Hypermethylation of thymosin ß4 predicts a poor prognosis for patients with acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure.

BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated that thymosin ß4 (Tß4) could inflect the severity of acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure (ACHBLF), but the relationship between its methylation status and the prognosis of liver failure is not clear. This study aimed to determine Tß4 promoter methylation status in patients with ACHBLF and to evaluate its prognostic value. METHODS: The study recruited 115 patients with ACHBLF, 80 with acute-on-chronic hepatitis B pre-liver failure (pre-ACHBLF), and 86 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). In addition, there were 36 healthy controls (HCs) from the Department of Hepatology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University. The 115 patients with ACHBLF were divided into three subgroups: 33 with early stage ACHBLF (E-ACHBLF), 42 with mid-stage ACHBLF (M-ACHBLF), and 40 with advanced stage ACHBLF (A-ACHBLF). Tß4 promoter methylation status in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was measured by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction, and mRNA was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Methylation frequency of Tß4 was significantly higher in patients with ACHBLF than in those with pre-ACHBLF, CHB or HCs. However, expression of Tß4 mRNA showed the opposite trend. In patients with ACHBLF, Tß4 promoter methylation status correlated negatively with mRNA levels. The 3-month mortality of ACHBLF in the methylated group was significantly higher than that in the unmethylated group. Also, Tß4 promoter methylation frequency was lower in survivors than in non-survivors. When used to predict the 1-, 2-, and 3-month incidence of ACHBLF, Tß4 methylation status was better than the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score. The predictive value of Tß4 methylation was higher than that of MELD score for the mortality of patients with E-ACHBLF and M-ACHBLF, but not for A-ACHBLF. CONCLUSIONS: Tß4 methylation might be an important early marker for predicting disease incidence and prognosis in patients with ACHBLF.

Treg/Th17 imbalance and its clinical significance in patients with hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that T cell-mediated cellular immune mechanisms play important roles in the progression of hepatitis B to liver cirrhosis, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This present study was aimed to determine the relationship between Treg/Th17 and hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis. METHODS: The Treg and Th17 cell frequencies in the peripheral blood of all participants, including 93 patients with hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis and 40 healthy subjects, were measured by flow cytometer. Cox regression model and receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves were applied to investigate the prognostic significance of Treg/Th17 ratio in decompensated liver cirrhosis. RESULTS: We observed the Treg/Th17 imbalance was present in patients with hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis, with reduced Treg cells in their peripheral blood, increased Th17 cells and decreased Treg/Th17 ratio. Treg and Th17 cells were negatively correlated. Treg/Th17 imbalance was closely related to the clinical stage of hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis. The Virus load, Treg frequencies and the Treg/Th17 ratio were independent factors predicting decompensated liver cirrhosis from a Cox regression model. The ROC analysis showed that the Treg/Th17 ratio was the best marker for predicting decompensated liver cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: Treg/Th17 imbalance is involved in the pathogenesis of hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis and the Treg/Th17 ratio can be used as a potential marker for predicting decompensated liver cirrhosis.

The complete chloroplast genome of Castanopsis carlesii (Hemsl.) Hay.

Castanopsis carlesii (Hemsl.) Hay. is a widely distributed and dominant tree species with significant ecological and economical values. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome sequence of C. carlesii was reported using the Illumina Hiseq 2500 platform. The complete chloroplast genome was 160,205 bp forming a typical quadripartite structure, with a pair of inverted repeated (IRs) regions of 25,670 bp, a large single copy (LSC) region of 89,849 bp, and a small single copy (SSC) region of 19,016 bp. A total of 124 functional genes were annotated, including 79 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. The ML phylogenetic analysis showed that the genus Castanopsis formed a clade except Castanopsis fargesii.

Relevance of serum interleukin-33 and ST2 levels and the natural course of chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-33 (IL-33) and ST2 have been demonstrated to be associated with liver damage. However, their potential value in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains unknown. This study was designed to investigate the change of serum IL-33 and ST2 levels in the natural course of chronic HBV infection. METHODS: A total of 120 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 20 chronic hepatitis B virus carriers in immunotolerant phase and 28 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. All patients with CHB were divided into four groups according to their serum ALT levels. The serum levels of IL-33 and ST2 of all participants were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and compared between each two out of those six groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in serum levels of IL-33 and ST2 between the group of CHB with ALT 1-2 upper limit of normal and the healthy controls (P = 0.354 for IL-33 and P = 0.815 for ST2). Other than that, there were significant differences when serum levels of IL-33 and ST2 were compared between any other two out of those six groups (P < 0.05, respectively). The overall correlation analysis indicated that changes of serum IL-33 and ST2 levels were positively associated with ALT levels in patients with chronic HBV infection (rs = 0.879, P < 0.001 for IL-33 and rs = 0.923, P < 0.001 for ST2). No significant differences were found when the serum levels of ALT, IL-33 and ST2 were compared between patients with HBeAg-positive CHB and HBeAg-negative CHB. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that the serum levels of IL-33 and ST2 varied in different courses of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. The serum levels of IL-33 and ST2 elevated as serum ALT levels increased in patients with CHB. They might indicate liver damage for patients with CHB, just like ALT.

