Proteogenomics of Non-smoking Lung Cancer in East Asia Delineates Molecular Signatures of Pathogenesis and Progression.

Lung cancer in East Asia is characterized by a high percentage of never-smokers, early onset and predominant EGFR mutations. To illuminate the molecular phenotype of this demographically distinct disease, we performed a deep comprehensive proteogenomic study on a prospectively collected cohort in Taiwan, representing early stage, predominantly female, non-smoking lung adenocarcinoma. Integrated genomic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic analysis delineated the demographically distinct molecular attributes and hallmarks of tumor progression. Mutational signature analysis revealed age- and gender-related mutagenesis mechanisms, characterized by high prevalence of APOBEC mutational signature in younger females and over-representation of environmental carcinogen-like mutational signatures in older females. A proteomics-informed classification distinguished the clinical characteristics of early stage patients with EGFR mutations. Furthermore, integrated protein network analysis revealed the cellular remodeling underpinning clinical trajectories and nominated candidate biomarkers for patient stratification and therapeutic intervention. This multi-omic molecular architecture may help develop strategies for management of early stage never-smoker lung adenocarcinoma.

Brain-wide correspondence of neuronal epigenomics and distant projections.

Single-cell analyses parse the brain's billions of neurons into thousands of 'cell-type' clusters residing in different brain structures1. Many cell types mediate their functions through targeted long-distance projections allowing interactions between specific cell types. Here we used epi-retro-seq2 to link single-cell epigenomes and cell types to long-distance projections for 33,034 neurons dissected from 32 different regions projecting to 24 different targets (225 source-to-target combinations) across the whole mouse brain. We highlight uses of these data for interrogating principles relating projection types to transcriptomics and epigenomics, and for addressing hypotheses about cell types and connections related to genetics. We provide an overall synthesis with 926 statistical comparisons of discriminability of neurons projecting to each target for every source. We integrate this dataset into the larger BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network atlas, composed of millions of neurons, to link projection cell types to consensus clusters. Integration with spatial transcriptomics further assigns projection-enriched clusters to smaller source regions than the original dissections. We exemplify this by presenting in-depth analyses of projection neurons from the hypothalamus, thalamus, hindbrain, amygdala and midbrain to provide insights into properties of those cell types, including differentially expressed genes, their associated cis-regulatory elements and transcription-factor-binding motifs, and neurotransmitter use.

Epigenomic diversity of cortical projection neurons in the mouse brain.

Neuronal cell types are classically defined by their molecular properties, anatomy and functions. Although recent advances in single-cell genomics have led to high-resolution molecular characterization of cell type diversity in the brain1, neuronal cell types are often studied out of the context of their anatomical properties. To improve our understanding of the relationship between molecular and anatomical features that define cortical neurons, here we combined retrograde labelling with single-nucleus DNA methylation sequencing to link neural epigenomic properties to projections. We examined 11,827 single neocortical neurons from 63 cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical long-distance projections. Our results showed unique epigenetic signatures of projection neurons that correspond to their laminar and regional location and projection patterns. On the basis of their epigenomes, intra-telencephalic cells that project to different cortical targets could be further distinguished, and some layer 5 neurons that project to extra-telencephalic targets (L5 ET) formed separate clusters that aligned with their axonal projections. Such separation varied between cortical areas, which suggests that there are area-specific differences in L5 ET subtypes, which were further validated by anatomical studies. Notably, a population of cortico-cortical projection neurons clustered with L5 ET rather than intra-telencephalic neurons, which suggests that a population of L5 ET cortical neurons projects to both targets. We verified the existence of these neurons by dual retrograde labelling and anterograde tracing of cortico-cortical projection neurons, which revealed axon terminals in extra-telencephalic targets including the thalamus, superior colliculus and pons. These findings highlight the power of single-cell epigenomic approaches to connect the molecular properties of neurons with their anatomical and projection properties.

Bacterial Flagellum-Drug Nanoconjugates for Carrier-Free Immunochemotherapy.

The combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy to ablate tumors has attracted substantial attention due to the ability to simultaneously elicit antitumor immune responses and trigger direct tumor cell death. However, conventional combinational strategies mainly focus on the employment of drug carriers to deliver immunomodulators, chemotherapeutics, or their combinations, always suffering from complicated preparation and carrier-relevant side effects. Here, the fabrication of bacterial flagellum-drug nanoconjugates (FDNCs) for carrier-free immunochemotherapy is described. FDNCs are simply prepared by attaching chemotherapeutics to amine residues of flagellin through an acid-sensitive and traceless cis-aconityl linker. By virtue of native nanofibrous structure and immunogenicity, bacterial flagella not only show long-term tumor retention and highly efficient cell internalization, but also provoke robust systemic antitumor immune responses. Meanwhile, conjugated chemotherapeutics exhibit an acid-mediated release profile and durable intratumoral exposure, which can induce potent tumor cell inhibition via direct killing. More importantly, this combination is able to augment immunoactivation effects associated with chemotherapy-enabled immunogenic tumor cell death to further enhance antitumor efficacy. By leveraging the innate response of the immune system to pathogens, the conjugation of therapeutic agents with self-adjuvant bacterial flagella provides an alternative approach to develop carrier-free nanotherapeutics for tumor immunochemotherapy.

Flow pattern maps of double emulsions transporting through bifurcation microchannels.

The transportation behaviors of compound droplets in confined channels are widespread phenomena while the physical mechanisms are far from being completely unraveled. In this work, behaviors of double emulsions flowing through bifurcation microchannels are experimentally studied with the aim of building universal flow pattern maps. Three flow patterns are categorized according to different features of daughter droplets in terms of size, uniformity, and shell thickness. A detailed analysis of the dynamics of interfacial evolutions in different patterns is carried out and the coupling interaction between interfaces is found to affect the minimum tail distance during transportation. It is feasible to obtain the threshold of the occurrence of the coupling interaction, due to the different variation tendencies in the two states, which relies on three dimensionless parameters, i.e. droplet length, length ratio, and capillary number. Furthermore, a novel physical model is proposed to build the flow pattern map, with the two transition boundaries being expressed as different relationships in terms of the three identified parameters. The physical mechanisms are summarized with the aid of force analysis. An excellent agreement is shown between the model and experimental results in different liquid systems and bifurcation structures, indicating the generality of the proposed model.

Evaluation of compost quality and the environmental effects of semipermeable membrane composting with poultry manure using sawdust or mushroom residue as the bulking agent.

Herein, the effects of different bulking agents (sawdust and mushroom residue), on compost quality and the environmental benefits of semipermeable film composting with poultry manure were investigated. The results show that composting with sawdust as the bulking agent resulted in greater efficiency and more cost benefits than composting with mushroom residue, and the cost of sawdust for treating an equal volume of manure was only 1/6 of that of mushroom residue. Additionally, lignin degradation and potential carbon emission reduction in the sawdust group were better than those in the mushroom residue group, and the lignin degradation efficiency of the bottom sample in the sawdust group was 48.57 %. Coupling between lignin degradation and potential carbon emission reduction was also closer in sawdust piles than in mushroom residue piles, and sawdust is more environmentally friendly. The abundance of key functional genes was higher at the bottom of each pile relative to the top and middle. Limnochordaceae, Lactobacillus and Enterococcus were the core microorganisms involved in coupling between lignin degradation and potential carbon emission reduction, and the coupled relationship was influenced by electric conductivity, ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen in the compost piles. This study provides important data for supporting bulking agent selection in semipermeable film composting and for improving the composting process. The results have high value for compost production and process application.

Dual-Antigen-Displaying Nanovaccines Elicit Synergistic Immunoactivation for Treating Cancer and Preventing Infectious Complications.

As one of the most common complications, infection causes the majority of mortality in cancer patients. However, therapeutic strategies that can simultaneously suppress tumors and protect patients from infection have been rarely reported. Here, the use of dual-antigen-displaying nanovaccines (DADNs) is described to elicit synergistic immunoactivation for treating cancer and preventing infectious complications. DADNs are prepared by wrapping immunoadjuvant-loaded nanoparticles with a hybrid coating, which is fused from cell membranes that are separately genetically engineered to express tumor and infectious pathogenic antigens. Due to the presence of a dual-antigen combination, DADNs are able to promote the maturation of dendritic cells and more importantly to trigger cross-presentation of both combined antigens. During in vivo investigations, we find that DADNs can reverse immunosuppression by stimulating tumor-associated antigen-specific T-cell responses, resulting in significantly delayed tumor growth in mice. These nanovaccines also elicit effective protective immunity against tumor challenges and induce robust production of pathogenic antigen-specific immunoglobulin G antibody in a prophylactic study. This work offers a unique approach to develop dual-mode vaccines, which are promising for synchronously treating cancer and preventing infection.

