[Analysis of a child with DIGFAN syndrome due to variant of MORC2 gene].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical features and genetic etiology for a child with developmental delay, impaired growth, facial dysmorphism, and axonal neuropathy (DIGFAN). METHODS: A child who was admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University on March 22, 2021 was selected the study subject. Clinical data of the child was collected. Following extraction of genomic DNA, the child and his parents were subjected to whole exome sequencing (WES), and candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. RESULTS: The child, a 10-year-and-9-month-old boy, had manifested with short stature, intellectual disability, delayed speech, motor and language development, and facial dysmorphism. WES and Sanger sequencing revealed that he has harbored a novel de novo c.800T>C (p.Leu267Pro) variant of the MORC2 gene. The Leucine at position 267, which is highly conserved among various species, is located in the S5 domain of ribosome protein in the ATPase binding region of MORC2. And the Leu267Pro may affect the function of MORC2 by altering the spatial conformation and activity of ATPase. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, the c.800T>C variant was classified as likely pathogenic (PS2+PM2_Supporting+PP2+PP3). CONCLUSION: The MORC2: c.800T>C (p.Leu267Pro) variant probably underlay the pathogenesis of DIGFAN syndrome in this child.

Influence of Dietary Chitosan Feeding Duration on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in a Diabetic Rat Model.

This study was designed to investigate the influence of dietary chitosan feeding-duration on glucose and lipid metabolism in diabetic rats induced by streptozotocin and nicotinamide [a non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) model]. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used as experimental animals and divided into short-term (6 weeks) and long-term (11 weeks) feeding durations, and each duration contained five groups: (1) control, (2) control + 5% chitosan, (3) diabetes, (4) diabetes + 0.8 mg/kg rosiglitazone (a positive control), and (5) diabetes + 5% chitosan. Whether the chitosan feeding was for 6 or 11 weeks, the chitosan supplementation decreased blood glucose and lipids levels and liver lipid accumulation. However, chitosan supplementation decreased plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, insulin levels, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase activity. Meanwhile, it increased plasma high-density lipoproteins (HDL)-cholesterol level, plasma angiopoietin-like-4 protein expression, and plasma triglyceride levels (at 11-week feeding duration only). Taken together, 11-week (long-term) chitosan feeding may help to ameliorate the glucose and lipid metabolism in a NIDDM diabetic rat model.

Case reports: three novel variants in PCCA and PCCB genes in Chinese patients with propionic acidemia.

BACKGROUND: Propionic acidemia (PA) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder caused by the deficiency of the mitochondrial protein propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC) and is associated with pathogenic variants in either of the two genes PCCA or PCCB. The present study aimed to identify the genetic cause of three Chinese patients with PA. CASE PRESENTATION: Three Chinese PA patients were diagnosed by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS), tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and molecular diagnostic methods. All patients had onset in the neonatal period. One patient died of infection and metabolic decompensation, and the other two had mild to moderate developmental delay/mental retardation. Mutation analysis of the PCCA gene identified that patient 1 carried the compound heterozygous c.1288C > T(p.R430X) and c.2002G > A(p.G668R), and patient 2 was homozygous for the c.1426C > T(p.R476X) mutation. Mutation analysis of the PCCB gene identified that patient 3 harbored the compound heterozygous mutations c.359_360del AT(p.Y120Cfs*40) and c.1398 + 1G > A. Among these mutations, three (c.1288C > T, c.359_360del AT and c.1398 + 1G > A) are novel. CONCLUSIONS: We reported three Chinese PA patients who had PCCA or PCCB mutants. Among them, in the PCCA gene, c.1288C > T(p.R430X) was a nonsense mutation, resulting in a truncated protein. c.359_360del AT was a frameshift mutation, leading to a p.Y120Cfs*40 change in the amino acid sequence in the PCCB protein. c.1398 + 1G > A was a splicing mutation, causing skipping of the exons 13-14. In conclusion, the novel mutations uncovered in this study will expands the mutation spectrum of PA.

