[Consensus of experts on the medical risk prevention for the patients with cardiovascular diseases during dental treatment (2022 edition)]

With the aging process of population in the society, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in China is increasing continuously and the number of dental patients with CVD is increasing gradually too. Due to the lack of guidelines for dental patients with CVD in our country, how to implement standardized preoperative evaluation and perioperative risk prevention remains a problem to be solved for dentists at present. The present expert consensus was reached by combining the clinical experiences of the expert group of the Fifth General Dentistry Special Committee, Chinese Stomatological Association and respiratory and cardiology experts in diagnosis and treatment for CVD patients, and by systematically summarizing the relevant international guidelines and literature regarding the relationship between CVD and oral diseases and the diagnosis and treatment of dental patients with heart failure, hypertension and antithrombotic therapy. The consensus aims to provide, for the dental clinicians, the criteria on diagnosis and treatment of CVD in dental patients in China so as to reduce the risk and complications, and finally to improve the treatment levels of dental patients with CVD in China.

[Application of oral fluid in SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid and antibody detection]

This study aimed to explore the application value of new biological specimen oral fluid in SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid and antibody detection. Oral fluid and paired respiratory and blood specimens from 7 confirmed cases of two COVID-19 cluster epidemic were collected in Beijing from October to November 2021. SARS-CoV-2 virus and IgG antibody were detected by real time PCR kits and serum antibody detection reagents, and SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody in oral fluids was detected by a new established method of magnetic particle chemiluminescence. The results showed that the nucleic acid amplification test of SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal swabs, throat swabs and oral fluid specimens from 3 confirmed cases of COVID-19 was positive, among which the Ct value for ORF1a/b and N gene of oral fluid samples in 2 cases was close to that of throat swab, and the Ct value of oral fluid sample for 1 case was higher than that of throat swab. The complete genome sequence of one oral fluid specimen was obtained, which belonged to the VOC/Delta variant strain. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies of the paired oral fluid and serum were all positive, and the S/CO values of oral fluid were all lower than those of serum. The series of oral fluid results showed that SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody level increased from 11 to 32 days after the onset of the disease.

Use of real-time artificial intelligence in detection of abnormal image patterns in standard sonographic reference planes in screening for fetal intracranial malformations

OBJECTIVES

To develop and validate an artificial intelligence system, the Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis Artificial Intelligence Conduct System (PAICS), to detect different patterns of fetal intracranial abnormality in standard sonographic reference planes for screening for congenital central nervous system (CNS) malformations.

METHODS

Neurosonographic images from normal fetuses and fetuses with CNS malformations at 18-40 gestational weeks were retrieved from the databases of two tertiary hospitals in China and assigned randomly (ratio, 8:1:1) to training, fine-tuning and internal validation datasets to develop and evaluate the PAICS. The system was built based on a real-time convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm, You Only Look Once, version 3 (YOLOv3). An image dataset from a third tertiary hospital was used to further validate, externally, the performance of the PAICS and to compare its performance with that of sonologists with different levels of expertise. Furthermore, a prospective video dataset was employed to evaluate the performance of the PAICS in a real-time scan scenario. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve (AUC) were calculated to assess the performance of the PAICS and to compare this with the performance of sonologists with different levels of experience.

RESULTS

In total, 43 890 images from 16 297 pregnancies and 169 videos from 166 pregnancies were used to develop and validate the PAICS. The system achieved excellent performance in identifying 10 types of intracranial image pattern, with macro- and microaverage AUCs, respectively, of 0.933 (95% CI, 0.798-1.000) and 0.977 (95% CI, 0.970-0.985) for the internal validation image dataset, 0.902 (95% CI, 0.816-0.989) and 0.898 (95% CI, 0.885-0.911) for the external validation image dataset and 0.969 (95% CI, 0.886-1.000) and 0.981 (95% CI, 0.974-0.988) in the real-time scan setting. The performance of the PAICS was comparable to that of expert sonologists in terms of macro- and microaverage accuracy (P = 0.863 and P = 0.775, respectively), sensitivity (P = 0.883, P = 0.846) and AUC (P = 0.891, P = 0.788), but required significantly less time (0.025 s per image for PAICS vs 4.4 s for experts, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Both in the image dataset and in the real-time scan setting, the PAICS achieved excellent diagnostic performance for various fetal CNS abnormalities. Its performance was comparable to that of experts, but it required less time. A CNN algorithm can be trained to detect fetal CNS abnormalities. The PAICS has the potential to be an effective and efficient tool in screening for fetal CNS malformations in clinical practice. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Exogenous citric acid enhances drought tolerance in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)

