Abstract P4-04-11: A small amount of primary breast cancer shows high tumor mutation burden that may benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy

Background: Targeted therapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is a major breakthrough in cancer treatment in the last decade. ICIs like PD1 or PD-L1 antibodies have been shown to be quite effective in cancer like melanoma. However, in most other tumor types including breast cancer, the situation is not as optimistic. Only a small percentage of those patients respond to ICIs therapy. This highlights the importance of identifying biomarkers to predict which patients may benefit from such treatment. Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB) has been shown to be a sensitive marker for ICI treatment. This study is to investigate whether TBM could be used as a biomarker for breast cancer treatment.

Methods: We reviewed next generation sequencing studies of breast cancer. Two such studies with raw data provided were included in our analysis. One study entitled METABRIC performed targeted sequencing of 173 cancer-related genes in around 2500 primary breast cancer tissues. The other study was from TCGA breast cancer project, which performed Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) of around 1000 primary breast cancer samples. Mutation data were downloaded from public data deposit. The number of mutations per sample was calculated. TBM was calculated by divide the coverage in million base pair from that of the total mutation counts.

Results: In METABRIC study, 17272 mutations were identified in 2369 samples, with a median of 7 mutations per sample (95% CI: 6 ˜ 7). The median TMB of METABRIC dataset was 5.8 SNVs/Mb (95% CI: 5 ˜ 5.8). Totally 30 out 2369 (1.3%) samples had a TMB equal or large than 20 SNVs/Mb. In another cohort from TCGA breast cancer study using WES technology, 90172 mutations were identified in 977 samples, with a median of 44 mutations per sample (95% CI: 39 ˜ 50). The median TMB was 1 SNVs/Mb (95% CI: 0.9 ˜ 1.1). Totally 13 out 977 (1.3%) samples had a TMB equal or large than 20 SNVs/Mb.

Conclusions: Breast cancer shows middle to low mutation burden compared to other cancer types. Around 1.3% of breast cancer has quite high TMB of at least 20 SNVs/Mb, which may be qualified for immune checkpoint inhibitors therapy. Our study indicates that TMB may be incorporated as a standard test for late stage breast cancer patients in the clinical practice.

Keywords: Breast cancer, Tumor Mutation Burden, Whole exome sequencing, Targeted sequencing, Immune checkpoint

Citation Format: Wang J, Chen W, Jiang Z, Lin X, Qin T, Yang X, Liu T, Hu H, Li Z, Xie D, Yao H, Song E. A small amount of primary breast cancer shows high tumor mutation burden that may benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-04-11.

A sea change in our view of overturning in the subpolar North Atlantic

To provide an observational basis for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections of a slowing Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the 21st century, the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP) observing system was launched in the summer of 2014. The first 21-month record reveals a highly variable overturning circulation responsible for the majority of the heat and freshwater transport across the OSNAP line. In a departure from the prevailing view that changes in deep water formation in the Labrador Sea dominate MOC variability, these results suggest that the conversion of warm, salty, shallow Atlantic waters into colder, fresher, deep waters that move southward in the Irminger and Iceland basins is largely responsible for overturning and its variability in the subpolar basin.

63 Bovine embryo-secreted microRNA-30c negatively regulates cell cycle progression through downregulation of CDK12

Identifying microRNA (miRNA) differentially secreted by intermediate (cleaved between 26.6-31.4 hpi) and slow cleaving bovine embryos (cleaved after 31.4 hpi), investigating how they influence embryo development and consequently if they can be used as biomarkers for bovine embryo development. MicroRNA collected from conditioned media (CM) of 167 individually cultured embryos were sequenced on an Illumina Miseq (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) after small RNA library construction with the Tailormix v2 kit (SeqMatic, Fremont, CA, USA) and compared with miRBase, using cow as primary organism, to identify known miRNA in all samples. To predict potential novel miRNA, the sequences were aligned against the annotated cow genome (GCA_000003055.3), structurally analysed, and compared with all other mammalian data in miRBase. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to validate miRNA sequencing results. Apoptosis staining was performed for functional analysis of the differentially expressed miRNA-30c (miR-30c). Luciferase reporter assay, Western blotting, and quantitative RT-PCR were used to validate one of the predicted target genes of miR-30c, CDK12. The DNA content analysis using propidium iodide staining followed by flow cytometry and a water-soluble tetrazolium-1 proliferation assay were performed together with ELISA to assess the effect of miR-30c on cell progression. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to assess mRNA levels of DNA damage response (DDR) genes. In total, 114 known and 180 potentially novel miRNA were found in bovine embryo CM. Seven differentially expressed miRNA were identified in the CM from embryos with different cleavage patterns and different quality: miR-30c, miR-10b, and miR-novel-66 were differentially expressed between slow and intermediate developing embryos; miR-10b, miR-novel-113, miR-novel-44, miR-novel-45, and miR-novel-139 were differentially expressed between blastocysts and degenerate embryos. We further focused on functional analysis of miR-30c. Exogeneous delivery of miR-30c mimics to cultured embryos resulted in an increased cell apoptosis. Additionally, transfer of miR-30c mimics to Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells (MDBK) reduced cell cycle progression/cell proliferation, while inhibition of miR-30c resulted in the opposite. In addition, knockdown of CDK12 caused significant decreases in mRNA levels of DDR genes BRCA1, FANCD2, FANCI, and ATR. These data were derived from 3 independent experiments and were considered significant with a P-value<0.05. In vitro-cultured bovine embryos secrete miRNA in the culture medium depending on their developmental capacity. One of these miRNA, miR-30c, increases bovine embryo apoptosis when exogeneously delivered. In addition, miR-30c directly targets and down-regulates CDK12, indicating the possibility that delivery of miR-30c mimics influences cell cycle progression by inhibiting DDR pathways through regulating CDK12. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of secreted miRNA participation in intercellular communication.