Genetic analyses of oculocutaneous albinism types 1 and 2 with four novel mutations.

BACKGROUND: Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a human autosomal-recessive hypopigmentation disorder with hypopigmentation in the skin, hair, and eyes. OCA1 and OCA2 are caused by mutations of the TYR and OCA2 genes, respectively, which are responsible for most oculocutaneous albinism. However, the incidence of oculocutaneous albinism patients in Guangxi remains unclear. METHODS: To evaluate the molecular basis of oculocutaneous albinism in thirty-six patients in Guangxi, China. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected from these unrelated patients. The TYR and OCA2 genes of all individuals were analyzed by direct DNA sequencing and the sequences compared with are reference database and bioinformatics analysis. RESULTS: Among the 36 OCA patients, 8(22.2%) were found mutations on TYR gene, 28 (77.8%) on OCA2. And we identified Twenty-seven different TYR and OCA2 mutations in these patients, including one novel TYR framshift mutation c.561_562insTTATTATGTGTCAAATTATCCCCCA, three novel OCA2 mutations: one nonsense mutation c.2195C > G(p.S732X), one deletation mutation(c.1139-1141delTGG), one missense mutations c.2495A > C(p.H832P). The population screening and the bioinformatic analysis to determined the effects of the mutations, which revealed these four novel mutations were pathogenic. CONCLUSIONS: This study expands the mutation spectrum of oculocutaneous albinism. Four novel mutational alleles c.1139-1141delTGG, c.1832 T > C and c.2195C > G and of the OCA2 gene and c.561_562insTTATTATGTGTCAAATTATCCCCCA of TYR were associated with OCA. The genotype-phenotype correlations suggest that molecular diagnosis is more accurate and important in OCA.

Functional Comparison for Lipid Metabolism and Intestinal and Fecal Microflora Enzyme Activities between Low Molecular Weight Chitosan and Chitosan Oligosaccharide in High-Fat-Diet-Fed Rats.

The present study investigated and compared the regulatory effects on the lipid-related metabolism and intestinal disaccharidase/fecal bacterial enzyme activities between low molecular weight chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharide in high-fat-diet-fed rats. Diet supplementation of low molecular weight chitosan showed greater efficiency than chitosan oligosaccharide in suppressing the increased weights in body and in liver and adipose tissues of high-fat-diet-fed rats. Supplementation of low molecular weight chitosan also showed a greater improvement than chitosan oligosaccharide in imbalance of plasma, hepatic, and fecal lipid profiles, and intestinal disaccharidase activities in high-fat-diet-fed rats. Moreover, both low molecular weight chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharide significantly decreased the fecal microflora mucinase and ß-glucuronidase activities in high-fat-diet-fed rats. These results suggest that low molecular weight chitosan exerts a greater positive improvement than chitosan oligosaccharide in lipid metabolism and intestinal disaccharidase activity in high-fat-diet-induced obese rats.

Using an interactive web application to identify pre-exposure prophylaxis adherence among men who have sex with men.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at a high risk for HIV infection. While pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective oral preventive strategy, its success is largely dependent on consistent medication adherence. Objective: The aim of this study was to develop the machine learning web application and evaluate the performance in predicting PrEP adherence. Methods: The PrEP prospective cohort study of the MSM population conducted in Western China from 2019 to 2023, and we collected adherence data and personal characteristics data from 747 MSM. Predictor variables were screened and the performance of several machine learning methods in predicting nonadherent behaviors were compared. Results: A total of 11 candidate variables were screened that predicted nonadherent behaviors. We developed and evaluated five machine learning models that performed well in predicting adherence. Attitudes of male sexual partners, self-efficacy, HIV testing, number of male sexual partners, and risk perception were the most important predictors of adherence. The optimal prediction model was displayed in a shiny web application for online calculation of the probability of occurrence of nonadherent behaviors among MSM. Conclusions: Machine learning performed well in predicting nonadherent behaviors among MSM. An interactive and intuitive web application can help identify individuals who may have nonadherent behaviors, resulting in improved medication adherence and increased prevention efficacy.

