[Surveillance of soil-borne nematodiasis in Danyang City from 2012 to 2018].

OBJECTIVE: To monitor the epidemic status of human soil-borne nematodiasis in Danyang City, so as to provide scientific evidence for formulating control measures. METHODS: The soil-borne nematode infections were tested using a modified Kato-Katz technique among residents aged more than 3 years living in Danyang City from 2012 to 2018, and the Enterobius vermicularis eggs were detected using the transparent adhesive tape anal swab method among children at ages of 3 to 12 years. RESULTS: A total of 13 540 residents were monitored for soil-borne nematode infections from 2012 to 2018, and the prevalence of human soil-borne nematode infections was 0.45%. The prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichura and Enterobius vermicularis infections was 0.32%, 0.12% and 0.01%, respectively, and a single parasite infection was predominant. There were significant differences in the prevalence of soil-borne nematode (χ2 = 42.610, P < 0.05), A. lumbricoides (χ2 = 26.276, P < 0.05) and T. trichura (χ2 = 20.692, P < 0.05). The prevalence of human soil-borne nematode infections was 0.45% in males and 0.47% in females, and lower prevalence was found in local residents than in floating population (0.28% vs. 0.66%; χ2 = 10.561, P < 0.05). The highest infection was found in subjects at ages of 31 to 40 years (0.59%), followed by in subjects at ages of 41 to 50 years (0.56%), and the lowest infection was seen in children at ages of 3 to 5 years (0.27%). In addition, the prevalence of human soilborne nematode infections varied significantly in occupation (χ2 = 75.692, P < 0.05), with the highest infection seen in boatmen. Among the 5 078 children monitored, the prevalence of E. vermicularis infection was 0.37%, and the prevalence of E. vermicularis infection varied significantly in year (χ2= 15.466, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The human soil-borne nematode infection is at a low level in Danyang City; however, the surveillance of soil-borne nematodiasis remains to be intensified in children living in rural areas and immigrant populations.

Anticancer effect of YWHAZ silencing via inducing apoptosis and autophagy in gastric cancer cells.

YWHAZ (14-3-3ζ) has been reported to be a prognostic marker for various tumors and play a crucial role in many oncogenic processes, including proliferation, migration and invasion. However, the functional role and mechanism of YWHAZ in gastric cancer (GC) are not in detail and still remain to be studied. In the present study, the endogenous expression of YWHAZ in gastric cancer cell line BGC-823 was silenced by YWHAZ-specific short hairpin RNA (shRNA). Our data showed that YWHAZ silencing resulted in cell cycle arrest in BGC-823 cells. Further, YWHAZ-silenced BGC-823 cells acquired increased apoptosis rate, which was confirmed by increased levels of cleaved caspase-3, cleaved PARP, and Bax, and decreased level of Bcl-2. Suppression of YWHAZ also promoted autophagy, confirming by the upregulation of LC3II /LC3I ratio, and downregulation of p62 level. Moreover, YWHAZ suppression inhibited the activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in BGC-823 cells. LY294002 (PI3K/AKT inhibitor, 200 nM) further promoted YWHAZ silencing-induced apoptosis and autophagy in BGC-823 cells, while insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1; PI3K/AKT agonist, 10 ng/ml) had the opposite role. Finally, suppression of YWHAZ inhibited the growth of the xenograft tumor in vivo. This study provides extended evidence that YWHAZ can be a potential therapeutic target for GC.

Therapeutic effect of photodynamic therapy using hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME) on human cholangiocarcinoma cell line QBC939.

UNLABELLED: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective local cancer treatment when aphotosensitizer is administered and the tumor is irradiated with light. We examined the effect of PDT using HMME as the photosensitizer, and the 630nm diode laser on human cholangiocarcinoma cell line QBC939. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. The percentage of apoptotic cell was determined by flow cytometry following annexin V/PI staining. Two methods were used for the determination of apoptosis: terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay and laser scanning confocal microscope detection. The procaspase-3 and cytochrome cwere measured by western blot. In vitro PDT showed excellent cytotoxicity that was afunction of laser energy and drug concentration to the QBC939 cell lines. PDT-mediated cell death occurred predominantly by apoptosis in vitro. Furthermore, this treatment initiates early cytochrome crelease, followed by late procaspase-3 activation. Our study demonstrates that PDT using HMME and the diode laser induces apoptosis that is mediated by cytochrome crelease and caspase activation in human cholangiocarcinoma cell lines. It is expected that this therapy would be clinically useful for the treatment of patients with cholangiocarcinoma. KEYWORDS: Hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether, photodynamic therapy, apoptosis, cholangiocarcinoma.