The influence of therapeutic vaccine candidate against HBeAg pEGFP-N1-C (472-507)-ecdCD40L on dendritic cells

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem and immune tolerance is responsible for persistent HBV infection. HBV therapeutic vaccines targeting HBV e antigen (HBeAg) may have an excellent effect in overcoming HBV immune tolerance. Thus, there is urgency for designing therapeutic vaccine candidates that target HBeAg. In this research, we fused the C (472-507) gene sequence of HBV with the extracellular domain of human CD40 ligand sequence and ligated this fused sequence into the pEGFP-N1 vector to construct the recombinant plasmid pEGFP-N1-C (472-507)-ecdCD40L. Then, the dendritic cells (DCs) generated from human peripheral blood were transfected with this recombinant plasmid. After this, the phenotype and function of DCs were assessed. Compared with the three control groups of pEGFP-N1-C (472-507), pEGFP-N1 and phosphate buffered saline (PBS), we found that DCs transfected with the recombinant plasmid pEGFP-N1-C (472-507)-ecdCD40L enhanced the expression of costimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86 and HLA-DR) and secretion of cytokine IL-12p70. Furthermore, the capacity of inducing the proliferation of allogeneic lymphocytes was also improved. Our study validated that transfecting DCs with recombinant plasmid pEGFP-N1-C (472-507)-ecdCD40L could activate DCs and enhance their functions. Therefore, C (472-507)-ecdCD40L fusion sequence may be a promising vaccine candidate for chronic hepatitis B therapythat targets HBeAg.

[Resting metabolic rate estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis and its determinants in maintenance hemodialysis patients]

Objective: To explore the level of resting energy expenditure (REE) estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis and the association of resting metabolic rate (RMR) with clinical related factors, and provide new ideas for improving protein energy wasting (PEW) in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Methods: Seven hundred and sixty-five subjects receiving MHD between July 2015 and September 2016 in 11 hemodialysis centers in Guizhou province were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to measure RMR and body composition, such as lean body mass, fat mass and body cell mass (BCM). Baseline characteristics, routine blood test indexes and biochemical data of hemodialysis patients were collected. The level of RMR and body composition in hemodialysis patients was compared by gender grouping. Then the patients were divided into four groups according to the cutoff value of RMR quartile. Spearman correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the relationships between RMR and clinical related factors. Results: The average age of MHD patients was (54.96±15.78) years and the duriation of dialysis was (42.3±9.0) months. The level of RMR in male patients (474 cases, 61.96%) was significantly higher than that in female patients [1 591(1 444, 1 764) kcal/d vs 1 226 (1 104, 1 354) kcal/d, P<0.001]. However, this significant difference of RMR between different genders disappeared after adjusting for lean body mass (P=0.193). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that RMR was positively correlated with body surface area (β=0.817) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (β=0.198), and negatively correlated with age (β=-0.141), all P<0.05. Conclusion: RMR levels in patients with maintenance hemodialysis are associated with lactate dehydrogenase level, which may become a new index to evaluate energy consumption.

[Relationship between visceral obesity and atherosclerosis in hemodialysis patients]

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between surrogate markers of visceral obesity[hypertriglyceridemic waist (HW) phenotype, visceral adiposity index (VAL), lipid accumulation product (LAP)]and atherosclerosis in hemodialysis patients. Methods: A multi-center cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 961 maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients from 11 hemodialysis centers of Guizhou province between July 2016 and September 2017 were enrolled in the study. Anthropometric measures were performed in all subjects. Laboratory parameters including triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were extracted from the medical records by researchers. Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between HW phenotype, VAI, LAP and plasma atherosclerotic index (AIP). Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to evaluate factors affecting AIP. Results: Totally, 585 men and 376 women aged 18-90 years, with a mean age of (56.08±15.42) years were recruited in the study. Pearson correlation analysis showed that VAI (men: r=0.82, women: r=0.84), LAP (men: r=0.73, women: r=0.74) and having HW phenotype (men: r=0.62, women: r=0.63) correlated positively with AIP (all P<0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that VAI (men: β=0.77, women: β=0.82) and LAP (men: β=0.73, women: β=0.73) were independent associated factors of AIP after adjustment of BMI, age, smoking and history of diabetes and hypertension (all P<0.001). Conclusions: Surrogate markers of visceral obesity such as having HW phenotype, VAI, LAP correlated positively with AIP. VAI, LAP has positive impacts on AIP independent of BMI, age, smoking and other traditional atherosclerosis risk factors.

