Gut Microbiota and Bile Acids Mediate the Clinical Benefits of YH1 in Male Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot Observational Study

Our previous clinical trial showed that a novel concentrated herbal extract formula, YH1 (Rhizoma coptidis and Shen-Ling-Bai-Zhu-San), improved blood glucose and lipid control. This pilot observational study investigated whether YH1 affects microbiota, plasma, and fecal bile acid (BA) compositions in ten untreated male patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), hyperlipidemia, and a body mass index ≥ 23 kg/m². Stool and plasma samples were collected for microbiome, BA, and biochemical analyses before and after 4 weeks of YH1 therapy. As previous studies found, the glycated albumin, 2-h postprandial glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were significantly improved after YH1 treatment. Gut microbiota revealed an increased abundance of the short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria Anaerostipes and Escherichia/Shigella. Furthermore, YH1 inhibited specific phylotypes of bile salt hydrolase-expressing bacteria, including Parabacteroides, Bifidobacterium, and Bacteroides caccae. Stool tauro-conjugated BA levels increased after YH1 treatment. Plasma total BAs and 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (C4), a BA synthesis indicator, were elevated. The reduced deconjugation of BAs and increased plasma conjugated BAs, especially tauro-conjugated BAs, led to a decreased glyco- to tauro-conjugated BA ratio and reduced unconjugated secondary BAs. These results suggest that YH1 ameliorates T2D and hyperlipidemia by modulating microbiota constituents that alter fecal and plasma BA compositions and promote liver cholesterol-to-BA conversion and glucose homeostasis.

Efficacy of a Latex Agglutination Test for Rapid Identification of Staphylococcus aureus: Collaborative Study

Fifteen laboratories completed a collaborative study comparing the efficacy of a latex agglutination kit (Aureus Test) with that of AOAC Official Method 987.09 (coagulase test for identification of Staphylococcus aureus). Each laboratory analyzed 240 strains of bacteria, including 160 isolates of S. aureus and 80 isolates of other bacteria. Upon receipt of cultures, collaborators subcultured each isolate on both tryptic soy agar (TSA) and Baird-Parker agar medium (BPA) to determine whether the growth medium has any effect on either method. For cultures grown on TSA, the latex test had sensitivity and specificity rates of 99.2 and 97.1 %, respectively, whereas the coagulase test had respective rates of 98.4 and 92.5%. For cultures able to grow on BPA, the latex test had sensitivity and specificity rates of 99.2 and 96.6%, respectively, while the coagulase test had respective rates of 98.3 and 91.3%. By using the McNemar pairwise comparison test of the 2 methods, the falsepositive and false-negative rates of the latex test were significantly lower (p < 0.01) than those of the coagulase test for strains grown either on TSA or BPA. The latex agglutination test for identification of S. aureus isolated from foods has been adopted by AOAC INTERNATIONAL.

Prevention of Postdental Procedure Bacteremia: A Network Meta-analysis

Postdental procedure bacteremia is common and troublesome. The comparative efficacy of multiple prophylactic interventions is unclear. We compared the efficacy of interventions for the prevention of postdental procedure bacteremia. We conducted a review of ClinicalKey, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to December 4, 2018. Randomized controlled trials that evaluated prophylactic interventions for the prevention of postdental procedure bacteremia were eligible. The primary outcome was the incidence of postdental procedure bacteremia. A total of 24 trials were included with 2,147 participants. Our network meta-analysis demonstrated that intravenous administration of 1,000/200 mg of amoxicillin/clavulanate provided the least incidence of postdental procedure bacteremia among all the prophylactic interventions (odds ratio = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.00 to 0.63) as compared with the placebo/controls. Oral 3 g of amoxicillin had the least incidence of postdental procedure bacteremia among all oral or topical forms of prophylactic interventions (odds ratio = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.44) as compared with the placebo/controls. No serious adverse events, such as anaphylactic shock, mortality, and the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, were reported. None of the included subjects were of high risk of infectious endocarditis. Our network meta-analysis demonstrates that intravenous amoxicillin/clavulanate and oral amoxicillin might be the best prophylactic interventions in preventing postdental procedure bacteremia among all the oral/topical forms of interventions for the overall populations.

Detection of a novel HLA-A*11 variant, A*11:292, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 860 of HLA-A*11:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*11:292.

Detection of an HLA-C*03 variant, HLA-C*03:258, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 506 of HLA-C*03:02:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:258.

HLA-B*40:400, a novel HLA-B*40 variant, identified in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 314 of HLA-B*40:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*40:400.

HLA-A*26:160, a novel variant of HLA-A*26, discovered in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide replacement at residue 755 of HLA-A*26:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*26:160.

