Identification of hub genes and signaling pathways related to gastric cells infected by Helicobacter pylori.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is a pathogen involved in several gastroduodenal diseases, whose infection mechanisms have not been completely confirmed. To study the specific mechanism of gastropathy caused by H. pylori, we analyzed the gene microarray of gastric mucosa and gastric cells infected by H. pylori through bioinformatics analysis. METHODS: We downloaded GSE60427 and GSE74492 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, screened differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and identified the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) through R software. The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) was applied to establish a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and Cytoscape was used to identify the top seven hub genes. Besides, we also constructed the gene-microRNA(gene-miRNA) interaction through the miRTarBase v8.0 database by using the NetworkAnalyst tool. RESULTS: One hundred and fifteen DEGs were screened out, with 54 genes up-regulated and 61 genes down-regulated, among which seven hub genes, including "IGF1R," "APOE," "IRS1," "ATF3," "LCN2," "IL2RG," and "PI3," were considered as the main regulatory proteins in gastric cells when infected by H. pylori. CONCLUSION: In this study, hub genes and related signal enrichment pathways of gastropathy infected by H. pylori were analyzed through bioinformatics analysis based on the GSE60427 and GSE74492 datasets.

Identification of differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways in human conjunctiva and reproductive tract infected with Chlamydia trachomatis.

BACKGROUND: Currently, Chlamydia trachomatis-specific host defense mechanisms in humans remain poorly defined. To study the characteristics of host cells infected early with Chlamydia trachomatis, we used bioinformatics methods to analyze the RNA transcription profiles of the conjunctiva, fallopian tubes, and endometrium in humans infected with Chlamydia trachomatis. METHOD: The gene expression profiles of GSE20430, GSE20436, GSE26692, and GSE41075 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Synthesis (GEO) database. Then, we obtained the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) through the R 4.0.1 software. STRING was used to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks; then, the Cytoscape 3.7.2 software was used to visualize the PPI and screen hub genes. GraphPad Prism 8.0 software was used to verify the expression of the hub gene. In addition, the gene-miRNA interaction was constructed on the NetworkAnalyst 3.0 platform using the miRTarBase v8.0 database. RESULTS: A total of 600 and 135 DEGs were screened out in the conjunctival infection group and the reproductive tract infection group, respectively. After constructing a PPI network and verifying the hub genes, CSF2, CD40, and CSF3 in the reproductive tract infection group proved to have considerable statistical significance. CONCLUSION: In our research, the key genes in the biological process of reproductive tract infection with Chlamydia trachomatis were clarified through bioinformatics analysis. These hub genes may be further used in clinical treatment and clinical diagnosis.

Pooled analysis of Xpert Bladder Cancer based on the 5 mRNAs for rapid diagnosis of bladder carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Xpert Bladder Cancer is a detection method developed in recent years, designed with the functions of integrating sample automatically, nucleic acid amplification, and target sequence detection. It is a urine assay targeting five mRNAs (CRH, IGF2, UPK1B, ANXA10, and ABL1). The purpose of this article is to review the accuracy of Xpert Bladder Cancer in the follow-up diagnosis of bladder cancer and evaluate the role of Xpert Bladder Cancer in detecting the recurrence of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer in the round. METHODS: In the database of Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, the articles published up to October 13, 2020, were searched and screened based on the exclusion and inclusion criteria, and data were extracted from the included studies. The sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio, positive likelihood ratio summary of receiver operating characteristic curves, and diagnostic odds ratio were combined by the Meta-DiSc 1.4 software. The Stata 12.0 software was used to obtain the assessment of publication bias. RESULTS: A total of 8 articles involving eight fourfold tables were finally identified. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of Xpert Bladder Cancer in the diagnosis of bladder cancer were 0.71 and 0.81, respectively. The positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 3.74 and 0.34, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.8407. The diagnostic odds ratio was 11.99. Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test manifested no publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, Xpert Bladder Cancer presents high accuracy and specificity in monitoring bladder cancer compared with cystoscopy. More researches are still required to further confirm this conclusion.

LncRNA DSCAM-AS1 interacts with YBX1 to promote cancer progression by forming a positive feedback loop that activates FOXA1 transcription network.