Absolute quantification of SARS-CoV-2 with Clarity Plus™ digital PCR.

In recent years, the usage of digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) for various clinical applications has increased exponentially. In this study, a dPCR assay optimized on the Clarity Plus™ dPCR system was evaluated for the absolute quantification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The assay demonstrated good inter- and intra- assay precision, accuracy, as well as excellent linearity across a range of over 6 orders of magnitude for target gene quantification. In addition, a comparison of the assay on both dPCR and qPCR platforms revealed that dPCR exhibited a slightly higher sensitivity compared to its qPCR counterpart when quantifying SARS-CoV-2 at a lower concentration. Overall, the results showed that the dPCR assay is a reliable and effective approach for the absolute quantification of SARS-CoV-2 and can be a valuable molecular tool in clinical applications such as detecting low viral loads in patients as well as in wastewater surveillance of COVID-19.

LncRNA MAFG-AS1 deregulated in breast cancer affects autophagy and progression of breast cancer by interacting with miR-3612 and FKBP4 invitro.

PURPOSE: We aimed to explore the function and competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) pathway of MAFG-AS1 in breast cancer. METHODS: qRT-PCR assay identified the expression of MAFG-AS1, miR-3612 and FKBP4. We used Western blot analysis to test the autophagy related protein levels in breast cancer cells. Functional assays such as Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) assay, BrdU proliferation assay, Caspase-3 activity detection were used to identify the function of MAFG-AS1, miR-3612 and FKBP4 in breast cancer cells. Mechanism assays were used to verify the interacting relationship among MAFG-AS1, miR-3612 and FKBP4, including RNA pull down assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay and luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: MAFG-AS1 and FKBP4 were both up-regulated in breast cancer tissues. MAFG-AS1 could function as an oncogene in breast cancer to activate cell proliferation, and inhibit cell apoptosis and autophagy. Meanwhile, MAFG-AS1 could sponge miR-3612 to elevate the expression of FKBP4. Besides, FKBP4 could activate the cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis and autophagy, which could relieve the inhibitory effect of miR-3612 on breast cancer cells. CONCLUSION: MAFG-AS1 could activate breast cancer progression via modulating miR-3612/FKBP4 axis in vitro.

Colorectal cancer patients advocating screening to their siblings: a randomized behavioral intervention.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Siblings of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients are at increased risk of developing CRC, but screening rates remain low. Through a randomized behavioral intervention, this study aimed to determine whether patients can advocate screening to their siblings using a tailored educational package. METHODS: CRC survivors were recruited and randomized into relaying either tailored materials (intervention group) or existing national screening guidelines (control group) to their siblings. Siblings could respond to the study team if they were interested in learning about CRC screening. Study outcomes were patient advocacy rates (number of patients who had successfully contacted at least 1 eligible sibling) between groups and the proportion of eligible siblings who responded. RESULTS: Between May 2017 and March 2021, 219 CRC patients were randomized to the intervention (n = 110) and control (n = 109) groups. Patient advocacy rates were high and did not differ significantly between groups. However, only 14.3% of eligible siblings (n = 85) responded to the study team. Siblings of patients from the intervention group were more likely to respond (adjusted odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-3.0; P < .05). Moreover, after controlling for potential confounders, siblings aged ≥60 years were significantly less likely to respond (adjusted odds ratio, .3; 95% confidence interval, .1-.7; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: CRC patients are willing advocates of screening, and siblings contacted by patients from the intervention group were also more likely to reach out to the study team. However, overall sibling response rates were low despite advocacy, suggesting that patient-led advocacy should at best be used as an adjunct to other, multipronged CRC screening promotion modalities.

