ABSTRACT
ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the potential mechanism of Danggui Niantongtang in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA) by regulating the intestinal flora through 16S rDNA analysis. MethodThirty-six C57BL/6J mice were subjected to anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) to establish a KOA model and were randomly divided into the sham surgery group, model group, low-dose Danggui Niantongtang group (0.819 g·kg-1), medium-dose Danggui Niantongtang group (1.638 g·kg-1), high-dose Danggui Niantongtang group (3.276 g·kg-1), and Meloxicam group (0.975 mg·kg-1), with 6 mice in each group. Except for the treatment groups, the sham surgery group and model group were given normal saline by gavage. After 4 weeks of continuous intervention, feces and intact knee joints of the mice were collected. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Safranin O-Fast Green staining were performed to observe the pathological changes in knee joint tissue morphology. The 16S rDNA sequencing was used to analyze changes in the abundance and diversity of intestinal microorganisms before and after treatment, along with corresponding functional predictions. ResultHigh-dose Danggui Niantongtang and Meloxicam significantly relieved pain symptoms in KOA mice, improved the disorder of joint structure, maintained the integrity of knee articular cartilage, increased the expression of type Ⅱ collagen alpha 1 (Col2a1) in articular cartilage, and decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13). The results of 16S rDNA sequencing showed that high-dose Danggui Niantongtang could adjust the abundance and structure of intestinal microbial species. Compared with the sham surgery group, the abundance of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Ruminococcus, and Bacteroides was significantly increased in the model group (P<0.05), while in the Danggui Niantongtang group, the abundance of these four flora was significantly reduced compared with the model group. Compared with the sham surgery group, the abundance of Verrucomicrobia, Oscillospira, and Akkermansia was significantly decreased in the model group (P<0.05), while in the Danggui Niantongtang groups, the abundance of these three flora was significantly increased compared with the model group (P<0.05). Functional pathway prediction of differential genera revealed that species differences among groups mainly involved metabolic pathways with high abundance associated with biosynthesis and precursors, as well as energy production, including amino acid biosynthesis, nucleotide and nucleoside biosynthesis, cofactors, prosthetic groups, electron carriers, and vitamin biosynthesis. ConclusionDanggui Niantongtang can effectively protect articular cartilage and delay the progression of KOA, possibly by regulating the structure of the intestinal flora, promoting probiotics, and inhibiting the growth of harmful pathogenic bacteria.
ABSTRACT
Purpose To investigate the effect and molecu-lar mechanism underlying SOX9 during esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)cells.Methods Immunohistochemistry(IHC)was used to detect the expression of SOX9 in ESCC tis-sues and adjacent normal tissues.The correlation of SOX9 ex-pression with clinicopathological features and prognosis of ESCC was analyzed.The differentially expressed genes in Eca109-Vec-tor and Eca109-SOX9 cells were detected by Affymetrix miRNA array.qRT-PCR was used to determine the differential gene in TE-1 and TE-1-siSOX9 cells.The relationship between SOX9 and active/unphosphorylated β-catenin levels was detected by Western blot.The effects of Wnt inhibitor LGK974 on the prolif-eration of ESCC cells were detected by CCK-8.Results SOX9 was highly expressed in ESCC(4.58±3.04)as compared with that in adjacent normal tissues(1.56±2.08,P<0.001).SOX9 was related to histopathological grade and invasion depth(P<0.05).Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated high SOX9 expres-sion in ESCC was significantly correlated with shorter overall sur-vival(P<0.05).Transcriptome profiling and qRT-PCR analysis suggested that SOX9 contributed to the regulation of AXIN2,FZD7 and WNT5A.Overexpression of SOX9 in Eca109 cells in-creased active/unphosphorylated β-catenin levels,whereas silen-cing SOX9 caused a decrease.Significant attenuation of cell pro-liferation was observed at various concentrations of LGK974 with-out affecting SOX9 expression on SOX9-expressing cell lines.As expected,this inhibitory effect was not obvious in Eca109-Vector cells when compared with Eca109-SOX9 cells treated with the same concentration of LGK974.Conclusion SOX9 is highly ex-pressed in ESCC and SOX9-mediated Wnt/β-catenin signal path-way activation at least partially contributes to the SOX9-induced ESCC growth.These findings suggest that SOX9 is a promising prognostic marker and therapeutic target for ESCC.
ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the clinical characteristics,peripheral blood inflammatory cells and levels of oxidative stress indicators between severe asthma and non-severe asthma patients,analyze the effects of neutrophils and oxidative stress molecules on the severity of asthma,and build a biological model for early prediction of severe asthma.Methods From Aug 2018 to Jul 2019,67 adult patients with stable asthma in our hospital were enrolled in this study.The clinical characteristics,peripheral blood inflammatory cells and levels of oxidative stress indicators of severe asthma group and non-severe asthma group were compared.Single factor Logistic regression analysis was conducted on severe asthma to screen out the most important five variables.Multifactor Logistic regression analysis was further conducted to establish a prediction model for severe asthma.Results There were 25 severe asthma patients in this cohort,who had a longer course of disease,more frequent acute attacks,poorer asthma control,higher peripheral neutrophils,more severe obstructive ventilation dysfunction,lower myeloperoxidase(MPO)level and higher superoxide dismutase(SOD)than non-severe asthma patients.The patients with higher peripheral blood neutrophil count or proportion were more likely to show severe asthma,more frequent acute attacks,and more obvious reduction of pulmonary ventilation function.A panel of biomarkers,centered on peripheral blood neutrophil count and oxidative stress indicators SOD,human 8-epi-prostaglandin F2α(8-iso-PGF2α),could build a model to predict severe asthma.Conclusion There are significant differences in clinical characteristics,peripheral blood inflammatory cells,and oxidative stress index levels between severe asthma patients and non-severe asthma patients.In stable asthma patients,levels of neutrophils and oxidative stress indicators such as SOD had an impact on the severity of asthma.The prediction model of severe asthma established on this basis provides a new idea for early recognition of severe asthma.
ABSTRACT
AIM To investigate the effects of Ophiopogonis Root Decoction on bleomycin(BLM)-induced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF)in mice and to explore its metabolic modulation of immunity.METHODS The IPF mouse model was constructed by tracheal drip injection of BLM,and the mice were randomly divided into the control group,the model group,the pirfenidone group(0.3 g/kg)and the high,medium and low dose groups of Ophiopogonis Root Decoction(18,9,4.5 g/kg).HE and Masson staining,ELISA,flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the histopathological changes of the lung,the levels of Collagen I,HYP and TGF-β1,the proportion of PD-1+ CD4+T cells in plasma,and the expressions of p-STAT3,PD-1,PD-L1 and IL-17A in lung tissue,respectively.RESULTS Compared with the control group,the model group displayed significantly higher level of lung coefficients(P<0.01),more severe pulmonary inflammatory cell infiltration and collagen fiber deposition,and increased pulmonary fibrosis score(P<0.01),increased levels of Collagen I,HYP and TGF-β1(P<0.01),increased proportion of PD-1+ CD4+ T cells in plasma(P<0.01),increased pulmonary expression of p-STAT3,PD-1,PD-L1 and IL-17A(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the Ophiopogonis Root Decoction groups shared lower levels of lung coefficients(P<0.05),less pulmonary inflammatory cell infiltration and collagen fiber deposition,decreased pulmonary fibrosis score(P<0.05),decreased levels of Collagen I,HYP and TGF-β1(P<0.05),decreased proportion of PD-1+ CD4+T cells in plasma(P<0.05),and decreased pulmonary expression of p-STAT3,PD-1,PD-L1,and IL-17A(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Ophiopogonis Root Decoction can significantly reduce extracellular matrix(ECM)deposition and curb the progression of IPF via inhibition of STAT3/PD-1/PD-L1 immunomodulatory signaling pathway.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To analyze the genetic mutation characteristics of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency among infants in Kunming.Methods:A total of 15 533 infants (7 994 males and 7 539 females) born in Kunming from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020, with an age range of 2 to 44 days, were selected. G6PD enzyme activity and gene mutation types were detected using fluorescence quantitative analysis, multicolor melting curve analysis (MMCA), and Sanger sequencing. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) was used for quantitative analysis of a newly identified variant family to determine the mutant allele proportion in family members. Meanwhile,the protein structure model and pathogenicity prediction of the novel variant were analyzed.Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0. Specifically, chi-square tests were used for the detection rates of G6PD enzyme activity and gene mutations between different genders. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for the comparison of enzyme activity among different mutation types.Results:Among 15 533 infants, 143 cases (129 males and 14 females) were tested positive for G6PD activity, with a detection rate of 0.92% (143/15 533). The difference in detection rates between males and females was statistically significant (χ 2=96.76, P<0.001). Out of 89 enzyme activity-positive cases (83 males and 6 females) underwent genetic testing, 77 (72 males and 5 females) were detected by MMCAand other 12 negative samples were underwent further Sanger sequencing, revealing mutations in 6 samples, all of which were males. Among the 83 individuals with gene mutations, 78 had heterozygous mutations, 1 had a homozygous mutation, and 4 had compound heterozygous mutations. A total of 12 mutation types were detected, with G6PD c.487G>A, c.1024C>T, c.1388G>A, and c.1376G>T being the most common, accounting for 74.70% (62/83) of all mutation types. The average G6PD enzyme activity of c.1376G>T was the lowest, and the differences were statistically significant compared to the average enzyme activity of the other three mutations ( P<0.05). One male infant with a newly identified G6PD c.242G>C mutation was detected, predicted to be pathogenic. ddPCR confirmed that the mother of the affected child was a c.242G>C mutant chimera, with a chimera proportion of 6.66%. Conclusions:In the Kunming region, the predominant G6PD deficiency gene mutation is c.487G>A, with the detection of a novel G6PD c.242G>C mutation. The application of ddPCR technology can assist in detecting the proportion of mutation chimeras.
