Isolation and identification of cholesterol-degrading intestinal bacteria by culturomics and evaluation of their functions / 生物工程学报

High cholesterol is one of the important factors inducing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Drug therapy is the main method for reducing cholesterol, but has the disadvantages such as high cost and side effects. Studies have shown that intestinal bacteria play important roles in cholesterol metabolism. However, there are few reports on the screening and functional evaluation of cholesterol-lowering intestinal bacteria. In this study, 36 bile-tolerant bacteria were screened from healthy people stool through culturomics using bovine bile acid or artificial mixed bile acids as substrates. Taking Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) as a positive control, three bile acid concentration groups (0 g/L, 0.3 g/L, 3 g/L) were set up to evaluate the cholesterol-lowering ability of bile-tolerant bacteria in vitro. Ten bacteria (including Proteus mirabilis, Providencia stuartii, Proteus vulgaris et al) were identified as the dominant cholesterol-lowering bacteria. Six of the above bacteria, Proteus mirabilis, Providencia stuartii, Proteus vulgaris, Proteus penneri, Wohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica, Providencia rettger, were evaluated for their ability to reduce triglycerides in vitro and tolerance to artificial gastric juice. Comparing with strain LGG, the six bacteria showed better triglyceride-lowering ability in vitro. With the decrease of pH value of artificial gastric juice and the increase of treatment time, the survival rate of six bacteria decreased. The above screening experiments and functional evaluation provide a basis for further development of potential cholesterol-lowering bacterial products.

Accuracy of preoperative 11G vacuum-assisted core needle biopsy in determining histological type and molecular subtype in breast cancer / 国际外科学杂志

Objective To assess the accuracy of histological type and molecular subtype observed in preoperative 11-gauge vacuum-assisted core needle biopsy(VACNB) specimens in breast cancer.Methods Patients diagnosed by preoperative 1 l-gauge VACNB and received subsequent open excisional biopsy (OEB) from Mar 1 st 2014 to Mar 31 st 2015 were included.Kappa testing was used to test the concordance rate of histological type,estrogen receptor(ER),progesterone receptor(PR),human epidermal growth factor 2(Her-2),Ki-67 and molecular subgroups between VACNB and paired OEB specimens.ER,PgR,Her-2,and Ki-67 were determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC).Patients with Her-2 IHC (+ +) were further examined by FISH.Molecular subtypes were classified as follows:LuminalA,LuminalB,Triple Negative,and Her-2 positive.Results There were 36 patients analyzed(32 of them had invasive breast cancer).Between VACNB and paired OEB specimens,concordance rate of histological type,ER,PR,Her-2,Ki-67 and molecular group were 94.4％ (κ =0.934),96.9％ (κ =0.904),87.5％ (κ =0.710),100％ (κ =1.000),84.4％ (κ =0.570),78.1％ (κ =0.621).No significant difference was detected in the expression of ER,PR and Ki-67 between VACNB and OEB specimens according to paired t-test results.Concordance rate of each molecular subtype between VACNB and OEB specimens were 100％ for Her-2 positive subtype,94.1％ for LuminalB subtype,50％ for LuminalA,and 33.3％ for TNBC.When the threshold for ER/PR positivity was upgraded from ≥1％ to ≥10％ and Ki-67 cutoff value to≥20％,the concordance rate for ER,PR,Ki-67 and molecular subtype reached to 100％,93.8％,87.5％,81.3％.Conclusions 11 G vacuum-assisted core needle biopsy was accurate in determining histological type and molecular subtype in breast cancer.

Primary Biliary Cirrhosis and Mitral Stenosis: A Rare Association.

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a rare cause of chronic liver disease in Myanmar. It usually presents with pruritus and fatigue in a middle-aged female before the appearance of jaundice. This case illustrates a woman presenting with 15 years of pruritus and 5 years of intermittent jaundice. She had no risk factors for viral hepatitis and was a non-drinker. Multiple consultations were done and treated as a chronic liver disease without probing further for the etiology. Persistently high alkaline phosphatase of biliary origin prompted us to test for anti-mitochondrial antibodies which were positive for M2 subtype. Furthermore, she was found to have clinical and echocardiographic evidence of mitral stenosis (MS). MS is usually a consequence of post-streptococcal rheumatic carditis. Molecular mimicry is the common mechanism in the pathogenesis of both conditions. Her symptoms improved after ursodeoxycholic acid treatment.