Quercetin-induced pyroptosis in colon cancer through NEK7-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome-GSDMD signaling pathway activation.

Pyroptosis, a gasdermin-mediated lytic cell death, is a new hotspot topic in cancer research, and induction of tumor pyroptosis has emerged as a new target in cancer management. Quercetin (Que), a natural substance, demonstrates promising anticancer action. However, further information is required to fully comprehend the function and mechanism of Que in pyroptosis in colon cancer. This study revealed the underlying mechanism of Que-induced pyroptosis in colon cancer in vitro and in vivo. Que inhibited colon cancer cell growth through gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated pyroptosis. Depletion of GSDMD, rather than gasdermin E (GSDME), reversed the cytotoxic effects of Que on colon cancer cells. Que treatment upregulated NIMA-related kinase 7 (NEK7) protein expression, thus facilitating the assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome and cleavage of GSDMD. NEK7 silencing resulted in colon cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, NEK7 depression restrained the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome-GSDMD pathway, thus attenuating pyroptosis triggered by Que in colon cancer cells. Furthermore, lower NEK7 and NLRP3 expression levels indicated colon cancer progression. Our results unveiled a novel pattern of anti-colon cancer activity of Que, and activation of NEK7-mediated pyroptosis is potentially a promising therapeutic target for colon cancer, which provides novel experimental proof for the clinical application of Que.

Effects of Low-Light Environments on the Growth and Physiological and Biochemical Parameters of Indocalamus and Seasonal Variations in Leaf Active Substance Contents.

Indocalamus, characterized by its expansive leaves, low height, strong reproductive capacity, and abundant bioactive compounds, has extensive utility in the realms of food processing, the manufacturing of packaging materials, and the advancement of novel pharmaceuticals. Two light environments, CK (100% full light) and ST (50% full light), were established to explore the effects of low-light environments on the reproductive ability, morphological characteristics, photosynthetic properties, and leaf active substances of 14 Indocalamus species. The findings revealed that in comparison to the CK treatment, for 14 species of Indocalamus under the ST treatment, (1) the diameter, single leaf area, and leaf area index increased by 8.27%, 8.14%, and 17.88%, respectively; (2) the net photosynthetic rate decreased by 15.14%, and the total chlorophyll contents increased by 20.25%; and (3) the total flavonoid contents increased by 18.28% in autumn, the total polyphenol contents increased by 48.96% in spring, and the total polysaccharide contents increased by 31.44% and 30.81% in summer and winter, respectively. In summary, Indocalamus are adapted to survive in low-light environments; the growth and physiological indices differ significantly between the two light environments, and the low-light environment can effectively promote the growth and development of the leaves. Furthermore, the leaves are rich in flavonoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and active substances, which are affected by the light intensity and the season to varying degrees, and autumn and winter are the best times for harvesting the leaves. The leaves of I. hunanensis and I. lacunosus are richest in flavonoids and polyphenols, while the leaves of I. kunmingensis cv. fuminer are richest in polysaccharides. The main findings of this study demonstrate that Indocalamus has strong shade tolerance and tremendous leaf value, laying the foundation for broadening the application of their leaves and for their industrial development in understory composite planting systems.

Effects of Simultaneous Application of Double Chelating Agents to Pb-Contaminated Soil on the Phytoremediation Efficiency of Indocalamus decorus Q. H. Dai and the Soil Environment.

