Long-term blood glucose monitoring with implanted telemetry device in conscious and stress-free cynomolgus monkeys

AIMS

Continuous blood glucose monitoring, especially long-term and remote, in diabetic patients or research is very challenging. Nonhuman primate (NHP) is an excellent model for metabolic research, because NHPs can naturally develop Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) similarly to humans. This study was to investigate blood glucose changes in conscious, moving-free cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) during circadian, meal, stress and drug exposure.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Blood glucose, body temperature and physical activities were continuously and simultaneously recorded by implanted HD-XG telemetry device for up to 10 weeks.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Blood glucose circadian changes in normoglycemic monkeys significantly differed from that in diabetic animals. Postprandial glucose increase was more obvious after afternoon feeding. Moving a monkey from its housing cage to monkey chair increased blood glucose by 30% in both normoglycemic and diabetic monkeys. Such increase in blood glucose declined to the pre-procedure level in 30 min in normoglycemic animals and >2 h in diabetic monkeys. Oral gavage procedure alone caused hyperglycemia in both normoglycemic and diabetic monkeys. Intravenous injection with the stress hormones, angiotensin II (2 μg/kg) or norepinephrine (0.4 μg/kg), also increased blood glucose level by 30%. The glucose levels measured by the telemetry system correlated significantly well with glucometer readings during glucose tolerance tests (ivGTT or oGTT), insulin tolerance test (ITT), graded glucose infusion (GGI) and clamp.

CONCLUSION

Our data demonstrate that the real-time telemetry method is reliable for monitoring blood glucose remotely and continuously in conscious, stress-free, and moving-free NHPs with the advantages highly valuable to diabetes research and drug discovery.

Identification of translationally controlled tumor protein in promotion of DNA homologous recombination repair in cancer cells by affinity proteomics

Translationally controlled tumor protein(TCTP) has been implicated in the regulation of apoptosis, DNA repair and drug resistance. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly defined. To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying TCTP involved in cellular processes, we performed an affinity purification-based proteomic profiling to identify proteins interacting with TCTP in human cervical cancer HeLa cells. We found that a group of proteins involved in DNA repair are enriched in the potential TCTP interactome. Silencing TCTP by short hairpin RNA in breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells leads to the declined repair efficiency for DNA double-strand breaks on the GFP-Pem1 reporter gene by homologous recombination, the persistent activation and the prolonged retention of γH2AX and Rad51 foci following ionizing radiation. Reciprocal immunoprecipitations indicated that TCTP forms complexes with Rad51 in vivo, and the stability maintenance of Rad51 requires TCTP in MCF-7 cells under normal cell culture conditions. Moreover, inactivation of TCTP by sertraline treatment enhances UVC irradiation-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, and causes sensitization to DNA-damaging drug etoposide and DNA repair inhibitor olaparib. Thus, we have identified an important role of TCTP in promoting DNA double-stand break repair via facilitating DNA homologous recombination processes and highlighted the great potential of TCTP as a drug target to enhance conventional chemotherapy for cancer patients with high levels of TCTP expression.

Highly Enhanced Photoreductive Degradation of Polybromodiphenyl Ethers with g-C3N4/TiO2 under Visible Light Irradiation

A series of high activity photocatalysts g-C₃N₄-TiO₂ were synthesized by simple one-pot thermal transformation method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, and ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis-DRS). The g-C₃N₄-TiO₂ samples show highly improved photoreductive capability for the degradation of polybromodiphenyl ethers compared with g-C₃N₄ under visible light irradiation. Among all the hybrids, 0.02-C₃N₄-TiO₂ with 2 wt % g-C₃N₄ loaded shows the highest reaction rate, which is 15 times as high as that in bare g-C₃N₄. The well_-matched band gaps in heterojunction g-C₃N₄-TiO₂ not only strengthen the absorption intensity, but also show more effective charge carrier separation, which results in the highly enhanced photoreductive performance under visible light irradiation. The trapping experiments show that holetrapping agents largely affect the reaction rate. The rate of electron accumulation in the conductive band is the rate-determining step in the degradation reaction. A possible photoreductive mechanism has been proposed.

