Donor hepatic artery reconstruction based on human embryology: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Embryonic hepatic artery anatomy simplifies its identification during liver transplantation. Injuries to the donor hepatic artery can cause complications in this process. The hepatic artery's complex anatomy in adults makes this step challenging; however, during embryonic development, the artery and its branches have a simpler relationship. By restoring the embryonic hepatic artery anatomy, surgeons can reduce the risk of damage and increase the procedure's success rate. This approach can lead to improved patient outcomes and lower complication rates. CASE SUMMARY: In this study, we report a case of donor liver preparation using a donor hepatic artery preparation based on human embryology. During the preparation of the hepatic artery, we restored the anatomy of the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery, and their branches to the state of the embryo at 5 wk. This allowed us to dissect the variant hepatic artery from the superior mesenteric artery and left gastric artery during the operation. After implanting the donor liver into the recipient, we observed normal blood flow in the donor hepatic artery, main hepatic artery, and variant hepatic artery, without any leakage. CONCLUSION: Donor hepatic artery preparation based on human embryology can help reduce the incidence of donor hepatic artery injuries during liver transplantation.

Effect of accessory hepatic artery reconstruction on prognosis in orthotopic liver transplantation: a single center experience.

BACKGROUND: In orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), preserving an aberrant hepatic artery (AHA) can increase the number of arterial anastomoses and may lead to arterial-related complications. AHA includes accessory hepatic artery and replaced hepatic artery. Herein, the purpose of our research is to evaluate the requirement for accessory anastomosis in OLT. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed a total of 95 patients who underwent OLT in our hospital between April 2020 and December 2022. We found seven cases of donor livers with accessory HA. The method of arterial anastomosis and details of the diagnosis and treatment of complications were collated. RESULTS: Among 95 consecutive patients with OLT, complications occurred in two of seven patients-patient 2 had an accessory right hepatic artery, while patient 5 had an accessory left hepatic artery. Patient 2 showed bile leakage leading to rupture and bleeding of the accessory HA anastomosis after OLT, and was treated with interventional coil embolization. In patient 5, hepatic artery thrombosis and accessory HA occlusion were treated with embolization and thrombolysis of the splenic artery and left gastric artery. During the intervention, we also found that the internal hepatic artery and accessory HA had communicating branches. After treatment, both patients remain healthy with no complications such as liver necrosis or liver abscess. CONCLUSION: An AHA can be ligated when assessed as an accessory artery. This can reduce the incidence of arterial complications, contribute to the perioperative management of liver transplantation (LT) patients, and improve the prognosis of LT.

Differential distribution and prognostic value of CD4+ T cell subsets before and after radioactive iodine therapy in differentiated thyroid cancer with varied curative outcomes.

Differentiated thyroid cancer is the most frequently diagnosed endocrine tumor. While differentiated thyroid cancers often respond to initial treatment, little is known about the differences in circulating immune cells amongst patients who respond differently. A prospective study of 39 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer was conducted. Serum thyroglobulin levels and thyroid and immunological functions were tested before and after radioactive iodine treatment (RAIT). Efficacy assessments were performed 6 to 12 months after radioactive iodine treatment. Most patients showed an excellent response to radioactive iodine treatment. Before radioactive iodine treatment, the excellent response group had considerably fewer circulating CD4+ T cell subsets than the non-excellent response group. Both the excellent response and non-excellent response groups had considerably lower circulating CD4+ T lymphocyte subsets 30 days after radioactive iodine treatment, but those of the excellent response group were still lower than those of the non-excellent response group. All circulating CD4+ T cell subsets in the excellent response group rose by varying degrees by the 90th day, but only Treg cell amounts increased in the non-excellent response group. Interestingly, in the non-excellent response group, we noticed a steady drop in Th1 cells. However, the bulk of circulating CD4+ T cell subsets between the two groups did not differ appreciably by the 90th day. Finally, we discovered that CD4+ T cell subsets had strong predictive potential, and we thus developed high-predictive-performance models that deliver more dependable prognostic information. In conclusion, in individuals with differentiated thyroid cancer, there is great variation in circulating immune cells, resulting in distinct treatment outcomes. Low absolute CD4+ T cell counts is linked to improved clinical outcomes as well as stronger adaptive and resilience capacities.

