Alcohol ingestion and colorectal neoplasia: a meta-analysis based on a Mendelian randomization approach

AIM

Observed associations of alcohol with colorectal cancer are prone to distortion by confounding and reverse causation. A Mendelian randomization approach provides an unbiased estimate of the association using the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) variant as a surrogate of alcohol exposure.

METHOD

A meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between the ALDH2 genotype and colorectal neoplasia, using the ALDH2 genotype as a marker of alcohol intake.

RESULTS

The pooled odds ratio (OR) of colorectal neoplasia was 1.31 (95%CI, 1.01-1.70) for the Glu/Glu vs the Lys/Lys genotype. There was no evidence of interstudy heterogeneity (P = 0.12, I² = 42.7). The overall risk for Glu/Lys heterozygotes relative to Lys/Lys homozygotes (under a fixed-effects model) was 1.13 (95%CI, 0.86-1.48). There was no evidence of publication bias for Glu/Glu or Glu/Lys analysis.

CONCLUSION

The result supports the role of alcohol in colorectal carcinogenesis based on a Mendelian randomization approach.

The Effect of the Sitting Upright or ‘Beachchair’ Position on Cerebral Blood Flow during Anaesthesia for Shoulder Surgery

The sitting upright or ‘beachchair’ position is commonly used for shoulder arthroscopic surgery. There is a theoretical concern that anaesthetised patients placed in this posture are at risk of reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF), especially if there is associated hypotension. This study investigated the effect of anaesthetic-induced hypotension on estimated cerebral blood flow in patients placed in the beachchair position for shoulder surgery.

Forty patients were randomised to either sedation (propofol infusion 10 to 20 mg.hour-1, n=20) or general anaesthesia using sub minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane (n=20). All patients received an interscalene brachial plexus regional block. Internal carotid artery blood flow was measured using the time averaged velocity of the spectral Doppler waveform, and was then used as an estimate of global CBF. Following a pre-anaesthesia study, measurement of internal carotid artery blood flow was made before and after beachchair positioning, and at five-minute intervals during surgery.

Beachchair positioning during general anaesthesia significantly decreased the mean arterial pressure (34±10 mmHg) compared to sedation (4±2 mmHg, P <0.01), and vasopressor therapy was required more often. However, CBF remained constant in both anaesthetised (P=0.83) and sedated patients (P=0.68) despite beachchair positioning, and the fall in mean arterial pressure in the anaesthetised patients. There was no significant difference in CBF between groups (P=0.91). These findings indicate that in patients in the beachchair position receiving sevoflurane anaesthesia, CBF is maintained when mean arterial pressure is above 70 mmHg, consistent with intact autoregulation.

Use of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate the microcirculation of lower extremity muscles in patients with Type 2 diabetes

AIMS

To quantify the capillary permeability of the lower extremity muscles using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in healthy control subjects without diabetes and patients with diabetes before and after percutaneous angioplasty.

METHODS

Fifty-five patients (30 without diabetes, 25 with Type 2 diabetes with occluded vasculature of the lower extremities) were examined by dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. The transfer constant (K-trans) of the tibialis anterior muscle was determined before (for all patients) and after (for patients with diabetes only) percutaneous angioplasty of the intrapopliteal artery. Clinical assessment was also recorded. Statistical significant differences were defined at the level of P < 0.05.

RESULTS

Before percutaneous angioplasty, patients with diabetes displayed significantly lower K-trans values in the tibialis anterior muscles than control subjects. Although percutaneous angioplasty increased the K-trans of these patients, the final values were still less than those of the control group. Differences were also observed between the groups in the Fontaine classification and ankle-brachial index, which reflect ischaemia in the lower extremities. After percutaneous angioplasty, these values were increased in the group with diabetes.

CONCLUSION

K-trans can be used to quantify changes in the capillary permeability of the lower extremity muscles, reflecting the microcirculation of the lower extremities.

A novel brain metastases model developed in immunodeficient rats closely mimics the growth of metastatic brain tumours in patients

AIMS

brain metastasis is a common cause of mortality in cancer patients, and associated with poor prognosis. Our objective was to develop a clinically relevant animal model by transplanting human biopsy spheroids derived from metastatic lesions into brains of immunodeficient rats.