Organic acids play a pivotal role in improving plant response to long-term drought stress. External application of organic acids has been reported to improve drought resistance in several species. However, whether organic acids have similar effects in tobacco remains unknown. A screening study of the protective function of organic acids in tobacco and understanding the underlying molecular mechanism would be useful in developing a strategy for drought tolerance. Several physiological and molecular adaptations to drought including abscisic acid, stomatal closure, reactive oxygen species homeostasis, amino acid accumulation, and drought-responsive gene expression were observed by exogenous citric acid in tobacco plants. Exogenous application of 50 mm citric acid to tobacco plants resulted in higher chlorophyll content, net photosynthesis, relative water content, abscisic acid content and lower stomatal conductance, transpiration and water loss under drought conditions. Moreover, reactive oxygen species homeostasis was better maintained through increasing activity of antioxidant enzymes and decreasing hydrogen peroxide content after citric acid pretreatment under drought. Amino acids involved in the TCA cycle accumulated after external application of citric acid under drought stress. Furthermore, several drought stress-responsive genes also dramatically changed after application of citric acid. These data support the idea that external application of citric acid enhances drought resistance by affecting physiological and molecular regulation in tobacco. This study provides clear insights into mechanistic details of regulation of amino acid and stress-responsive gene expression by citric acid in tobacco in response to drought, which is promising for minimizing growth inhibition in agricultural fields.

Efficacy of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis, BB-12® on infant colic - a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study

To evaluate the administration of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis, BB-12^® (BB-12) on infant colic in breastfed infants, a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised study was conducted in Chengdu, China from April 2016 to October 2017 with 192 full-term infants less than 3 months of age and meeting the ROME III criteria for infant colic. After a 1-week run-in the infants were randomly assigned to receive daily BB-12 (1×10⁹ cfu/day) or placebo for 3 weeks. Crying/fussing time were recorded using a 24 h structured diary. The primary endpoint was the proportion of infants achieving a reduction in crying and fussing time of ≥50% from baseline. Parent's/caregiver's health related quality of life was measured using a modified PedsQL^™ 2.0 Family Impact Module and immunological biomarkers were evaluated from faecal samples at baseline and after the 21-day intervention. The percentage of infants achieving a reduction in the daily crying/fussing time ≥50% after the 21-day intervention was significantly higher in the infants supplemented with BB-12 (P<0.001). The mean number of crying episodes was significantly reduced in the BB-12 group compared to the placebo group (10.0±3.0 to 5.0±1.87 vs 10.5±2.6 to 7.5±2.8, respectively) (P<0.001) and the mean daily sleep duration was markedly increased from baseline to end of intervention in the BB-12 group compared to the infants in the placebo group (60.7±104.0 vs 31.9±102.7 min/day, respectively) (P<0.001). The faecal levels of human beta defensin 2, cathelicidin, slgA, calprotectin and butyrate were statistically higher in the BB-12 group compared to the placebo group after the 21-day intervention. At the end of the intervention the parent's/caregiver's physical, emotional and social functioning scores were significantly higher for the BB-12 group compared to the placebo group (all P<0.05). Supplementation of BB-12 is effective in reducing crying and fussing in infants diagnosed with infant colic.

The miR-1906 mimic attenuates bone loss in osteoporosis by down-regulating the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway

