analysis, and GPS was diagnosed because the patient was negative for antinuclear antibodies and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), but positive for anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) antibodies (200 RU/ml). PE was carried out in combination with immunosuppression therapy.

RESULTS

The results show PE treatment can efficiently decrease the levels of anti-GBM antibodies. The antibody levels were >200 RU/ml and 184 RU/ml before and after the first PE treatment, respectively. The removal efficiency were 40%, 47%, 42%, 54%, 52% for the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth PE procedures, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The therapy with PE, hemodialysis, pulse methylprednisolone followed by oral prednisone and cyclophosphamide greatly contributed to improvement of this patient's condition, and resolved the patient's pulmonary haemorrhage. All these results demonstrate that PE contributed efficiently to the treatment for GPS in children.

Erythrocyte trans-fatty acids, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged and older Chinese individuals

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

Few data are available about intakes and food sources of trans-fatty acids (TFAs) or their associations with cardiometabolic outcomes in Asian people who consume a prudent diet but are experiencing rapid nutritional transitions. We aimed to investigate the relationships between TFA biomarkers and type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese individuals.

METHODS

Erythrocyte fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography among 3,107 men and women (50-70 years) recruited from urban and rural areas in Beijing and Shanghai, China.

RESULTS

Total trans-18:1 and two trans-18:2 isomers were detected and accounted for 0.37% of the total fatty acids in the erythrocytes. Concentrations of TFAs were higher in women than men, and in urban than rural residents. Of the TFAs, trans-18:1, but not trans-18:2, showed a modest association with dairy consumption (β = 0.27), but not with other foods. After adjustment for BMI, social-demographic, lifestyle and dietary factors and other TFAs, erythrocyte trans-18:1 was shown to be associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes (OR comparing extreme [first and fourth] quartiles 0.68, 95% CI 0.48, 0.97, p(trend) = 0.02), as well as 20-50% lower odds of central obesity, dyslipidaemia, hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance and chronic inflammation. In contrast, trans-18:2 fatty acids were positively associated with high triacylglycerol (p(trend) < 0.001) and LDL-cholesterol (p(trend) = 0.03) levels, but not with diabetes and other cardiometabolic risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Among middle-aged and older Chinese individuals with overall low erythrocyte TFAs levels, trans-18:1 might serve as a marker of dairy intake. Higher trans-18:1 levels were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas higher trans-18:2 levels were associated with dyslipidaemia.

Aldehyde reactivity with 2-thiobarbituric acid and TBARS in freeze-dried beef during accelerated storage

When lipid oxidation is evaluated in freeze-dried beef, a yellow 450-nm-absorbing pigment develops during the 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay. TBA analysis and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were applied to measure oxidative changes in salted freeze-dried beef patties (15% fat) initially during storage at 49°C. The TBA pink pigment (λ(max)=532 nm) was most pronounced in unstored salted freeze-dried beef, and yellow pigment (λ(max)=450 nm) predominated in stored samples. An in vitro study of TBA reactivity of different aldehydes, known to be secondary lipid oxidation products, showed that alkanals and alk-2-enals favored TBARS(450) formation, while alka-2,4-dienals favored TBARS(532). Values of TBARS(450) from 95°C TBA incubation were lower than those from 25°C incubation (P<0.05), indicating that the yellow chromophore from the aldehyde-TBA complex was less thermally stable than the pink pigment. 5-Hydroxymethyl-2-furfural, an aldehyde produced from Maillard reaction, also produced strong TBARS(450). Propional, butanal and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF), were tentatively identified in freeze-dried beef during accelerated storage at 49°C, and have the potential to yield TBARS @450.

Inverse Correlation between Caveolin-1 Expression and Clinical Severity in Psoriasis Vulgaris

Objective:

This study investigated the clinical significance of expression of caveolin-1 - a plasma membrane protein involved in caveola formation, endocytosis, signal transduction and angiogenesis - inthe pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris.

Methods:

A total of 20 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 20 healthy volunteers were recruited. The expressions of caveolin-1, Ki-67 (marker of cell proliferation) and CD34 (marker of angiogenesis) in skin biopsies were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the level of caveolin-1 protein was quantified by Western blotting. Clinical severity was assessed using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score. Correlations between caveolin-1 expression and psoriasis severity, cell proliferation and angiogenesis were analysed using the Spearman rank correlation test.

Results:

Expression of caveolin-1 was significantly lower in psoriasis samples than in healthy skin samples. In psoriasis lesions, the level of caveolin-1 expression was inversely correlated with the severity of psoriasis, cell proliferation and angiogenesis.

Conclusions:

The level of caveolin-1 expression seems to be related to the clinical severity of psoriasis, and may play a role in the abnormal keratinocyte hyperplasia and angiogenesis seen in this condition.

An apoptosis-independent role of SMAC in tumor suppression

Reduced expression of the pro-apoptotic protein SMAC (second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase) has been reported to correlate with cancer progression, while its significance and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of SMAC in intestinal tumorigenesis using both human samples and animal models. Decreased SMAC expression was found to correlate with increased cIAP2 expression and higher grades of human colon cancer. In mice, SMAC deficiency significantly increased the incidence and size of colon tumors induced by azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS), and highly enriched β-catenin hot spot mutations. SMAC deficiency also significantly increased the incidence of spontaneous intestinal polyps in APC(Min/+) mice. Loss of SMAC in mice led to elevated levels of cIAP1 and cIAP2, increased proliferation and activation of the NF-κB p65 subunit in normal and tumor tissues. Unexpectedly, SMAC deficiency had little effect on the incidence of precursor lesions, or apoptosis induced by AOM or DSS, or in established tumors in mice. Furthermore, SMAC knockout enhanced TNFα-mediated NF-κB activation via cIAP2 in HCT 116 colon cancer cells. These results demonstrate an essential and apoptosis-independent function of SMAC in tumor suppression and provide new insights into the biology and targeting of colon cancer.

