Endovascular Treatment for Ruptured Proximal Anterior Cerebral Artery Dissecting Aneurysm: A Case Series.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage due to the A1 segment of an anterior cerebral artery dissecting aneurysm is rare. Therefore, a standard treatment has not been established. Though several case reports of direct surgery exist, there are few reports on endovascular treatment. This is the first study to describe five patients who underwent endovascular treatment for ruptured A1 dissecting aneurysms. Between January 2001 and December 2022 in our affiliated centers, five cases of SAH-onset A1 dissecting aneurysms were treated with endovascular treatment. We describe in detail two representative cases, briefly summarize the other three, and analyze their complications and outcomes. In the five cases, four were female. Four were in their 50s, and one was in her 80s. The WFNS grades were as follows: three were 2, one was 4, and one was 5. No re-ruptures or symptomatic complications were observed. The modified Rankin Scale scores at the time of discharge were as follows; one was 0, one was 1, two were 2, and one was 5. One in five patients needed retreatment after endovascular trapping because of recanalization. Endovascular treatment may be an effective and viable treatment option for ruptured A1 dissecting aneurysms. Further studies are needed to collect detailed data on complications and outcomes.

Matrix metalloproteinase­1 and microRNA­486­5p in urinary exosomes can be used to detect early lung cancer: A preliminary report.

The present study describes a novel molecular-genetic method suitable for lung cancer (LC) screening in the work-place and at community health centers. Using urinary-isolated exosomes from 35 patients with LC and 40 healthy volunteers, the expression ratio of MMP-1/CD63, and the relative expression levels of both microRNA (miRNA)-21 and miRNA-486-5p were measured. MMP-1/CD63 expression ratio was significantly higher in patients with LC than in the healthy controls {1.342 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.890-1.974] vs. 0.600 (0.490-0.900); P<0.0001}. The relative expression of miRNA-486-5p in male healthy controls was significantly different from that in female healthy controls, whereas there was no significant difference in miRNA-21. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis of MMP-1/CD63 showed 92.5% sensitivity and 54.3% specificity, whereas miRNA-486-5p showed 85% sensitivity and 70.8% specificity for men, and 70.0% sensitivity and 72.7% specificity for women. The logistic regression model used to evaluate the association of LC with the combination of MMP-1/CD63 and miRNA-486-5p revealed that the area under the ROC curve was 0.954 (95% CI: 0.908-1.000), and the model had 89% sensitivity and 88% specificity after adjusting for age, sex and smoking status. These data suggested that the combined analysis of MMP-1/CD63 and miRNA-486-5p in urinary exosomes may be used to detect patients with early-stage LC in the work-place and at community health centers, although confirmational studies are warranted.

Genome assembly and population genomic data of a pulmonate snail Ellobium chinense.

Ellobium chinense is an airbreathing, pulmonate gastropod species that inhabits saltmarshes in estuaries of the northwestern Pacific. Due to a rapid population decline and their unique ecological niche in estuarine ecosystems, this species has attracted special attention regarding their conservation and the genomic basis of adaptation to frequently changing environments. Here we report a draft genome assembly of E. chinense with a total size of 949.470 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 1.465 Mb. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the GO terms enriched among four gastropod species are related to signal transduction involved in maintaining electrochemical gradients across the cell membrane. Population genomic analysis using the MSMC model for 14 re-sequenced individuals revealed a drastic decline in Korean and Japanese populations during the last glacial period, while the southern Chinese population retained a much larger effective population size (Ne). These contrasting demographic changes might be attributed to multiple environmental factors during the glacial-interglacial cycles. This study provides valuable genomic resources for understanding adaptation and historical demographic responses to climate change.

Ablation of DGKα facilitates α-smooth muscle actin expression via the Smad and PKCδ signaling pathways during the acute phase of CCl4 -induced hepatic injury.

Expression of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) is constitutive in vascular smooth muscle cells, but is induced in nonmuscle cells such as hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). HSCs play important roles in both physiological homeostasis and pathological response. HSC activation is characterized by αSMA expression, which is regulated by the TGFß-induced Smad pathway. Recently, protein kinase C (PKC) was identified to regulate αSMA expression. Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) metabolizes a second-messenger DG, thereby controlling components of DG-mediated signaling, such as PKC. In the present study we aimed to investigate the putative role of DGKα in αSMA expression. Use of a cellular model indicated that the DGK inhibitor R59949 promotes αSMA expression and PKCδ phosphorylation. It also facilitates Smad2 phosphorylation after 30 min of TGFß stimulation. Furthermore, immunocytochemical analysis revealed that DGK inhibitor pretreatment without TGFß stimulation engenders αSMA expression in a granular pattern, whereas DGK inhibitor pretreatment plus TGFß stimulation significantly induces αSMA incorporation in stress fibers. Through animal model experiments, we observed that DGKα-knockout mice exhibit increased expression of αSMA in the liver after 48 h of carbon tetrachloride injection, together with enhanced phosphorylation levels of Smad2 and PKCδ. Together, these findings suggest that DGKα negatively regulates αSMA expression by acting on the Smad and PKCδ signaling pathways, which differentially regulate stress fiber incorporation and protein expression of αSMA, respectively.