[Clinical diagnosis and treatment analysis of 21 cases of intrathyroid thymic carcinoma]

Objective: To analyze the clinical efficacy of intrathyroid thymic carcinoma (ITTC). Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 21 patients with ITTC diagnosed and treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2018 to July 2023, including 9 males and 12 females, with a median age of 52 years (40-60 years old). Results: There is a correlation between the maximum diameter of the tumor (≥40 mm) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.044). Seventeen patients received surgical treatment, and 4 patients only received chemotherapy. During the follow-up period, a total of 4 patients experienced death or progression, with a 2-year mortality or progression free survival rate of 74.8%. Conclusions: The prognosis of ITTC is good, and surgical treatment is the preferred treatment option, lymph node metastasis is significantly correlated with prognosis. The radiotherapy and chemotherapy of ITTC need to be determined based on the patient's condition.

Silencing of long non‑coding antisense RNA brain‑derived neurotrophic factor attenuates hypoxia/ischemia‑induced neonatal brain injury

Hypoxic/ischemic (HI) brain damage (HIBD) is a major cause of acute neonatal brain injury, leading to high mortality and serious neurological deficits. The antisense RNA of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF-AS) is transcribed from the opposite strand of the BDNF gene. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of BDNF-AS in HI-induced neuronal cell injury in vivo and in vitro. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assays indicated that BDNF-AS expression was significantly upregulated in HI-injured neonatal brains and hippocampal neurons. However, BDNF expression was downregulated in HI-injured neonatal brains and hippocampal neurons. Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, Hoechst staining, calcein-AM/PI staining, immunostaining, water maze tests and rotarod tests demonstrated that BDNF-AS silencing protected against hypoxia-induced primary hippocampal neuron injury in vitro and HI-induced brain injury in vivo. Mechanistically, RT-qPCR assays and western blotting indicated that BDNF-AS silencing led to increased expression of BDNF and activated the BDNF-mediated signaling pathway, as demonstrated by increased expression levels of BDNF, phosphorylated-Akt and phosphorylated-tropomyosin receptor kinase B. Collectively, the present study provides important insights into the pathogenesis of HIBD, and it was indicated that BDNF-AS silencing may be a promising approach for the treatment of neonatal HIBD.

[Safety and efficacy of caffeine use started at different time in preterm infants: a multicenter study in Jiangsu Province, China]

OBJECTIVE

To study the efficacy and safety of caffeine used in the early (≤72 hours after birth) and late (>72 hours after birth) stage in preterm infants with a gestational age of ≤31 weeks.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed for 640 preterm infants (with a gestational age of ≤31 weeks) who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of eight hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China. Of the 640 preterm infants, 510 were given caffeine in the early stage (≤72 hours after birth; early use group) and 130 were given caffeine in the late stage (>72 hours after birth; late use group). The clinical data were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in birth weight, Apgar score, sex, gestational age, and age on admission between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the late use group, the early use group had a significantly younger age at the beginning and withdrawal of caffeine treatment (P<0.05) and a significantly shorter duration of caffeine treatment (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in respiratory support on admission between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the late use group, the early use group had significantly lower incidence rate of apnea (P<0.05) and significantly shorter oxygen supply time and length of hospital stay (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the incidence rates of neonatal intracranial hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, necrotizing enterocolitis, retinopathy of prematurity, and patent ductus arteriosus at discharge and NBNA score at the corrected gestational age of 40 weeks (P>0.05). However, significant differences were found in the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and the rate of home oxygen therapy, but there was no significant difference in the mortality rate between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Early use of caffeine can shorten the duration of caffeine treatment, oxygen supply time, and length of hospital stay, with little adverse effect, in preterm infants with a gestational age of ≤31 weeks.

[Effect of overexpression of apoptosis-stimulating protein 2 of p53 on activation and apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells induced by transforming growth factor-β1 and its mechanism]