In this study, the ability of microRNA-1906 (miR-1906) to attenuate bone loss in osteoporosis was evaluated by measuring the effects of a miR-1906 mimic and inhibitor on the cellular toxicity and cell viability of MC3T3-E1 cells. Bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMM) cells were isolated from female mice, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase signalling was performed in miR-1906 mimic-treated, receptor-activated nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclasts. In-vivo, osteoporosis was induced by ovariectomy (OVX). Rats were treated with 500 nmol/kg of the miR-1906 mimic via intrathecal administration for 10 consecutive days following surgery. The effect of the miR-1906 mimic on bone mineral density (BMD) in OVX rats was observed in the whole body, lumbar vertebrae and femur. Levels of biochemical parameters and cytokines in the serum of miR-1906 mimic-treated OVX rats were analysed. The mRNA expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88), p-38 and NF-κB in tibias of osteoporotic rats (induced by ovariectomy) was observed using quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Treatment with the miR-1906 mimic reduced cellular toxicity and enhanced the cell viability of MC3T3-E1 cells. Furthermore, osteoclastogenesis in miR-1906 mimic-treated, RANKL-induced osteoclast cells was reduced, whereas the BMD in the miR-1906 mimic-treated group was higher than in the OVX group of rats. Treatment with the miR-1906 mimic also increased levels of biochemical parameters and cytokines in the serum of ovariectomised rats. Finally, mRNA expression levels of TLR4, MyD88, p-38 and NF-κB were lower in the tibias of miR-1906 mimic-treated rats than in those of OVX rats. In conclusion, the miR-1906 mimic reduces bone loss in rats with ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis by regulating the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway.

A New Method of Isolation of Mouse Renal Primary Tubular Epithelial Cells

Kidney diseases are becoming an emerging public health problem. In order to further explore the etiology of various kidney diseases, we improved the methods of isolation of primary cultures of mouse renal tubular epithelial cells. At the first stage, the kidneys were perfused with collagenase solution. To this end, the superior mesenteric artery, celiac artery and thoracic aorta were ligated and perfusion was performed through the abdominal aorta. Then, the cells were isolated ex vivo and their integrity, purity, viability, and concentration were evaluated. The proposed cost-effective and simple method provides high purity and high concentration of primary renal epithelial cells for molecular biology studies of the kidneys.

Bioleaching of tellurium from mine tailings by indigenous Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Tellurium (Te) is a scarce and valuable metalloid, which can be found in some mine tailings. In this work, an indigenous Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain was used to leach Te from mine tailings collected in the Shimian Te mine region, China. Under the optimized conditions of initial pH of 2·0, pulp density of 4% and temperature of 30°C, 47·77% of Te can be dissolved after 24 days of bioleaching. The leaching of Te by different systems such as bioleaching, Ferric ion (Fe(III)) leaching and acid leaching was compared. The results showed that the leaching behaviour of Te is similar to that of sulphur in sulphide minerals, that is, Fe(III) first oxidizes telluride (Te(-II)) in minerals to elemental Te, and then elemental Te can be oxidized by bacteria to Te(IV) and Te(VI). Besides, it was also showed by scanning electron microscope observation and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of the ore sample before and after bioleaching that some bedded structure covered on the surface of the ore after bioleaching acting as a reaction compartment, and the changing of active groups indicated a possible attachment between bacteria and ore. There is an indirect mechanism involved in bioleaching of Te.

[Epidemiological characteristics of Chlamydia pneumoniae in cases with acute respiratory infection in Beijing, 2015-2019]

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection among patients with acute respiratory infection in Beijing from 2015 to 2019. Methods: The epidemiological data of acute respiratory infection patients from 35 sentinel hospitals in Beijing were collected by the respiratory pathogen surveillance system in Beijing. The clinical samples were collected to detect Chlamydia pneumoniae, and the sequence of the VD4 region of the ompA gene in positive samples was analyzed. Results: From January 2015 to December 2019, the overall positive rate of Chlamydia pneumoniae among patients with acute respiratory infection in Beijing was 0.34% (129/37 460). The positive rate of Chlamydia pneumoniae generally increased in March, reaching the peak in May, and started to drop in July, with a duration of about 5-8 months. The epidemic season in different years fluctuated by 1-2 months. The positive monthly rate of Chlamydia pneumoniae was no less than 0.30% in every epidemic season. The positive rate of Chlamydia pneumoniae was the highest in the 5-44 years old group and the highest in 10-14 year-olds. The risk of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection increased with age in patients younger than 25 years old and decreased in those older one aged than 25 years of age. The positive rates in male and female patients were 0.33% (68/20 830) and 0.37% (61/16 528), respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups (χ²=0.486, P=0.486). The positive rate of Chlamydia pneumoniae in patients with common pneumonia was higher than that in patients with upper pneumonia and severe pneumonia (χ²=36.797, P<0.01). Other respiratory pathogens were also detected in the Chlamydia pneumoniae samples, and the top four pathogens appeared as Haemophilus influenzae (15 cases), Streptococcus pneumoniae (13 cases), Rhinovirus (8 cases), and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (7 cases). 101 strains of 129 Chlamydia pneumoniae positive samples were identified as type A by sequencing. Conclusions: The annual epidemic pattern of Chlamydia pneumoniae in Beijing, is unimodal, and the epidemic season generally appears from March to July. The seasonal characteristics of Chlamydia pneumoniae in Beijing can be used for the differential diagnosis of Chlamydia pneumoniae from other respiratory pathogens. Chlamydia pneumoniae is most common in people aged 5-44 years, and the primary genotype is type A. People aged 10-44 years old suffer the highest incidence. If the nucleic acid positive rate of Chlamydia pneumoniae exceeds 0.30% for two consecutive months, the high prevalence period of Chlamydia pneumoniae can be preliminarily expected. Chlamydia pneumoniae infection has a higher probability of progressing to severe pneumonia from general pneumonia.