Demethylation of tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme predicts poor prognosis in acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme (TACE) has been demonstrated to be involved in liver inflammation. However, the significance of TACE methylation in acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure (ACHBLF) has not been demonstrated. This study aims to evaluate TACE methylation status in ACHBLF and determine its predictive value for prognosis. METHODS: Forty-five patients with ACHBLF, 80 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 54 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. The methylation status of TACE promoter was determined by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. The TACE mRNA expression was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The plasma levels of TACE, TNF-α, sTNFRI, sTNFRII were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: TACE methylation was significantly lower in patients with ACHBLF than those with CHB (χ(2)=24.69, P<0.01) and HCs (χ(2)=35.93, P<0.01). Meanwhile, TACE methylation was significantly lower in CHB patients than HCs (χ(2)=4.03, P<0.05). TACE methylation was significantly inversely associated with its mRNA expression (r=-0.68; P<0.01). The plasma levels of TACE, TNF-α, sTNFRI, sTNFRII were significantly higher in patients with ACHBLF than those with CHB (P<0.05, respectively) and HCs (P<0.05, respectively). In patients with ACHBLF, significantly higher prothrombin activity, lower total bilirubin and MELD score were found in TACE methylated group than unmethylated group (P<0.05). ACHBLF patients with methylated TACE showed significantly better survival than those without (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: This study showed that demethylation of TACE promoter occurred in ACHBLF and might serve as a potential prognostic marker.

Demethylation of tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme promoter associated with high hepatitis B e antigen level in chronic hepatitis B.

AIM: To evaluate tumor necrosis factor-α converting enzyme (TACE) methylation status in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). METHODS: Eighty patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB, 80 with HBeAg-negative CHB, and 40 healthy controls (HCs) were randomly enrolled in this study. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and methylation status of TACE promoter was determined by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. The clinical and laboratory parameters were collected. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty of 160 patients with CHB (81.25%) and 38 of 40 HCs (95%) displayed TACE promoter methylation. The difference was significant (χ (2) = 4.501, P < 0.05). TACE promoter methylation frequency in HBeAg-positive CHB (58/80, 72.5%) was significantly lower than that in HBeAg-negative CHB (72/80, 90%; χ (2) = 8.041, P < 0.01) and HCs (χ (2) = 8.438, P < 0.01). However, no significant difference was observed in the methylation frequency between HBeAg-negative CHB and HCs (χ (2) = 0.873, P > 0.05). In the HBeAg-positive group, TACE methylation frequency was significantly negatively correlated with HBeAg (r = -0.602, P < 0.01), alanine aminotransferase (r = -0.461, P < 0.01) and aspartate aminotransferase (r = -0.329, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Patients with HBeAg-positive CHB have aberrant demethylation of the TACE promoter, which may potentially serve as a biomarker for HBeAg seroconversion.

[Survey on Blastocystis hominis infection in HIV positive individuals in Fuyang City, Anhui Province].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the epidemiological characteristics of co-infection of HIV and Blastocystis hominis and its risk factors. METHODS: A total of 309 people with HIV positive in the development zone of Fuyang City were recruited, and the face to face questionnaires were conducted to collect the information of behavioral characteristics and sociodemographic data of the participants. Meanwhile, the samples of stool and blood were collected to test B. hominis, cytokines and CD4+/CD8+ T-lymphocyte. The influencing factors of co-infection of HIV and Blastocystis hominis were analyzed by the single factor analysis and Logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among the 309 people involved, 302 accepted feces examinations, 286 accepted the questionnaire investigation, and 263 accepted both of them. The infection rate of B. hominis was 17.11%, that of the female was 21.90%, which was significantly higher than that of the male (11.90%) (P < 0.05). The results from the multivariate Logistic regression model showed that good nutrition was significantly associated with the co-infection of HIV and B. hominis (OR = 0.263, 95% CI: 0.073, 0.945). CONCLUSIONS: The infection rate of B. hominis is high in people with HIV positive, and the nutrition situation of individuals may be one of the important risk factors associated with co-infection.

A copper(II)-ethylenediamine modified polyoxoniobate with photocatalytic H2 evolution activity under visible light irradiation.

A new dimer polyoxoniobate [Cu(en)(2)](11)K(4)Na(2)[KNb(24)O(72)H(9)](2)·120H(2)O (1) has been synthesized and systematically characterized. Visible light photocatalytic H(2) evolution activity was researched with 1 as the visible-light photosensitizer and catalyst, cobaloximes [Co(III)(dmgH)(2)pyCl] as the co-catalysts, and triethylamine (TEA) as the sacrificial electron donor.

[Susceptibilities of Oncomelania hupensis snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from different hosts].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the susceptibilities of Oncomelania hupensis snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from different hosts. METHODS: The Schistosoma japonicum eggs from different hosts, such as rabbits, cattle and mice were collected. These eggs were incubated for miracidia, respectively. Each snail from the same site was exposed to 5 miracidia of Schistosoma japonicum from different hosts. The infected snails were fed in the laboratory for two months. Then all the snails were dissected and observed under the dissecting microscope in order to know the infection rate of snails. RESULTS: In the experiment group, the infection rates of snails infected with miracidia from rabbits, cattle and mice were 1.42%, 8.67% and 19.87%, respectively, the mortality rates were 29.5%, 13.5% and 24.5%, respectively. However, the infection rates of snails in the control group were 2.63%, 2.02% and 11.66%, respectively, and the mortality rates were 24.0%, 49.5% and 18.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The susceptibilities of Oncomelania snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from 3 kinds of hosts are significantly different.