Effects of dietary energy levels on microorganisms and short-chain fatty acids of rumen and tight junction proteins in Honghe Yellow cattle

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary energy levels on microorganisms and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) of rumen and the expression of tight junction proteins in Honghe Yellow cattle. A total of fifteen male Honghe Yellow cattle were randomly divided into three treatments (five replicates per treatment), consisting of formulated energy concentrations of 5.90 MJ/kg (high-energy diet, group H), 5.60 MJ/kg (medium-energy diet, group M) and 5.30 MJ/kg (low-energy diet, group L). The results showed that compared with group H, the expression of Claudin-1 in rumen epithelium of groups M and L was increased, but the expression of ZO-1 was decreased (p < 0.05). Moreover, compared with group H, group M down-regulated the expression of Occludin and Claudin-1 in the brain (p < 0.05). For rumen bacteria, the dominant phyla included Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, the abundance of Actinobacteriota in groups M and L was significantly increased compared with group H (p < 0.05). At the genus level, the relative abundance of Corynebacterium, Eubacterium_nodatum_group and Neisseraceae in groups M and L was significantly decreased compared with group H (p < 0.05). For rumen fungi, the dominant phyla included Basidiomycota, Ascomycota and Neocariastigomycota, the relative abundance of Ascomycetes was significantly higher than that of groups M and L compared with group H (p < 0.05). At the genus level, the relative abundance of Neocelimastigaceae and Myceliophthora in groups M and L was significantly reduced compared with group H (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the expression of Claudin-1 in rumen epithelium was significantly positively correlated with Actinobacteriota, Corynebacterium and Neisseriaceae. The expression of ZO-1 in the spinal cord was significantly positively correlated with Myceliophthora. The expression of Occludin in brain was positively correlated with valerate content (p < 0.05). In summary, dietary energy levels affected the rumen microbiota of Honghe Yellow cattle. The expression of Claudin-1 in rumen epithelium and the total SCFAs concentration were increased with decreasing dietary energy levels, but the expression of Claudin-1 in brain and ZO-1 in the spinal cord were reduced with decreasing dietary energy levels. Meanwhile, the rumen microbiota and SCFAs were significantly correlated with the expression of TJP.

Effectiveness of cannulated screw fixation for femoral neck fracture assisted by three-dimensional printing navigation template in middle-aged and elderly patients

OBJECTIVE

We sought to explore the effectiveness of cannulated screw fixation for femoral neck fractures in middle-aged and elderly patients assisted by a three-dimensional printing navigation template.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 98 middle-aged and elderly patients who underwent cannulated screw fixation for femoral neck fractures were retrospectively analyzed. They were allocated into two groups, each comprising 49 patients. Surgical indexes, hip function, and pain levels were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

The study group, assisted by the three-dimensional printing navigation template, exhibited significantly reduced nail insertion, fewer instances of C-arm fluoroscopy, shorter operation time, quicker time to bone union, earlier initiation of walking exercise, shorter time to weight-bearing walking, and reduced hospital stay than those in the control group (all p<0.001). However, the study group also experienced higher blood loss compared to the control group (p<0.001). Postoperatively, at 3 months and 12 months, the study group demonstrated significantly higher scores compared to the control group (both p<0.001) and reported significantly lower pain scores than that in the other group at 1 week and 12 months post-surgery (both p<0.001). Furthermore, the study group experienced significantly fewer postoperative complications than the control group (p=0.029).

CONCLUSIONS

Cannulated screw fixation for femoral neck fractures assisted by a 3D printing navigation template is more effective and safer than traditional fixation methods. This approach represents a promising alternative for surgical management.

Efficacy and safety of intrathecal pemetrexed for TKI-failed leptomeningeal metastases from EGFR+ NSCLC: an expanded, single-arm, phase II clinical trial

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intrathecal pemetrexed (IP) for treating patients with leptomeningeal metastases (LM) from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who progressed from epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment in an expanded, prospective, single-arm, phase II clinical study (ChiCTR1800016615).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with confirmed NSCLC-LM who progressed from TKI received IP (50 mg, day 1/day 5 for 1 week, then every 3 weeks for four cycles, and then once monthly) until disease progression or intolerance. Objectives were to assess overall survival (OS), response rate, and safety. Measurable lesions were assessed by investigator according to RECIST version 1.1. LM were assessed according to the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) criteria.

RESULTS

The study included 132 patients; 68% were female and median age was 52 years (31-74 years). The median OS was 12 months (95% confidence interval 10.4-13.6 months), RANO-assessed response rate was 80.3% (106/132), and the most common adverse event was myelosuppression (n = 42; 31.8%), which reversed after symptomatic treatment. The results of subgroup analysis showed that absence of brain parenchymal metastasis, good Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score, good response to IP treatment, negative cytology after treatment, and patients without neck/back pain/difficult defecation had longer survival. Gender, age, previous intrathecal methotrexate/cytarabine, and whole-brain radiotherapy had no significant influence on OS.

CONCLUSIONS

This study further showed that IP is an effective and safe treatment method for the EGFR-TKI-failed NSCLC-LM, and should be recommended for these patients in clinical practice and guidelines.

Dexamethasone relieves the inflammatory response caused by inguinal hernia meshes through miR-155

BACKGROUND

Inguinal hernia is a relatively common condition. Most patients with inguinal hernia require surgery. At present, mesh repair is one of the most effective methods to treat inguinal hernia, but insertion of the mesh can cause inflammation. Dexamethasone (DEX) can treat inflammation, but the mechanism by which DEX alleviates inflammation caused by inguinal hernia mesh placement remains unclear.

METHOD

We randomly divided rats into groups: negative control (NC), inguinal hernia (IH), polypropylene mesh (PM), DEX treatment, and miR-155 treatment groups. RT-qPCR was performed to determine the expression of miR-155. ELISA was implemented to determine the secretion of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18. Western blotting was used to detect caspase-1, JAK1, p-JAK1, STAT3, and p-STAT3 expression. A dual-luciferase reporter gene array identified a connection between miR-155 and JAK1.

RESULTS

The results revealed that the expression of miR-155, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18 was upregulated in the PM group. After DEX treatment, the secretion of miR-155, caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18 decreased. Dual luciferase results confirmed that miR-155 induced the targeted downregulation of JAK1, while a miR-155 mimic reversed the therapeutic effect of DEX, and the expression levels of p-JAK1 and p-STAT3 increased.

CONCLUSION

DEX regulates the JAK1/STAT3 signaling pathway through miR-155 to relieve inflammation caused by inguinal hernia meshes.

Adaptive metabolic response to short-term intensive fasting

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Short-term intensive fasting (STIF), known as beego in Chinese phonetic articulation, has been practiced for more than two thousand years. However, the potential risk of STIF and the body's response to the risk have not been adequately evaluated. This study aims to address this issue, focusing on the STIF-triggered metabolic response of the liver and kidney.

