Long-term safety and efficacy of bisphosphonate therapy in advanced lung cancer with bone metastasis

Aim: This retrospective, observational study evaluated the long-term (>12 months) safety and effectiveness of bisphosphonate. Methods: Data collected for 359 patients included quantity and proportion of adverse events (AEs) and skeletal-related events (SREs), and times to first AE and first SRE. Results: Patients in the ≤24-month group experienced significantly fewer AEs compared with the >24-month treatment group (p = 0.008), and treatment for >24 months was a potential risk factor for AEs (p = 0.05). Neither the proportion nor the risk of SRE was significantly associated with therapy duration (p = 0.525 and 0.084, respectively). Conclusion: Bisphosphonate treatment beyond 2 years may increase the risk of AEs, but may prolong SRE-free survival early after 24 months, compared with medication administered for ≤24 months.

Definition of large niche after Cesarean section based on prediction of postmenstrual spotting: Chinese cohort study in non-pregnant women

OBJECTIVE

A large niche after Cesarean section (CS) is associated with long-term complications, of which postmenstrual spotting is associated positively with the size of the niche. However, the diagnosis of a large niche in the literature is inconsistent and the definition is largely subjective. The aim of this study was to generate a definition for a large niche in non-pregnant women based on the presence of postmenstrual spotting.

METHODS

Women who had undergone CS in our hospital between January 2012 and June 2017 were selected randomly from our database, contacted by telephone and subsequently examined between January 2016 and June 2020. Eligible for inclusion were non-pregnant women who had their last CS more than 1 year earlier and agreed to undergo transvaginal sonography (TVS). All participants underwent examination of their CS scar by TVS (two-dimensional color Doppler) during the midfollicular phase. Niche depth, length, width, residual myometrial thickness (RMT), adjacent myometrial thickness (AMT) and ratio of niche depth/AMT were recorded. Women diagnosed with a niche, defined as an indentation at the site of the CS with a depth of at least 2 mm, were classified into two groups (symptomatic or asymptomatic) according to whether they experienced postmenstrual spotting. Logistic regression analysis was used to establish the best cut-off values for the niche parameters to predict postmenstrual spotting. A new definition was generated based on the niche parameters with the highest area under the receiver-operating-characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC) for the prediction of postmenstrual spotting.

RESULTS

A total of 727 women who had a CS > 1 year earlier underwent TVS examination, of whom 263 were diagnosed with a niche (prevalence of 36.2%). Of these, 160 women experienced postmenstrual spotting and 103 were asymptomatic. The three variables with the highest AUC for prediction of postmenstrual spotting were niche depth/AMT ratio (AUC, 0.798; 95% CI, 0.745-0.852), niche depth (AUC, 0.731; 95% CI, 0.668-0.795) and RMT (AUC, 0.683; 95% CI, 0.618-0.748). Based on the best cut-offs according to ROC-curve analysis, a large niche was defined as: niche depth ≥ 0.50 cm, RMT ≤ 0.21 cm or niche depth/AMT ratio ≥ 0.56. The prevalence of a large niche according to this definition was 22.4% (163/727). The new definition had a specificity of 61.17% (95% CI, 52.34-70.41%) and sensitivity of 76.87% (95% CI, 70.28-84.16%) for a large niche.

CONCLUSION

This study has provided a new definition for a large niche after CS. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Crizotinib in patients with tumors harboring ALK or ROS1 rearrangements in the NCI-MATCH trial

The NCI-MATCH was designed to characterize the efficacy of targeted therapies in histology-agnostic driver mutation-positive malignancies. Sub-protocols F and G were developed to evaluate the role of crizotinib in rare tumors that harbored either ALK or ROS1 rearrangements. Patients with malignancies that progressed following at least one prior systemic therapy were accrued to the NCI-MATCH for molecular profiling, and those with actionable ALK or ROS1 rearrangements were offered participation in sub-protocols F or G, respectively. There were five patients who enrolled on Arm F (ALK) and four patients on Arm G (ROS1). Few grade 3 or 4 toxicities were noted, including liver test abnormalities, and acute kidney injury. For sub-protocol F (ALK), the response rate was 50% (90% CI 9.8-90.2%) with one complete response among the 4 eligible patients. The median PFS was 3.8 months, and median OS was 4.3 months. For sub-protocol G (ROS1) the response rate was 25% (90% CI 1.3-75.1%). The median PFS was 4.3 months, and median OS 6.2 months. Data from 3 commercial vendors showed that the prevalence of ALK and ROS1 rearrangements in histologies other than non-small cell lung cancer and lymphoma was rare (0.1% and 0.4% respectively). We observed responses to crizotinib which met the primary endpoint for ALK fusions, albeit in a small number of patients. Despite the limited accrual, some of the patients with these oncogenic fusions can respond to crizotinib which may have a therapeutic role in this setting.