ABSTRACT
Background/Aims@#Previous studies have shown that diet and physical activity can influence constipation. However, the combined effect of diet and physical activity on constipation remains unclear. @*Methods@#Constipation was defined based on stool consistency and frequency, while overall diet quality was assessed using Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 scores. Participants were categorized into low (metabolic equivalent [MET]-min/wk < 500) and high physical activitygroups (MET-min/wk ≥ 500). The association between diet and constipation across physical activity groups was analyzed using surveylogistic regression and restricted cubic splines. @*Results@#Higher HEI-2015 scores were associated with reduced constipation risk in the high physical activity group when constipation was defined by stool consistency (odds ratio [OR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97-0.99). However, in the low physical activity group, increased HEI-2015 scores did not significantly affect constipation risk (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.97-1.05). Similar results were found when constipation was defined based on stool frequency. In the high physical activity group, increased HEI-2015 scores were significantly associated with a reduced constipation risk (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.98). Conversely, in the low physical activity group, increased HEI-2015 scores did not affect the risk of constipation (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.90-1.03). @*Conclusions@#Our findings suggest that a higher HEI-2015 score is negatively associated with constipation among individuals with high physical activity levels but not among those with low physical activity levels. This association was consistent when different definitions of constipation were used. These results highlight the importance of combining healthy diet with regular physical activity to alleviate constipation.
ABSTRACT
To understand Helicobacter pylori's drug resistance,genetic diversity,and relationship with clinical diseases in the Guiyang and Qiannan minority areas of Guizhou Province,we collected samples through endoscopy,and isolated and cul-tured H.pylori.The drug resistance and genotype characteristics were determined.The differences in different regions and dis-ease types were compared,and the structural characteristics of H.pylori and mixed infections with different strains of H.py-lori in Qiannan Prefecture were analyzed.A difference in the composition ratio of EPYIA typing in the cagA variable region was observed between the two areas(P=0.012),and the composition ratio of the vacA genotype differed(P=0.000).A total of 94.6%(53/56)new sequences of H.pylori strains from two regions were obtained by MLST.The rate of infection by H.pylori mixed with different strains was 44.4%in Qiannan Pre-fecture,and no significant difference was observed in the com-position of H.pylori mixed infections among patients with dif-ferent clinical diseases(P=0.349).Differences in EPI YA typ-ing and the vacA genotype composition ratio in the cagA varia-ble region of H.pylori were observed between the Qiannan Prefecture and Guiyang City.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the effect of problem-solving therapy (PST) on clinical efficacy, cognitive and social function in senile patients with first episode depression.Methods:From March 2020 to August 2021, a total of 86 patients with first onset elderly depression treated in the geriatric department of Qingdao Mental Health Center were selected. According to the random number table method, totally 86 patients were randomly divided into a study group and a control group, with 43 cases in each group. The control group was treated with antidepressant drugs and basic psychiatric nursing intervention. The study group received PST treatment on the basis of the control group for 8 weeks. The Hamilton depression scale-17 items(HAMD-17), Montreal cognitive assessment scale (MoCA), and social dysfunction screening scale (SDSS) were used to assess the degree of depression, cognitive function and social function in both groups. SPSS 18.0 was used for statistical analysis. Independent sample t-test was used for comparison between groups, paired sample t-test was used for comparison before and after treatment. Results:After 8 weeks of intervention, HAMD-17 scores and SDSS scores in the two groups were both significantly decreased compared with before intervention, and the differences between pre intervention and post intervention had statistical significance( t=3.067, 22.543, both P<0.05), while MoCA scores were significantly increased, and the difference between pre intervention and post intervention had statistical significance ( t=9.623, P<0.05). Compared with the control group after 8 weeks of intervention, the HAMD-17 score ((14.44±1.97), (15.58±2.66), t=2.260, P=0.026) and SDSS score((9.44±2.24), (13.00±1.73), t=8.242, P<0.001) of the study group were lower, and the score of MoCA ((25.44±1.28), (23.84±1.56), t=5.223, P<0.001) was higher. Conclusion:In addition to conventional antidepressant therapy, PST not only reduces the severity of depression in elderly patients with first episode depression, but also significantly improves their cognitive and social function.