Recent studies have shown that the combined application of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and degradable chelating agents can enhance EDTA's affinity for heavy metals and reduce its toxicity, but the effect of this combination on the phytoremediation remains largely unknown. This study evaluated and compared the effects of EDTA, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), and glutamic acid-N,N-diacetic acid (GLDA) alone (E, N, G treatment), and in combination (EN and EG treatment), on the growth of dwarf bamboo (Indocalamus decorus Q. H. Dai), their phytoremediation efficiency, and the soil environment in Pb-contaminated soil. The results showed that treatment E significantly reduced the biomass, while treatments N and EN were more conducive to the distribution of aerial plant biomass. Except for treatment E, the total Pb accumulation in all treatments increased significantly, with the highest increase in treatment EN. For double chelating agents, the acid-soluble Pb concentrations in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of treatments EN and EG were lower than those of treatment E, and the soil water-soluble Pb content after 20 days of treatment EN was significantly lower than that of treatment EG. Furthermore, chelating agents generally increased soil-enzyme activity in rhizosphere soil, indicating that chelating agents may promote plant heavy-metal uptake by changing the rhizosphere environment. In conclusion, treatment EN had the highest phytoremediation efficiency and significantly lower environmental risk than treatments E and EG, highlighting its massive potential for application in phytoremediation of Pb-contaminated soil when combined with I. decorus.

Immunotherapy response and microenvironment provide biomarkers of immunotherapy options for patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Immunotherapy has been a promising approach option for lung cancer. Method: All the open-accessed data was obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. All the analysis was conducted using the R software analysis. Results: Firstly, the genes differentially expressed in lung cancer immunotherapy responders and non-responders were identified. Then, the lung adenocarcinoma immunotherapy-related genes were determined by LASSO logistic regression and SVM-RFE, respectively. A total of 18 immunotherapy response-related genes were included in our investigation. Subsequently, we constructed the logistics score model. Patients with high logistics score had a better clinical effect on immunotherapy, with 63.2% of patients responding to immunotherapy, while only 12.1% of patients in the low logistics score group responded to immunotherapy. Moreover, we found that pathways related to immunotherapy were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways such as fatty acid metabolism, bile acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and carcinogenic pathways such as KRAS signaling. Logistics score was positively correlated with NK cells activated, Mast cells resting, Monocytes, Macrophages M2, dendritic cells resting, dendritic cells activated and eosinophils, while was negatively related to Tregs, macrophages M0, macrophages M1, and mast cells activated. In addition, ERVH48-1 was screened for single-cell exploration. The expression of ERVH48-1 increased in patients with distant metastasis, and ERVH48-1 was associated with pathways such as pancreas beta cells, spermatogenesis, G2M checkpoints and KRAS signaling. The result of quantitative real-time PCR showed that ERVH48-1 was upregulated in lung cancer cells. Conclusion: Our study developed an effective signature to predict the immunotherapy response of lung cancer patients.

Danggui Buxue Decoction in the Treatment of Metastatic Colon Cancer: Network Pharmacology Analysis and Experimental Validation.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to reveal Danggui Buxue Decoction (DBD) candidate targets and mechanisms in the treatment of metastatic colon cancer (MCC), using network pharmacology-based analyses and experimental validation. METHODS: Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database query and text mining were used to screen active compounds in DBD, and the Swiss target prediction platform was applied to predict compound-related target proteins. Targets likely associated with MCC were determined using GeneCards and OMIM databases. Targets common to DBD and MCC were obtained from the Venn platform; subsequently, Cytoscape was used to construct drug-compound-target-disease and protein-protein interaction networks. The hub gene was determined by R, while GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed on common targets to elucidate biological processes and signaling pathways involved in DBD against MCC. Finally, the metastatic colon cancer mouse model was used to detect the levels of expression of protein Bax, Bcl2, Caspase3, and Cleaved caspase3 by Western blot. RESULTS: A total of 28 active compounds and 61 common targets were predicted. The main compounds were quercetin, hederagenin, jaranol, methylnissolin, formononetin, calycosin, kaempferol, 3.9-di-O-methylnissolin, 24-propylcholesterol, and 7-O-methylisomucronulatol, present in Astragalus membranaceus (Huangqi, HQ). In addition, beta-sitosterol, ferulic acid, and stigmasterol, present in Angelica sinensis (Danggui, DG), were detected. JUN, PTSG2, EGFR, ESR1and, CASP3 genes were the top 5 hub genes in the PPI network. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that apoptosis played a major role in the biological processes and signaling pathways involved. Moreover, the in vivo experiment revealed that DBD inhibited MCC by up-regulating the expression of Bax, Caspase3, and Cleaved caspase3, and by down-regulating the expression of Bcl2. CONCLUSION: This study revealed candidate DBD targets and mechanisms in the treatment of MCC, using network pharmacology-based analyses and experimental validation. The present findings provide a reference for tumor treatment during the perioperative period.