Secretory TAT-peptide-mediated protein transduction of LIF receptor α-chain distal cytoplasmic motifs into human myeloid HL-60 cells

The distal cytoplasmic motifs of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor α-chain (LIFRα-CT3) can independently induce intracellular myeloid differentiation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells by gene transfection; however, there are significant limitations in the potential clinical use of these motifs due to liposome-derived genetic modifications. To produce a potentially therapeutic LIFRα-CT3 with cell-permeable activity, we constructed a eukaryotic expression pcDNA3.0-TAT-CT3-cMyc plasmid with a signal peptide (ss) inserted into the N-terminal that codes for an ss-TAT-CT3-cMyc fusion protein. The stable transfection of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells via this vector and subsequent selection by Geneticin resulted in cell lines that express and secrete TAT-CT3-cMyc. The spent medium of pcDNA3.0-TAT-CT3-cMyc-transfected CHO cells could be purified using a cMyc-epitope-tag agarose affinity chromatography column and could be detected via SDS-PAGE, with antibodies against cMyc-tag. The direct administration of TAT-CT3-cMyc to HL-60 cell culture media caused the enrichment of CT3-cMyc in the cytoplasm and nucleus within 30 min and led to a significant reduction of viable cells (P < 0.05) 8 h after exposure. The advantages of using this mammalian expression system include the ease of generating TAT fusion proteins that are adequately transcripted and the potential for a sustained production of such proteins in vitro for future AML therapy.

Biomimetic compound eye with a high numerical aperture and anti-reflective nanostructures on curved surfaces

Biomimetic compound eyes with a high numerical aperture on a curved surface were successfully fabricated by intelligent integration of traditional top-down and bottom-up micro- and nanofabrication methods together. In addition, the new hybrid micro- and nanofabrication method allows us to fabricate the antireflective nanostructures on each ommatidium to increase its vision sensitivity by improving the light transmission. The fabricated compound eye was optically characterized and was shown to have a numerical aperture of 0.77 for each ommatidium. Furthermore, it is shown that the transmission of the compound eye can be improved by 2.3% for the wavelength of 632.8 nm and a clearer image can be formed by the fabricated compound eye with antireflective nanostructures compared with that without antireflective nanostructures. In addition, the developed hybrid manufacturing method can be adapted to the fabrication of other complex micro- and nanodevices for photonics or other research areas.

Pre-transplant myeloid dendritic cell deficiency associated with cytomegalovirus infection and death after kidney transplantation

BACKGROUND

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells critical for immunity. We previously demonstrated a significant association between pre-transplant blood myeloid dendritic cell (mDC) and plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) deficiency and post-transplant BK viremia in renal transplant recipients. In the current post-hoc analysis, we studied the association of these same pre-transplant DC levels with other post-transplant outcomes.

METHODS

Pre-transplant peripheral blood mDC and pDC levels were quantified using flow cytometry in 78 patients undergoing kidney transplantation. Post-transplant outcomes were analyzed, including infection, rejection, and patient death, with a median follow-up of 5.3 years. Associations between DC levels and outcomes were assessed using logistic regression analysis and Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

An independent association of mDC levels with post-transplant cytomegalovirus infection (adjusted odds ratio 7.0, P = 0.01) and patient death (adjusted hazard ratio 13.0, P = 0.015) was found. No associations were demonstrated between levels of either DC subtype and bacterial infections or rejection.

CONCLUSIONS

Pre-transplant mDC deficiency is significantly associated with CMV infection and death after kidney transplantation.

Meta-analysis: the use of carbon dioxide insufflation vs. room air insufflation for gastrointestinal endoscopy

BACKGROUND

Carbon dioxide (CO(2)) insufflation has been proposed as an alternative to air insufflation to distend the lumen in gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy.

AIM

To perform a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in which CO(2) insufflation was compared with room air insufflation in GI endoscopy.

METHODS

Electronic and manual searches were combined to search RCTs. After methodological quality assessment and data extraction, the efficacy and safety of CO(2) insufflation were systematically assessed.

RESULTS

Twenty-one RCTs [13 on colonoscopy, four on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), two on double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE), one on oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, and one on flexible sigmoidoscopy] were identified. For colonoscopy, CO(2) insufflation resulted lower postprocedural pain intensity, and increased the proportion of patient without pain at 1 h (RR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.37-2.47) and 6 h (RR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.14-1.44) postprocedure. For ERCP, the pain-releasing effect of CO(2) insufflation was not obvious (SMD: -1.48, 95% CI: -3.56, 0.59). CO(2) insufflation revealed no consistent advantages in the RCTs of DBE, but was shown as safe as air insufflation in oesophagus/stomach endoscopic submucosal dissection in one study. pCO(2) level showed no significant variation during these procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with air insufflation, CO(2) insufflation during colonoscopy causes lower postprocedural pain and bowel distension without significant pCO(2) variation. More RCTs are needed to assess its advantages in other GI endoscopic procedures.