[MRI of the finger ligament and tendon injuries: imaging technique and clinical application]

Objective: To explore the MRI technique and the clinical application in ligament and tendons of fingers. Methods: The study was reviewed and approved by an institutional review board of hospital.A total of 20 normal volunteers and 50 patients from Beijing Jishuitan Hospital between May 2012 and May 2015 with finger injuries were chosen to undergo magnetic resonance examination by using Achieva 3.0 T MR produced by Philips.Scanning from coronal, sagittal and axial view in T(1)-weighted and proton fat saturation sequence (PD-FS), choosing suitable parameters, in order to get clear images of finger tendons and ligaments. Results: Twenty normal volunteers without tendons or ligament injuries showed homogeneous low-signal-intensity on T(1)-weighted and proton fat saturation sequence (PD-FS) images.In the 50 patients with finger injuries, there were 33 cases of ligament injuries, 10 cases of extensor tendon injuries and 7 cases of flexor tendon injuries. There were 8 cases of all the 50 cases combined with bone fracture.The injured ligaments and tendons became thicker and discontinued in T(1)WI and demonstrated heterogeneously increased signal intensity with edema in the soft tissues surrounding the injured sites in PD-FS. Conclusion: MRI can demonstrate the anatomy and injuries features of ligament and tendons in fingers accurately.It is significance for the early diagnosis and treatment protocols of the ligament and tendons injuries.

Abstract P4-07-07: Reduced expression of miR-200c-3p contributes to cell migration and invasion in paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cell

Background: miRNAs are a class of small noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression by degradation of target mRNAs or inhibition of translation. Metastasis is one of the major problems that give obstacles to improve the clinical outcome of breast cancer. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of breast cancer metastasis remains largely unclear. Emerging studies have demonstrated that miRNAs play an important part in tumor invasion and metastasis. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of miR-200c-3p in regulating the migration and invasion of paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cells, and identify potential targets for breast cancer treatments.

Material and methods: Paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cell line MCF-7/Tax was established by stepwise selection in increasing concentration of paclitaxel. The 50% inhibitory concentration and cell viability were measured by the MTT assay. The expression level of miR-200c-3p in MCF-7/Tax and the parental MCF-7 cells was assessed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function study on cell migration and invasion abilities were carried out by transfection of miR-200c-3p mimics or inhibitors respectively. The molecular target of miR-200c-3p was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay.

Results: Paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cell line MCF-7/Tax was established. Compared with parental MCF-7 cells, expression of miR-200c-3p determined by real-time RT-PCR was significantly down-regulated in paclitaxel-resistant MCF-7/Tax cells. The ability of migration and invasion of paclitaxel-resistant MCF-7/Tax cells was obviously increased as compared to parental MCF-7 cells. In addition, we found that up-regulation of miR-200c-3p expression inhibited the migration and invasion of MCF-7/Tax cells, while down-regulation of miR-200c-3p expression increased the migration and invasion of MCF-7/Tax cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that SOX2 was one of the direct targets of miR-200c-3p in breast cancer.

Conclusions: Our results indicate that reduced expression of miR-200c-3p plays a crucial role in cell migration and invasion of paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cell, and miR-200c-3p may suppress the cell migration and invasion possibly partially through SOX2. Our findings suggest that miR-200c-3p may serve as a promising therapeutic target for breast cancer metastasis.

Keywords miRNA · Breast cancer ·Invasion

Acknowledgments: The project supported by the grant of the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No.LQ13H160016), and the Medical Sciences and Technology of Zhejiang Province (No.2013KYA026, No.2015DTA004).

Citation Format: Wang X, Chen J, Chen Z, Huang J, Ye W. Reduced expression of miR-200c-3p contributes to cell migration and invasion in paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cell [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-07-07.