Development of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of novel chicken orthoreovirus

A novel avian orthoreovirus (N-ARV) variant characterized with obvious arthritis and synovial inflammation, was isolated from Shandong, China in May 2016. It caused chicken poor growth and enormous economic losses to the poultry industry of China. However, there are few effective methods for detecting the antibody levels of N-ARV. In this study, a viral structural protein σC was expressed using the prokaryotic expression vector pET32a (+). The target protein was obtained by inducing for 6 hours at an IPTG concentration of 0.6mM. The optimal dilution of the coating antigen and serum antibody were determined to be 1000 fold and 10 fold respectively. A specificity test showed that there was no positive reactivity between N-ARV and other pathogens, and when the positive serum was diluted 100 times detection results were still checkable. The repeatability of this method was determined by the inter assay and intra assay tests with variability ranging from 4.85% to 7.93%. In conclusion, this indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) will be useful for large-scale serological surveys and monitoring antibody levels in N-ARV infection.

RNA-binding motif protein 10 represses tumor progression through the Wnt/β- catenin pathway in lung adenocarcinoma

RNA-binding motif protein 10 (RBM10), one of the members of the RNA-binding protein (RBP) family, has a tumor suppressor role in multiple cancers. However, the functional role of RBM10 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we observed that RBM10 is significantly downregulated in LUAD tissues compared with normal tissues. Low RBM10 expression is significantly associated with poor outcome of LUAD patients. In vitro and in vivo experiments show that RBM10 inhibits cell proliferation, metastasis and EMT progression in LUAD. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that RBM10 interacts with β-catenin interacting protein 1 (CTNNBIP1) and positively regulates its expression, disrupting the binding of β-catenin to the transcription factor TCF/LEF, thereby inactivating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In conclusion, this is the first study reporting the role of RBM10 in suppressing LUAD progression at least via partly inactivating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which provides new insights into the tumorigenesis and metastasis of LUAD. Thus, RBM10 may be a promising new therapeutic target or clinical biomarker for LUAD therapy in the future.

Sonodynamic Effects of a Novel Ether-Group Modified Porphyrin Derivative Combined With Pulsed Low-Intensity Ultrasound on PC-9 Cells

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a developing modality for cancer treatment based on the synergistic effect of ultrasound and chemical compounds which are known as sonosensitizers. The development of more efficient sonosensitizers has become an urgent issue in this field. In this study, a novel porphyrin derivative (BBTPP) mediated SDT was evaluated on PC-9 cells. Pulsed low-intensity ultrasound (PLIU) was used for its little thermal and mechanical damage. The accumulation of drugs in cells was evaluated through porphyrin fluorescence, and the cytotoxicity of BBTPP was evaluated using a cell counting kit-8 assay. The sonodynamic effect was investigated by Hoechst 33342/PI and Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining, which showed an apoptotic rate of 18.87% in the BBTPP-SDT group, as compared with 1.71%, 1.4%, 1.57%, 3.61%, 11.18% in the control, BBTPP, hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME), ultrasound, and HMME-SDT groups, respectively. The sono-toxic effect of BBTPP was significantly superior to HMME. Our results showed that BBTPP-SDT resulted in much higher intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation levels which were evaluated by 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H₂DCFDA) and Liperfluo assay, respectively. The expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-9, caspase-8, and cleaved caspase-3 proteins were evaluated to investigate the apoptotic mechanism of BBTPP-SDT. The results of this study showed that the combination of BBTPP and PLIU induced the generation of ROS, resulting in lipid peroxidation, and activated both the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways of PC-9 cells. Our results also suggested that the ether group introduced in the side chain of porphyrin could enhance the sono-toxicity of porphyrin-based sensitizers under the sonication of PLIU. These results supported the possibility of BBTPP as a promising sonosensitizer, and an appropriate side chain could enhance the sono-sensitivity of porphyrins.

