Systemic sarcoidosis presenting as facial palsy, granulomatous tattoo reaction and sarcoidal scar

Cutaneous lesions are observed in approximately 25% of patients with systemic sarcoidosis. Scar sarcoidosis is a rare but peculiar cutaneous form of sarcoidosis associated with trauma, surgery, tattoos and other types of damage. We present a 32-year-old male patient with a history of unilateral facial nerve palsy, nephrolithiasis and lung involvement. A chest CT revealed multiple bilateral hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and PET-CT demonstrated an inflammatory response in multiple organs and regions. Recently, the patient had developed asymptomatic papulo-nodules scattered within the areas of tattoos and previous trauma. Histopathological examination of nodules from those different areas supported the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The lesions almost cleared after systemic therapy with oral prednisone. It is worth remembering that skin lesions in areas of tattoos and trauma may be prominent symptoms of systemic sarcoidosis. Patients with systemic sarcoidosis should avoid tattooing.

Ethnomedicinal Study of Plants Used for Treatment of Diabetes, Hypertension and Cardiovascular Ailments in Fokoue and Santchou Subdivisions, Menoua Division of West Cameroon

Background: In Cameroon, numerous people rely on medicinal plants and possess knowledge on the use of these plants. Plant knowledge from indigenous people is rapidly disappearing due to environmental, social and economic pressure, processes and changes. In view of this, ethnobotanical studies have been carried out in the area where medicinal plants are the main source of health care in order to preserve traditional knowledge of plant use. This study aims to document and quantify medicinal plant knowledge on the treatment of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular ailments in Fokoue and Santchou subdivisions of Menoua Division, West Cameroon. Methods: Information related to medicinal plant species and plant remedies was collected through semi-structured interviews with 34 informants accompanied by homegarden sampling, walk-in-the-woods and snowball sampling. Quantitative methods were used to determine cultural importance index, relative frequency of citation and fidelity level which represent informants’ consensus. Results: A total of 49 medicinal plant species representing 26 different botanical families were recorded in Fokoue and Santchou subdivisions of Menoua Division, West Cameroon. Most-cited plant families were Acanthaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae and Rhamnaceae. Plant species Allium sativum, Aloe vera, Asystasia spp., Cymbopogon citratus, Gouania spp., Persea americana, Sonchus oleraceus and Vernonia amygdalina were considered as relatively important plants for treating diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular ailments. Conclusions: The study indicated the unique knowledge of medicinal plants used for treating diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular ailments in Fokoue and Santchou subdivisions. Our findings not only confirm uses of medicinal plants documented elsewhere, but also add interesting new information that should be confirmed through formal biochemical analysis and clinical trials.

Advances in the study of molecular identification technology of Echinococcus species

@#The larvae of Echinococcus (hydatidcyst) can parasitize humans and animals, causing a serious zoonotic disease-echinococcosis. The life history of Echinococcus is complicated, and as the disease progresses slowly after infection, early diagnosis is difficult to establish. Due to the limitations of imaging and immunological diagnosis in this respect, domestic and foreign scholars have established a variety of molecular detection techniques for the pathogen Echinococcus over recent years, mainly including nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), multiplex PCR, real-time quantitative PCR, and nucleic acid isothermal amplification technology. In this article, the research progress of molecular detection technology for Echinococcus infection currently was reviewed and the significance of these methods in the detection and diagnosis of hydatid and hydatid diseases was also discussed.

microRNAs expression profiles in Schistosoma japonicum of different sex 14 and 28 days post-infection

@#Different miRNAs are involved in the life cycles of Schistosoma japonicum. The aim of this study was to examine the expression profile of miRNAs in individual S. japonicum of different sex before and after pairing (18 and 24 dpi). The majority of differential expressed miRNAs were highly abundant at 14 dpi, except for sja-miR-125b and sja-miR-3505, in both male and female. Moreover, it was estimated that sja-miR-125b and sja-miR-3505 might be related to laying eggs. sja-miR-2a-5p and sja-miR-3484-5p were expressed at 14 dpi in males and were significantly clustered in DNA topoisomerase III, Rap guanine nucleotide exchange factor 1 and L-serine/L-threonine ammonia-lyase. Target genes of sja-miR-2d-5p, sja-miR-31- 5p and sja-miR-125a, which were expressed at 14 dpi in males but particularly females, were clustered in kelch-like protein 12, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, class I, and heat shock protein 90 kDa beta. Predicted target genes of sja-miR-3483-3p (expressed at 28 dpi in females but not in males) were clustered in 26S proteasome regulatory subunit N1, ATPdependent RNA helicase DDX17. Predicted target genes of sja-miR-219-5p, which were differentially expressed at 28 dpi in females but particularly males, were clustered in DNA excision repair protein ERCC-6, protein phosphatase 1D, and ATPase family AAA domaincontaining protein 3A/B. Moreover, at 28 dpi, eight miRNAs were significantly up-regulated in females compared to males. The predicted target genes of these miRNAs were significantly clustered in heat shock protein 90 kDa beta, 26S proteasome regulatory subunit N1, and protein arginine N-methyltransferase 1. To sum up, differentially expressed miRNAs may have an essential role and provide necessary information on clarifying this trematode’s growth, development, maturation, and infection ability to mammalian hosts in its complex life cycle, and may be helpful for developing new drug targets and vaccine candidates for schistosomiasis.