ABSTRACT
Pyroptosis is the programmed death of cells accompanied by an inflammatory response and is widely involved in the development of a variety of diseases, such as infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegeneration. It has been shown that cellular scorching is involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension ( PAH) in cardiovascular diseases. Patients with PAH have perivascular inflammatory infiltrates in lungs, pulmonary vasculopathy exists in an extremely inflam-matory microenvironment, and pro-inflammatory factors in cellular scorching drive pulmonary vascular remodelling in PAH patients. This article reviews the role of cellular scorch in the pathogenesis of PAH and the related research on drugs for the treatment of PAH, with the aim of providing new ideas for clinical treatment of PAH.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the relieving effects of knockdown of long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)taurine up-regulated gene 1 (TUG1) on inhibiting nucleotide binding oligomerization domain like receptor protein 1 (NLRP1) inflammasome and the progression of Alzheimer’ s disease. Methods Wild-type (WT group, 10 mice) or amyloid precursor protein (APP) / presenilin-1 (PS1) transgenic mice (30 mice) with a genetic background of C57 / BL6 aged 9-10 weeks were used in this study. APP / PS1 transgenic mice were randomly divided into model group, model+lncRNA TUG1 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) group and model + shRNA non target (NT) group (n = 10) . Blood samples, cerebral cortex tissues, primary microglial cells and primary astrocytes were collected from mice 12 weeks of age on day 1 (3-month-old) and 32 weeks of age on day 1 (8-month-old), with 5 mice per group at each time point. Real-time PCR analysis was used to detect the expression levels of lncRNA TUG1 and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) mRNA in cerebral cortex tissues and primary microglial cells, and C1r and C1s mRNA levels in primary astrocytes of 3-month-old and 8-month-old mice in the above 4 groups, respectively. ELISA was used to determine the MIF in plasma samples of the above 4 groups of mice. Primary microglia and astrocytes from the cerebral cortex of 3-month-old and 8-month-old mice were co-cultured. CCK-8 method was used to determine the proliferation ability of the above cells. Western blotting was used to determine the expression levels of MIF, pro interleukin-1β (pro-IL-1β), apoptosis associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recrult domain(ASC), Caspase-1 (p20), Caspase-1 (full), NLRP1 and NLRP3 in cerebral cortex tissues of 3-month-old and 8-month-old mice. Immunofluorescent staining was used to determine amyloid beta(Aβ) in cerebral cortex of 8-month-old mice. Results At the age of 3-month-old and 8-month-old, compared with the WT group, the relative expression level of lncRNA TUG1 and MIF in cerebral cortex tissues and primary microglia of model group mice was significantly up-regulated, with primary microglial cells and astrocytes proliferation ability enhanced (P0. 05) . There was no significant difference between the model group and the model+shRNA NT group mice of all the above factors (P>0. 05) . Conclusion In APP / PS1 transgenic mice, up-regulation of lncRNA TUG1 and MIF are positively associated with the activation of NLRP1 inflammasome in mice cerebral cortex tissues and primary microglia. Knock-down of lncRNA TUG1 can ameliorate the progression of Alzheimer’ s disease.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To explore the correlation between clinical classification and genotype and prognosis among Chinese children with Very-long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCADD).@*METHODS@#A Chinese pedigree affected with VLCADD admitted at the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province in February 2019 was selected as the study subject. The characteristics of disease onset, diagnosis and treatment and prognosis were retrospectively analyzed. Relevant literature was also systematically searched and reviewed.