[Advances in the research of effects of heat-shock factor 1 and heat-shock proteins on wound healing and the mechanism]

Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are the protective proteins expressed by cells under stress. Heat-shock factors (HSFs) are the key factors to regulate HSPs. Researches about the effects of HSF1 and HSPs in cells after stress and the mechanism have become the important entry point to explore the cell response in wound healing after trauma. This article reviews the effects of HSPs and HSF1 which regulate the proteins on wound healing and the mechanism, so as to deliver message for studying effects of intervening HSF1 on expression of HSPs and wound healing and the mechanism.

[Incidental internal mammary lymph node biopsy in 113 cases of breast cancer undergoingfree abdominal flap breast reconstruction and its influencing factors]

Objective: The aim of the current study is to determine the clinical value of incidental internal mammary lymph node biopsy in free abdominal flap breast reconstruction using internal mammary vessels as recipient vessels and to investigate the risk factors of internal mammary lymph nodes metastasis. Methods: The clinical data of all patients who underwent free abdominal flap breast reconstruction using internal mammary vessels as recipient vessels from November 2006 to December 2015 in the Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were reviewed in the study. The incidence of internal mammary lymph node biopsy and the rate of metastasis were analyzed. Statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate the risk factors of internal mammary lymph node metastasis. Results: A total of 113 patients met the inclusion criteria, 53 (46.9%) of whom had internal mammary lymph nodes harvested. Four of these were positive for metastatic disease, all in immediate breast reconstructions. The incidence of metastasis was 7.5% in patients who had successful internal mammary lymph node biopsies.The multi-variate Logistic regression analysis showed that invasive tumor size, tumor location and axillary lymph node metastasis were not risk factors for internal mammary lymph node metastasis (P>0.05). Conclusions: Internal mammary lymph nodes found incidentally during recipient vessel exposure may provide important information about internal mammary lymph node metastasis in free flap breast reconstruction. This approach for internal mammary lymph node biopsy reveals an appreciable success rate and is convenient in clinical practice. The size of invasive tumor and the axillary lymph node metastasis are probably associated with internal mammary lymph node positivity.

[Recombinant human tumor necrosis factor receptor type Ⅱ-IgG Fc fusion protein for treatment of occupational medicamentosa-like dermatitis induced by trichloroethylene]

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of the recombinant human tumor necrosis factor receptor Ⅱ-IgG Fc fusion protein (rhTNFR: Fc, etanercept) for the treatment of occupational medicamentosa-like dermatitis induced by trichloroethylene (OMLDT) . Methods: In September 2011 to February 2016, 12 patients with OMLDT were treated with etanercept 25 mg, subcutaneous injection, twice per week, doubling of first dose. The course of treatment was 6 weeks. The drug eruption area and severity index (DASI) score, the proportion of patients achieving a 50%, 75% and 90% reduction in DASI (DASI50, DASI75, DASI90) and the serum level of TNF-α were used to assess the efficacy at different times. Adverse reactions were also recorded and evaluated. The results were statistically analyzed by nonparametric Friedman test and repetitive measurement ANOVA using the software SPSS19.0. Results: After 4 weeks treatment, the DASI score decreased form 56.33±7.02 to 0.50±0.91 (P<0.01) . The DASI50, DASI75 and DASI90 were all increased to 12 (100%) . The serum level of TNF-α decreased form (43.74±41.62) pg/ml to (3.03±0.47) pg/ml (P<0.01) . Statistically significant difference was observed from the above indexes. There were no adverse reactions in clinical application. Conclusion: Recombinant human tumor necrosis factor receptor Ⅱ-IgG Fc fusion protein may be a safe and effective drug in the treatment of OMLDT.

[Study of the correlation between the expression of angiotensin Ⅱ and its receptors and collagen deposition in human keloid]