[Association of low serum parathyroid hormone with protein-energy wasting in maintenance hemodialysis patients]

Objective: To examine the relationship between low serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and protein-energy wasting (PEW) in patients who underwent maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in MHD patients between June 2015 and August 2017 in 11 MHD centers from Guizhou province. Body composition and physical parameters were measured, clinical data and other related laboratory values were collected according to the medical record system. Participants were assigned to low serum PTH group (PTH<150 ng/L), target PTH group (150 ng/L≤ PTH ≤300 ng/L) and high serum PTH group (PTH>300 ng/L). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between low serum PTH and risk of PEW, which was diagnosed according to the diagnostic criteria recommened by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM). Results: A total of 873 MHD patients (488 males and 385 females) were included in the final analysis, with a mean age of 55.0 (44.0, 67.0) years and a mean hemodialysis duration of 31.0(17.0, 54.0) months. In unadjusted model, low serum PTH group was associated with PEW (OR=2.12, 95% CI: 1.26-3.54, P=0.004), when compared with high serum PTH group. After adjustment for age and sex, low serum PTH group was still significantly associated with PEW (OR=2.09, 95% CI: 1.23-3.52, P=0.006). Further adjustment for diabetes and hypertension, the correlation between low serum PTH group and PEW was still significant (OR=2.02, 95% CI: 1.04-3.90, P=0.037). However, the correlation was not observed in target PTH group and high serum PTH group. Conclusion: Low serum PTH was associated with risk of PEW, regardless of age, sex, history of diabetes and hypertension, and thus it might be a promising indicator of PEW in MHD patients.

[The clinical value of sleep endoscopy in the diagnosis of obstruction sites in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome: a systematic review and Meta-analysis]

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of video laryngoscope in localization diagnosis of upper airway obstruction in OSAHS during drug-induced sleep.Method:We searched the MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, CCTR (The Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials Register Database), CNKI, WAN FANG databases for randomized, blinded studies according Cochrane systematic review. We chose articles published between 1975 and 2016 about the value of sleep endoscopy in localization diagnosis of upper airway obstruction in OSAHS. All the data were analyzed by the software of the Meta-Disc 1.4.Result:Seven qualitative studies and three quantitative studies were included.A total of three studies with 175 patients met the inclusion criteria for Meta-analysis. Meta-analysis results showed that the merger sensitivity degrees, specific degrees, diagnostic odds ratio, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and 95%CI were 1.0(0.96-1.0),0.71(0.59-0.81),212.47(36.07-1 251.56),4.40(1.28-15.16),and 0.02(0-0.11) respectively. The SROC area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was 0.991 0.Conclusion:Because of its high accuracy, sleep endoscopy can be used as an important auxiliary examination and the sensitive indexes for the surgery procedures and prognosis treatment plan for OSAHS. But more cohort studies are needed for the verification.

[A meta-analysis of the effect of occupational exposure to 1-bromopropane on workers' nerve conduction velocity]

Objective: To analysis the occupational exposure to 1-bromopropane on the worker's nerve conduc-tion velocity. Methods: To PubMed, Wanfang, VIP, Chinese Journal Full-text Database (CNKI) and other databases as a data source, searched and screened database to October 2017 on occupational exposure to 1-bromopropane workers on the role of nerve conduction in the paper. According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, we screened literatures, extracted data and evaluated the quality of the included studies, using RevMan5.3 software to test the heterogeneity of the results and us-ing the corresponding mathematical model for data combination analysis. Results: A total of 5 articles were included in the literature. The results showed that the tibial nerve MCV of workers in the 1-bromopropane exposure group was slower than that in the control group (SMD=-0.47,95%CI=-0.70~-0.24) , the difference was statistically significant (Z=4.06, P<0.01). The tibial nerve DL of the exposure group was more prolonged than that of the control group (SMD=0.35,95%CI=0.00~0.69) , with a statistically significant difference (Z=1.99, P=0.05). The sural nerve SCV of the exposure group was slower than that of the control group (SMD=-0.47, 95%CI=-0.78~-0.15), with a statistically significant difference (Z=2.88,P<0.01). Conclusion: Occupational exposure to 1-bromopropane may have an effect on the worker's nerve conduction ve-locity.It's necessary to do broader and deeper neurotoxicity studies about 1-bromopropane.

Pinopode score around the time of implantation is predictive of successful implantation following frozen embryo transfer in hormone replacement cycles

STUDY QUESTION

Is pinopode measurement of any prognostic value?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Pinopode expression was significantly associated with the occurrence of pregnancy after frozen embryo transfer.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

Pinopodes are expressed in the endometrium during the implantation period. Pinopode measurement has been proposed as a marker of endometrial receptivity.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

A prospective cohort study was conducted at the Center of Reproductive Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, between 2014 and 2016, recruiting 172 women with infertility and undergoing frozen embryo transfer following IVF treatment. Among 172 participants, 46 women took part in the first study to quantify the daily changing pattern of pinopodes 3-7 days after the initiation of progesterone therapy in the hormone replacement cycles and the remaining 126 women with infertility participated in a study to examine the relationship between pinopode count and pregnancy outcome following frozen embryo transfer in hormone replacement cycles.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

