Specific immunoglobulin E in nasal secretions for the diagnosis of local allergic rhinitis

BACKGROUND

The diagnostic value of serum specific Immunoglobulin E (sIgE) and nasal allergen provocation test (NAPT) has been well investigated in local allergic rhinitis (LAR). We hypothesized that nasal local sIgE could be used for the diagnosis of LAR instead of NAPT.

METHODS

This was a prospective single center study. Overall, 212 chronic rhinitis patients were screened, of whom 73 were recruited based on negative findings for serum IgE and positive findings for local eosinophils. Ten healthy subjects were also recruited as controls. All participants completed questionnaires at recruitment to record their demographic data, nasal symptom severity, and physician-diagnosed comorbid asthma. Symptom severity was recorded using a visual analogue scale (VAS) of 10 cm and allergic status was assessed by serum sIgE. Nasal secretions were collected for analysis of local sIgE and eosinophils, and NAPT was performed for confirmation of LAR.

RESULTS

Overall, 14 patients demonstrated positive local sIgE results. Twelve of these patients had significantly higher local sIgE levels compared to controls, and also demonstrated positive NAPT results. The VAS scores, nasal airway resistance measured by active rhinomanometry, and the levels of local sIgE, ECP, histamine and leukotriene C4 were significantly increased from baseline values following NAPT. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of local sIgE for diagnosis of LAR were 91.7% respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The measurement of local sIgE levels in nasal secretion is a reliable and effective diagnostic method for LAR.

P3485Autophagy insufficiency participates in hyperhomocysteinemia-induced cardiac aging

Background

The elevated plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level can lead to severe cardiovascular injuries, which participates in the progression of atherosclerosis, heart failure and so on. Except cardiovascular diseases, accumulated researches further revealed that hyperhomocystenemia (HHcy) can also induce aging-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetic cardiomyopathy, etc. Though some researches had revealed that Hcy stimulation would lead to endothelial cells senescence, whether cardiac aging could be induced by HHcy still remain unknown.

Purpose

This study aimed to reveal whether HHcy can induce cardiac aging and the underlying mechanisms.

Methods

SD rats were utilized to establish HHcy rat model and natural aging rat model. The cardiac function were determined by Echocardiography. Transmission electron microscope were used to detect mitochondria injuries of myocardium. 18F-FDG PET/CT was used to detect the state of glucose metabolism in myocardial cells. Agilent mRNA Array was used to detect possible altered pathways in myocardium of HHcy rats. The autophagy level was determined by detection of both autophagy-related proteins expressions with Western Blot and autophagic flux with mRFP-GFP-LC3.

Results

HHcy rats showed overall aging phenotypes, which were consistent with natural aging rats. The impaired cardiac function and severely injured myocardium morphology were observed in HHcy rats. Aging-related markers were increased significantly in HHcy rats and Hcy-treated cells, presented as increased p16, p21 and p53 expressions and increased senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity. Mitochondria dysfunction and morphology injuries were also detected in HHcy rats. Moreover, decreased serum Beclin-1 level was tested in CHD patients with HHcy. The decreased autophagy level was further verified in HHcy rats and Hcy-treated cells. Furthermore, the over-expression of Atg5 could attenuate Hcy induced cellular senescence.

Conclusion

HHcy can reduce autophagy level, which leading to severe mitochondria injuries, and resulted in cardiac aging eventually.

Acknowledgement/Funding

Natural Science Foundation of China (81671382,91839107)

Transcriptomic responses of hypothalamus to acute exercise in type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats

The hypothalamus has an integral role in energy homeostasis regulation, and its dysfunctions lead to the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Physical activity positively affects the prevention and treatment of T2D. However, there is not much information on the adaptive mechanisms of the hypothalamus. In this study, RNA sequencing was used to determine how acute exercise affects hypothalamic transcriptome from both type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) and control Wistar rats with or without a single session of running (15 m/min for 60 min). Through pairwise comparisons, we identified 957 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 726, 197, and 98 genes were found between GK and Wistar, exercised GK and GK, and exercised Wistar and Wistar, respectively. The results of Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment revealed that lipid metabolism-related terms and pathways were enriched in GK and exercised GK rats, and nervous system related terms and pathways were enriched in exercised GK and Wistar rats. Furthermore, 45 DEGs were associated with T2D and related phenotypes according to the annotations in the Rat Genome Database. Among these 45 DEGs, several genes (Plin2, Cd36, Lpl, Wfs1, Cck) related to lipid metabolism or the nervous system are associated with the exercise-induced benefits in the hypothalamus of GK rats. Our findings might assist in identifying potential therapeutic targets for T2D prevention and treatment.