A possible association of HLA-C*07:18:01:01 and HLA-B*58:01

HLA-C*07:18:01:01 is possibly in association on the same haplotype as HLA-B*58:01.

The novel HLA-DRB1*15:158 allele discovered in a Taiwanese individual

Three nucleotide substitutions in HLA-DRB1*15:01:01:01 result in a new allele, HLA-DRB1*15:158.

HLA-A*24:386, a novel variant of HLA-A*24, discovered in a Taiwanese blood donor

One nucleotide replacement at residue 181 of HLA-A*24:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*24:386.

Detection of an HLA-C*03 variant, HLA-C*03:187, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 527 of HLA-C*03:03:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:187.

Identification of an HLA-B*27 variant, B*27:120, by sequence-based typing in a Taiwanese bone marrow stem cell donor

One nucleotide substitution at residue 577 of HLA-B*27:04:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*27:120.

HLA-B*15:436, a novel variant of HLA-B*15, discovered in a Taiwanese individual

Nucleotide substitutions in codons 43 and 45 of HLA-B*15:18:01:01 result in a new allele, HLA-B*15:436.

HLA-DQB1*03:01:40, an HLA-DQB1*03:01 variant, identified in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at codon 106 of HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-DQB1*03:01:40.

HLA-C*15:29, an HLA-C*15 variant, identified in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at codon 116 of HLA-C*15:02:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-C*15:29.

HLA-B*40:55, an HLA-B*40 variant, identified in Taiwanese individuals

One nucleotide substitution at codon 248 of HLA-B*40:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-B*40:55.

Detection of an HLA-B*15 variant, HLA-B*15:192, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide replacement at codon 145 of HLA-B*15:01:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-B*15:192.

Rapidly increasing liver progenitor cell numbers in human regenerating liver after portal vein ligation and liver partition

BACKGROUND

Liver regeneration is dependent on the proliferation of hepatocytes. Hepatic progenitor cells are intra-hepatic precursor cells capable of differentiating into hepatocytes or biliary cells. Although liver progenitor cell proliferation during the regenerative process has been observed in animal models of severe liver injury, it has never been observed in vivo in humans because it is unethical to take multiple biopsy specimens for the purpose of studying the proliferation of liver progenitor cells and the roles they play in liver regeneration. Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) is a staged procedure for inducing remnant liver hypertrophy so that major hepatectomy can be performed safely. This staged procedure allows for liver biopsy specimens to be taken before and after the liver begins to regenerate.

CASE PRESENTATION

The liver progenitor cell proliferation is observed in a patient undergoing ALPPS for a metastatic hepatic tumour. Liver biopsy is acquired before and after ALPPS for the calculation of average number of liver progenitor cell under high magnification examination by stain of immunomarkers. This is the first in vivo evidence of growing liver progenitor cells demonstrated in a regenerating human liver.

Detection of a novel HLA-DRB1*12 variant, HLA-DRB1*12:68, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 628 of HLA-DRB1*12:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-DRB1*12:68.

Detection of a novel HLA-DRB1*12 variant, HLA-DRB1*12:67, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 266 of HLA-DRB1*12:02:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-DRB1*12:67.

Discovery of a novel HLA-A*02 variant, HLA-A*02:684, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide replacement at residue 728 of HLA-A*02:03:01 results in a new allele, HLA-A*02:684.

HLA-B*40:01:45, a novel variant of HLA-B*40:01, discovered in a Taiwanese hematopoitic stem cell donor

Two nucleotide replacements within HLA-B*40:01:01 result in the novel allele, HLA-B*40:01:45.

Identification of a novel HLA-B*27 variant, B*27:112, by sequence-based typing in a Taiwanese donor

One nucleotide substitution at residue 74 of HLA-B*27:04:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*27:112.

Detection of a novel HLA-A*30 variant, A*30:109, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 488 of HLA-A*30:01:02 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*30:109.

A novel HLA allele, HLA-C*15:02:01:04, identified in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 1924 of HLA-C*15:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*15:02:01:04.

Identification of a novel HLA-A*02:01:01 variant, HLA-A*02:01:01:09, in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

An intronic mutation in intron 3 of A*02:01:01:01 leads to the formation of A*02:01:01:09.

HLA-A*11:256Q, a novel HLA-A*11 variant, detected in a Taiwanese individual

Nucleotide deletions from residues 409 to 417 of HLA-A*11:02:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*11:256Q.

Detection of a novel HLA-C*03 variant, HLA-C*03:227, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 19 of HLA-C*03:03:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:227.

The novel HLA-DRB1*15:140 allele discovered in a Taiwanese unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donor

One nucleotide substitution at residue 91 of HLA-DRB1*15:02:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-DRB1*15:140.

