Naringin's Alleviation of the Inflammatory Response Caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae by Downregulating the NF-κB/NLRP3 Signalling Pathway

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) is responsible for causing Porcine pleuropneumonia (PCP) in pigs. However, using vaccines and antibiotics to prevent and control this disease has become more difficult due to increased bacterial resistance and weak cross-immunity between different APP types. Naringin (NAR), a dihydroflavonoid found in citrus fruit peels, has been recognized as having significant therapeutic effects on inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system. In this study, we investigated the effects of NAR on the inflammatory response caused by APP through both in vivo and in vitro models. The results showed that NAR reduced the number of neutrophils (NEs) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and decreased lung injury and the expression of proteins related to the NLRP3 inflammasome after exposure to APP. In addition, NAR inhibited the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) P65 in porcine alveolar macrophage (PAMs), reduced protein expression of NLRP3 and Caspase-1, and reduced the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by APP. Furthermore, NAR prevented the assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex by reducing protein interaction between NLRP3, Caspase-1, and ASC. NAR also inhibited the potassium (K+) efflux induced by APP. Overall, these findings suggest that NAR can effectively reduce the lung inflammation caused by APP by inhibiting the over-activated NF-κB/NLRP3 signalling pathway, providing a basis for further exploration of NAR as a potential natural product for preventing and treating APP.

Therapeutic Effect and Safety Evaluation of Naringin on Klebsiella pneumoniae in Mice

Critically ill patients with Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) often develop secondary bacterial infections that pose a significant threat to patient life safety, making the development of drugs to prevent bacterial infections in the lungs critical to clinical care. Naringin (NAR) is one of the significant natural flavonoids rich in Pummelo Peel (Hua Ju Hong), with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities, and is commonly used in treating respiratory tract infectious diseases. In this study, the in vitro and in vivo findings revealed that, after Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn) infection, NAR inhibited overactivation of the nuclear factor kappa-B(NF-κB) signaling pathway in alveolar macrophages of mice, reduced neutrophil (NEs) recruitment, and lowered the induced production of proinflammatory markers, such as Interleukin-6(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α). Thus, it suppressed excessive immune responses in the lungs, as well as attenuated the induced pulmonary fibrosis and inflammatory infiltrates. These results suggest that NAR has a preventive effect against Kpn in mice. In addition, the study evaluated NAR's potential toxicity, demonstrating that NAR is safe at effective doses. These results suggested that NAR effectively reduces excessive inflammatory damage in the lungs induced by Kpn and enhances the body's ability to clear bacteria. Therefore, NAR may be an effective and safe healthcare drug for preventing and caring for bacterial pneumonia.

A Nomogram to Predict Pathological Axillary Status in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

This study aimed to identify factors influencing axillary pathological complete response (pCR) and to develop a predictive nomogram to evaluate axillary pCR rate in breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 2368 patients who received NAC and mastectomy between 2000 and 2014 from 12 grade A tertiary hospitals in China were analyzed retrospectively. The patients treated in three cancer hospitals (training set, n = 1629) were used to construct the nomogram based on multivariate logistic regression analyses. The nomograph was validated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration curve in patients from 9 other general hospitals (validation set, n = 739).

RESULTS

The nomogram incorporated seven predicting factors including NACT cycles, response to NACT, clinical T stage, clinical N stage, grade, LVI, and molecular subtype. The AUC for the training set and validation set were 0.762 and 0.802, respectively. In addition, the calibration curve also showed good agreement between the nomogram-based predictions and the actual observations.

CONCLUSION

A nomogram was established to predict the status of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients after NAC. The predictive model performed well both in the training set and external validation set.

Deep learning for predicting the risk of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis in lung cancer

AIM

To develop and validate a nomogram model that combines computed tomography (CT)-based radiological factors extracted from deep-learning and clinical factors for the early predictions of immune checkpoint inhibitor-related pneumonitis (ICI-P).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty ICI-P patients and 101 patients without ICI-P were divided randomly into the training (n=113) and test (n=28) sets. The convolution neural network (CNN) algorithm was used to extract the CT-based radiological features of predictable ICI-P and calculated the CT score of each patient. A nomogram model to predict the risk of ICI-P was developed by logistic regression.

RESULTS

CT score was calculated from five radiological features extracted by the residual neural network-50-V2 with feature pyramid networks. Four predictors of ICI-P in the nomogram model included a clinical feature (pre-existing lung diseases), two serum markers (absolute lymphocyte count and lactate dehydrogenase), and a CT score. The area under curve of the nomogram model in the training (0.910 versus 0.871 versus 0.778) and test (0.900 versus 0.856 versus 0.869) sets was better than the radiological and clinical models. The nomogram model showed good consistency and better clinical practicability.

CONCLUSION

The nomogram model that combined CT-based radiological factors and clinical factors can be used as a new non-invasive tool for the early prediction of ICI-P in lung cancer patients after immunotherapy with low cost and low manual input.

Programmed Death of Microglia in Alzheimer's Disease: Autophagy, Ferroptosis, and Pyroptosis

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline, amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that the damage of cell plays an important role in AD. Cell death is a critical phenomenon for physiological functions, which promotes AD pathogenesis. Programmed cell death, including necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis, have been discovered that have unique biological functions and pathophysiological characteristics. Here, we review the available evidence detailing the mechanisms of programmed microglial death, including pyroptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis. We also highlight the role of programmed death of microglia during the process of AD and focus on the connection between the disease and cell death.