Objective: To study the effect of apoptosis-stimulating protein 2 of p53 (ASPP2) on the activation and apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells induced by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF - β1), and to explore the role of autophagy in this process. Methods: Mouse hepatic stellate cells were primarily isolated and cultured with green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing empty vector adenovirus (Ad-GFP) and ASPP2 expressing adenovirus (Ad-ASPP2) for 12 h by transfection kit, and then treated with TGF-β1 (10ng/ml) for 24 h. The experiments were grouped as follows: control group: green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing empty vector adeno (Ad-GFP); experimental group 1: transfected with Ad-GFP and added with TGF-β1; experimental group 2: transfected with Ad-ASPP2 and induced by TGF-β1. Western blot and quantitative fluorescence PCR were used to detect the expression of ASPP2, α-smooth muscle actin (SMA). At the same time, autophagy was determined by microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3-β (LC3). Autophagy and apoptosis of MHSc were observed by immunocytochemistry and RNA interference (RNAi). Multiple pairwise-comparisons between the mean of groups was performed by one-way ANOVA. Results: The relative expression of α-SMA mRNA in mHSC of TGF-β1 + Ad-GFP group (16.83 ± 2.41) was significantly higher than Ad-GFP group (3.62 ± 0.56) (P < 0.05), while the relative expression of α-SMA mRNA (4.22 ± 0.48) in TGF-β1 + Ad-GFP group was significantly lower than TGF-β1 + Ad-GFP group (P < 0.05). The expression of α-SMA protein in each group was consistent with mRNA expression. The proportion of mHSC autophagy in TGF-β1 + Ad-GFP group (80%) was significantly higher than Ad-GFP group (35%); however, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The proportion of mHSC autophagy in TGF-β1 + Ad-ASPP2 group was 42%, which was significantly lower than TGF-β1 + Ad-GFP group, but the apoptotic rate was significantly increased. Cells were simultaneously treated with autophagy inhibitors 3-MA and TGF-β1. The level of autophagy was not statistically significantly different from that of TGF-β1 + Ad-ASPP2 group, but the apoptotic rate was increased. In addition, the RNAi group added with ASPP2 had increased autophagy (LC3-II/LC3-I) than control RNAi group, and the rate of apoptosis was significantly decreased. Conclusion: Overexpression of ASPP2 can alleviate the activation of mHSC and promote the apoptosis of HSC by inhibiting autophagy, so as to alleviate liver fibrosis.

Long non-coding RNA Snhg3 protects against hypoxia/ischemia-induced neonatal brain injury

Hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the preterm and term infant. However, the precise mechanism of HIBD remains largely elusive. As a newly discovered long non-coding RNA, small nucleolar RNA host gene 3 (Snhg3) has shown its important roles in cell apoptosis, proliferation, and disease development. In this study, we determined the role of Snhg3 in the pathogenesis of HIBD. Snhg3 expression was significantly down-regulated in the neonatal brain and primary hippocampal cells response to hypoxic/ischemic stress. Snhg3 overexpression protected against hypoxic/ischemic-induced brain injury in vivo and hippocampal cell injury in vitro. Snhg3 acted as the sponge of miR-196 in the hippocampal cells by regulating the expression of miR-196 target genes, XIAP and CAAP1. Moreover, Snhg3 overexpression decreased brain infarct size and ameliorated hypoxic-ischemic neonatal brain damage. This study suggests that Snhg3 is a potential target for the treatment of HIBD.

[Effect of Δ40p53 isoform on enhancing the pro-apoptotic function of p53 in tumor cells]

Objective: To investigate the effect of Δ40p53, an alternative spliced isoform of p53 lacking the N-ter minus, on the pro-apoptotic function of p53. Methods: The wild-type p53 was ectopically expressed in HCT116-p53(-/-) (endogenous Δ40p53 expression), HCT116-p53(+ /+) (wild-type p53) and H1299 (p53-null) cells by adenoviral delivery, while Δ40p53 plasmid were transfected into these cells to overexpress Δ40p53. The levels of Δ40p53 and p53 mRNA were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative PCR. The expression of related proteins was deter mined by Western blotting. The interaction of p53 and Δ40p53 was observed by co-immunoprecipitation assay. Calcein-AM/propidium iodide (PI) staining and flow cytometry were used to detect the apoptotic rate of tested cells in each group. Results: HCT116-p53(-/-) cells expressed endogenous Δ40p53 isoform. Neither transcription nor protein expression of wild-type p53 was interfered by the increased expression of Δ40p53. Full length p53 and Δ40p53 could bind to each other. Calcein-AM/PI staining showed that the apoptotic rates of H1299-Control, HCT116-p53(-/-) -Control, H1299+ p53, HCT116-p53(-/-)+ p53, H1299+ oxaliplatin (Oxa), HCT116-p53(-/-)+ Oxa, H1299+ p53+ Oxa and HCT116-p53(-/-)+ p53+ Oxa groups were (2.50±0.47)%, (2.40±0.32)%, (5.20±0.58)%, (4.10±0.18)%, (22.40±1.73)%, (19.30±1.11)%, (29.90±1.15)% and (39.30±2.26)%, respectively. It was statistically significant between H1299+ p53+ Oxa and HCT116-p53(-/-)+ p53+ Oxa groups (t=3.721, P=0.0205). Moreover, the apoptotic rates of H1299-Control, H1299+ Δ40p53, H1299+ p53, H1299+ p53+ Δ40p53, H1299+ Oxa, H1299+ Δ40p53+ Oxa, H1299+ p53+ Oxa and H1299+ p53+ Δ40p53+ Oxa groups were (2.60±0.35)%, (2.20±0.17)%, (4.80±0.49)%, (4.90±1.10)%, (20.30±1.10)%, (19.60±1.45)%, (27.90±1.39)%, (35.20±1.43)%, respectively. Furthermore, flow cytometry assay showed that the apoptotic rates of above cells were (2.70±0.32)%, (2.20±0.24)%, (4.60±0.48)%, (3.90±0.67)%, (19.30±1.11)%, (17.70±0.66)%, (28.30±2.76)% and (37.50±1.51)%, respectively. H1299+ p53+ Δ40p53+ Oxa cells showed higher cell apoptosis than H1299+ p53+ Oxa cells (t=2.930, P=0.042). Conclusion: Δ40p53 isoform can bind to full-length p53, and enhance its pro-apoptotic function in tumor cells.