METHODS

The STIF procedure in the clinical trial includes a 7-day water-only intensive fasting phase and a 7-day gradual refeeding phase followed by a regular diet. The intensive fasting in humans was assisted with psychological induction. To gain insights not available in the clinical trial, we designed a STIF program for mice that resulted in similar phenotypes seen in humans. Plasma metabolic profiling and examination of gene expression as well as liver and kidney function were performed by omics, molecular, biochemical and flow cytometric analyses. A human cell line model was also used for mechanistic study.

RESULTS

Clinically significant metabolites of fat and protein were found to accumulate during the fasting phase, but they were relieved after gradual refeeding. Metabolomics profiling revealed a universal pattern in the consumption of metabolic intermediates, in which pyruvate and succinate are the two key metabolites during STIF. In the STIF mouse model, the accumulation of metabolites was mostly counteracted by the upregulation of catabolic enzymes in the liver, which was validated in a human cell model. Kidney filtration function was partially affected by STIF but could be recovered by refeeding. STIF also reduced oxidative and inflammatory levels in the liver and kidney. Moreover, STIF improved lipid metabolism in mice with fatty liver without causing accumulation of metabolites after STIF.

CONCLUSIONS

The accumulation of metabolites induced by STIF can be relieved by spontaneous upregulation of catabolic enzymes, suggesting an adaptive and protective metabolic response to STIF stress in the mammalian body.

Prenatal exome sequencing analysis in fetuses with central nervous system anomalies

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the utility of prenatal exome sequencing (pES) in fetuses with central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of fetuses identified to have CNS abnormality on prenatal ultrasound and/or magnetic resonance imaging. All fetuses were first analyzed by chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA). Fetuses with a confirmed aneuploidy or causal pathogenic copy-number variant (CNV) on CMA did not undergo pES analysis and were excluded, while those with a negative CMA result were offered pES testing.

RESULTS

Of the 167 pregnancies included in the study, 42 (25.1%) were identified to have a pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) variant. The diagnostic rate was significantly higher in fetuses with a non-isolated CNS abnormality than in those with a single CNS abnormality (35.7% (20/56) vs 14.5% (8/55); P = 0.010). Moreover, when a fetus had three or more CNS abnormalities, the positive diagnostic rate increased to 42.9%. A total of 25/42 (59.5%) cases had de-novo mutations, while, in the remaining cases, mutations were inherited and carried a significant risk of recurrence. Families whose fetus carried a P/LP mutation were more likely to choose advanced pregnancy termination than those with a variant of uncertain significance, secondary/incidental finding or negative pES result (83.3% (25/30) vs 41.3% (38/92); P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

pES improved the identification of genetic disorders in fetuses with CNS anomalies without a chromosomal abnormality or CNV identified on CMA, regardless of the number of CNS anomalies and presence of extracranial abnormality. We also demonstrated that pES findings can significantly impact parental decision-making. © 2023 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Host response of Nicotiana benthamiana to the parasitism of five populations of root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus coffeae, from China

In a recent survey of nematodes associated with tobacco in Shandong, China, the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus coffeae was identified using a combination of morphology and molecular techniques. This nematode species is a serious parasite that damages a variety of plant species. The model plant benthi, Nicotiana benthamiana, is frequently used to study plant-disease interactions. However, it is not known whether this plant species is a host of P. coffeae. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the parasitism and pathogenicity of five populations of the root-lesion nematode P. coffeae on N. benthamiana.N. benthamiana seedlings with the same growth status were chosen and inoculated with 1,000 nematodes per pot. At 60 days after inoculation, the reproductive factors (Rf = final population densities (Pf)/initial population densities (Pi)) for P. coffeae in the rhizosphere of N. benthamiana were all more than 1, suggesting that N. benthamiana was a good host plant for P. coffeae.Nicotiana. benthamiana infected by P. coffeae showed weak growth, decreased tillering, high root reduction, and noticeable brown spots on the roots. Thus, we determined that the model plant N. benthamiana can be used to study plant-P. coffeae interactions.

Short-term intensive fasting enhances the immune function of red blood cells in humans

BACKGROUND

Fasting is known to influence the immune functions of leukocytes primarily by regulating their mobilization and redistribution between the bone marrow and the peripheral tissues or circulation, in particular via relocalization of leukocytes back in the bone marrow. However, how the immune system responds to the increased risk of invasion by infectious pathogens with fewer leukocytes in the peripheral blood during fasting intervention remains an open question.

RESULTS

We used proteomic, biochemical and flow cytometric tools to evaluate the impact of short-term intensive fasting (STIF), known as beego, on red blood cells by profiling the cells from the STIF subjects before and after 6 days of fasting and 6 days of gradual refeeding. We found that STIF, by triggering the activation of the complement system via the complement receptor on the membrane of red blood cells, boosts fairly sustainable function of red blood cells in immune responses in close relation to various pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and parasites, particularly with the pronounced capacity to defend against SARS-CoV-2, without compromising their oxygen delivery capacity and viability.

CONCLUSION

STIF fosters the immune function of red blood cells and therefore, it may be considered as a nonmedical intervention option for the stronger capacity of red blood cells to combat infectious diseases.

Metagenomic Sequencing Reveals the Taxonomic and Functional Characteristics of Rumen Micro-organisms in Gayals

As a semi-wild breed, Gayals have a strong fiber degradation capacity, which is unique to the microbial structure and function of their rumen. In this study, the unique rumen microbial composition and function of Gayals were investigated by metagenomic sequencing, with the Yunnan yellow cattle as the control. We compared the differences in rumen micro-organisms between Gayals and the Yunnan Yellow cattle, and the results showed that there were differences in bacteria, archaea and fungi between Gayals and the Yunnan Yellow cattle, while no significant abundance changes were observed in the protozoa. In addition, the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (1.06) in Gayals was higher than that of the Yunnan Yellow cattle (0.66). Three enzymes (PTA, ACH and FTHFS) related to the acetate production pathway and five enzymes (BHBD, THL, PTB, BK and BCACT) involved in butyric acid production were annotated in this study. The CAZymes search results showed that the abundance of GH5, GH26, GH94, CBM11 and CBM63 in Gayals was higher than in the Yunnan Yellow cattle (p < 0.05). Furthermore, this research constructed a model of rumen micro-organisms degrading fibers according to the characteristics and differences in the rumen microbiota structures and functions of the two breeds. This study expands our knowledge of the rumen microbiota and the mechanisms of fiber degradation in Gayals.

The effect of surgical repair of hiatal hernia (HH) on pulmonary function: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

Hiatal hernia is renowned for the symptom of reflux, and few physicians associate a hiatal hernia with pulmonary issues. It is widely acknowledged that a hiatal hernia can be treated with surgery. However, less is known about how the surgical procedure would benefit pulmonary function. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine whether surgical repair can improve pulmonary function in patients with hiatal hernias.