Rationale: The forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) is a crucial transcription factor in initiation and development of breast, lung and prostate cancer. Previous studies about the FOXA1 transcriptional network were mainly focused on protein-coding genes. Its regulatory network of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and their role in FOXA1 oncogenic activity remains unknown. Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data, RNA-seq and ChIP-seq data were used to analyze FOXA1 regulated lncRNAs. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of DSCAM-AS1, RT-qPCR and Western blotting were used to determine the expression of FOXA1, estrogen receptor α (ERα) and Y box binding protein 1 (YBX1). RNA pull-down and RIP-qPCR were employed to investigate the interaction between DSCAM-AS1 and YBX1. The effect of DSCAM-AS1 on malignant phenotypes was examined through in vitro and in vivo assays. Results: In this study, we conducted a global analysis of FOXA1 regulated lncRNAs. For detailed analysis, we chose lncRNA DSCAM-AS1, which is specifically expressed in lung adenocarcinoma, breast and prostate cancer. The expression level of DSCAM-AS1 is regulated by two super-enhancers (SEs) driven by FOXA1. High expression levels of DSCAM-AS1 was associated with poor prognosis. Knockout experiments showed DSCAM-AS1 was essential for the growth of xenograft tumors. Moreover, we demonstrated DSCAM-AS1 can regulate the expression of the master transcriptional factor FOXA1. In breast cancer, DSCAM-AS1 was also found to regulate ERα. Mechanistically, DSCAM-AS1 interacts with YBX1 and influences the recruitment of YBX1 in the promoter regions of FOXA1 and ERα. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that lncRNA DSCAM-AS1 was transcriptionally activated by super-enhancers driven by FOXA1 and exhibited lineage-specific expression pattern. DSCAM-AS1 can promote cancer progression by interacting with YBX1 and regulating expression of FOXA1 and ERα.

Alterations of Sphingolipid Metabolism in Different Types of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

The roles of sphingolipids in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the sphingolipid characteristics for different types of PCOS using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). A total of 107 women with PCOS and 37 healthy women as normal controls were studied. PCOS patients were further classified into non-obesity with insulin resistance (IR) (NOIR), obesity with IR (OIR), and non-obesity and non-IR (NIR) subgroups. A total of 87 serum sphingolipids, including 9 sphingosines, 3 sphinganines, 1 sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), 19 ceramides (Cers), 1 ceramide-1-phosphate, 44 sphingomyelins (SMs), 4 hexosylceramides, and 6 lactosylceramides (LacCers) were analyzed using an improved sphingolipidomic approach based on LC-MS. Notable elevations in the levels of S1P, Cer, and SM were observed in PCOS patients when compared with healthy women, and SM species with long saturated acyl chains showed potential as novel biomarkers of PCOS. In addition, the level of LacCer was only elevated in NIR, and there was almost no change in NOIR and OIR. This study is the first to report the comprehensive sphingolipidomic profiling of different subgroups of PCOS with or without IR or obesity and suggests that serum sphingolipids might be useful as diagnostic biomarkers for different types of PCOS.

[Analysis of alcohol extract and water extract of Polygonum capitatum by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS].

In this study, we used Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry(UPLC-TOF-MS)to identify the chemical constituents in both ethanol and water extract of Polygonum capitatum. A Waters ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.7 µm) was used for separation. The mobile phase was consisted of(A) 0.10% formic acid in water and(B)0.10% formic acid in acetonitrile, and the flow rate was 0.35 mL•min⁻¹. ESI source in negative ion mode was used for MS detection. Structural identification was carried out according to the accurate mass and matching with database. The results showed that flavonoids, polyphenols and lignans were the main components in both extracts. However, the chemical compositions of both extracts were different, e.g. there are less hydrolyzable tannins, loss of ellagic acid and more anthocyanins in ethanol extract. In a conclusion, this study provides an important scientific basis for identifying the active ingredients in P. capitatum, which also help to reveal the pharmacological effect of P. capitatum.

Dihydro-ß-agarofuran sesquiterpene polyesters isolated from the stems of Tripterygium regelii.