Objective: To study the correlation between the expression of angiotensin Ⅱ, angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor (AT1R), angiotensin Ⅱ type 2 receptor (AT2R) and collagen deposition in human keloid. Methods: The keloid from 19 keloid patients and normal skin from 13 patients performed with free skin transplantation hospitalized in our unit from May 2014 to January 2015 were obtained. The expressions of angiotensin Ⅱ, AT1R, and AT2R were detected by immunohistochemical staining, and the results were semi-quantitatively analyzed by immunohistochemical scoring. The expression of collagen in keloid was detected by picrosirius-red staining, and the percentage of total collagen was calculated. Data were processed with t test. The expressions of angiotensin Ⅱ, AT1R, AT2R and the total content of collagen of 13 keloid patients were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Results: (1) There was negative or probably positive expression of angiotensin Ⅱ in normal skin tissue, mainly distributed in the epidermal basal layer. The expression of angiotensin Ⅱ was strong in keloid, most distributed in spinous layer and basal layer of epidermis and most region of dermis, and was strongly positive in most cells, and most cells were fibroblasts. The expressions of AT1R and AT2R were similar to angiotensin Ⅱ in two types of tissue. The expressions of angiotensin Ⅱ, AT1R, and AT2R in keloid scored (305±34), (281±32), and (285±25) points, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in normal tissue [respectively (54±17), (89±47), and (97±32) points, with t values from 12.03 to 23.21, P values below 0.01]. (2) The total content of collagen in keloid was (88±4)%. There was a lot of thick and dense type Ⅰcollagen in keloid, with massive structure and distributed like bamboo segment and arranged in disorder. The expression of type Ⅲ collagen was increased, which was distributed scatteredly around type Ⅰcollagen. (3) There were positive correlations between the expressions of angiotensin Ⅱ, AT1R, AT2R and the total content of collagen in keloid (with r values from 0.452 to 0.720, P values below 0.05). Conclusions: The expressions of angiotensin Ⅱ, AT1R, and AT2R were abnormally increased in human keloid, which may play an important role in the collagen deposition of keloid.

[Integrated diagnosis and treatment of scar]

Scar is the common disease in the field of burn and plastic surgery, and its diagnosis and treatment should be involved in overwhelming majority hospitals. There are many substandard methods and medical hidden dangers in diagnosis and treatment of scar, due to the unevenness of doctors' clinical experience. According to the classification of integral scar and diabrotic scar, the problems related to diagnosis and treatment of scar are systemically summarized and normalized in this article for decrease in the incidence of adverse events and medical hidden dangers.

[Multicenter epidemiological investigation of hospitalized children with severe burn]

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized children with severe burn from several regions in China during 3 years, so as to provide evidence for prevention of burns in children. Methods: Relying on the entry system of epidemiology data and biological sample of severe burn from multicenter in clinic, medical records of children with severe burn, aged 18 and under, hospitalized in 6 burn wards from February 2012 to February 2015 were collected. The children were divided into 5 age brackets: less than or equal to 1 year old, more than 1 year old and less than or equal to 3 years old, more than 3 years old and less than or equal to 6 years old, more than 6 years old and less than or equal to 12 years old, more than 12 years old and less than or equal to 18 years old. Meanwhile the children were divided into rural and urban children according to their residences. Data of gender and residence of children in the 5 age brackets, cause of injury, location of injury, total burn area, wound site, inhalation injury and combined injury, and source of hospitalization expenses of children in the 5 age brackets and two types of residence, and outcome and length of hospital stay of the children were analyzed. The cause of injury of children in different location of injury was analyzed. In addition, they were divided into 2 age brackets: less than or equal to 6 years old and more than 6 years old and less than or equal to 18 years old, and then incidences of hand and foot burn injury were compared. Data were processed with chi-square test, and the correlation between age and total burn area was processed with Spearman correlation analysis. Results: Four hundred and forty out of 1 106 inpatients with severe burn were children, accounting for 39.8% who were included in the system. (1) The majority of children were male (270, 61.4%). The number of children more than 1 year old and less than or equal to 3 years old ranked the first (222, 50.5%) in the 5 age brackets. The ratio of children from rural areas to that from urban areas was 2.9∶1.0. There were no statistically significant differences in both gender and residence of children among the 5 age brackets (with χ² values respectively 7.649 and 9.399, P values above 0.05). (2) Scald was the most common cause of burn. There was statistically significant difference in injury cause of children among the 5 age brackets (χ²=136.307, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in injury cause of children among the two types of residence (χ²=5.164, P>0.05). (3) Private house was the most common location of injury. There was statistically significant difference in location of injury of children among the 5 age brackets (χ²=124.930, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in location of injury of children among the two types of residence (χ²=3.364, P>0.05). There was statistically significant difference in injury cause of children in different location of injury (χ²=118.284, P<0.001). (4) Most of children were with total burn areas from 10% to 39% total body surface area. There was statistically significant difference in total burn area of children among the 5 age brackets (χ²=103.568, P<0.001). There was positive correlation between age and total burn area (r=0.177, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in total burn area of children among the two types of residence (χ²=16.213, P>0.05). (5) Trunk, lower extremity, and upper extremity were the most common wound sites, respectively. There was statistically significant difference in wound site of children among the 5 age brackets (χ²=45.674, P=0.019). There was statistically significant difference in incidence of hand and foot burn between children less than or equal to 6 years old and children more than 6 years old and less than or equal to 18 years old (with χ² values respectively 29.188 and 14.612, P values below 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in wound site of children among the two types of residence (χ²=8.515, P>0.05). (6) Twenty-seven children suffered inhalation injury. The main age bracket was more than 12 years old and less than or equal to 18 years old (8 children). The main residence was rural area (18 children). The main cause of inhalation injury was flame burn (23 children). Nine children suffered combined injury, among which the children more than 12 years old and less than or equal to 18 years old accounted for the highest ratio (5 children), and the urban children accounted for higher ratio (5 children). (7) Among the 437 children, most of their hospitalization expenses were at their own expense. There was statistically significant difference in the source of hospitalization expenses of children among the 5 age brackets (χ²=17.917, P=0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the source of hospitalization expenses of children among the two types of residence (χ²=0.749, P>0.05). (8) Among the 437 children, 34 children abandoned treatment and were discharged from hospital, attributed to lack of funding. Seventy-eight children were discharged with a better health condition and 347 were cured. The condition of 6 children worsened and 6 children died. Mean length of hospital stay was 28.6 days for all the children, and 8.8 days for the deteriorated and dead children. Conclusions: Children were the major group of patients with severe burn in China. Male children less than or equal to 6 years old were common with scald as the major cause of injury, private house as the major location of injury, and trunk, lower and upper extremity as the most common wound sites, their own expenses as the major source of hospitalization expenses. There were statistically significant differences in cause of injury, location of injury, total burn area, wound site, and hospitalization expenses source of children among the 5 age brackets.