METHODS

We registered the protocol on the PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews) platform (no. CRD42022369949). We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for cohort studies that reported on the pulmonary function of patients with hiatal hernias. The quality of each cohort study was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). We then calculated mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals for these continuous outcomes. Each study's consistency was appraised using the I² statistic. The sensitivity analysis was performed using the trim-and-fill method. Publication bias was confirmed using the funnel plot visually and Egger regression test statistically.

RESULTS

A total of 262 patients from 5 cohorts were included in the meta-analysis. The quality evaluation revealed that, of these 5 papers, 3 received 8 NOS stars out of 9 stars, 1 received 9, and the other received 7, meaning all included cohort studies were of high quality. The results showed that surgical repair for a hiatal hernia significantly improved forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1; weighted mean difference [WMD]:0.200; 95% CI 0.047-0.353; I² = 71.6%; P = 0.010), forced vital capacity (FVC; WMD: 0.242; 95% CI 0.161-0.323; I² = 7.1%; P = 0.000), and total lung capacity (TLC; WMD: 0.223; 95% CI 0.098-0.348; I² = 0.0%; P = 0.000) but had little effect on residual volume (RV; WMD: -0.028; 95% CI -0.096 to 0.039; I² = 8.7%; P = 0.411) and the diffusing capacity carbon monoxide (DLCO; WMD: 0.234; 95% CI -0.486 to 0.953; I² = 0.0%; P = 0.524).

CONCLUSION

For individuals with hiatal hernias, surgical repair is an efficient technique to improve respiratory function as measured by FEV1, FVC, and TLC.

The association of coffee consumption with the risk of osteoporosis and fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

To elucidate the association of coffee and bone health would help fracture risk reduction via dietary intervention. Although those who had higher coffee consumption were less likely to have osteoporosis, the associations between coffee consumption and fracture risk need further investigations with better study designs.

INTRODUCTION

The associations between coffee consumption and the risk of osteoporosis and fracture remain inconclusive. We aimed to better quantify these associations by conducting meta-analyses of observational studies.

METHODS

Relevant studies were systematically searched on PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, and Embase Database up to November 25, 2021. The odds ratio (OR) or relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was pooled and a dose-response analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Four studies with 7114 participants for osteoporosis and thirteen studies with 391,956 participants for fracture incidence were included in the meta-analyses. High versus low coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis [pooled OR (95% CI): 0.79 (0.65-0.92)], while it was non-significantly associated with fracture incidence [pooled OR (95% CI): 0.86 (0.67-1.05) at hip and 0.89 (0.42-1.36) at non-hip]. A non-linear association between the level of coffee consumption and hip fracture incidence was shown (P = 0.004). The pooled RR (95% CI) of hip fracture risk in those who consumed 1, 2-3, 4, and ≥ 9 cups of coffee per day was 0.92 (0.87-0.97), 0.89 (0.83-0.95), 0.91 (0.85-0.98), and 1.10 (0.76-1.59), respectively. The significance in the association between coffee consumption and the hip fracture incidence decreased in those studies that had larger sample size, higher quality, and more adjustments.

CONCLUSIONS

A dose-dependent relationship may exist between coffee consumption and hip fracture incidence. The effect of high versus low coffee consumption was influenced by study designs. Further studies with dedicated designs are needed to confirm the independent effects of coffee consumption on bone health.

AB0066 EFFECT AND MECHANISM OF QINXITONG ON BIOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Background

Chinese medicine has been used widely for the treatment of RA for a long history in China. The Fifth Hospital of Xi’an has treated patients of RA with QinXiTong(QXT) for 40 years which is mainly based on the water extract from Caulis Sinomenii(CS). However, the molecular mechanism of its anti-rheumatism effect remains unclear.

Objectives

To investigate the effects of Qinxitong on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of synovial fibroblasts in rheumatoid arthritis and its mechanism.

Methods

Taking rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast cell line MH7A as the research object. The cells were divided into four groups according to the different dosage of Qinxitong intervention, namely control group, low dose group (QXT-20), medium dose group (QXT-50) and high dose group (QXT-100). CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell proliferation, flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis, Transwell assay was used to detect cell migration and invasion, and Western blotting was used to detect total Erk protein (t-Erk) and phosphorylated Erk protein (p-Erk) expression levels.

Results

CCK-8 assay showed that Qinxitong could inhibit the proliferation of MH7A cells, compared with the control group, cell proliferation in QXT-50 and QXT-100 groups was significantly reduced (p<0.05) after 24h, 48, and 72h intervention, the effect of QXT-100 was even more significant (p<0.001); flow cytometry showed that QXT could promote apoptosis of MH7A cells, compared with the control group, the apoptosis rate of QXT-50 and QXT-100 groups was significantly increased (p<0.05); Transwell assay showed that QXT could inhibit the migration and invasion of MH7A cells, compared with the control group, the QXT-50 and QXT-100 groups showed significantly higher inhibition of migration and invasion of MH7A cells (p<0.05); Western blotting showed that QXT could reduced p-Erk expression level, compared with the control group, the decrease of p-Erk expression level in QXT-50 and QXT-100 groups was statistically significant (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Qinxitong can inhibit the proliferation, promote apoptosis, inhibit migration and invasion of rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts by regulating Erk signaling pathway, providing scientific basis for clinical application of Qixintong.

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

Comparison of reference distributions acquired by direct and indirect sampling techniques: exemplified with the Pediatric Reference Interval in China (PRINCE) study

Background

Our study aimed to compare the reference distributions of serum creatinine and urea obtained by direct sampling technique and two indirect sampling techniques including the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) clustering based on clinical laboratory records, so that the feasibility as well as the potential limitations of indirect sampling techniques could be clarified.

Methods

The direct sampling technique was used in the Pediatric Reference Interval in China (PRINCE) study, in which 15,150 healthy volunteers aged 0 to 19 years were recruited from 11 provinces across China from January 2017 to December 2018. The indirect sampling techniques were used in the Laboratory Information System (LIS) database of Beijing Children’s Hospital, in which 164,710 outpatients were included for partitioning of potential healthy individuals by GMM or SOM from January to December 2016. The reference distributions of creatinine and urea that were established by the PRINCE study and the LIS database were compared.

Results

The density curves of creatinine and urea based on the PRINCE data and the GMM and SOM partitioned LIS data showed a large overlap. However, deviations were found in reference intervals among the three populations.