METHODS

nine different patient brain metastases from four different primary cancers were implanted into brains of immunodeficient rats. The xenografts were compared with patient tumours by magnetic resonance imaging, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and DNA copy number analysis.

RESULTS

after transplantation, tumour growth was achieved in seven out of nine human brain metastases. Spheroids derived from four of the metastases initiated in the rat brains were further serially transplanted into new animals and a 100% tumour take was observed during second passage. Three of the biopsies were implanted subcutaneously, where no tumour take was observed. The animal brain metastases exhibited similar radiological features as observed clinically. Histological comparisons between the primary tumours from the patients, the patient brain metastases and the derived xenografts showed striking similarities in histology and growth patterns. Also, immunohistochemistry showed a strong marker expression similarity between the patient tumours and the corresponding xenografts. DNA copy number analysis between the brain metastases, and the corresponding xenografts revealed strong similarities in gains and losses of chromosomal content.

CONCLUSION

we have developed a representative in vivo model for studying the growth of human metastatic brain cancers. The model described represents an important tool to assess responses to new treatment modalities and for studying mechanisms behind metastatic growth in the central nervous system.

High resolution transmission electron microscope observation of zero-strain deformation twinning mechanisms in Ag

We have observed a new deformation-twinning mechanism using the high resolution transmission electron microscope in polycrystalline Ag films, zero-strain twinning via nucleation, and the migration of a Σ3{112} incoherent twin boundary (ITB). This twinning mechanism produces a near zero macroscopic strain because the net Burgers vectors either equal zero or are equivalent to a Shockley partial dislocation. This observation provides new insight into the understanding of deformation twinning and confirms a previous hypothesis: detwinning could be accomplished via the nucleation and migration of Σ3{112} ITBs. The zero-strain twinning mechanism may be unique to low staking fault energy metals with implications for their deformation behavior.

Molecular regulation of articular chondrocyte function and its significance in osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of joint disease. Histopathologically, OA is characterized by a progressive loss of articular cartilage, osteophyte formation, thickening of subchondral bone, and subchondral cyst formation. All current therapies are aimed at symptomatic control and have limited impacts on impeding or reversing the histopathologic progression to advanced OA. Previous studies have shown that overexpression of matrix-degrading proteinases and proinflammatory cytokines is associated with osteoarthritic cartilage degradation. However, clinical trials applying an inhibitor of proteinases or proinflammatory cytokines have been unsuccessful. A more sophisticated understanding of the regulatory mechanisms that control the function of articular chondrocytes is paramount to developing effective treatments. Since multiple catabolic factors and pathological chondrocyte hypertrophy are involved in the development of OA, it is important to identify which upstream factors regulate the expression of catabolic molecules and/or chondrocyte hypertrophy in articular cartilage. This review summarizes the current studies on the molecular regulation, with a main focus on transcriptional regulation, of the function of adult articular chondrocytes and its significance in the pathogenesis and treatment of OA. Recent studies have discovered that transcription factor Nfat1 may play an important role in maintaining the physiological function of adult articular chondrocytes. Nfat1-deficient mice exhibit normal skeletal development but display most of the features of human OA as adults, including chondrocyte hypertrophy with overexpression of specific matrix-degrading proteinases and proinflammatory cytokines in adult articular cartilage. ß-catenin transcriptional signaling in articular chondrocytes may also be involved in the pathogenesis of OA. Activation of ß-catenin leads to OA-like phenotypes with overexpression of specific matrix-degrading proteinases in articular cartilage of adult mice. These and other regulatory mechanisms described in this review may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of OA and the development of novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of OA.

Changes in resting connectivity during recovery from severe traumatic brain injury

In the present study we investigate neural network changes after moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) through the use of resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) methods. Using blood oxygen level dependent functional MRI, we examined RSFC at 3 and 6 months following resolution of posttraumatic amnesia. The goal of this study was to examine how regional off-task connectivity changes during a critical period of recovery from significant neurological disruption. This was achieved by examining regional changes in the intrinsic, or "resting", BOLD fMRI signal in separate networks: 1) regions linked to goal-directed (or external-state) networks and 2) default mode (or internal-state) networks. Findings here demonstrate significantly increased resting connectivity internal-state networks in the TBI sample during the first 6 months following recovery. The most consistent finding was increased connectivity in both internal and external state networks to the insula and medial temporal regions during recovery. These findings were dissociable from repeat measurements in a matched healthy control sample.