The mean age of participants was 29 years old. All participants received an artificial hormone replacement protocol capable of supporting successful implantation. Endometrial biopsies from 46 women were obtained 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 days after the initiation of progesterone therapy (P + 3, n = 6; P + 4, n = 6; P + 5, n = 11; P + 6, n = 13; P + 7, n = 10, respectively). Another 126 endometrial biopsies were obtained precisely 6 days after the initiation of progesterone. Scanning electron microscopy was used to capture the pinopode images, followed by use of the image J program to quantify the count and subtype of the pinopodes.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

We found that at least 60 microscopic fields were necessary to achieve a reproducible result. An intra-observer variability study showed good agreement between two measurements regarding the developing pinopode (DP) subtype (r = 0.95) and the fully developed pinopode (FDP) subtype (r = 0.86) but not for the regressing (RP) pinopode subtype (r = 0.39). The proportion of DP/total pinopodes (TP) declined rapidly form day P + 4 to a minimum on day P + 6. The percentage of FDP/TP increased rapidly from day P + 4 to reach a peak on day P + 6. On the other hand, the percentage of RP/TP reached a peak on day P + 7. Participants who conceived had a significantly (P = 0.011) higher percentage of FDP/TP on day P + 6 and significantly (P = 0.005) lower percentage of DP/TP on the same day compared with participants who did not become pregnant. Using a scoring system incorporating the percentages of DP and FDP, it was found that the pregnancy rate and the embryo implantation rate of women with a high pinopode score (82.3%; 63.0%) was significantly (P = 0.001; P = 0.046) higher than that of women with a low pinopode score (53.3%; 46.7%), respectively. There remains a possibility that the observations could have arisen due to chance.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

This study examined pinopode count and subtype in the HRT cycles, and it is uncertain whether the same observations apply to in natural cycles.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FNDINGS

Pinopodes have been questioned as a potential marker of endometrial receptivity for many years. Our results suggested that pinopode measurement may be of value in predicting pregnancy.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

The study was supported by the grants from the general project of medicine and health in Zhejiang Province of China (2015KYA142; 2018KY106), the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province (2017C03022) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81701514).The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. We have no competing interests to declare.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN26300668.

Effects of insecticides chlorpyrifos, emamectin benzoate and fipronil on Spodoptera litura might be mediated by OBPs and CSPs

Spodoptera litura is a widespread polyphagous insect pest that can develop resistance and cross-resistance to insecticides, making it difficult to control. Insecticide exposure has previously been linked with induction of specific olfactory-related proteins, including some chemosensory proteins (CSPs) and odorant-binding proteins (OPBs), which may disrupt detection of environmental factors and reduce fitness. However, functional evidence supporting insecticide and OBPs/CSPs mediation remains unknown. Here we fed male S. litura moths with sucrose water containing one of three insecticides, chlorpyrifos, emamectin benzoate or fipronil, and used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and RNAi to investigate OBPs and CSPs expression and their correlations with survival. Chlorpyrifos and emamectin benzoate increased expression of 78% of OBPs, plus 63 and 56% of CSP genes, respectively, indicating a major impact on these gene families. RNAi knockdown of SlituCSP18, followed by feeding with chlorpyrifos or fipronil, decreased survival rates of male moths significantly compared with controls. Survival rate also decreased significantly with the downregulation of SlituOBP9 followed by feeding with chlorpyrifos. Thus, although these three insecticides had different effects on OBP and CSP gene expression, we hypothesize that SlituOBPs and SlituCSPs might mediate their effects by increasing their expression levels to improve survival. Moreover, the differential response of S. litura male moths to the three insecticides indicated the potential specificity of chlorpyrifos affect SlituCSP18 and SlituOBP9 expression.

Culture and characterization of chicken small intestinal crypts

The integrity and normal function of the small intestinal epithelium depends critically on the rapid renewal of epithelial cells from basal stem cells. The intensive proliferation that fuels this self-renewal process is confined to the intestinal crypts. Establishment of suitable protocols for crypt isolation and culture is pivotal for the studies of intestinal self-renewal mechanisms. In this study, chicken small intestinal crypts were isolated, purified, and further cultured in a Matrigel 3-D culture system. The growth factor concentration assay on the fourth d of culture showed that Group C (50 ng/mL epidermal growth factor (EGF), 100 ng/mL Noggin, and 500 ng/mL R-spondin 1) supplement in culture medium could significantly enlarge the diameter of organoids when compared with Group A (5 ng/mL EGF, 10 ng/mL Noggin, 50 ng/mL, and R-spondin 1) and Group B (10 ng/mL EGF, 20 ng/mL Noggin, and 100 ng/mL R-spondin 1) by 188.4% (P = 0.026) and 176.9% (P = 0.034), respectively. Transmission electron microscopy, neutral red staining, and 5-ethynyl-2΄-deoxyuridine incorporation demonstrated the integrated structure, high viability, and proliferative activity in cultured chicken intestinal organoids. In addition, intestinal stem cell marker genes (Olfm4, Znrf3, Hopx, and Lgr5) also could be detected in cultured intestinal organoids. Furthermore, CHIR99021 (a glycogen synthase kinase 3β inhibitor) could enhance the expression of Olfm4, Znrf3, Hopx, and Lgr5 by 750% (P = 0.001), 467% (P < 0.001), 450% (P < 0.001), and 333% (P = 0.008), respectively, indicating the responsiveness of the cultured chicken intestinal organoids to exogenous stimulus. This study modified a murine culture model and optimized it to provide a chicken intestinal organoid model for use as a physiological or pathological research platform in vitro.