Krüppel-like factor 2 suppresses growth and invasion of gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2), a novel tumor-suppressor gene, is implicated in diverse cellular processes, including cell growth, apoptosis, and invasion. However, the role and action mechanisms of KLF2 in gastric cancer (GC) need be further elucidated. The expression of KLF2 was investigated by immunohistochemical assay in human GC tissues, and lentivirus-mediated KLF2 overexpression was transfected into GC cells (AGS and HGC-27) for assessing cell proliferation and invasion, respectively indicated by MTT and Transwell assays. Subcutaneous GC tumor models were constructed for estimating tumor growth in vivo. As a result, the expression level of KLF2 was decreased in GC tissues compared with the para-carcinoma tissues (31.03% vs 53.45%, P=0.035), and negatively correlated with the lymph node metastasis in GC patients (P=0.02). Moreover, overexpression of KLF2 inhibited the cell proliferation and invasive potential and downregulated the protein expression of PCNA, Bcl-2 and MMP-9 in GC cells. The result in vivo showed KLF2 overexpression reduced the xenograft tumor growth. In conclusion, our findings indicate that KLF2 may function as a tumor suppressor involved in the progression of human GC.

Interactions between head motion and coil sensitivity in accelerated fMRI

BACKGROUND

Parallel imaging is widely adopted to accelerate functional MRI (fMRI) data acquisition, through various strategies that involve multi-channel receiver coils. However, the non-uniform spatial sensitivity of multi-channel receiver coils may introduce unwanted artifacts when head motion occurs during the few-minute long fMRI scans. Although prospective correction provides a promising solution for alleviating the head motion artifacts in fMRI, the relative position of the fixed multi-channel receiver coils moves in the moving reference frame, potentially resulting in artifactual signal.

NEW METHOD

We used numerical simulations to investigate this effect on fMRI using two parallel imaging schemes: sensitivity encoding (SENSE) and generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA) with acceleration factors 2 and 4, towards characterizing the regime over which parallel-imaging fMRI with prospective motion correction will benefit from updating coil sensitivities to reflect relative positional change between the head and the receiver coil. Moreover, six subjects were scanned with acceleration factors 2 and 4 while performing a simple finger-tapping task with and without overt head motion.