Endobronchial tuberculosis: an overview

Endobronchial tuberculosis (EBTB), of which the incidence has been increasing in recent years, is a special type of pulmonary tuberculosis. The endobronchial tuberculose focuses often injure the tracheobronchial wall and lead to tracheobronchial stenosis. The tracheobronchial stenosis may cause intractable tuberculosis and make patients become chronic infection sources of tuberculosis, or may even cause pulmonary complications and result in death. The etiological confirmation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is most substantial for diagnosis. However, because the positive rate of acid-fast bacillus staining for sputum smears is low and the clinical and radiological findings are usually nondistinctive, the diagnosis of EBTB is often mistaken and delayed. For early diagnosis, a high index of awareness of this disease is required and the bronchoscopy should be performed as soon as possible in suspected patients. The eradication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the prevention of tracheobronchial stenosis are two most substantial treatment goals. To get treatment goals, the diagnosis must be established early and aggressive treatments must be performed before the disease progresses too far.

Genetic algorithm-based efficient feature selection for classification of pre-miRNAs

In order to classify the real/pseudo human precursor microRNA (pre-miRNAs) hairpins with ab initio methods, numerous features are extracted from the primary sequence and second structure of pre-miRNAs. However, they include some redundant and useless features. It is essential to select the most representative feature subset; this contributes to improving the classification accuracy. We propose a novel feature selection method based on a genetic algorithm, according to the characteristics of human pre-miRNAs. The information gain of a feature, the feature conservation relative to stem parts of pre-miRNA, and the redundancy among features are all considered. Feature conservation was introduced for the first time. Experimental results were validated by cross-validation using datasets composed of human real/pseudo pre-miRNAs. Compared with microPred, our classifier miPredGA, achieved more reliable sensitivity and specificity. The accuracy was improved nearly 12%. The feature selection algorithm is useful for constructing more efficient classifiers for identification of real human pre-miRNAs from pseudo hairpins.

First report of human infection by Rhodoplanes sp., Alphaproteobacteria in China

We isolated a novel strain of Alphaproteobacteria from a patient, who had medical history of chronic rhinitis for more than twenty years and recently experienced local skin abscess and ulcer. He eventually died of multiple organ failure due to multi-antibiotics resistance. We identified the microorganism by 16SrRNA sequencing and found that it belonged to the genus Rhodoplanes. It was named as Rhodoplanes sp. strain ZLJ-0. It is resumed that Rhodoplanes sp. strain ZLJ-0 might be an emerging human pathogen involving in unknown febrile conditions and could cause local infection of any tissues or organs. Differential diagnosis of febrile patients should be conducted in clinical practice and research on emerging pathogens of Alphaproteobacteria should be performed to determine the epidemiology, clinical symptoms and pathogenic features of these pathogens.

The αGal HyperAcute(®) Technology: enhancing immunogenicity of antiviral vaccines by exploiting the natural αGal-mediated zoonotic blockade

The αGal HyperAcute(®) Technology exploits a robust zoonotic blockade to enhance potency of antiviral vaccines. Naturally acquired immunity against the common αGal epitope [galactose-alpha(1,3)-galactose-beta(1,4)N-acetylglucosamine-R (Gal-α(1,3)-Gal-β(1,4)-GlcNAc-R)] is facilitated by the loss of a key enzyme in the epitope's biosynthetic pathway. As human cells are devoid of this epitope, chronic stimulus from gut flora leads to high levels of circulating anti-αGal antibodies and the development of a robust immune pathway. As the αGal epitope is immediately recognized as foreign, the naturally acquired αGal immune pathway in humans serves as a strong barrier to zoonotic infection. The αGal HyperAcute(®) Technology takes advantage of this natural process to facilitate the rapid presentation of modified antigens to antigen-presenting cells, leading to a strong immune response. The evolutionary immunity to αGal ensures that the presence of αGal epitopes on antigens will lead to a robust immune response involving cross-activation of T(H)1 immunity, characterized by cytokine secretion and increased phagocytic activity, and T(H)2 immunity characterized by high antibody titres. αGal epitopes can be applied to antiviral vaccines by biological, enzymatic or chemical means. Several detection methods that directly and indirectly verify αGal addition are discussed. Enhanced immunogenicity (humoral and cellular) of αGal-modified vaccines is shown for several antiviral vaccine candidates. αGal modification of antiviral vaccine components leads to enhanced immunogenicity. The existing body of literature describing the utility of αGal epitopes as a safe and robust immunostimulatory and -modulatory agent in humans supports the basis for applying the αGal HyperAcute(®) Technology to the improvement of antiviral vaccines, both new and currently approved.

