Tyrosine kinase receptor ErbB4 in Advillin-positive neurons contributes to inflammatory pain hypersensitivity in mouse DRG.

Inflammatory pain is a common type of pathological pain. Although the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) is key to pathogenesis of inflammatory pain, the underlying specific molecular and cellular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we used mouse models of acute or chronic inflammatory pain, induced by formalin or complete Freund' s adjuvant (CFA), respectively, to explore whether tyrosine kinase receptor ErbB4 participates in the pathogenesis of inflammatory pain. Firstly, we found that both the expression of Neuregulin 1 (Nrg1) and phosphorylation of ErbB4 receptor were upregulated in DRG after inflammatory pain, implying the activation of ErbB4 in DRG. Using ErbB4-mutant mice, we found reduced pain sensitivity of mice when ErbB4 gene expression was largely ablated; furthermore, ErbB4 deletion decreased the inflammatory pain hypersensitivity of either formalin- or CFA-induced mouse models. Moreover, the pain sensitivity was reduced in mice with specific deletion of ErbB4 on advillin-positive neurons within DRG. Importantly, pain hypersensitivity also decreased in Advillin-Cre;ErbB4-/- cKO mice after formalin- or CFA-induced inflammatory pain. Finally, gene quantification differential expression analysis, using RNAseq technology in combination with GO and KEGG enrichment analysis, suggested that calcium signaling pathway possibly mediated the roles of ErbB4 on DRG sensory neurons in inflammatory pain models. Together, these results indicate that ErbB4 on advillin-positive sensory neurons enhances inflammatory pain sensitivity, providing new clues towards the pathogenic mechanisms of inflammatory pain.

[Comparison of different obesity indicators with dyslipidemia and hypertension in adults of Guangxi Yao ethnic group].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between obesity indicators and dyslipidemia and hypertension in the Yao population of Guangxi. METHODS: In 2015, we examined the body composition data of 784 Yao residents aged 18 years or older in Guangxi using a multi-stage whole-group random sampling method, analyzed the association between 10 indicators responding to the degree of obesity and dyslipidemia and hypertension, and analyzed the predictive value of each obesity indicator for dyslipidemia and hypertension by receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves. RESULTS: There were 58.80% of Yao adults with dyslipidemia, with no difference between men and women(χ~2=0.24, P>0.05); 15.94% of Yao adults had hypertension, with a higher prevalence in men than in women(χ~2=4.76, P<0.05). ROC curves plotted with dyslipidemia as the dependent variable showed that the best predictor of risk of dyslipidemia prevalence in the Yao adult population was waist-to-hip ratio(WHR)(AUC=0.62, 95% CI 0.56-0.68) with a cut point of 0.86 in men and waist circumference(AUC=0.64, 95% CI 0.59-0.69) with a cut point of 75.50 cm in women. The ROC curves were plotted with hypertension as the dependent variable, and the result showed that the best predictor of risk of hypertension in the Yao adult population was: visceral fat content(AUC=0.62, 95% CI 0.56-0.68) with a cut point of 0.65 kg in men and WHR(AUC=0.67, 95% CI 0.62-0.72) with a cut point of 0.82 in women. CONCLUSION: Compared with indicators reflecting general obesity such as body mass index and percentage of body fat, indicators reflecting abdominal obesity such as waist circumference, WHR and visceral fat content are more closely related to two metabolic diseases such as dyslipidemia and hypertension in the Yao population.

Anatomical Study of Arachnoid Granulation in Superior Sagittal Sinus Correlated to Growth Patterns of Meningiomas.