Clinical characteristics, treatment strategies and oncologic outcomes of primary retroperitoneal tumours: a retrospective analysis in the Chinese population

INTRODUCTION

Primary retroperitoneal tumours (PRTs) are rare soft tissue tumours originating from the retroperitoneum. Although there has been considerable progress recently in diagnosis and treatment, the overall survival rate has not improved qualitatively. This study aimed to explore the clinical features, therapeutic strategies and prognosis of PRTs.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of clinical data for 121 PRT patients admitted to Peking University Shenzhen Hospital from April 2003 to February 2017.

RESULTS

A total of 113 patients underwent surgery and 8 chose nonsurgical palliative treatment. There were 53 males and 68 females (ratio, 1:1.3; average age, 40.75 years), and the average tumour diameter was 9.69(2-40)cm. A total of 104 patients (92.04%) underwent complete resection, 5 (4.42%) underwent palliative resection and 21 (18.58%) underwent combined visceral resection. The pathological diagnosis was benign in 88 cases (72.73%) and malignant in 33 cases (27.27%). A total of 101 patients (83.47%) were followed for an average of 5.82 years. At the end of follow up, the recurrence and survival rates were 2.63% and 93.42% for benign tumours, respectively, and 24.00% and 60.00% for malignant tumours (p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Imaging plays important roles in localising and characterising tumours, guiding treatment strategies. Complete tumour resection is key to reducing postoperative recurrence and improving survival. According to the postsurgical pathological results, combinations including radiotherapy, chemotherapy or targeted therapy are beneficial for improving prognosis.

[Comparison of the post-operative analgesic effect of ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block combined with pectoral nerves block Ⅰ and thoracic paravertebral block in radical mastectomy]

Objective: To investigate the serratus anterior plane block combined with pectoral nerves block I can produce a non-inferior analgesic effect compared with thoracic paravertebral block for radical mastectomy. Methods: From October 2020 to February 2021, Sixty-four patients of Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University scheduled for radical mastectomy with general anesthesia,were divided into two groups (n = 32 each) using a random number table method: thoracic paravertebral block group (TPVB group) and serratus anterior plane block combined with pectoral nerves block I group (S&P group). All patients received patient controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) postoperatively. The numerical rating scale (NRS) at post anesthesia care unit (PACU), 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 h after operation were compared between the two groups. Sufentanil cumulative dosage of PCIA in 24 h and 48 h, first press time after operation, total press times, the dosage of propofol, remifentanil and vasoactive drugs during operation, intraoperative blood pressure and heart rate, the operation time of block and adverse effects were all compared. Non-inferiority could be claimed if the difference of sufentanil cumulative dosage in 24 h between S&P group and TPVB group is higher than the negative value (-3.8) of the non-inferiority effect. Results: There was no significant difference in postoperative NRS at PACU, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 h after operation, first press time after operation, total press times, propofol and remifentanil dosage, sufentanil cumulative dosage of PCIA in 24 h and 48 h, and adverse effects (all P>0.05). The sufentanil cumulative dosage of PCIA in 24 h of S&P group and of TPVB group were (15.8±4.7) μg and (15.2±3.2) μg. The 95% confidence interval (CI) of the difference between S&P group and of TPVB group was -1.478 to 2.694, and the lower limit was greater than non-inferiority margin -3.8. The mean arterial pressure of TPVB patients after induction and at the beginning of the operation were (63±7) mmHg and (70±7) mmHg, which were significantly lower than the (77±5) mmHg and (79±8) mmHg at the same time in the combination group (both P<0.05). The frequency of vasoactive drugs usage in TPVB group was 56.3%, which was statistically significant higher than the 18.8% in S&P group (P<0.01). Nerve block time in TPVB group was 10 (9, 11) min, which was significantly longer than 8 (6, 10) min in S&P group (P<0.01). Conclusion: The serratus anterior block combined with pectoral nerves block I can produce a non-inferior analgesic effect compared with thoracic paravertebral block for radical mastectomy, and the intraoperative hemodynamics is more stable and the block time is shorter than that of thoracic paravertebral block for radical mastectomy.