HLA-C*07:566, a novel HLA-C*07 variant, detected in a Taiwanese hematopoietic stem cell donor

One nucleotide replacement in codon 334 of HLA-C*07:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*07:566.

Identification of a novel HLA-C allele, HLA-C*15:134, in a Taiwanese hematopoietic stem cell donor

One nucleotide substitution in codon 17 of HLA-C*15:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*15:134.

Detection of a novel HLA-A*11 variant, A*11:255, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 532 of HLA-A*11:02:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*11:255.

HLA-B*15:414, a novel variant of HLA-B*15, discovered in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide replacement at residue 221 of HLA-B*15:18:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-B*15:414.

A dispermic chimerism detected in a Taiwanese potential unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donor

Chimerism is defined as the presence of 2 or more than 1 genetically distinct cell populations in an organism. Dispermic chimeras are derived from the fertilization of 1 or 2 matured nuclei by 2 sperms. We here report detection of a healthy and phenotypically normal female with normal ABO red blood cell typing in whom dispermic chimerism was suspected after 3 alleles were identified at multiple human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci using molecular HLA analysis. Molecular HLA typing showed the donor to have 3 HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, -DQB1 and -DPB1 alleles in blood, saliva and nail samples. In addition, 3 of her 9 short tandem repeat loci also showed to have 3 distinct alleles in blood, nail and saliva specimens. In all investigations, the third alleles were attributed to a dual paternal contribution. This case represents a dispermic chimerism, with 2 paternal and 1 maternal haplotypes variably distributed throughout body tissues in a healthy and phenotypically normal female without abnormalities in erythrocyte ABO blood group. The origin of this chimerism is probably due to the fertilization of a single egg and its polar body, or a parthenogenetic egg, by 2 sperms.

HLA-C*07:544, a novel HLA-C*07 variant, detected in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

One nucleotide exchange at residue 768 of the HLA-C*07:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*07:544.

Identification of a novel HLA-B*07 variant, B*07:269, by sequence-based typing in a Taiwanese bone marrow stem cell donor

One nucleotide replacement at residue 559 of HLA-B*07:05:01:01 or B*07:06:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*07:269.

HLA-B*15:388, a novel variant of HLA-B*15, discovered in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide replacement at residue 47 of HLA-B*15:18:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-B*15:388.

Detection of a novel HLA-B*46:01 variant, HLA-B*46:01:22, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide replacement at residue 606 of HLA-B*46:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-B*46:01:22.

Identification of a novel HLA-A*02 variant, HLA-A*02:621, in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

One nucleotide replacement at residue 169 of HLA-A*02:01:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-A*02:621.

Discovery of HLA-B*58:80, a novel HLA-B*58 variant, in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

One nucleotide substitution at residue 133 of HLA-B*58:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*58:80.

Discovery of a novel HLA-DRB1*09 variant, HLA-DRB1*09:28, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 332 of HLA-DRB1*09:01:02 results in a novel allele, HLA-DRB1*09:28.

A novel HLA-B*38 variant, B*38:15, detected in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 346 of HLA-B*38:02:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*38:15.

Recognition of a novel HLA-A*11 variant, HLA-A*11:196, in a Taiwanese unrelated bone marrow stem cell donor

One nucleotide substitution at residue 484 of HLA-A*11:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*11:196.

HLA-A*11:235Q, a novel HLA-A*11 variant, detected in a Taiwanese individual

Nucleotide deletions from residue 120 to 125 of HLA-A*11:01:01:01 result in a novel allele, HLA-A*11:235Q.

Discovery of a novel HLA-B*13:01 variant, HLA-B*13:01:12, in a Taiwanese bone marrow stem cell donor

One nucleotide substitution at codon 189 of HLA-B*13:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*13:01:12.

HLA-B*40:329, a novel HLA-B*40 variant, identified in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at codon 254 of HLA-B*40:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-B*40:329.

Identification of a novel HLA-A*02 variant, HLA-A*02:614, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at residue 806 of HLA-A*02:01:01:01 results in a new allele, HLA-A*02:614.

HLA-A*33:03:31, a novel variant of HLA-A*33:03, discovered in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution of HLA-A*33:03:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*33:03:31.

Detection of a novel HLA-C*07:341 variant, HLA-C*07:341:02, in a Taiwanese hematopoietic stem cell donor

Two nucleotide replacements in codon 138 of the HLA-C*07:341:01 result in a novel allele, HLA-C*07:341:02.

HLA-A*24:333, a novel HLA-A*24 variant, discovered in a Taiwanese individual

Four nucleotide replacements of HLA-A*24:02:01:01 result in a novel allele, HLA-A*24:333.