RESULTS

Updating coil sensitivities showed significant positive impact on standard deviation and activation maps in presence of overt head motion compared to that obtained with no overt head motion.

COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS

The parallel imaging fMRI with updated coil sensitivity maps were compared to that with the coil sensitivity maps acquired at the reference position.

CONCLUSIONS

Head motion in relation to a fixed multi-channel coil can adversely affect the quality of parallel imaging fMRI data; and updating coil sensitivity map can mitigate this effect.

Identification and expression analysis of the sting gene, a sensor of viral DNA, in common carp Cyprinus carpio

Stimulator of interferon gene (sting) was identified and characterized from common carp Cyprinus carpio. The sting messenger (m)RNA encoded a polypeptide of 402 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 46·184 kDa and an isoelectronic point of 6·08. The deduced protein of sting contained a signal peptide, three transmembrane motifs in the N-terminal region and four putative motifs (RXR) found in resident endoplasmic reticulum proteins. mRNA expression of sting was present in twelve investigated tissues, and was up-regulated by koi herpesvirus (KHV) in vivo and in vitro. The transcription of sting was altered by poly(I:C) and poly(dT:dA) stimulation in vitro. The findings suggested that sting is an inducible gene involved in innate immunity against DNA- and RNA-derived pathogens. To investigate defence mechanisms in C. carpio development, sting level in embryos, larvae and juvenile fish was monitored following KHV challenge. The sting message was negligible in embryos prior to hatching, but observed at higher transcriptional levels throughout larval and juvenile stages. Investigation showed the mRNA expression profiles of genes encoding for proteins promoting various functions in the interferon pathway, from pattern recognition receptors to antiviral genes, to be significantly induced in all examined organs by in vivo infection with KHV. Following KHV infection, the ifn message was significantly downregulated in spleen, head kidney, brain and hepatopancreas but notably up-regulated in gill, intestine and skin, suggesting that ifn induction might be related to the mucosal immune system and virus anti-ifn mechanisms. These results provided the basis for further research into the role and mechanisms of sting in fishes.

Changes in phagocytosis and expression of microglial cells in craniocerebral injury mice models

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in phagocytic function and expression quantities of CD11b and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) among microglia cells of craniocerebral injury mice. Modified Feeney method was used to establish the craniocerebral injury mice models. Twenty-one male SPF mice were divided into a control group and a trauma group. The scalp was incised and a bone window was opened in the control group without cerebral injury. In the trauma group, the mice were sacrificed after the craniocerebral injury at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h to make frozen sections of cerebral tissues. The phagocytic rate of microglia cells was observed by using fluorescent microsphere. The changes in the expression quantities of CD11b and TNF-α were detected by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). The phagocytic ability of the microglia cells after the craniocerebral injury increased at 1 h after injury compared with that of the control group (P less than 0.01). The expression of surface antigen CD11b of the microglia cells and the expression of TNF-α increased at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h after the injury compared with those of the control group (P less than 0.01). The phagocytic ability of the microglia cells increased. The expressions of CD11b and TNF-α were also gradually enhanced in the acute phase after craniocerebral injury, and then gradually decreased to the normal level. The expressions of CD11b and TNF-α indicated a high consistency with the changing trend of the phagocytic ability, suggesting that the microglia cells may participate in the regulation of the inflammatory process of the central nervous system through absorbing apoptotic cells and increasing and secreting inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors.

Changes and clinical significance of serum vaspin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes

We investigated serum visceral adipose tissue-derived serpin (vaspin) levels in patients with normal glucose regulation and recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and explored the association between vaspin and body mass index, age, gender, glucose, lipid metabolism, and insulin sensitivity. Fasting serum vaspin levels in 66 patients with T2DM and 48 normal subjects were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found that serum vaspin levels in the DM group were 0.65 ± 0.13 mg/L in non-obese patients and 1.13 ± 0.25 mg/L in obese patients. Serum vaspin levels in the control group were 0.38 ± 0.18 mg/L in non-obese patients and 0.95 ± 0.11 mg/L in obese patients. Average serum vaspin levels were significantly higher in obese patients than in non-obese patients in both the DM group and control group. In the DM group, the serum vaspin level was 0.76 ± 0.22 mg/L in males and 0.92 ± 0.35 mg/L in females. In the control group, the serum vaspin level was 0.48 ± 0.14 mg/L in males and 1.05 ± 0.21 mg/L in females. Association analysis showed that serum vaspin levels were significantly associated with body mass index, waist-to-rip ratio (WHR), fat percentage, triglyceride, fasting plasma insulin, and insulin sensitivity index. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that gender, insulin sensitivity index, and WHR were the most significant independent factors affecting vaspin. Therefore, serum vaspin levels were significantly elevated in obese people and were independently associated with WHR, gender, and index sensitivity index.

