Increased Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) Level Is Highly Associated with Low Skeletal Muscle Mass in Asymptomatic Adults: A Population-Based Study.

We investigated the relationship between high carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels and low skeletal muscle mass (LMM) in asymptomatic adults in a population-based study. A total of 202,602 adults (mean age 41.7 years) without malignancy, stroke, cardiovascular disease, or chronic lung/liver disease were included. A high CEA level was defined as ≥5 ng/mL. Skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated based on appendicular muscle mass (kg)/height (m)2. Participants were classified into three groups based on SMI: "normal", "mild LMM", and "severe LMM." The prevalence of elevated CEA levels was the highest in subjects with severe LMM (4.2%), followed by those with mild LMM (1.6%) and normal muscle mass (1.1%) (p for trend < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, high CEA was independently associated with having mild LMM (adjusted odds ratio, 1.139 [95% confidence interval, 1.092−1.188]) and severe LMM (2.611 [2.055−3.319]) compared to normal muscle mass. Furthermore, the association between high CEA and severe LMM was stronger in women than that in men (women, 5.373 [2.705−10.669]; men, 2.273 [1.762−2.933]). Elevated CEA levels were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of LMM. Therefore, increased CEA could be used as a biomarker for detecting LMM in adults without cancer.

Overexpression of glutamate-gated chloride channel in the integument is mainly responsible for emamectin benzoate resistance in the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis.

BACKGROUND: Western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis is a serious polyphagous pest worldwide. In this study, we investigated the potential mechanisms of resistance including enhanced metabolism and target site insensitivity in an emamectin benzoate (EB)-resistant (EB-R) strain. RESULTS: The EB-R strain of F. occidentalis showed 356-fold increased resistance compared to a susceptible RDA strain. Analysis of cross-resistance to four other insecticides confirmed that EB resistance is highly specific to the contact toxicity of EB. Synergistic bioassay and quantitative PCR of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP) genes revealed that three overexpressed Cyps were likely involved in resistance. Among three putative glutamate-gated chloride channel (GluCl) genes identified, FoGluClc showed four radical amino acid substitutions and 3.8-fold and 31-fold transcription level in the head and integument in the EB-R strain when compared to the RDA strain. Backcrossing analysis and RNA interference confirmed that both amino acid substitution and overexpression of FoGluClc are responsible for EB resistance. In situ hybridization revealed that FoGluClc is mainly distributed in the integument in the EB-R strain. Cross-comparison of known genomes and transcriptomes of thrips species revealed that FoGluClc is unique to the Frankliniella genus. CONCLUSION: While mutations and overexpression of FoGluClc play major roles in EB resistance, the overexpressed Cyps are partially involved as metabolic factors. Higher expression of FoGluClc in the integument may suggest its role in the first-line defense against EB in the EB-R strain. Unique distribution of FoGluClc in the Frankliniella genus but not in other thrips species further suggests that FoGluClc may be a surplus channel not having an essential endogenous function and is thus recruited as a defense barrier against xenobiotics. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Characterization of anti-microbial peptides and proteins from maggots of Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae fly species (Diptera).

Removal of infected wounds using maggots has been known for centuries. Early research has shown that the maggot exosecretion, whole body, and fecal waste products of Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae species contain a variety of alkaline peptides capable of inhibiting bacterial growth. Since the wide application of antibiotics such as penicillin, a number of bacterial infections have become insensitive to antibiotic treatment. In many of these instances, maggot therapy has been successfully applied for the treatment of chronic wounds. To identify and compare the expression patterns of anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) from some dipteran species, transcriptome analyses were conducted for the maggots of 11 Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae species. Species of the subfamily Calliphorinae showed relatively higher expression levels of AMPs and anti-microbial proteins compared with those of Luciliinae and Sarcophagidae species. Furthermore, among all of the dipteran species examined, Lucilia illustris exhibited the highest transcription levels of AMPs. Cecropin A2 and defensin, whose expression levels were the highest among the anti-microbial peptides, were synthesized to test their biological activity. The synthesized peptides showed anti-microbial activities without hemolytic activities. In particular, cecropin A2 of L. illustris exhibited the highest anti-microbial activity against all of the bacteria and fungi examined, thereby possessing the potential to be developed as a new alternative to antibiotics. This comparative transcriptomic study may provide new insights into anti-microbial compositions of some dipteran species.

Comparative analyses of the venom components in the salivary gland transcriptomes and saliva proteomes of some heteropteran insects.

Salivary gland-specific transcriptomes of nine heteropteran insects with distinct feeding strategies (predaceous, hematophagous, and phytophagous) were analyzed and annotated to compare and identify the venom components as well as their expression profiles. The transcriptional abundance of venom genes was verified via quantitative real-time PCR. Hierarchical clustering of 30 representative differentially expressed venom genes from the nine heteropteran species revealed unique groups of salivary gland-specific genes depending on their feeding strategy. The commonly transcribed genes included a paralytic neurotoxin (arginine kinase), digestive enzymes (cathepsin and serine protease), an anti-inflammatory protein (cystatin), hexamerin, and an odorant binding protein. Both predaceous and hematophagous (bed bug) heteropteran species showed relatively higher transcription levels of genes encoding proteins involved in proteolysis and cytolysis, whereas phytophagous heteropterans exhibited little or no expression of these genes, but had a high expression of vitellogenin, a multifunctional allergen. Saliva proteomes from four representative species were also analyzed. All venom proteins identified via saliva proteome analysis were annotated using salivary gland transcriptome data. The proteomic expression profiles of venom proteins were in good agreement with the salivary gland-specific transcriptomic profiles. Our results indicate that profiling of the salivary gland transcriptome provides important information on the composition and evolutionary features of venoms depending on their feeding strategy.