Transcriptomic Responses of Skeletal Muscle to Acute Exercise in Diabetic Goto-Kakizaki Rats

Physical activity exerts positive effects on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (T2D), which is mediated in part by extensive metabolic and molecular remodeling of skeletal muscle in response to exercise, while many regulators of skeletal muscle remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of acute exercise on skeletal muscle transcriptomic responses in the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats which can spontaneously develop T2D. The transcriptomes of skeletal muscle from both 8-week-old GK and Wistar rats that underwent a single exercise session (60 min running using an animal treadmill at 15 m/min) or remained sedentary were analyzed by next-generation RNA sequencing. We identified 819 differentially expressed genes in the sedentary GK rats compared with those of the sedentary Wistar rats. After a single bout of running, we found 291 and 598 genes that were differentially expressed in the exercise GK and exercise Wistar rats when compared with the corresponding sedentary rats. By integrating our data and previous studies including RNA or protein expression patterns and transgenic experiments, the downregulated expression of Fasn and upregulated expression of Tbc1d1, Hk2, Lpin1, Ppargc1a, Sorbs1, and Hmox1 might enhance glucose uptake or improve insulin sensitivity to ameliorate hyperglycemia in the exercise GK rats. Our results provide mechanistic insight into the beneficial effects of exercise on hyperglycemia and insulin action in skeletal muscle of diabetic GK rats.

Systematic comparison of germline variant calling pipelines cross multiple next-generation sequencers

The development and innovation of next generation sequencing (NGS) and the subsequent analysis tools have gain popularity in scientific researches and clinical diagnostic applications. Hence, a systematic comparison of the sequencing platforms and variant calling pipelines could provide significant guidance to NGS-based scientific and clinical genomics. In this study, we compared the performance, concordance and operating efficiency of 27 combinations of sequencing platforms and variant calling pipelines, testing three variant calling pipelines—Genome Analysis Tool Kit HaplotypeCaller, Strelka2 and Samtools-Varscan2 for nine data sets for the NA12878 genome sequenced by different platforms including BGISEQ500, MGISEQ2000, HiSeq4000, NovaSeq and HiSeq Xten. For the variants calling performance of 12 combinations in WES datasets, all combinations displayed good performance in calling SNPs, with their F-scores entirely higher than 0.96, and their performance in calling INDELs varies from 0.75 to 0.91. And all 15 combinations in WGS datasets also manifested good performance, with F-scores in calling SNPs were entirely higher than 0.975 and their performance in calling INDELs varies from 0.71 to 0.93. All of these combinations manifested high concordance in variant identification, while the divergence of variants identification in WGS datasets were larger than that in WES datasets. We also down-sampled the original WES and WGS datasets at a series of gradient coverage across multiple platforms, then the variants calling period consumed by the three pipelines at each coverage were counted, respectively. For the GIAB datasets on both BGI and Illumina platforms, Strelka2 manifested its ultra-performance in detecting accuracy and processing efficiency compared with other two pipelines on each sequencing platform, which was recommended in the further promotion and application of next generation sequencing technology. The results of our researches will provide useful and comprehensive guidelines for personal or organizational researchers in reliable and consistent variants identification.