@*RESULTS@#The proband, a 1-year-old boy, had the clinical manifestations of frequently vomiting, hypoglycemia, abnormal liver function and myocardial enzymes. Tandem mass spectrometry screening showed significantly elevated C14, C14:1, C16:1, C16:2, C18 and C14/C8. Genetic testing revealed that he has harbored compound heterozygous variants of the ACADVL gene, namely c.664G>A (p.G222R) and c.1345G>A (p.E449K), which were respectively derived from his father and mother. The child was diagnosed with VLCADD cardiomyopathy type and deceased 2 weeks later. Literature review has identified 60 Chinese children with VLCADD. The clinical classifications were mainly cardiomyopathy type and liver disease type, which accounted for 73.3% (43/60). The combination of ACADVL gene variants were correlated with the clinical classifications of VLCAD. Children with one or two loss-of-function (LOF) mutations showed more severe clinical manifestation and a higher mortality. Cardiomyopathy type had the poorest prognosis, with a mortality rate of 76.9% (20/26). C14:1 may be used as an indicator for the diagnosis of VLCADD, but cannot be used for clinical subtyping and prognosis evaluation. The c.1349G>A (p.R450H) variant had the highest frequency among the Chinese patients, accounting for 10.8% (13/120).@*CONCLUSION@#The clinical classifications of VLCADD are strongly correlated with the prognosis, and LOF mutations are more common in those with severe clinical manifestations. c.1349G>A (p.R450H) may be the most common variant among the Chinese patients, and early screening and diagnosis can greatly improve the prognosis of patients.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Infant , Male , Cardiomyopathies/genetics , China , Lipid Metabolism, Inborn Errors/genetics , Mitochondrial Diseases/genetics , Muscular Diseases/genetics , Pedigree , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
PURPOSE@#The incidence of heatstroke (HS) is not particularly high; however, once it occurs, the consequences are serious. It is reported that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is protective against brain injury in HS rats, but detailed molecular mechanisms need to be further investigated. In this study, we further explored whether CGRP inhibited neuronal apoptosis in HS rats via protein kinase A (PKA)/p-cAMP response element-binding protein (p-CREB) pathway.@*METHODS@#We established a HS rat model in a pre-warmed artificial climate chamber with a temperature of (35.5 ± 0.5) °C and a relative humidity of 60% ± 5%. Heatstress was stopped once core body temperature reaches above 41 °C. A total of 25 rats were randomly divided into 5 groups with 5 animals each: control group, HS group, HS+CGRP group, HS+CGRP antagonist (CGRP8-37) group, and HS+CGRP+PKA/p-CREB pathway blocker (H89) group. A bolus injection of CGRP was administered to each rat in HS+CGRP group, CGRP8-37 (antagonist of CGRP) in HS+CGRP8-37 group, and CGRP with H89 in HS+CGRP+H89 group. Electroencephalograms were recorded and the serum concentration of S100B, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), neuron apoptosis, activated caspase-3 and CGRP expression, as well as pathological morphology of brain tissue were detected at 2 h, 6 h, and 24 h after HS in vivo. The expression of PKA, p-CREB, and Bcl-2 in rat neurons were also detected at 2 h after HS in vitro. Exogenous CGRP, CGRP8-37, or H89 were used to determine whether CGRP plays a protective role in brain injury via PKA/p-CREB pathway. The unpaired t-test was used between the 2 samples, and the mean ± SD was used for multiple samples. Double-tailed p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.@*RESULTS@#Electroencephalogram showed significant alteration of θ (54.50 ± 11.51 vs. 31.30 ± 8.71, F = 6.790, p = 0.005) and α wave (16.60 ± 3.21 vs. 35.40 ± 11.28, F = 4.549, p = 0.020) in HS group compared to the control group 2 h after HS. The results of triphosphate gap terminal labeling (TUNEL) showed that the neuronal apoptosis of HS rats was increased in the cortex (9.67 ± 3.16 vs. 1.80 ± 1.10, F = 11.002, p = 0.001) and hippocampus (15.73 ± 8.92 vs. 2.00 ± 1.00, F = 4.089, p = 0.028), the expression of activated caspase-3 was increased in the cortex (61.76 ± 25.13 vs. 19.57 ± 17.88, F = 5.695, p = 0.009) and hippocampus (58.60 ± 23.30 vs. 17.80 ± 17.62, F = 4.628, p = 0.019); meanwhile the expression of serum NSE (5.77 ± 1.78 vs. 2.35 ± 0.56, F = 5.174, p = 0.013) and S100B (2.86 ± 0.69 vs. 1.35 ± 0.34, F = 10.982, p = 0.001) were increased significantly under HS. Exogenous CGRP decreased the concentrations of NSE and S100B, and activated the expression of caspase-3 (0.41 ± 0.09 vs. 0.23 ± 0.04, F = 32.387, p < 0.001) under HS; while CGRP8-37 increased NSE (3.99 ± 0.47 vs. 2.40 ± 0.50, F = 11.991, p = 0.000) and S100B (2.19 ± 0.43 vs. 1.42 ± 0.30, F = 4.078, p = 0.025), and activated the expression caspase-3 (0.79 ± 0.10 vs. 0.23 ± 0.04, F = 32.387, p < 0.001). For the cell experiment, CGRP increased Bcl-2 (2.01 ± 0.73 vs. 2.15 ± 0.74, F = 8.993, p < 0.001), PKA (0.88 ± 0.08 vs. 0.37 ± 0.14, F = 20.370, p < 0.001), and p-CREB (0.87 ± 0.13 vs. 0.29 ± 0.10, F = 16.759, p < 0.001) levels; while H89, a blocker of the PKA/p-CREB pathway reversed the expression.@*CONCLUSIONS@#CGRP can protect against HS-induced neuron apoptosis via PKA/p-CREB pathway and reduce activation of caspase-3 by regulating Bcl-2. Thus CGRP may be a new target for the treatment of brain injury in HS.