A modified approach from the edge of the tragus in the surgical treatment of mandibular condyle fractures

Introduction We present our experiences using a modified surgical approach from the edge of the tragus for mandibular condyle fractures, to reduce the risk of postoperative complications and visible scars. Materials and methods Thirty-two patients presenting with mandibular condyle fractures were treated through a modified approach on the edge of the tragus. The age of the patients ranged from 6 to 62 years. All mandibular condyle fractures were fixed. The patients were asked to start open-mouth training one week postoperatively, undergoing a cone-beam computed tomography examination and clinical follow-up. Postoperative complications were evaluated after surgery. Results Mouth opening was normal (average 39.5 mm) in all the patients during the operation and the occlusion improved significantly compared with preoperatively. No cases of damaged facial nerves were observed during the final follow-up at six months and postoperative scars were less noticeable. Conclusions The modified surgical approach from the edge of the tragus for mandibular condyle fractures provides a good view of the operative field, reduces the risk of facial nerve damage and produces a less noticeable postoperative scar.

Are global tuberculosis control targets overlooking an essential indicator? Prolonged delays to diagnosis despite high case detection rates in Yunnan, China

Delay in treating active tuberculosis (TB) impedes disease control by allowing ongoing transmission, and may explain the unexpectedly modest declines in global TB incidence. Even though China has achieved TB control targets under the global Directly Observed Treatment, Short course (DOTS) strategy, TB prevalence in western provinces, including Yunnan, is not decreasing. This cross-sectional study investigates whether prolonged delay in identifying and correctly treating TB patients, which is not routinely monitored, persists even when there is a well-functioning TB control programme and global targets are being met. Records of adult smear-positive pulmonary TB patients diagnosed with between 2006 and 2013 were extracted from the Yunnan Centre for Disease Control electronic database, which contains information on the entire population of TB patients managed across 129 diagnostic centres. Delay was investigated at three stages: delay to DOTS facility (period between symptom onset and first visit to at a CDC unit providing standardized treatment); delay to TB confirmation (period between reaching a CDC unit and confirmation of smear-positive TB) and delay to treatment (period between confirmation of TB and initiation of treatment). Data from 76 486 patients was analysed. Delay to reaching a DOTS facility was by far the largest contributor to total delay to treatment initiation. The median delay to reaching a DOTS facility, to TB confirmation and to treatment was 57 days (IQR 25-112), 2 days (IQR 1-6) and 1 day (IQR 0-1) respectively. Prolonged delays to reaching a facility providing standardized TB care occurred in a substantial subset of the population despite all TB control targets being met; overall, 32% (24 676) of patients experienced a delay of more than 90 days to reaching a DOTS facility. Policies that focus on reducing delays in accessing appropriate health services, rather than only on increasing overall case-detection rates, may result in greater progress towards reducing TB incidence.

Salivary human beta-defensins affected by oral Candida status in Chinese HIV/AIDS patients undergoing ART

OBJECTIVES

To observe relationships between oral Candida status and salivary human beta-defensin 2 and 3 (hBD-2 and hBD-3) levels in HIV/AIDS patients of Guangxi, China during the first year of antiretroviral therapy (ART) dynamically, and to understand the influence of ART on oral Candida status and salivary hBDs expressions.

METHODS

A prospective self-controlled study was carried to observe the dynamic changes of CD4⁺ T cell counts, oral Candida carriages and salivary hBD-2,3 expressions in HIV/AIDS patients during the first year of ART. A total of 90 HIV/AIDS patients were enrolled and were examined at the baseline, 3rd, 6th, 12th month of ART. Thirty healthy individuals were enrolled as control. Peripheral blood, oral rinse sample, and unstimulated whole saliva were collected to test CD4⁺ T cell counts, oral Candida carriages, and hBD-2,3 expressions.

RESULTS

In the first year of ART, CD4⁺ T cell counts increased significantly. However, oral Candida carriages and oral candidiasis decreased significantly, and salivary hBD-2 expressions in HIV/AIDS patients decreased gradually, salivary hBD-3 levels were highly variable. Salivary hBD-2 concentrations were positively related to oral Candida carriages.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of oral candidiasis among HIV/AIDS patients gradually decreased due to the immune reconstruction of ART. Salivary defensins might play an important role in Candida-host interaction in HIV/AIDS patients.