A prognostic 11 long noncoding RNA expression signature for breast invasive carcinoma

Breast cancer, the most common cancer in women worldwide, is associated with high mortality. The long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with a little capacity of coding proteins is playing an increasingly important role in the cancer paradigm. Accumulating evidences demonstrate that lncRNAs have crucial connections with breast cancer prognosis while the studies of lncRNAs in breast cancer are still in its primary stage. In this study, we collected 1052 clinical patient samples, a comparatively large sample size, including 13 159 lncRNA expression profiles of breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) from The Cancer Genome Atlas database to identify prognosis-related lncRNAs. We randomly separated all of these clinical patient samples into training and testing sets. In the training set, we performed univariable Cox regression analysis for primary screening and played the model for Robust likelihood-based survival for 1000 times. Then 11 lncRNAs with a frequency more than 600 were selected for prediction of the prognosis of BRCA. Using the analysis of multivariate Cox regression, we established a signature risk-score formula for 11 lncRNA to identify the relationship between lncRNA signatures and overall survival. The 11 lncRNA signature was validated both in the testing and the complete set and could effectively classify the high-/low-risk group with different OS. We also verified our results in different stages. Moreover, we analyzed the connection between the 11 lncRNAs and the genes of ESR1, PGR, and Her2, of which protein products (ESR, PGR, and HER2) were used to classify the breast cancer subtypes widely. The results indicated correlations between 11 lncRNAs and the gene of PGR and ESR1. Thus, a prognostic model for 11 lncRNA expression was developed to classify the BRAC clinical patient samples, providing new avenues in understanding the potential therapeutic methods of breast cancer.

Sustained rescue of prefrontal circuit dysfunction by antidepressant-induced spine formation

The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the induction and remission of depressive episodes over time are not well understood. Through repeated longitudinal imaging of medial prefrontal microcircuits in the living brain, we found that prefrontal spinogenesis plays a critical role in sustaining specific antidepressant behavioral effects and maintaining long-term behavioral remission. Depression-related behavior was associated with targeted, branch-specific elimination of postsynaptic dendritic spines on prefrontal projection neurons. Antidepressant-dose ketamine reversed these effects by selectively rescuing eliminated spines and restoring coordinated activity in multicellular ensembles that predict motivated escape behavior. Prefrontal spinogenesis was required for the long-term maintenance of antidepressant effects on motivated escape behavior but not for their initial induction.

Interface Modified Flexible Printed Conductive Films via Ag2O Nanoparticle Decorated Ag Flake Inks

A new approach to stable, low resistance inexpensive printed flexible conductive inks is proposed. Silver inks have been extensively studied and commercialized for applications in printed electronics due to the inherent high conductivity and stability of silver, even in particulate-based percolation networks processed at temperatures compatible with low-cost polymer films such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). Recent interest in flexible and even stretchable circuits, however, has presented new challenges for particle-based inks as mechanical strains can result in the opening of critical particle-to-particle contacts. Here we report a facile, low-cost method for the single-step synthesis of stable, printable nanoscale Ag₂O decorated Ag flake inks which can be converted to highly conductive Ag films at 150 °C curing temperature without the use of limited shelf life organometallics or low metal loading nanoparticles to modify the interface between silver flakes. Analysis indicates that decoration of Ag flakes with Ag₂O nanoparticles (NPs) during ink synthesis improves the conductivity and flexibility of printed silver films by forming bridging interconnections between Ag flakes after low temperature reduction of the Ag₂O NPs. In this work, printed nanodecorated silver conductors with starting oxide to metal weight ratios of 5:95 exhibited lateral resistivities lower than 1.5 × 10^-5 Ω·cm, which was 35% less than films derived from undecorated Ag flake inks of the same total Ag loading and binder system. This resistivity difference increased to 45% after cyclic bend testing showing increased resilience to repeated flexing for the nanodecorated inks. Through detailed compositional and morphological characterizations, we demonstrate that such improved conductivity and flexibility are due to a more effective bridging afforded by the in situ synthesized Ag NPs on the surface of Ag flakes. These properties, combined with the simplified syntheses method of the nanoink, make the material a viable, advantageous alternative to the limited number of stretchable conductors currently available.

Can We Accurately Predict Cost Effectiveness Without Access to Overall Survival Data? The Case Study of Nivolumab in Combination with Ipilimumab for the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Melanoma in England

BACKGROUND

Nivolumab with ipilimumab (the Regimen) is the first immuno-oncology combination treatment to demonstrate long-term clinical benefit for advanced melanoma patients. We evaluated the cost effectiveness of the Regimen in this population, with and without the availability of overall survival (OS) data.