Differential proteomic of plasma provides a new perspective on scientific diagnosis and drug screening for dampness heat diarrhea in calves

Dampness heat diarrhea (DHD) is one of the most common syndromes of calf diarrhea. Its complex etiology and lack of objective diagnostic criteria bring great challenges to the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. This study aims to screen some prospective diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets for calves with DHD by investigating the differential protein profiles of plasma between DHD calves and clinically healthy calves by mass spectrometry-based proteomic. A total of 120 DHD calves and 90 clinically healthy calves were divided into two groups randomly, 30 DHD calves and 30 clinically healthy calves in the test group, and 90 DHD calves and 60 clinically healthy calves in the validation group. In the test group, a total of 52 proteins were differentially expressed between calves with DHD and clinically healthy calves, 13 proteins were significantly increased and 39 proteins were significantly decreased. The differentially expressed proteins were associated with the intestinal immune network of IgA production, caffeine metabolism, purine metabolism, and PI3K signaling pathway. In the validation group, 13 proteins were selected from 52 differential expression proteins for parallel reaction monitoring validation to verify their associations with DHD calves. The targeted proteomic results showed that fibronectin precursor (FN1) and apolipoprotein C-IV precursor (APOC4) were significantly associated with DHD in calves, and they were downregulated in sick calves. In conclusion, the differential expression of plasma proteins was associated with DHD pathogenesis in calves, and the FN1 and APOC4 might be the potential clinical biomarkers for diagnosis of DHD in calves, and the intestinal immune network of IgA production, caffeine metabolism, purine metabolism, and PI3K signaling pathway are the candidate targets to treat DHD in calves. Our finding provides a reference for further investigating the pathogenesis, developing techniques of diagnosis, and screening treatment drugs for DHD in calves.

Comparison of Telomere Length between Buccal Cells and Blood Cells

Telomere length (TL) in blood cells is commonly used as a proxy for TL in other tissue types. The source of DNA of adequate quality and quantity is important for TL analysis. Compared to blood cells, buccal cells easy for genomic DNA preparation would facilitate the rapid and reliable TL analysis. However, the feasibility of buccal cells for TL analysis remains yet unestablished. We characterized TL of buccal cells and blood cells collected from 52 individuals using buccal cell swabs and fingertip sticks. Relative TL (RTL) determined by quantitative PCR showed that there is a strong correlation between buccal RTL and blood RTL (r=0.877, p<0.001), suggesting that buccal cells are adequate sources of DNA for TL analysis. The validity of sampling using buccal cell swabs provides simple operation and good reproducibility for TL analysis, that overcomes the discomfort and risk of infection caused by blood sampling.

Antiviral activity and underlying mechanisms of Baicalin against avian infectious bronchitis virus in vitro

Baicalin, a flavonoid compound extracted from the dry root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, has been shown to have anti-inflammation, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and immunomodulatory activity. However, the effect of baicalin against avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-IBV activity and underlying mechanism of baicalin in vitro. The results showed that baicalin has a direct virucidal effect but no prophylactic effect on IBV infection. The mRNA and protein of IBV N were decreased obviously when IBV-infected cells were treated with baicalin during the multiple stages of the virus replication cycle, including viral adsorption, invasion, internalization, and release. Stress granule (SG) formation resulted from the increase of G3BP1 and the phosphorylation of the PKR/eIF2α due to the treatment of IBV-infected cells with baicalin. The inhibitory activity of baicalin on IBV replication was increased when G3BP1 expression was inhibited, and the down-regulation of G3BP1 expression occurred when the expression of PKR and eIF2α was inhibited. These findings revealed that baicalin activates phosphorylation of PKR/eIF2α pathway and induces SG formation by targeting G3BP1, initiating the antiviral response to suppress IBV replication on Vero cell. The results suggest that baicalin is a promising candidate drug to treat or prevent IBV infection.

Prevalence characteristic of BVDV in some large scale dairy farms in Western China

The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence characteristic of Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in some large scale dairy farms in Western China. BVDV was detected in 30 samples of bulk tank milk (BTM) collected from 30 large dairy farms in 7 provinces of western China, 93.33% (28/30) of the farms were infected with BVDV, and S/P ratio was over 0.3 in 28 positive farms. The individual status was further estimated in the dairy farm (No. 10) with the highest positive rate (S/P ratio = 1.37) and the dairy farm (No. 17) with the lowest positive rate (S/P ratio = 0.39). Two hundred cows were, respectively, selected from calf, young cows and lactating cows in farm No. 10 and farm No. 17 and the serum sample of each enrolled cow was collected. The individual positive rate of serum antibody (Ab) was 87.17% (523/600) in farm No. 10 and 31.33% (188/600) in farm No. 17. The individual positive ratio of serum antibody in calves, young cows and lactating cows were 41.75 % (167/400), 58.75% (235/400) and 77.25% (309/400), respectively. BTM Ab of farm No. 10 has an S/P ratio more than 1.0, which indicated there were emergent or persistent infection (PI) cases, and further test showed that PI cases were 0.51% in farm No. 10. Pathogens were positive in 42.34% (163/385) of nasal mucus samples collected from cows with respiratory symptom, and BVDV cases were 57 in 163 positive samples. Three strains of NCP BVDV-1, one strain of CP BVDV-1, one strain of NCP BVDV-2 and one strain of CP BVDV-2 were successfully isolated. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the subtypes of BVDV currently prevalent in western China were BVDV-1a, BVDV-1m, BVDV-1q and BVDV-2. The findings suggested that the BVDV infection is serious in some Large Scale Dairy Farms in Western China.