[Association between the ratio of early diastolic transmitral velocity to early diastolic mitral annular velocity and invasive measured left atrial pressure in patients with atrial fibrillation and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction]

Objective: To evaluate the association between the ratio of early diastolic transmitral velocity to early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/E') and left atrial pressure (LAP) estimated from invasive catheter measurements in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: A total of 46 consecutive patients with non-valvular AF and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) admitted in our department to receive the first radiofrequency ablation from May to July 2017 were included. All patients underwent echocardiography at 24-48 hours before radiofrequency ablation, and LAP was invasively measured during the ablation procedure. According to mean LAP, patients were divided into 2 groups of normal LAP (LAP≤12 mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa, n=31) and elevated LAP (LAP>12 mmHg, n=15). Linear correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between E/E' and LAP. Results: E/E' correlated well with LAP (septal E/E' (E/E'(sep)), r= 0.397, P=0.006; lateral E/E' (E/E'(lat)), r=0.433, P=0.003; mean E/E' (E/E'(mean)), r=0.431, P=0.003). Using receiver operating characteristic analysis, the optimal cut-off for E/E'(sep) was 12.5 (sensitivity 73.3%, specificity 67.7%), E/E'(lat) was 10.8 (sensitivity 80.0%, specificity 77.4%), E/E'(mean) was 11.0 (sensitivity 86.7%, specificity 64.5%) to predict mean LAP>12 mmHg. Conclusion: E/E', especially the E/E'(lat), is positively correlated with LAP in patients with AF and preserved LVEF, and may be used to estimate the diastolic function in AF patients with preserved LVEF.

Safety and efficacy of telbivudine in late pregnancy to prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus: A multicenter prospective cohort study

Infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) occurs in ~10% of infants of HBV-infected mothers with positive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) after immunoprophylaxis. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of telbivudine used during late pregnancy for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HBV. We conducted a multicenter prospective cohort study in 5 hospitals from 2012 to 2014, which enrolled HBV-infected singleton pregnant women with positive HBeAg. By their choice, women were divided into therapy (telbivudine 600 mg/day, from gestation 28-32 weeks to 3-4 weeks postpartum) and control (no antiviral agent) groups. Infants received passive-active immunoprophylaxis and follow-up at the age of 7-14 months. Totally, 328 pregnant women were included: 149 in the telbivudine group and 179 in the control group. Baseline HBV DNA levels were similar in the 2 groups (7.43 vs 7.37 log₁₀ IU/mL, P = .711). At delivery, HBV DNA levels in the telbivudine and control groups were 3.80 and 7.26 log₁₀ IU/mL, respectively (P < .0001). Of the infants, 128 (85.9%) in the telbivudine group and 156 (87.2%) in the control group were followed up. No infant in the telbivudine group had chronic infection, while 2 (1.28%) infants in the control group did (P = .503). Three (2.34%) infants in the telbivudine group, but none in the control group, had severe congenital or developmental abnormalities (P = .090). The data indicate that telbivudine may block perinatal HBV transmission. However, larger studies are required to clarify whether anti-HBV therapy in pregnancy is associated with severe adverse effects in the foetuses and infants.

Two different R gene loci co-evolved with Avr2 of Phytophthora infestans and confer distinct resistance specificities in potato

Late blight, caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans, is the most devastating disease in potato. For sustainable management of this economically important disease, resistance breeding relies on the availability of resistance (R) genes. Such R genes against P. infestans have evolved in wild tuber-bearing Solanum species from North, Central and South America, upon co-evolution with cognate avirulence (Avr) genes. Here, we report how effectoromics screens with Avr2 of P. infestans revealed defense responses in diverse Solanum species that are native to Mexico and Peru. We found that the response to AVR2 in the Mexican Solanum species is mediated by R genes of the R2 family that resides on a major late blight locus on chromosome IV. In contrast, the response to AVR2 in Peruvian Solanum species is mediated by Rpi-mcq1, which resides on chromosome IX and does not belong to the R2 family. The data indicate that AVR2 recognition has evolved independently on two genetic loci in Mexican and Peruvian Solanum species, respectively. Detached leaf tests on potato cultivar 'Désirée' transformed with R genes from either the R2 or the Rpi-mcq1 locus revealed an overlapping, but distinct resistance profile to a panel of 18 diverse P. infestans isolates. The achieved insights in the molecular R - Avr gene interaction can lead to more educated exploitation of R genes and maximize the potential of generating more broad-spectrum, and potentially more durable control of the late blight disease in potato.

Biphasic hierarchical extracellular matrix scaffold for osteochondral defect regeneration

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of decellularized osteochondral extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold for osteochondral defect regeneration.

DESIGN

We compared the histological features and microstructure of degenerated cartilage to normal articular cartilage. We also generated and evaluated osteochondral ECM scaffolds through decellularization technology. Then scaffolds were implanted to osteochondral defect in rabbit model. After 12 weeks surgery, regeneration tissues were analyzed by histology, immunohistochemistry evaluation. And possible mechanisms of angiogenesis and cell migration were explored.

RESULTS

We demonstrated decreased cell numbers, formation of fibrous cartilage, lost microstructure and worse permeability in degenerated cartilage compared to normal cartilage. We also generated an osteochondral ECM scaffold with a hierarchical structure that exhibited low immunogenicity, high bioactivity, and well biocompatibility. We found that the ECM scaffold promoted tissue regeneration in osteochondral defects, which was dependent on the scaffold constituents and stratified three-dimensional microstructure as well as on its ability to inhibit angiogenesis and stimulate cell migration.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrated that the biphasic hierarchical ECM scaffold represents a novel and effective biomaterial that can be used in the treatment of osteochondral defect.