How effective are digital technology-based interventions at promoting colorectal cancer screening uptake in average-risk populations? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Despite the global prevalence of colorectal cancer (CRC) and efforts in screening advocacy, screening uptake remains relatively low. Considering the greater accessibility and popularity of telemedicine in behaviour change interventions, this meta-analysis seeks to examine the usefulness of digital interventions in promoting CRC screening uptake as compared to existing non-digital strategies. A systematic search on five databases identified articles published before September 2022. Randomized controlled trials comparing the effectiveness of digital interventions to usual care were included and assessed using the Cochrane's Risk of Bias tool. Effectiveness of interventions was measured by CRC screening completion rates, and pooled effect sizes were computed for both digital intervention subtypes identified - decision-making aids and tailored educational interventions. 14 studies (17,075 participants) assessed to have low or some risk of bias were included in this meta-analysis. A random-effects model revealed that digital interventions were more likely to promote CRC screening uptake (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.11-1.56), and using a decision-making aid was almost 1.5 times more likely to result in screening completion (i.e., completed a colorectal investigation using stool-based or direct visualization test) (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.24-1.63). Meanwhile, the tailored educational intervention subtype failed to achieve statistical significance in promoting screening uptake, bearing in mind the significant heterogeneity across studies (I2 = 88.6%). Digital decision-making aids significantly improved CRC screening uptake compared to tailored digital educational interventions and usual care. However, as all included studies were conducted in Western settings, its role in augmenting existing CRC screening promotion strategies especially among Asians should be further evaluated.

The interaction between nanoparticles and immune system: application in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Nanoparticle (NP) is an emerging tool applied in the biomedical field. With combination of different materials and adjustment of their physical and chemical properties, nanoparticles can have diverse effects on the organism and may change the treating paradigm of multiple diseases in the future. More and more results show that nanoparticles can function as immunomodulators and some formulas have been approved for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases. However, our current understanding of the mechanisms that nanoparticles can influence immune responses is still limited, and systemic clinical trials are necessary for the evaluation of their security and long-term effects. This review provides an overview of the recent advances in nanoparticles that can interact with different cellular and molecular components of the immune system and their application in the management of inflammatory diseases, which are caused by abnormal immune reactions. This article focuses on the mechanisms of interaction between nanoparticles and the immune system and tries to provide a reference for the future design of nanotechnology for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Real-world pharmacological treatment patterns of patients with threatened miscarriage in China from 2014 to 2020: A cross-sectional analysis.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Approximately half of the patients with threatened miscarriage suffer an abortion, and consistent medication therapy to prevent threatened miscarriage is lacking. Our goal was to investigate the real-world pharmacological treatment patterns of patients with threatened miscarriage in China, with a focus on the trend and rationality of progestogen use over the last 7 years. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Hospital Prescription Analysis Cooperation Project that is overseen by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. Information was extracted from prescriptions of outpatients with threatened miscarriage between January 2014 and December 2020. We quantified the types of medications using the first level anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) classification code and the frequency of use of medicines classified as category X by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We also calculated the prevalence of the most frequently used progestogens by assessing prescription rates, determined the sum of the defined daily doses (DDDs) and defined daily cost (DDC) and evaluated the rationality of progestogens according to drug labels and guidelines. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Of the 91,464 patients included in this study, 69.4% were from the eastern region, 92.5% were from tertiary hospitals, and 72.9% were between 25 and 34 years old. The average number of medications per patient was 1.4. The following types of medicines were the most prevalent: "genitourinary system and sex hormones" (90.7%), "alimentary tract and metabolism" (10.8%) and "blood and blood-forming organs" (9.9%). Progestogens were prescribed for 81,080 patients (88.6%), among which oral progesterone (39.7%) was the most commonly used, followed by oral dydrogesterone (34.4%), progesterone injection (26.0%), oral allylestrenol (0.7%) and progesterone gel (0.4%). In other words, 10,991 (12.0%) patients used more than one progestogen, and the top three combinations were oral dydrogesterone plus progesterone injection (5.6%), oral progesterone plus progesterone injection (4.7%) and oral dydrogesterone plus oral progesterone (1.1%). The prescription rate of dydrogesterone increased gradually, whereas that of progesterone, especially progesterone injection, obviously decreased. Among 34,760 prescriptions of progestogens with complete usage information, the primary errors of progestogen use were "low frequency" (18.4%), "high single dose" (15.9%) and "low single dose" (11.3%). In addition, 137 prescriptions were identified with drug-progestogen interactions, and 61 were identified with contraindications for progestogens. A total of 4.5% of prescriptions included FDA category X medicines. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: Our findings are the first to provide information on medication use in patients with threatened miscarriage over the last seven years in China. Medicines targeting the "genitourinary system and sex hormones," especially progestogens, were the most commonly prescribed medications, among which dydrogesterone was the most prevalent. However, it is remarkable that the use of progestogens for the treatment of threatened abortion is still controversial; thus, high-quality large sample studies are still required, especially among Chinese patients. Since usage errors in progestogen records and exposure to category X medicines were common, more efforts are needed to guarantee the safety and rationality of medicines used in pregnant women.