Dynamic Immune Function Changes Before and After the First Radioactive Iodine Therapy After Total Resection of Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma.

The effects of total thyroidectomy or radioactive iodine therapy on immune activation and suppression of the tumor microenvironment remain unknown. We aimed to investigate the effects of these treatments on the immune function in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Our cohort included 45 patients with DTC treated with total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine therapy (RAIT). Immune function tests were performed by flow cytometry at 0, 30, and 90 days post-RAIT. Both the percentage and absolute number of circulating regulatory T cells were significantly lower in the postoperative DTC compared to the healthy controls. Notably, the absolute number of multiple lymphocyte subgroups significantly decreased at 30 days post-RAIT compared to those pre-RAIT. The absolute counts of these lymphocytes were recovered at 90 days post-RAIT, but not at pre-RAIT levels. Additionally, the Th17 cell percentage before RAIT was positively correlated with thyroglobulin (Tg) levels after RAIT. The tumor burden might contribute to increased levels of circulating Tregs. In conclusion, RAIT caused transient radiation damage in patients with DTC and the percentage of Th17 cells before RAIT could be a significant predictor of poor prognosis in patients with DTC.

Absolute reduction in peripheral regulatory T cells in patients with Graves' disease and post-treatment recovery.

OBJECTIVE: Graves' disease (GD) is one of the most common autoimmune conditions, but the mechanisms underlying the associated induction of autoimmunity are not known. We explored the role of peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations in disease pathogenesis. METHODS: In total, 32 patients and 40 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited in this study. Peripheral levels of T, B, NK, CD4+ T, CD8+ T, Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cells were measured using flow cytometry. For all patients, we compared all lymphocyte subpopulations between GD patients and healthy controls. Changes in patient lymphocyte subsets were compared before and after treatment. RESULTS: The absolute numbers of circulating Th17 cells (0.45 ± 1.16, p > 0.05) between GD patients and healthy controls were not significantly different. However, the percentage of Th17 cells was significantly increased (0.25 ± 0.11, p < 0.05). The absolute numbers and percentages of circulating Tregs in GD patients were significantly decreased compared with those in healthy participants (11.61 ± 2.75, p < 0.05). There was a significant difference in Treg absolute numbers between the untreated and drug-treated groups. Furthermore, we found that the Treg percentage in untreated patients (mean=4.78) was not significantly different from that in the drug-treated group (mean=4.81). In addition, circulating Treg absolute numbers in GD patients with exophthalmos were significantly lower than those in GD patients without exophthalmos (9.96 ± 4.16, p < 0.05). A similar trend was observed in GD patients with weight loss (11.97 ± 3.28, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: GD pathogenesis was associated with a lower Treg population and an increased Th17/Treg ratio (T helper cell 17/ regulatory T cells). Th17 cells in this study were not related to the disease. Furthermore, anti-thyroid drug therapy improved immune-mediated system disorders. Finally, we found lower absolute numbers of circulating Tregs in GD patients with certain positive signs, such as exophthalmos and/or weight loss. Thus, immune changes are correlated with partial clinical manifestations.

Plant-herbivorous insect networks: who is eating what revealed by long barcodes using high-throughput sequencing and Trinity assembly.