Parasitological and molecular detection of human fascioliasis in a young man from Guizhou, China

@#A 24-year-old man born in Guizhou province was diagnosed with obstructive jaundice and bile duct stones in 2013. Four living trematodes were found during laparotomy and cholecystectomy. Based on the morphology and molecular genetics analysis of internal transcribed spacer and pcox1 genes of the flatworm specimens, the trematodes from the patient were confirmed to be Fasciola hepatica. This report provided the clinical and molecular diagnosis information on human fascioliasis, which is an emerging sanitary problem still ignored in China. Human fascioliasis constantly occurs due to climatic changes and frequency of human travel. Therefore, it deserves more attention from physicians working in both developing and developed countries.

Influence of hepatocyte growth factor-transfected bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells towards renal fibrosis in rats

Background & objectives: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) produced by endothelial cells, fibroblasts, fat cells and other interstitial cells, can promote angiogenesis, repair damaged tissues and resist fibrosis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are located in bone marrow and secrete a variety of cytokines and are often used in the repair and regeneration of damaged tissues. This study was aimed to investigate the influence of HGF-transfected bone marrow-derived MSCs towards renal fibrosis in rats. Methods: The HGF gene-carrying adenoviral vector (Ad-HGF) was transfected into MSCs, and the Ad-HGF-modified MSCs were transplanted into rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). The localization of renal transplanted cells in the frozen section was observed with fluorescence microscope. The Masson's trichrome staining was performed to observe the renal collagen deposition, and the immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expressions of ?-smooth muscle actin (?-SMA) and HGF in renal tissues. Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expressions of ?-SMA, HGF and fibronectin (FN). Results: Ad-HGF-modified MSCs could highly express HGF in vitro. On the post-transplantation 3rd, 7th and 14th day, the 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAP)-labelled transplanted cells were seen inside renal tissues. Compared with UUO group, the renal collagen deposition in transplantation group was significantly reduced, and the expressions of ?-SMA mRNA and protein were significantly decreased, while the expressions of HGF mRNA and protein were significantly increased, and the expression of FN mRNA was significantly decreased (P<0.001). Interpretation & conclusions: Trans-renal artery injection of HGF-modified MSCs can effectively reduce the renal interstitial fibrosis in UUO rat model.

Bevacizumab and gefitinib enhanced whole-brain radiation therapy for brain metastases due to non-small-cell lung cancer

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who experience brain metastases are usually associated with poor prognostic outcomes. This retrospective study proposed to assess whether bevacizumab or gefitinib can be used to improve the effectiveness of whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in managing patients with brain metastases. A total of 218 NSCLC patients with multiple brain metastases were retrospectively included in this study and were randomly allocated to bevacizumab-gefitinib-WBRT group (n=76), gefitinib-WBRT group (n=77) and WBRT group (n=75). Then, tumor responses were evaluated every 2 months based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.0. Karnofsky performance status and neurologic examination were documented every 6 months after the treatment. Compared to the standard WBRT, bevacizumab and gefitinib could significantly enhance response rate (RR) and disease control rate (DCR) of WBRT (P<0.001). At the same time, RR and DCR of patients who received bevacizumab-gefitinib-WBRT were higher than those who received gefitinib-WBRT. The overall survival (OS) rates and progression-free survival (PFS) rates also differed significantly among the bevacizumab-gefitinib-WBRT (48.6 and 29.8%), gefitinib-WBRT (36.7 and 29.6%) and WBRT (9.8 and 14.6%) groups (P<0.05). Although bevacizumab-gefitinib-WBRT was slightly more toxic than gefitinib-WBRT, the toxicity was tolerable. As suggested by prolonged PFS and OS status, bevacizumab substantially improved the overall efficacy of WBRT in the management of patients with NSCLC.

ChIP-seq analysis of histone H3K9 trimethylation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of membranous nephropathy patients

Membranous nephropathy (MN), characterized by the presence of diffuse thickening of the glomerular basement membrane and subepithelial in situ immune complex disposition, is the most common cause of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in adults, with an incidence of 5-10 per million per year. A number of studies have confirmed the relevance of several experimental insights to the pathogenesis of human MN, but the specific biomarkers of MN have not been fully elucidated. As a result, our knowledge of the alterations in histone methylation in MN is unclear. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) to analyze the variations in a methylated histone (H3K9me3) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 10 MN patients and 10 healthy subjects. There were 108 genes with significantly different expression in the MN patients compared with the normal controls. In MN patients, significantly increased activity was seen in 75 H3K9me3 genes, and decreased activity was seen in 33, compared with healthy subjects. Five positive genes, DiGeorge syndrome critical region gene 6 (DGCR6), sorting nexin 16 (SNX16), contactin 4 (CNTN4), baculoviral IAP repeat containing 3 (BIRC3), and baculoviral IAP repeat containing 2 (BIRC2), were selected and quantified. There were alterations of H3K9me3 in MN patients. These may be candidates to help explain pathogenesis in MN patients. Such novel findings show that H3K9me3 may be a potential biomarker or promising target for epigenetic-based MN therapies.

Construction of three different recombinant scorpion fusion proteins with bifunctional activity.

This is the first report of three different fusion proteins with an antitumor-analgesic peptide obtained from Chinese scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch (BmKAGAP). The fusion proteins were constructed in the form of chimeric toxins, aiming to obtain bifunctional analgesic and antitumor activity. The fusion proteins consisted of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH), three different types of flexible linkers (L1, Ser-Ser-His-His-His-His-His-His-Ser-Ser-Gly-Leu-Val-Pro-Arg-Gly-Ser-His-Met; L2, Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser; L3, Ser-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser-Ser-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser), and BmKAGAP. The genes coding three fusion proteins were cloned and expressed in E. coli in soluble form. Following two successive column chromatographic separations, purified fusion proteins were obtained. These fusion proteins exhibited analgesic activity in mice and were cytotoxic to a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line Hep3B.