Welding fume nanoparticles from solid and flux-cored wires: Solubility, toxicity, and role of fluorides

Welding fume particles are hazardous. Their toxicity likely depends on their composition and reactivity. This study aimed at exploring the role of sodium or other fluorides (NaF), which are intentionally added to flux-cored wire electrodes for stainless steel welding, on the solubility (in phosphate buffered saline) and toxicity of the generated welding fume particles. A multi-analytical particle characterization approach along with in-vitro cell assays was undertaken. The release of Cr(VI) and Mn from the particles was tested as a function of fluoride solution concentration. The welding fume particles containing NaF released significantly higher amounts of Cr(VI) compared with solid wire reference fumes, which was associated with increased cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in-vitro. No crystalline Na or potassium (K) containing chromates were observed. Cr(VI) was incorporated in an amorphous mixed oxide. Solution-added fluorides did not increase the solubility of Cr(VI), but contributed to a reduced Mn release from both solid and flux-cored wire fume particles and the reduction of Cr(VI) release from solid wire fume particles. Chemical speciation modeling suggested that metal fluoride complexes were not formed. The presence of NaF in the welding electrodes did not have any direct, but possibly an indirect, role in the Cr(VI) solubility of welding fumes.

Wuyiencin produced by Streptomyces albulus CK-15 displays biocontrol activities against cucumber powdery mildew

AIMS

Wuyiencin is a nucleoside antibiotic produced by Streptomyces albulus CK-15. The aim of this study was to determine whether wuyiencin can be used, as a suitable alternative to chemical pesticides, to protect cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) from powdery mildew caused by Sphaerotheca fuliginea. Further, the mechanisms underlying the control of cucumber powdery mildew by S. albulus CK-15 were preliminarily elucidated.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Wuyiencin solutions of different concentrations were used to treat infected cucumber plants under greenhouse conditions. The results indicated that wuyiencin could significantly reduce powdery mildew disease incidence, with a maximum prevention efficacy of 94·38%. Further, scanning electron micrographs and enzyme assays showed that wuyiencin inhibited S. fuliginea spore growth and elicited the activity of plant systemic resistance-related enzymes. Additionally, real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR suggested that wuyiencin can activate a salicylic acid-dependent plant defence response.

CONCLUSIONS

Wuyiencin produced by S. albulus CK-15 possessed antifungal effects and was able to mitigate cucumber powdery mildew disease via antagonistic action. Wuyiencin also induced defence responses in the plants.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

These results reinforce the biotechnological potential of wuyiencin as both an antagonistic agent and an inducer of plant systemic resistance.

rs1840680 single nucleotide polymorphism in Pentraxin 3: a potential protective biomarker of severe community-acquired pneumonia

Objective

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) are associated with various outcomes of lung infections. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between PTX3 polymorphisms and the severity of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Methods

This is a retrospective case-control study comprising 43 patients with severe CAP (SCAP) and 97 patients with non-severe CAP. Three SNPs in the PTX3 gene (rs2305619, rs3816527, and rs1840680) from peripheral blood samples were genotyped by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The association between each SNP and the CAP severity was analyzed by logistic regression analysis.

Results

We found that the rs1840680 polymorphism was significantly associated with CAP clinical severity. However, no such association was observed for the genotypes and allele frequencies of rs2305619 or rs3816527. The PTX3 rs1840680 AG genotype was an independent factor for a lower risk of SCAP after multivariate logistic regression analysis. Male sex and coronary heart disease were associated with an increased risk of SCAP.

Conclusions

The PTX3 rs1840680 AG genotype was found to be associated with a lower risk of SCAP, and may serve as a potential protective biomarker to help clinical judgment and management.

CIP2A silencing alleviates doxorubicin resistance in MCF7/ADR cells through activating PP2A and autophagy

Background

Cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (CIP2A) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of various types of cancer. Here, we investigated whether manipulating CIP2A abundance could enhance the treatment effects of doxorubicin in MCF-7/ADR cells.

Methods

CIP2A silencing was achieved by specific siRNAs. Proliferation of breast cancer cell line MCF-7/ADR under effective doxorubicin concentrations after CIP2A silencing was examined by MTT assay. Wound healing assay was performed to quantify cell migration and caspase-3/-7 activities were measured for assessing the extent of apoptosis.

Results

First, our data confirmed that MCF-7/ADR cell proliferation was suppressed by doxorubicin in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, knocking down of CIP2A could further decrease MCF-7 cell proliferation and migration, even in the presence of doxorubicin. Mechanistically, we have found that CIP2A silencing promoted cell apoptosis relative to doxorubicin alone or vehicle control groups. Lastly, phosphatase2A (PP2A) activity was potentiated and the autophagy markers, LC3B and Beclin1, were upregulated after knocking down CIP2A.

Conclusion

Our findings support the potential benefits of using CIP2A inhibitor as a therapeutic agent to treat doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12094-021-02616-7.