Meningiomas in the parasagittal region were formed by arachnoidal cells disseminated among arachnoid granulations. The purpose of this study was to characterize the morphology of chordae willisii, and AGs found in the superior sagittal sinus. This study used 20 anatomical specimens. Rigid endoscopes were introduced via torcula herophili into the sinus lumen. The morphological features of arachnoid granulation and chordae willisii were analyzed, and then arachnoid granulations and chordae willisii were assessed by elastic fiber stains, Masson's stains, and imaging analysis. Three types of arachnoid granulations were present in the examined sinuses. There were 365 counts of arachnoid granulations in examined sinuses by imaging analysis, averaging 1.36 ± 2.58 per sinus. Types I, II, and III made up 20.27, 45.20, and 34.52% of 268 patients, respectively. Microscopy of chordae willisii transverse sections indicated the existence of a single layer and a multiple-layered dura sinus wall. The dural sinus wall was the thickest one in the superior sagittal sinus. The thickness of longitudinal lamellae was significantly greater than trabeculae. This study reveals the anatomical differences between arachnoid granulations in the superior sagittal sinus. The arachnoid granulations classification enables surgeons to predict preoperatively growth patterns, followed by safely achieving the optimal range of parasagittal meningioma resection.

Intracerebral Transplantation of Neural Stem Cells Restores Manganese-Induced Cognitive Deficits in Mice.

Manganese (Mn) is a potent neurotoxin known to cause long-lasting structural damage and progressive cognitive deficits in the brain. However, new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed since current treatments only target symptoms of Mn exposure. Recent studies have suggested a potential role for multipotent neural stem cells (NSCs) in the etiology of Mn-induced cognitive deficits. In this study, we evaluated the effect of direct intracerebral transplantation of NSCs on cognitive function of mice chronically exposed to MnCl2, and further explored the distribution of transplanted NSCs in brain tissues. NSCs were isolated and bilaterally injected into the hippocampal regions or lateral ventricles of Mn-exposed mice. The results showed that many transplanted cells migrated far away from the injection sites and survived in vivo in the Mn-exposed mouse brain, implying enhanced neurogenesis in the host brain. We found that NSCs transplanted into either the hippocampal regions or the lateral ventricles significantly improved spatial learning and memory function of the Mn-exposed mice in the Morris water maze. Immunofluorescence analyses indicated that some surviving NSCs differentiated into neurons or glial cells, which may have become functionally integrated into the impaired local circuits, providing a possible cellular basis for the improvement of cognitive function in NSC-transplanted mice. Taken together, our findings confirm the Mn-induced impairment of neurogenesis in the brain and underscore the potential of treating Mn exposure by NSC transplantation, providing a practical therapeutic strategy against this type of neurotoxicity.

Association between osteosarcopenic obesity and hypertension among four minority populations in China: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Osteosarcopenic obesity (OSO) may be associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension. The aim of this study was to examine the difference in the prevalence of OSO and hypertension among four minority populations in China and explore the relationship between OSO and hypertension by sex. DESIGN: This study adopted a cross-sectional design. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 1939 participants aged ≥50 years, including 459 Jing, 514 Maonan, 535 Hmong and 431 Yao participants from Guangxi Province, China, were included using stratified cluster random sampling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The body composition, bone mineral density and blood pressure were measured by an MC-180 body composition analyser, Achilles Express ultrasound bone densitometer and OMRON HEM-1000 electronic sphygmomanometer, respectively. RESULTS: The results showed that 65.77% of Hmong men, 58.79% of Hmong women, 54.82% of Maonan men, 50.00% of Maonan women, 41.92% of Jing men, 45.21% of Jing women, 53.66% of Yao men and 42.32% of Yao women suffered from hypertension. Compared with those among the normal group, the adjusted OR and 95% CI of age among the women with OSO was 3.15 (1.13 to 8.78). After adjusting for age, ethnicity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity and menopausal status, the women with OSO also had a higher OR (OR=3.18, 95% CI 1.14 to 8.88) for hypertension than those in the normal group. However, the ORs (95% CI) for hypertension in men with one or more components were not significant after adjusting for age and ethnicity. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that OSO is a risk factor for hypertension, especially in women. Furthermore, the prevalence of OSO and hypertension in the present study displayed sex-specific and ethnic-specific differences among the four minority populations.

Effects of fat distribution on lung function in young adults.