An additional medium renewal of D4 embryo culture improves the concordance of noninvasive chromosome screening with trophectoderm biopsy.

Our research question was to evaluate the chromosome concordance of trophectoderm (TE) biopsy with noninvasive chromosome screening (NICS) using embryo culture medium renewed twice on Day 3 (D3) and Day 4 (D4). In this study, we evaluated 64 cycles with 223 biopsied blastocysts. These were categorized into two groups based on replacing embryo culture medium on D3 (control group) or on D3 and D4 (experimental group). The fundamental characteristics and main outcomes were compared. The concordance rates of NICS results with TE biopsy were determined according to next generation sequencing results. In total, 103 experimental and 120 control embryo cultures were collected, and the euploid status was analyzed using NICS technology. The overall concordance rates with TE biopsy of the experimental and control groups were 0.86 and 0.75, respectively. Statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. An additional medium renewal of the D4 embryo culture can improve the concordance of NICS with TE biopsy.

Topical Melatonin Exerts Immunomodulatory Effect and Improves Dermatitis Severity in a Mouse Model of Atopic Dermatitis.

Oral melatonin supplement has been shown to improve dermatitis severity in children with AD, but the mechanism of the effect is unclear, and it is uncertain whether melatonin has a direct immunomodulatory effect on the dermatitis. Topical melatonin treatment was applied to DNCB-stimulated Balb/c mice, and gross and pathological skin findings, serum IgE, and cytokine levels in superficial lymph nodes were analyzed. Secretion of chemokines and cell proliferative response after melatonin treatment in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells were also studied. We found that in DNCB-stimulated Balb/c mice, topical melatonin treatment improved gross dermatitis severity, reduced epidermal hyperplasia and lymphocyte infiltration in the skin, and decreased IP-10, CCL27, IL-4, and IL-17 levels in superficial skin-draining lymph nodes. Melatonin also reduced cytokine-induced secretion of AD-related chemokines IP-10 and MCP-1 and decreased IL-4-induced cell proliferation in HaCaT cells. Melatonin seems to have an immunomodulatory effect on AD, with IP-10 as a possible target, and topical melatonin treatment is a potentially useful treatment for patients with AD.

Decorating Bacteria with a Therapeutic Nanocoating for Synergistically Enhanced Biotherapy.

Disorders in the gut microbiota have been implicated in various diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, diabetes, and cancers. Oral microecologics are of great importance due to their ability to directly intervene the gut microbiome as well as their noninvasiveness and low side effects, while have suffered from low bioavailability and a single therapeutic effect. Here, probiotics are coated with a therapeutic nanocoating for synergistically enhanced biotherapy, a method inspired by the robust protective and therapeutic effectiveness of silkworm cocoon. With its transition from a random coil to ß-sheet conformation, silk fibroin can self-assemble onto the surface of bacteria. By a simple layer-by-layer procedure, an entire nanocoating can be formed along with a near quantitative coating ratio and almost uninfluenced bacterial viability. Thanks to its protective barrier role and innate pharmaceutical activity, silk fibroin nanocoating endows the coated bacteria with a markedly improved survival against gastric insults and a synergistically enhanced therapeutic effect in a murine model of intestinal mucositis. This work demonstrates how therapeutic elements can be combined with probiotics via a simple coating strategy and proposes an alternative to enhance bioavailability and treatment efficacy of oral microecologics.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Transfer RNA Induces IL-12p70 via Synergistic Activation of Pattern Recognition Receptors within a Cell Network.