EDA mutation as a cause of hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia: a case report and review of the literature

Ectodermal dysplasia (ED) represents a collection of rare disorders that result from a failure of development of the tissues derived from the embryonic ectoderm. ED is often associated with hair, teeth, and skin abnormalities, which are serious conditions affecting the quality of life of the patient. To date, a large number of genes have been found to be associated with this syndrome. Here, we report a patient with hypohidrotic ED (HED) without family history. We identified that this patient's disorder arises from an X-linked HED with a mutation in the EDA gene (G299D) found by whole-exome sequencing. In addition, in this paper we summarize the disease-causing mutations based on current literature. Overall, recent clinical and genetic research involving patients with HED have uncovered a large number of pathogenic mutations in EDA, which might contribute to a full understanding of the function of EDA and the underlying mechanisms of HED caused by EDA mutations.

Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis using fetal DNA in maternal plasma: a preliminary study for identification of paternally-inherited alleles using single nucleotide polymorphisms

OBJECTIVES

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with a mutation can be used to identify the presence of the paternally-inherited wild-type or mutant allele as result of the inheritance of either allele in the fetus and allows the prediction of the fetal genotype. This study aims to identify paternal SNPs located at the flanking regions upstream or downstream from the β-globin gene mutations at CD41/42 (HBB:c.127_130delCTTT), IVS1-5 (HBB:c.92+5G>C) and IVS2-654 (HBB:c.316-197C>T) using free-circulating fetal DNA.

SETTING

Haematology Lab, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Malaya.

PARTICIPANTS

Eight couples characterised as β-thalassaemia carriers where both partners posed the same β-globin gene mutations at CD41/42, IVS1-5 and IVS2-654, were recruited in this study.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Genotyping was performed by allele specific-PCR and the locations of SNPs were identified after sequencing alignment.

RESULTS

Genotype analysis revealed that at least one paternal SNP was present for each of the couples. Amplification on free-circulating DNA revealed that the paternal mutant allele of SNP was present in three fcDNA. Thus, the fetuses may be β-thalassaemia carriers or β-thalassaemia major. Paternal wild-type alleles of SNP were present in the remaining five fcDNA samples, thus indicating that the fetal genotypes would not be homozygous mutants.

CONCLUSIONS

This preliminary research demonstrates that paternal allele of SNP can be used as a non-invasive prenatal diagnosis approach for at-risk couples to determine the β-thalassaemia status of the fetus.

Serum C-reactive protein predicts poor prognosis in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with chemoradiotherapy

BACKGROUND

We aimed to evaluate the association of serum C-reactive protein (crp) with prognosis in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with chemoradiotherapy.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 79 patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (cT3-4N0-3M0) treated with chemoradiotherapy. Chemoradiotherapy consisted of external-beam radiotherapy to the nasopharynx (70-80 Gy), the lymph node-positive area (60-70 Gy), and the lymph node-negative area (50-60 Gy) combined with 3 cycles of various platinum-based regimens delivered at 3-week intervals. Elevated crp was defined as more than 8 mg/L. The survival rate was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and univariate and multivariate analyses (Cox proportional hazards model) were used to identify factors significantly associated with prognosis.

RESULTS

During the median follow-up of 3.9 years (range: 1-5.5 years), 23 patients died from nasopharyngeal cancer. The 5-year cancer-specific survival (css) rate was 62.90%. Before chemoradiotherapy, 18 patients had high serum crp; the css rate in that subgroup was significantly worse than the rate in the remaining patients (p = 0.0002). Multivariate analysis showed that crp was an independent prognostic indicator of css, with a hazard ratio of 3.04 (95% confidence interval: 1.22 to 7.55; p = 0.017). Among the 18 patients with elevated serum crp, 9 achieved normal serum crp after chemoradiotherapy, of whom 5 remained living with no evidence of recurrence or metastasis during follow-up. By contrast, the remaining 9 patients in whom serum crp did not normalize after chemoradiotherapy died within 4.2 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Elevated serum crp before treatment predicts poor prognosis in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with chemoradiotherapy.