Huang Bai Jian Pi decoction alleviates diarrhea and represses inflammatory injury via PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway: In vivo and in vitro studies

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Huang Bai Jian Pi (HBJP) decoction, a Chinese herbal formula based on the Pulsatilla decoction (PD) and Si Junzi decoction, is efficacy to treat clinical diarrhea in calves.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The mechanism of HBJP decoction to treat calf diarrhea remains unclear. This study was to investigate the therapeutic effect and anti-inflammatory mechanism of HBJP decoction on diarrhea in rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-six Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group, model group, PD group and three treated groups with HBJP decoction. The diarrheal model in rats was established by multiple factors including high-sugar and fat diet, high temperature and dampness environment, biological pathogenic factors. The diarrheal animals were treated with HBJP decoction or PD for 5 days. The inflammatory model of the intestinal epithelioid cell line 6 (IEC-6) was induced by TNF-α. The clinical symptoms, blood routine and biochemistry parameters, histopathology of main organs were detected. The proteins associated with PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway and the expression levels of cytokines associated with inflammation were detected in vivo and in vitro by Western blot and ELISA.

RESULTS

The model rats showed obvious diarrheal symptoms, and the obvious systemic inflammatory response accompanied with abnormal change in blood routine, biochemistry parameters and histopathology. HBJP decoction alleviated obviously the clinical symptoms, and pathological changes of the liver, colon and lung, and abnormal blood routine and biochemistry indexes in rats. The expression of P-PI3K, P-Akt, P-NF-κB, IL-1β, IL-6 was significantly increased, and the expression of IL-10 was markedly decreased in diarrheal rats and IEC-6 with inflammation. HBJP decoction significantly inhibited the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signal pathway and adjusted the expression of these inflammatory cytokines.

CONCLUSIONS

The finding suggested that HBJP decoction alleviate the inflammation in diarrhea through inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signal pathway, which provides scientific evidences for the clinical application of HBJP decoction in diarrhea.

Integrated 16S rDNA Gene Sequencing and Untargeted Metabolomics Analyses to Investigate the Gut Microbial Composition and Plasma Metabolic Phenotype in Calves With Dampness-Heat Diarrhea

Dampness-heat diarrhea (DHD), a common syndrome in Chinese dairy farms, is mainly resulted from digestive system disorders, and accompanied with metabolic disorders in some cases. However, the underlying mechanisms in the intestinal microbiome and plasma metabolome in calves with DHD remain unclear. In order to investigate the pathogenesis of DHD in calves, multi-omics techniques including the 16S rDNA gene sequencing and metabolomics were used to analyze gut microbial compositions and plasma metabolic changes in calves. The results indicated that DHD had a significant effect on the intestinal microbial compositions in calves, which was confirmed by changes in microbial population and distribution. A total of 14 genera were changed, including Escherichia-Shigella, Bacteroides, and Fournierella, in calves with DHD (P < 0.05). Functional analysis based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotations indicated that 11 metabolic functions (level 2) were significantly enriched in DHD cases. The untargeted metabolomics analysis showed that 440 metabolites including bilineurin, phosphatidylcholine, and glutamate were significantly different between two groups (VIP > 1 and P < 0.05), and they were related to 67 signal pathways. Eight signal pathways including alpha-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, and glycerophospholipid metabolism were significantly enriched (P < 0.05), which may be potential biomarkers of plasma in calves with DHD. Further, 107 pairs of intestinal microbiota-plasma metabolite correlations were determined, e.g., Escherichia-Shigella was significantly associated with changes of sulfamethazine, butyrylcarnitine, and 14 other metabolites, which reflected that metabolic activity was influenced by the microbiome. These microbiota-metabolite pairs might have a relationship with DHD in calves. In conclusion, the findings revealed that DHD had effect on intestinal microbial compositions and plasma metabolome in calves, and the altered metabolic pathways and microorganisms might serve as diagnostic markers and potential therapeutic targets for DHD in calves.

Combined Effect of Shegandilong Granule and Doxycycline on Immune Responses and Protection Against Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus in Broilers

Infectious bronchitis (IB) causes significant economic losses to commercial chicken farms due to the failures of vaccine immunization or incomplete protection. In this study, we evaluated the combination effect of Shegandilong (SGDL) granule (a traditional Chinese veterinary medicine) and doxycycline on the prevention of IBV infection and injury in the respiratory tract in broilers. A total of 126, 7-day-old broilers were randomly divided into four groups after vaccination. Group I served as a control. Broilers in Group II were given doxycycline, and Group III was given SGDL granule through drinking water. Broilers in Group IV were given SGDL granule and doxycycline by drinking water. Broilers in all groups were challenged with IBV through intraocular and intranasal routes at day 28. Results showed that the anti-IBV antibody level was higher in group IV compared with the level in other groups. Immunohistochemistry and ELISA results showed that an increase of immunoglobulin A (IgA) was observed in the trachea with the maximum level observed at day 14. In addition, SGDL granule + doxycycline effectively inhibited IBV replication and stopped IBV propagation from the trachea to the lung; modulated the mRNA expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ; and extenuated the histopathology lesions in trachea and lung. These data imply that a combination of SGDL granule and doxycycline is effective in preventing IBV infection and respiratory tract injury in broilers.

P13.14 Inhibition of extracellular carbonic anhydrases reduces glioblastoma cell invasion

BACKGROUND

Malignant gliomas metabolize glucose preferably by glycolysis which is in accordance with the Warburg effect. This induces a high demand of glucose combined with a significant lactic acid load. The hypoxia-inducible carbonic anhydrase (CA) IX has been shown to moderate the extrusion of hydrogen ions into the extracellular space. Since the acidification of the extracellular environment contributes to host tissue invasion due to activation of proteolytic enzymes, we hypothesized that CA IX plays an important role in malignant glioma Recently, specific small molecule inhibitors of this enzyme have been developed and may provide an innovative strategy for anti - invasive treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Two established and 4 primary GBM cell lines (2 with mesenchymal and 2 with proneural transcriptional profile) were exposed to the CAIX inhibitor U104 under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Cell toxicity was measured by ATP and crystal violet assay. For invasion assessment, a matrigel invasion chamber system with 8 µm pore size polycarbonate filter was used. CAIX expression was analyzed by quantitative RTPCR and Western Blot.