Conclusions

Both GMM and SOM can identify potential healthy individuals from the LIS data. The performance of GMM is consistent and stable. However, GMM relies on Gaussian fitting, and thus is not suitable for skewed data. SOM is applicable for high-dimensional data, and is adaptable to data distribution. But it is susceptible to sample size and outlier detection strategy.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12874-022-01596-8.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Leucomeris decora Kurz (Asteraceae)

Leucomeris decora is a traditional medicinal plant that is listed as an endangered species in China. Recently, L. decora has become locally rare. Here the complete chloroplast genome of L. decora was assembled and reported for the first time. Its plastome was 151,491 bp in length, including a large single-copy region (LSC; 83,155 bp), a small single-copy region (SSC; 18,216 bp), and a pair of inverted repeated regions (IRa and IRb; 25,060 bp). The overall GC content was 37.8%, and the genome contains 134 genes, including 92 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes, and 34 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of thirteen representative species from the family of Asteraceae showed that L. decora is clustered into one clade with Gerbera jamesonii with high bootstrap values, indicating a close relationship between these two species.

Utilizing phenotypic characteristics of metastatic brain tumors to improve the probability of detecting circulating tumor DNA from cerebrospinal fluid in non-small-cell lung cancer patients: development and validation of a prediction model in a prospective cohort study

Background

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has become a promising surrogate for genomic profiling of central nervous system tumors. However, suboptimal ctDNA detection rates from CSF limit its clinical utility. Thus precise screening of suitable patients is needed to maximize the clinical benefit.

Patients and methods

Between February 2017 and December 2020, 66 newly diagnosed non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain parenchymal metastases were prospectively enrolled as a training cohort and 30 additional patients were enrolled as an external validation cohort. CSF samples and matched primary tumor tissues were collected before treatment and subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS). The imageological characteristics of patients’ brain tumors were evaluated by radiologists using enhanced magnetic resonance imaging images. The clinical and imageological characteristics were evaluated by complete subsets regression, Akaike information criteria, and Bayesian information criteria methods to establish the prediction model. A nomogram was then built for CSF ctDNA detection prediction.

Results

The somatic mutation detection rate of genes covered by our targeted NGS panel was significantly lower in CSF ctDNA (59.09%) than tumor tissue (91.84%). The T_size (diameter of the largest intracranial lesion) and LVD_min (minimum lesion–ventricle distance for all intracranial lesions) were significantly associated with positive CSF ctDNA detection, and thus, were selected to establish the prediction model, which achieved an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.819 and an accuracy of 0.800. The model’s predictive ability was further validated in the independent external cohort (AUC of 0.772, accuracy of 0.767) and by internal cross-validation. The CSF ctDNA detection rate was significantly improved from 58.18% (32/55) to 81.81% (27/33) in patients after model selection (P = 0.022).

Conclusions

This study developed a regression model to predict the probability of detecting CSF ctDNA using the phenotypic characteristics of metastatic brain lesions in NSCLC patients, thus, maximizing the benefits of CSF liquid biopsies.

•

Intracranial tumor size and distance to nearest ventricle were significantly correlated with positive CSF ctDNA detection.

•

A prediction model incorporating T_size and LVD_min was developed and validated to evaluate the odds of CSF ctDNA positivity.

•

The CSF ctDNA detection rate was significantly improved in patients after model selection.

Nomogram to predict survival of patients with advanced and metastatic pancreatic Cancer

BACKGROUND

Nomograms are rarely employed to estimate the survival of patients with advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer (PC). Herein, we developed a comprehensive approach to using a nomogram to predict survival probability in patients with advanced and metastatic PC.

METHODS

A total of 323 patients with advanced and metastatic PC were identified from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital. A baseline nomogram was constructed using baseline variables of 323 patients. Additionally, 233 patients, whose tumors showed initial responses to first-line chemotherapy, were enrolled in the chemotherapy response-based model. 128 patients and 108 patients with advanced and metastatic PC from January 2019 to April 2021 were selected for external validating baseline model and chemotherapy response-based model. The 1-year and 2-year survival probability was evaluated using multivariate COX regression models. The discrimination and calibration capacity of the nomograms were assessed using C-statistic and calibration plots. The predictive accuracy and net benefit of the nomograms were evaluated using ROC curve and DCA, respectively.

RESULTS

In the baseline model, six variables (gender, KPS, baseline TB, baseline N, baseline WBC and baseline CA19-9) were used in the final model. In the chemotherapy response-based model, nine variables (KPS, gender, ascites, baseline N, baseline CA 19-9, baseline CEA, change in CA 19-9 level at week, change in CEA level at week and initial response to chemotherapy) were included in the final model. The C-statistics of the baseline nomogram and the chemotherapy response-based nomogram were 0.67 (95% CI, 0.62-0.71) and 0.74 (95% CI, 0.69-0.77), respectively.

CONCLUSION

These nomograms were constructed to predict the survival probability of patients of advanced and metastatic PC. The baseline model and chemotherapy response-based model performed well in survival prediction.

Innate immune remodeling by short-term intensive fasting

Previous studies have shown that long-term light or moderate fasting such as intermittent fasting can improve health and prolong lifespan. However, in humans short-term intensive fasting, a complete water-only fasting has little been studied. Here, we used multi-omics tools to evaluate the impact of short-term intensive fasting on immune function by comparison of the CD45+ leukocytes from the fasting subjects before and after 72-h fasting. Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of CD45+ leukocytes revealed extensive expression changes, marked by higher gene upregulation than downregulation after fasting. Functional enrichment of differentially expressed genes and proteins exposed several pathways critical to metabolic and immune cell functions. Specifically, short-term intensive fasting enhanced autophagy levels through upregulation of key members involved in the upstream signals and within the autophagy machinery, whereas apoptosis was reduced by down-turning of apoptotic gene expression, thereby increasing the leukocyte viability. When focusing on specific leukocyte populations, peripheral neutrophils are noticeably increased by short-term intensive fasting. Finally, proteomic analysis of leukocytes showed that short-term intensive fasting not only increased neutrophil degranulation, but also increased cytokine secretion. Our results suggest that short-term intensive fasting boost immune function, in particular innate immune function, at least in part by remodeling leukocytes expression profile.

The analysis of osteosarcopenia as a risk factor for fractures, mortality, and falls

Osteosarcopenia is defined as the concomitant occurrence of sarcopenia and osteoporosis/osteopenia. This study aimed to clarify whether osteosarcopenia implies a greater risk of fractures, mortality, and falls and to draw attention to osteosarcopenia.

INTRODUCTION

Osteosarcopenia, which is characterized by the co-existence of osteoporosis/osteopenia and sarcopenia, is one of the most challenging geriatric syndromes. However, the association between osteosarcopenia and the risk of falls, fractures, disability, and mortality is controversial.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, from their inception to March 18, 2021, for cohort studies on the relationship between osteosarcopenia and fractures, falls, and mortality. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. A pooled analysis was performed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using fixed or random-effects models.