Identification and expression of the laboratory of genetics and physiology 2 gene in common carp Cyprinus carpio

In this study, a laboratory of genetics and physiology 2 gene (lgp2) from common carp Cyprinus carpio was isolated and characterized. The full-length complementary (c)DNA of lgp2 was 3061 bp and encoded a polypeptide of 680 amino acids, with an estimated molecular mass of 77 341·2 Da and a predicted isoelectric point of 6·53. The predicted protein included four main overlapping structural domains: a conserved restriction domain of bacterial type III restriction enzyme, a DEAD-DEAH box helicase domain, a helicase super family C-terminal domain and a regulatory domain. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) showed widespread expression of lgp2, mitochondrial antiviral signalling protein (mavs) and interferon transcription factor 3 (irf3) in tissues of nine organs. lgp2, mavs and irf3 expression levels were significantly induced in all examined organs by infection with koi herpesvirus (KHV). lgp2, mavs and irf3 messenger (m)RNA levels were significantly up-regulated in vivo after KHV infection, and lgp2 transcripts were also significantly enhanced in vitro after stimulation with synthetic, double-stranded RNA polyinosinic polycytidylic [poly(I:C)]. These findings suggest that lgp2 is an inducible protein involved in the innate immune defence against KHV in C. carpio. These results provide the basis for further research into the role and mechanisms of lgp2 in fishes.

Endoscopic management of pediatric sinonasal schwannoma: case report

OBJECTIVES

To describe an extremely rare pediatric sinonasal schwannoma, and to reviewmanagement strategies and relevant literature.

METHODS

Case report of pediatric sinonasal schwannoma, that was imaged with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging and managed endoscopically. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to determine pathology.

RESULTS

A 12-year-old girl presented with a 2-month history of progressive left exophthalmos. Imaging studies showed a large heterogeneous tumour arising from the ethmoid sinus and extending to the base of the skull and to the orbital cavity. The lesion was removed with an endonasal radical excision. The final pathological diagnosis was schwannoma. There was no tumour recurrence or any major complication during the 2-year follow up.

CONCLUSION

Schwannoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis for pediatric patients with intranasal masses. Depending on the location and extent of the tumour, endonasal endoscopic excision could be a suitable management strategy.

ChIP-seq analysis of histone H3K9 trimethylation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of membranous nephropathy patients

Membranous nephropathy (MN), characterized by the presence of diffuse thickening of the glomerular basement membrane and subepithelial in situ immune complex disposition, is the most common cause of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in adults, with an incidence of 5-10 per million per year. A number of studies have confirmed the relevance of several experimental insights to the pathogenesis of human MN, but the specific biomarkers of MN have not been fully elucidated. As a result, our knowledge of the alterations in histone methylation in MN is unclear. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) to analyze the variations in a methylated histone (H3K9me3) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 10 MN patients and 10 healthy subjects. There were 108 genes with significantly different expression in the MN patients compared with the normal controls. In MN patients, significantly increased activity was seen in 75 H3K9me3 genes, and decreased activity was seen in 33, compared with healthy subjects. Five positive genes, DiGeorge syndrome critical region gene 6 (DGCR6), sorting nexin 16 (SNX16), contactin 4 (CNTN4), baculoviral IAP repeat containing 3 (BIRC3), and baculoviral IAP repeat containing 2 (BIRC2), were selected and quantified. There were alterations of H3K9me3 in MN patients. These may be candidates to help explain pathogenesis in MN patients. Such novel findings show that H3K9me3 may be a potential biomarker or promising target for epigenetic-based MN therapies.

Cardiac autonomic function and insulin resistance for the development of hypertension: a six-year epidemiological follow-up study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