RESULTS

Hypoxia significantly induced CAIX expression in all cell lines. Invasiveness increased significantly under hypoxic conditions in the mesenchymal cells (p &lt; 0.01). Regardless of oxygenation status, the mesenchymal group displayed significantly higher invasiveness compared to the proneural group (p = 0.006). Looking at all cell lines, invasion is significantly inhibited by U104, both under normoxic and hypoxic conditions (p &lt; 0.01). However, while the mesenchymal group showed the highest susceptibility to CAIX inhibition followed by the proneurally differentiated group, the established cell lines were entirely refractory to CAIX inhibition.

CONCLUSION

Our data demonstrate that CAIX inhibition can effectively inhibit invasion in malignant glioma cells independent from oxygenation status, however the effects are significantly influenced by cell type specific biological features.

Flupentixol/melitracen for chronic refractory cough after treatment failure with other neuromodulators

BACKGROUND: Gabapentin and baclofen are recommended for the treatment of chronic refractory cough (CRC). We investigated the efficacy of flupentixol/melitracen in patients unresponsive to these neuromodulators.METHODS: A total of 101 patients with CRC who failed to respond to gabapentin and baclofen were recruited, and treated with flupentixol/melitracen. The prevalence of cough resolution and changes in the Cough Symptom Score (CSS), cough thresholds to capsaicin, Hull Airway Reflux Questionnaire (HARQ), Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-24 were evaluated after treatment.RESULTS: Ninety-eight patients (97.0%) completed the study. The overall successful cough resolution rate was 62.4% (63/101). Cough resolution was accompanied by an obvious decrease in the CSS and HARQ score and a remarkable increase in cough thresholds to capsaicin challenge and LCQ score, whereas anxiety and depression scores did not change significantly. The prevalence of adverse effects (e.g., insomnia and dizziness) was 21.8%. The prevalence of cough recurrence within 2 weeks after treatment cessation was 17.8%.CONCLUSION: Flupentixol/melitracen may be an efficacious option for CRC unresponsive to other neuromodulators.

P–313 Endometrial receptivity analysis for personalized embryo transfer in patients with recurrent implantation failure: a retrospective analysis of a Chinese cohort

Study question

To quantify the effectiveness of endometrial receptivity analysis (ERA)-guided personalized embryo transfer (pET) in Chinese women.

Summary answer

ERA-guided pET may remarkably improve pregnancy and implantation rates among Chinese women with Recurrent implantation failure (RIF).

What is known already

RIF is a major cause of infertility, and endometrial receptivity is widely accepted to impact implantation failure. Precision prediction of the WOI, the time when the endometrium is most receptive to the implantation of the embryo, is, therefore, of great significance to improve implantation prospects. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of ERA for the prediction of the WOI, and how pET, timed by ERA, improves implantation and pregnancy rates; however, the efficacy of ERA-guided pET remains unknown for Chinese women.

Study design, size, duration

Patients in Chengdu Xi’nan Gynecology Hospital (Chengdu, China) who were undergoing frozen embryo transfer (FET) at the blastocyst stage on day five or day six during the period from November 2019 through September 2020 were recruited for this study. A total of 145 eligible patients were included in the study and assigned to the ERA group (n = 67) or the control group (n = 78). Clinical pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Endometrial specimens were collected the from ERA group. Total RNA was extracted from endometrial specimens, the transcriptomic sequencing data were processed using RNA-Seq and the endometrial receptivity status was assessed by the ERA predictor. The endometrium was classified as receptive or non-receptive according to the ERA assessment, and pET was done at the time determined by ERA in the ERA group. Subjects in the control group did not receive ERA and underwent blastocyst transfer normally.

Main results and the role of chance

The demographic and clinical characteristics were comparable between the ERA and control groups (P &gt; 0.05). The ERA test identified 10.45% of samples as receptive and 89.55% of samples as non-receptive in the ERA group, with 70.15% of samples presenting a pre-receptive profile. We observed higher cumulative pregnancy (74.63% vs. 64.10%) and cumulative implantation rate (47.32% vs. 21.68%) rates, and a lower biochemical pregnancy rate (18.00% vs. 34.00%) in the ERA group when compared to the control group (P &lt; 0.05). Additionally, we found higher pregnancy (67.16% vs. 39.74%) and implantation (46.54% vs. 16.94%) rates as well as a lower biochemical pregnancy rate (17.78% vs. 45.16%) after the first ERA test in the ERA group when compared to the control group (P &lt; 0.01).

Limitations, reasons for caution

First, this is a retrospective analysis, which is relatively more biased than prospective clinical trials. Second, the study sample is considerably small. Third, only 10.45% of the subjects were identified as presenting a receptive profile, which limits the comparisons of clinical outcomes between patients with receptive and non-receptive endometria.

Wider implications of the findings: This study demonstrates that the ERA test helps to determine the optimal timing for embryo transfer, improve pregnancy and implantation rates in patients with RIF, and guides the clinical application of the ERA test.

Trial registration number

approval No. 2020–018

P–371 Clinical value assessment between endometrial receptivity array and immune profiling in patients with implantation failure

Study question

To evaluate whether the pregnancy outcomes could be improved in implantation failure patients by endometrial receptivity array, endometrial immune profiling, or a combination of both.