RESULTS

Eight cohort studies including 19,836 participants showed that osteosarcopenia significantly increased the risk of fracture (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.83-3.30, P_{heterogeneity} = 0.006, I² = 63.0%), three cohort studies involving 2601 participants indicated that osteosarcopenia significantly increased the risk of mortality (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.23-2.26, P_{heterogeneity} = 0.214, I² = 35.2%), and three cohort studies involving 3144 participants indicated that osteosarcopenia significantly increased the risk of falls (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.28-2.04, P_{heterogeneity} = 0.219, I² = 34.1%). No publication bias existed among the studies regarding the association between osteosarcopenia and fractures. The findings were robust according to the subgroup and sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

This pooled analysis demonstrated that osteosarcopenia significantly increased the risk of fractures, falls, and mortality, thus highlighting its relevance in daily life. Therefore, we suggest that elderly persons should be aware of the risks associated with osteosarcopenia.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome sequence of Chinese endemic species of Aster batangensis (Asteraceae: Astereae) and its phylogenetic implications

This study was the first report complete chloroplast genome of Aster batangensis (Astereae: Asteraceae), the perennial herb endemic to China. The plastid genome of Aster batangensis include 132 unique genes, with 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Among these genes, 21 duplicate genes, including10 protein-coding genes, 7 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes were detected. The complete genome size of Aster batangensis has a typical quadripartite circular structure with 152,605 bp in total length, consisting a large single copy (LSC) of 84,351 bp and a small single copy (SSC) of 18,212 bp, separated by a pair of invested repeats (IR) of 25,021 bp. The average GC content of whole plastome sequence is 37.3%, and the LSC, SSC and IR regions is 35.3%, 31.3%, and 43.0%, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis by the maximum likelihood method showed that A. batangensis was closely related to the other members of Astereae (e.g. Aztecaster matudae, Conyza bonariensis, Lagenophora cuchumatanica, Baccharis tricuneata, Baccharis genistelloides)

Potential probiotics Lactobacillus casei K11 combined with plant extracts reduce markers of type 2 diabetes mellitus in mice

AIMS

Probiotics and plant extracts have been used to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The study aimed to explore the effect of the interaction between potential probiotics and bitter gourd extract (BGE) or mulberry leaf extract (MLE) on T2DM.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Potential probiotics were tested for their gastrointestinal tract viability and growth situation combined with BGE and MLE in vitro. The diabetes model was constructed in C57BL/6 mice, and the potential effect and mechanism of regulating blood glucose were verified. Hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE), gas chromatography (GC), ELISA, and RT-PCR were also used for analysis. The results showed that Lactobacillus casei K11 had outstanding gastrointestinal tract viability and growth situation with plant extracts. Administration of L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE significantly reduced blood glucose levels and ameliorated insulin resistance in diabetic mice than the administration of Lactobacillus paracasei J5 combined with BGE and MLE. Moreover, in L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE groups, lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and proinflammatory cytokine levels were regulated. Furthermore, the results indicated that L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE improved free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) upregulation, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings showed that L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE modified the SCFA-FFAR2-GLP-1 pathway to improve T2DM.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study identified a new modality for evaluating interactions between potential probiotics and plant extracts. Our findings revealed that L. casei K11 combined with BGE and MLE significantly promoted the SCFA-FFAR2-GLP-1 pathway to inhibit T2DM.

HSCs transdifferentiate primarily to pneumonocytes in radiation-induced lung damage repair

Accumulative radiation exposure leads to hematopoietic or tissue aging. Whether hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are involved in lung damage repair in response to radiation remains controversial. The aim of this study is to identify if HSC can transdifferentiate to pneumonocytes for radiation-induced damage repair. To this end, HSCs from male Rosa^mT/mG mice were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and transplanted into lethally irradiated female CD45.1 mice. 4 months after transplantation, transplanted HSC was shown to repair the radiation-induced tissue damage, and donor-derived tdTomato (phycoerythrin, PE) red fluorescence cells and Ddx3y representing Y chromosome were detected exclusively in female recipient lung epithelial and endothelial cells. Co-localization of donor-derived cells and recipient lung tissue cells were observed by laser confocal microscopy and image flow cytometry. Furthermore, the results showed HSC transplantation replenished radiation-induced lung HSC depletion and the PE positive repaired lung epithelial cells were identified as donor HSC origin. The above data suggest that donor HSC may migrate to the injured lung of the recipient and some of them can be transdifferentiated to pneumonocytes to repair the injury caused by radiation.

Epidemiology and the economic burden of pediatric fractures in China: A retrospective study of 14,141 fractures

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have explored the epidemiology of fractures in children, however, differences in incidence over time and between countries and regions was noted. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the epidemiology and the economic burden of pediatric inpatients with fractures in China.

METHODS

A total of 14,141 pediatric inpatients (≤18 years of age) with fractures were included in the present study. Information on the clinical characteristics of each patient were obtained from the home page of their medical records. Pediatric inpatients with fractures were defined as patients that were 18 years of age or younger, and were primarily diagnosed as having a fracture. One-way ANOVA was used to assess differences in the economic burden of the treatment of the fractures.

RESULTS

Pediatric fractures accounted for 32.6% of all injures children recorded in the medical records. Fractures were more common among boys than among girls. The majority of fractures occurred in children that were 6-12 years old. The most common fracture sites were the shoulders and upper arms (44.6%), followed by the elbow and forearm (21.23%). The leading cause of fractures were falling down (61.3%). The majority of fractures occurred in summer (30.3%). The cost of hospitalization increased with the age of the inpatients. Furthermore, fractures of the long bones of the extremities, and fractures caused by traffic accidents, usually incurred higher hospitalization costs. The cost of materials and treatment of the fractures were the key factor affecting the cost of hospitalization.

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of pediatric fractures is affected by age, gender, reason, season and fracture sites. Appropriate precautions should be taken to reduce the incidence of fractures in children.

Impact of supervised beego, a traditional Chinese water-only fasting, on thrombosis and haemostasis

Beego is a traditional Chinese complete water-only fasting practice initially developed for spiritual purposes, later extending to physical fitness purposes. Beego notably includes a psychological induction component that includes meditation and abdominal breathing, light body exercise and ends with a specific gradual refeeding program before returning to a normal diet. Beego has regained its popularity in recent decades in China as a strategy for helping people in subhealthy conditions or with metabolic syndrome, but we are unaware of any studies examining the biological effects of this practice. To address this, we here performed a longitudinal study of beego comprising fasting (7 and 14 day cohorts) and a 7-day programmed refeeding phase. In addition to detecting improvements in cardiovascular physiology and selective reduction of blood pressure in hypertensive subjects, we observed that beego decreased blood triacylglycerol (TG) selectively in TG-high subjects and increased cholesterol in all subjects during fasting; however, the cholesterol levels were normalised after completion of the refeeding program. Strikingly, beego reduced platelet formation, activation, aggregation and degranulation, resulting in an alleviated thrombosis risk, yet maintained haemostasis by sustaining levels of coagulation factors and other haemostatic proteins. Mechanistically, we speculate that downregulation of G6B and MYL9 may influence the observed beego-mediated reduction in platelets. Fundamentally, our study supports that supervised beego reduces thrombosis risk without compromising haemostasis capacity. Moreover, our results support that beego under medical supervision can be implemented as non-invasive intervention for reducing thrombosis risk, and suggest several lines of intriguing inquiry for future studies about this fasting practice (http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx, number, ChiCTR1900027451).