[Risk factors for long-term result of endovascular treatment for auto-immune disease related abdominal aorta pseudo-aneurysm]

Objective: To summarize results of endovascular treatment for auto-immune disease related abdominal aorta pseudo-aneurysm(AIPA), and to analysis clinical predictors of long term major adverse clinical events(MACE). Methods: Retrospectively collected endovascular treatment for AIPA cases in Peking Union Medical College Hospital within 2000 to 2015. Twenty-nine cases with AIPA treated by endovascular therapy were enrolled in this study. Twenty five cases were male, range from 23 to 67 years old, mean age was (39.3±11.4) years old.Demographic characters, locations of aneurysms, type to auto-immune disease, immuno medical therapy, operation strategy and long term follow-up data were reported. Statistical analysis was made to verify clinical predictors of long-term MACE. Results: Among the 29 cases, 22 cases with bechet's disease, 4 cases with Takayasu's arteritis, 2 cases with systemic lupus erythematosus, 1 cases with polyarteritis nodosa. Eight cases had ruptured or pending ruptured pesudo-aneurysms, the rest 21 cases had dull pain or no overt symptome. Twenty-four cases had infra-renal artery aneurysms, two were para-and supra-renal artery, two were supra-celiac artery, and the rest one had multiple aneurysms involved thoracic and abdominal aorta.All the cases received regular immune medical therapy except the three emergency cases. All the operations were under general anaesthesia. Nineteen cases underwent classical Endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR), 5 cases underwent fenestration EVAR, the rest 5 cases underwent hybrid procedure. All the 29 operations were successful, without conversion to open surgery. Major peri-operation complication included 3 incision infection, 3 pulmonary infection. No death occurred. All the cases received regular follow-up from 1 to 120 months. There were five recurrence of pseudo-aneurysm, 1 case suffered from iliac limb occlusion. 5 cases received re-intervention procedure. No occlusion of revascularizal visceral artery was found during follow-up. There were 3 deaths during follow-up, with 1 aneurysm related death, the rest died due to other reasons. Single factors logical regressions analysis showed discontinuing immune medicine therapy and age no less than 40 years significantly related long-term MACE(P<0.05). Meanwhile, type of original auto-immune disease, none classical EVAR were not significant related to MACE. Conclusions: Endovascular therapy is safe and effective for AIPA. Regular peri-operation and long-term immunotherapy is key to success.

Systematic review and meta-analysis on the significance of salvage esophagectomy for persistent or recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after definitive chemoradiotherapy

The therapeutic strategy to be recommended in case of recurrent or persistent squamous cell esophageal cancer after completed definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) has to be documented. Salvage esophagectomy has traditionally been recognized as a viable option, but many clinicians oppose the use of surgery due to the associated excessive morbidity and mortality. 'Second-line' chemoradiotherapy (CRT) without surgery may offer a treatment alternative in these difficult and demanding clinical situations. Until now, no comprehensive attempt has been carried out to compare the respective therapeutic options. A systematic literature search was performed focusing on studies comparing survival and treatment-related mortality in patients submitted to salvage esophagectomy or second-line CRT for recurrent or persistent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after dCRT. Hazard ratios and risk ratios were calculated to compare the effect of these therapeutic strategies on overall survival and treatment-related mortality, respectively. Four studies containing 219 patients, with persistent or recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after dCRT, were included in the meta-analysis. The analysis revealed an overall survival benefit following salvage esophagectomy with a pooled hazard ratio for death of 0.42 (95% confidence interval 0.21-0.86, P = 0.017) compared with second-line CRT. A treatment-related mortality of 10.3% was recorded in the 36 patients who were submitted to salvage esophagectomy, while it was impossible to perform a meta-analysis comparing treatment-related mortality between the groups. Salvage esophagectomy offers significant gain in long-term survival compared with second-line CRT, although the surgery is potentially at a price of a high treatment-related mortality.

Oral health impact of halitosis in Chinese adults

OBJECTIVES

To compare differences in oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) between halitosis and non-halitosis patients and to explore relationships between halitosis and OHRQoL.

METHODS

Patients who visited the halitosis clinic at the Ninth People's Hospital and were diagnosed with halitosis were included in the halitosis group. The control group consisted of patients without halitosis. All participants were assessed for halitosis (volatile sulphur compound measurements with a portable sulphide monitor, Oral Chroma and organoleptic tests), underwent a clinical oral examination (dental caries status and periodontal condition) and completed a questionnaire. Oral health-related quality of life was measured using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14, Chinese version).