Summary answer

There was no statistical difference between different endometrial receptivity evaluation and treatment in improving the clinical pregnancy rate.

What is known already

Both endometrial receptivity array and endometrial immune profiling were promised to improve the endometrial receptivity and subsequent clinical pregnancy. However, less is known about the efficiency between each other and whether the combination could further enhance their clinical value.

Study design, size, duration

Between November 2019 and September 2020, 143 women with a history of at least two or more consecutive implantation failure in IVF/ICSI treatment in Chengdu Xinan Gynecology Hospital were included. They were divided into three groups: ‘ERA + Immune Profiling’ (n = 70), ‘Immune Profiling’ (n = 41), and ‘ERA’ (n = 32).

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Inclusion criteria were age ≤ 38, with normal uterus and uterine cavity. All patients were suggested to evaluate endometrial receptivity by ERA test (Igenomix, Valencia, Spain) and endometrial immune profiling based on immunohistochemistry simultaneously, who would be free to choose each or both evaluation approaches. Personal Embryo Transfer and/or personal medical care were adopted according to evaluation results. Clinical pregnancy was confirmed by gestational sacs observed under ultrasonography.

Main results and the role of chance

The overall prevalence of displaced window of implantation (WOI) is 84.3%, and nearly 74.8% (83/111) patients were diagnosed as endometrial immune dysregulation. Clinical Pregnancy rate and embryonic implantation rate decreased in the ‘Immune Test’ groups, but without a statistical difference (P = 0.311, and 0.158, respectively). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that different endometrial receptivity evaluation and treatment was not associated the clinical pregnancy rate, suggesting the performance of different endometrial receptivity evaluation and treatment is similar in improving the clinical pregnancy rate. Neither the immune profiling (CD56, P = 0.591; FOXP3, P = 0.195; CD68, P = 0.820; CD163, P = 0.926; CD1a, P = 0.561; CD57, P = 0.221; CD8, P = 0.427; CD138 CE, P = 0.372) nor histologic endometrial dating defined by Noyes criteria (P = 0.374) were associated with ERA phases.

Limitations, reasons for caution

Although the selection of evaluation approaches was based on patients’ willingness, the variances of baseline characteristics and immune profiling existed in different groups. The immunological treatment efficacy based on immune profiling was not evaluated before embryo transfer.

Wider implications of the findings: To our knowledge, this is the first study comparing the pregnancy outcomes after two typical endometrial receptivity evaluation approaches. The findings highlight the unsubstitutability for each assessment, indicating that both asynchronous and pathological WOI contribute to implantation failure.

Trial registration number

X2019004

The safety and potential probiotic properties analysis of Streptococcus alactolyticus strain FGM isolated from the chicken cecum

Purpose

Streptococcus alactolyticus strain FGM is used to ferment Astragalus membranaceus to develop a novel feed additive for animals in China. This study aimed at characterizing the safety and potential probiotic features of the strain FGM in vitro.

Methods

The genome of S. alactolyticus strain FGM was sequenced and used for genomic in silico studies. It was evaluated for morphology, antibiotic susceptibility, hemolytic activity, acid tolerance, bile salt tolerance, adherence ability to Caco-2, and inhibitory pathogens activity.

Result

The GC content of the strain FGM was 40.38% and composed of 29 contigs. The annotation of coding genes revealed important characteristics of the germs, especially 151 genes annotated to biological adhesion. The strain FGM forecasted 43 amino acid sequences to be VF, but did not have a hemolytic gene, and neither did it show hemolytic activity in phenotypic analysis. Although 30 amino acid sequences were predicted to aid in resisting some antibiotics, the strain FGM just showed the resistance to trimoxazole and oxytetracycline, and intermediate resistance to kanamycin. FGM cells were showed the tolerance to pH 2 broth within 4 h, and 0.15~0.30% bile salt medium with the latter being attributed to the presence of bile-salt hydrolase. The strain FGM was shown to have the ability to adhere to Caco-2 cells and the adherence rate of 1.0 × 109 CFU/mL bacterial suspensions was 37.51%. Compared with Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus casei, the strain FGM showed a high capability to inhibit the diffusion of Escherichia coli O78 and reduce its adhesion on Caco-2 cells.

Conclusion

The results demonstrated the presence of probiotic potential and absence of adverse effects for the Streptococcus alactolyticus strain FGM in vitro, thus contributing to develop a safety and effective fermentation feed for animals.

Prostaglandin E2 receptor subtypes 1 and 2 play a role in TGF-β1-induced renal fibrosis by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the effects of prostaglandin E2 receptor subtypes 1 (EP1) and 2 (EP2) on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced by TGF-β1 in mouse mesangial cells (MCs) and to explore its potential mechanisms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Mouse mesangial cells were isolated and cultured. EP-siRNAs were transfected into mesangial cells for silencing EP1 and EP2. Mesangial cell proliferation was assessed by the CCK-8 method. Expression of PGE2 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). GRP78, TRPC1, ERK1/2, and phospho-ERK1/2 levels were examined by Western blot.