[Clinical characteristics of patients infected with Chlamydia pneumoniae in Beijing from 2015 to 2019]

Objective: To aralyze the clinical characteristics of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in Beijing. Methods: Based on Beijing Respiratory Pathogen Surveillance System, acute respiratory infection patients were recruited from 35 different types of sentinel hospitals in Beijing. Their epidemiological and clinical data were systematically collected and clinical specimens were also obtained. Nuclear acid testing was performed for 30 types of respiratory pathogens (including Chlamydia pneumoniae). The identified patients of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection were divided into two groups, the acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURI) group and pneumoniae group. The differences in clinical characteristics, laboratory examination and prognosis were compared by using independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ² test or Fisher's exact probability test. Results: A total of 119 patients of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection were included, including 12 patients in the AURI group and 107 patients in pneumoniae group. Chlamydia pneumoniae infection mainly occurred in people aged from 5 to 44 years, accounting for 81.5% (97/119). The three most common clinical symptoms were cough (92.4%, 110/119), fever (88.8%, 95/107), and sputum production (76.5%, 91/119). White blood cell counts increased in 39.3% (46/117) of patients. Neutrophile granulocyte proportion increased in 39.7% (46/116) of patients. Platelet count increased in 36.9% (41/111) of patients. An increase of the creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CKMB) was observed in 12 pneumonia patients (24.5%, 12/49). Radiological examination showed that 90.6% (87/105) of patients in the pneumoniae group had pulmonary parenchymal changes; the lesion occurred most commonly in the lower right lung lobe (34.3%, 36/105) and the lower left lung lobe (27.6%, 29/105). Although 73.8% (79/107) of patients in the pneumoniae group were hospitalized, no case received intensive care unit or mechanical ventilation. As to outcomes, one patient developed respiratory failure and 6 patients suffered myocardial injury. No death was observed in this study. The median days of hospitalization and course of illness for pneumonia patients M(P₂₅,P₇₅) were 10.0 (7.0, 13.0) days and 18.0 (13.5, 22.0) days, respectively. Conclusion: Generally, Chlamydia pneumoniae infections in Beijing from 2015 to 2019 were mild, and the main clinical manifestations were cough, fever and sputum. However, most patients in the pneumoniae group caused by Chlamydia pneumoniae still required hospitalization but with a better outcome.

Autophagy induction regulates aquaporin 3-mediated skin fibroblasts aging

BACKGROUND

Long- and short-term ultraviolet (UV) exposure have distinct biological effects on human fibroblasts.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the biological effects of UV exposure on human skin fibroblasts.

METHOD

We subjected human skin fibroblast cells with or without AQP3, DEDD, or Beclin1 manipulation to UVA treatment and evaluated autophagy and senescence/aging in them.

RESULTS

Short-term UVA irradiation induced autophagy and upregulated AQP3 but not senescence, whereas long-term UVA irradiation inhibited autophagy, AQP3, and senescence/aging in vitro and in vivo. Silencing AQP3 abolished short-term UVA irradiation-induced autophagy and led to cellular senescence, whereas AQP3 overexpression partially rescued the senescence and autophagy inhibition induced by long-term UVA exposure in vitro. Mechanistically, the transcription factor JUN was found to bind to the AQP3 promoter to activate its transcription following short-term UVA exposure. Subsequently, AQP3 interacted with DEDD to induce its ubiquitination-mediated degradation and promote autophagy, and bound to Beclin1 to directly activate autophagy. Finally, autophagy induced by AQP3 overexpression robustly prevented UVA-induced senescence/aging in vitro and in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, our study indicates that AQP3 controls skin fibroblasts photoaging by regulating autophagy and represents a potential target for future interventions against skin aging.