Biomechanical Comparison of a New Memory Compression Alloy Plate versus Traditional Titanium Plate for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Finite Element Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the biomechanical properties of a new memory compression alloy plate and traditional titanium plate after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). METHODS: A finite element model of the C3-7 segments was developed and validated. The C5-6 disc was removed, and an intervertebral cage made of peek material was implanted. Then, a new memory compression alloy plate composed of Ti-Ni memory alloy and a traditional titanium plate were integrated at the C5-6 segment. All models were subjected to a load of 73.6 N to simulate the head weight and 1 Nm of flexion-extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation. The range of segmental motion (ROM) and stress on the prostheses, adjacent discs, and endplates were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with intact status, ACDF with the new prothesis and traditional titanium plate reduced the ROM of C5-6 in six directions by 95.2%-100% and increased that of adjacent discs (C4-5 and C6-7) by 4.8%-112.5%. Adjacent disc stress peaks were higher for the traditional titanium plate (0.7-4.2 MPa) than for the new prosthesis (0.6-4.1 MPa). Endplate stress peaks were the highest in ACDF with the new prosthesis (15.6-53.3 MPa), followed by ACDF with traditional titanium plate (5.0-29.4 MPa). Stress peaks were significantly lower for the new prothesis (12.8-52.3 MPa) than for the traditional titanium plate (397.0-666.1 MPa). CONCLUSIONS: The new prosthesis improved the immediate stability of the surgical site and had an elastic modulus that was smaller than that of traditional titanium plate, making it conducive to reducing stress shielding and the impact on the adjacent intervertebral disc.

A novel missense mutation in F9 gene causes hemophilia B in a family with clinical variability.

: Hemophilia B is an X-linked recessive bleeding disorder caused by diverse mutations throughout the F9 gene. The same F9 mutation may result in different degrees of clotting factor deficiency. The aim of this study was to investigate the pathogenesis of two hemophilia B patients with different severity in a family. A family with two hemophilia B patients was recruited in this study. Coagulation assays, activities of FVIII (FVIII:C) and FIX (FIX:C) were evaluated. All of the exons and intron exon boundaries of the F9 gene were amplified by PCR and analyzed by direct sequencing. The proband, 12-year-old boy with moderate bleeding history, had manifest prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (98.1 s) and markedly decreased FIX activity (1%). His maternal uncle presented slightly prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (48.2 s) and mildly decreased FIX activity (15.2%). Molecular genetic analysis of F9 revealed that they were hemizygous for a novel missense mutation, c.157G>C (p.Glu53Gln). Our study widens the mutation spectrum of the FIX gene. In addition, this report provides a specific case associated with genotype and phenotype heterogeneity of hemophilia B.

Chronic wide-field imaging of brain hemodynamics in behaving animals.

Chronically monitoring cerebral activities in awake and freely moving status is very important in physiological and pathological studies. We present a novel standalone micro-imager for monitoring the cerebral blood flow (CBF) and total hemoglobin (HbT) activities in freely moving animals using the laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) and optical intrinsic signal (OIS) methods. A new cranial window method, using contact lens and wide field optics, is also proposed to achieve the chronic and wide-field imaging of rat's cerebral cortex. The hemodynamic activities of rats' cortex were measured for the first time without restriction of cables or fibers in awake and behaving animals. Chronic imaging showed the increase of CBF and HbT in motor cortex when the rats were climbing on the cage wall. Interestingly, the CBF activation of supplying vessel was smaller than that of parenchyma. Furthermore, after the climbing, CBF demonstrated fully return to the baseline while HbT showed a delayed recovery. The standalone micro-imager technology provides new possibilities of brain imaging in cognitive neuroscience studies.