Subject(s)
Animals , Rats , Apoptosis , Brain Injuries/pathology , Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide/metabolism , Caspase 3 , Isoquinolines , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Sulfonamides , Heat Stroke/pathologyABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo further study the pathogenic role of different types of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) proteins in tubal factor infertility, evaluate the clinical detection value of Chlamydia trachomatis protein antibody in predicting tubal factor infertility. MethodsA total of 58 cases of tubal factor infertility (TFI), 41 cases of fertile controls (FC) and 18 cases of infertile controls (IFC) were included. For serum detection, first, CT-IgG ELISA kit was used to detect the expression of CT-IgG in serum of three groups of people; then, 6 kinds of Chlamydia trachomatis proteins were expressed and purified in the early stage to establish the antibody test for these proteins, and ELISA detection method was used to detect the expression of their antibodies in the serum of TFI group, FC group and IFC group, respectively; and finally, the antibody OD value of the 6 kinds of Chlamydia trachomatis proteins in the three groups of subjects were statistically described, and CT-IgG was used as the reference standard to draw the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) of each CT antibody. The Youden Index determines the cutoff value for each antibody. Taking TFI as the reference class, two disordered multiple classification logistic regression models were established with the FC and IFC groups, respectively; and the reference class was used to explore the value of various antibodies and age in predicting TFI, FC and IFC of Chlamydia trachomatis. The back-off method was used to screen the variables. ResultsThe OD value of CT376 antibody in the TFI group was higher than that in the FC group (0.86 vs. 0.60, P=0.026). The CT376 antibody OD value in the TFI group was higher than that in the IFC group (0.86 vs. 0.64, P=0.026). The CT443 antibody OD value in the IFC group was higher than that in the TFI group (0.59 vs. 0.34, P=0.036) and higher than that in the FC group (0.59 vs. 0.30, P=0.02). The multiple classification logistic regression analysis established between TFI and FC showed that CT-IgG [P<0.001, OR=0.084, 95%CI (0.025, 0.284)], CT376 antibody [P=0.068, OR=0.359, 95%CI (0.120, 1.078)]. CT-IgG is an independent risk factor for tubal infertility, and CT376 antibody cannot be an independent risk factor for tubal infertility. The multiple classification logistic regression analysis established between TFI and IFC showed that among infertile patients, CT-IgG [P<0.05, OR=0.194, 95%CI (0.046, 0.817)], CT376 antibody [P<0.05, OR=0.176, 95%CI (0.038, 0.818)] and CT381 antibody [P<0.05, OR=0.112, 95%CI ( 0.016, 0.796)] were independent risk factors for tubal infertility. ConclusionThe expression of CT376 antibody in tubal infertility patients is higher than that in fertile and infertile controls, suggesting that CT-induced tubal factor infertility may be related to CT376. CT-IgG, and CT376 antibodies are meaningful in predicting CT-induced tubal factor infertility.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo summarize the clinical features and prognosis of pulmonary mucormycosis (PM) in southern China, and to explore the diagnostic value of metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) in PM. MethodsThe clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of patients diagnosed with PM in The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 1, 2019 to January 31, 2022 who had undergone mNGS detection in lung tissue or alveolar lavage fluid were collected retrospectively. A total of 14 patients with PM were included, including 4 patients with confirmed diagnosis and 10 patients with clinical diagnosis. ResultsAll patients had underlying medical conditions, with hematological malignancies and diabetes being the most common. The most common symptoms were fever (n = 10), cough (n = 9) and shortness of breath (n = 9). Consolidation was the most common sign of chest CT, followed by mass, mostly with cavity. On laboratory tests, decreased CD4+T lymphocytes, elevated CD8+T lymphocytes, and decreased CD4+/CD8+ ratio, and presentation with pleural effusion indicate poor prognosis. The positive rate of mNGS diagnosis was 78.5%, which was significantly higher than that of histopathology (50%), fungus rapid fluorescence staining (61.5%) and fungal culture (23.1%) of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. ConclusionsPulmonary mucormycosis is more likely to occur in patients with underlying diseases or who are immunocompromised. The clinical manifestations lack specificity. The low CD4/CD8 ratio and presentation of pleural effusion on CT imaging indicate poor prognosis of patients. mNGS is a rapid, convenient and sensitive method for the diagnosis of PM, which has advantages in the diagnosis of pulmonary mucormycosis.