[Explore the value of whole exome sequencing in early diagnosis for children with language delay/disorder]

Objective: To evaluate the utility of whole-exome sequencing (WES) in early diagnosis for children with language delay/disorder. Methods: Children with language delay/disorder who were admitted to the Department of Health Care, Children's Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Pediatric Institute from January 2019 to December 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Based on informed consent, the peripheral blood of the children and their parents was collected for WES. Combining the clinical phenotypes of the children, the candidate variants, including single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and copy number variations (CNVs), were selected for validation and family segregation analysis using Sanger sequencing, real-time PCR or CNV-Seq. The pathogenicity of variants was evaluated based on ACMG guideline following with finial genetic diagnosis. Based on whether genetic diagnosis was achieved or not, 125 children with comprehensive examination of the Children Neuropsychological and Behavioral Scale(CNBS-R2016) were sub-grouped (positive/negative group), and the total scores and the detailed scores of five developmental sections (gross motor, fine motor, adaptive ability, language and social behavior ability) between two subgroups were compared. Results: A total of 165 children with language delay/disorder were recruited, including 109 males and 56 females. The ratio of boys to girls was 1.95∶1.The age of the children was (3.2±1.2) years old, the median age was 3.0 years. 45 children carry disease-related pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants, including 36 SNVs and 9 CNVs. The genetic diagnostic yield of this cohort was 27.3% (45/165). The inheritance analysis for core family members showed de novo variant accounted for 86% of genetic diagnosis (31/36). The positive diagnosis rate in girls was 45% (25/56), which was significantly higher than that in boys (18.3%, 20/109, χ²=12.171, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of positive diagnosis among all age groups (χ²=4.349, P>0.05). Interestingly, the scores of gross motors of positive group were significantly lower than that of negative group (61.5 vs. 69.4, t=-2.610, P<0.05). Otherwise, no significant difference was seen between two groups(t=-0.933, -1.298, -0.114, -0.214, all P>0.05). Conclusions: Language delay/disorder has complex genetic heterogeneity. WES has important application value in early etiological diagnosis for children with language delay/disorder.

[Immune pathogenesis of primary biliary cholangitis]

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is an autoimmune liver disease, mainly characterized by chronic progressive cholestasis. The root cause of PBC is the loss of immune tolerance to autoantigen E2 subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDC-E2). The unique immunobiological characteristics of intrahepatic bile duct epithelial cells make it an active participant in the pathogenesis of PBC. In recent years, the detection rate of PBC has been increasing year by year, but the clinical situation of ursodeoxycholic acid monotherapy has not changed. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the immune pathogenesis of PBC will help clinicians better prevent and treat diseases.

Measurements of neutral particle energy spectrum on EAST using a time-of-flight low-energy neutral particle analyzer

The neutral particles generated by charge exchange reactions can play an important role in erosion of first wall materials in fusion devices. In order to measure the flux and energy of neutral particles to the first wall, a low-energy neutral particle analyzer (LENPA) based on the time-of-flight method has been developed and successfully applied on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)' to measure the neutrals with an energy of 20-3000 eV. The LENPA works in the counting mode, and the signal of photons is used as the reference for the flight time of neutrals. The energy spectrum of low-energy neutral particles on EAST has been obtained for the first time. The new diagnostics can help in understanding the neutral particle generation and deposition on the first wall materials in tokamaks under different plasma conditions.

OP0043 INCREASED RISK OF SEVERE INFECTIONS AND MORTALITY IN PATIENTS WITH NEWLY DIAGNOSED SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS: A POPULATION-BASED STUDY

Background:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic disease with a broad spectrum of autoantibodies and clinical manifestations. As much as 45% of SLE patients were reported to suffer from severe infections1,2. However, due to the high cost of recruiting patients, we still do not have a holistic picture of the SLE-infection association. Administrative data which encompass all provincially funded healthcare service data shows promising opportunities to advance the knowledge and management of the SLE patients which cannot be evaluated by the conventional clinical setting with small sample size and selective samples3,4,5.

