Comparative serum proteomic analysis of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure: alpha-1-acid glycoprotein maybe a candidate marker for prognosis of hepatitis B virus infection

The acute-on-chronic liver failure (AoCLF) caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains to be a challenge in clinics with a high mortality rate in China, and it is important to identify biomarkers to foresee the prognosis of patients with HBV. The current study analysed serum proteome changes of acute-on-chronic liver failure as a result of acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B infection. Serum samples were collected from normal subjects (NS, n = 8), patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB, n = 12) and patients with AoCLF (n = 12). After removal of albumin/IgG and ultramembrane centrifugation, serum proteins were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Differentially expressed spots were identified by matrix-associated laser desorption ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Through the removal of albumin/IgG and ultramembrane centrifugation, the well-resolved and reproducible two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) profiles were obtained. A total of 23 proteins were identified on 2-DE profiles by their differential expression between the three cohorts. Mass spectrometry analysis resulted in the identification of 12 proteins unambiguously. Western blot analysis confirmed the proteomics results that the α1-acid glycoprotein (α1-AGP) levels decrease significantly in plasma of patients with AoCLF, but somewhat decreased in patients with chronic HBV. Further α1-AGP levels in bulk serum samples were measured by immune turbidimetry including normal subjects group (n = 25), acute hepatitis group (n = 36), chronic hepatitis group (n = 52) and AoCLF group (n = 48), the level of α1-AGP in AoCLF groups sharply decrease than other groups. Our study shows that α1-AGP may be a potential plasma biomarker for AoCLF diagnosis because of acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B infection.

Protective Effect of Resin Coating on the Microleakage of Class V Restorations Following Treatment with Carbamide Peroxide In Vitro

Carbamide peroxide treatment increased the microleakage of Class V conventional glass-ionomer cement and resin modified glass-ionomer cement restorations. The resin coating is an effective method to avoid bleaching-induced microleakage without affecting the bleaching outcome.

Ratio-contrast imaging of dual-energy absorption for element mapping with a scanning transmission X-ray microscope

The detection of chemical mapping with a spatial resolution of 30 nm has been achieved with a scanning transmission X-ray microscope at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. For each specimen, two absorption images were scanned separately with energies E(1) and E(2): E(1) was focused on the absorption edge of the chosen element and E(2) was focused below the edge. A K-edge division method is proposed and applied to obtain the element mapping. Compared with the frequently used K-edge subtraction method, this ratio-contrast method is shown to be more accurate and sensitive in identifying the elements of interest, where the definition of the contrast threshold is simple and clear in physics. Several examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the method.

Transplantation of immortalized human fetal hepatocytes prevents acute liver failure in 90% hepatectomized mice

AIM

The aim of this study was to investigate whether human fetal hepatocytes are amenable to simian virus 40 large T-antigen (SV40Tag) mediated immortalization and whether the immortalized cells rescue mice with acute liver failure induced by 90% hepatectomy.

METHODS

We constructed a retroviral vector expressing a thermolabile mutant SV40Tag for transfer into primary human fetal hepatocytes. We quantitatively detected the synthetic ability for albumin and urea by the immortalized cells, which were subcutaneously inoculated into mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) to evaluate tumorigenzcity. The immortalized cells were also transplanted into the spleens of mice with acute liver failure.

RESULTS

One clone resulting after selection, referred to as HepCL, was highly differentiated, growing steadily in a chemically defined serum-free medium. HepCL cells were positive for albumin, cytokeratin 18, and cytokeratin 19 immunocytochemical staining. The average synthetic efficacies of HepCL cells for albumin and urea were comparable to that of unmodified primary human fetal hepatocytes. The population doubling time of HepCL cells in the logarithmic growth phase was approximately 17 hours. HepCL cells showed no oncogenicity in immunodeficient mice at 16 months. Mice receiving HepCL cells (G1) and primary human fetal hepatocytes (G2) showed significantly lower blood ammonia levels after 90% hepatectomy. Pairwise comparisons between the 4 groups showed that xenotransplantation of HepCL (G1) or primary fetal hepatocytes (G2) significantly improved survivals of recipient mice.