RESULTS

TGF-β1 induced mesangial cell proliferation and increased PGE2 secretion. Besides, TGF-β1 significantly upregulated GRP78 and TRPC1 expression at the protein level. Phospho-ERK1/2 protein amounts were also increased (p<0.05). Compared with the TGF-β1 group, cell proliferation in the EP1-siRNA+TGF-β1 group was reduced, while GRP78, TRPC1, and ERK1/2 protein amounts were downregulated (p<0.05). EP1 agonist significantly enhanced above changes and their activities (p<0.05). EP1 antagonist significantly attenuated the above changes (p<0.05). Compared with TGF-β1 group, cell proliferation in EP2-siRNA+TGF-β1 group was increased, while GRP78, TRPC1, and ERK1/2 protein amounts were increased (p<0.05). EP2 agonist significantly attenuated the above changes (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

EP1 receptor may increase TGF-β1-induced cell damage by increasing the activities of GRP78, TRPC1, and ERK1/2 via ER stress. Meanwhile, the EP2 receptor may reduce TGF-β1-induced cell damage by suppressing GRP78, TRPC1, and ERK1/2 activities, also via ER stress. EP1 inhibition and EP2 stimulation may be a therapeutic option for delaying renal fibrosis.

Antibacterial Activity of Cinnamomum camphora Essential Oil on Escherichia coli During Planktonic Growth and Biofilm Formation

Bacterial biofilms are believed to be principal virulence factors for many localized chronic infectious diseases. Escherichia coli is one of the most common microbial pathogens and frequently causes biofilm-associated opportunistic infections, such as diarrhea, endometritis and mastitis. Cinnamomum camphora essential oil (CCEO) has shown potential in treating intractable chronic endometritis in dairy cows. There is little scientific evidence regarding the effect of CCEO on bacterial biofilms. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of CCEO on E. coli biofilm formation and how CCEO affects E. coli in suspension and in a biofilm. CCEO killed all clinical E. coli strains in either planktonic or biofilm state isolated from dairy cows with clinical endometritis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for 90% of the organisms was 4.297 μL/mL, the minimum bactericidal concentration for 90% of the organisms was 6.378 μL/mL, the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration for 90% of the organisms was 6.850 μL/mL, and the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) for 90% of the organisms was 8.467 μL/mL. The MBECs were generally two times higher than the MICs. Flow cytometry analysis confirmed that significant bacterial killing occurred during the first 1 h after exposure to subinhibitory concentrations of CCEO. In addition, CCEO exerted a significant inhibitory effect on E. coli biofilm formation, and bacterial killing occurred during the first 30 min of exposure to subinhibitory biofilm concentrations of CCEO. The biofilm yield of E. coli was significantly reduced after CCEO treatment, along with an increased dead/live microbial ratio in biofilms compared with that in the non-treated control, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy images and confocal laser scanning microscopy images. These data revealed that CCEO efficiently kills E. coli during planktonic growth and biofilm formation.

Influences of urinary kallidinogenase on neuronal apoptosis in cerebral infarction rats through Nrf2/ARE oxidative stress pathway

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the influences of urinary kallidinogenase on neuronal apoptosis in rats with cerebral infarction through the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/antioxidant response element (ARE) oxidative stress pathway.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 30 male rats were divided into group A (model control group), group B (rat model of cerebral infarction) and group C (rat model of cerebral infarction + medical treatment with urinary kallidinogenase). The percentage of cerebral infarct volume and the apoptosis of brain cells in the three groups of rats were detected via 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, the pathological morphology of brain tissues in the three groups of rats was observed via hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and the protein levels of Nrf2 and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) in the brain tissues in the three groups of rats were measured using the Western blotting assay.

RESULTS

The degree of neurological deficit in group B was remarkably higher than that in group A (p<0.05), and it was markedly decreased in group C compared to that in group B, displaying statistically significant differences (p<0.05). Compared to that in group A, the cell apoptosis was significantly aggravated in group B, while a remarkably alleviated cell apoptosis was observed in group C compared to that of group B, and the differences were statistically significant (p<0.05). The cerebral infarct volume accounted for 34.87% of the whole brain volume in group B, and a mild cerebral infarction was detected in group C, with a percentage of cerebral infarct volume of 21.14%. Group B showed a more evident increase in the cerebral infarct volume than in group C (p<0.05). Compared to those of group A, pyknotic nuclei and neuron staining of brain tissue cells were evidently increased, and the neuronal cell injury was aggravated in group B. Moreover, prominently decreased pyknotic nuclei and neuron staining (p<0.05) as well as mild neuronal cell injury (p<0.05) were detected in group C compared to those in group B. The levels of Nrf2 and SOD1 protein in the brain tissues in group B were remarkably lower than those of group C (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Urinary kallidinogenase can inhibit the neuronal apoptosis in rats and protect the rats from cerebral infarction, whose mechanism is associated with the activation of the Nrf2/ARE oxidative stress pathway.

LncRNA DSCAM-AS1 promotes non-small cell lung cancer progression via regulating miR-577/HMGB1 axis

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a major source of cancer mortality. Long non-coding RNA DSCAM-AS1 has been certified to be involved in the pathogenesis of NSCLC. This study aimed to further investigate the potential mechanism of DSCAM-AS1 in NSCLC progression. The expressions of DSCAM-AS1, miR-577, and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or western blot assay. Cell viability was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Flow cytometry assay was conducted to monitor cell apoptosis. Cell migration and invasion were measured by transwell assay. Wnt/β-catenin pathway-related factors were detected by western blot assay. The relationship between DSCAM-AS1, miR-577, and HMGB1 was validated by bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay. The xenograft mouse model was established to analyze tumor growth in vivo. DSCAM-AS1 and HMGB1 were upregulated, while miR-577 was downregulated in NSCLC tissues and cells. DSCAM-AS1 promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and restrained cell apoptosis in NSCLC cells. Overexpression of HMGB1 reversed the effects of DSCAM-AS1 depletion on the progression of NSCLC. DSCAM-AS1 modulated HMGB1 expression by sponging miR-577. DSCAM-AS1 regulated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by regulating miR-577 and HMGB1. DSCAM-AS1 knockdown blocked the tumor growth in vivo. In conclusion, DSCAM-AS1 facilitated NSCLC progression by regulating the HMGB1-mediated Wnt/β-catenin pathway, providing a promising therapeutic target for NSCLC.