Effect of liver X receptor activation on the very low density lipoprotein secretion and messenger ribonucleic acid level of related genes in goose primary hepatocytes

In this study, we investigated the role of liver X receptor (LXR) activation in hepatic assembly and in the secretion of very low density lipoprotein-triglycerides in goose primary hepatocytes. Goose primary hepatocytes were isolated and treated with the LXR agonist T0901317. Total triglyceride accumulation, intracellular and extracellular triglyceride concentrations, extracellular very low density lipoprotein concentration, and gene expression levels of LXRα, microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, acyl coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) 1, and DGAT2 were measured in primary hepatocytes. We found a dose-dependent upregulation of total and intracellular TG accumulation when using 0, 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 μM T0901317, but the extracellular triglyceride and very low density lipoprotein concentrations were dose dependent only when the T0901317 concentration was below 1 μM; as compared with 1 μM T0901317, 10 μM T0901317 had an inhibiting effect (P < 0.05). The mRNA levels of all the detected genes increased in the presence of T0901317. The change in LXRα and DGAT1 was dose dependent, and the mRNA levels of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein and DGAT2 increased with a T0901317 concentration up to 1 μM, but decreased when treated with 10 μM T0901317 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the secretion of very low density lipoprotein plays a role in pharmacologically activating the LXR-induced development of hepatocellular steatosis in geese.

Molecular characterization and structure analysis of RPL10/QM-like protein from the red drum Sciaenops ocellatus (Sciaenidae)

The QM-like gene encodes a ribosomal protein L10. Besides housekeeping roles in protein synthesis, QM-like proteins have multiple extraribosomal functions during cell growth, cell differentiation and apoptosis. We obtained the full-length cDNA of QM-like protein (designated as SoQM) from the salt water game fish Sciaenops ocellatus, using RACE-PCR. The sequence consists of 740 bp, encoding 215-amino acid residues with 24.60 kDa. The AA sequence of the SoQM protein contains a series of functional motifs that belong to the QM family signature, which is conserved among different species. The SoQM gene contains five introns and six exons. The expression pattern of SoQM as determined by RT-PCR indicated that SoQM mRNA was expressed in all tissues tested, including brain, gill, head-kidney, intestine, stomach, heart, spleen, blood, muscle, and gonads. The phylogenetic tree constructed with MEGA 4.0 showed that SoQM clusters together with that of other fish. It was found that the sequences of the SoQM gene are highly conserved, suggesting the fundamental and critical functions of SoQM in S. ocellatus. The three-dimensional structure of the SoQM protein core domain (4~169) was predicted by the Swiss-Model program. Compared with QM proteins in other species, the main structure of SoQM protein was conserved, while the C-terminal domain was different from other QM-like proteins. Prediction of the three-dimensional structure of SoQM would provide valuable insight into the molecular basis of protein function, allowing an effective design of experiments, such as site-directed mutagenesis, studies of disease-related mutations or structure-based design of specific inhibitors.

A new approach to quantifying morphological variation in bluegill Lepomis macrochirus

Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus showed intraspecific morphological and behavioural differences dependent on the environment. Pelagic L. macrochirus had more fusiform bodies, a higher pectoral fin aspect ratio, a larger spiny dorsal fin area and pectoral fins located farther from the centre of mass than littoral L. macrochirus (P < 0·05). The shape of the body and pectoral fins, in particular, were suggestive of adaptation for sustained high-speed and economical labriform swimming. Littoral L. macrochirus had a deeper and wider body, deeper caudal fins and wider mouths than pelagic L. macrochirus (P < 0·05). Additionally, the soft dorsal, pelvic, anal and caudal fins of littoral L. macrochirus were positioned farther from the centre of mass (P < 0·05). The size and placement of these fins suggested that they will be effective in creating turning moments to facilitate manoeuvring in the macrophyte-dense littoral habitat.