Interactions between plants and insects are among the most important life functions for all organism at a particular natural community. Usually a large number of samples are required to identify insect diets in food web studies. Previously, Sanger sequencing and next generation sequencing (NGS) with short DNA barcodes were used, resulting in low species-level identification; meanwhile the costs of Sanger sequencing are expensive for metabarcoding together with more samples. Here, we present a fast and effective sequencing strategy to identify larvae of Lepidoptera and their diets at the same time without increasing the cost on Illumina platform in a single HiSeq run, with long-multiplex-metabarcoding (COI for insects, rbcL, matK, ITS and trnL for plants) obtained by Trinity assembly (SHMMT). Meanwhile, Sanger sequencing (for single individuals) and NGS (for polyphagous) were used to verify the reliability of the SHMMT approach. Furthermore, we show that SHMMT approach is fast and reliable, with most high-quality sequences of five DNA barcodes of 63 larvae individuals (54 species) recovered (full length of 100% of the COI gene and 98.3% of plant DNA barcodes) using Trinity assembly (up-sized to 1015 bp). For larvae diets identification, 95% are reliable; the other 5% failed because their guts were empty. The diets identified by SHMMT approach are 100% consistent with the host plants that the larvae were feeding on during our collection. Our study demonstrates that SHMMT approach is reliable and cost-effective for insect-plants network studies. This will facilitate insect-host plant studies that generally contain a huge number of samples.

Improved virtual gyroscope technology based on "current" probability density model.

Aiming at low precision of a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) gyroscope, the virtual gyroscope technology is used to fuse the data of several MEMS gyroscopes. In traditional virtual gyroscope technology, the angular acceleration of maneuver is modeled as white noise, which leads to low fusion accuracy in the dynamic state. So, the "current" probability density model is introduced to model the maneuvering angular rate accurately. The one-step predictive value of angular acceleration is approximated to the mean value of the current angular acceleration. And the variance of the angular acceleration is modeled by the one-step predictive value of angular acceleration. So, the "current" probability density model is used to realize the adaptive adjustment of the mean and variance of maneuvering angular acceleration, which improves the modeling accuracy of the maneuvering angular rate and the compensation accuracy of virtual gyroscope technology. The improved virtual gyroscope fusion method is verified in a low frequency, high frequency maneuver test. The experimental results show that the 1σ standard deviation of the improved virtual gyroscope fusion error is 6.53 times lower than that of the single gyroscope static drift at low frequency and 2.04 times lower than that of the single gyroscope static drift at high frequency.

FuzzyID2: A software package for large data set species identification via barcoding and metabarcoding using hidden Markov models and fuzzy set methods.

Species identification through DNA barcoding or metabarcoding has become a key approach for biodiversity evaluation and ecological studies. However, the rapid accumulation of barcoding data has created some difficulties: for instance, global enquiries to a large reference library can take a very long time. We here devise a two-step searching strategy to speed identification procedures of such queries. This firstly uses a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) algorithm to narrow the searching scope to genus level and then determines the corresponding species using minimum genetic distance. Moreover, using a fuzzy membership function, our approach also estimates the credibility of assignment results for each query. To perform this task, we developed a new software pipeline, FuzzyID2, using Python and C++. Performance of the new method was assessed using eight empirical data sets ranging from 70 to 234,535 barcodes. Five data sets (four animal, one plant) deployed the conventional barcode approach, one used metabarcodes, and two were eDNA-based. The results showed mean accuracies of generic and species identification of 98.60% (with a minimum of 95.00% and a maximum of 100.00%) and 94.17% (with a range of 84.40%-100.00%), respectively. Tests with simulated NGS sequences based on realistic eDNA and metabarcode data demonstrated that FuzzyID2 achieved a significantly higher identification success rate than the commonly used Blast method, and the TIPP method tends to find many fewer species than either FuzztID2 or Blast. Furthermore, data sets with tens of thousands of barcodes need only a few seconds for each query assignment using FuzzyID2. Our approach provides an efficient and accurate species identification protocol for biodiversity-related projects with large DNA sequence data sets.

Identification, expression pattern, and feature analysis of cuticular protein genes in the pine moth Dendrolimus punctatus (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae).