Objectives:

To evaluate the risk of severe infection and infection-related mortality among patients with newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus.

Methods:

We conducted an age- and gender- matched cohort study of all patients with incident SLE between January 1, 1997 and March 31, 2015 using administrative health data from British Columbia, Canada. Primary outcome was the first severe infection after SLE onset necessitating hospitalization or occurring during hospitalization. Secondary outcomes were total number of severe infections and infection-related mortality.

Results:

We identified 5,169 SLE patients and matched them with 25,845 non-SLE individuals from the general population, yielding 955 and 1,986 first severe infections during 48,367 and 260,712 person-years follow-up, respectively. The crude incidence rate ratios for first severe infection and infection-related mortality were 2.59 (95% CI, 2.39-2.80) and 2.20 (95% CI, 1.76-2.73), respectively. The corresponding adjusted hazard ratios were 1.82 (95% CI 1.66-1.99) and 1.61 (95% CI, 1.24-2.08). SLE patients had an increased risk of a greater total number of severe infections with crude rate ratio of 3.24 (95% CI, 3.06-3.43) and adjusted rate ratio of 2.07 (95% CI, 1.82-2.36).

Conclusion:

SLE is associated with increased risks of first severe infection (1.8-fold), a greater total number of severe infections (2.1-fold) and infection-related mortality (1.6-fold).

References:

[1]Yurkovich M, Vostretsova K, Chen W, Aviña-Zubieta JA. Overall and cause-specific mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 2014;66(4):608-16.

[2]Petri M. Infection in systemic lupus erythematosus. Rheum Dis Clin North Am 1998;24(2):423-56.

[3]Cervera R, Khamashta MA, Font J, et al. Morbidity and mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus during a 10-year period: a comparison of early and late manifestations in a cohort of 1,000 patients. Medicine (Baltimore) 2003;82(5):299-308.

[4]Goldblatt F, Chambers S, Rahman A, Isenberg DA. Serious infections in British patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: hospitalisations and mortality. Lupus 2009;18(8):682-9.

[5]Bosch X, Guilabert A, Pallares L, et al. Infections in systemic lupus erythematosus: a prospective and controlled study of 110 patients. Lupus 2006;15(9):584-9.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

Comparison of hemagglutination inhibition and hemagglutinin pseudovirus neutralization titres in relation to protection against influenza in a mouse model

The hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test has long been used as a standard measure of antibody response for inactivated influenza vaccines. However, the HI test has limitations, such as insensitivity when using some H3N2 virus strains and failure to detect neutralizing antibodies that target regions distant from the receptor binding site. We therefore examined a hemagglutinin pseudovirus neutralization (PVN) test as a possible supplement or alternative to the HI test. We evaluated the association of HI or PVN titres with protection against influenza infection in mice based on morbidity (where the illness was defined as 25% body weight loss). We assessed this relationship using dose-response models incorporating HI or PVN titres as a variable. The morbidity was correlated with the pre-exposure titres, and such a correlation was well described by a modified dose-response model. The mathematical modelling suggests that PVN titres consistently show a stronger association with in vivo protection as compared to HI titres in mice. Given our findings, the PVN test warrants further investigation as a tool for evaluating antibody responses to influenza vaccines containing hemagglutinin. The resulting models may also be useful for analyzing human clinical data to identify potentially protective antibody titres against influenza illness.

[Forcasting the prevalence of myopia among students aged 6-18 years in China from 2021 to 2030]

Objective: To predict the prevalence of myopia among Chinese students aged 6-18 years under different intervention scenarios from 2021 to 2030. Methods: The multi-state Markov model was developed based on the transition process of study stages and myopia statuses. The development of myopia was simplified into two statuses: non-myopia and myopia. Students aged 6-18 years were also divided according to their study stages including senior kindergarten, primary school (from Grade 1 to 6), junior school (from Grade 1 to 3) and high school (from Grade 1 to 3). The parameters were extracted from the National Myopia Investigation in 2018 and published articles of cohort studies. The transition probability was applied to simulate the intervention scenarios, and sensitivity analysis was carried out. Results: The cumulative incidence of myopia among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents would increase consistently. It would be 91.3% (min to max: 83.7% to 96.7%) upon graduation from high school. Without any intervention, the myopia prevalence would increase to 61.8% (min to max: 55.4% to 69.5%) by 2030 among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. And the myopia prevalence among students in primary schools, junior schools and high schools would be 45.6% (min to max: 40.2% to 54.3%), 81.3% (min to max: 72.6% to 91.0%) and 90.5% (min to max: 82.4% to 96.7%), respectively, all higher than the national target. If the interventions could achieve 70% of the desired effect, the myopia prevalence would be lower than the national target at each stage. Conclusions: Without effective interventions, the prevalence of myopia among students aged 6-18 years may keep increasing in the next ten years. If the interventions achieve the desired effect, the national target for myopia prevention and control could be reached. It is urgent to identify more effective interventions and call on the whole society to participate in the myopia prevention action to achieve the national goal by 2030. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2021, 57: 261-267).