Polymer nanocomposites exhibiting magnetically tunable microwave properties

Polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) have been synthesized using Rogers polymer and CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (CFO NPs). X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms the inverse spinel crystal structure of CFO NPs and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show the uniform dispersion of nanoparticles (10 nm ± 1) into the polymer matrix. Magnetic measurements indicate superparamagnetic response near room temperature for all PNCs. A blocking temperature T(B)~298 K was observed and does not vary for different loading fractions of CFO NPs for the PNCs. The saturation magnetization (M(s)) was found to be 11 emu g⁻¹ for 30 wt% CFO, increasing to 32 emu g⁻¹ for the 80 wt% CFO loaded PNC. A large value of coercivity (H(c) = 19 kOe) is also observed at 10 K and is not affected by varying CFO loading. Microwave measurements show significant absorption in the 80 wt% CFO loading PNC and the quality factor shows a strong enhancement with applied magnetic field.

Effects of chronic administration of alogliptin on the development of diabetes and β-cell function in high fat diet/streptozotocin diabetic mice

AIM

Alogliptin is a potent and highly selective dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor. The aim of this study was to determine its effects on glucose control and pancreas islet function and to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms after chronic administration, in a non-genetic mouse model of type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

Alogliptin (5, 15 and 45 mg/kg) was orally administered to high fat diet/streptozotocin (HFD/STZ) diabetic mice daily for 10 weeks. Postprandial and 6-h fasting blood glucose levels, blood A1C level, oral glucose tolerance and pancreas insulin content were measured during or after the treatment period. Alogliptin plasma concentration was determined by an LC/MS/MS method. Islet morphology and architectural changes were evaluated with immunohistochemical analysis. Islet endocrine secretion ability was assessed by measuring insulin release from isolated islets which were challenged with 16 mM glucose and 30 mM potassium chloride, respectively. Gene expression profiles of the pancreas were analysed using the mouse diabetes RT(2) Profiler PCR array which contains 84 genes related to the onset, development and progression of diabetes.

RESULTS

Alogliptin showed dose-dependent reduction of postprandial and fasting blood glucose levels and blood A1C levels. Glucose clearance ability and pancreas insulin content were both increased. Alogliptin significantly restored the β-cell mass and islet morphology, thus preserving islet function of insulin secretion. Expression of 10 genes including Ins1 was significantly changed in the pancreas of diabetic mice. Chronic alogliptin treatment completely or partially reversed the abnormalities in gene expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Chronic treatment of alogliptin improved glucose control and facilitated restoration of islet architecture and function in HFD/STZ diabetic mice. The gene expression profiles suggest that the underlying molecular mechanisms of β-cell protection by alogliptin may involve alleviating endoplasmic reticulum burden and mitochondria oxidative stress, increasing β-cell differentiation and proliferation, enhancing islet architecture remodelling and preserving islet function.

Association of olfactory bulb volume and olfactory sulcus depth with olfactory function in patients with Parkinson disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Olfactory dysfunction is commonly associated with IPD. We here report the association of OB volume and OS depth with olfactory function in patients with PD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Morphometric analyses by using MR imaging and the Japanese T&T olfactometer threshold test were used to evaluate olfactory structure and function in 29 patients with PD and 29 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

RESULTS

The olfactory recognition thresholds were significantly higher in patients with PD than in healthy controls (3.82 ± 1.25 versus 0.45 ± 0.65, P<.001). Olfactory atrophy with reductions in the volume of the OB (37.30 ± 10.23 mm(3) versus 44.87 ± 11.84 mm(3), P<.05) and in the depth of OS (8.90 ± 1.42 mm versus 9.67 ± 1.24 mm, P<.05) was observed in patients with PD but not in controls. Positive correlations between olfactory performance and OB volumes were observed in both patients with PD (r=-0.45, P<.0001) and in controls (r=-0.42, P<.0001). In contrast, there was no significant correlation between the depth of OS and olfactory function in either cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

The results provide evidence that early olfactory dysfunction in patients with PD may be a primary consequence of damage to the OB. Neuroimaging of olfactory structures together with the assessment of olfactory function may be used to identify patients with PD.