RESULTS

A total of 204 patients (102 halitosis and 102 controls) were included. The halitosis group had significantly higher OHIP-14 scores (severity) than the control group (15.7 versus 7.9, P < 0.001). The mean number of items with negative impact (extent) was significantly different between the halitosis and control groups (1.8 versus 0.3, P < 0.001). Around 56% of participants in the halitosis group reported at least one item with 'fairly often' or 'very often' (prevalence), while 21% did so in the control group (P < 0.001). In halitosis patients, the most commonly reported negative impacts were within the domains of 'psychological discomfort' and 'psychological disability'.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral health-related quality of life status was significantly poorer in halitosis patients than in non-halitosis patients. Halitosis patients may experience some degree of psychological discomfort and disability.

Evidence for a B_{s}^{0}π^{±} State

We report evidence for a narrow structure, X(5568), in the decay sequence X(5568)→B_{s}^{0}π^{±}, B_{s}^{0}→J/ψϕ, J/ψ→μ^{+}μ^{-}, ϕ→K^{+}K^{-}. This is evidence for the first instance of a hadronic state with valence quarks of four different flavors. The mass and natural width of this state are measured to be m=5567.8±2.9(stat)_{-1.9}^{+0.9}(syst)  MeV/c^{2} and Γ=21.9±6.4(stat)_{-2.5}^{+5.0}(syst)  MeV/c^{2}. If the decay is X(5568)→B_{s}^{*}π^{±}→B_{s}^{0}γπ^{±} with an unseen γ, m(X(5568)) will be shifted up by m(B_{s}^{*})-m(B_{s}^{0})∼49  MeV/c^{2}. This measurement is based on 10.4  fb^{-1} of pp[over ¯] collision data at sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron collider.

[Focal periphyseal edema zone on MRI and clinical significance of the adolescent knee]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the MR image characteristics and clinical significance of focal periphyseal edema (FOPE) zone of the adolescent knee which was with or without trauma history, and provide the basis for the correct diagnosis and treatment.

METHOD

A total of 12 patients (9 boys, age range 12-16 years, average age 14 years old, 3 girls, age range 12-15 years, average age 13 years )who had pain of the knee without the traumatic history and 16 patients (12 boys, age range 10-15 years, average age 14 years; 4 girls, age range 11-13 years, average age 12 years) who were painful in the knee after trauma were included in this study. The knee MR examinations were performed in all the patients. The characteristics of MRI between painful knee without trauma and painful knee after trauma were compared and analyzed, and the average vertical distances from the farthest of the edema area to the epiphyseal plate were measured. The vertical distances were measured respectively in sagittal view and coronal view in PD-FS and in sagittal view in T1WI, and the average for the three were calculated. At last, the images with the results of operation or follow-up examinations were compared and confirmed by double blind method.

RESULTS

The MRI characteristics of FOPE zone in the 12 adolescent who complained painful knee but had no trauma showed low signal intensity in T1WI and high signal intensity in PD-FS. The edema centered at the physis and extended into both the adjacent epiphysis and metaphysic.In addition, it shaped like patches and thread, and edema range(14.5±6.6)mm.The MRI findings of the 16 adolescent had pain of the knee after injury characterized by a wide range of low T1WI signal intensity and increased PD-FS signal intensity involving the articular surface of the epiphysis.The range of edema was (26.2±8.8)mm.There was statistically significant difference between non-traumatic edema and the edema caused by trauma (t=4.346, P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

A FOPE zone of the adolescent knee is likely to be related to pain in the adolescent growth period and physiologic physeal fusion, and should not be mistaken for an abnormality, while the larger range of edema surrounding the epiphyseal plate may be associated with the trauma of the knee.

[Classification and MR imaging of triangular fibrocartilage complex lesions]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the MRI characteristics of injuries of triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC), and provide imaging basis for the early diagnosis and treatment of the injuries.

METHODS

A total of 10 healthy volunteers without wrist injuries and 200 patients from Beijing Jishuitan Hospital who complained ulnar-sided wrist pain and were highly suspected as the injury of TFCC underwent the wrist magnetic resonance examination. All subjects were in a prone position and underwent examination on coronal T1WI scan and PD-FS on 3 planes respectively. Then the MRI characteristics of 3 healthy volunteers and 67 patients with TFCC injuries that confirmed by operation were analyzed. According to the comparative analysis of normal anatomy and Palmer classification, the injuries were classified and MRI features of different types of injuries were analyzed. At last, imaging findings were compared with surgical results.