Long non-coding RNA GNAS-AS1 promotes cell migration and invasion via regulating Wnt/β-catenin pathway in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

The diagnosis and prognosis of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) are still difficult. To investigate the effect of long-chain non-coding RNA GNAS-AS1 (lncRNA GNAS-AS1) on proliferation, migration, and invasion of NPC, we carried out this research to illustrate the underlying mechanism.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of GNAS-AS1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. The effect of transfection of si-GNAS-AS1 on the growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma SUNE-1 cells was analyzed by CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay. The effect of GNAS-AS1 on the migration and invasion of SUNE-1 cells was detected by transwell assay and Matrigel assay. The expression of C-myc, CyclinD, and MMP2 was detected by Western blot. The expression of β-catenin was detected by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot.

RESULTS

GNAS-AS1 was upregulated in NPC. GNAS-AS1 promoted cell proliferation, cell migration, and cell invasion in vitro. GNAS-AS1 exerted its function by regulating Wnt/β-catenin pathway. GNAS-AS1 functioned as an oncogenic role via mediating β-catenin expression.

CONCLUSIONS

LncRNA GNAS-AS1 played an important role in the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NPC cells, suggesting that GNAS-AS1 may be an important gene related to the formation and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The completion of this study provides new potential therapeutic targets for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Krüppel-like factor 6 promotes odontoblastic differentiation through regulating the expression of dentine sialophosphoprotein and dentine matrix protein 1 genes

AIM

To investigate the potential role of Krüppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) in the odontoblastic differentiation of immortalized dental papilla mesenchymal cells (iMDP-3) cells.

METHODOLOGY

Alizarin Red S (ARS) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining was used to examine the mineralization effect of iMDP-3 cells after odontoblastic induction. Real-time PCR and Western blotting were employed to analyse dentine sialophosphoprotein (DSPP), dentine matrix protein 1 (DMP1), RUNX family transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), ALP and KLF6 expression during this process. Co-expression of the KLF6 with DMP1, DSPP and RUNX2 was detected by double immunofluorescence staining to explore their local relationship in the cell. To further investigate KLF6 functions, Klf6 gain- and loss-of-function assays followed by ARS and ALP stainings, real-time PCR and Western blotting were performed using Klf6-overexpression plasmids and Klf6 siRNA to investigate whether changes in Klf6 expression affect the odontoblastic differentiation of iMDP-3 cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assays were used to elucidate the mechanistic regulation of Dspp and Dmp1 expression by Klf6. Means were compared using the unpaired t-test and Kruskal-Wallis one-way anova with P < 0.05 and P < 0.01 defined as statistical significance levels.

RESULTS

The expression levels of Klf6 (P < 0.01), Dspp (P < 0.05), Dmp1 (P < 0.01), Runx2 (P < 0.01) and Alp (P < 0.01) were significantly elevated during odontoblastic differentiation of iMDP-3 cells. KLF6 was co-localized with DSPP, DMP1 and RUNX2 in the cytoplasm and nucleus of iMDP-3 cells. Overexpression of Klf6 promoted the odontoblastic differentiation of iMDP-3, whereas the inhibition of Klf6 prevented this procession. Dual-luciferase assays revealed that Klf6 upregulates Dspp and Dmp1 transcription in iMDP-3 cells during odontoblastic differentiation.

CONCLUSION

Klf6 promoted odontoblastic differentiation by targeting the transcription promoter of Dmp1 and Dspp. This study may offer novel insights into strategies for treating injuries to dental pulp tissue.