Cuticular proteins (CPs) are vital components of the insects' cuticle that support movement and protect insect from adverse environmental conditions. The CPs exist in a large number and diversiform structures, thus, the accurate annotation is the first step to interpreting their roles in insect growth. The rapid development of sequencing technology has simplified the access to the information on protein sequences, especially for non-model species. Dendrolimus punctatus is a Lepidopteran defoliator, and its periodic outbreaks cause severe damage to the coniferous forests. The transcriptome of D. punctatus integrating the whole developmental periods are available for the potential investigation of CPs. In this study, we identified 216 CPs from D. punctatus, including 147 from CPR family, 4 from TWDL family, 3 from CPF/CPFL families, 22 from CPAP families, 8 low complexity proteins, 1 CPCPC and 31 from other CP families. The putative CPs were compared with homologs in other species such as Bombyx mori, Manduca sexta and Drosophila melanogaster. We further identified five co-orthologous groups have highly similar sequences of CRPs in nine lepidopteran species, which exclusively presented in RR-2 subfamily rather than RR-1. We inferred that in Lepidoptera the difference in RR-2 numbers was maintained by homologs in co-orthologous groups, coincided with observation in Drosophila and Anopheles that gene cluster was the model and source for the expansion of RR-2 genes. In combination with the variation of members in each CP family among different species, these results indicated the evolution of CPs was highly correlated to the adaptation of insect to environment. Furthermore, we compared the amino acid composition of the different types CPRs, and examined the expression patterns of CP genes in various developmental stages. The comprehensive overview of CPs from our study provides an insight into their evolution and the association between them and insect development.

The associations between MDM4 gene polymorphisms and cancer risk.

Considerable studies have investigated the associations between MDM4 gene polymorphisms and cancer risk recently, but with contradictory results. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the associations between MDM4 gene polymorphisms and cancer risk. Relevant studies were identified by a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and CNKI databases. Crude odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to describe the strength of the associations. Fifty-six studies published in 11 publications involving 18,910 cases and 51,609 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Five MDM4 gene polymorphisms were evaluated: rs4245739, rs1563828, rs11801299, rs10900598, and rs1380576. Our analyses suggested that the rs4245739 polymorphism was significantly associated with overall cancer risk. Furthermore, stratification analyses of ethnicity indicated that rs4245739 decreased the risk of cancer among the Asian population, and stratification analyses of smoking status indicated that rs4245739 decreased the risk of cancer among nonsmokers. However, stratification analyses of cancer type and sex suggested that rs4245739 was not related to cancer risk. There were no associations of rs1563828, rs11801299, rs10900598, or rs1380576 with overall cancer risk. In conclusion, our analyses indicated that rs4245739 polymorphism in the MDM4 gene may play an important role in the etiology of cancer.

More Precise Imaging Analysis and Diagnosis of Moyamoya Disease and Moyamoya Syndrome Using High-Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of moyamoya disease (MMD) is often uncertain. Moyamoya syndrome (MMS) is often misdiagnosed as MMD. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) enables vessel wall assessment to obtain more precise diagnoses. The aim of this study was to determine the true etiologies of arterial steno-occlusion in patients with an angiographic diagnosis of MMD or MMS using HR-MRI. METHODS: HR-MRI was performed in 21 adult patients with angiographically proven MMD or MMS. A definite diagnosis was based on the HR-MRI findings. The diagnoses made via the 2 different imaging technologies were compared, and significant findings were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 21 patients were enrolled, including 7 patients with angiographically proven MMD and 14 patients with angiographically proven MMS. Among the 7 patients with MMD, HR-MRI confirmed the diagnosis of MMD in 6; the remaining patient was considered to have atherosclerosis in the bilateral distal internal carotid arteries (ICAs) and the left middle cerebral artery. Among the 14 patients with MMS, HR-MRI confirmed MMD in 6 patients (including 2 patients with unilateral MMD), atherosclerosis in 5 patients (including 3 patients with bilateral atherosclerosis and 2 with unilateral atherosclerosis), arterial dissection of the left ICA in 1 patient, and MMD in the left cerebral hemisphere with atherosclerosis in the right hemisphere in 2 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Differentiating MMD from MMS is difficult in certain situations, and HR-MRI may help provide a more in-depth understanding of MMD and MMS, thereby achieving a more reliable diagnosis.