MiR-7 alleviates secondary inflammatory response of microglia caused by cerebral hemorrhage through inhibiting TLR4 expression

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted to analyze the effect of miR-7 on the inflammatory response of microglia in vitro and in vivo by constructing an intracerebral hemorrhage model.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this study, we first established a model of cerebral hemorrhage in rat for in vivo experiments, and used lipoprotein (LPS) to induce an inflammatory response development in microglial cells, and constructed microglial inflammation models for in vitro experiments. Quantitative Real-time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-7 in the rat model of cerebral hemorrhage and microglia with inflammation. The effect of miR-7 on the inflammation caused by intracerebral hemorrhage was evaluated through measuring the expression of IL-1β, IL-8 and TNF-α by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to detect the binding site of miR-7 to TLR4. Western blot was used to evaluate the level of TLR4 after overexpression and knockdown of miR-7 and to evaluate whether miR-7 alleviated the secondary inflammatory response of microglia after cerebral hemorrhage by inhibiting the expression of TLR4.

RESULTS

The expression of miR-7 in the rat cerebral hemorrhage model and microglial inflammation model tissue was significantly lower than that in the normal control group. Expression of inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-8 and TNF-α was significantly increased in rats with intracerebral hemorrhage and microglial inflammation in rats, and the expression of these inflammatory cytokines was partially reversed after overexpression of miR-7. Double luciferase reporter gene and ELISA results showed that miR-7 could inhibit the expression of TLR4 and relieve the secondary inflammatory response of microglia after cerebral hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that, in in vivo and in vitro experiments, miR-7 could reduce the LPS-induced inflammatory response produced by microglial cells, and alleviate the inflammation in the brain of rats with cerebral hemorrhage.

Microbial diversity in the tick Argas japonicus (Acari: Argasidae) with a focus on Rickettsia pathogens

The soft tick Argas japonicus mainly infests birds and can cause human dermatitis; however, no pathogen has been identified from this tick species in China. In the present study, the microbiota in A. japonicus collected from an epidemic community was explored, and some putative Rickettsia pathogens were further characterized. The results obtained indicated that bacteria in A. japonicus were mainly ascribed to the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. At the genus level, the male A. japonicus harboured more diverse bacteria than the females and nymphs. The bacteria Alcaligenes, Pseudomonas, Rickettsia and Staphylococcus were common in nymphs and adults. The abundance of bacteria belonging to the Rickettsia genus in females and males was 7.27% and 10.42%, respectively. Furthermore, the 16S rRNA gene of Rickettsia was amplified and sequenced, and phylogenetic analysis revealed that 13 sequences were clustered with the spotted fever group rickettsiae (Rickettsia heilongjiangensis and Rickettsia japonica) and three were clustered with Rickettsia limoniae, which suggested that the characterized Rickettsia in A. japonicus were novel putative pathogens and also that the residents were at considerable risk for infection by tick-borne pathogens.

NP30 stimulates Th17 differentiation through DC in Schistosomiasis Japonicum

The murine monoclonal anti‐idiotypic antibody, NP30, is a potential vaccine candidate against Schistosoma japonicum. Previous studies have revealed that NP30 has an immunoregulatory effect, but the underlying mechanism for this effect remains unknown. This study shows that NP30 induces dendritic cell (DC) maturation and increases the production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines. The expression of CD86 and MHC II was upregulated in DCs following stimulation with NP30 in vitro. Moreover, NP30 induced Th17 polarization by increasing the production of IL‐6 and TGF‐β. In vivo, Th17 differentiation was induced by the production of key pro‐inflammatory cytokines, including IL‐6and TGF‐β, from DCs of NP30‐immunized mice. These results indicate that NP30 promotes Th17 polarization through DC activation, preventing serious schistosomiasis.

Managing Response Time Tails by Sharding

Matrix analytic methods are developed to compute the probability distribution of response times (i.e., data access times) in distributed storage systems protected by erasure coding, which is implemented by sharding a data object into N fragments, only K <; N of which are required to reconstruct the object. This leads to a partial-fork-join model with a choice of canceling policies for the redundant N − K tasks. The accuracy of the analytical model is supported by tests against simulation in a broad range of setups. At increasing workload intensities, numerical results show the extent to which increasing the redundancy level reduces the mean response time of storage reads and significantly flattens the tail of their distribution; this is demonstrated at medium-high quantiles, up to the 99th. The quantitative reduction in response time achieved by two policies for canceling redundant tasks is also shown: for cancel-at-finish and cancel-at-start, which limits the additional load introduced whilst losing the benefit of selectivity amongst fragment service times.