ABSTRACT
Ginsenoside Rg1 is one of the most important saponins in ginseng. It has a wide range of pharmacological activities. It is considered to be a powerful neuroprotective agent. It has neuroprotective effects such as anti-neuroinflammation, anti-oxidative stress, anti-neuronal apoptosis, and enhancing memory. Rg1 shows a good application prospect in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and mental diseases such as depression. This paper reviews the research on the neuroprotective mechanism of Rg1 at home and abroad in recent years, in order to provide new research ideas for the clinical treatment of nervous system diseases.
ABSTRACT
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have ushered in a new era of tumor treatment; however, immunotherapy-related adverse events are critical issues that restrict the clinical application of ICIs and have attracted wide attention. The liver is one of the target organs that is easily affected. With the progress in research, scholars have found that besides hepatocytes, intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts can also be attacked by the immune system, leading to the disease known as immune-related cholangitis. This article reviews the research advances in ICI-related cholangitis by summarizing related articles, in order to preliminarily reveal its clinical, pathological, and imaging features and provide clues for early identification, standard treatment, and subsequent research.
ABSTRACT
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system due to the loss or death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Clinically, levodopa is the most effective and commonly used drug for PD treatment. However, long-term levodopa therapy is prone to motor complications and other side effects caused by excessive peripheral dopamine production, which has become an urgent problem to be solved in PD treatment. Dopamine receptor (DR) agonists are similar to dopamine. They can directly stimulate postsynaptic dopamine receptors, produce the same effect as dopamine, delay the application of levodopa as much as possible, and reduce complications caused by long-term use of levodopa. Therefore, screening effective dopamine receptor agonists has become a key issue in the study and treatment of PD. In order to establish a rapid, stable and reliable method for dopamine receptor agonist screening, this study used the human dopamine receptor 2 (DRD2) gene fused with a circular permuted EGFP (cpEGFP) to construct a recombinant gene, packaged with lentiviral vector, and the vector replaced the parted inner transmembrane domain of the third intracellular loop (ICL3) of genetically-encoded GPCR-activation based (GRAB) sensors. The fluorescence of GPCR-fused cpEGFP is regulated by conformational changes mediated by the interaction of dopamine receptor agonists with GPCRs without altering GPCR activity. The HEK293T cells were infected with viral vector, screened by puromycin to select highly expressed cells. Dopamine receptor agonists (including dopamine, bromocriptine mesylate, cabergoline, pramipexole) were used as positive drugs to explore the best screening and detection conditions, establishing a stable model to evaluate the dopamine receptor agonist. The results showed that the optimal filter for the dopamine receptor agonist in this study was the cell seeding count of 7×104, and the effective concentration of the positive drug was 1-100 µmol·L-1. In addition, pretreated with 10 µmol·L-1 dopamine receptor antagonists (including chlorprothixol hydrochloride, domperidone, and sulpiride), the positive fluorescence signal of overexpressed DRD2-cpEGFP HEK293T cells could not be detected when exposed to 10 µmol·L-1 dopamine receptor agonists, which proved that dopamine receptor antagonists could block the activity of dopamine receptor agonists, so they cannot activate dopamine receptor allosteric, indicating that the model has good specificity and can also be used for the screening and detection of new dopamine receptor antagonists. In summary, the study constructs a stable dopamine sensor detection system, which can effectively screen potential dopamine receptor agonists. The operation procedures are simple and rapid. And it can be used for a large-scale screening providing a fundamental methodology for drug development and PD treatment targeted on DRD2.