Cloning and functional analysis of the chitinase gene promoter in peanut

Chitinase is an important pathogenesis-related protein in plants, and it can accumulate when induced by salicylic acid (SA) or other elicitors. Here, we found that chitinase mRNA levels were 4.5-times greater when peanut seedlings were sprayed with 1.5 mM SA, as compared to water. The upstream promoter sequence of the chitinase gene was cloned by TAIL-PCR and the potential cis-regulatory elements in this promoter were predicted by the cis-element databases PLACE and plantCARE. Elements in the promoter related to SA induction and disease resistance response included AS-1, GT1-motif, GRWAAW, TGTCA, W-box, and WB-box. The full-length promoter (P) and a series of 5'-deleted promoters (P1-P5) were cloned and then substituted for the 35S promoter of pCAMBIA1301-xylA, which carries the xylose isomerase gene as the selectable marker and GUS as the reporter gene. Six plant expression vectors (pCAMBIA1301-xylA-P-pCAMBIA1301-xylA-P5) were obtained. The six expression vectors were then transferred into onion epidermal cells and peanut plants by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Both the full-length and deleted promoters resulted in GUS staining of the onion epidermis cells when induced by SA. In onion epidermis cells, GUS enzyme activity was greater after SA induction. In transgenic peanut plants, GUS mRNA levels were greater after SA induction. Consideration of the cis-regulatory elements predicted by PLACE and plantCARE suggested that AS-1, GRWAAW, and W-box are positive regulatory elements in P2 and P3 and that GT1-motif and TGTCA are negative regulatory elements between P and P2.

Performance of peanut mutants and their offspring generated from mixed high-energy particle field radiation and tissue culture

To develop new ways to breed peanut, we irradiated seeds of the Luhua 11 cultivar with a mixed high-energy particle field at different doses. The embryonic leaflets were extracted as explants and incubated on somatic embryo induction medium and then on somatic embryo germination and regeneration medium. After being grafted, the M1-generation plants were transplanted, and seeds from each M1-generation plant were harvested. In the following year, the M2-generation seeds were planted separately. Some M2-generation plants showed distinct character segregation relative to the mutagenic parent in terms of vigor, fertility, plant height, branch number, and pod size and shape. M2-generation plants that had a high pod weight per plant tended to produce M3-generation offspring that also had a high pod weight per plant, much higher than that of the mutagenic parent, Luhua 11. M4-generation seeds varied greatly in quality, and 35 individuals with an increased fat content (>55%) were obtained. Overall, the results indicate that the combination of mutagenesis via mixed high-energy particle field exposure and tissue culture is promising for peanut breeding.

[Effects of maternal deficiency of folic acid during pregnancy on pulmonary development and SP-A expression in newborn rats]

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the effects of maternal deficiency of folic acid during pregnancy on pulmonary development and protein A (SP-A) expression in newborn rats in order to explore the possible mechanism of lung developmental disorders.