Upon recognition of a microbial pathogen, the innate and adaptive immune systems are linked to generate a cell-mediated immune response against the foreign invader. The culture filtrate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis contains ligands, such as M. tuberculosis tRNA, that activate the innate immune response and secreted Ags recognized by T cells to drive adaptive immune responses. In this study, bioinformatics analysis of gene-expression profiles derived from human PBMCs treated with distinct microbial ligands identified a mycobacterial tRNA-induced innate immune network resulting in the robust production of IL-12p70, a cytokine required to instruct an adaptive Th1 response for host defense against intracellular bacteria. As validated by functional studies, this pathway contained a feed-forward loop, whereby the early production of IL-18, type I IFNs, and IL-12p70 primed NK cells to respond to IL-18 and produce IFN-γ, enhancing further production of IL-12p70. Mechanistically, tRNA activates TLR3 and TLR8, and this synergistic induction of IL-12p70 was recapitulated by the addition of a specific TLR8 agonist with a TLR3 ligand to PBMCs. These data indicate that M. tuberculosis tRNA activates a gene network involving the integration of multiple innate signals, including types I and II IFNs, as well as distinct cell types to induce IL-12p70.

Mechanical Deformation Mediated Transmembrane Transport.

Transmembrane transport is essential and plays critical roles for molecule exchange for cell survival. Methods capable of mimicking and regulating transmembrane transport have transformed the ability to create biosensors, separation membranes, and drug carriers. However, artificial channels have been largely restricted by their complicated chemical fabrication and inefficiency to dynamically manipulate the transport process. Here, a novel approach to regulate transmembrane transport is described by simply adjusting the mechanical deformation of liposomal bilayers which are covalently embedded in a crosslinked hydrogel network. This new approach is able to dynamically control transmembrane transport by stretching and loosening. The transmembrane diffusion of molecules can be switched on and off, and precisely tuned by varying strain. A potential of this method to programmably regulate cell growth is demonstrated by tuning external mechanical force. Given its unique characteristics, this method allows the development of innovative systems for controlled transmembrane transport of molecules.

Genomic analysis provides insights into the transmission and pathogenicity of Talaromyces marneffei.

Talaromyces marneffei (T. marneffei) is a medically important opportunistic dimorphic fungus that infects both humans and bamboo rats. However, the mechanisms of transmission and pathogenicity of T. marneffei are poorly understood. In our study, we combined Illumina and PacBio sequencing technologies to sequence and assemble a complete genome of T. marneffei. To elucidate the transmission route and source, we sequenced three additional T. marneffei isolates using Illumina sequencing technology. Variations among isolates were used to develop a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) system comprising five housekeeping genes that can be used to discriminate between isolates derived from different sources. Our analysis revealed that human and bamboo rat share identical genotypes in these five loci. Thus, we hypothesized that T. marneffei is transmitted to humans through inhalation of spores in the surrounding environment into the lungs and that the bamboo rat can serve as an important natural reservoir for pathogens. Furthermore, we also identified temperature-dependent polyketide synthases, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and secreted proteins as putative pathogenicity-related factors. In addition, we identified antifungal drug targets that can be investigated in future studies to elucidate the mechanisms underlying drug resistance. In summary, our study presents the basic features of the T. marneffei genome and provides insights into the transmission and pathogenicity of T. marneffei, which warrant fundamental experimental research.

Sub-clinical abnormalities detected by PET/MRI in household tuberculosis contacts.

BACKGROUND: The understanding of early events following TB exposure is limited by traditional tests that rely on detection of an immune response to infection, which is delayed, or on imaging tests with low sensitivity for early disease. We investigated for evidence of lung abnormalities in heavily exposed TB contacts using PET/MRI. METHODS: 30 household contacts of 20 index patients underwent clinical assessment, IGRA testing, chest x-ray and PET/MRI scan using 18-F-FDG. MRI images were examined by a radiology/nuclear medicine dual-qualified physician using a standardised report form, while PET/MRI images were examined independently by another radiology/nuclear medicine dual-qualified physician using a similar form. Standardised uptake value (SUV) was quantified for each abnormal lesion. RESULTS: IGRA was positive in 40%. PET/MRI scan was abnormal in 30%, predominantly FDG uptake in hilar or mediastinal lymph nodes and lung apices. We did not identify any relationship between PET/MRI findings and degree of exposure or IGRA status. CONCLUSION: PET-based imaging may provide important insights into the natural history following exposure to TB that may not be available from traditional tests of TB immune response or imaging. The clinical significance of the abnormalities is uncertain and merits further investigation in longitudinal studies.