Bedaquiline in the treatment of multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in China

BACKGROUND: Multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/XDR-TB) continues to be a challenge in China. Bedaquiline (BDQ) is associated with accelerated sputum culture conversion and favourable treatment outcomes when added to a preferred background regimen. This post-hoc study aimed to assess the outcomes of BDQ treatment in Chinese patients with MDR/XDR-TB.METHODS: Data from 51 Chinese patients who participated in a global Phase 2, open-label, single-arm study (TMC207-C209) were analysed for effectiveness and safety of the BDQ-containing regimen.RESULTS: During the 24-week BDQ treatment, adverse events (AEs) occurred in 48 patients (94.1%), with the most common AE being hyperuricemia. Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) was reported in 13 patients (25.5%); serious DILI was reported in one patient (2.0%). Seven (13.7%) AEs were considered to be possibly related to BDQ by the investigators. Only one Grade 1 QTc prolongation was reported; no QTcF >500 ms was reported. One death occurred after BDQ treatment due to progressive TB. The median time to sputum culture conversion was 85 days based on the 24-week data. The sputum culture conversion rate was 82% at 24 weeks and 78% at 120 weeks; 66% of patients achieved a cure.CONCLUSIONS: BDQ was well-tolerated and effective for treating MDR-TB among Chinese patients.

Structural analysis of pulsed magnets considering interface characteristics

The aim of traditional designs of pulsed magnets is to keep the von-Mises stress on the midplane less than the ultimate tensile strength of materials. However, recently failed high-field experiments showed that some short circuits occurred at the magnet end, which is most possibly caused by the axial displacement of wires. This indicates that the former design is inadequate and accurate axial mechanical analysis of magnets is necessary. In this paper, a finite element model of pulsed magnets considering interface characteristics is proposed. Both the contact status and interfacial friction between the conductor layers and reinforcements can be accounted for Simulations are conducted with a failed 95 T dual-coil prototype, which was originally designed with the self-developed Pulsed Magnet Design Software (PMDS) software. The simulation results show that all the originally expected separations calculated by the PMDS software disappear due to the compression. This makes the calculated maximal von-Mises stress of the inner four reinforcement layers about 600 MPa less than the former designs. The influence of the interfacial friction is also presented. Besides, the simulations show that the maximum axial displacement at the magnet end is up to 8 mm at the designed peak field, which is deadly to the insulations. Hence, we suggest that the axial displacement at the magnet end should also be one design objective of pulsed magnets. At last, the factors affecting the axial displacement are analyzed.

Identification and characterization of long non-coding RNAs as competing endogenous RNAs in the cold stress response of Triticum aestivum

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in plant development and stress responses. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation. It is not clear how lncRNA-mediated plant responses to cold stress and how lncRNAs, miRNAs and target mRNAs cooperate subject to the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA). We interpreted the function of lncRNAs in the winter wheat cultivar Dongnongdongmai 1 (Dn1). A total of 9970 putative lncRNAs were initially identified from three Dn1 lncRNA libraries (5 °C, -10 °C and -25 °C) using high-throughput sequencing. Among the 14,626 genes detected via weighted gene co-expression network analysis, 7435 lncRNAs were co-expressed with 7191 mRNAs. We found six modules related to cold resistance in the lncRNA-mRNA weighted co-expression network, and the functions of mRNAs were similar in each module. Antioxidant systems and hormones played important roles in low-temperature responses. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that interactions between the 384 lncRNAs and 70 miRNAs were required for ceRNA activity. According to ceRNA activity, 225 lncRNAs, 60 miRNAs and 621 target mRNAs were involved in the regulatory networks of the cold stress response. Notably, a conserved region was found in the complementary regions of lncRNAs and miR164/408 but had reverse expression trends in the ceRNA network. Our results reveal possible roles of lncRNAs-mRNAs in the regulatory networks associated with tolerance to low temperature and provide useful information for more strategic use of genomic resources in wheat breeding.

Copper-catalyzed 1,1-alkynylalkylation of alkynes: access toward conjugated enynes

A copper-catalyzed 1,1-alkynylalkylation of alkynes with α-haloacetamides for the construction of conjugated enynes has been developed.

Are left ventricular muscle area and radiation attenuation associated with overall survival in advanced pancreatic cancer patients treated with chemotherapy?

AIM

To evaluate whether cardiac muscle area and radiation attenuation, determined using pre-chemotherapy computed tomography (CT), are associated with therapeutic response and overall survival (OS) in chemotherapy-treated advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ninety-eight chemotherapy-treated APC patients who underwent pre-chemotherapy CT between 2009 and 2018 were considered. Left ventricular muscle area (LVMA) and left ventricular muscle radiation attenuation (LVMRA) were measured using pre-chemotherapy arterial-phase CT. OS and progression-free survival (PFS) were analysed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to analyse potential factors affecting OS and PFS.

RESULTS

Patients with low LVMRA, low LVMA at baseline CT, and multiple metastases had a significantly shorter median OS than patients with high LVMRA, high LVMA, and without multiple metastases (8.8 versus 14 months, p=0.017; 12.2 versus 18.1 months, p=0.038; 7.3 versus 13.5 months, p<0.001, respectively). Patients with low LVMRA and distant metastasis had a shorter median PFS than patients with high LVMRA and those without distant metastasis (4.9 versus 8.3 months, p=0.032; 5.4 versus 9.9 months, p=0.002, respectively). Moreover, the mean LVMRA was the highest in the partial response group (p=0.028).

CONCLUSION

LVMRA could well predict PFS and OS in chemotherapy-treated APC patients.

Combined therapy of infusion of DC from rats with higher expression of IDO and CD40L on rejection post heart transplantation

OBJECTIVE

Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO) can inhibit rejection of graft via inducing T cell apoptosis. CD40L monoclonal antibody (mAb) inhibits T cell activation. However, the effects of the combination of infusion of dendritic cell (DC) from IDO over-expressed donor mice and CD40L mAb on the treatment of graft rejection after heart transplantation have not been reported.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Allogeneic heart transplantation mouse model was established. Recipient mice were divided into three groups, including control group, IDO group (in which DC donors received adenoviral vector of IDO) and combined therapy group (which received both IDO over-expressed DC infusion and CD40L mAb injection post transplantation). Survival time and cardiac function were observed, with IDO expression being quantified. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to analyze T cell apoptosis, while enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was adopted to test the levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

RESULTS

IDO expression was significantly elevated in both IDO and combined therapy groups, with enhanced T cell apoptosis compared to control group (p < 0.05). Both groups had better survival time and cardiac functions compared to control group, along with increased IL-10/IL-6 expression and suppressed INF-γ and IL-2 expression (p < 0.05). However, combined therapy had a better efficiency compared to IDO group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Combined therapy of high IDO expressed mouse DC perfusion with CD40L mAb can elongate the survival time of recipient heart and inhibit rejection reaction via facilitating T cell apoptosis. Meanwhile, combined therapy could also regulate the expression of some immune suppressant factors and mediate the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance.