Clinical observation and retrospective study of the influential factors of liver metastasis in 306 cases of colon cancer

PURPOSES/OBJECTIVES

By observing and analyzing the clinical features of the colon cancer and the influence factors of liver metastasis, we try to find out independent risk factors with significant influence on colon cancer liver metastasis as well as to provide reference for clinical treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 306 cases of colon cancer patients' clinical data, including gender, age, primary focal size, primary focal intestinal segment, degree of differentiation, infiltration depth, level of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) before surgery, lymph node metastasis, liver basic diseases were collected and recorded. Single-factor Chi-square analysis and multifactor logistic regression analysis (SPSS 16.0 software) were used to retrospectively study the possible influence factors of colon liver metastases and to preliminary discuss the potential risk factors of liver metastasis in colon cancer patients.

RESULTS

The Chi-square analysis showed that patients' primary focal segment, degree of differentiation, infiltration depth, level of serum CEA before surgery, and states of hepatitis B does 2 half-and-half had significant effect on the incidence of liver metastasis. However, in the further logistic regression analysis, it showed that only the infiltration depth and the states of hepatitis B does 2 half-and-half were the independent risk factors that influence the hepatic metastases. What was more, the both subgroups of positive hepatitis B with infection and vaccine showed significant statistical differences when comparing with hepatitis B all negative in the event of the probability of liver metastases (P = 0.011 and 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

The infiltration depth and the states of hepatitis B does 2 half-and-half were the independent risk factors on colon cancer patients' hepatic metastases. Those with the infiltration depth of T4 had a higher rate of hepatic metastases. Patients with does 2 half-and-half-positive hepatitis B (whether subgroup of hepatitis B virus infection or subgroup hepatitis B vaccine related) had a lower incidence rate of liver metastasis than those with hepatitis B all negative.

Abstract P3-04-11: Implications of somatic TP53 and PIK3CA mutations in patients with metastatic breast cancer who underwent germline BRCA testing

Background: TP53 and PIK3CA are the most frequently mutated genes in breast cancer. However, there is limited data evaluating the impact of somatic mutations in TP53 and/or PIK3CA patients (pts) with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who have undergone germline testing for BRCA mutations. Here, we report the frequency of somatic TP53 and PIK3CA mutations in MBC pts who previously underwent germline BRCA (gBRCA) testing and evaluate their impact on long-term outcomes.

Methods: We identified pts with MBC from our prospectively maintained high risk genetics database who underwent gBRCA testing and had somatic mutation testing performed for TP53 and/or PIK3CA through hotspot sequencing of single genes or as part of a next generation sequencing panel. Univariable logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between clinicopathological characteristics, including gBRCA status, and the presence of somatic TP53 and PIK3CA mutations. Overall survival (OS) was defined as the time from diagnosis to death from any cause. Multivariable cox regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of OS.

Results: 104 pts met all inclusion criteria. Somatic mutations in TP53 and PIK3CA were found in 46% (39/84) and 23% (24/104) of tested pts, respectively. Associations between clinicopathological characteristics and somatic TP53 and PIK3CA mutation status are summarized in Table 1. Pts with hormone receptor positive (HR+) disease were less likely to have TP53 mutations (odds ratio [OR]: 0.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.11-0.70, p=0.007) but more likely to harbor PIK3CA mutations (OR: 3.27, 95% CI: 1.11-9.62, p=0.031). There were no significant associations between gBRCA mutation status and somatic TP53 or PIK3CA mutations. On multivariable analysis, somatic TP53 mutations (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.10-3.58, p=0.023) and de novo metastatic disease (aHR=2.88, 95% CI: 1.26-6.58, p=0.012) independently predicted poorer OS, while HR+ disease (aHR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.21-0.74, p=0.004) and HER2+ disease (aHR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13-0.83, p=0.019) were significantly associated with improved OS. PIK3CA mutations (aHR: 1.20, 95% CI: 0.59-2.44, p=0.62) and gBRCA mutations (aHR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.33-1.83, p=0.57) did not significantly impact OS in this study.

Conclusion: In this study, somatic TP53 mutations independently predicted worse OS in pts with MBC after adjusting for significant covariates, including gBRCA mutation status. These findings should be validated in a larger cohort of pts.

Table 1: Association between patient characteristics and somatic TP53 and PIK3CA mutation status TP53  PIK3CA   TP53 mutant (n=39)TP53 wild type (n=45)p valuePIK3CA mutant (n=24)PIK3CA wild type (n=80)p valueMedian Age – years (Interquartile Range)37 (33-47)39 (36-44)0.93739 (34-46)38 (34-43)0.494gBRCA mutant – n(%)3 (8)11 (24)0.0511 (4)15 (19)0.116ER/PR positive - n(%)17 (44)33 (73)0.00719 (79)43 (54)0.031HER2 positive - n(%)8 (21)6 (13)0.3827 (29)10 (13)0.060De Novo Metastatic – n(%)6 (15)8 (18)0.7693 (13)16 (20)0.409Visceral Disease – n(%)23 (59)26 (58)0.91215 (63)47 (59)0.743

Citation Format: Yam C, Gutierrez Barrera A, Huang D, Lin X, Litton JK, Arun B. Implications of somatic TP53 and PIK3CA mutations in patients with metastatic breast cancer who underwent germline BRCA testing [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-04-11.