METHODS

A partitioned survival model and a Markov state-transition model were developed to estimate the lifetime costs and benefits of the Regimen versus ipilimumab. These models were built with and without the availability of OS data, as only progression-free survival data were available from the head-to-head, phase III trial against ipilimumab at the time of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) submission. Patient utilities and resource use data were sourced from trial data or the literature.

RESULTS

Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) and absolute costs were similar between the models with and without OS data, but the model with OS data generated more than 1 additional quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) across both treatment arms. In both models, based on list prices, the Regimen was the most cost-effective treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The analyses show that the Regimen is a cost-effective treatment for advanced melanoma patients in England, and methods to overcome the lack of OS can give reasonable estimates of QALYs gained and ICERs.

Correction to: Can We Accurately Predict Cost Effectiveness Without Access to Overall Survival Data? The Case Study of Nivolumab in Combination with Ipilimumab for the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Melanoma in England

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[Role of Yes-associated protein 1 in angiotensinⅡ-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats]

Objective: To explore the mechanism of Yes-associated protein 1 (Yap1) in angiotensinⅡ(AngⅡ)-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Methods:In vivo, 18 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three equal groups with 6 rats in each group, including control group, bleomycin-treated group (BLM), and BLM+ AngⅡ group. 28 days later, the lung tissues in all groups were harvested for the HE and Masson staining as well as the immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for Yap1. In vitro, the isolated fibroblasts were treated with 10(-7) mmol/L AngⅡor the AngⅡ-targeted inhibitor irbesartan for the scheduled time for mRNA and protein expressions of Yap1, PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), and collagen Ⅰusing PCR and Western blot, as well as the translocation test from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of Yap1 and TAZ. Subsequently, the fibroblasts were assigned into 4 groups: the empty plasmid (vector) group, the vector+ AngⅡ group, the Yap1 shRNA group, and the Yap1 shRNA+ AngⅡ group. Western blot was used to detect the relative expressions of Yap1, TAZ, Smad3 and collagen Ⅰ. The CCK-8 and EdU assays were performed to determine the proliferative capacity. Results:In vivo, severe lung fibrosis and increased Yap1 expression of IHC staining were found in BLM group. Additionally, more severe lung fibrosis and higher Yap1 expression were detected in the BLM+ AngⅡ group than the BLM group (both P<0.05). In vitro, both the mRNA and protein relative expressions of Yap1, TAZ and collagenⅠ were markedly higher in AngⅡ-treated groups than the control group (all P<0.05). Meanwhile, the relative expression of phosphorylated Yap1 reached its peak at 2 h after AngⅡ stimulation. In the protein translocation tests, after treated with AngⅡ for 24 h, the relative protein levels of Yap1 and TAZ in the nucleus of the AngⅡ group were significantly higher than those in the control group (0.382±0.007 vs 0.031±0.001, 1.097±0.030 vs 0.357±0.015). However, the relative protein expressions in the cytoplasm of the AngⅡ group were obviously less than that in the control group (0.323±0.058 vs 0.418±0.044, 0.858±0.059 vs 1.201±0.015). Compared with the AngⅡ group, the expressions of Yap1 and TAZ in the AngⅡ+ irbesartan group were higher in cytoplasm (0.598±0.060 vs 0.323±0.058, 1.495±0.052 vs 0.858±0.059), while lower in the nucleus (0.323±0.058 vs 0.418±0.044, 0.858±0.059 vs 1.201±0.015) (all P<0.05). Furthermore, the relative protein expressions of Yap1, TAZ, Smad3 and collagenⅠin Yap1 shRNA+ AngⅡ group were distinctly lower than the vector+ AngⅡ group (all P<0.05). In the cell proliferation tests, the absorbance and the percentage of EdU positive cells of vector+ AngⅡ group exceeded that of vector group (both P<0.05). However, the absorbance and the percentage of EdU positive cells in the Yap1 shRNA+ AngⅡgroup were less than the vector+ AngⅡ group (both P<0.05). Conclusion: AngiotensinⅡ promoted the collagen synthesis and cell proliferation in primary lung fibroblasts by increasing the Yap1 activity, leading to the progress of fibrosis.