Notch3 signaling activation in smooth muscle cells promotes extrauterine growth restriction-induced pulmonary hypertension

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Early postnatal life is a critical developmental period that affects health of the whole life. Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) causes cardiovascular development problems and diseases, including pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH is characterized by proliferation, migration, and anti-apoptosis of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). However, the role of PASMCs in EUGR has not been studied. Thus, we hypothesized that PASMCs dysfunction played a role in EUGR-induced pulmonary hypertension.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Here we identified that postnatal nutritional restriction-induced EUGR rats exhibited an elevated mean pulmonary arterial pressure and vascular remodeling at 12 weeks old. PASMCs of EUGR rats showed increased cell proliferation and migration features. In EUGR-induced PAH rats, Notch3 signaling was activated. Relative mRNA and protein expression levels of Notch3 intracellular domain (Notch3 ICD), and Notch target gene Hey1 in PASMCs were upregulated. We further demonstrated that pharmacological inhibition of Notch3 activity by using a γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT, which blocked the cleavage of Notch proteins to ICD peptides, could effectively inhibit PASMC proliferation. Specifically knocked down of Notch3 in rat PASMCs by shRNA restored the abnormal PASMC phenotype in vitro. We found that administration of Notch signaling inhibitor DAPT could successfully reduce mean pulmonary arterial pressure in EUGR rats.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study demonstrated that upregulation of Notch3 signaling in PASMCs was crucial for the development of EUGR-induced PAH. Blocking Notch3-Hey1 signaling pathway in PASMCs provides a potential therapeutic target for PAH.

Algorithm on age partitioning for estimation of reference intervals using clinical laboratory database exemplified with plasma creatinine

BACKGROUND

We describe an algorithm to determine age-partitioned reference intervals (RIs) exemplified for creatinine using data collection from the clinical laboratory database.

METHODS

The data were acquired from the test results of creatinine of 164,710 outpatients aged <18 years in Beijing Children's Hospital laboratories' databases between January 2016 and December 2016. The tendency of serum creatinine with age was examined visually using box plot by gender first. The age subgroup was divided automatically by the decision tree method. Subsequently, the statistical tests of the difference between subgroups were performed by Harris-Boyd and Lahti methods.

RESULTS

A total of 136,546 samples after data cleaning were analyzed to explore the partition of age group for serum creatinine from birth to 17 years old. The suggested age partitioning of RIs for creatinine by the decision tree method were for eight subgroups. The difference between age subgroups was demonstrated to be statistically significant by Harris-Boyd and Lahti methods. In addition, the results of age partitioning for RIs estimation were similar to the suggested age partitioning by the Canadian Laboratory Initiative in Pediatric Reference Intervals study. Lastly, a suggested algorithm was developed to provide potential methodological considerations on age partitioning for RIs estimation.

CONCLUSIONS

Appropriate age partitioning is very important for establishing more accurate RIs. The procedure to explore the age partitioning using clinical laboratory data was developed and evaluated in this study, and will provide more opinions for designing research on establishment of RIs.

Limitations of the Hoffmann method for establishing reference intervals using clinical laboratory data

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effect of different limits of acceptability on the Hoffmann method for selecting "healthy" populations from laboratory test data.

METHODS

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT₄) were measured in Shunyi Maternal and Children's Hospital of Beijing Children's Hospital. The sample size of participants of TSH and FT₄ for reference intervals (RIs) establishment was 10,864 and 10,799, respectively. RIs were calculated by Hoffmann method with different acceptable deviations (α value). The validation data was collected prospectively and the out-of-range (OOR) values were calculated to examine the applicability of RIs with different acceptable deviations. The sample size for RIs validation was 880 and 867, respectively. The RIs were considered as valid when OOR was <10%.

RESULTS

α value was set at different levels for establishing the RIs of TSH and FT₄. It was shown that the larger α value, the wider the RI. The RIs calculated by the Hoffmann method, under the default α value of 0.05, were much narrower than the previous findings. The OOR of both TSH and FT₄ were far more from 10% when the α value was 0.05. In this simulation, the OOR of TSH and FT₄ was not <10% until the α value was set as 0.55 and 0.80, respectively. The established RIs were valid for both training dataset and validation dataset.

CONCLUSIONS

It can be somewhat subjective to define the acceptable deviation when selecting "normal" reference individuals. The default value of acceptable deviation may not be applicable in some cases. It is necessary to determine the acceptable deviation based on the certain condition, instead of using the default value directly.

S-nitrosylation of Src by NR2B-nNOS signal causes Src activation and NR2B tyrosine phosphorylation in levodopa-induced dyskinetic rat model

Abnormality in Src PSD-95 NR2B signaling complex assemble occurs in levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) subunit NR2B tyrosine phosphorylation mediated by Src family protein tyrosine kinases is closely associated with dyskinesia. Src autophosphorylation (p-Src) is an important part of Src-catalyzed phosphorylation of NR2B. In addition, the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)-derived NO (nNOS/NO) signal which was also involved in dyskinesia recently was proved to participate in the regulation of Src function. Yet, the detailed signal mechanism about the interactions of NR2B, nNOS, and Src is still unknown. In the present study, we investigated the influences of nNOS on Src activation and NR2B tyrosine phosphorylation in dyskinetic rat model by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. The results demonstrated that chronic levodopa treatment resulted in downregulation of p-nNOS-S847, one marker of nNOS overactivation. Coinstantaneously, the S-nitrosylation (SNO-Src) and autophosphorylation (p-Src) of Src and NR2B tyrosine phosphorylation were upregulated in dyskinetic rat model. Conversely, administration of 7-NI, one nNOS inhibitor, reversed all these effects of levodopa treatment. Besides, NR2B-containing NMDAR (NR2B/NMDAR) antagonist CP-101,606 could upregulate p-nNOS-S847 and thus attenuate nNOS activation and simultaneously reduce the SNO-Src, p-Src, and NR2B tyrosine phosphorylation. Taken together, the S-nitrosylation of Src is caused by nNOS/NO signal, which is overactivated via Ca²⁺ influx dependent on NR2B/NMDAR, and subsequently facilitates Src auto-tyrosine phosphorylation and further phosphorylates NR2B. The "NR2B/NMDAR-nNOS/NO-SNO-Src-p-Src-NR2B/NMDAR" signaling cycle may be the molecular basis of NR2B tyrosine phosphorylation upward positive feedback, which demonstrates the possibility as one latent target for dyskinesia therapy.