High-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Moyamoya Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To introduce the imaging characteristics of moyamoya disease (MMD) using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) and to discuss the role of HR-MRI in differentiating MMD from other intracranial artery diseases, especially intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD). DATA SOURCES: This review was based on the data in articles published between 2005 and 2015, which were obtained from PubMed. The keywords included HR-MRI, MMD, ICAD, and intracranial artery diseases. STUDY SELECTION: Articles related to HR-MRI for MMD or other intracranial artery diseases were selected for review. RESULTS: There are differences between the characteristic patterns of HR-MRI in MMD and ICAD. MMD is associated with inward remodeling, smaller outer diameters, concentric occlusive lesions and homogeneous signal intensity, while ICAD is more likely to be associated with outward remodeling, normal outer diameters, eccentric occlusive lesions, and heterogeneous signal intensity. Other intracranial artery diseases, such as dissection and vasculitis, also have distinctive characteristics in HR-MRI. HR-MRI may become a useful tool for the differential diagnosis of MMD in the future. CONCLUSIONS: HR-MRI of MMD provides a more in-depth understanding of MMD, and it is helpful in evaluating pathological changes in the vessel wall and in differentiating MMD from other intracranial artery steno-occlusive diseases, particularly ICAD.

Genetic Variants in ASCT2 Gene are Associated with the Prognosis of Transarterial Chemoembolisation-Treated Early- Stage Hepatocelluar Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) is the standardized therapy for intermediate stage HCC. However, the prognosis for HCC patients treated by TACE greatly varies. Thus, there is a critical need for finding biomarkers to predict the prognosis of HCC patients. The amino acid transporter-2 (ASCT2) is involved in tumorigenesis and progression of many malignancies. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive role of two single nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs, rs3826793 and rs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene in HCC patients treated by TACE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two functional SNPs (rs3826793 and rs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene were selected and genotyped using the Sequenom iPLEX genotyping system in a cohort of 448 unresectable Chinese HCC patients treated by TACE. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier curves were used for the prognosis analyses. RESULTS: There was no significant association between two SNPs (rs3826793 and rs2070246) in the ASCT2 gene and overall survival of TACE treated HCC patients. However, we demonstrated that patients with early stage HCC carrying T genotype in rs2070246 showed better OS than those carrying CC genotype (P=0.023). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that patients with early stage HCC carrying T genotype in rs2070246 showed better OS than those carrying CC genotype.

Validation of the association between PSMA6 -8 C/G polymorphism and type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese Dongxiang and Han populations.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to validate association between -8 C/G variant of PSMA6 gene and T2DM in Chinese Dongxiang and Han populations. METHOD: We genotyped PSMA6 gene -8 C/G polymorphism in the control groups and T2DM groups in two populations from China using PCR-RFLP technique. Phenotypes and biochemical indicators were measured by biochemical technique. RESULT: The frequencies of CG+GG genotype were observably different from CC genotype in the T2DM groups and control groups (for Dongxiang population: OR = 1.341, 95% CI: 1.101-1.632, P = 0.004; for Han population: OR = 1.313, 95% CI: 1.085-1.569, P = 0.006 after adjusting for gender, age, and BMI, respectively). In the Dongxiang population, the FPG, HOMA-IR, SBP and TG levels of CG+GG genotype were markedly higher than those of the CC genotype in control group (all P < 0.05). However, in the Han population, we only found that the FPI level of the CC genotype was significantly higher than that of the CG+GG genotype in control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our investigation suggests that -8 C/G variant of PSMA6 gene may be associated with T2DM and diabetes-related metabolic traits in Chinese Dongxiang and Han populations.