RESULTS

Three healthy volunteers without injuries showed mainly in low signal intensity on T1WI and PD-FS images. According to Palmer classification, there were 52 traumatic injuries (ⅠA 9, ⅠB 25, ⅠC 3, ⅠD 13, In addition, 1 has central perforation and ulnar avulsion and 1 has ulnar and radial injuries simultaneously) and 15 degenerative injuries (ⅡA 5, ⅡB 1, ⅡC 2 , ⅡD 1 , ⅡE 6) among 67 patients. The central perforation mainly demonstrated as linear high signal perpendicular to the disk, and run in a sagittal line. The ulnar, distal, and radial avulsion mainly showed the injuries were irregular, the structures were ambiguous, and there was high signal intensity in the injured structures on PD-FS. Degenerative injuries demonstrated the irregularity of TFC and heterogeneous signals on PD-FS. There were mixed intermediate-high signals and changes in the articular cartilage of lunate and ulna, high signal in the lunotriquetral ligament and ulnocarpal or radioulnar arthritis.

CONCLUSION

MRI can demonstrate the anatomy of TFCC accurately, evaluate and make the general classification of injuries. It is of significance for the early diagnosis and treatment protocols of the TFCC injuries.

Interhemispheric functional and structural alterations and their relationships with alertness in unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy

OBJECTIVE

Many neuroimaging studies have shown that temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is associated with functional and structural abnormalities at specific brain areas. Unfortunately, relatively limited information has been presented about the alterations of interhemispheric functional and anatomic connectivity in patients with unilateral TLE. In the present study, we investigated interhemispheric functional connectivity using a voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) method. We further revealed fractional anisotropy (FA) changes in the areas with abnormal VMHC values in TLE patients by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Moreover, their relationships with alertness in patients with drug-naïve unilateral TLE were also investigated.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Forty-three patients with unilateral TLE (21 left TLE and 22 right TLE) and 20 normal controls (NC) were recruited for case-control study. All of the subjects underwent acquisition of resting-state functional magnetic resonance images, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the attention network test. DTI images were collected in 26 patients with unilateral TLE (10 left TLE and 16 right TLE) and 20 NCs. Functional connectivity between bilateral homotopic voxels was calculated. Homotopic regions showing abnormal functional connectivity in patients were adopted as regions of interest for the analysis of DTI. The FA values, MMSE scores, and alertness were compared between groups. Correlation analyses were employed to examine the relationships between each radiographic parameter (VMHC and FA) and each clinical and neuropsychological parameter in patients with drug-naïve unilateral TLE.

RESULTS

Compared with NC, patients with left TLE exhibited significantly higher VMHC values in the bilateral angular gyrus, inferior occipital gyrus and superior parietal gyrus and lower VMHC values in the bilateral supplementary motor area, inferior parietal lobule, middle temporal gyrus, and medial superior frontal gyrus. In patients with right TLE, higher VMHC values were found in the bilateral inferior occipital gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and cerebellum; lower VMHC values were observed in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus and precentral gyrus/inferior frontal gyrus. FA values of the commissural fiber bundles connecting the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus were smaller in the right TLE than those in the NC group. Meanwhile, the alerting effect of patients was determined to be impaired and positively correlated with FA values of the commissural fiber bundles connecting the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus in right TLE patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus may be important to the pathophysiology of patients with drug-naïve unilateral TLE. The significant correlation between the FA values and alertness indicates that structural changes are involved in the alterations in the alertness network in unilateral right TLE patients.

Evidence for Simultaneous Production of J/ψ and ϒ Mesons

We report evidence for the simultaneous production of J/ψ and ϒ mesons in 8.1  fb^{-1} of data collected at sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab pp[over ¯] Tevatron Collider. Events with these characteristics are expected to be produced predominantly by gluon-gluon interactions. In this analysis, we extract the effective cross section characterizing the initial parton spatial distribution, σ_{eff}=2.2±0.7(stat)±0.9(syst)  mb.

Gold nanorods coated by oxygen-deficient TiO2 as an advanced photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution

Gold nanorods coated by oxygen-deficient TiO₂ are synthesized by slow hydrolysis followed with high-temperature annealing in a reducing atmosphere. The hydrogenated product Au@H-TiO₂ shows enhanced photocatalytic ability in hydrogen generation.