ABSTRACT
The active ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine, silybin (SBN), can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells and enhance the anticancer effect of doxorubicin (DOX). However, due to non-targeting and short half-life of SBN and DOX, as well as different administration routes and pharmacokinetic processes, this combination drug cannot act on the tumor in the set order, seriously eliminating the synergistic effect between them and limiting the effect in vivo. Therefore, we intended to construct a nano-delivery system based on molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sialic acid (SA), and co-loaded with SBN and DOX. The system induced the release of combined drugs under the dual-stimulation of pH and near infra-red (NIR), increased the free concentration of intracellular drugs, so as to achieve the synergistic effect between them. The animal welfare and experimental procedures were in accordance with the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. MoS2-PEG-SA-SBN/DOX circulated in vivo, and effectively accumulated at tumor sites through enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR) and SA-mediated active targeting. Under near infrared light irradiation, MoS2-PEG-SA-SBN/DOX realized the combination of synergistic chemotherapy and photothermal therapy for tumor, thus achieving excellent anti-tumor effect in vivo. This study can provide a new idea and strategy for the clinical treatment of lung cancer. Taken together, MoS2-PEG-SA-SBN/DOX can offer a new idea and strategy for the clinical treatment of lung cancer.
ABSTRACT
Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) is highly expressed on the surface of parenchymal liver cells. It can specifically recognize and bind to desialylated glycoproteins which contain terminal galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine residues, and endocytosed by clathrin-mediated endocytosis, transported and then degraded in lysosome. Based on this character, ASGPR mediated liver-targeted drug delivery is likely to increase drug distribution, reduce potential side effects and lower dose. This article reviewed the expression, structure, ligand binding and endocytosis of ASGPR, and summarized the design and optimization of ASGPR ligands and the release strategies. Finally, we put forward some expects about the clinical drug development for ASGPR.
ABSTRACT
@#Objective To analyze the influencing factors for re-positive nucleic acid test in discharged corona-virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and to provide data support for the epidemics prevention and control. Methods The clinical data of 660 discharged COVID-19 patients from January 23, 2020 to February 28, 2021 in our center were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups according to the reexamination of virus nucleic acid, including a negative group [549 patients, including 428 males and 121 females with a median age of 33.0 (28.0, 48.0) years] and a positive group [111 patients, including 76 males and 35 females with a median age of 39.0 (28.0, 51.0) years]. The clinical data of the two groups were compared. Results The re-positive rate of the discharged patients was 16.82%. Univariate analysis showed that the re-positive rate of females was higher than that of males (χ2=4.608, P=0.032). The re-positive rate of confirmed patients was higher than that of asymptomatic infected patients (χ2=8.140, P=0.004). The re-positive rate of domestic patients was higher than that of imported patients (χ2=9.178, P=0.002). The counts of CD3+ (P=0.038), CD4+ (P=0.048) and CD8+ (P=0.040) T lymphocytes in the negative group were higher than those in the positive group. The binary logistic regression analysis showed that the clinical classification and CD8+ T lymphocyte count were independent risk factors affecting the recurrence of virility. Conclusion The gender, origin, T lymphocyte subsets count and clinical type are the influencing factors for re-positive result, and clinical type and CD8+ T lymphocyte count are the independent influencing factors for re-positive result. Therefore, improving the immunity of infected patients, as well as early detection and timely treatment are effective means to reduce the re-positive occurrence.