Twelve new dihydro-ß-agarofuran polyesters, triptregelines A-J (1-3 and 5-11) and triptregelols A, B (4, 12), together with five known ones (13-17) were isolated from the stems of Tripterygium regelii. The structures were determined on the basis of extensive analysis of spectroscopic data (1D, 2D NMR, and UV etc.) and HRMS data. Cytotoxic effects of these compounds were evaluated against a pair of cancer cell lines, A549 and taxol-resistant A549T. Triptofordin B (14) showed cytotoxicity against both A549 and A549T cells with IC50 value of 21.2 and 10.8µM, respectively. In addition, triptregeline B (2), triptregeline C (3), triptregeline H (9) and 1α, 6ß, 15-triacetoxy-8α-benzoyloxy-4ß-hydroxy-9α-(3-nicotinoyloxy)-dihydro-ß-agarofuran (17) exhibited weak cytotoxic effects on taxol-resistant A549T with IC50 values ranged from 29.4 to 54.4µM. The cytotoxic effect of triptofordin B (14) was much less than taxol with IC50 value of 0.08µM on A549 cancer cell.

[Case-control study on arthroscopy and manipulation for the treatment of derangement of patellofemoral joint].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the therapeutic effects of arthroscopy and manipulation of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of patellofemoral joint disease. METHODS: The patients met with the criteria of patellofemoral joint disease were divided into manipulation of TCM group and arthroscopy group randomly, 31 patients in each group. There were 31 patients in manipulation of TCM group, including 4 males and 27 females, with an average age of (52.83 +/- 5.79) years old; and the patients were treated with manipulation. There were 31 patients in arthroscopy group, including 8 males and 23 females, with an average age of (54.14 +/- 6.12) years old; the patients were treated with arthroscopy. The HSS knee joint score, fitness angle of patellofemoral joint and lateral angle of patellofemoral joint in X-ray were compared in each group and between the two groups before and after treatment respectively. RESULTS: The two therapeutics had equally efficacious in which improved HSS score significantly. After treatment, the HSS scores in manipulation of TCM group and arthroscopy group were 94.80 +/- 7.26 and 88.65 +/- 5.79 separately, the score in manipulation of TCM group was higher than that of arthroscopy group. Comparing with the arthroscopy group, lateral angle of patellofemoral joint with weight-hearing position were improved significantly in manipulation of TCM group. CONCLUSION: Arthroscopy and manipulation of TCM have equally efficacious in the treatment of patellofemoral joint disease, but manipulation has advantage of minimal trauma, and is better to treat patella extraversion.

[Study on the relationship between clinical syndromes and X-ray manifestation of knee osteoarthritis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between clinical syndromes and X-ray manifestation of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), so as to provide evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: Seventy-eight patients (108 knees) with KOA from out-patient clinic of orthopedic were collected, aged from 41 to 77, including 65 females (89 knees) and 13 males (19 knees). Questionnair investigation of Lequesne index was performed among all these patients and the Lequesne index was calculated. And all these patients were divided into two groups, mild group (Lequesne index < or = 8) and severe group (Lequesne index > 8). Weight-bearing anteriorposterior and lateral plain film of knee joint and patellofemoral Skyline plain flim was taken. Joint space narrowing, osteophyte formation, subchondral osteosclerosis and subchondral cystic degeneration were evaluated. The lower limb alignment and lateral patella angle were detected. The correlation of the Lequesne index and X-ray manifestation was analyzed by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: There were significant differences between mild and severe groups in the following indexes: lateral tibiofemoral joint space narrowing, the medial retropatellar space narrowing, medial and lateral tibia osteophytes, medial and tibial femur femur osteophytes, medial and lateral trochlea osteophytes, lateral patella osteophytes, tibia introcondylar osteophytes (P<0.05). The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that the lateral femur osteophytes were the most important radiologic manifestation to evaluate the severity degree of KOA,with the minimum associated probability (0.009) and the maximum wald value (6.779). CONCLUSION: When evaluating the severity degree of KOA,the joint space narrowing and osteophytes are the most sigenificant radiologic manifestation which includs the lateral tibiofemoral joint space narrowing, the medial retropatellar space narrowing, medial and lateral tibia osteophytes, medial and lateral femur osteophytes, medial and lateral trochlea osteophytes, lateral patella osteophyte, tibial intercondylar osteophyte.