CONCLUSIONS

HepCL may be useful as a source of hepatic function for cell-based therapeutics in acute liver failure.

Identification of disease-associated DNA methylation in intestinal tissues from patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Overwhelming evidence supports the theory that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is caused by a complex interplay between genetic predispositions of multiple genes, combined with an abnormal interaction with environmental factors. It is becoming apparent that epigenetic factors can have a significant contribution in the pathogenesis of disease. Changes in the methylation state of IBD-associated genes could significantly alter levels of gene expression, potentially contributing to disease onset and progression. We have explored the role of DNA methylation in IBD pathogenesis. DNA methylation profiles (1505 CpG sites of 807 genes) of matched diseased (n = 26) and non-diseased (n = 26) intestinal tissues from 26 patients with IBD [Crohn's disease (CD) n = 9, ulcerative colitis (UC) n = 17] were profiled using the GoldenGate™ methylation assay. After an initial identification of a panel of 50 differentially methylated CpG sites from a training set (14 non-diseased and 14 diseased tissues) and subsequent validation with a testing set (12 non-diseased and 12 diseased tissues), we identified seven CpG sites that are differentially methylated in intestinal tissues of IBD patients. We have also identified changes in DNA methylation associated with the two major IBD subtypes, CD and UC. This study reports IBD-associated changes in DNA methylation in intestinal tissue, which may be disease subtype-specific.

Prognosis of colorectal cancer with liver metastasis: value of a prognostic index

The objective of the present study was to explore the factors related to the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and to establish a prognostic model for the selection of patients who might benefit from hepatic resection for metastatic CRC. A total of 293 patients undergoing liver resection for metastatic CRC (172 males and 80 females ranging in age from 26 to 80 years) were selected and clinical, pathological and outcome data were examined in this retrospective study. The prognostic index (PI) of the patients was calculated on the basis of results of multivariate analysis. Patients were stratified into different groups, with survival curves projected according to PI. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 58.3, 26.4, and 11.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis indicated that degree of primary tumor differentiation, resection margin, preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level, number of liver metastases, and resection of liver metastases were associated with prognosis (P < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, the last three factors were found to be independent prognostic factors. The resection of liver metastases was a favorable factor. Patients were classified into three groups according to PI, which differed significantly in survival rate (P < 0.05). The individual survival rate was evaluated based on PI. Resection of hepatic colorectal metastases may produce long-term survival and cure. The proposed PI was easy to use, was highly predictive of patient outcome, and permitted categorization of patients into treatment groups.

Pyrosequencing and characterization of immune response genes from the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (L.)

Ticks continue to be a threat to animal and human health, and new and novel control strategies are needed for ticks and tick-borne pathogens. The characterization of the tick-pathogen interface and the tick immune response to microbial infections is fundamental toward the formulation of new control strategies for ticks and the pathogens they transmit. Our overall hypothesis for this research is that the tick immune system manages the maintenance of pathogens. Therefore, discovery of tick immune response genes may provide targets for novel control strategies directed toward reducing vector competency and pathogen transmission. In these studies, 454 pyrosequencing, a high-throughput genomic sequencing method was used to discover tick genes expressed in response to bacterial and fungal infections. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were analysed from Dermacentor variabilis ticks that had been injected with bacteria (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus) or fungi (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans) and ticks that were naturally infected with the intracellular bacterium, Anaplasma marginale. By this approach, ESTs were assembled into 5995 contigs. Contigs fell into the five main functional categories of metabolism, genetic information processing, environmental information processing, cellular processes and human diseases. We identified more than 30 genes that are likely to encode for proteins involved in tick immune function. We further analysed by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) the expression of 22 of these genes in each of our bacterial or fungal treatment groups and found that seven were up-regulated. Up-regulation of these seven genes was confirmed for bacterial, but not fungal treatment by quantitative PCR (qPCR). One of these products was novel, encoding a new tick defensin. Our results clearly demonstrate the complexities of the tick immune system and mark new directions for further study and characterization of proteins that modulate microbial infections in the American dog tick.