Changes in Cytokine Levels in Patients with Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus.

Purpose: To characterize the cytokine profile of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in relation to disease severity. Patients and Methods: 60 laboratory-confirmed SFTS patients and 12 healthy individuals from multi-centers in Shandong Province of China were included, and all patients were divided into fatal patients (9) and recovered patients (51) due to their final outcomes. Multiplex-microbead immunoassays were conducted to estimate levels of 27 cytokines in the sera of patients and controls. Results: The results showed that levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-15, IL-1RA, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, TNF-α, basic FGF, PDGF-BB, RANTES, IP-10, MIP-1α, MIP-1ß, MCP-1, and Eotaxin differed significantly among the SFTS fatal patients, recovered patients, and the healthy controls (all p<0.05). Compared to the healthy controls, the fatal patients and recovered patients had reduced levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, PDGF-BB, RANTES, and Eotaxin, while the levels of PDGF-BB and RANTES were significantly lower in fatal patients compared to recovered patients. The increasing levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-15, IL-1RA, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, TNF-α, basic FGF, IP-10, MIP-1α, MIP-1ß, and MCP-1 were observed in fatal patients (all p<0.05), and the levels of IL-6, IP-10, MIP-1α, and MCP-1 were significantly higher than other two groups. The Spearman correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between platelet count and PDGF-BB levels (p<0.05), while the white blood cell count had a negative correlation with MIP-1 level (p<0.05). Conclusion: The research exhibited that the SFTS virus (SFTSV) caused an atypical manifestation of cytokines. The levels of IL-6, IP-10, MIP-1α, and MCP-1 had been observed a positive association with the severity of the illness.

Anti-Phytopathogenic and Cytotoxic Activities of Crude Extracts and Secondary Metabolites of Marine-Derived Fungi.

Thirty-one isolates belonging to eight genera in seven orders were identified from 141 strains that were isolated from several marine plants. Alternaria sp. and Fusarium sp. were found to be the predominant fungi. Evaluation of the anti-phytopathogenic bacterial and fungal activities, as well as the cytotoxicity of these 31 extracts, revealed that most of them displayed different levels of bioactivities. Due to their interesting bioactivities, two fungal strains-Fusarium equiseti (P18) and Alternaria sp. (P8)-were selected for chemical investigation and compounds 1-4 were obtained. The structure of 1 was elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR analysis, as well as high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS), and the absolute configuration of its stereogenic carbon (C-11) was established by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular-dichroism (ECD) spectra. Moreover, alterperylenol (4) exhibited antibacterial activity against Clavibacter michiganensis with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.95 µg/mL, which was 2-fold stronger than that of streptomycin sulfate. Additionally, an antibacterial mechanism study revealed that 4 caused membrane hyperpolarization without evidence of destruction of cell membrane integrity. Furthermore, stemphyperylenol (3) displayed potent antifungal activity against Pestallozzia theae and Alternaria brassicicola with MIC values equal to those of carbendazim. The cytotoxicity of 1 and 2 against human lung carcinoma (A-549), human cervical carcinoma (HeLa), and human hepatoma (HepG2) cell lines were also evaluated.

Illumina-Based Analysis of Endophytic and Rhizosphere Bacterial Diversity of the Coastal Halophyte Messerschmidia sibirica.

Halophytes play important roles in coastal ecosystems. However, few reports have described bacterial communities related to halophytes, and the distribution patterns of these bacteria in different plant tissues have been rarely compared. This paper mainly studied the diversity and community structure of endophytic and rhizosphere (Rh) bacteria related to the halophyte Messerschmidia sibirica, a dominant species in the coastal zone of Shandong Peninsula, China. We collected leaf (Lf), stem (Sm), root (Rt), Rh, and bulk (Bl) control soil samples, and sequenced the V5-V7 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene using the Illumina HiSeq platform to identify bacterial communities originating from different plant habitats. We found that the bacterial richness and diversity in Rh were significantly higher than those in the leaves, Sm, and Rt, but lower than those of the Bl control soil. In total, 37 phyla and 438 genera were identified. Microbial-diversity analysis showed that Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were the dominant phyla and that Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Sphingomonas, Streptomyces, Microbacterium, Rhizobium, and Nocardioides were the dominant genera. However, there were clear differences in community diversity and structure among the samples. Endophytic bacteria community in Lf, Sm, and Rt shared more similarity than those in Rh and Bl control soil. The numbers of operational taxonomic units exclusive to the Lf, stem, Rt, Rh, and Bl control soil samples were 51, 43, 122, 139, and 922, respectively, implying habitat-specific patterns. Principal coordinate analysis demonstrated differences were apparent in the bacterial communities associated with habitats. On the whole, M. sibirica affected bacterial diversity and structured the bacterial community. This study provides insight into the complex microbial compositions of coastal halophytes.