AIMS: To study the associations between fat distribution and lung functions in healthy subjects of young adults and to explore potential gender difference in these correlations. METHODS: A total of 2101 adult participants were recruited. Height, weight, and vital capacity index (VCI) were measured and recorded according to the national physical fitness test standard. Body compositions, including body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BFP), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fat-free mass (FFM), trunk muscle mass (TMM), fat mass (FM), visceral fat area (VFA), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), were conducted using body composition analyzer. Data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 software. RESULTS: We found that male participants showed significantly higher BMI, WHR, FFM, TMM, VFA, and VCI, but lower FM, BFP, and SAT in comparison with women. However, there was no significant difference in VAT between the male and female. Lung functions represented by VCI were negatively correlated with FM, VAT, SAT, and VFA for both men and women (r < 0; P < 0.05). Among these negative correlations, VCI was more inversely correlated with VFA for men but with SAT for women, respectively. After dividing the whole populations by BMI, BFP, and WHR, further correlation analysis showed VCI was still more negatively correlated with VFA for all male subgroups (r < 0; P < 0.05). On the contrary, VCI was more negatively correlated with SAT in BMI-underweight, BMI-normal, BFP-low fat, BFP-normal fat, WHR-normal, and WHR-obese subgroups (r < 0; P < 0.05), while VFA and VAT was more inversely correlated with VCI in BMI- and BFP-overweight+obese subgroups (r < 0; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Fat accumulation is highly associated with the vital capacity index in young adults. In general, VCI was more negatively correlated with VFA for men but with SAT for women, respectively, in comparison with other tested indices.

Association between body mass index (BMI) and vital capacity of college students of Zhuang nationality in China: a cross-section study.

OBJECTIVE: Our study is to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) and vital capacity of college students of Zhuang Nationality in China. METHODS: 463 college students of Zhuang Nationality from Guangxi Medical University were selected. Basic information, body composition and vital capacity of college students were measured. According to the level of BMI, college students were divided into four groups (BMI<18.5, 18.5≤BMI<23.9, 23.9≤BMI<27.9 and BMI≥27.9). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between BMI and vital capacity. RESULTS: In male college students, there was no significant difference in vital capacity between the four groups (3029.54±869.25, 3347.06±784.54, 3540.00±805.35 and 3966.50±350.2, P=0.0727, respectively). Multivariate regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, no significant association was observed between BMI and vital capacity (OR=115.02, 95% CI: -555.58∼785.63; OR=-166.58, 95% CI: -1684.56∼1351.41; OR=-484.01, 95% CI:-3504.53, 2536.51, respectively. BMI<18.5 group served as reference group). In female college students, there was also no significant difference in vital capacity between the four groups (2455.15±574.4, 2555.06±637.03, 2750.33±1224.05 and 2473.00±159.06, P=0.4011, respectively). Multivariate regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, no significant association was observed between BMI and vital capacity (OR=-88.88, 95% CI: -333.59∼155.84; OR=20.00, 95% CI: -694.39∼734.39; OR=2.86, 95% CI: -1830.58, 1836.3, respectively. BMI<18.5 group served as reference group). CONCLUSION: There was no evidence that BMI is associated with vital capacity in college students of Zhuang Nationality.

Investigation of the Upper Airway Anatomy With Ultrasound.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to describe the relationship between the scanning planes and appearance of the upper airway on sonography and to demonstrate the reliability and reproducibility of sonographic measurements of the upper airway. METHODS: Airway sonoanatomy was recognized by comparing the airway images and the corresponding cadaver's anatomical specimens. Systemic sonographic examination of 267 healthy volunteers was conducted to obtain the sonographic measurement of airway lumen. The reliability and reproducibility studies were conducted in 40 healthy volunteers. RESULT: The air-filled upper airway appeared as a bright heterogeneous hyperechoic line. During deep inspiration, the upper airway lumen expanded to the highest anterior-posterior dimension, whereas during deep expiration, the lateral dimension tended to increase. The sonographic measurements had good reproducibility, with intraclass correlation coefficient ranging from 0.722 to 0.887 and 0.727 to 0.882 for interobserver and intraobserver reliability, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasonography can determine the anatomy of the upper airway and perform the quantitative analysis of the upper airway lumen during respiration. The results were encouraging and support the utility of ultrasonography in future airway disorder studies.