Iron Status May Not Affect Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Background

Observational studies have shown an association of increased iron status with a higher risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Iron status might be a novel target for ALS prevention if a causal relationship exists. We aimed to reveal the causality between iron status and ALS incidence using a large two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR).

Methods

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for iron status were identified from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 48,972 individuals. The outcome data came from the largest ALS GWAS to date (20,806 cases; 59,804 controls). We conducted conservative analyses (using SNPs with concordant change of biomarkers of iron status) and liberal analyses (using SNPs associated with at least one of the biomarkers of iron status), with inverse variance weighted (IVW) method as the main analysis. We then performed sensitivity analyses including weighted median, MR-Egger and MR-pleiotropy residual sum and outlier, as well as leave-one-out analysis to detect pleiotropy.

Results

In the conservative analyses, we found no evidence of association between four biomarkers of iron status and ALS using IVW method with odds ratio (OR) 1.00 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.90-1.11] per standard deviation (SD) increase in iron, 0.96 (95% CI: 0.77-1.21) in ferritin, 0.99 (95% CI: 0.92-1.07) in transferrin saturation, and 1.04 (95% CI: 0.93-1.16) in transferrin. Findings from liberal analyses were similar, and sensitivity analyses suggested no pleiotropy detected (all p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Our findings suggest no causal effect between iron status and risk of ALS. Efforts to change the iron status to decrease ALS incidence might be impractical.

ORAOV1-B Promotes OSCC Metastasis via the NF-κB-TNFα Loop

Metastasis, a powerful prognostic indicator of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is chiefly responsible for poor cancer outcomes. Despite an increasing number of studies examining the mechanisms underlying poor outcomes, the development of potent strategies is hindered by insufficient characterization of the crucial regulators. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently been gaining interest as significant modulators of OSCC metastasis; however, the detailed mechanisms underlying lncRNA-mediated OSCC metastasis remain relatively uncharacterized. Here, we identified a novel alternative splice variant of oral cancer overexpressed 1 (ORAOV1), named as ORAOV1-B, which was subsequently validated as an lncRNA and correlated with OSCC lymph node metastasis; significantly increased invasion and migration were observed in ORAOV1-B-overexpressing OSCC cells. RNA pulldown and mass spectrometry identified Hsp90 as a direct target of ORAOV1-B, and cDNA microarrays suggested TNFα as a potential downstream target of ORAOV1-B. ORAOV1-B was shown to directly bind to and stabilize Hsp90, which maintains the function of client proteins, receptor-interaction protein, and IκB kinase beta, thus activating the NF-κB pathway and inducing TNFα. Additionally, TNFα reciprocally enhanced p-NF-κB-p65 and the downstream epithelial-mesenchymal transition. ORAOV1-B effects were reversed by a TNFα inhibitor, demonstrating that TNFα is essential for ORAOV1-B-regulated metastatic ability. Consistent epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the ORAOV1-B group was demonstrated via an orthotopic model. In the metastatic model, ORAOV1-B significantly contributed to OSCC-related lung metastasis. In summary, the novel splice variant ORAOV1-B is an lncRNA, which significantly potentiates OSCC invasion and metastasis by binding to Hsp90 and activating the NF-κB-TNFα loop. These findings demonstrate the versatile role of ORAOV1 family members and the significance of genes located within 11q13 in promoting OSCC. ORAOV1-B might serve as an attractive OSCC metastasis intervention target.

Tissue tracking MR to evaluate left ventricular global myocardial deformation in patients with cardiac amyloidosis of transmural late gadolinium enhancement

Purpose

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is a major cause of mortality in patients with amyloidosis because it leads to heart failure and lethal arrhythmia. The present study was aimed to evaluate left ventricular (LV) global myocardial deformation in patients with CA of transmural late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) using tissue tracking MRI.

Materials and methods

Thirty-nine patients with CA, confirmed by cardiac MRI, and a biopsy of at least one involved organ were enrolled. According to LV ejection fraction (LVEF), they were divided into reduced LVEF (CArEF) and preserved EF (CApEF) groups. Thirty-nine normal controls were recruited (NC). Tissue tracking analysis was done based on cine MRI sequences. LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), and global radial strain (GRS) were computed.