Long-term outcome of low-energy extracorporeal shockwave therapy on gluteal tendinopathy documented by magnetic resonance imaging.

BACKGROUND: Previous outcome studies for extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) have included clinically diagnosed greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS). The purpose of this study is to investigate outcome of ESWT on GTPS with gluteal tendinopathy documented by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Medical records of 38 consecutive patients were retrospectively reviewed, who underwent ESWT for GTPS with MRI-documented gluteal tendinopathy (> 6 months). ESWT was conducted (1/week) when the Roles-Maudsley score (RMS) showed "Poor" or "Fair" grade after conservative treatment until RMS had reached "Good" or "Excellent" grade (treatment success) or until 12 treatments had been applied. Numeric rating scale (NRS) and RMS were evaluated before, 1 week after (immediate follow-up) and mean 27 months after ESWT program (long-term follow-up). Success rate was calculated at each follow-up point. RESULTS: Initial NRS (5.9 ± 1.6) significantly decreased at immediate (2.5 ± 1.5, p< 0.01) and long-term follow-up (3.3 ± 3.0, p< 0.01), respectively. Success rates were 83.3% (immediate) and 55.6% (long-term), respectively. There was no correlation among age, symptom duration and NRS. CONCLUSION: Low-energy ESWT can be an effective treatment for pain relief in chronic GTPS with MRI-documented gluteal tendinopathy. However, its long-term effect appears to decrease with time.

Differential Properties of Venom Peptides and Proteins in Solitary vs. Social Hunting Wasps.

The primary functions of venoms from solitary and social wasps are different. Whereas most solitary wasps sting their prey to paralyze and preserve it, without killing, as the provisions for their progeny, social wasps usually sting to defend their colonies from vertebrate predators. Such distinctive venom properties of solitary and social wasps suggest that the main venom components are likely to be different depending on the wasps' sociality. The present paper reviews venom components and properties of the Aculeata hunting wasps, with a particular emphasis on the comparative aspects of venom compositions and properties between solitary and social wasps. Common components in both solitary and social wasp venoms include hyaluronidase, phospholipase A2, metalloendopeptidase, etc. Although it has been expected that more diverse bioactive components with the functions of prey inactivation and physiology manipulation are present in solitary wasps, available studies on venom compositions of solitary wasps are simply too scarce to generalize this notion. Nevertheless, some neurotoxic peptides (e.g., pompilidotoxin and dendrotoxin-like peptide) and proteins (e.g., insulin-like peptide binding protein) appear to be specific to solitary wasp venom. In contrast, several proteins, such as venom allergen 5 protein, venom acid phosphatase, and various phospholipases, appear to be relatively more specific to social wasp venom. Finally, putative functions of main venom components and their application are also discussed.

Clinical features and outcome of physiotherapy in early presenting congenital muscular torticollis with severe fibrosis on ultrasonography: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that ultrasonography (US) can detect the severity of congenital muscular torticollis (CMT), and severe fibrosis of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle noted on US is irreversible and likely to require surgery. Clinical outcome of CMT depends mainly on the patient's age, which is also associated with the severity of fibrosis as determined by US. However, there has been no well-designed study to elucidate the true relationship among these factors nor a definite consensus on treatment of young infants with severe fibrosis in the SCM compared with well-documented reports that late cases require surgery. PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether severity of SCM fibrosis on US is correlated with clinical severity and outcome of standardized physiotherapy in early presenting CMT. METHODS: Fifty patients with a palpable neck mass, initial deficit of passive neck rotation (ΔROT) more than 10°, and age less than 3 months were classified into 4 US types according to the severity of fibrosis in the SCM and underwent standardized physiotherapy and regular assessment. Relationship between US types and 2 variables (ΔROT and treatment duration) and success rate of physiotherapy was assessed. RESULTS: None of the cases was classified as type 4. Type 3 showed greatest ΔROT and longest mean treatment duration. Both variables showed a significant linear trend of association with US types by P for trend (P = .003, P < .001, respectively). Treatment was "successful" in 49 patients (98%). CONCLUSION: In young infants with CMT, US can document severity; and an early and adequate physiotherapy is a good treatment option, particularly even in those with severe fibrosis.

Risk factors for intrauterine constraint are associated with ultrasonographically detected severe fibrosis in early congenital muscular torticollis.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The etiology of congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) remains controversial. Ultrasonographically, severe fibrosis involving the entire sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM; type 3 or 4) fibrosis has been associated with poor clinical outcomes and indicates a chronic state of the condition. The purpose of this study was to test whether or not type 3 or 4 fibrosis detected early after birth is associated with factors related to prolonged intrauterine constraint. METHODS: Sixty-seven patients (age, <3 months) with CMT were classified into 4 different ultrasonographic types according to the severity of SCM fibrosis. The odds ratio for the relationship between probability of type 3 or 4 and factors related to intrauterine constraint were calculated by a multivariate logistic regression model. RESULTS: None were classified as type 4. Twenty-three patients (34%) had a history of breech presentation, and 21 (91.3%) of them were delivered by elective cesarean section without likelihood of birth trauma. Compared with normal pregnancy, breech presentation and oligohydramnios showed a 6.7 or 7.5 times higher probability for type 3 fibrosis, respectively. CONCLUSION: Risk factors for intrauterine constraint appear to be associated with ultrasonographically detected severe fibrosis involving the entire SCM muscle in early presenting CMT.