To explore the impact of cardiac autonomic function (CAF) and insulin resistance (IR) on incident hypertension.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In 1996, 1638 subjects finished baseline examination, which included anthropometry, blood pressures, CAF, blood biochemistry, plasma insulin, urine examination and electrocardiogram. CAF included standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals or RR intervals (SDNN), low- and high-frequency power spectrum (LF and HF), and LF/HF ratio at supine for 5 min, the RR interval changes during lying-to-standing maneuver, and the ratio between the longest RR interval during expiration and the shortest RR interval during inspiration (E/I ratio). We used homeostasis model assessment to define beta cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). In total, 992 non-hypertensive participants completed the follow-up assessment in 2003 and 959 participants were included for the final analysis. Incident hypertension was determined by blood pressure status at follow-up. In unadjusted model, both square root of HOMA-IR (OR:3.37, 95%CI: 2.10-6.64) and HOMA-B (OR:0.996, 95%CI: 0.992-0.999) were related to incident hypertension. In multivariate model, square root of HOMA-IR (OR:1.97, 95%CI: 1.05-3.70), but not HOMA-B, was associated with incident hypertension. After further adjustment for baseline CAF, the positive relationship between the square root of HOMA-IR and incident hypertension disappeared. In contrast, LF/HF ratio (OR:1.18, 95%CI: 1.01-1.37), HF power (OR:0.98, 95%CI: 0.96-0.999), and E/I ratio (OR:0.71, 95%CI: 0.54-0.95) were each independently associated with incident hypertension after further adjustment for HOMA measures.

CONCLUSION

Sympathovagal imbalance with an apparently decreased parasympathetic tone is an important predictor of incident hypertension independent of IR.

Control of postharvest grey mould decay of nectarine by tea polyphenol combined with tea saponin

The control efficacy of tea polyphenol (TP) in combination with tea saponin (TS) against nectarine grey mould decay caused by Botrytis cinerea and the underlying mechanism were investigated. The in vitro experiments showed that both TP and TS inhibited the mycelial growth in a dose-dependent manner, and their combinations exhibited synergistic antifungal interactions with the synergistic ratios (SR) exceeding 1·5. The in vivo experiments showed that disease incidence and lesion diameter of grey mould of inoculated fruit were significantly lowered after being treated with the combination of TP and TS; furthermore, the activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase of inoculated fruit as well as the contents of total phenolic and lignin were significantly induced, the respiration rate of inoculated fruit was significantly decreased and therefore the quality decrease was accordingly retarded. These results revealed that TP in combination with TS could control grey mould of inoculated nectarines and their mechanism of action might be attributed to their active components, the induction of defensive system and the regulation of respiration.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study demonstrates that the combination of TP and TS has exhibited synergistic antifungal interactions against Botrytis cinerea, and it suggests that their combination may be useful and effective agents for the control of nectarine grey mould decay. Such natural products therefore represent a promising alternative to synthetic fungicides in the control of nectarine postharvest diseases.

The impact of potential islet precursor cells on islet autotransplantation outcomes

Islet autotransplant patients represent excellent subjects to assess the posttransplant impact of islet precursors, as chronic pancreatitis (CP) causes an elevation of ductal cells, pancreatic precursors cells, and hormone-positive acinar cells. The relationship between these cell types and autograft outcomes should be more apparent than would be the case in the context of an allograft program with confounding immunological variables. To improve diabetic control following total pancreatectomy for CP, nonpurified islets were autotransplanted into the liver. Pancreas specimens were recovered from 23 patients and stained for antigens including: insulin, glucagon, cytokeratin 19, cytokeratin 7, and PDX-1. In line with previous reports, the prevalence of ductal cells, non-islet endocrine cells and non-islet PDX-1-expressing cells was significantly higher in CP glands compared with normal pancreata. When correlating follow-up data (i.e., fasting and stimulated C-peptide/glucose levels and HbA1c%) with pancreas immunoreactivity, high levels of ductal cells, non-islet PDX-1-positive cells, and non-islet glucagon-positive cells were associated with superior outcomes, detectable up to 2 years posttransplant. To conclude, the acinar parenchyma and ductal epithelium of the CP pancreas show an upregulation of both endocrine and pre-endocrine cell types, which appear to have a positive effect on islet graft outcomes in autotransplantation setting.

High-efficiency photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue using electrospun ZnO nanofibers as catalyst

In this work, ZnO nanofibers (ZNFs) were successfully prepared via a simple electrospinning technique using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH3COO)2 2H2O) as precursors. The obtained ZNFs have an average diameter of ca. 95 nm and are composed of crystalline wurtzite phase. Methylene blue (MB) dye was used to investigate the photocatalytic performance of pure ZNFs. The study confirms that ZNFs have favorable catalytic activity, and the best degradation efficiency of MB can exceed 90% under UV light irradiation for 3 hours. In addition, we propose a possible photodegradation mechanism.