A severe course of Cronkhite-Canada syndrome and the review of clinical features and therapy in 49 Chinese patients.

We describe a severe case of Cronkhite-Canada syndrome and review the clinical features and therapy in 49 Chinese patients. A 67-year-old man who underwent severe chronic diarrhea had typical clinical manifestations of hyperpigmentation, hair loss, and dystrophic changes in the fingernails. Although sufficient nutrition support and other therapies reported in the literature were provided, the patient died of systemic failure one year later. Cronkhite-Canada syndrome is characterized by generalized gastrointestinal polyps associated with hyperpigmentation, hair loss, and onycholysis. Anemia, positive stool occult blood, serum electrolyte disturbances, and low serum proteins are the main clinical features of patients with Cronkhite-Canada syndrome. Most patients were diagnosed by esophagogastroduodenoscopy and/or colonoscopy, and polyps were found in the entire alimentary tract, except the notable exception of the esophagus. The polyp-like samples of mucosa, hyperplasia, and adenoma were characterized by acute/chronic inflammation. Four cases were complicated with cancer. The treatment of Cronkhite-Canada syndrome includes symptomatic and support therapy, administration of corticosteroids, antibiotics and acid inhibitors, therapeutic endoscopy, and surgery. While the mortality rate was reported as 47.3% (9/19), some patients may live a long life with controlled symptoms.

Diagnostic performance of urea breath test, rapid urea test, and histology for Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with partial gastrectomy: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori infection has been implicated in the pathogenesis of gastroduodenal diseases such as recurrent peptic ulceration and particularly residual stomach cancer in the postoperative stomach. AIM: To determine the performance of different commonly used tests for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in patients after partial gastrectomy. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted by searching the PubMed, EMBASE and ScienceDirect databases with relevant key words. Data extraction was independently performed by two reviewers. Meta-analyses were performed for the performance of the different tests including the sensitivities, specificities, likelihood ratios (LRs), diagnostic odds ratio diagnostic odds ratio, and the summary receiver operating characteristic summary receiver operating characteristic curve. The meta-analysis was performed by Meta-DiSc software. RESULTS: Studies showed a high degree of heterogeneity. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, LR+, LR- and diagnostic odds ratio for the different methods were: Urea breath test (9 studies): 0.77 (95% CI, 0.72-0.82), 0.89 (95% CI, 0.85-0.93), 6.32 (95% CI, 3.22-12.42), 0.27 (95% CI, 0.17-0.43), and 27.86 (95% CI, 13.27-58.49). Rapid urease test (7 studies): 0.79 (95% CI, 0.72-0.84), 0.94 (95% CI, 0.90-0.97), 10.21 (95% CI, 5.94-17.54), 0.28 (95% CI, 0.22-0.36) and 49.02 (95% CI, 24.24-99.14). Histology (3 studies): 0.93 (95% CI, 0.88-0.97), 0.85 (95% CI, 0.73-0.93), 5.88 (95% CI, 3.26-10.60), 0.09 (95% CI, 0.05- 0.15), and 97.28 (95% CI, 34.30-275.95). The corresponding summary receiver operating characteristic curves showed areas under the curves of 0.91, 0.93 and 0.96 and Q* values of 0.84, 0.86 and 0.91, respectively CONCLUSION: Among the three commonly used tests, histological examination performs the best, followed by the rapid urease test, for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection after partial gastrectomy. Thus, histology, preferably after the rapid urease test, is recommended for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection after partial gastrectomy.