The Expressing Patterns of Opioid Peptides, Anti-opioid Peptides and Their Receptors in the Central Nervous System Are Involved in Electroacupuncture Tolerance in Goats

To investigate dynamic processes of enkephalin (ENK), cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8), orphanin FQ (OFQ) and their receptors (μ opioid receptor, MOR; CCK B type receptor, CCKBR and opioid receptor-like 1 receptor, OPRL1) in the central nerve system (CNS) during electroacupuncture (EA) tolerance, EA of Sixty Hz was used to stimulate goats for 6 h. Pain threshold was measured using potassium iontophoresis. The expression levels of ENK, CCK-8, and OFQ and their receptors were determined with ELISA and qPCR, respectively. The results showed that the change rates of pain threshold in EA-treated goats decreased from 89.9 ± 11.7% at 0.5 h to –11.4 ± 8.9% at 6 h. EA induced the decreased ENK and increased CCK-8 and OFQ in the most measured nuclei. EA caused decreased preproenkephalin mRNAs in ACB, CAU, PVH, and PAG at 4 h, and decreased or unchanged MOR mRNAs at 2–6 h, but increased CCK mRNAs in CAU, PVT, PVH, PAG, and SCD at 4–12 h. Increased prepronociceptin mRNAs and fluctuated CCKBR and OPLR1 mRNAs were found in the most measured nuclei. ENK levels were positively correlated (p < 0.01) with the change rates of pain thresholds in the measured nuclei or areas while CCK-8 levels (or OFQ levels) were negatively correlated (p < 0.01) with the pain thresholds in CAU (or CAU and ACB). These results suggest that the development and recovery of EA tolerance may be associated with the specific expression patterns of opioid peptides, anti-opioid peptides and their receptors in the analgesia-related nuclei or areas.

Nonlinear Decay and Plasma Heating by a Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmode

We demonstrate theoretically that a toroidal Alfvén eigenmode (TAE) can parametrically decay into a geodesic acoustic mode and kinetic TAE in a toroidal plasma. The corresponding threshold condition for the TAE amplitude is estimated to be |δB_{⊥}/B_{0}|∼O(10^{-4}). Here, δB_{⊥} and B_{0} are, respectively, the perturbed magnetic field of the pump TAE and the equilibrium magnetic field. This novel decay process, in addition to contributing to the nonlinear saturation of energetic-particle or α-particle driven TAE instability, could also contribute to the heating as well as regulating the transports of thermal plasmas.

A novel large fragment deletion in PLS3 causes rare X-linked early-onset osteoporosis and response to zoledronic acid

We identified a novel large fragment deletion from intron 9 to 3'UTR in PLS3 (E10-E16del) in one Chinese boy with X-linked early-onset osteoporosis and vertebral fractures, which expanded the pathogenic spectrum of X-linked early-onset osteoporosis. Treatment with zoledronic acid was beneficial for increasing BMD and reshaping the vertebral bodies of this patient.

INTRODUCTION

X-linked early-onset osteoporosis is a rare disease, which is characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD), vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), and/or long bone fractures. We aimed to detect the phenotype and the underlying pathogenic mutation of X-linked early-onset osteoporosis in a boy from a nonconsanguineous Chinese family.

METHODS

We investigated the pathogenic mutation of the patient with X-linked early-onset osteoporosis by targeted next-generation sequencing and confirmed it by Sanger sequencing. We also observed the effects of zoledronic acid on fracture frequency and BMD of the patient.

RESULTS

Low BMD and multiple VCFs were the main phenotypes of X-linked early-onset osteoporosis. We identified a total of 12,229 bp deletion in PLS3, involving intron 9 to the 3'UTR (E10-E16 del). This large fragment deletion might be mediated by Alu repeats and microhomology of 26 bp at each breakpoint junction. Zoledronic acid treatment could significantly increase the Z-score of BMD and reshape the compressed vertebral bodies.

CONCLUSION

We identified a large fragment deletion mutation in PLS3 for the first time and elucidated the possible mechanism of the deletion, which led to X-linked early-onset osteoporosis and multiple vertebral fractures. Our findings would enrich the etiology spectrum of this rare disease.

MiRNAs are involved in chronic electroacupuncture tolerance in the rat hypothalamus

Acupuncture tolerance is the gradual decrease in analgesic effect due to its prolonged application. However, its mechanism in terms of miRNA is still unknown. To explore the role of miRNAs in electroacupuncture (EA) tolerance of rats using deep sequencing, rats with more than a 50 % increase in tail flick latency (TFL) in response to EA were selected for this experiment. EA tolerance was induced by EA once daily for eight consecutive days. The hypothalami were harvested for deep sequencing. As a result, 49 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified and validated by real-time PCR. Of them, let-7b-5p, miR-148a-3p, miR-124-3p, miR-107-3p, and miR-370-3p were further confirmed to be related to EA tolerance by an intracerebroventricular injection of agomirs or antagomirs of these miRNAs. Potential targets of the 49 miRNAs were enriched in 9 pathways and 282 gene ontology (GO) terms. Five miRNAs were confirmed to participate in EA tolerance probably through the functional categories related to nerve impulse transmission, receptor signal pathways, and gene expression regulation, as well as pathways related to MAPK, neurotrophin, fatty acid metabolism, lysosome, and the degradation of valine, leucine, and isoleucine. Our findings reveal a characterized panel of the differentially expressed miRNAs in the hypothalamus in response to EA and thus provide a solid experimental framework for future analysis of the mechanisms underlying EA-induced tolerance.

Closing a gap in the physical map of the ovine major histocompatibility complex

A 184 kb gap in an ovine MHC physical map was successfully closed by identification of two overlapping clones (304C7 and 222G18) from a Chinese fine wool merino sheep BAC library. The location and tiling path of the two clones were confirmed by BAC-end sequencing and PCR amplification of loci in overlapping regions. Full-length sequencing of the clones identified 13 novel ovine genes in the gap between loci Notch4 and Btnl2, and eight of them belonging to the Butyrophilin-like (Btn-like or Btnl) gene family. The scattered distribution of the Btnl gene cluster at the gap provided a clue to explain the difficulties previously experienced in closing the gap. Completed BAC contigs of the ovine MHC will facilitate sequencing of the entire ovine leukocyte antigen (OLA) region, providing detailed information for comparative studies of MHC evolution.