Results

GLS [CArEF vs. CApEF vs. NC: (−5.82±2.42) % vs. (−8.44±4.15) % vs. (−14.74±2.93)%], GCS [CArEF vs. CApEF vs. NC: (−9.47±2.96) % vs. (−15.01±1.81) % vs. (−19.86±2.30) %], and GRS [CArEF vs. CApEF vs. NC: (11.37±4.68) % vs. (20.61±6.27) % vs. (39.02±8.98) %] were all reduced in the CArEF and CApEF groups compared with healthy control subjects (all P&lt;0.01). GCS and GRS in the CArEF group were reduced compared with the CApEF group (P&lt;0.01). GLS, GCS, and GRS were also strongly correlated with LVEF (r=−0.77, −0.88, and 0.83, respectively; P&lt;0.01). Furthermore, the optimal cutoff values to predict LVEF reduction were −9.31% (sensitivity 88%, specificity 97%) for GLS, −14.13% (sensitivity 96%, specificity 97%) for GCS, and 20.11% (sensitivity 90%, specificity 97%) for GRS.

Conclusion

MRI-based LV global deformation parameters could be a useful method to assess LV myocardial systolic function and predict LVEF reduction in patients with CA of transmural enhancement on LGE. The differences of GCS and GRS between the CArEF and CApEF groups may also reflect preserved contractile function of the mid- or/and subepicardial myocardium.

Figure 1. LV deformation parameters

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Pentraxin-3 polymorphisms and pulmonary fungal disease in non-neutropenic patients

Background

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) plays a non-redundant role in innate immunity against fungal diseases. Although single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PTX3 are associated with a higher risk of invasive aspergillosis among the immunosuppressed population and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, it is unknown whether PTX3 genetic variants influence the risk of pulmonary fungal disease in immunocompetent patients.

Methods

To investigate the association between PTX3 gene polymorphisms and pulmonary mycosis in non-neutropenic patients, we conducted a case-control study in a tertiary hospital department. Forty-five patients were identified using the criteria of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group (EORTC-MSG) and enrolled in the case group. Of these patients, 15 had allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), 10 had invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), 18 had pulmonary cryptococcosis, and 2 had other types of pulmonary mycosis. One hundred and twenty-two non-neutropenic inpatients not infected by fungal disease were randomly selected as the control group. We detected three SNPs (rs2305619, rs3816527, and rs1840680) within the PTX3 gene using polymerase chain reaction sequencing and compared their associations with different types of pulmonary fungal disease.

Results

Three SNPs were consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). SNP rs2305619 was in linkage disequilibrium with rs3816527 (D’=0.85) and rs1840680 (D’=0.85), respectively. There was no difference in the genotypic distribution and haplotype frequency of the SNPs between the case group and the control group. When we focused on invasive mold infections as a subgroup, we found that the SNP rs3816527 CC homozygote was associated with a higher risk of IPA (OR, 7.37; 95% CI, 0.93–44.44; P=0.033), while the rs3816527 AA homozygote might lower the risk of pulmonary cryptococcosis (OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.11–0.96; P=0.047). No genotypic distribution differences were observed for the other two SNPs (rs2305619 and rs1840680). When it came to the comparison between ABPA subgroup and control group, no difference in single nucleotide polymorphism was observed.

Conclusions

This study showed that the SNP rs3816527 is associated with IPA in non-neutropenic patients. Further investigations in large populations are needed to validate this genetic predisposition. Functional studies are also required.

Humidity sensor based on a graphene oxide-coated few-mode fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer

A relative humidity sensor based on a graphene oxide-coated few-mode fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is proposed in this paper. The MZI was made by splicing a segment of the few-mode fiber (FMF) between two segments of a no-core fiber (NCF) and two segments of a single mode fiber (SMF) located outside the two NCFs. The core and cladding of the FMF acted as interferometric arms, while the NCFs acted as couplers for splitting and recombining light due to mismatch of mode field diameter. The cladding of the FMF was corroded with hydrofluoric acid, and a layer of graphene oxide (GO) film was coated on the corroded cladding of FMF via the natural deposition method. The refractive index of GO varied upon absorption the water molecules. As a result, the phase difference of the MZI varied and the wavelength of the resonant dip shifted with a change in the ambient relative humidity (RH). High humidity sensitivity of 0.191 and 0.061 nm/%RH in the RH range of 30-55% and 55-95%, respectively, were achieved experimentally. The high sensitivity, compact size, and simple manufacturing of the proposed sensor could offer attractive applications in fields of chemical sensors and biochemical detection.