METHODS

Thirty-six adult Sprague-Dawley female rats were randomly assigned into two groups: control and study (n=18). The study and the control groups were fed with fodder containing folic acid or not respectively. Two weeks later, the female rats in the two groups copulated with normal male rats. Newborn rats were sacrificed at 1, 7 and 14 days after birth (8 pups at each time point). Lung sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histological examination. SP-A expression of protein and mRNA were determined by immunohistochemistry and real-time quantitative RT-PCR, respectively.

RESULTS

The newborn rats from the study group showed damaged lung tissue structures. The mean optical density of type II cells with positive expression of SP-A decreased significantly from 1 to 14 days in newborn rats of the study group compared with the control newborn rats (P<0.05). The real-time quantitative RT-PCR showed that the expression of lung SP-A mRNA also decreased significantly from 1 to 14 days in newborn rats of the study group compared with control newborn rats (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal deficiency of folic acid during pregnancy can decrease the expression of SP-A in lung tissues of newborn rats, which might lead to the disorder of lung development maturation.

[Expression of mRNA of vascular endothelial growth factor in a rat model of hyperoxia-induced retinopathy]

OBJECTIVE

To examine the expression of mRNA of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in a rat model of hyperoxia-induced retinopathy and to investigate the role of VEGF in the process of neovascularization in retinopathy.

METHODS

One hundred fifty one-day-old neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into hyperoxia-induced retinopathy and normal control groups. The rats in the retinopathy group were exposed to (80 +/- 2)% oxygen for 7 days and then replaced by room air. The rats in the control group were exposed to room air all the time of the experiment. The morphologic changes of retinal vessels were estimated by observing the vascular pattern in adenosine diphosphate ase (ADPase) stained retina flat mounts. The newborn vessels were quantified by haematoxylin and eosin staining. Reversal transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the VEGF mRNA expression.

RESULTS

In the retinopathy group at 7 days of age, most of central radial vessels became constricted and blocked, and central perfusion decreased obviously. After switching to room air exposure for 7 days (14 days of age), noticeable retinal neovascularization appeared. The expression of VEGF mRNA in the retinopathy group at 7 days of hyperoxia exposure was noticeably lower than in the control group, and increased gradually after switching to room air exposure. At 9 and 14 days of age, the expression of VEGF mRNA in the retinopathy group was noticeably higher than in the control group. The expression of retinal VEGF mRNA in the retinopathy group increased before neovascularization occurred, and decreased with regression of new vessels.

CONCLUSIONS

Hyperoxia exposure may decrease the transcription of VEGF mRNA and the growth of retinal blood vessels. The relative hypoxia after hyperxia withdrawal can up-regulate the transcription of VEGF mRNA, resulting in a significant retinal neovascularization. The abnormal expression of VEGF in the retina may play an important role in the development of neovascularization in retinopathy.

[The cytogenetical studies of fertility restoration of some male sterile lines of alloplasmic wheat]

The frequency of cells with univalent (FCU) at MI and with lagging chromosomes and chromosomal bridge (FCLB) at AI in PMC of F1 hybrids of 4 alloplasmic 1BL:/1RS and non-1BL/1RS wheat male sterile lines with Aegilops kotschyi, Ae. variabilis, Ae. ventricosa and Ae. bicornis cytoplasms were systematically investigated, and the relationship between FCU at MI, FCLB at AI and F1 selfed seed set was analyzed. The results were as follows: (1) The frequency of abnormal chromosomes at MI and AI was higher in 1BL/1RS hybrids than in non-1BL/1RS hybrids; (2) 4 alien cytoplasms had positive effects on the FCU at MI in non-1BL/1RS hybrids; (3) The effect of 1B.1BL/1RS hetero-nucleus on meiosis was more obvious than that of alien cytoplasms in 1BL/1RS hybrids; (4) The selfed seed set of 1BL/1RS hybrids was not correlated to FCU, but was negatively correlated to FCLB; (5) The chromosomes' deeds at meiosis was more steady in non-1BL/1RS hybrids than in 1BL/1RS hybrids. The non-1BL/RS hybrids were easy to restore and restoring degree was high, and they had good prospects to be used.

Radical-Mediated Diastereoselective Construction of a Chiral Synthon for Synthesis of Dolabellanes

[reaction: see text] A useful trans-substituted multifunctional cyclopentane with a chiral quaternary center was selectively synthesized by free radical Michael addition to the (Z)-propionate or -malonate derivatives. The stereoselectivity could be reversed by changing the configuration of the double bond.