[Research progress of conscious pain and neurosensory abnormalities in dry eye disease]

Dry eye is one of the most common ocular problems in ophthalmology clinic. With the change of social environment and people's life style, the prevalence of dry eye disease is increasing. Currently, the diagnosis criteria for dry eye is controversial, diagnosis of dry eye mainly rely on the comprehensive assessment of symptoms and the presence of associated ocular surface signs. However, previous studies have shown a poor correlation between dry eye symptoms and objective clinical signs in patients. Recent studies have found that neuropathic pain plays an important role in the occurrence of discordance between symptoms and signs in dry eye disease. The purpose of this paper is to present the conception of pain, the distribution and function of sensory nerves in ocular surface, the prevalence and mechanism of neuropathic pain and analgesic treatment in dry eye disease. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2018, 54: 144-148).

Key genes of the sex pheromone biosynthesis pathway in female moths are required for pheromone quality and possibly mediate olfactory plasticity in conspecific male moths in Spodoptera litura

Ninety sex pheromone biosynthesis genes in Spodoptera litura were identified in transcriptome data and were investigated and classified into the following five groups: fatty acid synthase, beta oxidase, fatty acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) reductase, desaturase and acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase. Fourteen female-specific genes were identified through semi-quantitative PCR, and 15 additional genes had expression levels that were 3- to 10-fold higher in females than in males. The majority of the genes had higher expression levels in the sex pheromone glands. Injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) against nine selected genes showed that down-regulation of Desaturase 3 (Des3), Des5 or fatty acyl coenzyme A reductase 17 (FAR17) significantly changed the ratio of the four sex pheromone components (Z,E) -9,11-tetradecadienyl acetate (Z9E11-14:Ac), (Z,E)-9,12-Tetradecadienyl acetate(Z9E12-14:Ac), (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:Ac), (E)-11-Tetradecenyl acetate(E11-14:Ac). These key genes were differentially expressed in female moths collected from different geographical regions. Furthermore, field bioassays demonstrated geographical variation in the olfactory profile of male moths in response to the different sex pheromone mixtures, which therefore indicates that a significant variation in the sex pheromone components exists in the natural population. Our results suggest that a change in the expression of these key genes, Des3, Des5 and FAR17, in the sex pheromone biosynthesis pathway could change the ratio of the sex pheromone components. We surmise that the differential expression levels of the key genes of the sex pheromone biosynthesis pathway may lead to differential ratios of the sex pheromones in the field. Our field trapping experiment suggested that the change of the ratio of the sex pheromone components may have been adapted by the olfactory system and possibly mediate olfactory plasticity in conspecific male moths.

A Knowledge Base Completion Model Based on Path Feature Learning

Large-scale knowledge bases, as the foundations for promoting the development of artificial intelligence, have attracted increasing attention in recent years. These knowledge bases contain billions of facts in triple format; yet, they suffer from sparse relations between entities. Researchers proposed the path ranking algorithm (PRA) to solve this fatal problem. To improve the scalability of knowledge inference, PRA exploits random walks to find Horn clauses with chain structures to predict new relations given existing facts. This method can be regarded as a statistical classification issue for statistical relational learning (SRL). However, large-scale knowledge base completion demands superior accuracy and scalability. In this paper, we propose the path feature learning model (PFLM) to achieve this urgent task. More precisely, we define a two-stage model: the first stage aims to learn path features from the existing knowledge base and extra parsed corpus; the second stage uses these path features to predict new relations. The experimental results demonstrate that the PFLM can learn meaningful features and can achieve significant and consistent improvements compared with previous work.

Safety and efficacy of dual-wavelength laser (1064 + 595 nm) for treatment of non-treated port-wine stains

BACKGROUND

Patients with port-wine stain (PWS) suffer physically and psychologically because of the high incidence (0.3%-0.5%) of the disease. Pulsed-dye laser (PDL) at 595 nm is the gold standard of the treatment for PWS. Nevertheless, clinicians intend to determine whether the dual-wavelength laser (DWL; 595-nm PDL + 1064-nm Nd:YAG) is an adequate choice in the treatment of non-treated PWS. This study is the first prospective within-patient controlled research seeking to investigate the safety and efficacy of DWL for the treatment of non-treated PWS.

METHODS

A total of 61 patients with non-treated flat facial PWS, who were treated using the Cynergy laser system in our clinic, were included in this study. Each PWS lesion was divided into two adjacent test treatment sites of similar size and colour. The two sites were randomly assigned to PDL or DWL treatment in a blinded manner of participants. In each case, two sets of treatment parameters were used: (i) 595-nm PDL and (ii) 595-nm PDL + 1064-nm Nd:YAG. Both had a 10 mm spot size, an epidermal cooling system and 1-s interpulse interval between two pulses. Clinical efficacy and safety outcomes were evaluated by visual assessment 2 months after treatment.

RESULTS

Comparison by visual evaluation suggests that the responses of non-treated PWS to treatment by PDL and DWL were not significantly different. Moreover, three patients developed scarring after DWL treatment.

CONCLUSION

Compared with PDL, DWL exhibits a higher risk of potential scarring and has no advantage in efficacy of treating non-treated PWS.