Association of P213S polymorphism of the L-selectin gene with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance in Chinese population.

AIMS: L-selectin belongs to selectin family of adhesion molecule and participates in the generation and development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this study, we evaluated the relationship between the P213S polymorphism of L-selectin gene and T2D and insulin resistance in the Chinese population. METHODS: We genotyped P213S polymorphism in 801 patients with T2D and 834 healthy controls in the Chinese population using polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reaction (PCR-LDR) technique. Plasma glucose, insulin, lipid, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and uric acid levels were measured by biochemical technique. RESULTS: The frequency of 213PP genotype and P allele of the L-selectin gene in patients with T2D was significantly higher than that in controls (P=0.007; P=0.019, respectively). The relative risk of allele P suffered from T2D was 1.191 times higher than that of allele S. Moreover, the levels of FPG and HOMA-IR of PP and PS genotype carriers were significantly higher than those of SS genotype carriers in the T2D group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that the P213S polymorphism of L-selectin gene may contribute to susceptibility to T2D and insulin resistance in the Chinese population, and P allele appears to be a risk factor for T2D.

Biphasic effects of forskolin on tau phosphorylation and spatial memory in rats.

To explore the role of protein kinase A (PKA) in regulating tau phosphorylation and spatial memory, we injected forskolin, an activator of PKA, at different concentrations into the rat brains. We found that forskolin at concentrations up to 80 microM enhanced tau phosphorylation and was associated with prominent spatial memory impairment. Higher concentrations of forskolin, up to 200 microM, were associated with reduced phosphorylation levels of tau and no memory deficits. Forskolin elevated cAMP and activated PKA in a dose-dependent manner. When infused at 200 microM, forskolin also resulted in the activation and overexpression of protein phosphatase-2A (PP-2A) and attenuated the okadaic acid-induced PP-2A inhibition. These data suggest that the upregulation of PKA by forskolin to a certain level may activate PP-2A but that the latter can ameliorate the PKA-induced tau phosphorylation and memory impairment in the rats.

[Evaluation on the use of detection of hepatitis C core antigen for screening blood donor].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of detection of hepatitis C virus core antigen (HCV-cAg) for screening blood donor by using the internal reagent enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and anti-HCV antibody. METHODS: The first and repeat assays were performed for detection of serum anti-HCV and HCV-cAg ELISA in 3972 donor's serum specimens from August to October of 2004. Twenty-five donors positive for anti-HCV were tested with HCV-cAg EIA kits and the results were compared with the results of HCV RNA determination with RT-PCR method. RESULTS: In 3972 donor's serum samples, only 1 serum specimen was positive for HCV RNA identification among 10 specimens which were positive for anti-HCV in first assays, and only 1 serum specimens was positive for HCV RNA identification among 12 specimens positive for anti-HCV in repeat assays, only 2 serum specimens were positive HCV RNA identification in 3 specimens which were positive for HCV-cAg assays. CONCLUSION: The sensitivity of HCV-cAg ELISA is similar to HCV RT-PCR, but it is much cheaper. Therefore, HCV-cAg ELISA and anti-HCV may be used together to screen blood donor.

[Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of the genomes among 7 species of ticks].

OBJECTIVE: To study genomic polymorphic DNA and genetic distance of 7 species of ticks. METHODS: Ticks used in this study were Dermacentor nuttalli, D. silvarum, Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis, H. formosensis, H. punctata, Amblyomma testudinarium, and Ixodes ovatus. DNA extracts of the 7 species of ticks were amplified by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and PCR technique using 5 primers with different arbitrary single chain polynucleotide sequences. DNA fingerprint maps were analyzed and the genetic distance among 7 species of ticks were counted. RESULTS: The amplified products of the 7 species of ticks by RAPD all showed their specific DNA band. The average genetic distance among them was 0.71. CONCLUSION: RAPD can differentiate the 7 species of ticks.