Dynamic changes in key factors of the blood-brain barrier in early diabetic mice.

Chronic hyperglycemia can result in damage to the hippocampus and dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), potentially leading to neurological disorders. This study examined the histological structure of the hippocampus and the expression of critical genes associated with the BBB at 2 early stage time points in a streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus (DM) mouse model. Routine histology revealed vascular congestion and dilation of Virchow-Robin spaces in the hippocampal CA1 region of the DM group. Neuronal alterations included rounding and swelling and reduction in Nissl bodies and increased apoptosis. Compared to the control group, TJP1 mRNA expression in the DM group was significantly lower (P < .05 or P < .01), while mRNA levels of JAM3, TJP3, CLDN5, CLDN3, and OCLN initially increased and then decreased. At 7, 14, and 21 days, mRNA levels of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (AGER) were greater in the DM group than in the control group (P < .05 or P < .01). These findings indicate that early-stage diabetes may cause structural and functional impairments in hippocampal CA1 in mice. These abnormalities may parallel alterations in the expression of key BBB tight junction molecules and elevated AGER expression in early DM patients.

Colonoscopy-induced acute appendicitis: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Colonoscopy is widely used for examination, diagnosis, and treatment because of its low incidence of associated complications. Post-colonoscopy appendicitis (PCA) is very rare and is easily misdiagnosed as electrocoagulation syndrome or colon perforation. Therefore, clinicians should pay close attention to this complication. CASE SUMMARY: A 47-year-old female patient underwent a colonoscopy for a systematic physical examination, and the procedure was uneventful with normal endoscopic and histologic findings. However, the bowel preparation was suboptimal (Boston 2-3-2). After the examination, the patient experienced pain in the lower abdomen, which progressively worsened. Computed tomography of the lower abdomen and pelvis revealed appendiceal calcular obstruction and appendicitis. As the patient refused surgery, she was managed with antibiotics and recovered well. CONCLUSION: In the current literature, the definition of PCA remains unclear. However, abdominal pain after colonoscopy should be differentiated from acute appendicitis.

Differential expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory genes of layer chicken bursa after experimental infection with infectious bursal disease virus.

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases caused by IBD virus (IBDV), which results in bursal necrosis and immunosuppression that cause severe damage to the immune system in chickens. Cytokines are important mediators and regulators of both types of host responses. In the present study, layer chickens were artificially challenged with IBDV, and the differential expression of inflammatory genes was explored by using quantitative real-time PCR, which offered basic data for further study of IBDV pathogenesis. Data showed that after IBDV infection, the virus load in the bursa of Fabricius (BF) peaked at 96 h and then gradually decreased. Compared with those of the negative-infected group, the mRNA expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1ß, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, transforming growth factor [TGF]-ß) and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the infected group increased to varying degrees at 12 to 192 h, respectively. Furthermore, the IL-1ß mRNA expression peaked at 48 h; the mRNA transcript levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 were the highest at 96 h; TNF-α mRNA expression peaked at 120 h; the IL-7 mRNA expression peaked at 144 h; and the TGF-ß mRNA transcript level was the highest at 192 h. Taken together, these observations indicated that along with the change pattern of IBDV proliferation in BF, the mRNA expression of cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, TGF-ß) obviously increased, and the kinetics of each of these cytokines was different. The kinetics of IL-6/IL-10 mRNA expression ratio was significantly positively correlated with that of the virus load. These results suggest that IBDV infection seriously interferes with the natural immune response mediated by inflammatory cytokines in chickens.

A new trematode (Digenea: Mesotretidae) from the horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) in China.

A new species of Mesotretes (Trematoda: Mesotretidae) parasitizing the small intestine of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum was obtained by the examination of 48 bats collected from 4 localities in Henan Province, China, from August 2003 to January 2005. This species, Mesotretes jiyuanensis n. sp., is similar to Mesotretes orientalis and Mesotretes hangzhouensis, but mainly differs from them in the ratio of the oral sucker and the ventral sucker, and the distance of the intestinal bifurcation from anterior edge of acetabulum, as well as from the former in the extension of the vitellarium. Mesotretes jiyuanensis n. sp. differs from Mesotretes peregrinus chiefly in the shape of the testes and the distribution of cuticular spines. The ratio of the oral sucker and the ventral sucker in this species also differs from that of M. peregrinus.