[The attentional bias of emotion in medical workers of emergency department in one hospital and it's relationship with mood state]

Objective: To study the characteristics of attentional bias to emotional stimulus in medical workers of emergency department and explore the relationship between the emotional Stroop effect and mood states, thus providing a reference to the assessment and intervention of emergency medical workers' mental health. Methods: Two kinds of emotional Stroop tasks with words and pictures and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were administered to thirty-six medical workers of emergency department and thirty-six medical workers of other departments. Results: The reaction time to negative and positive words and pictures were all higher than the reaction time to neutral stimulus, thus showing the significant Stroop effect in medical workers. The Stroop effect to negative emotional stimulus in medical workers of emergency department was significantly smaller than that in medical workers of other departments, while the difference of Stroop effect to positive stimulus was not significant between the two groups. Correlation analyses revealed that the correlations between Stroop effect size to positive pictures and tension and angry of POMS were all negatively significant (r value was -0.314 and -0.330 respectively) , and the correlation between Stroop effect size to negative pictures and fatigue was negatively significant (r=-0.303) . Conclusions: There is a significant emotional Stroop effect in medical workers. Although the ability of anti-interference to emotional stimulus in medical workers of emergency department was better than medical workers of the other departments, the long-term avoidance to negative emotional stimulus was still has a negative effect on the mood states of individuals.

Expression and significance of peripheral myeloid-derived suppressor cells in chronic hepatitis B patients

BACKGROUND

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) exert their suppressive effects on multiple immune response and contribute to the development of many diseases. However, limited data is available on the involvement of MDSCs in human chronic HBV infection.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether the progression of chronic HBV infection was associated with imbalance of MDSCs.

METHODS

The percentages of MDSCs, regulatory T (Treg), Th1 and Tc1 cells in the peripheral blood from chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and healthy controls (HC) were determined by flow cytometry. Plasma levels of IL-10, TGF-β and IFN-γ were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The potential association of the frequencies of MDSCs with clinical parameters was assessed.

RESULTS

The percentages of MDSCs and Treg cells were significantly higher in CHB patients than those in HC. The percentages of MDSCs were negatively correlated with Th1 cells. Increased plasma IL-10 level and decreased IFN-γ level were found in CHB patients compared with HC. Moreover, the frequencies of MDSCs and plasma IL-10 levels were positively correlated with serum HBV DNA loads, as well as liver function impairment.

CONCLUSION

The expanded peripheral MDSCs may contribute to poor viral clearance and disease progression during chronic HBV infection.

An Effective α/β Nucleating Agent Compoundfor the Preparation of Polypropylene

The crystallization behavior and mechanical properties were investigated by mixing the traditional α-form nucleating agent (sodium benzoate, SB) and commercialized β-form nucleating agent (TMB-5) in isotactic polypropylene (iPP). Mechanical properties were evaluated by universal testing machines. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were conducted to illustrate the crystallization behavior. Polarized optical microscopy (POM) was adopted to observe the crystal morphologies. The experimental results show that the weight ratio of two types of nucleating agents determines the final crystal structure and mechanical properties of iPP. When the weight ratio of [SB] : [TMB-5] is 4 : 1, the impact strength and flexural modulus of iPP reach a maximum value. Compared with the single component β-form nucleating agent, the compound nucleating agent exhibits significant synergistic effect and shows better mechanical properties. It is expected that this new nucleation system will have potential industrial applications.

Targeting intracellular MMPs efficiently inhibits tumor metastasis and angiogenesis

Treatment for metastatic cancer is a great challenge throughout the world. Commonly, directed inhibition of extracellular matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) secreted by cancer cells can reduce metastasis. Here, a novel nanoplatform (HPMC NPs) assembled from hyaluronic acid (HA)-paclitaxel (PTX) prodrug and marimastat (MATT)/β-casein (CN) complexes was established to cure a 4T1 metastatic cancer model via targeting CD44 and intracellular, rather than extracellular, MMPs.

Methods: HPMC NPs were prepared by assembling the complexes and prodrug under ultrasonic treatment, which the interaction between them was evaluated by förster resonance energy transfer, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectra. The developed nanoplatform was characterized via dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy, and was evaluated in terms of MMP-sensitive release and stability. Subsequently, the cellular uptake, trafficking, and in vitro invasion were studied by flow cytometry, confocal laser microscopy and transwell assay. MMP expression and activity was determined by western blotting and gelatin zymography. Finally, the studies of biodistribution and antitumor efficacy in vivo were performed in a mouse 4T1 tumor breast model, followed by in vivo safety study in normal mouse.

Results: The interaction between the prodrug and complexes is strong with a high affinity, resulting in the assembly of these two components into hybrid nanoparticles (250 nm). Compared with extracellular incubation with MATT, HPMC NP treatment markedly reduced the expression (100%) and activity (50%) of MMPs in 4T1 cells and in the tumor. HPMC NPs exhibited 1.4-fold tumor accumulation, inhibited tumor-growth by >8-fold in volume with efficient apoptosis and proliferation, and suppressed metastasis (>5-fold) and angiogenesis (>3-fold). Overall, HPMC NPs were efficient in metastatic cancer therapy. Conclusions: According to the assembly of polymer prodrug and protein-drug complexes, this study offers a new strategy for constructing nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and combinatorial treatment. Importantly, via inhibition of intracellular MMPs, metastasis and angiogenesis can be potently blocked, benefiting the rational design of nanomedicine for cancer treatment.

Trends in use of lymphadenectomy in surgery with curative intent for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

The role of routine lymph node dissection (LND) in the surgical treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remains controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the trends of LND use in the surgical treatment of ICC.

METHODS

Patients undergoing curative intent resection for ICC in 2000-2015 were identified from an international multi-institutional database. Use of lymphadenectomy was evaluated over time and by geographical region (West versus East); LND use and final nodal status were analysed relative to AJCC T categories.

RESULTS

Among the 1084 patients identified, half (535, 49·4 per cent) underwent concomitant hepatic resection and LND. Between 2000 and 2015, the proportion of patients undergoing LND for ICC nearly doubled: 44·4 per cent in 2000 versus 81·5 per cent in 2015 (P < 0·001). Use of LND increased over time among both Eastern and Western centres. The odds of LND was associated with the time period of surgery and the extent of the tumour/T status (referent T1a: OR 2·43 for T2, P = 0·001; OR 2·13 for T3, P = 0·016). Among the 535 patients who had LND, lymph node metastasis (LNM) was noted in 209 (39·1 per cent). Specifically, the incidence of LNM was 24 per cent in T1a disease, 22 per cent in T1b, 42·9 per cent in T2, 48 per cent in T3 and 66 per cent in T4 (P < 0·001). AJCC T3 and T4 categories, harvesting of six or more lymph nodes, and presence of satellite lesions were independently associated with LNM.

CONCLUSION

The rate of LNM was high across all T categories, with one in five patients with T1 disease having nodal metastasis. The trend in increased use of LND suggests a growing adoption of AJCC recommendations in the treatment of ICC.